Although the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020 had seemingly been treated as a recurring backdrop for this blog, its role in said blog’s very existence is not insignificant. Overseas reports and soon-thereafter inland reports of the disease’s outbreak functioned as an unspoken timer for us playing X-Wing in the States before the inevitable lockdown–even if I numbered among the unbelievably naïve in assuming that we could effectively lockdown sufficiently for safe Prime Championships in Summer. My initial goal to spend 2/3 of my casual tournaments fielding factions other than First Order to improve my knowledge of the game was yeeted in favor of fielding the models of my favorite faction whilst I could. As for spewing bad takes during a casual tournament that would be too long for posts on the forums–both as a means of rambling things out of my system and as a peculiar form of jumpstarting discussion with opponents whom would engage with the nonsense–another outlet would be needed: this blog.
Since this blog is in itself ontologically schizophrenic, both insisting that it’s only screaming into nothingness as its own exercise–all the while entertaining discussion and being a repository of often unique tastes that I would link in certain threads online–it is only fitting that this final post of the year is equally at odds with itself in its structure. Primarily, it will be an insufficient gathering of thoughts on my playing of X-Wing as the year closes. But secondarily, it will be my platform for my own ideas out of the many on the current year in the game.
A quick list recap:
Below are the contents of an Excel document whose cells I extracted and pasted (subsequently formatting through Notepad) just to cover all the lists that I flew this year. Although I updated the document after every tournament, I excluded from this blogpost the data pertaining to the non-First Order factions I flew. In addition to being a hilarious cringefest within canon, game mechanically speaking, First Order is my favorite faction and the one I feel the most competent with when playing competitively. It thus makes sense that this blog and hence the below lists are concerned with First Order. I love all the models I have, but I just can’t get excited about certain factions when their strongest appeal, that being physical model appearance, is absent from online play.
Kylo (Instinctive Aim, Advanced Optics, Proton Torpedoes), Blackout (Fanatical, Advanced Optics), Muse (Squad Leader)
3-1 [kit] HYPERSPACE
Kylo (Instinctive Aim, Advaced Optics, Proton Torpedoes, Mag Pulse Warheads), Major Vonreg (Daredevil, Deuterium Power Cells), Rivas
2-2 [kit] HYPERSPACE
Kylo, Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver), Holo
3-1 [kit] HYPERSPACE
Kylo, Major Vonreg (Daredevil), Holo (Proud Tradition)
3-1 [kit] HYPERSPACE
Kylo, Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver), Holo
3-1 [store championship] HYPERSPACE
Kylo, Tavson (Biohexacrypt Codes), Thannison
3-1, 0-1 cut [kit with cut]
Kylo, Blackout [Fanatical], Rush
2-3 [store championship] HYPERSPACE
Kylo (Instinctive Aim, Advanced Optics, Proton Torpedoes), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver), Muse (Squad Leader)
2-2 [kit] HYPERSPACE
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Advanced Optics), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Pattern Analyzer, Mag Pulse Warheads, Afterburners)
3-1, [online casual]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Advanced Optics), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Pattern Analyzer, Mag Pulse Warheads, Afterburners)
3-3, [online premier]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Advanced Optics), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Pattern Analyzer, Mag Pulse Warheads, Afterburners)
2-3-drop, [online premier]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Afterburners)
5-1, 0-1 cut [online premier]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Afterburners)
0-3-drop [online premier invitational]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Afterburners)
0-3 [kit]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Mag Pulse Warheads)
4-2 [online premier]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver)
0-2-drop [online casual]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Primed Thrusters), Major Vonreg (Outmaneuver, Afterburners)
2-2, [online casual]
