Hi

I am basically a noob, only done a couple of 100 point battles but I want to make the jump into more competitive. Trying to find a local club as well (UK North West). I am wondering if I should just make a list and try my best and go. What would be my opponent's attitude towards that? I am not worried about rules as feel confident there (I might not know everything but quick to learn and would be happy my trusting my opponent). I am not too bothered about winning at this point obviously.

I just thought I'd ask what the reception of someone like me going would be? There is a local store doing a pre -nationals warm up tourny but I feel strange going to that as my fellow players want to be playing the best people I'd imagine, and that isn't me.

UK nationals is in just over a month. September 15th I think.

What do you think? I can go and play and not stress about winning. Or I can possibly just go and watch. Do you think it would be strange to play?

Thanks.

You'll be fine. It's an open championship their will be plenty of newer players.

Just don't expect to do that well

1 minute ago, thespaceinvader said:

You'll be fine. It's an open championship their will be plenty of newer players.

Just don't expect to do that well

I mean I'll almost be upset if I didn't finish last! But that is good to hear. Do you think I should maybe ask about the warm up tourny?

Go to the warm up tourney. Much of what makes this game great is the social aspects of it. Go meet some new people, have fun rolling dice, and learn some things.

At nationals; honestly expect people to crush you. They may not but be prepared for it. Loot is on the line and people want to win it.

dont let that deter you though. Everyone will be nice whilst crushing you. It'll be a great learning experience and you'll probably make some friends.

I stayed at home playing for a year before going to a tourney because I thought everyone would be a cut above me. I can honestly say; go to events. Talk to people. Have a laugh. It's worth it.

There's tons of players NW UK. Where are you based?

Go. You'll learn from being crushed (just pay attention to what your opponents do). I've learned from the times I've been crushed.

Do you think you would have fun? I think you would.

Do you think you would learn things by being around veteran players? I think you would.

Is there some scheduling or financial reason why it would be a bad idea? I don't know, but I don't think that's why you're asking.

So, assuming #3 is not the issue, I can't see a reason to advise you against it.

No one will have the least bit of a problem with an unexperienced player at the event, just go!

Also, Vassal is a great tool if you wanna get some extra practice in before the tournament.

If you want to go and don't mind getting crushed, then go.

Plus, who knows? Maybe you'll play your way into the Top 64 and come away with one of those sexy Howlrunner alt-art cards and make me insanely jealous because holy crap it looks great and I can't go to one, you jerk.

You should go. I've always found tournaments (including Nationals and well up to Worlds-level) to be friendly and accommodating environments, and positive experiences all-round. Be upfront with your opponent; "Hey! Never been to a tournament before, so if I'm doing something wrong, just let me know okay?" and almost everyone will be perfectly fine with this.

There are some general "cultural" norms in the competitive community that are worth sticking to, if you go. Just basic things like:

- Shake your opponent's hand when the game starts, and when it ends!
- Congratulate them if they win, thank them for a good game if you win. Don't whine and don't gloat.
- Don't ask for a take-back when you make a mistake, let your opponent offer one if they want to.
- Don't touch or move your opponent's stuff, but offer to do so if possible. Like if they're struggling to reach a ship on your side of the table; "I can move that for you, if you like?"
- Be careful and precise when you move stuff. Hold the ship down with one hand, put the template down with the other, move the ship while holding the template down, etc.
- Vocalise when you do things. Don't just slap tokens down. "I'm taking a focus action. This guy [point] is shooting that guy [point].", and so on.

In three years of playing in tournaments, I've never come up against a total douchebag. National Championships are really enjoyable community events and you'll see a huge number of faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Get involved, chat to people, make friends, and play fun games.

I'm going to be at the UK Nationals, along with most of 186th Squadron. Come and say hello if you see me

Go for it! You'll meet a great crowd, see how other people are playing the game and have fun.

I was hoping to get there myself, but travel, hotel and time off work are proving tricky.

Go. Play and enjoy the whole 2 days. I had played (I think) 6 games before going to a Regional. It was an excellent event, I made friends with lots of people, not just my 6 opponents. (I even won a participation card.)

Not trying to be too pessimistic about your chances, but after the first couple of games you will probably be quite a way down the list so you are unlikely to come across a super serious competitive type after that - unless they are having a nightmare! At the stage of a tournament when the result for you and your opponent is not particularly important you typically end up having some pretty fun matches.

Some general tips for any major tournament:

- Bring only the ships you're going to fly, and have everything assembled in advance. Try to keep things organized for speedy assembly and cleanup, and check to make sure you have everything before you go. At Endor, I forgot to bring my ship and upgrade cards. Fortunately, I was able to borrow off of three different, very kind people, but it was embarrassing and put me off my game a bit.

