For starters, I would like to praise the staff of The Village Geek in McPherson, KS for hosting a successful X-Wing store championship. Hosting 46-48 players for 6 rounds of Swiss and 3 rounds of Elimination is not an easy task; I believe they stated the final head count was 44 due to some last minute drops, but they kept the event at 6 rounds of Swiss since that had already been conveyed. However, the staff managed to address all questions/concerns during the event with minimal issues (also the result of having such a knowledgeable player base).

My list:

• Dash Rendar (YT-2400)
  • Heavy Laser Cannon
  • Kanan Jarrus
  • Push The Limit
  • Engine Upgrade
  • “Outrider”
• “Chopper” (VCX-100)
  • Han Solo
  • Hera Syndulla
  • Fire-Control System
  • “Ghost”
• Obstacles selected were 3 of the largest ‘Debris’ fields (as most Dash Rendar users will select).

Round 1 (Kevin; Salina, KS)

Kevin’s list:

• Gold Squadron Pilot (Y-Wing)
  • TLT
• Dagger Squadron Pilot (B-Wing)
• Tala Squadron Pilot (Z-95) x 4

I won initiative, an opted to take it, to allow “Chopper” to move before the bulk of his squadron. Obstacle placement resulted in an even distribution across the board (with only one asteroid ending up in a corner). Squadron placements ended with Kevin starting his 4 Talas towards the corner on my left, his B-Wing about range 1 from his Z-95s, and his Y-Wing about range 1 from his B-Wing (but facing towards his Z-95s). I ended up placing “Chopper” towards the middle due to an unobstructed channel existing, and I started Dash to the left of “Chopper.” Round 1’s activation resulted in Dash having an unobstructed range-3 shot on a ‘focused’ Z-95 (4 hits to 2 blanks for a kill). Rounds 2 through 5 saw the loss of “Chopper” to Kevin’s Z-95s (thanks to some troublesome critical hits) and a few of Dash’s shields to the TLT; but in return, Dash and “Chopper” removed the Dagger and the Gold. Doing my best to avoid the arcs of Kevin’s Z-95s (with the help of Kanan), I was able to deal the last damage necessary to remove his final Z-95 while managing to retain the last of Dash’s shields to avoid losing MOV.

Result: Win; 100 to 42

Round 2 (Paul; McPherson, KS)

Paul’s List:

• Darth Vader (TIE Advanced)
  • Accuracy Corrector
  • Squad Leader
• Delta Squadron Pilot (TIE Defender) x2
  • ‘Mangler’ Cannon

I believe Paul had initiative for this round, which didn’t matter due to differing PS levels across all ships. Obstacles were deployed in a similar manner to round 1, although I started leaving a larger window on both sides to possibly allow the VCX-100 to bank through (if needed). Paul started his squadron in a V-formation in the corner on my left, while I started “Chopper” and Dash in nearly the same starting spot I used during round 1. Round 1 was uneventful due to Paul starting out as slow as possible (just out of range of Dash’s 4-forward, boost, barrel roll combo). During phase 2’s activation, it was apparent that Paul was going for “Chopper,” and with ‘Mangler’ cannons, it was going to be painful (great red dice tore through all 6 shields and the critical dropped “Chopper” to PS-0). In the same turn, I did manage to get an obstructed HLC shot with Dash and an unmodified range-2 primary attack with Chopper (thanks to an unfortunate bump between “Chopper” and Dash; should have 2-banked instead of 3-banked) against Vader that left him with 1 hull. During the next 2 or 3 rounds, Vader managed to escape to the far side of the board, leaving the Defenders to reduce “Chopper” to a pile of debris at the expense of only 3 shields from 1 defender (the first time I noticed the loss of action-economy from swapping Kyle for Kanan). The next few rounds saw the loss of “Chopper” to the Defenders, the loss of Vader to Dash, and then a started a game of ‘Cat & Mouse’ as I managed to separate the Defenders. As time was running out, I was able to finally take down one of the Defenders, vaulting me back into the points lead.

