The intro…
Hello there and welcome to this week’s blog!
There isn’t really an awful lot to say in terms of X-Wing news except to say that the XWA Wave 0 tournament kits are agonisingly close to being ready to send out! At this stage we are just finalising shipping costs before we start getting in touch with people to sort out payment and get them out of our hands and into yours!
Lastly, I was contacted a few weeks aog through Reddit by someone who wanted some tips about blogging (no, I’ve no idea why they came to me either!). I gave some thoughts and opinions and this week I get a follow up message, the blog is live!
So if you’d like to read about Rosco and Barry’s tabletop gaming adventures in the Star Wars universe then check out the Aluminium Falcon blog!
The prep…
I’f you’ve been following the blog over the last few weeks then you’ll know I’ve been flying some unholy union of Rebel ships that have been lost to Extended or priced out of play. It’s been fun and rolled some big punches (like 6 natural hits/crits out of hand TWICE in one game!) but it’s had a very clear and evident flaw – the low initiative.
It could bully lists with lower or matching initiative but against aces it was getting arc dodged and init killed into oblivion. It was still fun to play but I felt it was time for a change.
But to what?
I had a few conversations with my Rebel list guru – Chris Burnett.
He made some suggestions and I brainstormed a few things but in the end, it was Chris’ first suggested list that I plumped for to test with.
Hera Syndulla – A/SF-01 B-wing (5)
Hopeful (1)
Trajectory Simulator (10)
Seismic Charges (3)
Stabilized S-Foils (0)
B6 Blade Wing Prototype (0)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (14/14) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 4
Jan Ors – HWK-290 Light Freighter (5)
Moldy Crow (0)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (0/0) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 2
Luke Skywalker – T-65 X-wing (5)
Debris Gambit (3)
R4 Astromech (2)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (5/5) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 3
Wedge Antilles – T-65 X-wing (5)
Predator (3)
Afterburners (8)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (11/11) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 3
Total: 20
It’s higher initiative, it’s got punch and it’s got decent mods – Luke takes locks and has Force, Wedge has Predator and focuses. Hera can focus or lock and pass the token and Jan has a reasonable gun plus the ability to pump up someone else’s shot.
They’re all ships I’ve flown quite often before and then of course there’s the long forgotten Trajectory Simulator! Of course, the big question there is can I use it effectively?
I hastily repacked my bag on the Tuesday night and headed to Sin City on Wednesday to give it a try.
I played against Josh who was still rocking the 3 Silencer FO list that he’s been fairly well hammering me with of late.
To this point the only thought I’d put into my list was when/how to throw a seismic charge with Hera. Suspecting that Josh might hold back from the immediate dive in, I realised that his trademark decloak in turn 1 would come in the systems phase and, crucially, before Hera had to declare the bomb. I held on a turn before throwing it.
I made some mistakes here and Luke took a hit from a bomb AND get in Hera’s way, preventing her from getting a focus.
I lost Hera here in exchange for Blackout but at the turns went on my higher initiative and modded shots meant Kylo followed a turn later, Static the turn after that and then half on Recoil as the game ended with a 20 – 12 win.
Not bad!
The list felt nice to fly so that was my decision made, I was taking this to the event!
The tournament…
After a couple of drops and some issues with Sin City’s website, we had 10 players turning up for our first event at the new venue.
A quick check over the layout and conversation with veteran TO Richard Greenaway and we think we can easily get 40+ players in this room. There’s also a second room across the corridor (with another 10 or so player or maybe for streaming…?) and the store itself has a LOT of floor space and could accommodate an extra 20+ players with ease. Since it’s looking like we’re hosting the 2025 Welsh Open here it was important to us to have a good ‘test event’ and get a feel for how a full day’s gaming would be and what others think of the venue.
We also had a newbie player – Sam. He’d been brought along by the Greenaways and has not long got into playing the game. Always nice to have some new blood int he room!
We were running a 4 round Swiss tournament which would be a little odd with 10 players but we could make it work!
Mark Hall got Longshanks fired up and got the pairings going…
Game 1 – Richard Greenaway
I’d already spotted what Richard was flying and dear lord, I did NOT like to look of it.
