Your thoughts on the Epic format

[SpikeSpiegel 2,077]

I've been playing a lot of Epic games lately simply because it is so much more fun than 100 point standard for me. After Store Champs season was over I went into super-mega-competitive play test mode and was feeling burnt out on 100 point deathmatch. BBBBZ, Brobots and RACFel get boring to play against after 40+ games, so we busted out Epic lists and had a blast.

I had my butt kicked every single time, but I figured its because I haven't adjusted to the bigger point limits. I just love what you can do in Epic like making ridiculous triple HLC Defenders your hammer in a list or flying a barebones GR-75 off the board because you deployed it parallel to the table edge. I honestly feel like this is X-Wing at its finest. Instead of a single dogfight amongst a couple of aces or sliver a squadron, you can field the whole squadron with the aces in a battle where the pressure is on whenever you gain or lose leverage.

And when people say "I have Armada for big ship stuff," I just don't understand the reasoning behind that. X-Wing is X-Wing, Armada is Armada. Two very different games that fulfill different entertainment purposes. Epic has everything you love about X-Wing with more points, mechanics and more thought thought that goes into lists and gameplay. You don't even have to use Epic ships, just have a massive 300 point battle through a bunch of rocks and debris.

It could also be that my love for X-Wing is undying and I am a sucker for everything about it, but honestly, if you haven't tried Epic or if you've tried it and didnt like it, I insist on giving it another go just to see if you really dislike. I just went into the format with my only expectation being to have fun, and I haven't been disappointed. I also have been brainstorming new lists and tactics just for Epic, which has improved my ability to play in standard as well, because you can take setups and do things you normally wouldn't do in a competitive environment. Just have fun with it!

And as a final thought, I'm still super pumped for the Raider. Imperial vs. Rebel Epic sized ships will be a blast to see and field on the table.

So, what are your thoughts on Epic?

[Zabby 10]

Might be that I have played under 30 games, but 300 points games are a bit too long for me and my friends. That should change with the raider. Had a blast woth the campaign though.

[Budgernaut 6,234]

I just went into the format with my only expectation being to have fun, and I haven't been disappointed. ... Just have fun with it!

...

So, what are your thoughts on Epic?

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to play epic yet. A big part of that is not having 300 points in any faction yet, but I could definitely do Team Epic, if the chance arose.

 

But in regards to what I quoted above, I feel like the same attitude can be applied to 100 pt. death-matches. If you just go in to have fun and throw optimization out the window for a few games, it can really feel refreshing.

[Blail Blerg 7,335]

Takes too **** long.

Fighter spam vs huge ships isn't perfectly balanced.

Raider will help.

[GilmoreDK 186]

I love epic... Much more fun for me than the 100pt. boxing ring format. But i prefer Epic with missions to complete like the Campaign that comes with the Corvette or some of the nice missions on Mission Control (such as Raid on Fondor)..

[DarthEnderX 5,240]

And when people say "I have Armada for big ship stuff," I just don't understand the reasoning behind that. X-Wing is X-Wing, Armada is Armada. Two very different games that fulfill different entertainment purposes

Agreed.  I want to play huge space battles from the vantage point of Maarek Stele.  Not Admiral Piett.

[heychadwick 11,354]

Hyper competitive X-wing is played a certain way.  There are only so many competitive builds and many options are just ruled out.  Never take x.  Why ever use y?  Z has no place in the game.  I mean, just look at X-wings.  People rarely take them in competitive play.  What I like about different varieties of X-wing is that it's the same game, but really refreshing way to play it.  It can bring back a lot of fun of when you first started.  You can build all sorts of crazy things that you would never do in a "normal" game. 

 

I'll also report that you don't have to do 300 pts.  Why not just do 200 pts?  That gives you enough to have fun with it.  There are also scenarios to run.  Just make up some sort of game that is different than "kill all the other ships".  It makes some ships useful that normally aren't.  You can always even add in other odd restrictions like "only use generics". 

