Hi all! So I have bee reorganizing the first post to make it easier to find information. I also added this section:

Worlds Participants Voluntarily Registering your FFG Forum name

If you competed in Worlds and would like to say what your forum name is, then post your real life name here and I will make your player name link to your FFG profile, like this . This is completely voluntary, and by default I will not link to your forum name unless you would like it listed, even if it is already generally public knowledge.

So, if you would like your forum name to be associated with your real life name (at least half of those in the Top 32 are public knowledge anyway), then let me know. I will eventually get around to asking people in the Top 32 if they don't mind their name being linked.

I'm Landon Otis, placed 17th at nationals, 15th at Omaha Regionals. I won round 1, 100-0. I lost to Paul round 2 0-100.

Thanks for doing this

I actually have you as #19 in my Nationals thread , which seems to be correct. In any event, thanks, I linked your name here to your profile, since you volunteered it.

Well as an aside from the state of the meta debate, just want to say that I'm really excited by the fact that Paul Heaver has won two years in a row now. Why is that? Because it's an extremely strong point of evidence that this game is more about skill and knowledge than it is luck.

100% agree! This was the inspiration (even before the tournament had ended) for including past history for all of as many of the top players as possible.

Was Paul's semi finals game good? It was basically a mirror match.

Well as an aside from the state of the meta debate, just want to say that I'm really excited by the fact that Paul Heaver has won two years in a row now. Why is that? Because it's an extremely strong point of evidence that this game is more about skill and knowledge than it is luck. Now okay, a lot of us who play probably realize this but for people just looking into the game or getting started it's a sign that they can stop blaming dice for their losses and that it's possible to learn to play better.

While that is a good thing from my perspective too, I'm not sure that's a selling point to people starting the game. For them it just means that they know that they face a learning curve before getting to win, unless they join with other newcomers.

For example, it's a turnoff to my wife who doesn't want to face the learning curve, but she also doesn't like to lose.

Did the sigma sixes get any video coverage I would really like to see them being flown? I have been trying to make spa and phantoms work I was running them with Intelligent agent for a bit but I felt they needed something else. I just never thought of using enhanced scopes.

Well as an aside from the state of the meta debate, just want to say that I'm really excited by the fact that Paul Heaver has won two years in a row now. Why is that? Because it's an extremely strong point of evidence that this game is more about skill and knowledge than it is luck. Now okay, a lot of us who play probably realize this but for people just looking into the game or getting started it's a sign that they can stop blaming dice for their losses and that it's possible to learn to play better.

While that is a good thing from my perspective too, I'm not sure that's a selling point to people starting the game. For them it just means that they know that they face a learning curve before getting to win, unless they join with other newcomers.

For example, it's a turnoff to my wife who doesn't want to face the learning curve, but she also doesn't like to lose.

Like everything, it is a selling point for people who want to be rewarded by the time, will and effort they put into it, giving it a legitimicy feeling against purely luck based, so they are more likely to invest (i was at that point a few months ago, when i started)

I've posted by photo diary of the event over on TC. enjoy

http://teamcovenant.com/sozin/2014/11/09/2014-world-championships-photo-diary/

Is that a...

I take it all back, oneway. I take it all back.

Caught red handed!!!

I set a pretty high personal goal for worlds... Make the top 32 with a list that no one thought should be there!

I brought:

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced

Outmaneuver

Proton Rockets

Engine Upgrade

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor

Push the Limit

Hull Upgrade

Shield Upgrade

Royal Guard TIE

Omicron Group Pilot — Lambda-Class Shuttle 21

Fire-Control System

Intelligence Agent

In that shot I was 4-1 playing for my seat in the top 32. My only loss thus far was to Ira (the eventual #1 seed at the end of the day). I ended up losing to Ryan's Whisper plus mini-swarm. It was a great game with some major momentum swings. I ended up 4-2 with a MoV only strong enough for mid 20's.

I tried for the lottery on day 2 but was one of the few names not drawn. Ohh we'll guess this just wasn't meant to be Vader's year . Had a blast though. Already looking forward to next year!