Blackout (Trickshot), Holo (Proud Tradition, Mag Pulse Warheads), Thannison (Kylo)
1-2, [online casual] BANNED FORMAT
Kylo (Advanced Optics), Holo (Proud Tradition), Tavson (Biohexacrypt Codes)
4-0 [online semicompetitive]
Kylo (Advanced Optics), Holo (Proud Tradition), Tavson (Biohexacrypt Codes)
4-2 [online premier]
Kylo (Advanced Optics), Holo (Proud Tradition), Tavson (Biohexacrypt Codes)
4-2 [online premier]
Kylo (Supernatural Reflexes, Proton Torpedoes, Advanced Optics), Lt. Lehuse (Cluster Missiles, Munitions Failsafe), Null (Targeting Synchronizer)
3-1, 3-0 cut [store championship]
Kylo (Instinctive Aim, Advanced Optics, Proton Torpedoes), Holo (Proud Tradition), Gideon (Agent Terrex, Commander Pyre)
3-0, 0-1 cut [online semicompetitive invitational] HYPERSPACE
Kylo (Instinctive Aim, Advanced Optics, Proton Torpedoes), Holo (Proud Tradition), Gideon (Agent Terrex, Commander Pyre)
2-3-drop [online premier] HYPERSPACE
Swiss Winrates:
IRL: 24 - 15 (62%)
Online: 37 - 26 (59%)
Overall: 61 - 41 (60%)
Overall, drops counted as losses: 61 - 47 (56%) [Sure, worst case scenario given the opportunity to submarine or to play others in similar conditions, but if I keep this percentage as low as possible, then I could compare next year's stats to it and feel better almost certainly]
Cut Winrates:
IRL: 3-1 (75%)
Online: 0-2 (0%)
Overall: 3-3 (50%) [Similar problem to the drops counted as losses, the "final" of the Store Championship. Didn't know how to resolve it though, but leaning toward should be calling it 2-3, 40%]
Cut Conversion Rate [making cut/invite when available. Numbers don't add up from BOTS because the "cut" for that was an invite]:
IRL: 2-1 (67%)
Online: 3-8 (27%)
Overall: 5-9 (36%)
Non-premier: 4-2 (67%)
Premier: 1-7 (13%) [F]
Drops:
IRL: 0
Online: 4
Overall: 4
Overall, the records don’t really conclusively concur with my thoughts on playing IRL being an easier experience than distanced and online, as 3% is probably within the margin of error for an arbitrary guesstimation of the effect of a differing means of playing the game. However, the sample sizes might not be relevant. 2 bad tournaments (me flying Rush wrong as well as later on getting aggressively diced and discovering that there is an even more paranoid way to effectively fly Kylo + Vonreg) are likely tanking the low-sample-size IRL winrate. At any rate, online is where the future of this game will be, so I have to keep at it if I want to improve my most unappealing stat: cutrate. The high conversion rate for IRL tournaments is irrelevant as online was where all the premier action was. I’m hoping I can bring that up–most particularly for premier events, which of course is related to the Swiss winrate improvement goal. That having been said, 60% winrate isn’t bad. It’s just barely at the better end of the middle of the field, which sounds about right in my skill as a player. Now on to the lists themselves.
Flown before the blog. Kylo+Blackout+Muse was a large bit of fun, but I was fielding the lot only because the TIE/BA hadn’t been released yet. Blackout’s 6 health, great use of Fanatical, coordinate synergy with Muse and both his ship and his pilot abilities, and matching Kylo’s initiative were all great. But I just rather have Vonreg with Outmaneuver and a little bit of bid so self-sufficient full mods and enemy nerfs are already going and under my control; in other words, Vonreg does Blackout’s job better in this particular archetype, even if he has less health and a noticeably worse ship ability. Also, he’s less predictable when coordinated. In my loss with Kylo+Blackout+Muse, I got greedy and sort of telegraphed my intentions with Blackout and paid dearly for it. Sure, I may have done worse with Kylo+Vonreg+Muse in the grand total of 1 tournament apiece with them, but I’m sure that it’s the better list in the online playing that I went about on. The small sample sizes be cursed.
Flown before the blog. A large sample size for Kylo+Vonreg+Rivas isn’t needed to know that it’s bad. The BA just came out and I tried to make it function as a muggle Delta 7B. The regen might help with that in a lot of games, but the overall lack of passive focus mods is still glaring. Daredevil then being a trick that Jedi couldn’t do was neat, but not neat enough with many and wide side-arcs, spammed arcs, or being outbid by I6’s. I got better with it online, but Kylo+Vonreg+Muse was so much better. The existence of Terrex makes the desired playstyle significantly easier to achieve nowadays.
