This is the continuation from first day.

Round 4 (against Ben):

ISD I with: Motti, Boosted Comms, Expanded Hangar Bays, Flight Controller, Yularen
4x Gozanti with: 2x BCC, 2x Comms Net
5x Tie Bomber, 4x Tie Fighter, Rhymer, Mauler, 2x Jumpmaster

He had 398 points, so he picked player 1 and we were playing my superior position.

Planed tactic:
I have to be honest. This was the most dangerous list for that I saw so far. And the one that gave me the biggest headache.
My tactic for this match was just not to lose too high, so I can keep up the score to a good level.
The combination of him being first player, the Carrier ISD and the big number of squadrons will make the fight really hard.
So my idea was to avoid the ISD and try to win the fight squadron fight. And maybe hunt a few Gozantis after it.

Setup:
He was placing all his ships and squadrons near the middle of the right side (from my view). So, I took the other side, to stay as far away as possible, and delay the combat for some time.

Match:
We both flew really slow, always with the squadrons as shield. The Demolisher tried a long swing and I was checking if I can flank the ISD this way.

For 3 rounds, we didn’t nothing but to check our ranges of the squadrons and fly slowly toward each other.

Ben was the first one to take the initiative and send in his bombers to the Demolisher with the first activation. They came in like 6 screaming cans, sending one black Dice after another on the Demo. He didn’t even need the Bomber Command Center, all were hits or hit/crits. The Demo took some serious hits, and even a few hull damages.

After this I swung the demo around, away from the fight, and tried to get out without being destroyed. And sending some of my fighters for the bombers. But well knowing, that I will lose the squadron fight with this action. But losing the Demo would have been more expensive.
I took out only one Bomber. And on the other side I brought my bombers in position to go for the Gozantis (this was a little fault, if I would have gone for his squadrons, even with my bombers, I would be able to take out way more of this problem).

The next round was really hurting me. The Jumpmaster allowed his Bombers to attack the rear of my demo and fly away. The Demo survived it, but be gained 3 Victory Tokens from this.

But I could pay it back to him with destroying one of the Gozanti with rear attacks. This game me 4 victory tokens and a destroyed Gozanti (sadly not with a Bomber Command Center).

I lost one squadron and was able to take out one Jumpmaster.

But all my squadrons were not in combat and I could not get them out anymore. So I had to fight it out now.

In the last round, the ISD got a nice shot in the back from one of my Gozanti, but could not kill it.
I could take out one more squadron from him, but lost 4 myself. He was really lucky that he could take out all my fighter squadrons with great rolls. This way I had not enough left to take out his Tie Fighters.

End result: 5-6 with a MOV of ~37 for Ben.

This match was really extreme (tactical). I messed up with the squadron fight, but It was closer than I was afraid it would be.

Round 5 (against Thorsten):

MC80L with: Madine, (and some other stuff….)
MC30 with: Skilled First Officer, Admo, Ordance Experts, APT
3x GR-75
Shara, Tchyo, 3x A-Wing, VCX

And once again (not for the last time) his choice. But he picked player 2 and we were playing his Most Wanted.

This is not the first time I was playing against Thorsten. We were playing against each other on all but one tournament so far. He is also a Team member (he made the logo, that you can find on the first post of day 1) and so we were playing against each other for training quite a few times.

We both know the others list, we know each other way of playing and we know the tactic the other one is using.

Planed Tactic:
Same one as always against him (and any similar list). Take out the squadrons and kill the MC80 before it starts to hurt my Gozanti.

Setup:
His MC80 was placed on the left side for me (right side on the pictures, because Thorsten did them).
The MC30 was nearly in the middle, so he could get to both sides and the squadrons were in the middle as well, to block any sides.

My Demo was placed on the same side as the MC80, with the plan to catch him with a double activation.

The mission ships were my Demo one of the naked Transports.

Match:
The pictures do tell the story really well.
Because of this, I will only give a short summary, and let the pictures talk for itself.

The MC80 deked an attacked on the Demo, and this way the demo had to move a bit to the side.
After this the MC80 turned fast around, and went, together with the MC30, for the 4 Gozanti on the left side.

