Last night, I played against my friend who flew the Rebels in my
Adventures Of Krassis Trelix batrep. This was his third game of X-Wing and his first time building his own list, using the awesome
X-Wing Companion free app. He was eager to fly the Defender and chose Brath kitted out with Concussion Missiles and Marksmanship. He also took Howlrunner with Marksmanship and two Black Squadron Pilots. I took four Bandit Squadron Pilots, each with Munitions Failsafe and two each with Assault Missiles and Cluster Missiles, along with Airen Cracken with Assault MIssile, Predator, and Hull Upgrade. I found the list on BGG. This is the first five-ship list I ever played.
The Imperial player set up Howlrunner and the Black Squadron Pilots on the left (my left) while Brath started almost at the right edge. I played closer to the center with a flight of two Bandits (one each of Assault and Cluster Missiles) on the left and the other two with Cracken on the right. I flew all 1 maneuvers, with the left flight moving straight ahead and Cracken's flight turning easy right to cut Brath off from shooting down the edge and getting behind me. The Imps came at me tolerably fast, with Howlrunner's flight turning into the center and slightly missing their formation. I also bumped on my first turn with Cracken's flight -- I have no practice with formation flying and that didn't bode well! As the joust continued, however, my flying really shaped up and I had no more bumps for the rest of the game.
Brath charged into Cracken's flight and lost his shields but also took Cracken's. The Bandits facing Howlrunner's flight put one damage on a Black Squadron Pilot and lost only one shield. The next turn saw the other Bandit losing a shield and gaining nothing in return while Brath did a hard right into the center with Cracken's flight struggling to turn and chase him. I was surprised Brath did not take a K-turn and said as much. The Imperial player had forgotten/mixed up the rules and thought that Brath could only do 3 maneuvers because of his Agility Score. All the same, Brath had the smaller Bandit flight in his sights. He and Howlrunner did not manage to kill either Z-95, however, but did relieve them of their shields and put some damage on.
Cracken replied with his Assault Missile, taking both Brath and the previously wounded Black Squadron Pilot. What a shot! Howlrunner and her wingman were left against five rebel ships -- not an enviable position! Fortunately, the Imperial player's luck turned around and he put criticals on both Bandits from the smaller flights. I had forgotten to shuffle the deck so I took 2-damage crits twice. That's how you learn I guess! But I also took Howlrunner's last ally. The Imperial player was far from demoralized and wondered aloud whether he might still pull out a win. Cracken was down to a single hull point (thanks to Hull Upgrade) but the other two Bandits were at full shields. Still, I needed to end things fast or risk endlessly chasing Howlrunner in my rust bucket Headhunters. I did not savor the prospect, to say the least.
At this point, I broke formation: Cracken took one wingman on a K-turn while the other turned sharp left in front of them, making a tight trap for Howlrunner. Thinking I would stay in formation, the Imperial player flew Howlrunner right into this L-shaped formation. With her last breath, she blazed away at the Bandit who broke off -- but to little effect. Cracken handily finished her off, painting another Imperial ace on his Z-95's fuselage.
The obvious climax of the game was Cracken's Assault Missile shot. Rolling all hits was a treat. Otherwise, I didn't shoot a single missile. This was a bit disappointing as I spent 26 points on my Bandit's secondary load out. Of course I would have needed them if Brath had evaded Cracken. The question is, would I have been able to use them? On the joust, I flew slowly on the theory that I could take my time getting target locks and alpha striking the Imperial aces. This did not work out at all. Flying
PS 2 ships means the enemy is not there when it's your action. I probably should have flown in more aggressively. As for the Imperial player, losing Brath so spectacularly will no doubt give him something to chew over when he builds his next list.
