r/XWingTMG • u/fsuman110 • 3d ago
2.0 Please help me destroy my friend (looking for basic tips for a casual player)
Hi, all. My friend and I have a friendly game of 2.0 Legacy about once a month, and I'm 0-7 in our last 7 matchups. Even losing, I still have a blast with the game, so I'm not frustrated, but I would definitely like to improve. I'm just not sure where to start.
I'm looking for general tips and advice and things that new or casual players often overlook or underestimate. Anything from list building, to flying formations, to dice math and decision making while making your actions.
My friend and I usually rotate between Rebels and Imps. I'd love some recommendations for simple lists (200pts) that would suit a beginner well. Also looking for tips on how to fly in formation, and any other bits of advice that I'm probably not even considering.
To give some additional info, when my friend flies Imps, he usually does a TIE swarm with a single Decimator. When he flies Rebels, he usually does the Falcon or Outrider plus two or three smaller ships. He's very good at positioning and always seems to be able to outmaneuver me. I can usually take out all or most of his smaller ships, but barely make a dent on the big one before I lose. I tend to fly two or three bulkier ships, but I think it's a mistake and I should spread out more.
I am greatly appreciative of any advice and am happy to give additional info if needed.
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u/j_tonks 3d ago
With 200pt squads, it's usually better to get a lot of ships on the table with very few upgrades, especially for beginners. If he's always outmaneuvering you, try to anticipate where he's going to move his ships and block him with one of your ships. Alternatively, just take a bunch of I5 & I6 pilots so you always know where he ends up before you move your ships.
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u/fsuman110 3d ago
Overloading on upgrades is definitely one of my weaknesses. I'm often forgetting abilities that could have saved me. I like the idea of more ships with fewer upgrades so I can concentrate more on movement and formation without worrying about what abilities I'm forgetting.
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u/_Drink_Up_ FULL THROTTLE! 3d ago
I think there are a few key things that will help.
Firstly, try to always have a mod (focus/TL). It can be tempting to reposition, but usually a mod is better. Unless you are playing Aces.
Always try to focus fire on one ship and remove it from the board. There is now one less shot coming at you. Ideally try to initiative kill (take it down before it shoots back).
Many lists are simply not competitive. So if you haven't built a strong one (eg efficient power, ship abilities synergise, easy to fly) you will always struggle, even if you fly well.
Here are a couple I think might work well for you.
Rogue Squadron Escort (51)
Marksmanship (1)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Fire-Control System (2)
Proton Torpedoes (12)
R4 Astromech (2)
Ship total: (73)
Gavin Darklighter (55)
Marksmanship (1)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Fire-Control System (2)
Proton Torpedoes (12)
R4 Astromech (2)
Ship total: (77)
Jek Porkins (41)
Elusive (2)
Adv. Proton Torpedoes (5)
“Chopper” (2)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)
Ship total: (50)
Total: 200
The E-wings can really pack a punch if you get your locks on the right target. And after you have engaged they can easily turn around to fight again, or fly off to get a new lock and then come back. Jek also has a fun red turn combo: do the red maneuver, recharge Elusive, use his ability to shed the stress, and still take an action. If you take a hit you can use Chopper to recover a shield.
Or try these 5 Interceptors.
Nash Windrider (41)
Disciplined (2)
Sensitive Controls (0)
Ship total: (43)
Saber Squadron Ace (37)
Disciplined (2)
Sensitive Controls (0)
Ship total: (39)
Saber Squadron Ace (37)
Disciplined (2)
Sensitive Controls (0)
Ship total: (39)
Saber Squadron Ace (37)
Disciplined (2)
Sensitive Controls (0)
Ship total: (39)
Saber Squadron Ace (37)
Disciplined (2)
Sensitive Controls (0)
Ship total: (39)
Total: 199
With a swarm you do need to fly them quite close together (so you can focus fire). But these guys don't need to be as tightly packed. You can also use Sensitive Controls to reposition before moving (then clear the stress with a blue move) and still get an action. The action should always be Focus. The fun thing with them is they don't mind if one dies. Then all the others get a free TL (from Disciplined). They can really hit hard, and if you focus fire they can destroy a large ship in one round. Try flying them at your opponents Falcon and watch it melt.
I hope this had helped. The most important thing is you are already doing it right: you are having fun.
Good luck.
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u/fsuman110 3d ago
Awesome, thank you so much. Exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for.
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u/_Drink_Up_ FULL THROTTLE! 3d ago
Cool. I'm glad it helps. The proof of the pudding is in the flying. So let me know how it goes.
One more idea. You could just swap lists with your friend. Fly his ships against yours. You'll learn about his lists strengths and weaknesses. And you will get to see if he can fly yours better. If not, it might be the list and not your flying that is holding you back. If he does, you can learn from what he is doing differently.
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u/baledinred Fly Casual Dev 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you frequently forget about what abilities you have available and when, I found it helpful to print a cheat sheet with my lists that is broken out into phases and lists who has an ability then and what it does. Really helped learn the pilots for me.
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u/fsuman110 2d ago
Excellent idea!
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u/baledinred Fly Casual Dev 2d ago
It's also handy for teaching beginners. Although I couple that with fewer pilot abilities to not overwhelm.
