Hi all! I hope everyone had a great holiday week, and enjoyed Christmas or Hanukkah or whichever you celebrated (or didnt!)

Today I’m back with a request from Reddit to talk about how to avoid so-called “Rookie” mistakes!

Let’s face it, everyone makes mistakes. I’ve flown right into some of the dumbest positions possible in X-Wing, and I’ve also seen some pitfalls an inexperienced player might fall into (and not seen others I fell into myself!). Starting any new tabletop game is hard, especially a competitive game like X-Wing, and it can be intimidating! Not only are there pitfalls to avoid in-game, but there are purchase decisions to be made (not easy in the current US economy), and when buying models for a game you barely know, it’s entirely possible you’ll end up buying models you’ll never end up using! So without further ado, for those of you new to the scene, here are a few tips for in-game and real-world situations when getting into X-Wing, coming from a recent rookie!

Part One: Real-World Problems

From purchasing models to finding people to play against, miniatures games can be scary to get into (take it from a guy who used to play 40k – YEESH). The real-world issues surrounding gaming can sometimes chase people away before they even start, so here’s a guide to getting your squadron up and playing some games!

What to buy?

While X-Wing is a lot more user-friendly than games such as Warmachine or 40k, the myriad of options can still be a little overwhelming at first. Combined with a difficult economy and the high cost of getting older models (seems near impossible to get a Falcon for under $100 these days), some people just back away slowly and say they’ll come back another day. The truth is, although the Meta of X-Wing does still lean towards earlier builds (Think Fat Han and modified Tie swarm), there’s still a lot of powerful builds available from just buying a handful of ships that are easily accessible.

First off, the Core Set for X-Wing is one of the best starter sets available in the wargaming industry, in my personal opinion. Buying multiples of this set not only gets you plenty of TIEs, but gets you multiple workhorse X-Wings, enough dice you won’t have to worry about remembering your results as you roll a die you’ve already used, and a somewhat decent selection of upgrade cards to work from. Considering the MSRP of an X-Wing, two TIEs, and a Dice set is $53 (if i remember the Dice cost right), you’re saving a lot of money, and getting a nice pool of ships. The other upside to this is that not only are all these ships usable in a multitude of builds (Heck, Biggs is in the core set), but you can get a decent feel for various build types with them.

Another suggestion is to look for the Aces sets. I seem to find these everywhere I go, and they’re GREAT for starting out. The Imperial Aces set is a must-have, with two of the most important Modifications in the game (2x Hull/Shield Upgrade), and an excellent selection of pilots. Buying this set alongside a Core set will get you a good start on running an Imperial squadron (and getting either a TIE Defender or TIE Phantom, both currently easy to find, to go alongside, gets you an even stronger base). The Rebel Aces set comes with two very different fighters, both incredibly hard to find in-stores otherwise, and gives you excellent new ways to fly them. It also compounds well with a Core Set, giving you a nice start to Rebels.

The biggest piece of advice I can give though, is to buy what you think looks fun. X-Wing is an excellent, very balanced game, and although the meta does favor certain lists, that doesn’t mean you can’t win with some really wacky builds. Don’t just look at what’s competitive, but look at what looks fun and cool, because if you’re not having fun playing a game, why are you playing in the first place?

What Did I buy to get started?

1x Core Set

Rebel Aces

Imperial Aces

Lambda Shuttle

YT-2400

Where to buy?

A quick addendum to the above, but some people aren’t sure, with all the options, where to pick up their X-Wing sets. First off, if you have a local hobby store, buy local whenever you can. Even though you’re less likely to get great deals, your local hobby stores are often your (free) play areas. These guys work hard to provide a wonderful environment, and often can’t afford to lower prices the way online stores can. Take it upon yourself to support your FLGS, and fuel your community. Unless of course, the owners aren’t the easiest to get along with and make playing at their store difficult. In that case, find other places to play, and spend your money.

