TL-DR: This game was (probably) decided in the initiative phase.

For those of you interested in the Greater Analysis.

I'm trying a new team with Avryl in the A-Wing flying with Intimidation, Juke, & Cluster Missiles. Then I have Ten Numb in his B-Wing loaded up: Outmaneuver, Fire Control Systems, Jamming Beam, Ion Beam, Proton Torpedoes, with a Shield Upgrade. In the X-Wing I have Wedge with Swarm Tactics, Proton Torpedoes, R-2, Shield Upgrade, and the Servomotors.

The opfor was running a pretty stock Wedge & Luke team with Dutch Vander in a Y-Wing, sporting a proton bomb. The Y-Wing was running light and the X-Wings did NOT have hull or shield upgrades. All three were loaded with Proton Torpedoes.

And as Irony would have it, I was playing the same player as LAST week. Asteroid setup was very similar with a ton of asteroids in the center, but it was put together in a pretty checkerboard manner so that if you set up right, you could move orthogonically through the center very easily.

Both teams cost 199 and during the dice off I lost. My opponent decided that I would move first.

Setup was eerily similar to last week . . . I set up in the lower left and my opponent set up in HIS lower left.

Opening Moves.

I did split my team, with the goal to zip in with the A-Wing and to force a collision and put Intimidation to good use. Arvrel shot forward zooming into the asteriods, while Ten and Wedge swung right to hug my side of the board. The Opfor moved forward in a tight formation up my right side of the field. However, Wedge was off formation and there was a chance that he would turn off to go toe-to-toe with Arvel. However, Wedge joined his team as Arvel turned right and zipped through the center formation of asteroids, hoping for a flank attack.

The Merge.

I messed up here. I had the chance for Arvel to wingover to the left or to arc out and try to fall on the rear of the Opfor's rear, but I kept Arvel shooting straight . . . and he got flanked by the other team, with Dutch passing an additional Target lock to Wedge. Three attacks later (actually I think it was only two) but scratch one A-Wing.

At this point the game was lost. My other two ships were still not able to engage until the next turn and at Initiative 3 Arvel had no chance to do anything to the opfor.

In the next two turns, the Opfor followed up with their tripple lock with Wedge getting an extra Focus and systematically destroyed my ships in short order. I did get some heavy counter attacks and got half points on two ships, in two turns. But it only took three turns to finish my team off.

The moral of the story? Aces need initiative. If I'd forced my opponent to "move first," I would have been in the better position to dictate the battle and would have gotten the first target locks and the first proton torpedo hits. It would have been a VERY different game.

For next week, I'm keeping this team, but dropping the Ion Cannons on the B-Wing which will drop my team value to 194 points, and give me a better chance to dictate initiative.

Also, having to play Rebel Aces vs Rebel Aces was not fun. It's kind of like that one room in Dragon Age Origins where you fight your own team, which is a very stupid waste of time. Maybe you can shake things up in combat, but seriously, Wedge vs Wedge is probably a lot like playing Darth Vader vs Darth Vader. You might as well flip a coin at the beginning of the game (which we kinda did) and that's going to determine the outcome (which it kinda did).

I may also be overly pessimistic, but I'll keep playing with this team and I may figure out that Arvel just isn't the best match for this group. I do have pretty good experience running Wedge and Ten and Arvel is completely new. I may be just inexperienced. More next week!