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Erik Setzer
03-29-2015, 09:21 PM
I'm likely going to branch out into non-GW games again soon, and X-Wing has always had my interest as I love Star Wars and the X-Wing series of novels by Stackpole and Alstone (RIP, pal) were pretty much my absolute favorites. I have the core box and I've just dragged out the quick-start and full rules to read over the next day or two, will probably set up for a test game against myself on my table.

I'm considering jumping into the third faction, the wonderful bounty hunters and smugglers and all who don't care about the war and just want to do their own thing. It's got ships like Slave 1, IG-2000, and a bunch of other fun stuff. Then I might go Rebels later, but very much thinking "Scum and Villainy" sounds like fun. (Also, the other people I know are likely going to go Rebels and Imps.)

Is there any advice you all can give to a new X-Wing player, and especially with that particular faction?

energongoodie
03-30-2015, 12:50 AM
I's tough to go wrong with a firespray. There are great builds with both Emon Azzamean dropping bombs all over the place. The other pilots are also good and there's Bobba of course.
I'd start a scum list with a firespray definitely and if you fancy doing tournaments...get 2!

Mr Mystery
03-30-2015, 09:50 AM
Fly it like you stole it!

Defy your opponents predictions by having no idea what you're doing!

Has worked for me so far!

Erik Setzer
03-30-2015, 10:14 AM
Well, that was pretty much how I won a 40K tournament, so might as well.

What's the usual points value for a game? Rulebook suggests 100. I can throw a Firespray (Emon), an Agressor (with any of the IG-88's), and a StarViper (Black Sun Vigo) in there. Or swap out one for some fighters and/or upgrades. The Most Wanted Pack has a Y-Wing and two Z-95s. Heck, Emon, two Black Sun Soldiers in Z-95s, and Drea Renthal (the middle option for Y-Wing in this army builder program I have) is 84 points, which only leaves 16 for options (or another Z-95). That'd only be just a touch over $50 from Amazon (Most Wanted and Slave 1). I can add IG-2000, a Starviper, and an M3-A Interceptor, and it'll come to $102, which would let me go with 150-200 points (would have to go with elite pilots and some addons to get to 200).

Is that a solid starting point? (I'd have to break it into two waves, but thankfully I still have a $50 Amazon gift card from my birthday.)

Deadlift
03-30-2015, 10:25 AM
To begin playing, you will need at least 1 core set. Most people buy two. This gives you the rule books and all the items you will need to play the game, like templates, damage cards, dice and meteors etc. That will also give you 4 tie fighters and 2 x-wings, not the sexiest ships but to learn the game mechanics they are great. 100 pts is the size of most games, especially in tournaments. Once you have the stuff you will need then you will branch out and pick a faction. Looks like your into the villainy stuff which I've not played but looks pretty nice.

Edit....oops read you op properly. You have the core set.......then start playing like a bounty hunter and have fun. I have 2 fires sprays, imperial ones but the are great. I repainted mine as well. Lots of fun dropping mines all over the place.

Erik Setzer
03-30-2015, 10:49 AM
I think the only change to the Firespray is some additional cards in the Most Wanted pack, but you still have to buy Slave 1, which is just under $25 on Amazon. Seems that's a must-have pack for the Scum and Villainy group (is that actually the official title for the faction?).

I'm surprised there aren't options for other YT-2400 pilots. I'd say YT-1300, but the only one of those available is the Millennium Falcon, and it's a distinct ship (IIRC, they modified the sensor array, among other things, so the profile isn't the same as a standard YT-1300, whereas all of Slave 1's mods are under the skin). As it is, I have to get Rebel fighters (and a light freighter) for about half the options in the faction... and since the cards for them will be in Most Wanted, yeah, looks like that's the pack for me.

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Good point on the second boxed set, though. I was looking at more dice and maybe some extra counters, but it'd be most cost-effective to just get a second starter box. Throw in an X-Wing and TIE Fighter add-on and it'll be three X-Wings and five TIE Fighters with plenty of options for how to run them, decent core for Rebel and Imp factions down the line.

Brenlak
03-30-2015, 03:34 PM
Is there any advice you all can give to a new X-Wing player, and especially with that particular faction?

The way I see it (And I'm crazy as a road lizard) Most Wanted tells you everything you need. It includes dials for a Y-wing a HWK-290 and a Firespray (That's in addition to the dials provided for the included ships) so in addition to Most Wanted I would get those three ships.

I have always loved the Y-Wing because of their turret weapon and Kavil uses it like a boss
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The Rebels use the HWK-290 as a support ship, Scum use it as a denial ship!
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The Firespray has been covered already but my bets on Fett's Vette!
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On top of that the ships themselves will have cards for the relevant faction so it will be growing your other two factions, heck even if you plan to NEVER play those brave men and women of the Imperial Navy a Firespray will give you these:
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That you can use with this:
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Of course that's just the bare bones your gonna want a Star Viper or four and some Interceptors, and don't forget the galaxy's most maniacal metal menace...
Ig-88 (I'm serious this droid is insane!!!)

