SciFighter's Guide: Budget Builds: Rebel Edition

[scifighter1 68]

What Do I Buy Next?

 

A lot of new X-Wing Miniature players come to the forums and post something along the lines of, “I got the Core Set and I really like the game.  What do I buy next?”  With such a vague question comes a wide variety of responses.

 

There is no real straight answer, of course.  The best actions to take (pardon the pun) are to research each expansion and theorize what squads you can and want to play.  That can be hard for new players.  There are so many rules to learn and expansions to get lost in.  Then you learn about the errata.  Oh, that errata.  It can change everything; especially for Imperial Phantom players.

 

What these players are really looking for, they don’t know how to phrase.  They don’t know if they want to joust or arc dodge.  They don’t know the jargon.  Chances are they’ve only played the game as laid out in the Core set: Luke versus 2 Ties.

 

These are the players I want to lend assistance to.

 

Budget Builds: Rebel Edition: SIngle Expansion Squads

 

You’re new.  You don’t know quite what you want.  You don’t want to buy everything to find out.  I get that.  I’m married and spending money on X-Wing is a hard sell.  My collection is still slowly building.  With that said, in the interest of savings, let’s start with builds based on a budget.

 

Let’s see what we have to work with.  Assuming that you have only a Core set, you have a single X-Wing.  The most expensive build you can make is Luke with Marksmanship, Proton Torpedoes, and R2-D2 eating up a substantial 39 points.  We have to come up with 61.  How can I get a squad without selling a kidney?  In no particular order, we will solve this mystery, holding hands like happy rebels.

 

 

Budget Build 1:

 

At first glance, Luke thought that he was going to Alderaan on a “piece of junk”.  However, if he only knew that the power of the Falcon.  Well, let’s show Luke that he’s wrong about a great many things.

 

The YT-1300 is the staple of Star Wars.  Until the Scum YV-666 came out, it was tied for the highest shield count at 5 to dodge some nasty Critical Hits.  At 8 Hull, it’s second only to the Imperial Decimator.  It can take some damage.  However, it can also dish it out.  The generic pilot only has 2 attack dice but the elite boys bring it up to 3 making it very worthwhile to spend a little bit more on a good pilot.  1 Agility does mean we will take some pain if out of position.  Let’s see what we can add to our Core Set for $20.

 

Pilot: “Let the Wookie win.”  Hopefully, your opponent knows the adage because Chewbacca is our pilot.  With only 2 ships, we need both to survive.  Chewie knows how to fix the Falcon from those nasty Critical Hits so, apart from very specific enemy builds, we won’t take any effects from them.  Isn’t that awesome?  It’s comical to see your opponent lose heart when you flip those cards facedown; so go a head and laugh it up fuzzball, you earned it.

Elite Pilot Talent: Draw Their Fire makes Chewie the ultimate wingman.  He flips Critical Hits facedown so why not have him take Luke’s Critical Hits as well.  Keep Luke close when he may take a couple shots.  His own defensive ability should help minimize risk when near Chewie.

Missile: The big “uh oh” moment for this lower agility duo is taking multiple attacks from more than 2 ships.    You can keep the enemy squad from grouping up for focusing their fire by having splash damage capability.  Assault Missiles will do that for a reasonable 5 points.  It’s a one shot trick so choose your timing well because aside from the damage to your intended recipient, all enemy ships at Range 1 of that poor soul take 1 damage.  It costs a Target Lock token, so we want to plan this out as you only get 1 Target Lock at a time.  Or do you?

Crew: With a Weapons Engineer aboard, we can get 2 Target Locks when we would normally get 1.  Three points is a bargain for such action economy.  Now we have multiple targets to choose from.  It’s always annoying when you Target Lock someone and they fly off making them less than ideal of a target.  Let’s hedge our bets.

Title: The Millenium Falcon title is an easy 1 point to help in defense.  We can now take an Evade action and add an automatic evade result to our die roll of 1 Agility.

