Hi !
Legend of the alliance is wonderfull, the only big problem is that they is only 3 short campaigns.
Is there any hope that FFG US will ever :
1/ create new campaigns ?
2/ implement the "paper" campaign sell with the 7 boxes in the app ?
3/ make a "Fan creator campaign" ?
(pls ffg, reply yes-yes-yes)
The whole world is waiting for FFG US to make a move !

 

Join Twin Sun Charities for the inaugural Campaign Against Cancer 24hr Telethon Live Stream!
Starting at 9pm Central (3 hours after this post) we will go live
Click here to watch: https://www.twitch.tv/goldsquadronpodcast
Click here to donate: (Wait for stream to start before donating to be eligible for CAC giveaways)
https://bit.ly/DonateCAC2020
The CAC team has done an amazing job bringing together many content creators including myself as well as members from the X-wing community around the world to bring you 24 hr of great content!
See you on the Stream!!!
 

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/2/20/atomic-bonds/
Coop for everyone!

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/2/20/atomic-bonds/
Coop for everyone!

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/2/20/atomic-bonds/
Coop for everyone!

Teams of 4 is purely a legacy decision from an old scoring system and at this point I don't want to force people to break up their previous teams.  With the scoring method there's no real benefit to larger/smaller teams (though an odd number would be preferable for the cut).
 
Pairings tied to bids is because list bids and pairing order have an extreme effect on the outcome of a set.  If the list bids weren't combined and used to determine pairing order, a pretty dominant strategy would be to bring two huge mega bid ace mirror winning lists, and two lists you were confident against swarms/beef with.  If the pairing order were random, about half the time you'd get at least two games (the ace mirrors) where one team just had a bye and the games aren't very fun.  The other benefit of this is because everyone knows that everyone else can't really afford to be bidding unless they go deep into it and run four ace lists with huge bids, bids are broadly small.  The average COMBINED bid last year at krayt cup was... 3, I think?
 
That means we get to effectively have random player order without the riots involved in changing the rules.

For those interested it'll be on FFG's FFGLive Twitch channel at 1pm Central US time tomorrow, Jan-9-2020 (they've discontinued streaming via YouTube but will still have the stream recordings uploaded to YouTube soon after the stream has finished).
Reference article for January 2020: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/12/31/ffg-live-in-january/
Twitch channel: 
YouTube Channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBgLoSqJJnzp3eQdjDEdl9w
For those that want to watch the recording I'll link to the vid itself here after it has been uploaded by FFG (though it may be a little bit after, I have some errands to run right after the stream wraps up):
Jan 2020 points links:
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/2e/30/2e3026a5-fb1c-4698-b41d-ef96fab27ffa/onlinepoints_rebelalliance_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/b2/80/b280c601-a809-46fa-9920-d66aab375099/onlinepoints_galacticempire_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/81/8a/818a682c-b0e7-4555-bdd0-f09f03e49aba/onlinepoints_scumandvillainy_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/b7/d5/b7d50ad4-7845-4f22-aca8-3871d8be55b2/onlinepoints_genericupgrades_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/9c/f3/9cf381bf-543b-40fb-953a-96b17f3b6bb1/onlinepoints_separatists_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/b3/7a/b37a0aa1-1d25-4f08-b052-6f6e5ab07f46/onlinepoints_republic_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/94/da/94da7707-3f6f-48da-8ddc-212a87884136/onlinepoints_resistance_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/4b/20/4b20f6aa-b8f5-430c-9f3a-3dcc0dbaa3ca/onlinepoints_firstorder_wave6.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/ce/49/ce494a84-a68e-45ca-9333-d81eb50d379c/onlinepoints_epichugeships_wave6.pdf
 
Jan 2020 Epic and Normal Rules References:
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/67/8a/678a909e-bd3b-4c21-9978-4218a253d07d/b_swzrulesreference_v110_-compressed.pdf
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/69/e7/69e76fa5-61e1-4c8a-9c07-05a222b58420/01_swzepicrulesreference_v110.pdf

With the new year comes the hope and promise of X-Wing resolutions!  Mikhail wants to attend a specific tournament that he’s never played in before.  Franch vows to be more faction diverse.  And Gordon….well, Gordon is already a hot mess, getting stuck trying to live up to his X-Wing promise on the very first day he makes the attempt!
http://acrossthesaga.com/sot-episode-58-x-wing-new-years-resolutions/
 
 
 

With the new year comes the hope and promise of X-Wing resolutions!  Mikhail wants to attend a specific tournament that he’s never played in before.  Franch vows to be more faction diverse.  And Gordon….well, Gordon is already a hot mess, getting stuck trying to live up to his X-Wing promise on the very first day he makes the attempt!
http://acrossthesaga.com/sot-episode-58-x-wing-new-years-resolutions/
 
 
 

I added these back in.
Fixed! New builds for Scyk, JM5k, TIE Adv v1, VCX-100, and Sheathipede all added.

