The playoffs are upon us! Four players have emerged from this strong 12 player round robin tournament. In the coming weeks they duke it out for the crown of Team Covenant Aces Vassal League (A Scum & Villainy Podcast Joint ! ).

With 2013 World Champion and gentleman extraordinaire Doug Hothie casually flying away into X-Wing retirement (you'll still play me online, right Doug?!), we are in parallel going to run a (super strong) 8 player elimination tournament, with the winner taking Doug's spot. Details below!

For those wanting to watch the games on Vassal or Twitch, we'll be posting when matches are going to be played on this thread. Happy holidays everyone!

Final Standings

Round 11 Results

The last round of group play ended up being critical to the playoff picture, with World Champion Paul Heaver scraping into the fourth position with a complete destruction draw against S&V Pirate Lord Kelvan Tiberus. It was a roll coaster of a game, featuring Paul's World Championship Four Ship Rebel list squandering an early advantage against Kelvan's Rebel Swarm, and then Kelvin fighting back into a winning position, and ending in a Gold+Prototype versus Gold ending that finishing in 100-100 destruction.

Starslinger72 took the second playoff seed with a clean 100-0 crush of Sideslip , and #1 ELO Matt-Shadowlord (1742 rating, 28 wins and 2 loses in ELO play) took the third playoff seed with a mirror match Soontir/Vader versus Soontir/Vader win over Dom. Finally, #2 ELO player BlairBunke took sole first place in the league with a 100-0 win over 2013 World Champion Doug Hothie.

The Playoffs

The Challonge site is open for voting for those of you that want to weigh in on the playoffs!

Let's have a look at Matt versus Starslinger72:

Matt-ShadowLord

Academy Pilot

Epsilon Squadron Pilot

Soontir Fel + Royal Guard TIE + Push the Limit + Stealth Device + Autothrusters

Darth Vader + Predator + Engine Upgrade + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer

(99)

versus

StarSlinger72

Howlrunner + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Omega Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Omega Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

(100)

Commentary : Kelvan : Crackshot is also very helpful here. Although I feel like it’s more difficult to get both ace ships. I really don’t want a mirror match but I get the feeling that’s possible. Come on Vader! Tyler will need at least 2 ships to fight Soontir and then incredible predictive skills. That being said if he can get a ship burnt down with only losing 1 tie he’s got a decent shot. sozin : Starslinger72 (and pheaver) was predicting a low ps meta for these playoffs, and sadly it it went against him here. Matt’s very hard to pin down on a list, and here we have him going with a neat four ship Imperial list. Vader can be focused down, but that leaves Soontir, who is always dangerous in the endgame. The matchup favors Matt.

In the other matchup, Paul submitted exactly the same list as Starslinger!

BlairBunke

IG-88B + Heavy Laser Cannon + Predator + Autothrusters + Advanced Sensors + Inertial Dampeners

Syndicate Thug + Twin Laser Turret

Binayre Pirate

Binayre Pirate

(100)

pheaver

Howlrunner + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Black Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Omega Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

Omega Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

(100)

Commentary : Kelvan : I think Paul is super happy to see an Aggressor here. Crackshot can do a lot of work there. Blair can take advantage of IG- B if it survives that initial it can do serious work in killing ships. Additionally with some good blocks there’s a chance for victory. sozin: Blair is going to have to keep Iggy out of that swarm’s arc for as long as possible, and hope that he can pick off the ties one by one with the HLC. If his pirates can block the swarm and he survives the initial round of engagement with only losing a ship (hopefully not the Thug), then he’ll have a chance. But this is an uphill battle for Blair - we’re going to need to see really good flying by the regular season champ to take down the reigning World Champ!

Relegation Tournament

Secondly, Kelvan and I are pleased to announce our Season Two Relegation tournament. For this tournament we’ve assembled 8 excellent players to compete for the open spot that Doug is leaving in the league. In no particular order:

• Texx : aka Dallas Parker, World Champion Elect 2013, World’s Top 8 2014, 2015, Galactic Cup Winner, TCA Season One 2nd place. On of the strongest players out there, probably the favorite to win the tournament.

• Nathan Eide : World Champion elect 2015, multiple Regional winner.

• “Evil Ed” Horne : host to the Nova Squadron podcast, a great member of the community member and strong player in his own right.

• bmf : Galactic Cup 2015 winner!

• Sable Gryphon : 2015 Regional Winner and S&V Podcast team member, and one of the most creatively dirty minds in the game today.

• Mu0n : The driving force behind the X-Wing Miniature Games Vassal port and currently #4 in the ELO standings (at the time of selection; behind Aces League members Matt-Shadowlord, BlairBunke, and Morgan -- things have changed a bit in the last week in the standings!)

• PaulD : Aces League choice - Paul won multiple strong online tournaments in 2015 and is a force to be reckoned with.

• MajorJuggler : aka Bob Randall, 2015 Regional Winner, Nova Squadron podcaster, MathWinger.

