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I have been thinking about playing this game ever since wave 2, but I never got around to it, mainly because no one near me plays it. I have convinced a friend to play it with me, however I would have to provide both armies etc. For me thats not a huge deal, as I have read that you need certain imperial ships for certain upgrades anyways.

I have read everywhere that 2 core sets is the way to go in terms of starting, however some recent posts on the subreddit and other sites are saying that this is somewhat antiquated. Is it still the way to go, or should I get 1 core set, the extra dice expansion and some other ships?

For my rebel army I really want to make a fat han build because I love the character in the movies, however a lot of upgrades used in that are from the CR90, which is super expensive! Are there any cheap alternatives to a decent fat han build? I have also seen the gunner upgrade used in a lot of builds, will the firespray-31 make a good counter to the YT1300?

As for the imperials, I have no idea what I would get for them. I would like it to be a fair fight between it and the fat han build my rebels will have. I read that tie fighter spam is very strong against fat han builds, so perhaps that would be a little unfair to the rebel side, and I dont really want a decimator build, because then the rebel and empire side would feel too similar.

Aside from the core set(s) and the YT1300 for my rebels what are some "must have" sets for a beginner who is trying to create a balanced game environment?

If you are both starting off, then I'd work your way through the 'waves'. Trying to jump to a build using bits and bobs of everything will be confusing and expensive.

I would still encourage 2 core sets. If you're providing for multiple players you want two sets of dice, but also two damage decks (which you can't get any other way).

After that, yes, Slave 1 is a good counterpart to the Falcon and comes with a lot of cards useful for all factions (like Gunner). After that - I'd say play a few games first and add things gradually.

A possible slightly cheaper Fat Han that I've seen used effectively is:
Chewbacca
~ Millenium Falcon
~ Push The Limit (A-wing or Imperial Aces)
~ Recon Specialist (HWK-260 or TIE Phantom)
~ Jan Ors (Rebel Aces)

That nets you a ridiculous focus token plus two evade tokens per turn, making it a real bugger to kill with the two attackers you tend to see in tournamen lists these days

I'd pick up 2 starters, 1 each of the X-wing and Tie packs as they have good pilot upgrades and 1 Tie Interceptor, i prefer the 2nd starter idea as you get extra dice, spare templates etc

I think Han and some X's vs a Tie Mini-Swarm plus an Elite Interceptor would be a good match

As for a cheap Han, if you are only going to be playing at home proxying upgrade cards is fine, although going all out might make it unfun for the
other player, Falcon with PTL, Chewie crew and an Engine Upgrade is strong without drifting into unfun.

After that if you feel like its the game for you I'd look at B-Wing's, Z95's and an E-wing for the rebels and for the Imperials, Tie Phantom, Decimator and maybe another Interceptor

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
I'd pick up 2 starters, 1 each of the X-wing and Tie packs as they have good pilot upgrades and 1 Tie Interceptor, i prefer the 2nd starter idea as you get extra dice, spare templates etc

I think Han and some X's vs a Tie Mini-Swarm plus an Elite Interceptor would be a good match

As for a cheap Han, if you are only going to be playing at home proxying upgrade cards is fine, although going all out might make it unfun for the
other player, Falcon with PTL, Chewie crew and an Engine Upgrade is strong without drifting into unfun.

After that if you feel like its the game for you I'd look at B-Wing's, Z95's and an E-wing for the rebels and for the Imperials, Tie Phantom, Decimator and maybe another Interceptor

So far I'm looking at getting 2x core set, the x wing and tie fighter expansions for sure.

Then maybe the millennium falcon and the slave 1. After that perhaps the a-wing because I feel like push the limit is insanely powerful. However I could also get the Imperial Aces expansion instead of the A-wing and get 2 interceptors for my empire side. Is the regular Tie Interceptor even worth it? It only has 2 upgrade cards, and they seem very bad to me. Or should I not bother with Tie interceptors if im getting the Slave 1?