Result: Win; 65 to 42

Round 3 (Russ; Salina, KS)

Russ’ List:

• Trandoshan Slaver (YV-666)
  • “Gonk”
  • About 10-points in additional upgrades that I can’t remember
• Kavil (Y-Wing)
  • Predator
  • Twin Laser Turret
  • Unhinged Astromech? Possibly R4 Agromech
• Syndicate Thug (Y-Wing)
  • Twin Laser Turret
  • Unhinged Astromech
  • BTL-A4

I believe Russ won initiative, which he took to allow Kavil to move before Dash. Obstacles were placed in 3 of the corners and sprinkled in the middle. Russ started his YV and his Y-Wing in the corner to my left and Kavil towards the middle, while I again started my two in similar positions to my last 2 rounds. A cautious start by Russ kept us from shooting in round 1, but round 2 saw Dash make his way towards Kavil, while “Chopper” banked towards the YV that was proceeding up the left edge. Rounds 3 through 5 saw damage inflicted to nearly every ship, but none of it life-threatening (yet). Next few rounds saw both Dash and “Chopper” provide Russ with 50-points MOV, but also saw both Kavil and the Thug fall. A few stressed K-turns by “Chopper” and Dash boosting/barrel-rolling found both behind the YV to wrap up the match.

Result: Win; 100 to 50

Round 4 (Scott; Wichita, KS)

Scott’s List:

• IG-88 B & IG-88 D (Aggressor; Symmetrical)
  • Heavy Laser Cannon
  • Crack Shot
  • Glitterstim
  • Autothrusters
  • IG-2000
  • Fire-Control System

Scott won initiative and kept it due to no reason not to. Obstructions were scattered across the board, with me doing my best to keep a “Chopper” bank lane available. Scott started both B & D in the corner to my right, while I again started “Chopper” at the closest available lane, while swapping Dash to the right of “Chopper.” Scott advanced only 1-forward in the first round, which prevented Dash from getting the desired range-3 shot that I tried for. Rounds 2 through 6 proved how fast “Chopper” can fall under focused-fire from dual IGs at the expense of 1 shield from D and 3 shields from B (autothrusters, evade tokens, and good green dice rolls worked wonderfully for Scott). Over the next 4 or 5 rounds, Dash was able to secure 25-points MOV on IG-88 B, but Scott’s predictions on my Kanan-enhanced movements were spot on; Dash bumped twice during the match, but each bump cost me dearly.

Result: Loss (25 to 100)

Round 5 (Jason; Manhattan, KS)

Jason’s List:

• Zuckuss (G-1A)
  • Dengar
  • Push The Limit
  • Mist Hunter
  • Tractor Beam
  • Fire-Control System
  • Inertial Dampeners
• Binayre Pirate (Z-95) x 5

I won the initiative roll, which I believe I kept (wasn’t too worried about Dash and Zuckuss having the same PS). Obstacles were placed, with my standard attempt to provide a “Chopper” turn lane for round 2 movements. Jason deployed with Zuckuss and 3 Z-95s in the corner to my right, one Z-95 towards the middle, and one Z-95 towards the left corner; for this match, I chose to start Dash to the left of “Chopper.” Jason started cautiously with all of his Z-95s, so my 4-forward with both Dash and “Chopper” still left Dash out of range after the boost/barrel-roll combo. Round 2 saw Jason angle all of his fighters for “Chopper,” which allowed Dash to shoot at the Z-95 that started in the left corner (4 hits to 2 ‘focused’ evades); “Chopper” took the brunt of Zuckuss and 4 Z-95 (lost 6 shields and 4 hull), but managed to burn through 3 of Zuckuss’ shields. In round 3, Jason attempted to block “Chopper” with Z-95s, but the K-turn worked perfectly and surprised Jason (who stated he was planning on popping inertial dampeners on Zuckuss for the range-1 shot); Dash burnt down the injured Z-95, while “Chopper” took the Han Solo-modified shot at Zuckuss to land 4 hits while only facing returning fire from 1 Z-95. Jason’s Z-95s recovered in round 4, setting up shots on “Chopper,” but not before the kill shot was delivered against Zuckuss; this left 3 pristine Z-95s at Jason’s command to hunt down Dash. However, over the next 4 or 5 rounds, Dash came out victorious (although lost his shields to yield half-MOV).