Cat – MG-100 StarFortress (5)
Composure (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Veteran Turret Gunner (4)
Electronic Baffle (2)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (14/14) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 6
Kijimi Spice Runner – BTA-NR2 Y-wing (3)
Ion Cannon Turret (6)
Angled Deflectors (1)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (7/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 3
Kijimi Spice Runner – BTA-NR2 Y-wing (3)
Ion Cannon Turret (6)
Angled Deflectors (1)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (7/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 3
Kijimi Spice Runner – BTA-NR2 Y-wing (3)
Ion Cannon Turret (6)
Angled Deflectors (1)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (7/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 3
Kijimi Spice Runner – BTA-NR2 Y-wing (3)
Ion Cannon Turret (6)
Angled Deflectors (1)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (7/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 3
Kijimi Spice Runner – BTA-NR2 Y-wing (3)
Ion Cannon Turret (6)
Angled Deflectors (1)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (7/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 3
Total: 20
FIVE Y-WINGS!! FIVE ION TURRET Y-WINGS!
The only saving grace here was that they didn’t have Wartime loadout and the Angled Deflectors reduced them to 6 health. With just 1 agility that makes them quite kill-able.
With all of Richard’s ships being placed first I decided to face the lower ship count fo the joust, somewhat forgetting how fast these particular Y-Wings can be with the boosts.
After initially feeling like I’d made a mistake with deployment meaning I couldn’t focus down a Y-Wing in the first engage, I then turned on the Bomber since I just couldn’t allow the double taps. Just like in the films, she burned down quickly and Y-Wing followed suit soon after.
The scenario being Assault, Richard’s higher ship count (and big ship) had initially given him an advantage but as ships fell I started to pull away on ship points AND prevent him outscoring me on objectives. Hera eventually died but it was too late to pull back.
Result: 21 – 12 win
Mini conclusion…
This being Richard’s first game with this list definitely advantaged me. We chatted after the game about his deployment and he then went on to win the next 3!
Despite being new to my list I felt like I had the general gist of what I wanted to do with and it was working. On to round 2!
Game 2 – Josh Hall
A rematch already! Josh had beaten Ben Saunders in round 1 and was itching to get revenge on his mid-week loss. As I said, he was flying the FO list he’s been using for a little while which REALLY wants to Procket (JARGON ALERT!!) you in turn 1!
Kylo Ren – TIE/vn Silencer (6)
Brilliant Evasion (2)
Predator (3)
Sensor Scramblers (1)
Ship Cost: 6 Loadout: (6/8) Half Points: 3 Damage Threshold: 3
“Blackout” – TIE/vn Silencer (6)
Elusive (4)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Sensor Scramblers (1)
Proton Rockets (6)
Ship Cost: 6 Loadout: (16/17) Half Points: 3 Damage Threshold: 3
“Recoil” – TIE/vn Silencer (5)
Marksmanship (2)
Sensor Scramblers (1)
Proton Rockets (6)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (9/9) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 3
“Static” – TIE/fo Fighter (3)
Marksmanship (2)
Composure (1)
Heavy Laser Cannon (5)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (8/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 2
Total: 20
Now this was an odd game. Josh’s approach was not as fast as he might normally have done with Kylo going in full flank mode.
Being slight concerned about Hera being locked in between 2 rocks I rolled her right which, unfortunately put her on the middle rock. However, things also didn’t work out for Josh as Kylo’s boost failed to fit meaning that Blackout smashed into the side of him and prevented him getting the focus token needed to fire the Prockets.
What followed was an absolute dicing as I repeatedly rolled full paint with my red dice and Josh’s greens blanked time and time again.
Recoil went down first, followed in turn 3 by Static. Turn 4 saw the end of Blackout AND Kylo and it was only a few minutes after the game ended that we remembered it was Chance and Josh had earned half points on Jan.
It was absolutely brutal.
Result: 24 – 4 win
Mini conclusion…
As much as Josh and I have played each other enough that I’m now playing the player more than the list, the score was not a fair reflection on the game. It was one of those where things fell my way and even the mistake with Hera, landing on the rock, went spectacularly unpunished while Josh’s ships simply exploded any time I pointed at them.
A strong showing by my list but nothing to get too carried away with. A perfect storm of a game, really.
We broke for lunch (I had a chicken burger and chips. Inexpensive and delicious!) while we waited for the next round to be drawn…
Game 3 – Rebecca Westwood
So, as was kind of expected, with 10 players, we had hit round 3 and only had two unbeaten players so it was reasonably obvious that Rebecca was my next game.
