After months of watching my miniatures collect dust on my shelf, I finally downloaded Vassal. I put together a 3 ship Imperial list which i've been using to both learn Vassal and to get less awful at X-Wing in general:

Carnor Jax (26)

-Royal Guard TIE (0)

-Outmaneuver (3)

-Shield Upgrade (4)

-Autothrusters (2)

Turr Phennir (25)

-Royal Guard TIE (0)

-Outmaneuver (3)

-Shield Upgrade (4)

-Autothrusters (2)

Royal Guard Pilot (22)

-Royal Guard TIE (0)

-Outmaneuver (3)

-Shield Upgrade (4)

-Autothrusters (2)

Total: 100

I've played two games so far. In my first game my opponent, who was exceedingly gracious and helpful when it came to figuring out Vassal, fielded Rexler Brath and Echo. Brath vaporized Turr Phennir with his heavy laser cannon almost immediately, but after that I was lucky and able to stay out of arc and shot down both of his ships. Lucky start for the 88th!

In my second game I fared less well. My opponent fielded a Scum fleet, Boba Fett and Kath Scarlet with Predator and Tactician. I made some poor/unlucky choices on turn 2, which left me pretty exposed. A few rounds of withering fire and my TIEs were all dead, and I hadn't even punched through the shields on either Firespray. I couldn't get to the flank of either ship, and those rear arcs are deadly!

Played two games yesterday against a fleet consisting of three Obsidian Squadron TIE Fighters, Howlrunner, and Echo. In the first game some bad movement choices on round 2 put me square in the sights of the TIE Fighters, and I was unable to recover. We agreed to reset after two of my Interceptors went down, and on my opponent's adivce I tried swapping Outmaneuver for Push the Limit.

In the second game an unexpected maneuver by the TIE Fighters caused a massive 5 ship pileup, rendering Push the Limit useless for most of the game. I did a bit better in game two, managing to kill two TIEs.

I feel like even though I'm losing I'm starting to get a much better feel for the game. The main lessons I learned yesterday are

1) I can afford 1, sometimes 2 mistakes with an Interceptor before it's toast

2) I can't afford to lose 1/3 of my firepower early in the game, I need to start more defensively

3) Don't K Turn unless you are 100% sure you won't end up in exactly the wrong place

On a related note, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I fired up Vassal for the first time. I've played games before where novices are met with disdain, and treated poorly. All three of the people I've played so far have been incredibly gracious, nice, and welcoming. So thank you for that, it makes me excited to keep playing and get better.

When flying Interceptors, it's very important to not get blocked. That means you should be approaching enemy ships so that, from your Interceptor's perspective, the enemy ships on your 10 oclock or 2 oclock. If you approach the enemy with them square at 12oclock, then when your ships collide you will have no way to escape being blocked and losing your actions.

And yes, Vassal players, in my experience, are very nice people, there's a strong sense of community on Vassal.

Thanks! That's really good advice. If anyone else has tips on flying TIE Interceptors I'd love to hear them.

If you have a choice between both you and your opponent getting a shot, and no-one getting a shot - break off and come back around. That's good advice with an Interceptor with Push The Limit, but with outmanouvre it's even more critical.

I'm excited to see someone running Squints without PtL.

Well done OP!