Okay, I am an idiot... can anyone help me out?

You flip a coin to determine who gets initiative if both of you have the same number of points in your squad.

But assuming he has initiative, yes, it would be good for you for the reasons you mentioned.

Roll dice, flip a coin

During casual do whatever, but at tournament we roll dice

slide a $50 under the table

Ahhh... interesting. And whoever "wins" initiative keeps it for the duration of the game, right?

So, if I have initiative and move my PS2 pilots first, letting him know where I am landing, he knows exactly how to use his bombs and there isn't much I can do about it, right?

Woof. That's a pretty big dice roll:)

The rule book states that Empire gets initiative in the event of a "tie" in squad pts.

Though Tourney rules are different and of course any house rule can be agreed apon.

Flipping a coin or dice seems like a good fair way.

Also to consider, they recently changed the tourney rules, now the person who has won initiative has the option to accept it or give it to their opponent.

Ahhh... interesting. And whoever "wins" initiative keeps it for the duration of the game, right?

So, if I have initiative and move my PS2 pilots first, letting him know where I am landing, he knows exactly how to use his bombs and there isn't much I can do about it, right?

Woof. That's a pretty big dice roll:)

yes initiative player always "goes first" if there is a "tie" in timing... aka same PS pilots.

It is a mixed bag that depends on your build... you move and fire first if you have initiative. Moving First can be a benefit if you want to block the opponent and cause crashes... or can benefit your opponent if they have arc dodgy builds like Interceptors.

Firing first is almost always a benefit (unless your ship has abilities when getting "fired" on... even that is debatable.

Firing first is almost always a benefit (unless your ship has abilities when getting "fired" on... even that is debatable.

not true. If both sides are using focus tokens, if you attack first, your opponent gets to spend his focus token on defense first, so it is an advantage for him

Firing first is almost always a benefit (unless your ship has abilities when getting "fired" on... even that is debatable.

not true. If both sides are using focus tokens, if you attack first, your opponent gets to spend his focus token on defense first, so it is an advantage for him

advantage how? If I spend focus to attack and you spend focus to defend, its pretty much a wash. Although specific ships will alter that. For example, a b-wing or falcon would much rather spend its focus on attack than defense...

Then again, you can't control whether you get to spend your focus or not (only the dice gods decide that). So you might attack first with a focus but get no 'eye' results, then later defend and get no 'eye' results...

Firing first is almost always a benefit (unless your ship has abilities when getting "fired" on... even that is debatable.

not true. If both sides are using focus tokens, if you attack first, your opponent gets to spend his focus token on defense first, so it is an advantage for him

advantage how? If I spend focus to attack and you spend focus to defend, its pretty much a wash. Although specific ships will alter that. For example, a b-wing or falcon would much rather spend its focus on attack than defense...

Then again, you can't control whether you get to spend your focus or not (only the dice gods decide that). So you might attack first with a focus but get no 'eye' results, then later defend and get no 'eye' results...

The ship that defends first has better information on the defensive value of the token, where the impact may be more meaningful; you know whether you can afford to take the hit or if the focus is necessary for survival.

The biggest advantage of initiative is that you move before other ships of the same skill and are therefore unlikely to lose your actions (and more likely to cause your opponent to lose his) by overlapping.

As Dandirk said, whether or not you want initiative really depends on your list.

The rule book states that Empire gets initiative in the event of a "tie" in squad pts.

When using squad building rules, the player with the

lowest point total has the initiative. If the players’

squad point totals are equal, the Imperial player has

the initiative (see “Initiative” on page 16).

Though Tourney rules are different and of course any house rule can be agreed apon.

Flipping a coin or dice seems like a good fair way.

Also to consider, they recently changed the tourney rules, now the person who has won initiative has the option to accept it or give it to their opponent.

Oh. Okay. So wait... does the rule of Imperial player having initiative still hold true? If not, what is the replacement? The tourney version? And if the squads are equal so the imperial player has initiative, he can then give it to the rebels and that is a game-long decision, not a turn by turn decision, right?

Sorry, any guidance is welcome:)

The rule book states that Empire gets initiative in the event of a "tie" in squad pts.

When using squad building rules, the player with the

lowest point total has the initiative. If the players’

squad point totals are equal, the Imperial player has

the initiative (see “Initiative” on page 16).

Though Tourney rules are different and of course any house rule can be agreed apon.

Flipping a coin or dice seems like a good fair way.

Also to consider, they recently changed the tourney rules, now the person who has won initiative has the option to accept it or give it to their opponent.

Oh. Okay. So wait... does the rule of Imperial player having initiative still hold true? If not, what is the replacement? The tourney version? And if the squads are equal so the imperial player has initiative, he can then give it to the rebels and that is a game-long decision, not a turn by turn decision, right?

Sorry, any guidance is welcome:)

Casual Game : Imperial has initiative if squad pts are equal.

Competitive/Tournament Game : Flip a coin to see who determines initiative if squad pts are equal. Player who wins coin flip picks which side will have initiative.

In all instances, initiative lasts for the entirety of the game, and never changes.

slide a $50 under the table

Very good idea!....

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Wanna play with me?

At present I believe the competitive rules for initiative are:

1. The player with the lowest squadron points determines who has initiative. In the event of a tie you flip a coin to figure out who chooses.

2. Once initiative is determined it is fixed throughout the game.

3. Things take place in an order determined by Pilot Skill. If there is a tie in PS the person with initiative moves and shoots first. Note "simultaneous fire rules" for when a ship of a give PS would be destroyed by another ship at the same PS.

4. If a game ends with a tie but a winner must be determined (single elimination for example) the person with initiative wins.

oh, because critical hits are also applied immediately, things like WEAPONS MALFUNCTION, BLINDED PILOT, MUNITIONS FAILURE can have a very huge impact in the attacking sequences, so if you have initiative and manage to land these kind of crits, it is in your favour.