Just the FAQs Ma'am- Wave 3

A few of y'all noticed last Wednesday, FFG posted a new, Wave 3-centric X-Wing Miniatures FAQ update as well as a very brief addition to the X-Wing Miniatures Tournament Rules and shot me some emails about it. Before I had a chance to write something up for TMB, Larry from BoLS asked me to write a brief article about it for him. 

This article is not that article, but as they're both about the FAQ, they will probably be kinda similar in places. Also, I don't think my article has run on BoLS yet, but I could be wrong. My youngest is still getting over being sick, so I've been kinda out of it the past few days. 

In any case, on with the show! 

Tournament Rules 
As expected, the Wave 3 ships have now officially been added to the Legal Products listing. Aside from that, the only other addition is a tiny, no-brainer clarification on when a player may request a single range ruler and set of templates be used in their match (it's before the game actually starts now). 

The FAQ
As before, I'm not going to talk about every single little thing that got FAQed. It seems like a lot of stuff in the FAQ are just answers to questions that people have mailed in rather than actual necessary clarifications or whatever. In other words, unless I just completely botched a particular rule interpretation or interaction on TMB somewhere or I think it's kind of interesting, I'm probably not going to specifically call it out. There's a link to the FAQ itself at the top of this page and a link to it on the sidebar under the Rules and Resources section if you want to check out the whole thing (and I totally recommend that you do). 

So just kind of going along with the order in which this stuff's presented in the FAQ, here's some commentary. 

Oh, also- the FAQ and the Tournament Rules have more generic names than before now. For me, this is great because it means I (probably) won't have to ever update the sidebar links to the new FAQ and Tourney Rules addresses ever again. It's great for you because now you can just favorite them if you don't want to come here or drill down through FFG's pages to get to them when they change. 


Q: Can a ship perform the same Upgrade card action or Damage card action more than 
once per round?

A: No. Having more than one copy of the same card 

that requires an action to trigger its ability does 
not allow you to perform that action more than 
once per round.


Q: If a ship has more than one copy of the
same card that does not require an action 

to trigger its ability, can it trigger all of 
those card abilities?

A: Yes. For example, when a ship equipped with two Mercenary Copilots is attacking, it can change two 
results to two results.

Ok, so at a glance, you may be all kinda like, "WTF?" reading those two FAQ entries, but if you look closely, you'll see why their answers differ. 

In the first example, the question is in regard to an Action (emphasis, me) where in the second they're talking about stuff that isn't Actions. As you still can't (directly) perform the same Action in the same turn, non-Action stuff is totally cool to use any time they're triggered. 


Q: If a ship does not have a dial assigned to
it when it activates during the Activation
phase, can it resolve any effects that refer to its maneuver dial?

A: No. For example, a HWK-290 with an ion token cannot use the effect of Navigator to change the 

speed of its maneuver.

I'll admit, this one kinda surprised me at the time, but like a lot of stuff in the FAQ, upon close inspection, it really shouldn't have. 

If you read Navigator closely, the trigger for the card text is when you reveal your maneuver. As an Ion Weapon sticks you with that white 1 straight, you're not revealing the maneuver. 

(I thought this would go the other way because Nien Nunb and R2 Astromech were FAQed to still work on an Ionized ship. I know, I know- the wording is completely different)

Q: If a ship suffers more damage or critical damage than is needed to destroy it, are 
the excess Damage cards still assigned to 
that ship?

A: Yes. This means that a ship still in the play area due to the Simultaneous Attack Rule can be 
affected by additional faceup Damage cards.

Additionally, it means that whatever cards are stuck to that ship are out of the game after that. That can be good or bad depending on the Damage cards the ship took with it, and it's unlikely it's going to make some big statistical difference, but there is always that chance that you've managed to deplete your Damage deck of some particular card(s) in some abberation of probabililty.

It's kinda the same reason why you shouldn't mix multiple damage decks, make sure your opponent didn't get his cards mixed up with yours, etc. I talk more about this kind of stuff in the Damage Deck Explained! Bikini Battle Basics article. 

Q: How does Veteran Instincts work with

other abilities that set a ship’s pilot skill value to a new number?

A: Veteran Instincts increases a ship’s printed pilot
skill value; it does not increase further alterations
to that ship’s pilot skill value. For example, while
Black Squadron Pilot is equipped with Veteran
Instincts, his pilot skill value is “6.” If Darth Vader
(pilot skill value “9”) uses Swarm Tactics on that
Black Squadron Pilot, that Black Squadron Pilot now has a pilot skill value of “9,” not “11.”

I'm kinda glad they clarified this. While the above example may not seem like much of a head-scratcher, I personally was wondering what the order of operation was when adding Veteran Instincts benefit to a ship Mr. Roark was buffing. 

Hey, don't laugh- it wouldn't be the first time you got to pick the order in which your cards executed. Heavy Laser Cannon with a Mercenary Copilot? Bueller, Bueller? Anyone, anyone? I didn't think so. 
Q: Can Maarek Stele use his ability on a
ship that is dealt a faceup Damage card 

because of Draw Their Fire?

