35 minutes ago, GrimmyV said:Maybe randomly select from the 3 core missions, since they seem to be the most 'generic' and everyone should be familiar
Political escort is the best balanced out of that set; the other two core missions can be broken. Dark whispers in particular can be completely broken - the imperials cannot win that one if the rebels play right.
3 hours ago, Hawkstrike said:For a tournament game, what do you think the effects of these changes would be:
(1) Attacker/defender determined randomly.
(2) 100 point squads (and thus shuttle is 0/2/6/6).
(3) Obstacles included (3 per player).
(4) No reinforcements for the attacker.
I'm thinking dropping reinforcements reduces some of the attacker's advantage, while adding the obstacle has the potential to extend the game slightly as it will require more maneuvering by the shuttle. Maybe even force the shuttle to be placed first, before obstacles.
-----
Alternately: if reinforcements are retained, it's at the lowest PS alternative (Lose Howlrunner, get an Academy) and the shuttle gets an Ion Cannon turret.
A couple of years ago, I ran a "Senator's Shuttle" tournament using rules very much like this, and it worked okay.
One thing I would add is a way to try to make sure that everyone has to play as the attacker and defender at least once each. I think we also equipped the shuttle with Anti-Pursuit Lasers and a 2-attack primary turret, and placed the shuttle in the defender's starting zone after all other ships were placed (instead of in the center).
Power creep has probably reached the point where the shuttle needs an extra shield or two. Playtest this scenario a few times with top tier lists.
Edited by DagobahDave16 minutes ago, Babaganoosh said:Political escort is the best balanced out of that set; the other two core missions can be broken. Dark whispers in particular can be completely broken - the imperials cannot win that one if the rebels play right.
What would need to be done do balance the other missions? If missions and 'imp' and 'reb' sides were chosen randomly after lists are built that might be a mitigating factor since the lists themselves would need to be balanced to be able to tackle either side of any of the three missions. And we can have variety! But most players might not like the randomness or the chance to get stuck with not just a bad matchup lists-wise but mission-wise as well.
30 minutes ago, GrimmyV said:What would need to be done do balance the other missions? If missions and 'imp' and 'reb' sides were chosen randomly after lists are built that might be a mitigating factor since the lists themselves would need to be balanced to be able to tackle either side of any of the three missions. And we can have variety! But most players might not like the randomness or the chance to get stuck with not just a bad matchup lists-wise but mission-wise as well.
I think it's easier to start from scratch. There are actually quite a few fan-made missions designed for tournament play
5 minutes ago, Babaganoosh said:I think it's easier to start from scratch. There are actually quite a few fan-made missions designed for tournament play
You hear that FFG? We want more than just 100/6 Deathmatch, let's have some fun! Or are tournaments too serious for that? Why so serious?
The political escort mission can still be very broken in the "Imperials" favour. All they need to do is take 4 Gamma Squad veterans with Crack Shot and Homing missiles, plus Guidance chips. Biggs can't protect the shuttle, and it'll die on the first found of engagement.
If Rebels are the attackers, a Kanan/Biggs list can easily squish the shuttle in 3-4 turns without much resistance, sans an enemy Biggs.
Scum attackers have quad TLT, which, without a Biggs guardian, will simply melt the shuttle.
I think the best defensive choice is Biggs with a Captain Rex (Jyn Erso crew) escort, plus a huge number of Z-95s to feed the protect action to the shuttle. Alternatively, you could use a spacetug tractor array (maybe?) to boost the shuttle forward for the fist few turns.
Yes, but a single list that has to be effective both as attacker and as defender ... that's more of a challenge.
29 minutes ago, Hawkstrike said:Yes, but a single list that has to be effective both as attacker and as defender ... that's more of a challenge.
In that case, I think Kanan/Biggs + a Jyn Erso Captain rex is the best bet - Biggs is great, and Kanan can guaranteed down the shuttle in time.
