Hello everyone,

I had the privilege of competing in my first X-Wing tournament today with the Assault on Imdaar Alpha. Myself and three people from my regular gaming group came as a group and made a very good showing, taking four of the top five spots. I myself took first, having won every single one of my games. What follows here is a highlight real and brief synopsis of what the games that went down were like. I went back and forth on a couple lists between rebels and imperials but finally decided to run the following:

Howlrunner

Captain Jonus
Scimitar Squadron Pilot w/Cluster Missiles

Scimitar Squadron Pilot w/Cluster Missiles

Scimitar Squadron Pilot w/Cluster Missiles

I chose this for a few key points: 1) Five ships with respectable health and agility made me very hard to kill. 2) Had the normal firepower akin to the normal tried and true swarm. 3) The cluster missiles put a massive dent in darn near everything, especially B-Wings (more on that later). 4) All of my shots are getting rerolls via Howlrunner or Jonus, which offered some reliability 5) The point spread gives me an edge in timed games 6) I've not really seen the bombers used in the format of a swarm, so has a little of the unusual going on. 7) With my (amateur) analysis of many of the lists people were expecting to take to the event on this forum and others I felt I was strongly equipped to deal with most opponents.

Having never flown a swarm before I took it upon myself to run obstacle courses at home. I would set up the board is a variety of positions and practice getting my formation through them with as few bumps as possible. In my groups others games they were repeatedly complimented on their unerring ability to dodge those cursed rocks. One earned the title of the “Asteroid Whisperer”. This would prove to be a crucial piece of practice in my final round game.

Round one placed me against a variant of Biggs Walks the Dogs

Biggs
Dagger Squadron Pilot w/ Advanced Sensors
Dagger Squadron Pilot w/ Advanced Sensors
Rookie Pilot

Going into the tournament I knew that Biggs was going to give me trouble. I would greatly prefer to not waste my lovely missiles on this jerk. Especially with a couple of B-Wings present. As such I was working to, if possible set up a turn in which all five ships could shoot focused primary weapons (with rerolls from Howlrunner). I should note that my opponents flying was superb, especially in context of maneuvering his formation to keep Biggs at range 3 and in one of his ships. I kept the asteroids largely to one side which limited his options and led him largely in front of me. The first two turns saw us wheeling to come to bear and I correctly called the turn, thus getting my full firepower to bear on Biggs, After all five ships Biggs went down, I lost Jonus in the process (dirty terrorists!). My whole formation followed with a K-Turn, dropping the lagging rookie pilot over that turn and the next. A B-Wing pulled a very nice barrel roll and K-Turn themselves to get some range 1 shots at my bombers, I lost another to that, while the other was slightly off and collided as a result. Next turn (in what ended up becoming a game breaking mistake) he accidentally gave the stressed/collided B-Wing another K-Turn which allowed me to choose the maneuver, I sent it 4 forward for another stress token and effectively removed it from the equation while I shot down the other ships. By the time it got back around it was the only left to three mostly healthy ships and it was all downhill from there. At this time however my dice decided that averages were merely a suggestion and kept that B-Wing alive for four more rounds, killing Howlrunner in the process. It went to time with two bombers on my side and the one B-Wing with a single hull point left on his giving me the match point as I was 13 points ahead. In hind sight I would say that my timing for the K-Turn cost me, I could have waited a turn. If I had bolted forward and then done the maneuver it would have prevented my opponent from getting behind me and only cost me a range three turn of shooting for it. Also I was happy that my point spread on my ships paid off for the format.

Round two pitted me against one of the gentlemen from my gaming group that I had practiced against a great deal. Another variation of Biggs Walks the Dogs

Biggs w/R2-F2

Rookie Pilot

Blue Squadron Pilot w/Advanced Sensors

Blue Squadron Pilot w/Advanced Sensors

I knew going into this, based on every game I have played against him in the past it was going to get ugly one way or the other. My plan was basically the same from last game. Drop Biggs early, cluster missiles whenever possible, drag down whatever is left. Set up and deployment were largely unchanged from the prior game. I was still trying to bring my full firepower against Biggs, though the extra agility from R2-F2 ended up keeping him alive for a full three turns of shooting, costing me a cluster missile to finish him off. I lost another one to a lone critical damage from the rookie pilot (ouch!) and the third went down with its bomber to some impressively potent firepower. After dropping Biggs and the other rookie pilot after two jousts, and losing Jonus and a bomber in the process I realized that it was time to change tactics. My instincts told me that his two B-Wings would tear me apart if we continued the joust, Howlrunner rerolls or not. I promptly sent all three of my ships is different directions and made him start coming after me. This proved most effective as I was able to successfully drop the remaining B-Wings without losing another ship, earning me another match point. Admittedly this was due in no small part to me knowing my opponent well and being able to anticipate his maneuvers. Though my use of bombers as bait while Howlrunner would attack from behind certainly did me credit. Looking back after the game I am glad that I went with my gut to break formation, this was a hard decision as the numbers said to stay tight and go with my rerolls and superior agility to drag him down. Had I not, it would likely have been a painful demise for me.

