The 2015 FFG Nordic Championship (Nationals for the Nordic Countries) took place between the 14th and 16th of August and it encompassed most of FFG’s competitive games. There were one day Championship tournaments for A Game of Thrones LCG, Armada, Conquest LCG, Star Wars LCG, and Imperial Assault as well as two day events for Netrunner and X-Wing, with side events with X-Wing Escalation, more Armada, Netrunner and Imperial Assault for those who didn’t make the cut in the main X-Wing event.

X-Wing was the biggest one. With no restriction (several other European countries have restrictions for players from other countries) on who can go to Worlds by winning the tournament it drew 92 players from seven countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Germany, and the UK (including the UK National Champion (who happens to be Swedish)).

Lead Up
A month before the event I played in the Copenhagen Regionals and placed fourth with my Dashing Chewie list. You can read my write-up of that event here .

Dash Rendar
Predator
Outrider
Heavy Laser Cannon

Chewbacca
Predator
Millennium Falcon
C-3PO

I was happy with this squad and it served me well as I placed top 4 in the Copenhagen Regional. I felt comfortable playing most lists, only fearing lists with two elite ships with higher PS than Dash. One I can keep away from but two is trouble. I also had some trouble against dual IGs (I lost to one in the semi final in the Copenhagen Regional) but with a few practice games against those I knew I had a solid plan (as long they didn’t have VI). VI Brobots is the doom of my list.

Now, before this I’ve always considered myself an above average X-Wing player. I’ve done well in most local Store Tournaments, won the Playoteket Lund Store Championship, went top 4 in the Copenhagen Regional and have always done well in the online Vassal tournaments (such as Mr. Froggie's Galactic Cup). Now, this was the time to actually see if I was as good as I told myself…

The goal: I really, really wanted to make the cut at top 16 to get to play the second day. Any thing above that would just be icing on the cake!


Game 1
In game one I was paired against a nice guy from Poland, sorry I don’t remember your name. He flew:

Soontir Fel
Push the Limit
Title
Autothrusters
Stealth Device

Whisper
Veteran Instincts
Intelligence Agent
Fire-Control System
Advanced Cloaking Device

Omicron Group Pilot
Darth Vader crew

Crap! In the very first game I’m facing two PS 9 aces that can get into Dash’s donut hole and pour a ton of fire onto either of my big ships. Well, if I can get Chewie to bump Soontir or have both ships concentrate on Whisper and get one of the aces off the board before one of my ships is burned down this should still be doable.

I set up in the opposite corner from his Shuttle to make it come to me if it want’s to shoot. It works as he sends both Soontir and Whisper toward my corner as the Lambda slowly follows behind. Here my opponent surprises my by not cloaking Whisper to stay in formation with Soontir.

I move slowly in my corner while my opponent closes in. The turn before the first engagement I have managed to place my ships so there is an asteroid right in the middle between our squads and he will have to bank to either side of it. With my turrets, I’ll have a shot either way while he needs to guess correctly.

I decide to cut into the board while my opponent guesses I would head up the left side. With no target, Whisper can't get the focus from hitting me and is ripped to shreds even if cloaked by my two ships with no return fire from any of his ships in the first round of shooting.

Now I move behind his incoming shuttle and take it down while Soontir plays hide behind the rocks while he tries to get back into the fight.

The rest of the game is just me making sure Soontir won't get into range one of Dash while I take shots at him when possible. Time is called with both my ships and enemy Soontir on the board.



Result so far: 1-0


Game 2
In my second game I see a familiar face across the table. Tommy Byoe, a Dane I’ve played a few times and he almost always make the cut in the local tournaments. He is playing:

Chewbacca
Predator
Millennium Falcon
Luke Skywalker crew
C-3PO
Engine Upgrade

3x Tala Squadron Pilots

This is a popular list in the Copenhagen meta as local double Regional Champion Mads Barkman Petersen has proven its capabilities and is also flying it in this tournament.

My plan here is to burn down enemy Chewie as fast as I can if possible. If my opponent presents the Talas with enemy Chewie out of range I’ll happily try to take one or two down first but Chewie is the threat here. Both my ships can solo the Talas, either by having too much hit points (Chewie) or by arc dodging (barrel rolling Dash).

He takes initiative, places his Talas in my top right and Chewie in my top left. I deploy opposite the Talas, hoping to either get a turn of shooting without enemy Chewie in range or without an Evade if he boosts to get in quickly.

I head up on the right side with both my ships and he does indeed boost Chewie to join the fight. In the first exchange I can target enemy Chewie at range 3 without an Evade to get a few good hits in while only his Talas do any real damage to me.