If you don’t have a local game store, or your local store doesn’t have a model you want in-stock, there’s two other good options. Barnes and Noble sometimes gets overlooked, and often enough ends up with a surprising selection of hard-to-find X-Wing packs (just picked up a TIE expansion for howlrunner, as well as a Y-Wing, TIE Bomber, and B-Wing, at my local B&N, for $60, since my FLGS hasn’t been able to get their hands on them for a while), and their website remains well-stocked with much of the earlier waves. The other good source is Miniatures Market, an online retailer with excellent prices on all kinds of miniature games. Be wary of Ebay, as you’ll often find items far over retail price. Use Miniatures Market as an approximate mark of how much a model should cost, should you need to go to Ebay.

Okay, I’ve got models, how do I find people to play with?

This can be the big killer for a lot of people. Some places just don’t have a strong gaming community, and even when they do, there might not be much of an X-Wing community. Sometimes, driving to the FLGS can be an hour-long drive or longer, and it’s not feasible to go down whenever you want to play a game.

If you have an FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) and don’t know if there’s a community for X-Wing there, call or go down and ask. Most store owners love seeing new people come into their community, or old regulars join another part of their community, and will be happy to tell you about their X-Wing nights! If you don’t have an FLGS, or your FLGS doesn’t have an X-Wing community, here’s some tips:

Get your friends to play a game or two with you. X-Wing is popular for a reason, and often enough you’ll find that they rather enjoyed playing the game, and may even be considering picking the game up themselves. Now you have regular playing buddies!

X-Wing is popular for a reason, and often enough you’ll find that they rather enjoyed playing the game, and may even be considering picking the game up themselves. Now you have regular playing buddies! Organize Game Nights in your basement/living room/den etc. Once you have a couple friends willing to play together, find a night when everyone is regularly able to get together, and set aside a small area at your place (or one of your friends’, if they offer) to play X-Wing. Rotate who buys the pizza/snacks every week, and turn it into an event that everyone looks forward to every week!

Once you have a couple friends willing to play together, find a night when everyone is regularly able to get together, and set aside a small area at your place (or one of your friends’, if they offer) to play X-Wing. Rotate who buys the pizza/snacks every week, and turn it into an event that everyone looks forward to every week! Convince your Significant Other to try the game. It may turn out they rather enjoy it, maybe even more than you! I’ve read a story of a guy who got his wife playing X-Wing, and she promptly beat him a few times in a row, making him start to think his strategy over and improve his gameplay. If your other half enjoys playing, you have a game partner available consistently!

It may turn out they rather enjoy it, maybe even more than you! I’ve read a story of a guy who got his wife playing X-Wing, and she promptly beat him a few times in a row, making him start to think his strategy over and improve his gameplay. If your other half enjoys playing, you have a game partner available consistently! Play short games during lunch breaks. This may or may not be possible depending on where you work, but in some places an hour or even 45-minute lunch break is a great place to pull a coworker aside for a quick game of X-Wing! You’ll probably get a few people interested in the game, and if you play smaller (say, 60-point) games, not only will you finish with time to spare, but you can have some after-game chatter while you scarf the remainders of your lunch down! Plus, if you regularly have the same lunch break with someone who enjoys playing with you, you’ll have a consistent X-Wing buddy!

This may or may not be possible depending on where you work, but in some places an hour or even 45-minute lunch break is a great place to pull a coworker aside for a quick game of X-Wing! You’ll probably get a few people interested in the game, and if you play smaller (say, 60-point) games, not only will you finish with time to spare, but you can have some after-game chatter while you scarf the remainders of your lunch down! Plus, if you regularly have the same lunch break with someone who enjoys playing with you, you’ll have a consistent X-Wing buddy! Work with the Staff at your FLGS to build a community. This is the hardest but most rewarding path, assuming you have an FLGS to work from. Building a community for any competitive game takes lots of time and patience, but can slowly snowball to the point where your major events completely FILL the store, and people show up extra early to make sure they can get in before the event caps out. This is a lot easier if you’re already a part of the greater community at your FLGS.

