Yeah. That's right.

So, nothing terribly exciting to see here. This so far has been my most successful list though. Just scored fourth in a hangar bay tournament of sixteen players so it's not regional competition either.

It is fun though and the match ends quickly so I'm not suffering burn out as quickly.

2015

Store tournament in September.

0-3

Ouch. Ok, the list was a bad idea. Put it away.

2016

After many hours of flying Xwings in Heroes of Aturi Cluster I returned to this list and exchanged Jan Ors for Advanced Slam.

Miranda XXX (100)

Miranda Doni (37) - K-Wing

Twin Laser Turret (6), Advanced SLAM (2)

Rookie Pilot (21) - X-Wing

Rookie Pilot (21) - X-Wing

Rookie Pilot (21) - X-Wing

Fun nights

8-2

It's winning and pretty quickly. Ok, I'm convinced. Tournament time.

Today's hangar bay tournament.

Round one. Triple scouts or Ace Scouts.

Nuts.

Ok, my list of TIEs I brought was meant to deal with this problem but I committed the XWings anyway. My opponent went triple scout. I deployed the Xwings on the left, and the scouts went straight across the board. I put Miranda in the center of the board.

Straight on joust won't work unless I really nail both my own maneuvers and predict his. Failure means instant death and likely blocked k-turns with sloops to unleash more warheads. Yes, I've faced triple scouts before but not with this list.

Instead I hard turn to the right and drag the scouts through the asteroids while Miranda flanks. Well, my wanted resolution works. The scouts are strung out in a line. I k-turn the Xwings behind an asteroid and prepare to face my destiny. One torpedo has range but is a dud. Bad rolls (re-roll and guidance chip not much help) combined with the asteroid means I get off very easy.

Miranda slides in beside the trailing scout and the XWings ignore their stress to turn in quickly to range one of the lead scout. Miranda wiffs on a four red range one shot. Scouts launch an intimidating barrage of plasma torpedoes but are likewise duds. Still my lead xwing takes a beating. Xwings return fire, stripping shields and dealing two damage to the lead scout. Yay!

However things go wrong from here. I miss most of my blocks and deal very little damage. Strip most of the shields from the trailing scout and only manage one more damage on the lead one. Miranda continued to miss and the Xwings scored a few hits before they are worn away. 100-17 loss.

Round two. I'm forget the second list but my opponent plays Howlrunner with swarm tactics, three PS 4 and 3 TIE interceptors and a PS 1 interceptor. He deploys his alpha squad on the his left. I put my Xs about range two from my left angled toward his alpha. The rest of his interceptors form a line with Howlrunner behind. Miranda deploys about range 3 from my right side angled toward his main force. I hadn't taken the bait for a straight joust and I had hopes my unusual deployment would cause a moment of confusion.

Lead turn the Xs hard turn left to face the main force while Miranda shoots in with two three straights to close the range. His alpha scrambles to rejoin the force. Turn three we engage. The Xs close in fast as the interceptors turn to face Miranda. Howlrunner misses but an interceptor is brought up to PS 8 and it hits Miranda's shields. Miranda regens one shield and sticks one damage in the two shots before the interceptors continue to hit her. No shields. One damage thru plus a weapon damaged crit. One interceptor left, the alpha. The Xwings manage to destroy it first.

Turn four, the Xwings turn in, two slowly and one with a hard two that causes a train wreck of interceptors lined right in a row. Howlrunner ends up on a rock with damage and Miranda slams out of arc and repairs her guns. The two trailing interceptors roll poorly so my blocking xwing survives. The Xs blow up Howlrunner. Little fuzzy, but I believe they got an interceptor here too. From here it was clean up. I end with one X with one hull, and Miranda with three hull left but the other Xs don't take anything beyond shield damage.

100-0 victory.

Round three. My opponent takes three aces. Vader, Fel with autothrusters and stealth,and Omega Leader. My Xs deploy range three from the right, angled in. Omega center, Miranda on the left, and Vader, Fel across from her.

Aces are troublesome. That said I was confident enough. The Xs charge forward. Miranda slowly turns in. Omega leader moves cautiously forward and Vader and Fel open the throttles, boosting and barrel rolls to get closer. They smell blood. Turn two the Xs turn in toward the left and spread out into a line. Miranda turns back in toward the starting line. Omega leader guessed wrongly that I was going after her and turns away and is out of action. Fel and Vader turn the corner. Finding himself in a bad position Fel rolls out of arc leaving Vader behind as he locks up a Miranda. Shots are fired. Miranda takes several hits. Vader loses his shields.

