Continuing with the trend of taking a look at the ships for the X-Wing miniatures game from Fantasy Flight, today we take a look at the X-wing Fighter itself.
New Spikey Bits’ Writer Super Kaiju wrote this sweet article on the most recognizable ship from Star Wars, the X-Wing.
I’d like to start out by saying I am by no means a god among men when it comes to playing games. I am merely saying I’ve played a few more games then others and may have lucked my way through a tournament.
These tactics are for beginner players to help them better familiarize themselves with the game to help their over all play. If you’re a seasoned gamer who can come up with battle plans and strats in your sleep, these may not apply. So, now that that’s out of the way, lets begin shall we?
Biggest thing I can say in this game, numbers are your friend. The more ships you plop on the table, the better off you’ll be later. It might be tempting to take the most expensive pilot and deck him to the teeth with all those fancy weapons, but if he gets focused and killed, wheres that leave you?
Granted, yes, there are exceptions to this rule but as an all around tactic to pull from, this one is pretty useful. It just means you have more ships, and thus, more guns. More targets for your enemy to shoot at as well, but hey, better to divide the damage then have it all on one guy if possible. Since this game is based off mostly random chance over everything else, the more you can shoot the better your chances of scoring those kills. You’ll also feel better seeing you got plenty more on the table if you lose a ship or two.
Now that’s not saying never take the big guys either. Their abilities are very nice and can easily turn a bad situation good. Just find that balance between the numbers and the names to help you down the road.
My suggestions as it stands with the current point list of tournaments at 100 points, Rebels should sit with 4 ships while Imperials should sit around 6 ships. That can give you 1 named guy for rebels and a few for the Imperials as they are much cheaper. Again though, just test the waters here, eventually you’ll find the play style you like and then regardless of how many ships you field, if you have fun, you have some fun. And ain’t that why we play games?
Next thing I can say is take is slow. No really, don’t go that fast in those space ships brah! A lot of people, myself included, do like to jet forward turn one to get into the action quicker. But with most tournies, you start 2 range bands out so you can go slow and still be fighting turn 1 most of the time. Yea, if both players go slow you might not have some turn 1 fun, but that’ll hopefully allow you to decided what to do next a bit better.
Also most of those missiles require a far range to work, so if things go right, that’s a good time to unload with some nasty fire power. Speaking from experience, it definitely isn’t fun to have your awesome missiles sitting around cause you made the mistake of getting to close to fast.
Another reason to go slow is if your opponent does rocket forward to meet you, you may have a good chance of pulling a nice U-turn in the second round and get free shots on their rear end without fear of retaliation. And isn’t that just nice? Won’t always go that why, but I’ve done it a few times to some usefulness and its very nice.
Final thing and my personal opinion, don’t fear the asteroids! No really, don’t be afraid to fly around them. They provide some cover and in the end depending on luck, won’t hurt you much. plus it will confuse the crap out of your opponent to see you flying around and through them.
Hope these help new players and good luck to you in your games.
Welcome to X-Wing, enjoy your stay. Checkout our sweet video un-boxing for the legendary Slave One below, and be sure to read our other Star Wars Tactics Articles. -MBG
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