Result: Win; 100 to 71

Round 6 (Doug; Kansas City, KS or one of the cities comprising the KC-region)

Doug’s List:

• “Youngster (TIE Fighter)
  • Rage
• “Epsilon Leader” (TIE/FO Fighter)
• Omega Squadron Pilot (TIE/FO Fighter)
  • Crack Shot
• Black Squadron Pilot (TIE Fighter) x 2
  • Crack Shot
• “Wampa” (TIE Fighter)

For starters, Doug was one of my vehicle occupants that joined me on my trek from KC to McPherson, and we’ve played numerous times at The Geekery in Shawnee, KS (but never during a sanctioned event); a vast majority of those match-ups have not been in my favor. Having initiative, Doug passed it to me to allow him to arc dodge “Chopper” if necessary. Standard obstruction placement provided a few lanes to choose from for “Chopper.” Doug started his Rage swarm in the corner to my left, so I started “Chopper” in the nearest lane to that side and Dash to the left of “Chopper.” Round 1 saw the swarm advance 3-forward, so Dash had a range-3 shot at one Black Squadron after his boost/barrel-roll combo; believe I rolled 3 hits to 2 evades but lost a shield to Crack Shot (2 hits to 2 evades). Round 2, I aggressively flew “Chopper” onto a debris field, but was rewarded with multiple bumps from the TIEs; Doug had a TIE out of position with no shot, but had 3 TIEs ‘Raged’ and lined up for shots on “Chopper” (or Dash depending on his final position). Dash’s movement initially left him in a precarious spot, but Doug joked with me to barrel roll to my left (into range-1 of his TIE swarm); to his amazement, I followed his advice before boosting to the left and avoiding all arcs. That rounds shooting saw the fall of 1 Black Squadron Pilot and “Youngster” and only the loss of shields on “Chopper.” Although “Epsilon Leader” was able to remove 1 stress from everyone, the second stress kept Doug’s swarm from K-turning in round 3, so I was able to K-turn a stressed “Chopper” behind the swarm and position Dash for another target locked/focused shot on a TIE; no additional debris clouds, but some smoking TIEs did result (I wish green dice rolled that well for me). Following 3 or 4 rounds saw Doug lose “Wampa” and “Epsilon Leader,” at the cost of a badly damaged Dash and a few dings to “Chopper.” Next round saw Dash fall to Omega Squadron’s Crack Shot, but allowed “Chopper” to line him up for an unmodified range-1 shot (which Omega survived with 1 hull), leaving Chopper with 6 hull against Omega with 1 hull and a Black with 1 hull and Crack Shot. Following round saw a K-turn by “Chopper,” which resulted in only exchanging shots with Omega; Omega hit for 2 damage before falling to “Chopper, which left me with 4 hull and one Black Squadron to contend with. Overconfidence led to me K-turning again, initially providing me with a shot on the incoming TIE, which then barrel-rolled out of arc at range-1 (2 more hits against “Chopper”). Final two rounds saw “Chopper” K-turn and the TIE flee before K-turning himself on a pursuing “Chopper” for the final showdown. For the final exchange, the possibility of a draw was very possible due to Crack Shot still existing; without a target lock, I was able to roll 3 hits which made it through, and Doug’s return attack yielded 1 hit and 1 focus.

Result: Win; 100 to 79

Round 7 – Round1 Elimination (Scott; Wichita)

Scott's List:

• IG-88 B & IG-88 D (Aggressor; Symmetrical)
  • Heavy Laser Cannon
  • Crack Shot
  • Glitterstim
  • Autothrusters
  • IG-2000
  • Fire-Control System

Oddly enough, all opening match-ups during the 1^st round of eliminations were rematches from earlier in the day. Being the case, I got to see Scott’s BroBots for a second time that day (yay, me). Initiative still wasn’t an issue (which is good, for I can’t remember who won it). Obstacles were placed, but this time, I left a larger opening for “Chopper” to bank through. Scott again started his BroBots in the corner to my right (B on the inside), which I answered with starting “Chopper” at the nearest lane and Dash to the right of “Chopper.” Round 1 saw Scott move both IGs forward 2 and evade, which allowed me to boost/barrel-roll Dash into a range-3 shot of IG-88 B (while managing to avoid his arc); unmodified HLC rolled 3 hits, answered by 2 blanks and 1 focus, so 1 hit made it through after using autothrusters and the evade token. Round 2 saw “Chopper” bank 3 to the right and I selected to target lock IG-88 B, and was rewarded when B 2-banked into range-1 and D 3-banked into range-2 (evading with both), and Dash was able to target lock and focus on B after 3-hard turn to the right. Before shots were fired, Scott popped Glitterstim on IG-88 B; Dash rolled/re-rolled/focused 4 hits to which Scott’s green dice failed him by rolling another 2 blanks and 1 focus (Scott kept the evade token, so 2 hits rolled through after Glitterstim and autothrusters). Scott responded with shots against “Chopper;” beginning with Glitterstim IG-88B, he rolled 1 hit and 3 blanks, and IG-88D rolled 2 hits, 1 focus, and 1 blank. Return fire from “Chopper” to IG-88B resulted in 2 hits and 3 focus, which Han was kind enough to switch to hits, answered by 2 blanks and 1 evade (3 more hits after the evade token was used; IG-88 B was down to 2 hull after 2 rounds). Round 3 saw a K-turn from “Chopper,” IG-88 B & D fleeing/boosting out of range of “Chopper,” and a Dash turn to sit behind “Chopper” (no shots). Next few rounds saw B & D K-turns and 1-forwards, slow pursuit by “Chopper” to allow focusing, and Dash setting up for a target locked/focused shot on IG-88B. Round 4 culminated with Dash landing 4 hits against IG-88B, offset by another unfavorable green dice roll; upon losing IG-88B, Scott conceded the match.

