Shakedown Cruise...

... Star Wars Style

Breaking out the new ships... and some old ones. Yes, the table is green.

I popped into my Friendly Local Game Store, Wargames, LLC., both to see what was happening and to pick up at least one of the new Wave 2 expansion sets for the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game (the same game I blogged about here). I purchased a lovely little A-Wing, and as luck would have it, the store owner (the indomitable Baxter), decided to crack open the fantastic new Millennium Falcon miniature for the game, others gather to admire, and the next thing you know we wound up having an impromptu battle there in the shop. And here’s how the day went down, in the event I like to call The Battle of the Rocky Nebula (‘cause it was a big green battlefield with rocks on it).

The Battle of the Rocky Nebula

Entering the Mutara Nebula... wait, wrong movie.

We limited each player to 30 points, which left Baxter piloting a basic YT-1300 (the class name for the freighter, for those not versed in Star Wars nomenclature). An awesome ship, but it doesn’t have Han Solo’s “special modifications,” and doesn’t include Han Solo as its pilot (which became evident later). Still, with 5 shields and 6 hull points, it’s a lot of ship to bring down.

To back him up, the other player and I took on an A-wing apiece, choosing veteran pilots— mine with skill level 6 and the ability to actually shoot while “colliding” with another ship (which vessels normally cannot do in the game). I also added homing missiles, which prevent targets from evading an attack (nasty)!

Rookie pilot (upper right):
"Wait, I don't have any shields?"
Heh, heh, heh...

Facing us we had a fresh-from-the-Imperial-dockyards TIE Interceptor, an Advanced TIE (but not Darth Vader), and a newbie with two standard TIE fighters (quoth he, “Great. I’m going to get blown up— twice.” Wise for his years, that one).

The Probability of Successfully Navigating an Asteroid Field

Hey, freighter! Watch where you're flying!
Oh, and that's my little ship in the foreground, avoiding rocks.

As you can see, the opening stages consisted of everyone pouring it on, directly into the asteroid field— rather fitting for the ship of Han Solo. As there was no chance of shooting yet, all of us being out of range, I opted to use the Boost Action capabilities of the A-Wing. This is a nifty bonus move that allows you to tack an additional 1-length maneuver onto your movement— you can even make your “boost” a shallow turn. Clearly the A-Wing is intended to be the fastest and possibly most maneuverable fighter in the game (a far cry from my earlier plugging around in a Y-Wing). Unfortunately, due to my starting position, I was forced to avoid a couple of asteroids, which wound up keeping my A-wing out of the fight for most of the action— because of course, everybody on the opposing team decided to aim for the biggest target!

A target rich environment— especially if you only have One Big Target.
Oh, and that's my little ship on the far right, avoiding rocks.

Shooting a Flying Side of a Barn at Close Range

The YT-1300 is no slouch as a ship— Baxter even put it through a dime-squashing “Korioan Maneuver” (the equivalent of Wings of War’s Immelman Turn). Yowza, that’s flying!

Flip the ship and kick in the rear deflectors, Chewie!
Oh, and that's my little ship on the lower right, avoiding rocks.

But even fancy flying is no match for the blasters of four TIE fighters all aimed solely at you. The YT-1300 took a hammering, losing all its shields by the fourth turn, and taking multiple critical hits from the Advance TIE (due to its pilot’s “Marksman” upgrade). At the end of turn 5 it was all over for the YT-1300. Which was a good thing for me, as I was running late to pick up my wife from her law school study session. (Talk about possibly getting on the Dark Side...) So my little A-wing high-tailed it into hyperspace, after taking only one shot AND MISSING.

And another bunch of Rebel scum become just more gas in the nebula.
Oh, and that little ship no longer in the picture because it had to enter hyperspace?
That was mine. But I want it clear that I was recalled to base— not destroyed!

Ah, well. It was a good shakedown cruise and a fun time. I look forward to picking up the Millennium Falcon expansion set and some TIE Interceptors for my own collection.

Thanks to the guys at Wargames for an enjoyable little break in my day!

Store info:
Wargames, LLC
4825 Trousdale Drive Suite 217
Nashville, Tennessee 37220
Website: www.wargamesminis.com

If you go, tell Baxter "Hello!"