I played my first ever game of X-Wing on the weekend in a quarterly tournament and had a blast. I expected to get kicked all over the place but I actually held my own in a few fights. It was a great learning experience and I would appreciate feedback on my play! This will be a quick review as I don't remember a lot. I had purchased the TFA core a few weeks prior and spent some time practicing flying around on my dining room table, I had done some mock battles with bad builds just to get an idea of things but I would say my total time playing X-Wing before the tourney was around 5 hours. After I realized I liked Rebels and X-Wings, I picked up an A-Wing and heroes of the resistance to fly Rey/Poe and had just under $100 US invested into the game, exactly where I wanted to be to start things off.

I was running:

Rey + Burnout SLAM + Wired + Millennium Falcon (2) + Smuggling Compartment + Finn + Hotshot Co-Pilot
Poe Dameron (PS9) + Push the Limit + Integrated Astromech + Pattern Analyzer + BB-8 + Black One
(98)

First game

Tempest Squadron Pilot + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + Accuracy Corrector + TIE/x1
The Inquisitor + Trick Shot + Autothrusters + Tie/v1
Backdraft + Adaptability + Primed Thrusters + Special Ops Training
Tempest Squadron Pilot + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + Accuracy Corrector + TIE/x1
(100)

So this was literally my first game, my opponent was good at explaining how to set up the asteroids and what not but that was about it. After that he went close lipped. I made some mistakes in this one, first off I gave him initiative which I didn't realize was his for the game then (used to IA where it switches round to round), second I repeatedly forgot to take actions after my maneuvers, and didn't realize until the combat phase, and third I made the mistake of trusting my opponent as being knowledgeable about the game, lol. Round one we jostled for position, he lined up kitty corner to me, I slow played Rey/Fin keeping them close up towards him as he turned in to wards me. We ended up meeting in the asteroids at the beginning of round 3, to which I attempted to reveal a green meaner on Poe, barrel roll with BB-8 to get better position to execute the maneuver, then I went one forward and boosted a bank left to get out of arc of one of his Ties but keep arc on Poe for the same target that Rey would go after. I then used PTL to focus Poe and attempted to discard the stress with PA having pushed that check stress stage from after my maneuver to after my actions. My opponent told me this was wrong, and I made the mistake of believing him. I argued it slightly but he seemed so set on it I just trusted him. He argued that PA was only useful for getting an action off on red maneuvers, and I was playing it wrong. Unfortunately I played like this for the rest of the day, so all the practice I had done (which was the majority of the 5 hours lol) dancing Poe around my kitchen table was for naught. Unfortunately this had a big effect on where I had left Poe, now I had to choose in the subsequent rounds between focus and advanced maneuvering, which either left me in a bad spot, unfocused for attack/defense or stressed from PTL if I wanted both. I was so rattled I didn't even think of just PTLing off of the free barrel roll from BB-8, to which my opponent admitted to me after the day was a 'cheesy' move but possible.

With Rey I did a good job at keeping range 1 and arc for the first two turns, but after I started bumping ships I was screwed. I couldn't get out of the way as he just kept moving into me, and he kept two ties off to the side out of arc that I couldn't hit. I was able to blow up one of the squadron pilots, but by then he had taken my sitting duck Poe out and Rey was limping along. Eventually I found myself well out of arc with Backdraft hitting me hard and Inquisitor getting that auto range 1 from far away and they picked me apart. I think by the time the game ended I had his other squadron pilot down to 1 health which he flew away and the Inquisitor was shield less with a damage or two. This guy was playing to win and win hard, he was very competitive. It being a tournament I really couldn't blame him, but I definitely felt when I forgot my actions he could have reminded me of that at least. Either way I learned a lot from this game about how important it is to keep arc on Rey and that is something I was careful to utilize in the next game.

