The genesis of the list began a little before release. That sweet, sweet Trajectory Simulator...I had to try it. My red dice are notoriously weak; as I told several of my opponents, I blank out on Harpoon Missile attacks. So, for something marginally competitive, bombs seemed the route for me. And TS appealed to my sense of shenanigans. My FLGS ran a mini-tournament on release night. New ships not required, but encouraged. Technology issues and a mid-week date kept numbers low, but most of the regulars were there, mostly rocking Kylo's Silencer and maybe a Gunboat. I tried a variation of the list involving Crimson Leader and Zeb in Sabine's Masterpiece (as the Sabine tote). And it performed pretty well, in part because bombers are easier to fly for the first time than Silencers, I suspect. It gave me a taste of what was possible with the ship, and lead to a great deal of experimentation.
So many variations are possible. Crimson Leader versus Crimson Specialist. Or both. To Nym or not to Nym? Miranda? Wookiees? Who carries Sabine? Because with bombers and a support ship, I had to have Sabine for consistent damage output. If I run a Sheathipede to carry Sabine, does it make sense to use Engine Upgrade instead of Deflective Plating? (Side note: oh, that jank is fun! But really, really mind-numbingly tough to use effectively. AP-5 for the PS1 co-ordinated boost to alter the Trajectory launch? Squee!) TLT versus ABT + 'Poons? So many questions. I ran through perhaps fifteen variations before settling on the final list Friday night before the tournament, putting Strezra in at that last minute. In the end, Crimson Specialist was more flexible, and more fun, than Crimson Leader; keeping Nym a little lighter made more sense for pursuing MoV, and Strezra provided a little more utility than a bare Wookiee or a Captured TIE.
I wasn't expecting to be very competitive. My only previous Regional was the previous year in Seattle, where i went 3-3 with a Mindlinked Guri and two Tansaari Point Vets with a lot more practice. I was just looking for a nice, concentrated batch of X-Wing. Don't get me wrong. Sparkly dice were the dream. But I'd happily take a day of flying and not getting totally wrecked.
The Final List: Bombing Bastards mk5.3.3
Scurrg H-6 Bomber: •Captain Nym (41)
•Havoc (0)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
•Bomblet Generator (3)
Trajectory Simulator (1)
Sheathipede-class Shuttle: •Ezra Bridger (23)
Snap shot (2)
•Sabine Wren (2)
•R3-A2 (2)
B/SF-17 Bomber: •"Crimson Specialist" (36)
Deflective Plating (1)
Trajectory Simulator (1)
Ordnance Silos (2)
Proton Bombs (5)
Total: 100/100
Round One: Tsudoi
This one was recorded (Thanks again, @rilesman!). Because I'm not generally shaky enough during the first match. Tsudoi, however, was an excellent first draw; pleasant, gentlemanly, and almost as shaky as me. He flew Cracken, Wes, and Nym, all at PS10, with 'Poons and Plasmas. I don't recall much of the match, so thank goodness it was recorded (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu-69nNSm3U&t=2491s).
I do know that for the first few turns I moved Ezra before the Specialist, a consequence of having switched from AP-5 the night before. I don't think it ever mattered, and Tsudoi was kind enough to let it go. The match came down to the literal last second. I had a four or five hull Specialist, versus a two hull Nym, and dropped my dial just a moment before time was called. Tsudoi was ahead on points, and I had to get very, very lucky to pull off the win. And I did. The Specialist managed to drop a crit onto Nym, and it turned up a Direct Hit. 100/82 win at the wire.
Round Two: Jason
Jason flew QD3Nu, the Harpoons version. This one scared me more than a little. 'Poons versus single defense dice? Again, I barely remember a thing. In fact, the only part of this match I recall is the good bit. Crimson Specialist was double 'Pooned, and landed at Range One of I think QD and two Nu's. And took a crit. Which meant two more damage onto the Specialist, but two damage onto each of those three ships. Oh, Harpoons, you wacky bastards. The Specialist died soon after that, leaving Nym and Ezra facing some very damaged Imperials. I don't think I took any more Harpoons, but I could be wrong. I did Bomblet and TLT the dickens out of them, taking the 78/36 win. Two and oh start; nice!
Round Three: James
PalpAces. Oh dear. I mean, yes, Aces are vulnerable to bombs, but they generally have the repositioning and PS to have a very good chance at avoiding said bombs. This was Yorr, Expertise QD, and the Inquisitor. I exchanged the Specialist for Yorr pretty early, and then we flew around each other without doing much further for something like 45 minutes. I think. Again, really hazy. The part that stands out, still, is the turn on which I lost the Specialist. Deflective Plating was gone, and the Specialist had one hull remaining. He was in a position to block both QD and the Inq, if James flew aggressively enough. Or the Specialist could drop a Proton Bomb, kill himself, and maybe hurt QD. I went for the block. James didn't. Lesson learned. Always drop the bomb. Always, always, always. 32/36 loss. Still, i was sitting at 2-1, which felt pretty flaming good! Although, that was three games in a row gone to time. most of my games are over in 45 minutes or less.
Round Four: Bradley
Oh, this was going to be interesting! I saw a super-heavy Nym, and Ten Numb rocking Trajectory Simulator and Proton Bombs courtesy of a Sabine crew! That's a potential eight Protons Bombs hitting the board in this match! Bwahahaha! Plus Thermal Detonators and Bomblets. Too much fun. I managed to get the Specialist into a joust with Bradley's ships, although he ended up sitting on *FOUR* Proton Bombs, only one of which was his own. Ten Numb took one bomb, Nym, took one, and the Specialist took three...and survived on one hull thanks to Deflective Plating. Bradley eventually took out Ezra, but my Nym had just a little more health at the end and killed his Nym. 100/59 win. 3-1? This is starting to get interesting.
Round Five: Jamey
An almost mirror match. His Specialist had Thermal Detonators, and his Ezra had Hera...because he had Sabine riding Miranda with 'Poons. Oh. My hatred of Miranda is second only to that which I hold for the VCX. I have literally zero recall of this game, I'm afraid. I pulled off the 100/18 win, but I was getting pretty **** tired by that point.
Round Six: Beau
Another Miranda, with Ezra. And this time Lowhhrick. Woof. I recall getting some really good work out of the Specialist in this match. I caught all three of his ships with one Proton Bomb, and I think the game ended with two one Miranda, and three catching Lowie and Ezra, and the Deflective Plating holding for a *very* long time. Cold dice? Yeah, make them useful. It was another 100/18 win, and I found myself sitting at 5-1.
I had not dared hope to make the cut. But there I was, at 5-1, seeded at 12. It was shocking. I just sat for a long time, wondering what was going on. What's next. How am I going to square a second day with my wife?! My name was called for the alt art Zuckuss, and that kind of woke me up. It was time to go home and try to sleep. Ha. Sleep. Right.
Thanks to all my opponents for great games, and for not getting too salty at seeing more @#%#$!@ bombs coming at you! Y'all are true gentlemen! Top 32, or at least as much as i can recall, will be along presently. Thanks for reading, and Fly Casual!
Edited by Kleeg005
I'm a bad typist.