The Lancer pursuit craft

I bought one of these several months ago and really like it in X-Wing the miniatures game. So much so, I had to get a second one!

My first one I modified a little and Maverick miniature studios painted it superbly for me.

Painted by Maverick miniature studios. 

Now we shall see what I can manage with this one.

I began with chopping off the tiny turret and cutting out a small part of the underside to get the ring magnet attached firmly to the ship. Then I sprayed the entire hull in metallic silver, this is just the base and will feature details later.

Magnets from Green stuff world. 

Whilst the spray paint is drying I set about building a new turret. This is two .50 cal machine guns from a WW2 model attached into a small ceramic disc which in turn was superglued onto a magnet to mount onto the upper hull magnet.

The magnetised D.I.Y. turret assembly. 

I kept the original turret and glued that onto the top of the 2 machine guns primarily for extra strength but it also looks pretty cool. The assembly was then spray primed black for painting later.

Had a bit of an afterthought and added a couple of more bits. I don't know what the pods on the sides are but mine are now weapon bays!

A harpoon and a flamethrower!

Now for painting some details. Here I tried two new (to me) ideas, using shade (or ink) over white for the cockpit glass which I think looks pretty good and then using green and red gemstone paints over silver on the cockpit surround and the front cannons, this gives us a metallic finish.

Adding detail and effects.

Almost there.

Finally got it finished the only problem is now that I have to practice imperials until the U.K. teams championship (I lost a bet)

The two girls (both female pilots) side by side.

UK X-Wing nationals 2017

I took the leap and decided to enter my first big tournament this year the UK X-Wing nationals.

I've been dithering a bit lately about my list, trying one or two variations on it during the last few weeks but eventually decided to go back to a favourite I've been flying for a while now.

Protectorate Starfighter: · Fenn Rau (28)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
Autothrusters (2)
Concord Dawn Protector (1)
Lancer-class Pursuit Craft: · Asajj Ventress (37)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
· Latts Razzi (2)
Burnout SLAM (1)
M3-A Interceptor: · Inaldra (15)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
"Light Scyk" Interceptor (-2)
M3-A Interceptor: · Sunny Bounder (14)
"Light Scyk" Interceptor (-2)
-- TOTAL ------- 99/100p. --

I set out at 05:00 on Friday morning  hoping for 3-3 (and not getting disqualified 😂) and arrived home 23:45 Sunday night having managed 4-2 and finishing 85/267 which I'm immensely pleased with!

Managed to gain several really cool bits of swag and had some great games with a lot of great people. 6 hangar bay games on Friday, 6 tournament rounds on Saturday and 5 hangar bay games on Sunday.

Glad I made notes and took pictures because it's all a hedonistic blur now.

Round 1 I found myself facing a familiar duo.

T-70 X-Wing: · Poe Dameron (33)
Veteran Instincts (1)
· R5-P9 (3)
Autothrusters (2)
· Black One (1)
Pattern Analyzer (2)
YT-1300: · Han Solo (46)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
· Rey (2)
· C-3PO (3)
· Millennium Falcon (Evade) (1)
-- TOTAL ------- 99/100p. --

I managed a win here 57-35 a comfortable start to the day and I felt vaguely optimistic!

Round 2 another familiar list very similar to my own.

Lancer-class Pursuit Craft: · Ketsu Onyo (38)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
· Dengar (3)
· Shadow Caster (3)
Lancer-class Pursuit Craft: · Asajj Ventress (37)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
· Latts Razzi (2)
M3-A Interceptor: · Inaldra (15)
Attanni Mindlink (1)
"Light Scyk" Interceptor (-2)
-- TOTAL ------- 99/100p. --

A drastically different outcome here though! My opponent new what he was doing here and well and truly schooled me in how to fly the Lancer pursuit craft. Annihilating me 0-100.

Round 3 I met Miranda & Nym, I caused a fair bit of damage but no half points on Nym 😠

Scurrg H-6 Bomber: · Captain Nym (30)
  Veteran Instincts (1)
  Twin Laser Turret (6)
  · Bomblet Generator (3)
  Engine Upgrade (4)
  · Havoc (0)
  Accuracy Corrector (3)
  · "Genius" (0)
K-Wing: · Miranda Doni (29)
  Extra Munitions (2)
  Homing Missiles (5)
  Twin Laser Turret (6)
  Cluster Mines (4)
  Thermal Detonators (3)
  Advanced SLAM (2)
  · Sabine Wren (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100/100p. --

This was my second disaster in a row! 0-100 and I've got to admit it knocked the wind from my sails somewhat. A friend said he was going to drop to play side events and I very nearly joined him.

Round 4 I persevered and met a favourite paired with another Captain Nym!