The Xs close slowly. Omega leader is trying to flank but Miranda blows past the first order pilot with slam. Fel attempts to give chase. Vader is cut off and boosts toward my home edge to dodge some fire. No significant damage this turn either.

The Xs lay a trap. They split formation to cover both angles Vader can go. Omega leader tries to bail out the dark lord, locking up an xwing. Miranda slams further away at speed three and Fel desperately gives pursuit. Range three shots do him no good. Omega leader does one damage to an X. The Xs destroy Vader.

Fast forward two turns. The Xwings attack Omega from both sides. One X has broken off to give pursuit of Fel and unexpectedly gets a gift as Fel turns back to hunt the Xwings. Fel strips the shields off an X but is downed to a Rookie at point blank range.

Omega leader falls two turns later. Miranda at range three bearing in and a rookie at range one on both sides.

100-0. Don't take a damage card this game.

Round four... Meh. I brought this TIE Phantom and I'm going to use it.

And this was a miserable mistake filled match nearly presented to my opponent. Bumps. Failed actions. Forgot to de-cloak Echo and ended up directly in front of two T70s at range one and went down with a whimper.

I win.. But.... 71-52. I'm not ready for Phantoms...

I was floored that I got fourth. Didn't see a lot of meta lists of course and that one triple scout list was the only one. Blow outs seemed common today. Still, felt good to place for a change.

Father's Day fun fly! Ok, bad turn out but played a few games and had some fun. Some tough lists too, nothing I would be willing to bet on.

Firstly, a Dash and Lothal Rebel pairing. Dash had PTL instead of VI, so had tons of actions. The Ghost had, among other things, autoblaster turret and Hera.

They lined up directly across from my Vic of Xs so I kept Miranda near center to support. I was overconfident about my chances jousting this. Don't ask where my brain was, I really don't know. I've had success jousting the Ghost before, but I totally ignored the heavy laser turret on Dash while at the same time worrying about what it would do to me in the late game. I decided to hit the Ghost first just to take the easy to take target first...

The joust went well... Chewed up the Ghost and one X wounded in return. The Lothal Rebels took a cockpit hit and suddenly I didn't have the lowest pilot skill any more. Unfortunately the next couple of turns were sloppy. An X died. The Ghost died. And Dash went on the hunt with freedom as Miranda ended up beyond range 3 in the wrong direction.

The most damaged of my remaining Xs had a stunned pilot crit and bumped Dash... Oops. The remaining one managed to rip away a fair bit of Dash's shields before it to was victimized by the heavy laser turret.

One on one, Miranda in great shape vs a slightly bruised Dash... I honestly didn't like my chances. First turn I slammed in to range one and target locked the YT-2400. The next turn my opponent forgot about my primary weapon and moved slow and barrel rolled closer still, so my modest movement kept me at range one. Advantage, Miranda. Spend a shield, with focus and a target lock. Blam, no more shields for Dash and inside for one.

From there though my opponent would not make that mistake again. We traded blows at range three, Dash edging closer to death. Miranda being hit hard. After a very short time Miranda is down to one hull, Dash to one or two as well. We started a more troubling cat and mouse chase, with Dash inside the asteroids using them as cover while Miranda stays beyond range three, waiting for a clear shot.

The deciding turn, Dash closes in again, but I turn gently and slowly to the edge of the map. I'd guess two turns at most and I'd be off the map, but my plan isn't to go even one more turn. My move changes the expected angles and I have a clear shot. No regen, two straight TLT shots. Dash is burned down before he can fire.

My opponent did a great job with Dash. Totally used his ability to the fullest to run over rocks and debris as if it wasn't there at all. He had me on the ropes. Lesson? Kill the smuggler first next time. Yes, he's dodgy, but the Ghost has more limited arcs with those big guns.

Match two. Dengar and Manaroo list. Not a lot of torpedoes... In fact, only a single plasma with no extra munitions. Key cards... We'll, he made use of most everything to be honest but... Counter measures and glitterstim on Dengar came up big when all guns were on him. Manaroo had PTL, recon spec, feedback array and engine upgrade. These are not all the cards.

I felt this was one of my better executed starting engagements. I ran up the right side of the board with my Xs, moving faster with the lead so that I turned in with the lead on his side of the board and two about midway. Miranda slowly maneuvered away from Dengar to join up with the two Xs.

Dengar and Manaroo were content to wait me out, moving slow and barrel rolling to stay mostly in the far corner. At this point Dengar drives in though. The opening salvo goes badly for me. The plasma rips off all my shields off Miranda. I try to regen them with TLT but that droid that fires back kicked it off again. I did knock off two shields on Dengar though...

