Hello. I recently got back from the Hoth Open, Day 2 Tournament. I placed 100 out of 251 players. I did well but, I think I could of done better had I switched builds. I don't remember all of my rounds. Knowing how many rounds, and how long the tournament was, I will skip to what I saw the most of, and their builds.

I saw the new "Torp Tards" build as I call it (triple Contracted Scout Jump Masters with Plasma Torpedoes). Palmobile, triple Ghost build, Empire Ace, and Crack Shot Tie Swarm Spam were the next most common. I will talk about the "Torp Tards" toward the end so I can talk about strategies with them.

I want to say there was at least 15 Imperial Aces, 26 or so Palpmobiles, 30 "Torp Tards", 8 Crack Shot Tie Swam Spam, and 10 triple Ghost builds. After that was mixed builds. There was some triple K-Wing TLT, A-Wing Swarms, one double Star Viper with Talonbane, triple Rebel Builds with at least one Attack Shuttle, and the list goes on.

The most common Imperial Ace builds I saw of were Vader, The Inquisitor and Soontir. For Palmobile Builds, I saw the Shuttle, Omega Leader, and Wampa the most. There was one Palmobile build that used Whisper. That was the person who made 2nd.

There was 2 exceptions in which Palpatine was on a Decimator. One person ran Captain Kenkirk with Ysanne Isard, Seismic Charges, Anti Pursuit lasers and other things. I know the person who used Kenkirk made rank 46. The timer ran out on him right as Poe had 1 HP. Had he killed Poe, he would of made rank 29. The other one ran "Chirpy" with Vader, Gunner, and something else. Escorting "Chirpy" was a loaded Whisper. I don't remember the upgrades. That person made it to rank 9.

The Crack Shot Spam is almost as bad as the "Torp Tards". The reason its so cheap, and does so well is because it takes advantage of low agility ships, and has a lot of attack dice. It also makes people suffer on MOV. For Rebels, Crack Shot is half of their defenses. Even if you manage to kill one, you don't get much out of it. 15 points at the lowest. I hope they limit Crack Shot to 2 or 3 per squad. That would be fantastic.

The triple Ghost builds varied. I saw perhaps 4 running 2 non Attack Shuttle escorts. The other 6 were running Attack Shuttle and something else. The biggest mistake I saw with the Ghost builds, was they wern't running Zeb. Despite the huge mistake, a Ghost running Poe and Biggs did make it to the top 8. Why is Zeb so important? It allows you and the other ship to attack even on a bump. This makes it so the Ghost can bump, and shoot all day. With Chopper, that means they get a Stress Token, and 5 attack dice to the face.

Now on to the "Torp Tards". There was a lot of them. Almost all of them placed well. This is because they are a large ship with a turret, 2 agility, and 9 total HP. Depending on how they built it, they would do something like Deadeye, Overclocked R4 Astromech, and Guidance Chips so they could immediately roll for their Plasma Torpedoes. Plasma Torpedoes deal 1 Shield Damage, and roll for 4 damage. If they get all hits, all it takes is 1 Torpedo to bring Poe to 2 Hull (assuming bad rolls on defense). With all 3 they can bring even the Ghost down to 3 Hull. If all else fails they use their large base to block or bump.

Knowing how over powered this build is, there really isn't much of a counter to it. The best I was able to find for Rebels in this Tournament was having Biggs in there somewhere. I ran Biggs, Poe, Rookie X-Wing, and a Prototype A-Wing. Poe had Auto Thrusters, R2-D2, and Veteran Instincts. Biggs had Integrated Astromech and R4-D6. The Rookie and A-Wing were naked. With Biggs eating the Torpedoes, the R4-D6 could reduce the 4 down to a 2 if my green dice hated me. I could eject R4-D6 immediately after using it to get 1 hit point back.

The build I should of done was using a Lothal Rebel (Ghost) with Fire Control System, and Zeb. Poe with R2-D2, and Veteran Instincts. Biggs with R4-D6 and Integrated Astromech. The reason for that is because the Ghost doesn't care about bumps. It's designed to be on their face and humping it. Biggs can protect the Ghost long enough to get in range, so it can blast away. After Biggs eats the Torpedoes, Poe and the Ghost can clean up the rest. Alas, I didn't see any "Torp Tards" in Tournaments before this so I wasn't as prepared as I should of been.

The reason I use R2-D2 on both builds is because R5-P9 requires a Focus to get a shield back. Due to the Jump Masters trying to block me, that could prevent a Focus action. In the event of a bump, Poe still gets a shield back. Assuming no bump, that means Poe is free to use that Focus token on the attack if need be.

