A treatise in which, I, a humble chronicler and scribe, expound on experiences most peculiar that boggle the mind and yet bring glory upon our great pastime, X-Wing. Many a great and terrible beast were braved during an expedition to far off lands shrouded in mystery known to us only as '2015 Austin Regional Championships.'
Austin, being 3 hours away from me, was a prime candidate for my attendance this year. I had a lackluster performance at the Tulsa Regional two weeks before, but I was determined to shake off this feeling and make a go of it. Last year, I attempted to drive 4 hours to the Houston Regionals, compete, and drive back. This year I learned from that lesson and made the prudent choice. I drove down the night before, met up with friends in the area, got a good nights sleep, and kept the hotel room for the following evening so I could retire whenever my day ended without having the burden of a 3 hour drive after a full day of mental exhaustion. That morning, I was pretty well set for which list I was taking, well rested, and I made sure to acquire a sandwich for use later in the day between rounds. I found out that the event would be capped at 64 players. There were 63 attending, so everyone was able to get in who wanted too.
I took my current favorite competitive list:

One of my biggest problems with the Dual IG lists is that they have a few major weaknesses. At PS6, they are crushed by Dash as they have a hard time getting shots on him when piloted well. Even at PS8, they suffer against Fat Han, RAC, Soontir Fel, Turr Phennir, and Corran, who can all arc dodge. They further are weak against stress inducing builds. As much of the Meta right now is high PS arc dodgers with turret, this puts them at a serious disadvantage. They are powerful ships and a good pilot can make up these deficiencies with good flying, but it is still a difficult issue.
Thus I set out to explore alternatives to dual IG-88s. Dropping one IG allows the list to gain Boba Fett. With a great ability and PS8, this pilot seems to resolve many of the issues the dual IG builds face. With VI, this ship becomes PS10, allowing him to move after most of the prominent arc dodging builds. Tactician allows Fett to suddenly become a major threat to a lot of the above threats. Soontir Fel suddenly fears Fett as he can become double stressed and quickly doomed. The same fate can befall Dash or Corran or Turr. Stressing Han or Chirpy makes them very predictable. Whisper and Echo never want to see Fett with Tactician. Engine Upgrade allows Fett to boost out of arc or into arc. It can change his range band to activate Tactician or boost into Range 1 to benefit from extra dice and rerolls. Proton Bomb is the prize though. This weapon means that it creates a no-fly zone for many high value targets. Phantoms, E-Wings, Z-95s and anything else with 2 hull can be instantly destroyed by a Direct Hit. As long as Fett doesn't drop this bomb, it must be taken into account whenever the opponent is plotting moves.
IG-88B joins this powerhouse with his own ability to make a second attack if the first misses, as long as that second attack is with a Cannon. This Gunner-like effect allows him to threaten ships that are extremely good at dodging single attacks. Coupled with HLC, this gives the droid a serious damage output, which can punch through Fat Han and other hardened targets. VI puts this bounty hunter at PS8, allowing him to move late and shoot early, especially against other IGs and Dash. Advanced Sensors obviates the danger of being blocked, either by allowing the ship to retain the action even when colliding or by boosting first to allow the maneuver to complete. Autothrusters gives him excellent defense against turrets and when controlling the range of engagements.
These two bounty hunters truly do give nightmares to their prey.
Round 1:
I had a bye from winning a store championship chronicled here: http://teamcovenant.com/sablegryphon/?p=114 Thus, I spent this time wondering if I should have saved my Bye for the Dallas Regionals and whether I should have taken another list I've been tinkering with and having fun. My greatest foe was Doner Kebab from the restaurant next door, which was effectively vanquished.
Round 2:
My first real opponent, not counting the 8 I had to face in order to skip the first round, was Eric Larson.

