I finally was able to go to a Store Championship. After missing all the other local championships due to illness, weather, or other scheduling conflicts, I made it to the last local championships. I wasn't optimistic going in. I haven't played as much recently and I wasn't confident in my list. It was one that I had only played a couple times, but it was fun. I mostly wanted the Soontir Fel alt art card and to at least make one Store Championship. This was a large Store Championship with 27 players. As it is a large store, a lot of the best players in the area are in attendance.

As for my list, I was experimenting with IG-88, but found that two of them didn't make a solid list. It was excellent against a lot of lists, but had too many hard counters. As such, I decided to change out one IG-88 for something that would cover the weaknesses of the IG-88. Not as strong against all lists, but not as weak against others.

IG-88B — Aggressor 36

Veteran Instincts 1

Advanced Sensors 3

Heavy Laser Cannon 7

Autothrusters 2

Boba Fett (Scum) — Firespray-31 39

Veteran Instincts 1

Proton Bombs 5

Tactician 2

Engine Upgrade 4

Here, IG-88B acts as my heavy hitter. Able to throw 4 dice at a target is quite potent with Heavy Laser Cannon. If he misses, his personal ability triggers, allowing him to attack again. This ability means that he is a serious threat against anything he can get arc on. Veteran Instincts is critical, as it allows him to move after and shoot before many threats. It means he is able to outfly other IG-88s, Dash Rendar, and a host of other ships. Autothrusters allow him to survive a great deal of punishment if flown right.

Boba Fett was the wild card. The problem with IG-88B is that even at PS8, he loses in the maneuvering game to Whisper, Soontir, and a number of other PS9 ships. With VI, Fett becomes PS10. Add to this engine upgrade and he is now able to bring firing arcs to bear on many threat, as well as close the distance or break away. It would be crucial. Tactician was a utility card. Able to alter how my opponent was flying, or shutting down ships that thrive on generating and clearing stress, this was quite potent. I had toyed with Gunner, but found I got better mileage out of Tactician. Proton Bomb was thrown on there more as a deterant than a weapon. When a ship at PS10 has a Proton Bomb, almost all ships will move before I activate. This means that the board state is pretty well set when I have to choose whether to drop. This means a canny enemy will be forced to fly differently and an unaware opponent faces critical hits at the worst possible moment.

At 100 points altogether, I would lose out any initiative bids, but I was banking instead on my PS bid.

1^st Round:

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17

Chardaan Refit -2

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17

Chardaan Refit -2

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter 12

Outer Rim Smuggler — YT-1300 27

Wild Space Fringer — YT-2400 30

This was an interesting list that I was fascinated to see. Five ships, two of them with 10 HP. It was quite refreshing. He setup spread across his side of the board. I setup in either corner. I was able to bait him into splitting his forces. As the two branches attacked each of my ship, stripping a few shields, I quickly attacked and kept moving, switching which ship each side was engaging. This divide and conquer strategy worked in my favor resulting in the total destruction of the rebel force at the cost of some shields and a bit of paint. My score was 1-0 with 200 MoV.

2^nd Round:

Rear Admiral Chiraneau — VT-49 Decimator 46

Moff Jerjerrod 2

Darth Vader 3

Gunner 5

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom 32

Veteran Instincts 1

Fire-Control System 2

Recon Specialist 3

Advanced Cloaking Device 4

Up against Raul, this was also an interesting list. Chirpy with Vader and Gunner, plus the Moff Insurance Policy. He took initiative. He setup both his ships in the middle while I setup on my left. I tried something a bit different with my start. IG-88, on the far left, moved 3 Forward on turn 1 and Fett moved 4 forward, then boosted towards Chirpy and Whisper. Chirpy had done a 1-Bank while Whisper had moved in front of the Rear Admiral and cloaked. My boost brought me into range 3 of Whisper but just out for the Decimator, giving me a round 1 shot, but whiffed.

Round two, Chirpy bumps Whisper. IG-88 does a boost forward, followed by a 4-K, putting him close to the enemy edge of the board. Whisper decloaks and moves rapidly forward, then gets double focus. Fett then moved 4 Forward, just clearing the Phantom. Fett is now Range 1 to both enemies and has Whisper at close range 1 in the rear arc, so focuses. One attack roll later, I have 4 hits and Whisper loses her shields. I lose a couple shields on Fett and on IG-88, who misses Whisper twice. Next round, Whisper decloaks to face the droid, who turns slightly. Fett drops the Proton bomb on Whisper, but bumps Chirpy. Both take the bomb, which gives Fett a Direct Hit (of course) and Whisper something other than a Direct Hit (of course). But Fett at Range 1 is able to deliver three hits and wipes the Phantom out.

IG-88 is without shields, so I try to play the bump game while Fett whittles down the Decimator. Unfortunately, I called a maneuver wrong and took 4 dice to the face, destroying the Droid. However, in simultaneous fire, the infamous bounty hunter gets revenge and destroy the Decimator, leaving me with control of the board. I'm now 2-0 with 351 MoV.