Scurrg H-6 Bomber: · Captain Nym (30)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Extra Munitions (2)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Cluster Mines (4)
Cluster Mines (4)
Long-Range Scanners (0)
· Havoc (0)
· R5-P8 (3)
Lancer-class Pursuit Craft: · Asajj Ventress (37)
Push The Limit (3)
Gyroscopic targeting (2)
· Dengar (3)
· Shadow Caster (3)
Black Market Slicer Tools (1)
-- TOTAL ------- 99/100p. --

This was a peculiar game, I lost both my M3's quite early and hammered his Lancer soon afterwards but I could not get that Nym! They are my nemesis! I managed a 26-49 win however.

Round 5 featured Imperial ships that I've been practicing with recently and that may have helped me a little.

TIE Advanced: · Darth Vader (29)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Cruise Missiles (3)
Guidance Chips (0)
TIE/x1 (0)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)
TIE Aggressor: · "Lieutenant Kestal" (22)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Cruise Missiles (3)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Guidance Chips (0)
TIE/sf Fighter: · "Quickdraw" (29)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Fire Control System (2)
Special Ops Training (0)
Weapons Guidance (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --

I lost my poor Sunny Bounder and Inaldra in the battle (again) but other than that managed a strong 100-26.

Round 6 was a peculiar surprise for me, four Tie aggressors with TLT.

TIE Aggressor: Sienar Specialist (17)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)
TIE Aggressor: Sienar Specialist (17)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)
TIE Aggressor: Sienar Specialist (17)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)
TIE Aggressor: Sienar Specialist (17)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --

I think having a mighty lot of experience flying TLT's in the past really helped me here. I often find ramming formations is a useful tactic and when they couldn't shoot me with their turrets it enabled a 100-12 victory for me.

All in all I ended up 4-2 and a very happy little pilot! It exceeded even my most optimistic hope of 3-3 and earned me 85th place out of 267 competitors which is something I can be proud of! I might add that following my brutal murder in round 2 I bought myself a second Lancer pursuit craft 😋

It's a whopper!

On Friday 15th of September I'm off to Liverpool with a group of friends to take part in the UK X-Wing nationals!

It's going to be a long weekend with a departure from home at 05:00 on Friday and I'm expecting to make it back to my own bed around midnight on Sunday. The plan is hangar bay games on Friday (choosing 1 of two lists each round) followed by the main event on Saturday, probably 7 rounds of X-Wing, capped off with knockout rounds for the top 64 on Sunday or (more likely for me) more hangar bay games.

Me being me I'm still not entirely sure what ships I want to take, certainly Fenn Rau in his Protectorate starfighter and Asajj Ventress in the mighty Lancer pursuit craft.  But there my certainty ends! My brain is telling me to use a few more upgrades and Genesis Red in the M3a but my heart is saying to go with my much loved Sunny Bounder and a compromise with Inaldra (both in M3a's)

My two possible lists

There's just one more thing.  I'm also planning on squeezing in an imperial list in order to practice for the UK team championship next month, but I'll very likely leave that until Sunday hangar bay games.

A wretched hive!

So I've been playing X-Wing almost exclusively for several months now and taken a liking to the 'Scum and villainy faction.

The Rebellion and the Empire (or the Resistance and the First Order?) are the main protagonists of the mighty franchise and the films, leaving Scum and villainy (S&V) somewhat in the shadow of the "stars." S&V aren't so much a clear cut faction but more a collection of freelancers, smugglers, bounty hunters and various other miscreants.

Fenn Rau charges at his enemy. 

My first foray into S&V was with some borrowed ships including Fenn Rau who was my first "ace" and has been a mainstay of my list ever since.

Whilst Rebels tend to favour tanky & defensive ships and the Imperial fleet certainly leans towards agile fighters, S&V seem to have a wider and more appealing range of ships at its disposal, including big lumps and nippy fighters alongside bizarre freighters and utility craft that were not initially intended to take part in space battles.

Standby for details on my ships in the near future.

50% luck, 50% skill and 50% list!

Any decent game is going to have several elements to it, here's my thoughts.

Luck.

Builds can be made to minimise the randomness of the dice involved but luck will always be a factor, when attacking or defending if you roll all one's (or blanks) then you're in trouble!

Skill.

A good list commanded poorly will still lose, adversely a weak list controlled brilliantly can exceed it's “on paper” expectations.

List.

The other side of the luck coin. List synergy and prowess is a major factor, a well built list can negate some events of pilot skill.

Take a look at the old game of snakes and ladders, this is entirely luck. Any player could win regardless of their grasp of the game as each and every action is random, decided by the roll of the dice. Then Compare this to chess, an entirely different game. Both players have exactly the same forces and there is no element of luck whatsoever, the game is won or lost completely with yours and your opponents skill.

Many tabletop top games combine the above attributes and then go on to add list building. Imagine playing a game of chess using only the eight pawns whilst your opponent used only the eight back row pieces, that would be a very one sided game.