X-Wing Galactic Civil War Episode I: Ilum

War! In a stunning move, the fiendish Emperor Palpatine has all but eliminated the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, the Jedi Knights. 

The Old Republic has been replaced by the evil Galactic Empire. Several thousand solar systems have declared their allegiance to the Empire. Now, with the aid of his apprentice, Darth Vader, the Emperor seeks to bring the rest of the galaxy under his rule. 

The hastily assembled Rebel Alliance have declared their intention to fight to restore freedom to the galaxy. Over the ice world of Ilum, a small band of Rebels engage swarming Imperial TIE Fighters in a desperate bid to secure their first victory against the evil Empire...


Welcome to the first of what will be a great many campaign logs! If you want to familiarise yourself with the campaign rules, please have a look here.

On Turn 1 of the Campaign, the Empire moves to seize control of Ilum, a world which, due to its vast supply of kyber crystals, was one of (if not the) most sacred place to the Jedi. Realising the importance of the world, the Rebels send a fleet of ships to contest the world and begin the Galactic Civl War...

Ilum is located in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy (bottom left of the galaxy map).

Note that there are certain pilots associated with particular locations which may be unlocked as the campaign progresses, but this will not happen until later on...

The Galaxy Map

Planet Ilum

In this opening encounter, both sides will be fielding 100 point forces. Both sides start the campaign with Renown of 1, meaning they can only field pilots with a Pilot Skill of 1. Note that it is 1st Edition X-Wing Miniatures Game rules which are being in this campaign.

First up, the Rebels are bringing 2 A-Wings and 2 YT-1300s - a stock YT-1300 and customised YT-1300 - to contest Ilum. The Hotshot co-pilots on the YT-1300s ensure that the Imperials will not be using Focus tokens in this battle.

Rebel List Part 1

Rebel List Part 2

The Imperial list. They are bringing 3 TIE fighters, 2 TIE Interceptors and a TIE Defender to wipe out the Rebel scum...

Imperial List Part 1

Imperial List Part 2

Set up. The Imperials send their TIEs into battle in a tight formation. The Rebel force is split in two.

Set Up

All pictures that follow show the state of play at the end of a given turn.

Turn 1:

Both sides accelerate to attack speed but remain out of range. The Rebels hastily try to regroup, a YT-1300 and A-Wing having to navigate a treacherous grouping of asteroids over Ilum.

Turn 1

Turn 2:

The stock YT-1300 connects with an asteroid! There's no damage but it can't fire this turn! Worse still for the Rebels, neither too can the A-Wings which are out of arc. The customised YT-1300 inflicts a hit on one of the TIEs - but the return fire from the TIE swarm is devastating, stripping all shields and inflicting damage!

Turn 2

Turn 3:

The blue A-Wing swings around the TIE swarm - only for the swarm to perform a unified K-Turn and shoot it from behind! The A-Wing is blown apart while the Rebels still struggle to get into the fight!

They came from behind!

But the custom YT-1300 inflicts a critical hit on a TIE Interceptor - it must avoid hitting other ships or asteroids otherwise it will suffer more damage!

Turn 3

Turn 4:

As the A-Wing finally gets into position to fire, a TIE pilot wilfully - for position - causes a pile-up of squad-mates by barrel rolling to block those behind it. Crucially though, the green manoeuvres clear all of their stress. The stock YT-1300 annihilates a TIE fighter...

A TIE goes down in flames!

...but the TIE Interceptor and TIE Defender respond with a deadly volley which destroys the modified YT-1300!

Turn 4

Turn 5:

The A-Wing and remaining YT-1300 reposition as the swarm swings around again for another pass! A few shields are stripped but most volleys miss intended targets as the ships pull off complicated manoeuvres.

Turn 5

Turn 6:

The damaged TIE Interceptor makes a terrible misjudgement, hitting an asteroid! It takes automatic damage because of the effects of the critical damage card...

Intercepting an Asteroid!

...and rolls for damage for hitting the asteroid! A further hit destroys it!

Wipeout for the TIE Interceptor!

The TIEs and TIE Defender strafe the stock YT-1300, stripping more shields. The Rebels are unable to land damage on the (somewhat fortunate) TIEs which evade the incoming fire!

Turn 6

Turn 7:

The A-Wing surges forward but finds itself without a target as the closest TIE bumps it. The incoming Imperial fire takes the A-Wing and YT-1300 to the brink of destruction while the Imperials continue to evade the return fire from the YT-1300...

Turn 7

Turn 8:

TIEs bank across one another and both sides exchange fire once again - perhaps because of the heavy damage the Rebels have suffered, their shots once again go amiss! The Empire's pilots are more accurate and deadly - destroying the last two Rebel ships!

Moments from destruction before the end of Turn 8

The remaining YT-1300 is destroyed in a spectacular explosion!

The first battle of the Galactic Civil War sees the Empire emerge as victors! Their Renown increases to 2, allowing them to field ships with PS2 or lower next battle. The Rebels will still only be able to pilot ships with PS1.

Ilum has fallen to the Empire! Little do the pathetic band of Rebels realise, this world will one day become the site for Starkiller Base! But that's a tale for another time (and a later war)...

The Imperial flag is now flying over Ilum on the galaxy map!

Galaxy Map: End of Episode I

This was only the first skirmish in what will be a long and punishing campaign. Watch out for Episode II coming soon!