Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game - In the Beginning...

The other night I went round my ol' buddy Pete's to sink some beers, roll some dice and save the galaxy...

This would be my first game of X-Wing and I was really looking forward to taking the ships out for a spin and seeing how the game played out...

Red Squadron Pilot closes in for the kill...

Both Pete and I have built up size-able collections, effectively covering every ship released to date bar the X-Wing single ship expansion... That Wedge Antilles is a man in demand.

Suppressing the temptation to bring out the big guns straight from the off, we decided to pace ourselves and opted to get the ball rolling with the basic intro game. With everything set to go and with me opting for the Empire, we let battle commence...

Pete's new space board lookin' the business...

Whilst my first game ended in a brutal loss, the games' accessible and effective game design was clear to see. Having witnessed the differing capabilities of the ships, new tactical strategies started to form in the ol' grey matter. Hopefully they would stand me in better stead for the next game...

'All power to engines!!!' (and shields...)

Next up, we played the 'Political Escort' mission with Pete now commanding the Imperials and me having a crack at the Rebels. The objective was simple: get the Rebel Shuttle to the other side of the board in one piece...

As the Tie Fighters swing round to flank the Shuttle, the X-Wing peels off to intercept...

...But as the X-Wing over shoots, the Tie Fighters lock target and prepare to open up on the fleeing Shuttle...

Despite looking to be in deep trouble and somewhat aided by a series of unfortunate dice rolls by the Imperials, the Rebel Shuttle escaped off the other side of the board with a fair number of shields remaining. The Force (and luck) were with the Rebels on this one.

We decided to play the mission again, but this time switch sides...

Having seen the Imperials come close to destroying the Shuttle but just miss out by not hitting it with enough fire power until it was too late, I calculated that if I started with a Tie Fighter on each flank, I could funnel the Shuttle into a corridor of firepower and hopefully cause as much head-on damage as possible...

The Shuttle, chased by the Tie, chased by the X-Wing...

The Rebels sensed the trap and veered the Shuttle to port side, with the X-Wing moving up to cover it's starboard flank. The Tie Fighters raced head on and opened up with everything they had...

Spooky warp-stream photography weirdness!

The Imperials had managed to knockout 3 of the Shuttle's 6 shields, but now the Shuttle had crossed the half way point and was on the homeward stretch. As the Shuttle raced on, the Tie Fighters pulled a hard turn and prepared for their second attack run.

With the Tie Fighters slotting back in behind the Shuttle, the X-Wing seized the initiative and slammed on the breaks to appear right on the tail of the near-side Tie Fighter. It didn't stand a chance.

As the X-Wing closed for the final kill, the last remaining Tie Fighter new it was now or never and fired everything it had at the Rebel Shuttle, knocking out a further 2 shields...

So near and yet so far...

But alas, it wasn't enough and with one shield remaining a heroic Rebel Shuttle just made it to the board edge in time...

I really enjoyed playing X-Wing and am looking forward to both upping the model count and introducing some crafty ship upgrade combinations into our future games.

Until next time ;)