Hi,

I don't actually play x-wing but rather I play Star Trek Attack Wing. I'm much more of a fan of Star Trek and I like the greater customization of the cards in STAW. However I realize that there are far fewer attack wing players and players and events are increasingly hard to find.

I'm considering picking up X-wing but I had a few questions. I have played it a few times before so I know the mechanic is generally the same. It was over a year ago and I don't anything in the game has changed dramatically. As I recall there were just rebels and empire and nothing could be mixed between each other. I know that a new Scum/Villain faction came out. Can they be mixed with empire or rebel or are they completely separate as well?

I kind of want to play something unique so I was interested in the scum/villain faction. How do they generally play? Are their ships catered toward a certain style? In general I don't like swarm fleets and I like ships and cards that produce quality dice with conversion. As an attack wing player, dice conversion is far more important than quantity. As I understand the attack and defense in x-wing is much more balanced as far as the quantity of attack dice never got that high and I believe there is an equal number of hit and evade on each of the different sides of dice, unlike attack wing. At this time are the scum faction viable or is it very challenging to use them?

How is the organized playing scene? I did like how in attack wing at least earlier on there were a lot of organized events with unique prizes and ships. How are organized events done? Is it sponsored by fantasy flight? Are there prizes, unique items, etc? If anyone has any information about the organized play scene near the Los Angeles area that would be even better since I'm there.

I know that a new Scum/Villain faction came out. Can they be mixed with empire or rebel or are they completely separate as well?

Scum and Villainy is a separate faction, and they can't be mixed with the other factions.

I kind of want to play something unique so I was interested in the scum/villain faction. How do they generally play? Are their ships catered toward a certain style?

Scum's themes are kind of hard to pin down, but in general, they favor attack over defense, they have a few pretty good ways to debuff or mess with enemies, and in most cases they avoid formation flying. They also have an upgrade type that's unique to their ships, the Illicit slot, most of which are one-shot tricks to get the upper hand for a key round.

In general I don't like swarm fleets and I like ships and cards that produce quality dice with conversion. As an attack wing player, dice conversion is far more important than quantity.

You might want to look into a dual IG-88 squad (usually referred to as "Brobots"). They're maneuverable, they've got plenty of dice conversion for both attack and defense, and they even get to take a second shot if the first shot misses. And it's only two ships, so it's pretty much as anti-swarm as you can get.

As I understand the attack and defense in x-wing is much more balanced as far as the quantity of attack dice never got that high and I believe there is an equal number of hit and evade on each of the different sides of dice, unlike attack wing.

Actually, that's not the case. The attack die gives you slightly better odds than the defense die. The faces look like this:

Attack die: 3 Hit, 1 Critical Hit, 2 Focus, 2 Blank

Defense die: 3 Evade, 2 Focus, 3 Blank

At this time are the scum faction viable or is it very challenging to use them?

Compared to Rebels and Imperials, they haven't seen as much play at the top tables, unfortunately. The dual IG-88 squad I mentioned is the biggest exception - Brobots have finished well in plenty of tournaments since they were introduced. Other Scum builds have done well competitively here and there, but there are very few Scum archetypes that have carved out a place in the competitive scene.

That may be about to change, though. The next wave is being released tomorrow, and one of the new ships is a large Scum ship, the Jumpmaster. That ship and the cards it comes with should have a big impact on the meta.

Edit: I want to emphasize that I'm talking about competitive, tournament play here. There are plenty of ways to build a 100-point Scum squad that will perform well and give you a good shot at winning a game. Where I think Scum struggles is in building squads that can consistently perform well over multiple games, even when the dice turn against you. In my opinion, that's the reason that Scum lags behind the other factions in tournament showings.

How is the organized playing scene? I did like how in attack wing at least earlier on there were a lot of organized events with unique prizes and ships. How are organized events done? Is it sponsored by fantasy flight? Are there prizes, unique items, etc?

Organized play has plenty of support from FFG. There's Store Championships, which lead into Regionals, Nationals, and Worlds tournaments, all of which have their own prize kits. There's also prize support for seasonal league play. The prizes are usually things like acrylic tokens and templates, alternate art cards, deck boxes, and a medal or plaque for the winner. They never have any unique game elements, in the sense of cards that have a game effect which you couldn't get in an expansion pack.

If anyone has any information about the organized play scene near the Los Angeles area that would be even better since I'm there.

That I can't help you with, other than to point you towards the Organized Play forum. There's a recent thread there of someone organizing X-Wing nights in LA. You might also check Facebook to see if there's any groups for X-Wing in LA.

Scum and VIllany is a complete separate faction. There are 3 now. Rebel/Resistance, Imperial/First Order and Scum and Villany.

I don't play S&V myself, so I can't really say how good they really are, but from what I've seen they can be a formidable opponent. They use some ships used by other faction, Y-wings from Rebels and Slave1 from Empire as long with some unique ships of their own. You can have an Ace-list with them or swarm which ever you choose.

The attack/defence is quite balanced I think. Agile ships have more defence dies and less agile ships have shields instead.

I think the organized playing scene is quite good, I can't really say in general but here in Sweden it's good. There are unique prizes for top placements and attending organized plays. Usually alterantive art of some card and acrylic tokens and such. FFG just announced that they're taking the next step in their organized play aswell, see more here:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/3/15/the-next-step-in-organized-play/

I hope it helps. It's an awsome game

If anyone has any information about the organized play scene near the Los Angeles area that would be even better since I'm there.

If you use Facebook, join the SoCal X-Wing group. Any X-Wing related events happening in the LA, Orange County, or San Diego areas end up getting posted there. People there should be able to give you some advice on which stores around you are the best bets for finding an active community.

It's a closed group but it generally only takes a few hours to get accepted.