Disclaimer: This was written before the points update on 1/28/2019 – The recommended lists have been updated to be legal, 200 point lists, but if some of the language no longer makes sense, please let me know. Also, more ships have been made legal in hyperspace, but not necessarily released as 2nd edition products.

The purpose of this article is to help new players gain access to playing X-Wing Second Edition for an affordable amount while staying competitive and not purchasing things they don’t need. It is important to note that TheHyperloops.com makes absolutely zero dollars from any links contained in this article (we don’t get any kickback from Amazon or anything). The links provided are mainly to show the product and obtain a market price. While Amazon and eBay are sometimes slightly cheaper, you should always consider supporting your Friendly, Local Game Store before making any gaming purchases.

As a man with a platform in the Destiny community who is also extremely emphatic about his love for X-Wing, I get a lot of messages from people asking whether or not they should pick up the game, and what the best point of entry is. I’ve given this careful thought as to not waste the money of my friends and readers, and thought it would be a good idea to share this information with the community at large, in case they face a similar problem or similar questions from their friends.

Understanding the Two X-Wing Formats

X-Wing has two formats: Extended and Hyperspace

What we need to understand to wrap our minds around the Extended format is that X-Wing has been around for six years, and had 14 “waves” of ships release over those six years. When FFG reset X-Wing and created Second Edition they said they would be releasing new versions of old ships as well as Conversion Kits to update all of your old ships to their Second Edition version.

Extended includes every ship ever made for X-Wing. The Conversion Kits are available by faction (There are currently five: Rebel, Empire, Scum and Villainy, Resistance, and First Order) and do not come with any models – only cards, bases (the cardboard squares that identify the models on the game mat), and movement dials.

If you’re new to the game and don’t own any ships, buying a collection and buying the corresponding conversion kit is the easiest way to access the Extended Format for the original three factions of Rebel, Empire, and Scum (I’ll explain Resistance and First order in a moment).

However, Extended Format is only being used at System Open Series events (equivalent to a Destiny GQ or a Magic Grand Prix [though much smaller, the top 8 qualify for the World Championship], as well as Nationals (Grands) and Continentals (Grand Grands?)

The Hyperspace Format is much more complicated to explain. For some factions, only ships that have been released in their Second Edition form are legal for the Hyperspace Format (Second edition packaging is black with cardboard packaging). Other factions use some ships that were only released in the original run of X-Wing. This is what makes buying into the game so complicated.

The most important thing to note about Hyperspace is that most of the competitive X-Wing events are switching to this format. Hyperspace Trials and Hyperspace Cups (formerly Regionals and Nationals) will be in the Hyperspace Format, and at each System Open event, there are also Hyperspace Trials where an undefeated run qualifies you for the World Championship (which is invite-only).

Therefore, it is my recommendation that new players buy into the Hyperspace Format.

Do I Need a Core Set???

The long and short of it is you absolutely need a core set. The core set comes with asteroids and debris clouds, maneuver templates, dice, tokens, and your damage deck. You need all of these things every time you play X-Wing. The core set retails for $39.99.

The core set also comes with three ships, one Rebel X-Wing, and two Imperial TIE Fighters. Because the core set comes with only three ships, you already have a lead on buying into either the Rebel or Empire faction. Because Scum, Resistance, and First Order don’t have their own Core Sets you won’t have the benefit of using ships from a core set to jump-start your collection.

Understanding the Factions and the Products Available to them

As mentioned earlier, the Hyperspace Format is complicated. In an effort to make competitive balance more easily adjusted, point costs and format legality are only found on PDFs on the FFG Website.

A quick glance at those links will reveal that every ship in Resistance and First Order are Hyperspace Legal, while for Scum only ships that have been released in their Second Edition form are legal for Hyperspace. Empire and Rebels are the most complicated; each has two Second Edition products available plus one other ship that is only available in First Edition, which would also require an expensive conversion kit you would get very little use out of without buying into Extended. What a cluster.

Use the apps, Luke!

While nobody is expecting you to carry around PDF printouts or refer to these documents every time you want to build a squad, we are lucky enough to have excellent squad building websites and apps that not only sort according to the format you’re building in (for example, if you select Hyperspace, you’ll only be shown Hyperspace options), but they have all the point costs and upgrade options built into these apps and web pages.

Yet Another Squad Builder (YASB) is the most used web-based builder

Launch Bay Next is an easy to use App that I use for events, as it calculates my points destroyed at the push of a button, you can get it for your iPhone or Android device.

The Official FFG Squad Builder can be downloaded as an App through iTunes or Android, or logged into via the Web

There are likely other builders and apps, but these are the ones I use and swear by.

Because this is a buying guide, I’m not going to go into the “feel” of each faction, but I am going to help you properly purchase your ships for each faction. My hope is that you already identify with one faction, and/or I can help you choose the one that’s most cost-effective for your tastes.

