My favourite version of X Wing is still 1e for classic Star Wars, 2e for the newer movies (I have 2e for all, but prefer 1e for the original movies).
I do however, prefer it paired down to a “better” version if itself and seeing as it is a dead system, I see no harm in that. This started as “Bare Bones”, but was joined later by other variants.
Why?
The basic bones of the game (Bare Bones) are brilliant and supremely balanced. It has a real rock-paper-scissors feel over many layers. The 1st edition became unravelled as it grew with newer, basically unknown outside of the Star Wars fanatic circles ship introduced that became so strong that the actual ship the game is named after and most of its bretheren became basically dead in the water. They paid the price of coming first with what felt like a homage to that R-P-S flow, then it all shifted under their feet.
Attempts to re-balance tended to make things worse and there was always a feeling of in-and-out of vogue builds.
There were many miss-steps like Attani Mindlink, the Jumpmaster card changes, several attempts to strengthen the weaker ships, which often led to other attempts etc. The X Wing by the end of 1e had several strong tweaks, but none felt “right”.
The main culprits are;
Elite Pilot Talents, that tend to nullify or double down on the talents the pilots already have. The Pilot talents are thematic, the EPT’s are “game-y”. Soontir, Vader, Wedge, Luke, Han, Jake etc all have that extra something that define them and fit thematically. Adding an EPT to another pilot to give them basically the same abilities or even making them more extreme seems pointless. Why not add two or three more?
Titles, especially generic titles like Vaksai, Tie/X1, several “refits”, all an attempt to make dull ships competitive, creating a power creep spiral that would probably be still going if they had not pulled the plug. Named titles also annoy me a little as it is usually the crew and pilot that give a ship its special powers, not some “ghost ship” special ability. If Han or Chewie fly better than most and have special survival skills, then why add Evade? I feel the same with Star Trek Attack Wing. Why would you add a shield just because it is a named ship?
Lastly are Mods. Probably the most excusable in one way, they are also the most insidious. Ships like the Tie Interceptor and A Wing are meant to be the most agile or fastest in the game, then you add a mod to another ship and that goes out the window. Want everyone to have Boost, then upgrade their engines. Can’t roll, then add Vectored Thrusters. Sure there are mods that can be added to these ships so they can then encroach on others territory (The Interceptor lacks a Target Lock, so add one), but that fine and perfect balance is gone.
There were others like some later droids, but these are treated as singular cases by game “layer”.
As proof of this, almost all the multi action economy, super builds that have dominated over the years have been Mod/EPT/Title based.
Strip these away and suddenly you have a clean, balanced, player tactics and squad support based game with plenty of options, almost infinite actually. It just stays within an envelope that rewards good play and can be picked up by a new player very quickly.
Should be no competition.
My favourite home made sub-variant of 1e is “Skeleton Crew”, which is the second of several “layers” of these reduced formats*.
This list has the core ships with their strengths and keeps the main factional differences strong and clear. Pilots and certain ships shine through, upgrades are kept to a logical minimum. Flying the base ships, warts and all is key, especially in squads.
Without EPT’s, Mods or Titles to “normalise” some design and balance miss-steps in the later game, each ship is there for a reason, with actions limited to the basic four and actions rarely stack beyond two.
Upgrades are made very faction or even ship specific and kept within logical bounds. Flechette and Mangler weapons are Scum, Proton Torps and Rockets are Rebel etc.
*
The Empire, have the dual dynamic of fast and fragile or brutish and cumbersome, so squad balance is key.
The Tie Interceptor is the action/manoeuvre king. No other ship comes natively with all four manoeuvre actions in this form of the game (but loses Target Lock).
The Tie Fighter is the consumate swarmer. Cheap, agile and with plenty of pilots with support benefits. Swarming goes in and out of fashion, but in this form of the game, it is as valid as any other tactic and the array of Tie fighter pilots make for good squad fillers.
The Tie Advanced adds some depth and resilience, while retaining the interceptor feel. This is the line fighter of the Empire exemplifying speed and relatively weak offence, but adding a little defensive depth. The best slot in this form of the game, Vader resides here. As an option the Advanced Targeting Comp System upgrade is allowed, but at 5 pts.
These are the only native white 5 speed ships, all have Barrel Roll and Evade, the Interceptor adding Boost. Offensive options are limited, but they are hard to lock down.
The Tie Bomber is the payload king serving the dual roles of the anti-interceptor heavy hitter and team enforcer. In this form of the game, the Bomber is potentially the hardest hitting ship, but only if they can get that shot off. Having one lurking behind a frustrating swam, to pick off a distracted enemy work well.
The Lambda Shuttle is the true support ship, like a different take on the Bomber. Pilots, Crew and the System upgrades combine to make a good gunship with Target Lock and other assists, a super support or tank. A classic Palpatine/Soontir/Vader build is possible, just not as lethal.
The Decimator Gunship is a squad hub ship, equal parts support and brute. A turret (limited to range 2 and no mods in this form of the game**), 3 Crew slots and the toughest hull make this one of the most substantial ships in this game, but it is a bit of a whale and with the reduced turret range, the squad as a whole becomes a priority.
*
For the Rebels we have the slowest and least manoeuvrable (or interesting) ships overall, but there are some exceptions and plenty of great pilots. You need to be a team player and work those supportive synergies. Droids are paired down to only Targeting and Flight assist for their simple and thematic efficiency.
The X Wing is good enough in this game, which is some of the reasons for it working. Pilots make them solid, even interesting, with some decent resilience and punch. It is a predictable, reliable team player and the obvious “ground zero” ship of the game. Droid choice is limited to Flight Assist or Targeting, giving them limited Roll and Boost options or more fire control, enabling predators and rookies equally.