The following turn is rougher for Miranda as Dengar punishes her brutally. Three cards, all face up. Direct hit, blinded pilot and weapon malfunction. The Xs strike, the far one poking Manaroo a bit, losing all shields in the fight, and the other two roughing up Dengar.

Miranda escapes Manaroo due to some lucky rolls the next turn and slams away to safety. The two Xs destroy Dengar leaving just Manaroo vs three Xwings, no damage cards but each at a different level of shields, plus a badly mangled Kwing. Unfortunately I'm spread out, no two fighters near each other. I try to regroup at the center of the map, but move too quickly with Miranda. Manaroo sees this and burns in hard to catch the Kwing up close with the Xwings a turn out from recouping. Miranda dies, barely inflicting more damage in return. The next turn, Manaroo takes out an X before I've managed to close range with the other two.

What follows is me trying to break it from and regroup while Manaroo gives chase. It takes a while but I close up enough to engage once more. I manage a couple good rounds which drags Manaroos health down low, but she picks off another X and my last one is range one in front.

Feedback array was used, moving this X to two hull. Resume the chasing. I manage to stay alive through a few more turns but I'm down to one hp, and so is Manaroo. Again, final drama on the last turn. I k-turn to very close the edge of the map. It's bold, and surprises my opponent, who also makes a sloop turn in the jumpmaster, to the right. Keeping the previous turns stress. Unmodified shots both ways. The X dodges Manroos shot, but the Rookie hits hard to close the victory.

Did I learn something here? Yeah. Careful when you try to engage when broken formation. I was way too aggressive with Miranda and it nearly cost me everything. Still, it was a fun match right up to the dramatic end.

Five Awing with crackshot and autothrusters.

What can I say here? I wanted to play this one because it scares me. And then two major things happened. I made two big mistakes and my opponent flew beautifully.

Mistake no. 1 - I put an Xwing on a rock. Turn two. Thought I had room and I nearly did and totally would have gotten a more favourable position but I hit the rock ever so slightly. The X took damage and the Awings killed it there.

Mistake no. 2 - my formation spread too wide so I couldn't provide support. Miranda was burned down and the Xs slowly torn apart. I'll credit my opponent's flying for forcing me to make this blunder.

My opponent flew the Awings beautifully, as already stated. They weaved through the rocks and around my fighters without any formation so I wasn't able to predict much of anything for patterns and was guessing poorly by the end. I damaged several fighters, some severely but killed none.

What did I learn? I think I need to fly against this list more simply. Formation needs to provide cover and Miranda needs to be clear to slam out of danger. She was in too close and then the Awings swarmed in to create bump city. I tried to get too fancy and each ship was trying to be a hero.

Edit: so I'm now 12-4 with it this year against some tough lists. It's a fun quick fly and burns the big lists if they make a mistake. Now the fun... Can I continue now that the surprise has worn off...

Failed Tourny

Well, only three players and with me watching my daughter so not at 100%. Still, a win is a win and a loss is still a loss. We played each other once. I think yesterday's regionals burned everybody out.

First game, a boy of 11 who had just thrown his list together that morning since he couldn't find parts of his main list. Two hired guns and Palob. Hired guns had dorsal turrets, one with a proton torpedo the other a prox mine. Palob had ion and the title. It didn't sound like much to me, and he never used anything but straight templates in our match as I hit him fast from all sides and burned his ships down terribly fast. One xwing damaged to one hull left and one shield off Miranda.

I felt better after his list beat the third player, flying a Dengar/Manaroo list. Took out Dengar in a bloody battle and ended with his last, but still very shielded, Ywing dropping the prox right on Manaroo. Good job! I totally underestimated his list and if I hadn't hit him the way I did he may have burned me down too.

So then I walk into the Dengaroo match up. After the first time I knew it was going to be a tough match. It was. Zuckuss makes a big difference. Miranda got shredded, but the Xwings pounced. I couldn't get anything to stick though as his green was hot and repeatedly evaded two. Passing that focus was very powerful. I did ambush Manaroo when she passed close and stripped her shields but with boosts and barrel rolls she quick blasted out of firing arcs and range and Dengar ripped me apart. 100-Zilch. He flew it well and the dice were hot. Full credit for the win to my opponent. I hardly ever got good positioning to unload and the few times I did I wasn't able to make much of it.

So we all scored a win and had some fun. A good day.

I love reading about your continued victories with your list Lag, keep up the solid work!