A buddy and I got in a 500 v 500 game last night and had a great time. He played a Refit C-ROC with two wings (3 Scyks and 4 Mining Guild TIEs), Moralo and Torkil. I had an ordnance Raider, Jendon, and 2 wings (3 Interceptors and 2 Inquisitors in v1's). We played on a 3x3 mat and by turn 2 were fully engaged and trading shots. I don't want to go into a blow by blow but by the end of Round 4 the CROC was off the table after dealing 5 crits to two of the members of the TIE Intercpetor wing by running them over and blowing the third away! The Raider focused on the CROC and took very little damage in return since his wings didn't focus fire on the Imperial Huge ship. We quit at the end of round 5 due to the late hour but walked away very excited to play with more huge ships and wings - and to try out the scenarios next time.
A few overarching thoughts on huge ships after a game.
-It is clear that the designers attempted to bring huge ships more in line with regular ships. They succeeded. Huge ships work 100% better than 1.0. They are intuitive and friendly to the players. Players really shouldn't be intimidated by them if you've never played them before. If you played 1.0 and found it too clunky, 2.0 fixes sooo many of the problems (like sections). More than anything, it was ridiculously fun.
-The action efficiency and firepower felt right. They cost a lot but can do a lot. If you don't focus them down they will shrug off any plinking damage and murder you. If you get crits on them they are going to suffer.
-The new huge ship maneuver tool is awesome. It really improves the maneuvers of the ships and makes 3x3 a totally viable space. The zero bank is my new favorite.
-2.0's improvements are apparent in this format. Turret indicators, charges, and the base hash marks really shine here and make the game easier to play.
-WINGS ARE AWESOME. The wing mechanic is a godsend in this format. we spent 3 turns only setting like 4 dials each even with tons of ships on the table. It makes things go so much faster! It's also a ton of fun to see where ships end up. The wing tool really changes the dynamic of the game and I am in love with it.
-The pegs and bases are a huge improvement. They are much more secure than 1.0. But...The cardboard for the Raider and CR90 bases seems a bit short and has issues when putting the pegs in. However, I found that it occured most when I pressed one of the pegs all the way down into the base without the turret indicator. Once I installed indicators and the pegs weren't so tight I was able to get it in and put a ship on top. It still wasn't perfect, and was annoying to figure out, but the pegs, ship, and base held together for a game and the indicators swiveled fine. Not perfect but playable. The bases and pegs continue to be the worst part of the game.
Try it out!

Hah, well, the slow clap was actually for @atkrull and his final (?) OCX broadcast last night.  Thanks for having me on, @atkrull and @RStan!...was a really fun time!
 
To take a page out of @Deroche's book, more about me! (@Bucknife already knows most of this) 

After my last post, I did start making steps towards this goal...
And then what did I do after that top 8 Trial performance?  I promptly dropped the list because L'ulo went up.  That was kind of dumb.  I spend the next several months chasing the meta.  I had fun along the way, to be sure, but I felt like I could have ended up with the same (middling) competitive results with the list that I loved.  Despite buying a Worlds LCQ ticket, it wasn't in the cards for me to go, which might have ended up being a good thing. 
I was incredibly sad to not go to Worlds for a ton of reasons, but with so many highly competitive players off at Worlds and the general Hyperspace Trial malaise, it did mean I could try to take advantage of a #tinytrial the same weekend.  Less than a week before this Trial, I still wasn't back on BB-8 Poe.  I'd been playing him with Rey, but I wasn't nearly consistent enough with that combo to have confidence at a Trial. 
I had been hive-minding a Republic list with a bunch of folks, local and otherwise.  Then, I hit a test game where things didn't go my way, which got me thinking, "If I take this Republic list and I don't win the whole thing, will I be disappointed that I didn't bring BB-8 Poe?"  The answer was a resounding "YES".  So back to Black Squadron, it was!  I ended up winning the #tinytrial and got a Worlds 2020 invite!  Lesson learned there was don't drop a list you love with which you've had success until/unless any changes to it are proven to hurt it....on the table, not in a headsim.
I now feel like I'm playing with house money.  I have roughly a year to try to make BB-8 Poe competitive at Worlds 2020.  

@Deroche  you may have misread that.  it's 1 of each token at start of each round between all your units.  Not at the start of the match.
So yeah, it's still a super big nerf (to a super broken card).  But the utility of it is pretty consistent throughout the match, not an upfront spike followed by a drop off.
It's still got the free move/attack each round as well ... so ... yeah, that's a lot of variables to wrap my head around while i have a headache.  maybe it's fixed with flat damage boost cut back to tokens?
 
/////
 
Also, are there any other changes?  I'm not the sharpest when it comes to playing "spot the difference" in FAQ guides.  ^^;

Ultimately, our goal as members of the steering committee is to keep the community invested in the game. I think where we started the project with suggestions we developed internally -- our implementation of this Season -- has caused frustration for some, and I'm sorry that happened. We're not intending to dictate changes but to curate them.
We felt like for this first Season, especially in the sense of getting the project rolling ASAP after IA Worlds, it would be better to use our internally-picked selections as starters for conversation than opening up a free-for-all of what the community thinks should be changed. The important thing to note is that we're not bound and determined to see all these changes through, but we would like the Community to think critically about them, share their opinions and try the changes out. What we don't want is folks to think that we have some sort of agenda OTHER THAN keeping Skirmish fresh, fun and worth everyone's time and money.