After the Tournament I went home and theory crafted some more. My Biggs idea was good but, I need to find some other means to defeating it. It dawned on me that if an Imperial Ace build could make it to the top 4, and have the potential, to beat the "Torpedo Tards", then the Rebels may have another answer. That answer being Ace A-Wings. They can get up to 2 Elite Pilot Talents, and can move as much as 6 straight a turn. I immediately got to work and here is what I came up with:

Tycho and Jake: Push the Limit, A-Wing Test Pilot, Veteran Instincts, Chardaan Refit, and Auto Thrusters

Green Squadron 1: Push the Limit, A-Wing Test Pilot, Adaptability, Chardaan Refit, and Auto Thrusters

Green Squadron 2: Adaptability, Chardaan Refit, and Auto Thrusters

While I did develop this build for "Torpedo Tards", it has the potential to take on Imperial Aces and Palmobiles. The build is 99 points so you have the initiative bid (most of the time) if you need it. If fighting an Imperial Ace build, I would not take initiative. I will explain why after I tell you the strategy with this build against "Torp Tards".

The goal of this build is to use that incredible maneuverability to your advantage. Plasma Torpedoes are range 2 to 3. All you need to do is get in range 1 and your safe. Don't worry about that Turret. If you get outside of their arc, that Auto Thruster will kick in. With 3 Agility, you will more than likely avoid a range 1 attack. If you know your dice is hating you, play it safe. Push the Limit a Focus and Evade. If you think you can manage an offensive attack, Push the Limit for a Target Lock and Focus.

Jake gets a free Boost or Barrel Roll when he takes a Focus action. Arc dodging with him should be easy. You won't have to worry about him being in your way, or getting whacked by a Torpedo. Tycho can perform actions even while stressed. If you got to K-Turn it to get in a better position, then by all means do it.

With Pilot Skills 4, 4, 9 and 10, you will set up after the "Torp Tards". You will see where they are and use it to your advantage. If they sit more towards the right or left, set up the Green Squadrons in front of them, Tycho and Jake on the opposite side. Slow move the Green Squadrons until Tycho and Jake can come up the side for a flank. When you feel comfortable to go for the attack, send Tycho and Jake in, and make sure the Green Squadrons attack from the other side. You do not want your Greens in their arc.

Against Imperial Aces, you do not want to take Initiative. This is because Jake is a Pilot Skill 9. I have never seen a Soontir at a pilot skill any higher than that. You want to make sure Jake moves last so he can arc dodge him. Tycho won't matter because he will guaranteed be a higher Pilot Skill than most Imperial Ace builds. The only time there is a high chance for Tycho to be even Pilot Skill, is if you are up against a Poe. Poe builds including mine always use Veteran Instincts. This is because you have to protect Poe from being Arc Dodged by Soontir.

With 4 Total Ships, you will out number the Imperial Aces by 1, and have a better chance of re-rolls. Use that to your advantage. Make sure to hit swift, and true.

The final build that is a major threat is the Palmobile. Because Palmobiles for the most part are a Shuttle, Wampa and Omega Leader, you will want initiative. The Shuttle is usually a Pilot Skill 2, Omega Leader an 8, and Wampa a 4. Because you have 2 Greens with a Pilot Skill 4, you want to shoot Wampa first. Wampa can give you a face down damage card even if you roll well, and have shields. He only needs to use his Pilot Ability 2 times to kill 1 A-Wing. Due to that, it may be best to focus on Wampa first, and then worry about Omega after. The Shuttle will take too long to kill (even with 4 A-Wings). The A-Wings don't have the durability to wait that long.

The Palmobile players tend to keep the Shuttle as far back as possible. They send Wampa and Omega out the furthest. It's a bait tactic. They want you to go deep for the Shuttle so Omega and Wampa can get behind you. Let them come to you, and immediately swarm them. Its a 4v2 essentially. Even Wampa can't survive against that many dice rolls.

If it's a Decimator and not a Shuttle, then let them come to you. Keep away from the Decimator as much as possible. You want to force the only 2 Escorts to sacrifice themselves if possible. If they are silly enough to accept the challenge, they will quickly lose. A Decimator alone against 4 A-Wing's with Auto Thrusters is surely dead.

This is my after Hoth Report.. What I have seen, and what I would do differently. My report should give you all some sort of warning as to what to expect, so you don't go un-prepared like I did. If you use any of my builds PLEASE give me credit. I worked really hard to theory craft them. Thank you! Best of luck out there!

