Author Topic: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games  (Read 13428 times)

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Offline Lepanto

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Ookay, thanks! If I do get the game, I'll actually have some idea of what all that means! :p
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

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Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
The new Core Set comes with an excellent rules reference to look up definitions of the more precise terms.  A much better reference than the original Core, at least!

 

Offline Black Wolf

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Re what to buy when just starting out, there are two big questions to consider:
1. Will you be playing with other people who have their own copies of the game (i.e. tournaments, league nights etc. in an established local community) or will you mainly be supplying your copy of the game to play with friends?

and

2. Are you willing/able to proxy cards? (i.e. use a card you don't own a physical copy of by printing it out from the internet or whatever).

Those two will pretty much determine what you need to buy, but they're also kind of linked together. For example, if you're just playing with your mates using your gear, proxying cards is entirely fine, but you need to buy more physical ships so you have at least two lists. If you're playing in tournaments and leagues, it's going to depend, but sometimes proxying is frowned upon, and it's definitely not permitted if you want to play in any of the FFG sanctioned events like a store championship, regional etc.

My firm advice would be to buy at least enough ships for one Rebel and one Imperial or Scum list. This has dual advantages in that you'll both be able to play games with mates even if they've never even heard of the game before and you'll also be able to buy upgrade cards that come in specific packs from one faction or the other without then having a completely useless ship.

For example, One good way to start is a core set, Rebel Aces and Imperial Aces. This is a good combo even for a rebel player because it means you end up with an X wing (T-70 or T-65 depending on which core you buy) an A Wing and a B Wing, which is a good start, as well as two TIE fighters (Or First Order TIEs, again, depending on the core) and two interceptors - a roughly even matchup with your rebel squad. However, you also get two copies of the "Push the Limit" upgrade in Imperial Aces, which is basically mandatory on Jake Farrell, the best A Wing pilot in the Rebel Aces pack, and almost as useful on Keyan Farlander to generate stress for his ability.

If you decide you want to go past that basic intro buy, your options open right up. Some good buys might be:

 - Y Wing (One of my favourite ships, although you'll probably want a "Most Wanted" Box to make them competitive in a tournament setting, and that's quite a big buy, and of limited use when starting out if you're not playing Scum. That said, even straight out of the box, an Ion Turret equipped Y Wing is a great little ship - tanky and super annoying to your opponent)
 - TIE Defender (Very solid Imperial ship, great for beginners and about to become probably one of the dominant ships in the game when the "Imperial Veterans" box is released - even as a rebel player, it'll net you copies of Predator and Outmanoeuver EPTs - both great, especially Outmanoeuvre (which can be paired with PtL for a fantastic Jake Farrell build)).
 - K Wing (Miranda Doni is really powerful, and very prominent in the metagame right now, and you can build her almost up to tournament spec straight out of the box, plus she pairs well with Kyle Katarn crew from the Rebel Aces pack).
 - Millennium Falcon (It's the Millennium Falcon! :D And it has some cool crew (Chewbaccan and Nien Numb, both of which are really good), the engine upgrade modification (which is useful and somewhat  hard to get) and it's a fantastic ship for a beginner learning the game - it has a turret, so it doesn't have the subtle repositioning stuff that a dogfighting game is kind of about, but it's still fun to play. And again, it's the goddam Falcon!)
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Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Store Championship season should be starting up in about a month.  If you're serious about playing, take a list (with all the cards, though you can probably ask to borrow some if you make friends at the stores you'll be playing) to some of them.  They're all-day affairs, usually starting around 10 or 11 am and running until 6 pm (five 75 minute rounds, with a few minutes of breaks between, plus usually a lunch break) unless you break to the Top 8 players in that tournament, where you'll play another couple rounds of single elimination.

The first Store Championship I went to I took two X-wings, a Y-wing, and an A-wing.  It was a bad list, I didn't do well.  But I learned a damn lot!  And had a lot of fun along the way (to going 0-5 and dead last).

