Last night after our weekly tournament a couple of us were talking about alternate formats and came up with one we'd like to try that I'd like some feedback on.
We like the idea of playing a single Ace taking on all comers in a four-to-eight player furball format -- but where you score points based on ships damaged or destroyed, and the goal is to reach a victory point total first. If your ship is destroyed, you respawn -- but as the next lower pilot skill pilot in your squad roster (and you'd have four pilots in your roster of which one must be the lowest PS generic version of the ship).
I've pasted the draft rules in the spoiler block below. Any and all feedback welcome -- I'd like to dial this in a bit before playtesting -- but some key questions we'd like thoughts on:
(1) What's a good point limit for an Ace build?
(2) What should the balance of Victory Points be for an Assist (damage a ship) versus a Kill (destroy a ship)? Right now we've set it at 1 and 5 respectively.
(3) How many Victory Points do we play to? Right now we've set 20 (four kills, or fewer plus Assists).
(4) What do you think of the Wingman Rule? I put it in so that playing a TIE Fighter, Z-95, or other cheap ship would not be disadvantaged. Too powerful not good enough? Should the Wingman also be allowed to respawn? (I disallowed it trying to balance the early point advantage of a second attack each round.)
(5) What about the number of obstacles used? 2 per is more than standard for four players on a 3x3, but 16 seemed good for a 3x6 game with eight small-based ships on the board.
(6) What upgrades / pilots might break the game? Should anything be banned? Right now we've restricted to small base only ... good or dumb?
(7) What weird upgrades or abilities might need an FAQ? I've already considered Fel's Wrath.
Thanks!
“ ACE of ACES ” is a STAR WARS® X-WING MINIATURES GAME™ game variant where players take on the role of an Ace pilot in a winner-take-all furball.
“ ACE of ACES ” supports two to eight players on a 3x3 (2-4 players) or 3x6 (5-8 players) play surface. Play consists of four steps:
- Build squads
- Set up
- Play
- Determine a Winner
The objective of “ ACE of ACES ” is to become the top-scoring Ace pilot by being the first to score 20 points by damaging and destroying your opponent’s ships.
1. Building Squads.
Each player constructs a 40-point squad by selecting a small-based ship and a primary pilot . The player may then upgrade that ship with legal upgrades, up to the allowed point total of 40 points.
After the primary pilot is selected and the ship upgraded, the player then selects three additional alternate pilots of the same ship, each of whom must be lower pilot skill than the primary pilot, and one of whom must be the lowest pilot skill pilot available for that ship. Unique pilots may not be repeated in the squad as alternate pilots, but generic pilots may be selected multiple times.
The player then selects two obstacles from among the legal obstacles (asteroids and debris) to be part of the squad. Finally, the player gathers the necessary tokens, dice, maneuver templates, ship tokens, maneuver dial, and damage deck necessary to play a game of X-Wing.
Example: Glenn selects the TIE Interceptor to be his ship, and Soontir Fel (Pilot Skill 9) to be his primary pilot. He selects the upgrades Royal Guard TIE, Push the Limit, Stealth Device, and Autothrusters for Soontir Fel, for a total of 35 points. Glenn then selects Turr Phennir (PS 7), Fel’s Wrath (PS 5), and an Alpha Squadron Pilot (PS 1) to be his alternate pilots. Finally, he picks two small asteroids to be his obstacles and gathers the necessary game materials to play.
Wingman Rule . If the total value of the primary pilot plus all equipped upgrades is 25 points or less, the player may also add a Wingman to his squad. The Wingman is the same type of ship, using the lowest Pilot Skill pilot available. The total point value of primary pilot, upgrades, and Wingman may not exceed 40 points.
Example: James selects TIE Fighter Pilot Mauler Mithel (PS 7, 17 points) to be his primary pilot and equips him with Predator (3 points) and a Shield Upgrade (4 points) for a total of 24 points. Because the primary pilot is less than 24 points with all upgrades, James also selects an Academy Pilot (PS 1, 12 points) to be Mauler’s Wingman, for a total of 36 points. James still selects three alternate pilots: Youngster (PS 6), a Black Squadron Pilot (PS 4), and an Academy Pilot (PS 1).
2. Set Up.
Once players have built their squads, set up begins.
a. Select play surface. If there are two (2) to four (4) players, use a 3x3 play surface. If there are five (5) to eight (8) players, use a 3x6 play surface.
b. Determine initiative order. Players determine the sequence in which they will set up by the pilot skill of their pilot and point value of their squad. This sequence will also be used to determine order of play (i.e., initiative order). The player with the lowest pilot skill pilot will set up first, followed in order by the pilot with the next highest pilot skill primary pilot, and so on. If multiple players have primary pilots with the same pilot skill, the player with the lowest point value squad (primary pilot + upgrade + wingman, if any) may choose where to go in the initiative order for that pilot skill, followed by the next lowest squad point total at that pilot skill, and so on. Break ties for pilot skill and points by rolling a die.
Example: Nien (PS 7, 35 points), Wedge (PS 9, 35 points), Talonbane (PS 9, 33 points), and Soontir (PS 9, 35 points) are playing a game. Nien, with the lowest pilot skill, will go first. The remaining players have the same pilot skill, 9, so point values will determine order. Talonbane has the lowest point value, and elects to go last of the PS 9 pilots. Wedge and Soontir have the same point total, so they roll a die. Wedge selects “Hits” and a red die is rolled, revealing a Hit result, so Wedge may choose his order and chooses to go after Soontir. The final starting order of play will be Nien, Soontir, Wedge, Talonbane.
c. Set up play area.
