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As the title might suggest to the more perceptive reader, I may well be (finally) caving to the demands of my inner/outer Star Wars nerd, throwing caution and wallet to the wind and getting into X-wing. While I plan to be flying as casually as a wookie in a stolen Lambda, so I'm not exactly here for list advice in the conventional sense, I have a few questions, both generally and with regards to initial purchases/list building.

Whether or not I get in revolves around whether I can get 2 of the old core sets on the WH Smiths offer someone posted about here, so that's what I'll be starting out with. As mentioned, I've no interest in competitive play or getting every available option, and one thing I certainly won't ever be doing is buying a ship I don't want to get a card I do (partly for budgetary reasons, partly as I don't like that business model at all). However, I've got a few initial purchases planned out that would make lists I like the look of; my question is not so much 'are they good?' as 'will these two lists be fun/balanced/different enough to play against each other?' There's also a few general questions below.

The Rebel list I have planned is from the 2 starters and a Rebel Aces box (using printed-out cards if need be)

Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Proton Torpedo
X-wing, Red Squadron
B-wing, Blue Squadron
A-wing, Green Squadron

Comes to a round 100 points. The mix of ships appeals to me visually, assuming they play how I think they will from reading the rules and watching a few batreps, the A-wing will be my faster interceptor, the B-wing the tanky/heavy firepower and the X-wings the all rounders. I don't really have a plan for this list beyond the models and those vague archetypes, I will probably insist on using Luke with R2-D2 for fluff's sake, but I can lose the Torpedo if there are better things to do with those points on these ships.


For the Imps, I'm thinking
Howlrunner, Swarm Tactics (I understand that's pretty essential for getting the most out of multiple TIEs?)
Mauler Mithel
Black Squadron Pilot
Black Squadron Pilot
TIE Advanced, Vader, TIE/x1, Advanced Targeting Computer, Predator

Coming in at 98 points. I'm very keen on the idea of Vader and a bunch of TIEs to start out with, simply as I love the TIE/A as a ship and it has the whole 'Death Star Trench Run' thing going on. Howlrunner seems like a good fit for close-formation TIE squadrons, Mauler with the bonus at Range 1 would appear to make a nice spearhead, Vader with the ATC and Predator seems fittingly built for attacking weaker ships and bringing more firepower than the others. I'm set on the ships and on Vader here, I think, but obviously there's a lot of variety in TIE pilots so if there are any others that make better use of points or are more interesting I can obviously change that.


Now for general questions:
- In both these lists, I've gone for one named pilot with some upgrades as the 'leader' and then left the other ships nearly or completely un-upgraded. Is this sound as a strategy, or should I be looking to spend more on upgrades? As a general rule of thumb, how much should I be spending per ship on upgrades before it becomes too much?

- How would you go about expanding or altering the way those lists play, preferably a ship per side at a time? This will be a slow-grow background project for me, I imagine, so I'm looking to add an odd ship here and there rather than go all-in and get one of everything.


That's all for now, thanks in advance for any answers!

Aces lists or swarm lists are both viable archetypes, by doing a bit of each, you're diluting some of the advantages and disadvantages of each. IIRC the list that won Worlds this year was a similar mongrel list.

There's no "magic number" for upgrades. As much as the logic of not overspending on individual list elements applies like any other game, it's perfectly sound logic to spend half your points on one ship, provided the durability and damage are commensurate with the investment then you're fine. If you spend a lot on one ship and it isn't performing, then it's time to rethink the configuration.

I'd add to the collection as you see fit, there's little that can massively skew one side in favour of another as long as points are kept equal, perhaps go for some large ships for each? Perhaps de-prioritise the support ships (HWK, Shuttle) for the time being, as they often rely on a lot more elements to really shine.

 Paradigm wrote:
I've no interest in competitive play or getting every available option, and one thing I certainly won't ever be doing is buying a ship I don't want to get a card I do (partly for budgetary reasons, partly as I don't like that business model at all).

Then just buy the ship you like, and proxy the cards - there's no particular reason you need them, except for tournament play.