Thanks! It's definitely been a fun list and I'm loving the X-Wings. It might fit my play-style better as I'm definitely able to better visualize several turns ahead with these than anything else I've flown. Being able to strike an opponent's formation from three directions at the exact same turn was pretty potent. Post-game analysis has been fun as well with some of the guys, particularly those who have been doing this longer than I have.

I know the number of games I've played is still quite low, but I'm starting to see a couple of bad trends in the list.

1) The low PS has hurt me at times. Not positionally, but in being able to shoot before an X-wing blows up. 6 more points gets me Red Squadron pilots at PS4. It's not going to make a difference on aces, but it does get me ahead of other commonly flown ships. X-Wings definitely prefer to fire earlier with their big guns and "average" agility and health.
2) Jumpmasters... uhg. I'm not feeling outgunned but the level of dice modification they typically have is just daunting and they have enough health to shrug off a round of fire unless a lot of luck is involved. Considering the state of the X-Wing circuit, this point really worries me. That German tournament with 80+ jumpmasters was insane. I hope GenCon doesn't look like that! I haven't a solid strategy for dealing with these yet and in a straight fight I will lose.

The X-wings are definitely more for a short fight, and Miranda for a longer one. Miranda only really hits hard at range 1, if I have the shields to spare. I may need to trade her out for something that hits harder upfront or modify her a bit. Not a lot of room for the latter. I'm going to try out a few changes tonight I think. If I upgrade my Rookies to Reds, I can use an A-Wing ace to keep the mobility. I'd lose the tankiness of the K-Wing for rather untrustworthy green dice of the A-Wing. I can however outfit say... Gemmer with a concussion missile, PTL and autothrusters... or Jake with PTL, Outmaneuver, Refit and Autothrusters. The hitting power is not that much different from a TLT.

PRO to the trade to an A-Wing ace
- More defensive against turrets
- Boost out of an arc and still fire (unlike SLAM)
- Potential to push a bit more damage through
- Chance (!) to avoid incoming damge (3 green to 1 green)

CON
- Lose 360 fire arc of the TLT
- Lose a bit of consistency of firing the TLT
- Lower overall health
- Is the A-Wing a big enough concern that an opponent is forced to choose between targets? Unlikely.

FLAT TRADE
- Flanking Speed. With SLAM that K-Wing can move a bit further than an A-Wing. The ability to flank right by an entire formation of enemy fighters has been great for creating uncertainty in my opponent. In either case this maneuver would leave me unable to fire. K-Wing due to SLAM system, and the A-Wing due to pointing the wrong way.

And I didn't like the Awing in practice. Fel, Inquisitor, Omega Ace and an Academy pilot did me in. The Awing just died after a few shots with the green betraying me. Yes, I know that means I didn't arch dodge properly, but it was g-danged Fel vs Gemmer freakin' Sojan. The Xwings extra PS was meaningless and my opponent was heavily focused on the Xs. Gemmer took a lot of damage but survived just a bit longer than Omega Ace. Xs split formation with two kTurning and one slow one forward and successfully caught the academy and inquisitor in between. No more TAP. I managed to get it two on one vs Fel, and landed a single hit, but Fel did his job. Did drive my opponent nuts trying to catch my evasive final X. I had even K'd through a rock to catch him in arc forcing him to disengage at one point.

Miranda, you're back in.

The next match was slanted in my favour by dice. Dengar in a rather straight forward build with predator, punishing one and painbot plus a Mandalorian Merc firespray loaded with cluster missiles, and seismic bombs. I had kept to the outside but with my formation in more of single file and threatening to turn in it kept the firespray from over committing. The opening salvo set the course. Range three, through a rock, Dengar knocked off two shields off the lead X. Return fire was brutal. Miranda took two shields. The X took a few more and a second X had range and dragged the hull into the red. Dengar forgot to use his ability... I remembered it first the next turn when revealing dials. Dengar never had another chance to use it. He finished off that damaged Xwing, but between Miranda and another Xwing the bounty hunter was eliminated.

The firespray managed to take out the two remaining Xwings, curse you bombs! That said they had done their jobs and knocked the shields down. From there it was patient out guessing the firespray with Miranda unhurt. It gave me freedom to try to plan my moves since I could slam if I guessed wrong. Miranda slowly chewed up the Merc without a shot back. The final turn I decided to accept a well placed bomb to get a range one shot with target lock, focus and up to that moment full shields.

The dice robbed him of a fair start to this one. His weren't terrible but I was rolling three for three on the red too often. And Miranda with a PS advantage and arcs to dodge is pretty powerful. We discussed the list after and agreed, Miranda should stay in.