A: No. Maarek Stele’s ability only affects the defender.

Hadn't thought about it, but that's pretty lame really. As mentioned previously, Steele isn't exactly a bargain for the points to begin with. I get it though, I mean, I guess I get it. From a game mechanics perspective, I guess it makes sense, but if a ship is flying to try and draw Steele's fire away from the other ship- flying in between them or whatever, doesn't it stand to reason that they're going to take the consequence of his preternatural ability to damage ships where and when it counts?

Guess not. 

Q: If a ship equipped with Nien Nunb attempts
to execute a red maneuver but overlaps
another ship and must treat the maneuver
as a maneuver instead, does Nien Nunb’s
ability trigger and cause that maneuver to 
be green?

A: No.

Again, kinda surprised me, but only because they went seemingly the other way when it came to the Ionized stuff. 

Q: If a ship doesn’t have the action icon in its action bar, can it acquire and/or 
maintain a target lock granted by some 
game effect, such as Captain Jendon’s 
ability?

A: Yes.

I remember some folks talking hypothetically about this on the FFG forums back in the day. I don't recall if I voiced my opinion on the topic or not at that time, but their argument was that you couldn't do a particular Action if it wasn't even available to you. 

... Which is of course, not the case. 

Q: Can Captain Jonus use his ability twice on
a nearby friendly ship that is attacking with Cluster Missiles?

A: Yes.

Makes sense if you read the card. 

Q: When a ship’s maneuver template (but not the ship’s base), overlaps a ship equipped 
with Anti-Pursuit Lasers, does that ship 
suffer the effects of Anti-Pursuit Lasers?

A: No.

While we've talked on here before about how the ships in X-Wing just sort of magically teleport from one end of the movement template to the other in a game mechanics sort of way (and therefore wouldn't create an overlap which doesn't trigger Anti-Pursuit Lasers), I'm still glad they went ahead and clarified this. 


Q: If a ship overlaps another ship equipped
with Anti-Pursuit Lasers, but as the result 
of overlapping additional ships, it does not 
touch the ship equipped with Anti-Pursuit 
Lasers in its final position, does it suffer 
any damage?

A: No.

This is kinda interesting to me. 

What the question is asking is if a ship overlaps a ship with Anti-Pursuit Lasers, but there's another ship right next to the one with APLs, so the original ship has to move back along the template again because he'd be on top of that other ship, does APL trigger? 

The answer being "No", the takeaway here is that even though you totally did overlap the ship with APL, at the end of it all, from a game mechanics perspective, you actually didn't. 

Q: If a ship acquires a target lock by using Fire-Control System, and that ship is within 
range of Captain Kagi, is the locking ship 
required to lock onto Captain Kagi?

A: No. The target lock granted by Fire-Control System must be acquired on the defender. If the attacker 
acquires an additional target lock, such as from 
Weapons Engineer, that target lock must be 
acquired on Captain Kagi if possible.

Another one of those order of operation questions- which takes precedence? Fire Control System saying you lock onto the ship you just shot at or Kagi's bit about making you acquire him as a Lock if able? 

Now we know.

Q: If a ship attacks twice through some effect,
such as the Gunner upgrade, can the ship 
use the ability of Darth Vader (the Upgrade 
card) twice?

A: Yes, once after each attack.

Yup.

Q: If a ship equipped with Darth Vader would be
destroyed by using Darth Vader’s ability, can 
it use that ability?

A: Yes

Remember the end of Jedi? The dude's a martyr, man. 

Q: If a ship equipped with Darth Vader has
a number of Damage cards that equals
or exceeds its hull value, but is not yet 
destroyed because of the simultaneous 
attack rule, can it use Darth Vader’s ability?

A: No.

If you take yourself out, it wouldn't be a simultaneous attack I guess. 

Q: If Saboteur causes a player’s ship with a stress token to attempt to execute a red 
maneuver, does that player’s opponent 
get to choose the ship’s maneuver when it 
activates during the Activation phase?

A: Yes.

Hadn't even thought of that possibility. Probably won't happen much, but now you know what to do when it does. 

Q: If a ship with a stress token reveals a red 
maneuver, can it use Adrenaline Rush?
A: Yes. Treat the maneuver as a white maneuver; 
the opponent does not choose a maneuver for the 
stressed ship.

Cool. 

Q: If an effect “deals a damage card” (either
faceup or facedown), does the effect follow 
the procedure for “Suffering Damage” on 
page 16 of the core set rulebook?

A: No. For example, the effect of Proton Bombs deals
one faceup Damage card to each affected ship. 
This effect should not be confused with producing 
a result, thus this effect does not interact 
with shields, cannot be canceled by evade tokens, 
cannot be redirected by Draw Their Fire, etc.

We've talked about this difference on here before, but in case you thought that +Davyd Atwood and I were nuts, now you know we're not. Well, at least not when it comes to the difference between "suffering damage" and just getting a card dealt to you. 