Second round of Shooting we get real close to each-other (both my ships bump his Chewie I believe) and I exchange shots with his Talas.

I then proceed to go four forward with both my ships to clear his Chewie while his Talas need to maneuver to get into position. This is the moment I have been waiting for. With only one Tala and his Chewie (who K-turned) shooting at me, I need to hurt him back and I do.

A few rounds later I kill his Chewie and with both my ships left (even though one is really hurt) I take out the Talas.



Result so far: 2-0


Lunch
After the second round I go to have an awesome hamburger in a close by hamburger restaurant with my Swedish travelling companions and discuss how we have been doing so far. Unfortunately, I’m the only one who is 2-0.


Game 3
Now I’m playing Sam from the UK, his t-shirt says Bristol Vanguard, so I ask how he did in the UK Nationals and learns that he missed the cut by one spot. So, stiff competition. He is flying:

IG-88B
IG-2000 title
Push the Limit
Advanced Sensors
Mangler Cannon
Autothrusters

IG-88-C
IG-2000 title
Push the Limit
Advanced Sensors
Heavy Laser Cannon
Autothrusters

I hate Brobots, especially Push the Limiting Advanced Sensoring ones that get Foucs and Evade before doing a green maneuver most of the time. Well, this is what my practice before the tournament has been for. I need to get them into the asteroid field, as my usual trick to have them bump Chewie while Dash hammers them from out of arc won’t work against Advaced Sensors.

I set up on the right as usual and move slowly up the right side of the board, hoping he’ll enter the asteroid field to get to me. Instead he heads down the other side. I decide to head into the field to lure him to chase me. If he goes in, Dash can power through and get behind them with them having a hard time turning around.

C turns into the field while B keeps to the outside, most likely to K-turn/S-loop behind me as I proceed into the obstacle field.

This is where I make my first mistake of the day. I decide to have Dash go through the field as I planned before and to turn Chewie back toward my side and hopefully cath IG-88 B in his arc to negate Autothrusters. When I reveal Chewie’s dial I realize I did the turn the other way and Chewie turns his hairy behind toward both IGs instead.

Luckily for me my shooting on IG-88 C is effective and I take down its shields while his B is out of shooting range.

My mistake with Chewie turns out to be a real game changer as the damaged IG is in a position where he is unable to avoid the obstacles (not a big problem with Advanced Sensors but it limits his movements). IG-88 B will still need a turn to get me in arc and I know exactly were I need to go to get more good shots on IG-88 C.

I destroy IG-88 C without taking much damage in return which makes the end game more of a game of staying alive for him.



Result so far: 3-0


Game 4
I’m excited. My goal (to make the cut at top 16) is clearly in reach. I can see it now!

This turn I’m paired up against Jesper Nohr, the Imperial Assault Champion from yesterday. He is flying:

Dash Rendar
Push the Limit
Outrider title
Heavy Laser Cannon
Kyle Katarn
Engine Upgrade

Tala Squadron Pilot
Hull Upgrade

2x Tala Squadron Pilots

So, Super Dash and three Talas. I can do this if I can burn down Super Dash fast enough as either of my ships can win against three Talas unless they are really damaged when that match-up begins.

He sets up his Talas in my upper right corner and Dash in the center. I place my ships in my bottom right corner, facing his Talas.

I move my ships along my board edge, hoping for him to go though the obstacle field to get to me.

He leads with his Talas, not wanting Chewie to bump or get in range one of his Dash. In the initial exchange I manage to keep his Dash out of range and score four hits on his lead Tala with Dash’s HLC, unfortunately it is the one with the Hull Upgrade so I need to use Chewie as well to take it out.

In the next exchange all our ships are bringing their guns to bear on the opposition. From now on I’m planning to focus on Dash but he manages to get his Dash into my Dash’s donut, forcing me to focus on the Talas while he is focusing on Chewie. His Dash’s HLC and two Talas pouring fire into my poor wookie while I take out the Talas with Dash and Chewie eats into his Dash.

The end game is not what I wanted but instead his wounded Dash (with way more actions) versus my uninjured Dash. In the end, it becomes a dice fest where I can kill his Dash faster than he can kill mine due slightly more favorable dice for me and the fact that his Dash was injured and mine weren’t.





Result so far: 4-0


Game 5
Now I can really taste it. My goal is almost tangible, as all I need is one more win to be guaranteed a spot in the top 16. I try to stay calm, but it’s mostly on the outside as I don’t want emotions to interfere with the actual physical part of the game, bumping ships, moving obstacles and so on. On the inside I’m more than giddy as I never really believed I’d make it this far at this competitive a level.