Very good commentary and interesting points. I agreed with your post though about keeping the K-wing in. Seems like it has a little more utility in this particular list and can support the X-wings better than a single A-wing. Also in those matches where Miranda is the last one on the board she can hopefully stay at range 3 just pinging a shield/hull (or two) off the enemy each turn and then SLAM away to create more distance.

Enjoyable read as always. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah. I think the CON points 1, 3 and 4 are much greater than any of the advantages of the list change. I *might* be able to do more damage to a triple jumpmaster list with higher PS Xwings, however it opens the door to major flaws in the list that Miranda fills so nicely. I can win late game with Miranda and I can win late game if I hurt the enemy and still have a couple Xwings.

Well, back to trying to out smart jumpmaster players. I have to unroll a mat and play out the first few moves. I do think my initial plan could have worked last time had I changed a few things... Well, maybe more than a few things. The rock place might might need to be different. How I use that rock to come around would need to be different. Miranda needs to be closer... Lots of ifs in this theory, but it's the best I got so far. I think I might be asking 'who brought jumpmasters to fun night' next Monday.

And now I also need to prep for the natural predator of the Xwing. TIE Defenders. I'm going to be seeing more of these now. Only faced one so far and that was one of my two losses at fun nights before I started recording this. Xwings aren't getting any easier to fly.

Very cool. I know what you mean about low PS. My favorite squad consists of a shuttle and four PS 1 TIE interceptors, and they can crumble sometimes. But for as many times they blank out, they have good dodges, so I keep flying them. You do have to get creative on the approach, though. Good to see you doing it with the less maneuverable X-wings.

Thanks. The approach does mean so much... Though that may be true for any list.

Miranda XXX went 2-1 again tonight at fun night. I modded the list with the release of Imperial Vets. Dumped the Advanced Slam for Long Range Scanners and a seismic bomb. The only extra action I took with advanced slam was a target lock anyway so this just changed up the list a bit.

First match. Fett with mind link and really more stuff that I can't remember plus a scout with mind link, punishing one, pain boy and more stuff. I really don't remember too much. I seem to remember Miranda taken the brunt of the first pass. It ended up being a banged up Fett vs two bruised Rookies in the end, and the rookies outgunned the bounty hunter.

Inquisitor, Jax, Krassis with mangler.

Well, this was pretty brutal. Dice hurt my opponent pretty badly. His Reds were fine but green... He made a few plays too that were a bit over eager. Second turn of combat he barrel rolled the Inquisitor and boosted with PTL to get range one of Miranda. I already had a target lock. I rolled four red, straight hits. He rolled three green, all eyes. Poof. As this was going on Krassis ran into the Rookies. Equally brutal on the firespray. It really was just clean up from there. The firespray died a turn or two later. Yes, he moved after Miranda with Jax but with at least two Xs, possibly all three, and Miranda it didn't last.

Vessery with tractor beam and D title and outmaneuver, the Countess with x7 and PTL and a TIE shuttle with fleet officer.

Ow. Opposite dice luck. Mine were average but my opponent was rolling well and dang, those stacked tokens were nuts. I felt I maneuvered well early on, boxed in the bomber as the Defenders took off to get Miranda, but I fumbled with her as I wasn't expecting the level of aggression from my opponent. Miranda went down, my Xs slowly torn apart by being pushed around the map by a tractor beam. I landed some blows but it was very bad.

Re-match but I swapped out my list to the Utah winning list with a Miranda twist.

Wes Janson, VI, R3A2

Biggs, R4D6, Integr. Astro.

Miranda, TLT, long range scanner, Homing missile, extra munitions

Ok. I lost Biggs to Vessery in the end, but it was so over. Shuttle took a stress tap from Janson to shut down fleet officer for a couple of turns. Stressed the Defenders to limit actions. Vessery never got the friendly lock on a ship he had in arc. Biggs just annoyed him and Miranda launched a perfect shot from a five red homing missile. I like this list but I did miss the fourth ship at times. The Countess died first, Janson having hit her hard at range one and Miranda with TLT. The shuttle had been ripped up and eventually flew off the board with two hull left. Oh shoot. Just realized I never used Janson's ability...

Oh well.

So as to Miranda XXX. Not sold on the bomb yet, never dropped it. I forgot it the only chance I had. Two points though is tricky to fill. Could put stress-bot on a rookie, but that's like a glowing kick me sign. Still. Four matches, to the death, in less than five hours. Love these lists.

Two more victories at Xwing night. Still using seismic and long range scanner, still never dropped that bomb. Beat the same Fett/Scout list as last wing with some very heavy red dice luck. Miranda died but still had the three Xs with one hull each when the Scout finally popped.