The players are playing with the hot-off-the-presses X-Wing 5.6.2 Vassal module . From the challonge site , which is open for voting and predictions!

Here's the matchups (created using Kelvan's trusty d8):

And finally the lists!

PaulD

Corran Horn + Push the Limit + Engine Upgrade + Fire-Control System + R2-D2

Biggs Darklighter + R4-D6 + Integrated Astromech

Gold Squadron Pilot + Twin Laser Turret + R3-A2 + BTL-A4 Y-Wing

(100)

MajorJuggler

Gold Squadron Pilot + Twin Laser Turret + R3-A2 + BTL-A4 Y-Wing

Warden Squadron Pilot + Twin Laser Turret + Tactician + Long Range Scanners

Warden Squadron Pilot + Twin Laser Turret + Tactician + Long Range Scanners

Bandit Squadron Pilot

(100)

Commentary : Kelvan To me the question is how well can Paul concentrate fire vs Major’s TLT? If he can keep guns on the turrets I think he has a shot. The problem is the SLAM on the Wardens make that very difficult. sozin : As we saw from Worlds, a Stresshog can just wreck Corran. Paul’s Stresshog is less effective as MajorJuggler has no aces. With Vassal 5.6.2 and the addition of the Long Range Scanner upgrade, the two Wardens just got better -- they can grab a lock before combat, and then SLAM out of range 1-2 to get fresh locks when they need ‘em.

Mu0n

Gold Squadron Pilot + BTL-A4 Y-Wing + R3-A2 + Twin Laser Turret

Miranda Doni + Twin Laser Turret + Chewbacca + Ion Bombs

Jake Farrell + A-Wing Test Pilot + Proton Rockets + Veteran Instincts + Autothrusters + Push the Limit

(100)

bmf

Prototype Pilot + Chardaan Refit

Poe Dameron + R5-P9 + Autothrusters + Predator

Corran Horn + R2-D2 + Fire-Control System + Veteran Instincts + Engine Upgrade

(100)

Commentary : Kelvan Corran is the PS boss here. He’ll need to avoid the Stress hog. I think the combination of Stress hog and Miranda takes Corran out and in a weird way Jake> Poe. I love the Prototype A but I unless BMF has some killer Corran shots I don’t see him pulling this out. sozin : Another Stresshog versus Corran matchup! As seen in the 2015 World’s Final, Mu0n’s Stresshog can keep Corran and Poe at bay, which Jake to do some ace hunting with his prockets. Jake is PS9, and so he’ll have the on bmf’s aces. I think Mu0n will give init to bmf if he can, allowing Miranda to maximize her ion bomb and SLAM ability. bmf’s list is reminiscent of Nathan’s World’s list, but with a VI Corran (versus Nate’s PTL Corran) and a Predator Poe (versus a EPTless Poe); I prefer putting VI on Poe like Paul did, as a PS 10 Poe can hold down Soontir.

Evil Ed

Soontir Fel + Royal Guard TIE + Push the Limit + Autothrusters + Stealth Device

Omicron Group Pilot + Emperor Palpatine

Darth Vader + Veteran Instincts + Engine Upgrade + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer

(99)

Nate

Prototype Pilot + Chardaan Refit

Poe Dameron + R5-P9 + Autothrusters

Corran Horn + R2-D2 + Fire-Control System + Push the Limit + Engine Upgrade

(99)

Commentary : Kelvan So Corran and Poe are just PSed out by 1 by the opposite Ace. That’s going to make things very difficult for Nate. On top of that the shots he does have will be protected with Palpatine. I get the feeling the pre tournament favorite just ran into about the worst matchup he could. sozin : Nate’s brings the list that made him 2015 World Champion Elect. He’s got a lot of experience flying Corran, and this matchup promises to be an excellent test of the current meta. Evil Ed chose to stay with his beloved Imperials, and with his aces and PS 11/9 and Nathan’s at 8/8, it is going to take all of Nate’s considerable skill to avoid getting hunted. This game should feature some deep position play and sharp tactics once the aces engage -- can’t wait to watch it!

SableGryphon

IG-88B + Crack Shot + Heavy Laser Cannon + Fire-Control System + Glitterstim + Autothrusters

Boba Fett + Veteran Instincts + Glitterstim + Seismic Charges + Engine Upgrade + Tactician

(100)

Texx

Rexler Brath + Ion Cannon + Predator + TIE/D

Colonel Vessery + Ion Cannon + Crack Shot + TIE/D

Omega Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot

(100)

Commentary : Kelvan I have wanted to see Sable fly this list for quite some time. Texx is pretty happy with the fact that he brought 2 ion cannons as he can make some ships walk the plank. Of all the matches I find this one the most intriguing. How well Sable can use Boba will likely determine the game. This is a great test for the new Defender title as well. If Texx can get some control shots I think he can win sozin : What, no Corran? Sable brings a variation on his Regionals winning list, and Texx is the only player to bring the Defenders. Boba’s acting at PS10 and will have his pick of shots with the engine upgrade. The init roll should be interesting with 88B and Vessery acting on PS6 and both players at 100 points initiative.