 

Offline Lepanto

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Okay, all this information is admittedly dizzying. But still, thanks for the advice.

I'd be playing at my FLGS, so everyone will have their own copies of the game. Store tournaments sound interesting, so I guess I'll avoid proxies for right now.
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

Blue Planet: The Battle Captains: Missions starring the Admirals of BP: WiH
Frontlines 2334+2335: T-V War campaign
GVB Ammit: Vasudan strike bomber
Player-Controlled Capship Modding Tutorial

 

Offline Mongoose

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Man if I had any interest at all in tabletop gaming I'd be all over this.  Hell if I had money to burn I'd still consider it just for the awesome models.

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
The game sounds a bit technical from the outside, but it's actually a pretty simple and elegant design.

You have a ship with a pilot and a dial (a set of maneuvers the ship can attempt). Maneuvers are green, white, or red. Greens calm you down, reds stress you out. You can't do a red if you're stressed out already.

After you maneuver, you take an action (unless you're stressed). The basics are focusing, barrel rolling, evading, and locking up a target. Focus is the only confusing one - it makes your dice more likely to score hits or evades.

Then you shoot by rolling red dice, hoping to roll hits. If you're shot at, you roll green dice, trying to roll evades. One evade cancels one hit.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Barrel Rolls move you laterally (and a little bit forward or back, depending on how you want to put down the templates).  There is also a Boost action that lets you perform a 1-speed forward or bank maneuver.  Combined with Barrel Roll (for example, on the Interceptor), these two actions are very good at keeping you unpredictable.  Maneuver dials must be set before anyone else moves, but post-maneuver actions happen after you've already seen where people are going to end up.

Each ship has a shields value and a hull value.  Both are parts of the ship's total durability, but shields absorb one hit regardless of what kind of hit it is and take just one point per hit.  Critical hits that hit shields do nothing extra, but critical hits that strike the hull flip a damage card face-up, and come with some pretty nasty effects.  Unless specified by card text somewhere (Autoblaster, Autoblaster Turret), always cancel regular hits with evades before you cancel critical hits, and always apply any remaining hits after evades to shields or hull before you apply crits.  That's one of the things I see new players not quite get all the time.

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
How did I overlook this topic? I've been playing X-Wing for two years, including competetive play...

Last time I went out competively I ran:

Maarek Steele - TIE Advanced
Predator
TIE X1
Advanced Targeting Computer

Juno Eclipse - TIE Advanced
Push the Limit
TIE X1
Advanced Targeting Computer

Colonel Vessery - TIE Defender
Veteran Instincts
Twin Ion Engine Mk II

Straight 100 points with 8, 8 and 7´. The T/A never have to give up their trageting locks so Vessery can Focus every turn. Vessery shoots first with TL to strip shields, Juno takes out the last shields and Steele does is thing with letting you choose which of the first 3 cards in the damage deck your opponent has to resolve.
Came up 4th place in my last tournament (went two Swiss Rounds with 0-100; then got beaten by the 2nd (Vader and AC T/As) and 3rd ("Super Dash") placed players).

And be glad that you are getting in the game now: there was been a sort of wasteland of builds for some time but that is breaking up since Spring this year and now it is a "brave new meta" (though the shadow of the Twin Linked Laser Turret hangs over all) ....



Re: Armada

Armada is a different beast all together and for different player base. X-Wing is fast and responsive while Armada is for the players who delight in planning... but Armada only recently came into it's own with both side recieving iconic ships like the ISD and Home One.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2015, 04:12:58 pm by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

  

Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Integrated Astromech is a gift from X-wing God himself and I'm loving the hell out of it.  I've swapped around my upgrades to give Wedge Predator, an R5, and Integrated Astro, Luke VI with R2-D2 and Integrated Astro, and then Wes with VI, R3-A2, Integrated Astro, and Flechette Torpedo.  Wes moves at PS 10, and then shoots a flechette torpedo at whoever I don't like at that moment to strip a token and dump two stress on them.

