So, one of the cool things to come out of the implosion at the end of 1.0 XWM was that lots of players were looking for ways to make the game healthy again. Folks were sick of Standard, and a lot of talk and creativity went into finding alternatives. Then the Dark Times arrived. 2.0 fixed everything and folks just went back to Standard. Ew.

Anywho, since I was able to kick along in Epic, I kinda never got around to trying out these very creative (but 100-point based) 1.0 scenarios:

Tonight, as I wait for the full flowering of 2.0 X-Wing in 2020, my brother and I played the first 2 scenarios. We doubled the reward points because (obviously) now XWM is 200 point battles:

In the first mission, you are trying to capture/control a large base ship that starts in the middle of the board:

We all close in, and the scrapping begins.

My brother gains control of the freighter, and moves it towards his side:

I throw a block onto Maul with a Bravo pilot, and whittle him down to 1 hull. I have 3 N1s pointed at a single Vulture whole survives a 8 die barrage of attacks. My brother kills an N1 who was trying to keep the freighter "neutral," and thus gains control of the freighter again.

I now MUST send an N1 after the freighter, or my brother will have it under his control in the end zone and win. This of course means I can't engage his forces as well as I would like, and is a beautiful instance of the scenario affecting in-game choices.

In the end, the death of Ric Ole ends the game. A Vulture lands 2 crits on him, and he's toast. With that, my brother has killed 181 points in ships, and has had 2 rounds of control on the freighter for +20 more. Since this puts him at 201 points, he wins.

We played another scenario with my triple-Ani list, but the scenario didn't matter as much because my flying sucked.

We are going to play 2 more next week. They are a lot of fun, and are 100% compatible with 2.0 by the feel of things.

As an interesting side note, my brother lamented that he now has to actually fly his large ship, and thus did not get as much milage out of Maul, since he can't just 360-turret-kill everything.

I love reading about your obvious and abject love of the game, and I love seeing your pics with printouts using my Infinite Arenas cards!

The objectives set is a lot of fun. I always keep a set in my bag. We don't break them out as often as we should at game night, but you are an inspiration sir.

7 hours ago, J1mBob said:

I love reading about your obvious and abject love of the game, and I love seeing your pics with printouts using my Infinite Arenas cards!

And now that I have Background Printing on. . .

Great write up sir. You and Crabbok should team up sometime and possibly have some nice scenarios brewing

I wanna know where the 3d space rocks were acquired from. 😀

They're so very easy to make. I'm a little surprised more stores haven't made them for the tables.

I really should take more photos of games. I always say I will to share it with some friends, and the next thing I know I'm headed home after 5 games and I haven't so much as taken my phone out for a snapshot, nevermind taken out my camera.

Too busy planning your next move, I'd assume. The local store here has all sorts of terrain for ground battles, including a hand made Ewok village But most of it's for Warhammer 40k.

1 hour ago, Faerie1979 said:

I wanna know where the 3d space rocks were acquired from. 😀

The floor of the local Home Depot.

I asked a sales associate if I could have a few of the lava rocks used for lawn scaping that had fallen out of torn bags, and the like. He looked at me like I was bat**** but said "sure."

Made the base out of 1/4" ply traced into shape by actual FFG asteroids, drove a nail thru the middle, sprayed black, and hot glue gunned a rock on top. I think it did try to deepen a natural pocket in the rock with a masonry bit, IIRC, but I don't think you have to.

I really need to get around to making a couple Debris Fields from leftover parts from polystyrene model kits.

I will admit that the 3D rocks make Vulture shenanigans a bit awkward (and probably a level of inexact that would drive some to tears ) , but we are a fashion over function crowd, I guess.

Nice work on those asteroids..

That custom YT definitely catches the eye.

I'll see about bustin out that packet for my local non league nights. I dunno about how drone strutts will interact with the asteroid objectives though.

Alright. Keeoing it going.

So, I actually requested that my brother fly his infamous B-Wings so I could see what they were like in 2.0. I. Still. HATE. B-Wings.

I flew a slightly modified list I took to my FLGS the night before (first date night for public XWM!!} that I actually did well with.

I immediately make my first mistake by forgetting there is an objective. My brother's A-Wing screams out 5 and gains control of the satellite for the turn. 20 VP for him.

The scramble begins:

Having an objective is very bad for my list. I need to stay around the objective, forcing me to knife fight with a bunch of B-Wings. Not good, as Ani would say.

However, the A-Wing is the first casualty, after getting in too close to Seventh Sister and the Lambda. Things get even tighter with some major close-quarters fighting. I'm flabbergasted that I even have TIEs on the table, and give high praise to whomever rebalanced this game and made this possible, because I know my flying sucks.

Ne'ertheless, grim reality sets in. The Lambda and an Inquisitor take a beating, and a B goes bye. It's two on two. . .

But my ally is the Force, even if it is a little dark and twisted. Over and over, the Force allows Instinctive Aim missile shots, turning 2 attack dice into 3, and a slight boost to offense and defense just when I need one extra eyeball to go my way. Ultimately, my nimble TIEs outmaneuver both Bs, land shots, and take the day!!!