Remember, we’re focusing on buying into the Hyperspace Format

Rebels

Because we already got our Core Set, we’re already up one ship in the Rebel Faction.

The Four ships available in Rebels are the X-Wing, the Y-Wing, the U-Wing and the Millenium Falcon. The U-Wing is weird b/c it was a First Edition release via the Saw’s Renegade Expansion Pack, but it does include all of the needed Second Edition components, so there’s no need for a conversion kit. The X-Wing and Y-Wing have been released as second edition products, but the Falcon has not. FFG chose to add the Falcon to their Hyperspace Legal ships for some reason (probably because it is iconic), but the only way to get the Rebel Falcon is by buying the First Edition model and the conversion kit, or find single ship conversions on ebay for just a few dollars.

There is a caveat here: You can buy a new, Scum and Villainy Millenium Falcon which has been released for Second Edition – you would still need the Rebel conversion kit materials, and technically you’re not allowed to use models across factions (the Rebel, Scum, and Resistance Falcons are all different models), but this rule is rarely enforced even in premiere events like the World Championships, and certainly wouldn’t be held against you at your FLGS as a new player.

The best, cheapest course of action for the Rebel faction would be to buy either two additional X-Wings or one X-Wing and one Y-Wing, these lists, often referred to as Trench Run, allow you to build lists featuring named pilots like Luke, Wedge, Biggs, Norra, and Dutch (among others), load them up with cool upgrades like Torpedoes and Pilot Talents and joust your opponents. Each X-Wing and Y-Wing expansion pack is $19.99 USD, so jumping into Rebels with a three-ship list only costs you $80.

Three X-Wings or Two X-Wings and a Y-Wing (XXY) are straight forward and fairly competitive Hyperspace squads. Luke Skywalker is really strong, and with the right wingmates can take out most ships.

TLDR: Buy Three X-Wings or Two X-Wings and a Y-Wing + the Core Set – Full Retail Cost: $80

Empire

Because we already have our core set, we’re already set up in the Imperial faction too.

The Galactic Empire actually has four ships available in Second Edition, three of which you can buy off the shelf and play with: the TIE Fighter (two of which come in the core set), the TIE Advanced x1 (Vader’s ship), the TIE Reaper (which comes in a First Edition box, but includes both First and Second edition components). The fourth ship is the TIE Striker, which isn’t available as a Second Edition ship right now, but will be when Wave 3 releases in March, so let’s ignore that for now (even though if you really wanted to you could buy the model and the conversion components on eBay).

There are a few things to understand about breaking into the Imperial faction, they can be more difficult to fly for a variety of reasons. The TIE Fighter has a very cheap point cost, so we can fit more on the table. Having lots of ships on the table can be more complicated for a newer pilot, but having a bunch of TIEs is also a powerful strategy. Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced x1 can do some silly, powerful things, but has low HP, and if you make a mistake he’s going to explode.

Grabbing the TIE Advanced x1 and two TIE Fighter expansions for $19.99 each, with the core set, fields you a playable “Vader Swarm” for $100 retail. For $20 more you can swap Vader out for either two TIE Fighters or the TIE Reaper. Out of these, the more competitive squad is Six TIE Fighters, and unless you really want to fly with the Dark Lord of the Sith, would be my recommendation for buying into the faction.

TIE Strikers are very strong ships, and will be very good when they drop in Wave 3. Playing five of these will also run you $100 retail, and won’t take advantage of your Core Set purchase that includes two TIEs.

Bottom line: run 6 TIE Fighters; this is a highly customizable list, you can run the Inferno Squadron plus some generics, or mix and match whichever ones you like the most or think are most powerful.

If you absolutely want to get into Empire for the least amount of coin, Vader and 4 TIES will do it.

TLDR: Buy 4 TIE/ln + the Core Set – Full Retail Cost: $120

Now we will get into the factions that don’t capitalize on ships from the core set. As such, they will be slightly more expensive entry points, but still might fit your flavor.

Scum and Villainy

Scum is the only faction that doesn’t have a confusing, non-Second Edition option. There are five ships legal in the Scum faction, but only four products to buy, because one ship (the Escape Craft), comes in the Millenium Falcon expansion pack! Unless you’re really intent on buying into one faction, I would consider buying into Scum in addition to either Rebel or Resistance, because purchasing the Scum Falcon and conversion kits from eBay (linked in each of their corresponding factions), the overlap is advantageous. The Scum Falcon is also the only way to get the Rigged Cargo Chute token in Second Edition, which is an upgrade you may want to use at some point in your X-Wing career.