Also beat a Bossk/Tel list. Miranda lived that time but did lose one X and there was damage to all my fighters.

Don't ask for more. I can barely remember my own name. Crammed an epic match in after and I forgot to get myself water in between. Kinda toasted now.

Cool write ups! I like the ongoing nature Good work against those tier 1 lists, too.

I think I'm going to run this at GenCon. Don't plan on making the cut anyway, I'm not that good a player. Betcha the old scoring would have helped me more though. Total victory or total loss. No close matches for me!

For anybody keeping track... 18-6 for 2016.

Losses

2x lists with TIE Defenders

1x Triple scout list

1x Dengar/Manaroo

1x Fel, Whisper, Academies... I flew like an overconfident fool and made a lot of mistakes - an immediate rematch after having just won big.

1x can't remember...

Tonight, two... Well, we'll call them draws.

First match, Marek and two Deltas, all with x7 title and Marek with VI. The initial exchange was all at range one as our tight formations smashed into each other. It went well. Traded a rookie for a delta. Tried to spelt my Xs with hard turns to avoid the following K turns. Trying to use the rocks for cover didn't entirely work, but while one X was getting chewed up I managed to sneak a few shots through Marek's shields. I tried to keep the fight turning but it was tough to make anything stick to token stacked Defenders. Eventually it was Miranda in good condition vs Marek with no shields and a Delta with a weapon malfunction and one hull left. Miranda managed to stick a TLT shot to finish the Delta while turning away from being shot at by Marek. We called match after an hour and a half.

Second match was Tomax Bren, the Countess and a Glaive. Again, the Defenders were x7s but with PTL the countess murdered Xwings. The TIE Bomber died quick, but partially that looked like rusty flying as two of the hits were caused by rock collisions. Again it ended with Miranda vs two beat up Defenders but this time Miranda was a little chewed up as well. Popped the countess but we called it after another long match... This time Miranda arc dodging and trying to engage only when it suited her, but unable to make anything stick.

Technically both matches I had more points left but both are so close in points and so long in time I'm content with calling it a draw. I learned a bit more but have real concerns with trying to punch through those x7 Defenders.

Edit: I know it doesn't matter but this log is for memory refreshing so when I remembered Marek had a stealth device I realized the first match we both had 37 points left on the board.

Hey Lag

Glad to see you're still updating this. Don't think for a moment it doesn't get read.

That hour and a half game certainly sounds like a real test of mental conditioning!

Ryad certainly sounds like a mean contender. Might just have to check her out.

Keep it up!

Ok, two losses tonight, likely my last play before GenCon.

Vs my wife and her three Epsilon, two Academy TIE swarm with Omicron, Palp and tractor beam.

It was going so well. Eliminated two FOs and severely damaged another TIE before suffering a loss. That loss was an X flopped up on a rock by the shuttle that was then nailed by awaiting TIEs. Then Miranda was flipped on rocks. Not even sure I killed another TIE before we called it... I had one X left with no shields.

Vs Fett/Contracted Scout again. Game three went much like the first two matches. Dice weren't super hot this time but still came out on top reasonably quick. Focused down Fett hard with Xs and Miranda from behind.

We altered our lists a bit and tried again. Back in goes advanced slam, he exchanged his homing missile on Fett for assault missile. And this time I made a big blunder by flying Miranda between the scout and Fett. She didn't die but was down to two hull. Why did I do that? Anyway, with Miranda so hurt I couldn't be aggressive and pulled away. Fett turned to rear arc an X and killed it...Miranda fell next. Fett died to the two Xwings but by that point they had suffered so much damage that it was a sure thing. The scout cleaned them up.

Tired so few details... I think key is try to get some rest before my assigned day at GenCon. My goal is to win three. It's shooting high but I got two last year with a much less aggressive list.

Best of luck with GenCon!

Well, I'm not disappointed with Thursday's run here at GenCon. Technically I achieved my goal but it didn't really work out as I had wanted.

Firstly, great job FFG. Much smoother than last year. Not perfect but these conventions really are not setup for perfection.

First round, one of many Dengaroo lists. Lost 100-0.

Second round. Computer system believed me apparent ineptitude in the first round meant I should drop out. Had to get it resolved at the front desk and the solution was to reactivate me into the tournament and give me a bye. Nuts.

Third round.Fel, Inquisitor, Mauler Mithel, Wampa. Went to time as Fel and Miranda danced. Fel had one hull left so he it kept the ace from getting too aggressive. Won 66-63.