What about giving the shuttle an action bar? What actions? Focus ... Evade, or maybe Reinforce?
Or maybe give it system and modification slots, and allow each player to allocate list points to the shuttle (that would be subtracted from their 100 points available).
Or (still thinking out loud here) give it turret, system, and modification slots. The shuttle can't equip turrets more than 5 points in value. Each player gets 5 additional squad points that can only be spent on shuttle upgrades; the player can spend more, but any points above 5 are subtracted from the squad total.
Wondering if giving the shuttle offensive capability isn't giving the defender too much of an advantage since it is a 12-health, 2-agility ship.
Edited by Hawkstrike4 minutes ago, Hawkstrike said:What about giving the shuttle an action bar? What actions? Focus ... Evade, or maybe Reinforce?
Or maybe give it system and modification slots, and allow each player to allocate list points to the shuttle (that would be subtracted from their 100 points available).
This being an escort mission means the shuttle must be helpless, a total load. Giving it even a few actions takes that away.
The choices belong to the two lists, do you use your actions to protect the shuttle but leave your own ships vulnerable? Do you attack the shuttle directly but leave your ships open to counterattack? Stuff like that.
4 minutes ago, GrimmyV said:This being an escort mission means the shuttle must be helpless, a total load. Giving it even a few actions takes that away.
Yeah, it just occurred to me that actions + modification opens the door to Engine Upgrade, which would be game-breaking.
AHa ... I can think of one potentially good fix. The "Protect" action assigns a "Protect" token that can be used to add an Evade result to a roll ... than makes it immune to effects while target Evade tokens (Homing Missiles, Carnor, Wes, Palob, etc). Makes the choice to Protect a bit more valuable against the current range of ships.
If you guys are interested, we covered this mission in detail in episode 3 of the Shuttle Tydirium. You can check it out here: https://shuttletydirium.podbean.com/e/episode-3-b-team-hawks-the-slayers/
The mission discussion is at ~47 minutes in
I love this mission, and have ran several different variations - most being escort the shuttle/stormtrooper transport to a disabled ship. For larger 2 on 2 games, multiple transports are used.
I've even done "disable the transport" along with it...
We all know I've played the OG X-wing games to death and am quite experienced at escorting Stormtrooper Transports.........
17 hours ago, Astech said:The political escort mission can still be very broken in the "Imperials" favour. All they need to do is take 4 Gamma Squad veterans with Crack Shot and Homing missiles, plus Guidance chips. Biggs can't protect the shuttle, and it'll die on the first found of engagement.
I thought about this a little today and I think you can win vs. a 4 Gamma Squad Vet list with Crackshot. Those ships won't have Extra Munitions as each sits exactly at 25 pts. I have built a list completely tailored to beating this Bomber list. Yes, I know it's highly tailored, but I'm just talking about doing this for a friendly game and not a tournament or where you don't know if you are attacking or defending.
Horton Salm w/ R3-A2. GC, and Flechette Torpedoes
Dutch w/ GC and Proton Torpedoes
2 x Gold Squadron w/ GC and Proton Torpedoes
The Shuttle has 6 Hull and 6 Shields. The average hits firing a Homing Missile w/ GC and Crackshot vs. the Shuttle is 3.5 hits per Missile. The Bombers have a total of 4 shots. So, you only need to really kill one Tie Bomber before he fires. If you can kill 2, so much the better! The idea is to move the Shuttle only 1 forward and then go 3 Forward with the Y-wings. Try to get Horton and Dutch to TL a Tie Bomber. Horton fires first and double stresses a Tie Bomber. Dutch can pass a TL to one of the other Y-wings, which should also be in range and have grabbed a Focus. These 3 guys can kill off one Tie Bomber in a round on averages. Just in case you get bad luck, Horton has double stressed him and he can't grab a TL the next round on the Senator's Shuttle. So, you can kill off 1 Tie Bomber before it can fire. After that, the Y-wings only need to stay in R1 of the Shuttle and each give an Evade token a turn.