 M0ff3l wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
I'd pick up 2 starters, 1 each of the X-wing and Tie packs as they have good pilot upgrades and 1 Tie Interceptor, i prefer the 2nd starter idea as you get extra dice, spare templates etc

I think Han and some X's vs a Tie Mini-Swarm plus an Elite Interceptor would be a good match

As for a cheap Han, if you are only going to be playing at home proxying upgrade cards is fine, although going all out might make it unfun for the
other player, Falcon with PTL, Chewie crew and an Engine Upgrade is strong without drifting into unfun.

After that if you feel like its the game for you I'd look at B-Wing's, Z95's and an E-wing for the rebels and for the Imperials, Tie Phantom, Decimator and maybe another Interceptor

So far I'm looking at getting 2x core set, the x wing and tie fighter expansions for sure.

Then maybe the millennium falcon and the slave 1. After that perhaps the a-wing because I feel like push the limit is insanely powerful. However I could also get the Imperial Aces expansion instead of the A-wing and get 2 interceptors for my empire side. Is the regular Tie Interceptor even worth it? It only has 2 upgrade cards, and they seem very bad to me. Or should I not bother with Tie interceptors if im getting the Slave 1?

Interceptors are actually really good, especially the named ones. Soontir Fel is one of the most popular from what I've heard, but he requires Push the Limit to really become stupid. My personal favorite is Turr Phennir. I'd had a lot of success with Interceptors.

 krodarklorr wrote:

 M0ff3l wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
I'd pick up 2 starters, 1 each of the X-wing and Tie packs as they have good pilot upgrades and 1 Tie Interceptor, i prefer the 2nd starter idea as you get extra dice, spare templates etc

I think Han and some X's vs a Tie Mini-Swarm plus an Elite Interceptor would be a good match

As for a cheap Han, if you are only going to be playing at home proxying upgrade cards is fine, although going all out might make it unfun for the
other player, Falcon with PTL, Chewie crew and an Engine Upgrade is strong without drifting into unfun.

After that if you feel like its the game for you I'd look at B-Wing's, Z95's and an E-wing for the rebels and for the Imperials, Tie Phantom, Decimator and maybe another Interceptor

So far I'm looking at getting 2x core set, the x wing and tie fighter expansions for sure.

Then maybe the millennium falcon and the slave 1. After that perhaps the a-wing because I feel like push the limit is insanely powerful. However I could also get the Imperial Aces expansion instead of the A-wing and get 2 interceptors for my empire side. Is the regular Tie Interceptor even worth it? It only has 2 upgrade cards, and they seem very bad to me. Or should I not bother with Tie interceptors if im getting the Slave 1?

Interceptors are actually really good, especially the named ones. Soontir Fel is one of the most popular from what I've heard, but he requires Push the Limit to really become stupid. My personal favorite is Turr Phennir. I'd had a lot of success with Interceptors.

I´m just concerned about maximizing what I get for the money I spent. I would prefer to get a lot of universally good upgrades (like push the limit) above getting a certain pilot that is very good but comes in an expansion with little else. For example the Slave 1 comes with 2 stealth devices, gunner and is a good counter against the millennium falcon. So I would value that above the Interceptor expansion for sure. Is that reasonable for a beginner, or should I value pilot cards more than I am?

 M0ff3l wrote:

I´m just concerned about maximizing what I get for the money I spent. I would prefer to get a lot of universally good upgrades (like push the limit) above getting a certain pilot that is very good but comes in an expansion with little else. For example the Slave 1 comes with 2 stealth devices, gunner and is a good counter against the millennium falcon. So I would value that above the Interceptor expansion for sure. Is that reasonable for a beginner, or should I value pilot cards more than I am?

