Zion's Finest - Episode Thread

By kennydkbrown, in Star Wars: Imperial Assault

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(To save us the hassle of having eight bajillion different posts)
Episode 67
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
In this episode, Isaac Borno gives a summary of his runner-up performance at UK Nats. Isaac is amazing, and he took Han Rangers out for one last spin before Lothal drops and we all run Spectre Cell and things that counter Spectre Cell. Obviously, Isaac is amazing, and this is very much on display as he regales us with his report. I know you will enjoy it!
IF YOU WENT TO GERMAN NATIONALS, LET ME KNOW IF YOU PLACED IN TOP 8 SO THAT I CAN GET YOUR NAME TO YOUR LIST ON THE OP DOC:
Please join us on the Slack Channel by sending an email to me at zionsfinestia@gmail.com and support us on Patreon by going to patreon.com/zionsfinest!
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BATTLE REPORT!
(When we originally recorded this, it was going to be episode 66, which is why I announce it as such on the podcast. But events intervened and its release got a bit delayed. But here it is!)
Brian dadgum left his mark on GenCon. Taking a nine activation Rebel list (Han, Drok, Jyn, R2, x2 rSmugs, RCP+), Brian was able to take it home at one of the major tournaments of the year. He provides an excellent report.
One of the most notable aspects of Brian's list is his command deck, which DID NOT HAVE TOOLS FOR THE JOB!!! I KNOW!!!
Thank you all for listening! Please get me your OP results for the Google Doc:
Join us on the Slack by sending an email to zionsfinestia@gmail.com and support us on Patreon by going to patreon.com/zionsfinest.
THANK YOU ALL!
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Episode 069

https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com/e/episode-070-he-couldnt-be-shaken/

BATTLE REPORT!

Lucas Davidson, the multi-multi winner of so many things, is the US National Champion! Lucas has been practicing with Vader since HotE dropped in Fall 2017 and, it turns out, he's pretty good with him. So much so that he was able to face an incredible gauntlet of players at Nova in order to take home the champion trophy.

Lucas' insights are incredible for learning players. He emphasizes positioning, pace, and trading material in order to take home the wins when you need them. His episodes remain some of our most popular, and I know that you will love this episode too.

Thank you all for listening! Please get me your OP results for the Google Doc:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nk10Q5n8Xjr2byvP-7mD5IGdDyVQVqk_BSGuTiz58fM/edit?usp=sharing

Join us on the Slack by sending an email to zionsfinestia@gmail.com and support us on Patreon by going to patreon.com/zionsfinest.

THANK YOU ALL!

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So much to listen to. Good thing I have a lot of painting to do

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Episode 070

SPECTRE STORE CHAMP!
In this episode, Aaron Ross--my dear brother--comes on the podcast to report on his winning the last store championship in Utah for the current season. He discusses his build, why he took Extra Armor over Doubt, what his command cards were, and how he thinks Spectre fared and will fare in the future.
Aaron is an awesome local player and this is an excellent preliminary discussion of Spectre's clear strengths.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
If you're interested in participating in our Vassal League, please join our Slack Channel. The current season will be finished in a few weeks and we will be ready to start for another round. It's an excellent opportunity for players to get reps and for newer players to cut their chops with those who've been round the bend a few times.
Send an email to zionsfinestia@gmail.com and we'll get you an invite.
Support us on Patreon! Go to patreon.com/zionsfinest
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Episodes 071 and 072 are up! It's Italian National reports from @erlucius90 and @Greg. Self-recommending of course.

https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com/

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On 10/7/2018 at 10:02 PM, kennydkbrown said:

Episodes 071 and 072 are up! It's Italian National reports from @erlucius90 and @Greg. Self-recommending of course.

https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com/

There’s a false rules statement in episode 71. If you play Force Surge at the end of Ezra’s activation, you cannot then play Ezra’s Learn by Example to play another copy force surge in the same timing window.

Edited by Fightwookies
Corrected episode number
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Leave it to Greg to get something so fundamental wrong! Thanks for the call out.

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13 hours ago, kennydkbrown said:

Leave it to Greg to get something so fundamental wrong! Thanks for the call out.

Look at me making mistakes too, haha. It was episode 71 with Emanuele. I just wanted to call it out because I’ve played a few games against people who’ve interpreted that incorrectly.

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Episode 073 is up!

