I know.

I've been here long enough that I should know some things. I should know far, far more than I do. But I don't.

I am, by all accounts, still a huge rookie. I know certain ships are viable and others are not. I know actions and crew abilities exist but not how they cooperate.

Things I can't be taught by an FAQ. Basically, I need general advice, the process of which XWMG should be played, and tips on what I should avoid and what I shouldn't.

***I will not accept "The HWK is not viable" because on that one I am bullheaded (and generally that unit has been little but successful for me.)

I'm also incredibly deficient in terms of unit movement. You give me a stick and throttle and I will outfly everybody you know. You do this dial and restricted movement stuff and man I am just...

Well I may be in a very loving relationship with asteroids, possibly even married with children.

Also Asteroids HOW DO THEY WORK? Setting them on the board, that is.

Just how big exactly is my deployment area? Range 1, right? I really don't know.

Augh. I know so little- and the worst part is, my local X-Wing scene is just... Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. My family is the scene. Ugh.

It's a huge mess.

Ah, feeding agan...

1. Asteroids are your friends. When you are a turret you love dense clusters in the middle, because your enemy has to fly after you and you cut out their possibilities. Being a high PS Phat Turret with boost enhacnes it even more

2. Asteroids are your bros, when packed not tightly, but scattered, they force the enemy (especially a big-arse boostturrets) a path. Small ships that don't fly formations love scattered asteroids.

3. You deploy within Range 1. Big ships may get out of Range 1, but must always have their base angle touching your border edge.

4. Always remember the order the units move. The enemy anticipates the best of your moves, so if he CAN do something about them, use different ones, not to get blocked or gang-shot.

5. Fast doesn't mean good.

6. Roster building process is 50% of the game. Netbuilding sucks, learn the art yourself and you'll be able to understand your FOE's strength and weakness. Try many builds, find your own favourite upgrade combos, like PTL+Adv sensors for me

7. Don't run PS8+ boost ships to early in your gaming life. It ruins the ability to think in advance.

NINJA POST!

I'll start with the easy ones. Your deployment zone is within range 1 of your edge of the play area. Asteroids are deployed at least range 2 from any edge and no closer than range 1 to another obstacle.

When setting asteroids, you should be asking yourself, "Where do I want this battle to take place?" You get to see your opponent's list before placing asteroids, so use that knowledge. Do you have fast, maneuverable ships, or slow, clunky ones? Oh wait, you fly HWKs, that's right. (j/k ) If you have HWKs and Y-wings, for example, you probably want to avoid putting the asteroids too close together to make sure you can maneuver between them.

I know it sounds strange, but when you make a new list, you should take it for a test drive before you bring it into combat. Find a time when you can set up the play area, throw some obstacles down, and place your ships without an opponent. Try to figure out where you want to start. What's a good first-maneuver for each ship? If you want your ships to end up at point X by turn 3, which maneuvers will it take? This gives you all the experience of flying in a fraction of the time it takes for a regular game. Maybe even more, actually, since you're not going to lose a ship on turn 2!

And that's about all I'm qualified to say for now. Good luck!

Blast! Ninja'd!

Don't let people talk you out of playing HWKs, they are too much fun for such a stiff ship (the scum versions that is, Rebels are a bit meh)!

HWK's?

Just take greenstuff, plastic, hobby knife and make a tiny SR-2 Normandy.

And they will be nice to look at!

The trick is to look your opponent straight in the eyes and make a suggestion, while doing a gesture with your hand.

Best bit of advice I ever heard for X-Wing was when setting dials - don't just think "where am I going to move?", ask yourself "where is my opponent going to move?".

Once you start asking yourself that, you can start planning movement multiple rounds ahead...

"Stick 'em with the pointy end."

oh wait..

wrong game.

Okay...shameless plus in 3.... 2.... 1.....

So, do you have any free time? In the car on the way into work or just time to listen to a 'Radio Show' about X-Wing?

If so, I HIGHLY recommend the first few episodes of our podcast, NOVA Squadron Radio! We cover these exact topics and try to give new players an introduction to the game.