Unlike some other wargames, almost every ship can be made to work in a list. Buy what you think is cool, and then just play a lot of games - it will quickly become clear what works and what doesn't.

I'd recommend dropping the Torps for Biggs. Proton Torps are one of those things that just didn't work out, and have been left behind as the game gets further balanced. Biggs, on the other hand, is one of the games best meatshields.

Azreal13 wrote:Aces lists or swarm lists are both viable archetypes, by doing a bit of each, you're diluting some of the advantages and disadvantages of each. IIRC the list that won Worlds this year was a similar mongrel list.

There's no "magic number" for upgrades. As much as the logic of not overspending on individual list elements applies like any other game, it's perfectly sound logic to spend half your points on one ship, provided the durability and damage are commensurate with the investment then you're fine. If you spend a lot on one ship and it isn't performing, then it's time to rethink the configuration.

I'd add to the collection as you see fit, there's little that can massively skew one side in favour of another as long as points are kept equal, perhaps go for some large ships for each? Perhaps de-prioritise the support ships (HWK, Shuttle) for the time being, as they often rely on a lot more elements to really shine.

Good to know. I guess my long-term goal is to have more elite stuff for the Rebs and more swarmy ships for the Imps, simply as that's how it works out in the setting. Could you give me a quick list of what you call the 'support' ships, just so I can plan around that. Big ships are definitely on the list to get, the Falcon is a must-have and the Decimator is too cool not to pick up at some point, but they're probably something I'll get once I know for sure that the game is for me and I have a collection that they'll fit into.

DanielBeaver wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
I've no interest in competitive play or getting every available option, and one thing I certainly won't ever be doing is buying a ship I don't want to get a card I do (partly for budgetary reasons, partly as I don't like that business model at all).

Then just buy the ship you like, and proxy the cards - there's no particular reason you need them, except for tournament play.

Yep, that's the plan. I just put that in there so I didn't get people suggesting I buy X pack just to get Y card! From what it looks like, the details are all on the squadron builder anyway, so if I can't find actual pics to print I can just get the rules from there.

Crazy_Carnifex wrote:I'd recommend dropping the Torps for Biggs. Proton Torps are one of those things that just didn't work out, and have been left behind as the game gets further balanced. Biggs, on the other hand, is one of the games best meatshields.

The torpedoes were really a fluff thing, so if swapping them out for Biggs (equally fluffy, so I have no issue there) is more effective then I'll definitely keep that in mind.


Thanks for the tips so far! Another question, can anyone point me towards a good site/youtube channel ect where I can find stuff on tactics for the game? Manoeuvre and formation flying looks particularly important and complex, so if possible I'd like to get the hang of that before I start playing. I probably could just trial and error it, but if there's somewhere I can get at least a basic overview of various methods/formations/setups ect then that would be handy.

Right now, the HWK and Shuttle are about the sum total of what could be considered support ships, but this can change every time a new wave launches.

For instance, it was difficult to make a compelling case for the shuttle outside one or two novelty builds, then the Raider releases alongside Emperor Palpatine and the Shuttle then becomes one of only two choices that can carry arguably the most potent upgrade in the game, this, coupled with its efficiency in terms HP vs Pts cost suddenly propelled it into a viable choice for competitive lists.

Also, forgot to mention before, Vader really shines with an engine upgrade, the ability to both boost and barrel roll allows for substantial repositioning for arc dodging/gaining.

High PS pilots of any flavour really shine when given the most chances to correct their manoeuvre once they've seen all the lower PS moves happen for the turn, Vader's ability to do both of the main methods of achieving this without incurring any negative effects are very powerful.

Good to know about Vader. I definitely see him as the mobile 'spearhead' of the proposed list, so if I can get him more mobile then that's definitely handy.

Revised Imperial list (Again, not meant to be competitive or optimised, more testing my understanding of the game)

Vader, TIE/x1, Engine Upgrade, Advanced Targeting Computer
Howlrunner, Swarm Tactics
Mauler Mithel
Black Squadron, Draw Their Fire (he'll be running close to Howlrunner anyway, might as well help out survivability)
Black Squadron

That's a round 100.

