In my time playing MtG the player interaction was all kinds of different along the spectrum, from some dude telling me he's leaving his fiancé the next day to be with someone else to a dead silent, smelly, extremely introverted, nervous guy whose hygiene had me at a loss for words except when declaring attacks or responding to things.

But X-Wing has been fine for me. Small talk, laughs, its like the community here in the SoCal region is friendly and nearly family-like. Lots of people I've played against are extremely lax about it, but there is the occasional oddball who makes interaction or conversing with kinda awkward or unpleasant, like the winner to the last SC I've attended.

In all honesty, dead-seriousness in any kind of gaming environment isn't necessary unless you're out to win the grand prize meant for paying the bills and keeping your livelihood.

But X-Wing has been fine for me. Small talk, laughs, its like the community here in the SoCal region is friendly and nearly family-like. Lots of people I've played against are extremely lax about it, but there is the occasional oddball who makes interaction or conversing with kinda awkward or unpleasant, like the winner to the last SC I've attended.

XD

Is it bad that I knew exactly who you were talking about before I read the final clause?

But X-Wing has been fine for me. Small talk, laughs, its like the community here in the SoCal region is friendly and nearly family-like. Lots of people I've played against are extremely lax about it, but there is the occasional oddball who makes interaction or conversing with kinda awkward or unpleasant, like the winner to the last SC I've attended.

XD

Is it bad that I knew exactly who you were talking about before I read the final clause?

"but there is the occasional oddball..."

Yep. It's that guy.

Too bad.. the whale ate his fifth xD

... And left with all the Store Championship plaques! Is it 4 now? I've lost count...

Nope. In fact I've attended 6 this year (1 winter, 4 store championship's and 1 casual), compared to 10-12 last year.

It helps that my local store has a decent core of players. Decent in skill as well as temperament.

I've also signed up to 3-4 tournaments and the nationals, so that's the next few months covered.

He is my white whale, without the "Moby". And I'm loving it!

So, he is your di#k?

I know where the OP is coming from. The vibe of the tournament scene is dependent on how your local area is. If there are a number of jerks and highly competitive players, then the whole "fly casual" is no where to be seen. I've seen (and been to) tournaments for some games that are cut throat and not fun. The tension there is palpable and those events are not fun. A tournament in a completely different place with different folk is a whole different game. So, there are places that are just not fun to game at.

When it comes to the tournament scene, when Wave 5 was in full effect, I thought about it. The games were boring. It was the same lists over and over and over again. It just wasn't fun. I finally decided to build a list that was meant to thumb the eye of anyone with a big, turreted ship and went with 4 Tie Bombers. The funny thing was that when that SC happened, there were only 2 lists that had them! There are times when the meta becomes so bland that it's just not fun to play in. I've been there.

I'm tempted to go to the Regionals in Raleigh, NC. I've got a free place to crash. I'm not sure if I want to. The local SC was fun as I knew people. None of my local friends want to bother with Regionals as they know they don't have a chance to win. So...how will the event be? I'm not sure. I'm tempted to go again with my Tie Bomber list just to spoil anyone who takes big ships, but know I will lose to all the Intercpetors and Phantoms.

I know there are times when I'm not engaging in small talk with my opponent. Most of the time its because I'm focused on the game at hand. There is just so much going on in X-Wing that if you don't stay focused you could potentially for get something important.

I don't play in tournaments, but that's more because I rarely have time to devote to them between school, work and wife. That being said, the people in my area who play X-Wing are phenomenal. "Fly Casual" is something of a mantra in my area, even going so far as playing a game that neither myself nor my opponent were really into. We just looked at each other, agreed to call it a draw and went to grab a beer.

I'm rarely comfortable with stereotypes, but it really seems like X-Wing around attracts a better class of player. Most of the horror stories around here come from Warmachine/Hordes, where there is a core group of mouth breathers who will literally scream "Page 5!!!" as an excuse for inappropriate behavior and to criticize players who don't rush straight into the teeth of their armies (even when playing a faction that relies on movement shenanigans rather than brute force). They really are the personifcation of the stereotype of younger Ork players from 40K years back (sorry, WonderWaaagh).

Anyway, back to my point (if I had one) really atrocious players have forced me to reconsider several games and the investments I had made in them (time and $$). I have really lucked out with X-Wing (and as it picks up, D&D Attack Wing), because beyond the ruleset, the miniatures, and everything else, games like this are a social experience. The people are the most important thing, and the people I have been lucky enough to play with are phenomenal.

Played my first tournament March 7th. A Store Championship 1 & 1/2 hours away. Everyone there was pretty cool. Even the guy who's aggressive personality and cursing threw me off was cool. He played well and I made tons of mistakes, we discussed squad builds both before and after our match. Definitely looking forward to a rematch. Signed up for regionals this year, going to practice for it today. Maybe next year I can attend Nationals or Worlds.

He is my white whale, without the "Moby". And I'm loving it!

So, he is your di#k?

Nah he's trying to get across that I'm a d#$k

He needs to work on getting his pun across

Ps I now got five on it...

"It" being my wall that is xD

Went to a casual tourney on the weekend that was a blast. Points limit was 120, which really opened things up to different builds, and nerfed a lot of the standard power builds.

I got third best over the two days.

I've thought about hosting an event that bans big ships and Phantoms. It's official tournament season, though, and I'm saving all my weekend passes for official events.