3^rd Round:

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Bandit Squadron Pilot — Z-95 Headhunter 12

Cowboy Kenny of the Kessel Run podcast was my next opponent, running a venerable list. This formidable rebel swarm, piloted by a skilled player, is certainly a major threat to my two ships. I really don't have the damage output to be confident in such a match. Asteroids go mostly in the middle, making it a difficult area to maneuver in for me. His ships are in a skirmish line across the middle of his board, while I setup Fett on the left and IG on the right. He banks in towards the Aggressor, which moves 3 Forward, staying well out of range. Fett then moves 4 Forward, then boosts in, catching at B-Wing at range 3. One excellent roll later and that B-Wing is missing 3 shields.

Next round, his swarm continues after IG, who moves 1 Forward. He moved cautiously, putting only one B-Wing at Range 2, two at Range 3, and the other two out of range. Fett swoops in to behind the formation, damaging the same B-Wing while IG-88 begins work on another. Kenny presses his attack hoping to catch IG-88 in a pincer, but he boosts, then does a 4-K behind the formation. Fett presses the attack and destroys the B-Wing, while IG-88 seriously damages the other.

Now, my opponent calls my IG-88's next move right, but isn't able to fully capitalize on it. I turn IG-88 hard to the right, leaving him without a shot but several shots on him. Fett moves into the mess, dealing more damage. IG-88 loses his shields.

I know my opponent wants to press the advantage on the droid and is a bad position. He moves to the attack, but IG-88 moves 3 Forward, then boosts, putting him at long range of the two shots on him. The Firespray turns hard left, towards the enemy side of the board, and blasts the Z-95 into dust.

My opponent sees the danger and tries to avoid an imminent Proton Bomb. One B-Wing with full shields is caught dead to rights, but another with only 2 hull barrel rolls in front of an asteroid in a desperate attempt to avoid the Proton Bomb. It's close but he manages to escape. IG-88 S-Loops to turn around and reengage next round while Fett drops the bomb and completes his turn. The one B-Wing gets a damaged engine.

The next turn, the B-Wing that avoided the bomb runs over the asteroid. And then rolls a Crit. And it's a Direct Hit. Boom. He didn't escape, merely delayed it. Fett moves forward as IG-88 returns and clears stress. Both B-Wings take some hits, stressing the B-Wing with damaged engine.

I then continue this next turn, with Fett K-Turning beyond the Aggressor while the droid moves close to the B-Wings. The one closest to the droid has the damaged engine, so I choose to shoot the further one, blasting it apart. The B-Wing then proceeds to roll two hits, two crits. I manage a single evade. The first crit is Minor Explosion. I roll and... blank. The second crit is Damaged Sensor array. Safe. The assassin droid K-Turns behind the B-Wing while the Mandalorian moves forward and they blast the ship into oblivion. 3-0 with 551 MoV.

4^th Round:

IG-88B — Aggressor 36

Push the Limit 3

Fire-Control System 2

"Mangler" Cannon 4

"Hot Shot" Blaster 3

Autothrusters 2

IG-2000 0

IG-88C — Aggressor 36

Push the Limit 3

Fire-Control System 2

"Mangler" Cannon 4

"Hot Shot" Blaster 3

Autothrusters 2

IG-2000 0

Now I'm up against my first dual Aggressor build. This match and the next blend together in my head. I took some severe damage early on on Fett, along with several crits thanks to the Mango Cannons, but I manage to drop the Proton Bomb on both of them, which destroyed the Mangler Cannon on IG-88B and reduced the primary weapon on C. I quickly removed C from the board, though my now fatally injured bounty hunter was forced to flee. The enemy droid chased down my firespray, letting my faithful droid follow him, doing severe damage. Though Fett would perish bravely, the cowardly Aggressor would not be able to outmaneuver my superior piloting skill, allowing me far more shots at the vulnerable ship., eventually destroying it. 4-0 with 700 MoV.

5^th Round:

IG-88B — Aggressor 36

Push the Limit 3

Advanced Sensors 3

"Mangler" Cannon 4

Autothrusters 2

IG-2000 0

IG-88C — Aggressor 36

Push the Limit 3

Advanced Sensors 3

Flechette Cannon 2

Autoblaster 5

Autothrusters 2

IG-2000 0

As previously stated, this match blends together with the previous match. I will say, my opponent was quite skilled, and punished me with the Autoblaster. He started by placing in both corners while I setup across from C with my droid and about a quarter of the map in from C with my Firespray. I began by immediately making a series of serious piloting errors and got a handful of pitiful shots early on. It was not looking good. After several rounds of losing HP I could ill afford to lose, though comforted by the fact that I would make the cut to Top 8, I rallied. My superior Piloting Skill once more saved the day as I was able to adjust my position and generally outfly my opponent. Both of his droids fell quickly after I began flying well. It was a near thing, but my opponent was fatigued and made a few mistakes, allowing me to destroy both his Aggressors without losing a ship in return. 5-0 with 900 MoV. This puts my in Top 8 and earning me a Dice Bag. Sweet.