The four products available for Scum in Second Edition are: The Slave I Expansion Pack, The Fang Fighter Expansion Pack, the Mining Guild TIE Expansion Pack and the Lando’s Millenium Falcon Expansion Pack. These kits hold everything you need to play Scum and Villainy.

While at the time of this posting, FFG will be adjusting the points to several ships, most likely two of Scum’s biggest pieces, Boba Fett and the Escape Craft, I still expect Scum to contend in the Hyperspace Format. Figuring out what to buy is a more complicated problem.

The most common (and one of the best) Hyperspace lists has been Boba Fett, Fenn, and Lando in the Escape Craft. Because that is now a 220 point list it’s hard to recommend the purchase; it is an additional $90 on top of the Core Set. The Slave I is $29.99 and the Falcon is $39.99, and these are Scum staples, so I think they are important buys (the Falcon also comes with two ships, which is huge value). To get the most bang for our buck, I think the additional purchase here is the Mining TIE; even if these ships get heavily balanced you could still field a four-ship squad with these three purchases.

Fenn Rau is an outstanding Ace, but you can’t fit the Falcon, Boba, and Fenn in one list, so if we’re focusing on being most cost-effective, one expensive ship has to get cut. I think the Firespray is the better ship, but if you want to save yourself $10 then I would focus on the Fang Fighter. Boba Fett might still be the strongest ship in the game, but after the points balance it’s tough finding a list that works really well with him. My recommendation is:

Fenn, Han, Lando, Seevor – $80 + $40 Core Set

Going through and building these lists made me realize how few generic upgrades come outside the Conversion Kits, which is really depressing. Most players will have purchased all of the Conversion Kits and may sell/lend/give newer players extra copies. Otherwise, I purchase all my extra singles on ebay from Henry’s Outpost. No affiliation, they just have the easiest to navigate postings.

TLDR: Buy the Millenium Falcon, Mining Guild TIE, and Fang Fighter + the Core Set – Full Retail Cost: $120

The final two factions to discuss are the Resistance and the First Order expansions. Both of these factions were released in Wave II and offer one easy to follow guideline: every single Resistance and First Order ship is Hyperspace legal, even the ones without Second Edition product releases.

Resistance

Resistance has four ships Hyperspace Legal; the T-70 X-Wing, the RZ-2 A-Wing both have second edition products while the MG-100 Star Fortress and the Scavenged YT-1300 do not. Because we’re already $40 in the hole from having to get the core set, the cheapest way to get into Resistance is to ignore the Star Fortress and the Falcon – luckily most competitive Hyperspace lists feature only the T-70 and the RZ-2 so we’re not even making a sacrifice to focus only on the new ships.

Most people are using Poe Dameron because he’s strong and fun to fly, and Resistance has quickly become one of the most played factions because of it. The biggest question to ask yourself is if you want to fly three or four ships with this faction, as the A-Wings are really cheap and you can easily fit three in the list with a fully-loaded Poe. Buying three ships is obviously cheaper, and because this is one of the strongest lists in the Hyperspace format I think two X-Wings and an A-Wing is the go-to purchase. You’ll have a competitive list from the jump, and you’ll have only spent $100 if you pay full retail for each and the core set.

Poe, Nien, and Lulo are the go-to squad, but there are several pilots in the X-Wing and A-Wing that can compete competitively. An alternate list if you want to buy one more A-Wing is 2X2A.

TLDR: Buy two T-70s and an RZ-2 A-Wing + the Core Set – Full Retail Cost – $100

First Order

I saved first order for last because it’s the only faction with only one released Second Edition ship, the TIE/FO. Even though the other three ships for the faction, the TIE/SF, the TIE Silencer, and the Upsilon Shuttle are all legal in Hyperspace, but can only be acquired by purchasing their first edition ships and a conversion kit.

If you’re adamant about flying the First Order, more power to you. You can absolutely find the TIE Silencer and the Upsilon Shuttle (62% off at time of posting), but the TIE/SF is a much harder get if you’re in the US. There are several X-Wing Marketplace groups on Facebook if you want to try and procure a used lot of First Order ships, but no matter which route you take you’ll have to get the First Order Conversion Kit.

You could just buy five or six TIE/FO expansion packs, all Second Edition ready, but this hasn’t proven to be a competitive squad, as it doesn’t boast any of the synergies that its Imperial counterpart features. As such, I would recommend against buying into the First Order unless you truly love them and want no other part of the game than through the beady eyes of General Hux.

TLDR: Do not buy into the First Order faction.

More to come!!

In two months we will see Wave 3 release with two new factions, the Galactic Republic and the Separatists. I will be updating this post with buy-in strategies for these factions as well as any adjustments recommended for the existing five factions.

I hope this helps you or someone you know buy into X-Wing Second Edition. It’s a great game that I love playing and the community is top notch.

Thanks for reading,

BobbySapphire