Modification: Large ships are fast.  You won’t believe how fast until you get use to it.  That said, an Engine Upgrade allows Chewie to move the length of the range ruler.  Few ships can do that.  We can run if needed but no one can run from our 360 firing arc.

Pilot: It’s been said that Luke bullseyes womprats on Tatooine.  Think of what he can do in a military fighter.  The X Wing has 3 attack dice making for a decent attack, especially when he has a Target Lock.  Defense wise, Luke doesn’t need the Focus action, unless you’re in dire straights to keep him alive or you already have a Target Lock on the desired ship.  He only has 2 dice to defend but he can change 1 focus result to an Evade automatically.  Therefore, we can be much more aggressive with our actions.

Elite Pilot Talent: So, let’s be aggressive and take Marksmanship.  Our 3 dice attacks can do some nice damage.  With 4/8 chances to damage on each die, we can make it 6/8.  Awesome!

Torpedo: More aggression you say?  With a Proton Torpedo in the pipe, there’s two advantages we get.  Of course, we can roll 4 attack dice with the ability to change a focus result to a Critical Hit to do some nice damage.  But wait for a nice shot because there is a benefit to having ordinance on board.  Your opponent wants to avoid taking the shot which helps determine the likelihood where they will go.  Keep in mind also, the defender does not get the bonus die at Range 3 for secondary weapons.

Astromech: Not that we have too many choices but R2D2 is a solid droid for any ship with Shields.  Heath regeneration is an advantage that all Imperials are jealous of.

Modification: The X-Wing has some decent movement options.  It doesn’t have a 5 speed maneuver.  With an Engine Upgrade, we can keep up with whoever we need to.  By performing a Boost action, we can throw out a 1-straight or a 1 bank after our move.  With Luke’s pilot ability being so high, we can adjust our firing arc if we are a little off in our estimation of where our target was going.

 

TLDR; Don’t feel like reading?  You pesky Rebel.

 

Like all of the budget builds you should be able to put together a solid squad for just $20 after the Core.

 

Core + Millenium Falcon = $50

 

Chewbacca

            -Draw Their Fire

            -Assault Missles

            -Weapons Engineer

            -Millenium Falcon

            -Engine Upgrade

Luke Skywalker

            -Marksmanship

            -Proton Torpedo

            -R2-D2

            -Engine Upgrade

 

99 points

 

With the Falcon’s 360 degree firing arc, Chewbacca’s ability, and Draw Their Fire the YT is where we put our damage when Luke’s shields are down.  When Luke is full shields, fly out and strike hard.  When he needs to regenerate with R2-D2 bring him back to the Falcon’s defensive wing.  Rinse.  Repeat.

 

 

Budget Build 2:

 

In the shadow of the Empire, the YT-2400 was built.  As a large ship, it’s got some good speed.  It has a 360 degree primary weapon which is always nice.  It’s stout with 5 Hull and 5 Shields.  It has a modest attack and agility of 2 and 2 respectively.  It can Focus, Barrel Roll, and Target Lock.

 

Pilot: The Rebellion employed a number of shady characters.  Dash Rendar and his gigantic shoulder pads is one of them.  Are asteroids getting in the way of your movements and actions?  You don’t have to be an expert player to fly with Dash and with a little practice you can take full advantage of his ability.  Dash gets to ignore obstacles during the Activation and Action stages.  You chart your own course now.  The only thing you don’t want to do is make your final resting place on an asteroid because you still cannot attack while atop.

Elite Pilot Talent: We only have two attack dice.  We need to make them count.  Marksmanship does increase our chances to do some damage.  It doesn’t seem like much but that’s because we haven’t gotten to the rest of the upgrades.

Cannon: We have the points to spend on the Heavy Laser Cannon.  It bumps our attacks to 4 dice at Range 2 and Range 3.  If you roll a Critical Hit initially, you have to change it to a Hit.  However, more dice means more possible focus results which can be changed to a Critical Hit by Marksmanship in the modification stage.  We’re Rebels after all.  We find ways to circumvent the rules!  It’s a cannon and that means we can only shoot it straight ahead.  Or does it?

