Got a Store Championship coming up, so I'll let you guys pick for me...

What do you think has the best shot? If I do well, I promise I'll write up some bat reps

Edit - bat reps below on this page!

Option #1

Whisper [Kallus, FCS, ACD, VI]

Wampa

Black Crack x 3

100 pts

or

Option #2

Black Crack x 4

or

Option #3

Wampa

Black Crack x 4

100 pts

I like option 2! Can I throw a vote in for option 2 with el presidente + 2 crack blacks?

No PS bid?? I'm voting squad 3. 6 ties is pretty slick. Good luck in the Poe match.

No PS bid?? I'm voting squad 3. 6 ties is pretty slick. Good luck in the Poe match.

I don't bid for initiative at all anymore with Whisper.

You can check this thread for more of my thoughts, but I feel init bidding for Phantoms was mainly for PS9 Han matchups, and those days are over. Nowadays against PS9 Aces, I find it much more efficient to go for Intel Agent and 100 points. PS9 97-pt bids and PS10 are common enough now that you're often better off spending those points instead. Especially now with cheap upgrades like Crack Shot.

I won a tourney with Whisper [FCS, IA, ACD, VI] and 5 Academy Pilots (100 pts) and never really felt threatened by Soontirs etc. It was usually the other way around as soon as I asked to see their dials

I run a lot of PS 9 alpha strikes that sweep up Palp whispers easily, so I'm surprised to see a 100 point whisper.

I like option #3

I like #2.

My vote goes to #2 as well. At least, it's the version I'd least want to fly against.

Bonus: Option #4

Darth Vader [VI, ATC, EU]

Howlrunner [Crack Shot]

Black Crack x 3

99 points

VI Vader should match up quite well against enemy aces including Poe.

Howl gives the Black Cracks some more consistency. Worthwhile trade for Whisper?

I think Howlrunner pays off more in the early game, while Whisper is a stronger late-game contender. Since you already have Vader for the endgame, the switch might work to your benefit. Maybe give her Juke instead of Crack Shot?

I vote 3

Bonus: Option #4

Darth Vader [VI, ATC, EU]

Howlrunner [Crack Shot]

Black Crack x 3

99 points

VI Vader should match up quite well against enemy aces including Poe.

Howl gives the Black Cracks some more consistency. Worthwhile trade for Whisper?

This is a very strong list. On par with option 2 IMO. Just a personal thing but I'd much rather face vader than whisper, but I'm sure opinions vary. I still think OL + whisper is a thing of nightmares with the only real downside being the blacks start to look like the easiest targets (good and bad).

Hmmm... I'll have to sleep on it.

My main concern with Whisper is VI Poe/Vader.

If I miss a block on Poe/Vader, Whisper can easily take 1-2 dmg per volley.

If I had to choose, option 2.

However, I'm going to suggest my Han in Carbonite build.

Boba, VI, Slave 1, Extra Munitions, Proton Bombs, Engine Upgrade, Homing Missiles, choice of 3 point or less crew (Rebel Captive, Navigator, Tactician, Weapons Engineer, Kallus, etc.)

And Vader with VI, X1, ATC, Engine Upgrade, Proton Rockets.

The most important part of this build is that it's 97 points. Face a PS 10 or 11 opponent? Make them move first. Then you have the final say with proton bombs and vader's proton rockets and boosts and whatnot.

Hmmm... I'll have to sleep on it.

My main concern with Whisper is VI Poe/Vader.

If I miss a block on Poe/Vader, Whisper can easily take 1-2 dmg per volley.

With Han in Carbonite you don't have to worry about blocks. You don't have to worry about VI Poe, and your Vader matches other PS 11 Vaders so you can pass them the initiative. See where they move, drop a bomb, and boost out of arc. Then Vader swings around and drops a Procket on something.

Since I recently took your #4 build to a 2nd place finish at my last tourney, I'll vote for that one.