Grab Vet instincts on Vader, and drop the second Black Squad to Academy pilot. PS 11 Vader is just fun.

Just so you're aware, the TIE/x1 and Advanced Targetting Computer both come in the Imperial Raider epic ship. Big purchase if you're not proxying cards.

Worth it though. It's lovely.

He said he was fine with proxying. And you should, Paradigm. You'll also want to grab at least one of the new T-70 blister for your rebels. The ship is fun, has fun new maneuvers, is a bit more durable too. If you like the look of the x-wing, then an x-wing that can boost is delish.

On the Imperial side, I love the Firespray. You might want to get that too, as it's a fun, tough ship.

And don't forget the third faction, Scum and Villainy. They're all up to their dirty tricks, and exist more on a grey scale between the two extremes.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
He said he was fine with proxying. And you should, Paradigm. You'll also want to grab at least one of the new T-70 blister for your rebels. The ship is fun, has fun new maneuvers, is a bit more durable too. If you like the look of the x-wing, then an x-wing that can boost is delish.

On the Imperial side, I love the Firespray. You might want to get that too, as it's a fun, tough ship.

And don't forget the third faction, Scum and Villainy. They're all up to their dirty tricks, and exist more on a grey scale between the two extremes.

I think for now, I'll be sticking purely to OT-era stuff until I've seen the new film and there's a few more ships released for the Resistance/Order. Not too keen to mix&matching across the timelines until I know just what coexists with what fluff-wise. Possibly shooting myself in the foot by doing that, but like I say I'm not bothered about having the best stuff, just getting the most from the stuff I do have/want.

Firespray is definitely on the list, because Fett (no other reason needed, really ) Scum are something I'll probably get to further down the line, but for the moment, I'm sticking to the 2 original factions simply to keep things sort-of manageable on the budgeting front, I can already see this getting rather expensive, but the more O look into it, the more I found my initial doubts about the game evaporating.

Grab Vet instincts on Vader, and drop the second Black Squad to Academy pilot. PS 11 Vader is just fun.

Or, drop Mauler Mithel to Backstabber or Dark Curse - their lower pilot skill doesn't make too much difference (7 isn't not that big a deal) but their pilot abilities are arguably better.

The T-70 expansion is worth it even for a 'normal' X-wing, sadly. There are a few upgrades which really help improve the generic X-wing. Integrated Astromech especially.

Vader and a bunch of TIE fighters work nicely. TIE fighters are nice and agile, cheap enough to be expendable, and the elite ones have very powerful pilot abilities.


The most useful advice is to play many games.
X-wing is.....I don't want to say it's a more challenging game than 40k, because it's not per se. List building is still an art form. But the point remains that maneuvering is far more of a challenge because it's so much more restricted; learning to use each ship's dial and learning to eyeball the size of maneuver templates is critical.

A squad of generic pilots flown well will massacre 'elite' pilots flown badly, regardless of what tricks the latter have to modify their dice, because whilst shooting is (actions, tokens and upgrades aside) your dice versus their dice, being able to plan your turns, boosts and barrel rolls better than your opponent means there will be turns where you will get to shoot and they won't.

Turrets, of course, skip this problem, but even then, turrets tend to either be expensive for their firepower, or have an exploitable blind spot, or both.

On a similar note, if trying TIE fighters, blocking is a nasty trick. Blocking is moving your (lower skill) pilot into the position that the other fighter is going to try and move into - they'll collide with you, and end up slightly out of position, unable to shoot the guy they just hit, and skip their action. Then shoot them with the rest of the squad.

It's easy to game this on a budget, because every ship you buy can right away be used efficiently. You don't need to buy two boxes of Veteran somesuch or others to make a full squad.

locarno24 wrote:

Or, drop Mauler Mithel to Backstabber or Dark Curse - their lower pilot skill doesn't make too much difference (7 isn't not that big a deal) but their pilot abilities are arguably better.

