What is Competitive Play?

Basically, being competitive is playing to win. No, I don’t mean cheating or general ******-baggery, I mean building a list and playing it with a single goal: to beat your opponent’s list. Being competitive isn’t about making theme lists, or decisions based on a budget, or gimping your list to make people like you – those things take away from the competitiveness of a list – it’s playing to win. If you want a better understanding of this type of play then read on dear forumite! If you feel that this type of play is not for you, then this is probably as good a place as any to stop.

Okay, I get that, but who are you and why should I care?

My forum name is redthirst and I’ve been playing X-Wing for about 2 months now. “Two months?" you're thinking, "What could this guy teach me? I’ve been playing X-Wing for _ years!” - an accurate, if not pessimistic, evaluation of the situation good forum-goer, but while it is true that my experience with X-Wing may be limited, I’ve been an avid gamer for 2 decades and have tournament experience in spades. Believe it or not, most rules of competitive gaming are universal, so, even though I have less specific X-Wing experience than 99% of the people reading this, I’d bet that I have more general competitive experience than about that same number.

Well, now that we’ve established that there’s a small chance that I’m not completely full of ****, let’s dive right in to why you should care, shall we?

I remember back in early 2000-something my playgroup took a break from M:tG and started playing a CCG called Lord of the Rings that was a ton of fun. I noticed, though, that the level of competition outside my regular playgroup was ridiculously low. Like, every single one of us made top cut in every tournament we went to even though most of the players we beat had been playing a lot longer than we had. At first, we were confused why we seemed to understand the game so much better than most everyone else, but that’s when we realized that the vast majority of people who played LotR were not gamers, but fans of LotR and that they just didn’t know how to be competitive. Most of the concepts that we took for granted were completely alien to people whose most competitive previous gaming experience was Monopoly. Since then, I've played other games and found that to be generally true of every single game based on pop culture – including X-Wing. Most of the X-Wing players I’ve met simply aren’t gamers as much as they are fans of Star Wars. This is perfectly fine, of course, but it does mean that anyone who wants to improve their game might not have the resources readily available to do so. Hell, they might not even know where to start.

That's all well and good, but why do you care redthirst?

I enjoy competitive gaming and I enjoy playing at my best. I want a challenge when I play. It's just not fun for me to play games that are basically auto-wins, so if I can do my small part to make anyone a better gamer then that equates to more fun for me.

So you still want to know how to be competitive? Okay, let’s go over the basics. The rules of competitive play (IME) are:

1. Have more than a passing familiarity with game mechanics
2. Play competitive lists
3. Know how to play your list
4. Know how to counter your opponent’s list
5. Understand the Metagame

And that’s about it. Now, I'm not going to go super in-depth into any of these because that'd take forever, but I do want to touch on them enough that you'll have an idea about what you should be looking for or asking yourself when playing.

1. Have More Than a Passing Familiarity with Game Mechanics

This is a rule I’m guilty of breaking on more than a few occasions and every time I’ve been called on it I’ve regretted it. You need to know the rules. Not just the “Let’s Get Started!” rules, but the actual rules including FAQs and erratas. In addition, you need to have a general grasp of the game’s basic mechanics and statistics. Not necessarily a Master’s from MIT or anything, but you should know that if you roll X naked red dice, you can expect approximately Y hits/crits and be able to compare that to the expected number of evades. Also, be familiar with what maneuvers/actions ships can do… I remember a podcast where Heaver talked about how when he first started playing Poe competitively he kept surprising people with T Rolls because they didn’t know T-70s could do that. That should never happen in a competitive setting. Knowing the basics is – appropriately enough - the most basic foundation of competitive play. After you’ve mastered this, you’re ready for rule 2.

2. Play Competitive Lists

This is the simplest foundation of competitive play to grasp, and the most often mimicked, but it’s also easily misunderstood. Basically, if you want to do your best, you need to have the best tools. There’s one thing you’ll never hear a champion attribute their win to: that they won because they handicapped themselves. That means that you should never find yourself playing a sub-optimal version of a list or substituting cards in a proven list for no real justification. Example: running T-70s with Astromechs and no Mods including Integrated Astromech, right? Right. Now that you have a solid list, you need to know how to play it.