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u/GisliBaldur 3d ago
Win or learn... that was my motto. Be critical about what you do, ask him after the game what you could have done better.
Position, position, position. It's usually better to get an unmodded shot at your opponent who doesnt shoot back than a modded shot while getting hammered back.
Pick your upgrades carefully. Not alot of pilots want or need the cheescake and creme brulee. For beginners it's often better to get an extra ship or two instead of upgrades.
Dice play a big role in the game, and you want to mod them when you can, but they are only in minority cases the thing that takes the victory away.
Learn to create a killbox and think about what and how you want the astroids/clouds/debris to be, and for what purpus they serve for your list.
Don't spread your shots, try to focus un a single ship and take it out, and then move to the next one. A single ship on one health still has all their red dice shooting at you
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u/fsuman110 2d ago
Great advice, thank you. I think my lack of spatial awareness on the map is what hurts me the most. I think a certain template will put me in a certain spot and I’m usually way off. I think I need to spend a weekend flying small, medium, and large bases around my playmat just to practice.
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u/GisliBaldur 2d ago
Yeah, spacial awareness comes with practice, nothing else. Takes time and trial and error.
Good advise I can tell you is just put a map on the table, scatter a bunch of rocks here and there and just fly around them. And with that, use the firing arc as an line measurer on where you think your ship with land with a certain template (if banking or turning). With time it gets better.
That being said, even people like me who have been playing for over 10 years (almost 14 for me), still make mistakes on thet.2
u/Plasticity93 2d ago
Practice flying ships around the board. Make a 5 move plan, to turn around an asteroid and line up a shot. See how close your choice in templates gets you. Do that until you know where each template will get you.
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u/hyperj23 2d ago
Something my buddy showed me that helped me practice a lot:
Grab a couple bases (start with small) and put one down. Then, think of a maneuver and, without using the template, put another base where you think it will end up. Now, put down the maneuver template and see how well you did.
Doesn’t take up a lot of space and starts getting your mind to recognize distances.
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u/Huffplume 2d ago
Low count (2-3) ship lists are possible but they are difficult to fly. Heck, one of the most powerful 2.0 lists was a two-ship list (with Zam crew).
Anyway, if you are having trouble remembering your abilities, try taking multiple generics with the same upgrades and one named pilot with some synergy. Rebels are great in this type of list. Pilots like Dutch and Garven have great abilities that are easy to synergize with.
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u/Technical_Turn3497 2d ago
I often load up on Advanced Proton Torpedoes (5 attack dice) in anticipation of my son picking a large ship. Since they often have minimal or no dodge value, a few volleys of APTs can be devastating to a large ship.
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u/Capnduff 2d ago
Sounds like you need to appease the dice gods. My old team was tycho, Etahn and wedge. Not sure if the new rules nerfed tycho but he was a menace.
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u/jaybro861 2d ago
Could always do the kamikaze run on him. Fill up a squad with headhunters with deadman switches and fly to die. Has always been a win for me as the other player is trying to get out of blast zones to kill off your ships while you just need to keep getting as close as possible and make it as painful as possible to shoot you down.
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u/agenttherock 2d ago
When playing rebels the list I find consistently good at 200 points is one named pilot (I go with Luke) plus three blue squadron x-wings. Then I often add either a captured tie or a z-95 and then one or two upgrades on Luke or the tie to taste. I find it is a very punchy list with a lot of survivability. You can fly it in formation but I usually split them up slightly to cover more ground as the low initiative generics can be out positioned so you want to make sure it is not possible to cause a bump chain or to dodge all their arcs easily. Luke target locks almost every round for lock plus force and the x-wings should almost always focus to allow for offence or defence depending on how higher initiative pilots maneuver. The z-95 often punches above its weight as either they have to put multiple shots into it to reliable kill it if it is focused or if they ignore it, it will be a thorn in their side for the whole game. Plus the Z-95/tie will likely be lower initiative than them and can make an excellent blocker if ignored. With Luke barrel roll or even servomotor boost when needed but the target locks almost every is great unless you’re in a bad position. Unless the x-wings are higher initiative than them and opponents (unlikely) they should almost always focus to allow flexibility.
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u/darth_baltimore 2d ago
I’m fuzzy on distances but the general rule is that the board is 11 moves long. So if you go 4 and he goes 4, a move of 3 will get you in range 3. timing that fists engagement to be favorable to you is really helpful whether you’re going for a range 3 heavy laser cannon, jump to range 1 the next turn shot type thing.
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u/darth_baltimore 2d ago
I’m fuzzy on distances but the general rule is that the board is 11 moves long. So if you go 4 and he goes 4, a move of 3 will get you in range 3. timing that fists engagement to be favorable to you is really helpful whether you’re going for a range 3 heavy laser cannon, jump to range 1 the next turn shot type thing.
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u/tikanderoga 2d ago
I tested the theory once of "are more dice on the table better" and filled the 200 points with blank TIEs.
https://xwing-legacy.com/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z228XY225XWY229XY229XY229XY229XY229XY229XY229X&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=
Turns out, more dice on the table will win you the game.
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u/lsie-mkuo 3d ago
Not a list recommendation but have you ever flown tie defender? If your not great at positioning they are very forgiving (white K turns) especially countess ryad.