It's also possible that you can kill 2 Tie Bombers before they fire, as well. The idea is that Horton double stresses one and then Dutch and another Y-wing fires at a second Tie Bomber. They should roll an average of 5.1 damage, but each is expected to do a crit. The averages could be higher. The crit could be Hull Damage. The Crit could do something to stop the Bomber from getting a TL the next turn. So, you kill one Bomber and another is damaged and double stressed the next turn. On the second round, you can fire at the stressed wounded one and finish it off, especially using the last Proton Torpedo. Let the last 2 Bombers fire their Homing Missiles to full effect. After that, escort it with 4 Evade tokens a turn with the Y-wings.
QuoteIf Rebels are the attackers, a Kanan/Biggs list can easily squish the shuttle in 3-4 turns without much resistance, sans an enemy Biggs.
Scum attackers have quad TLT, which, without a Biggs guardian, will simply melt the shuttle.
A Kanan/ Biggs list is easily defeated by running a Tie Swarm around the Shuttle. Each ship can add an Evade token. Kanan can't break through that many Evade tokens. No need to actually kill Biggs or Kanan. Just keep the Shuttle alive for the 6 turns to get across the board.
Same for TLT's. If you have a bunch of Tie Fighters or Z-95's just escorting and giving Evade tokens, I think it would be alright to have 2 green dice and a stack of Evade tokens to live 6 turns.
21 hours ago, Astech said:I think the best defensive choice is Biggs with a Captain Rex (Jyn Erso crew) escort, plus a huge number of Z-95s to feed the protect action to the shuttle.
A force of attacking Arc Caster Scyks could probably be a problem for this list.
I think the best list I've seen so far was with Biggs, Esege the K-wing pilot, and the rest Z-95's.
6 hours ago, heychadwick said:I thought about this a little today and I think you can win vs. a 4 Gamma Squad Vet list with Crackshot.
Horton Salm w/ R3-A2 . GC, and Flechette Torpedoes
Dutch w/ GC and Proton Torpedoes
2 x Gold Squadron w/ GC and Proton Torpedoes
It's also possible that you can kill 2 Tie Bombers before they fire, as well....
A Kanan / Biggs list is easily defeated by running a Tie Swarm around the Shuttle. Each ship can add an Evade token. Kanan can't break through that many Evade tokens. No need to actually kill Biggs or Kanan . Just keep the Shuttle alive for the 6 turns to get across the board.
Your list is a decent hard counter, but you missed one thing - Gamma Vets are PS5, so they'll shoot before your gold squadron pilots. This means that you'll only kill, at most, one of them before it shoots. That's far less likely using flechette torpedoes too (which sadly bounce off a bomber without stress) - nigh impossible in fact. Flechettes also don't stack with BTL-A4, so Horton in this build can only do one stress per turn against the bombers.
Reaching the shuttle behind the Y-wing screen is fairly easy, considering the Bombers have the 4-straight maneuver white. Yu'll fall into the trget lock trap wth your low-PS Y-wings. They either have to close within range 3 to get the target lock (at which point I always move 4-forward to avoid your ordinance shot), or stay out of range and, when I do come into range, use their piddly primary weapons.
In effect, I will get a bare minimum of 3 homing missile shots on the shuttle (averaging 4 hits, by the way; 3 using a natural roll+focus and one from GCs) and the shuttle getting maybe one set of double evdes, leaving it at one hull or zero, depending on the dice. If I get the fourth shot off, it's over. I think you would have been better served with a Captain Kagi escort - no target locks whatsoever on the shuttle!
As for Biggs+Kanan, good lord! I hadn't though of the defensive effect a TIE swarm could have on the shuttle (being legit here). In that Instance, I would hope to have brought a couple K-wings with Ion torpedoes and Assault Missiles to make things nicer. But with Kanan+Biggs, I've lost the match before the game starts.