This time I’m playing Nicolaj, another Dane. He is playing the exact same Cheweie and three Talas as I faced in round two:

Chewbacca
Predator
Millennium Falcon
Luke Skywalker crew
C-3PO
Engine Upgrade

3x Tala Squadron Pilots

I know how to win this match-up. I’m beginning to think I got this, which normally is when stuff fall apart.

I’m getting more or less the same approach as in the previous game against the same list but my damage is not getting through. Dash HLC barely scratches the paint on the enemy Chewie. Then I make my second mistake of the day. Instead of turning away from the incoming Talas with Dash and run for it, I decide to go back to the corner, splitting him away from his Chewie escort, I came from, believing my opponent is going to give chase as if I am running to keep the at range three. Man did I mess up!

He predicts my move and catches Dash at range one with two of his Talas and all his ships in range. I get a few good hits on his Chewie but Dash takes seven hits and goes up in flames.

OK, I can still pull this off I tell myself. My Chewie is almost unhurt and with a few lucky shots I can take out his Chewie and hopefully win against his three Talas. Again the damage just isn’t there. I get his Chewie close to death, but not fast enough.

When I finally get the killing shot on him he has his Chewie and a Tala returning fire. I’m at four hull points left and have an Evade token as well as C-3PO. He proceeds to do three damage from range one with his Chewie . He does four hits and I use Threepeo’s guess to reduce it by one, but I forget to spend my evade! OK, I can still use it on the Tala’s shot I tell myself as he promptly rolls zero hits. So I sit there with one hull remaining and an unspent Evade token as we plan for the end game where I have to kill two Talas with two Hull left and one Tala which is completely unscathed but stressed. I can’t play for time here as all he needs is one hit that goes through.

The only way I’m pulling this off is if I bump one of the damaged Talas, kill the other as the unscathed one is facing away from me and stressed.

First attempt is successful, he K-turns one of the damaged Talas to get a shot at me while I bump the other. Range one and Predator makes sure that Tala is destroyed.

Now he can K-turn both of his Talas to get shots with them but if he does so with the undamaged one I can run into him. If it doesn’t K-turn it won’t have a shot so I move for the bump. And guess correctly. Chewie takes out the other Tala and now I have this. As long as I can stay out of range one and get my Evade action, there is no way I can lose Chewie.



Result so far: 5-0


Game 6
I did it!

I’m 5-0 and have a spot in tomorrow’s elimination round. No more pressure to put my “money” where my mouth is. And, now I am paired up with a list I never have trouble with, a Decimator and a single PS 9 ace. Chewie and Dash can generally burn down that Decimator so fast that it then just becomes a matter of time before I can make the Imperial ace bump into Chewie and tear it apart with Dash’s HLC. So, I’m facing:

Captain Oicunn
Predator
Dauntless
Isanne Ysard
Darth Vader
Engine Upgrade
Seismic Charge (or a two point initiative bid, my memory is a bit fuzzy)

Whisper
Veteran Instincts
Intelligence Agent
Fire-Control System
Advanced Cloaking Device

With all the pressure gone, I proceed to execute my plan to perfection. To reduce Whiper’s cloaking ability I move along my board edge, drawing my enemy through the obstacle field. And as shooting begins, all ships are in range of one-another.

For two turns his red dice just decide to take a break and only deal two total damage to Chewie from fourteen red dice rolled.

I, on the other hand, did seven damage to Oicunn in the first turn and then he lands Whisper on a debri filed and my ship’s combined firepower obliterates the TIE Phantom.

Two more turns of shooting takes Oicunn of the board and leaves me with a pefect record of 6-0, and the second spot after swiss.



Result so far: 6-0

As the first day is over I have not only achieved my goal but exceeded my wildest expectations by going undefeated though-out the day.


Round of 16
So, the next day I show up and the TO asks all of us if it is OK that we split up the acrylic Critical Hit tokens so we all get five each. We all agreed of course. Who needs ten critical hit tokens anyway?

Across me I see a list I don’t like. Mike Dennis, from the 186 ^th squadron in the UK, flew:

Soontir Fel
Push the Limit
Title
Autothrusters
Targeting Computer

Whisper
Veteran Instincts
Rebel Captive
Fire-Control System
Advanced Cloaking Device

Omnicron Group Pilot
Darth Vader crew

And knowing that he made the cut means he knows how to fly the list well.

Again, the plan is to get his aces away from the shuttle and come to engage me through the obstacles. It doesn’t work. He patiently maneuvers slowly forward, using Fel to control the Shuttle’s speed.

