That’s right, GeekADD (Gio, J Cody, and myself, Cody C) are going to Worlds! Team Epic, Hangar Bay, and the X-Wing World Championship itself, I’m going to participate in all three!

So, I’ve spent a lot of time putting my kit together, as well as doing my research on the event (it is my first X-Wing Worlds), so I thought I’d share what I learned and hopefully make something easier on you guys! Check it out!

Kit Overview

So, as the title says, I’m a Worlds newb. Been to some store champs, special events, and even a regional, but never this behemoth of a tournament. Regardless, I have played a lot of X-Wing and I feel pretty good about this kit that is useful for any high-profile event. The observant, recon gathering readers will notice there is both a Shadowcaster and Hounds Tooth sitting in the center of the table…yup. That’s the list, though I’m not gonna reveal what it is! I will say…I’ve never seen anyone else running this, so I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I have been smoking Double Defenders with it! Anyway, Let’s get into the specific components.

Storage and Transport

My “hangar” is a modified Plano 5231. While I generally carry one per faction, since I’m travelling I’ve repurposed my Scum plano to carry my Tournament, Epic, and Hangar Bay lists. The modification comes in the lower section; as you are surely aware Scum have just too damn many big ships to store. I had to mangle one of the dividers, which created a large gash in the bottom. After putting part of the medium-sized plastic packaging (Starviper, Punisher, ARC-170, etc) down below, it holds everything nicely.

Mostly everything I want in there will fit. Bases, dials, ships, token box, extra damage deck, etc. The Shadowcaster and YV-666 are awful to store, however I made a modification to my YV to make it more Plano-friendly…

Token Storage

So, you probably caught the pic of that above. I use a weekly pill container as my token box. Considering I’m using a 2 ship list, I don’t need many tokens. Each slot is generally single purpose, except the last one, which is general “bad stuff.”

The colored bins above are simply for Epic only and I won’t be using them after Thursday. Since there is so much to remember in Epic, seconds add up. Having colored-coded bins to grab/discard tokens into just makes things that much easier. I might need to pack for Target Lock tokens, though…

I had been struggling with bringing my acrylic tokens. Some of those OG dark green focus and evades can go for over $10 a pop…I don’t want to worry about losing those as I’m playing the most important X-Wing games of the year.

However…if Worlds isn’t an appropriate time to flash your bling, then what is? I decided to bring a limited amount so I would have exactly what I needed, making it easier to count and to mitigate losses. The target locks have their edges painted so the colors match up; again, the color coding helps me tremendously so I can focus on the important stuff. The Scum/Mandalorian token is actually a Summer 2016 kit prize for the Star Wars LCG. I use it to indicate when the Shadowcaster does a 3-speed or faster maneuver as I use Gryoscopic Targeting. However, the token can also be used to indicate Expose, Marksmanship, or anything that doesn’t have a token.

I brought the light green tokens to indicate a “perma-effect”. For instance, I would use a light green focus for Glitterstim or light green evade for Comm Relay.

Dice

I’m bringing 5 attack dice and 4 evade dice, as I believe those are the maximums I could ever use in my list (more hints!). Basically, the number of attack dice at R1 with all bonuses, as well as evade dice at range 3 obstructed. I carry extra in the baggie just on rare occasion I need them. It gives me emergency replacements, prepares me against Zuckuss pilot (haha, you never know), but most importantly…FINAL SALVO!!!!!! It’s such a fun and rare occasion that you don’t want to be caught without the proper number of dice should it happen to you.

The super observant of you may have noticed my “lucky” evade die. When I need to not blow up, I can always count on Lucky to get me out of trouble. Haha, well, no, not really. Lucky is just as treacherous as any other evade die, but it is fun to troll people when they think you blank out and you point him out.

Lucky has only one of his evade faces unpainted, but it’s not the result of modification. He simply came to me like that! Just like when a one-eyed cat or one-legged dog shows up on your doorstep, you just can’t say no!

Templates and Gaming Aids

I use these acrylic templates that I got from a….place. Haha, I bought someone’s collection in San Diego a looooooong time ago, but still haven’t figured out where they came from. The text translates to “Choose Wisely.” Anyway, I highly recommend acrylics, despite being pretty, they are more precise and durable than the cardboard ones that come with the game. Speaking of, though, it’s always good to have FFG backups, since mine are third-party and could potentially cause trouble.

The range 1 ruler, as well as the funky looking black thing, come from Recreator Studios, a shop run locally between LA and San Diego. Range 1 rulers are super helpful (especially when they match your super sexy templates) but I’ve decided not to get a Range 2 ruler. While cool, I usually just break out my 5-Speed template, which is the same length. I have to be careful for the super precise stuff though; while the length is the same, the width is about twice as wide and could result in some false positives if you’re at an angle.

The cool black thing is what I’d call the first X-Wing multitool. I don’t know if it actually has a name, but it serves as both a marker and a 1-Speed template. You can line it up to the nubs of your base for a super precise mark, or use it like you would the normal template doing maneuvers or barrel rolls.

Another important aid is your Tournament Tray.

