Star Wars X-Wing Repaint

My friends and I started a Star Wars X-Wing Heroes of the Aturi Cluster last Friday.  It became apparent almost immediately that we were going to lose track of which X-Wing was which.  To fix this, I decided to paint up one of my T-70 X-Wings.  Ignore the base.  I realize it's from the wrong ship.  I just grabbed a random base.

We all start out with the older T-65s, but my plan is to upgrade to a T-70 as soon as possible.  The progression will go something like this...

• Start out with a T-65 and 5 XP in the bank.
• (4 XP left) Spend 1 XP for an R2 Astromech.
• (2 XP left) Spend 2 XP for Vectored Thrusters.
• (4 XP needed) Spend 6 XP to upgrade to PS3.
• (7 XP needed) Spend 3 XP for Push the Limit.
• (15 XP needed) Spend 8 XP to upgrade to PS4.
• (20 XP needed) Spend 5 XP to upgrade to a T-70 X-Wing, gaining a better maneuver dial, a boost action and an extra shield.
• (22 XP needed) Spend 2 XP for a Pattern Analyzer.

It'll take a total of 22 XP to get to where I want to be.  After out intro mission, I have the original 5 XP I started with plus an extra 5 XP.  That means I have the R2 Astromech, the Vectored Thrusters and I'm at PS3.

The goal is to have a ship with the durability and firepower of an X-Wing combined with the maneuverability of a TIE Interceptor.  I'll have one open Modification slot as well as an open Torpedo slot.  My thought process for the rest of the campaign is as follows...

• (25 XP needed) Spend 3 XP for a Stealth Device.
• (35 XP needed) Spend 10 XP to upgrade to PS5.
• (38 XP needed) Spend 3 XP for Predator.
• (50 XP needed) Spend 12 XP to upgrade to PS6.
• (54 XP needed) Spend 4 XP for Shield Upgrade.
• etc.

It's going to take a bunch of weeks to get where I want to be, but I think this is my clear progression.

Heroes of the Aturi Cluster - Solo Play Test

I'm home sick right now.  Should I rest up?  Nope.  Sounds like a good time to try the fan made Star Wars X-Wing campaing, the Heroes of Aturi Cluster.  Quick verdict is that this is going to be great.

The campaign comes with an intro mission called Local Trouble.  It's designed to let the players get a couple of XP and to get used to the mechanics.  Each mission comes with a bit of story, a deployment map, victory conditions and special rules.  It might be hard to see in the image below, but the deployment map is broken into range 1 squares.  This lets you know exactly where to place things.  In the game I played, two TIE Fighters were deployed, one at each of the blue dots on the north end of the map.  I deployed in the red band.  Then, game play starts "as normal".

This is what my initial deployment looked like.  I'm the X-Wing in the corner, with my two opponents across the map.  If I'm alive at the end of Round 10, I win.  If not, the Empire wins.

In the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster, the Empire always has initiative.  The game work as normal in that the game round is identical.  You choose a maneuver and then ships activate in initiative order, followed by shooting.  The major difference is that there is obviously no Empire player.

Instead of setting a dial, an Imperial shop rolls on a special table when its turn to activate comes around...

Each ship picks a target using the "Select Target" logic.  It's different for every ship.  Then you roll off to select a maneuver.  Depending on which direction the target is, you roll on a different table above.  Red band if the ship is at Range 1 or Range 2 and coming towards the TIE.  Green band if the ship is at Range 3 or Range 2 and moving away from the TIE.  The card then tells you what action to pick.  Attacks happen as normal during the combat phase.

I was a little hesitant about whether or not this would work.  It does.  It overwhelmingly does.  The AI is pretty brutal.  I played twice.  The first time, they murdered me...

The second time through, I killed a TIE with a really solid single shot.  I wounded a second before an Interceptor flew onto the board behind me and took me out...

I ended up losing the mission, but gained 3XP in the process.  Because I died, I had to roll on an Eject Table, losing one of my upgrades in the process.  It was a net loss of 1 squad point.  Realistically, in a campaign situation, I would have just flown off the table, kept my upgrade and kept the 3XP.

This is super fun.  If you play X-Wing, try it out ASAP.