Top 8

Omicron Group Pilot — Lambda-Class Shuttle 21

Advanced Sensors 3

Ion Cannon 3

Mara Jade 3

Fleet Officer 3

Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor 25

Veteran Instincts 1

Autothrusters 2

Stealth Device 3

Royal Guard TIE 0

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27

Daredevil 3

Autothrusters 2

Stealth Device 3

Royal Guard TIE 0

I was initially worried about this list. My IG-88B would be a serious disadvantage against both of these interceptors. He setup his shuttle to his right, my left. I placed my droid on my far right corner. His Interceptors both went event further left (his right) protected by the shuttle. I setup my Firespray closer to my left, just inside the far left asteroids and almost across from him. First round, his shuttle moves slowly forward. I rush forward and boost in with my droid. He then moved Soontir down the edge of the board and moves Turr behind the shuttle. Next turn, he uses Fleet Officer to give focus to both Interceptors, then banks slowly in with the shuttle and I smile to myself, having called this right. My droid zooms forward rapidly and boosts. Turr turns towards the center of the board, bringing it into long range from my droid. Soontir moves forward, then uses daredevil to turn inward. My Fett then does a 4-Forward, then a boost, moving out of the arc of the shuttle and at range 1 of Turr. However, my dice roll poorly and I don't hurt Turr. He then shoots at my IG-88, doing no damage, but barrel rolling out of range. My droid doesn't have a shot and Soontir does a shield damage to Fett.

Next turn, the shuttle gives both Interceptors a focus, then banks again. I tried to be clever and S-Loop my Aggressor towards my opponent, facing as if he had been set in the center of the board by my opponent during setup. Turr banks towards the center of the board, putting him out of arc of my IG, but with no good boost or barrel roll opportunities. Soontir then moves forwards 2, then Daredevil's into the shuttle to get arc on Fett. He has forgotten about my Proton Bomb, which hits the shuttle (I don't remember which crit he got, but it wasn't important) and Soontir Fel (reduce agility... ouch). Fett then shoots at range 2 to Soontir, giving him another stress and rolls three hits. And Soontir, as is appropriate for an interceptor, rolls one evade and the rest blanks, vanishing from the board.

From here, the game goes quickly. I rapidly hunt down and destroy all joy in the world the rest of his ships. I have won 6-0 and 1100 MoV (I know MoV doesn't matter anymore but it's fun to record it) and I earn the acrylic focus tokens I was so hoping for, as they were the one token I didn't have official acrylics for.

Top 4

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Tactician 2

B-Wing/E2 1

Gold Squadron Pilot — Y-Wing 18

Ion Cannon Turret 5

R2 Astromech 1

Gold Squadron Pilot — Y-Wing 18

Ion Cannon Turret 5

R5-P9 3

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing 22

Tactician 2

B-Wing/E2 1

My opponent was immediately demoralized at the start of this game. His previous opponent was winning and conceded because he wanted to go home, so my opponent didn't feel he had deserved his spot. Further, he was clearly exhausted, unused to playing this many games. He setup in a skirmish line in the middle, while I took the two corners. He banked towards my IG, which stopped out of range. My Fett zoomed forward, boosting to get an early shot at a B, doing a damage or two. I then slow rolled with the droid, putting me at medium to long range of his Y-Wings, but out of range from the laggard B-Wings. Fett came around. Both fired on the Y-Wing with the R2, dealing serious damage, but it returned fired and put an ion token on my Aggressor.

The next round, I did a hard turn with the IG while he moved forward to intercept, moving my IG out of arc. Fett followed his force and destroyed the injured Y-Wing which was the only one that could Ion the droid, though he would himself suffer an Ion from the remaining Y-Wing. The next turn, Fett continues his pursuit as the droid K-Turns. The next couple turns see a B-Wing destroyed, but I have to be very careful that I'm not Ioned off the board. Fett has to run away to avoid this fate for a time. But my opponent is fatigued and I'm calling the maneuvers right, allowing me to catch and destroy the remaining Y-Wing, though this took longer than expected due to the recovery droid and lackluster rolls on my part. With the Y-Wing down, it's only a matter of time before I catch and destroy the B-Wing, though the droid finished the game with a single hull remaining. I'm now 7-0 with 1100 MoV.

Finals

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 36

Push the Limit 3

"Mangler" Cannon 4

Kyle Katarn 3

Engine Upgrade 4

Outrider 5

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17

Chardaan Refit -2

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17

Chardaan Refit -2

Prototype Pilot — A-Wing 17

Chardaan Refit -2

This final match is against Chumbalya of the Kessel Run podcast. I've already destroyed his faithful companion and he is out for revenge. This would be the final match and a death match between our rival podcasts.

He sets up Dash in the middle with all his As in the corner on his left. I setup my droid on my right, just inside the asteroids, while Fett is on my far left. I move rapidly forward with both, but this is a mistake. His As move slowly, leaving me with no real shot, while Dash gets behind IG-88 and does one damage. Next round, knowing that my S-Loop and K-Turn could well be blocked, I bank in with the droid, slamming into one of the blockers, but advanced sensors allows him to have a focus. Fett comes around the big asteroid and gets a distance shot, but does no damage. Then IG-88 one-shots an A-Wing, but takes a couple more shields.

He brings his Dash up my right, moving towards him, while IG-88 turns towards him, catching him in arc and the A-Wings out of position. Fett moves into the A-Wings. Several shields are removed from Dash. Dash continues his mad flight, with A-Wings screening my movement, but my sensors allow the assassin to continue punishing Dash. Further, Fett now has shots on Dash, and he is into hull. One more turn of dogged pursuit and Dash has been destroyed. Then it is just a matter of hunting down the A-Wings. While they put up a good fight and it takes me a good 10 turns, the game has now been decided and, one by one, they are destroyed. This leaves me with an undefeated 8-0 record and an incredible 1500 MoV. I lost two ships the entire day.

