Start with Mission 1 from the book and go from there.

We've been working through as many of the main missions that we could before playing the matchplay games.

Once you have a few of the missions done, it all seems to click fairly well.

Uck. Luke R2D2 is darn hard to play against. Well, it probably didnt matter that game. glad you got someone new to play!

Uck. Luke R2D2 is darn hard to play against. Well, it probably didnt matter that game. glad you got someone new to play!

Luke did end up winning, both are turtle ships. It dragged the game out quite a few rounds, which was good for getting the hang of maneuvering.

Here is what I did a couple weeks ago to introduce a new player.

I gave him Soontir + PtL + TC, vs Luke + R2-D2. No asteroids. Full range modifiers, just 2 ships on each side. After about 15-20 minutes he was good to go and we played a full game. He has played 40k in the past, and is a smart guy.

You said two ships on each side. Which ship was the second on each side?

Uck. Luke R2D2 is darn hard to play against. Well, it probably didnt matter that game. glad you got someone new to play!

Luke did end up winning, both are turtle ships. It dragged the game out quite a few rounds, which was good for getting the hang of maneuvering.

... Luke R2D2 gives me cold mathematical sweats. Logical terror. Causally sound hysteria.

I've found that the 50-75pts Range is a good starting point for new players for teaching and list building. They're probably not going to go "all out" immediately but the matches around this size shouldn't hurt their wallet too much at the start while building. In a casual setting I've no real objections against "proxy cards" proxy ships not so much.

Here are some easy lists that are relatively easy to throw together (Buy and Build) within the 50-75pts range:

Rebels: Han and Chewie

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Chewbacca — YT-1300 42
Push the Limit 3
Homing Missiles 5
Weapons Engineer 3
Han Solo 2
Engine Upgrade 4
Millennium Falcon 1

Total: 60

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But how does it Roll... no it does not "Roll"

Empire or Scum: Boba Fett

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Boba Fett — Firespray-31 39
Expose 4
Ion Cannon 3
Proximity Mines 3
Navigator 3 or Recon Specialist 3 or Weapons Engineer 3
Ion Pulse Missiles 3
Advanced Proton Torpedoes 6
Experimental Interface 3
Slave I 0

Total: 64 (60 because sheeple like saying Expose is bah-a-a-a-ad....)

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Shows practically everything..

Rebels: Porkins and "young" Wedge

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Jek Porkins — X-Wing 26
Elusiveness 2
R5-D8 3
Hull Upgrade 3

Red Squadron Pilot — X-Wing 23
R2-D6 1
Outmaneuver 3
Hull Upgrade 3

Total: 64pts

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Porkins:: Introduces EPTs, and Pilot Abilities, and the effects of Stress.

"young" Wedge:: Emphasizes the importance of "out of Arc" shots and makes you want to think a turn or two to anticipate shots.

Rebels: Rebel "Scum"

what could potentially be a "S&V" trainer list is that is what "hooked" the player into the game.

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Rebel Operative — HWK-290 16
Ion Cannon Turret 5
Weapons Engineer 3
Moldy Crow 3

Airen Cracken — Z-95 Headhunter 19
Wingman 2
Hull Upgrade 3

Tala Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter 13

Total: 64pts

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Shows Ion Effects, Title Cards, Crew, Action Sharing, and Turrets.

Empire: Black Squadron Flight

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"Howlrunner" — TIE Fighter 18
Decoy 2

Academy Pilot — TIE Fighter 12

Black Squadron Pilot — TIE Fighter 14
Decoy 2

"Backstabber" — TIE Fighter 16

Total: 64

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Shows Formation Flying Tight (typical block, Howlrunner) or Loose (within Decoy Ranges), Importance of "Out of Arc" (Backstabber)

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I'm sure there are other 64 point lists that are that are quick and easy to put together. But sometimes removing options and using pre-builts makes learning easier.

above there's 5 Lists, number them (or create 6 of your own lists) and roll some D6's.

As mentioned "Iconic" ships are what will hook someone into staying with the game. The mission scenarios are probably you best bet in teaching someone to play; It adds depth to the game. Not only are they flying with/as their favorite Star Wars Heroes/Villains but it puts them into the Star Wars universe if you can somehow manage to create a "RP (role-playing) Adventure" aspect to the scenarios/missions.

Finally, bend the game (scenarios) for your friend.

The key is make it fun for them, remind them of "missed actions" if they've forgotten to before you reveal. Allow them to take back an accidental maneuver once in a while (all ships have "Stay on Target" ).

If they enjoy list building link them a list builder and tell them the models you have available. Set an objective scenario or death match.

Also ALWAYS make "pew-pew" and explosion sounds. Because everyone is thinking it when they roll dice.

