It has been almost a month since I last played a game of X-Wing. That’s a pretty dramatic statement, because since I started playing X-Wing there hasn’t been a single period of time this long that I’ve gone without playing a game. I love the game still, and I love the community the game creates, but I currently find myself with zero desire to play.

I think my current state of despondency can be traced to several causes. One is the state of the meta. The last tournament I went to, I played against a variation of the same list over and over again: Rebel Beef. It was everywhere, and I couldn’t get away from it. If the list were even remotely fun to play against, I’m sure I would have been fine with it. But it’s such a slog. Some details of that tournament were laid out in my previous post The Evolution of Rebel Beef. Against that list I have to do everything perfectly, and still need some luck to win it. In the immediate aftermath of almost every tournament I’ve been to, I’ve noticed a phenomenon I’ve begun to refer to as tournament fatigue: by the end of the long day of X-Wing, I’m physically and mentally exhausted, and I feel like I just don’t really want to play X-Wing for a while. But by the next day (or even by the time I’ve finished the several hour drive home) I’m back to theory crafting how my list could be improved, pondering meta predictions, and generally starting to plan for the next tournament. This time I didn’t bounce back. There have been tournaments I could have gone to, but it didn’t seem worth the effort. I got out to play at my typical Friday night spot the week after I got back from that tournament, but the first thing I played against that night was yet another Rebel Beef list, and I haven’t been back for another game. I don’t think I will be able to muster up any excitement about playing until something changes. I need a fresh meta.

The second contributing factor is that (again, for the first time in a long time) I don’t have a tournament I am prepping for. Sure, I could go to a Hyperspace Trial or two, but I’ve gotten everything I wanted from Hyperspace Trials. Everything except a World’s ticket, which I probably wouldn’t be able to get unless I fold and play a list simply because it’s good and not because I enjoy it; which I’m not going to do. I am looking forward to Outryder Cup, but I haven’t heard any news of the next one, and aside from Hyperspace Trials, that’s about all I would consider going to until World’s and the Gold Squadron Classic, both of which are this fall. So, for the first time since before Second Edition dropped, I find myself without any competitive events on the horizon to motivate me to “git gud”.

The third and final reason is the imminent points change. I am the type of player who has a few ships that I really enjoy playing, and much of my time spent on X-Wing is devoted to refining lists in a style I like to play with the ships I like, and figuring out how to make what I love work in the current environment. With a points change around the corner, my motivation to solve my own meta puzzle has tanked. I sit down on my list building throne, happily open Launch Bay Next, and then close it again when the realization hits me that there simply isn’t any reason to list build right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that FFG gave themselves an easy way to shake up the meta, balance the game with these points adjustments, and repair any overpowered or underpowered game elements. I think it’s needed and I think it’s a very good thing. But in the month or so leading up to the change, it kind of kills much of the joy of the game for me. I’m looking forward to FFG’s live stream in which they promise to “talk about” the points change. To be honest, I don’t really have any hope that they will actually drop points then, but any information is exciting. I’m not expecting it but, fingers crossed, we may see points earlier than the very end of July.

I can’t wait to be excited about this game again. I’m eager for those wonderful days when the meta is in disarray, when no one knows what is actually good or what direction the meta will swing in. I’m ready to tweak my lists to combat the meta that I anticipate at tournaments, and I’m looking forward to finding the best version of the stuff I love to play. There is a lot to look forward to on the horizon. But until that horizon swings into view, my love affair with X-Wing is on a slow burn.

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