I manage to get the first two rounds of shooting without the Lambda joining in but all I do is score a Blinded Pilot crit on Fel while Chewie goes down to five hull.

I now have on shot at this as the Lambda, and Vader joins the fray. I score four hits with Dash’s HLC on Whisper and takes out two shields. He forget’s to “fire” with Soontir to get rid of the Blinded Pilot crit. As we realize this I can either go on and probably have a round of strong shooting against Whsiper (possibly killing her) and not losing Chewie as Whisper probably wont have a shot this turn, or I can just allow him to flip the crit as he was obviously going to do that as he had a “shot” on Dash. If I let him flip it, it means that Chewie will most likely be done for and it’ll be up to Dash to finish off Whisper. If he doesn’t, the game will be lost as there is no way Dash can fight two maneuverable ships that move after him on his own.

Why did he not “shoot” with Soontir? Did he forget or did I move on to shoot with Dash too quickly as we both knew Soontir couldn’t shoot. It might have been like that so I tell him to flip the crit.

Chewie dies, Dash fails to kill Whisper, and the tournament is over for me.




So, as I write this report, I am doing it with a sense of accomplishment. Going 6-0 against great players (3 of my six opponents made the cut and two of them just missed the cut with a too weak MoV with at 4-2 record) was awesome, getting a bad match-up in the first elimination round sucked but hey, I had fun. The entire event was amazing. Big thanks to the TO Vince Kingston and his co-TO Kristofer Arvidsson (a member of my local playing group in southern Sweden).

I really hope they can keep doing a joint FFG Nordics for all the games as having so many players in one spot is just awesome.



Mike, who defeated me, finished second!



And Oliver won the entire event!


Fly Casual!

A great, but very hot and humid, day!

I had a lot of fun despite my panic attack-style list got it's a** kicked!

That is an amazing feat. And having lost so graciously just shows, more than anything, what a great player you are. Congratulations, I bet you had tons of fun!

Well done for your excellent sportsmanship

That is an amazing feat. And having lost so graciously just shows, more than anything, what a great player you are. Congratulations, I bet you had tons of fun!

Thanks!

That is an amazing feat. And having lost so graciously just shows, more than anything, what a great player you are. Congratulations, I bet you had tons of fun!

Thank you!

Yeah, it was super fun. Two days of amazing gaming and friendly people.

Great write up and pics. Glad you took the time to describe each game in detail, it made me feel like I was there with you. As others have said, the way you handled your last game speaks volumes about your character. Well done!

Well done for your excellent sportsmanship

Thank you!

Yeah, not letting him flip the Blinded Pilot would have turned me to the dark side.

Which is not an entirely bad place to be - as we've got cookies!

Which is not an entirely bad place to be - as we've got cookies!

Yeah. About that. I've heard they leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Great write up and pics. Glad you took the time to describe each game in detail, it made me feel like I was there with you. As others have said, the way you handled your last game speaks volumes about your character. Well done!

I like to read others' reports in which you are able to sense their thoughts and deliberation as they plan for how to taken on the different squads they face and aimed to provide the same. Glad I managed to convey my thoughts and feelings.

Are there any results from this event anywhere?
Anyone know if the Nordics will keep happening in Denmark?
There is a Norwegian championship in february.

The tournament is listed in ListJuggler:

http://lists.starwarsclubhouse.com/get_tourney_details?tourney_id=594

I've also got to say that venue looks pretty awesome to me.

Anyone know if the Nordics will keep happening in Denmark?

I believe that is Enigma's (the distributor's) plan. If this years event was successful (I believe it was), they might make it a "permanent" thing. At least for as long as it is successful.

The greater Copenhagen area (including Malmö, third largest city in Sweden) is probably the highest populated are in the Nordics so the location is sound from that point-of-view.

Also, player's from Finland, northern Norway and northern Sweden might not like it, the closeness to the European mainland (Poland and Germany) also makes it reachable for those players and an even greater choice of location.

I live in southern Sweden, one hour train or car ride away, so I would love if they keep it there.

Also, player's from Finland, northern Norway and northern Sweden might not like it, the closeness to the European mainland (Poland and Germany) also makes it reachable for those players and an even greater choice of location.

Finland is practically an island when you think of connections, so it means flying anyway. Copenhagen is not bad at all, takes about an hour, and there are quite a lot reasonable priced flights. Also reaching some smaller and no-so-populated place might be difficult, expensive and time consuming. Greater Stockholm might be an option, it´s naturally closer to Finland but it really does not matter that much.

And the beer is cheaper and more readily available in Denmark than in rest of the Nordics, remember that