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A Pilot's Options

When the original X-Wing™ Core Set first released in 2012, it included a damage deck that became a familiar part of any player’s squad. In early September of this year, The Force Awakens™ Core Set was released. This exciting new product introduced a new damage deck to the game with the intention of eventually replacing the original
damage deck.

After careful review of the impact on tournament play, we have modified the policy on the legality of damage decks in X-Wing. Each damage deck provides advantages and disadvantages to certain ships, and by extension, certain squadrons. The existence of two different decks creates a healthier metagame, further bolstering the current environment of creativity and amazing customization that X-Wing offers to its players. Toward that end, for the foreseeable future, players will also be able to choose which damage deck to use when building their squadron. The X-Wing tournament rules have been updated to reflect this change.

Though some cards share names in both decks, players will utilize only the printed functionality of the card in the deck they are using. The X-Wing FAQ has been updated with separate clarification sections for each damage deck.

Please note that in order to showcase the new damage deck and provide spectators with a consistent experience, all competitors will use The Force Awakens damage deck at the 2015 X-Wing World Championship. One The Force Awakens damage deck will be provided for each competitor.

The X-Wing community continues to evolve and create ever new and interesting squads. We are excited to see what you can do with one more option available to you!

Awesome! The new damage deck ruling didn't bother me one bit because it is a better damage deck, and as Super Dash player I applauded the change. Most people I know will use the new deck for this reason as well. In fact, most local tournies since its release have been using the new deck as well, despite the fact that the tournament rules say to use the old deck.

So, basically, if you aren't running Elites/TLTs, you can grab the old deck and ignore half of the results?

Whilst it is kind of admirable that FFG don't want to force players to have to buy a whole new starter but given the choice I'd always use the old deck in a competition setting because as Carnifex said many of the old cards don't do anything to certain set-ups

I guess we will just have to wait till the damage decks gets released on its own and the FAQ gets revised again

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Whilst it is kind of admirable that FFG don't want to force players to have to buy a whole new starter but given the choice I'd always use the old deck in a competition setting because as Carnifex said many of the old cards don't do anything to certain set-ups

True, but there are cards in the new deck that don't punish certain builds like some did in the old deck. To me, that's a wash. I will always use the new damage deck, regardless of what I decide to fly.

I guess we will just have to wait till the damage decks gets released on its own and the FAQ gets revised again

I don't think they will sell a stand-alone blister of the damage deck. I would really be surprised if it happened.

So, pick the deck that harms you the least? But the reason the decks were changed at all was because the old deck was mostly useless crit-wise!

I feel like the game's starting to really head off the rails.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Whilst it is kind of admirable that FFG don't want to force players to have to buy a whole new starter but given the choice I'd always use the old deck in a competition setting because as Carnifex said many of the old cards don't do anything to certain set-ups

True, but there are cards in the new deck that don't punish certain builds like some did in the old deck. To me, that's a wash. I will always use the new damage deck, regardless of what I decide to fly.

Difference is, everything in the new deck needs to be worried about. The old deck was very inconsistent in how much it hurt. A lot of it's cards have also developed loopholes over time. The new deck hurts everyone more, as a lot of cards have similar effects, but are nastier.


Edit:

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but... I'll take my chances with injured pilot.

 Killionaire wrote:

I feel like the game's starting to really head off the rails.

Spare me the hyperbole... This game is better now than it ever has been.

Honestly, I don't really like the idea of getting to choose what damage your ships can suffer but I'm not going to be too hard on FFG for it. They're kind of in a no-win situation here. Making one deck mandatory means unhappy customers who don't want to have to buy a whole starter set just for the damage deck, and the compromise of "you can keep using the old one until you get a new deck" was inevitably going to be used to pick whichever deck is best for your list. So they can either have a situation where people exploit the rule or they can make the exploit official and try to present it as a new layer of strategy.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:
So, basically, if you aren't running Elites/TLTs, you can grab the old deck and ignore half of the results?

It's not that one-sided. For example, the old damage deck has munitions failure that's crippling if you're using TLTs but it also has that "reduce your primary weapon by 1" card that is effectively blank for TLTs. And the new damage deck lets you flip cards on hit or crit instead of just hits. So the net effect might favor using the old damage deck, but it's nowhere near "ignore half the results".

While I can see your point, about it being a no-win for FFG I generally disagree. Their FAQ really only effect players who want to go to events.
Players who are going to go to events at the Store Championship, Regional and Worlds level will already have bought the new Core Set. The only ones that I know who haven't bought a new Core (in the almost 2 months it has been available) are extremely casual players. With this move, FFG is trying not to fracture an already fractured player base.
I'm sure that some competative players are complaining on the FFG forum, but I'm also fairly sure that they already have the new damage deck in their bag.

 Anpu-adom wrote:
The only ones that I know who haven't bought a new Core (in the almost 2 months it has been available) are extremely casual players.

Counter-example: I play X-Wing competitively, and I don't have the new starter set yet. My budget is kind of limited right now, and I haven't been interested enough in the new ships. So making the new damage deck mandatory means I have to buy a new starter set just for the damage deck or not attend tournaments (or any casual games that default to using tournament rules).

Wouldn't that defeat the definition of casual, though?

I prefer the new deck. For some reason, I disliked getting useless crits. I play the game for fun, and part of getting hobbled ships or going down in a blaze of glory makes this new deck more exciting. And makes you fly better, because you don't want those cards to come in, period.

Until they have a stand-alone blister pack for the new deck, they're sort of in a bind. They were effectively charging $40 for a deck before (since a lot of people weren't interested in the new ships).

