Yep. FFG. Saturday is my birthday, so hopefully I can get at least one win for a gift.

The only game I won was using the first list. I think I only lost Corran once. I know he's a huge point cost, but he worked out great with R2. I really like the e-wing. It's one of those "do I play what I like or what might have a chance?" things. That being said, the B is my favorite.

I'd take gunner, but of the four or five times I've taken it, I never had to use it. It's one of those cards that everyone loves, but I've never had its ability kick in.

I'll be there too! You're a member of Twin Cities X-Wing I hope. If you are shoot me a PM with your name. It's always good to put names with the screen names. I know AlexW and Lukesfather, as well as Hexis. Not sure who else local is on here.

Most times I just blame the dice. Then accuse the other pilot of cheating. Other times I'll throw the cheating accusation out first then blame the dice.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone.

We have a tournament this weekend so I think I'll fly something that a) I've flown before and b) something I like.

Thinking about either

Roark, Moldy Crow, Blaster, recon spec

Chewie, swarm

Biggs (does R2-D2 make sense? He stays alive longer, but it's 4 points on a doomed ship)

This is a list I've flown a bunch. It's great against phantoms or high PS three ship builds, but suffers against some others. Lots of fun though!

How long did it take you to get good, or at least decent at x-wing?

I've played about 20 games and had 1 win. I'm not a math wizard by any means, but I think that qualifies for "sucking" at something.

I'm trying not to get discouraged, but it's not fun to lose all the time. I do love playing though!

I'm pretty sure the main problem I have is my inability to find a list I like and stick to it. I have a tendency to fly a list, learn something, change the list to hopefully counter what I had a hard time with, fly that, run into a different problem, and keep changing things. I think I've only flown the same thing 2-3 times. Theres just so many different options! Even if I fly a list that beat me, I can't win with it!

Is it just inexperience, or is it possible that I'll always be terrible at x-wing? Is flying a list over, and over, and over, and over the key to being good at it?

Well, I have to wonder: are you new, starting out playing with a local cadre of pros? If so, good friggin' luck. They already have the eyeballing, the tactics and the strategic know-how. They also remember all the mistakes they made as rookie players and how to butcher people who are still making those mistakes. If this is your only competition then it's going to be a long while before you're competitive in that scene.

When I started playing this game it was just me and my friend playing match after match with each other. We cut our teeth on each other's tactics. After about 2-3 months of this (and likely upwards of 100 matches) we finally set out to find local crowds willing to play. So I can't speak from experience as to your current predicament, unfortunately. But I can say your best option is to keep at it. You'll get there eventually.

My best advice is to fly what you know and what feels right. And limit yourself. It's hard to think that way, but being new and without an extraordinarily firm grasp of maneuvers can leave you up the creek when it comes to squads. Find one or two ships that really fit your feel and build around them. For me that was the Interceptor. For you, probably something else. Once you have a strong foundation and understanding of a few ships, then the pros and cons of other ships, cards and flight strategies will be easier to grasp as well because you'll have a solid point of reference.

Lastly, there's a series of tutorial videos on Youtube that are positively the best for learning newcomers and veterans alike. They break down some very simple tactics that are immensely important.

I also recommend the video on The Rule of 11.

Yep. FFG. Saturday is my birthday, so hopefully I can get at least one win for a gift.

The only game I won was using the first list. I think I only lost Corran once. I know he's a huge point cost, but he worked out great with R2. I really like the e-wing. It's one of those "do I play what I like or what might have a chance?" things. That being said, the B is my favorite.

I'd take gunner, but of the four or five times I've taken it, I never had to use it. It's one of those cards that everyone loves, but I've never had its ability kick in.

I'll be there too! You're a member of Twin Cities X-Wing I hope. If you are shoot me a PM with your name. It's always good to put names with the screen names. I know AlexW and Lukesfather, as well as Hexis. Not sure who else local is on here.

