Early Impressions of X-wing Miniatures Game

I took the plunge and purchased the Fantasy Flight Star Wars X-wing Miniatures game (catchy title that). Mind you it isn't much of a plunge at around £25 for the starter set. Anyway, let's have a look at the game in more detail.

The Miniatures

There's a lot of debate about whether pre-paints are a good or bad thing. Personally I'm a huge fan. Obviously they aren't stunningly painted but each expansion is basically a tenner for a pre-painted model with all of the rules for it. There are lots of examples across the interwebs or people repainting these things but I won't be doing that. Frankly it's a relief to have a game where you've got painted models straight out of the box. It's actually one of the reasons I was attracted to the game in the first place. Whenever we consider starting a new game system my first thought is "that'll be even more models that I've not painted".

As anyone knows from 40K, playing with a pair of fully painted armies does wonders for the level of immersion. Maybe I'm spoilt by the quality of the GW models but the x-wing miniatures don't come close to that level of detail. That being said they're just right I reckon. There a few worryingly flimsy looking bits like the guns on the x-wings and the flying base pegs but if I take care of them I'm sure they'll survive.

Final thing on the miniatures is that, for someone arriving late to the party, it's frustrating trying to get hold of the models. I picked up an A-wing and YT-1300 easily enough but I've struggled to find the X-wing and B-wing. There doesn't seem to be any Y-wings at all at the moment wherever I look! I'm sure they'll print some more but apparently they aren't that great anyway.

The Rest of the Starter Box

Image from Dad's Gaming Addiction

Essentially you get everything you need to play some basic games. Of course GW starter sets offer this kind of thing but Fantasy Flight goes a little further as they include counters and markers for things. Obviously I'm aware I'm getting excited about a few bits of card but that's the kind of thing that makes a difference. I haven't played all that many games yet but it appears to me that they've thought of pretty much everything. There's an abundance of counters and, as ever with FFG, they're excellent quality.

Everything in the box is aesthetically pleasing. There's a definite Star Wars feel throughout with some nice touches like the range ruler being green on one side (Empire) and red on the other side (Rebels). The starter box isn't perfect though. Even with the limited ships in the box you don't actually get enough dice. When a ship is firing at close range you need 4 attack dice for the x-wing and there's only 3 in the box. Similarly for a tie-fighter evading at long range there aren't enough evade dice. You can, of course, buy some extras for £7-8 but it really only needed them to throw one more of each into the box.

My other, minor, gripe is that you don't get any kind of playing surface. Obviously GW doesn't provide one (or even any scenery) in their starter kits but it would've been nice to get one and I'd have happily paid £50 if they'd included one. I'm aware they're about to release a set of tiles though. As I say, not a major issue but something to think about.

Expansions

I really feel like I'm getting value for money here. Perhaps that's because I'm used to GW prices but if you bought one of everything they've released so far it'd set you back £200 (assuming 10% off) which you wouldn't even buy you a single 40K army these days. For that you're getting one of every ship from each side and excellent replay value from all the combinations you can create. Each little £12 box gives you a new model, cards, counters, etc. I feel a lot more comfortable buying these than I do shelling out double for some 40K miniatures that I've got to cut off the sprue, build, spray and paint.

The bigger boxes e.g. Slave 1 and the Millennium Falcon add extra missions to the game too. At the moment we've been having some straightforward shootouts and have only tried the missions a couple of times but suffice to say I like the idea of more depth from these additional missions.

Like any game you'll probably want multiple copies of the models and as such you'll end up with a crapload of counters and cards that you don't want/need. Can't really complain for the price though. It seems most people buy a couple of starter sets so that they've got four TIE fighters, two X-wings and enough dice!! If there's two of you wanting to get into the game you can get a set each and then swap models once you've decided which side you want to play as. Annoyingly you'll probably still want to get one each of the X-wing and TIE fighter expansions for the pilot cards. I don't mind this too much though as it means I'll have a decent collection of ships for when I'm playing someone different who doesn't have their own set.