Lost 100-22

Second game

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot
Howlrunner + Swarm Tactics
Epsilon Leader
Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot
Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot
Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot
(99)

In my second game I made sure to take initiative, and I set up just a bit off from my opponent but aiming for the rocks. I figured that I had learned a lesson last game about fighting on the edge of the rocks against ties (me in the rocks and him not). I had intended to meet him on the outside but once I saw he was flying a tight formation I swerved for the asteroids to try and break him up a bit so he might not get as many straight shots off on Rey at once. The first few exchanges were good, I was able to take a tie out early and crit another. Poe was dancing well, not as well as he could have if I was using the combo I built for him (misinformation from the first fight still in my head), but he still held his own. I was getting a lot more comfortable flying him, I really like him. That focus for both attack and evade was awesome. I was also able to eject BB-8 to avoid getting blown up and then next round shoot down the same tie before it had a chance to finish Poe off. Eventually though they got him, and did half damage to Rey to score the points. This match, again, my opponent did a great job of tying up Rey with one tie so I couldn't move, keeping another just at enough range to make it so I couldn't get a good long maneuver off, then keeping two ties on the fringes to avoid my defense bonus. I was able to keep face in this match pretty good with Rey, but the combo just meant losing that arc which cuts my defense in half essentially. This opponent was really good at reminding me of things I forgot to do (both good and bad) and playing hard and serious but able to laugh and deal with a bad roll accordingly, unlike my previous opponent which cheered my bad rolls and cursed at his own. This was definitely my best game for strategy and execution, but I fell just short of what I needed, he flew Howlrunner away with 1 damage left and there was nothing I could do to catch him. The sad part is, if I had Poe's build functioning properly I absolutely would have been able to shoot down howlrunner earlier in the game, but since I was basically getting half actions it was a huge handicap. Still for my second ever game I was very happy how well I did and how close I kept the game. This one went to time with my opponent running away and me unable to catch up with just Rey. I should have disengaged Poe at some point and brought him back around, I could have flown through the Ties and lost their arc to circle back, but instead I was spray and praying instead of at least focusing down a target. His last two ties were badly hurt.

Lost 70-60

Third game

Miranda Doni + Conner Net + Proton Bombs + Twin Laser Turret + C-3PO + Extra Munitions + Homing Missiles + Advanced SLAM
Warden Squadron Pilot + Twin Laser Turret + Extra Munitions + Advanced SLAM + Conner Net + Proximity Mines + Seismic Charges + Sabine Wren
(100)

This was my favourite game of the day against a really great opponent. He was very good at the game and very good at announcing and executing his actions. It was a very crisp and clean game with plenty of friendly banter. I actually ended up getting a little frustrated this game with myself and he was able to talk me down, class act and we left as friends. I set up directly across the map from him. Off the bat I knew that K-Wings would try to lead me in circles around the map so I used my burn out slam to try and catch up on Rey, however he also had advance slam and was able to keep his distance by doing some sharp turns away from me. I flew Poe through the Rocks to try and cut him off head on while I brought Rey up from the rear. The problem is I flew Poe to fast and he spent an entire round in range of both TLT's while Poe was outside of Range for an attack. Poe survived long enough for Rey to get in there but the TLT's made it impossible for me to get Poe out of range with their continuous arc and he went down fairly early, earlier than he should have. Again IA saved me from one TLT, but not the next. I was disapointed with how aggressive I was, I felt like I just played right into his hand. He was able to get Poe down with a combination of the conner net and proximity mines and the combination of Sabine adding damage to all of this was just to much. Before Poe went down though I was able to take Miranda down to 1 health remaining, but again with that advanced Slam he could get out of my range and I had no way to catch him. I ended up trying to chase him which I knew was a mistake but I was so desperate to get that kill, that he was able to fly the Warden Squadron pilot basically zig zagging across my path dropping bombs and mines that I had no choice but to hit or swerve into an asteroid. Eventually Miranda was so far out of my range I knew I couldn't get to her, and the Squadron pilot had great positioning that I was screwed. It was an incredibly well flown mission by my opponent, he was very skillful and knowledgeable of the game. If I was able to just get that one more damage off it could have been a different story, but he recovered well and kept his composure and game plan and I just kept playing right into it lol. So this match I didn't have any problems with being bumped into and locked down and that was nice because I actually got to fly Rey around and do some proper full effect attacks. But the reverse of it was I was flying right into his traps. This one did go on for a while though and I was still happy that I got so close to taking out Miranda.

