I will put my head into the bears mouth by tackling one of the more contentious comparisons in modern gaming.

Which is better, Attack Wing or X Wing?

Lets look at my take on the good and bad from both.

Components

Attack Wing

The physical ships in Attack Wing are probably the most contentious issue. They suffer badly from both inconsistent scale, and paint jobs. For example the Enterprise D class has at least three different paint jobs. I have had to re-paint several ships, mostly Federation and this has taken away some of the buy and play advantage of these games.

Personally, I struggle with some scale compromises like the Enterprise E next to a Dominion patrol ship or Romulan Scout or the Scimitar along side the Delta class shuttle.

If game play matters more to you than ascetics, then you are all good as the ships are generally differ a little in relative size on the table (i.e. smaller ships are a bit smaller), just don’t go looking at any official size charts.

I do not doubt that the huge variety of ships make it impossible to fix this to some extent. Some ships would be the size of an X Wing epic scale and some smaller than they are now. For my games, my fleets are split into acceptable size groupings, which generally adhere to their relevant TV series also. This is not as anal as it sounds, because there are only a few groups if you also keep the ships to their relevant timeline*.

The cards are thick linen stock, but can look a little dull, based on printed screen shots from the series and movies, which look a lot like they were shot from an actual TV in a dimly lit room. These are the only cards I have not sleeved, because the sheer volume of them, their dullness and thickness do not compel me to. Each ship has separate Captain cards (rather than pilot/ship specific cards that X Wing uses), meaning you can collect multiples of the same ship and get plenty of spare “Kirk” or “Picard” cards and even assign them to other ships (1 only of course).

The counters, bases and other components are nearly identical to X Wing, some even interchangeable.

X Wing

X Wing ships are sublime if a little fragile (a recent drop of a container broke 8!). I have even started to buy “spare ships” of some types, when I found them cheap as 1st edition clearances.

The paint jobs however are so good, I hesitate to re-paint them unless they need it for faction accuracy. Several Z95’s have seen changes, some as Binayre Pirates, one as Suhlak and two of my Starvipers (a Guri & Thweek/Dalan), One Kihraxz (Viktor Hel/Graz) and the Slave 1 (just better).

The cards are bright and compelling, using consistent and original art. Each ship/pilot combination is hard-baked in, which keeps the right pilots on the right ships (yay!), but misses an opportunity for in-faction variation (why not have Han Solo fly the “Outrider” or Luke fly a Y Wing or E Wing?).

Second edition has added factions separating First Order from Empire and Rebel from Resistance, which fixes one Bug-Bear of mine, unrealistic timeline overlap.

I have noticed that the early movie/game ships are “grungy” and the later ones “cleaner”, that fits with the feel of the two editions and the movies. The Scum faction are good for cross-overs here to.

Game Play

Attack Wing

This is where I feel Attack Wing generally beats X Wing, in two key areas.

First up you can do more with less with Attack Wing. To have an interesting series of games in AW, you only need a couple a ships, as each represents a capitol ship and can fit a wide variety of upgrades and these upgrades are generally less varied. Even unnamed ships have plenty of upgrade slots allowing you to try various combinations of the “perfect” crew. Very Trek.

There are (were) more factions, which adds natural variety, (although the Scum faction in XW adds a lot here and second edition expands from three to seven factions although again if timelines are important these are spread over three time periods). The ability to use different captains on different ships adds hugely also, which is equivalent to swapping pilots to different ships in XW, which you cannot do.

The nature of the ships (mostly capitol ships of the line), makes them more robust on the table, so their table presence is stronger and play is a little less brutal. You actually get the feeling of a big ship taking a few hits, then mitigating their effects with crew options, before real trouble sets in. Upgrades are also less aggressive and universally more consistently available, making squad building more forgiving.

AW also feels to me to be a better fit for the mechanics of the game. This is ironic as XW came first, but the manoeuvring system just feels better with bigger ships. That is personal so YMMV.

X Wing

It gets tricky here, because X Wing has two editions and three or more official play styles.

First edition, where it all started, is a great, straight forward game and fits it’s skin well enough as long as you don’t get too caught up in the obsessive later squad building antics. As the game grew (and AW is guilty here to), the sheer variety of options forced changes which met with mixed acceptance, so use them, modify them or don’t as makes you happy. My preference for 1e is “Bare Bones”, where Elite Pilot, Title and Modifications are removed, leaving you with the base Pilot, Ship as it should be and Ordnance, Illicit, Droid and Systems or variety.

This led to second edition which is a refinement of the game, but quite different to the original and as it turns out, quite similar to Bare Bones as it has dropped many upgrades and absorbed others.

Added to that are the Huge ship rules in 1e (I like them as they make big ships clumsy but daunting, but many struggle with them). Much improved in 2e, along with the Epic rules (also usable with 1e).

The potential for variety is greater in XW, but AW has managed to stay fairly true to itself due to fudged scaling differences and limited upgrade paths.

Something to be aware of with 2e. You have an option of pre-made quick builds or the more precise App based squad building (or download the points costs and do it manually) or to make your own system up (I use a 1/5th point cost with 1 point per upgrade to make 30/40/50 point forces that actually works fine for casual games). This can be off putting, but really isn’t.