The Rules
That's enough rambling about all of the bits. What's it like to actually play the game? A lot of fun actually, so far at least. The reason Matt and I wanted to get this game was that we wanted something that wouldn't take too long to play but that was still varied and tactical. It's a refreshing change of pace from 40K with play flowing quickly. There are plenty of videos online about how the game actually works so I won't go into too much detail.

I love the idea of the manoeuvres being secret. It adds a touch of realism to the dogfighting as you have to second guess your opponent and hope you'll get yourself into a good position to shoot. The movement feels about right for the ships. The TIEs are pretty nimble but flimsy whereas the X-wing is sturdier but slower and heavier. The models in the box are reasonably balanced if you use the recommended pilots. Some of the pilots, like Luke Skywalker, feel a bit too good even when you've upgraded the TIEs to the same points. I'm hoping that in bigger games those special rules won't seem quite as good as in small games Luke feels pretty invincible.

We had a fantastic game the other day with two tricked out TIEs taking on an X-wing and A-wing (the only models we had at the time). The X-wing was double teamed early on but the brave A-wing pilot managed to out fly the TIE pilots and take them both down by the skin of his teeth. The game concluded with one TIE and the A-wing trying to make attack runs on each other but never quite doing enough damage. Eventually both ended up with a single hull point and the A-wing got lucky with the dice to win through.

I've not played bigger games yet so I'll have to report back when I have but at the moment the games feel reasonably balanced. I've read that eventually the Empire's cheaper ships mean they have a slight advantage but that remains to be seen. For now, I'm pleased with my purchase, the rules are straightforward and most situations are pretty much black and white. There's no "I don't think he can see him" or "you're just in/out of range". That's a big thing for me. I don't enjoy the arguments that inevitably happen in 40K.

Conclusion
Matt and I are determined to keep this as a casual game. From what I've read online there's a big competitive scene with 40K-style spammy lists and general dirt. Being competitive types I'm sure we'll be tempted but we're going to try and self-police it so that neither of us takes something that is particularly nasty. We want to encourage variety over spam. Obviously it'd be fun to have the Falcon taking on a swarm of tie fighters solo but I don't want us to get drawn into diry lists. For that reason I want to steer clear of tournaments. That way we'll be playing for fun rather than testing lists like we're so often doing for 40K.

The shine has worn off a little bit with 40K. I'll be posting in more detail about it later. I'm certainly no quitting or anything but it's nice to have a game to be excited about. I can't wait to test out my Falcon and play some bigger games. We wanted something to play a bit more casually and I'm sure this will fill that role nicely.

Finally, one thing that I think X-wing does well is that it introduces players to miniature based games without the steep learning curve of 40K. The rules are simple enough for anyone to understand no matter what their background and you don't need to be a hobby god to enjoy immersive games. Speaking of which, I've picked up a mat from GF9 which really adds to the enjoyment of the game and despite being a little pricey (£30) it seems to be a quality product.

I'll be posting more as I have more games and hopefully be putting up some battle reports. If you haven't already tried it I'd recommend giving it a go for £25.

A Change is as Good as a Rest

It isn't what you're thinking, I'm not quitting 40K. I may have been quite over recent weeks (and I still haven't finished writing Blog Wars stuff up) but that's largely down to trying to get everything ready for our new arrival rather than losing interest in the hobby. What I mean by the change is that I've been playing Tau rather a lot recently. I was simply having too much fun using an army I've loved for a long time and actually winning games. There's no doubt that the codex is incredibly powerful at the moment. In fact, unless another book comes out that can really deal with them, Tau will remain high up in the rankings for a good while I'd expect.