Lost 100-0

The fourth game was a repeat opponent. Someone had to leave so the list got jostled up and me being in dead last I was the odd man out and was given a bye. I didn't want that though as I was here to learn and play, so fortunately one of the other players had to leave for a family event and offered me his spot which I readily took and was very thankful to get in that fourth game for practice. Unfortunately, it was against the same opponent I played in game 1. He was here to win, and thanks to padding his score against me in two games did quite well in the tournament. If I had known it was him I probably would have declined, lol, and just watched another match to learn from their play. But I was committed and it was to late. So I decided to try something different, I didn't want to give him time to set up the same pincer formation he did before I thought I would just burn out slam right at him. So I set up opposite of him and went right into him, flying Poe through the rocks again. Initially it started well with me landing a good hit, but then the next two rounds I rolled almost full blanks on Rey (horrible) and he rolled amazing on defense. I wasn't able to get much damage through for two full rounds. At this point I was feeling the fatigue, I was a bit frustrated with this opponent and just didn't feel like playing a long drawn out game like he was playing, engaging, then breaking off, bumping, bumping, bumping etc.. so I got a bit cocky on Poe and flew into range of one of his Ties with 1 health left (after I had pulled a great maneuver to get a one range Poe out of his arc, I remember him being really surprised at the skill behind that maneuver, surprised myself but Poe is the man) I of course rolled 3 blanks, and his counter attack rolled 3 hits with me blanking on defense, bye Bye Poe. After that he just kept distance on his wounded Ties from Rey and kept bumping and wearing me down turn by turn. I actually would have been better off in this game as I was planning to burn out slam away from his ties to re set arc, but I accidentally put 4 straight instead of 3, so I couldn't use it, total mess up on my part. Because of this I stayed in arc of three attacks and that ended me, had I been able to pull it off I would have been out of range/arc of all his ships and had a chance to turn things around. Curious, if I did burn out slam for 3 forward, then did a 3 bank, could I use my Millennium Falcon title to turn 180 on that 3?

Lost 100-0

Final thoughts: Overall I had a great time, met a lot of great people and really enjoyed myself. I will definitely be back for future events and I am really excited to keep building and testing my list. i definitely want to get some more casual games in though to practice. I was really frustrated in the end that I was actually in the right and my opponent was wrong, I should have called over a TO but that is my inexperience showing. Definitely affected my game for the rest of the day and even rustled my jimmys a bit. I ended up confirming with our FB group that I was in fact right just to make sure this didn't happen at future events. I even said to the guy I am pretty sure you are wrong, and he said nope I'm not, to which I replied that I had been researching this on the internet for a while leading up to the event and he replied "Oh someone is wrong on the internet? Alert the church elders!" Classy.

As far as my build goes, I love Poe. Man is he fun. I definitely want to fly him again, although I am thinking I might trade IA for Thrusters to get that extra bonus from my maneuvers now that I know I was playing it right. I loved being able to jettison BB-8 to save my life and laughed every time thinking of him hurling through space, but I definitely missed that free barrel roll afterwards and I can't help but think given my low shield/hull it would be better to just avoid getting hit all together! Duh!!

As for Rey... Rey was fun, and powerful, but all the bumping was so annoying and it really locked me down. I definitely got my ass kicked by that every match. I need to learn how to deal with that. The only way I really found that I could was maneuvers that added stress to me or did not clear my stress to give me an action. However when I did line up those range 1 shots with Finn being able to roll those 4 die and then re roll 2 (with the added blank) was amazing. I did have one four hit shot on Miranda in that game that devastated her and essentially took her out of the match. The problem is those shots were few and far between. I should have been destroying Ties but my opponents were good at keeping the range 1 bumped into me, and the other one at range 2-3 to keep me from being able to maneuver out. So in short, if I want to play her again I need to practice getting out of the bumps more, and replace hotshot co-pilot with something useful like Kanaan. But I really was just trying to keep cost down for this tournament. Also, does hotshot co-pilot strip focus even if they can't use it? So if they rolled 3 blanks would it still strip their focus? I wasn't sure about that.

In the end this game is amazing, like amazing. I play IA pretty steady but this game blows IA away. I am very, very excited for the future in this game and love the new nerfs that will open up the meta. I am definitely Rebel for life and love Poe.. I am hoping to be able to run a triple T-70 X-Wing list in the future.. Thanks for reading!

Nice write up.

Sucks your opponent did not know the rules of Pattern Anaylzer and basically took advantage of a new player. If you ever are not sure, just call the T.O. to verify. Nothing wrong with that.

Get autothrusters on Poe. At PS9 with boost and barrel roll, you should be able (or learn to be able) to control range and get in range 3 when needed for defense, and range 1 for offense.

Rey is tricky. Large ships fly faster then small ships and she needs her arc pointed at enemy, so bumps will be common. HSCP forces a focus removed no matter what, even all blanks. The only time it wont force a focus removal is when certain abilities (Carnor Jax, Dark Curse) prevent spending focus tokens.

