Product Review: Star Wars: X-Wing, Rebel Alliance Conversion Kit
Returning to the X-Wing competitive scene after some time away? This conversion kit
has (almost) everything you need to get your Rebel ships back in the sky.
Dials
Dials, oh so many dials. When Fantasy Flight Games updated the X-Wing system from
1.0 to 2.0 and now to 2.5, they made a wonderful ease-of-use change to the ship dials, making
all ship moves visible when choosing to lock in a movement for the turn. Positioning is
paramount in X-Wing, and this small change makes it that much easier to make decisions on
the fly.
Players running fleets with multiple copies of the same ship will find themselves satisfied
here, with some ships, like the z-95 headhunter, coming with four sturdy cardboard copies of
their dials. Most other ships come with two. Assembly of the dials can be a bit finicky. They
come in two parts; the cover bearing the name of the ship and the dial with the ship’s movement
patterns. The holes intended for the brackets are slightly smaller than the brackets themselves
and pushing them through can take a bit of strength. Forcing the bracket through both sides of a
dial half can make the process easier but younger players might need help with assembly.
The dials are made with durability in mind; the cardboard is hard to bend and the plastic
brackets don’t want to come apart once connected. However, players who are rougher on their
equipment might want to opt for the Dial Upgrade kit not included in this product.
Changes to Ship and Upgrade Cards and Points
A considerable amount of ship and upgrade cards are also included. A storage solution
is not offered in the kit itself so having a few empty deck-boxes on hand could make protecting
these cards easier.
The biggest change from 1.0 to 2.5 can be seen on ship cards, or, rather, not be seen.
Returning players might instinctively look in the bottom right hand corner to see how many
points each pilot costs and then check the upgrades bar to see what can be equipped on the
ship. However, both indicators have been removed.
To keep play dynamic from season to season, the new manager of competitive X-Wing,
Atomic Mass Games, now publishes a seasonal list of pilot point values and valid upgrades,
hopefully preventing players from needing to buy another Conversion kit in a few years time. It
does, however, mean that when building a list for tournament or even casual play players will
need to wade through the Ship Points PDF found on Atomic Mass Games’ website or use one
of the many 3rd party list builders for X-Wing 2.0. (André Lind's Launch Bay NEXT App is one of
the best available.) While this might make the game and hobby less approachable for casual
players it will hopefully ensure the longevity of competitive play. Still, it’s disappointing that such
an excellent game now has a higher barrier to entry.
Maximum list points values have also been reduced from 200 to 20, most ship’s point
values simply being divided by ten. This is a recent change and makes list building less
granular. Upgrades have been changed too, now not adding onto your overall point total but
instead the upgrade values of individual pilots. Higher point value pilots can typically equip a
higher point value of upgrades. Simplicity and depth are being balanced in 2.0, but these
changes still might scare some less committed players off.
Upgrade Cards
Upgrade Cards have seen the biggest change here, literally. Instead of being quarter-
card-sized, Upgrade cards are now the same size as ship cards, meaning they will now fit any
standard sleeves or deck-boxes you care to use. They are more ergonomic, far more readable,
and have more room for stunning artwork. A welcome improvement. There are a plentitude of
Upgrades included, making deep list-building possible right out of the box. As previously
mentioned, they no longer have point values printed on the cards, this stat now listed on Atomic
Mass Games’ website.
Ship Tokens
The cardboard ship tokens placed on the models themselves are essentially unchanged
excepting the addition of a bullseye firing-arc used by some upgrades. Most ships have a
plentitude of tokens but disappointingly, the TIE/In only comes with two. It would be nice to see
at least 2 more TIE/In tokens to enable more flexible list-building. Overall this is an exciting
inclusion and means that players can turn the starter set into a Rebel fleet with two TIE/Ins and
one T-65 X-wing, a reasonably powerful fleet given the $39.99 price point.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all ship tokens and models are still Standard legal.
The kit includes components for ships like the Phantom-I which are currently out of print and
thus relegated to the Extended game format. It is something that could have easily been omitted
and adds a little extra value to the kit.
New Tokens
Updated tokens, such as Shield tokens and new Charge tokens, now feature bright
double-sided printing to facilitate flipping, an improvement over token removal mechanics that
previously caused confusion as to maximum value. The kit includes a full color rule-book with
rules for all new tokens.
What's Missing
However, there are several notable omissions. There are no flight rulers in the kit,
meaning owning a starter set is still a necessity, either 1st edition or 2.0. It would also be nice to
see an upgrade to the damage deck similar to the size improvements made to Upgrade cards.
Players using the 1.0 starter set will be forced to continue using the smaller cards. Faction
damage decks are retailing for less than 6 USD, and given their faction specificity, seem like a
no brainer to include in a faction upgrade pack. It's sad that such an important game tool is
overlooked here.
The biggest foible of the kit is its lack of an updated rulebook. Several notable changes
to the rules have been made, including the addition of a Systems phase to the turn order. No
indication of these changes has been made in any materials in the kit. Stranger still, the updated
rulebook PDF is not available on Atomic Mass Games’ website but is instead still hosted on
Fantasy Flight Games’ website.
Verdict
Ultimately, the value of this kit is determined by the amount of X-Wing models you
already possess. This kit is excellent for players with four or more Rebel ships who want to get
into tournament play. Because of the addition of more ship tokens, it can’t hurt to see if other
faction’s ships have been converted to the Rebel cause. Given the exorbitant costs of
maintaining tournament legality in other comparable card and war games, the 59.99 USD price
point is not prohibitive. If one wants the full experience, buying a 2.0 starter kit is still a
necessity, meaning getting up to date will run close to 100 USD.
More casual pilots with a 1.0 starter kit looking to fly with friends and family might be
better off without the Conversion Kit and sticking to what they know.