- Bring refillable water bottles and some snacks. These things are LONG, and you will get dehydrated and hungry. Jerky, protein bars, etc are really helpful.

- You're going to be standing and moving around a lot while leaning over tables for at least 8 hours. Sit down as often as you can. Your spine and legs will thank you.

- Fly casual. Make jokes, have fun, and try to be That Guy!, as opposed to That Guy.

Sure! X-wing is a fun game, right? Big tournaments are a great way to get a lot of games in -- it's all about playing games.

In a word, yes.

High level comp is not the trash bin of human refuse that these boards make it out to be. You will more than likely meet more cool people than not. Just go have fun and screw what everyone else says. You'll be fine.

10 hours ago, Darkcloak said:

In a word, yes. High level comp is not the trash bin of human refuse that these boards make it out to be.

Absolutely - we have a very fun, welcoming and friendly community here, and you learn so much about the game and how people are playing it by jumping into events like this.

I should really take another look at hotels/trains...

Sensible? I said wot?!

I've found that I've learned the most about the game, and who I am as a competitor, in every game I lose. Whether it's a particular strategy, list build or combo, try to task yourself to learn one thing every game! Also, as mentioned above, 99.9% of the people you meet are going to be extremely friendly and great opponents.

My advice is go and have fun. My first tournament ever was Worlds in 2015. My first opponent blew me off the table in 30 minutes, but I was able to recover and actually got 2 wins out of 8 games. I learned a lot and got to fly against lists I had never seen before. All my opponents were great during and after the match with insight into the mistakes I made during each match.

I came in second place at my first tourney. People just weren't expecting a firespray with a mini-swarm. I didn't realize that firesprays "sucked" but I enjoyed flying them, and learned allot. Just treat it as a learning experience, and you'll get way more from it than you expect, no matter how well you place.

On 10/08/2017 at 8:32 PM, Stay On The Leader said:

There's tons of players NW UK. Where are you based?

I am based near Wigan. I was hoping to find a very local club but I found a store in middle Manchester running some things.

On 10/08/2017 at 9:13 PM, jesper_h said:

You should go. I've always found tournaments (including Nationals and well up to Worlds-level) to be friendly and accommodating environments, and positive experiences all-round. Be upfront with your opponent; "Hey! Never been to a tournament before, so if I'm doing something wrong, just let me know okay?" and almost everyone will be perfectly fine with this.

There are some general "cultural" norms in the competitive community that are worth sticking to, if you go. Just basic things like:

- Shake your opponent's hand when the game starts, and when it ends!
- Congratulate them if they win, thank them for a good game if you win. Don't whine and don't gloat.
- Don't ask for a take-back when you make a mistake, let your opponent offer one if they want to.
- Don't touch or move your opponent's stuff, but offer to do so if possible. Like if they're struggling to reach a ship on your side of the table; "I can move that for you, if you like?"
- Be careful and precise when you move stuff. Hold the ship down with one hand, put the template down with the other, move the ship while holding the template down, etc.
- Vocalise when you do things. Don't just slap tokens down. "I'm taking a focus action. This guy [point] is shooting that guy [point].", and so on.

In three years of playing in tournaments, I've never come up against a total douchebag. National Championships are really enjoyable community events and you'll see a huge number of faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Get involved, chat to people, make friends, and play fun games.

I'm going to be at the UK Nationals, along with most of 186th Squadron. Come and say hello if you see me

I think those are all things I would probably naturally do but better to be told than to leave it to chance.

Thanks everyone for the replies (I was unable to be online last day or so).

I should be attending and getting by butt whooped in an enjoyable way, which oddly sounds like my private life as well.

Thanks!

10 minutes ago, Tabletop Oddity said:

I am based near Wigan. I was hoping to find a very local club but I found a store in middle Manchester running some things.

I think those are all things I would probably naturally do but better to be told than to leave it to chance.

Thanks everyone for the replies (I was unable to be online last day or so).

I should be attending and getting by butt whooped in an enjoyable way, which oddly sounds like my private life as well.

Thanks!

The 2 big stores near Manchester are Fanboy Three (which has just been renovated) and Element Games in stockport - Element games regularly has 15-20 people playing X wing on a Tuesday night. I thin Fanboy does X wing on a friday, but they seem to be allergic to publicising events.

You've also got JustPlay Games in Liverpool and Harlequins in Preston.

Check out the UK X wing Facebook group for more info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/xwingukirl/

I'm in Manchester - Fanboy 3 you found?

Im not aware of anything in Wigan but there must be people there. There's active stores in Preston, Liverpool, Southport, Stockport and Manchester and Wiganers must be going to one of those.

Biggest Facebook groups to join are Stockport X-Wing and Preston Harlequins. They'll orient you to your best spot and likely know the Wigan-based players.