Wedge's Dicta

1. Try to secure the upper hand before attacking. If possible, keep the star behind you

So how does this affect a miniatures game like X-Wing? It means to secure every advantage before the game starts. List building, Asteroid placement and Ship deployment. 

List Building:

Choose a list that fits your play style. If you like to tank damage and charge right in then choose ships that can take a beating while dealing damage to the enemy. If you like to maneuver then choose ships and upgrades that will allow you to boost, barrel roll or juke out of your opponents fire arcs. Determine what the local Meta is before the tourney and hopefully your list will be prepared for it. The more thought and prep you put into your list and how it works before a tourney or game the better it will fly. Also it is not a bad idea to practice with it. Either with an opponent or by yourself. Learn to fly in formation without bumping. learn to measure range by eyeball. 

Asteroid Deployment

Even before placing your ships you place asteroids in a tournament. Place them to give you maximum advantage during the coming dogfight. If you want to play the edge of the board then place your asteroids to interfere with the opposite side of the board and deny maneuvering to your opponent. You could also muck up the center with rocks so you can fly circles around the edge of the board. This works especially well with un-maneuverable ships with turrets like Y-wings and HWKs.

Ship Deployment

Place your ships in a way that give you maximum advantage for your build and maybe deny the enemy choices with how he either deploys or develops his plan of attack. This could differ wildly based on the list your opponent is running and what you are bringing. If you know what you are likely to expect then you deploy to counter the opposing build's advantages. 

2. Always continue with an attack you have begun

Once you have damaged or crippled an enemy ship then keep on them. Finish them off. The fewer guns shooting back at you the better. It doesn't matter if you do a ton of damage but spread it across the enemy squad and have them all shooting back at you. Focus fire and eliminate ships one at a time. Wounded ships can still kill you or wear you down so once you have started an attack on a ship don't stop till it is dead.

3. Open fire only at close range, and then only when the opponent is squarely in your sights

If you have a choice between shooting a ship at range one and shooting a ship outside of range one. Shoot at the range one ship every time. The more attack dice you can throw the better. The more damage you can do the better. If you have cards or upgrades that increase those attack dice or reduce the opponent's defense dice the better. 

4. You should always try to keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses

Don;t lose sight of your objective. The objective is to win, have fun or some other mission specific objective. Don't be tempted to throw away a lead with the temptation to get more kills. If you are ahead enough to win don't let your opponent who may be in a weaker position shame you into "a fair fight" since no fights are fair and the only rule of war is to win and not die. Stay on target.

5. In any type of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind

Position is important. Use superior speed, agility or actions to stay our of your opponents fire arcs. But in the same vein keep the enemy ships in your fire arcs as much as possible. Any round you aren't being shot at but are shooting at the enemy is a good thing an plays to your advantage. Avoid head to heads, especially at range one, as much as possible unless you know you will finish off your opponents ship in that single attack run. With dice nothing is for certain but it should at least be a high probability attack. Example: Wedge with opportunist at range one vs a wounded TIE. 5 attack dice vs 2 agility when your opponent has only one or two hull left is a high probability attack.

6. If your opponent dives on you, do not try to get around his attack, but fly to meet it

Turn into an suspected attack and not away from it. A head to head attack is better than letting that enemy fighter get on your tail and take a free shot. At close range turn towards your enemy but at long range there may be a reason to turn away from the enemy such as you trying to hold the range open for a heavy laser cannon shot or fire missiles or torps. Also to preserve the extra agility dice at range three or to duck out of range of an enemy's attack.

7. When over the enemy's lines, always remember your own line of retreat

Once you have made your attack run make sure there will not be enemy ships to block you or asteroids or bombs that can damage you on your way out so you can set up your next pass.

8. Tip for Squadrons: In principle, it is better to attack in groups of four or six. Avoid two aircraft attacking the same opponent

The swarm is king. Make sure you bring enough hit points to weather the storm. IN the current Meta there is a four ship minimum to be really competitive. The swarm runs 7 or 8 ships. That is 21 to 24 hull and 14-16 attack dice. 4 - X-wings bring 12 attack dice and 20 hit points. The swarm can block you and still get its shots in. Three or Two ship builds just don't bring enough firepower or health (unless it is Fortress Falcons) to really challenge the swarm. So keep that in mind.

Wedge's Dicta is based on a WWI pilot's rules for aerial combat Boelke's Dicta (pronounced Bowl-key). Even in Star Wars they still apply.