And good luck on creating another Wingnut, that's X-WingNut, not Wing Commander WingNut although more of those are always welcome...

Here is what I did a couple weeks ago to introduce a new player.

I gave him Soontir + PtL + TC, vs Luke + R2-D2. No asteroids. Full range modifiers, just 2 ships on each side. After about 15-20 minutes he was good to go and we played a full game. He has played 40k in the past, and is a smart guy.

You said two ships on each side. Which ship was the second on each side?

Oops typo! Meant to say just 2 ships total.

I use to like a Han Shoots First List versus some basic TIEs. But I find the TIES shred the Falcon to often.

Nowadays I go for a 50 point list:

2 Rookie Pilots w/Shield Upgrades

v

2 Academy TIEs

2 Obsidian Squadron

or if I am feeling fancier

2 Rookie Pilots w/Shield Upgrades & R2 Astromechs

v

2 Academy TIEs

Marek Stele w/determination

Its a fairly even match up, showcases how Pilot Skill affects the game very simply and doesn't clutter the game with any special abilities you need to think about. The second I consider easier for the rebels.

I find the starter set works really really well. From there I go to a 100 point game, but I've had some hang ups when new people want to play empire. Its tough to find a combination of models that are easy for them to use, understand, and be excited about. I'm hoping the decimator fixes this.

How's this for a teaching scenario (intermediate, after new player has already played around 5 games or so and has some familiarity with the rules)

Theme: Teamwork

Rebels: Airen Cracken + 2x Bandits

Imperials: Howlrunner + 2x Academies

The goal here is to illustrate that some strategies use the tactic of flying in formation. Here, Airen Cracken can give a nearby ship a free action. Howlrunner allows nearby ships to reroll a die.

What are your thoughts on this scenario? Of course, flying in formation will be shown as only *a* tactic, and not the only viable tactic. That is, counters to flying in formation (e.g. Assault Missiles) will be covered in a later scenario-lesson.

How's this for a teaching scenario (intermediate, after new player has already played around 5 games or so and has some familiarity with the rules)

Theme: Teamwork

Rebels: Airen Cracken + 2x Bandits

Imperials: Howlrunner + 2x Academies

The goal here is to illustrate that some strategies use the tactic of flying in formation. Here, Airen Cracken can give a nearby ship a free action. Howlrunner allows nearby ships to reroll a die.

What are your thoughts on this scenario? Of course, flying in formation will be shown as only *a* tactic, and not the only viable tactic. That is, counters to flying in formation (e.g. Assault Missiles) will be covered in a later scenario-lesson.

excellent. DO EET

Honestly, I'm extremely sad that FFG nerfed out formation flying. That was one of the cool things about the games mechanics. Taht you couldn't do slights while close togehter and in line. and the transpositions of hard turns. Idk. Dumb.

Visualing slights and turns on the corners and nubs too.

I want to see more swarm, formation flying. and daeth blossoming.

Yeah. I find that except for builds that do not use formation flying in the first place (e.g. TIE Phantom, Fat Han), most other builds still use formation flying. I rarely see Assault Missiles in real life play because they are only really good against formations and are not useful against Fat Han.

So, I think formation flying is still viable and will likely continue to be viable for the Empire and Rebels. Scum, on the other hand, is a different story.

Yeah. I find that except for builds that do not use formation flying in the first place (e.g. TIE Phantom, Fat Han), most other builds still use formation flying. I rarely see Assault Missiles in real life play because they are only really good against formations and are not useful against Fat Han.

So, I think formation flying is still viable and will likely continue to be viable for the Empire and Rebels. Scum, on the other hand, is a different story.

Actually, that's just one way to maximize focus firing. All of my games have become spread out. It completely confuses my opponent and I've getting good at laying traps to get some good shots in. give it a try. your most important requirement is to ensure veryone arrives to shooting round 1 at the same time.

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I actually think its kind of dumb. Its easier to fly spread and willy nilly than it is to have formation. Yet another design disagreement I have with the current design team.

Please critique this summary of formation flying:

Formation Flying:

Definition: Basically, formation flying is when you fly your spaceships together.