She had been flying Sam Cooper’s Cornish Nationals winning CIS list:
Geonosian Prototype – HMP Droid Gunship (3)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Kraken (6)
Repulsorlift Stabilizers (0)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (8/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 4
Geonosian Prototype – HMP Droid Gunship (3)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Synced Laser Cannons (6)
Repulsorlift Stabilizers (0)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (8/8) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 4
DFS-311 – Vulture-class Droid Fighter (2)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Grappling Struts (0)
Ship Cost: 2 Loadout: (2/2) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 1
Haor Chall Prototype – Vulture-class Droid Fighter (2)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Grappling Struts (0)
Ship Cost: 2 Loadout: (2/2) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 1
Haor Chall Prototype – Vulture-class Droid Fighter (2)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Grappling Struts (0)
Ship Cost: 2 Loadout: (2/2) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 1
Trade Federation Drone – Vulture-class Droid Fighter (2)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Grappling Struts (0)
Ship Cost: 2 Loadout: (2/5) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 1
Trade Federation Drone – Vulture-class Droid Fighter (2)
Energy-Shell Charges (2)
Grappling Struts (0)
Ship Cost: 2 Loadout: (2/5) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 1
Cad Bane – Rogue-class Starfighter (4)
Proton Cannons (5)
Engine Upgrade (3)
Xanadu Blood (0)
DRK-1 Probe Droids (5)
Ship Cost: 4 Loadout: (13/13) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 3
Total: 20
We chatted while setting up and Rebecca sounded a little nervous of this game but I felt like her list was going to be hard for me to get the better of.
Firstly, we were playing Salvage. My list needs its actions. Sure, Jan can store up some tokens and collect and maybe Luke can forgo a lock to pick up but I was going to need to try and rely on destruction here and it would have to be fast.
Secondly, droids always seem to take that one extra turn to kill than you expect. My list has firepower, sure but when playing against Steve with this list a few weeks ago I also know that getting Energy Shelled to death is a very real possibility.
I’m reasonably happy with the opening as I get the chance to Traj Sim a seismic onto what could be a couple of ships.
However, the next turn ends up being VERY decisive. Rebecca sends a box carrying droid right down the throat of my list and my choice to 2 bank instead of 1 straight with Wedge costs me dearly.
The droid shells Wedge and halves the T-65 while I can’t shoot it in return. It then goes on to survive the rest of the game, scoring 4 points on its own. Rebecca also has 3 other boxes while I have none and although I kill one of the ships by the end of the turn, 2 – 3 down quickly turns to 6 – 11 down as Rebecca’s low initiative ships nip in and pick up boxes before me and then Wedge is taken out.
I go on to kill THREE more ships without loss in return but Rebecca’s box picking tactics and then splitting away mean that I’m unable to catch up as at one point she’s holding 4 boxes to my 1 and I’m unable to get enough shots where they’re needed with Luke having chased off a single droid.
Result: 16 – 20 loss
Mini conclusion…
A tough one, this. Rebecca’s bold 5 straight with a droid in turn 2 and my choice to bank and not 1 straight with Wedge effectively decided the game VERY early. Had I done the 1 straight I think there’s a decent chance I straight up kill that droid, score 2 points and prevent Rebecca scoring 4 with it in total. Still, hindsight is always 20/20! Rebecca played this one out very well and deserved the win. Very well tactically played!
Game 4 – Ben Saunders
So, despite now being 2 – 1 it was still technically possible to come top if I could win my game and if Rebecca lost. Jsut the small matter of Ben Saunders for me to deal with first…..
Now Iw as back to facing a list that I’d not flown against before with Ben sporting some of the Standard Loadout pilots.
Lieutenant Karsabi (SL) – Alpha-Class Star Wing (6)
Proton Torpedoes (0)
Saturation Rockets (SL) (0)
Electronic Baffle (0)
Ship Cost: 6 Loadout: (0) Half Points: 3 Damage Threshold: 3
Darth Vader – TIE Advanced x1 (6)
Brilliant Evasion (2)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (8)
Ship Cost: 6 Loadout: (12/12) Half Points: 3 Damage Threshold: 2
Colonel Jendon – Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle (5)
Emperor Palpatine (12)
Targeting Computer (1)
Ship Cost: 5 Loadout: (13/13) Half Points: 2 Damage Threshold: 5
Scythe 6 (BoE) – TIE/ln Fighter (3)
No Escape (BoE) (0)
Predator (0)
Ion Maneuvering Jet (BoE) (0)
Targeting Matrix (BoE) (0)
Ship Cost: 3 Loadout: (0) Half Points: 1 Damage Threshold: 2
Total: 20
I will put my hands up here, mistakes were made and I got absolutely mugged by a brilliant play from Ben in turn 2.
From this point here I’m ready to Traj Sim and focus down on either Karsabi or Vader when they come in to the middle. Ben swings Karsabi a 3 bank AWAY and SLAMs a 3 hard back in to arc dodge me completely. Vader goes straight, banks and afterburners boost and rolls away. I end up losing Hera but my decision to go straight and not bank with Hera means I’ve only got 3 shots into Vader and he lives on 1 hull.