I won the squadron fight with only a few losses. In the end, it was a chase for the MC80. Demo and Bombers were flying after the Endeavor.

He was able to take out 3 Gozanti, but lost the MC80 in the last turn. 3 of my squadrons died as well.
I took out the MC80 and one Transport. Along with all his squadrons.

End result: 7-4 with a MOV of ~110 for me.

It was as well another rally close match. The MC80 kill in the last round was really important. This one was around 150 points.

Round 6 (against Alessio ):

At first, I was told that I have to play against Ben again (WTF?). Reason for this: A tournament with more rounds than normal does not follow the swiss rule, and you might have to play against the same person more than once during the swiss rounds (EMWTF?).
But thanks god the program was smart enough to avoid this.

So, I was paired against the Italian Stallion (sorry, I had too…).

His list was:
MC80 Battle with: Intel, Veteran Gunner, Engine Techs, XX-9, XI7, HC Ion Turbines
5x GR-75: 1 with Dodonna, 1 with Comms Net.
Shara, Tycho, 5x A-Wing, HWK, 2x VCX.

And once again his choice. And he picked (drum roll) first player. And it was once again my Most Wanted that we played.

Planed Tactic:
Really obvious that I had to go on the MC80 (again). This one is dangerous and gives a lot of points. And this ship is the only danger in the whole list. The squadron and transports are not such a big danger (I know, it is dangerous to underestimate the A-Wings with the black die).

Setup:
His MC80 was in the left half of the field, the transports in the middle and the squadrons between these.
I placed my Gozantis (like always), a bit scatted over the setup area. The Demo more in the middle, together with the squadrons.

Match:
Sadly I have only 2 pictures of the match (it was a bit intense). So, I will have to improve a bit, and hope for some good imaginations from you.

Turn 1:
The MC80 went full speed ahead. Same did his squadrons. It seems, that he wants a fast and hard battle.
I was holding my squadrons a bit back, and tried to find a good attack point. My Demo was flying all alone right into the mess of Transports and A-Wings.

Turn 2:
My Demo went further in the middle, trying to hunt some Transports (with a Demo, without Intel, really funny….). But at least he was able to attack the MC80 in the side.
The MC80 did not break, and went with full speed next to my Tarkin Gozanti.
His Squadrons went for the Demo. Even without bombers, these many black dice can really hurt. But at least they were busy with the Demo this way. So my squadrons could go in without any danger and take out one A-wing after another.
And my bombers started to nibble on the big MC80. Hitting the same side the Demo did already damage.

Turn 3:
The first action was the MC80, who parked so well next to the Gozanti. One broadside later, there was only dust left from Tarkins flagship (but no fear, he escaped in a life pod).
As counter, I could take out the MC80 with the bombers. It might not look so evil, but a MC80 has some big problems, when there is one attack after another going to the side for two rounds. So there were two big rubble fields now.
The rest was some squadron fight in the middle. A-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, Tie Fighter vs. HWK, HWK vs. Saber Squadron, Saber Squadron vs. A-Wing. It was only a big mess.

Turn 4+:
Without the MC80 who could do any damage, and the squadrons shrinking, there was no damage left for Alessio . And all he could do was to bring as much out of my range as possible. To save as much MOV as he could.
My squadrons were still hunting down his squadrons, and the bombers tried to take down a few more transports.
In the end one VCX and a few transports survived. And I lost a few squadrons and the flagship.

End result: 8-3 with a MOV of ~200 for me.

Highlight of this match was Chiraneau. Who was able to free 4 Bombers. This way I was able to take out the MC80.
And even if the result seems to be a clear match, it was not. It could have swung really fast in the other way.

Round 7 (against Daniele ):

GSD I with: Demo, Ordance Experts, Engine Techs, APT, Intel,
Arquitens with: TRC, Nedaa
Raider I with: Impetuous, Ordance Experts, Flechette Torpedos
Raider I with: Instigator, Ordance Experts, Flechette Torpedos
3x Gozanti: 1 with Screed, 2 with Comms Net
Whisper

And for the last time (on this day), his choice (with a bid of ~23!). He picked player 1, and it was once again Most Wanted that we have to play.

