First off, this is just a post about general ponderings and musings regarding the game. I invite you to share yours. Generally, however, I am very satisfied with 2.0, the meta, and the fun of the current dog-fighting deathmatch. Hyper/Ext both have their place and points changes keep things fresh.
That being said... X-Wing has evolved. I remember back in the 2014-2015 days (or even earlier) when we played and had win by complete destruction in something like 40-50 minutes. Fun times. We as a community have generally all become little X-wing chess masters, and have learned the value of moving slow, the vast importance of the first engagement and initial positioning, and to trust our dials more than our dice. Lets be honest: games rarely ever end by destruction anymore. There are recent major GSP events that the final 2 hour match ends with still half of the ships on the table. Also, the points are generally promoting higher ship count builds. I think its still 80 percent play style though. If we throw any two builds at each other's throats, they'll generally clear each other up in 75 minutes.
I don't lament this too much, honestly, but it does make me wonder if there would be a way to jump start things in another direction that rewarded speed of play/destruction. An option could be to run as a new format (FFG/AMG sponsored or just done on a local level), thus keeping the standard game intact, or even just a mix of scoring options within an event. So, in other words, the cut may use a different means of scoring than the finals, etc.
A Couple of Ideas
Dials Down!
The first player to have dials down gets to give a calculate token to any ship. (I think this is most likely to be a local fun-times add-on to league night.)
Complete Destruction
Basically reverse the scoring priority order of the standard tournament. Points destroyed determines your ranking, not wins. Wins only break ties. So, example, I may lose a game 200 - 150, but I may be ranked higher than a player than won his game 16 - 0. So, if its 4 games to the cut and I have these results (my scores first): 100-200(L); 150-100 (W); 100-100 (D); 185-165 (W), then my score to the cut would be 535 (Wx2). I think this would really increase the pace of play, aggression, and keep things interesting even when you're losing a match. It would be the death knell of the Super Ace list archetype that relies on snatching the win by points alone, so they may have to be adjusted in points a bit. And I could see a mix of scoring here. To the cut by this method and then standard scoring for the Final Cut. Be a punchy beginning, but ending with a cagey finish. (BTW, this is not my idea)
Objectives
Not a knew topic here, but my flavor of idea... I was pondering the possibility of each faction having a set number of Objective Cards. Say 8. They would focus on the particular identity of that faction. There could be a couple generic ones that are similar across factions. The sky's the limit on creativity within each faction. For a tournament, you must bring 3 of your Objective Cards. They are reveled to your opponent, and he reveals his 3 to you. Then you each choose one Objective secretly, placing it facedown in the play area. If you achieve you objective you get an additional 30 points to your score.
Ideas (share yours, I'll add others later on, I gotta go for now)
Rebels "When your fist ship is destroyed, if all of your other ships have at least one damage, you complete this objective."