I feel your pain with Imperial ships, bro I do. Imps are just not as forgiving at taking damage for the most part as the Rebel Scum. Then top that off with my flying Interceptors primarily Which could lead to the most glorious victory, or one of the worst losses ever. To me, and I don't win a ton, it's not the build, or the combo's It's the dice. I have somehow in someway really angered the dice gods, and they let me know it in every game. Atleast with Rebs all your ships have shields, so rolling blanks here or there will not wreak your day. But the Imps for the most part, and Interceptors in particular... Ugh, it blows. My advice, stick it out. Form a battle plan in your mind before the game and stick to it, adapting to what your opponent does during the game. It also couldn't hurt to say a small prayer to the dice gods before either. May the Force be with you.

Agreed on that front. I'm not going to get into any argument about which side is harder to play, but Interceptors and high PS TIE Fighters are definitely harder to be consistant with - Not that they're harder to win with but you are very dependent on the favour of the Dice Gods.

In my last game, a stealth device-ed Dark Curse casually sauntered across the front of an enemy squad, taking two phantom's fire for two turns with na'er a scratch and then exploding instantly to an interceptor at range three across an asteroid.

**** Statistics. Those dice have a nasty sense of humour.

The dice gods are fickle creatures they can be tender lovers one game then the most foul hate filled monsters the next, all you can do is keep sacrificing snack foods to them.

How to kill a Falcon? Howlrunner TIE swarm. Shreds it.

What's going wrong? Are you playing right and just losing? Are you crashing or getting arcdodged constantly?

As for sticking to one list, I've never played the same list twice.

Playing right and just losing? Yeah, as opposed to crashing and getting arcdodged yes. I wouldn't say I'm playing right all the time. I think I still have some newb brain-fart moments, but I'm not crashing into astroids every turn. Bumping happens more than I'd like it to (not my ships, theirs.) so maybe action denial is an area of improvement. I try to TL and focus when I can too.

That's blocking: they're anticipating your moves and deliberately attempting to make you fly into their ships so you don't get actions.

Something to try would be find a core element for a list. If you like flying Corran, include him in every list. Get really familiar with your pilots and their ships. You've got to know your equipment, and by chopping and changing lists you're not giving yourself that chance.

Some players know the dials of all their ships and the opponent's also. I'm not saying go that far (although it wouldn't hurt), but learn exactly what each of your ships is capable of, and this should help you fly them more comfortably. Once you understand the ship, work on the pilot abilities and find the synergy between pilots and upgrades that make them work together.

For example, if you fly Garven and Dutch together, you'll have fun giving each of them focus tokens and target locks each turn.

Try different combinations, but work around the core element. Take a pilot, understand that pilot, then add more pilots or upgrades that will make him even better.

I don't know if anyone else does this but one thing my buddy and I do with this game is run a sort of a practice game (we do this for magic as well) we talk each other through a game when we have questions or dilemas about stuff. Like my friend will do something and I can ask him what his thought process is going through that turn.

I don't know about anyone else here, but until you hit about 50 games or so I wouldn't keep track or your record at all. In the beginning, you are going to lose games, especially if you have a lot of good players around you. But if the guys you play with know that you are just breaking into the game, they need to tone their lists down some to make it more fun for both parties.

Losing at something doesn't mean you're bad at it. I find I learn so much more from my loses than I ever do from my wins. Every lose represents something you need to learn to do differently. And while I recognize that this is a dice game and there are those games that the dice just hate you, I do not ever blame my loses on the dice. Usually. While dice may have played a factor, I am sure I could have flown differently to allow for me to have better chances to win the game.

Have you tried taking photos of your games? Maybe even video recording your games? That way there you can go back and see where your mistakes were made and try to correct them next time out?

Hope that helps!

I guess I wasn't really sure what the ratio of wins to losses should be at this point. I would have hoped for more wins, but I'm not opposed to learning and paying my dues.

The majority of the games I'm able to get in are actually at tournaments, so while most of the guys are pretty cool about playing with new people, the environment is a little less forgiving. Everyone is there to win. I'll still get some reminders and pointers after a match. Everyone in the area seems to be an X-wing pro, but they're all really cool when it comes to new players.

