We see lots of posts from tournament winners sharing their strategies, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to post a batrep until I had actually made the cut. But I realized, the vast majority of players are those at the middle tables, those of us who do our best but still break even. So here’s my report for the Durham Regional that took place on November 12-13.
I’m flying a repeat of what I flew in May, 4 T-70s, but inspired by Magnus Grendel’s thread here, I subbed in Jess Pava for one of the Blue Squad Novices.
My list:
3x Blue Squadron Novice + R2 Astromech + Integrated Astromech
1x Jess Pava
Last time, I couldn’t bear to call my squad 1, 2, 3, and 4, so I gave them all male names that were ridiculous idiosyncratic puns based on their numbers. This time around, with Jess leading, I gave them all female names that were equally esoteric number puns (Alison, Betty, and Trina).
Atomic Empire was hosting, one of the finest game stores in the Southeast U.S., if not the finest. We have 75 players, not enough for a Top 16, till two new gents wander in late, putting us up to the necessary 77! Much better odds for getting the Top 64 participation prize this time around (we had over 100 players in May).
Round 1 – JJ
His list: Darth Vader + Adaptability + Engine Upgrade + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer
Colonel Vessery + TIE/x7 + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + Juke
Omicron Group Pilot + Electronic Baffle + Emperor Palpatine
So the Defender-fest begins. JJ takes initiative so he can block with the shuttle. I set up my 4 ladies off to one side, in a staggered line. I scream up the mat with two 4-straights. Vader turns in on my left and takes a TL and an evade. Vessery flanks from my right. His aces fire, but Vader whiffs and Vessery’s not in range of the TL’d X-wing so his damage is minimal to another target.
I’ve got Vader in all 4 arcs at Range 2-3 and LIGHT HIM UP. My memory’s fuzzy at this point, but it took 3-4 shots and he (poor guy) didn’t roll a single evade for any of them. All eyes and blanks. JJ gulps at this point as he realizes the danger of 12-16 red dice.
I don’t remember what Vessery does next, but the shuttle tries to block, however I manage to snuggle up all 4 T-70’s in its grill at Range 1 and JJ resigns himself to losing Palp that round. I smile as I expect the same. Yet even with TLs or foci (where worried about dying) all around, my dice crap out while his come back to life. He jokes, “How is the shuttle better at evading than Vader?!” I reroll blanks and eyes into more blanks and eyes. It seems red dice can be just as fickle as green.
I really needed the shuttle dead as now it’s seriously in my way. I take a bunch of red maneuvers to turn around, including one across a debris field for Jess, double-stressing her. Things are looking up for my opponent. The shuttle lives for this round and the next (arg!) and Vessery starts to pick off X-Wings. I’m down to two X-Wings, then one as I chase him to the opposite corner of the board. I find I need at least two modded/lucky shots to even make damage stick on a Defender. Time’s called, and I’m down to one healthy T-70 and he’s got a damaged Vessery. Neither of us is sure how the match would have turned out ultimately, but he’s ahead by 11 points so takes the win. Wow. We shake hands. He’s a great opponent, respectful and fun, and we both acknowledge things would have been very different had the shuttle died when we expected it to.
0-1
Round 2 – Adam
Colonel Vessery + TIE/x7 + Juke
Countess Ryad + TIE/x7 + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + Push the Limit
Omicron Group Pilot + Emperor Palpatine
Adam sets up his Defenders and Shuttle directly across from my box formation of X-Wings. The Shuttle is oriented parallel to his edge, instead of facing me, as many Palp players do. I zoom in 4 forward; he doesn’t bump with the shuttle as I expect him to and instead runs away with a 3-straight. The Defenders take a turn to go around the rock in his corner so as to not face the T-70s head on.
Next round he continues to run away with the shuttle and I bank in for 3 with the Xs trading some shots at Range 3 with his Defenders as they loop around the rock. At this point the shuttle is on the other side of the map and I hit the brakes. I manage to block Vessery and Ryad. He’s got no mods other than Juke so I’m fine and I return fire to blow Ryad to pieces.
