(If it's TL;DR, just check my squad out in the link and then skip to the "Takeaways" section, and maybe look at the Results of each round).
Hey all,
I wanted to share my BatRep from the April tourney I took part in. Recently, they have been holding 150-point matches just to mix things up and make squad building a little deeper and more interesting. I must say, if you haven't tried 150-pt matches out before, do it. You don't end up with a ridiculous number of ships to make the whole thing a clusterf**k, but you can still field a squad of 5 or so high-skill pilots and a healthy mix of large and small ships with lots of options for upgrades without running into the point cap right away. It has worked well for our gang. Anyway, here's how things went.
It was a small gathering this time sadly, with only 4 players. We all faced each other over the 3 rounds. Here's the squad I fielded: http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/215671/150-pt-5-ship
Fun fact: We played on a new mat the TO purchased - it looks kind of odd/colorless/obnoxious at first, and I was not interested in it when I saw it online awhile back, but playing on it was actually not distracting at all. On top of that, the TO also got the physical asteroids which were attached to bases by metal pegs. The bases matched the asteroid tokens, so you could place the tokens then place the asteroid right on top of the token by matching up the appropriate base. They were.....very intimidating to see on the board, but VERY cool. They were made of actual pumice, or volcanic rock it seemed.
I'll briefly describe each of my competitors and how the match went:
Battle #1
Opponent used a Rebel squad of Corran Horn, Jan Ors, Biggs, and Nera Dantels, all heavily upgraded save for Biggs, who ran barebone. He usually flies Imperial, so he had a lack of experience with his ships. Right off the bat, I went after Nera with Boba, Guri, and Kavil because he had two Adv. Proton Torps on Nera. I made sure to make quick work of him before he got into range and got the torps off. After that, I ripped up Biggs pretty easily and ended up chasing down Jan Ors with Guri. My other ships tried to bring down Corran, but couldn't quite finish him off before time expired.
Result: WIN (Timeout)
- 3/4 enemy ships destroyed
- 0/5 ships lost
Battle #2
Opponent used a Scum squad with double Aggressors (C + D), Kavil, and Serissu. He is not a particularly great player, so he made several maneuvering errors, and his upgrades were not exactly what I would call "optimal." He did wisely have Stealth Device on both Aggressors, but when you're flying into asteroids and other ships, the boost + evade + 4 green combo kinda falls apart. The one that really pained me: He took Kavil and put BTL-4A on him, along with R4-B11 for his droid with Blaster Turret. That ship was just a mess. I basically worked him over with Boba and Guri at close range, while Kavil did his part blasting everyone with 4 dice + Marksmanship, and refreshing each turn with 3 speed moves. My Cartel Spacer also kept himself out of dangerous spots while "Mangling" everyone from afar, to a decent effect. I wiped out the fragile Serissu and the derpy Kavil quickly, then chased down the Aggressors without much trouble.
Result: WIN (Total victory)
- 4/4 enemy ships destroyed
- 0/5 ships lost
Battle #3
Opponent used a 6-ship Imperial squad of Mauler, Howlrunner, Backstabber, Turr Phenir, Carnor Jax, and Vader. He was already out of the standings by Round 3, and seemed frustrated... not to mention he plays very aggressive/fast especially with Imp ships. Knowing this, I moved a couple of my ships into range of his Speed 5 + Boosted Interceptors on Turn 1, and tore them up with good rolls right off the bat. After that, it took about 2 turns to simply bully my way through his Fighters with my superior health and guns, and he rage-quit before I could kill his Vader.
Result: WIN (Total victory)
- 6/6 enemy ships destroyed
- 0/5 ships lost
Takeaways
So if you're keeping score, I lost exactly 0 ships. Total.
Part of me wants to say it was somewhat weak competition - all due respect to these guys as I've lost to them before. Opponent 1 had no Rebel experience, Opponent 2 doesn't fly particularly well especially with big ships, and Opponent 3 had already mailed it in. However, I also beat my brother in a test match the night before without losing a ship.
Here's what I think worked well - to give myself some credit:
- (*Primary takeaway*) I took ships that were all self-sufficient to some extent, and basically relied on some simple synergy between the pilots and their upgrades. I often get caught up in trying to build the "perfect-synergy" squad, and then you realize how hard it is in reality to get all the pieces to come together to make that perfect squad work. Going overboard with how pilots will support each other, etc. often leads me down a dark path. Instead, I took a squad with a healthy balance of attack, defense, health, and maneuvering options. The Z-95 and M3-A were meant to be a nuisance but not worth wasting attacks on, while Kavil and Guri were meant to provide self-sufficient attack platforms that could take a hit or two if they got caught in a bad spot. Boba was meant to charge in and wreak havoc while re-rolling dice like mad thanks to Predator and pilot skill, while 2 focuses were in reserve to flip those Focus rerolls to hits or evades.
- I remembered to use skills and upgrades for the most part. I forgot Guri's a few times, but I focused on using Boba's skill, and it was truly outstanding coupled with Recon Specialist and Predator. On that note: Boba did NOT need Engine Upgrade to situate himself near enemies and get use of his skill. He moves well enough to do it on his own, and keeping him un-stressed made a big difference, as opposed to taking Push the Limit or Stay on Target or some such. It's not an easy ship to de-stress in a busy 150-pt. match.
- I maneuvered well in general, and chose my actions and upgrade options tactfully. Inertial Dampeners worked like magic with both Boba and Guri. Guri's Dampener let me camp in a perfect spot to Range 1 somebody, while still getting Focus via her ability, and a target lock from FCS.
- Part of me thinks I rolled particularly well, but I also realize that I put myself in situations that allowed me to roll - or reroll, well. Lots of Range 1 maneuvering, Boba skill, Guri skill/upgrade combos, Kavil having a wide range of maneuvering options to de-stress and focus/Marks, and not doing anything rash with the Z or M3-A. Overall it was a heck of a fun run, and I'm trying to soak it in as I'm sure I'll never put up another showing like this again!
Edited by KTreu42