2014 Malaysia Regionals

By hecabomb, in X-Wing

Held in Spartan Games Arena , KL
Attendance 29
5 round Swiss, Top 8

60 minute round, starts after asteroids and set-up.

Detailed report to come shortly...I'm still picking up all the lists.

Report
Round 1 : Bye
Running around making sure everything was alright.

Match Win

Round 2 : Arzmi (Han + Gunner + Determination, 2x Dagger)
Arzmi was the Hobby Forge Store champ - which made me quite nervous. We set up diagonally from each other and asteroid placements were wide and scattered. I made a point to take out the Daggers fast and early (I did), but the initial exchange took out 2 of my APs right away. I was starting to get worried due to the APs going down faster than I had expected. Arzmi managed to get Han into Range 1 of Echo and dealt - Blinded Pilot (could be worse - Direct Hit).

He definitely earned that Store Champ title! At this point my brain was working on overdrive when I decided to try draw the match - his Han had 52 points, the same as my remaining force (Echo + AP). So it became a game of cat and mouse, with Echo cloaking and decloaking as far as possible and the AP blocking Han, so no shots could be made. Time was called.

Draw, Lost 4x AP

Round 3 : Khairul (2x Reds, 2x Dagger + Adv Sensors)
Unfortunately for Khairul, the match up was not in his favour - I had the numbers advantage, as well as the PS (i.e. my PS1 Swarm could block him and my PS8 could hammer him). Asteroids were spread out again, so I set up my APs in the centre, to allow movement options in the next few rounds. He set his ships slightly to my left and I set up Echo to my right. In the 1st round of movement I managed to get Echo just nicely into Range 3 and out of arc to acquire the TL and re-cloak.

APs were evading pretty good through the first exchange (reversion to the mean, I guess), and Echo hammered away 1 of the B's. It didn't go too well for him from here, due to the numbers and lack of actions on his part.

Red Daggers is a very solid list, just that the Meta was not in his favour (more on that in the Meta Commentary).

Match Win, Lost 2x AP

Round 4 : Ravin (Chewie + PTL + Gunner + MF Title + Nien Nunb, 3x Bandits + Cluster Missiles)
Old sparring partner here. This was gonna be a tough match because...well...Chewie and Z95s. Lots of HP to go through. I did notice that there were 3 Bandits with Cluster Missiles - meaning that things could turn ugly fast in close range. I opted to take the Bandits out first, as they were likely to mete out more damage than Chewie over time.

I set up in the centre and he set in the right corner, with Chewie at the far edge. I did my usual thing with the Phantom and took out 2 of his Bandits before he had a chance to close into Range 2. Chewie's attack dice were sub-par, but was very effective clearing stress via Nien Nunb.

Once the Bandits were down, Chewie started ramping up the damage via TL+Focus. Fortunately for me, he had himself against the edge of the mat, which limited his movement options and allowed me to press my attacks. Wasn't long before Chewie was taken down.

Match Win, Lost 2x AP

Round 5 : Shane (Biggs + R4-D6, Tarn + R2-D6 + Swarm Tactics, Roark + Ion Turret, Blue + FCS)

And we meet again! I was a little nervous with his build due to Roark's PS12 and Ion turret. I decided that my best option would be to play it safe and keep my Phantom at Range 3, only taking very opportunistic shots.

Asteroids were dense in the center, and our squads were set up diagonally from each other. I noticed that his squad was slightly closer to the asteroids than he wanted, and flew my APs close the the center cluster. As a result, half of his ships had to navigate the asteroids and break formation by the 2nd or 3rd exchange. In the 1st round of exchange, his B-wing took 6 damage at Range 3. That was sheer bad luck on his part. Echo was dancing away from the fight, it's Ion-allergies were breaking out. Going all gender-neutral on Echo there.

Biggs went down in the next round from concentrated TIE shots and blocking, with the B-wing shortly thereafter. Tarn had a tough time going around the asteroids, missing a couple of shots. It was pretty hard to come back at this point, due to the numbers disadvantage - but Shane gracefully played to the end. Good match.