To help fly Rey, dont force the arc every time. She has turret, and if you can hop over an opponent where they cant shoot but you can, then that is also just as good, especially range 1 with 4 dice. Then next turn you can sloop. Try to plan at least 2 moves ahead. When you dial in a move, think about where you are going to land, and where you are going next turn, because where you land looks like a good shot, but where you can go after that may be a rock, or flying into his forces and bumping which are both bad. So you may want a safer move the first turn with just a decent shot, that then sets up a great shot with a sloop and your arc.

Thanks for the tips, great info. I think that not planning ahead was a huge problem for me, I was always just trying to think HOW CAN I FIX THIS RIGHT NOW!! instead of in two turns I could be in prime shape.. the bumping was the biggest problem though, I should have been trying to just do as you said and fly away or re set and get my turret shot when the bumping starts.

How does Pattern Analyzer work??

8 hours ago, Blail Blerg said:

How does Pattern Analyzer work??

With PTL, you can do a green manuveur, two actions to stress, then clear the stress, because it places the check stress step after action step.

So you can also perform a red maneuver, do your action, then get stress.

I love that you did a battle report, awesome!

I'm curious how the opponent from the first and fourth games did in his other games (I wouldn't expect you to know). Looking at the other two lists you faced, I'd imagine he have gotten rolled in that tournament if things didn't work out the way they did. As a matter of fact, given his demeanor and what he flew, I don't think he really knows the game all that well. Most good players who flew a list like that would have been playing it just for the fun of it, not to win.

Given that it was your first time actually playing the game and the expansions at your disposal, I think you did fantastic. I probably played a good dozen or more games before I stopped forgetting basic stuff (like taking actions). Six months later, I absolutely forget card interactions on a regular basis ("Oh, I forgot to re-roll due to Lone Wolf!" / "I forgot to take a focus off Rey (crew) at the beginning of combat!" / "I forgot to active Autothrusters on that blank defense die!"). I'm discovering the best way to avoid that is to pick 2-3 lists, max, and just fly those for a while. Sticking with one is the best route, really, but I have list ADD, so that's hard for me to do!

Don't give up on Rey. Just the addition of Kanan in place of HSCP turns her into an absolute monster. I just ran this list today against a 4-ship list. Poe died super early along with one of the opposing ships. Rey then proceeded to take down the other 3 ships on her own. I think she still had 6 hull at the end. I flew Poe ridiculously bad, like...suuuper bad, he had one shot before he died. That's how much work she did.

Rey (45)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Finn (5)
Kanan Jarrus (3)
Inertial Dampeners (1)
Smuggling Compartment (0)
Millennium Falcon (TFA) (1)

Poe Dameron (PS9) (33)
Push the Limit (3)
R5-P9 (3)
Pattern Analyzer (2)
Autothrusters (2)
Black One (1)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Thanks gennataos for all your help with this, really appreciate it. That guy ended up finishing 2nd in the swiss rank (out of 18), but I can't help but think he got it easy with 2 games against me both being 100 points. The guy he was set to play for his last game was really good at the game, and also a really nice guy, and would have probably destroyed him.. so it is what it is. He also didn't realize what Integrated Astromech did and a few other of my cards, so I feel he didn't know the game as well as he thought he did. The fact I kept my first ever game with him competitive with him taking THAT serious shows that as well.

I definitely want to try Rey again, I just need to get better at the arc and then realize that arc isn't everything, and if I can fly out of their arc and turrent it is just as good IF NOT better. I just need to practice dealing with the bumps, once they started bumping me I was screwed. They had me all twisted up. I couldn't even 4 away cause they just kept them littered in front of me. On the flip side though this gave me in arc shots, but the dice were not friendly to me that day. Ahh, I see now, Inertial Dampeners would help a lot with this.

So for that list I would need:

Veteran Instincts - Millennium Falcon, Slave 1, Shadow Caster, Sabine's TIE Fighter

Kanaan - Ghost

Inertial Dampeners - StarViper, IG-2000

R5-P9 - Rebel Transport

AutoThrusters - StarViper

I'm still trying to approach this cautiously as far as money goes, I want to make sure I get my best bang for my buck.. I understand this is a slipper slope, I play IA lol.. but the thing I like about this game is I don't have to buy expansions just for tiles.. but can pick my build around affordable options.