Just the FAQs, Ma'am. Well, and Tourney Rules too!

My goodness, I finally have something new to talk about on here that doesn't feel completely forced to my internal editor mechanisms. 

Yesterday (well, two days ago by the time you read this, but yesterday while I'm writing it- ah screw it, July 22nd in any case) FFG updated both the X-Wing Miniatures FAQ and the X-Wing Miniatures Tournament Rules. Let's take a peek and see what's up, shall we? 

First, because it's much shorter, the Tournament Rules addendum.  Here's the short versions of the new stuff- 

Tournaments must now have at least one TO who is not playing. 

I think this is great. I remember reading a thread on the FFG forums where a guy kind of felt like he got the shaft playing against one of the TOs. I don't remember the whole scenario, but I think it was something along the lines of the TO wasn't making people use asteroids, this dude called him on it, and the TO was a bit whateva about it. Again- I might have that wrong, but it was something along those lines. It wasn't anything like obviously bad, but it was enough to put a bad taste in this poster's mouth and I remember posting something like, "They should just not allow TOs to play in the tournaments they're TOing." 

Y'all may have read the blog long enough to read between the lines and realize that I'm a big soccer/ football fan. To me, being a TO that plays in his own tournament is like being the visiting team while Howard Webb refs your match against United at Old Trafford. 

You have no idea the self control I'm exhibiting right now not just posting another 20 Webb United pics for my own personal amusement

You can use 3rd party rulers and templates are still allowed, but bases, ships, and card proxies are not. 

You may recall in the previous edition of the FAQ, FFG allowed for 3rd party rulers and templates, but made no mention of the bases, ships, and cards, except to say you couldn't proxy and you had to have a copy of ever upgrade you were representing in your list, etc., etc. 

The only real difference I see here is they make a really big deal out of not continuing your turn without a ship on a base. Man, I didn't think he'd be that mad. They go on to remind us of what's in the rulebook about taking a peg off the base if your models are going to touch if the bases aren't, etc., etc. Again, I get the point I guess, but the reality is this is kinda clunky if you thought you weren't going to touch, you move your ship, ah jeez, they do actually touch, hold on, let me move back along my movement template, now let me remove a peg, now back forward along the template enough so that our bases are now touching. Sheesh. 

They still have the bit about using a single set of rulers and templates if you think somebody is gaining an advantage, but they added in this is all up to the TO now. 

Squad Deployment Procedure must be used before the start of each game, and may be used before the tournament round. 

The fifth time I read this, I think I finally got the point- you and your opponent can perform the 7 Squad Deployment steps before the clock starts on the actual game. If you think about it, this is kind of a big deal, especially if you're in a tournament that only allows the bare minimum of time for each round. Deployment doesn't have to take a long time, but I'd bet on average in a tournament setting, performing your Squad Deployment step before the match would save you a good 5 minutes. Doesn't seem like much, but they're the ones at the end where it's going to matter, y'know? Where you can get three full game turns in 5 minutes easy. Could potentially make a pretty big difference. 

Point total calculations

The last bits are about scoring and the red ink is spread out enough it kinda won't make sense if I quote it directly the way I have the other topics. Suffice it to say, I think they're just clarifying wording. I don't see anything in there that's different from how I've played it or told you guys to play it. You add up how much stuff you killed from the other guy's list (including upgrades). Higher score gets a Match Modified Win, if you killed 33 or more points than the other guy, it's a straight Win, if you both killed the same amount of points, it's a draw unless you're in a championship bracket round in which case the guy with initiative wins. 

That's it for the Tournament Rules, so let's move along to the FAQ. There's a ton of stuff in the FAQ, and I'm not going to hit all of it- much of it is just clarifying the way you probably already play it, but there are a few things in here that made my eyebrows go up, so I'll talk about those a bit. 

Daredevil wording change

I can't decide if this is a big deal or not, probably because I wasn't one of those guys who made a case for Daredevil not actually giving a Stress Token because it happened in the Action phase which is actually after the "Check for Pilot Stress" step happens, and blah, blah, blah. In any case, the wording on the card has been changed from doing a red 1 turn right or left to a white 1 turn right or left, then take a Stress Token. Note that only replaces the first sentence- the second part (the part about if you don't have the Boost Action roll two dice...) is still in play. 

Boost Action wording change

Again, this is probably how you were already playing it, but in case you were only not Boosting when your actual ship base was going to overlap an obstacle/ other ship, to clarify- yes, your template counts too. If your Boost Action will make your ship base or your maneuver template overlap, you can't perform the Boost Action. 

Barrel Roll wording change

Basically, same as above regarding Boost Action. Or to put it in internet speak, "Also barrel roll." 

If two ships are oriented so that their closest edges are parallel, there is no single closest-point-to-closest-point line between the two ships. If one ship attacked the other, could it choose which line to use?
I don't think this has ever happened to me in an actual game, but I can see the potential for it occurring especially if you play X-Wing via Vassal. Long story short, the attacking player can choose the path that doesn't cross over an obstacle if the above condition (100% parallel bases) occurs. 