With Vader disengaging I start on the Lambda but Wedge falls next as the shuttle rolls full paint into him at range 1.
The following turn Luke banks out to take on the re-engaging Vader. Vader dies but not before taking a chunk out of Luke. Jan fails to take the last damage needed to kill the shuttle and the ‘should be dead’ shuttle kills Luke to end the game.
Result: 11 – 23 loss
Mini conclusion…
Oh boy. I said to Ben after the game that it felt an AWFUL lot closer than the score line indicates. Had Vader taken that 1 extra hit and died in turn 2 then it’s a very different game from there. Still, after what I did to Josh I probably deserve it.
The conclusion…
Well, a strong start and a rather less strong afternoon!
Looking back at the games I think that there’s definitely choices that I made which contributed to my downfall. I the game with Rebecca I sent Luke after a droid which, while he killed it and score 2 points and prevented another 2, took him out of the main engagement for too long. Would it have been better to keep him in the middle? Maybe but I guess we’ll never know now!
In Ben’s game I was outclassed by a great engagement and while I always felt like I was in the game, the score ran away from me all too quickly and a full health Karsabi was ready to torp my remaining ships had we not hit the 20 points.
How do I feel about my list? Well, pretty good actually. No one part of it is overly crucial to how the list runs so there’s no danger of losing a lynchpin and falling apart. It’s easy to fly, my biggest issue seems to be self bombing! I’d consider testing Fenn Rau in the Fang instead of either Luke or Wedge perhaps, just to see how that feels. I’d also consider a different loadout of Hera as there’s a huge amount of loadout points invested in the trajectory simulator gimmick. It did some damage but is it worth 13 points? Maybe I could look at double tapping with a cannon instead.
Still, it held its own and was fun. What’s not to like about that!
I ended up being the top 2-2 player leaving me in 4th place overall. What’s odd is that I actually played all 3 players above me! I’d say that gave me a strong SoS (JARGON ALERT!!) but Mark opted to Victory Points as the tiebreaker so I can’t tell!
If you’d like to see the standings and check out the other lists then the Longshanks link is here.
Overall it was a really good, fun day. Even though we only had 10 players we still had 6 factions represented (Republic were absent) which, along with the great mix of ships we’ve not seen used for a while (shout out to Dan Barringer for running TRIPLE IGs!) shows just how great it’s been having the new XWA points.
We had some nice feedback about the venue as well which, with reasonably priced food, free parking all day right outside and easy to get to has definitely cemented it as our choice of location foe next year’s Welsh Open.
An announcement…
It’s not really an understatement to say I’ve been busy recently. Well, the last 18 months or so really since my job role changed a bit.
When I took on the role of Organised Play Prize Lead in the XWA I was under no illusion that it would be easy or straightforward but in all honesty it has taken far more of my time and head space than I’d anticipated.
2025 is a big year for X-Wing. The last official Worlds at Adepticon in March will see AMG signing off (as far as we know at least!!) from any kind of X-Wing support and the X-Wing Alliance will be prepped and ready to pick the game up and see it continue as a community run effort.
Part of this support from the XWA will be to provide tournament organisers with various kits to help them to continue running events and develop the local communities.
There will also be bigger events held regionally and, if all goes as we’d like it to, more world championship events in the future.
Grand plans, right?
My role in all this will be the organising of the prizes and the contents of the kits that players will see at these events and, as anyone working in projects, planning or logistics will know, getting things like this ready starts WAAAAY ahead.
I’ve recently had a meeting with Tim King (XWA’s head of OP) about the future plans and the long and short of it is that planning starts now. Ok, maybe not, like RIGHT now but very soon indeed. I’m not really at liberty to divulge full timelines but if we want kits to be ready and available to order when planned then the work starts really soon.
Why am I saying all this? Well, I may need to take a little break.
With work being different than it used to be and Christmas right around the corner I need to figure out the balance of family/work/hobby and still keep some semblance of sanity.
So, my plan at the moment is to take December off blogging.
I really don’t want to for many reasons but now that the Newport tournament is done and the only thing between now and the Sith Taker Open is something fun we’re running at Christmas I feel like now is the right time to put focus onto the XWA work.
I will definitely be back in January and let’s face it, if something cool happens between now and then I’ll likely break ranks and write about it anyway!
So, thanks for taking the time to read this post. I appreciate you all and I’ll be back soon enough!
The outro…
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, I hope you’ve enjoyed it! If you’d like to support me in continuing my X-Wing blogging adventure there are a few ways you can do that.
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