2 or 4.

I like 1 and 4, I think 4 the most because I have a soft spot for vader.

4 Vader FTW!

I ended up flying Option #4 at my Store Championship and won! Thanks to everyone who voted.

Full tournament results are here http://lists.starwarsclubhouse.com/get_tourney_details?tourney_id=1158

37 Players attended and a lot of them were really good players, so I knew it would be a tough tournament.

My list:

Darth Vader [VI, EU, ATC, X1]

Howlrunner [Crack Shot]

Black Squadron Pilot [Crack Shot] x 3

Tournament format: 5 round Swiss with top 4 cut

Round #1

Kavil [Predator, TLT]

Torkil Mux [TLT]

IG-88A [FCS, AT]

My opponent was a seasoned player who I'd seen fly Torkil before. He deployed his TLT ships in the centre and moved the TLTs towards the middle of the map with IG flanking. I ran my swarm up along the board edge and turned in for the first engagement. Vader was slightly behind the Swarm to avoid getting dinged up by TLTs early. That's when I realized the danger of Torkil & Kavil [Predator]. Torkil was in Range 2 of Howlrunner and dropped her to PS0. Kavil then rolled his 4 attack dice on both TLT shots, but got two re-rolls because of her PS0. Two damage. The IG-88 finished the job before I even got to use Howl's ability once let alone shoot. The next few turns included your typical chase between TIEs and TLTs, but the Torkil/Kavil combo was destroying ships before they could even fire. The alpha damage was just too consistent. I only got to spend 1 Crack Shot before all my TIE fighters were dead. Vader had 1 hull remaining and was up against a 2 hull Kavil, and 4h/2s IG (regained one or two shields from popping TIEs).

Things were not looking good.

Luckily, I managed to sail past the IG-88 on an aggressive straight maneuver that landed me behind Kavil. That one move bought me the space I needed, so I went for full offense with focus and TL to bring Kavil down. Now it was the IG-88 against my Vader with one hull. This was my first time using Vader (not on Vassal), so this was going to be a good learning experience. We spent the next 20 minutes just dancing, but Vader's arc-dodging was too much. The IG-88 never got a shot on Vader and I chipped him to death over time. Crazy intense game and had lots of fun, but was absolutely draining!

Result: Win (100-66)

Round #2

Wedge Antilles [Predator, R2-D2]

Etahn A'baht [Predator, FCS]

Tarn Mison [R2-D6, Expert Handling]

My opponent was fairly new to the game and this was his first tournament. His build wasn't super competitive and he wasn't aware of Integrated Astromech. But he did win in the first round, and his list was still dangerous with so much firepower in it. His X-wings were deployed in the centre, Etahn was in the corner opposite to my TIEs. I knew he was positioning to flank with Etahn as my formation swept in, but I figured it was a decent trade to have an open joust with the X-wings. And because of the PS3 on one of his ships, an alpha strike could really limit his damage output. It helped that his dice were really cold on the first pass. Tarn died before he could shoot and Wedge lost 2 shields from the exchange. On the next turn, my TIEs inched forward to try and block a Wedge green maneuver. He surprised me with a 4K-turn instead that placed him directly behind my TIE swarm. Luckily, Vader who was on the outside of the swarm had turned in that round and was able to drift into Wedge's blind spot. Vader focus/TL'd, rolled hot and killed Wedge in one shot.

Etahn went down as well in the subsequent rounds. His dice were just frigid the entire game. I don't think he rolled a single natural evade result.

