Commitment Points

One phrase you might hear used when describing X-Wing strategy is "whoever commits first loses." Like all catchy X-Wing proverbs, it's a useful rule of thumb, even if it's not always true. But it's also a bit ambiguous. What does commitment in X-Wing look like?

Here's what I look at when identifying commitment in an X-Wing game.

Match Review - XVT Top 4: Oli Aces vs. Jedi Aces

It's another match review, and as usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a Top 4 game in the X-Wing Vassal Tournament, Season 6. The format for season 6 was pretty straightforward: Extended lists, players are locked to once faction of their choice but can otherwise freely change lists as they see fit, and (for this match) 12 round games. I went 5-1 through Swiss (albeit including one late drop for a regrettable win-by-default) and made it through the Top 8 to reach this point.

Flight of the Seasoned Navigator

Here's a red hot take: post-Planning phase dial changes are really strong. Leaving aside the disruptive and generally frustrating effect they have on the game in general, there are few things more conducive to winning than looking at what your opponent has done, looking at your own dial, and saying "actually, no thanks."

Despite relatively wide availability, the generic crew upgrade Seasoned Navigator doesn't see significant play. Throughout all of 2019, it was only recorded as making three significant cuts, once at a Hyperspace Trial and twice at two System Opens. In all three instances, it was used on a large ship with access to Force (Darth Maul in one list, Han Solo with Rey crew in the other two).

History has not smiled upon Seasoned Navigator, but that doesn't mean we can't explore some builds with it and see if there might be something there.

"That navigator over there is playing Galaga.
Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Stray Thoughts on Epic

With no impending major events and a points adjustment imminent, I've been spending a fair amount of my X-Wing time playing and theorycrafting Epic. I wasn't a huge fan of Epic in 1.0, but the 2.0 Epic is a huge improvement and feels much more like a real game and less like some combination of meme and meat grinder (meme grinder?!).

So without further preamble, here are some random observations I've had.

From Imdaar With Love

For nearly a year, I've been a man with a dark (and somewhat open) secret. With Worlds finally behind me, the time has come for me to step into the light and declare with pride: I am an Imdaar Test Pilot enthusiast.

And you should be too. Because this ship is one of the most criminally underplayed and underrated ships in our current game of X-Wing.

Match Review - SuperKylo Thiccdraw vs. QD Kylo Engineer

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

If you read my last match review, you know that it was a complete disaster. After blogging about it, the last step in my process of accepting and moving on needed to be getting back on the horse and reminding myself that I'm not actually (always) that bad. It was also a good opportunity to immediately apply some of the lessons learned from the previous affair.

Match Review - SuperKylo Thiccdraw vs. Finn & Resistance 5s

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a recent match I played as part of the X-Wing Vassal League, a free-to-join league for online X-Wing play involving over hundreds players from around the world. It was, in short, a disaster.

Match Review - Slow News Day vs. Chewie Resistance Beef

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in mid-August 2019. This game was a very early experiment with a list I was tinkering with, so the strategies and openings are still in the building stage.

Is Ruthless Garbage?

tl;dr - No, but it’s not exactly a world beater.

I confess, I used to be like you, once before I took an arrow to the knee. I thought that Ruthless was the worst upgrade in the game, a bad joke played upon the players by the dev team. At the very least, it was clear evidence of the very well-known-and-definitely-a-real-thing anti-Empire bias exhibited by FFG (aside from those times when the Empire is dominant, which I can only assume are just momentary lapses in their ability to suppress the one faction that they want to produce product for but also not sell).

Then, I looked at Ruthless more. And I tried it a few times. And I realised that it’s perhaps not the worst upgrade. Not great, perhaps. But not the worst!

So how do we use Ruthless in such a way that our opponent does not ridicule us? How can we even, dare I be bold, win a game with Ruthless?

Match Review - 4 Ship FO vs. Fenn Boba Lando

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in late April 2019. I've been experimenting with a bunch of permutations of four ship First Order lists, swapping out ships and upgrades and figuring out what works, so my approach is still very unrefined. Consider that my excuse in advance for a myriad of misplays (incidentally, that's the name of my forthcoming X-Wing self help book).

Match Review - Triple Aethersprites vs. Sai Rexler Duchess

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in early April 2019. I hadn't tried the Aethersprites out yet so I thought I'd give them a whirl. Unlike other games, I didn't come into this one with a fully developed plan, so there's a fair amount of improvising to see in this one! Do try this at home (and don't try this at tournaments).

Match Review - Maul/Dooku/Grievous vs. Rebel Beef

Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can learn more about here.

This was a recent match I played as part of the X-Wing Vassal League, a free-to-join league for online X-Wing play involving over hundreds players from around the world.

On BatReps

I don't love them.

Thanks for visiting my blog, don't forget to like, comment, and share, and be sure to subscribe for more updates!







...

Okay, let me clarify. I don't love 5 minute summaries of tournament matches on podcast episodes, or two paragraph summaries of games with a random photo from the middle of the game showing that one time when everybody's ships bumped all at once.

Don't get me wrong, I think these are fun. I'm glad to see people sharing experiences they had playing this game. I enjoy hearing about bad beats or unexpected wins as much as the next guy. People can and should keep doing these!

But I won't be doing that here.

The best TIE Reaper isn't the one you've been using

The TIE Striker's bigger, chunkier brother, the TIE Reaper, offers an interesting option for a 3-die attacker to Imperial lists, as well as a crew carrier with a very different combat profile than the Lambda. If you've flown Imperial in Hyperspace, you've probably used the Reaper. If you're like many tournament players, you've probably been using Major Vermeil.

But is Vermeil really your best option?