I'm running double-VCX (FCS/ABT, with Stress Ezra starting docked--that's really handy), and one crit from Talonbane's Cruise Missile sneaks past my shields. I shuffle, my opponent asks: "Shuffling the Blinded Pilot to the top?" Turns out, yes. OK, missing one 4-dice attack is frustrating, but I think I'm doing fine. Next round, Fenn Rau 1-hards in, TLs, and rolls 4 hits and a crit. And wouldn't you know? The other Blinded Pilot! My only two face-ups were both the Blinded Pilots. Ultimately, too much hull in the end, and I won.

Flying the new Reaper with countdown and Pure Sabacc on its wing. Jousting against a lone wolf Ryad. The Reaper just misses a block and Ryad R1 only gets two hits. Reaper gets bat evades. Then next move phase does a 1 Bank aileron and 1 hard turn. Ryad 3 hard turns just past the Reaper by about 1/2 a base might have had a 1/8 inch room to miss the Reaper. Sabacc lays down fire and the focus token off Ryad. Countdown pops the evade and two shields. Reaper 4 hits R1 no mods needed. Ryad focus focus blank. Reroll for LW, blank. Ryad was taken by the Reaper.

Flying Nym/Ezra/CrimsonSpec. Ezra's on 1 HP, having been ioned onto a rock. I figure he's done for anyhow, so Nym lets rip the Bomblet. Ezra? Double hits. My opponent's Y-Wing? No damage. And since Ezra died, I figured the Sabine crew wouldn't be able to pop the Y-Wing for an extra damage. Eh. No big, I was still flying a rather degenerate list.

I guess Nym's co-pilot was respectable businessman Hondo Ohnaka. "My friends, my friends!"

Recently finished up our Summer League, last match is against a guy running Moralo Eval + HLC + Dengar + 4-LOM, Fenn Rau + Fearlessness + Title, Torkil Mux +TLT. I ran 4x Scimitar Squadron Pilots + LWF + Unguided Rockets, "Countdown" + Title.

Countdown blitzes through the asteroid field for the first turn as my opponent comes out of a slow opening, self-blocking Moralo with Mux and keeping Fenn along the side of the board. Second or third turn, Moralo lands Range 3 of all my Bombers. He lands a couple of hits on my front-most Bomber in formation, who burns his Focus because I forgot HLC turns Crits to Hits. Fenn lands a hit on CD. End of my Bombers firing cycle, I bring down Moralo with two Direct Hits and a blaze of hits. One firing cycle, only 3 with UR, 12+ damage. Yeesh.

Next turn, CD whips around a rock near Fenn, who takes the bait and turns in. Fenn barely bumps when he would've jumped over CD, loses his action. All Bombers have Range and arc, light him up. Down goes Fenn. A couple of meaningless shots against Mux, who's shaking in his boots.

The rest of the game a chase Mux around the board, who manages to blow up CD and a Bomber before he bites it.

Bad variance against my opponent, but man, heavy swarms are the BOMB.

The other night at FLGS league play...

Flying AP-5 with Expert Kulbee & Wedge and a Snap Shot Zealot against Rexler, Countdown and Major Vermeil. I am flying really well this game against one of our perennial league leaders. Around round 4 or 5, i start a span of 3 rounds where I set up about 8-10 shots vs my opponent's 2-3 but my dice are ice cold. In one sequence, I throw 8 attack dice with Expertise and my opponent blanks on all his defense dice and I still only land 2 hits to barely scratch some shields off the Major.

As time runs out, we are just starting a combat phase but no ships have yet been destroyed. Wedge manages to get Rexlers shields down but I lose the Cavern Angels Zealot to return fire and AP-5 is somehow about range 5 away from the battle. My only shot left is Kulbee who has Countdown at range 1 but Countdown is untouched and unstressed so no chance to kill him, but Rexler is shieldless at range 3 with a focus token. Even if I score a perfect 3 hits, Rexler just needs to show paint on 1 of 4 dice to live and win on points. I roll Hit/Focus/Focus and "Expertly" change it to 3 hits. Rexler rolls 3 blanks and can't believe he is dead. I remind my opponent its range 3. He picks up another die and rolls another blank. Rexler dead and I win.

My frequent opponent for casual night had wanted to borrow some A-Wing components, because he wanted to fly 6. One of his favorite ships in lore. I dig out my triple Fang fighter list. He notes that this is kind of the show, Phoenix Squadron A-Wings (mostly with Homing Missiles, but two with Ion) trying to negotiate with the Concord Dawn Protectors, and getting cut to ribbons, and wonders how it'll play out in the game. Fenn Rau on one side, Kad Solus and Old Teroch on the other. He breaks for Kad and Old T. First round, I'd gone perhaps too fast on Old T, and was going to be in arc of six A-Wings, most of them Focused. So I figure, Boost anyhow, get some Range 1 for Concordia Face Off. Turns out only one ship was in Range 1.

