A lot of firsts in this post.
I've been playing X-WIng for a couple months, and decided to take a stab at tournament play. There was a casual event at a (somewhat) local gaming shop in Cuyahoga Falls, and it turned out to be a great time.
I wanted to keep things simple, and run something I knew fairly well.
RGP w/ PtL x4
Not a "beginner's list" but I've never been one to go that route in gaming. My mindset: expect 0-for-the-day, and fly casually.
A total of 6 people showed up for the tournament, four of us (including myself) were very new to the game. Everyone there was cool, especially the TO.
Round 1
I played Ryan, who was completely new to the game. This was his first time playing and I did my best to help him learn the rules and such as we played. Winning wasn't my goal at the event, having fun definitely was. His list:
Kath Scarlett (HLC, Mercenary Co-pilot, Opportunist)
Boba Fett (HLC, Navigator)
Solid list, and the Firespray is a good ship for beginners. He won initiative, and the asteroids were set up mostly on the right side of the board (from my perspective). I set up in my right corner, hoping to use the asteroids to limit his mobility. He had other plans - and set up opposite my forces ready to joust.
From the beginning I knew this would be a tough match-up, and jousting was something I did not want to do against two Firesprays. First turn, I took a hard left in an attempt to draw him into the asteroids. It worked - I was able to get several good shots at Kath while he was out of position. I managed to strip all the shields, and do one to the hull. It went downhill from that point. HLC + opportunist = bad news for interceptors. Long story short, he wiped out my force, while the best I could do was take out Boba's shields, and but a couple more damage on Kath.
0-1
Round 2
My second opponent, another new player. He had a limited collection, which led to an interesting list:
Darth Vader (VI, Engine Upgrade)
Backstabber (Stealth Device)
Mauler Mithel (Shield Upgrade, Marksmanship)
Howlrunner (VI, Shield Upgrade)
A second Imperial opponent, with a very high PS bid - a recurring theme for the day. Also, second game where my opponent set up for a joust. Honestly, I don't remember much about this game except the Dice Gods were angry with me. I saw a lot of blanks on my rolls, and a lot of non-blanks on his. Takeaway: Vader is an awesome flanker, and lady luck can be very fickle.
0-2
Round 3
Final round, "Battle for the Basement". I played against the friend of my 2nd round opponent - another new player. Finally I get to play against a Rebel squad.
Wedge (R2-D2, Marksmanship)
Biggs (R2-F2)
Ibitsam (Ion Cannon, FCS, Ellusive)
I was given initiative, and the asteroids were scattered pretty randomly across the board. He set up Biggs in the middle of his zone, while I set up in my right corner. He completed his setup with the other two ships more or less in the middle. I knew I had a speed advantage, so first turn was 5 straight and a boost. He sent his squad forward into the asteroid field. Second turn, a hard left and both Biggs and Wedge were within my sights. He was new, and didn't keep Wedge near Biggs, but I shot at Biggs (R1 vs a R3 shot at Wedge). I managed to finish off Biggs quickly, then Ibitsam, finally tracking down Wedge - but not before he knocked out 2 interceptors. My first win!
1-3
Overall, I had a blast. Everyone was friendly, and I'm looking forward to the event next month.