While I was looking for exact wording on a damage card, I came across a site that was offering them for sale via auction. This instantly brought up a troubling notion in my mind. What's keeping somebody from stacking the deck with crits that either wouldn't affect their squad (munitions failure for a swarm of ties, thrust control fire with Fel), or with Pilot crits that could be discarded through the use of Determination cards?

Do tournaments usually make players show their damage decks to show the standard numbers of crit cards? It would be a pain in the butt to ask a player to do so in casual play, but I could see it happening.

Maybe ask to switch damage decks for the length of the game?

While I was looking for exact wording on a damage card, I came across a site that was offering them for sale via auction. This instantly brought up a troubling notion in my mind. What's keeping somebody from stacking the deck with crits that either wouldn't affect their squad (munitions failure for a swarm of ties, thrust control fire with Fel), or with Pilot crits that could be discarded through the use of Determination cards?

Do tournaments usually make players show their damage decks to show the standard numbers of crit cards? It would be a pain in the butt to ask a player to do so in casual play, but I could see it happening.

Maybe ask to switch damage decks for the length of the game?

You are welcome to inspect any of your opponents components before you start a game

Bringing a stacked deck could easily be considered cheating and get you disqualified from a tournament.

As mentioned you are free to inspect, and shuffle, your opponent's damage deck before play actually begins. While some may think this is "bad sportsmanship" it is 100% within the rules and something that no one, who is playing fairly, should have any problem complying to. At the very least you should count the cards in the opponent's deck with counting the number of Direct Hit cards while looking for triples of anything else would be the next step.

Sometimes something is just a little off with a lost card or maybe one accidentally exchanged in a previous game and those errors should be fixed. One or two off cards could be considered errors but more than that and I'd strongly suspect deliberate deck tampering.

2 players were ejected from a tournament for stacking their damage decks. They had 6 munition failures in their deck!

2 players were ejected from a tournament for stacking their damage decks. They had 6 munition failures in their deck!

I'd stand and applause that decision. Deck stacking is one of the lowest forms of cheating simply because it can be so hard to spot unless you actually check a person's deck.

2 players were ejected from a tournament for stacking their damage decks. They had 6 munition failures in their deck!

I'd stand and applause that decision. Deck stacking is one of the lowest forms of cheating simply because it can be so hard to spot unless you actually check a person's deck.

I agree. It's a lowlife scumbag that resorts to cheating in order to win. Exclusion from a tourney isn't harsh enough. Bring back flogging!

That's why I suggested that either player should have the right to switch decks. It takes out the time spent having to count out and reshuffle the cards. The TO would ask which tables were doing so and take note.

If both players are doing the right thing, no harm no foul.

If one player has stacked his deck to his advantage, he can be forced to give that advantage to the other player.

If one player has stacked his deck at a disadvantage assuming that the other player will take it (many more direct hits), there's always the chance that the opponent will not switch over and the cheater will be stuck with his own sabotaged deck.

On top of this, switching decks would mean that a cheater would be handing over bannable evidence to his opponent who might look through them after the game is over if something was fishy.

Your best chance is therefore to do the right thing and keep the original deck.

I'd have to say "no" to switching damage decks. Now you'd be responsible for someone else's property while trying to trust them with yours and let's be honest, we don't always appreciate how certain people handle things.

Having switch be optional doesn't help. It makes you look bad if you don't do it for some reason although insisting on switching could be almost as bad. As for "handing the evidence over to your opponent" after a game why don't you just do the check before the game which means that gains you nothing.

I'd also guess that if one was so inclined to stack a deck they certainly could do it to their benefit but where that benefit could still hit an opponent harder. You could put in cards that your squadron can handle better (like more Pilot criticals when you're running Determination) but which would often mess with an opponent who wasn't as prepared.

I remember a tale of a guy that got busted for damage deck stacking. He'd removed all the "Direct Hit!" cards from it and replaced em' with far less painful crits.

His opponent became suspicious because the genius doing the deck stacking was flying a freaking Decimator, which naturally began to collect a large amount of (minor) crits.

If you're going to cheat, maybe don't run the ship that can stack the most crits on it?

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If you're going to cheat, maybe don't run the ship that can stack the most crits on it?

If you aren't going to get so many criticals then why bother stacking the deck to begin with?

I guess it is better to go with a bunch of ships that could only get one or two cards on them before getting being destroyed. Far fewer "face-up" cards in play because who ever bothers noticing the four Weapon Failure cards in the discard pile.

So... we are now discussing how best to cheat? ... ok, just checking.

There are many ways to cheat, but inevitably the cheat gets caught out and ends up playing fewer and fewer games. So how did that work out for him?

So... we are now discussing how best to cheat? ... ok, just checking.

If you want to know what vulnerabilities to guard against you need to know what those vulnerabilities are. Getting protection from a known threat is much easier than a completely unknown one and this is true of most things except those cases where there is no defense and ignorance may be bliss.

Bring back flogging!

"He's nothing but a low-down, double-dealing, backstabbing, larcenous perverted worm!

Hanging's too good for him. Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive!