Result: Win

Round 8 – Round 2 Elimination (Doug; KC-region)

Doug’s List:

• “Youngster (TIE Fighter)
  • Rage
• “Epsilon Leader” (TIE/FO Fighter)
• Omega Squadron Pilot (TIE/FO Fighter)
  • Crack Shot
• Black Squadron Pilot (TIE Fighter) x 2
  • Crack Shot
• “Wampa” (TIE Fighter)

For this match, Doug again passed initiative to me. Obstacles were scattered across the entire field this time; I figured I’d find a path somewhere and make it work for “Chopper.” Doug setup his Rage swarm in the corner to my right, so I setup “Chopper” in the first available channel and Dash to the right of “Chopper.” Round 1’s activation would have allowed me to boost/barrel-roll Dash to get a shot, but would have resulted in 3 TIEs shooting back, so I opted to barrel-roll the left (out of the way of “Chopper”). Round 2’s activation allowed “Chopper” to target lock “Epsilon Leader,” while Dash 2-banked turned to the right and locked/focused on “Youngster;” my aggressive movement paid off with a few bumps from the lead Black Squadron pilots against “Chopper,” while the remaining 4 ‘Raged.’ Green dice apparently get tired over the course of the day, for Dash was able to 1-shot “Youngster” with 4 hits versus 2 blanks/1 focus and “Chopper” took 5 shield damage before removing “Epsilon Leader” with 5 hits (thanks Han) versus 1 evade/1 focus/1 blank. Due to the additional stress delivered by Rage, round 3’s activation saw a K-turn by “Chopper” behind the fleet, stress clearing moves by the TIEs (but a bump by “Wampa” kept him actionless at range-1 of “Chopper” and without a shot. Seeing that Doug was angling towards Dash, I was glad my selected movement was to 2-hard turn to the left, acquiring a target lock on the nearest TIE before boosting out of range of the accompanying TIE. Oddly enough, I subconsciously began whistling, which led to a joke by Alex (the 3^rd member/friend to join the party in the trek from KC) that he could just picture Dash whistling to himself while popping TIE fighters. Back to the match, Dash landed 4 hits against his targeted TIE and was rewarded with another debris cloud due to cold green dice. “Chopper” managed to land 3 hits/1 critical against “Wampa” versus 1 evade/1 focus/1 blank. I believe the match went one more round, where Doug lost 1 of his last two TIEs to “Chopper,” before he conceded the match.

Result: Win

Round 9 – Round 3 Elimination – Final Round (Matt; Lawrence, KS)

Matt’s List:

• Chewbacca (YT-1300)
  • Predator
  • Millenium Falcon
  • C-3PO
  • Nien Numb
• Kanan Jarrus (VCX-100)
  • Advanced Sensors
  • Recon Specialist x 2
  • Dorsal Turret