When a ship executes a maneuver, is the entire width of the ship considered to be moving along the maneuver template and possibly hitting obstacles?

I'm pretty sure I've talked about this on here before, but it kinda seems like it wasn't in an article; most likely somebody asked about this in the comments or maybe they even emailed me the question. In any case, yeah, as strange as it may seem, ships in X-Wing just kinda magically go from one end of the maneuver template to the other without actually crossing the space in-between. 

This really only comes into play if your maneuver template just barely misses touching an obstacle or other ship. If that happens, you're still good assuming of course your base doesn't overlap. 

During an attack, can the defender choose not to roll defense dice?
This is kind of a big deal because of the way FFG chose to clarify Kath Scarlet's ability interacting with an Ion Cannon later on. Simply put, the answer to this question is "No." You gotta roll the dice if you have them available. 

Are a bomb token’s movement guides considered when measuring range or when a ship overlaps them?

This one jumped out at me because I swear I read on a rules forum somewhere there was some precedent for another rule that seemed to indicate the opposite. Answer according to FAQ though? They count. 

Are bomb tokens obstacles?
This is another one of those wishful thinking, "Well, it doesn't say they aren't, so maybe they are", kind of questions. Answer? No. 


If a ship with the Stunned Pilot Damage card executes a maneuver in which only its maneuver template overlaps an obstacle, does the ship suffer the effect of the Damage card?
Ok, so this one kinda surprised me. There was really no precedent for this, I just usually play stuff that can go either way in the most negative fashion for me so nobody can complain that I cheated, but the answer here surprising is "No." Stunned Pilot apparently only activates if you actually overlap the obstacle with your ship base. 

Can “Dark Curse” be the target of a secondary weapon attack that requires the attacker to spend a focus token?

I thought this one was kind of interesting because I've never had it come up in one of my games, but after thinking about it for a moment, it seems like it would come up all the time. In any case, the answer is "No." Take that torpedo aficionados and future HWK-290 players!

If “Night Beast” has a stress token when he executes a green maneuver, is he able to perform a free focus action?

Ok, here's one I've almost certainly gotten wrong and allowed other people to get wrong. The answer here is, "No." The reason given? Night Beast's ability triggers before the Check Pilot Stress step. Which, I guess, reading between the lines, clarifies for future reference when your ship actually loses its Stress Token. I'd always played it that you lost it right after you pull a green, but apparently that wasn't accurate. 

These next two really, really surprised me- 

If a ship equipped with R2-D2 executes a green maneuver and moves through or overlaps an obstacle, does it recover a shield before rolling for damage?

If a ship equipped with R2-D2 executes a green maneuver and moves through a proximity mine token, does it recover a shield before rolling for damage?

Surprisingly, to me at least, the answers here are not the same. The first question, FFG says, that R2-D2 recovers a shield before rolling for damage. The second question, he does not. 

I suspect if I really looked closely in the book at the timing of Actions versus the book text for moving through/ overlapping an obstacle versus the card text of the Bombs card and the Proximity Mine card, there's some differences there, but I never noticed it before. 

If Kath Scarlet attacks with Ion Cannon, obtains a <unfilled explosion> result, and then the Ion Cannon’s effect cancels all dice results, does Kath Scarlet’s ability trigger?
Ah, so here's the big one. Answer? "No." The explanation goes on to say the <unfilled explosion> result has to be cancelled by a Defense die, Evade token, etc. 

When a ship uses Daredevil, does the ship follow all of the normal maneuvering rules?

Long story short? Yeah. It's a maneuver, after all. Says so on the card. So you're free to go overlapping if you want and anything that triggers upon executing a maneuver kicks on here too. 

If a ship equipped with Nien Nunb or R2 Astromech suffers the ion token effect and must execute a white [ 1] maneuver, can he treat it as a green maneuver?

This one really kind of f@cked me up. I have always played this as a white maneuver, too bad, so sad. I swear I remember reading rules debates on this that quoted the rulebook and previous incarnation of the FAQ that made this white instead of green a fully foregone conclusion. As of the new FAQ though? Nope! You pull a green instead of a white if you've got Nunb or R2 Astro along for the ride. Still can't believe that's how this works. 

This next one is kind of a two parter- 

If a ship using Cluster Missiles hits with the first attack, but then misses with the second attack, can he still use Gunner/ Luke Skywalker even though the first attack hit?
If a ship using Cluster Missiles misses with the first attack and then triggers Gunner/Luke Skywalker, can it still perform the remaining attack granted by Cluster Missiles? 

The answer to the first question is a "Yes", while the answer to the second question is a "No." They're that way for the same reason- the Luke Skywalker Copilot card text. 

The first scenario is acceptable because Cluster Missles is two separate attacks on the same target, so even if you hit with the first, but missed with the second (and again- missing here is missing as in not hitting per the rules definition of the word), Luke or Gunner triggers a primary attack (which doesn't have to be at the same target). 

