I have been playing for about 2 months and going to my LGS's store championship on the 29th. Not really sure what to expect or how ro prepare other than taking my list and templates/markers. Any advice to help a FNG?

(1) Tell everyone you're new to tournaments, and be upfront whether you welcome some leniency or not. (Not everyone will grant it, regardless, but you'll be surprised how casual most players keep it at Store Champs.) A lot of people will even give the new guy loot that they already have.

(2) Play all your games, even if you're mathematically eliminated from the cut. Tourney experience is good.

(3) Be precise with template and ship placements. Ships get bumped. The game has imprecision that can't be helped. Basic "hold ship, place template; hold template, place ship" situations are not among those. Even very casual players (like me) appreciate precision in movement. (Collisions are a different beast. Most experienced players are more than willing to help.)

Expect the crowd to be more competitive than you are used to. Be prepared to treat it as a learning experience, but don't let your inexperience stop you from playing your best, you may do better than you expect.

What are you planning on flying? For the most part, getting more practice in with a specific list is going to trump using something in the "meta" that you saw online. So practice! But there are some things to consider when list-building, even acknowledging that.

Double check that you bring everything you need - tokens, templates, cards, bases, models, etc... In my experience, you always forget something at your first event (I forgot an entire Interceptor at mine).

Bring a drink/snack. It might not be as long as a regional, but, if you're not used to 3-5 matches back to back, it's going to be extremely tiring. Have something on hand to help replenish your energy, and be kind to your knees.

Have fun . This is the penultimate tip I'll give.

I'll be watching this thread, I plan to go to a local tournament at some point in the future and I feel this is going to be really helpful !

Bring a tray to move your squad and stuff in-between matches.

Depending on the venue, bring some water, and a lunch or snacks. Just in case you don't get a meal break, or there's not a handy resteraunt nearby.

Make a couple of printouts of your squad, with obstacles and damage deck. I use Yet Another Squad Builder.
http://geordanr.github.io/xwing
Turn one in to the event organizer, and keep the second one handy.

Have fun!

13 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

(2) Play all your games, even if you're mathematically eliminated from the cut. Tourney experience is good.

Seconding this. It's a lot of practice, and practice is the #1 way to improve your game.

Don't be intimidated by more experienced players or players with all the fancy acrylic. On any given day, a solid list with solid flying can beat them. Don't get fancy. Play what you know. After each game, make a mental note (or physically write a note) of something that you learned from the game. Above all, have fun.

As others said, practise your list a lot (if you have the time), it feels loads better than just bringing a list you really haven't put your heart and soul into. You do not feel like you are wandering in the dark as much, and MOST IMPORTANTLY don't be shy to ask your opponent after each match (whether you lose or win) what you could be doing better in the specific match. It makes people better players, and most people will be willing to do so. I used to give a guy in my local community all sorts of tips against my lists a year ago, but now he has the high ground and I am crying in a lava pool.

Practically, bring loads of snacks, food and water. If seating is available at the tables, sit down as much as possible (depending of the length of the day), as your legs can really feel tired after bending over a table for 6-7 hours. If you can bring something like a tray (the coreset box is alright for this) to hold your stuff, and keep it semi-organized so you can quickly whip out your stuff after a match.

As everybody else has said, have fun! Mingle with the local community, SC usually brings more people around that you meet at game nights, and you might make new friends!

Number 1 thing, as others have said, is go to play X-Wing and have fun .

A couple things thay that other people haven't said or could stand to be reemphasized:

Get a good night's sleep the night before, and eat healthy the day of. It's easy to get physically burned out after 6+ hours of back to back X-Wing games.

Put on deodorant.

Play something you're familiar with and enjoy flying (you'll be flying it a LOT). Especially for your first tournament, pick something that's straightforward and easy to fly, as opposed to a list with a lot of fancy ships/upgrades/moving-parts.

And one last time, have fun!

27 minutes ago, ArbitraryNerd said:

Expect the crowd to be more competitive than you are used to. Be prepared to treat it as a learning experience, but don't let your inexperience stop you from playing your best, you may do better than you expect.

What are you planning on flying? For the most part, getting more practice in with a specific list is going to trump using something in the "meta" that you saw online. So practice! But there are some things to consider when list-building, even acknowledging that.

Double check that you bring everything you need - tokens, templates, cards, bases, models, etc... In my experience, you always forget something at your first event (I forgot an entire Interceptor at mine).

Bring a drink/snack. It might not be as long as a regional, but, if you're not used to 3-5 matches back to back, it's going to be extremely tiring. Have something on hand to help replenish your energy, and be kind to your knees.

Have fun . This is the penultimate tip I'll give.

The list i am running:

Yorr, HLC, rebel captive, Darth Vader

Ryad, Crack shot, stealth device, X7

Deathrain(which ever is the bomber) Plasma Torps, Cluster mines, EM, Long range scanners.

Currently 4-2 at our little mini events. One loss i misflew the bomber bumping the lambda twice. The other went to time with full lists against Bobba/Kath firesprays. Lost the salvo. @Crit Happens The firespray player had acrylics, regional dice etc and it got in my before the game. Going to time without losing a ship helped me on next game(won 100-0) with more confidence.

Thanks everyone for the tips. I need find a tray so im not hauling around my backpack with a bunch of Plano Cases in it. And hopefully they have a meal break. There is an awesome BBQ shack a few doors down.

