[BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

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Shaderrow
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[BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Shaderrow » Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:54 pm

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Miniatures are a dangerous thing to base a boardgame around, they're fun to collect and use to be sure, but the costs associated with acquiring them and the hassle around storing something as large as a Warhammer army seriously hampers the appeal of the game. So much so that there's now a complete alternative routeto go down if you want play a game of Warhammer without breaking the bank. (We'll cover that later down the line though).

The X-Wing Miniatures is much more accommodating than most miniature based games,with it's figures being fairly affordable and of a nice enough quality that I myself wouldn't have any real qualms with displaying them up on a shelf. The nature of the game and the way it's expansions are structured also means that you won't have hundreds of tiny spacecraft lying about.

X-Wing centres, on ship-to-ship combat with players controlling spacecraft on both sides of the central Star Wars conflict. Aside from picking you ships you also need to select the crew and pilots that'll be manning them as they can have just as much an influence on the battle as their chosen vehicle. Though a majority of the variety lies in the expansions and no the core set , fans of the expanded Star Wars universe will no doubt enjoying seeing some of the more obscure characters of the lore being included.

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Regardless of your choice of vessel, the structure and mechanics of X-Wing facilitate a fast and visceral style of play that is open to a broad range of tactics, from tried and true flanking strategies to suicidal death rushes that can often see both sides limping off with heavy damage.

Each ship sports its own piloting dial which is used to select a manoeuvre and the speed thereof for the next turn. This is done in secret though, with each player selecting their chosen course of action and then placing the dial face down. Once the action starts each dial is revealed and executed, with the lowest skilled pilots going first.

Its a system that leads to some wonderful mindgames, especially if your match involves more than the stock standard two players. The joy of having your enemy rush towards you only to dash out of the way at the last second and send them veering into your line of fire is something that is quite unique to X-Wing.

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The core set includes three unique scenarios, each with its own set of associated victory conditions and special rules. The core set does a great job of introducing new players to the mechanics and basics of the game, but it also makes it all to clear that the core set is just there to entice you into buying the expansions which arguably represents the majority of the the game.

Its a business model that will no doubt put a lot of people of it entirely, but really the investment is entirely up to you and the prospect of being able to add all manner of TIE fighters and Rebel ships is immediately enticing once you've played a few rounds of X-Wing.

The mission structure is actually quite remarkable in how it facilitates that no two matches will ever play out the same way. The wide range of customization options, manoeuvres and possible combat outcomes makes each match unique in its own right, regardless of the fact that your going after the same objectives each time.

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This is largely down to how X-Wing applies damage to ships. Damage is determined though dice roll and applied via the Damage Deck. This stack of cards is drawn from each time a fighter gets hit and the cards you draw will determine whether the your craft merely sustains a scratch to the paint or suffers a special handicap.

These handicaps range from things like your targeting computer getting fried (which will affect your ability to fire on a enemy) to more severe outcomes that can see your pilot getting injured and being forced to retreat from the fight entirely.

The combat is a great fusion of skill and luck as it allows inexperienced players to escape by the skin of their teeth quite often, but the more skilled pilot will inevitably always come out on top as the game's central mechanic is without a doubt the utilization of movement to outwit your enemy.

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The entire design of the game is very well though out and put together with the game actually scaling incredibly well as you increase the number of players and miniatures on the board. I was fortunate enough to play a large scale game with 25 fighters on a side and the resulting battle was both nerve racking and incredibly enjoyable. The balance between units is also commendable all round. While larger attack cruisers may boast a lot of fire-power ,they are very vulnerable to a swarm of lighter fighters under the control of a skilled player.

I like it more than enough to recommend checking out at least the core set. It's not as hellishly expensive as other miniature based games and if you like what you get with the base set its well worth getting at least one expansion for both sides if only to keep things balanced. Its also quite welcome to new players, with the tutorial doing a great job of introducing the basics. It can get quite complex but nowhere near as hellishly difficult as Warhammer. If your keen to get into the miniatures side of boardgaming I'd highly recommend giving this a try.

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby kiljayden » Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:00 pm

WoW, im going to literally put everything on hold in my life and do this! This looks like endless amounts of fun! FML i must have been living under a rock to have not known about this!

Thanks for this! woot ordering flying plastic stuff this minute!
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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Marz » Thu Aug 14, 2014 9:49 am

So i went to go have a look at the price of some of these things
$$$$$$$$
Alteast they are painted lol

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby kiljayden » Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:53 am

you need to look past the cash u need to spend on the things and look at how much fun it will be holding a plastic jobby in your fingers flying it around going vroom vroooom - pew pew pew pew! Die! sucker! pulling up going around the 4 side march 1, Oh noes i have a bogey at my six!....I Cant shake em! i can't Sh******* May*** Day***Mmmmmmm. Eject eject eject! i mean priceless common? right?
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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Marz » Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:03 pm

you sound like a credit card ad :)

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Specktor » Thu Aug 14, 2014 3:30 pm

I saw this being played at ICON, looks quite complicated but all table top games are.
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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Mael » Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:01 am

Since I was introduced to this about a month ago and ended up buying the new Force Awakens Core box (read starter kit) I felt the need to necro this thread.

I was taught the basics in 15min, and was able to play the game without assistance by my second turn.

Yes it can become complicated and expensive as your skill and army grows, but unlike the warhammers of the world, with just the 3 ships from the core set you can have a lot of fun. They come with different pilots, a few upgrades and a mission game to add some variety.

And did I mention its one of the few tabletop games you can finish in 30min!

You don't need more to get started.

I will probably buy a few more ships later, but for now I'm loving the game's ability to be an "open the box and play" style game with an easy learning curve.

And also Star Wars dammit!

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Nightcrwler » Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:15 am

WoW, this looks really awesome. I apparently live under a rock :s

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Specktor » Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:40 pm

Tabletop gaming is the new big thing, it's immune to loadshedding.
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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Nightcrwler » Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:27 am

haha

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Re: [BLOG] Tabletop Lore: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures

Postby Psyloc » Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:11 pm

This is a really fun way to spend the day i already have 2 expansions and the starter pack. There are also national and regional tournament run year round in south Africa. its super addictive. i am personally only concentrating on the Rebel craft.
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