The second scenario doesn't work because the last bit on Luke or Gunner is "You cannot perform another attack this round." 

The rest of the FAQ addresses some finer points about declaring Target Locks, Barrel Rolls, and Boosts. To be honest, these clarifications won't affect the way 99% of you play because they really don't matter much. It's like, the Target Lock thing is technically you declare your intended target first.  Is that exactly how you've been playing it? Probably not. You probably throw your range ruler out on the table, check to see if the ship you want is in range, then you declare him TLed. Does it make a functional difference? No, because the rules go on to say if the ship isn't in range, if after measuring you find you're out of range, you can then opt to declare a different target or declare a wholly different Action. Long story long, it's the same outcome. Maybe there's some stuff in Wave 3 that'll make this more significant, or maybe there's some scenario already out there I've never heard/ read/ though about, but as it stands, it seems as though they're just nailing down floorboards to make sure the house doesn't creak. 

So there ya go. Like I said, there's more stuff in the FAQ than what I've mentioned, but a lot of those things are either pretty self-evident upon a close look at the rules or I've already clarified them on here in Bikini Battle Basics articles, Veteran Instincts articles, ship articles, or upgrade articles. If you think I've missed anything though, by all means, call it out in the comments and we'll talk. 

Today's Non-Update

Today's non-update has more to do with the fact that many of us here in the States are off-work today due to it being the federal holiday, Memorial Day, and less the fact that I was up until 1am playing Android: Netrunner (brilliant, brilliant game, by the way) with BC over Hangout. Well, that's my story anyway. :)

Ostensibly, this is a day where we remember those brave souls who lost their lives in the service of this country's military. Now, personal feelings about the motivation behind our entry into various wars, conflicts, intervening actions, and whatever other terms we use to describe battle these days aside, take a sec today to pause and remember your friends, relatives, or loved ones who gave everything for their country and be happy you're one of the folks still walking around above ground. 

As my Regional is coming up this Saturday (1 June), I was going to cover some of the more popular lists the next few days. Do you guys want me to give it the "Weird Al" treatment like I did Han Shoots First or do you want me to just talk about it like a normal person? You know which one I'm leaning towards, but again- sometimes I don't have a good barometer for when humor gets in the way of usefulness or clarity, and well, at the end of the day, it's a little less work for me to just write rather than write a song. 

So enjoy your Memorial Day you Yanks, and all of  y'all let me know your thoughts on the popular lists thing in the comments. 

Peace!

The Metal Mailbag- Robert from Edinburgh (Scotland)

This will probably become another one of those recurring TheMetalBikini.com things, so if you've got something on your mind, spill it and if I think it's particularly compelling, well-written, silly, or whatever, I'll likely post it. Consider the gauntlet tossed, yo.  

Unofficial, hyperbole-filled image created by me to prove a point. Not to be taken seriously (yet)

I've gotten several emails like this one since I started writing articles to post here on TheMetalBikini.com because well, this game has, nearly since it's release back in September of 2012, had major issues meeting consumer demand. 

This email though, was particularly well done and as it echoes what I think a lot of folks are going through that weren't instant adopters of the game the moment it came out, so I thought I'd share it with y'all, then give a few thoughts of my own on the subject. 

Hi man,

I love the site and it's seriously whetted my whistle for X-Wing. However I've run into a problem that a lot of new players around my area seem have run into. I went onto several of the online dealerships and into my LGS to try to get a starter pack and some more ships but the common thread seems to be a total dearth of anything. I heard about wave three so I figured I'd wait until then, but I heard a worrying rumour from around the local scene. The LGS and online stores are emptied of their stock within a day of it coming in by a small number of individuals! It doesn't help when I go on the forums and people casually talk about the gigantic size of their little fleets and the hundred and fifty dollars of wave three they've ordered. That's cool but it does make me feel as if I'm locked out of the game in some way. I want to play it but the fact that (being a somewhat cash strapped PhD student) my moments of liquidity don't coincide with the rush to buy stock as it comes in means that I never seem to actually be able to get any models beyond the starter set. People are willing to lend me models in the store which is very community minded of them… but it isn't really the same.
Just a thought from a frustrated newbie. I've been wanting to articulate it for a while but I figured that putting it up on the official forums might lead to rage. Probably best to pass it by someone with a keener eye for editing than me to remove any ranty bits!
Cheers man, and keep writing the articles!

Robert Lyon
MEng (Electrical Engineering), PhD Student
Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh

First, there's no way somebody with only an Associate's Degree in Electronics (that'd be me) is going to do any editing on a letter written by a dude that's working on getting his Ph-friggin'-D in Electrical Engineering. Holy mackerel. 

Secondly, Robert is Scottish. This becomes fairly integral to this article later on, but for now keep in mind that alone probably makes him smarter than me. Any country responsible for producing the author of one of my favorite books of all-time has to be up there in the smarts department. I actually don't know for sure if he's Scottish, but he's at least sending emails from the Scottish University of the Year 2011-2013, where apparently they've either won the award multiple times or time runs differently over there. Wait- wasn't Desmond Scottish too? Hmmm... 