Rick, you're a great pilot, and Vader with Proton Rockets almost makes the TIE Advanced relevant ( almost ), but it looks like the real advantage you had was your death stare. I don't see how anyone could concentrate with you looking across the table like that!

****, that IS a pretty serious glare going on. I can kinda feel the heat through my screen.

which was more important for you, Rick; outmaneuver or the rockets? Were you able to get the rockets off in most games?

I've posted by photo diary of the event over on TC. enjoy

http://teamcovenant.com/sozin/2014/11/09/2014-world-championships-photo-diary/

Is that a...

I take it all back, oneway. I take it all back.

Caught red handed!!!

I set a pretty high personal goal for worlds... Make the top 32 with a list that no one thought should be there!

I brought:

Darth Vader — TIE Advanced

Outmaneuver

Proton Rockets

Engine Upgrade

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor

Push the Limit

Hull Upgrade

Shield Upgrade

Royal Guard TIE

Omicron Group Pilot — Lambda-Class Shuttle 21

Fire-Control System

Intelligence Agent

In that shot I was 4-1 playing for my seat in the top 32. My only loss thus far was to Ira (the eventual #1 seed at the end of the day). I ended up losing to Ryan's Whisper plus mini-swarm. It was a great game with some major momentum swings. I ended up 4-2 with a MoV only strong enough for mid 20's.

I tried for the lottery on day 2 but was one of the few names not drawn. Ohh we'll guess this just wasn't meant to be Vader's year . Had a blast though. Already looking forward to next year!

Looking forward to the Sidebotham brothers making a 2015 trip to a regional in WNY!

From my experience, Outmaneuver is more important than Proton Rockets. Both are far behind Engine Upgrade, though.

Hehe wow! I guess I did have my game face on there. The glare was likely due to the fact that Ryan was about to use my favorite pilot to knock me out of the running

In all seriousness though Ryan put on a clinic on how to use a phantom with advanced sensors. It was MUCH more difficult to predict his most likely landing places with how effectively he made use of AS. Hats off to him!!!

@ Sunny: So I guess this is the point where I share information only to have it used against me later. Hehe I'll never learn. Well this is just my opinion, and by no means gospel so YMMV. I think outmaneuver is necessary to make an expensive 2 dice ship (somewhat) viable. They also have to be super mobile and have high PS so that upgrade is being put to use all the time. The Proton Rockets are an absolute necessity. The key is to pick the biggest threat and target lock it early at long range. This really makes your opponents future moves much more difficult. Especially if you are moving after them. The shot when you get it off is absolutely devastating but I think the quasi-control you get over your target can also be extremely valuable.

I didn't get them off in my game against Ira, but did in my game against Ryan. Ryan out flew me in our initial approach. I was concerned that I had Vader in a bad spot so I was turtling him up instead of taking the TL on Whisper. As a result when I finally did get off the shot I did not have the TL. I came up 1 damage short of Whisper and over the next 4 turns Soontir shot 3 times at r2 and once at r1 and couldn't finish the job.

In my 3 wins I fired them twice. I didn't fire them in the first game. I was really happy with my flying that game and had super hot dice. The combination rendered the rockets unnecessary. In the 2nd I was tied going into the final turn against a z swarm. My opponent did a great job all game of putting ships in spots where they had great potential block moves for the following turn (if that makes sense). As a result I was having to move to spots I knew would be clear and therefore my shots were spread out across whatever ships happened to be in my arc. On the last turn I finally saw it. I was almost 100% sure I had a z that I could get in R1 shots from both Soontir and Vader. I was right and nuked him for the 36-24 win. Tough game! In the third Vader and Soontir were trying to hunt down a full health Corran with R2. I moved Soontir into what I was hoping was a blocking position to try and set up the one shot for next turn. But by not choosing the moves that were ideal for that turn my opponents maneuver really missed the mark and he planted Corran directly between vader and Soontir. Vader survived the R1 strike without spending focus and he and soontir nuked poor Corran.

Ohh and don't forget about IA on the shuttle. When flying 2 super mobile ships against ships that move after me, he is worth well beyond the 1 point spent.

