Six players attended the Store Championship at Proud Lion (Cheltenham). It's the first time I've visited the store, and it's one of the nicest I've seen. The owner was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and there was a great atmosphere with a constant crowd of people coming in and out and looking over our matches. If anyone has the chance, I’d strongly recommend paying a visit, as this kind of store is wonderful advertisement for the hobby in general.
I took a list that was focused on survivability:
jabba
eWeequay
C3P0
Hera
Jyn
Onar
Vinto
eJawa
Temp Alliance
Black Market
Command cards are in the picture, and mainly about keeping my units alive.
Game 1 - Anchorhead Bar (patrons)
My opponent had brought a Rancor and IG88, which looked more than formidable in the face of my puny firepower! He also had BT1, rProbe, eJawa, C3P0 and a rUgnuaght.
We were playing the patron mission on Anchorhead Cantina, and so I would effectively be forced to take down one of his big guns if I were to reach 40 points.
My opponent started Round 1 and we performed the usual focussing and careful positioning, which I involved me putting Jyn into harm’s way, but also having my door open to allow shots down the hallway. However, when IG moved up a bit too far to put some damage on Jyn, it gave Onar the opportunity to lay some focussed fire on him and deal some serious damage.
Round 2 started in a bit of a blur, but the Rancor had moved up at the end of Round 1, and my opponent’s Take Initiative allowed the beast to lay an incredible 10 damage on Onar! Not enough to kill Onar, who followed up by hitting IG again, which I think killed him.
From there, I killed off many of the lesser units BT1, Ugnaught, eJawa and rProbe all went down mainly thanks to Vinto and a hit called in by Jabba’s. Onar was killed by the Junk Droid (how embarrassing!) and Jyn bit the dust too. I had enough to grab the patrons and secure the win though.
Throughout the game, the additional evades, blocks, cunning blocks and defensive command cards turned kills back to survival, and denied points, actions and activation advantage. While I didn't face the raw damage of the Hunters, perhaps an alternative list could counter them?
Game 2 - Jabba’s Palace (Stash mission)
This time my opponents list really threw me. Leia, Verna, rWookies, eEcho and Rebel Care Package. He also had a wookie upgrade that focussed them if they took damage, and On A Diplomatic Mission. I've never faced Verena or Wookies before, and I was very uncertain on how to deal with them.
Hera proved invaluable at the opening of this mission, allowing 3P0 to give out a focus and get the door open. This made it risky for my opponent to his door, and so the Echos and Wookies went round the long way. Again, the extra movement given to my Weequays was key, allowing them to get in position and take out a Trooper. Leia opened the door and used Battlefield leadership to take a shot at Jyn. However, she didn’t get the range, and Jyns nimbleness allowed her to fly over to the other side of the map, which in turn allowed a focused Jyn to stun a wookie.
Vinto pushed up to take out Gideon, but Verena used Master Operative to throw a huge attack at Vinto. 8 damage was on the table, but On The Lam allowed Vinto to bravely, bravely run away out of line of sight. Verena then popped down into the Rancor pit to grab the stash, whilst Onar headed up onto the dais for the other. My eJawa had the one in the middle.
Round 2 saw my opponent once more take initiative. I can't remember which unit went first (I think it was the wookies), but probably through a timely dodge, no damage was taken. From there, Jyn, eJawa and Vinto took out the remaining Trooper, while Onar dropped down to the pit to take out Verena. Jabba ordered another hit for Onar to finish Verena off and then the points from the stashes finished the game.
Incredibly, the only damage on any of my units was from Black Market. Again, defensive rerolls, extra defence dice and defensive modifiers kept my guys alive.
Game 3 - Nal Hutta (it's raining crates)
My opponent once again had Leia and this time her brother Jedi Luke was ready to bring the pain. rRangers looked well suited to the map, while Hera, C3P0 and Gideon brought the support. RHC ensured plenty of command cards too.
Hera had proven her usefulness in the previous two games. Whilst not offering as powerful a benefit as Gideon, the flexibility she offers is incredible. Being able to take the extra range shots with confidence, then roll the range you need really opens up opportunities. Combined with the rangers, I thought this would be formidable on the long trenches of the swamps.
Again, my opponent had initiative and we did the focus shuffle. However, his rangers pushed quite far out. Jyn took some damage, but nimbled out of the way to prevent being killed off. Tough Luck saved Hera from the last ranger. The weequays took a couple of shots at Luke and put some damage on him. Vinto pushed up at the end of the round and took out a ranger to end round 1.
Round 2 started with Vinto using Draw to take out the other two rangers, though he was now horribly exposed and ready to die. Incredibly, Brace for Impact and hard to Hit kept him alive from Hera and Gideon’s attacks. Jedi Luke pushed up and swung at a Weequay, but Onar kept him alive with one health. Luke's second attack was On The Lam’d, and both Weequays lived to take out Luke, though the first shooter died from a deflect. From there, boxes were grabbed and his Hera killed. Vinto eventually fell, but it wasn't enough.
So, I finished up with the trophy, which was a bit of a shock considering I'd lost every game at Euros (my first tournament) and my aim was to just get a win under my belt. However, as you've seen, the lists I played were often experimental or chosen for the chance to use a players favourite characters.
I do think that there's something in the idea of building a nimble and defensive list, but I'm not sure if there's enough to counter the sheer power of the Hunters.