I want to thank all the fine players, the organizer, and the store (Madness Comics and Games) for the wonderful tournament. We had a fine turnout. I know that the day could have easily turned against me, especially with my wonky list, but today, I can rest easy.

Congrats Sable! Good stuff and that's a similar list I want to try in the next store champs!

Congrats Sable G. I really liked your list. two hvy hitters with lots of versatility between them. i can see that proton bomb being a huge deterrent. Was tactician worth it? seems like it would be good anti-Soontir tech.

Man, I really want to fit that Proton Bomb in, but it's too tough to give up Predator on the IG-B or the intertial dampners I have on both ships... (oh, and I love Gunner on Boba, especially against high agility ships).

Congrats for winning there Sable! You're great in maneuvering that Boba Fett!

Alright, let me expand a bit more on my choices.

Tactician instead of Gunner: I had experimented with Gunner on Boba earlier. The problem I found was that most of the extra shots afforded to me by Gunner were against well defended targets and missed more than they hit. A great upgrade, but I just didn't feel I was getting the most out of it. Tactician, interestingly, gave me more shots at my opponent. This is because, when the enemy was stressed, they became more predictable, allowing me to get into Range 2 or 1 and still get my action. In essence, I was playing the long game. I was sacrificing more shots now for better shots later. Further, Fett gains a serious threat factor against ships that thrive on stress. PTL, K-Turns, Opportunist, all these things suddenly become super risky against Fett. Since he has Engine Upgrade and PS 10, one must choose stress before Fett has a chance to get into Range 2 and shut the ship down for at least a turn. This adds further utility against Phantoms. Now Fett gets to take a Range 2 shot at an uncloaked Phantom, stressing it and preventing the recloak, while at the same time being able to shoot against only 2 defense dice and possibly forcing the loss of focus for attack. Overall, Tactician gained me more than Gunner does, and saves me 3 points.

VI instead of Predator/Outmaneuver on IG-88: These are both fantastic upgrades for the Aggressor. Against anything PS5 or below, they are the correct call. Unfortunately, because the IG-2000 only has a forward firing arc, they lose in the maneuvering game against highly maneuverable ships at higher PS. There are two ships I specifically took VI in order to outfly. Dash Rendar and IG-88. Because of Advanced Sensors and PS8, I can now move after both these threats. I will happily take IG-88B with VI vs IG-88B with Predator any day, simply because I can outfly the lower PS ship, even if it has the heavier firepower. Same with Dash. I was able to move after Dash, eliminating his incredible maneuver advantage. While the one I faced lacked the doughnut hole, I was still able to ensure I always had a shot. Further, because of Autothrusters, I was largely protected from his return fire.

Honestly, the Proton Bomb was a great help, but if alterations are going to be made, it's the first thing I would cut. I've been toying with two primary options to replace it:

2x Seismic Charge: Giving Fett the Andraste title allows him to take two bombs, as well as mess with opponents who gnash their teeth at the thought of Fett not being in the Slave 1. While not as heavy hitting as the Proton Bomb and not as threatening, they would probably end up doing more damage over the course of the game. Not sure if the loss of threat is as good as the additional damage. This would also let me put an Inertial Dampener on one of the ships.

Autoblaster: Yes. Really. Stop looking at me like that. See, Fett is adept at catching high agility, high maneuver targets, but he isn't always able to land the necessary damage. With Autoblaster and at least one Fett reroll, I honestly wonder if this cannon would be a serious boon. I have the points to spare, so the high point cost, always considered the biggest downfall of the upgrade, is largely mitigated. This would be a bigger threat to IG-88 and Soontir Fel than a single Proton Bomb.

Fun report, solid list, and glad to hear Madness had a good turnout. I look forward to getting in my fair share of dice-slinging up there, shortly.

Next time, Sable, next time!

2x Seismic Charge: Giving Fett the Andraste title allows him to take two bombs, as well as mess with opponents who gnash their teeth at the thought of Fett not being in the Slave 1.

Now that is just wrong..... it would definetely works with me!

i actually like autoblaster here. If u r moving last most of the time u can get into position to make it rather deadly on Fett. Not having the proton bomb will encourage enemies to get in behind you but when u r moving last you should be able to keep them guessing eh?

I've actually been thinking about Autoblaster on Fett. He likes to get close, which is where he would use it. He has the high PS to get into position to use it. He doesn't have to use it if he isn't in R1. His re-rolls make it pretty mean.

Congrates on the win, though. It sounds like fun games.

I've actually been thinking about Autoblaster on Fett. He likes to get close, which is where he would use it. He has the high PS to get into position to use it. He doesn't have to use it if he isn't in R1. His re-rolls make it pretty mean.

Congrates on the win, though. It sounds like fun games.

Engine Upgrade will allow autoblaster to be rather abusive. when the situation dictates a normal attack, then thats fine. With practice you should be able to catch the odd ship with a close range autoblaster which is going to be scary good.