Then, if you have liked what you have heard, stick around! We have been running the show for almost 2 years now, and we will turn up the volume on competitive talk and teach you what ships are good, what builds are hot right now and what we like in the game of X-Wing. We also have on some great guests, from World Champions, to top competitors from around the world.

I am a big fan! lol.

EvilEd is right - NOVA Squadron Radio is the first podcast I jumped into, and their first few episodes do deal a lot with tactics and tips geared at less experienced players.

Additionally, Paul Heaver has written an excellent set of articles called "Turn Zero" that you can fond here on the FFG Site (The forum's pinned post has links to them). They deal mostly with asteroid placement and things that happen before the game begins.

Now a shameless plug of my own: The Back to Dials Podcast, while younger than NOVA, Scum and Villainy and the rest, is growing swiftly and we just released out first strategy episode, geared at list building for less experienced players.

I listen to NOVA Squadron Radio, but I find they dismiss too many things as "not being competitive" for my liking. Take them with a grain of salt.

Best bit of advice I ever heard for X-Wing was when setting dials - don't just think "where am I going to move?", ask yourself "where is my opponent going to move?".

Once you start asking yourself that, you can start planning movement multiple rounds ahead...

I think this is why I do well. If you can figure out where your opponent is going to go, it greatly helps you. Part of it is knowing just what is the best thing for that particular ship to do, but also knowing their list and how it works. Is it a block that flies at you and fires? Is it a block that distracts you while an Ace flanks you? Do little ships keep you busy while something pounds you from a distance?

One example I noticed was Bro Bots. They always bait you with one as the other one tries to flank you. I figured out with my Xizor + 5 Z's that I just needed to use Flechette Torpedoes on the round that he baited and I flew all my ships at that one. Starting off stressed means they don't get an action or have to do a green. Put your Z's where his greens will be and he can't get out of the firing range of all your ships. You can pulverize one Bro Bot before the other does too much damage.

It's the idea of figuring out how an enemy list works. Look at it and what is the biggest threat to your list? Well....you do have to know how your list works, too. I guess that's part of it. How is your list going to take out the enemy? Figure out your list and their list and know where issues come in.

Also...look at articles about TURN ZERO that talk about deployment and asteroid placement. They should help a lot. If you want to force your opponent to face you head on, you try to put as many asteroids in a clump as possible. It makes it harder for them to dodge around them as it creates a giant mess they don't want to enter. Do you have low PS ships and not want them to flank you? Put your guys in a corner and build a wall of asteroids where you think they will flank you. Do they have a swarm when you don't? Spread them around a bit and try to force them through it.

As a side note, I have a friend that loves HWK-290's. He even uses Stealth Device on them and it actually helps! He took a 3 ship Rebel list that had 2 HWKs to last Store Championship and came out in the middle of the pack. It's not as daft as some people think. He laughed and told me how many people were flummoxed by it.

I'm in a similar boat. (GUNB...never mind). There's a great LGS right down the road that does tournaments and stuff but I never get to go. My schedule is just too crazy on the days and times.

That said, the first thing you wanna do to play XWing is buy the stuff, open the stuff, put the little ships on the bases and fly them around the room going 'zoom' and 'pew pew'. Then punch out ALL the tokens, it's therapeutic. Find a good spot to be your battleground and find someone to play your least favorite faction.

Then read this entire forum and watch all the videos and read all the articles with that guy who won worlds like eight times. John Beaver or something.

Then place your rocks and clouds (and huge ships as obstacles if you are into that) and get prepared to asplode as soon as the other guy somehow gets you into range one on the second round. Now you are playing X-wing!

(Or just listen to the other folks on here, all good advice really)

This videois dated but very helpful to set up your game plan before ships are deployed.

I don't consider myself a great player, I'm probably more lucky than anything else, but here is some things that I keep in mind before and while playing.

Team building

I don't personally think that there is ship in this game not worth taking. Some need more preparation to make them work, but any ship can bring their value on the table, sometime there's also just one or two pilot worth it. I generally pick a ship or pilot that I want to play, then I build around him.