Planed tactic:
With 7 ships he had more ships than I had. Being first player means he will really hurt me with a double Demo. So, I have to take out one of his ships really fast. With my superiority in squadrons it should at least be possible, even when the two raiders a pure anti-squadron.
Danielle beat Ben earlier. This means I have to be careful and not get eaten by the Raiders.
So my main goal are the Raiders with the intention to take out one before he is able to double activate and attack anything.

Setup:
His Demo was on the right side. The two Raiders and the Arquitens were in the middle. The 3 Gozanti were lined up for a nice sightseeing tour along the setup edge. Whipser was somewhere, but mostly cloaked (he really was, I missed him one round).

I placed my Demo and the squadrons again really in the middle.

Most Wanted targets were a hard choice. Not on my side, the Gozanti became the token really fast. But on his side. Demo would have been the best choice. But I had to pick a ship that I can take out really fast. This is why I took the Arquitens.

Match:
We both were flying really slow at the beginning. The Raiders were storing navigate tokens to speed up really fast when he has to. I was always keeping the squadrons out of the possible range of the raiders, and were just waiting to strike.

Turn 2:

Turn 3:
I swung around the Demolisher to get into the rear of the Arquitens (objective ship), and were able to take it out with one broadside. This way I solved the problem with 6 vs. 7 activations.
His raiders were coming in to bind and tackle my squadrons.
But Chiraneau was once again the saver of the day. He was able to get the squadrons out of the range after they attacked the raider. These raiders were getting hurt by the bombers, and lost their targets. One of the raiders was even destroyed by mass of squadrons.

Turn 4:

The second raider was able to Flechette a lot of my squadrons this round, and Whisper was even able to go in, and do some damage. But the Raider could only prevent that I can attack it this round, but deal not really much damage. Rhymer still died (Impetuous and Whisper were too much).
But it cost him the Whisper.

Turn 5:
The demos were dancing around each other, with a bonus for me, because I was able to get behind his demo, and the raider was trying to get away from the squadrons.
The other Demo had only one way out, and so he tried to hunt some of the Gozanti on the left side of the map.
I messed it up in this turn, and lost Gamma Squadron to the Raider with the double attack (Impetuous…).
This means I had to fly the squadron though the middle, to catch the raider, who was flying an ellipse

Turn 6:

My squadrons were able to catch the raider and my Demo was able to catch his demo.
Danielle had the 3 Gozanti left. And I lost only a few squadrons.

End result: 9-2 with a MOV of ~320 for me.

I feel a bit sad after I saw the results. This high win against him kicked him out of the cut.

Final Standing from day 2:

After 7 rounds, I was first with 56 points (MOV 1343).
Ben (my opponent from round 4) was second with 54 points and a MOV of 1460.
3 ^rd was Alex with 49 points and a MOV of 905. I didn’t have to play against him.
Last seat for the cut was Alessio with 48 points and a MOV of 926 (my opponent from round 6).

Daniele had 47 points and a MOV of 1144. So, if could have get one more point from our match, he would have been 4 ^th .

It was a really tight cut in the end. But with 7 rounds it will be really close.
Allesio had 48 points in 7 rounds. This is an average of 6.9 points per match. Just to compare: on worlds 16 you need an average of 8.75 on worlds 17 7.8.
As more matches are done, as lower the average will be. This is a logical conclusion, because the matches will soften up. The top player will kick themselves down sooner or later, and with each additional round.
I really like this, because it is not based on luck with the pairings anymore, and will really strength the list.
On the other hand it has a downside as well. Some players might be able to sneak in the cut this way. Just win all, but you do not have to win high. A Fleet that is aiming for a draw or low win is becoming way stronger this way.

Pls... Alessio and Daniele

Thanks for the report! I enjoyed it very much!

8 hours ago, Aresius said:

Pls... Alessio and Daniele

Ohh, sorry. I took the names from the standing lists. I didn't know they were wrong on these as well.

9 hours ago, Tokra said:

Ohh, sorry. I took the names from the standing lists. I didn't know they were wrong on these as well.

Of course they were, they were written by a brit!