Round three was against another batch of rebel scum. This would decide who went into the final round (no pressure). His list was one B and two Y’s and all of which had tons of upgrades. Here is my best memory of it:

Ibistam w/Advanced Sensors, Push the Limit, Engine Upgrade
Gold Squadron Pilot w/R2-D2, Ion Turret, Shield Upgrade
Gold Squadron Pilot w/R5-P9, Ion Turret, Shield Upgrade

Going into this I knew that the Y-Wings would need to be dropped in one turn, or they would likely limp along for way too long regenerating shields and disrupting my formations with the ionization. My plan was to target all of my cluster missiles on them and then send the group after Ibistam. I knew that he is a tough pilot to deal with. He has incredible maneuverability with push the limit and an engine upgrade, a really nasty ship. Asteroid set up was terrible this game, they were all over the place. He had initiative so I got to see where his Gold Squadron were set up. I chose the opposing corner as there was a relatively decent alley that I could bank into. Ibistam deployed in the opposing corner, pushing to become a flanking ship. More than any other game my practice at home maneuvering my ships in formation paid off. I was able to smoothly pivot the formation around the asteroids while still getting my actions and keeping everyone in range one of Jonus and Howlrunner. Ibistam and a Gold Squadron pilot attempted to cut at me from the sides though the asteroids while the other went in my direction to draw some fire and hopefully disrupt with ionization. Before the 4^th turn we had talked about prior games and he seemed really apprehensive at what I would do at this point. In the last two games I had taken this time to K-Turn after already target locking something and then release full firepower on whatever I had just leapfrogged over. He planned his maneuvers accordingly and guessed wrong. I opted to wheel further in to set up a K-Turn the following turn to what was going to become HIS flank and blew a Y-Wing off the table with cluster missiles and range one shots. The following turn he was already committed to his direction and my K-Turn had me drop the other with range one fire. At this point I had five damage between all five ships and only Ibistam left. I have no doubt Ibistam would have taken one or two ships with him, but both knew how it would end and as such called it there. Again, looking back this game showed me how crucial my practice before the tournament was, as I am sure if I had just dived in without it this game would have been a proverbial train wreck. Also I note the power of turrets cannot be overlooked. Despite misreading my intended maneuver the Y-Wings were still a threat. When I take them for a spin I think I will make a point to use them more like a strafing run as they fly by a ship.

The final match was against the same opponent from round 3 and before the round began we discussed and decided to call it there, as he had somewhere to be and we didn’t want 3^rd and 4^th to be sitting and waiting on their prizes. This gave me first place, with the other members of my group taking 3^rd-5^th.

Closing thoughts:
I went into the tournament largely focused on firepower, both mine and my opponents. But more than anything it was maneuvering that carried me through my games. I think it is really easy to get wrapped up in alpha strikes and tooled out Hans with all the fixings. But good old fashioned flying is what won the day, even will the clunky bomber. There was a large propensity of rebel players, particularly the B-Wings. One imperial players brought four Royal Guard Intereptors, though I didn’t get to play him. It was precisely a list of that nature that I think would have given me the greatest grief. But alas, it was not to be, I got to blow up terrorists scum all day. J It was a great time, and I am very happy with my debut performance. I am even more pleased that my practice leading up to it was worth the effort. To all of you out there thanks for reading. Have fun and don’t die.

More to follow after the jump.

One note about your first game: if you take a red maneuver when stressed your opponent gets to pick any non-red maneuver, so giving the b-wing a 4-straight to get another stress token wasn't legal.

Very nicely done. I took second place at my imdaar tournament finishing 3-1 with:

Capt Jonus + proton bomb + squad leader

Gamma sq + assault + cluster

Gamma sq + 2x cluster

Black sq pilot + dtf + hull

I was thinking to myself... If he would have face 4 royal squint with PTL, if the pilot was half decent, it would probably not have been 3-0.Then I read it in your post at the end, that luckily for you, you did not face that build. I think you are right in saying that it would have had give you a hard time. Great job nonetheless man! :-D

Man, I'd have been sad to miss out on that final round, but a great call sportsmanship wise.