Fourth round. Inquisitor, Whisper, Pal Shuttle. 100-14 loss. Well... Apparently Whisper likes hunting Xwings. Who knew? Well, got half the shuttle.

Fifth Round. Oiccun, Youngster (expose), two Black Sqdn. 100-21 win. Jousted more than half Oiccun in the first pass. Miranda was able to flank and split the TIEs a bit.

Sixth round. Hello Whisper... Two Bombers with homing missiles and long range. This was the reason I play to the last game. Yeah, Whisper did kill the Xwings. The bombers though locked onto Miranda first turn but never fired a missile. I was able to dodge arcs and lead them around the map. One even flew off the map in desperation to get a shot. Whisper did wiff a shot on the last rookie and nearly died for it. One hull point! The last of the match was Miranda circling trying to get a shot through but having to dodge that danged bomber's arc. Whisper eventually got the kill with ten minutes left. 100-30. SLAM!

So technically I got my three wins. Never know what that second round may have been.

Do you think it would be worth dropping Advanced Slam for 2 integrated R2 astromechs? That extra pip of health really helps them get one last shot in. Keep going with the list though! You're like the Biophysical of X Wings; when the x wing fix comes out you will be ready!

It probably would. That advanced slam is only big when I'm doing a slam out of arc of something close and grabbing a target lock for a following turn range one shot. Problem for me is I only have one integrated Astromech so far. I'm holding out for the Hero's box for more.

Edit: I may resurrect this list. I've been using the Janson, Biggs, Miranda list at a couple of store tournaments and I don't think this three ship list is better. Miranda can hit like a freight train, but Janson has been a thorn in my opponents side only. It doesn't have the same maneuvering capability as the triple rookie since Janson is a glowing kick me sign so Biggs needs to stay close. Triple rookie I can maneuver with freedom as nothing is better or worse, plus there is the additional Xwing. Huh. Nationals is only a few weeks away so not sure I want something too different...

Live from Toronto I'll be flying again with Miranda and friends. Looks like maybe 150 people here today. A few Dengaroos already present and plenty of Ghosts. A few odd ones too. Punisher Defender Advanced?

Round one

Echo/Vessery/Colzet

Game of blocks and dice. Vessery and Colzet savaged Miranda in first round of shooting and Echo ripped up an Xwing for little in return. The following turns though reversed. Echo is blocked and Vessery goes the wrong way. Vessery never fires another shot in the game. Echo tries to get clear but bumps again, this time Miranda and an Xwing drop her. Vessery tries to k and catch me but I moved conservatively and I'm out of arc and pointed at him. Gone. Colzet eventually finishes off the wounded Xwing but dies the same turn.

100-21

Early lunch was shortened so no further updates due to lack of time. After a long day and drive the brain is slowing a bit. I was 48th, missing cut by a significant margin but good times.

Added Details:

Round 2

Howlrunner, Mauler, omega leader, zeta leader, black Sqdn

I blew this one. That said with crackshot total on the other side it would be a tough go all the same. He set up to joust the Xwings and I didn't like my odds of escaping to find a new angle so I tried to cause a bump. Failed. Traded an Xwing for Howlrunner first round but the damage piled on quick. Mauler went down and so did the Xwings. Maranda needed to kill any two TIEs and some were damaged but couldn't get the TLT to hit...

37-63

Round 3

Chewie Miranda

3P0/R2 Chewie maybe old now but still effective. With predator this was a serious threat to my rookies. Possibly the wrong call, but I tried to burn down the Falcon. It didn't go particularly well. I won't blame it entirely on dice, I got myself out of position and isolated some Xwings to be picked off, but it was a game I couldn't catch a break. Began a Miranda duel with a three shield head start. After three rounds of TLT regen we were tied with one shield left. I admit I got frustrated and did a suicide dive on the Falcon with a crippled Miranda and last Xwing at the end. Chewie lived with one hull remaining...

26-100

Round 4

Howlrunner, 3 Black w/ crack, 3 Academy

This time I was able to at least drag the swarm into the rocks a bit. Howlrunner hit no less than three rocks before Miranda pegged her, but my opponent was actually very experienced and good at repositioning and this was the exception. He played some excellent blocks. Thought I might have an Xwing left at time but so many blank dice that even academy pilots at range three were landing two hits... By no means did dice decide this one. My opponent out flew me. I may have snagged another fighter and had an Xwing left but he was the better tactician.

