In a normal game do the rebels always get to pick which side they want to set up on and the Imperial player gets the other side?

It comes down to whoever has initiative. The player with initiative places the first asteroid, chooses their side of the table they want first, and place their Pilot Skill first when setting up their squad.

In a squad points tie that means Imperial has initiative, but a rebel squad with less points would have initiative.

In a tournament, with squads of equal points, initiative is determined by coin toss.

On a 3x3 table does it matter what side you get?

The board is set up by the players, after they pick a side so there's no advantage in who gets which side. Unless in theory you had boards that were already set up with Asteroids or other obstacles in which case the side with Init would pick a side.

On a 3x3 table does it matter what side you get?

The board is set up by the players, after they pick a side so there's no advantage in who gets which side. Unless in theory you had boards that were already set up with Asteroids or other obstacles in which case the side with Init would pick a side.

Funny thing is, in the tournament rules it is as you say, first pick side and then set up asteroids and stuff. In the standard rules though, it's the opposite. First place asteroids, then the Rebel player chose a side.

Funny thing is, in the tournament rules it is as you say, first pick side and then set up asteroids and stuff. In the standard rules though, it's the opposite. First place asteroids, then the Rebel player chose a side.

I never could figure out why they had different rules for tournaments set up versus "normal" set up. In this case though, I think a large number of casual players (possibly even most casual players) end up using the tournament set up rules because it's easier.

First place asteroids, then the Rebel player chose a side.

Guess I missed that part, does seem to give a fairly unfair advantage to the Reb side. Can pick the best edge. I think the tourney system is much better.

First place asteroids, then the Rebel player chose a side.

Guess I missed that part, does seem to give a fairly unfair advantage to the Reb side. Can pick the best edge. I think the tourney system is much better.

If neither player knows which side they're going to be on when they're placing terrain, it will usually mean that you'll end up with a more balanced table.

If neither player knows which side they're going to be on when they're placing terrain, it will usually mean that you'll end up with a more balanced table.

Why would the rebel player attempt a balanced asteroid placement? He gets to pick the sides, so of course he should do his best to mess up one of the sides, and then choose the other.

He gets to pick the sides, so of course he should do his best to mess up one of the sides, and then choose the other.

Yeah that's quite the advantage. Not quite as big as it might be in other games, where terrain is a bigger part of the game.

In say Flames of War, it's a huge part of the game, and being able to stack the board in your favor would make it almost impossible for the other guy to win.