Star Wars X Wing: Highjacked Decimator

Sometimes you paint the engine glow on a new ship just in time to see your 10 year old son get inspired by that, take your new ship, run it against you and proceed to destroy you with it.

Star Wars X Wing Miniatures: Vader's "Ship-to-Ship" list

My friends are starting to play Star Wars X Wing with some frequency. While the following article on my Vader list may not be news to vets of the game, it is all news to me and my group, as we learn about squadron building in X Wing.

Since I am brave with transparency, consider this my online dream journal, where my opponents can easily read about my limited understanding of the game, what I am slowly learning and how they can exploit that with extreme prejudice. Cough.

The Force is strong with my online X Wing dream journal! Wheeee!!

Here is a basic Imperial list that I've run the last few raw dogfights with and some of my wandering thoughts about it all.

Vader's Ship-to-Ship List 100 Points (list print out supplied by the excellent and free X Wing builder by my man, Void State http://x-wing.voidstate.com)

39 points Darth Vader PS 9 2 3 3 3 Unique During your "Perform Action" step, you may perform 2 actions. Darth Vader/TIE Advanced (29) Cluster Missiles (4) – Attack [Target Lock]: Spend your Target Lock and discard this card to perform this attack twice. Attack value: 3. Range: 1-2. Swarm Tactics (2) – At the start of the combat phase, choose 1 friendly ship at Range 1. Until the end of this phase, treat the chosen ship as if its pilot skill were equal to your pilot skill. Shield Upgrade (4) – Increase your shield value by 1.

25 points Turr Phennir PS7 3 3 3 0 Unique After you perform an attack, you may perform a free boost or barrel roll action.

12 points  Academy Pilot #1 PS 1 2 3 3 0

12 points Academy Pilot #2 PS1 2 3 3 0

12 points Academy Pilot #3 PS 1 2 3 3 0

Sith Happens

Darth Vader uses Swarm Tactics each turn to have a Range 1 TIE fighter fire at PS 9 along with him. Since Swarm Tactics is not an Action, it doesn't take away from his Unique Ability and goes off as long as the range criteria is met. Since he runs in this list with 3 Academy pilots, Vader and pal should be blasting out anywhere from 4 to 6 shots before anybody else likely has a chance to shoot first.  It seems like Turr probably needs Swarm Tactics too. Turr Phennir is there as an outlier, to exploit weakened prey, flanks and anything else opportunistic that presents itself since he is so damned maneuverable. Anyway, two aces running Swarm Tactics together allows for more opportunity for TIES to take advantage of  more shots early in the game (PS 9 and PS 7) and that may equal more open space as Rebels suddenly explode on the board or provide some depth for the Imps with Swarm Tactics when one eats it. I think 2 Swarm Tactics can potentially have 3 pilots shooting at PS 9 if you line up Vader, Turr and then an Academy Pilot (anybody know if that's right?)

Vader also has Cluster Missiles and a Shield Upgrade to pump up both offense and defense. I have found Cluster Missiles are good for when Vader is mid-pack in TIE's and perhaps can't get a solid primary shot off at Range 1 but he has to make a kill-shot. Cluster Missiles are also a useful shotgun against YT's and other high shield/hull ships.

As I learn the game, it has helped to fly TIE's in formations and letting pilots like Vader and Turr do their own thing. This keeps Action-robbing bumps to a minimum, makes planning moves less baffling and lets you learn where the turns actually get your ships before you tackle more complex flight patterns later.

Range Game

In play, a Darth Vader who only sits at Range 2 might be wasted, even while the board space he yields lets his TIE's surge forward. He needs to be leading the fight point-blank and using his double Action ability each turn to best effect and then, capitalizing on whatever TIE manages to stay on his wing using  their Action for Focus or Barrel Roll on attacks. Vader should probably spam Evade and Focus, if he already has a Target Lock running. That means keeping other TIES out of his "airspace" so he can actually do Actions (by not being bumped), and 2 actions at that. This can be really hard to do with 3 or more TIE's in the mix. Opponents may tend to hunt Vader at all costs to kill him as fast as possible since they know pressuring him is a smart tactic that yields variance in Vader's choice of Actions, perhaps by him drowning in his own choices and picking wrong. Additionally, an opponent may gut Vader's buffs with some lucky Critical hits.

