Almost every losing game I play goes something like this:

•set up well

•close off my opponent's options

•have a great first engagement

•kill a ship 2 or 3 turns into combat

•Forget how to play x-wing

•K-turns are fun!

•oh.

After the initial pass, I'm usually ahead, and then I just kinda choke. Ships bump, I get tunnel vision, etc.

How do you guys stay calm and keep your guns on target, without spreading thin and making needless mistakes?

....umm. Well.

I say 'Pew pew'? And sometimes I win?

Triggered and subscribed. Would love to hear some words of advice on this topic...

You can't win the mid-game. You only win at the end.

It isn't that you forget how to play X-wing. It is that you're not looking ahead early enough. You're not seeing what happens after that first engagement. You're not actually "ahead" after the first engagement. You are confusing having tactics that put you ahead early with having a winning strategy . You are sacrificing long term goals for short term results.

This depends a lot on the list and the matchups. It's possible you're selling your midgame out to get a stronger first engagement and not realizing it.

Kill one thing.

Kill another thing. < - midgame

Kill a 3rd thing.

Usually that helps a lot for winning

5 hours ago, svelok said:

This depends a lot on the list and the matchups. It's possible you're selling your midgame out to get a stronger first engagement and not realizing it.

This. Doing more damage on the initial exchange doesn't necessarily mean you're in the better position.

And aces, swarms, beef, control, etc, different archetypes have different midgame needs, and all of them are affected by the match-up, obstacle placement, and initial positions.

What has helped me is to throw some obstacles on a table, put down a list I'm practicing and a list type I'm trying to beat. Really just need the bases and cardboard for arcs. Fly them at each other, get into the fray and the "mid game". Use average results for attack/defense. Intentionally block or arc dodge the primary list.

Assess my positioning and options, and then wind back a few turns and approach it differently.

Stay at the board edge a little longer this time, or 5 straight boost in. Give up a shot this turn to not be in range/arc of the secondary list, and get into a better position for the following turns. Hard turn + boost instead of k-turning. See how many arcs I'm able to keep on target over a couple of rounds, and how many arcs I'm in. Then rewind again.

If nothing else it helps you get more confident with eyeballing where your ships will end up, which can help with tunnel vision.

I kept having a lot of false starts on replying to this topic question. There are so many factors that come into play and every game is different from the last that there's not going to be a satisfying one-and-done answer.

I guess keep it simple: make a mental note of your win conditions and set target priorities.

Remember, you don't have to K-turn so much. If you've done a lot of damage in the opening engagement as you say, shuffle off and regroup so you can come back and do it again. I don't know what you fly, but if you have anything with a rear-facing arc, that can help keep you in the fight as you zoom past in order to regroup.

I'm not a great player by the way, more of a mid-tier kind of guy so take my words with a grain of salt.

24 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:

I kept having a lot of false starts on replying to this topic question. There are so many factors that come into play and every game is different from the last that there's not going to be a satisfying one-and-done answer.

I guess keep it simple: make a mental note of your win conditions and set target priorities.

Remember, you don't have to K-turn so much. If you've done a lot of damage in the opening engagement as you say, shuffle off and regroup so you can come back and do it again. I don't know what you fly, but if you have anything with a rear-facing arc, that can help keep you in the fight as you zoom past in order to regroup.

I'm not a great player by the way, more of a mid-tier kind of guy so take my words with a grain of salt.

There's a lot of value here, especially keeping note of your win conditions. Don't get so cocky when your list starts doing well that you start taking unnecessary risks with Soontir or Fenn. A bad roll of the dice can easily flip things around on you.

In addition, try to avoid getting frustrated by an early sequence of bad events. First, it's usually not fun for the person you're playing to see you getting upset by the game they're playing against you. Second, you're making it harder on yourself to come back if you've already been defeated in your mind. People in that mindset tend to look for ways to end the game faster, instead of the opportunities to climb back into the fight.

Aim for half points tbh.

2 hours ago, Frimmel said:

It isn't that you forget how to play X-wing. It is that you're not looking ahead early enough. You're not seeing what happens after that first engagement. You're not actually "ahead" after the first engagement. You are confusing having tactics that put you ahead early with having a winning strategy . You are sacrificing long term goals for short term results.

I'd go with this. Early game is all about setting up your mid game advantage.

Some lists do this with alpha, take a healthy chunk out of the opponents list, make it hard for them to recover the score. Even just fudge the mid game and wait for the clock. If you have a list that leans on this, it should be fairly obvious. I don't think it's as easy as it sounds, but it's not my game. Alpha lists tend to lack mid game flexibility and need to be very on point with their opening. So if that's a thing, perhaps math, I don't know. They do come in many flavours though.

Personally, I'm entirely the other way. I'll accept a 1st engagement disadvantage to open up a bigger 2nd and 3rd. I'm looking for my opponent to commit in certain directions, keeping my options open a turn or 2 longer so I can respond to their trajectory. I need to think a few turns ahead, not concretely, but enough to know I can change direction in the areas I want to move into.

The current turns planning is thinking mostly about what options I want next turn, rather than what dice I'm about to throw. I want to be there, so I'm then able to go here, or there, where I can decide this or that, the 3rd turn down the line.

Recognizing where the enemy ships are going to be is all win. I'm essentially just waiting for it to become apparent and maintaining positions that let me take advantage

It's simply keeping your options open longer and use your planning to create later options, rather than trying to press an early, but not decisive, advantage.

