My friends and I met to play some Imperial Assault a couple of nights ago only to find that I'd stupidly not brought any of the rule books... including the campaign book with all the missions. As such, we weren't able to continue the campaign we'd started. Instead, we played a couple of the expansion pack missions.
Now, to preface this, I've lost 5 missions in a row and won none at this point.
This first mission we played went just like the last 5. I felt frustrated and at a loss as to what I was supposed to do. I deployed my guys. I shot at the Rebels. I did Imperial things. None of it mattered. Afterwards, we talked about what went wrong. The Rebels had to get down a corridor and open a door to progress a mission. Instead of blocking that corridor, I basically did this...
I tried shooting at them and spread my troops out a bit too much. I should have just bunched up and forced them to burn a few turns dealing with me... which is exactly what I did in the second mission. Now, the second mission arguably favored the Empire, but I still had a solid victory. It took me six losses before I had a single victory.
The huge take away is something I should have realized. I'm constantly telling the players that they need to play the mission. I also need to play the mission. If the mission progresses when a door opens, protect that door and clog the hallway with Stormtroopers. If terminals need to be activated, stack up on one or two and defend it. If the Rebels need to kill a specific model, have him run and hide. Use double movements and try to block line of sight as much as possible. Most of these missions have a time deadline. Forcing the Rebels (or Empire depending on the mission) to waste time greatly increases your chance of victory.
I think I'll do much better next game.
