Make a list and check it off the night before and again on the morning: range ruler, templates, asteroids/debris, damage deck (that you have checked!), dice etc. Make sure you have all of the seemingly auto include cards that make up your list i.e. titles.

You can print out and fill in the tournament list form before you go which is also a good way of double checking you have all your upgrades and pilot cards in order.

Don't overthink a fancy means for a tray. I bought this simple photo storage box a few years ago and it's big enough to carry all the stuff I need to tournaments. The top makes a good tray to move table to table.

There are lots of good tips in this thread, so I won't echo the same advice. I have something to add.

Jot down the names of people you play. You'll want to remember who you crossed paths with at your first Store Championship in a couple of years.

If you can, keep your score sheet. Or at least snap a photo of it before you hand it in for the last time.

Man. Thanks everyone. The community is one big reason i left MTG once I found Xwing. The game rocks, the community seems more helpful, and even watching videos of nationals and the "ultra" competitive matches people still have fun and banter back and forth. Thank you guys for being awesome!

Take a shower. Don't be "that guy". But most of all relax and have fun.

Try and be neat (ish) with tokens, cards, etc. Because it'll make it a lot faster to move tables between games.

If you can put your squad in an 'organiser' sleeve, tokens in a compartmented box, and so on, so much the better.

Definitely pick a squad you actually enjoy using, and the simpler the better. A ship that's only so-so compared to tournament winning builds is a lot more useful than one with an awesome killer upgrade card combination that you keep forgetting to actually use . Picking pilots of the same pilot skill (even if it's lower than some of your opponents) is good for the same reason - because if you're not confident, being able to chop and change movement and firing order so you don't run into your own ships is a real stress-saver.

Besides which, with a new player, with a squad that you've picked because you like it, your opponent is going to have a much harder time predicting what you'll do than a tournament netlist devotee. That might even work in your favour....

I'll be attending a SC on the same day (29th) and this has all helped a lot.

Regarding the transportation tray, I have an ArtBin craft organizer for tokens. It takes up a lot of room, so I may just consolidate it into a smaller organizer. For the ships and cards, I have a wooden cigar box from Joann's. It's shallow, so can't close it, but works as a tray. Plus it can double as a dice rolling box.

So far as list goes, I'm sort of in between something casual and something meta. It's a little complicated, but likely not going to be winning me any matches. But it's something I've been wanting to learn, which I've been trying to in my downtime.

I am actually excites about my list. Ot has survived and won some good matches. And im using the lambda, a ship i bought just to have with no expectation of playing, and having a blast with it. Its been the only one on the tables on X Wing night

Had my first store championships a couple of weeks back (shout out to Trevor at Rift for an excellent experience and going above and beyond on the prize support). I'd definitely advise having a printed copy of your list to show to opponents, and if there are any interactions you don't understand during the game don't be afraid to ask for them to be explained. If you are unfortunate enough to be paired up against ont of those guys (every community has them) don't let it mess up your day. You will get to play a whole bunch of excellent people.

Oh and don't be supprised to learn you've been doing something wrong all along. I discovered that we've been getting deployment of ships with Adaptability wrong since it came out at our club (we've been treating ships as having an increased or decreased PS before deployment rather than the PS change being applied after the ship is deployed).

If you don't know what something does ask, even ask to read the card. It seems some pretty basic **** but some people are WAAC, some people maybe be reading the interaction incorrectly and some people might think you know what all the cards do already. Be precise, don't let others get away with not being precise. Also, close is not in range. If someone wants to measure range to your ships and it's close, be the one to hold your ships base, i have had it done to me where my opponent has slid my base over a few millimetres to get it to just being in range. There wasnt any recourse for me as I couldnt prove it to a TO, and I have vowed for it to never to happen again. Be friendly, but normally you can tell what your opponents personality is going to be like in the first few minutes. Have fun, learn from the experience, never blame the dice and have an awesome time. Hope you get plenty of Phat Lewt.

Play what you know, play what you like, and play to have fun. Don't be intimidated by the best players in your area, even the most skilled players can be outflown our can make mistakes. Just play your best and see how you do, there's always another tournament anyway so no pressure. Everybody does bad at a tournament in their x wing career to don't sweat it if things go bad. Bring lots of water and something to eat and good luck!

Only now getting into the more competitive scene myself. Nearing the end of a 12 week league where there will be a SC style tournament at the end. A lot of good advise here.

I will add one thing...

In my league I am 12-8, but 3 of my wins are against the 1st place guy who is 25-5. One win was close but the other two I tabled him in under 30 minutes. Every time he loses, he goes on and on about mistakes he made, or how he should have taken a different action of how if hadn't been blocked he would have killed that ship or how his dice sucked. He has never once given me an once of credit for maneuvering for a block, or having a focused/crack shot/range one shot do 3 damage to his ace or whatever.