All glory to the Empire!

It didn't come up at all, but this scenario adds a free Evade on R3 shots against ships within R1-2 of the satellite. Given that this is not how Evade is handled in 2.0 anymore, I wonder if this should be changed to be more 2.0 compatible. Maybe an extra die? Or allow 2 Focuses to become Evades?? Any input @Brunas ?

I'd just bring it in line with the Evade token, converting the result on one of your defence dice.

Part II: VIP transport.

My brother goes back to Seps, and I change to Resistance. I just want to fly X-Wings to get the feel of them, so I keep it simple. 4 Black Squad Veterans with Marksmanship. Since the all have IN 4, I'm calling this list 4x4.

Again, my brother beats me to the objective, this time simply because he moves faster. This lets him take a free potshot at one of my T-70s with the VIP transport, stripping 2 shields.

Scrumming begins. However, this time I'm way better in the knife fight, and Vultures begin to die.

Close quarters makes Marksmanship a breeze, and the crits take a toll on the Vultures, and even on Maul.

The T-70s slice thru the Seps. . .

and turn around to blast the last of the Vultures. I manage to gain control of the objective by killing the Bulbullab-that-is-actually-a-Vulture and finish off another Vulture perched on an asteroid with a blast from the VIP transport.

With no Vultures, Maul significantly wounded, and the hour late, my brother concedes.

Query:

The VIP transport fires at the "End of the End Phase." Does this mean that all ships have discarded their tokens already for the turn?? If so, the VIP transport might be a little heavy-handed for 2.0. It gets a 3 die, fully focusable attack against a token-stripped ship. Maybe lower the attack to 2 dice? Make the shot at the beginning of the end phase so that ships still have tokens?? Maybe the VIP rolls unmoded dice? Again, it didn't come up a lot, but that shot is pretty significant when it does. @Brunas ?

On 10/17/2019 at 10:37 PM, Darth Meanie said:

I have 3 N1s pointed at a single Vulture whole survives a 8 die barrage of attacks.

You can't kill Number Pink

34 minutes ago, Skitch_ said:

You can't kill Number Pink

indeed and on top of that i saw in those photos the Krenim Annorax in the second batch and i assume it there only to be a proxy ship?

2 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

It didn't come up at all, but this scenario adds a free Evade on R3 shots against ships within R1-2 of the satellite. Given that this is not how Evade is handled in 2.0 anymore, I wonder if this should be changed to be more 2.0 compatible. Maybe an extra die? Or allow 2 Focuses to become Evades?? Any input @Brunas ?

The point of the objective there is to force people to engage near the obstacle. It probably shouldn't be changed to keep that goal happening, but since that objective exists to balance out how powerful TLT was camping on objectives, it should probably just be reworked entirely honestly. If you wanted to do a straight port like you are, I'd just keep the rules as is - the point of the objective is to make it nearly impossible to do damage from outside the area to inside it.

1 hour ago, Darth Meanie said:

The VIP transport fires at the "End of the End Phase." Does this mean that all ships have discarded their tokens already for the turn?? If so, the VIP transport might be a little heavy-handed for 2.0. It gets a 3 die, fully focusable attack against a token-stripped ship. Maybe lower the attack to 2 dice? Make the shot at the beginning of the end phase so that ships still have tokens?? Maybe the VIP rolls unmoded dice? Again, it didn't come up a lot, but that shot is pretty significant when it does. @Brunas ?

No, it should definitely not be firing before everyone has discarded tokens! Just first edition rules that didn't line up to second edition. And like you noted - because that shot is so rare, it's irrelevant unless it's really punishing, which is why it's 3 dice and gives dice modification. Again, this might be out of line with second edition power levels.

1 hour ago, Brunas said:

The point of the objective there is to force people to engage near the obstacle. It probably shouldn't be changed to keep that goal happening, but since that objective exists to balance out how powerful TLT was camping on objectives, it should probably just be reworked entirely honestly. If you wanted to do a straight port like you are, I'd just keep the rules as is - the point of the objective is to make it nearly impossible to do damage from outside the area to inside it.

Nah. It's still pretty solid.

I think @AceDogbert 's suggestion of simply making the Evade work by 2.0 rules is a good one--it's not an extra attack die canceled, but an extra opportunity to mod a defense die. Although, since it is a rarity, it could just stay as is as well--the main point would be making the scenario's rules fall more in line with 2.0 mechanics. OTOH, a special scenario is great for having special mechanics and an extra Evade maintains the point of the scenario--even if TLT is no longer an issue.

I think in the end, that bonus Evade is NOT an issue of balance but more of an issue of flavor.

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No, it should definitely not be firing before everyone has discarded tokens! Just first edition rules that didn't line up to second edition. And like you noted - because that shot is so rare, it's irrelevant unless it's really punishing, which is why it's 3 dice and gives dice modification. Again, this might be out of line with second edition power levels.