A second starter box is always a solid buy more asteroids means more fun!! And though it hasn't happened yet I know I'm going to lose a template or two.

As far as options for other ships I bet my bottom doughnut there will be repaints released as new sets (Just like Imperial Aces and the rebelly one) as well as some iconic Scum (I'm holding on for a Hounds Tooth)!

Mr Mystery
03-30-2015, 03:37 PM
Hounds Tooth and Punishing One are coming to Armada, so see a safe bet for X-Wing too.

Brenlak
03-30-2015, 04:39 PM
Someone couldn't wait...
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Erik Setzer
03-30-2015, 07:06 PM
I took the plunge when I got home tonight... Got one of everything relevant: Mosted Wanted, Slave 1, IG-2000, HWK-290, Starviper, M3-A. I looked at some stuff online and I like the shenanigans you can pull with these guys, like the one HWK-290 pilot that can steal Focus from a nearby enemy. I'll have about 150-200 points depending on loadout, plenty of variety to select for a match, but I'll have to wait to read all the cards to figure out how to load out ships to try to build lists. I have an army builder on my Kindle, but I have no idea what all the options mean, so it's not helping more than give me a general idea.

I think X-Wing is going to give me a much-needed change of pace from GW games. First off, I was able to get all of these ships (even if you take out the gift card) for less than I spent on a Bloodthirster. I also don't have to paint them, and after recently painting 7000 points of Undead, I'd like to take a bit of a break from that (though I'll probably do some repainting of ships later for my own preferences). And the last few games of WFB and 40K I've played have been ridiculously brutal affairs, where I think I've been completely wiped out in four turns or less in every match (one of them might have taken five turns... and the first three hours I had to put up with my opponent whining he was going to lose before he slaughtered me). In each case, I felt helpless and just felt drained at the end. Even the End Times mega-battle on Saturday that I thought would make me feel pumped ended with me feeling annoyed at rules-lawyering, some stuff that didn't feel cinematic at all, and so much boredom. I don't mind losing, but I'd like it to be fun. X-Wing seems like every match is cinematic, and every faction has crazy tricks, and even if I lose I can still pull off some fun crazy stuff that at least feels like I'm doing something interesting.

Sorry, didn't mean for that to come off sounding like GW-bashing. Without ranting on too much longer, it's been a rough few weeks of work having to bust my butt on major projects with emergencies everywhere and doing basically three jobs at once, and on the weekends I want to have some fun but it's just been getting my face caved in with games that didn't feel remotely interesting at the end (only one was really any kind of fun, and that wasn't the game so much as the verbal sparring with my opponent, who's a good friend and actually asked if I took offense to any of it, which was a bit silly as I gave back as good as I got).

So I think X-Wing is right up my alley, and will be my return to branching out in gaming. And Scum and Villainy sounds like a faction where even if I lose, I can have some hilarious fun!

Thanks for the help so far guys, I'll probably have more questions, especially when my stuff arrives on Thursday.

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Oh yeah, I also saw that I can make a 100 point force with Wedge, Wes, and Tycho (with a few boosts to their vehicles). That might not be the most effective force, but I totally want to do it, because of my aforementioned love for the X-Wing novels (where those guys formed the leading trio of Rogue Squadron).

Brenlak
03-30-2015, 09:05 PM
ugh, I still have nightmares about facing off against a wedge with R2-D2 right out of the box, he would get my TIE-Fighters every time.

I have been spending my GW monies on X-Wing too, I have way more friends that are receptive to playing this type of game over a GW, its way more affordable, and no need for all the paint and terrain. Plus whens the last time you played 40K and didn't spend a significant amount of time page flipping to clarify rules?

X-Wing is simple enough to get into, but challenging enough to keep you into it. With each new wave of models the game changes, hell no one runs blocks of six TIE-Fighters anymore, we have Echo!

Yeah and I can't wait to try out the ScumHWK! With a turret on it you should be able to make use of their unique actions and still get a shot off, pew pew!

Erik Setzer
04-01-2015, 05:22 PM
Got in my ships today. So my next question is: Transport? Any recommendations?

I have a Plano case that was going to be used for HO slot cars (still had some in it, not sure if they work), but it's a bit larger than I think I'd need considering so far I have eight ships, eleven if you count the starter set (two of them being slightly larger, with Slave 1 and IG-2000).

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Oh, and I see how many options it has to play with. Like I said, just eight ships, but a nice stack of ship cards and lots of add-on cards. I'll have to spend some serious time looking through them all to figure out some good options.

Deadlift
04-01-2015, 05:31 PM
I really like the Plano cases, I have a couple. One big one for everything and a smaller one for going out and aboot (I'm in Canada now).