That I guess is something I'll just have to play around with when I get the minis and play a few games. Mithel seemed appealing to me as the 'spearhead' of a block of ships since he has the Range 1 bonus, but I imagine the usefulness or lack thereof of that will become apparent on the board after a little experience. As mentioned I'll be proxying/printing cards, so I'll have the full gamut of TIE pilots from various expansions ready to go.

Vader and a bunch of TIE fighters work nicely. TIE fighters are nice and agile, cheap enough to be expendable, and the elite ones have very powerful pilot abilities.

Good to know. It's iconic enough that I'd be running it even if it weren't optimum, but if it plays like it 'should' then even better.

X-wing is.....I don't want to say it's a more challenging game than 40k, because it's not per se. List building is still an art form. But the point remains that maneuvering is far more of a challenge because it's so much more restricted; learning to use each ship's dial and learning to eyeball the size of maneuver templates is critical.

This is definitely something that's becoming apparent the more I look into it, and it does appeal to me greatly. I love mechanics that require planning ahead and with 'blind' elements, and this seems to have them in spades. I saw a video earlier on formation flying that brought up all kinds of stuff I wouldn't have considered, so while it appears there will be a steep learning curve, it should also be a fun one.

On a similar note, if trying TIE fighters, blocking is a nasty trick. Blocking is moving your (lower skill) pilot into the position that the other fighter is going to try and move into - they'll collide with you, and end up slightly out of position, unable to shoot the guy they just hit, and skip their action. Then shoot them with the rest of the squad.

This is something I'm going to have to try and get used to. It certainly appears a valid tactic mechanically, I just struggle to reconcile that with the visual image of a bunch of ships careering into each other for an almighty explosion in the name of 'tactics'! I appreciate that in 'reality' it's more flying close enough to force the opponent to jink/evade/pull out ect, it just seems a little odd at first glance.

Am I correct in saying that LoS isn't a thing in this game? It looks like you can just shoot over/through other ships/asteroids from what I've seen.


@Mathieu Raymond: True. I will admit that I find the game very expensive on a per-model basis (£10 from anywhere else could buy me a much nicer model in a better material, designs aside), but at the same time, if I can work on just 1-2 ships a month after the initial buy-in and still get a good amount of variety in playstyle for each one I add, it's a price I can (just about) tolerate... that said, if it wasn't Star Wars I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole at these prices, but overpaying for SW merchandise is something I (and I imagine most of us) have been doing all our lives...

LOS only comes into play with asteroids and a single upgrade. If there are obstructions (only if the obstruction lies on the line between closest point and closest point in arc of the attacker). In that case, the defender gets to add one more evade dice to their roll. That single upgrade allows large ships to act like asteroids in that respect.

Blocking is an important part of the game... so is the early game stall (self-bump)

The designers of this game are very conservative with power level... that means that a wide swath of the ships and pilots and upgrades are good but not amazing. When something does go out of whack (Phantom, A-WIng or TIE Advanced) they find very creative and interesting ways to bring those ships back in line. It also means that they can hide little gems in new expansions that revitalize old ships... see Autothrusters and Twin-Laser Turret as examples. I LOVE THIS GAME!

@Mathieu Raymond: True. I will admit that I find the game very expensive on a per-model basis (£10 from anywhere else could buy me a much nicer model in a better material, designs aside), but at the same time, if I can work on just 1-2 ships a month after the initial buy-in and still get a good amount of variety in playstyle for each one I add, it's a price I can (just about) tolerate... that said, if it wasn't Star Wars I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole at these prices, but overpaying for SW merchandise is something I (and I imagine most of us) have been doing all our lives...

I also struggled with this a bit at the start, but on the upside everything you need for the ship comes in the blister and it comes pre-painted to an acceptable tabletop standard. I suspect many of us X-Wing sorts have a fair pile of unpainted stuff for other games that we will get to 'one day, honest...', they could be cheaper but I suspect the House of the Mouse takes a fair chunk

I just bought my first blister that I noticed wore the dreaded logo. Eh... they might be a good influence. I happen to think that they gave Marvel a safe harbour.