Advantages of Formation Flying:

* Can take advantage of some special abilities (Howlrunner, Airen Cracken)

* Can ensure that all spaceships are facing the same way, so that all of them can shoot at the same enemy

* Can avoid collisions, if done correctly (because the spaceships move together, almost in lockstep, so it is easier to predict where they will end up)

Disadvantages of Formation Flying:

* Can collide more easily if done incorrectly, as the spaceships are more crowded together (especially true if you use a lot of soft turn maneuvers)

* Some special abilities are intended to counter formation flying (e.g. Assault Missiles)

* Formation flying may lose its meaning if the spaceship with the special ability dies early

How to do it:

There are two approaches:

Box Formation: Has ships in the front and the back, all within range 1 of the ship with the special ability, like a box. Here, the lower pilot skill ships should be in front so that they could move first and get out of the way. The ship with the special ability should always be in the back so that it could potentially get the 3 range +1 defense dice bonus. The box formation looks like this:

Box Formation (Howlrunner):

TIE TIE

Howl TIE

This is, in my opinion, the purest form of formation flying. Both the advantages and disadvantages of formation flying are emphasized. This works best if the swarm has 4 ships or more.

Abreast Formation: Here, the ships are placed in a line, which could be straight or in a V-shape. The key difference here is that no ship is in front of another at the time of setup. So, it might look like this:

Z-95 Airen Z-95

The benefit of this is that the ships can move easier without fear of bumping into each other because ships are not directly in front of other ships in your fleet. You still need to be careful of ships crossing paths though. The detriment of this is that it is harder to maintain the formation and retain the special ability bonuses. That is because it is easier to fly out of that 1 range distance between ships when they are not closely bunched together to begin with.

Conclusion:

Formation flying is a tactic that is used in many different builds, primarily in builds that use a swarm strategy. Although formation flying has advantages and disadvantages, it could be quite powerful when used correctly.

---------------------------------

To the extent this is helpful, please let me know and I could make a separate thread for it so people here could find it easier.

Please critique this summary of formation flying:

Formation Flying:

Definition: Basically, formation flying is when you fly your spaceships together.

Advantages of Formation Flying:

* Can take advantage of some special abilities (Howlrunner, Airen Cracken)

* Can ensure that all spaceships are facing the same way, so that all of them can shoot at the same enemy

* Can avoid collisions, if done correctly (because the spaceships move together, almost in lockstep, so it is easier to predict where they will end up)

Disadvantages of Formation Flying:

* Can collide more easily if done incorrectly, as the spaceships are more crowded together (especially true if you use a lot of soft turn maneuvers)

* Some special abilities are intended to counter formation flying (e.g. Assault Missiles)

* Formation flying may lose its meaning if the spaceship with the special ability dies early

How to do it:

There are two approaches:

Box Formation: Has ships in the front and the back, all within range 1 of the ship with the special ability, like a box. Here, the lower pilot skill ships should be in front so that they could move first and get out of the way. The ship with the special ability should always be in the back so that it could potentially get the 3 range +1 defense dice bonus. The box formation looks like this:

Box Formation (Howlrunner):

TIE TIE

Howl TIE

This is, in my opinion, the purest form of formation flying. Both the advantages and disadvantages of formation flying are emphasized. This works best if the swarm has 4 ships or more.

Abreast Formation: Here, the ships are placed in a line, which could be straight or in a V-shape. The key difference here is that no ship is in front of another at the time of setup. So, it might look like this:

Z-95 Airen Z-95

The benefit of this is that the ships can move easier without fear of bumping into each other because ships are not directly in front of other ships in your fleet. You still need to be careful of ships crossing paths though. The detriment of this is that it is harder to maintain the formation and retain the special ability bonuses. That is because it is easier to fly out of that 1 range distance between ships when they are not closely bunched together to begin with.

Conclusion:

Formation flying is a tactic that is used in many different builds, primarily in builds that use a swarm strategy. Although formation flying has advantages and disadvantages, it could be quite powerful when used correctly.

---------------------------------

To the extent this is helpful, please let me know and I could make a separate thread for it so people here could find it easier.

Disagree: I think your summary could be more concise. Also advantages to a tactics must be learned through experience. Fear and power motivate. muahaha.

okay, to be really honest: It's duper cool.

However, the best formation imo is the pinwheel. you can find the tutorials online. I know form real experience why I think its the best.

even the slight turns are far enough that you can do one or two before you hit anything. that gives you much more maneuverability.

a lesson on true swarm tactics would be super cool. A player who hasn't used it won't see the interactions. However the amount of space that a swarm takes up means that many times, you will completely bump the opponent into nearly no actions. The amount of space you take up by going first also means that there is a significant amount of change that might be hard for a player to visualize.

tricks in barrel rolling into and out of position lend to considerable mobility to the formation.

When does one break out of formation?

Also, can you spring the convergence trap? You go out of formation or turn into many different directions the first turn. then make hard turns or k-turns so that a huge part of the swarm now has facing on the opponent yet again, while deny possible k-turns for them.

A version is the Death Blossom as featured on TeamCovenant.

You can also do a smaller Death Blossom variant with 3 ships, into a 180 degree arc also.