Alternatively, 3 Jumpmasters can utterly block all moves the shuttle could make, and I don't think any list has the firepower to wipe one of them off before the shuttle goes down to Attanni +K4 torpedo power:
2 x Contracted Scouts
(35) - High damage, high health, and competely capable of blocking the shuttle for 4-5 turns.
Proton Torpedoes
K4 Security Droid
Extra Munitions
Attanni Mindlink
Guidance Chips
Contracted Scout
(30) - This guy is in the rearguard position, feeding focus and feedback arraying shuttles.
R4 Aggromech
Feedback Array
Attanni Mindlink
I think this list is more dangerous than the quadruple bombers.
Edited by Astech13 hours ago, Astech said:Your list is a decent hard counter, but you missed one thing - Gamma Vets are PS5, so they'll shoot before your gold squadron pilots. This means that you'll only kill, at most, one of them before it shoots. That's far less likely using flechette torpedoes too (which sadly bounce off a bomber without stress) - nigh impossible in fact. Flechettes also don't stack with BTL-A4, so Horton in this build can only do one stress per turn against the bombers.
Reaching the shuttle behind the Y-wing screen is fairly easy, considering the Bombers have the 4-straight maneuver white. Yu'll fall into the trget lock trap wth your low-PS Y-wings. They either have to close within range 3 to get the target lock (at which point I always move 4-forward to avoid your ordinance shot), or stay out of range and, when I do come into range, use their piddly primary weapons.
In effect, I will get a bare minimum of 3 homing missile shots on the shuttle (averaging 4 hits, by the way; 3 using a natural roll+focus and one from GCs) and the shuttle getting maybe one set of double evdes, leaving it at one hull or zero, depending on the dice. If I get the fourth shot off, it's over. I think you would have been better served with a Captain Kagi escort - no target locks whatsoever on the shuttle!
Ah.....Flechette Torps don't work on Tie Bombers! I forgot. Yeah, that ruins that plan. I wasn't thinking BTL title, but was thinking using it with the Flechette to double stress one of them. OK....that goes away.
Still.....the overall plan can work (if I pick a different config for Horton). The Shuttle goes only 1 forward while the Y-wings go full speed. The first round of firing should happen with the Y-wings and Tie Bombers shooting only at each other. The Shuttle shouldn't be in range yet. Yes, the Gold Squadrons can't get a TL on the Bombers in that round, which is why I added in Dutch. He can grab a TL and then hand it to a Y-wing that had grabbed a Focus, so that 1 Gold Squaddie is firing with Focus for his Torpedo. If the Bombers aren't firing at the Shuttle in that first exchange, then it's OK to destroy one before it gets within range. Yes, the last Y-wing will not be firing his Torp that round, but 3 Proton Torpedoes should do it.
Horton fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/ Focus = 2.5 hits w/ 90% chance of crit.
Dutch fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/out Focus = 2.7 hits w/ 80% chance of crit.
Gold Squad fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/out Focus = 2.9 hits w/ 80% chance of crit.
That's one dead Bomber. You still have 1 Y-wing with a Torpedo left.
You will probably say that the Tie Bombers can get into firing range before the Y-wings can take them out. Let's look at Rule of 11.
That makes Y's and Bombers 2 away from firing at each other and the Bombers vs Shuttle 4 spaces. Crap...maybe you are right that the Bombers will be moving in to firing range at the same time. Crap. I think the only way to do it is if the Y-wings fire first. OK....
Horton Salm (25)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
Guidance Chips (0)
"Dutch" Vander (23)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
Guidance Chips (0)
Gray Squadron Pilot (20)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
R2-D6 (1)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Guidance Chips (0)
Total: 82
Still leaves 18 pts for other stuff, but here you can kill 1 Tie Bomber before it fires. That should solve the issue of the Tie Bombers auto killing the Shuttle.