Star Wars X-Wing... Heroes of Aturi Cluster

If you like Star Wars X-Wing even a little, check this out immediately.  That is all...

http://dockingbay416.com/campaign/

Scum Fleet Painted

I got a little bored tonight and cracked out the old paint set.  I've been enjoying flying a Scum fleet consisting of a Protectorate Fighter, 2x Quadjumpers and 2x Z-95s.  Since it's likely that I'll be using the same list (or close to it) for awhile, I decided to give them all a consistent paint job.  The pictures aren't the best, but here they are...

The list is currently 98 points, so I definitely have a little wiggle room.

Fenn Rau [Push the Limit, Concord Dawn Protector, Autothrusters] (34)
Jakku Gunrunner [Ketsu Onyo, Pattern Analyzer, Spacetug Tractor Array] (20)
Jakku Gunrunner [Intelligence Agent, Pattern Analyzer, Spacetug Tractor Array] (20)
Binayre Pirate (12)
Binayre Pirate (12)

Star Wars X-Wing Wave XI Pics

That TIE Aggressor is so pretty.  Hopefully, FFG will put up better pics soon.  I can't make out any of the upgrades.  Based on the tokens, it doesn't look like we'll see anything new.

The TIE Aggressor is pretty, but currently mysterious.  At two attack, two defense, four hull and one shield, it looks like a more than average durability TIE.  The basic pilot is PS2 for 17 points, so it's also fairly cheap.  I'm seeing focus, target lock and barrel roll actions, which again seems expected.  The upgrades are hard to see, but I can tell that it has two of the same icons and at least one card that uses both of those icons.  That's new, but again, not surprising or complicated.

The Rebel ship is a little goofy looking.  It seems to have a new action called Reinforce.  No idea what that does.  Shield regeneration?  Hopefully, we'll see something soon from FFG.

Star Wars X-Wing Tugboat List

I am committed to making the Quadjumper work.  I spent a while debating and planning and reading forums and eventually came up with this...

• Protectorate Starfighter - Fenn Rau (35)
• Expertise, Concord Dawn Protector, Autothrusters
• Quadjumper #1 - Jakku Gunrunner (20)
• Ketsu Onyo, Pattern Analyzer, Spacetug Tractor Array
• Quadjumper #2 - Jakku Gunrunner (20)
• Intelligence Agent, Pattern Analyzer, Spacetug Tractor Array
• Z-95 Headhunter #1 - Binayre Pirate (12)
• Z-95 Headhunter #2 - Binayre Pirate (12)

The Quadjumpers are there mainly to apply tractor beam tokens and lower an opponent's agility.  The Intelligence Agent lets me know where my target is going and Ketsu makes sure whatever tractor beam tokens I apply stick around.  The Z-95s are amazing, with only 2 dice for attacking, but they're A LOT better when they're attacking something with no defense dice.  That's a consistent 1-2 damage per attack at range 1.

Fenn is a trap.  I realize that I'll probably lose him first.  Hopefully, he takes someone out before he's gone.

I ended up playing two games against my buddy Vaughn.  He's VERY new to the game, so I'm not sure it's a fair test, but I ended up winning both games versus the Finn in a Falcon/Poe list from the recent X-Wing 101 Rebel article on FFG's website.  I'm looking forward to playing some more.

Star Wars X-Wing Tournament

On 2/12, I played in a Star Wars X-Wing tournament.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know.  I waited forever to post about it.  This was also the first game of X-Wing I've played in almost a year, so prepare to be underwhelmed by my performance.

I played the following list...

100 points

Pilots
------

Fenn Rau (34)
Protectorate Starfighter (28), Push the Limit (3), Concord Dawn Protector (1), Autothrusters (2)

Jakku Gunrunner (17)
Quadjumper (15), Spacetug Tractor Array (2)

Ketsu Onyo (49)
Lancer-class Pursuit Craft (38), Push the Limit (3), K4 Security Droid (3), Shadow Caster (3), Gyroscopic Targeting (2)

I really wanted to try out the Quadjumper.  I think it's a cool concept that it can fly backwards and throw small ships into asteroids and debris fields.  In practice, my concept didn't work well.  Fenn Rau dies to one solid hit.  The Quadjumper can take two hits, but moves slow enough that it's hard to get it into position.  The Lancer-class is pretty solid, but can't survive on it's own.

