Rogue Tactics- X-Wing Scenario Tactical Guide

One of the new things X-Wing 2.5 has brought to the game is the inclusion of Scenarios and Objective Play. Going forward, X-Wing games will not be simple fights to the death. Instead, games will be decided by the first to score 20+ points. This transition to a 20 point scale is what prompted the change in squad building and scoring, arguably the most unexpected change to the game. So what does this mean for your time at the X-Wing table? Will the game be something completely different from anything you’ve seen before? Is your beloved game dead?

The short answer to this is no, no it’s not. I had the good fortune to get to play in a small local tournament this past weekend, right after the changes dropped. It was nothing on the scale of the Cherokee Open, but it was the type of event we’re all most used to participating in. Eight players doing three rounds of X-Wing on the weekend. It gave us all the chance to try out each of the new scenarios (except Chance Encounter, which we collectively decided to skip since it was the most similar to old X-Wing).

Initial set-up was a bit of a pain. Only some people had appropriate tokens for the objectives. No one had a range 1.5 ruler. The rules for setup aren’t bad, but they look more complex than they truly are, making it feel intimidating. But after the first game, we all quickly realized, setup for each of the scenarios is essentially the same. There might be different tactics you’ll want to employ, but the mechanics are the same. This made everything go faster by the end. We’ll all get used to them and it won’t be any different than placing rocks has always been.

With the caveat that these are only initial, preliminary experiences, what did I learn from my experience? So much of the game is still the same. But scenarios do play a major role. What role do they play? And what tactics should you be aware of and be using yourself? I’ve broken things down in a few simple rules:

Tactical Guide

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Reposition + Action Grabs the Cheese
Create a No Fly Zone
IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations)
What’s Your Win Condition?

1. The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

This is still X-Wing. It may feel like a lot has changed but at the core, this is still a game of X-Wing, much the same as it’s been for the past decade. Set dials, try to anticipate your opponent, line up arc, roll dice. Cry when your three agility ship, at range 3, through a rock, rolls all blanks.

Scenarios aside, there are many elements and tactics to the game that are not fundamentally changing:

Initiative Still Rules – If you can kill a ship before it gets to shoot or have full knowledge to dodge arcs, or steal an objective from an opponent who already claimed it, you still have a major advantage.
Red Dice > Green Dice – Throwing more attack dice than your opponent is still generally better than being able to throw more green dice. They remain just as fickle as ever.
Judging Maneuvers Uber Alles – Being able to gauge where your ship is going to land with any given maneuver is still vital to your success. Maybe more so as landing on an obstacle hurts more now and you really do not want to bump into your own ships.

2. Reposition + Action

Being able to deploy a ship that can boost or SLAM and then perform an action can allow you to grab an early lead in objectives. Every game, two objectives are going to be within range 1-3 and the center on will be exactly range 3.5 (since everyone lines their ships on at the edge of range one at the start). A small base, speed 5 maneuver directly at the center objective is enough to get you into range round one to contest or capture it. But only barely. A large or medium base has more leeway. But speed four with a boost gives you more leeway with placement, so you can line up beside the objective, rather than straight at it. Half the objectives require you to take an action to gain control, so ships that can go at least speed 4, boost and get an action have an advantage.

Some components to consider (not an exhaustive list):

Afterburners – Almost any ship can take this now and it can be worth its weight in coaxium. Free action to boost, allows you to use your standard action to grab the objective.
Advanced SLAM – With SLAM, you can get a lot further across the board, potentially even contesting objectives on your opponent’s side of the board round 1.
Aethersprites/Eta-2 – Jedi fighters have free preposition actions built into their ships. They can all get a boost + maneuver + their standard action.
Sensitive Controls/Vectored Cannons – The ability to Boost in the system phase means your ships can still have their normal action to grab the objective.
Darth Vader (X1) – Vader gets free actions from the Force. He can’t boost but better, he can then also take a Focus or barrel roll after grabbing the objective.
Sabine Wren (TIE/ln) – She retains her ability to boost before maneuvering and it’s not her action.

3. Create a No Fly Zone

Objectives are placed first, then obstacles. This allows you to deploy your three obstacles to prevent your opponent from getting to them, or making their maneuver choices to do so, predictable. With the contested scenario, we ended up building a box of rocks around the central objective. To be within contesting range, you have to maneuver very carefully in a narrow path. Advantage is going to go to the player who is better at maneuvering their ship.

Related to obstacle placement, will be the use of bombs/mines. No one I played against so far has made use of bombs or mines but I foresee that becoming a valid tactic. You know more than ever where your opponent is going to want to go. Mining that area or dropping bombs there will force them into a tough decision.