One note about your first game: if you take a red maneuver when stressed your opponent gets to pick any non-red maneuver, so giving the b-wing a 4-straight to get another stress token wasn't legal.

Yeah that's brutal.

It's pretty crazy just how important asteroids are to this game, and how all your math-wing can go out the window when you clip a rock or get an ion token.

Well played, OP, and congrats.

Congrats on your win.

I like the bomber. I placed Top 8 in Regionals with a 5 Gamma Squadron Pilot + Seismic Charges list. No secondary weapons, but your opponent starts to panic when they see the potential for 5 seismic charges flattening him after the initial engagement. The bomber isn't a bad craft in a dogfight, though it excels at the joust. Sturdy little beasts, though they tend to collect crits like pokemon. Gotta suffer them all.

As was mentioned, when an opponent has a stress and chooses a red maneuver, you can't set it to a red, it must be white or green.

Also, I should point out that Ibtisam isn't a he. Ibti is one of the four female pilots (though with no lore it's just barely possible that Whisper is female). There are such a dearth of female characters that it seems important to refer to them correctly. The four female pilots are: Jan Ors, Ibtisam, Kath Scarlet, and Howlrunner.

One note about your first game: if you take a red maneuver when stressed your opponent gets to pick any non-red maneuver, so giving the b-wing a 4-straight to get another stress token wasn't legal.

As far as I can figure in retrospect it would not have made a difference in the game.

I was thinking to myself... If he would have face 4 royal squint with PTL, if the pilot was half decent, it would probably not have been 3-0.Then I read it in your post at the end, that luckily for you, you did not face that build. I think you are right in saying that it would have had give you a hard time. Great job nonetheless man! :-D

I was both dreading and looking forward to that game. A member of my game group plays a very similar list and I am thinking I will challenge him to get a feel for the match up.

Man, I'd have been sad to miss out on that final round, but a great call sportsmanship wise.

As to the no last game, I erred on the side of being a good sport for all those involved. I don't regret it and am sure I will get plenty of future opportunities to play in the venue.

Congrats on your win.

I like the bomber. I placed Top 8 in Regionals with a 5 Gamma Squadron Pilot + Seismic Charges list. No secondary weapons, but your opponent starts to panic when they see the potential for 5 seismic charges flattening him after the initial engagement. The bomber isn't a bad craft in a dogfight, though it excels at the joust. Sturdy little beasts, though they tend to collect crits like pokemon. Gotta suffer them all.

As was mentioned, when an opponent has a stress and chooses a red maneuver, you can't set it to a red, it must be white or green.

Also, I should point out that Ibtisam isn't a he. Ibti is one of the four female pilots (though with no lore it's just barely possible that Whisper is female). There are such a dearth of female characters that it seems important to refer to them correctly. The four female pilots are: Jan Ors, Ibtisam, Kath Scarlet, and Howlrunner.

As mentioned above, even had I done the 3 forward it would not have offered any noteworthy difference to the end result at that point that I can tell. I am glad I know the proper rule now, you live and learn. Great times had by all in any event.

Congrats on your win.

I like the bomber. I placed Top 8 in Regionals with a 5 Gamma Squadron Pilot + Seismic Charges list. No secondary weapons, but your opponent starts to panic when they see the potential for 5 seismic charges flattening him after the initial engagement. The bomber isn't a bad craft in a dogfight, though it excels at the joust. Sturdy little beasts, though they tend to collect crits like pokemon. Gotta suffer them all.

As was mentioned, when an opponent has a stress and chooses a red maneuver, you can't set it to a red, it must be white or green.

Also, I should point out that Ibtisam isn't a he. Ibti is one of the four female pilots (though with no lore it's just barely possible that Whisper is female). There are such a dearth of female characters that it seems important to refer to them correctly. The four female pilots are: Jan Ors, Ibtisam, Kath Scarlet, and Howlrunner.

I also really like your list set up, bombs are the next thing that I plan on learning how to use effectively. Haven't had a chance to really give them a spin yet. Any tips or suggestions for best use of them?

I'm pleasantly suprised how many people flew bombers at Imdaar Alpha! I did too and had the luck to win the event. My list was as follows:

- Captain Jonus + Squad Leader and Seismic Charges

- Scimitar Squadron Pilot + Assault Missiles and Seismic Charges

- Gamma Squadron Pilot + Assault Missiles and Seismic Charges

- Gamma Squadron Pilot + Assault Missiles and Seismic Charges

I came prepared to face Tie swarms and was using the bombs more or less for the first time. I had to fight against 2 Bounty Hunters + Soontir Fel, then a list with Biggs, Ibtisam, Luke and a Green Squadron Pilot and the only game I lost was against 2 Dagger Squadron Pilots, Y-Wing and Rookie X-Wing.