Title: Our primary weapon is 2 attack dice, our canon is 4.  The Outrider title allows us to use our canon outside of our arc.  What’s going to hurt us is that we can’t perform primary weapon attacks anymore.  So we have this doughnut of damage potential since we cannot fire a Heavy Laser Cannon at Range 1.  That’s not good.

Missile: Proton Rocket will give us a single attack at Range 1.  If we’re smart about our movement dial, we can stay at Range 2 or 3.  There is still the chance that the enemy can get into Range 1.  Now they’ve got to make the choice to fly in and take a rocket to the face.  We want to make this shot be scary.  How can we do that since we have to use our Focus action just to shoot it?

Modification: The Experimental Interface gives us an extra action from an upgrade card at the cost of a stress token.  We can now fire our cannon with Target Lock and Marksmanship.  We could, in theory, have a Target Lock already and shoot our Proton Rockets with Marksmanship as well.  That should make enemy ships go boom.

Crew: Well, all that offense sounds like a bit of a gamble.  Isn’t it wise to hedge our bets?  That’s something Lando Calrissian would do.  As an action, Lando rolls 2 green dice.  Whatever you roll, you assign a token to your ship.  It could be 2 Focus, it could be 2 Evade, or it could be a mix.  Yes, yes, it could be nothing but no gamble is a sure thing.  Chances are though; you will get 1 of something.

Pilot: Toshi Station was out of power converters, so Luke is able to fill out our list.  The strong defensive pilot ability of turning a focus result into an evade is nice.   The X-Wing is also a nice middle of the road ship.

Elite Pilot Talent: In two ship builds, often they need to operate independently rather than in some tight formation.  For this reason, we will assign Luke as our Lone Wolf.  If Dash isn’t within Range 1 or Range 2, we can reroll a blank die result anytime he rolls the dice.  This helps his attacks, his defense, and his pilot ability becomes much stronger. 

Torpedo: The classic armament in Star Wars, the Proton Torpedo.  At Range 2-3, Luke can spend a Target Lock to roll 4 dice on his attack and change a Hit to a Critical Hit.

Astromech: R2-D2, where are you?  He’s aboard the X-Wing doing some green maneuvers.  Shield Regeneration is awesome.  Objectively, it’s too strong.  That’s why we’re gonna use him.

 

TLDR; I find your lack of literary pursuits disturbing.

 

Dash Rendar

            -Marksmanship

            -Heavy Laser Canon

            -Experimental Interface

            -Proton Rocket

            -Lando Calrissian

            -Outrider

Luke Skywalker

            -Lone Wolf

            -R2-D2

            -Proton Torpedo

 

98 points.  Hello, intiative!

 

Flight Summary:

“You go that way, I’ll go this way.”

-Luke to Dash (…maybe)

 

We’re going to flank.  Ideally, the Outrider is going to pull the aggression.  With Dash’s ability move through obstacles, avoiding enemies and charging after them should be simple.  Just don’t stop on the asteroids as you still can’t shoot.  If the enemy chases Luke, even better.  Have Luke run and recharge as needed while Dash blows the enemy away with Target Lock/Marksmanship combos thanks to the Experimental Interface.

 

 

Budget Build 3:

 

If you’re in the mood for a squad of smaller ships, the Rebel Aces pack comes with some very nice pilots for the very fast A-Wing and the mini-tank B-Wing.  You get a nice variety to go with the more middle-ground X-Wing from your Core Set.  The A-Wing has 2 Attack and 3 Agility.  The maneuverable dial makes it float like a mynock and sting like R2’s little taser.  Only 2 Hull and 2 Shields make your piloting key.  The B-Wing on the other hand has 3 Attack and only 1 Agility.  However, it does have 5 Shields and 3 Hull.  Both do their very different jobs well.