This is the hardest but most rewarding path, assuming you have an FLGS to work from. Building a community for any competitive game takes lots of time and patience, but can slowly snowball to the point where your major events completely FILL the store, and people show up extra early to make sure they can get in before the event caps out. This is a lot easier if you’re already a part of the greater community at your FLGS. If all else fails, go to Vassal! Vassal is an online tabletop simulation program, and there’s a massive community there for X-Wing. Finding matches should be relatively easy, and you’ll play against people from all over the world. The only problem with Vassal is that it can be a little clunky and takes some time to learn how to use, but if you really need to scratch that X-Wing itch, it’s a fantastic choice.

I want to play in a regional/national/worlds tournament

Travelling is often the biggest issue here. Assuming you now have some local X-wing buddies, taking a road trip to a big tourney can be a great experience, and the ride back home will be filled with battle stories, celebrating wins and commiserating in losses. Some people are also concerned about getting too tired during the tourney, especially when travel is involved. Fortunately, our bodies will take care of this for us. Playing exciting games like X-Wing can release certain chemicals in the body that produce a similar effect to caffeine, keeping you wired throughout the experience! Most people feel tired or even exhausted after a long day of X-Wing (or any other tabletop game for that matter), but a good night’s sleep can leave you more energetic than usual the next day. If you’ve traveled a long way via car, consider camping or grabbing a hotel room for the night after the tournament. If you took a long train or plane ride, then treat yourself to a taxi or bus to the station, and sleep on the ride home (Did so once for a 40k tourney in Chicago and had a fantastic time, despite losing every game. for reference, I live in the New England area, so it was an extra-long train ride).

The other issue commonly brought up is a concern that you won’t be able to compete, so you might as well not go anyways. ANYONE can compete, and if you really enjoy playing the game, you can still have a great deal of fun. First rounds are never elimination (since you could end up facing the exact worst list to face, or having your dice betray you), so you’ll definitely get to play several games. Even if you don’t make it out of the first set of games, you can take your losses and learn from them, see what worked and what didn’t, and think on how to make your build stronger! Plus, watching the final rounds of a big tourney can be incredibly exciting, and again, you’ll learn some neat tricks that you can bring to your next game! Finally, going to major events can net you some cool participation prizes (I’m personally jealous of anyone with an alt-art Boba Fett)!

I Keep losing. Maybe this game isn’t for me?

Every game of X-Wing is a learning experience. As a new player, it can get demoralizing really quickly to lose over and over again. A great way to look at it is not to think of it as a loss. Instead, just think of the actual content of the game. What went wrong? What enemy unit or strategy caused the most damage, and how could you counter it? Which of your units didn’t perform to your expectations? These are great questions to ask even when you win games, as it will sharpen your tactical skills and improve your gameplay, and your list.

Even if you keep losing games, enjoy each game for what it is. While not everyone is good at certain games, that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy them. Case in point: I *RARELY EVER* won a single game of 40k, over ten years of playing. I was AWFUL at 40k, even though I could see a lot of the theory behind it (quite a common problem actually!), but I still Enjoyed playing it. I looked at my poor, beaten space marines, and thought, “Well guys… Good Effort.” Every game was a story, and even though I was on the losing side, it was fun, and sometimes funny, to watch it unfold. Wargames like 40k and X-Wing tell war stories, and the dice produce fantastic theatrical moments you can enjoy, from watching a lucky TIE Fighter nearly destroy an X-Wing in one blow, to laughing as a Firespray comically misses an impossibly agile B-Wing three turns in a row. Don’t ever take losses personally, Everyone loses sometimes, and it’s far better to enjoy the content of the game rather than the result.

Next Time…

Well that was a larger wall of text than I thought it would be! Guess it’s time to split this into two parts. Next time I’ll talk about in-game mistakes new players could make, and how to avoid them. I’ll see you all in the next post!