Wow...
This evening started off so casually...
I had just finished GMing a nice encounter in Edge of the Empire, and I asked one of the players who likes to play X-wing if he would like to have a battle. He said "sure", so I got out my tackle box full of minis, but he said "Let's do a 150 point battle." I didn't think it would take that much longer, so I agreed, and we both set about picking out our fleets. I didn't really care about synergizing much or making sure I had the perfect group, but I did just buy a brand new E-wing that I was itching to try out, so I decided to build my squad around that. I took the following:
Corran Horn
-Fire Control System
-Outmaneuver
-Stealth Device
Red Squadron Pilot
-Stealth Device
Dutch Vander
-Ion Cannon Turret
-R2 Astromech
-Engine Upgrade
Green Squadron Pilot (#9)
-Veteran Instincts
Green Squadron Pilot (#10)
-Veteran Instincts
-Munitions Failsafe
-Assault Missiles
Total: 150 points
He took these ships:
Krassis Trelix
-Slave I
-Cluster Missiles
-Expert Handling
-Ion Cannon
-Engine Upgrade
Major Rhymer
-Flechette Missiles
Captain Jonus
-Cluster Missiles
Night Beast
-Shield Upgrade
Dark Curse
-Shield Upgrade
Total: 150 points
Yeah, I also asked why he took the Slave I title if he wasn't going to equip torpedoes. He said it's zero points and he wanted his ship to actually be called Slave I. Can't really fault him there, eh?
Anyway, I started off by grouping my A-wings and E-wing together, with the Y-wing in the middle and the X-wing off to the right at a 45* angle. His ships were spread across the other side, with the Firespray to the right.
I began with my X-wing making a right bank maneuver to match up with my Y-wing, while the A-wings and E-wing hit the throttle and shot ahead at full speed. He decided to stagger his bombers and then fly the TIE Fighters as escort. The Firespray stayed out to the side. After a short engagement where my side only took light damage with his side suffering concentrated fire on Captain Jonus, I surprised him with Corran's second attack and then we set our dials. Jonas died the following turn without having fired his missile.
In the next few rounds I ended up losing my A-wing when I used Dutch to give the GSP #10 a free Target Lock to accompany his focus, which he used to fire his assault missile (barely at range 2, I might add). #9 was within R1 of the TIE Fighter I was shooting, and he only had one hull left so he bit the dust when the missile hit. But I managed to get three of his four remaining ships, so I consider it an acceptable loss.
After that he lost Night Beast, then I lost my E-wing (got to use Corran's ability one more time, though). I lost my X-wing, he lost his other Bomber, and then I finally lost my A-wing to concentrated fire.
It was down to my Y-wing and the Firespray and TIE Fighter. The Firespray only had three hull, and the TIE Fighter had one. My Y-wing though had lost shields and a hull, so the odds were not great. But thanks to that Engine Upgrade, not to mention the higher pilot ability, I was able to boost several times out of his firing arc, using my Ion Cannon to needle him. I got his TIE Fighter, then it was between me and his Firespray. We were both shaking. At this point over two hours had elapsed, the last half hour of which was almost constant maneuvering with little damage! I did manage to take his Firespray down to two hull, but it was still mostly just missed shots and boosting.
Finally, we both did a speed 2 turn right into each other's faces. Range 1.
I fired my laser cannons.
And I got two hits on him!
He just collapsed on the couch and stared at the now-dead Firespray. Then he came that close to flipping the table. He settled for flicking my Y-wing across the map.
Man... what a game! For a casual game, it really turned out to be a heck of a lot of fun! 