This one is the Starfighter Half-Rack from Tectonic Craft Studios, which I won in a super-secret Mynock tournament (shhhhhh!) This tray can fit 3 big bases and 6 small bases, 9 if you don’t bring the big ones. While it doesn’t look nice, I can usually fit my templates on it, as well as my cards, deck, dials, etc.

In reality, any sort of tray is useful when you need to move around during a tournament, so go steal one from Burger King or squeeze two of the Core Set inserts together if you don’t want to spend the cash. If you want to get classy, something like this is really nice, though.

I’m using some Scum dial upgrades. I intended on painting them but once I sat down to do so, I realized it would be a lot of work, given all the details on the dial upgrades. J Cody, however, found an awesome and easy way of improving his own dials.

Another new addition to my kit is a line laser. I chose this one from The Army Painter based on lots of recommendations, though you can also cheap out and get on from Harbor Frieght.

And no, the LEGO dude doesn’t come with it. That was my own addition, which is actually a bit functional. Not only will I retain ownership of the laser longer, for some reason I kept pointing it at my face and triggering it instead of at the table (haha, like a stupid dummy!) so now this will preserve my eyeballs a little bit.

Other Misc Items

So, there are a few other odds and ends to this kit. Squadsheets are always useful and often mandatory, so it’s good to have them in your kit. I have a bunch printed out where I put the ship section on both sides for Epic play. It was actually an accident, but ended up being useful.

Superglue is for some last minute repairs. While my YV magnet mod is cool, it has a tendency to rip the magnet out of the aft wing. Plus, you never know when you’ll snap off a cannon or have to piece together a “derpfender” (haha, go to the FFG forums and look that one up).

The device on the paper is an iPhone 4S without service. I bought one on eBay to use as a pocket camera and electronic reference (downloaded FAQs, etc). They go for about $100 or so for the 64gb one. I intend on documenting every game with a photo or two, as well as taking some videos and what not, so the 64gb seemed appropriate. Also, I heard there is going to be an illegal Loopin’ Chewie tournament somewhere, so I wanna get footage of that.

This Moleskine case is for all the promos! I’m bringing some sleeves as well; while there’s only an alt-art Pilot card (grey sleeve sized), you never know what will pop up in Hangar Bay, Team Epic, or just people wanting to trade.

Apparel

Haha… yeah…shameless self-promotion…though, I suppose I should have snuck some GeekADD stuff in there as well. Oh well, maybe next year!!

Schedule, Prizes, and Event Breakdown

OK, so now for the boring stuff, but feel free to use it as a reference.

Thursday Evening 6pm: Team Epic Tournament

Rules are a little fuzzy, but it’s a 2v2 event with 200 points per player. According to the schedule, this will be a single round match with a 3 hour time limit. Prizes are unknown, but are surely going to be cool. Make sure you re-read the rules and have enough obstacles (hint: Epic games have 12 total obstacles with different set-up rules).

Friday Morning 10am: Flight 1A & Saturday Morning 10am: Flight 1B

I am in 1A so I will not be participating in 1B, but the days are equivalent. Basically, this is a qualifying day with 6 rounds of Swiss. Anyone scoring 4 wins is guaranteed to progress into Day 2! For simply showing up (assuming you don’t immediately leave), you should receive:

Swag bag (pamphlet, T-Shirt, voucher)

3 Inquisitor Cards (one from voucher, 2 at lunch from your qualifier day)

Challenge Coin

1 Promo card from each game(Imperial Assault, Armada, etc), via a voucher in your swag bag

Custom Mini American (upgrade-sized) Card Binder

Ultimate Fun!

For those not playing Saturday or Sunday there will be Hangar Bay events to keep you busy.

Saturday/Sunday: Hangar Bay Tournaments

The default side event format, you bring two lists from different factions and secretly choose one based on your opponent’s list choices. The ol’ double bluff, with mindgames even before the game starts! Participants will be broken into a “pod system” which will be your pool of tournament opponents. After a pre-determined number of rounds (usually 3), prizes will be awarded among the top scorers in each pod. Normally, a pod is 8 people, but the only published rules to this format are the dual lists. Prizes are currently unannounced, but there’s rumor of Biggs cards and other national prizes making appearances, so we might see Bossk as well!

Saturday has Hangar Bay events at 11:30am and 5:30pm, the Sunday Hangar Bay starts at 10:30am.

Sunday 9:30am: World Championship

If you were lucky enough to survive Day 1, you still have to survive an additional 2 rounds of Swiss before there is a cut to the Top 16. After that, there will be a series of single elimination matches until the winner is determined! Be sure to leave a comment, so when I win, I can personally thank you for your support 😉 haha…GeekADD will just be happy to just make it to Day 2.

SECRET LOOPIN’ CHEWIE TOURNAMENT!!

Keep your ears open…time/place are unknown, but it’s gonna happen.

References

Worlds Prizes

General Schedule and Pamphlet

Team Epic Rules

Current FAQ

Squad Sheet

Tournament Rules

Mannnnnnnnnnnn I’m getting excited. If you guys happen to see me there (look for the camo YV-666!), be sure to say hello!

Best of luck, Fly Better!