Trouble is, if you show up to an event with a Tau list you're generally met with groans and sighs. When I used to take them in 5th edition and early 6th they'd be met with a much more welcoming atmosphere. This was probably mostly due to people being pretty confident they could beat them which is rarely the case at the moment. Anyway, my last tournament of the year will be Kill It With Fire at the Outpost next weekend. Whilst I'm a big fan of tournaments that encourage fully painted armies, the tournaments at the Outpost don't require any paint at all.

This gives me an opportunity to take my Dark Eldar to a tournament. I've used them at a previous Blog Wars towards the end of 5th edition but that was a webway based list that simply isn't viable anymore. That meant I hadn't needed to paint all my vehicles up so they're mostly sprayed black. I'd love to say I'll get some more paint on them by next weekend but that simply won't happen. Anyway, here's what I'm going to take:

1,750pts of Dark Eldar
Duke Sliscus
9 Trueborn (5 shardcarbines, 2 blasters, 2 splinter cannons, haywires) in a Raider

4x 5 Kabalite Warriors (Blaster) in Venom (two cannons)
9 Wyches (Haywires) in a Raider

2x 6 Reavers

2 Ravagers (Flickerfields)
1 Voidraven Bomber (Flickerfield, 2 Necrotoxin Missiles)

Short but hopefully sweet. In these days of alpha strike I was tempted to run Baron Sathonyx just for the better chance of going first. However, by taking Dark Eldar I'm already not worrying about competing too much so I've gone for Duke because I find him more fun. The problem with Baron is you either need to take some Hellions (which are fairly crap unless you take hundreds) or some allied Eldar seer council kind of thing. Neither of which really appeals.

Essentially my opponent is presented with four venoms, two raiders and two ravagers. Now it's well known that AV10 open-topped vehicles are pretty much paper but hopefully I can keep them alive long enough to do some damage. Any Dark Eldar player knows it's difficult to take down vehicles but with the ravagers, multiple blasters and dark lances from the raiders I should be fine. Failing that I've got the haywires but they should be a last resort.

Duke is great when combined with wyches/reavers as he makes two rolls for combat drugs. This gives you a good chance of getting the appropriate drug for the job. It also helps avoid the useless 3D6 run which can't even be used by the reavers. He's also pretty fun when you combine him with the trueborn. Thanks to his Serpent's Venom rule his squad are wounding on 3s against everything. Combine this with the blasters and his blast pistol and they can soften up an MC before charging in. Sliscus can then either strike first or else hopefully survive with his shadowfield long enough to make the most of his 2+ poisoned blades. His squad have taken down dreadknights and the like in the past and they'll be awesome against riptides (assuming they survive long enough!

There's a lot of fire coming from the venoms and kabalites. Obviously it's tricky to keep the venoms alive but you can keep range from most things and if something comes in close you can get into rapid fire range and hopefully deal with it. The reavers are also anti-infantry but might be useful in objective games (not that there are many at this tournament) for that last minute contest.

My only nod to anti-air is the voidraven which can be nasty if you can use the void mine to full effect. I usually end up missing with the void lances but in theory they can be good for taking down enemy flyers. Of course it'll flop to interceptor fire but there's a chance the flickerfield will keep it alive long enough to at least get some shots off and it'll never need to evade.

Ultimately, you can't play Dark Eldar if you're worried about losing some vehicles. Hopefully I've got enough of them to keep most opponents busy but as ever it really depends on what I come up against. I'd love to play bikes or similar as their T5 is irrelevant.

If nothing else I'm lookign forward to taking something different. Perhaps I'll be inspired to finally get these guys painted up. I hope so anyway.

Games Workshop Christmas Bundles

I may have criticised GW in the past for their patronising 1-click bundles which gave the impression of a bulk buy discount but actually cost the same as everything individually. This time though they're doing it right and it only seemed fair to acknowledge that for a change.

In case you haven't seen them yet GW are doing some bundle packs for Christmas. Unlike the 1-click collections these all come in a single box and actually offer a decent discount. There are three for fantasy but obviously I'm more interested in the three for 40K. Element Games are doing 20% off them and all but the Stormwing will give you free shipping (orders over £80 qualify).