3. Know How to Play Your List

Ever wonder why a certain list will win Worlds, but some guy at your LGS takes the same list and gets consistently stomped? Chances are that guy followed rule 2, but skipped rule 3. You need to know what your list can do in order for it to perform up to its potential. You should know what moves are available to you this turn, where that should put you in relation to other ships/obstacles, and what options that move will open up to you. You should know all about any tricks in your list and when best to implement them. You should know about how much damage you can expect to take/deal per turn against common threats and be able to evaluate if that ratio is favorable to you. If it’s not, then maybe you need another plan, etc. Don't make stupid mistakes! I've seen people lose because they forgot about Autothrusters or that Adv. Targeting Computer requires a Target Lock. A lot of the time the winner ends up being the person who made the least number of stupid mistakes. Also, knowing how to play your list is an integral part of knowing how to counter your opponent’s list.

4. Know How to Counter Your Opponent’s List

I’ve played more than a few guys who have great lists and know every trick they have available. They fly better than I could hope to and don’t ever make stupid common mistakes. They do almost everything right and then I blow their ships off the table because no one ever told them not to joust with a Crack Swarm. They play a solid list and they know their list backwards and forwards, but they have no clue what to do to counter certain lists. Basically, you want to know what your opponent wants to happen and how you can stop that from happening.

In my experience, the most commonly effective and probably the easiest to practice and implement aspect of this rule would be target priority: knowing what to shoot at and with what. Figure out which ship is the most important to your opponent's game plan or most detrimental to yours or simply the weakest link and shoot it until it's dead. One of the most common mistakes I see on the table is not prioritizing targets and not focusing fire: I've had opponents put 2 damage on a TIE Fighter and then switch targets and put 2 damage on another. When I asked them why they didn't just finish off the first one they'd tell me that they were expecting the attack to do 2-3 damage and that would be overkill on something that only had 1 hull left. To their way of thinking 4 damage was better than 3 - which, I admit, is logical - but they never even considered that 2 ships returning fire was worse than 1.

The best way IMO to practice rules 1-4 is to play games , watch games, and pay attention. At the end of each game ask yourself what did the winning player do that contributed to their win? What did their opponent do that contributed to their loss? Should one have done something differently? Should their opponent? Get a regular playing buddy and compare notes – you’ll both get better faster together than either of you could alone.

5. Understand the Metagame

A while after my vacation into playing LotR, my playgroup picked up the A Game of Thrones CCG (which is almost exactly the same as the current LCG). Being the competitive player that I am, I scrolled through the forums for tips and tricks from people who’d been playing AGoT so much longer than me hoping to learn from their experiences. What I found was dozens of references to a genius known as Melnik and his revolutionary theory. When I finally found the theory revered by almost the entire AGoT community I could not have been more disappointed because the great "Melnikian Theory" that had taken the AGoT community by storm was nothing more than an elementary definition of Metagaming.

Metagaming is something that you can explore in depth on Google if you wish, but I’ll give you the most basic explanation I can think of. Imagine that there are only 3 major lists in X-Wing that everyone plays: List A (Rock), List B (Paper), and List C (Scissors) – As you would imagine, List A beats List C, List C beats List B, and List B beats List A. So, it stands to reason that if the majority of people at a tournament will be playing List A (Rock) then you want to be playing List B (Paper) instead of List C (Scissors) even if they’re both equally good and you know how to play both. If, at the next tournament everyone is playing Paper (because it did so well at the last tournament) then you want to be playing Scissors, etc. It’s what people mean when they say that something isn’t good right now, or isn't good in this meta. It’s not that Fat Han sucks, but if you’re expecting TLT spam and Swarms, it’s definitely not the right call.

That means that if you understand the Metagame then you not only have a good idea what to expect (like a bunch of Heaver-like lists after Worlds or Defenders after Imp Vets drops or whatever’s popular on forums /battle reports or simply what you know your playgroup will play at the next tournament) but of what you should and should not play to counter that.

Hope that was helpful, but please understand the limits of this guide - remember that this is just the most general overview on how to be a competitive gamer, a first step... Competitive Gaming for Dummies. It's meant to point you in the right direction and help you think about gaming in a slightly different way. Any questions, comments, or concerns just let me know.

One final thought: the greatest pitfall in competitive gaming is forgetting that you are, ultimately, playing a game - the goal is to win, but the point is to have fun.

Don't make stupid mistakes!

Protip

Most of the X-Wing players I’ve met simply aren’t gamers as much as they are fans of Star Wars.

Fallacy imho,

One does not exclude or diminish the other.

Some play for fun, some play to win, some have more fun when they win, some when the game was "good", etc.