I got good mileage out of APTs on Scum-Fett, at my store championship. Five dice, three of 'em auto-Focus at worst, at least one of the two remaining gets a reroll...It's pricey, but I don't regret having taken it.

Alright, let me expand a bit more on my choices.

Tactician instead of Gunner: I had experimented with Gunner on Boba earlier. The problem I found was that most of the extra shots afforded to me by Gunner were against well defended targets and missed more than they hit. A great upgrade, but I just didn't feel I was getting the most out of it. Tactician, interestingly, gave me more shots at my opponent. This is because, when the enemy was stressed, they became more predictable, allowing me to get into Range 2 or 1 and still get my action. In essence, I was playing the long game. I was sacrificing more shots now for better shots later. Further, Fett gains a serious threat factor against ships that thrive on stress. PTL, K-Turns, Opportunist, all these things suddenly become super risky against Fett. Since he has Engine Upgrade and PS 10, one must choose stress before Fett has a chance to get into Range 2 and shut the ship down for at least a turn. This adds further utility against Phantoms. Now Fett gets to take a Range 2 shot at an uncloaked Phantom, stressing it and preventing the recloak, while at the same time being able to shoot against only 2 defense dice and possibly forcing the loss of focus for attack. Overall, Tactician gained me more than Gunner does, and saves me 3 points.

VI instead of Predator/Outmaneuver on IG-88: These are both fantastic upgrades for the Aggressor. Against anything PS5 or below, they are the correct call. Unfortunately, because the IG-2000 only has a forward firing arc, they lose in the maneuvering game against highly maneuverable ships at higher PS. There are two ships I specifically took VI in order to outfly. Dash Rendar and IG-88. Because of Advanced Sensors and PS8, I can now move after both these threats. I will happily take IG-88B with VI vs IG-88B with Predator any day, simply because I can outfly the lower PS ship, even if it has the heavier firepower. Same with Dash. I was able to move after Dash, eliminating his incredible maneuver advantage. While the one I faced lacked the doughnut hole, I was still able to ensure I always had a shot. Further, because of Autothrusters, I was largely protected from his return fire.

Honestly, the Proton Bomb was a great help, but if alterations are going to be made, it's the first thing I would cut. I've been toying with two primary options to replace it:

2x Seismic Charge: Giving Fett the Andraste title allows him to take two bombs, as well as mess with opponents who gnash their teeth at the thought of Fett not being in the Slave 1. While not as heavy hitting as the Proton Bomb and not as threatening, they would probably end up doing more damage over the course of the game. Not sure if the loss of threat is as good as the additional damage. This would also let me put an Inertial Dampener on one of the ships.

Autoblaster: Yes. Really. Stop looking at me like that. See, Fett is adept at catching high agility, high maneuver targets, but he isn't always able to land the necessary damage. With Autoblaster and at least one Fett reroll, I honestly wonder if this cannon would be a serious boon. I have the points to spare, so the high point cost, always considered the biggest downfall of the upgrade, is largely mitigated. This would be a bigger threat to IG-88 and Soontir Fel than a single Proton Bomb.

Love the thought process Sable. You've convinced me to give the Tactician and Autoblaster a try. I loathe to give up Gunner, but having Autoblaster (if I can get into R1) and Tactician (if I'm staying in R2) will just destroy the 2 threats I hate, phantoms and Soontir.

how relevant were the autothrusters on the aggressor Sable? without reading through your report in detail i am guessing ur strategy was to stay at long range firing away with HLC and benefit from the free evade versus counter-fire?

how relevant were the autothrusters on the aggressor Sable? without reading through your report in detail i am guessing ur strategy was to stay at long range firing away with HLC and benefit from the free evade versus counter-fire?

They certainly were worth the 2 points. In average game, they saved me 1-2 points of damage and kept IG-88 alive in two different games where he would have died otherwise. It was worth its weight in gold against Dash, though. If you need the two points, I would say it's dropable, but if you have to points to spare, keep it. I can't see anything else in that slot that would be more useful.

Congrats on the win, Sable. The entire event was a blast. Pretty cool to see a Scum list take the crown.

Alright, let me expand a bit more on my choices.

Tactician instead of Gunner: I had experimented with Gunner on Boba earlier. The problem I found was that most of the extra shots afforded to me by Gunner were against well defended targets and missed more than they hit. A great upgrade, but I just didn't feel I was getting the most out of it. Tactician, interestingly, gave me more shots at my opponent. This is because, when the enemy was stressed, they became more predictable, allowing me to get into Range 2 or 1 and still get my action. In essence, I was playing the long game. I was sacrificing more shots now for better shots later. Further, Fett gains a serious threat factor against ships that thrive on stress. PTL, K-Turns, Opportunist, all these things suddenly become super risky against Fett. Since he has Engine Upgrade and PS 10, one must choose stress before Fett has a chance to get into Range 2 and shut the ship down for at least a turn. This adds further utility against Phantoms. Now Fett gets to take a Range 2 shot at an uncloaked Phantom, stressing it and preventing the recloak, while at the same time being able to shoot against only 2 defense dice and possibly forcing the loss of focus for attack. Overall, Tactician gained me more than Gunner does, and saves me 3 points.