 

If you do have the epic ships, you can really eat up those points.  So, if someone says, "I don't have the points", they might if they used the epics.  Or....use the big based ships.  There is also people who can pool their ships.  Each person bring 100 pts or 150 pts.  That should be enough.  I really want to play a number of Decimators vs. the Tantive. 

 

There are ways to prevent it from taking too long.  If you have teams of players, it helps.  Each person gets a portion of the points.  Spread the PS of ships between players so that one player doesn't end up with eight Academy Pilots.  That's because the game bogs down at that point.  I'm not saying you can't take 8 generic Tie Fighters, but spread out the PS and spread them out to different players.  Makes it much smoother.  Try to avoid unique characters.  When you have a lot going on, it's hard to recall all the special rules for each pilot.  Maybe go with one or two for each person. 

 

I'll say that I love playing something other than 100 pt tournament deathmatch all the time.  I do like that format, but I like other formats, as well.  It's also really cool to have some sort of epic table spread out at the game store and people walk up and are just amazed at all of it.  I've gotten so many new players in the game that way. 

[FTS Gecko 23,148]

Yorr thoughts on the Epic format:  "I wish I had an Elite Pilot Talent!"

 

Takes too **** long.

 

You've clearly never played Talisman.

 

 

And when people say "I have Armada for big ship stuff," I just don't understand the reasoning behind that.

 

Neither do I.  The ships in Armada are really not that big at all.

 

This.  This is "big".

 

Edited June 4, 2015 by FTS Gecko

[lazycomet 294]

I've only played 200pt Epic (thin CR-90, laser upgrades only) both to cut down on Time and Mega-Swarm (24 tie-fighters)! 200pts seems to be a sweet spot. A thin Corvette leaves you lots of points left for escorts. My advice is to also leave a ship behind for "Endgame."

 

 

[Ken at Sunrise 2,064]

To me at least, Epic has a more Star Wars feel.  That is not saying the Star War: X-Wing tournaments aren't the most talked about here.  And 
 

Hyper competitive X-wing is played a certain way.  There are only so many competitive builds and many options are just ruled out.  Never take x.  Why ever use y?  Z has no place in the game.  I mean, just look at X-wings.  People rarely take them in competitive play.  What I like about different varieties of X-wing is that it's the same game, but really refreshing way to play it.  It can bring back a lot of fun of when you first started.  You can build all sorts of crazy things that you would never do in a "normal" game. 
[...]

 

I couldn't agree with heychadwick more...

 

And for me that's okay.  I know many are pushing 'everything needs to be balanced down to the nearest fraction of a point even if it takes 5 expansions packs per ship type to get there'.  There are a lot of ships you can find uses for in Epic that may not play well in a 100 point game.  Better still... Missions/Scenarios and Epic Missions, Whoo Hoo!!!  Think of the variety of games and ships if you're building for missions rather than a death match.  It is okay for some ships to have uses and capabilities that may never be good in tournaments.

 
Small nimble fighters zipping about in and around larger slower moving ships is Star Wars

 

At least for me 

 

My wish, a book of 50 (or more) stand alone missions that could be used campaign style.

[Sixter 226]

I think a huge ship should be required for each side (Scum could use the transport) when the Raider comes out. I haven´t played many epic games yet but most people seem to agree the huge ships are underpowered against max-number builds.

[Keffisch 2,642]

Takes too **** long.

 

A thousand times this.

[Lord Markgraf 38]

Waiting for the Raider with much anticipation. My buddies and I play x-wing once a month, on a 4x12 table with around 500 points to a side. We are already using repainted Corvettes, the Raider can't get here fast enough. We are working on a space station and I am saving up for a Marauder from shape ways. Love high point games as much as a standard game, but I have never been a fan of tournament play.

[heychadwick 11,354]

 

Takes too **** long.

 

You've clearly never played Talisman.

 

 

Too true!!!!

 

To me at least, Epic has a more Star Wars feel.  That is not saying the Star War: X-Wing tournaments aren't the most talked about here.  And 

 

[...]

 

My wish, a book of 50 (or more) stand alone missions that could be used campaign style.