33-100

Round 5

Fel and two x7 Glaives

At this point I was feeling pretty down. I think my opponent likewise was feeling the day. We were each 1-3, hungry, and tired... I imagine he was more than I after the drive he had that morning. He flew aggressive and I flew to maximize my arc potential to catch arc dodging and fast flying. Fel moving last got stuck with a Defender one side, a rock the other, an Xwing at range one in front. He turtled up and tried to cripple the lead Xwing managing a bit of shield damage. Miranda was range one on the other side of the rock and unloaded four hits. Fel dodged it but burned his tokens. Perfect. Aside from the range one Xwing I had two more at range two. The first one was all I needed... The remaining two ripped up the Defender that had blocked in Fel. This still shouldn't have been an easy match but I kept blocking Defenders and out-k-turning them and scoring improbable hits. My dice went hot and his were ice cold. He picked off a wounded Xwing I was trying to escape with but the aggression sealed that last Defenders fate.

100-21

Round 6

Manaroo Bossk N'Dru

I felt wonderful now, refreshed and ready to go. The party bus was my biggest concern here, despite the glory of N'Dru. We started opposite corners and I shot aggressively forward my side while he slowly advanced with N'Dru while intentionally causing bumps with Manaroo to hold Bossk back. First round of fire was in the asteroid field, Miranda out of N'Dru's arc firing TLT shots through a rock. Yes, Dash will stay. Scored some hits and chased the Z95 off to regroup. Meanwhile two Xwings rounded the corner at his home edge while the third positioned to either chase N'Dru or flank Bosskaroo? as they moved along his home edge to engage the Xwings. Manaroo lost a lot of shields at range three but she landed a plasma torpedo on Miranda stripping all shields. Manaroo was able to barrel roll out the next turn and I flubbed Miranda so Bossk took the brunt of fire and Miranda suffered several hull hits. So now I had spread damage on three of his ships... Miranda almost dead and one Xwing had no shields. I tried to get behind the big 666 with Miranda to recharge and block a small turn with my Xwings... But he was aggressive and turned hard to get arc... And guarantee that this would be a trade. Miranda would die but there was no way to keep an already stressed Bossk on the map. While I didn't like losing Miranda this was a trade I was comfortable with. The following turn N'Dru reappeared with range one clusters for one Xwing and return fire from two more at range one... Manaroo with one shield vs two Xwings, one wounded. What proceeded was a fast series of rounds where I managed to outmaneuver the big freighter and as I now outgunned it I was slowly pulling it apart. He did manage to kill that wounded Xwing but we ran out of time... Close game.

83-79

Overall a fun day. Pretty well run even with the almost standard technical difficulties that plague these big events. Something aside from an over busy hotel restaurant or hotel convenience would have been nice for food though... Granola bars for two meals isn't good! I believe they announced around 120 people to start and there was a lot of stiff competition. I actually felt charged enough to keep flying but so many others looked tired and wiped. Don't envy them today on day two less they manage to get some sleep.

Hey Lag, thanks for the updates.

I think I figured out why I dislike Biggs so much in an Xwing formation... Or Xwing aces in general.

The fact is that the Xwing has no repositioning, no surprise revelation there. It has two green in a sea of three reds. No fancy dial tricks, no tricks at all. The Xwing is as straight forward as they come. I don't mind that. It actually feels thematic to me.

Xwings work best with team work. Not box formation like eight TIEs screaming in, but weaving and covering arcs. Biggs restricts that a bit if you're flying to his ability. Any aces cost so much that to have a team you only get one beacon of a kick me sign. Even the generics are limited to four max. A four ship formation of Xwings is a lot of firepower but it's limited in how it can maneuver, particularly against some of the newer ships. While I wish I could get higher pilot skill than rookies, three Xwings free to maneuver as required is enough to make an unappealing thorn bush of lasers for the likes of Fel, or a sledge hammer to hit one big target of the likes of Dengar. It comes down to maneuvering your approach to separate the enemy and lining up the arcs as appropriate... Wide fan for arc dodging, tight fan for aggression and impact... History buffs might look at the thatch weave for ideas but not for imitation... None of what I said here is new. I've seen this posted many times on the forum and it's true.

The Xwing is out classed in many ways but it's by no means easy meat. Fly smart. I'm betting a good flyer could do more than I... And even my experience is limited to the roughly 40 matches with this list... A few more with aces with less success... I don't make the best moves, and I don't guess my opponent as well as others. Imagine somebody who can?

Hello! I just made an account on the forums because I found this log. I'm the Chewie Miranda player from the Canadian nationals. That was a great game and you were an excellent opponent even when your dice went really cold. Hope to see you at the next Nationals maybe.

Keep the off meta dream alive!

-The first and only known Chewie Miranda trademark player