This was a tough round. He setup in a corner and ensured that the asteroid field was a pretty dense one from corner to corner. He setup in one corner nearest the asteroid belt. I setup IG-88 across from his fleet and Fett in the other corner. I quickly realized that this was the wrong order. I turned both in while he moved slowly forward with his list. This meant he couldn't turn into his side due to asteroids. I then K-Turned IG-88 with Fett directly behind him as he moved forward. This strung out his forces, allowing me a round of shooting only at the A-Wings to no effect. Next round, I got Jake down to 1 hull, but took some damage on IG-88. I wasn't able to leapfrog like I wanted to because of PS order, leaving IG-88B in front. Next round, he K-Turned his A-Wings behind Fett as my ships move forward and began focusing on Chewie, who was the great threat. Proton Bomb killed Jake and removed an attack die from the A-Wing. In the scrum proper, IG-88 was destroyed just before Chewie was blasted apart.
This is where Eric's dice suddenly became hot and he stopped rolling anything but hits and crits. I was able to get both the Bandit and the Prototype down to 1 hull. However, he was unable to miss and got my Fett down to 1 hull when time was called. The next round of shooting could have gone either way, depending on where each ship went. I won, but the game was still in dispute. Well played, Eric.
Round 3:
Austin Norris was my next opponent. In my initial chat with him, it became apparent that he wasn't really feeling the game. He had won two rounds, but wasn't sure he wanted to be there that day. I felt bad, because it showed in his flying, as we had played before and he's usually a better player. He rolled initiative and choose to take it.

Asteroids were fairly loose, mostly clustered generally on my side. He setup Dash in one corner, so I setup IG across from him. Corran was setup in the middle, with my Fett in the opposite corner. In his opening move, he moved four forward, then boosted forward, with a Push for a focus and a stress. The let my IG move 3 Forward and bank boost into Range 1. Corran banked towards the IG while Fett screamed 4 forward and boosted in, remaining out of range. Next round, all greens were blocked for Dash, so it was either bump or remain stressed. He choose to bump. I then bumped with IG, taking a focus from Advanced Sensors. Corran moved forward and attempted to TL, finding he was just out of range, so he Barrel Rolled into range of IG. Fett moved forward into Range 2 of Corran and focused. Corran took a Range 3 shot at IG and did no damage. Fett and IG then blasted the token-less Corran apart.
Next round, Dash's maneuvers were predicted, as he turned into the center of the board. IG-88 S-Looped into Range 3 with Focus while Fett turned in and caught Dash at Range 1, doing serious damage to the smuggler, though IG took some damage from return fire. Next round, I once again moved IG into long range and Fett into Range 2, giving Dash a second stress and doing more damage. The next round would see the end of him. It was a fast round, we were done in about 25 minutes.
Round 4:
Bobby Hurst was my next opponent. He was doing quite well at 3-0.

He had initiative, so he setup Dash in the middle and Corran on one side. I setup IG-88 across from Corran while Fett was I the opposite corner. Dash banked towards IG with a boost, while Corran also moved rapidly. My droid performed a 1 Forward, staying just out of range. Fett screamed 4 forward and boosted to get around the asteroids. Next round was the deciding round. I knew that Dash, with Mangler, didn't have the traditional doughnut hole and guessed he might bank towards me to cause havoc. This is precisely what he did with a 3 bank, boost, and focus. His Corran then moved in, focused and boosted, putting him alongside Dash and angled towards the edge of the board. IG reveals a 3 Forward. I focus with Advanced Sensors, then move forward to bump Dash. Fett continues around the asteroid and remains out of range. Corran shoots IG at Range 1, spending the focus to do a couple damage to the droid. The droid returns fire and does 3 damage to Horn, removing the shields. Corran double taps, but wiffs even with FCS. Now both Corran and Dash are in a bad spot. Neither can clear their stress without bumping. They both choose to do a hard turn, clearing IG but remaining stressed. IG focuses and does a K-Turn while Fett moves into Range 2 of both. Corran is blasted apart and Dash takes a couple damage, before doing a bit of shield damage to Fett. Next round, I guess where Dash is going and get both my ships at Range 1 of him, though IG doesn't have a shot, doing serious damage to him with Fett. The next two turns are textbook Dash hunting and his ashes are scattered across the space lanes.
Round 5:
My next opponent is Anthony Rossi (Sideslip). A rematch from our first round at the Tulsa Regionals with the same lists.