What do you mean by triple ghost? You can only squeeze two into a list as the generic is 35 points. 3 x 35 = 105

Also, a single plasma torp can not bring Poe down to one Hull point. The extra shield gets taken off after damage is dealt.

I thought I explained the Ghost build up there well enough. Triple Ghost build as in, 1 Ghost and 2 Escorts.. Attack Shuttle, and something else, or a Ghost with 2 Escorts of some sort (no Attack Shuttle). I don't know what else to call that build. I see there was a typo in there. I made a lot of them, and thought I corrected them all. I am still recovering my sleep schedule after that. I am a bit exhausted. I will correct that mistake.

I so much do not agree that Zeb is a good crew for Ghost, especially Chopper. Ghost has no green dice, which means that in R1 he will get kicked with one more die, and with a PS 4 most of enemies shots before him. Also if he bumped, means he has no dice mods which is not that good even on 4 red dice ships (as was proven by the Tie Phantom).

I have to admit that this is not the worst choice as well, but I think there are much better (i.e. Han Solo with FCS for offense or C3PO with Lando and EI for defense)...

Thx for the great report. What upgrades ran the RAC+Whisper player in rank 9?

It was my pleasure to share the report. Honestly I can't remember much about the Whisper (for the rank 9 person). The best I can remember is that Vader, Gunner "Chirpy". It wouldn't surprise me if I forgot about Agent Kallus. I see a lot of them. A lot of them run Advanced Cloaking Device too.

If you look at the article I missed, it does list some of the top ranked builds. If you scroll down to "Third Seed" and "Sixth Seed", you should see the 2 Whisper builds there. It's not the 9th place person but, it's something to expect with Whisper builds. I can't remember which of the 2 people were the ones to that fight that "Torp Tard" at the very end (for 1st place).

Sad thing is, that build is so strong, that the person with the "Torp Tards", has been playing for less than a year, and he managed to beat some of the top World Players from last year.

Here is the post, and the recording to show you the players I saw at the final match for Hoth Open

Sad thing is, that build is so strong, that the person with the "Torp Tards", has been playing for less than a year, and he managed to beat some of the top World Players from last year.

That is sad to hear. Some of those guys put in as much time as professional athletes.

I'm quite sure that Ryan Fleming has been playing this game for a while. The guys on Nova Squadron Radio have spoken about him quite a bit in the past, and have always touted him as a phenomenal player. Unless you're referring to a different player?

That person didn't put in that much time Chief. Sounds like someone else then Criwi. I remember faces the best, not names. I only remember a name if it's popped up enough times

That person didn't put in that much time Chief. Sounds like someone else then Criwi. I remember faces the best, not names. I only remember a name if it's popped up enough times

If you're talking about the guy that won the whole tournament with "torp tards", then that would be Ryan Fleming, who certainly isn't a new player...

That person didn't put in that much time Chief. Sounds like someone else then Criwi. I remember faces the best, not names. I only remember a name if it's popped up enough times

If you're talking about the guy that won the whole tournament with "torp tards", then that would be Ryan Fleming, who certainly isn't a new player...

It was my pleasure to share the report. Honestly I can't remember much about the Whisper (for the rank 9 person). The best I can remember is that Vader, Gunner "Chirpy". It wouldn't surprise me if I forgot about Agent Kallus. I see a lot of them. A lot of them run Advanced Cloaking Device too.

If you look at the article I missed, it does list some of the top ranked builds. If you scroll down to "Third Seed" and "Sixth Seed", you should see the 2 Whisper builds there. It's not the 9th place person but, it's something to expect with Whisper builds. I can't remember which of the 2 people were the ones to that fight that "Torp Tard" at the very end (for 1st place).

Sad thing is, that build is so strong, that the person with the "Torp Tards", has been playing for less than a year, and he managed to beat some of the top World Players from last year.

Here is the post, and the recording to show you the players I saw at the final match for Hoth Open

Glad you were there to watch the final game RPLev, it was exciting, wasn't it? Though, I suppose it was a bit more exciting for me, seeing as I was playing in it.

I can assure you that I have been playing this game for well over two years now. I'm sorry if you don't remember my face or my name, but I've been around plenty. Hopefully, you'll remember my face and my name now.

I'm sorry to hear that you don't have many nice things to say about my "Torp Tards" list. I agree the list is very strong, but so are the Palp aces and imperial aces that I had to wade through to win the event. And, I did have to arguably beat 3 relative counters to my "Torp Tards" to take down the event. So, I beat 3 of the top players from Worlds last year, all of whom were flying counters to my "Torp Tards", and you still don't think I put in enough time?