The intro…
I’m going to keep this part pretty short for today because I HAVE NEWS! AND IT’S EXCLUSIVE!!Also, this news affects other things I want to briefly talk about so let’s just dive right in shall we?
XWA Update…
You may have noticed that over the past few weeks that various XWA spoilers/previews/leaks/whatever you want to call them have been finding their way out into the world.
There are many who were fans of the FFG articles of old (and even the customary errors they contained) where not only were details revealed of pilots and upgrades but also in-depth insight was shared and we in the XWA really wanted to keep this going. We think it’s important for people to know the thought or theme that’s gone into putting new things together and I’d say, given that we are, after all, only a bunch of amateur game enthusiasts who are doing our best, it shows that while we are technically just making things up (I mean when you think about it, isn’t everyone?!) that there is reason behind all of it.
This has mostly come in for the form of podcasts (such as The Sith Takers, Gold Squadron and Hairy Nick being given exclusive early access to cards or information to share ahead of the new card packs being released soon*
*no, I’m not giving a date!
So, what about little ol’ me with this here blog then? What do I get to talk about?
Well look, going in-depth on the design of new pilots has never been my thing. I’ve always left that sort of thing to people with a much more analytical brain to deal with.
No, since I’m actually the Organised Play Prize Lead for the XWA I thought it would be MUCH more suitable for me to talk about the very things that I’m working on. Makes sense, right?
So with no further ado, let’s get into it!
2025/26 Season Squad Championship kit contents!
This week I’m talking about the Squad Champs kits!
When designing any kits for OP there are a few things that I felt really important:
1 – value for money
With X-Wing now being a ‘dead game’ in the eyes of many stores, organising tournaments (which has traditionally been a way of getting people in the store and hope they spend money) has become more difficult. I’ve seen this personally with our local group. I spoke a few weeks ago about the challenges of running events and rising costs and so it is important to me that we make the Squad Champ kits as affordable as possible while still including enough shiny things to appeal to players and encourage attendance. Finding
2 – sharing the love
Being a very middle-of-the-road player myself, I’ve seen many events richly rewarding top finishers and very little for anyone else. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the most talented should be rewarded, more that there should be more of a balanced spread of the budget cost across the board.
3 – good use of time
You probably already know and understand this but I’m saying it anyway – the XWA is PURELY voluntary. Nobody is being (nor has been, nor will be) paid for their time. It is a group run by the community, for the community. With this in mind, ALL work that goes in is being volunteered by our own people. Whether that’s the obvious ones like balancing points or not so obvious ones like designing PDF points releases or the news announcements. It’s all time.
Since we were designing cards anyway, it would make sense to use this new content for our OP prizes, right? And so that’s what we have done.
4 – theme?
I can’t promise that we will always be able to fully commit to this one based on available time and the desire to put out certain content but personally, I love when a kit has a theme. Whether that’s the Spectre Squadron at Worlds 2023 or the Inferno Squadron back in 2020 (ish), having a kit contain several things which are all linked to each other in some way is just something I really like. I believe it shows thought and consideration and is a really cool way to highlight certain shows or characters.
5 – balancing appeal
Somewhat contradicting the previous point, I also understand that sometimes a player will only play one particular faction and that cards of pilots that they’ll never use won’t be of any use. I get that and it’s a balance that we’ll need to spend more time to get right. The Wave 0 packs provided cards for all 7 factions and this was done very much on purpose to make sure everyone had the opportunity to get something they could make use of. If we go thematic, it shuts that some somewhat, it’s just the way it is unfortunately.
What we are doing is trying to make the kit contents as wide ranging as possible where we can. Generic upgrades over faction specific ones. Game components that can be used by anyone and that you can use more than one of. That sort of thing.
So, enough of the pre-amble, that’s not what you came here for after all!
