Greetings!

Next saturday (the 15th of oct) theres an escalation tournament in my area. The points are 60, 90, 120, and 150. Never done an escal tourny before, so heres what i was thinking:

List 1:

Backdraft (27)

Outmaneuver (3)

FCS (2)

Mk2 Engines (1)

Title (0)

Omega Leader (21)

Juke (2)

Comm Relay (3)

Total: 59pts

I figured to start out with i should bring the heavy hitters, since the only "swarm" i could concoct at this point was basically just raw academies, and im not afraid of 5 academies. Plus i think im the only one in the area that can actually fly a super-high numbered list, as ive never seen anyone go beyond 5 ships other than me.

Ive been using BD (or as i call him the "holy waffter") religiously lately. Hes mean. Like, x7 defender mean for his points. Just not as easy to fly since he doesnt soak a mistake as easily.

OL because honestly i couldnt think of anything else without going full fledge swarm (academy + crackblack into more crackblacks in future lists) or bringing a barebone ship for this list, which i really dont wanna do because i feel like i'd shaft myself and almost auto-lose this round.

List 2:

Backdraft (27)

Outmaneuver (3)

FCS (2)

Mk2 Engines (1)

Title (0)

Omega Leader (21)

Juke (2)

Stealth Device (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Omega Ace (20)

PTL (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Total: 88

Omega Ace has been a sneaker powerhouse for me for quite some time. That, or an impromptu tank because people are scared to death of his auto-crit shenanigans. Its amusing how much this guy tanks when hes focused.

List 3:

Backdraft (27)

Outmaneuver (3)

FCS (2)

Mk2 Engines (1)

Title (0)

Omega Leader (21)

Juke (2)

Stealth Device (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Omega Ace (20)

PTL (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Gamma Vet (19)

Crack Shot (1)

Extra Muns (2)

Assault Missiles (5)

Proton Bomb (5)

LRS (0)

Total: 120pts

I have probably like 30 games with LRS Vets under my belt, theyre pretty lethal when used right. Normally i have homing missiles on them but at this point im fully expecting there to be a lot of ships if not a full fledge swarm, both because increasing by 30pts kinda cuts adding a BIG ship to your list and higher than 100pts = a ton of mid-point ships that actually have value other than just academies. I want to force them to split up, and if they dont, the pain cometh. Proton bombs are too sexy to pass up if i got the points, though i'll shift down to a seismic fairly quick if i have to.

List 4 is where i get fuzzy on ideas.

List 4:

Backdraft (27)

Outmaneuver (3)

FCS (2)

Mk2 Engines (1)

Title (0)

Omega Leader (21)

Juke (2)

Stealth Device (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Omega Ace (20)

PTL (3)

Comm Relay (3)

Gamma Vet (19)

Crack Shot (1)

Extra Muns (2)

Assault Missiles (5)

Proton Bomb (5)

LRS (0)

Gamma Vet (19)

Crack Shot (1)

Extra Muns (2)

Assault Missiles or Homing Missiles (5)

Seismic Charge (2)

LRS (0)

Total: 149pts

I both feel the 2nd Assault Missile is necessary incase i face a legit swarm and i think its overkill on the anit-swarm. Given the 60-90-120-150 format im not expecting many bigger pointsink ships, as you'd either have to introduce it in List1 or shaft one of your other lists to save the points. What a pickle lol

I got 33pts to work with on that final list, as i can drop the proton bombs to a seismic to add 3pts if i need to on List3. Any better ideas other than solidifying the anti-swarm?

You're on the right track with Omega Leader. This is my favorite way to start an Imperial Escalation list:

i do love me some vader. Im not a palpmobile fan primarily because i HATE THAT SHIP WITH A PASSION but also because palp is way too common, i like to be obtuse and unpredictable. It works alot lol ive won quite a few games against unfavorable lists because my opponent just had no idea what i was doing. SF's play into that mentality, especially BD.

you have no idea how many times i just by default added 2 crackblacks into the list and decided against it later. The moment i do that i go down the swarm route, and im trying to avoid that for the very same reason i have assaults in here - swarms make the most sense, so theres bound to be antiswarms all over the place. All of these ships can operate on their own outside of range1 of each other, so for the most part antiswarm wont phase me. Im largely just questioning the 2nd bomber, or its loadout. Not used to running a single bomber lol.

I tried to squeeze Echo in there since she is the epitome of unpredictableness but unfortunately she fell under the "naked ship for a round" category so i couldnt do it. Naked phantoms is just baaaaad, and even just having Adv Cloaking on there is too much to add her for 1 round. 30pts naked kinda puts a damper on that idea.

edit: wow i think i should stick with this list. I am having a REAL hard time doing anything that isnt swarmy without having a super undercut list at some point. Im even more sure theres going to be a ton of swarms at this tourney lol or at least ~8 midcost ships