VI instead of Predator/Outmaneuver on IG-88: These are both fantastic upgrades for the Aggressor. Against anything PS5 or below, they are the correct call. Unfortunately, because the IG-2000 only has a forward firing arc, they lose in the maneuvering game against highly maneuverable ships at higher PS. There are two ships I specifically took VI in order to outfly. Dash Rendar and IG-88. Because of Advanced Sensors and PS8, I can now move after both these threats. I will happily take IG-88B with VI vs IG-88B with Predator any day, simply because I can outfly the lower PS ship, even if it has the heavier firepower. Same with Dash. I was able to move after Dash, eliminating his incredible maneuver advantage. While the one I faced lacked the doughnut hole, I was still able to ensure I always had a shot. Further, because of Autothrusters, I was largely protected from his return fire.

Autoblaster: Yes. Really. Stop looking at me like that. See, Fett is adept at catching high agility, high maneuver targets, but he isn't always able to land the necessary damage. With Autoblaster and at least one Fett reroll, I honestly wonder if this cannon would be a serious boon. I have the points to spare, so the high point cost, always considered the biggest downfall of the upgrade, is largely mitigated. This would be a bigger threat to IG-88 and Soontir Fel than a single Proton Bomb.

Love the thought process Sable. You've convinced me to give the Tactician and Autoblaster a try. I loathe to give up Gunner, but having Autoblaster (if I can get into R1) and Tactician (if I'm staying in R2) will just destroy the 2 threats I hate, phantoms and Soontir.

Gave this a try last night:

Boba - VI, Autoblaster, Tactician, Engine, Inertial Dampners

IG-88B - Predator, AdS, Mangler, Autothrusters

100 points

Happened to play a Chewbo list that had Chewie with Falcon Title, Lando, Kyle Katarn, Experimental Interface, and C3PO, while Leebo had HLC, Outrider, Engine, and Jan Ors. This was actually the perfect matchup for me, since Chewbacca kept on getting 4 evade/focus tokens (Lando was very lucky) and I either put damage through with Autoblasters or double stressed him.

Ultimately we had a tie when time came, Boba was dead and Chewbacca was dead.

A few things I learned:

- Autoblasters is VERY cool against super tanky builds like this, especially combined with tactician. You're a super threat at R1-2. The downside is, moving to R1 to shoot Chewbacca meant 4 dice in return. When he connected on one turn with a focus, Boba lost 3 HP. Also, with 3 attack dice at R1, if you're unlucky (which I was), even with rerolls I kept on getting only 2 hits through (kept rolling crits, hahah), it doesn't do as much damage (though it still would have been better than shooting at a ship with 4 evade tokens.

- Tactician is gold on a PS10 ship. I played the Bounty Hunter a lot with Tactician and thought it was just OK. Never played a high PS firespray with it (because the Imp Boba/Kath kinda sucked), so this was eye opening. I think if I kept at R2 to stress chewie instead of going to R1 to use the autoblaster, I would have won because he would have had 1 focus token per turn and shot back with only 3 attack dice.

- Intertial Dampners on Boba is also gold, at PS10. Sometimes they move to try to block me, and end up at R1. Then I just don't move and take my Boba reroll with the autoblasters or R1 shot.

For the IG88, the biggest debate I have is Predator vs VI. I know the thought process on why VI is good and I agree, but in a meta where it's either the high PS ships (which boba can handle) or PS2 swarms, I feel like the IG88 is there to deal with the PS2 swarms. Against other IG-88s, Boba's autoblaster and tactician should do well against them. Dash will also die to a boosting autoblasting or tactician Boba. I'm just wondering about the PS2 swarm matchups. Having predator means the IG-88 hits harder and can take a ship off the board faster. The reason is I often have PS8-10 lists and then when I play a PS2 swarm, I feel like most of my points are wasted (like having gunner on Boba).

Thoughts on that, Sable? Did you feel that Boba can't handle PTL Dash and other dual IG-88 with a Predator IG-88B's help? Do both ships need to outfly the other list to have a chance? Did you feel that your matches against the BBBBZ and BBYY were tough because you didn't have too many modifiers with the IG-88B?

Gave this a try last night:

Boba - VI, Autoblaster, Tactician, Engine, Inertial Dampners

IG-88B - Predator, AdS, Mangler, Autothrusters

100 points

Happened to play a Chewbo list that had Chewie with Falcon Title, Lando, Kyle Katarn, Experimental Interface, and C3PO, while Leebo had HLC, Outrider, Engine, and Jan Ors. This was actually the perfect matchup for me, since Chewbacca kept on getting 4 evade/focus tokens (Lando was very lucky) and I either put damage through with Autoblasters or double stressed him.

Ultimately we had a tie when time came, Boba was dead and Chewbacca was dead.

A few things I learned:

- Autoblasters is VERY cool against super tanky builds like this, especially combined with tactician. You're a super threat at R1-2. The downside is, moving to R1 to shoot Chewbacca meant 4 dice in return. When he connected on one turn with a focus, Boba lost 3 HP. Also, with 3 attack dice at R1, if you're unlucky (which I was), even with rerolls I kept on getting only 2 hits through (kept rolling crits, hahah), it doesn't do as much damage (though it still would have been better than shooting at a ship with 4 evade tokens.