-Hanover Fiste"

At my tournaments that are official, we check all squadron lists before the tournament. We check if Players are really using These squadron lists (around 50% of players). And we check damage decks (around 50% of players), some completely. Players know this, so they don't even try cheating. We didn't find anything in the last tournaments.

At my tournaments that are official, we check all squadron lists before the tournament. We check if Players are really using These squadron lists (around 50% of players). And we check damage decks (around 50% of players), some completely. Players know this, so they don't even try cheating. We didn't find anything in the last tournaments.

I suppose the threat of a random check is usually enough to make dodgy players fly straight. Have you ever caught anyone out?

No, never caught anyone cheating so far. This weekend I organised our Regionals. I checked all 53 squadlists before the game, 24 during the game, and at least 22 damage decks (some completely). One time we only counted 32 damage cards, but then ther were only 2 sticky Cards, so the damage deck was complete.

The atmosphere was none the less very friendly. I think some fears are exaggerated. For example at an other tournament of mine, there were suddenly some rumoures that 3 Players were so frustrated of the tournament that they left mid-tournament the venue with their suitcases and all. This rumour only developed because of heated arguments on the Internet about such Topics we are discussing right now. Truth was the 3 Players only left the venue to have lunch outside and took their suitcases with them and then came back. Nothing happend, but People were upset for a short time about some early presumptions.

So... we are now discussing how best to cheat? ... ok, just checking.

Yes, I think we are. If you really think the only possible reason to do so is to apply them, I can't help you.

remember also that little used rule once a ship is destroyed all damage cards on that ship are placed FACE UP in a discard pile, where both players can see. czn be very easy to spot 3 of the same non-direcgnhit card.

remember also that little used rule once a ship is destroyed all damage cards on that ship are placed FACE UP in a discard pile, where both players can see. czn be very easy to spot 3 of the same non-direcgnhit card.

Yes and no.

The cards may be face-up but normally they are kept in a nice neat stack so the only one you can easily see is the one on top. If you're not paying a lot of attention to what is going into the discard pile it can be easy to miss that 3rd or 4th copy of the same damage card unless they have the misfortune of all showing up at the same time. Of course you can inspect that face up pile of discards but how often does that happen.

remember also that little used rule once a ship is destroyed all damage cards on that ship are placed FACE UP in a discard pile, where both players can see. czn be very easy to spot 3 of the same non-direcgnhit card.

Yes and no.

The cards may be face-up but normally they are kept in a nice neat stack so the only one you can easily see is the one on top. If you're not paying a lot of attention to what is going into the discard pile it can be easy to miss that 3rd or 4th copy of the same damage card unless they have the misfortune of all showing up at the same time. Of course you can inspect that face up pile of discards but how often does that happen.

There is no hidden information in X-Wing, other than the face down damage cards and the face down ships dials.

Any face up damage cards are public knowledge and may be inspected by either player at any time. In our local tournaments, now that we use that rule properly, we quite often discuss which crits have come up on the ship thats destroyed.

remember also that little used rule once a ship is destroyed all damage cards on that ship are placed FACE UP in a discard pile, where both players can see. czn be very easy to spot 3 of the same non-direcgnhit card.

Yes and no.

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There is no hidden information in X-Wing, other than the face down damage cards and the face down ships dials.

Any face up damage cards are public knowledge and may be inspected by either player at any time. In our local tournaments, now that we use that rule properly, we quite often discuss which crits have come up on the ship thats destroyed.

X-Wing's hidden information is the unrevealed dial and face down damage cards along with the order of the undrawn damage deck. I certainly agree on all of that. My only point is that while it may be public information the exact content of the removed damage pile isn't always tracked closely. Perhaps you closely track all of the damage cards revealed by your opponent but I believe that most people rarely find it to be worth expenditure of extra brain power; if you can cause [crit] results at a cost having a better idea of what may show up can be important but without that if a good card comes up then you're just playing the game.

Wouldn't an easy way to solve the issue of deck stacking be to institute a rule that all winners have their decks checked? This would instantly take away any advantage to stacking the deck, and for most players can be done in the time after the win but before the clock runs down, i.e. not wasting everyone's time waiting on it as you would if checks are done before hand. Might be a good time to check squad lists too.

Wouldn't an easy way to solve the issue of deck stacking be to institute a rule that all winners have their decks checked? ...

It's no easier than checking your opponent's deck before the game starts. Or maybe you mean check those top finishers in a tournament when all is said and done. Of course that would easily let someone "play to the top" using a modified deck before switching out to a standard deck for that last game where they know they'll be checked.

If someone really wants to 'waste time' there are plenty of opportunities to do it. If someone can't count out the 33 damage cards and briefly inspect for type in good time they'll probably be stalling in other ways later.

This is starting to sound like F1; inspect before the race, inspect the winner incl a full engine teardown. .. what about the guy who enters with the right number of cards and ends 1 short? If hes audited mid tournament is he allowed to replace with a legal deck or try to find the missing card, or the guy that ended up with an extra card somehow and gets audited? I guess where's the line drawn?

This issue comes up. Full deck audits are time consuming. Were mixing asteroids and obstacles at this point. I dont see the issue with deck swapping or doing a 7/33 count before each round of each other's decks and calling the to if there's an issue.