 

Pilot: We’ll build our B-Wing first.  With Keyan Farlander at the controls, we no longer dislike stress.  In fact, it’s really nice to have some on hand.  Keyan can spend his stress when attacking to change all focus results to Hits.  Being stressed is essentially a Focus action for attacks.  Don’t over do it and just take stress every round.  Just keep in mind that the dial is filled with red maneuvers that you might shy away from even though it would give you a great position.  If it gives you a nice shot, take that stress.  Also keep in mind that you don’t have to actually have a focus result to spend the token.  You can spend tokens on your rolls even if they wouldn’t do anything for you.  No need to stay stressed.

Torpedo: Due to the fact that we can Target Lock a ship and wait to fire, a Proton Torpedo fits nicely as you can not only get a single focus result to a Critical Hit but Keyan can use a stress to change all other focus results to Hits.  It allows you the flexibility to get the right shot even if that means doing a red maneuver or flying over a debris field.

Modification: Dogfights can be lonely.  The B-Wing/E2 modification can add another seat to the cockpit.  With no other great mods around, we can instead get a solid crew member.

Crew: Kyle Katarn is nice to have on a road trip.  He knows the radio stations you like and doesn’t backseat drive.  He also brings gifts in the form of Focus tokens.  Remember how spending our stress is an aggressive only form of the Focus action?  Well now, when we spend that on our attack Kyle gives us a Focus token.  Thanks, buddy!

System: With a limited dial, the moves we take are important.  The last thing we want is to do a red move because it gives us our optimal firing arc.  We don’t want some jerk to get in the way.  With Enhanced Scopes, basically no one moves in the Activation phase before you.  It also helps us take our action if there is a collision with a lower pilot skill ship that is unavoidable.  Be the windshield, not the bug.

Pilot: I’ve liked the A-Wing since Rogue Squadron on the PC.  It’s fast and Jake Ferrell has the need, for speed.  Cue “Danger Zone”.  Jake increases the maneuverability of the A-Wing by getting a free Boost or Barrel Roll when he gets a Focus token.  This is so helpful when trying to get out of firing arcs and getting enemies into yours.  Action economy is very important in this game so getting free actions is always solid.

Missile: We’re gonna make sure Jake gets a big shot in at Range 1.  The Proton Rocket adds his 3 Agility dice to the 2 stock dice from the missile.  This little ship can pack a big punch.  It’s not about the size after all; it’s about what missiles you shoot out of it.

Pilot: Red 5 standing by.  Luke Skywalker is the hero of the Rebellion and he’s going to use the Force to help our squad as well.  His defensive pilot ability to change a focus result to an evade can really aggravate our enemies.

Elite Pilot Talent: Marksmanship and its benefits of making Critical Hits and Hits out of mere focus results is very helpful since Luke doesn’t need to worry about performing Focus for defense.

Astromech: Where would the Rebellion be without R2-D2?  His shield regeneration in exchange for a stress relieving green maneuver is a nice way to spend our last 4 points.

 

TLDR; 4/5 Rebel pilots recommend reading the guide.  The fifth was Porkins.

 

Keyan Farlander

            -Proton Torpedo

            -B-Wing/E2

            -Enhanced Scopes

            -Kyle Katarn

Jake Ferrell

            -Proton Rocket

Luke Skywalker

            -Marksmanship

            -R2-D2

 

100 points

 

Flight Plan:

 

The B-Wing is going to be the prime target of our adversary.  So Keyan needs to hit hard and get his ordnance off before he goes “kablooey”.  Luke and Jake are more agile and need to flank and regroup.  Fly past the enemy ships and come around to hit from behind then meet up with Keyan.  Jake is going to keep this up.  How much damage Keyan takes after each round dictates if we send Luke out as well or keep him nearby to soak up some shots.

 

 

Thanks for reading.  The new Core Set Single Expand builds are next, per request.

[Rineake 4]

As a player who made that exact type of topic, I appreciate what you're doing here. I went with the Falcon, and a K-wing. I'm very happy with it.

I'm also in the position of not knowing anyone else who collects X-Wing, so I have to try to budget some Imperial and Scum ships as well, so I have something to play against. It's tricky, because I need squads that will all be competitive against each other, with a limited supply of ships and cards.