Even though I lost literally every game, I actually got ALL the prizes.  Everyone who played got a copy of alternate artwork Veteran Instincts and Swarm Tactics.  Then, the first player got a Ketsu Onyo alternate artwork card.  I was obviously not the first player, but the winner came over to me afterwards, told me he didn't need it and offered it in trade for a couple of upgrade cards he didn't have.  I had multiples, so that was an easy decision.  For the acrylic Tractor Beam tokens, we all rolled off.  I won that roll.  Pretty cool loot haul considering I came in dead last.

Here are a couple of glamour shots from different games.  I love these mats.  Makes the game so much nicer.

Star Wars X-Wing - Quadjumper Expansion

I'm super giddy about Star Wars right now.  I'll be heading to my local gaming store after work tonight to pick up my box of Star Wars Destiny boosters.  I'll also be picking up a Rey starter if they have one available.  I'm assuming that they will.  Then again, FFG can be a little spotty when it comes to initial supply for popular new products.

Today I'll be talking about the upcoming Quadjumper for X-Wing.

As per normal, the ship comes with a ton of bits and pieces.  There are the normal four pilot cards plus eight other upgrade cards, one of which is one of the new Condition cards.  I'll show that in a bit.

The ship itself looks pretty cool.  It's essentially a space tug boat.  Huge engines and a small cockpit.  I really dig the style...

The ship has some cool upgrades.  It includes a new Condition card which is just going to make it much easier to hurt one of your opponent's ships.

There are also some other good upgrades.  The Scavenger Crane is going to be really nice for those ships that like to get in close and blow up ships with secondary weapons.  I'm really more interested in the Spacetug Tractor Array.  I can see a couple of Quadjumpers equipped with these and some bombs or rigged cargo chutes making for some fun shenanigans.  It would be fun to just slam your opponent's ships around.

The ship itself is actually pretty solid.  Obviously the fancier versions have more abilities and a better pilot skill, but the core isn't bad.  No shields, but five hull is actually pretty solid.  The ship doesn't have much in the way of basic attack or action bar abilities, but it's cheap and a good platform for upgrades.

I'm definitely picking up one or two when these come out.

Now, if tonight could just come so I could get my hands on some Star Wars Destiny.

Star Wars X-Wing

I ended up going to Showcase Comics in Swarthmore, PA on Friday evening and played some Star Wars X-Wing.  I really like the game, but find it hard to get more than a handful of games in here and there.  To make life easier, I picked up one of FFG's 3'x3' "mouse pad" style maps.

I picked up the one on the right.  It's supposed to be Bespin.  The left one is nice, but EVERYONE buys that one.  Now I can have people over and play on my kitchen table.  I guess I always could, but now it's a little easier.

I brought my buddy Todd along.  He's played X-Wing a couple of times, but only owns the original core set plus an IG-2000.  I ended up loaning him a few extra TIE Fighters and he flew four TIE Fighters and the Aggressor.  I realize that's not a legal list as it mixes Imperial and Scum, but it's what he had and we were playing to learn the rules.

I flew Fenn Rau, Talonbane Cobra and Zuckuss.  I didn't like Zuckuss at all and swapped him out for the second game.  I can't remember what I swapped him out for, so it must not have been very good.

I also picked up a YT-2400 before leaving.  I've always liked the ship and want to try out some Rebel options.  I've never actually seen anyone fly the YT-2400.  I know it's not great for the tournament meta, but I'm more interested in casual gaming, so that's cool.

I'm going to toy around with my iPad and see if I can come up with a cool list to use.  Showcase has a pretty big Tuesday crew.  I might give it a shot in a couple of weeks.  Tomorrow is Election Day and we're having a party to either celebrate or mourn the election results, depending on how things go.

Star Wars X-Wing - TIE Phantom

I'm going to be playing some X-Wing tonight.  I haven't completely decided what list I'm going to play, but I really want to try out the TIE Phantom.  It's a pretty cool looking ship and I'm intrigued by the cloak/decloak mechanism.

