So it ends…
I just got done playing my last game of X-Wing 1.0 flying a B-Wing, T-65 X-Wing & ARC-170. While it may sounds like a bad thing, I’m going to discuss why we should be celebrating like Ewoks after the 2nd Death Star popped like a red balloon.
A Star Wars Nerds’ Dream…
Whether you are huge lifelong Star Wars fan like myself, came of age to prequels (I’m sorry), or are just now jumping on the Disney run bandwagon now, some of the most memorable things are the spaceships & space battles in that galaxy far far away.
That was THE reason why 3 years ago this month, I picked up X-Wing Miniatures Game 1.0 by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). It had all the ships and big character names I knew & love, plus even the some of the ones from the old Legends period.Luke, Vader, Han, Chewie, Boba Fett, Millennium Falcon, TIE Fighters, Y-Wings, and of course X-Wings – all ready to go out of box with beautifully painted & sculpted models to start reenacting the famous dog fights scenes and to make new ones.
But the best part was how easy the game was to pick up:
- Select your ships/pilots,
- Throw down some asteroids to fly round,
- Set your maneuvers on a dial,
- Try to out pilot your opponent by catching them in your forward gun arcs, then
- Finally roll some dice to blow them out of the sky!
You really couldn’t ask for a more elegant game to collect & play if you were Star Wars fan.
What Makes X-Wing Great…
Now as fun and as popular as X-Wing 1.0 has been over that last 5+ years, it had some growing pains that has moved away from what made the X-Wing originally so great:
- Maneuvering your ships via dials – feeling like your piloting decisions matter.
- Lining up arcs for a kill or dogging all the enemy’s guns to slip away, and
- Simple game mechanics that are clean & easy to follow without a 40+ page FAQ/errata.
That is why I’m super excited to see FFG releasing X-Wing 2nd Edition being released Sept 13th, 2018. The designers took all the things they learned from 1st edition and have improved upon it all.
Return of the Dials
One of the more fun and more interesting aspects about X-Wing are the ship’s maneuvering dials. Deciding where your ship will go vs. where the enemy ships will be is what makes X-Wing so interesting to play. X-Wing 2.0 has re-done almost all the ship dials in the game.
The result is that all the ships have a more unique flying profile e.g. the lightweight TIE Interceptors fast & agile while B-Wings are slower with shorter & have harder maneuvers.
This dial changes will also allow many of the original ships to catch up on some of new maneuvers that came along later in X-Wing 1.0 like like sloops, reverse, and talon rolls. In addition, FFG changed the green maneuvers to blue which helps those with color blindness.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Arc
One of major changes in 2nd Edition is the removal of 360 degree turret. Instead of flying on an easy mode, pilots now have to think about where their guns are pointed at all times if they want to get a shot.
This again increases the importance of piloting & those dials in order to keep your gun arcs on target.
This small but important change helps keep the game more interesting and allows for more variety of ships on the board which we haven’t seen a lot at the end of 1st edition. A lot of us seasoned veterans are going to be flying like rookies as we have to unlearn what they have learned.
Simpler this Game Will Be
One of the key things about learning X-Wing is it has always been easy to grasp the basic principles of the game.
But at the end of 1st Edition, it wasn’t uncommon to have 8 upgrade cards on one ship. That was 8 different things each round to remember while playing over the course of a game. It made for some not-so-fun long conversations of how things interact and really dragged games out.
In 2nd edition, we get back to the simple roots with fewer upgrades and more reliance on inherent ship abilities.
What Will You Fly?
With the release of X-Wing 2nd edition, all the game mechanic changes it is now even easier to get into the game. You can focus easily on a single faction – Rebels, Imperials, or Scum with Resistance, First Order, Republic, & Separatist to come.
In X-wing 2nd Edition, there is no chasing cards in packs you don’t want. You don’t have to buy all the packages just to be able to field a viable squad. Simply buy a core set, pick your favorite faction ships, then you are good to go!
Good? Bad? My Ship has a Heavy Laser Cannon
On Sept. 13th, X-Wing 2nd Edition will be released and whether you are returning veteran or a rookie, we will all be on equal footing as we re-learn and experience the game again for first time.
Many of us will find out how bad we are at this game and will have to learn how things again – which is half the fun. So come on by on Tuesday Night in McPherson or Thursday Night in Manhattan, ask for a demo game, or check out some games & join the fun. May the Force be with you & hope to see you at the table!