Astartes Stormwing

This contains two stormtalons and a stormraven and comes in at £85. Obviously that's still a decent chunk of cash but the models individually would cost you £105. The key thing is that any player thinking about starting a Space Marine army might actually want these models. In the past the battleforces and megaforces we've seen contain models that aren't wanted by most players e.g. the vyper in the Eldar battleforce. However, stormtalons and a stormraven are actually a great addition to a SM force. These appear to be available through your FLGS which for me means 20% off. That means I can pick up the set for £68 which effectively gives me just over 35% off the RRP.

Of the three bundles this is the one that tempts me most as I may actually get use out of these. I was having a self enforced ban on buying 40K models until I'd painted more stuff but this might just tip me over the edge.

Tau Empire Firebase Support Cadre

You might think I'd be tempted by this bundle too but I'd be too tempted to build all the broadsides up as HYMP suits and I've vowed never to use them! Anyway, this set contains a riptides and six broadsides for £175. That's not small change but if you were starting a Tau army then you could do worse than buy this box. Any Tau army could benefit from these models and the discount is decent again. The combined total would be £230 for the individual boxes so that's a saving of £55 which is essentially a free riptide! If I was buying this from my FLGS at 20% off I'd save a whopping 39% off RRP! That's great in anyone's book.

I'll definitely not be getting one though as, if nothing else, I've nearly run out of Adeptus Battlegrey and the new colour just isn't a match! I'd love to own some broadsides as I love the models but I'd just feel too dirty using them! I can see them shifting a lot of these bundles though as they're great value (if such a thing is possible with GW products). Let's say for a minute that like me you already own a pair of riptides and you're unlikely to run three. Buy the box at 20% off, sell the riptide for £40 (not an unreasonable amount to get for it) and you've got 6 broadsides for less than £17 each which is 55% of their RRP and about as cheap as you'll ever get them!

Eldar Ghost Warriors

Last but not least we come to the Eldar collection. It's no surprise that GW have done bundles for what are likely to be the most popular armies at the moment. Not everyone will jump at this bundle as it's very much themed towards wraith units. If you were thinking of an Iyanden army though then this will sort you out. The set gives you one wraithknight, two wraithlords and 15 wraithguard/blades for £160. If you total up the individual boxes you'd be paying £216 which gives you a huge saving of £56 which is the best of these new bundles. Again assuming I got this from my FLGS I'd pay £128 which would give me a huge 41% off RRP. This is GW we're talking about here! Obviously your results will vary depending on what your local shop offers but even 10% discount like that offered by Wayland Games would give you 33% off RRP.

In a similar way to the Tau collection if we sold the Wraithknight for £56 (20% off RRP) then you'd have paid £72 for two wraithlords and 3 boxes of wraithguard which is better than half price!

The Other Stuff
GW have also released six new paints today. I can see a use for all of them in my armies but they're mostly for finishing models off and I'm a long way from being able to do that!! Even so it's worth checking out the videos on the GW website to see what each one does. Obviously they're a bit patronising but the important thing is to see how the paints work.

Sadly GW has also taken the opportunity to put up more of their stupid 1-click bundles that save you no money so don't get carried away with the bundles and think that you're actually getting the rest at a discount too.

Finally, we've got some limited edition things for Chaos. Firstly there's the Chaos Collection which is £175 for two codexes and a supplement (need I say anything else?!). Then there's the Armies of Renown book which is £20 and contains shots of their 12 armies of the month from WD with a few painting tips again a waste of money if you ask me. Finally there's the Chaos dice which come in different colours depending on which Chaos god you're worshipping. GW dice are always more expensive than you can get them from eBay etc but for £6 they're hardly going to break the bank.

Right, that's it for now, sorry if this whole post seemed like a massive advert but I felt it was only right to spread the word about GW offering a genuine discount for a change!!