- Tactician is gold on a PS10 ship. I played the Bounty Hunter a lot with Tactician and thought it was just OK. Never played a high PS firespray with it (because the Imp Boba/Kath kinda sucked), so this was eye opening. I think if I kept at R2 to stress chewie instead of going to R1 to use the autoblaster, I would have won because he would have had 1 focus token per turn and shot back with only 3 attack dice.

- Intertial Dampners on Boba is also gold, at PS10. Sometimes they move to try to block me, and end up at R1. Then I just don't move and take my Boba reroll with the autoblasters or R1 shot.

For the IG88, the biggest debate I have is Predator vs VI. I know the thought process on why VI is good and I agree, but in a meta where it's either the high PS ships (which boba can handle) or PS2 swarms, I feel like the IG88 is there to deal with the PS2 swarms. Against other IG-88s, Boba's autoblaster and tactician should do well against them. Dash will also die to a boosting autoblasting or tactician Boba. I'm just wondering about the PS2 swarm matchups. Having predator means the IG-88 hits harder and can take a ship off the board faster. The reason is I often have PS8-10 lists and then when I play a PS2 swarm, I feel like most of my points are wasted (like having gunner on Boba).

Thoughts on that, Sable? Did you feel that Boba can't handle PTL Dash and other dual IG-88 with a Predator IG-88B's help? Do both ships need to outfly the other list to have a chance? Did you feel that your matches against the BBBBZ and BBYY were tough because you didn't have too many modifiers with the IG-88B?

First, I absolutely agree with you assessment that the better call would have been to stay at Range 2, handing out stress to Chewy. You shut down 1 point of damage mitigation that way, as well as allowing you to keep your action for attack or defense. This would also shut down the damage mitigation against IG-88. The two ships could have easily followed the helpless Falcon lazily and blasted it apart.

As for IG-88, here's the thing. Frankly, he already has enough firepower. Predator adds a bit, though I prefer Outmaneuver if we are talking an offensive EPT. Still, I prefer the maneuvering advantage. I'm ok with missing a hit or two here and there when it means that I'm not shot as often. And it means that, against other IG-88s, I win.

I had no problem against BBBBZ when I faced it, because I could almost casually avoid arcs, as long as I did my part. As long as I plan well, it would take an extremely cunning trap to catch IG-88 with BBBBZ. Same against BBYY. I played the long game. When they turned to face one ship, the other was gnawing on their tail. With one Y-Wing out quickly, I wasn't in danger unless I flew poorly. Sometimes I just had to run away to regroup.

Basically, it comes down to this. I chose a list of generalists. It doesn't excel at any one thing. It's not great at smashing TIE Swarms. It's not great at smashing Fat Falcons. It's not great at taking down other IG-88s. It's not great against Elite Rebels. But it's not terrible against anything. We can talk all day about fine tuning it to deal with one threat or another. Certainly, it can be improved on that score handily. Add in Outmaneuver or predator? Much better against low PS ships. But what do you lose in return? Getting mauled by IG-88s and Dash. It's a jack of all trades list, with tools for every occasion. And it seems to have worked out. I don't think it's World's capable. It's not flashy. It doesn't make everyone tremble. But it's a solid, sturdy list that is a threat to every list it faces.

First, I absolutely agree with you assessment that the better call would have been to stay at Range 2, handing out stress to Chewy. You shut down 1 point of damage mitigation that way, as well as allowing you to keep your action for attack or defense. This would also shut down the damage mitigation against IG-88. The two ships could have easily followed the helpless Falcon lazily and blasted it apart.

As for IG-88, here's the thing. Frankly, he already has enough firepower. Predator adds a bit, though I prefer Outmaneuver if we are talking an offensive EPT. Still, I prefer the maneuvering advantage. I'm ok with missing a hit or two here and there when it means that I'm not shot as often. And it means that, against other IG-88s, I win.

I had no problem against BBBBZ when I faced it, because I could almost casually avoid arcs, as long as I did my part. As long as I plan well, it would take an extremely cunning trap to catch IG-88 with BBBBZ. Same against BBYY. I played the long game. When they turned to face one ship, the other was gnawing on their tail. With one Y-Wing out quickly, I wasn't in danger unless I flew poorly. Sometimes I just had to run away to regroup.

Basically, it comes down to this. I chose a list of generalists. It doesn't excel at any one thing. It's not great at smashing TIE Swarms. It's not great at smashing Fat Falcons. It's not great at taking down other IG-88s. It's not great against Elite Rebels. But it's not terrible against anything. We can talk all day about fine tuning it to deal with one threat or another. Certainly, it can be improved on that score handily. Add in Outmaneuver or predator? Much better against low PS ships. But what do you lose in return? Getting mauled by IG-88s and Dash. It's a jack of all trades list, with tools for every occasion. And it seems to have worked out. I don't think it's World's capable. It's not flashy. It doesn't make everyone tremble. But it's a solid, sturdy list that is a threat to every list it faces.

Haha, I think I was too excited about using the Autoblaster cannon (for the first time ever) that I kept on shooting at R1.

Makes sense about the long game when it comes to BBBBZ or BBYY type lists. I think I just don't have enough experience with the IG yet to fully realize its maneuverability. It's like learning to fly Echo all over again.