Cool. That certainly makes things a lot better. The timing was just so explicit, I wondered if it was a way to avoid the issues of Baron von Tokenschtakken and others that were prevalent in 1.0.

A 3 die bonus attack is probably not too bad given rarity and ability to evade as usual.

These Objectives are awesomesauce and still 100% compatible to 2.0, if you ask me. A big Wookiee Hug to you and your team for solid craftmanship!

2 hours ago, Neos472 said:

indeed and on top of that i saw in those photos the Krenim Annorax in the second batch and i assume it there only to be a proxy ship?

Clearly, it's the Reinforced Satellite. (I would have used the Queen Borg's Octohedron, but I couldn't find it fast enough.}

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see @Darth Meanie playing standard-sized games and enjoying it.

I love 2.0 so much. Can't wait to get another game in myself.

41 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

These Objectives are awesomesauce and still 100% compatible to 2.0, if you ask me. A big Wookiee Hug to you and your team for solid craftmanship!

Thanks! I'm hoping to go back and do some fine tuning once epic drops, but since there's objectives in there if there's regular scale ones I'm sure FFG is much better than us at this.

47 minutes ago, Brunas said:

Thanks! I'm hoping to go back and do some fine tuning once epic drops, but since there's objectives in there if there's regular scale ones I'm sure FFG is much better than us at this.

These are great, and more options is more options, regardless of FFG vs. Homebrew.

And hey: YOU DID IT FIRST.

1 hour ago, ClassicalMoser said:

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see @Darth Meanie playing standard-sized games and enjoying it.

Sheeet, I actually played a couple Standardly Standard games Tuesday night at the FLGS and had to calculate half points and MOV at the end to determine a winner. Still gotta say that feels kinda weird/contrived, but the half dozen guys at the store were completely welcoming, incredibly helpful, and I learned that I have been completely missing the boat on what The Force does.

It's still hard for me to get there after work most weeks, but it's sure is nice to know I have an option for "routine"/casual public play.

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I love 2.0 so much.

Yeah, my bro and I spend most of the night gushing like fanboys over 2.0. FFG nailed it, and more importantly for me, has embraced stuff like these scenarios as an important part of the game experience.

My 4x4 list is a pretty good example of what I like: it's a ship with just 1 upgrade to make it "special." It's fun to fly, rewards landing the sweet spot/bullseye, and yet is so basic as to be just fun to run in its simplicity. Also, none of the games have every been obvious landslides. Heck, I thought I was going to lose the TAP vs. B-Wing game and then suddenly I'm getting kill shots out of arc and making it work.

The biggest change in terms of mechanics seems to be more dice-dependent results. You can tweak the odds, but you can't avoid the RNG aspect of play. This means games can swing back and forth (good for drama}, and yet consistently good choices are going to consistently allow you to get the best possible result, meaning the better played side wins.

OTOH, a single mistake doesn't toss the game like seemed to happen in 1.0. There were many 1.0 games where I could immediately say: "This is the turn where I lose no matter what happens next, it's just going to take me 5 turns to die."

14 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Sheeet, I actually played a couple Standardly Standard games Tuesday night at the FLGS and had to calculate half points and MOV at the end to determine a winner. Still gotta say that feels kinda weird/contrived, but the half dozen guys at the store were completely welcoming, incredibly helpful, and I learned that I have been completely missing the boat on what The Force does.

It's still hard for me to get there after work most weeks, but it's sure is nice to know I have an option for "routine"/casual public play.

Quote

I love 2.0 so much.

Yeah, my bro and I spend most of the night gushing like fanboys over 2.0. FFG nailed it, and more importantly for me, has embraced stuff like these scenarios as an important part of the game experience.

Wooooowwww. I didn't even expect that! Honestly objectives are so much more fun than MoV/half points (and I wish OP would move that direction but that's a separate issue). Still it's nice to be able to do what all the cool kids are doing and not feel like you're crippling the amount of fun you can have by too much. X-Wing 2nd edition really seems to me like the gold standard in living/expandable games, at least in the sense of rebalancing control that the devs have available. I'd like to see some improvements in its implementation but they're definitely and absolutely on a solid path.

Long live X-Wing 2nd edition!

4 hours ago, Skitch_ said:

You can't kill Number Pink

Pink is op and needs to be nerfed.

All those scenario seem very nice and lots of fun! I really need to try them out! Thanks for the write up Meanie.

I personally can't wait for official one, even if just because they'll be more accepted by the community at large and for playing with people you don't know(Hopefully even for tournament games!)

1 hour ago, DarthSempai said:

All those scenario seem very nice and lots of fun! I really need to try them out! Thanks for the write up Meanie.

I personally can't wait for official one, even if just because they'll be more accepted by the community at large and for playing with people you don't know (Hopefully even for tournament games!)

Official Is Always Better is my motto.

Plus, if players get on board with the idea, it's far easier to present these as UnOfficial But Awesome.