What is Competitive Play?[/size]

Basically, being competitive is playing to win. No, I don’t mean cheating or general ******-baggery, I mean building a list and playing it with a single goal

Blah blah blah

Any questions, comments, or concerns just let me know.[/size]

Truly excellent read - THIS is what forums are for!

A very big important factor you missed is stamina

Growing up I've been in many tournament in basketball,track, baseball etc etc.

Therefore I can be very competitive

With that said keeping up your stamina is very important

While your not running or jumping you are using your brain, and in some cases standing for a long period of time.

Keeping your mind clear and rested will help with playing games in the long run

For example while at home play lots of games in one day.

For me it's not uncommon for my friends and I to get in 4 games at least In a day which is usually a minimum of games you'll play in a tournament. ( I have no problem now playing 4 games and not feel exhausted in all honesty)

Conditioning yourself will go a long way.

If your use to playing only 1-2 games a day, set aside some time to get 4-6 games in and compare how well you did from start to finish

Build up your stamina by getting use to this.

Second a good night's rest will go a long way.

It doesn't matter how many times you've flown your list or how well you know it.

You won't win or it'll be a hell of a lot harder when your tires.

Things like not seeing the obvious maneuver. Or accidentally setting a dial is more likely to happen

Eat a good breakfast

Avoid to much caffeine

If your a coffee drinker find another solution to caffeine intake, but too much again is not good.

Pack a lunch and eat healthy.

Again this comes down to increasing your energy and giving your mind the rest it needs

During tournaments some may have a lunch break.

While everyone else is out rushing to get something at Macdonalds or at the shop down the street, you can actually sit down the entire time. Eat and relax.

While everyone out trying to eat, they aren't resting, and by the time they get back they are no more rested then before they left.

This will help make you Plat better in later games. Or at least you'll be less likely make a mistake.

While doing any if this won't guarantee you to win, it'll sure go a long way.

Because come game 5-6 it won't matter much how good you are when your brain and feet are getting tired.

Last night for example I was tired playing a friendly game and I set a ship to kturn while it was stressed which I knew, but due to being tired I forgot and made a huge error.

One you don't want to make when it counts

Good point, Krynn, I can trace a lot of my early tournament mistakes to simply being exhausted - staying up all night last-minute play testing lists and then trying to be on top of my game for 8+ hours.

Another thing I'll add to that is to pick a list at least a week in advance of the tournament and stick with it. One of the worst things you can do is practice for weeks with one list and then second-guess yourself into a last minute substitution list that you're less comfortable playing.

I would add to that list "Preparations"

Get yourself some sort of tray to carry all of your stuff from table to table. You will bounce from table to table, usually in a short time frame. So bring yourself something that can transport your list, all the cards, dice, tokens, everything that can then fit under the table.

Also: booze! When you're loosing ships fast, sweet liquor eases the pain.

Actually not a bad read. I like it.

Most of this has nothing to do with Xwing itself but general tips for competitive play.

I think a lot of people have trouble with #1 because they feel like it takes too much time to learn. But I would really recommend people take the time. On the subway. Stuck in traffic. Sitting on the toilet to really read that rules document.

On number four: how to counter lists can also be hard: I don't know how to really counter a crack swarm cuz I haven't played it or thought about it much. In many places it can be hard to get consistent games. If you're picky about people or places it can be even harder.

The one thing OP that you really don't get into which you should I think is that Xwing tournaments are MUCH LONGER than magic tournaments. With similar 4 or so rounds in a store champ and extending past the normal 15 minutes for moving around and logistics and food breaks this begins to have huge impacts on stamina.

6. Remember to have fun

Most people at a tournament will lose a fair amount of games, and many will lose the majority. Remember to simply enjoy playing and challenging yourself. If you are in a losing situation, set yourself a goal that can still be attained, like making the other guy win with a minimal MoV or killing the Emperor (for the Rebellion!). If you set yourself a realistic and meaningful goal, even a loss can give a sense of achievement. If all you care about is winning, you will inevitably be disappointed.

Sorry I can't do the fonts and stuff!

I would like to clarify that competitive play does not necessarily equal tournament play. I can, and usually am competitive whether I'm playing in a 200 person tournament or a pickup game at my LGS. You can want to be your best without ever stepping foot into a tourney - being competitive is a mindset.

I suppose if people like this kind of thing I could do a follow up sometime for tournament tips.

Also: booze! When you're loosing ships fast, sweet liquor eases the pain.