One thing I would suggest as a transport idea is a tool bit organiser ! They are cheap enough and if you find the right one it can hold everything including your tokens

I use this at normal games and it works a treat.

Always remember that your opponent is more afraid of you then you are of it. Just don't spook them, make noise as you walk, and never ever look them directly in the eyes. If things get too heated during a disagreement, play dead and wait for your opponent to leave the area.

Above all else, have fun!

Just now, FTS Gecko said:

Above all else, have fun!

It's a trap! As the legend has said: "Show me a gracious loser, and I'll show you a bus boy!"

2 minutes ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

It's a trap! As the legend has said: "Show me a gracious loser, and I'll show you a bus boy!"

And as another legend said... what is best in life? "Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women."

Sounds like fun to me.

Sounds like you've already done this, but definitely fly something you like. I vastly prefer the mindset of "I'm going to show all these people what my unique style of squadbuilding looks like, and probably lose all my games" to the mindset of "I need to win!"

I've taken all four named A-Wing pilots to a number of tourneys. I actually won a few games! What's more important is that I had fun, and I never planned on winning, so I never got worked up about it.

Also, be the bigger person. There's a lot of people who get really worked up about this game. Whenever I win a game, I point out specific moments of dice luck and basically agree with my opponent that it was luck, and when I lose I congratulate my opponent on their skill. Since I don't care whether I win or lose, I'd rather stretch the truth a tiny bit to make everyone happy.

1 hour ago, ArbitraryNerd said:

Have fun . This is the penultimate tip I'll give.

Penultimate means second to last, so you owe us one more tip!

if you play an experienced player, if you don't win your game, ask them what you could have done better. Most people I know are more than willing to help you out when it comes to rock placement, choices, or how you could have engaged them better.

Make sure you take the time to introduce yourself to your opponent and shake their hand. I've played a few very nervous newbies who I think were so worked up that they forgot the social aspect of the game. Enjoy your time.

Jacob

Even though its already been said a number of times, just have fun flying what you find fun to fly.

I took a Scyk, Y-Wing, and Quadjumper to my last SC, ended up going 2-3. coming in about 17th or so. Did I win every game? No. Did I have fun? Absolutely. It was a great way to spend the day, had a ton of fun, and learned a lot, too!

* Have a tray you carry everything around in
* Make sure you have all the cards, tokens, etc, your list needs
* Feel free to tell your opponents it is your first time, so they know you may need their help with some of the details of play
* Set realistic goals for yourself

I will just rehash, get a good tray/carry case, cause you only have 5-10 minutes or so between round pairings to get all your stuff setup and play. Ive lost matches cause I needed 1 more round but we started 10 minutes late. Have your stuff ready to go so all you have to do is figure out initiative and start placing rocks.

Take water and a snack (not cheetos, EWWWW!) Something like granola bars is perfect.

Sit as much as possible. It's hard for me to sit during games, but I have a chair and rest my knee on it, just to give the feet a rest.

Have a good time. Xwing community is cool, so just play and get experience.

It really depends on the person and their expectations. Personally, for a first time at a SC I would view it as a learning experience and a platform to meet new folks. I would have fun, talk with folks, after lost games I would ask them for their 2 cents on potential improvements, etc.

If you lose then it can be a learning experience, whether your build and/or skill in flying needs area(s) of improvement. My take on X-Wing their is skill in making a build (unless people just take Meta builds from the NET and stuff) and there is skill in flying. A superior build or bad build match-up will favor the player with the better build if the skill level of playing are relatively equal. If a player has a better skill level at playing then they can overcome a superior build. Though this is not always the case. If the build and skill level are relatively equal then key phases/decisions in game play and/or dice will generally determine the outcome. Also, if you're a skilled player and not familiar with your build then it can be difficult to fly.

For things you can prepare, I would re-read the rules and FAQ to get an idea of what things can do. Don't be afraid to call judge for confirmation on rules if you're not entirely sure. Your opponent may not have the rules down correctly either, etc.

49 minutes ago, hey_yu said:

It really depends on the person and their expectations. Personally, for a first time at a SC I would view it as a learning experience and a platform to meet new folks. I would have fun, talk with folks, after lost games I would ask them for their 2 cents on potential improvements, etc.

If you lose then it can be a learning experience, whether your build and/or skill in flying needs area(s) of improvement. My take on X-Wing their is skill in making a build (unless people just take Meta builds from the NET and stuff) and there is skill in flying. A superior build or bad build match-up will favor the player with the better build if the skill level of playing are relatively equal. If a player has a better skill level at playing then they can overcome a superior build. Though this is not always the case. If the build and skill level are relatively equal then key phases/decisions in game play and/or dice will generally determine the outcome. Also, if you're a skilled player and not familiar with your build then it can be difficult to fly.

For things you can prepare, I would re-read the rules and FAQ to get an idea of what things can do. Don't be afraid to call judge for confirmation on rules if you're not entirely sure. Your opponent may not have the rules down correctly either, etc.

Thanks for this. I just found out a ship on an asteroid can still perform free actions. Reading and rereading the FAQ seems very helpful

6 hours ago, Sekac said:

Penultimate means second to last, so you owe us one more tip!

I don't know... Fly casual .

(Seriously, my final tip is always to try and embody the "Fly Casual" mantra, which does its best to make sure all players are having fun, even at a competitive event. It's slightly more involved than just enjoying the event yourself, but is the foundation good X-Wing communities are built on.)