First up, let me just quickly lay out how the packs will work. The base kit has been designed to support a 16 player event. There will be 17 copies of participation items because, let’s face it, the TO needs some love too! There are then some tiered prizes which increase in value (and sexiness!) all the way up to the winner. To cater for slightly bigger events TO’s can also add to this with expansion kits which will add enough items to cover an additional 8 players. Multiple expansions can be ordered meaning that a Squad Champs can cover up to 48 players!
Let’s dive in and start with the participation items. Please bear with me, we actually don’t have any of these items in our hands yet to take photos of!
And so we begin with probably the biggest of the XWA’s new cards, The Mandalorian in the Naboo N-1 Royal Starfighter!
Given that this is a pilot that nobody has in this chassis yet and looks incredibly fun this was a very easy decision to include. It also set us up for the theme of this kit. This is the way…
Next up we have the Clan Training upgrade card…
Sticking with the Mandalorian theme seemed like the way to go, especially when considering the next item…
Yes, EVERYONE will get a metal (yes, METAL!) Mando helmet token! These had already been designed and produced by Louis Leong at Pewtinni Parts and since he’s one of the XWA Council members this felt like an easy win (given point 3 above!). These particular tokens will be engraved with the simple XWA logo on the back to differentiate them from ones already out in the wild.
Now, on to the slightly more exclusive prizes!
The base pack will contain 11 copies of Beskar Reinforced Plating for players finishing 2-2 or higher.
Now, the beauty of generic upgrades is that you can own (and use) more than one of them, right? Well the pack will also in clue a few more copies of Clan Training, but these ones will be Rainbow Foil cards!
There will be 5 of these included which should cover everyone who finishes 3-1 and better.
Now, given that we have a new pilot, it seems only fair that some people should be able to get the appropriate base tile for it, right?
Yes, thanks to Martin from Opticalsin, we are able to include 2 acrylic base tiles for Mando’s N-1 Starfighter! No more proxying bases for you if you can finish in the top 2!
Lastly we have some items for the winner. First of all, the ‘trophy’
A solid metal double sided challenge coin identifying you as a winner of a Squad Championship in the 2025/26 season! Again it’s themed on the Mandalorian and can be used as a 1st player token or a giant shield token, or use however you want!
We’ve already talked before about the bye that winning an event gets you. Well, to commemorate that and make it a bit more special you’ll get a ‘Bounty Puck’ card as a keepsake.
Oh, and did I mention that this is ALSO MADE OF METAL?!
Yes, we like metal things!
You won’t need to hand this in to claim (that’s handled in the background once the TO reports on the event), it’s yours to keep forever!
So in total each base kit will contain:
Mando N-1 SL card – 17
Clan Training – 17
Mando head tokens – 17
Beskar Reinforced Plating – 12
Clan Training Rainbow Foil – 5
Acrylic Mando N-1 Base tile – 2
Squad Championship challenge coin – 1
Bounty Puck card – 1
The expansion kits will then add the following:
Mando N-1 SL card – 8
Clan Training – 8
Mando head tokens – 8
Beskar Reinforced Plating – 6
Clan Training Rainbow Foil – 2
Acrylic Mando N-1 Base tile – 1
So, now you know what! But I already know the next question – how much?
Well, going back to point 1, we’ve tried very hard to make this as affordable as possible for TOs to run. Regular events (along with casual game nights) are the lifeblood of community X-Wing and if we make things too expensive, people won’t come.
Now remember, the XWA is NOT making money on these kits. That said, our experience with Wave 0 has meant that now we should allow a very small amount of uplift to account for lost packages, exchange rates, charges to send money, paying for packaging and the like. We’ve had some of these happen and money has come out of people’s pockets personally to cover it.
It’s also worth noting that while the last kit price was given (and requested in) British Pounds (£, GBP), we are now shifting to use US Dollars ($, USD) because this is the currency some of our main suppliers are using and we lose less money on currency exchange this way.
So, having laid all of that out, I can tell you that the price of a 16 player base kit (WITHOUT SHIPPING!!) is going to be $40. We are still unsure what shipping will cost exactly but we are estimating at $20 to be safe (though it’s likely to be a less).
