I want everyone to say sorry to the Dice Calculator.

Game:  X-Wing Epic Play

Mission:  Fog of War

Players: 4

Link to match:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvrnevIDnjk&feature=youtu.be

After playing through our first Epic Battle we ran into several questions, concerns, but had a perfect X-Wing experience.  Today we review the Fog of War scenario from the Epic Battles: Rules and Scenarios book by Fantasy Flight Games.

Over all review:  Enjoyable and a great way to experience a massive space battle with your friends.  Ships will die fast, new tactics and upgrades will be used, and it will give you a new outlook on how to play with your X-Wing Miniature ships.  There are issues with setup, reserves, and how hard it is to find rules.  However, If you work through it and come to an agreement when one isn't provided, you will have more fun in the end.

Setting up:  This specific scenario only allows a quick build option when creating your forces.  For the intent of completing the objective (removing all of one players ships) quick build points are counted as the win condition.  After a ship is removed, the player that removed said ship by attacking, gains the quick build points that filled the slot of said destroyed ship.  In our play through you needed at least one Epic\Huge ship (or Wing), and with quick builds some factions have very limited options.  Some factions only have access to one Epic ship (Scum, Separatists, Resistance, and Galactic Republic), while others have access to two.  For the number of players, you draw for player number and get assigned a deployment zone.  See picture below:

        The positions do not change and the number of players do not allow you to move to a different spot.  After all of us created a squad from 16 points we started our setup.  This is where we run into our first hiccup.  The game states each player may start with up to six ships in reserve.  Of course if you have 6 or fewer ships, then the question is asked, can I start with my whole list in reserve?  With the rules as written and interpreted, we found nothing to declare a player must have at least one ship on the table, and there is also nothing incentivizing someone to come onto the table.  There is their need to score the most quick build points, but the game doesn't end till an entire player is removed.  If everyone keeps a ship in reserve indefinitely, it may never end.

        We allowed one of the players to start their full list in reserve, but the remaining players started their full squad on the table:

LISTS

Rich (Bottom Right): https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZqZ16Z390XY410X3&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs= Josef (Top right): https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v8ZqZ16Z375XY424XY424XY424XY424X&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs= Daniel (Top Left): https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZqZ16Z273XY384XY380XY380XY380XY380XY380XY380XY380XY380X&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs= Patrick (Bottom Left): https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZqZ8Z384XY287XY273XY287XY300X&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs=

Game recap

       Daniel and myself went for the respectful joust. Even after placing two bombs on the Fireballs, my Bombers were erased. I also flew Poe incorrectly over a gas cloud and was steamed rolled by the Raider. After giving my points to Dan and Rich, Josef came onto the map in his corner. While he was way behind on points he tried to remove some of Rich's ships but didn't score enough points to make it worth his while. Dan retreated with his fireball Swarm to keep his points up and took out my transport as well giving him ten points. Rich tried to catch up but ended up with nine points. Josef, even with 4 healthy vcx ships and a transport, couldn't get into the raiders hull or catch any other ships besides a tie SF. After I flew into the transport with my one remaining A-Wing the match ended with Dan in the lead. It was an absolute fun match with almost any other player taking the lead if I hadn't sacrificed my ship for Dan to win.

Rules Clarifications

        With any new game there are questions about the rules.  Although we did get many wrong, the overall flow of the game was not hindered.  Rules that we missed:
1.  You get an extra die, in addition to the range bonus die, if taking a shot at range 4-5
2.  Setting up the Epic ships first before all other ships

3. What classifies as a secondary bonus weapon and if you must spend energy to fire it.

        As much as I enjoy epic play, the rules are difficult to find, clarify and verify without having 4 rule books open at once.  If a question does show up, most likely before the game starts,  it can leave the setup stalling while you look for rules.  We determined a player can have their whole list in reserves.  As much as this seems incorrect, it can hinder a player from scoring points.  The rules state a player is removed from game if they have no ships on the table and no ships in reserve.

There is nothing in the rules about at least one ship being on the table, unless the scenario specifically states it.  Our recommendation is to only allow 0-6 Squad building points to start in reserve.  We also recommend any ships that doesn't come into play after turn 3 is removed from game (or fled).  This will keep shenanigans from happening and keep the game moving along.  I also set the criteria of having at least one Huge ship in each list instead of one Huge ship (or) Wing.  In my opinion it is more fun to have new players test out a Huge ship so they can decide if they want to go back to just ships.

Final Thoughts

    As the groups first Epic scenario, they were pleasantly surprised by the amount of ships, upgrades, quick builds, and mechanics. They enjoyed using Huge ships and the extra actions they can provide to their squadrons. Mixing energy, range extensions and bringing guns to bare was a fresh change to the constant meta of the standard format we all know and love. They also want to play more scenarios in which we are in teams or playing against each other but with different objectives. There were many questions and concerns with general setup and rules, which we did try to rectify. Over all we recommend this game mode to any new or veteran player. The nostalgia you get from moving and using a Huge ship, as it towers over your smaller ships, is stimulating to say the least. It's hulking movement, firepower and handshaking can prove quite a challenge for any player. It also is simple to follow for newer players, just don't get too hung up on the rules. Create your own rules that you can all agree on and keep the game moving. It is much easier to enjoy yourselves when you catch mistakes after the match and correct them for future battles. In full it took us just over 3 hours of setup and play to complete the full match. You should plan on more time for matches like this, especially if your players have not created a list before showing up. We hope you enjoyed this review\playthrough and cannot wait to bring you more Epic play!