Result: Win (100-0)

Round #3

Corran Horn [VI, EU, FCS, R2-D2]

Dash Rendar [Outrider, HLC, LW, RecSpec]

My opponent only plays Dash/Corran (seriously, he sold the rest of his ships), and he was 2-0 already so I knew this was going to be a tough match. He ran his Corran down the left board edge while I swept in from the right towards the middle to meet his Dash. His Dash looped back towards the top left corner and was ready to start kiting. His Corran made it all the way to the bottom left corner before turning under the cover of some debris fields. With my TIEs in the middle facing the left edge, I went straight instead of committing to a Dash chase. Luckily, his Corran also inched towards the middle, likely expecting to be pointing at my rear. I pinged 2-3 shields off of Corran which I think made him worry a bit. Next turn, I sent a lone TIE after Corran. He ended up bumping that TIE and landed on a debris. The rest of my force started to chase Dash, knowing that I had some time before Corran would want to be fighting again.

Nothing too exciting happened after that. The TIEs and Vader were able to hunt Dash down before Corran could re-engage with full shields. Dash couldn't afford to bump, and the lack of EU allowed me to keep damaged TIEs within R1.

Result: Win (100-15)

Round #4

Poe Dameron [VI, R5-P9, AT]

Miranda [TLT, Tactician]

Gold Squadron Pilot [TLT, R3-A2, BTL-A4]

Another very good player. He knocked me out in elimination matches at last year's Regionals, so I knew he'd be a tough out. Fortunately for me, this was a pretty good matchup. Low agi-ships in general yet the Stresshog and Poe would be prime targets for Crack Shots. All three of his ships were deployed in the centre, I deployed all of mine to the right and sped forward along the edge and turned into the centre. I had to deal as much damage as possible here before the Y-wing shut anything down. Luckily, I was able to alpha the Stresshog down before it could shoot. There wasn't much he could do at this point. The rest of the match was Vader hunting down Poe while the TIE swarm broke formation to catch Miranda.

Result: Win (100-15)

Round #5

IG-88B [HLC, Predator, Advanced Sensors, Inertial Dampeners, AT]

Syndicate Thug [TLT]

Syndicate Thug [TLT]

He was the only other player who was undefeated at this point. His list looked innocent enough, but as soon as he started deploying rocks I knew I was up against a very skilled player. He positioned his TLT Y-wings in the centre, but set up a lane of rocks along the right edge. That would either force me to (1) run along that lane and make a tight squeeze through the rocks or (2) setup elsewhere in which case he would probably run along that lane. At the same time, I had to worry about his monster of an IG-88. I knew I didn't want to chase the Agressor with the TLTs picking me apart from behind, so I deployed on the right edge in the asteroid lane. I figured I'd try my luck with navigating through those rocks when I turn in.

His TLTs started peeling away towards the left while my TIEs raced up the right edge. His IG began its flank along the left side. As I turned in through the rocks, I had to break some formation with BRs. His plan had worked. On the first pass at least, some ships were no longer in Howlrunner's bubble or had used BR to get back into it. I did minimal damage at R3 with the TIEs while Vader stayed back. I wanted his IG-88 to engage the TIEs before he came in. Unfortunately, my opponent was just way too good at kiting with his Y-wings. He would 3-bank, 3-bank. Then I would get impatient and dial in 5-straights only for him to reveal 1-straights. His IG would constantly AdvSen boost and S-loop or 4K-turn to maintain distance as he chewed me apart.

His damage output was too much and my TIEs were dropping like flies. I managed to kill the two Y-wings eventually, but his IG-88 was full health/shields I believe. He outplayed me hard.

Result: Loss (48-100)

Elimination Round - Top 4

Soontir Fel [Royal Guard, PTL, AT, Targeting Computer]

Darth Vader [VI, EU, ATC, X1]

Omicron Group Pilot [Palpatine]

I was really worried at this point for several reasons. All three ships were high priority, but none were easy alpha targets at all. An ATC Vader with Palpatine means I'm soaking plenty of crits on shieldless TIEs. But worst of all, I didn't have the end-game advantage to fall back on like I did in Round #1.