I am a late comer to X Wing and can confess to being addicted. Both editions find play and along with AW, Wings of War and Sails of Glory make for a good variety of experiences. Favourite? Depends on mood and inspiration.

How Well Do They Simulate Their Roots

An odd thing is, I play the two games very differently.

Attack Wing

Attack wing feels like it needs a scenario. They crew, upgrades and enemy need to have a reason to be used. Each pack comes with a scenario, usually lifted from a relevant episode, which makes you feel like a problem solver, not a fire team leader.

If played competitively, this goes completely out the window. Odd mixes and a win at all costs attitude make for a game that bares little resemblance to it’s roots, but take that out, place some restrictions on factions and limit timeline cross-overs and it makes you think Star Trek. Go “full noise” and it really just feels like a min-max game.

There are a lot of Trek games out there. I have or have tried FASA’s, Star Fleet Battles, Fed Commander, Full Thrust and ACTA Star Trek variations. All have their place, but for a playable “Kirk on the Bridge” feel, Attack Wing is the one to go with.

X Wing

XW tends to fall into squad building dynamic easily which does not detract from it’s Star Wars feel unless you let it. My preferred take on X Wing, which is a heavily upgrade reduced, Rebel/Scum/Empire only game feels like the Star Wars of the original movies. With Elite Pilot, Modification and Title upgrades removed, you get a balanced, simplified, but still challenging game that is more about piloting than squad building. It also simulates the films well, where full upgrade X Wing can drift away from that quickly. Realistically, my take on the game would not suit the vast horde of competitive players out there, but there are many who game in a more simulation-ist sense and that is where faction specific, upgrade reduced play comes in. We may explore the rest of the upgrade options later, but will likely just switch to the better balanced 2e*.

Second edition with all of its options, feels more like the newer movies to me. The newer, slicker, but deeper mechanics and better range of options for the later period factions ties together well. They had a tacked on feel to the earlier edition, but feel tailor-made for the new.

This suits me, my fleets and the way I want the game to feel, but obviously your take may vary.

Which To Get?

To be honest, there is only one answer to this. Get the one you like. No point in getting X Wing for the ships if you are a Trekkie, nor jumping onto Attack Wing for the cheaper entry point if all things Star Wars will nag at you. Although a Trekkie at heart, X Wing 1e clearances finally got me.

If torn, probably go Attack Wing for the easy entry point and lower learning curve. It also helps that most people are familiar with the characters from non stop TV re-runs, where Star Wars, especially the extended universe can trip up many (FFG really go looking for some obscure characters to fill gaps in their line).

What to Get?

If you do jump, do your research first. X Wing and AW have the same entry point (core set), but think through your next steps first.

X Wing

For X Wing, a fleet of 3-5 ships, with one of Large or medium size will do per faction. Variety is the spice of life for tournament play, but if you are a stickler for story lines, a core and one or two of the same ships (lots of pilots) and a “Hero” ship like the Millenium Falcon” works well. Usually 3 ships a side makes a good game with a squad ranging from 7 to 2 ships. If you do go small squad then all upgrades are good.

If you want to go 1e X Wing, maybe look at the clearance of the less popular but slightly better “Force Awakens” core sets (I got 5 for $100 au which started this madness). This will give you the basics of a Resistance vs First Order fleet, which can lack ship variety, but the individual ships are stronger than the earlier period ones and they have the Tech Upgrade slot, adding upgrade variety. Throw in some Scum and you can cover most options. The 2e upgrade packs for these are also cheaper (because they are smaller) and this opens the door for the new ships for these factions. This will also give you multiples of the damage decks etc.

For 2e X Wing, maybe one or two matched factions (First Order vs Resistance or Separatist vs Republic). The problem being the starter set as it is Empire vs Rebel focussed, but it is possible to download the rules, buy the separate move gauges, damage decks and ships without getting the boxed game (most ships come with enough counters). If there is a large player base in your area, maybe one faction or two from the same side but different periods.

I would strongly recommend buying what you like. If you want to add upgrades that are only available in certain ship packs, look around for stores that sell them separately like Big Orbit Cards. This is especially relevant for 1e with massed dumping of cards. This was a lesson I learned too late.

Attack Wing

Attack Wing is playable with a single core set, but two or one and 2-3 more ships adds lots of variety. You only need 1-3 ships in AW for a game and each comes with a scenario to play.

AW has a few different starters, with a Federation vs “X” dynamic and they have several fleet sets. It is very possible to get a good fleet up with two boxed sets, then a few ships from 2 or three factions or even a couple of core sets (Fed, Romulan, Klingon) with the odd Borg or others for variety. Everyone fights everyone in Star Trek so buy what you like. Remember all upgrade cards are interchangeable, even captains, so a few ships gives huge variety.

It is certainly not impossible to get matching fleets that do not need repainting or scale fudging, especially with the Voyager or Enterprise series. If I had my time over, I would buy the Voyager, Original and Enterprise series only.

*I do have the Rebel and Imperial upgrade sets for 2e, but I am happy for the moment playing modified 1e.

Happy Gaming.