I setup in opposite corners while he is in the middle. He goes after IG-88 while Fett rapidly moves in to flank. First round of fire, I do a couple damage to Dash and lose a shield on IG, as Corran bumps the droid. Next turn, I program a 3 forward, but Dash moves into that spot, so I focus and remain where I am. Fett moves into range while Corran does a 3 K-Turn behind the Aggressor. Corran rolls 3 hits and IG rolls one eye, but I keep the focus. Both IG and Fett do a point of damage to Dash, before Dash rolls 4 hits on IG who rolls one eye again. I spend the focus, taking 3 hits and putting IG at 1 hull left. Corran double taps to destroy the droid, who once more rolls no evades. Fett tries to hunt down Dash, but my dice go cold and I cannot evade anything and do little damage. Three turns later, Fett is destroyed. Dice Skew was a major factor in this game, just as in Tulsa. Against an excellent opponent like Sideslip, the level of luck in this game meant I had no chance.
The Cut:
At this point, the Tournament organizer announces that they will do the cut now instead of waiting for Round 6. The weather has turned nasty and a lot of people were talking about dropping because of it. This was greeted with approval from the players after such a long day. I've run the numbers and find I should make the cut, and I do. I'm Seed 7, gaining the awesome new dice. I've now met my Regionals goal by matching my performance last year in the Houston Regionals.
No Austin locals make the cut to Top 8. The bottom 4 seeds are all Dallas players (myself, James Elhardt, Shawn Koike, and Lucas Davidson). Seeds 1 and 2 are both Houston, and I think the other two were both San Antonio.
Top 8:
Daniel Allbrighton-Lupo, bearer of a complex last name and an excellent mustache, would be my Top 8 opponent. He was the 2nd Seed and flying a formidable list.

Both would be difficult to kill. He setup both YTs in a corner, so I setup my IG across from them and Fett in the middle with two possible lanes through the rocks. His first turn he does a 1 Hard with both ships, so my IG boosts forward. My Fett moves into the rocks. Next round, I follow the twin tanks as they move away from me, while Fett continues to navigate the asteroids. I deal a bit of damage to Leebo. Next round I move closer, with Fett suddenly flanking the enemy ships and IG chasing them. Chewy and Leebo both do one damage to IG, but Fett and the droid knock Leebo into hull. Dice was a bit favorable for me.
He tries to get Leebo out of there, but I guess and chase him with IG while Fett chases Chewie to harass him and do a bit of damage. Leebo is destroyed the next round, while Chewie is locked down with stress. Over the next couple turns, IG returns to the fight while Fett hounds the wookie. Once IG gets back into the fight, it quickly turns ugly for the rebel scum, and Chewie is blasted apart. I've now exceeded my expectations for the Tournament, but I know the next match is going to be tough.
This was a quick game, lasting only about 25 minutes, which is impressive against twin tanks. Thanks for the game, Daniel.
An interesting thing happened during Top 8. Seed 8 (Lucas Davidson) beat the top seed (Sideslip). In my game, Seed 7 beat Seed 2. Seed 6 (James Elhardt) beat Seed 3 (Justin Curtis). Only the Seed 4 (Roy Patterson) beat his lower seeded rival (Shawn Koike), leaving Seed 4 as the highest seeded player left in the bracket.
Top 4:
James Elhardt is a friend of mine from Dallas. We play regularly and had practiced this very game a few days before the Tournament.

Once more facing Dash and having played this game before, I knew it would be a tough game. I setup in both corners to his middle deployment. I arced in and started exchanging fire with his Dash. Luck turned and my IG was destroyed quickly, though having dealt serious damage to Dash. Next turn, Fett was able to destroy Dash, evening the odds slightly, but Corran can be very difficult to kill. Unfortunately, Horn is out of position the round Dash goes down, leaving me at his 5 O'Clock. He doesn't have a lot of good options, but I spot one. He could try to turn towards me, but would likely overshoot. Turning away from me would put him in dire straits. So, I call his K-Turn just right and put myself at Range 2. Tactician double stresses him and my fire gets 2 damage through, destroying the Stealth Device. He chips away at Fett's shields. Now, double stressed I have a chance. He is almost certainly doing a green move, but 3 forward would bump me, so I go a bit risky. He banks into me, clearing a stress and getting a shield, but I then do a 3 turn over him, putting him at Range 1 of my rear arc. Focus, with a reroll, gives me 4 hits and he rolls all eyes and vanishes.
I got lucky at the end, though it was mildly balanced by the loss of IG to luck earlier. James played well, but I was able to outguess him on two crucial turns.
Finals:
This is the first time I've been at the top table during a higher tier tournament. My opponent is Lucas Davidson, the 8th Seed.