The A Wing is the speed demon with a punch. Pilots lean towards danger-close tactics so Proton Rockets are the Missile of choice. Like the X Wing and Tie Advanced, a non-EPT/Mod/Title landscape empowers them to an extent and nothing else as green 5 speed.
The Y-Wing is the heavy fighter/payload option for the Rebels. Slow, but resilient, it is like the Tie Bomber, but a better fighter. TLT’s are available in this game, so there are still several options. Droid choice is limited to Targeting Assist only, so they are as sluggish as made, but can still TL after a red move.
These are the work horse fighters of the Rebel fleet, one tough, one fast, one heavy. The limited choice of droids covers what droid do efficiently and R2-D2 can still be used as Crew.
The B-Wing is the other heavy option with a totally different feel to the Y Wing. Actions outside of Focus are thin for the Rebels and the B-Wing has 25% of them (Barrel Roll). Like the Y-Wing it has two Torps, but a Canon and System slot as opposed to Turret and Droid and Advanced Proton Torps. System choices are Advanced Sensors or Fire Control System.
The relatively weak HWK-290 is like a mini Lambda with a turret. The weakest ship as is, it can be a good sniper with TLT, a good support and even a decent mix of several roles. The HWK does add some action economy benefits that in this form of the game become even more powerful. Suitably, the matched Pilot/Crew combos of Jan Ors and Kyle Katarn are strong and logical.
“The Heavies”
The YT-2400 is the mini Falcon by design (and Dash Rengar is a Han Solo-like character) and an answer to the Scum Jump Master. Without its Title it is a turreted gunship with ordnance options, a decent knife fighter and generally tough little ship. Like the B-Wing it has a Barrel Roll option, making it a little unpredictable-for a Rebel.
The YT-1300 (Mod/Falcon only). The Falcon is the beefiest Rebel and one of the toughest ships in this game. It cannot be fully tricked out into the classic builds, but still has options. It can be a defensive monster (Chewie, R2, C3), support (Lando, Leia, Numb) or a powerful fist (Han, Luke, Chewie), but it is probably best as a balanced offering.
*
The Scum are the middle ground faction with some surprises. They have a slow but consistent fleet (speed 4 and 1 boost or a 3 with boost), with some interesting manoeuvres and plenty of upgrades the other two cannot touch. The rolling out of the Scum faction started the unravelling of 1e. If looked at with a fresh, but more reserved eye, it can be balanced and add that something different especially the random element.
We play Scum as mini factions, who may be allied, or individually used by the other two in the main factions.
Black Sun (Viper, Head-hunter, Kihraxz), Binayre Pirates (Firespray, Head-hunter), Tansarri Point (Scyk, Kihraxz), Lok Resistance (Scurrg), Freelancers (the rest);
The Star Viper is the fastest Scum ship thanks to Boost, with S-loop and Barrel Rolls for added slipperiness. With pilot abilities it is even more unpredictable, with Dalan adding a now bespoke Talon Roll option.
Float like a Butterfly, sting like a Viper.
This is the only speed 5 option using Boost, but also one of the three S-Loop capable ships.
The solid Kihraxz is the Scum X Wing with Illicit upgrades instead of Droids and Missiles instead of Torps. Unlike the X Wing, the Kihraxz can be fielded as a no frills, 5 ship heavy swarmer (something they tried to Mod into existence for the X-Wing in the later game) and to me always seems a little more interesting. Like the X-Wing, it about Pilots and team building.
The M3a Scyk is the Scum Tie Fighter. Slightly better rounded, but slower, it cannot be bought in the same quantities so is a decent swarm option.
The two above can do the speed 5 K-Turn, a scum “slippery-slide” move.
The Z-95 Head Hunter is the other Scum swarmer option, as cheap as the Tie, but probably best used slightly heavier with Ordnance and Illicit upgrades for variety. Suicide squad anyone?
The GA-1 Starfighter is often called the Scum B-Wing and with similar specs it would seem that way, but swapping out the Cannon slot for Illicit makes it a very different beast.
The Jump Master 5000 is the Scum YT-2400. A curious mix of small ship manoeuvrability and large ship upgrades. Sporting S-Loops and a native Turret, makes it a kind of Viper/YT-2400/Y Wing hybrid and it is the only one that takes the 4 generic Salvaged Droids allowed.
The YV-666 is the Scum Lambda. The “party bus” is the toughest, least manoeuvrable and possibly least appealing Scum ship, but unlike the YT-1300 or Decimator it is cheap to field and has more options to draw from. It is a ship of many personalities, literally and only Scum ship that can take Jabba.
The Firespray is the bad boy of the Scum fleet with great pilots and plenty of options. It has a dual direction primary and manoeuvres well in close, so a knife fighter like the B-Wing.
This all feels right and produces good gaes for those who like their stories to feel on point (I do).
*Classic, which has only the three original movie ships and Crew characters, very limited upgrades without EPT’s, Mods or Titles, Skeleton Crew, that slightly increases this to a more balanced offering of ships, but no repeats (only Reb HWK-290, Y Wing, Scum Z95), Bare Bones, which adds all 1e ships with the four basic actions only and Expanded, which has all 1e ships and upgrades (except still no Mods or EPT’s), allows the three single card Epic ships, named Titles, but no TFA era ships or the Jump master (no Tech upgrades). Sidecars to these are small groupings of specific ships without upgrade limits like Aces High or Top Twelve, and Flight School which uses the TFA X-Wing and Tie in an introductory, no upgrade game.
**The basic rules mods are; Primary Turrets reduced to R1-2 with normal range mods (R1 bonus).