@Darph: Definitely! If there is one nearby I'll do what I can to make sure Shane and I are there!

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

How so?

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

I've been keeping my eye off all of Wave 5 till I got my hands on one, and what you've described is the exact first list I built for Dash, lol.

And then smashed even more into bits with Scum's arrival. Who knows where we will be when Regionals comes around...

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

How is this not just another super-turret?

Epic Dash is so nasty.

Is it correct that not a single A-Wing made the top 32 or did I miss one? A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that in the current meta, the refit might not be a big enough improvement even if it looked really good when it was first announced. In fact, it looks like the only thing represented by aces expansions (either one) were some upgrade cards.

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

And that looks even worse. What's the counter to that? It won't be tie swarm I don't think. The ties will be one shot by that firepower too quickly.

Someone I know said interceptors to get into that blind spot. Which is gonna be easier said than done. Esp with the stress clouds that will hurt ints far more.

Ohh and don't forget about IA on the shuttle. When flying 2 super mobile ships against ships that move after me, he is worth well beyond the 1 point spent.

Intel Agent is so useful for Echo that I took 2 of them. They easily earned their paychecks (before they got vaporized by my opponents )

I'm i the only one who thinks that Paul having won again and with what is considered one of the top competitive lists could potentially hamper the game?

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

And that looks even worse. What's the counter to that? It won't be tie swarm I don't think. The ties will be one shot by that firepower too quickly.

Someone I know said interceptors to get into that blind spot. Which is gonna be easier said than done. Esp with the stress clouds that will hurt ints far more.

I'm starting to believe that a well flown Echo (with good support) or Whisper/Soontir is the hard counter to Super Dash. VI Dash will be harder, but also not as maneuverable as PTL Dash. In the many games on VASSAL, I've seen quite a few Super Dash (PTL) get taken down by some phantom.

Oh yeah, and opposing HLCs or Fat Hans can do well too. maybe the new Decimator with Expose (4 dice, 5 at R1 if it happens) will be painful for Dash too.

Maybe. But the meta is about to get completely nuked with wave 5. There will be a 4th pillar: Mad Dash. Dash with upgrades, the pinnacle of which is 58 Dash: Dash + PtL + HLC + Outrider + Kyle + EU.

How is this not just another super-turret?

It IS another super turret, but it plays completely differently and has different strengths and counters. For one, it doesn't have the non linear damage mitigation of Fat Han. But it is far more mobile and FAR more cost efficient.

Counters are post PS 7 dial reveal movement. Engine Upgrade, Echo. Otherwise if you don't get in range 1 it has absurd efficiency for a turret. As in on par with the TIE Advanced, Ewing, and Defender - but with a R2-3 turret.

Is it correct that not a single A-Wing made the top 32 or did I miss one? A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that in the current meta, the refit might not be a big enough improvement even if it looked really good when it was first announced. In fact, it looks like the only thing represented by aces expansions (either one) were some upgrade cards.

No A wings, Defenders, TIE Bombers, TIE Advanced, or Firesprays in Top 32. No generic E-wings, HWK (no surprise there) or Interceptors either.

Turret usage is at an all-time high by any metric.

It IS another super turret, but it plays completely differently and has different strengths and counters. For one, it doesn't have the non linear damage mitigation of Fat Han. But it is far more mobile and FAR more cost efficient.

Counters are post PS 7 dial reveal movement. Engine Upgrade, Echo. Otherwise if you don't get in range 1 it has absurd efficiency for a turret. As in on par with the TIE Advanced, Ewing, and Defender - but with a R2-3 turret.

Already doing stats for Worlds!

No A wings, Defenders, TIE Bombers, TIE Advanced, or Firesprays in Top 32. No generic E-wings, HWK (no surprise there) or Interceptors either.

Turret usage is at an all-time high by any metric.

MJ, what do you mean when you say the "efficiency" is on par with TIE Advanced? The survivability of the Advance? surely you don't mean the offense efficiency, right?

Didn't Typo use Jan Ors and Han in the Top 32 match? I watched him and Aaron Bonar live.

At least Aaron represented with 1 Echo in the Top 32, woot!