Match Win, Lost 2x AP

Semi Cut : Chris (Rexlar + Outmanoeuvre + EU + HLC, 4x Academy)
As usual, by the time Top 8 had come, we're all tired and not thinking well. I was actually pretty nervous seeing the Defender (damned things are hard to kill), but I was comforted by having more ships and a higher damage output. Asteroids were clustered in the center, and his entire squad was set to joust my APs. Echo was on the far edge of the other table - I was planning to pull off my shenanigans.

By round 2, no shots had been fired, save for Echo's Range 3 attack - my hope was to get a TL and re-cloak, so my next round I could take out one of his APs before they could should. I then forgot to take said TL and re-cloak. I stacked up my APs in the next turn, trying to prevent too many of his ships from pulling a K-turn (especially Rexlar). He defied expectations and did a daring 3 turn out of combat. Echo...well, echo was trying maneuver through a thick cluster of asteroids and TIEs without a de-cloak.

Echo was taking some serious damage (and not shooting) but I managed to hurt many of his TIEs, as mine had more actions than his. Next round saw Echo FINALLY taking a good shot and hurting some TIEs, but it was a little too late - his Defender had turned around and was pushing damage through my own TIEs.

There was a bit of a cock-up in the next round as I kept picking up his dials and trying to move his APs (they all looked the same!). As a result, I had really confused my own dials, his dials, my APs and his APs and pulled some very questionable maneuvering. I made more mistakes by barrel rolling wrong TIEs in an attempt to deny Rexlar actions (no it didn't work). Echo landed squarely in the eye of Rexlar and was promptly dusted.

The remaining turns in the game was my sad attempt at trying to kill 2 healthy APs and a PS8 defender with 4 very badly damaged TIEs. Glad he humoured me.

Match Loss, Lost Echo, 5x AP, Kitchen Sink

Great day out there and a big thank you to Spartan Games for hosting the event. It went very well due to the hard work of Riznal, setting up the tables until 3am and playing good host to our Singaporean visitors.

Data
Top 8
1. Wei Jia - Chewie + MF Title + C3P0 + Predator + Luke + EU, 3x Tala
2. James - Chewie + Predator, 2x Bandits, Dagger + HLC
3. Chris - Rexlar + Outmanoeuvre + EU + HLC, 4x Academy
4. Az - Chewie + MF Title + C3P0 + Luke, 2x Tala, Tala + Assault Missile
5. Vick - Whisper + VI + ACD + Rebel Captive + FCS, Howlrunner, 3x Obsidian
6. Chu Heng - Whisper + VI + ACD + FCS, Echo + Outmanoeuvre, 2x AP
7. Matthew - Whisper + Tactician + FCS + VI + ACD, Krassis + HLC + Rebel Captive, AP
8. Me - Echo + VI + FCS + ACD + Rebel Captive, 5x AP


5 round Swiss Cut
1. Wei Jia - Chewie + MF Title + C3P0 + Predator + Luke + EU, 3x Tala
2. Me - Echo + VI + FCS + ACD + Rebel Captive, 5x AP
3. Vick - Whisper + VI + ACD + Rebel Captive + FCS, Howlrunner, 3x Obsidian
4. Matthew - Whisper + Tactician + FCS + VI + ACD, Krassis + HLC + Rebel Captive, AP
5. Az - Chewie + MF Title + C3P0 + Luke, 2x Tala, Tala + Assault Missile
6. James - Chewie + Predator, 2x Bandits, Dagger + HLC
7. Chris - Rexlar + Outmaneuver + EU + HLC, 4x Academy
8. Chu Heng - Whisper + VI + ACD + FCS, Echo + Outmanoeuvre, 2x AP
9. Shane - Biggs + R4-D6, Tarn + R2-D6 + Swarm Tactics, Roark + Ion Turret, Blue + FCS
10. Ravin - Chewie + PTL + Gunner + MF Title + Nien Nunb, 3x Bandits + Cluster Missiles
11. Shazli -
12. Wilson -
13. Nicholas - Chewie + MF Title + C3P0 + Predator + Gunner + EU, 2x Bandit + Ion, Bandit.
14. Iqbal - OGP + Vader, Rexlar + Predator, Echo + VI + ECD
15. Yeo - Chewie + Predator + MF Title +C3P0 + Luke + EU, 3x Tala
16. Chang - Han + Expert Handling + Gunner + Chewie + EU, 3x Tala
17. Chong Hin - Echo+ VI + ACD, Backstabber, Night Beast, Bounty Hunter
18. Jia Yit - Wedge, Biggs, 2x Gold + Ion Turret
19. Khairul - 2x Reds, 2x Dagger + Adv Sensors
20. Laurence - 2x Delta + HLC, Jonus + Swarm Tactics + Seismic
21. Eric -
22. Alvin -
23. Nahri - Wedge + Swarm Tactics + Proton Torps, Rookie, Blue + Adv Sensors, Roark
24. Riznal - Roark + Ion, Tala, Bandit, Tarn Mison + R7, Dagger + FCS
25. Arzmi - Han + Gunner + Determination, 2x Dagger
26. Jerome -
27. Yip - Wedge + R2d2 + Predator + Shield, Porkins + R5-D8 + Elusiveness + Hull, Tarn Mison + R7
28. Ivan - Wedge + VI +Flechette + R2-F2 + Shield, Tarn Mison + R7, Wes + R5 + Shield + VI
29. Abdul Rahman -

