I've never played an X-Wing tournament before. I've played in a number of Warhammer 40k tournaments and even mananged a 4th place finish at a Netrunner store championship. I've been interested to participate in an X-Wing tournament but it was the prizes of the Imdaar that brought me out.

Here is the list I brought:

Soontir Fel + PTL + Targetting Computer

Howlrunner

Saber Squadron Pilot + Opportunist

Saber Squadron Pilot + Opportunist

I admit that i've never actually run this exact list before, but the basic strategy is to have soontir and howlrunner strip tokens and the sabers capitalize with opportunist.

My tournament was small, with only 9 players. That meant 3 possible rounds. I managed 0-2 and was given a bye for the 3rd. I came last overall.

lessons learned/observations:

1. Howlrunner. I didnt use her re-rolls enough. a few times I simply forgot or she was out of position.

2. Opportunist didnt pay off. I think I was able to actually use it only twice.

3. a few players took things a bit too seriously and were asking for rulings. Myself and another player got 'called out' for measuring during the combat phase. I thought this was allowed, but I was told unless target locking there is NO measuring before declaring a target. The Tournament organizer agreed with this ruling. I was told these were "tournament rules" which are more strict than regular rules. I didnt argue the point, but was made to feel like I was cheating.

4. There were very interesting lists, some that I didnt expect. I was only 1 of 2 imperial players. The other ran 3 x bounty hunters and came 2nd overall.

5. Placing your dial on your ship card! why havent I considered this? it saves clutter on the board.

Overall it was moderately fun, but there was a definite competitive smell in the air. I guess with prizes like ships at stake, that would figure.

When exactly were you measuring? In the FAQ it states:

Measuring range

• When a ship becomes the active ship during the combat phase, the active

player can measure range from the active ship to any enemy ships before

declaring one as its target.

That one. I was told this was illegal and needed to declare and commit to a target first, then I could verify range for purposes of determining how many dice to roll. The kept calling it "pre-measuring" and said it was in the tournament rules not the regular rules. I accepted that ruling, but later checked the tournament rules and found nothing that contradicts the FAQ. To be fair, it didnt really matter that much in my matches. I was usually quite sure of who I wanted to shoot at.

It didnt seem right to me, and I couldnt help but think "Hmm, thats exactly how 5th edition 40K used to work".

Ouch. Well I suppose you know to bring a copy of the latest FAQ and tourney rules with you if you go back there, eh?

Sorry but man that really bugs me. People who think they know what they are talking about, but really have no clue, and for the TO to agree with it. They really should learn how to read.

Says right in the tournament rules that the active ship can measure any ship.

Your allowed to check the range of multiple ships, so long as your doing it from the active ship.

Two ships can be closer, one at range one and the other just in range two. They is the reason for that ruling.

Good lord the game is not that strict. I'd say the people who try to throw that rule down were losing and grasping at anything to give them the edge. The TO either didn't understand, or doesn't know how to read.

I hope you beat them

Sorry for the rant. Tired right now, and hearing those types of stories urks me

I have every pdf file ffg had put out on my phone, so if I every get into a ruling dispute, I can just bring up the file and throw it in their face.

It wasnt a big deal, and I didnt care to push the matter.

Overall it was moderately fun, but there was a definite competitive smell in the air. I guess with prizes like ships at stake, that would figure.

It's quite unfortunate that you encountered the bad-ruling situation in your first tournament. I'm pretty confident that most players are not so competitive, and if they are they at least know the rules properly...

I hope it didn't sour the experience for you too much, most people wave the "Fly Casual" banner and are a lot of fun to fly against - even in a tournament situation.

Whoops, posted in the wrong topic.

EDIT: So, I just read the topic, and I want to weigh in.

There seems to be this weird distinction between "Fly Casual" and "play by the rules." These things are not mutually exclusive, and insisting that someone play by the rules is not contrary to the Fly Casual ideal.

As for your specific situation, the best advice I can give you is to never, ever , ever base a ruling on a player's judgment. Always call over a TO, and insist that the TO base their ruling on a relevant entry in the FAQ and/or tournament rules. Only when no such entry in the FAQ/rules exists should the TO be making a judgment call.

Print and bring a copy of the FAQ and tournament rules yourself. Know where to find things in them. Because there are players out there who will use social pressure to gain an unfair advantage over you, especially if they know that the TO isn't 100% familiar with the tournament rules for X-wing.

Also, because not all TOs have the FAQ/tournament rules memorized, knowing where to find rulings can be a huge time saver for the TO when he's got knowledgeable players on hand to point to the right sections.

Hooray for learning from mistakes!

I flew Howlrunner with a Stealth Device in a few games.

And forgot to use the dang thing in each one.

(also forgot to 'declare Swarm Tactics' for my second-highest Pilot, and my opponent said that it didn't count since I didn't declare it with my first declaration. )

Although, your "mistake" number 3 is pretty lame. It's hard to insist that you are correct (even if you have the FAQ's with you) when other people have already made up their mind that you are wrong.

You're basically screwed either way; argue with them, show them PDF's, FFG's Faq's, whatever, and they'll resent you, and things will be plenty uncomfortable with that group of gamers from that point on.

Or, concede, and lose the game because you are at a disadvantage.

Overall it was moderately fun, but there was a definite competitive smell in the air. I guess with prizes like ships at stake, that would figure.

Competitiveness can be fun... in moderation.

You can't really blame someone for being competitive at a competition, but there is a fine line between following the rules and being a bastard.

I played against a guy who freaked out because apparently I moved a ship when I was measuring, then later on measured the distance between us and told me I was firing at range 2. After I decided to double-check and found myself at range 1, he was silent.