I would like to clarify that competitive play does not necessarily equal tournament play. I can, and usually am competitive whether I'm playing in a 200 person tournament or a pickup game at my LGS. You can want to be your best without ever stepping foot into a tourney - being competitive is a mindset.

Just remember to be competitive against yourself. In all things Fly Casual with your opponent. He (or she) happens to have a list and a strategy (to some degree) but your real competition is with yourself and the enemies of your own mind. There will be days where you are on top of your game and there will be days where you are suboptimal. Don't be Kylo Ren and show everyone how you feel... that's not competitive. Competitive is making yourself better every time you fly.

Good post!

#4 has always been a slight weakness of mine, and one that I'm working to fix. A lot of things I know how to handle. Corran? Poe? Soontir? Fat turrets? This sort of thing I can handle.

But swarms. I freaking suck, still, whenever a swarm lines up across from me (6+ ships). They're not super common in my local meta, they're not super common on Vassal and my friends never use them, so the practice I get personally, along with the games I get to watch with em', are few and far between. I sort of know what I'm supposed to do (be patient, get them to break up using obstacles), but I always goof it.

Clearly, the only solution is to start bringing my silly amount of Z-95s again.

You have a knack for stating the obvious. Some people need that (see the abundance of motivational speakers and life coaches). Congrats on being a Melnik, I guess.

You would do well to be mindful that you know nothing about those you're speaking too, especially on an online forum.

As someone who's been a gamer for decades, I remember the fun of rolling noobs and "exploiting the meta", but then I grew up a recognized that going for thematic is a perfectly valid choice, just as yours to be competitive is.

Fly casual is the reason why I got interested in x-wing, I don't have enough time not to prioritize fun, and that sometimes means playing in a way that is not you preferred way to make sure both players have a good time.

If you want actual competition, go to world's and then come back to tell us how you crushed Paul Heaver, I'm sure people would love those stories.

Fly casual!

What is Competitive Play?

...If you feel that this type of play is not for you, then this is probably as good a place as any to stop.

Bro, you didn't stop!!

You have a knack for stating the obvious. Some people need that (see the abundance of motivational speakers and life coaches). Congrats on being a Melnik, I guess.

You would do well to be mindful that you know nothing about those you're speaking too, especially on an online forum.

As someone who's been a gamer for decades, I remember the fun of rolling noobs and "exploiting the meta", but then I grew up a recognized that going for thematic is a perfectly valid choice, just as yours to be competitive is.

Fly casual is the reason why I got interested in x-wing, I don't have enough time not to prioritize fun, and that sometimes means playing in a way that is not you preferred way to make sure both players have a good time.

If you want actual competition, go to world's and then come back to tell us how you crushed Paul Heaver, I'm sure people would love those stories.

Fly casual!

Not sure what your issue is... maybe I somehow gave you the impression that I considered competitive play to be "better" than how you choose to play or something?

All I can say is that if this so painfully obvious to you or not in line with your interests then you're not the target audience (which I feel like I covered). Honestly, this is like leaving a negative review for a book about beginner's arithmetic because it didn't teach you anything about Astrophysics or Painting.

I actually like this topic, and is something i usually bring into conversation, i also have an mtg background and i consider myself a spike. I understand and accept the "Fly casual" and "just have fun" mentality but when i say i enjoy a lot more being competitive a lot of people get mad.

I would say that something i have yet not acomplished here, got it in magic, is finding a nice competitive group to test with. Finding a group would help in testing sessions since what i would like is to even be able to request a pairing to test.

Also an important point to add to the list is to read, the flying guide is awesome and contains ton of information to begin with, and as DoctorPaul mentions on one of his videos reviewing good players games and trying to guess and understand the choices they make help a lot.

Somebody has to...

Friendly request: can you edit your post, select all the text and click on the eraser icon to remove the format? I run the classic color theme (darker background) and your black text is hard to read.

Friendly request: can you edit your post, select all the text and click on the eraser icon to remove the format? I run the classic color theme (darker background) and your black text is hard to read.

I removed the formatting that was there and went back over it with the forum's formatting... sorry, I didn't even realize there was an issue. Let me know if that got it.

Also, thanks. I changed over to the old forum's theme to check it and the dark grey is way easier on the eyes.

You have a knack for stating the obvious. Some people need that (see the abundance of motivational speakers and life coaches). Congrats on being a Melnik, I guess.

You would do well to be mindful that you know nothing about those you're speaking too, especially on an online forum.

