Ambush! - X-Wing AAR

When FFG released their X-Wing miniatures game, I was mildly interested. I've always had an interest in the Star Wars universe, especially with the fightercraft. I enjoyed Michael Stackpole's X-Wing series (and am in the process of reacquiring the books to reread them), and I spent hours playing Rogue Squadron in my Nintendo 64 as a kid. 

Recently, Target (a discount retailer in the United States) had a clearance sale on the core set. At 50% off, I couldn't help but pick up a couple sets. Feeling slightly guilty, I also picked up the X-Wing and TIE fighter expansions from 7th Dimension Games. Feeling pretty satisfied with my purchases, I managed to wrangle Rob, a coworker that I recently found out plays 40k and is always interested in trying out new games, for a demo. 

I set up two 50 point flights. Rob choose the Rebels, and had 2 X-Wings - a rookie pilot, and a Red Squadron pilot with a Proton Torpedo. I played the Imperials with 4 TIE fighters - two Obsidian Squadron Pilots and two Academy Pilots. The story behind the scenario was an Imperial ambush that had occurred during a training flight between a rookie pilot and his mentor.

 

The two opposing flights deployed in straight lines across the table from each other. Since this was a demo game, I decided against using any terrain. This would be a straight-up dogfight. 

 

First turn didn't see a whole lot of anything happen. Both flights approached each others with the eager Academy pilots screaming forward. 

 

The Red Squadron pilot scored a quick kill in the second turn, locking onto and vaping an Obsidian Squadron pilot with a single burst of lasers. 

 

The fighters screamed towards one another, trading laser fire. Unfortunately for Rob, by the time he remembered the Proton Torpedo that the Red Squadron pilot had, we were too close for him to use it. 

Oh boy. Somehow Rob and I got into a massive Charlie Foxtrot, which kept all of our starfighters from using any of their abilities - so no Focusing, Locking On, Evading, or Barrel Rolls this turn. Laser fire flew through the aether.

The fighters pulled apart after their little scrap and flew off in different directions to lick their wounds. 

That didn't do the second Obsidian pilot any good, however, when the Rookie blew him out of the sky, 

The game went against the Rebels fairly quickly, however. Over the course of the game the X-Wings had lost their shields and taken hull damage. The Red Squadron pilot bought the moisture farm soon after the Obsidian pilot. The Rookie pilot was vaped soon afterwards, with the Academy-trained TIE pilots getting off without a scratch. 

Rob conceded the game in good spirits, and even mentioned that he was interested in picking up a core set or two himself. Looks like I've got another game to enjoy in the new year!