When you build your team, you should always keep in mind what you expect to face. What if you face arc-dodgers, a fat turret, double IG, a swarm? To be competitive, you should have a tool, or at least a plan, to beat all the list you might go against. The last thing you want is being screwed before the match even started. You must also accept that there will be good match-up and bad match-up. When thinking about my basic strategy, I try to focus on the bad match-up, since as long as I don't screw up, I should win the good ones. Sometimes, my counter might just be my choice of obstacles: big rocks/debris might just be enough to give you a little edge, or a chance, against a swarm or double-IG. The important thing, is to not pick ships and obstacles randomly, each one should have a purpose, as small as it might be: 2 Z just to give some body, an arc dodger to counter the one of your opponent, etc.

Make yourself some archetype for some pilots. Try them and find what works and what not for you. It will help when building a team on the go, or when you need a role filled to already have some go-to pilots.

Also take initiative into consideration, just how important is it for you: If you're running a swarm, meh, but if you go in with Soontir, you definetly want it, so you might cut some points to ensure that you'll get it. But again, never get into the confort zone that you will always get it, be prepared to face that guy who thought initiative was even more important. In that sense, I suggest practicing a little bit with PS7-8 arc dodger and not go right away into the false PS9 comfort zone, because there is some PS10-11 waiting for you anyway. Taking ship of the same PS is also something that you should keep in mind. It's far from being necessary, but it helps during the activation phase.

Asteroid placement and unit deployment

I won't go long into that one since Paul Heaver wrote a wonderful article on the subject( https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2014/3/20/turn-zero/),but what I suggest is when you deploy your ship, you should at the same time think about how they'll move on the field. When you place your ship, you should already know what his first move will be, maybe have 2-3 prepared depending on where your opponent place his. Have a line already drawn in your head about how your ships will move and coordinate their first round attack. When you build your team, you should also already have a good idea about your opening move. When you're not sure about how to approach, slow play. Force your opponent to commit first, just make a 1 straight, or a 1 hard. Some players like to bump their ship first turn (especially with double IG) so that they stay in place and force the opponent to reveal their move first.

Wait, before even placing your first asteroid, you should take a good look at your opponent list and try to find what's his counter to yours. I said earlier that you should prepare against every kind of list, well your opponent probably did the same, so try to find what is his counter to your list and make it your priority target. Don't fly blindly against it, but always keep an eye on where your opponent deploys it, where does he go with it. Wait for the good opportunity, try to bait it into a trap.

Activation phase

Now before going into it, there is 2 basic thing that you need to do.

First, learn your distance. You need to be able to tell where a straight 3, a hard 2, a bank 3, etc will put your ship. You can easily practice this at home by making a field full of obstacle and navigate between them. You should place your ship and try to guess exactly where your ship will be when you pull any maneuver. Then do it by following your move with a barel roll, by a boost. Practice guessing where it will be by combining the three (bank 2, barrel roll right, boost left will put my ship here). Don't forget to also practice with Large base ship, they move differently. Also practice flying in formation: Square, Diamond, Pinwheel. It might be boring, but movement is the most essential thing to learn in this game if you want to get better. It will help you coordinate your move so that even if they are not flying together, you will be able to time their move so that they are at the same distance from your target of choice.

Second, learn each ship dial. It's great to know what your ship can do, but it is also very important to know what the ships of your enemy can and can't do. Learning the green available, the turn, the k-turn of each ship will give you an edge. There is no need to prepare for a maneuver when your opponent doesn't even have access to it in the first place. Possible action is also good to know, especially the boost and barrel roll one. And the special case; Segnor Loop, White K-Turn, Talon Roll, decloak. If you don,t feel like learning them, there is some players that made some handy card with all the maneuvers of each ship. Or just keep your box insert as reference.

So, with that in mind, when you pick your maneuver, you should always ask yourself: What if? You have an arc dodger, you don't want to get block. Think about where your opponent can go to actually block you, and don,t forget that he can also boost or barrel roll to block you (here is where the movement practice with barrel roll and boost come into play). Visualise where your opponent might go. What's his best move. What if he went there and actually block me, am I screwed or not. What if I get in a good position, attack first, but dice fails me, am I now in a bad spot next turn? When you choose your maneuver, you should also think about next turn. That move might get you a good shot, but next turn you'll go right through an asteroid, can you take it?