Some components to consider (not an exhaustive list):

Struts – Droids (bombers and fighters) can just land on those rocks and sit there, comparatively safe and holding that objective. So, if you’re not flying Separatist, don’t place asteroid near any objectives.
Collision Detector/R5-X3 – Just ignoring rocks a few times throughout the game can be beneficial to avoiding these traps. If you have them and your opponent doesn’t, drop a few obstructions in the way and then fly right through them.
Ablative Plating – Medium and Large ships can take ablative plating to fly over a pesky rock and ignore any damage. Since you don’t lose your action (unless it’s a debris field and get stressed) you can pick an objective up or contest it at a value of two.
Trajectory Simulator – Throw a bomb ahead of you before you can get there will be even more devastating than it used to be.
Delayed Fuse – The value of fuse tokens were never bad but were always questionable before. But they are much more viable now thanks to Loadout Points meaning they aren’t a waste of points and, again, you know where your opponent will want to go in several scenarios.
Seismic Charge – All bombs/mines will have their place depending on your style, but seismic get a special note. You can set up obstacles near objectives in order for your use of seismic charges later. You can also use seismic charges to potentially clear away an annoying obstacle that’s just making your job harder.

4. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

This will be one of the core things to consider in the game. Throwing five identical ships at a match has already lost some of its value with the sidelining of generics. But, beyond that, each scenario plays slightly different. When you’re contesting objectives in Scramble, you want bigger ships (to count as two) or slower ships that can stop, back up, or hard one, to stay close longer. For Salvage, you want sturdy or fast agile ships to avoid having to drop the cargo. Republic Y-Wings have an odd role there, as they have inherent crit resistance. Assaulting the Satelite Array benefits the most from bombs deployed near objectives you’ve taken. Fast ships also are handy as you can skirt around, tagging your opponents previously taken objectives. SLAM can be very handy there. And for all of them, you still need some punching power to kill ships.

All of that combines to encourage you to build diverse fleets that can respond to changing circumstances. Three aces are not a dead strategy but they will require even more skill to be used successfully. Three powerful Aces can get the drop on ships, but they cannot cover very much of the board, especially if you’re keeping them together to concentrate fire. If they aren’t careful they’ll fall behind in points, and if they lose one ship the game could be over early.

That said, sending in a spread of fast, weak ships isn’t necessarily going to win you games either. If you can flit around the board, that’s helpful. If it’s hard to hit you with three agility and evades, that’s helpful. But you still need to get some kills on your opponent. Two die attacks spread out across multiple targets is not going to get many kills and you’ll have to work really hard to score enough objective points before you die.

Here’s a few pieces you might consider including in any fleet:

Striker – Fast ship that can get around the board and claim objectives. These are your ships with a Reposition + Action.
Goalie – Ship with bombs or slow ships that can park near an objective and deny it to an opponent. These are bombers or beefy tank ships that take awhile to die.
Aces – These are your traditional “aces” who are good at killing things without getting shot themselves. They have flexibility in being able to go on offense and kill targets or evade the enemy to go after objectives.
Swarm – Filling our your squad with one or more cheap ships in order to get more bodies on the table is worth considering. They don’t have to do much beyond provide more targets that your opponent would rather not shoot at because they won’t net him very many points.

5. What’s Your Win Condition?

On Fly Better not long ago, Dee talked about OODA. The first two components, Observe and Orient are going to be vital. Your win conditions are going to change dramatically from round to round. You’ll start with one tactic and then, based on the fickleness of the dice, you’ll have to change.

In one game, I had my Wedge vs an opposing Luke, I managed to arc dodge and kill him with an Outmaneuver/Wedge shot giving him no defense die and me an early big lead. Then my Luke blanked out and got double Structural Damage, giving me no more defense die for the rest of the game. I was really close to killing a few of his ships but I had to change tactics and get Luke out of the battle and chasing down uncontested objectives instead of fighting. With Luke out, I also switched my A-Wing and Wedge from trying to get back into the fight and score other objectives to keep my lead going. My opponent didn’t change their tactics fast enough to capitalize on a weak Luke or contest those objectives before the game ended.

As much fun as it is to leap across the board to grab objectives, don’t fall into the trap of over exerting yourself. Sending a low initiative pilot ahead to grab some salvage might seem like a good idea. But if you end up in firing range of your opponent, your ship can easily die or be forced to drop the salvage, preventing you from getting that point, and possibly giving them an insurmountable lead with a turn one ship kill. You can win the game without getting any objective if you kill your opponent’s ships. But if you narrow your focus too much, letting your opponent have uncontested objectives, you can find yourself suddenly losing the game. Most games played have been ending round 5-7, some earlier. If your opponent has three out of five objectives for five rounds, that’s 15 points.

What will win your the game will change. It might be getting a kill. It might be capturing another objective. And it might just be keeping your big point ship alive for an additional round. Keep reorienting yourself to look out for those changing win conditions.