Well, I finally got around to taping out a 6'x3' rectangle in the garage and my buddy and I got everything set up and ready to go. We figured it would be a long game, and neither of us could get the schedules lined up.

Anyways, the lists we ran were as follows (no upgrades, because I can't remember exactly what was used where)

CR-90

GR-75

X-Wing (4)

A-Wing

TIE Fighter (5)

TIE Interceptor (3)

Firespray

Lambda

TIE Advanced

TIE Bomber

Initial Impressions:

1. The sheer volume of work required to set up each turn on the Imperial Side is absolutely ludicrous due to the lack of a huge ship.

2. Unless using multiples of large ships fully kitted out, the Imperial fleet is nearly unmanageable in terms of interactions with pilot abilities, upgrade cards, etc. We spent long periods of time each reading all of the Imperial pilot cards after each ship activated to make sure everyone got to use all of their things.

It was even worse in combat and movement, trying to make sure actions were passed around and used effectively across his fleet.

3. The CR-90 is an absolute beast with the Sniper laser, especially inside of range 4 against large ships.

4. The GR-75 is exceptional as a support ship, even with the hodge-podge of upgrades I threw on it as a first attempt.

Anyways, TL:DR - It's time for an Imperial huge ship.

Both me and my buddy are X-Wing fanatics, but 3/4 of the way through this game, we were literally bored to tears trying to help each other run the Imperial fleet effectively.

Without an Imperial huge ship, Epic format seems to have stripped the fun out of the game. This week, we will be running a 175 point game with Epic ships allowed to see if we can make it more engaging.

However, all of that being said, I love the format and there is a lot of potential in the huge ships. The combat portions where we just did the rolling and the ranging and the blowing stuff up was really cool, especially at range 5.

I'm honestly not complaining about the game, I swear, this is more of a "RELEASE IMP HUGE SHIP NOW" post than anything else.

So who won?

I agree. We've tried epic-ish games (not exactly what the rules say, usually some sort of homebrew scenario) and getting imps to 300 points is crazy, both in setup time and actually managing that many ships.

One thing I found to be VERY useful when doing large games is to write down the ships (both sides) by PS order (with the side that has init on top) on a sheet of paper, and cross them out when they die. That way, you can go in order for both moving and shooting, and it's much easier to remember to move everyone and shoot with everyone. The games go muuuchh smoother now that we do that.

Why don't you run 3-4 firesprays at 300 points? I am thinking as epic is played more people will find value in running more large ships which were after thoughts in 100 point games.

So who won?

The Rebels eeked one out in the end, thanks to a rogue Prototype Pilot, of all things.

Why don't you run 3-4 firesprays at 300 points? I am thinking as epic is played more people will find value in running more large ships which were after thoughts in 100 point games.

We only own two together, although my personal second will be here today for this exact reason.

Oh - another reason I don't really care for a 4 Firespray list in theory, although I will be trying it sometime soon, I feel like 4 X-Wings and the CR-90 will have no problem keeping that list at bay.

The thing with the above list is that with 12 ships, there is only so many shots per turn and the Imps just bear down on you the whole time.

With only 4 targets, I can see the Imps taking the short straw easily. I could be wrong - we will soon find out!

I just ran a 250pt epic with x1GR75, x1CR90, x1 Z95, x2 A-wings

Two buddies had 125pts of Imps each x2Bombers x1 Advanced x1 Slave1 Boba Fett and Howlrunner, Mauler, and a squint (cant remember who he was, coz he wern't there long)

Anyhoo Gr-75 got humped pretty quickly ! But that Tantive, wow what a beast ! It came down to the last dice roll; Darth Vader who was last Imp on the table attacked.....and rolled blanks , Tantive on just one hull point at the Fore (Aft already blazing) fired last two salvo's, first were all evaded then next roll were all blanks. A heavily damaged CR-90 and an untouched Z-95 made for safety. Seemed a well balanced game and could've gone either way.

I just ran a 250pt epic with x1GR75, x1CR90, x1 Z95, x2 A-wings

Two buddies had 125pts of Imps each x2Bombers x1 Advanced x1 Slave1 Boba Fett and Howlrunner, Mauler, and a squint (cant remember who he was, coz he wern't there long)

Anyhoo Gr-75 got humped pretty quickly ! But that Tantive, wow what a beast ! It came down to the last dice roll; Darth Vader who was last Imp on the table attacked.....and rolled blanks , Tantive on just one hull point at the Fore (Aft already blazing) fired last two salvo's, first were all evaded then next roll were all blanks. A heavily damaged CR-90 and an touched Z-95 made for safety. Seemed a well balanced game and could've gone either way.

I also considered this. ^^

Two Imperial players running 150 points each. It would really ease the Imperial disadvantages in setup and abilities.

THAT would make an incredible challenge. One rebel player with all 300, two Imperial players with 150.

Yeah it seemed to really flow, I would prefer to play 2v2 Epic tourneys than 1v1. Would also have someone else to blame if it went wrong !

I also considered this. ^^

Two Imperial players running 150 points each. It would really ease the Imperial disadvantages in setup and abilities.

THAT would make an incredible challenge. One rebel player with all 300, two Imperial players with 150.

When we've play nearly any point based game we've found that even with even point 1 player has the advantage over two player. It's seems that no matter how hard they try two people can never co-ordinate as well as a single player. Also it is easier to pick on one player and then get the other to concede.

Off Topic - Game Play aids: We usually puts the Id tokens ships/fighters in Pilot Skill Order, irrespective of which side they are on.

It makes easier for everyone to identify who is to move and/or fire next. Just count down (or up).

Found flying similar setups and formations help manage the numbers... aka interceptors all have ptl...or 4 x tie etc. Keep your list simple helps.

After a few rounds we found it easier as you get into the "groove".

We also did things like, turn over the movement dial during the action phase but don't remove it. Then during the combat phase remove the dial after that ship attacks (or not attacks etc). What ever dial left on the table is a ship that didn't shoot/move etc.

Having been in 300 point games before, I can see this being a problem, but I think the mental challenge is totally worth it, as getting into those large battles really helps accentuateyour skills and manuevering.