I don't see myself spending the money on the Rebel Transport just yet... or the Ghost if it is just for the one card.. but I guess running Rey without it is a pretty big handicap. The StarViper is a legit choice that gets me two good cards.. if I did the StarViper and Ghost that wouldn't be to bad cost wise and gets me some pretty severe upgrades. Which has better upgrades for Rebels of the four with Veteran Instincts?

If the community is freindly enough, you usually can borrow cards like Kanaan from others. I did the same for my last tournament.

Unless you really want to play every time with cards, for casual games if your opponent does not mind, you can just pring out the list. Cards are only for tournaments.

Glad you liked the game - hope you will get to enjoy it even more. I have been only to a few tournaments, but don't be afraid to call a judge if you have doubts.

On 3/17/2017 at 10:10 AM, FrogTrigger said:

Thanks gennataos for all your help with this, really appreciate it. That guy ended up finishing 2nd in the swiss rank (out of 18), but I can't help but think he got it easy with 2 games against me both being 100 points. The guy he was set to play for his last game was really good at the game, and also a really nice guy, and would have probably destroyed him.. so it is what it is. He also didn't realize what Integrated Astromech did and a few other of my cards, so I feel he didn't know the game as well as he thought he did. The fact I kept my first ever game with him competitive with him taking THAT serious shows that as well.

I definitely want to try Rey again, I just need to get better at the arc and then realize that arc isn't everything, and if I can fly out of their arc and turrent it is just as good IF NOT better. I just need to practice dealing with the bumps, once they started bumping me I was screwed. They had me all twisted up. I couldn't even 4 away cause they just kept them littered in front of me. On the flip side though this gave me in arc shots, but the dice were not friendly to me that day. Ahh, I see now, Inertial Dampeners would help a lot with this.

So for that list I would need:

Veteran Instincts - Millennium Falcon, Slave 1, Shadow Caster, Sabine's TIE Fighter

Kanaan - Ghost

Inertial Dampeners - StarViper, IG-2000

R5-P9 - Rebel Transport

AutoThrusters - StarViper

I'm still trying to approach this cautiously as far as money goes, I want to make sure I get my best bang for my buck.. I understand this is a slipper slope, I play IA lol.. but the thing I like about this game is I don't have to buy expansions just for tiles.. but can pick my build around affordable options.

I don't see myself spending the money on the Rebel Transport just yet... or the Ghost if it is just for the one card.. but I guess running Rey without it is a pretty big handicap. The StarViper is a legit choice that gets me two good cards.. if I did the StarViper and Ghost that wouldn't be to bad cost wise and gets me some pretty severe upgrades. Which has better upgrades for Rebels of the four with Veteran Instincts?

Yeah, it's hard to recommend someone dump a bunch of money just to make one list work.

• I think Sabine's TIE is a good buy, regardless, and would net you a Veteran's Instincts. It's a fun ship to fly with four pilots that fly completely differently. I think it's a great expansion pack.
• I think the Ghost is a good buy if you also have the original Core set for Biggs. If you don't?...well, I don't know. It's a great ship to have eventually, but to get it primarily for Kanan?...can't recommend it. Having Kanan is fantastic, I'm not going to lie. Being able to repeatedly perform that sloop is crazy good. Often my opponent is forced to account for two different sloop directions and the 1-turns, which they can't always do. But, it's not the end of the world to end up with the sloop and a stress. If that sloop keeps your opponent in arc, then you're still getting re-rolls on offense and defense from Rey's ability, which is basically like a marriage of Predator and Lone Wolf.
• That last point leads me into this point. A StarViper purchase would be fantastic for this list. I feel like anyone who flies T-70's needs Autothrusters and Inertial Dampeners on Rey is so. ****. good. Having that as an option when all of your other moves might be blocked is borderline invaluable. But, damnit, it's a Scum ship. I ended up getting one for Christmas and traded away the model and everything else aside from the 2 ATs and 1 ID in the pack. Maybe you could do the same? But, at that point, it might be worth it to just buy the cards themselves via eBay....but boy does the idea of that make me feel icky.
• Absolutely do not get a Rebel Transport just for R5-P9. There are a lot of great astromechs in that expansion, but unless you envision playing Epic some day, don't do it. Flying with BB-8 will be fine and probably more fun. If you really want regen at some point, get the original Core set and you'll have R2-D2.