How about a Formation flyer EPL?

It allows you to use an 'Officially' made movement tray. This would be a simple plastic tray that holds 2x2 or 2x3 fighters. Anything that blocks the tray blocks everything, but when the tray moves the ships on it all go together in the same direction (obviously).

Too powerful? Too easy to block?

I'd say let's not take the skill factor out of swarms. It's their redeeming trait next to the Double Falcon.

I'd say let's not take the skill factor out of swarms. It's their redeeming trait next to the Double Falcon.

Yeah, I agree with this. If you're just essentially putting 4 ties on 1 base that's kind of lame. Also what about when you need to scatter? Or lose 1 ship? Doesn't make much sense.

I'd say let's not take the skill factor out of swarms. It's their redeeming trait next to the Double Falcon.

Yeah, I agree with this. If you're just essentially putting 4 ties on 1 base that's kind of lame. Also what about when you need to scatter? Or lose 1 ship? Doesn't make much sense.

To scatter, simply remove them from the base... ditto for deaths. I agree in part with the other comments, I was mainly thinking about the horror of 300 point epic games

Honestly my worry is the template. But as an EPT it can only be played on high PS Pilots. You'd have odd interactions with pilot skill, and a whole host of other things. Epic isn't as bad as people make it out to be. I have a huge case of ADHD and still manage to find it fascinating and engaging. Just focus on the game and the multitude of options.

Actually - I designed something like this and a full ruleset for Epic - to speed up game play via dials... And one of the shapeways designers helped me realize my "base" idea.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1181160/squadron-base-rules

So basically, a medium base but with 4 small base ship instead of a medium one. Imagine Flying a Firespray, but instead of 1 3 dice attack, it gets 4 2 dice, 3 with reroll if Howlrunner is included. Flying in formation is deadly but it is challenging. No need to remove that challenge by making all of them automaticaly fly close or get blocked together.

That's not how I envision it - certainly that's true for 100 point games, but when you start getting towards 500 points, the sheer time required and care just to move and select all of the ships individually, and the clutter of a dial per ship bogs down the game. I see no reason for something like this in a normal game, but when the game becomes large, this kind of thing really does pick up the pace of the game, which I think helps keep the experience fresh and fun.

100 and 300, or 400 pts team-match play justy fine as it is. I personally don't see a need for it except to give training wheels to formation flying. But that's just my opinion. Your house, your rules. And fly casual.

True, we've found it cuts activation and planning phases by up to about 75 %, leading from 20 minute rounds to about 13 minute rounds... (With more than 20 ships per side, 24 ships becomes 6 squadrons for example, and we tend to use this with groups of generics) In a game of 15 rounds, it saves an hour and a half or so... Useful to some. Personally, I like how it affects the tactical feel of the larger game, making dogfights more interesting when they occur, as occasionally you want to break formation or a squadron loses ships and needs to ditch the larger base. It's also good for emphasizing squad position amidst the huge ships.

So basically, a medium base but with 4 small base ship instead of a medium one. Imagine Flying a Firespray, but instead of 1 3 dice attack, it gets 4 2 dice, 3 with reroll if Howlrunner is included. Flying in formation is deadly but it is challenging. No need to remove that challenge by making all of them automaticaly fly close or get blocked together.

Hmm....you know, that might be worth looking at at some point: I've been wondering how you could do TIE/D droid fighters - a large ship base with a group of three or four of them (you'd need a branching 'bit' to sit on top of the large ship base stem) would work very well - treat it as a large ship:

Droids are supposed to be poor pilots, and the larger base makes it easier to get shots on them and makes it more likely they'll crash into obstacles, both of which seem logical traits. Add in an inability to focus, and attack dice dependent on the remaining hull and you've got a tight 'swarm' without it being able to out-swarm the Academy Pilot or Bandit Squadron Pilot (which I don't think it should be able to).

Maybe if they were to make a new Super-Epic Mode I could see that happen, ship trays like in WH, but at that point, it would be a whole different game and I would suggest to make a new game, reduce the scale and include Cruisers.

Currently, with the official modes (100, 300 or 2x200pts), ship maneuver and dogfighting is a major part of the game. Making trays just to ease it seems to go against the nature of the game. Flying in formation take some skills and when flown well is a beautiful sight; I would personally hate to see it disappear. If you really want to fly in formation, take some time and practice at home, it's not that much longer when you know what you're doing.