Flown before the blog. Kylo+Vonreg+Holo was easily my most consistently-performing Hyperspace list. It was sure to have mostly good matchups across the field, but its MOV was always very lackluster, consistently hugging the lower 3-1’s–a noticeable result that turned me off from the list when I placed 5th in a store championship the week before I started this blog, just barely missing the Top 4 Kylo damage decks. Nevertheless, with many aces and ace-tech pieces removed from the format, it was one of the few options for decent triple aceplay, although I much preferred to open with Holo as a support piece and then have her do her own thing as the game developed. Though my style of Kylo+Tavson+Holo flew significantly differently in its replacing of Vonreg with Holo, the sheer tankiness of damage sink Kylo under even somewhat underwhelming green results was a large inspiration for that list once it became possible to fit all the toys I wanted in it.
Flown before the blog. Kylo+Tavson+Thannison was a nostalgic return to the list I made my first Hyperspace Trial final with, as the point change in late January reverted Thannison down to 59 points and thus making the list possible. Thannison is still low-key the best tractor in the game (1 pt. and an initiative drop for a purely passive effect that synergizes with your area denial), although he’s not as good as upgrading to Tavson if he’s available. But there’s a lot of things that can just charge Upsilon’s and not care, such as the ever-popular TIE/SF’s and ARC-170’s, as so long as they live past the first volley, they can get behind them. Proper Upsilon play can mitigate that, but it’s still a list that really wants to see Rebel and Resistance beef.
Flown before the blog. Kylo+Blackout+Rush was my then-best try at a triple Silencer list, but I clearly didn’t know how to fly Rush. Back then, I didn’t understand fully when to charge with him and dare the opponent to shoot him or when to hold back and let the aces take the heat at suboptimal angles for the opponent. My game sense was very off and I probably would have been better with a piece better suited for a klutz such as myself, like 2 TIE/FO fighters adding up to the same cost. As if that weren’t enough, him only having a single mod as an I6 was infuriating as in the games that I didn’t have a debilitating crit turn him I6, I simply could not and would not hit things even at Range 1. It was loads of fun on Vassal all the same. I should probably revisit it sometime as Automated Target Priority is quite satisfyingly good on Rush. Either you’re hitting things or you’re making your next chance to hit more likely.
Kylo+Vonreg. See the entire blog, lol. Practiced in some form online ever since points for the BA were released (the proxying with hypothetical points and slots while Composure shenanigans were still possible don’t count), it’s been the most inconsistent of lists. Yes, it has scored the highest level of success for me this year, but it has hung out at the middle and the bottom of the field more than others. Altering and taking it for Ryloth was ultimate a meta-call and an act of desperation, and it worked! Sure, it was very variance resilient, but the floor was perhaps the lowest of any list that I’ve flown repeatedly.
Blackout, Holo, and Thannison were flown for a casual event where each faction had their best pilot[s] banned. I loved the list and regret chilling and not taking screenshots (I was focusing on Spacejam Sydney, which prompted my 2-month absence from the game), as it would have helped me improve with it. At the time, if there were more casual events to play in, I certainly would have played the list for them. My ultimate failure came from relying far too heavily on red dice counts for Thannison (often modded by just a focus or a single force) and not going out and locking whilst tanking the incoming damage without a reinforce. The high level of shenanigans with Thannison through I’ll Show You the Darkside, tractoring Blackout during combat for Trickshots, etc. were all very fun.
Kylo + Holo + Tavson, initially flown out of points adjusted such that all the toys can be taken, is probably the only list of mine where I actually care that the best tech for the Silencer, Advanced Optics, had its cost raised to 5 points. I mean, flying Terrex on Tavson has introduced me to flying him without Biohexacrypt Codes, but the way I fly Tavson as a token and action caddy for Holo while area denying would mean that I’d either have to field Holo more independently or go without the underappreciated support role of Tavson while he loops around to reenter the fight. That aside, the pure agnosticism as to who has how deep a bid and how moves first–the complete opposite from Supernatural Reflexes Kylo in a 2-ship list–was very reassuring. Optics + Force for full mods, or slide an evade to Kylo to become a very resilient damage sink. Even against powerhouses like Rey and Boba, being able to almost always trade better simply by nature of where you put your pieces and tokens feels very rewarding. A dopamine rush is inevitable when double and triple I6’s are defeated by a 2I5 ace + support list, of which this list offers a rather decent chance of achieving. Not the most variance resilient list that I had, it was still very variance resilient all while offering decent players a respectable skill floor.