That's completely reasonable, but I wouldn't scoff at Pilot cards either. But, if you don't really want to run an Interceptor, then I wouldn't really bother getting one right now. Especially because the cards it comes with aren't that good.

 krodarklorr wrote:

 M0ff3l wrote:

I´m just concerned about maximizing what I get for the money I spent. I would prefer to get a lot of universally good upgrades (like push the limit) above getting a certain pilot that is very good but comes in an expansion with little else. For example the Slave 1 comes with 2 stealth devices, gunner and is a good counter against the millennium falcon. So I would value that above the Interceptor expansion for sure. Is that reasonable for a beginner, or should I value pilot cards more than I am?

That's completely reasonable, but I wouldn't scoff at Pilot cards either. But, if you don't really want to run an Interceptor, then I wouldn't really bother getting one right now. Especially because the cards it comes with aren't that good.

Could you recommend some expansions with universally good cards? I am on the verge of buying 2 core sets + the x-wing, tie fighter, millenium falcon and slave 1 expansions. I have the budget for 2 smaller expansions (A-wing + interceptor perhaps?) or 1 bigger ship/aces expansion. But I want to keep the ballance of both sides intact, while also getting some good upgrades (useful for both).

 M0ff3l wrote:

 krodarklorr wrote:

 M0ff3l wrote:

I´m just concerned about maximizing what I get for the money I spent. I would prefer to get a lot of universally good upgrades (like push the limit) above getting a certain pilot that is very good but comes in an expansion with little else. For example the Slave 1 comes with 2 stealth devices, gunner and is a good counter against the millennium falcon. So I would value that above the Interceptor expansion for sure. Is that reasonable for a beginner, or should I value pilot cards more than I am?

That's completely reasonable, but I wouldn't scoff at Pilot cards either. But, if you don't really want to run an Interceptor, then I wouldn't really bother getting one right now. Especially because the cards it comes with aren't that good.

Could you recommend some expansions with universally good cards? I am on the verge of buying 2 core sets + the x-wing, tie fighter, millenium falcon and slave 1 expansions. I have the budget for 2 smaller expansions (A-wing + interceptor perhaps?) or 1 bigger ship/aces expansion. But I want to keep the ballance of both sides intact, while also getting some good upgrades (useful for both).

Well I don't remember too many specifics about what comes with which cards. But if you want some Interceptors, I'd recommend getting the Imperial Aces pack, as I do believe it comes with Push the Limit as well, and more copies of that is never bad.

 M0ff3l wrote:
Could you recommend some expansions with universally good cards? I am on the verge of buying 2 core sets + the x-wing, tie fighter, millenium falcon and slave 1 expansions. I have the budget for 2 smaller expansions (A-wing + interceptor perhaps?) or 1 bigger ship/aces expansion. But I want to keep the ballance of both sides intact, while also getting some good upgrades (useful for both).

Millennium Falcon comes with:
Veteran Instincts
Engine Upgrade

Slave 1 comes with:
Veteran Instincts
Gunner
Heavy Laser Cannon

All of which are widely-used upgrades (especially on big ships).

Core sets are a good deal for getting a bunch of TIE fighters and extra dice. If you want to play a lot with TIE fighters, you'll also want a TIE fighter expansion pack to gain access to Howlrunner. The X-Wing expansion is probably skippable, unless you really want Wedge Antilles.


Beyond that... depends a lot on the list you want to run. Just proxy cards if you're playing casually, to get a feel for what everything does. A lot of the best upgrade cards are scattered around in random expansion packs, so it's best to have a really good idea of what you want before you go fishing for upgrade cards. Otherwise, you can just buy every single ship in the game (which is what I do ). The exception to this is probably Scum - generally, Scum expansion packs come with cards that work well with them. There's a lot of cross-over between scum and rebels, so if you want to get the most out of the game for your $$$, you'd do well to focus on those two factions.

I have decided to go a bit beyond my budget and get 1 of each expansion of the first 2 waves and 2 core sets. That way I will have plenty of variety for a long time and none of the other ships (except the tie phantom) really speak to me. It will also allow me to play the Luke, Wedge, Biggs list I have seen pop up a few times (in case I decide to enter tournaments or anything, not against my friend, or atleast not until I can make an empire list in similar strength)

Thanks for all the help you all!