 It is easy to see that all upgrades reside with Vader and he still isn't indestructible. But the stickiness that comes with Vader is really what bumping or being bumped and loosing actions does to him. It neuters him like a lava flow to the groin, which is a real thing. Ask Anakin.

OH MY GOD KILL HIM!!! DO IT!!!!

The TIE Fighters or, War Squares

So, sending TIE's in to sweep the road before Vader is viable but that's why he can end up sitting out at Range 2 or 3 as the wedge of TIE's goes ahead of him. If he is not using 2 Actions to direct effect each turn and he isn't close-in, then this list isn't for you (or maybe Vader is not for you).

The above said, TIE's are really fragile, super disposable and even with Vader shepherding, don't expect TIE's to last long, so you should aim to get kills with them before they explode. X Wing is a game where the shelf life of all pilots starts running out at the drop of the puck, some faster than others. That means set them up and fly in formations Vader can hug up against and support. If you let TIE's die without them stripping shields or blasting hulls then this list may not be for you.

Back at Base, We'll Have Scones

In conclusion, this is the "tankiest" Imperial list I've played so far out of a half dozen games total and I think it is a winner but I am not sure if it is the all-comers list I am looking for. So far, this specific list is 1 Win one Loss with iterations of this list doing better in the Win bracket.

If anybody else has some tips or experience, please feel free to share. In the meantime, I will report back soon to let you all know how Old Inhaler Face is doing (that's my 9 year old son's name for Vader).

P.S. Everyone should check out Void State's Unofficial  Star Wars X Wing Miniatures Game Squadron Builder, it kicks ass. Validation, printing options with detail, point costs and card text... it even has an All Squadrons section where players share their favorite lists. It's all here, all free and just slathered in awesomesauce: http://x-wing.voidstate.com

Star Wars X Wing: Boba Fett vs. Chewbacca

Ah, Spring Break. I played an awesome 100 point Empire vs Rebels game last night with Pete, who took the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca plus concussion missiles, a bare Red Squadron Pilot and Rookie Pilot. I took Boba Fett (w/Swarm Tactics) in Slave 1 with Heavy Laser Cannon, Proximity Mine and 4 Acadamy Pilots in TIE fighters. The play space was around 4'X4'. This was my first game with "The Big Ships" of SWXW, so I had to be Fett.

I will describe the match from the Empire perspective mostly, because I was so busy wrangling all those TIE's around the board.

Starboard TIE's move straight ahead, port TIE group sets up the rearguard slot. Slave 1, at pilot 8, moves last, right into the slot.

Turn 1-2: Boba Fett lined up with two TIES on both sides, ordering the starboard pair straight ahead to start describing one pincer line. The port TIES flew forward, one staying abreast of Slave 1 and another cutting into its wake, to rearguard. Chewie moved the Falcon forward, shields up, as the X Wings locked X Foils into attack positions.

Chewie's group stabbed around counter-clockwise while Fett matched the move, circling.

Turn 3-4: Both fighter groups tore into the middle of the board, engines blazing, on converging vectors. The Falcon cruised the left side of the board as her escorts engaged ahead, while Slave 1 went straight into the furball.

Ship-to-ship warfare was on in earnest with plenty of hits, crits and evades going around. 2 TIE's were damaged and one TIE pilot was Blinded. The X Wings lost some shields. Slave 1 passed the Falcon to port, then leaned into a tight turn to get behind her. The Falcon's Quad Guns blazed the whole time and tracked ships via Target Lock but Fett drew first blood as he caught a passing X Wing right in the astromech, for an incandescent kill.

http://www.happinessismandatory.com/misc/Models/AMT_Slave_I/Reference_Pictures/Slave_I_Reference_1.jpg

The swarm comes about and tries to run down the Falcon.

Red Squadron pilot (upper right) overshoots the fight and is left behind as Chewbacca evades the incoming Empire.