Erik Setzer
04-01-2015, 10:00 PM
The one I'm using "folds" in, and when you open the top you can pull out three stacked trays to either side, with an area under them. Seems to fit the smaller ships fine, but Slave 1 and IG-2000 might not fit in the bottom. Not sure yet. I think a slightly smaller one would work for now. I'll probably want one with room for some foam to hold them later, because I think after I get more ships, I'll repaint some to do my own "fleet" of rapscallions and vandals.

Erik Setzer
04-02-2015, 06:02 PM
I was just flipping through the ships I have and all the upgrade cards from the various packs and boxes, threw together my first "S&G" 100 point list:

Kavil (Y-Wing)
Unhinged Astromech
Autoblaster Turret
Bomb Loadout -> Proximity Mines

IG-88C (Aggressor)
Autothrusters
Ion Cannon
"Hot Shot" Blaster
Veteran Instincts

N'dru Suhlak (Z-95)
Homing Missiles
"Hot Shot" Blaster

Kavil's ability gives him +1 attack die if firing outside his arc, and the autoblaster turret is specifically designed to do that, so most of the time he'll have 3 attack dice and the opposing ship can't cancel normal damage results (but can cancel critical hits, meh). The Unhinged Astromech also lets him perform some of the faster maneuvers as green, so he'll probably be flying around quickly a lot, and I might use a Koiogran turn to flip him when needed and then remove the stress in the next turn with a long sweeping turn. I had some leftover points and that's where the bomb comes in, but it'd funny to drop that if anyone gets too close.

IG-88 has some decent defense, especially with Autothrusters. The "Hot Shot" Blaster will let him get in a solid shot if he ends up zipping past anyone (or they get behind him). An ion cannon should harm an opposing ship's ability to get around quickly, too. The Veteran Instincts was just a point to burn but also means all three pilots are 7+ skill, which is pretty handy given that Scum go *after* Imperials and Rebels when tied, so a higher skill is handy.

N'dru is pretty cheap, and he can do some serious damage up close (+1 die if no other friendly ships in Range 1-2, so he gets 3 dice normally). He can also throw out 3 (or 4) with the "Hot Shot" Blaster and do some nice damage to a pursuing ship. If someone gets in a position for him to get a target lock on them, he's got Homing Missiles, with evade tokens doing nothing for them, and that 4 dice could go up to 5 attack dice if his ability kicks in.

So the basic plan is to fly around like madmen, hit the enemy hard if they get close, run circles around them, use the bomb to try to redirect them, and have N'dru just be an annoying PITA until they deal with him (which might be a while, because the other ships are heavier and scarier, right up until someone's got 5 attack dice coming at them with no evade tokens to use).

It might not work, but it'll be a heck of a lot of fun to try out!

Mr Mystery
04-03-2015, 01:11 AM
Transport wise, currently using my GW Tool Kit plastic case.

Most ships sit in one of the slots just fine, and the three large ones work for the large ships. Bottom tray is removed to keep all the (many, many) tokens and cards I have accrued...

It's now too small! Hoping the new GW case style, which I'm getting anyway, will suffice.

Got no real issue with Battlefoam, but no need for custom stuff (which I'd likely only mess up at the design stage) if off the shelf will work for me.

Erik Setzer
04-03-2015, 07:39 AM
So far my only concern is maybe IG-2000, and perhaps the TIE fighters. The other ships are all pretty sturdy, not really any thin points. Hmm... okay, maybe the Starviper.

I was thinking the new GW cases might be good (for ships, anyway... templates and stuff, especially tokens, would need a small side case), but I'd want to buy that from the local GW store (to make sure the money flows through there to keep it open), and it just seems like it'd be awkward to say, "Yeah, I'm, uh, buying a GW case for non-GW games that I'm going to play more." He'd probably understand, considering how much I've dropped in that store.

I did notice there's plenty of tokens and cards. I do like getting extra tokens with each purchase, so you should always have plenty, and all those cards for options (different pilots or upgrades) give the game a lot of variety, but that'll be the trickiest stuff to transport. And we're well past "throw everything in Ziploc bags, that'll work" (pretty much what we did in 40K 2nd edition, except for the cards we had card cases, and come to think of it, I think those started getting used for counters, too).

Brenlak
04-08-2015, 09:44 PM
On the Tale of Gamers thread there is much talk of storage cases, gotta admit I Plano, but I don't transport my minis, just organize the components for peace of mind.

I have a friend (Lets call him the guy with his own miniatures) and he just magnetized the base (underneath you have enough room) and brings them over on a cookie sheet.

Brenlak
04-13-2015, 09:12 PM
Hey just found this if it helps.
http://us.battlefoam.com/star-wars-game-with-wave-4-foam-kit-for-the-p-a-c-k-216-bfl/