Sable is going to play Texx on Tuesday Dec 29th at 5 pm CST on Vassal. Not sure yet if there will be a twitchcast.

The Sable v Texx matchup is a key one. Either of those lists are capable of going to the finals in that bracket.

My money is always on Texx!

I'm going with Texx's Defenders in the qualification tournament and Shadowlord as the ace Champion.

Blair and I are going to play Wednesday night at 8pm eastern.

I dig those TIE/Ds. Those are going to do bad, bad, things to large ships.

Paul Davis and I are going to play Friday January 8 at 9:30 EST.

The one downside to Sable and Texx playing each other is I'd like to see both of those lists over multiple rounds.

As someone who enjoys watching replays but doesn't always have the flexibility to tune in at specific times, are matches recorded in some way?

As someone who enjoys watching replays but doesn't always have the flexibility to tune in at specific times, are matches recorded in some way?

At a minimum we share log files for the games. Often times someone will broadcast the games on twitch and put them on youtube. We'll try to track that.

Ok, the hotly anticipated Texx v Sable matchup is going to be twitchcasted on our twitch channel ( http://www.twitch.tv/scumandvillainypodcast ). Joining me in the broadcast booth will be Siggi from the Outer Rim Smugglers !

As someone who enjoys watching replays but doesn't always have the flexibility to tune in at specific times, are matches recorded in some way?

At a minimum we share log files for the games. Often times someone will broadcast the games on twitch and put them on youtube. We'll try to track that.

Kelvan, get me the log files and I will do battle reports of them as I did with the Galactic Cup play-off games:

https://youtu.be/-jArD6sJm7M

Blair and I are going to play Wednesday night at 8pm eastern.

Will this be streamed? Otherwise, can we tune in through Vassal (I'm very new to this!)?

Congrats to Sable! I joined in just for the tail end, but it was still well worth watching. Thanks for streaming it and for the commentary!

Seems odd that nate doesn't have veteran Instincts on poe. He had it at world's and during play testing leading up

Nate does have VI on poe. I entered his list wrong. ty!

Sable defeated Texx in a close game. Sadly I did not enable the autorecord-twitch-sessions setting in the Twitch feed, so this one is not going to make it onto youtube; I am sorry. However you can download the vlog file here if you want to review it!

Blair and I are going to play Wednesday night at 8pm eastern.

We will be casting this at http://www.twitch.tv/scumandvillainypodcast

As someone who enjoys watching replays but doesn't always have the flexibility to tune in at specific times, are matches recorded in some way?

At a minimum we share log files for the games. Often times someone will broadcast the games on twitch and put them on youtube. We'll try to track that.

Kelvan, get me the log files and I will do battle reports of them as I did with the Galactic Cup play-off games:

Veldrin - I convinced the challonge guys to add a file attachment feature for us. You can download the vlog files right from Challonge now. Just head over to the Challonge site ( http://challonge.com/TCASeasonTwoRelegation and http://challonge.com/TCA2 ), click on the little letter next to the matchup, go to the attachments tab, and download it!

My game against Texx was a lot of fun. Still shaking the rust off my Vassal skills. I look forward to seeing what happens with the Ed vs Nathan matchup.

As someone who enjoys watching replays but doesn't always have the flexibility to tune in at specific times, are matches recorded in some way?

At a minimum we share log files for the games. Often times someone will broadcast the games on twitch and put them on youtube. We'll try to track that.

Kelvan, get me the log files and I will do battle reports of them as I did with the Galactic Cup play-off games:

Veldrin - I convinced the challonge guys to add a file attachment feature for us. You can download the vlog files right from Challonge now. Just head over to the Challonge site ( http://challonge.com/TCASeasonTwoRelegation and http://challonge.com/TCA2 ), click on the little letter next to the matchup, go to the attachments tab, and download it!

Now we just need Challonge to get MOV as a tie breaker. Points scored is close, but not exactly the same thing.

Update: Created a feature request: http://feedback.challonge.com/forums/44455-feature-requests/suggestions/11261436-support-margin-of-victory-for-tie-breakers-to-help

Good game... unexpected turnout... at least for my prediction... sorry, Voidstate. Really tense few turns there! Great flying by both.... and interesting how much of an impact modified dice had.

On a side note, Sozin, have you introduced your daughter to Kath Scarlet? heh heh

Blair won 100-25.

Here's the video cast:

Special treat at the end: Paul and Blair joined us for an interview.

EDIT: Here's the vlog file

Great game. Happy we won't have a mirror match final!

Watched this live last night.

I already felt good about not getting tabled by Blair when he beat me in a tourney 4 weeks ago. Now I think I feel even better about how I did.

Congrats, Blair.