Introductory Article: What this blog is.

Welcome to Starfighter Mafia.  A repository of writing from a guy who really likes the X-wing miniatures game.  Fighters have been my preferred general ship type in the game.  I enjoy the theme, aesthetics, and the maneuver dial mechanic on which these ships rely.  The transition to 2.0 has kindled some hope that the kinds of ships in XWM will be have their position brought closer to level with the likes of the giant bombers, super-freighters, and massed turrets that have dominated much of the competitive space in XWM 1.0.  This focus stems entirely from personal preference, because I think it’s cool to use starfighters in a game about starfighter combat.  I have found it to be the most fun to work within the limitations of arc-locked ships, the kind of ship that relies the most heavily on the selection of maneuvers to exercise its influence on the board.  With the advent of 2.0, this type of ship seems to be on the rise, so I thought I might start putting some ideas in writing.

The Author:

Michael, a.k.a. Biophysical from various X-wing related forums and Vassal:  Some guy who has achieved more notoriety in the X-wing community than he deserves because he wrote about the games he played.  His original, probably only, notable achievement stems from being an advocate of pre-title TIE Defenders, deciding that the solution to historically poor Defender performance was “more Defenders”.  Probably most accurately described as achieving “pretty good, not great” results in major tournaments, with the occasional dice and/or templates earned.  Perhaps has some useful insight into 2.0 because he largely played ships that relied on the traditional forward arc in 1.0, but who knows, he might have just been lucky a lot and this might all be garbage.

Primary Goal:

-To discuss the X-wing miniatures game in an analytical way.

Secondary Goals:

-Develop a clear set of tools for communicating tactics

-Foster discussion

The blog name: 

John Boyd was a fighter pilot in the ‘60s, and was a proponent of maneuverability and visibility for fighter jets over payload and top speed.  His group of philosophical adherents was referred to as the “Fighter Mafia” in response to the “Bomber Mafia” of the previous era.  His ideas in one way or another influenced the design of the F5, F15, F16, F18, and A10.  He famously described the “OODA Loop”, a way of thinking about information processing and decision making, which has gained traction in a huge range of fields.

Throughout this blog, there will be a touch of historical discussion as well as X-wing discussion.  Part of this is that I’m a history buff as well as being an X-wing buff, so thinking about one often leads to thinking about another.  This shouldn’t be construed to say that we should think about ourselves as space generals, but that lots of general ideas on conflict that come from military thinkers have been applied to all kinds of competition, from litigation, to business strategy, to silly plastic spaceship games.

Note:  The majority of X-wing examples I’ll use will be from the point of view of Imperial TIE variants.  This is due to a bit of bias.  I really liked playing TIE Fighter all those years ago, and that feeling of flying those kinds of ships is what drew me to X-wing in the first place.  Compounding this, I have always really liked the core mechanic of selecting maneuvers on a dial.  Imperials as a whole have relied on this mechanic more than other factions throughout 1.0.  Conversely, this is likely why I’ll have more examples involving X-wings or A-wings than Decimators.  It’s less an Imperial thing than it is a “I want to fly a starfighter” thing.  Turrets are targets.  I’ll concede that turrets in 2.0 are, to a degree, arc limited.  Much of what I’ll discuss can be applicable to turrets, but I don’t really think about games in those terms as much.  In 2.0, I’ve explored mostly Imperial ships so far, but efforts will be made to expand my repertoire.