If you decide to follow it you probably should make sure everyone is well aware of it before asteroids start getting placed.

This rule is actually fairly common in many tabletop miniature games, like 40k, Flames of War, Warmachine ect... Both sides put the terrain on the table then one side gets to pick which side they use.

In most tournaments the terrain is set up before people start to play but still one person gets to pick a side. It helps keep people honest when placing terrain. It's kinda like when kids have to share a candy bar or something, one gets to cut the other gets to pick, so you know the one cutting will cut as close to the middle as possible.

That said in X-Wing for tournament play they decided to make the rock placement part of the game so it doesn't work the same here. Also rocks in X-Wing don't have quite the same impact that terrain can in other games, since they don't actually block LoS or anything.

That "keeping the field honest" is easiest reason for using it but like I say it is important for both sides to know how things are going to play out before they start.

Although all of the "terrain" was pre-printed on the maps I'm trying to remember how WotC did it with their DDM and SWM skirmish games. I believe it was one player got to pick which map to use but the other then got to pick which side, A or B, was "their" side of the battle.

i always find it funny when people try to deploy all their rocks as close as they possibly can on my side of the board. I actually WANT you to do that because its way easier to slip by them when im not worried about you being in the way yet.

I purposely deploy my rocks in a disorganized fashion. I'll throw the first one...literally throw it out as it just toss it towards the center and let it land where it lands. Then i'll place my 2nd somewhere between his first and mine but far enough wher eyou cant put another rock there or just under 2distance from one of them if he put it close to my first one.

You'd be amazed how many people HATE IT when i do that. It puts the rocks all over the place instead of in a neat little bundle of "nope" in the corner, so they actually have to pay attention to where theyre going.

...still amazed i flew an 8 tie swarm friday and didnt hit a single rock lol

I followed this rule during the first match of the first VASSAL tournament ever, hosted by A Few Maneuvers. After the match I double checked the tournament rules and realized my mistake. My opponent didn't know it was against tournament rules either, or he'd have said something. It's a lot easier to enforce this rule on Vassal, but it makes it less like table-top tournaments, so it's never really taken off.

This is fun to do in casual play. i did this once but we used mines instead of rock/debris. Inspired by a mission:

Only one player places all obstacles/mines and the other player picks which side. No need to turn the playmat- just set up your cards, tokens and other gear AFTER this.

Some people don't like change, I see no issue with setting up after either but some do apparently. I don't and will never play tournaments for Xwing so doesn't matter to me either way. I really do not see the mat turning omg this adds 10 minutes argument. Just put your stuff to the side then move to your spot, you do this anyway to begin with are you using your cupped hands to move these things?

because it throws off their perfectly calculated setup/movement scheme. Some people are so terrible at adapting that if you throw off their mojo you win because of that alone, not because you actually beat them normally.

The 4 main "pro" players at my flgs all use debris instead of rocks. It allows Dash to literally ignore obstacles (except for adding defense dice) instead of potential losing a shot and it lets a lot of ships pull some otherwise stupid moves to get a range1 shot.

I bring rocks purely because they hate rocks. So many **** times i'll face one instead of them facing each other over and over and he will completely space out the fact i brought rocks. They all do this or some other unbelievably dumb thing that any player with a relative degree of adaptability skills wouldnt even think about and it pisses them off so bad its hilarious lol.

I flew Echo once against them and since they literally never see her they simply could NOT fathom how to predict that decloak. Entire **** game "if that was whisper i could predict where shes going perfectly" lol.

Literally only play against these guys when theres nobody else. Theyre alright people theyre just way too easy to mess with and they get kinda ragey when they lose because of the monkeywrench i threw at them lol

incidentally i said "pro" players because theyre the only ones that actually travel to tournaments and run the main meta lists consistently. Ive ran the traditional palp aces ONCE in a local tourny where they were around and went 5-0 (30 people, 3 normal games then semifinal/final) even against the idiots that run it every day and should know how to fly it proper. Adaptability is way too crucial in this game, and im not talking about the card lol. They prove 10 fold that if you cant adapt very well you WILL lose. Oh, the reason i beat them with my aces? PS2 Palpmobile with Tractorbeam instead of a 99pt init bid. Soontir doesnt like rocks apparently LOL (no tokens, pretty easy to snag him)

i cant imagine how much they'd be pissed if suddenly everyone started playing by the printed rules and we set up our side after debris lol

You could always just rotate the mat instead of switching sides.

As someone who tends to read the rules and has never been to a tournament, I had no idea this rule existed. I LOVE the concept. it adds yet another layer of strategy building and outguessing your opponent. That being said, I also see why it was ruled out for tournament play. So put me squarely on the fence for this one.

P.S. If my budget ever allows it I will one of those PITA player that places his obstacles by reaching for the big ole GR-75.

I don't know I kinda like it, it keeps people from being blockade pricks with their asteroids. Oh you want to to put crap all on this side well congrats you just landscaped your own home.

Probably because it would add another 5-10 minutes to set up when you have to move all your stuff to the other side of the table.

I don't know I kinda like it, it keeps people from being blockade pricks with their asteroids. Oh you want to to put crap all on this side well congrats you just landscaped your own home.

Doesn't the fact that half of the obstacles are placed by each player sort of prevent that anyway?

Probably because it would add another 5-10 minutes to set up when you have to move all your stuff to the other side of the table.

As was previously mentioned, it seems like it'd be much easier to just rotate the play mat.

Now, if you use a solid board that doesn't flex at all (My old GLGS used wooden boards spray painted black with white flecks of paint to create a starfield), rotating the board might be possible.

You know, magnetic boards or a weak adhesive like painter's tape might keep the obstacles in place as well, if anyone wants to try this.

I don't know I kinda like it, it keeps people from being blockade pricks with their asteroids. Oh you want to to put crap all on this side well congrats you just landscaped your own home.

Doesn't the fact that half of the obstacles are placed by each player sort of prevent that anyway?

Probably because it would add another 5-10 minutes to set up when you have to move all your stuff to the other side of the table.

As was previously mentioned, it seems like it'd be much easier to just rotate the play mat.

Having obstacles placed by both players should help "level the field" but there are some who are far more proficient and placing them and using that placement than others. As long as both players are aware of how things will go down the difference may be slight; where things go to hell is when one player is placing for a given field assuming his starting position when the other player is placing with the same idea except he knows which side he'll get to pick to fly from.

Rotating a playmat isn't hard. Rotating a playmat that already has a bunch of stuff on it that may have been places with some precision but which could shift around without much difficulty is a different story. Lets also remember that rotating a map is still going to have it sweeping the edges clear which means picking up your stuff anyway.

If you have a 3x3 map in the center of a 4x4 table then rotating that map will put the corners off the edge as it turns.