This is only a subtle change. Basically, the effect will be: PS1-2 swarms will be moderately more durable against crits. Almost every other list will be more reliable with the new damage deck (including TLT lists).

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Killionaire wrote:

I feel like the game's starting to really head off the rails.

Spare me the hyperbole... This game is better now than it ever has been.

Absolutely. The stale meta from 2014-2015 has evaporated, and I feel spoiled for viable list choices at tournaments (I don't have to take fat 2-ship builds anymore!). The new damage deck rules are just another little subtle list-building choice. I think it's a healthy change.

Peregrine wrote:

 Anpu-adom wrote:
The only ones that I know who haven't bought a new Core (in the almost 2 months it has been available) are extremely casual players.

Counter-example: I play X-Wing competitively, and I don't have the new starter set yet. My budget is kind of limited right now, and I haven't been interested enough in the new ships. So making the new damage deck mandatory means I have to buy a new starter set just for the damage deck or not attend tournaments (or any casual games that default to using tournament rules).

I know what you mean about having a tight budget... kids are expensive.
Originally, the new Deck wasn't to take effect until after the New Year. Would you have been able to save up $40 between September 4th and Jan. 1? Maybe let it known that you wanted it for Christmas or a birthday? There are also a fair number of the New Damage Decks on E-bay for $10. If your community is anything like mine, there will be a couple of extra damage decks for you to use floating around on Tourney day. There are a lot of ways of getting a hold of one... some of them don't even rely on your buying something.

Yet, $40 isn't that much to pay for a brand new edition of the game (think about it that way). $40 is less than the cost of a codex in 40k or a Warmachine book. You get so much more than just the rules (there are a lot of minor tweaks that are important to a competative player) that having a bound and printed copy of the rules on hand will be useful. The new rocks will make as big of an impact on gameplay as the deck. That isn't even considering the ships and upgrades. This starter (just like the old one) is a good value for what you get.

FFG has a history of making arbitrary rules and then backtracking to a more reasonable place. This has happened to their stance Scum dials and non-FFG playing mats at tournaments in the past. This time, however the option to use the old damage deck after the new year really seams like they are kowtowing to the loudest voices in the community as opposed to finding a reasonable place. You'll have to mark which damage deck you are going to use for the whole tournament now... right? FFG has added meaningless complication to the job of a Tournament Organizer. Other changes in the tourney rules have also added to the responsibilities of that tournament host. I hope FFG is aware of this, and moves to address this. If anything, their Flight Crew personnel can tell them such.

 Anpu-adom wrote:
Originally, the new Deck wasn't to take effect until after the New Year.

Yeah, but that has its own problem: people who start playing before the end of the year are probably going to buy the new starter set, but they have to go buy the old starter set (which has mediocre ships and upgrades) just to rent a damage deck for a month or two.

Would you have been able to save up $40 between September 4th and Jan. 1?

Probably. If I need it I can buy it. But that's $40 I'm not spending on something else that I want more than a new damage deck. And other people have much worse budget problems than mine. For me it's an annoyance, but some people just can't afford it, period.

This starter (just like the old one) is a good value for what you get.

But it isn't really, for me. The ships aren't that appealing, the templates/dice/etc are useless, the upgrades don't go in any lists I want to use, and the rocks aren't that big a deal. I'll probably get it eventually, especially if I can come up with a list I like that needs the new ships or upgrades, but it was kind of annoying to be forced to divert money to something I don't really want.

 Peregrine wrote:
but it was kind of annoying to be forced to divert money to something I don't really want.

That's kind of the name of the game though, isn't it? God knows I could have been comfortable never flying a StarViper, but I like TIE Interceptors which made it damn nearly a must-buy. I may even need to buy a second one in the future...

 Lord Corellia wrote:
That's kind of the name of the game though, isn't it? God knows I could have been comfortable never flying a StarViper, but I like TIE Interceptors which made it damn nearly a must-buy. I may even need to buy a second one in the future...

I think the difference there is that you can always choose to use a different list, even if it isn't quite the one you want, but if you don't have a legal damage deck then you can't play at all.

 Peregrine wrote:
I think the difference there is that you can always choose to use a different list, even if it isn't quite the one you want, but if you don't have a legal damage deck then you can't play at all.

That's a fair point. All the more reason for them to release it individually, although like SPJ said I don't see it happening.

Mate. I have a second damage deck.

Do you want it?

 Peregrine wrote:

 Lord Corellia wrote:
That's kind of the name of the game though, isn't it? God knows I could have been comfortable never flying a StarViper, but I like TIE Interceptors which made it damn nearly a must-buy. I may even need to buy a second one in the future...

I think the difference there is that you can always choose to use a different list, even if it isn't quite the one you want, but if you don't have a legal damage deck then you can't play at all.

Well, now you have nothing to worry about as both damage decks are legal for tournament play. Problem solved!

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
Well, now you have nothing to worry about as both damage decks are legal for tournament play. Problem solved!

Yeah, obviously now it is. I'm just explaining why people were unhappy with the original ruling, and why the current rule is probably the best answer to a no-win situation for FFG.

Almost every game played at my local flgs is a league game and uses tournament rules, though well over 50% of the players are casuals that dont care about points.
This is really the best choice for FFG. The casuals are much less invested in the game and therefore much more likely to turn away from over "buy this or don't play" attitudes.

I'm fairly new to the game, but I'm not seeing the relevant crits anywhere near enough to warrant the stupidity i saw on the FFG forum over this.

I'm glad the thread here is much more reasonable