But, best laid plans and all that. The other player is likely doing the exact same thing. Sometimes just fudge and k-turn works better

5 hours ago, Roller of blanks said:

Almost every losing game I play goes something like this:

•set up well

•close off my opponent's options

•have a great first engagement

•kill a ship 2 or 3 turns into combat

•Forget how to play x-wing

•K-turns are fun!

•oh.

After the initial pass, I'm usually ahead, and then I just kinda choke. Ships bump, I get tunnel vision, etc.

How do you guys stay calm and keep your guns on target, without spreading thin and making needless mistakes?

List building for engagement is easy, and people usually know what they want in the endgame, high init ace arc dodger, hard to kill evade + mod ship, or just more ships.

The midgame is the area where skill and experience comes into play more than any other. The most important is to learn patience. Every round does not need to be PEW PEW. Regroup and come back for another engagement.

If you are ahead on points after early engagement rounds, there is no need to kturn and force your ships into modless attack and defense, or stressed and predictable movements.

Know the game state: this includes time remaining, points of ships destroyed, ships remaining, and ships near half. Do you kturn a 1 hull ship and basically suicide it for a desperate last shot? Or do you turn it behind an obstacle and focus, knowing everyround your opponent cant kill it, is another round your other ships live? These are the factors behind midgame success that you need to evaluate in your own games.

You also need to engage for the midgame. Straight joust a droid swarm and kill a couple and go up on points, but now you have nowhere to go, and just gonna get blocked for next 3 or 4 rounds. Where if you flanked with a ship or two you are setting up for midgame where one of your two groups of ships can have mods and force your opponent into decisions.

Most of this falls into having patience. Take time to setup a better engagement to help the midgame. Take time to regroup. Dont rush thinking a round is wasted if you are not tossing red dice. Setup locks and come back for a bigger hit can be better than kturning for a modless attack.

For those of you who are curious about my lists, it's normally some kind of four ship rebel, with X-wing aces and dutch vander with proton torpedoes (he was literally in my first list I every played, back in 1.0)

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

http://www.twitch.tv/ideasquad/v/542231514?sr=a&t=4700s

I kill a bomber, vader is out of position, and I eventually grind myself down to equal/lower footing.

(Also, in my defense, I thought stunned pilot would make you take damage on a bump, so I thought the K-turn was the best option to avoid arc-dodging)

8 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

You can't win the mid-game. You only win at the end.

Can definitely win mid game. Had plenty of concessions after I blew up half their list in the first 2 turns.

Also im very good at flying my epic ship off the mat on the first move. Darn corners.

11 hours ago, Force Majeure said:

I guess keep it simple: make a mental note of your win conditions and set target priorities.

10 hours ago, PhantomFO said:

There's a lot of value here, especially keeping note of your win conditions.

I think it's important to note that you have to re-evaluate your win condition every time points are scored. Sometimes it remains the same, sometimes not. Just don't get tunnel vision on your initial choice. Mental flexibility is important.

And another point, maybe more important in the endgame, but also already in the midgame: Very often there is a situation where you have won the game already and can only lose it in the remaining time. It is important to recognize these and identify how you will lose the game. If I have Vader full and Duchess on half, but am ahead on points, then I should not joust my opponent. In fact, I should carefully reconsider every engagement and only take the best one. And the reverse is also true, of course. You have lost the game, but your opponent throws you one opportunity after the next to get the upper hand back. Recognize these and be ready to use them.

That makes really good players really good: they won't give you those opportunities. Dice still happen, of course, but not by their own mistakes.

The key is to stay ahead of the damage race.

If you start well, manage to cause damage and destroy a ship or two then fantastic - your next priority should be positioning your ships to either keep the pressure on or avoid return fire.

If you can slow roll and keep your opponent in your sights for the next round of combat, do that.

If you don't think you'll be able to get a shot (or if you have a ship facing an unfavourable situation) then deliberately aim to bump, or bug out entirely if you have the speed to do so.

If you have a ship that is very heavily damaged - like one or two health left - then protect those points and block or bug out as above.

You want to force your opponent I to unfavourable situations whenever you can - denying them shots or at the very least, their actions, range bonuses and modifiers.

I know, I know - in the words of K-2SO "I find that answer vague and unconvincing."

You win the midgame by knowing what your endgame is, and moving towards that.

If you are flying an Ace list against a swarm, your midgame goal would likely be to split the swarm up while hitting targets of opportunity and denying shots against you. Your endgame target is to have your opponent's list scattered facing multiple directions, with your Aces positioned to pounce.

In the opposite situation, the Swarm player's midgame goal would likely be to isolate or trap one of the Aces, making favourable sacrifices to guarantee damage and kills. Their endgame goal would be the Ace list being badly damaged, meaning the Ace player has to avoid taking any risks.

What @FTS Gecko says is true about the damage race; if you lose a ship or suffer heavy damage in the early-mid game, it can seriously constrain your options (especially if the game looks to be determined by a narrow margin).

I was in the same situation you are explaining.

Build a list with not too many fancy tricks (which I tend to forget to pull off anyway) - check

Decide which types of obstacles is favourable for your list (or at least not the worst choice) - check

Decide which layout of obstacles supports your squad most (instead of playing them randomly) - check

... an most important for me: choose the first engagemt on your terms and not get forced to react on your opponent