He deployed his Palp Shuttle in the top left at a 45° angle towards the centre. His two aces were in formation near the top right at a 45° angle towards the centre as well. I deployed my squad in the bottom left along the edge. During opening maneuvers, I launch up the left edge. His Shuttle banks left, so now he's aligned along the top edge where a lane of rocks are protecting him. His aces meanwhile go full speed and boost straight across the map to the centre.

Next turn, his Shuttle performs a 2-turn right to face my swarm. But I perform hard 1-turns to the right with my entire squad, expecting those two aces to do another 4 or 5-straight. I guessed correctly. His Soontir and Vader got trapped in a huge band of TIE fighters mostly at range 2 and had no way of getting out. My Vader 3-banked away from the left edge to start hunting the Shuttle.

This is where things got a bit crazy. I somehow killed Vader and dealt 1 damage to Soontir in the first volley. The Shuttle took 2-3 damage. Next turn, the Shuttle banks in a bit, but I 1-turned left now with my TIE swarm. I think all 5 of my ships ended up in R1 of the shuttle without bumping. His Shuttle explodes. His Soontir had disengaged to avoid blocks, but was taken out the next turn or so.

Result: Win (100-0)

Elimination Round - Finals

IG-88B [HLC, Predator, Advanced Sensors, Inertial Dampeners, AT]

Syndicate Thug [TLT]

Syndicate Thug [TLT]

It was only fitting that I'd have to face him again in the Finals! He setup his Y-wings in the centre again with a similar rock setup. I knew I had to try something different so I setup directly opposite to him with Vader off to the side. First few turns, I tried to close the gap as quickly as possible. This time, I was able to maintain formation and successfully alpha down a Y-wing. The Agressor one-shot a TIE, so I didn't come out completely unscathed on the first pass. The next few turns, I continued to burn down the Y-wing.

Eventually, I had a BSP, Howlrunner, and Vader against his Agressor. The guy was a magician with his Agressor I'm telling you. He kept doing his AdvSen boost and Segnor's to maintain distance and kept Vader blocked often. I forgot he had Inertial Dampeners (we were nearing 10 hours into the tournament at that point) just when I thought I had sealed the game with a killzone. Instead, he burned down Howlrunner and eventually the remaining BSP. I managed to get the Agressor down to 2 hull with some smoking hot dice from Vader.

So now it was IG-88 with (2h remaining) against Vader (3h1s remaining). We danced 1v1 for an hour. He refused to take Range 1 engagements by bumping and I refused to take Range 3 engagements with BR/boost. Without any blockers, he was even more maneuverable than me. In the end, I flew into a corner where my position next turn was predictable. He moved into position but just a tad too aggressively.

Range 2. I'll take it.

I get a crit through. Direct hit.

Epic game is over! What a game!! (For fun, we rolled to see what would have happened if it wasn't a Direct Hit. He rolled his attacks, on the Pred roll landed a crit. I would have taken 1s1h1c. I flip the crit... it would have been Direct Hit and Vader would be dead!!)

11 hours, 3 cans of pop, and some lower back pain; but it was completely worth it. Played some awesome games with a great group of players. Very rewarding experience.

Hey was this the Hobby kingdom store championship? A few people I play with on a regular basis went up for that. I was going to go but had to work.

Hey was this the Hobby kingdom store championship? A few people I play with on a regular basis went up for that. I was going to go but had to work.

Yes it was!

Hey was this the Hobby kingdom store championship? A few people I play with on a regular basis went up for that. I was going to go but had to work.

Yes it was!

Nice, someone who goes to the shop around here alot came in 5th and I see you did a bit better then that. Glad the list I voted for did well.

Hey was this the Hobby kingdom store championship? A few people I play with on a regular basis went up for that. I was going to go but had to work.

Yes it was!

Nice, someone who goes to the shop around here alot came in 5th and I see you did a bit better then that. Glad the list I voted for did well.

Tristan's an awesome guy. He was so close to making the cut too.

I am thinking of running your list also. What sorts of match-ups do you feel would give you trouble? What do you think of having Soontir instead of Vader?