I was able to make the trip down to San Antonio from Allen, TX last weekend and compete in the Mustafar System Open. I was able to go 5-2 on Day 1 and advance to Day 2. I had set a goal of 4 wins and getting a set of target locks, so I had more than exceeded my goals. My Day 2 wasn't quite as successful but I'm still crazy proud of how I did. The competition was ridiculously good.
First, my list. I brought Juke/x7 Stele and Ryad and a Palp Shuttle with Ion Projector. I was hoping that the few twists in the list would give me the upper hand against opposing Defenders.
I don't have the best recollection of each game like some people but below are some highlights. Also, I don't remember anyone's names.
Parattani - This was a crazy intense game. We went to time, in an absolutely crazy match. He had Fenn left on the board and I had Stele (I think) and half a Lambda. Great first round win against one of the top lists of the. (1-0)
Rey/Miranda - I don't even know what happened in this game but I died so fast. My opponent was a great player and simply out flew me. (1-1)
Dengar/Asajj - This was another fast game. I burned down Asajj fast but simply couldn't put the damage into Dengar with my highly damaged ships. 1-2 and my goal was looking like it was a long way away.
Something else I don't remember. No idea about this game but I won so, yay! (2-2)
Rey/Norra - This might of been my favorite game of the game. My opponent worked on a town I used to work in, so it was a very pleasant conversation. I was able to get Norra in the Stele/Ryad K-turn/flank zone and avoided both the arcs of the Arc. Rey did some serious damage but had the ships on the board to make it happen. (3-2)
Miranda/Chopper - One more win and I get Target Locks! This was a game that I almost threw due to mental fatigue. I got Miranda down to 4 hull and dropped 2 Stele crits on her. I picked one Direct Hit and then chose a Blinded Pilot over another DH. I got so frustrated with myself. Lucky for me, I was able to draw sight bead on her before she got all her shields back. Then it was just a matter of eating through Chopper. I took a bunch of bombs to the face here and it paid off. This was a really lucky win but I did what I had to. 4-2, goal achieved! Everything after this was gravy.
Carnor/Stele (I think)/Palp - This game came down to one misplay by my opponent. With my Ryad during Range 1 and my Stele Range 2 of Carnor, my opponent spent his focus to try and push damage through on Ryad. He aced my shields but opened himself up to 2 Juke powered attacks. I was able to maneuver all three of my ships to where they would have shots on his Stele and he conceded.
I made it! 5 wins and I advanced to the second day. I got two sets of Target Locks, in addition to all the Mustafar swag. I was jazzed... And utterly exhausted.
Day 2 was not my day though. I was mentally exhausted and made quite a few mistakes. That said, my opponents were great and easily outflew me both games.
Commonwealth Defenders - My first game was a lesson in dice variance. I torched his Vessery in two turns of fire and then couldn't do anything the rest of the match. If I kept my shuttle engaged, rather than play it safe it would have been different. However, it wasn't and I lost a very close game.
Biggs/Kanan - This was a matchup I did not want. I melted Biggs, taking minimum damage and then it all fell apart. Stele blanked out to six hits from his Kanan and I couldn't recover.
So there it was, 13th after Day 1 and 21st after my horrible Day 2. I couldn't be happier with how I did. The level of competition was out of this world and to make it as far as I did felt really good. Cascade Games did a great job running the event. There were no repairings and the event ran as quickly as it could.
I hope I have a chance to compete in one again next year!