To address the OP, though, unless you plan on cheating, there is no way to "do it right." The game is very, very fun, so just enjoy it. Although there is definitely a top tier and you can maximize a list within an inch of its life, you can also fly casual.

It's not like "other games" where a new rulebook comes out and yours is now useless, and the army you have lovingly painted, collected and fine tuned is now obsolete.

 Anpu-adom wrote:
LOS only comes into play with asteroids and a single upgrade. If there are obstructions (only if the obstruction lies on the line between closest point and closest point in arc of the attacker). In that case, the defender gets to add one more evade dice to their roll. That single upgrade allows large ships to act like asteroids in that respect.

Blocking is an important part of the game... so is the early game stall (self-bump)

The designers of this game are very conservative with power level... that means that a wide swath of the ships and pilots and upgrades are good but not amazing. When something does go out of whack (Phantom, A-WIng or TIE Advanced) they find very creative and interesting ways to bring those ships back in line. It also means that they can hide little gems in new expansions that revitalize old ships... see Autothrusters and Twin-Laser Turret as examples. I LOVE THIS GAME!

The new targeting Astromech they just introduced looks like it'll be another interesting one.


Cards like Daredevil or Stay on Target suddenly look a lot better now that you get a target lock with them. Dutch can take a red maneuver and pass on a target lock. Hobbie now has what amounts to a White K-turn.

 Paradigm wrote:
@Mathieu Raymond: True. I will admit that I find the game very expensive on a per-model basis (£10 from anywhere else could buy me a much nicer model in a better material, designs aside), but at the same time, if I can work on just 1-2 ships a month after the initial buy-in and still get a good amount of variety in playstyle for each one I add, it's a price I can (just about) tolerate... that said, if it wasn't Star Wars I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole at these prices, but overpaying for SW merchandise is something I (and I imagine most of us) have been doing all our lives...

Look at it this way: the model is $10, but it also comes with all of the rules and tokens necessary to use that model. And that one model is usually 25% of your list or more. I guess if you want to be outraged about the price just to satisfy some arbitrary rule about how much a model "should" cost you have a right to do it, but in terms of cost to play the game X-Wing is about as cheap as you'll get in this hobby.

If only the models were $10! Then I'd be all over this without a second thought. In the UK, though, they're routinely £10-12 even with discount (about $15-18), which does add up over building a collection. I see your point, though, and as I say, if I were in the US and paying your prices I wouldn't even hesitate. It's not so much 'outrage' about the cost, what's put me off thus far as that the money I would spend on a ship could easily get me a really nice mini in metal/resin from the Infinity/Batman/Afterlife range ect, which as a hobbyist offers more to me.

But, as mentioned, it's Star Wars, and for some reason I seem to be quite excited about those two words at the moment....

So yeah, assuming I can get this deal on a pair of starters then I'm diving straight in. The game itself does look excellent, the minis will hopefully look better once repainted (not that the stock paintjobs are poor, but I am a painter first, Star Wars nerd second and gamer third, so I shall be going the whole hog with squadron markings and such...) Thanks for all the advice thus far!

If you're looking to save some money, have a look at the new Micro Machines packs. I saw one the other day that gives you a First Order TIE Fighter, a Blue Squadron T-70 and Poe Dameron, all for a fiver. Obviously you still need the cards and counters, but if you've already got the Force Awakens starter, for example, you're sorted. There's also packs with OT ships (X-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Fighters and the TIE Advanced), that I've seen. They're in all the supermarkets at the moment.

They look about the right size; I've not yet remembered to take an X-Wing in my pocket with me to check yet!

 AndrewGPaul wrote:
If you're looking to save some money, have a look at the new Micro Machines packs. I saw one the other day that gives you a First Order TIE Fighter, a Blue Squadron T-70 and Poe Dameron, all for a fiver. Obviously you still need the cards and counters, but if you've already got the Force Awakens starter, for example, you're sorted. There's also packs with OT ships (X-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Fighters and the TIE Advanced), that I've seen. They're in all the supermarkets at the moment.