So, the things to always take into consideration is 1-Where your opponent might go 2-Where will you go next turn 3-Prepare for the worst and make sure that it doesn't screw you. But sometimes, it's okay to take some risk, or you'll start to be predictable. Just make sure that the risk is worth it and doesn't place you into a bad situation for the next turn. Also, especially against arc dodger, try to go for the block. Try to anticipate where your opponent will go and place a ship right there to deny him actions. Soontir without any action is suddenly very vulnerable. Action economy is very important. If you have the TL and you know you won,t be shot this turn, take it. More importantly, try to coordinate your move so that you can concentrate fire. Which move us to...

Combat phase

Concentrate fire. As much as you can, concentrate fire. Don,t dillute your fire against multiple target. Pick one, and get it down. There is nothing worst at the end of a game than to look at your opponent remaining ship and realise that they are all almost down but still flying. Usually, it means that something went wrong. So concentrate fire. We also go back to the begining, and choose your target wisely. Who is the pilot that represent the most threat to you? Paint a bullseye on him. Also, back to the action economy, if you have a Target Lock, it,s not always wise to spend it at the first opportunity. Keep it for the good occasion: range 1, with Focus, against a token less ship. Don't spend it when you're firing at range 3 with 2 dice against an agility 3 ship, odds are you will spend it for nothing. Again, think about next round. Order of attack should also be taken into consideration.

...

They are pretty basic tips, but I hope it will help you anyway.

Keep calm
and
"Pew Pew"

I'm also incredibly deficient in terms of unit movement. You give me a stick and throttle and I will outfly everybody you know. You do this dial and restricted movement stuff and man I am just...

Well I may be in a very loving relationship with asteroids, possibly even married with children.

Lackwit, you sly dog. Romancing the asteroids. I knew you had it in you.

These are your new texts of mastery. MASTER THEM.

Hope this helps!

Let's start with a build to practice with first too.

Can you run something like this? We will get to something like this soon. Its a good all round list, and not too hard.

Rebel Operative (16)

I know.

I've been here long enough that I should know some things. I should know far, far more than I do. But I don't.

I am, by all accounts, still a huge rookie. I know certain ships are viable and others are not. I know actions and crew abilities exist but not how they cooperate.

Things I can't be taught by an FAQ. Basically, I need general advice, the process of which XWMG should be played, and tips on what I should avoid and what I shouldn't.

***I will not accept "The HWK is not viable" because on that one I am bullheaded (and generally that unit has been little but successful for me.)

I'm also incredibly deficient in terms of unit movement. You give me a stick and throttle and I will outfly everybody you know. You do this dial and restricted movement stuff and man I am just...

Well I may be in a very loving relationship with asteroids, possibly even married with children.

Also Asteroids HOW DO THEY WORK? Setting them on the board, that is.

Just how big exactly is my deployment area? Range 1, right? I really don't know.

Augh. I know so little- and the worst part is, my local X-Wing scene is just... Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. My family is the scene. Ugh.

It's a huge mess.

So.....two things since we got this far into the thread.

1) Do you want to propose a list that you might like? Or....maybe start with something you like and we can help fine tune the list? Or suggest some other options? Doesn't have to be uber competitive, but should have a decent chance. It's not just finding what is the most efficient ships (that's for super high level tournament play) but finding a list you want and finding how it works FOR YOU. Some ships in some people's hands are useless. They just don't GET it. Or....a build that some would consider stupid actually work very well for you. I also believe that almost anything can be a good list...if you understand it and how to fly it. So....some of us can help you build a list, but more importantly, help give you ideas on how to fly it (asteroid placement, attack plans, etc).

2) Do you want help in getting more players? I think X-wing is one of the most accessible games out there. I've even had housewives that were closet Star Wars fans want to play the game. It might not be that hard to find new people....as long as you don't live in an isolated area. Even then....there are ways to get more players.

Go to you local game store and play lots .... learning by doing is a great teacher.

• Action optimisation will help you a lot .i.e if you do this, that happens as a free action (you will understant that more as you play more)
• Think what would I do if I was the enemy
• Use list makers a lot and play around with different combinations of pilots and cards
• watch lots of youtube videos

hope those tips help

Sorry for not replying. Got caught up in a bunch of things.

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate it a lot.