Kylo+LeHuse+Null initially started off as quaint thematic list where I tried to balance both the scene from The Last Jedi depicted in the store championship prize support and building a Kylo accurate to that scene–all while functioning as counter enough to Spamtex should they have shown up. The Store Championship victory–as cool as it was getting the oversized focus token, the plastic cards, and the Kylo damage deck–is rather deceiving, as under most formatting for the event, the winner would be the undefeated guy who left after the initial 4 rounds were over. Experiencing the various contrivances needed to win the event, I’m certain that this is the weakest Supernatural Reflexes Kylo list I have built (but bonus points for theme!). SuperKylo + Quickdraw + Scorch flies more or less the same style for the same level of bid, but it’s less Rube-Goldberg in its composition and more true 3-dice base attacks that get better at Range 1, and that’s more valuable than torpedoes on Kylo in a 3 ship list.
Kylo+Holo+Gideon is more than just the then-Hyperspace legal version of the other shuttle type of this list. It’s demonstration that some First Order setup cards can be good, even if a lot of value comes from the included Kohska Frost ability on gold stormtrooper. Terrex is also very good, amusingly even when the calculate ends up on Kylo. I wish I played this list more in some Hyperspace pickup games, but the banning of Optics from Hyperspace means that I’ll have to move on to new things next Hyperspace tournament. It is a bit more prone to variance than the Tavson version as well as noticeably less agnostic about the starting player, but Instinctive Aim is buttloads of fun even without facing False Transponder Codes or enemy Holo’s/Captain Kagi’s. I don’t like the perennial 94 pt. Instinctive Aim Kylo as much as nearly any variant of Supernatural Reflexes Kylo, but I like him even more than Extreme Maneuvering Kylo!
The second abrupt topic change: unwarranted ramblings regarding some changes
Asmodee reconfiguring the various lesser companies of their gaming empire has been unnecessarily clunky. And I’m not talking about the loss of the forums; although that does sting a bit, Discord, Reddit, Boardgamegeek, and whatever Atomic Mass Games will drop are options. It might seem initially fragmenting into a fanbase’s diaspora, but integration within co-existing and overlapping communities will be inevitable. No, I’m talking about serious matters: Alex Davy and Max Brooke–2 of the lead designers of X-Wing, wholesome members of our sometimes cancerous or self-entitled community, and longtime employees of Fantasy Flight Games–were abruptly terminated in their employment. Asmodee apparently wants Atomic Mass Games themselves to continue development of the game, not some transferred FFG old timers. Understandable, but there are so many better ways of handling this, even if the Minnesota residents couldn’t make it to Washington State and thus retain the equivalent position, as the means matter as significantly as the ends. Layoffs aren’t unique or new, but almost anything’s better than having your best designers walk in to work and told something to the effect of “by the way, you don’t work with us anymore due to cost-cutting transfers and shit, good luck and fuck off.” I know that AMG made a well-received game in the form of Marvel Crisis Protocol, but CD Projekt Red also made The Witcher III: Wild Hunt before their latest infamous and ironic release. The recent unclear and initially slipshod game designer job posting by AMG doesn’t assuage fears that the pursued balance and quality of product of Second Edition X-Wing will be a higher priority than haphazardly printing product for a marginally higher profit. That and some of the contents of that posting and other whispers on the internet (yes, taken with more than just a grain of salt) allude to a whim-based spontaneous work environment when consistency is a priority. Which is perplexing as happier and less stressed developers produce higher quality products, so even if this is Asmodee going full Disneycorp and late stage capitalist, it would perhaps better suit their goals to not make this messier than it has to be.