At this point things get awkward as Defenders are fast, and I can’t repeatedly k-turn like he can. The shuttle’s coming back as fast as it can to help engage, and I have to decide whether to go after the tough-nut of Vessery or the 10 hp of the shuttle. I figure Palp is the wise choice, but I’m having trouble keeping my squad together as they’re scattered all over at this point. I manage to put half damage (and then some) on the shuttle, and keep 3 X-wings alive (Vessery is less of a threat w/o a TL enabler). Time’s called and I’m ahead 50 to 25.
1-1
Round 3 – Chad
Asajj Ventress + Adaptability + K4 Security Droid + Glitterstim + Black Market Slicer Tools + Shadow Caster + Gyroscopic Targeting
Bossk + Crack Shot + Mangler Cannon + Cluster Missiles + Dengar + Zuckuss + 4-Lom + Hot Shot Blaster + Guidance Chips
Chad’s a local and I’m happy to see him. Both him and his son Connor were gracious opponents in Atomic’s Escalation tourney over the summer and they’re both here today for the Regional. Chad’s brought two heavily loaded Scum ships, and Bossk has so many upgrades it makes my head spin. I’ve seen a lot of Shadow Casters floating around the tournament, but this will be the first time I’ve ever actually flown against Asajj, and I’m doubly nervous because I know Bossk hits like a freight train and having an X-wing wiped in the first round of firing before it can shoot back is crippling.
I put my ladies slightly off-center and he flanks them with his two ships. Unfortunately the details of this match are blurring together with another Bossk + Asajj list I played later, as both turned out pretty much the same. Chad comes in, his Cluster Missiles whiff (even with Chips these things are not great) and **** is a T-70 with Integrated hard to kill. I’ve flown them a bunch and I’m still impressed at how well they tank. And then…well he ain’t got much greens and I think Bossk explodes in one or two rounds of shots. Also, all the stress from Zuckuss makes the YV even more predictable and too easy for the T-70s to get behind and stay behind. The Shadowcaster is fast but it can’t defend that well to concentrated fire either. Also, Gyroscopic Targeting may give you some action economy, but it sure does telegraph what you’re going to do next turn. Chad manages to pick off two X-Wings but I destroy the rest of his list.
Also, Chad reinforced why I picked the list I did. Tournament play is mentally fatiguing and I could have picked a meta list, tweaked it w/in an inch of its life and practiced with it a whole bunch…or I could take 4 of the same ship and not have to make crazy choices every turn or remember each of the EIGHT upgrades on my ship, and not only decide when I should use them, but remember to do so. I absolutely took advantage of his missed opportunities, like forgetting Glitterstim or to use Crack Shot. I certainly didn’t rush him (at least I hope I didn’t), I waited patiently and quietly before I rolled my defense dice to give him the chance to modify if he wanted. In a casual game, I totally would have asked, “Hey do you want to use X?” or let him go back, but I was in a tight spot, it was a tournament, and I don’t believe it’s my responsibility to tell my opponent how and when his cards work.
2-1
Round 4 – Alvin
Manaroo + Attanni Mindlink + Plasma Torpedoes + K4 Security Droid + Unhinged Astromech + Black Market Slicer Tools + Guidance Chips
Old Teroch + Attanni Mindlink + Concord Dawn Protector + Autothrusters
Fenn Rau + Attanni Mindlink + Concord Dawn Protector + Autothrusters
Hey it’s the Old Fennaroo everyone’s talking about. I LOVE Fangs, and was trying out a different version of this list w/o Mindlink and instead PTL on Fenn and Manny and VI on The Rock. I’m excited to see this list in action, and want to try it for myself later (though after learning how many copies of it there were at our Regional, less so now). Alvin flies it brilliantly, and honestly is the first person to engage with the T-70’s ‘correctly’. By that I mean he spreads out and doesn’t fly straight into their teeth and is content to fly away and slowly flank back in. We set up at opposite edges of the board: him with Fenn on my right, Teroch on the left, and Manny in the middle.
I zip along my edge to avoid Manaroo and her Torpedoes to try and catch Fenn in multiple arcs. Unfortunately, Alvin’s smarter than me when I fly Fangs and doesn’t come straight at the T-70s like I hope he will. We trade some shots at R3 that he shrugs off and I slow down to try and block him. He anticipates this and goes for a 5 straight which amazingly puts him right in the middle of my box formation. So he gets past one T-70, bumps another, but still gets a focus from Mindlink and another passed to him by Manaroo. I manage to survive the 5die attack, but with the title and 4 green dice, he shrugs off both shots. I start to sweat as I’m pretty sure I’m outmatched at this point, and really flustered I couldn’t even scratch the paint on Fenn.