STRATEGY DISCUSSION.
I this episode, I am joined by Robert and Aaron to talk about Spectre Cell. We have been trying to play it pretty frequently in our testing and I wanted to get the brothers on to share their particular musings regarding the meta and how to crack Spectre.
Join the Slack so you can get in on Wave 3 of our Vassal League. We are going to be starting soon. Send and email to zionsfinestia@gmail.com.
Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/zionsfinest and let me know your thoughts on the Force Vision token!
Edited by kennydkbrown
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Episodes 074 and 075 are up! I broke up my conversation with Ryan Janway into two episodes because we ran a bit long, but you're going to love it. Ryan is freaking amazing at this game, even though I think the Carolina Swarm is an ungodly creation meant to destroy the dreams of Rebel players (except Spectre Cell, of course).
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Episode 077!
STRATEGY DISCUSSION.
We have been grinding in our local community and on Vassal to get Spectre figured out. On this night, JK and I played three games back to back to back on Lothal. The first was Fluctuations, the second and third were Blitz. The first match was non-specter (Ahsoka Rangers vs. Vader), but we quickly got down to brass tacks and ground out some games with JK playing Spectre on Blitz.
We share our thoughts on what Spectre players and their opponents need to think about on Lothal, particularly regarding early game positioning and what Rebels can do in order to gain an advantage vs. Spectre Cell.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for listening!
Join us on the Slack Channel by sending an email to zionsfinestia@gmail.com!
Tweet out to @FFGOP (https://twitter.com/FFGOP) and tell them we need more Worlds space!
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Good discussion. But Christmas before Thanksgiving? Wow! Bold.

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Episode 079 is up!

https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com/e/episode-079-savoy-takes-france/

FRENCH NATIONALS REPORT!

Alfonso is the French Nationals Champion! And what a champion! Alfonso joined me on the podcast to give a summary of his rise to the top of a very competitive field with Han Rangers. He gives great breakdowns of his matches, as well as turning points and tips for study and discussion. He's a genius and it shows.

Check the Regionals schedule! Join the Slack! Register for events! Have many happy holy days! Pray for world peace! In that order! (Unless you've already done them, then skip onto the next!)

Thank you all!

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Episodes 091 and 092 are up! It's a North Carolina Regionals report.

Also, I am hosting Episode 12 of the Fully Armed and Operational podcast. They sent me the file, I recorded an intro, and they are ready to go!

https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com

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https://zionsfinestia.podbean.com/e/episode-093-the-darkest-hour/

We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history....

So said Winston Churchill at a time when it actually mattered and before England would again pour itself out in the defense of its ancient kingdom and liberties.

***

I wanted to make a lot of clever comparisons between Lothal Blitz and the air campaign waged in the defense of Britain, but fortunately came to my senses and decided instead to merely quote the eminent statesmen and include a selection of music from Oldman's masterwork.

On to the real bit. Friends, Spectre on Lothal Blitz is one hundred percent broken. In a non-mirror match, where the opposing list needs at least one turn to gin up in terms of focusing, drawing command cards, etc., Spectre will win approximately ninety percent of the time. I am sure that some of you will think I am being hyperbolic (I am not), that more testing is necessary (it isn't), and that we can crack this nut before Worlds (we won't). Spectre is in their opponent's deployment zone in round one. As Matt and I discuss, in his first activation in the majority of his games as Spectre on Lothal Blitz, he was able to deal approximately fifteen damage (killing Onar, two Rangers, etc.). His first activation. I even attempted to deploy my forces at the very back of my deployment zone. It did not matter, except to briefly delay the end.

There is no way to stop Spectre when you have no time to power up your attacks, and on Blitz you will get no time.

I wish there was a bit of shine I could put on the problem, but it just isn't there. When Ugnaughts appeared and briefly dominated the meta, there was at least hope for support from FFG in the form of an errata or future product. While new product may be in the pipeline, it will not arrive before Worlds and there is a vanishingly small chance of an errata to Spectre prior to Worlds.

Let's talk about this more on the Slack. We have played it enough that we feel comfortable making these kind of stark claims. We have a lot of fun talking about the existential crisis that we think we are facing, but we keep on target enough to make our reasons clear (especially Matt, for all the obvious reasons). I have spent all my fan-capital with Todd and FFG, but if anyone has a line to someone in a position of authority, as Obi-Wan says, "Now is the time."