Oh, looking at the X-wing Dice Probability chart, I see 4 attack dice w/ TL, GC, and Crackshot vs. 2 Green dice w/ nothing gives a 3.5 average damage output. You would most likely need 4 Missiles to kill, unless lucky. It is close, though.
As for cheap defenders swarming the Shuttle with Evade tokens, it is kind of rough. I found Ion weapons to be great, but you really want to knock just some of them out of the way or else you have to chew through all the ships to get to the Shuttle. I once did Ion Scyks to great effect. Two rounds saw any escort ship out of R1 of the Shuttle. Very effective!
What I like about this mission is that there are ways to counter just about everything for each side. I LOVE IT!
Edited by heychadwick(psst ... @heychadwick ... the Shuttle doesn't have a 1-forward. Just 2-straight and 1-banks.)
3 hours ago, Hawkstrike said:(psst ... @heychadwick ... the Shuttle doesn't have a 1-forward. Just 2-straight and 1-banks.)
I assume the shuttle only takes one ion token to be ionized... WE NEED A FAQ!!!
17 hours ago, heychadwick said:Ah.....Flechette Torps don't work on Tie Bombers! I forgot. Yeah, that ruins that plan. I wasn't thinking BTL title, but was thinking using it with the Flechette to double stress one of them. OK....that goes away.
Still.....the overall plan can work (if I pick a different config for Horton ). The Shuttle goes only 1 forward while the Y-wings go full speed. The first round of firing should happen with the Y-wings and Tie Bombers shooting only at each other. The Shuttle shouldn't be in range yet. Yes, the Gold Squadrons can't get a TL on the Bombers in that round, which is why I added in Dutch . He can grab a TL and then hand it to a Y-wing that had grabbed a Focus, so that 1 Gold Squaddie is firing with Focus for his Torpedo. If the Bombers aren't firing at the Shuttle in that first exchange, then it's OK to destroy one before it gets within range. Yes, the last Y-wing will not be firing his Torp that round, but 3 Proton Torpedoes should do it.
Horton fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/ Focus = 2.5 hits w/ 90% chance of crit.
Dutch fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/out Focus = 2.7 hits w/ 80% chance of crit.
Gold Squad fires w/ GC and Proton Torp vs. Bomber w/out Focus = 2.9 hits w/ 80% chance of crit.
That's one dead Bomber. You still have 1 Y-wing with a Torpedo left.
You will probably say that the Tie Bombers can get into firing range before the Y-wings can take them out. Let's look at Rule of 11.
- Tie Bombers go 4 forward (total of 5 spaces)
- Shuttle goes 1 forward (total of 2 spaces)
- Y-wings go 3 forward (total of 4 spaces)\
That makes Y's and Bombers 2 away from firing at each other and the Bombers vs Shuttle 4 spaces. Crap...maybe you are right that the Bombers will be moving in to firing range at the same time. Crap. I think the only way to do it is if the Y-wings fire first. OK....
Horton Salm (25)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
Guidance Chips (0)"Dutch" Vander (23)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
Guidance Chips (0)Gray Squadron Pilot (20)
Proton Torpedoes (4)
R2-D6 (1)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Guidance Chips (0)Total: 82
Still leaves 18 pts for other stuff, but here you can kill 1 Tie Bomber before it fires. That should solve the issue of the Tie Bombers auto killing the Shuttle.
Oh, looking at the X-wing Dice Probability chart, I see 4 attack dice w/ TL, GC, and Crackshot vs. 2 Green dice w/ nothing gives a 3.5 average damage output. You would most likely need 4 Missiles to kill, unless lucky. It is close, though.
As for cheap defenders swarming the Shuttle with Evade tokens, it is kind of rough. I found Ion weapons to be great, but you really want to knock just some of them out of the way or else you have to chew through all the ships to get to the Shuttle. I once did Ion Scyks to great effect. Two rounds saw any escort ship out of R1 of the Shuttle. Very effective!
