Yeah, I know. Most people don't play with fewer than 100 points; I'm right there with you. But it was 2:30 New Year's morning at The Sage's Shoppe and I wanted one last game, but my opponent didn't want it to last two hours like our previous match had, so he said, "How about 31 points, no unique pilots?" I agreed.

So I got to play a card I had never played before: Gray Squadron Pilot. I decided to equip him with Proton Torpedoes, R5-K6, and, of course, and Ion Cannon Turret.

My opponent chose two Black Squadron Pilots, and one of them was equipped with Marksmanship. He got the initiative.

So he starts his ships near one corner, angled in toward the edge of the map. They went straight 5, and I decided to bank left speed 3 to try to get some cover from asteroids. I was able to snag a Target Lock on the one with Marksmanship (this must have been round two, or we wouldn't be in firing range). They took my shields down, but that was all.

Next round I knew that if I did a Koiogran Turn they wouldn't be able to make a tight enough turn around the asteroid to shoot me, but I could shoot them. So I went for it. He surprised me by going straight speed 5 again, right past Gray Squadron Pilot, and then they both Barrel Rolled away from my Y-wing. His idea: to get to range 3, out of range of my ion cannon. He forgot about my Proton Torpedoes, and I was able to one-shot his TIE. What a great feeling that is!

The rest of the match was R5-K6 helping to reacquire target locks for the ion cannon so Gray Squadron Pilot could throw a focus in there, too. I think the whole match was over in about 6 or 7 short rounds, and the only hits received by my Y-wing were on the shields.

It was a fun little match, and I am definitely open for future matches at odd point levels. The funny thing is, I thought for sure he had some pre-determined squad because he chose such a wacky point cap, but I got my squad all ready before he did. I really thought he would equip one of them with Expert Handling after seeing I had an ion cannon, which would have saved him that torpedo shot, too. I'm glad he didn't

Parakitor said:

pretty cool 2 player casual hose rule actually. loser pics the squad point total, can be anything from 30-100.

Parakitor said:

31 points is odd, (and I know you didn't play it this way) but it is the number recommended in the rulebook to use if you are playing with the starter set only.

Hm, I wonder if that's where my opponent pulled the number from.

setting the point total much lower at at an unusual number eg.66pts will def force u to try stuff u normally wouldnt play in combination. this is forced innovation which can only b good.

The_Brown_Bomber said:

I totally agree! I'm going to give this a try at the next game night, and see if we can get a few more games in using smaller squad builds. I acknowledge that some builds may favor one faction over another, especially if it's just enough to squeeze another ship in when the other team can't benefit as much. But I think that's all part of the learning experience, especially when you're just playing to have fun.

Actually I find that I can enjoy this game from 50 points a side to 200 points a side.