2 minutes ago, Kdubb said:

question- has anyone experimented with angled deployment, and how did it go? And if so, how has/does it impacted your rock placement?

I feel like someone who places their ships at awkward angles may have some advantage with obstacle placement since they will not need to adhere to the usual 90 and 45 degree angles the game usually utilizes.

I believe a lot has to do with the lanes that are established with rock placements. Lanes perpendicular to board-edge are conducive to setting up parallel to board-edge, and lanes that cut across the map are conducive to setting up at 45 degree angles.

Paul set up at 45 degree angles in some of his Nationals games - while I'm not sure why, you could study those videos and let us know.

If you're not running good jousters do not place them at B in a way that gives your opponent a clear straight path across the board to you. Deploy behind rocks.

If you decide to deploy in a corner like D deploy at a 45 degree angle so you can either maneuver forward or laterally relative to your deployment zone.

4 hours ago, Thormind said:

Tks! Im not sure i understand what you mean by "tic-tac-toe". One in every corner and 2 in the middle? Placed in lines?

It's my nickname for it. Basically, if you have 2 lines / rows of perfectly aligned asteroids. The thing is in that formation that you want to end a movement between asteroids in order to have the choice to turn left, right or go forward. Problem is, if you end up there, the asteroids would also block a 2 s-loop on a large base.

5 hours ago, Rinzler in a Tie said:

I believe a lot has to do with the lanes that are established with rock placements. Lanes perpendicular to board-edge are conducive to setting up parallel to board-edge, and lanes that cut across the map are conducive to setting up at 45 degree angles.

Paul set up at 45 degree angles in some of his Nationals games - while I'm not sure why, you could study those videos and let us know.

I wish Mr Heaver would make strategy video to teach us more advanced mechanics. ¨ <------------- "i hope he read this and think it's a good idea" :-)

On 2017-09-26 at 4:14 PM, Rinzler in a Tie said:

I believe a lot has to do with the lanes that are established with rock placements. Lanes perpendicular to board-edge are conducive to setting up parallel to board-edge, and lanes that cut across the map are conducive to setting up at 45 degree angles.

Paul set up at 45 degree angles in some of his Nationals games - while I'm not sure why, you could study those videos and let us know.

I've watched his 4 final matches. He started in similar ways in all of them with a very similar rock placement. Basically he arranged to have a tight obstacle group and setup so he had a straight line to an entrance in the field. First turn Miranda would be in the field. Nym was played a little differently. I imagine this was so he could decide to turn below the field or maybe chase his opponent if he takes the Miranda bait. Generally Nym ends up following Miranda in the field soon after and staying close to her.

We can see why this setup is so good. If his opponent try to chase miranda he's going to eat some bombs. If he tries to circle around the field hes going to get constant TLT shot. Also eventually if hes circling around the field hes going to pass in narrower corridors between the field and the mat border. Perfect spots for eazier bombing. I think it's really hard to counter what he was doing.

On 9/25/2017 at 11:27 AM, Thormind said:

The diagram was just to show an example. Another one could be an almost perfect obstacle placement. You have to place your ships first and put them in a corner. Instead of shoosing the opposite corner, your opponent place in front of you.

If i understand what you guys are saying i should try to fly so my opponent needs to chase me?

Pretty much. Personally i would scream up the edge of the board with D and take a 1 or 2 turn to the right with B and fly around the rocks on the right hand side of the board. This will force your opponent to be wary and not over commit his first few turns. If he does you can converge on his position in a pincer and hit from multiple sides. If he is cautious play a game of hide and go seek and chip away at a distance.

24 minutes ago, Thormind said:

I've watched his 4 final matches. He started the same way in all of them with a very similar rock placement. Basically he arranged to have a tight field to his right (mostly upper right). He setup to his left but between the middle and the corner. His ships were angled so he had a straight line to an entrance in the field. First turn with a 3 straight and a SLAM Miranda would be in the field. Nym was played a little differently. I imagine this was so he could decide to turn below the field or maybe chase his opponent if he takes the Miranda bait. Generally Nym ends up following Miranda in the field soon after and staying close to her.

We can see why this setup is so good. If his opponent try to chase miranda he's going to eat some bombs. If he tries to circle around the field hes going to get constant TLT shot. Also eventually if hes circling around the field hes going to pass in the upper right corner, in a nice corridor between the field and the mat border. Perfect setting for eazy bombing. I think it's really hard to counter what he was doing.

dude, awesome. thanks for this..
Did he play any strong jousting lists? Dengar/Nym? I.e. could a quick jousting list cut off that avenue into the rocks? Either way, the next few rounds are going to be painful -- TLTs or bombs lol

1 hour ago, Rinzler in a Tie said:

dude, awesome. thanks for this..
Did he play any strong jousting lists? Dengar/Nym? I.e. could a quick jousting list cut off that avenue into the rocks? Either way, the next few rounds are going to be painful -- TLTs or bombs lol

Semi final match was vs triple scouts. His strategy worked perfectly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kle7xMilmIQ

Normally vs triple scouts or PWT im scared to leave open area like that (the whole left side). This will completly change the way i will approach that kind of matchup.

5k all day. Or in miranda's case, just a straight.