However, we keep playing X-Wing in a more or less weekly basis. So far I have played the Erasmus campaign once as the Rebel. Although I was able to win the first mission I utterly lost the campaign. You can read a chronicle of our spoils here.
Now, I am playing it again but as Empire :) :)
So far we have managed to play the 1st mission, Satellite Malfunctions
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Mission Setup
Rebel:
Points: 50, but a maximum of 2 ships
Ships: Any non-unique ship
Upgrades: Any non-unique droids, weapons upgrades, missile upgrades, and Pilot upgrades (if able to)
Setup: Anywhere in range 1 of the Rebel table side. Rebels place their ships first.
Imperial:
Points: 50
Ships: Any non-unique standard Tie Fighter
Upgrades: Pilot upgrades (if able to)
Setup: Anywhere on any table edge (right, or left, or center), as long as it is range 3 away from the Rebel player's starting side. Rebels place their ships first.
Iniative: Rebels
Asteroids: Imperials place asteroids, but cannot be within range 2 of a satellite or range 1 of each other.
Two satellite tokens are placed by the Imperial player anywhere in range 2 of his side of the table. This means only range 2 and not in range 1. It also means left, center, and right sides. No sticking it in the corner!
Special Rules
·Echo System Satellite: The satellite has 5 hull points and can be targeted by weapons systems. It cannot be critically hit and does not have any evade dice when fired at.
·Protect Action: Imperial ships may perform a PROTECT action when within range 1 of the satellite token. When performing a PROTECT action, the Imperial player places one evade token on the satellite. When attacked, the satellite may spend this evade token to add one additional success to its defensive total. Note, this is the only way for the satellite to earn evade results.
Objectives
Rebel Victory: Destroy both Echo Net satellites.
If a Rebel Victory is secured, then they are allowed to add “Dutch” Vander (unique Y-wing pilot) to the Ships options for any future mission. If Dutch is killed in any mission, this option is no longer available. Dutch is the leader of Gold Squadron of Y-wings and success in the Erasmus system brings Gold Squadron to the fight.
Imperial Victory: The Rebel ships must be destroyed or driven off to ensure the Echo Net satellite is secure.
If the Echo Net system is secured, then the Rebel activity draws Maarek Stele's attention to the Erasmus system. Maarek Stele becomes an option for the Imperial Ship options for all future missions. If Maarek Stele is killed during a mission, he is no longer an option.
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How we played it :)
Rebel:
Two Rookie Pilots with Proton Torpedoes (25p each)
Empire (me):
Two Academy Pilots (12p each)
Two Obsidian Squadron Pilots (13p each)
As imperial, I placed both, the Satellites and the Asteroids. As the Rebel player has placed his two ships on the center of his side of the board, I decided to put the satellites slightly towards the right part of my side, spaced 10cm (1 range) and then proceeded to place the asteroids as crowded as possible between the satellites and the rebel fighters.
[Note: as satellites we used two bomb tokens as I have forgotten part of my tokens at home :( ]
The two academy pilots deployed just behind the satellites and the idea was for them to stay there, flying in circles, to Protect the satellites.
The two obsidian squadron pilots were deployed on the lateral of the battlefield, perpendicular to the line Rebel fighters ---- Academy pilots.
The Rebel player decided to move straight ahead with his two rookie pilots, whereas I bank to the left with the two obsidian squadron pilots to cover not only this movement of the rebels but also to be able to pursue them in the case they would have bank or turn to their left to bypass the asteroid field on the side opposite to my deployment.
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| Prepare to die Rebel scum |
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| Just there :) |
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| Right behind you... |
Not being able to fire back, the rebels were easy prey for the obsidian squadron :)
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| in space nobody can hear you |
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| between bad and worse |
Some nice manoeuvring amongst the asteroids leads to a packed space :)
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| out of my way... |
After a round of running and a K-turn, the rebel lone fighter faces all the enemy TIEs which try to Protect the satellites.
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| Alone against the odds |
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| Rebel without fear |
However the concentrated fire from the imperial fighters was too much for the rebel scum...
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| Another one bites the dust |
In retrospective, the placement of the asteroids relative to the rebel fighters and the fact that they decided to fly straight ahead allowing the two obsidians to rain upon them from the side was probably the decisive factor of the game.
Last time I played it as Rebel I tried to focus on flying to the satellites ignoring the imperial fighters which were chasing me all over the board, all of them; which resulted in their failure to protect the satellites. I tried to avoid that error by letting two fighters protecting them all the time, which at the end resulted in a victory for the empire :)
The rebel player also was sharing this opinion concerning the placement and route of his ships, maybe if he would have made them fly to their left side towards the opposite side of the board the obsidian pilots would have a more difficult task.
Anyway, we really enjoyed it. We like this campaign as it allows you to introduce new players in a soft and progressive way which makes the game easier to approach. Currently there are too many different ships and upgrades for new players to get everything in their heads straight away.
Next, mission 2...