Also, Rangers had three Yanks playing in their starting XI after the transfer window the season before they got Administrated into temporary oblivion, but it still doesn't change the fact that they're like they were like the only side outside of MLS that had three effin' Yanks in their starting XI. I mean hell, I was raised Catholic, but even I had to tip my hat to 'Gers on that one. 

Ok, so anyway, yeah- the shortages. Right. 

The manufacturing engineer in me says you get away with something like that exactly one time- the first time (and even then, you get away with it, but you'd still get bitched at for sure). After that, it's really pretty inexcusable because you're just leaving money on the table, which is of course, as un-American as you can possibly be.  

I mean, sure, some folks still extend them the benefit of the doubt, but for Christ's sake- how in the world could FFG have not made enough stuff for Wave 2? Every single ship from Wave 1 was sold out of most online retailers by Christmas, for cryin' out loud! Yeah, yeah, yeah- they had probably put the order in months ahead of time and maybe they couldn't change it. Whatevs, man. Chinese manufacturers aside, that's still absolutely crazy if you ask me. If you recall, Wave 2 was already significantly delayed once to begin with. To ask your customers, especially your new or prospective customers to put up with a delay, then still not be able to meet demand? That's really pretty ridiculous. 

Full disclosure, FFG says that more Wave 1 and Wave 2 stuff is being "re-printed" or re-released or whatever, so it's coming, but as FFG seems to have a reputation for blowing release dates, who knows when that'll actually happen (don't get me wrong- I want this to be one of those times they hit their projected release). For Christ's sake- there is a Y-Wing going for $27 on eBay right now. Let that sink in for a moment- there is a Y-Wing. On eBay. Going for $27 with 16 hours left at the time of this writing. What in the hell's going on here? 

This segues into my next point that Robert brought up- people buying too much stuff. 

Now, I'm not going to get on a soapbox and tell you to deny that weird, OCD impulse in your lizard brain that says, "BUY STUFF" (don't act like you don't have it; in all likelihood you're a grown, adult male buying little toy spaceships- you have that impulse just like I do). I'm also not going to begrudge people who try and buy something every time they use their FLGS' facilities as a "Thank you" for being a good host and providing tables and a venue for gaming and end up with a bunch of stuff; more than you need for sure. I will say if you're explicitly buying up X-Wing Miniatures stuff for the sole purpose of turning around and selling it on eBay because there's a 99.9% chance there's going to be another shortage, that's kind of shitty, frankly. 

Look- I'll be straight with y'all. I love this game. If that isn't apparent to you after reading all these goofy posts and card breakdowns and effort I've put into this site the past (almost) 4 months, I have undeniably and decidedly failed in the primary mission of this blog. I love the simplicity of the rules juxtaposed with the depth of the strategy. I want FFG to keep making it for a long time, so I try to do my best to promote the hell out of it on here. I don't want the game to die off because it's a great game that I really, really, really enjoy playing, thinking about, and talking about. That's at least half of the reason I put as much work into TMB.com as I do- I want everyone to buy stuff for this game, talk about it, and play it because I don't want it to go away. That's why I'm such an evangelist for this game. The other half is my embarrassing need for attention, recognition, and validation from strangers, but that's a whole other shrink session, er, I mean subject. 

I used to play a game called AT-43 which was produced by a company called Rackham. I really enjoyed it. It embodied a lot of the things I liked about playing 40k, but was way more accessible and easy to learn for "casual gamers", which in my book, were friends of mine who didn't have hundreds of dollars to spend on models, rulebooks, and paint. 

Of course, as you probably know, or at least have deduced from context, Rackham went out of business and AT-43 went away. Now, I know, I know, just because they went out of business, I didn't have to stop playing the game. Well, here's the reality folks- I did have to stop playing the game. When you can't get new people into the game (or start another army for yourself) without having to monitor eBay as a part-time job, and hauling that stuff into your local FLGS to take up space on their tables from paying customers playing a game they can't sell? Telling curious folks who stop by that this is probably the most fun squad-skirmish type game you've ever played, but they probably shouldn't bother getting into it because you can't really buy it anymore without a ton of legwork and effort when there are a ton of other games out there readily available and probably just as fun? Yeah. You stop playing the game. Or at least I did. Who wants to play the same army with no new units or books coming ever? 

I realize it's highly unlikely a company like FFG would stop producing X-Wing or go into liquidation like Rackham, but hell, I didn't think it was going to happen to Rackham either at the time, y'know? Back when it came out, people seriously talked about AT-43 being the game that would put a dent into Games Workshop's dominance of the futuristic miniatures skirmish game. Rackham didn't have their toe into stuff like boardgames like FFG does, but they did miss a lot of release dates and have distribution issues though, so there are a couple of similarities. 

I feel bad for the Euros and the folks in Oz because I get emails from these guys asking me if I know any online retailers in the States that are still selling Interceptors or A-Wings or TIE Advanced because, like Robert, they can't even get them from online retailers in their country, let alone their FLGS. That's nuts, man. It's like the total opposite problem miniatures games usually have- there are people who want to play this game but can't because they can't find anywhere to buy it. 

