Last Saturday I participated in a Star Trek Attack Wing
tournament at the Wandering Dragon. It
had been close to a year since I last played, so I was curious to give it
another try and see how the meta had developed.
I was interested in trying the blind booster format that Wizkids has been pushing for the past six months. The blind booster format works by having each player build a 90 point fleet and than adding a 30 point ship via a blind booster purchased as entry into the tournament.
One of the first things that I noticed once the tournament
started was that the ideal of faction pure fleets was a thing of the past. The few players in attendance all used mixed
fleets that maximized the best combinations for the scenario being played that
day. The Scimitar (from Star Trek:
Nemesis) was the default choice for every fleet but mine. A ship with a forward movement of 6, a large
number of hull points/shields, and 2 for evading is nothing to sneeze at and
may be a little under-costed. Clearly it
was the choice for trying to attempt to reach the transwarp token on the far
side of the board.
As for the scenario itself, it was a poorly conceived one
provided by Wizkids. With nothing
between fleets and ½ the board being a deathtrap for most ships, it encouraged
players to bring ships that just moved straight ahead and had high damage
output. Granted, the scenario was
published in advance so players could plan around it, but again this just went
back to players bring the best ships and charging at each other.
As for the atmosphere, the Warhammer community has spoiled
me when it comes to player interaction and sense of community. A year ago, I was raving about how the Attack
Wing community was very open and friendly.
It seems since that time, the competitive element has pushed out the
casual one and it now has become a hollow shell of a community. This may explain why the turnout was so low
for an afternoon event with some pretty good prize support.
Given my recent experience, I am left wondering what my
future is when it comes to Attack Wing.
I love the game mechanics and the frequent updates, but dislike the
overly competitive focus I experienced and lack of purity when it comes to
fleets. I believe moving forward I will
only attend events that promote themselves as faction pure as I like
experiencing battles that remind me of my favorite Star Trek episodes. In the
end, the game looks to remain a casual option for me and not something I will
pursue on a more frequent basis.