So be gracious whether you win or lose and in either case, talk to your opponent about what either of you might have done different to change the outcome because most players want to learn and get better. But if you beat "That Guy" and he doesn't want to give you any credit, just agree with everything he says. Tell him how lucky you were and how he would win the next ten times you re-matched him. That way, he will not learn and the next time you face him he will underestimate you again and you may just get an easy win.

On 5/7/2017 at 10:35 PM, Kieransi said:

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.

This is great advice, I do the same.

Before anything gets set up on the table give it a quick hip bump and lift.

The first is so you know if you can lean on it a little while stretching over. You don't want people to think you are trying to bump into range.

The lift is so you know the right force to flip the table. A failed flip or a strained back really ruins your storm out of the store. (Also check which way the door opens)

Edit: Agree that being the bigger person helps. Make sure to help out shorter players. Offer to get them a stool and crouch down to speak with them.

You can expect to lose most games, and probably come last in your first tournament. Simply because (unless you've been playing a lot in the last 2 months). You can mitigate your experience by building a forgiving squad. Things that make a squad forgiving are:

High Health Ships . For example, you simply can't lose a Decimator to a single mistake, or a Falcon. High health ships can also last long enough in a game for you to get a handle on how your opponent flies his list.
Very High or Very Low PS . If you have a PS 1 squad (say, 8 academy TIE fighters) you don't need to worry about bumping, whereas if you have an all-PS9 squad (Say, Vader Soontir and Quickdraw) you can arc-dodge traps that have been set for you. Middle-PS (4,5,6,7) are vulnerable to both high and low PS ships, so you should probably stay away from them at first.
Ships that Innately Modify Dice . Predator, Lone Wolf and Ysanne Isard are all good examples. You're basically paying points to get free boosts until you die -winning lists have a lot of these...

If you can build a squad with a lot of these attributes then you'll have a good time, and maybe to well to boot.

A lot people mention lists so here is what ill be running:

Ryad -Defender - Crack Shot, Stealth device, X7

Yorr- Lambda- Heavy laser cannon, Rebel Captive, Darth Vader

Deathfire-Bomber - Long Range Scanners Plasma Torps, Cluster Mines, Extra Munitions.

I have got a lot of practice with this squad both at home and at my LGS. With some pretty good results after my first 2 games with it. Lambda and bomber usually stay close together with ryad flanking.

EDIT: I am pretty confident flying the lambda and this list as a whole.

On 7/8/2017 at 11:55 PM, CasoPrime said:

A lot people mention lists so here is what ill be running:

Ryad -Defender - Crack Shot, Stealth device, X7

Yorr- Lambda- Heavy laser cannon, Rebel Captive, Darth Vader

Deathfire-Bomber - Long Range Scanners Plasma Torps, Cluster Mines, Extra Munitions.

I have got a lot of practice with this squad both at home and at my LGS. With some pretty good results after my first 2 games with it. Lambda and bomber usually stay close together with ryad flanking.

EDIT: I am pretty confident flying the lambda and this list as a whole.

Ryad with PtL & TIE MK II will be overall more lethal and more defensive than the version you're currently running, and for the same exact cost.

Being ably to grab a focus AND TL or barrel roll consistently will make for a more survivable Defender than Stealth Device, which has the potential to help you not at all.

Also, I'm not sure Rebel Captive is worth the points in this list, I'd put it elsewhere -- you'd rather they shoot at the Lambda instead of the Bomber, and most players have zero issue accounting for the stress from Reb Cap. I think the HLC is unnecessary as well -- it's a lot of points on a ship that struggles to get arc reliably, dies quickly, and already has a three dice primary.

If you didn't want to find somewhere to put the points, I'd recommend doubling down on the Doom Shuttle and slap a Gunner on there, instead of HLC & RC. You'll burn up faster, but shooting an ace twice with Darth Vader crew can end their game very quickly.

Edit: Also, if you have it, Collision Detector is free and goes in a slot you're not using, AND makes flying the shuttle MUCH easier/less predictable. This is coming from a player who got most of his kills with a Lambda during the OG Palp days.

On 7/6/2017 at 2:16 AM, Fuzzywookie said:

Take a shower. Don't be "that guy". But most of all relax and have fun.

Nah, don't shower. Then eat lots of chili. You're opponents will be lamenting "and I thought he smelled bad on the outside."

10 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Nah, don't shower. Then eat lots of chili. You're opponents will be lamenting "and I thought he smelled bad on the outside."

I don't know... You should never upset a wookie.