His flying’s so good I can’t concentrate fire on any one and I try to go after Manaroo. I chase her to the corner where she started, all while having my ankles bit by Teroch as Fenn loops back around. I’ve lost two X-Wings at this point, and it’s down to a healthy Jess and a hull-damaged Blue. I fly too close to the edge going after Manaroo (should have turned the other way towards Teroch?) and before we set dials, I tell Alvin that if Betty goes off the board, I’ll concede as there’s no way Jess will survive against his three ships. I put down the 2-turn and yup, she’s fled the field, so I reach across the mat to shake his hand.
We talk about the match after and he says he does sometimes fly his Fangs aggressively if he thinks he can PS-kill a ship, but he saw my squad and knew that was the wrong choice. I’m a little deflated to have lost so badly, but don’t mind losing to such a chill guy and skilled player.
2-2
Round 5 – Justin
Asajj Ventress + Push the Limit + Gunner + Glitterstim + Inertial Dampeners + Shadow Caster + Gyroscopic Targeting
Bossk + Adaptability + Homing Missiles + 4-Lom + Zuckuss + Dengar + Guidance Chips
Hmm…something about this list feels familiar…I’m far less trepidatious this time given my success against it in Round 3. Justin’s pretty antsy seeing that many X-Wings and he’s only been playing since last December. He’s honestly the most fun I have all day though as we loudly and politely debate card interactions, annoy the judges, and just banter as nerds are supposed to do when playing. He’s also the first player all day to roll with my generic X-Wings having names and he makes an effort to address them correctly throughout the match. I put my ladies in the bottom right corner and he puts Bossk in the top middle and Asajj directly across from my squad. I 4 straight and he banks in with Bossk and comes in straight with Asajj fast enough to trigger Gyro, but not fast enough that I get a shot.
Even though he keeps the mobile arc pointing forward, I brain fart and think, “Duhr, there’s no way he’ll come straight at me, that would be suicide!” I 3bank towards Bossk and he slow rolls the YV toward me to get the Missile shot, and comes in 5 straight with Asajj. Whoa. Wish I had gone 1-forward to light up the Shadow Caster, but instead have to deal with the YV. Justin’s a little better about remembering all his upgrades, but I still take advantage of a missed opportunity here and there.
Minor aside: all the upgrades that are designed to deal with Imperial damage mitigation, like Juke, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM I’m finding to be just devastating for Rebels. Even if I’m lucky enough to roll some evades on my 1-2 green dice, they’re easily wiped away, and Zuckuss completely negates the awesomeness of Jess Pava.
I strip the shields off Bossk and get a crit through to the hull…and it’s Major Hull Breach. He’s got so much Zuckuss stress that it’s not going anywhere, so I flip behind him and kill him next round with a bunch of face-up damage. He manages to kill Jess, and is the first player to focus on her first all tournament long.
The Shadowcaster is now down in my starting corner hiding behind a debris field. I bring my remaining three Xs down on it. He manages to trick me when we’re parallel as I go 1forward, and he uses his Inertial Dampeners to stop while I park in front of him. However, he PtL’d last round so is now double-stressed. I tank the shot, and set up for a correctly predicted 3-bank, and take the Shadowcaster off the board w/o losing another ship.
At this point, I have an interesting realization about the meta. Ships that are good at killing Defenders (or least, I suppose they are. I neglected to ask Chad or Justin how they fared against Defenders), like these large-base Scum with heavy weapons, get eaten alive by my list. Rock, paper, scissors, I guess.
3-2
Round 6 – Ryan
Backdraft + Veteran Instincts + Fire-Control System + Special Ops Training
Colonel Vessery + TIE/x7 + Juke
Countess Ryad + TIE/x7 + Push the Limit
Guh. Defenders again. At least no Palp. I pepper Ryan with questions about the SF as Backdraft seems really cool and I’ve been wanting to try him. This Regional is a touch less fun than the last one as there’s significantly less variety in the lists I’m facing, and **** does fighting Defenders feel like work.