It's probably unlikely that anyone from the production planning department of FFG reads my silly little blog, but on the off-chance they do, please guys, please- meet the demand for this game. There's gotta be thousands of laid-off, out-of-work materials analysts from the U.S. automotive industry that'd love to manage your materials/ logistics/ whatever for this game. Hell, they're probably not even that far away from you. Get a couple of dudes who were forced into early retirement or just pink-slipped out of a Just-In-Time automotive parts supplier and let them manage the inventory for this game. I worked with some of those guys, man- they're hardcore, battle-tested, and they won't let you down. They're the kind of guys who can work magic like flying parts in on chartered planes from Mexico without having to pass Customs to avoid shutting down a customer. But do something, something different for God's sake, than what you're doing now, because right now, the folks running that part of your show simply aren't cutting it. 

So thanks for your email, Robert. Thanks for taking the time to write it, and thanks for the kind words about the site. I sincerely hope that the reprints comes sooner rather than later, you find some X-Wing Miniatures over the next few months, and I hope you get to play this game with your own stuff. 

Wave 3 in Boxes?

Apologies if this is already over the internet, it's been a busy week starting the new job and I haven't really kept up on the scene this week.

I got a couple of emails last week asking if I knew of retailers that still had X-Wing Miniatures stock and in the process of looking around, I ran across these pictures of the Wave 3 ships in their boxes over on the X-Wing section of TheWarStore.com-

Also note that TheWarStore.com seems to be indicating an August release for Wave 3 in their product titles. 

How accurate is that? Well, doing a little more looking around, I found the Edge of the Empire Core Rules, but instead of the title containing an abbreviated month, it just said, "TBA" on both the Core Rules and also the GM's Screen. 

So, what do we think? Do we get our hopes up for August or do we get cynical and just assume Christmas if we're lucky? 

Oh- and as for retailers still stocking X-Wing Expansions, honestly, if I were looking to pick up a particular ship I'd just go to Amazon and call it a day.

If I was just getting into X-Wing, it seems like most everybody has Core Sets, the YT-1300, and Firespray-31. I'd suggest picking up two Core Sets and one each of the big ships. You could run some fun lists with just those models. 

Wave 3 Pre-Orders Up!

I fully intended to post this over the weekend and time just got away from me. 

From Bikini Aficionado Donovon Bodine- 

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/table-top-miniatures.html?cat=979

Love your site!

Here is a heads up.

Yup, Miniatures Market is taking pre-orders for Wave 3 ships. 

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I don't pre-order much of anything anymore, and I've read some horror stories out there about people still waiting on pre-ordered Wave 2 ships in countries outside North America, but if you don't mind plunking down a few bucks on some ships in hopes of actually getting them before they inevitably sell out, follow the link above and get hooked up. 

Don't read too much into what I said there- I've heard nothing but good things about Miniatures Market. I'm not intimating that they're the reason people are still waiting for Wave 2 ships or anything crazy like that. This is just me passing along info that there is at least one online retailer taking pre-orders for Wave 3. That's it. Well, that and I probably won't pre-order, but that's neither here nor there, obviously. 

Even More Wave 3 Info!

FFG kinda snuck this one by me. The Wave 3 article they put up Saturday night called "Support Ships and System Upgrades" has been updated with more pictures. They are as follows. 

Break out the magnifiers, folks. Look like we have all the cards now. 

New X-Wing Game Night Kits Announced!

Just dropped by the X-Wing section of the FFG site, apparently this went up yesterday. 

So what's in the kit? 


Each Season Two 2013 X-Wing Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support your local players through their cinematic space combats: Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards.

• Fifteen acrylic shield tokens
• An awesome medal for the overall winner
• Two alternative art Wedge Antilles cards and seventeen alternative art TIE Fighter Pilot cards (specific pilot to be announced)
• A promotional poster showing a TIE advanced engaged in battle
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night.

They're available for pre-order it looks like, if you're interested. 

The Wave 3 Consolidation Post

Updated: 9 May 2013 with new pics

Things got a little disjointed here over the weekend with the information about Wave 3 coming out in three big chunks- the initial pictures, the cards and ship lists in the event pamphlet, and then the FFG posting of different cards on the site late last night, so to make it a little easier to refer back to, I figured I'd post all of that info in a single post.

Info originally posted here, here, and here. 

And for reals, if you didn't read my crazy day article, you really do owe it to yourself if you enjoy my particular brand of irreverent mixture of Star Wars and real-life humor. 

If you want my early commentary on this stuff, click on the links to the individual posts.


Wave 3 Models

From left, the HWK-290, Lambda Shuttle (large base), TIE Bomber, and B-Wing

Wave 3 Pilot Cards

Jan Ors (25)
HWK-290
Pilot Skill: 8
Attack: 1
Agility: 2
Hull: 4
Shield: 1
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Elite Pilot Skills, Turret, Crew
Card Text: When another friendly ship at Range 1-3 is attacking, if you have no stress tokens, you may receive 1 stress token to allow that ship to roll 1 additional attack die. 

