I think you have a decent product idea here. Come up with useable formations and tactics for start up that people can order.

Give them fancy names. A couple bucks a template. Done.

I like how the game can be played in super detail or thrown on the table and splashed through in a more fluid, organic form of play.

It's such a robust and simple system.

An interesting template, but after a few games people will be able to predict your move.. not a horrible thing with usual distance in a set up. It does telegraph your move though. Against a TIE swarm or squints, they could bust out the 5 straights and get in close quick... also boosts with the squints to really travel the board..

Figuring that template out should be fairly easy if you do it right.. for those wanting to emulate it..

So the New Tournament rules address the starting template directly now. Here is what the rule says:

Ship, base, and card proxies are not allowed.
Asteroids and other obstacles
may not be modified in any way. Custom “setup” templates designed to aid
players in ship deployment are not allowed. However, players may use their
range rulers and maneuver templates to help them set up formations during
deployment

So my custom template is out for sure. He's the interesting part, They now directly say I can use the range ruler and movement templates. Before making my template i could achieve this set up using the components that are now allowed. I made the template to shorten the time it takes to set things up. so by excluding the custom template they have only increased my setup time but have changed nothing else. I still have my desired formation with my ships, but now my opponent must wait for me while I fiddle with my ships.

So the New Tournament rules address the starting template directly now. Here is what the rule says:

.................................................... Custom “setup” templates designed to aid

players in ship deployment are not allowed. However, players may use their

range rulers and maneuver templates to help them set up formations during

deployment

So my custom template is out for sure. He's the interesting part, They now directly say I can use the range ruler and movement templates. Before making my template i could achieve this set up using the components that are now allowed. I made the template to shorten the time it takes to set things up. so by excluding the custom template they have only increased my setup time but have changed nothing else. I still have my desired formation with my ships, but now my opponent must wait for me while I fiddle with my ships.

I also find that a bit interesting. You can use all your templates/ruler to lay out your ships however you like but you can't bring a template with to simplify that. Perhaps the only "advantage" I could see to a template is getting some angle "just right" but even that can be done with good measuring.

Maybe they just don't want people using tools that come from outside the game? If I can't use custom bases and custom pegs, not being able to use a custom template strikes me as not a very big leap in logic.

And are people really taking that long to set up their ships? Geez, between this and all the time supposedly lost by not being able to move all your ships at once, you'd think games were lasting four hours or something.

Why don't you make a template out of a range ruler and some maneuver templates. Then everybody's happy.

I don't see the advantage of a player having a custom template to set up his ships over someone who doesn't. Taking 5 mins to set up would stall the game playing. I don't see the logic in it?

I wonder why they reversed their decision?