So, hello there! It's been a while...

I took a bit of a break from X-Wing; moving, jobs, other lame REAL LIFE stuff.

After moving basically within walking distance of a game shop, I wanted to see if I could remember how to play, after not playing for a month.

I lost. Badly. (I think I dealt one damage to one of his ships?)

After returning home to lick my wounds, I tried to find a good squad with the ships that I had.

First list: fail.

Second list: fail.

Third list: fail

Fourth list: fail

Then - it was time for the event to start.

I had NO CLUE what my final list was gonna be. I literally only knew two things; which faction I was running (As my wife is always Rebels, I am always Imperials), and which ships I had to choose from.

I basically came up with my list on the spot, trying a list I had never tried before.

So, I am curious how many guys used a list that, (1) they haven't run before, and (2) they made up on the spot. After reading other posts about the event, it seems like lots of guys ran lists they weren't really familiar with.

The other thing I am curious about is if anyone has had any really pissed off opponents before.

I lost to a really fun guy who laughed, joked, and had fun with it, all while playing a plenty competitive game. I also won against about a guy who cussed, taunted, and was generally unpleasant to play against.

I know this is a competitive game, and MUCH more so during tournaments... But it IS a game...

Right?

Every group of gamers has the angry guy(almost always just one...), and the fun guys. Don't sweat them.

I almost always go into tournaments with a loose theoretical grasp of my list, but I don't have the playtime to really prepare, and getting my girlfriend to play 1 game every few months is tough.(See my topic about her nearly demolishing me earlier tonight.)

Before heading to my local Imdaar event, I had a last in mind. I was confident, ready, and all of a sudden... I changed my mind.

I ran a list that, admittedly, I have ran before, but with one less escort and a lot more upgrades. This time I went for simple. How simple? TIE swarm with no Howlrunner simple. And it played beautifully. The real funny thing, to me anyway, was that I saw a guy at the match running the exact squadron I was going to fly. Sadly, he did not make it to the top 4. Perhaps that would have been me?

As far as temperament of players? I have to say that I've never flown against a really over the top angry person. Frustrated? Yes, but as in most circumstances I think how you talk to them and the vibe you bring to the table shapes a lot of how things go down.

There are certainly those people that are just hell bent on having a crappy time. These are the same people that think the world is against them and all of their problems are everyone else's fault.

It's called having an external locus of control, a psychology term where a person believes that nothing is their fault and everything is out of their hands. Basically that external forces control their life. This is the opposite of having an internal locus of control, where a person realizes that their chosen perspective shapes their reality, and that nobody else can choose how you feel or react. Basically that you and only you control your life.

I smile, shake their hand, joke, and give the other player props for good maneuvering or dice rolling. If they still decide to act like a child, I feel sorry for them, bid them good luck in the future, and keep flying casual.

I ran a list that I had thought up forever ago but had only played once about a week before the event. 2 gold squadron with ion turret, 2 blue squadron with ion cannon and fire control system. I hardly ever play rebels, but the idea was that this is a type of squad that people probably wouldn't be expecting or used to playing against and maybe I could squeak out a 4th place finish if I was lucky and the turnout was low enough (there were about 5 or 6 of these tournaments in my city this weekend and it was impossible for anyone to hit them all).

With this highly irritating list in hand I showed up and miraculously clawed my way into second place over players who are clearly better than me. Every game I felt like I got off to a really bad start but managed to tank my way through with so many hit points and then late game ions squeaked out the win. The Y-wings were the clear MVPs, the B-wings managed to put out decent damage but the Y-wings won games, especially against the high PS interceptors.

What really impressed me the most though was the sportsmanship from the other players. Losing to a list like this has to be annoying but no one complained or even expressed significant frustration and a couple times they even generously reminded me to use my fire control system when I forgot to. Considering this event actually had a significant prize on the line I found this all very impressive and made for a really good first tournament experience.