What I like about this mission is that there are ways to counter just about everything for each side. I LOVE IT!
You're burning a lot of points in the drive to kil a bomber before it shoots. In the vacuum of only facing off against the 4 Gamma Vet+Crack Shot+Homing you'd probably get the win (barring lucky homing missiles on the shuttle), but what about:
Captain Jonus (30)
TIE Bomber (22), Extra Munitions (2), Homing Missiles (5), Veteran Instincts (1), Guidance Chips (0)
Tomax Bren (36)
TIE Bomber (24), Crack Shot (1), Extra Munitions (2), Homing Missiles (5), Cluster Missiles (4), Guidance Chips (0)
Major Rhymer (34)
TIE Bomber (26), Extra Munitions (2), Homing Missiles (5), Crack Shot (1), Guidance Chips (0)
This build enjoys a PS advantage - so Dutch is nuked before he shoots, giving you a total of 2 torpedos on the first engagement - not enough to kill a bomber. In the second turn either the shuttle falls (tomax clusters + 2 homing) or Horton dies. After that the remaining Y-wings aren't much of a threat, so the shuttle will die on the third combat turn regardless. It's still very vulnerable to an escort swarm though, so I think Assault Missiles are necessary:
Black Sun Soldier (20)
x 3
Z-95 Headhunter (12), Assault Missiles (5), Scavenger Crane (2), Guidance Chips (0)
Binayre Pirate (16)
Z-95 Headhunter (12), Concussion Missile (4), Guidance Chips (0)
Serissu (24)
M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (20), Crack Shot (1), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Guidance Chips (0), XX-23 S-thread Tracers (1)
This list gives you a blistering 4 missile alpha strike each modified with focus+target lock+guidance chips. On the offensive side they'll do massive damage, even if one dies before shooting, which is fairly unlikely. The assault missiles will murder any escort swarm on the Opponent's side in one turn (2 if they're Z-95s rather than Scyks/TIEs), and scavenge crane lets the survivors do it again.
On the defensve side the Z-95s can feed 4 evade tokens to the shuttle, then still receive a target lock from Serissu's tracers. Of course, they in turn are defeated by higher pilot skill lists that can kill Serissu before the tracers are sent out...
It's an excellent mission
7 hours ago, Astech said:You're burning a lot of points in the drive to kil a bomber before it shoots. In the vacuum of only facing off against the 4 Gamma Vet+Crack Shot+Homing you'd probably get the win (barring lucky homing missiles on the shuttle), but what about...
<list>
...It's still very vulnerable to an escort swarm though, so I think Assault Missiles are necessary...
<2nd list>
It's an excellent mission
That's what I love about this mission! The replay viability is very high. You can play and get crushed, but then do a rematch vs the same list and try it again with a new one. Even with all the new ships and upgrades, the mission still stands up.
It is an excellent mission.
Just used this mission to teach 2 beginners to play. We played it twice.
First play, we used the setup as prescribed in the core set - they each flew a single Academy Tie. The Rebels were victorious that time.
For our second play, I had pre-built a couple 60 point lists. Because these guys were still learning and sticking with the Imperial forces I made a few slight tweaks to their list to make it more fun - and to give me a little bit of a challenge as well.
Imperials
Player 1 - 2 Tie's
Dark Curse
Night Beast + Twin Ion Engine mkII
Player 2 - Bomber & Tie
Scimitar squadron + Extra Munitions, Proton Torpedoes & Guidance Chips
Academy Tie
Rebels
Luke & Wedge
I know points-wise they don't exactly even out but I used that to balance out the experience levels and it worked perfectly IMO. I also, gave the shuttle 3 shields so it wasn't too squishy.