They look about the right size; I've not yet remembered to take an X-Wing in my pocket with me to check yet!

They're a bit smaller IIRC, and the quality is terrible compared to the FFG models. I guess if you're really short on money and need the cheapest possible proxy you could do worse, but the OP is in it for the modeling and painting side of the hobby and probably won't see much appeal in them.

This is something I'm going to have to try and get used to. It certainly appears a valid tactic mechanically, I just struggle to reconcile that with the visual image of a bunch of ships careering into each other for an almighty explosion in the name of 'tactics'! I appreciate that in 'reality' it's more flying close enough to force the opponent to jink/evade/pull out ect, it just seems a little odd at first glance.

Exactly, it's essentially 'playing chicken' with your opponent. There's an elite pilot talent - Intimidation - which makes this even nastier as your opponent loses a green die, and several modifications which punish people for colliding with you, like Anti-pursuit lasers.

Am I correct in saying that LoS isn't a thing in this game? It looks like you can just shoot over/through other ships/asteroids from what I've seen.

Yes and no. You can always shoot through obstructions, but obstructed fire is a lot less effective. If you're about to be shot,one perfectly sensible option is to use an action to boost or barrel roll behind an asteroid relative to your attacker.

This is definitely something that's becoming apparent the more I look into it, and it does appeal to me greatly. I love mechanics that require planning ahead and with 'blind' elements, and this seems to have them in spades. I saw a video earlier on formation flying that brought up all kinds of stuff I wouldn't have considered, so while it appears there will be a steep learning curve, it should also be a fun one.

There are a few guides out there to learning the size of templates - they're pretty simple and help a hell of a lot.

This thread:
https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/110115-earning-your-wings-a-guide-for-understanding-movment/
Is one of the best.

One quick rule of thumb - without boost or barrel roll, no ship can move outside its own arc of fire - so if you can set your maneuver to place yourself where it is now, you know you'll probably have a shot.

One other quick rule of thumb - 'Jousting' is lining up square across from the enemy, flying straight at them shooting, Koiogran turning around and repeating until one side explodes. Purely mathematical analysis doesn't help X-wing like it does in 40k because the dials and maneuvers are so much a part of 'stacking the deck' one way or another, but you should probably be able to figure out who would win in a straight head-on joust.

And so should your opponent.

Because one of you is better, the one who isn't better should never offer a head-on joust if they have any say in the matter!

As a rule:

TIE Fighters, B-wings, Z-95 swarms, Khiraxz and Shuttles will win a joust point for point against larger or more maneuverable fighters. If you're not them, don't go head-on at the enemy!


Don't feel you have to set up opposite the enemy, square on to them. Set up side-on, or turn away, if you want to. If facing a big block of TIE fighters, coming up one flank, for example, consider turning away and flying along your board edge before turning in back at them. If they want to avoid letting you flank them, they have to turn in to meet you....which means flying through the rocks. Which means they have to break up their formation (meaning you take them on piecemeal and their edge in numbers is lost) or strike the rocks (meaning loss of actions and shots and damage before the fight starts).

The game itself does look excellent, the minis will hopefully look better once repainted

As prepaints go they look fantastic (compare Star Trek Attack Wing & D&D Attack Wing) but yes, they take little 'tweaks' to repaint well. Or even dramatic repaints. I keep meaning to produce a "Racing Stripe" TIE squadron to match Sabine's fighter from Rebels....

Thanks again for the tips!

@AndrewGPaul: Hadn't come across those, if they're that cheap, vaguely the right size and I happen to see a pack I might grab it just to give me a few more ships to play with at the start, and phase them out for the real deal as I go along.