I look at my opponent and see nothing but exhaustion. He is clearly fatigued. I mentally perk myself up and take on a predatory mindset. He is not thinking clearly, which is something I can exploit. He sets up his Talas in the corner with enough space for Han to fit between them and the board edge. I setup IG in the opposite corner and Fett across from his list. I know Fett will melt in direct combat though. He moves 2 forward with everything, while IG screamed forward with 3 Forward and a Boost in. Fett does a 1 Forward.
Next round, I dial up more of the same. He slow rolls with 2 forwards again, putting us just in range when Fett does a 1 Forward. IG screams forward and gets a Range 3 shot at one of the Zs. In the exchange, it takes 3 damage and Fett loses a shield.
Next round, I guess what he is going to do and he obliges. All his Zs bank in. Knowing that he could have turned his entire list at IG, I do the sneaky thing and S-Loop and focus, keeping IG at range 3. Han banks rapidly forward. Fett then does the same, putting him at Range 1 of everything and in their cross-hairs. A boost forward removes two shots, puts Han at Range 2, and still allows Fett 3 rerolls. The damaged Z explodes and another takes a bit of damage. Fett loses a couple shields, but his rerolls save several damage. Next round is when he makes a critical mistake. He turns both remaining Zs towards Fett, bumping with both. IG banks into bump Fett as well, clearing his stress. Han banks towards Fett as well. Fett then drops a Proton Bomb and banks past IG-88. The Proton bomb hits all three enemy ships. The healthy Z gets blinded. The hurt Z took Stunned Pilot. Han gets Console Fire, which immediately causes a damage to him. The hurt Z is destroyed and Han takes a couple damage but deals a damage to IG-88.
Next round, he makes another serious piloting error and turns the wrong way with Han, onto an asteroid. He avoids the Asteroid Damage, but Console Fire burns merrily away for another damage. With Fett moving forward and IG S-Looping behind his list, this makes him excellent prey and I deal a lot of damage to him, though Fett is now into Hull thanks to the Z-95.
Fett moves slowly forward again and IG follows Han, who had been stressed the previous round by Tactician. Han bumps his own Z, leaving him off the asteroid. Console Fire doesn't do damage this turn, but two shots from my list get him well into hull and put the Agility 0 crit on Han, shutting down C-3P0. That tenacious Z puts more damage on Fett, taking him down to 2 hull.
IG turns hard to predict Han's move. Han turns, placing him directly in front of IG with nowhere to boost. Fett turns to avoid the edge of the board and boosts, depriving the Z of a shot, which is destroye anyway. Han takes another damage from Console Fire and doesn't hurt the droid. IG blasts Han, leaving him with one hull left.
The next turn, nothing Han can do avoids the S-Loop from IG-88B, who blasts Han apart.
Lucas is a good player, but was exhausted and no longer flying his best. I was able to use that to my advantage to shake off my own fatigue. It was a good game.
Aftermath:

I played 8 rounds. All eight rounds were against Rebel lists with at least one turret in them. I faced Corran/Dash 4 times. I feel accomplished that my list was able to hang with the big dogs. It's a list that takes a lot of skill to fly and can be diced off the table, but if you do your part, it can take any of the lists fielded. It also shows that non-turrets can still hold their own, though turrets are still easier to fly.

This means I am absolutely going to Worlds this year. I have no idea what I am going to fly there, or Nationals, but Fett/IG may be put away for a while. I'm exploring new Scum lists that are a bit more unconventional.