I attack first, 4 hits after Fearless. A-Wing? Blanks out. My opponent says "wouldn't it be funny if you just kill an A-Wing on every attack?" That wound up being almost prophetic. Old Teroch doesn't quite make it. The other 5 A-Wings finish him off at exact lethal on the 5th attack. So it goes. He would have been in a great position to stop where a lot of my opponent's ships wanted to go, as well.

Next round: The A-Wings advance and pick up TLs, Kad Solus is in the arc of 4 of them (thankfully at Range 1 in all cases), and Fenn Rau inches closer. He's able to make a long-range pot shot, but does nothing. Kad takes two shields off an A-Wing. Time to defend, and first attack? A crit makes it through: Fuel Leak. Yikes. I'm feeling like I'm toast at this point, with Kad about to go down, and 18 HP worth of A-Wings for Fenn Rau to handle alone. But Concordia Face-Off pulls its weight and I live at 1 HP after the rest of the attacks.

Third round of the engagement: A-Wings K-Turn mostly, I flip around with Kad to reactivate Elusive and get the double-focus tokens, and Fenn Rau slips into Range 1 out-of-arc with Outmaneuver. 5-dice vs 2: Hit Hit Crit get past the defense dice. What's the crit: Direct Hit. Two A-Wings down so far in single shots, with one shield-less. Kad attacks that one, gets a single crit past defense dice. My opponent says, "It'll be the direct hit." It is. The two A-Wings I killed that round? The only two with Locks and Homing Missile shots on Kad, so he only had to dodge a primary attack and a 3-dice Ion Missile shot not 4-dice Homing Missles. Kad lived.

I don't actually take another damage for the rest of the game, and bit by bit the A-Wings are mopped up. Game could have gone a lot differently. Kad Solus living at 1 HP, twice one-shot A-Wings, and an exact-lethal Direct Hit is pretty nutty luck, but still, it was pretty hilarious.

7 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

My frequent opponent for casual night had wanted to borrow some A-Wing components, because he wanted to fly 6. One of his favorite ships in lore. I dig out my triple Fang fighter list. He notes that this is kind of the show, Phoenix Squadron A-Wings (mostly with Homing Missiles , but two with Ion) trying to negotiate with the Concord Dawn Protector s, and getting cut to ribbons, and wonders how it'll play out in the game. Fenn Rau on one side, Kad Solus and Old Teroch on the other. He breaks for Kad and Old T. First round, I'd gone perhaps too fast on Old T, and was going to be in arc of six A-Wings, most of them Focused. So I figure, Boost anyhow, get some Range 1 for Concordia Face Off. Turns out only one ship was in Range 1.

I attack first, 4 hits after Fearless. A-Wing? Blanks out. My opponent says "wouldn't it be funny if you just kill an A-Wing on every attack?" That wound up being almost prophetic. Old Teroch doesn't quite make it. The other 5 A-Wings finish him off at exact lethal on the 5th attack. So it goes. He would have been in a great position to stop where a lot of my opponent's ships wanted to go, as well.

Next round: The A-Wings advance and pick up TLs, Kad Solus is in the arc of 4 of them (thankfully at Range 1 in all cases), and Fenn Rau inches closer. He's able to make a long-range pot shot, but does nothing. Kad takes two shields off an A-Wing. Time to defend, and first attack? A crit makes it through: Fuel Leak. Yikes. I'm feeling like I'm toast at this point, with Kad about to go down, and 18 HP worth of A-Wings for Fenn Rau to handle alone. But Concordia Face-Off pulls its weight and I live at 1 HP after the rest of the attacks.

Third round of the engagement: A-Wings K-Turn mostly, I flip around with Kad to reactivate Elusive and get the double-focus tokens, and Fenn Rau slips into Range 1 out-of-arc with Outmaneuver . 5-dice vs 2: Hit Hit Crit get past the defense dice. What's the crit: Direct Hit. Two A-Wings down so far in single shots, with one shield-less. Kad attacks that one, gets a single crit past defense dice. My opponent says, "It'll be the direct hit." It is. The two A-Wings I killed that round? The only two with Locks and Homing Missile shots on Kad, so he only had to dodge a primary attack and a 3-dice Ion Missile shot not 4-dice Homing Missles. Kad lived.

I don't actually take another damage for the rest of the game, and bit by bit the A-Wings are mopped up. Game could have gone a lot differently. Kad Solus living at 1 HP, twice one-shot A-Wings, and an exact-lethal Direct Hit is pretty nutty luck, but still, it was pretty hilarious.

One of my regular opponents at the shop I play at and I have a running joke going. It seems every game I destroy one of his ships with a direct hit. It has gotten to the point that we are both rooting for it out of tradition if nothing else.