@Locarno24: Cheers, all very handy! The element of manoeuvre before engagement is one I look forward to playing with, that 'cat and mouse' game and forcing the opponent to make decisions like that. While I am generally loathe to use 'copy and paste' tactics from the internet, I did see a video on Vader that basically had him run on the opposite flank to a TIE block, then Forward 5, Boost and Barrel Roll to come at the enemy from the side early on, forcing them to take on Vader and expose themselves to the TIEs, vice versa, or split which plays right into the Imperial hands. Planned moves like that that I can hopefully figure out as I go along is something that appeals to the chess player in me, that scope for knowing my plan before I even hit the board.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
@Mathieu Raymond: True. I will admit that I find the game very expensive on a per-model basis (£10 from anywhere else could buy me a much nicer model in a better material, designs aside), but at the same time, if I can work on just 1-2 ships a month after the initial buy-in and still get a good amount of variety in playstyle for each one I add, it's a price I can (just about) tolerate... that said, if it wasn't Star Wars I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole at these prices, but overpaying for SW merchandise is something I (and I imagine most of us) have been doing all our lives...

Look at it this way: the model is $10, but it also comes with all of the rules and tokens necessary to use that model. And that one model is usually 25% of your list or more. I guess if you want to be outraged about the price just to satisfy some arbitrary rule about how much a model "should" cost you have a right to do it, but in terms of cost to play the game X-Wing is about as cheap as you'll get in this hobby.

I've said it a couple of times already, but this game is at a perfect price point for me. Most of the ships are well within my "grab something to support the store" cost point. Those that aren't are something that I'm willing to save up for. They come ready to play out of the box... something that people who play miniature games might not see as much of an advantage, but trust me in that it expands the player base. The quality of the models is such that they take paint very well, but you certainly don't need to. The core sets are a great value for those getting started. FFG is tending to the rules. It's a dang good game all around.

If you have a local store so that it is easy to grab a ship when you stop in, that's the best way to build your collection. Most people wouldn't go out and drop $2000 for a new army at one go... most people aren't going to similarly spend $400 on X-Wing at a go.

Looks like I'm 'in', as it were. 2 Core Sets bought for about £34, Rebel Aces on the way, Vader's next on the list! Thanks again for all your tips and advice, I'll be sure to drop back in here as and when I have any more questions.

"You have taken your first step into a larger world."
Welcome.

Welcome aboard! Glad you were able to get a good deal on the starters. Last year when I was over there, ships were about 14-15 quid a piece at Forbidden Planet. Didn't pick any up...

Just bought the TIE Advanced as well... Buying these ships is far too easy, it seems!

Just wanted to run a list past you guys, again just to test if I'm understanding the concepts at work here. It's based on the handful of Rogue Squadron comics I read a few years ago, and on the ships I have to work with.

Tycho Celchu (31)
A-Wing (26), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Lightning Reflexes (1), Hull Upgrade (3), Wired (1)

Ten Numb (35)
B-Wing (31), Draw Their Fire (1), Hull Upgrade (3)

Wedge Antilles (34)
X-Wing (29), R2-D2 (4), Veteran Instincts (1)

The idea being that I fly Ten and Wedge pretty close, Ten doing the tanking to keep Wedge alive longer and Wedge doing the bulk of the shooting/covering fire. Tycho uses his manoeuvrability to get a flanking position, and the upgrades allow him to spin on a dime and then boost his Damage thanks to the Stress he gains from that. It's a bit of a one-trick pony, but strikes me as a decent trick that's potentially quite hard to avoid. So is this a sound list in theory? Am I getting this concept properly?

If you want a fire magnet, grab Biggs. He is just so good a being ablative Meat. This saves you nine points, which you can use to improve Tycho and Wedge.

Tycho needs Push the Limit. Lighting Reflexes can be useful on him, but being able to take two actions a turn is better. I'd also recommend Vet Instincts over Wired, as this puts him at a very useful PS 10. Replace Hull Upgrade with Auothrusters. Finally, give him Proton Rockets for a very big kick.

Give Wedge Engine Upgrade and Lone Wolf. This makes him a lot more dangerous once Biggs dies.