This means that the current guide price (but subject to change!) for a 16 player prize kit is $60.
That makes the cost per player just $3.75 (for a sold out event).
The expansion kits will come in at $15 per 8 player kit (without shipping), making the base cost for those additional players just $1.79 each. What we don’t yet know is what adding an expansion will do to the shipping price. If we assume the worst and it adds 50% of the value (just like our worst case on the main kit) then it’ll add $22.50
This means that a 24 player kit will cost $88.50 ($3.68 per player), a 32 player kit will be $105 ($3.28 per player) and so on.
Again, these are still proposed and probably (hopefully!) maximum prices based on as yet unconfirmed shipping costs. We do reserve the right to change these (down OR up, but preferably down!) if the need arises. We won’t actually 100% know the costs until we have kit in our hands in a few weeks time.
It’s worth noting that while we are strongly encouraging TOs to apply for kits, we are also keen to not over saturate the event scene and also we want to maintain the integrity of the bye system. While TOs are welcome to apply for multiple kits, this should be for different stores and not for multiple events in one store. We will be picking this up in the application phase but also want to point out that we already have a wave 2 planned for this season so that a second event can be held at a store which will have different cards (other components will stay the same) so that players are encouraged to attend multiple events without having to go home with fistfuls of cards they already own. Watch this space for info on that!
So, just to sum that all up nicely with an XWA graphic…
The conclusion…
After planning this kit for so long it’s REALLY satisfying to finally get the details out there.
A lot of work has gone in to putting the kits together and I think (I hope!!) we are on target to get kits into the hands of TOs ready for the start of the XWA’s OP season on the 1st of May this year! The demand for these kits has been high already with almost 100 applications in before we’ve even revealed what’s in them or how much they cost!
I want to thank everyone who has put work in on these kits. Coordinating efforts over IM and large group chats across multiple continents with different languages and time zones certainly isn’t easy
If you’d like to get your name down for a kit then get on over to the application form and send us your details!
XWA Squad Championship Kit 2025/26 Wave 1
On a slightly selfish note, at this point I’d like to give a little promotion to the Exile Squad Championship event happening at the soon to open NEW Dragondaze store in Newport on the 24th of May! We will have one of these Squad Champ kits and you can secure your ticket by commenting on the Facebook event page or contacting me directly!
And that bye that you might win in Newport? Well why not cash it in at the Welsh Open! The Welsh Open, being held on the 19th and 20th of July 2025, will be an official XWA System Open event with byes available for Squad Championship winners and a fully loaded prize kit! We’ve not released the details of the System Open kits yet but maybe a little spoiler might be in order?
Go on, admit it, you’re excited! Go on, get your ticket!
Well, that has been a LOT to get through, I hope you’ve enjoyed it and it’s been worth your time! I’ll be back with something a little more normal next week. Probably.
The outro…
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, I hope you’ve enjoyed it! If you’d like to support me in continuing my X-Wing blogging adventure there are a few ways you can do that.
You can follow my social media accounts for updates
If you’re looking to buy some gaming ‘stuff’ and don’t have a local gaming store, you can use my affiliate link for Firestorm games. They’re great!
If you would like to directly support the blog then please consider becoming a Patron! I would be forever grateful!
A MASSIVE thank you to my wonderful Patrons for their ongoing support for the blog and enabling me to give away shiny things!
Exile Rookies:
Ben Kennedy, Opi-Wan Kenobi
Exile Veterans:
Mark Beor, Daniel Barringer, Michael Bird, Jason Desmarais, Darin Schwarze, Alex Peters-Bean, Mark Packer-Hughes, Eric Gordon
Exile Commanders:
David Bryan
Exile Legends:
Rebecca Westwood, Admiral_Ackbar47, Phill Blackmore, Chris Fear, Jamie Howard, Sean Oakley , Steve Boulton, Kyle Chalpan, Slawomir Stojanowski
You are all amazing humans!