Now to derived matters that get more concern than the wellbeing of the developers: the future of competitive X-Wing. Even assuming the game remains relatively balanced and the models are good quality for their price, AMG focuses on more casual play for its organized play material. That…should be no large problem then, as the community already made its own competitive events in the form of the Firestorm Championship, the Crossroad Classic, the Mynock Open, the Lima Open, etc. Gold Squadron not only was the main organizer of the vast majority of major X-Wing tournaments this year, but Dión and his elves essentially ran this year’s World’s Championship and all the events through which one could qualify for it. If no competitive environment exists, then we as an X-Wing community will make one. Or more correctly speaking, we will perpetuate it. Heck, Halo Ground Command (aforementioned in this blog as a more fluid version of the later Star Wars Legion [also moving to AMG]) was discontinued almost as soon as it started due to Spartan Games not turning a profit as a company on a whole. Yet, the fans of that game not only ran a tournament at every Adepticon, but they continue to expand the game through unit creation and 3D printing, carrying these new units even into the Tabletop Simulator module, IIRC. If Spartan Games did come back from the dead and declare Vincent Colborn’s new unit rules void, the community would likely just ignore them. Similarly, if the balance and quality of AMG X-Wing is less than appealing, community-run events can either pretend they don’t exist or make some tweaks for the events. There is already precedent in the form of special squadbuilder rules and restrictions for certain online events past.
There’s another, subtler concern that I’ve been bumping into on the internet regarding X-Wing’s community’s future and that is of smaller content creators. Before the pandemic, there were a plethora of streamers for various events around the world: First Earth, VTTV, Weekend Warlords, DukeofHobbies, etc. The fear I’ve seen is that they’d be lost without the exposure of in-person local events amidst the increased centralized role that Gold Squadron plays for content creation. These fears are misplaced as not only has Gold Squadron offered a myriad of otherwise little-heard-of streamers exposure and platform via co-commentary for various events, but there’s an entire set of link-filled channels dedicated to non-Gold Squadron content creation within the Gold Squadron Discord. Even if accidentally, Dión could have easily let the forces conjured by the pandemic work things such that he holds a virtual monopoly on X-Wing streaming. But he’s genuinely concerned with the diversity of the community of this game and thus will not let that precious thing die. As with podcasts, there is a lot of choice for X-Wing streaming.
The new Hyperspace restrictions are neat, as well as better streamlined. Only chassis that had 2nd edition releases are present, but all the chassis with 2nd edition releases are present. Either a ship has all generics or all uniques available for use, and that’s easier to remember than most of a ship with a few outliers here or there. This wrench thrown in the mix won’t help too much with Hyperspace being a more variance-prone format than extended, but it will work wonders in intensifying list diversity. Holo + 3 Jim is no longer legal? What about Proud Trad Hull Upgrade Holo + 3 Proud Trad Automated Target Priority Gunner Omega Squadron Experts? Or if that’s not your style, what about the equally appealing Fanatical Blackout + 3 Proud Trad Gunner Omega Squadron Experts? Kylo + Malarus + 3 FO’s are no longer legal? What about Automated Target Priority Rush + Malarus + 3 Zeta Squadron Survivor’s? Or swap that Rush for a Vonreg or an Avenger? Upset that Kylo + 3 Provacatuers is no longer legal? With no opportunity cost associated with not having maxed out efficiency with generics, 4 and 5 ship Kylo salads are surprisingly customizable and easy to flavor to taste. Recoil is actually not bad if your list wants an I4 Silencer with full mods because both the First Order Test Pilot and Advanced Optics have been removed while Predator has been added. He’s just, mediocre.
I don’t have much else to say regarding look back at 2020 or looking forward to 2021. There’s a lot more retrospect or speculation that I could spew forth, but it’s not much more value than what I posted there. I’m fielding my final form of Blackout + 2U for Hexiled Gaming’s Kyber Cup, currently the largest online event at 319 registered players. I’m not one for one-game-a-week tournaments, but at 300+ players, I couldn’t turn that down. In the meantime, I’ve got a fun and silly Kylo list for Enno’s New Years tournament this weekend. We’ll just see what the future holds for X-Wing and the community’s reaction for it.
As one final addendum, I’ll start posting links to this blog regularly in Gold Squadron’s First Order Fanatics channel. It’ll just mean that if I do decide to do a batrep for some other faction at a tournament should I feel the impulse, I won’t link it.
Screaming into the Void 