The Bomber used its ordinance to strip the shields off the shuttle. The Tie's got in the way of the rebels and wear away at the shuttle's hull. And the rebels did everything they could to protect the shuttle and fend off attackers. It came down to the last turn before the shuttle flew off the board but the Imperial forces were victorious in eliminating the senator's shuttle.
This is a great mission and its versatility really showed. I look forward to playing a it again at 100 points and then even getting these guys playing the Evacuation of hoth missions too.
Okay, so a few of us at our FLGS are taking about this as a tournament. Here's the rules draft; still needs playtesting -- feedback welcome:
“ POLITICAL ESCORT ” is a STAR WARS® X-WING MINIATURES GAME™ tournament variant where players take turns attacking or escorting an unarmed shuttle. This is a tournament variant of the original Mission One: Political Escort included in the original STAR WARS® X-WING MINIATURES GAME™ Core Set.
The objective of “ POLITICAL ESCORT ” varies depending on the player’s role. The defender tries to escort an unarmed shuttle across the board to allow the politician/smuggler/leader/supplies on board to escape. The attacking player seeks to destroy the escorted shuttle before it can leave the board. Win conditions are based on the success of the shuttle; points are also scored for destroying the opponent’s ships.
1. Building Squads.
Each player selects a faction and builds a 100-point squad following standard X-Wing squad-building rules (though see section 6 for special rules affecting squad components), with exceptions as defined below. This squad will be used for both attacking and defending the shuttle.
When serving as the defending player, the defender adds the Senator’s Shuttle (or Emperor’s Shuttle, or Jabba’s Shuttle – theme as you wish) to his or her squad. The Shuttle has the following statistics and abilities:
The player may pay for and assign up to two crew slot upgrade cards and one modification slot upgrade card to the shuttle. The cost of these upgrades is included in the player’s 100-point squad cost. These upgrades are only assigned to the shuttle; they cannot be used when the player is the attacker.
Each player should bring a shuttle token (from the Core Set), though only one token is required per two players. In the event no shuttle tokens are available, a large ship base may be substituted.
2. Set Up.
Once players have built their squads, set up begins.
a. Players determine initiative as normal. The player with initiative decides which player will be the attacker, and which player will be the defender.
b. Set up play area.
(1) Place obstacles as normal, from the pool of obstacles, three from each player.
(2) The defender chooses which side of the board will be the defender’s edge. The opposite side of the board is the attacker’s edge
(3) Place ships as normal, following normal ship placement rules.
(4) At PS 12, the defender places the shuttle anywhere within range 1 of the defender’s edge of the board.
c. Prepare to play. Players activate shields and otherwise prepare other components to play.
3. Play.
Play proceeds much like the phases of a standard X-Wing Game:
a. Planning phase. Players plan maneuvers and set maneuver dials as normal. The shuttle may set a dial if one is provided; but this is not required; the defending player may simply declare the shuttle’s maneuver.
b. Activation phase. In pilot skill order from lowest pilot skill to highest pilot skill, ships reveal their maneuver dials, move, and take actions as normal. The shuttle moves first, unless the attacking player has initiative and has a ship reduced to pilot skill zero (0). Ships follow other activation phase rules as normal.
SPECIAL RULE: Shuttle blocking. In the event that the shuttle is blocked by a ship(s) in such a way that the shuttle cannot clear the blocking ship by selecting a 2-forward maneuver, the shuttle can only be blocked in this way for one round. On the second round of blocking that the defender selects a 2-forward maneuver, the shuttle is automatically moved to the other side of the blocking ship(s).
c. Combat Phase. Combat proceeds normally. The attacker may attack the shuttle as if it were any other ship. The shuttle suffers damage as any other ship; if it receives a face up damage card with an effect which does not affect the shuttle, or which allows an action to flip the card face down, the card is automatically flipped face down after the shuttle’s next activation.