That looks like a pretty good list, though (much like my own) I'd be concerned about the fragility of it.  How do you deal with swarms or tanky two ship builds?

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
How do you deal with swarms or tanky two ship builds?

I am not a rebel player, so I don't have their full reportoire at my fingertips, so I might miss one or two solutions...

Swarms usually revolve around a key ship, like Howlrunner in the T/F, Serissu in the M3-A or Epsilon Leader in the T/FO, that ship usually defines most moves of your opponent as it's effect is what they want to use most. It is this ship you have to take out at earliest opportunity but not to the point that you don't take their ships of the board.
And since Swarms have a rather good board control with their many ships and spread out firing arcs, it is best to avoid concentrated fire and see that you can split them up, so no single ship of yours is ever in all enemy firing arcs at once. Most swarm ships (T/F, Z-95 etc) have only 2 dice when it primary firepower, so keeping your focus for defense might be advisable and try not to get caught in Range 1.

Two Tank Ships (we are talking Brobots*, by any chance?) are very tricky cause there are many permutations of those to which not one solution applies. But with an opponent with a low ship count, blocking is a useful tool; Blocking is purposefully putting one of your ships into a position where you anticipate your opponent to move a ship to before they move, Swarms excell with at this due to their in-build redudancy and low pilots skills. Since you have a low ship count and high pilot skills yourself that is not feasable for you.
If blocking can't be done, remember that the golden rule is "not being shoot at > shooting yourself", try to maneuver and position yourself out of the firing arc of ships that can only use their primary arc to fire. If you are dealing with ships with turrets it depends on the kind of turret: Primary Turrets (YT-1300, YT-2400, VT-49) can be held at bay by staying away, while Secondary Turrets (Y-Wings) must be taken out at close range to maximize your primary weapon dice.  In any chase you should try to maximize your defense dice through the use of obstacles and range (if applicable).
YV-66 and the Firespray are a different kind of animal all togethee: with YV-666 you will most likely face a more stationary vessel as it can do the speed 0 move and that way maximize it's board coverage but that makes it predictable and slow. The Firespray is one of the hardest ships to "arc dodge" (= staying out of the enemy firing arc by maneuvering) since it has only 90° blind spot at either side but that is usually just a matter of training to get that right.

*Brobots = 2x IG-88 in any combination with the IG-2000 title

EDIT: Another tip: Use the rules to mix and match your obstacles, if you are so inclined - in competive play you register 3 obstacles of your choice along with your list for an event, which you have to use in every game (giving you a total of 6 when your opponent brings 3 of their own). This allows you to pick 3 obstacles that work best for your list or hinder a combination of ships you have problems with.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2015, 04:56:21 pm by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
I meant, specifically, how does your list deal with swarms, since it's a three ship Imperial without nearly the ability to arc dodge like typical three ship Imp Aces and abilities that don't really enhance your defense a whole lot.  My list's general strategy is to just **** out more red dice faster and take ships out of play before they shoot and I end up on even numbers with PS advantage.  Yours, while still doing fairly well on the offense thanks to ATCs, doesn't really have the sustained "**** you" levels of firepower that 3 red dice ships tend to have.  I'm coming up on my third tournament season in the game, so I've got a pretty good handle on ship archetypes. :P

(Firing arcs are only 80 degrees, so the blind spot on each side is actually 100 degrees, not 90. :warp:)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
I meant, specifically, how does your list deal with swarms, since it's a three ship Imperial without nearly the ability to arc dodge like typical three ship Imp Aces and abilities that don't really enhance your defense a whole lot. 