Details here:
https://xwvassal.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/x-wing-vassal-module-8-5-4-4-bug-fixes-autorange-from-stuff/

All the details are here: https://xwvassal.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/x-wing-vassal-module-8-5-0-wave-3-mouse-gui-v2-5-bug-fixes/    

https://www.facebook.com/events/2338972773004184/?active_tab=about
If you plan to attend, then you should pre-reg ASAP as there will be a player cap at 64 and it will probably sell out.
 
 

Another blog from Matt Cary. This time covering the recent Hyperspace Trial in Murray. Hyperspace Hullabaloo.

Alright, time to deliver on what's been promised. There will be 2 essential samples, both starting with the same setup that will go to the first engagement. One will be more aggressive trying to surround something like a rebel beef squad in the opposite corner. The other will be a bit more passive, but pounce on a potential target at the same turn number. Also, ignore the weird white box thing that show up in a few of these as I'm not sure how I got that to show up and how to get rid of it. @GreenDragoon @gennataos @prauxim @Deroche I know a few of you wanted to see this and share this with others. 
Turn 0: From left to right. Blue, Zari, Greer, Talli, Lulo

Turn 1: Start a bit of a fan out, generally keeping the low initiatives in the middle of the board and Talli with Lulo ready to go up the board to flank. 

Turn 2 (Aggressive): Blue still keeping distance, but open field to shoot up the board. Greer and Zari both ready to make moves in the middle. Talli and Lulo both 5 straight, but only Lulo boosts to make his way around that pivot rock. 

Turn 3 (Aggressive): Blue still keeping a bit of distance. Greer and Zari may have shots this turn, but don't commit too much to allow Talli and Lulo to make their way over for the killbox. 

Turn 4 (Aggressive): Blue goes fast with 3 bank and boost, Zari 3 bank, Greer 2 bank, Talli 2 straight to keep distance to allow escape routes next turn and Lulo with 5 straight and boost. Solid Bullseye crossing for crack shots. 
 
Rewind a bit back to Turn 1: 

Turn 2 (Passive): Blue stays low with 1 turn/barrel rolls. Zari to bank, Greer 1 turn away, Talli just 2 straight, Lulo 2 straight and boost. Even with the turn away moves, hard turns to the left for Zari and Greer still put them in an engaging position.

Turn 3 (Passive): Blue, Zari and Greer stick to 1 hard turns opening up their ability to pounce while staying back farther. Talli 2 bank and Lulo 3 bank plus straight boost. 

Turn 4 (Passive): Blue 2 bank plus opposite bank boost, Zari 3 straight plus bank boost, Greer 3 straight, Talli 2 bank boost and Lulo 3 bank plus bank boost. Not as many bullseyes crossing together, but still a solid chance for one to catch their target. 
 
 
The big take away from examples above is the how wide you can fan out your Awings and converge in a nice overlapping arc location on the board. Deciding early on whether you can be the aggressor because it's easier to forecast where your target is going to be or if you have to be a bit passive early to give your ships less committing options and keep your opponent guessing. It's very rare I see an opponent setup in a joust on the same side of the board as me so Talli and Lulo have had the ability to get up the side of the board quick. You generally want to pick the side of the board to start setup that gives you a middle and a top corner pivot rock. That way you can turn in Talli and maybe Lulo if he's needed earlier at the middle rock or keep Lulo going around the top pivot rock. Hope this helps a bit. This is by no means the only way to surround and create a killbox, just one example that has worked quite well for me so far. The general pattern is, stretch the As out as far as they can go from each other (while staying safe) and just when it's at it's max, snap them all back together to surround your opponent. Think of it like a tension wire getting stretched out before snapping back in on itself. It overall makes it really hard for your opponent to commit to a certain area because it might be only 1 AWing they can shoot while the other 4 surround them from less desirable angles to be able to also engage with.

Gordon and Mikhail are joined this week by special guest Ryan Staniszewski of the OCX podcast to discuss their recent experience at the Hyperspace Trial that was held in Springfield, Ohio.  In fact, one of them won the tournament!  You’ll never guess who!!  Listen to find out!!!  Okay, fine, the title of the episode has a hint!!!!
http://acrossthesaga.com/sot-episode-48-hail-mikhail/
 

Gordon and Mikhail are joined this week by special guest Ryan Staniszewski of the OCX podcast to discuss their recent experience at the Hyperspace Trial that was held in Springfield, Ohio.  In fact, one of them won the tournament!  You’ll never guess who!!  Listen to find out!!!  Okay, fine, the title of the episode has a hint!!!!
http://acrossthesaga.com/sot-episode-48-hail-mikhail/
 

I've got an extra one...want me to send it to you?

As you wish...
(I know, wrong trilogy awards ceremony but this is what you get for 3 minutes of work).