Roark Garnet (19)
HWK-290
Pilot Skill: 4
Attack: 1 
Rest of stats obscured in photo
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Partially obscured, Turret, Crew
Card Text: At the start of the combat phase (choose) 1 other friendly ship at Range obscured Until the end of the phase, treat obscured's pilot skill value as 12. 

Colonel Jendon (26)
Lambda Shuttle
Attack: 3
Agility: 1
Hull: 5
Shield: 5
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Dish Array type thing, funky raygun symbol (Slave 1 Secondary symbol), 2 Crew
Card Text: At the start of the Combat Phase, you may assign one of your blue target lock tokens to a friendly ship at Range 1 if it does not have a blue target lock token. 

Upgrades, Secondary Weapons, etc.

Again, if you want my early take on this stuff, hit the individual post links back up at the top. Trying to keep this one short and sweet for the divulged information to be referenced all in one place only. 

Wave 3 Ship Roundup!

In my previous article, I threw out the link to the Common Grounds website with pics of the new ships. As the day has gone on though, more pics have been turning up- we've now got some idea of the stats and stuff. Additionally, Matthew Hipkin has just mentioned in the comments that there's a Flickr stream with a lot more pics of the ships available. 

Two of the named pilots for the HWK-290 have been revealed with the following info: 

Jan Ors (25)
Pilot Skill: 8
Attack: 1
Agility: 2
Hull: 4
Shield: 1
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Elite Pilot Skills, Turret, Crew
Card Text: When another friendly ship at Range 1-3 is attacking, if you have no stress tokens, you may receive 1 stress token to allow that ship to roll 1 additional attack die. 

Roark Garnet (19)
Pilot Skill: 4
Attack: 1 
Rest of stats obscured in photo
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Partially obscured, Turret, Crew
Card Text: At the start of the combat phase (choose) 1 other friendly ship at Range obscured Until the end of the phase, treat obscured's pilot skill value as 12. 

Wow, so I kinda buy that the HWK-290 is a small-base ship because it's stats are somewhat similar to a Y-Wing, really. It can take a crew member though, so that does make it kind of interesting. Wonder if a laser turret will be added in Wave 3 or it'll be stocking the Ion Cannon Turret? 

Also, it's shockingly cheap, innit? I mean, Garnet's ability is sorta like Veteran Instincts+ and it's still only 19 points. A lot of folks, me included, were hoping for a Z-95 Headhunter to provide a cheap swarmy-type option for Rebels, it would appear the HWK is going to fill that bill. It's way customizable, which is going to make things pretty interesting as time goes on.

Colonel Jendon (26)
Attack: 3
Agility: 1
Hull: 5
Shield: 5
Action Bar: Focus, Target Lock
Upgrade Icons: Dish Array type thing, funky raygun symbol (Slave 1 Secondary symbol), 2 Crew
Card Text: At the start of the Combat Phase, you may assign one of your blue target lock tokens to a friendly ship at Range 1 if it does not have a blue target lock token. 

For people saying the Lambda was going to be support only, not a chance. Look at the stats on that thing- Attack 3? Hull and Shield of 5? It's close to another Slave I for the Imperials, complete with the raygun symbol that will allow for a Heavy Laser Cannon and even a couple of crew members. 

After that, we have a picture of ship upgrade with the dish array symbol. It's called Advanced Sensors and costs 3 points. It's card text says, "Immediately before you reveal your maneuver, you may perform 1 free action. If you use this ability, you must skip your "Perform Action" step this round." 

Last (for now, at least), there are two sample squadrons featuring some Wave 3 ships. The first is an Imperial squadron- 

Jendon  (26) 
w/ ST-321 (3), Advanced Sensors (3), Ion Cannon (3)

Scimitar Squadron Bomber Pilot (22)
w/ Cluster Missiles (4), Assault Missiles (5)

The last two ships in the squadron are Interceptors. 

So break that down for a second- couple of interesting things. First, the Lambda has a title available to it, apparently. It must be fairly interesting since it costs 3 points. Secondly, the Bomber can at least stock 2 tubes worth of missiles. 

The Rebel Squadron breaks down like this- 

Kyle Katarn (21)
w/ Ion Cannon Turret (5), Recon Specialist (3), Moldy Crow (3)

Nova Squadron Pilot B-Wing (24)
w/ Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6), Proton Torpedoes (4), Fire Control System (2)

The second B-Wing is the same except it isn't stocking regular PTs. 

Breaking that down, it appears you can take a ship title with the HWK-290. Nerds everywhere will rejoice that they can fly Katarn in the Moldy Crow. 

Similar to the Bombers, the B-Wing can stock two tubes worth of Torpedoes. Wonder what the Advanced PTs do that make them 50% more expensive? Fire Control System also sounds intriguing... 

So there ya go. What'd I miss?