Firstly, there is my personal skill... as I said I've been playing for two years and gotten quite good at the spacial reasoning portion of the game. My previous lists included 4x T/I and TIE Swarms which is really good training regiment for arc dodging and action economy as well as use of space and angeled deployments (No offense, but many Rebel Players I encountered were kinda untrained in that regard ... I blame primary turrets).

Also you underestimate this lists firepower and defense: Vessery usually has TL+Focus going putting him right there with 3 hits on 3 dice or giving him his defenisve use of focus. Juno is very good at sheeding stress (dial green 1 bank, do green 2 bank instead) while arcdodging with the barrel roll, and then has an action left for focus or evade. Mareek doesn't need to roll any hits as long as he as target lock and Vessery&Juno took care of the shields - he simply does his ATC crit and then I get to choose a crit that applies to my benefit (thought I had to learn the hard way that double damage is not always the best choice)-, so I can choose between evade and focus at my hearts content.

Lastly, unlike most imperial lists my list can actually "do slow" which can psyche out a lot of players. Same goes from bringing the T/D to competetive event - the ship is not exactly the best you can have, well rounded sure but also a points sink and prior to the TIE Mk II upgrade its stress management was .... distrubing(ly bad); that's why it is rarely seen competetively and always gets people on the wrong foot. (I really love the moment an opponent first sees the white 4-K Turn come up).

(Firing arcs are only 80 degrees, so the blind spot on each side is actually 100 degrees, not 90. :warp:)

There is some error in the prints ... which even leads to non-symetrical firing arcs ... but since the printed arcs are legal as they are per the rules it is easier to assume 90° across the board.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Nope. :P  The printed arc is 80 degrees; it does not actually cross the corner of the plastic base if you draw the line past the edge of the base, it is not a full 90 degrees.

 

Offline Lepanto

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
I won my first game!  :D Against another total newb, but a win is a win. :p


I've come up with this weird list, to take to my FLGS. Any opinions?

Dash Rendar + Outrider + Heavy Laser Cannon + Lone Wolf

Poe Dameron + R2-D2

Prototype Pilot (A-Wing, PS 1) + Chardaan Refit [lowers point cost by 2]
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

Blue Planet: The Battle Captains: Missions starring the Admirals of BP: WiH
Frontlines 2334+2335: T-V War campaign
GVB Ammit: Vasudan strike bomber
Player-Controlled Capship Modding Tutorial

 

Offline Black Wolf

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
I played last night and saw R2D2 on Poe twice, but I doing think I'd play him that way. There's no synergy unless you put a stress causing EPT our something on Poe to make green manoeuvres more attractive. Poe always wants to focus, and keep that focus, so why not R5-P9?
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Offline General Battuta

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
God damn I am sick of stress hogs + regen Rebels.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
God damn I am sick of stress hogs + regen Rebels.

I am guilty of this, but feel like it is slightly less frustrating for my opponents because I am still just flying three X-Wings.

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
Dash Rendar + Outrider + Heavy Laser Cannon + Lone Wolf

Poe Dameron + R2-D2

Prototype Pilot (A-Wing, PS 1) + Chardaan Refit [lowers point cost by 2]

Spoiler:
Dash Rendar (36)
Lone Wolf (2)
"Mangler" Cannon (4)
Outrider (5)

Prototype Pilot (17)
Chardaan Refit (-2)

Poe Dameron (31)
Veteran Instincts (1)
R2-D2 (4)

Total: 98
View in Yet Another Squad Builder




R2-D2 on Poe is the same as R2-D2 on Corran Horn, keeping the ship around - and shield reg is pretty evil (I can live with discarding damage cards and canceling results, but please let me have my ciritcal hit-results)

As for stress hogs, only 6-9 months until the Delta Squadron Ion T/D (34) and the Glaive Squadron Tractor T/D (3X+2) enter the meta - "screw your maneuvers I want you THERE!" :D
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: X-Wing by Fantasy Flight Games
I think guidance chimps are gonna **** up regen lists by putting a lot of cheap alpha strike damage into the meta.