(1) Select set up areas. In initiative order, players select their setup point on the play surface. In a 2-4 player game, the setup point are the corners of the play area. In a 5-8 player game, the first four players select from the four corners of the play area, and the remaining four players select positions on the edge of the play area that are beyond Range 3 of another player’s set up area. The player’s setup area will be the space within Range 2 of this setup point.
(2) Place obstacles. In initiative order, players place one obstacle on the play surface. After each player has placed one obstacle, repeat this process until all obstacles have been placed. Obstacles may be placed anywhere in the play area outside of Range 2 of a player’s setup point.
(3) Place ships. In initiative order, players place their ships in the play area. Ships must be placed within Range 2 of a setup point and more than Range 3 from another player’s ships (i.e., within Range 2 of a corner, or within Range 2 of the point selected on the play area edge but still outside Range 3 of an opponent). Wingmen are placed at the same time as the primary pilot.
(4) 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.
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. Pilots of equal pilot skill move in the established initiative order determined at setup. This means that Wingmen move at a different time than their primary pilot.
c. Combat Phase.
(1) In pilot skill order from highest pilot skill to lowest pilot skill, players select and engage targets as normal, with pilots at the same pilot skill firing in initiative order. Wingmen are considered friendly to a player’s primary pilot; all other ships in play are considered to be enemy.
(2) Scoring.
(a) If a player damages an opponent’s ship – i.e., removes a shield or successfully deals a damage card – that player scores an Assist . The player records +1 Victory Point .
(b) If a player destroys an opponent’s ship, that player scores a Kill . The player records +5 Victory Points . The player also records the value of the opponent’s ship that was destroyed (pilot card value plus assigned upgrades) as Ships Destroyed points.
(3) Respawn.
(a) If a pilot’s ship is destroyed, that pilot is removed from the game – but the ship immediately respawns in the player’s setup area (within Range 2 of the setup point) as the next lower pilot skill alternate pilot in the player’s squad list. The player may apply all legal upgrade cards from the primary pilot to the alternate pilot’s ship (e.g., the alternate pilot may not equip an Elite upgrade if that pilot does not have an Elite upgrade icon).
(b) If the player is reduced to the lowest pilot skill generic pilot in the list, and that pilot is destroyed, the ship continues to respawn as that lowest pilot skill generic pilot, but remove one upgrade card each time the generic ship is destroyed until there are no more upgrade cards assigned to the ship.
(c) A respawned ship does not get an action, but may shoot at its Pilot Skill point in the initiative order if the original ship had not yet activated in the Combat phase. If that Pilot Skill point has already passed, the respawned ship does not get an opportunity to fire (because the original pilot had an opportunity to fire, even if there was no valid target).
(d) Wingmen do not respawn.
(e) The “simultaneous fire” rule does not apply in “ ACE of ACES .”
E xample: Glenn loses Turr Phennir (PS 7, 33 points), who is equipped with the Royal Guard title, Push the Limit, Stealth Device, and Autothrusters, to Wedge (PS 9). Wedge’s player scores a Kill, adds +5 Victory Points to his score, and separately records 33 points worth of “Ships Destroyed”. Glenn’s next alternate pilot is Fel’s Wrath (PS 5) to which Glenn may equip one Modification; Glenn chooses Stealth Device from what remains of Turr Phennir, and respawns Fel’s Wrath (PS 5, 28 points) in his setup area. Fel’s Wrath may attack when PS 5 pilots get the opportunity, if there is a valid target.
4. Determining a Winner .
a. At the end of the End Phase, after the cleanup step is complete, players total up their Victory Points and Ships Destroyed points.
b. If a player has earned 20 or more Victory Points , that player is the winner, and the game ends.
c. If two or more players have 20 or more Victory Points , the player with the highest number of Victory Points is the winner.
d. If two or more players are tied in Victory Points , the player with the highest total of Ships Destroyed points breaks the tie and is the winner.
e. In the unlikely event that two players are tied in both Victory Points and Ships Destroyed points, break the tie via a Final Salvo or (time permitting) a 1v1 dogfight to the death using the primary pilots and upgrades.
f. If no player has earned 20 or more Victory Points , begin another round at the Planning phase.
5. “ACE of ACES” Tournaments.
a. “ ACE of ACES ” may be played in a tournament format.
b. The tournament organizer organizes the players in “pods” of four to eight players. It is generally preferred to have larger pods, so a seven-player pod is preferred to a three- and four-player pod. Recommended organization:
4-8 Players 1 pod
9-16 Players 2 pods (roughly equal numbers per pod)
17-24 Players 3 pods (equal numbers)
… etc
c. Number of rounds played is up to the tournament organizer and time available, but three to four rounds are recommended.
d. At the end of each round, players’ total Victory Points and Ships Destroyed points are recorded and added to a running total by the tournament organizer.
e. Players are redistributed into new pods for the next round based on their total Victory Points achieved. So for example in a 23 person tournament, the top 8 scores in Victory Points go to Pod 1, the next 8 to Pod 2, and the remaining 7 to Pod 3.
f. After all rounds are played, the player with the highest Victory Point total wins. Ties are broken by Ships Destroyed scores.
6. FAQ / Special Rules :
- Fel’s Wrath. If Fel’s Wrath is destroyed, his pilot ability activates and Fel’s Wrath remains on the play surface and may attack at the end of the round, after which he is destroyed and respawns as the next lower pilot skill alternate pilot.