Funny thing is, I try to build my list as "generalist" also, since that allows pilot ability to get you out of trouble since your list is never super weak against another but also never super strong either. I guess my philosophy is to "have a partial weapon against each of the meta pillars".

Boba? Deals with any PTL/stress-fearing ships with Tactician, high agility ship with Autoblasters, arc dodgers with PS10 and boost, and higher ship counts with tankiness (HP+2 agil dice).

IG? Deals with low PS non-maneuverable ships with its movement, turrets with autothrusters, action economy with AdS, and so forth.

So we're on the same page and are just debating minor details (which is what makes this game fun). My question is, why is PTL Dash so scary to the PS6 IG-88? Yes, it moves after and has crazy good movement and action economy, but having seen a couple battles where Dash usually shoots out of arc and the IG just takes focus or evade (this is where IG-C or PTL might be better) with the autothruster benefit, it's still really hard for Dash to kill an IG. Granted, it's hard for the IG to shoot it back too. But the thing is, Boba is there to deal with Dash, so Dash will have to figure out how to out fly Boba while having an IG chasing him. Having watched that Theorist game vs Sideslip where Super dash just couldn't kill the 1 hull IG was kind of a shock for me.

For other IGs, I definitely agree with you that it's a big issue if you can't shoot them and they can shoot you. so in that case, either a 97-98 point init bid or VI definitely makes sense. but even then, Boba still has a good chance to deal with the IG with tactician or autoblasters and boost out of arc. But yeah, once Boba is dead (probably trading with the opponent's IG), then your IG is in serious trouble.

I think my preference for Predator is rooted in some recent near miss experiences with PS2 swarms where a few bad rolls where I couldn't take a ship off the board fast enough doomed me. But you're right in that if I fly a long game and just fly away if I don't have a good shot and come back behind them, it doesn't matter if I lose that extra 1-2 hits if they can't shoot me or have to shoot me at R3 with my autothrusters.

Thanks for sharing the thought, definitely very helpful in tweaking this build I want to try at the next store champs.

i ran a similar loadout on Bobba but used autoblaster instead of Proton Bomb and didnt run tactician

I also used Kath Scarlet with HLC (as i didnt own an aggressor)

i tested versus scum control: 2x hawks and 2x Y's all with ion turrets

what i learned:

* autoblaster is really good, esp on Fett with the reroll(s)

* scum Y-Wings hit very hard.

Thanks for the write up, very inspiring. I am working on a slight variation of your build, swapping the proton bomb for a seismic charge and adding inertial dampeners to both ships. What do you guys think of this?

Also, I had a question regarding a couple match ups. In particular, Soontir w/PTL Auto Stealth plus 5 Obsidians seems terrifying. How would you fly this Boba IG88B list against that build?

I'm also concerned a bit about getting enough damage output to take down fat Han.

Thanks for the write up, very inspiring. I am working on a slight variation of your build, swapping the proton bomb for a seismic charge and adding inertial dampeners to both ships. What do you guys think of this?

Also, I had a question regarding a couple match ups. In particular, Soontir w/PTL Auto Stealth plus 5 Obsidians seems terrifying. How would you fly this Boba IG88B list against that build?

I'm also concerned a bit about getting enough damage output to take down fat Han.

HLC should help punch thru Hans shields. firing away at long range will be key so id be trying to keep some asteroids between me and han. PS10 on Bobba should help position yourself for a few good close attacks from Bobba as well. im running autoblater on Bobba to punch thru evade dice/actions. Imho autoblaster should help you out in this matchup - although i havent tested vs FatHan I have played that list quite a bit - make han negotiate the asteroid field - your placement and setup is perhaps more important in that matchup imo.

Thanks for doing what you do Sable! I took your list and and swapped some stuff and just went 4-0 in my local spring 2015 tourney. I didn't lose a single ship!! Brutal build, and great advice. The final match was against whisper soontir mauler and it worked like a charm, avoiding arcs and stressing everything in sight!

Thanks for the write up, very inspiring. I am working on a slight variation of your build, swapping the proton bomb for a seismic charge and adding inertial dampeners to both ships. What do you guys think of this?

Also, I had a question regarding a couple match ups. In particular, Soontir w/PTL Auto Stealth plus 5 Obsidians seems terrifying. How would you fly this Boba IG88B list against that build?

I'm also concerned a bit about getting enough damage output to take down fat Han.

HLC should help punch thru Hans shields. firing away at long range will be key so id be trying to keep some asteroids between me and han. PS10 on Bobba should help position yourself for a few good close attacks from Bobba as well. im running autoblater on Bobba to punch thru evade dice/actions. Imho autoblaster should help you out in this matchup - although i havent tested vs FatHan I have played that list quite a bit - make han negotiate the asteroid field - your placement and setup is perhaps more important in that matchup imo.

Be very careful about Fat Han and using Autoblaster. I did it against Fat Chewie (with Lando, Jan Ors, and MF title, up to 4 evade tokens per turn), and while I punched through the evades, I was taking 4 attack dice back, which can destroy Boba faster than Boba's cannon can deal damage to Chewie. (if you're green dice fail and your autoblaster doesn't roll well). Otherwise, I do really like this build.