As someone who's been a gamer for decades, I remember the fun of rolling noobs and "exploiting the meta", but then I grew up a recognized that going for thematic is a perfectly valid choice, just as yours to be competitive is.

Fly casual is the reason why I got interested in x-wing, I don't have enough time not to prioritize fun, and that sometimes means playing in a way that is not you preferred way to make sure both players have a good time.

If you want actual competition, go to world's and then come back to tell us how you crushed Paul Heaver, I'm sure people would love those stories.

Fly casual!

Not sure what your issue is... maybe I somehow gave you the impression that I considered competitive play to be " better" than how you choose to play or something?

All I can say is that if this so painfully obvious to you or not in line with your interests then you're not the target audience (which I feel like I covered). Honestly, this is like leaving a negative review for a book about beginner's arithmetic because it didn't teach you anything about Astrophysics or Painting.

Maybe if you hadn't been dismissive of non competitive players (or those who do it "wrong") then made fun of the one person you found who shared the same insights you're sharing now in another game you would have come off better.

As I said, useful common sense tips, but it didn't warrant you making fun of others who came to the same conclusions you did and shared them just as you're doing now (ie "the great Melkinian theory"). Nothing is new under the sun and all that.

Good post.

If anything, I'd emphasise the need to know basic probability with regards to the dice. A great many people I've played against get incredibly upset when their 3-dice ship attacks without Lock or Focus, only gets 1 hit, which is then evaded, and I have to shrug and say "That's only 0.5 hits below statistical average and exactly the correct amount of evades" until they get it.

You have a 50% chance on each red dice to roll a hit or crit.

You have a 37.5% chance of rolling an evade.

Take into account rerolls of any kind and the fact that Focus turns those numbers into 75% and 62.5% respectively.

Acknowledge that rolling two red dice does not guarantee you a hit.

The way to win in most scenarios is to open up a firepower difference between your fleet and theirs as soon as possible. That means focusing down whichever ships you determine to have the lowest survivability vs their damage output and/or utility. Remove ships from the table as fast as possible to create an uneven exchange of fire each turn in your favour.

I wish this post came as part of the rulebook.

Please quote the text where he writes that non-competitive players "Do it wrong".

You have a knack for stating the obvious. Some people need that (see the abundance of motivational speakers and life coaches). Congrats on being a Melnik, I guess.

You would do well to be mindful that you know nothing about those you're speaking too, especially on an online forum.

As someone who's been a gamer for decades, I remember the fun of rolling noobs and "exploiting the meta", but then I grew up a recognized that going for thematic is a perfectly valid choice, just as yours to be competitive is.

Fly casual is the reason why I got interested in x-wing, I don't have enough time not to prioritize fun, and that sometimes means playing in a way that is not you preferred way to make sure both players have a good time.

If you want actual competition, go to world's and then come back to tell us how you crushed Paul Heaver, I'm sure people would love those stories.

Fly casual!

Not sure what your issue is... maybe I somehow gave you the impression that I considered competitive play to be " better" than how you choose to play or something?

All I can say is that if this so painfully obvious to you or not in line with your interests then you're not the target audience (which I feel like I covered). Honestly, this is like leaving a negative review for a book about beginner's arithmetic because it didn't teach you anything about Astrophysics or Painting.

Maybe if you hadn't been dismissive of non competitive players (or those who do it "wrong") then made fun of the one person you found who shared the same insights you're sharing now in another game you would have come off better.

As I said, useful common sense tips, but it didn't warrant you making fun of others who came to the same conclusions you did and shared them just as you're doing now (ie "the great Melkinian theory"). Nothing is new under the sun and all that.

Feel free to point out where I said non competitive players were doing it wrong.

Also, the tangent about the Melnikian Theory wasn't to make fun of that guy or that community, but to point out how something as basic to competitive gaming as understanding the metagame can be completely alien to people who don't have a background in gaming.

You seem to be the only one so far to have taken offense... maybe the problem isn't the article?

Great read. I consider myself as someone who understands all these basic points, but it was worth reading anyway. I don't play competitively often (my last 2 tournaments were almost a year apart), but this is all important to keep in mind. I especially like the points at the end that "the goal is to win, the point is to have fun." I won't delude myself into thinking I'm going to a tournament just to have fun - I'm there to try to win it, otherwise I'd play a casual game - but remembering to have fun actually helps me a lot competitively. If I enjoy the good rolls and the bad, I find I pay much more attention to the game instead of checking out because things aren't going my way or coasting on auto-pilot because they are. As said, excellent use of the forums. Thanks.