My plan is to use "Echo".  When he decloaks, he uses the '2' bank template instead of the straight template.  This gives him a wider variety of potential locations to start his maneuver from after a decloak.

FFG's site has a couple of potential builds.  They describe one as a defensive build and the other as more of an aggressive build.  I'm considering taking the more aggressive build and adding a large ship to give my opponent something to shoot at.  Echo would come in for the kill with a 5 dice attack.

Defensive Build

Aggressive Build

I'm torn on what to add.  I'd love for Boba Fett to get in on the action since it's such a cool looking ship, but I think it's just not very good.  I'm going to give it some more thought.  I'll post my thoughts about how things go later.

X-Wing Alternate Art Cards

Super quick post...

I'm working on some alternate artwork X-Wing and Armada cards.  I'll be using them as giveaways for every game I play.  Should be fun.  Lots of the local communities do that here.

I'll post some as soon as I'm finished.  Here's a sample...

Star Wars X-Wing - Wave X Additions

Fantasy Flight Games just announced that they'd be adding two new ships to the tenth Wave of Star Wars X-Wing releases.  These two ships are based on the upcoming Rogue One movie.  In a shockingly original naming convention, the Rebel ship is called a U-Wing.  I'm assuming that the Rebellion can only field 26 different types of ships.  We have A-Wings, B-Wings, E-Wings, K-Wings, X-Wings, etc.  I supposed we could have accents.  Maybe an Ä-Wing is better engineered than an A-Wing?  It would be nice to have more variety.  The Imperial ship is yet another TIE variant.  This one is called the Striker.

The U-Wing looks pretty cool.  It has these giant swept back wings that actually sweep forward also and form the U shape the ship is named for.  I'm really hoping that the model has the ability for the wings to move.  X-Wing ships are usually pretty static, but the Lamba-class has moving wing, so it's possible.

I was a little surprised to see that the ship is mounted on a large ship base.  It looks like a star fighter.  It looks like it could easily fit on a smaller base.  Then again, it has better than average stats for a fighter.  It has 4 hull points as well as 4 shields.  The single agility won't keep this around forever though.

The ship does have two crew slots, presumably to accommodate the two new crew cards included in the set.

I think Jyn Erso is the main character for Rogue One.  At least, that's what the trailer makes us think.  Cassian is the dude standing in the background of most of the scenes Jyn is is, so he's probably the side kick.  Jyn can load ships up with focus tokens while Cassian is going to be great if you're good at guessing what your opponent is going to do.  Honestly, if Cassian was on the field, I'd probably pick my second best move every time to make his guessing game harder.

The Imperial ship is the Tie Striker.  Billed as a predominantly atmosphere based fighter, the Striker has a silhouette that makes you think it might understand the concept of aerodynamic, while still remaining firmly in the TIE family.

The TIE Striker has 4 hull points and no shields, making it somewhat durable...  for a TIE.  This ship has a Striker only Title available called Adaptive Ailerons.  If you take this Title, you are able to perform what is essentially a boost action immediately before revealing your maneuver dial.  At least two of the pilot cards have a skill of 6 or better, allowing an Elite upgrade.  I'm thinking this ship would be insane in terms of maneuverability with Push The Limit and Engine Upgrade.

Think about it.  The pilot skill 8 card...  a unique pilot named "Duchess"...  can boost, maneuver, and then barrel roll and boost again, in either order.  Of course, the Adaptive Ailerons title only works if you're not stressed, so you wouldn't be able to do this every turn.  I'm sure there are better combinations, but I can't think of another ship that could literally cover have the board in one movement phase.  You can see below an example of this ship arc dodging its way out of the X-Wing's path and into a perfect firing arc.

Overall, I'm pretty excited about the new ships.  I've never really been into Star Wars video or computer games, so I simply don't recognize the majority of the ships that are released for this game.  TIE Fighters...  sure.  TIE Punishers?  TIE Defenders?  TIE Phantoms?  Not so much.  They look cool, but don't have the same impact as a ship you've seen dog fighting on the big screen.

Depending on its upgrade cards (I see 14 in the picture above!), I might pick up a U-Wing.  I WILL be picking up one or two Strikers.  They're just too cool looking and I'm a predominantly Imperial player.