Ryan’s clearly very tired after 5 rounds and says ‘**** it’ (not literally, he’s too nice) and sets up his squad directly across from mine. I throw up my fists and am all, “YEASSSS HONORABLE JOUST”. I’m optimistic about my chances as I think I’ve got him outgunned. I do my thing and zip up to Range 4 and park then pull into Range 1 and block. He’s got his list staggered and his 2forward (no free evades!) with all 3 TIES means Ryad and Vessery bump, and them coming up short means Backdraft bumps too. I tank the opening shots and return fire. Unfortunately the bumping means I can’t concentrate my shotswith all 4 Xs, and Backdraft is far enough back he’s not at Range 1 of everybody. I know this is my best chance to kill a Defender, but it seems my brain is addled too and I choose Vessery as the bigger threat (in discussing the match later with a friend, he correctly points that Ryad is the late game issue). He explodes in two shots. Then I plink some shields off Backdraft.
I figure Ryad’s gonna K-turn and Backdraft will coast forward to bring his rear arc to bear. I Tallon Roll or k-turn as appropriate, trying to get out of Backdraft’s arc. I lose an X-Wing, but my return fire kills the SF as his green dice continue to suck.
Ryan’s resigned himself to losing. I’ve got three X-Wings to his one Defender and I’m certain I’ve got this. But I do not, and I finally learn the lesson that I should have learned after round one. My T70s may have the advantage in the initial engagement with my comparable dice per ship and one extra ship, but once the k-turning starts I’m screwed. I’m stressed, actionless, and he’s not.
Lesson to anyone flying this list: Do not kturn when the Defender kturns! Run the **** away!
I try to keep up, but blocking Ryad doesn’t help as she can pick any green kturn she wants and she’s too fast and maneuverable. It doesn’t help that I fly a full-health X-Wing off the board. With PtL and x7, I can’t make any damage stick, and she’s getting fully-modded shots on my T-70’s. When I’m down to one ship, I finally do what I should have done and run for it, instead of trying to win the unwinnable k-turn race. I engage a little more thoughtfully, but it’s too late at this point as one-on-one I’m very outmatched.
This match was amusing as we almost never left our starting ‘lane’ of the board until I got desperate.
It was incredibly frustrating to go from 3 on one to losing, and lose what was my only shot at the cut (though prolly not with my MOV), but I couldn’t have lost to a nicer guy and Ryan agrees that the free evade is too good. I definitely think Defenders needed something to reduce their cost to make them playable, but the x7 title is a little bonkers. Maybe if it just gave them the evade action, instead of just giving them the token for free?
It’s possible if I had killed Ryad instead of Vessery at the beginning things would have been different, as he would have had fewer actions and fewer kturn options. Definitely different if I could eyeball Tallon Rolls better and not fly ships off the board.
3-3, 40th overall.
So. You’re still here after 6 pages of text. I thought about doing an MVP and LVP for each match, but honestly it was Integrated Astro every time. Every time it saved an X-Wing to keep it alive at 1 hull and shoot back. LVP was me lacking focus under pressure, and flying ships off the board.
Honestly, the best part about this list is it seems to make people happy. Sure, an opponent or two may have raised an eyebrow in incredulity or disdain, but I got so many “Oh my gosh X-Wings!” comments from players geeking out as they appreciated not only the sight of the game’s namesake, but in multiples, too.
To fly this list: People will underestimate you. They think you want to slow roll, but get up in Range 1 and fire 16 red dice. T70s with Integrated are tough and your opponent’s eyes will bug out when you unexpectedly put all 4 ships at Range 1 of their supposedly scary large-base. Blocking’s good, but remember you’re losing a significant chunk of firepower if you do that. It’s really only appropriate to go slow when you’re up against arc-dodgers, because the narrower the range band, the easier it is for them to squirrel out of your arc.
To fly against this list: Don’t joust it. Even though I lost to a bunch of Defenders, the initial engagement will still be ugly for you if you fly straight at it. Try to use superior speed and repositioning to stay far away or out of arc. If you’ve got crazy damage output, killing one of the Xs in the first round before it can shoot is crippling (and demoralizing).
Other notes: Jess Pava is amazing. Even with just two wingmates, she’s great and doesn’t care about stress or actions.
Thanks for reading!