[scifighter1 68]

That is tricky.  You might look around at local comic book stores to see if they offer a place to sit down with random people and play whatever games they want.  I found a nearby store that has open play anytime but also has an actual scheduled 3 hour block on Sundays.  That's a possibility to find other players and if you get to know them well enough, some players don't mind if you play with cards you don't actually have but would be able to be equipped on the ships you have.  That's a nice way to try out an upgrade before you buy it.  Other players may even let you try out their ships while you play.

[chopan 11]

Clap clap!!! Thank you!!!

[scifighter1 68]

Thanks for the reads!  Definitely makes the work worth it.  Keep loving the game, everyone.

[WGNF911 826]

Very nice advice and your prose covering the pros and cons is very entertaining.

[scifighter1 68]

Very nice advice and your prose covering the pros and cons is very entertaining.

Thank you.  I think it's important to explain all angles of the build especially for newcomers.

[morbdetro 1]

I needed this a year ago when I discovered this awesome game... but still very informative. I find the flight plan very useful and the pros and cons help too.

[Barbo 1]

As a new player this was a really interesting and useful read! Thank you for posting this.

[scifighter1 68]

Thanks for reading through.  I'm glad it's been helpful!

[Jpbraga 0]

Thank you very much for your post. It is just the kind of help I'm needing.

I plan to start playing the game by buying two core sets (I want to be able to play at home with friends) and I intend to go for the new Force Awakens set since I read it has some corrections over the old set. (I'm assuming it is a better idea to buy the new core set instead of the old one).

In your opinion, what should I add first to the two new X-wing that I would get?

[scifighter1 68]

Thank you very much for your post. It is just the kind of help I'm needing.

I plan to start playing the game by buying two core sets (I want to be able to play at home with friends) and I intend to go for the new Force Awakens set since I read it has some corrections over the old set. (I'm assuming it is a better idea to buy the new core set instead of the old one).

In your opinion, what should I add first to the two new X-wing that I would get?

 

If your friends are interested, I would try to have them get their own Core set.  The new damage card deck has a couple of replacements and will be required if you want to play in local tournaments.  It doesn't sound like that is what you're after.

 

I started with my buddy and his single core set and shared the one deck.  Then we both expanded into Imperial and Rebel expansions to increase the amount of variety we could choose from.  That was the most budget friendly option.

 

Regarding which Core Set to buy.  I'd look at the different ships offered in each and figure out what you'd like best.  The changes outside of a couple different damage cards can be found in the errata  https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/9/16/enter-a-new-era/

 

If you want to see builds with the new core set, I literally just posted a revised version of this write up using The Force Awakens Core.  https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/190462-scifighters-guide-budget-builds-tfa-core-resistance-edition/

 

 

If you do want to go with 2 cores, the best thing to buy depends on your flying style.  The X-Wings are good middle of the road ships.  After you get some games under your belt, you'll have a feeling for what you might want.  Google a squadron builder or the X-WIng wiki.  It'll show you what you will get when you buy any pack.  I researched what was available and bought what I wanted.  I'm a big believer that you can make any ship work if you give it enough time and learn to fly it right.

[Superspud 0]

Nice work.  I have really enjoyed using the 1300.  As a new player, that was my first ship after the expansion.  That ship has come in handy with many other ship combinations as I have begun building my fleet.  I have to say that I really enjoy flying the 1300 and the 2400 together because of the 360 firing.  Dash is a must in any 2400 build.  What do you think about the new scum builds?  The most wanted pack is a must, but what should the next ship be after that?

[scifighter1 68]

The Scum are a bit pricey just because the Core doesn't offer you much outside of Marksmanship but you need the templates, damage cards, and such to play.  Unless that buy-in is worth it for you to join in Scum only, it's hard on a budget.  That being said, there are awesome ships, pilots, and upgrades that are for Scum only.  It still always boils down to flying what you like, not necessarily what someone claims is best.  Personally, I like Bossk, but you could go many routes with Scum.