If you guys were there and remember, do help me patch it up too, I'm missing a good deal of data.

Meta Commentary
Holy moly would you look at all those Chewie + Predator + C3P0 lists!
It appears that the Chewie lists trounced all non-Chewie lists in Swiss 1, and encountered each other in Swiss 2. Progressively, more and more Chewie lists got eliminated until the Top 8. It seems that the Phantom lists have had at least 1 loss each in Swiss, likely to a Chewie list, but all were cut in Top 8 by more Chewie.

Having come across 2 YT lists, I'm inclined to say that while difficult, not unstoppable - but as a a Phantom player, this largely requires superior firepower on the wingmen (5 AP or Howl mini swarm). Whilst I did not encounter an Apex Chewie (Predator, Luke, C3P0, MF title), it seems that 5 AP does deal with the Z95 wingmen surprisingly well. Thereafter, having more, but smaller guns, also overcomes C3P0's ability and being able to block, while swapping APs increases their survivability.

Whilst the meta is, as some say, "boring", I think it is simply driven by the level of competitiveness expected in the Regionals - you wouldn't bring a risky list to and event where the Dice and Templates are so covet-able.As some observers have put it, the meta isn't exactly Rock, Paper, Scissors. It's only Rock and Rock - you bring a Chewie or a Phantom, or you don't. These two lists would easily deal with any other list except each other.

I doubt the meta will die off before Wave 5 comes about.

Things to Learn
I'm going to start marking my TIEs more effectively with coloured pegs and marked dials. Probably paint the Cloak marker white on one side so I can leave it on the table to show it's Cloaked/Uncloaked, rather than palming it and forgetting that it exists.

Edited by hecabomb

Interesting report. Top 8 were 4 Phantom lists, 3 YT Lists, and a Defender. Very interesting indeed...

Yeah, that's actually a little off-putting that there's so little variety in the top 8.

I see lots of rock and paper--where are the scissors?

Curious if Hecabomb would keep the same 100pt list in the future or try dropping FCS or something to get the init bid (which losing obviously got him killed in the game after the cut).

Darth Ruin (Chris?) posted his experiences with the Brath + 4 AP list at this event. His contention was that Brath was a counter to Chewie/3PO with HLC and AGI denying Outmaneuver. I can see it.

Hmmm noticed 6. Chu Heng - Whisper + VI + ACD + FCS, Echo + Outmanoeuvre is missing some data, 2xAP and ACD perhaps?

Trying to load the info into my website, thanks!

I'd stick with this build - just need to remember to take my re-cloak and FCS locks. Initiative bid is definitely important in mirror matches, but 5 AP as wingmen widens your firing arcs significantly - not that easy to dodge. Also, the Range 1 firepower of these guys is amazing - especially when you engage in blocking.

I wonder if it's illegal to paint "TAKE YOUR CLOAK AND LOCK" in bright red on the ship...

Probably is! Might have to improvise by writing in Galactic Basic and claim it's thematic.