This match began just after 12:00 midnight on Sunday (13+ hours of X-Wing to reach this moment), and both Matt and I were happy to pursue the ‘Slug Fest’ approach to this match. Being that both of Matt’s squad were PS5, I kept initiative when I won it (so I could place “Chopper” onto the field first). The middle lane of the map was free of obstruction, so I placed “Chopper” there to allow me to go either direction and placed Dash to the left of “Chopper once Matt placed his squad in the corner to my left (Kanan on the outside). Round 1 activation left Dash with the range-3 shot on the Falcon with an evade token; the HLC delivered 3 hits, of which, two were cancelled via C-3PO and the evade token. The Falcon’s return fire landed 3 hits (after Predator) versus 2 evades/1 blank. Round 2 saw a slightly less aggressive “Chopper,” in only advancing with a 1-bank to the left (acquired a target lock on Chewie) while Dash 3-hard turned to the left and locked Chewie before barrel-rolling out of range-2 of Kanan. Round 2 shooting for me saw Dash plink away just 1 shield after Chewie’s evade and C-3PO, while “Chopper” was Kanan’d (sounds like a term that only X-Wing players will know) and only dealt 2 hits versus 1 evade against the Falcon; Matt was able to take two shields from both Dash (via Chewie) and “Chopper” (via Kanan). As we were preparing our round 3 movements, Matt mentioned how much fun the VCX-100 is to do a K-turn with, to which I responded with laughter and said “Who in their right mind would attempt a 5-K-turn in the heat of battle?” (both Doug and Alex caught my glance and both smirked). Round 3’s activation saw me perform the 5-K-turn with “Chopper” (landing him on a debris field and rolling a crit), but this caught Matt off-guard. For he was willing to take a stress with Chewie from a debris field to pursue Dash (ended up at range-1 of “Chopper), and plowed Kanan into the front of “Chopper.” Dash completed the activation knowing that he was going to take a shots, so he simply locked/focused on Chewie. Chewie’s placement on the debris resulted in the shot being obstructed for Dash, but I landed 3 hits against 2 blanks and a called ‘1’ for C-3PO (finally reaching hull with a few hits), and “Chopper” landed 4 hits versus 1 blank (taking Chewie down to 2 hull). Round 4 saw K-turns by both VCX-100s, Chewie flying across debris, and Dash getting a range-2 target lock/focus shot on Chewie; C-3PO was not able to save Chewie against 3 hits from Dash, leaving a full health Kanan to battle Dash and “Chopper” (both only slightly dinged). I won’t bore you with the final rounds, for I managed to keep Dash out of arc and at range-3 of Kanan (who’s shields and hull vanished rather quickly).

Result: Win

This was my first store championship win since picking up X-Wing just over a year ago (although I gave myself 9 attempts to do so during this season; of which, I only took 3 of them seriously). In closing, I would like to thank each of my opponents throughout the day for the enjoyable battles, as well as congratulating each of those who made the top-8 cut after the 6 rounds of Swiss. Hope to see some familiar faces during the upcoming regionals season.

Great write up, and again congrats on the Win. Great flying & awesome build

Awesome flying and write-up, congratulations! Stoked to see that this build performed well for you in a big store championship. I've been messing around with slightly different builds of Lothal Rebel/Chopper but I think yours is the best and what I'll use moving forward. Thanks!

Awesome flying and write-up, congratulations! Stoked to see that this build performed well for you in a big store championship. I've been messing around with slightly different builds of Lothal Rebel/Chopper but I think yours is the best and what I'll use moving forward. Thanks!

I'm glad to hear that my build has peaked your interest (simple, yet resourceful), and I hope you achieve the necessary level of success in your matches to justify flying it.

Good write up! I was also thinking of playing a similar like Dash/Ghost and wanted to get your thoughts on Chopper's ability. From what I read it seems like you weren't trying to use Chopper as a blocker necessarily. I'm wondering if downgrading to Lothal Rebel and freeing some additinal points might also work. I like Kanan on Dash even if you lose the action economy from Kyle because I believe having an open dial is more useful.

Good write up! I was also thinking of playing a similar like Dash/Ghost and wanted to get your thoughts on Chopper's ability. From what I read it seems like you weren't trying to use Chopper as a blocker necessarily. I'm wondering if downgrading to Lothal Rebel and freeing some additinal points might also work. I like Kanan on Dash even if you lose the action economy from Kyle because I believe having an open dial is more useful.

Downgrading from "Chopper" to the Lothal Rebel to save 2-points could be an option (possibly use it for an autoblaster turret for those arc dodgers). However, in the X-Wing environment in my region, there are numerous builds that utilize PS4 ships (i.e. Doug's Rage swarm). By using "Chopper" at PS4, even if I wasn't intentionally pushing for his ability to work, I was ensuring that I would at least be able to shoot (if pointed in the right direction) prior to leaving the field.

Another "Chopper" PS related perk could possibility come from the JM5k torpedo boats match-up. In my build, it could be theoretically possible to deal 4 damage with Dash, and possibly 5 damage with "Chopper" to one JM5K for the chance to remove them from the board with horrible dice rolls prior to them shooting even once.