I have to say I love the combination of missiles and bombs! After a bomber has fired it's missiles it can break out of the formation and wreak havoc with the bombs. People tended to forget about them and in one game Soontir had full health when he flew into the midst of 3 Seismic Charges. Loved that too!

How useful were the Cluster Missiles? It seems like you got a little lucky facing low agility Rebels all day. (Though, great flying and great bat rep, insightful to learn from).

Also, how good would this have been if you had gone up against a Swarm?

I also really like your list set up, bombs are the next thing that I plan on learning how to use effectively. Haven't had a chance to really give them a spin yet. Any tips or suggestions for best use of them?

So, Seismic Charges are, hooves down, the best bomb. Proton bomb has that incredible ability to ignore shields and give a crit, but it's 3 more points. Further, it's a bomb that your opponent is far more likely to remember and avoid. Seismic charges are basically free damage on an enemy for 2 points. I have done 5 damage with a single bomb before (plus another one to one of my ships), which is an incredible return on 2 points.

Now, bombs need to be on higher PS craft. If you are fighting lower PS, they have to move first, then you get to choose whether you drop the bombs or not. That way, if they fly behind you, then you drop, but if they swerve to avoid the bombs or boost out of their range, you don't have to. If you have lower PS you have to guess whether they are going to head into range (they may not have a choice) and they might do something to avoid the blast zone (boost and/or barrel roll).

My recommendation, to get good, is to have at least 3 of these in a list: Gamma Pilot + Seismic Charges. That's 20 points each, they fly at PS4, and they are a serious threat at 6 hull each and a terrifying weapon behind them. TIE Swarms dread facing 5 bombers jousting them.

I played in a Imdaar yesterday, I departed from my usual TIE swarm and ran (4x) Gamma bombers with proton bombs along with (2x) cluster missiles. The proton bombs were of course a lot of fun but sadly i ended up 1-3 for the day and 8th out of 10. Evidently, 2 evade dice just are not enough for me! After the first game, I pretty much failed every evade roll. I still had fun though. It was all the familiar faces at the tournament too, which is a pretty good crowd.

Really digging the bombers, here's what I ran for any of you clever enough to avoid my write up!

Soontir Fel - Push the limit and Targeting Computer

Gamma Sq Bomber - Siesmic charges and Flachette Torpedoes x3

Really enjoyed it and apart from lining up Fel in the wrong place one game it did well

How useful were the Cluster Missiles? It seems like you got a little lucky facing low agility Rebels all day. (Though, great flying and great bat rep, insightful to learn from).

Also, how good would this have been if you had gone up against a Swarm?

There are two main reasons that I opted for these over Proton Torpedoes. 1) Greater potential for damage overall 2) More damaging in the long run, even against high agility targets.

The benefits against low agility targets is pretty obvious so I won't go further. Against agility 3 ships though they still prove very potent, though Captain Jonus is crucial for this. With him, each volley should be reliably putting 2 (likely 3) damage out there, which puts the pressure on my opponent to evade. Usually they will survive the first volley, likely burning up any focus or evade tokens. Then get hammered on the second volley. In many of my playtesting games Tie fighters, Interceptors and even A-Wings were getting dropped by the two volleys in a single go. There only have 3-4 health, so they cannot afford to have a single poor evade roll.

In short for 4 points I cannot find another more painful way to go. They are great against any ship you play against, really put the pain on high health low agility targets for added bonus and become devastating with Jonus. I love them.

Ironically the ship that concerned me most going into the tournament was the Tie Advanced. It has the health and agility to shrug off most, if not all of the damage, and can pack an assault missile which hurts a great deal. Combined with a great maneuver dial, it had me a little concerned to be honest. Thankfully there was not one to be seen in any list.

As to facing against a legitimate Tie swarm I was feeling really good about that match up. I have the advantage of higher pilot skill against Academy Pilots, thus I will be getting to fire my cluster missiles before the majority of shots are be sent my way, and looking at the above explanation can reasonably expect to drop 2-3 full ships in that exchange. Further more while they have an edge in agility I have a third more health. A seven Tie swarm has 21 health with 3 agility each, My list has 33 health with mostly 2 agility each. I lose one primary weapon but gain the very painful missiles. And since we will be spending much of the game flying in formations the maneuvering difference is negligible. Though it should be noted that the 5 K-Turn gives me a noted advantage here. I will have a much easier time clearing a large block of ships with my K-Turn while the 3 or 4 speed of normal tie fighters will struggle at times to make it through.