In my humble and limited opinion, reading what your opponent wants to do and his targeting priorities overcomes the PS bid significantly. FCS is pretty important for me, due to the way I set up turn 1 and 2 - I come in at extreme range and angles that often barrel rolling gets the opposing ships in barely range 3, just what I need to re-cloak and get a TL. Next turn is often death for said ship. When that happens, it's often the 1st round of exchange between the AP swarm and the opposing fleet - this gives me an action advantage. Man I hope that even make sense.

Haha cool man, it definitely makes sense. Always good to hear other players' thought processes so thanks for the explanation.

Darth Ruin (Chris?) posted his experiences with the Brath + 4 AP list at this event. His contention was that Brath was a counter to Chewie/3PO with HLC and AGI denying Outmaneuver. I can see it.

I can empathise with him. I was tempted to track more data such as number of ships destroyed in each match. Is suspect it'll mostly be Z-95s and very few YTs.

I was hoping that the above scenario would wind up in a version of Chewie modified hell and they can beat each other to submission (not unlike Wave 1 & 2 modified swarm hell). That, sadly did not come true!

That top 8 is off the chain.

Yeah, that's actually a little off-putting that there's so little variety in the top 8.

I see lots of rock and paper--where are the scissors?

We were just saying that we should run a store tournament and disallow YT and Phantoms.

The power creep in this wave is a lot stronger than I thought - I'm not sure if Dash Rendar and Outrider Title will do anything but increase the power creep. During Wave 3 Regionals, Wave 2 and 1 lists were still valid. However, now it seems only the shiniest toys survive - and I'm worried about that.

Yeah, that's actually a little off-putting that there's so little variety in the top 8.

I see lots of rock and paper--where are the scissors?

We were just saying that we should run a store tournament and disallow YT and Phantoms.

The power creep in this wave is a lot stronger than I thought - I'm not sure if Dash Rendar and Outrider Title will do anything but increase the power creep. During Wave 3 Regionals, Wave 2 and 1 lists were still valid. However, now it seems only the shiniest toys survive - and I'm worried about that.

A BBYY list got 2nd at the Plano Regional last weekend, out of about 70 people.

Yeah, that's actually a little off-putting that there's so little variety in the top 8.

I see lots of rock and paper--where are the scissors?

We were just saying that we should run a store tournament and disallow YT and Phantoms.

The power creep in this wave is a lot stronger than I thought - I'm not sure if Dash Rendar and Outrider Title will do anything but increase the power creep. During Wave 3 Regionals, Wave 2 and 1 lists were still valid. However, now it seems only the shiniest toys survive - and I'm worried about that.

a YT-1300 is not a shiny new toy

Yeah, the defender with HLC is a really nice counter to the double falcon lists because they can drop shields/hull really quickly off of those big ship.

Honestly I think you only need to disallow Howlrunner and C3P0+MF title, and then you'd probably see a lot more variety in lists.

I think those combos are just so strong that it's difficult to NOT make a competitive list that includes them. Most of the phantom lists have a mini-swarm, and I think that's actually where the power comes from. If the Phantom doesn't have that 4-ship buffer to back it up, it loses a lot of strength. Similarly, the Falcon title + C3P0 makes a 1-agility ship comically hard to kill.

Yeah, that's actually a little off-putting that there's so little variety in the top 8.

I see lots of rock and paper--where are the scissors?

We were just saying that we should run a store tournament and disallow YT and Phantoms.

The power creep in this wave is a lot stronger than I thought - I'm not sure if Dash Rendar and Outrider Title will do anything but increase the power creep. During Wave 3 Regionals, Wave 2 and 1 lists were still valid. However, now it seems only the shiniest toys survive - and I'm worried about that.

a YT-1300 is not a shiny new toy

I dont think anything is wrong.

Semi

1 v 8 : Wei Jia vs Chu Heng ; Wei Jia win

2 v 7 : Me vs Chris ; Chris win

3 v 6 : Vick vs James ; James win

4 v 5 : Matthew vs Az ; Az win

Quarter

Chris v Wei Jia ; Wei Jia win

James v Az ; James win

Duel of the Fates

Wei Jia v Az ; Wei Jia win

Edited by hecabomb