Turn 5-6: Somehow, the Red Squadron pilot took a vector too steep from the turning dogfight and ended up probably double the distance from the fight than he intended, since the TIE's and Slave could cut hard. The Falcon was now alone.

http://www.dub273.com/RevsFolio/16_TIE_fires_thumb.jpg

The Falcon, now with 4 TIE's intercepting and knocking down her shields for hull damage, also had Slave 1 on her tail, blasting it with the Heavy Laser Cannon. At this point, I tried to keep the TIEs right on Chewie at all cost. At least one TIE rode out a stress token every turn until the end, dancing hard to keep shots on Falcon's armor plating. The Falcon's quads, with Target Lock humming a steady tone, defensively sprayed the TIE's with shots, for hull damage and then another kill.

Turn 7-8: Now Fett was being careful, the Wookie had escaped too many times before. Slave 1 stayed right behind the Falcon and noticed the crowded call-signs of the TIEs on the HUD... they were very close to the edge of the board so it would be sticky here with limited turning space and they could risk gliding off the board if they fly casual.

Suddenly, the Falcon pulls a Kiogran turn! Chewie powers up and over the TIE pack and is now coming nose-to-nose with Fett, the Falcon's chittering alarm complaining about laser impacts, collisions and a now-disconnected Hyperdrive. A hatch slams open on the Slave 1 and a Proximity mine tumbles out behind her, as the Heavy Laser Cannons open up once again.

I wanted to force Pete into a hard starboard turn to avoid the board edge and Proximity mine. The TIE's needed room to regroup, now that the Falcon just barreled right through them, leaving a bunch of action-less Empire pilots fighting controls to regain formation. He was probably going to do that anyway but it was fun to drop a bomb in his glidepath.

Final Turn: The closing X Wing could only watch helplessly as the Falcon roared past the firing Slave 1. As they crossed and the Slave banked, her primary weapons swiveled from firing forward to backwards as Chewbacca passed, removing the final hull points with 2 hits. Critically wounded and powerless, the Falcon is crippled as Fett prepares to board. Chewbacca grabs his bowcaster and readies to defend his ship as the airlock blasts open...

Just kick-ass models, who cares if we didn't paint them.

Empire Wins! I don't think I've had that much fun with a miniature game in some time. We played late, so we had no blaring soundtracks and our yelps were hushed for those sleeping in the house but I swear I was 10 again, playing with Kenner figures at a sleepover.  Just awesome. Final tally: 2 TIEs vaporized, 1 X Wing destroyed. Falcon down (but NEVER out). Red Squadron pilot shields disabled (I think, not sure). Slave 1 100%. Just under 2 hours of play.

Game Notes

Bumping: Yeah, lots of TIE's lost their actions due to bumping other ships... coordinating the flight paths was a fun challenge and I got it more wrong than right... but that wasn't debilitating. They still got their shots and as importantly, threatened to get shots onto the limping Falcon. Losing actions did factor though, as not having an Evade or Focus on meant that the straight dice roll can kill you, which it did for one defending TIE.

Swarm Tactics: Trying to keep a friendly TIE within Range 1 for Swarm Tactics proved to be really tricky.  Range 1 is really close space for a TIE, Slave 1 and any possible target to occupy at once... my guess is Swarm Tactics may work better for elite TIE pilots, who can better capitalize on the space the fighting affords (and small bases) or simply as opportunity arises, which wasn't much. It is good to watch out for but shouldn't dominate your tactics when you have a ship that really fills up Range 1 on its own.
  

Heavy Laser Cannon: I debated on taking the heavy weapon, since it was 7 points. I didn't realize it at the time but it was going to be worth it. The Heavy Laser Cannon, which only shoots at Range 2-3, has you throwing 4 red dice, though all Crits turn to regular hits. Any targets at range 1 though, you still have your primary weapon, which at Range one, adds an extra red die on attacks (4 total) and you keep your Crits. You could also throw 3 dice at Range 2 with your primary and keep your Crits or 3 dice at Range 3 keeping Crits too (but the defender gets extra green die). So, the 7 points just makes sure you roll 4 red dice at all 3 Ranges with Crits as a variable. My point is, however you cut it, what you give up in Crits you probably make back in raw stripping power. 4 dice is really powerful, Crits or no, especially against high Shield/Hull counts like the Falcon and Y Wing.



Fett's Ability in Slave 1: Fett can order banking turns to one direction and after revealing it on the dial, change it to the same banking turn in the opposite direction, if he wants. While it didn't come in handy every turn, it did allow him to squeeze through the dogfight and stay open for his Action at least once. If that works once a game you'll be grateful you have that.