4. Determining a Winner .
a. If the shuttle successfully exits the attacker’s edge of the board, the defender wins.
b. If the shuttle is destroyed, the attacker wins.
c. Record the number of points of ships destroyed by each player as that player’s score. If the shuttle is destroyed, and it had any equipped upgrades, the point cost of those upgrades is added to the attacker’s score. If the shuttle has taken six damage but was not destroyed, half of its upgrade point values (rounded down) are added to the attacker’s score. In the event the game goes to time (see tournament rules, below) without the shuttle being destroyed or exiting the board, the player with the highest score of destroyed ships is the winner.
5. “POLITICAL ESCORT” Tournament.
a. “ POLITICAL ESCORT ” may be played in a tournament format.
b. Number of rounds played is up to the tournament organizer, number of participants, and time available, but three or four rounds are recommended.
c. Each round each player plays a game both as attacker and as defender. Players are initially randomly assigned pairings. Once initiative and attacker/defender are initially determined and players are ready to play, they have 95 minutes [ NEEDS PLAYTEST ] to complete TWO (2) games. Players are allocated 45 minutes for the first game. At the end of 45 minutes, complete the round in play, and record scores. Players then reverse roles, with the shuttle moving to the previous attacker, who becomes the new defender, set up and start a new game.
d. At the end of each game, the winner gains one Victory Point. Players record winner of the game, who was attacker/defender, and points of ships destroyed.
e. At the end of each round, the players will turn in two game scores. A player might have two wins (2 points), one win and one loss (one point), or two losses (zero points) from the round. Points for ships destroyed are kept as a running tally (not Margin of Victory). [ NOTE: Consider this or standard MOV .]
f. In subsequent rounds, players are paired against players of equal records, randomly paired with those of equal points. So, for example, all players with two Victory Points are paired against those who also have two Victory Points. Players may be paired down if an unequal number have similar records. For an odd number of players, the player with the worst record gets a bye – scoring 2 Victory Points and 100 points of ships destroyed.
g. For final standings, players are first ranked by Victory Points, then by Points Destroyed [ MOV ]. In the case of a subsequent tie, the tie breaker goes to the higher number of wins as the defender.
6. FAQ / Special Rules
a. Ban list. The following pilots or upgrades may not be used:
(1) Huge ships and huge ship only upgrades
(2) Biggs Darklighter
(3) Twin Laser Turret
b. Frequently Asked Questions.
(1) Do Homing Missiles ignore Protect tokens like they do Evade tokens? A: No, Protect tokens are a different effect.
(2) Do Protect tokens count as modifying dice rolls? A: No. They do not add an evade result; they cancel an attack die.
(3) Does a Console Fire critical effect cause any additional damage? A: No; the card is automatically flipped face down in the next activation phase.
(4) Can the shuttle be assigned stress tokens? A: Yes, but they largely have no effect since the shuttle has neither actions nor red maneuvers. However, other effects related to stress may be applied; for example: attempting to cause damage via Black Market Slicer Tools.
(5) If the shuttle is blocked and the defender selects a 1-bank maneuver, does the shuttle automatically clear on the second round? A: No, the shuttle must select the 2-forward for two rounds in a row, automatically clearing on the second round.
(6) I have a Lambda -class Shuttle in my squad and the Emperor Palpatine upgrade card. May I put Emperor Palpatine on the Senator’s Shuttle when defending and on the Lambda shuttle when attacking? A: No; any crew or modifications assigned to the Senator’s Shuttle may not be used when the squad is the attacker.
(7) How many ion tokens does it take to ionize the Senator’s shuttle? A: Two; the shuttle is treated as a large-based ship for the purposes of effects and upgrades.
(8) Does the Senator’s Shuttle get barrel-rolled when hit by a tractor beam? A: No; it is a large-based ship. It does still suffer the reduced agility score effect.
(9) Where can I get a Senator’s Shuttle model? A: Try searching Shapeways.com, Combat Zone Scenery, or PrintandPlayDesign at Etsy.com.