 

Yeah, large numbers of generic ships flying at each other is very cinematic and in line with the movies.  I love it.

 

I'd love a missions book, too. 

 

I think a huge ship should be required for each side (Scum could use the transport) when the Raider comes out. I haven´t played many epic games yet but most people seem to agree the huge ships are underpowered against max-number builds.

 

Depends on the ships.  High red dice means big ship dead (Phantoms and Interceptors).  Swarms of Tie Fighters can mean Rebel Victory.   I've found it best when one person makes up both lists to make it a bit balanced. 

 

 

Takes too **** long.

 

A thousand times this.

 

 

What is too long?  You can get an Epic game in about 3 hours if people know how to play (possibly less).  Is that too long?

[Verlaine 1,647]

+1 for a missions book/supplement.

[Mu0n729 3,113]

I play Twilight Imperium (I try to at least once a year) 6+ players. Epic format isn't too long.

And it's **** fun. I'm an advocate for the format, and I'm trying to help organise + play in a 1-day tournament for it this summer once the Raider hits.

[CaineHoA 245]

Didnt play it too often yet but when i played it I liked it. Looking forward to get more Epic ames in when the Raider arrives.

[dotswarlock 2,419]

Epic format can be tons of fun, but here are a few tips to make it more fun:

 

- Design your squad in advance (that should be a given)

- Print out your squad: it will save you 30 minutes of prep time and putting your cards back in your folder in the end if you can just whip our 3 sheets of paper.  Feel free to proxy cards for casual games.

- Have your bases ready with number tokens in advance (now all you need to do when you get there is snap your ships in)

- If you lower the prep time to 5 minutes instead of 30-40 minutes then things get more exciting

 

As for actual squad building:

- Don't field more than 1 huge ship

- Avoid putting too many upgrades

 

That last part is so that you don't get steamrolled, which would be a bad first experience.

 

The last epic game that I played, we did 300 points of rebel vs 300 points of Scum in 1h30 minutes.  We stopped short of destroying the Corvette because that was the only ship left alive on the Rebel side (and I still had most of my fleet).

[Joe Boss Red Seven 11,292]

I think a huge ship should be required for each side (Scum could use the transport) when the Raider comes out. I haven´t played many epic games yet but most people seem to agree the huge ships are underpowered against max-number builds.

 

The huge mistake that FFG made on purpose to keep their 100 point competitive tournament business happy was to make the huge ships weaker than they are in the STAR WARS universe.

 

Simply double the shields and energy and that gets you the right feel... game fixed.

[DarthEnderX 5,240]

I want a special playmat that's just the hull of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.  With cardboard tokens for all of it's various important systems like turrets and shield generators etc.

 

Then, every battle can be Razor Rondezvous, things would be truly Epic, and I can finally be happy.

[heychadwick 11,354]

I remember pictures of someone who made a cardboard Star Destroyer that took up a big table.  He had different layers and the bridge on it, as well as turrets and shield projectors.  I also believe he had rules for the different components, so the small ships could fire to knock out shield generators or things like that. 

[Ken at Sunrise 2,064]

I want a special playmat that's just the hull of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.  With cardboard tokens for all of it's various important systems like turrets and shield generators etc.

 

Then, every battle can be Razor Rondezvous, things would be truly Epic, and I can finally be happy.

 

You may find this useful.

 

http://www.afewmaneuvers.com/topic/2105-isd-vs-mc80-mat/

[TheMoonLord 90]

i play 200 point epic, and its more fun.

[cody campbell 361]

Yeah, Epic is definitely "the game."  100 pt, while the most manageable, is somewhat lacking.  All the games that really stand out in my mind have been Epic sized.  In fact, without Epic, I may have given up on the game by now.  

[DarthEnderX 5,240]

You may find this useful.

 

http://www.afewmaneuvers.com/topic/2105-isd-vs-mc80-mat/

 

That IS awesome, but it's only got half of each ship on each mat.

 

I'd rather have one entire ship on each mat, then, if I want to have a battle between the two ships, I can just lay the two mats out side-by-side.