Yeah, I am not so sure that the tournament environment is the best place to learn the game. Some people prosper in that kind of test, but most people, as you said, are there to win and not teach.

Do you have a local group you can play with in a non-tournament environment?

I've played hundreds of games and I still suck. I think I didn't record a win for my first dozen or so games, and that win was purely luck.

If I show up to league night, I'd be happy to walk away with a win for the night.

Yeah. It's more about my schedule than anything else. The chances I do have to get out are during tournaments. It just kind of works out that way. I do get in the odd casual game now and then, but not as often as I'd like.

Have you tried Vassal at all? It is not exactly the same, but I find I can get games in on Vassal when it is not my regularly scheduled game night.

Losing at something doesn't mean you're bad at it.

Hope that helps!

This. Very well said.

Wins and Losses are not a that great of an indicator of skill at this game. Having said that, if you are having issues with certain parts of the game, identify the issue and it then becomes a lot easier to fix. For example,

Maneuvering got you down? Play more, dink around with the bases and templates by yourself in a spare moment, and watch some videos. There are videos of some good pilots (and some bad pilots) out there on the ol' interwebz0rs - find them (not hard) and learn from their matches.

If you are having trouble remembering parts of your list, take a simpler list, or perhaps pilots that are all on the same PS so you have more flexibility with the order. That familiarity will then help you start looking for cards that fix a problem that you have instead of changing your whole squad.

Diverse opponents are a must! Just like seeing videos of others flying can help, flying against many different opponents and playstyles will help you more quickly find a playstyle that works for you.

Don't get discouraged. Big time this. I was on a streak that started in Feb and ended at this years regional. That streak was losing every tournament I entered. Not miss the cut, not runner up, flat lost. Left early kind of lost. I win probably 90% of my matches at my league night and any where else against the EXACT SAME OPPONENTS and the EXACT SAME LISTS. But at any tournament that mattered, my dice simply abandoned me. Poof. To the point that I floated them in water and test rolled them all obsessively to see how bad the dice were sticking it to me. They weren't. But it sure felt like it . The curve of averages is very long sometimes, and it can seem like outliers are the norm. But if you do enough of it, you will see it change in your favor.

Good Luck and Keep Flying!

Have you tried Vassal at all? It is not exactly the same, but I find I can get games in on Vassal when it is not my regularly scheduled game night.

I was just talking to one of the local guys about it.

When I was new (just two months ago...) I looked into it and it seemed very overwhelming and confusing for a new guy. I need to look at it again because I'd have more time to do something like that. It might not be ideal, but it would be better than not playing.

Here's a guide to X-Wing Vassal written by Mu0n the guy who took over the mod and does most of the work.

http://s93768914.onlinehome.us/xwing/

(Edit) NINJAed!

Look for me on Vassal man, If I can, I'll walk you through a game. Hop on to a few maneuvers there is a great tutorial there.

I feel your pain. I've hardly won any games just learning and playing with my brothers. Can't imagine how organized play would work for me. also i'm a local player.

I think finding a good group to play in non competitive environments is the best way to learn the game.

I've got 2 brothers and friend who play. We all started at roughly the same time. I'm the least experienced as the others meet up more. But we have a good time, and have enough ships now that we can mix it up. Mistakes get laughed at but we all learn from it.

I think we'll all give a tournament a go in the future, but for now we're enjoying it.

We've all had hot and cold streaks. My twin broke a ten game losing streak last night. I had a 6 game streak, and it got in my head. But I kept going. Then I won a few in a row! It can be extremely demoralising though so I get where you're coming from.

I was flying parts of my swarm off the table and into each other. Made it very easy to be beaten! But you'll get over it.

Just keep at it

Maybe people should post battle reports of their hopeless losses to cheer up us newbs, I remember my first game playing with the swarm and all my Ties ran into each other like lemmings, lost all their actions, it was like watching the Keystone Kops...

Of course the dice gods can always throw a game... I've seen runs of luck like you wouldn't believe... Quad criticals a couple of times in a very short time of playing the game.