The Aces league is back! It’s been a few years but I wanted to kick it off now that 2nd Edition is in full swing and frankly get my *** kicked by some good players to get better. This league will go for 11 weeks and each week the Aces will submit a list to play vs their opponent. Each week I’ll post the vlogs of the previous games and do a poorly thought out and written analysis for each game along with a prediction. I think over 2 seasons I was right only about 60% of the time.

The games: https://challonge.com/yg9dgl3i

The Aces and my Over Unders for them out of 11 games:

Richard White 3 Wins: I’m the worst player in this. But each season I’ve gotten 3.5 and 4 wins.

Tyler Tippett 6 Wins: Tyler’s had a year where he performed really well in this and one he won 3 games. Generally Tyler’s a great technical player and can counter pick well.

Chris Allen 5.5 Wins: Honestly I think this should be higher. Not because Chris is especially good but I think he’s willing to play what will win and counter pick well. That goes a long way in a league like this.

Will Varnackel 6 Wins: Honestly this is because Tyler and Will are the Yin and Yang of their Xwing scene. I’d like to propose a prop bet of who wins more games, Tyler or Will. Will isn’t a smack talker...so I’ll volunteer my services for him

Travis Johnson 5.5 Wins: Travis is a great player and will research well for counters. I think 5.5 was probably low but I’m already writing this and don’t want to recalculate.

Ryan Farmer 3.5 Wins: Ryan I know you’re a good player, but like me we’re locked in with scarier people. That being said every year 3 wins is about the lowest it goes and he’ll get at least a win off of me so 3.5 is fine.

Duncan Howard 7 Wins: Duncan is a co favorite in this league with Bunn. He’s probably either the best or 2nd best player in the league. What sets him back is likely to be lack of Vassal Experience and playing imperial only.

Andrew Bunn 7.5 Wins: BUNN! BUNN! BUNN! Andrew is the favorite due to being the highest ranked player around, having some Vassal Experience, and being willing to play every faction. I will say that 7.5 is a LOT of wins.

Alex Smittle 4.5 Wins: This is probably low. Alex won the Crossroads Classic and is easily one of the best players in the midwest. But I regularly beat him. So that just takes some confidence away.

Morgan Reid, Patron Play in Winner and People’s Champion 6 Wins: Morgan doesn’t get the shine he deserves. I’ll hammer the over. I think he’ll win the whole thing at this point on Karma alone.

Paul Heaver 6 Wins: You might think this is low. This is actually high. Paul screws around during Aces league trying to figure out combos for other tournaments. He’ll get to around 5 wins but he gets the “3x World Champion” bump.

Marcel Manzano: Honestly I have no idea how to set Marcel’s Wins. He’s going to have lists that come out of left field and shank you. But he’ll often get caught being a little too clever in a league like this. He reminds me of Modern Aaron Bonar that way.

The Matches :

Paul Heaver: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v5!s!4:74,-1,-1,-1,142:;66:133,-1,-1,-1,-1:;37:-1,-1,-1,-1,140:;37:-1,-1,-1,-1,140:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=coreasteroid0,core2asteroid0,core2asteroid2
V
Chris Allen: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!208:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;208:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;208:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;203:-1,-1,97,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;191:-1,136,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=

Analysis: This is what I meant when I say that Paul screws around and tests stuff. I think the U wings offer pretty nifty support for Luke and Sabine offering token stake possibilities and offering easier shots on the big HP U wings. That being said Chris is bringing a dump truck of damage and can snow ball the game to victory if it goes right. Plus he hilariously has the bid at 197 points so he’ll have board knowledge and target locks.

Prediction: Chris Allen

Duncan Howard: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!179:124,-1,-1:;196:123,111,-1,-1:;221:-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=

V
Morgan “The People’s Champion” Reid: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!179:127,165,-1:;199:123,-1,26,-1:;165:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=

Analysis: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get Rekt 182 point Bid. The People’s Champion doesn’t give a **** about your bid. Duncan and Morgan are both just such good players that an advantage like board knowledge is too much to overcome. I also said that about the final of the patron play in game and Morgan proved that was untrue. Duncan is one of the more patient players I’ve ever seen play. We’ll see if he can pull this out.

Prediction: The People’s Champion

Marcel Manzano: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum and Villainy&d=v5!s!86:-1,138,136,85,-1,-1,-1,-1:;95:-1,-1,-1:;159:102,-1,-1:;159:102,-1,-1:;143:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;143:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:&sn=Marcel Scrubs List&obs=
V
Travis Johnson: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!179:127,-1,-1:;191:111,136,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;199:123,111,26,-1:&sn=0%20-%20Vassal&obs=

Analysis: Marcel eschews the typical Junkyard Swarm and drops a Quad for Proton Rockets. I think that’s pretty **** interesting as it ups your firepower quite a bit. The range 1 restriction is going to be very difficult to pull off with the maneuverability of Travis’ ships. Make no mistake though, while Travis has positional advantage. If he’s caught blocked at any point he could potentially lose a ship in a round. In the end I’ll take board knowledge and redline firepower.

Prediction: Travis Johnson Johnson

Andrew Bunn: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!173:74,-1,-1,-1:;179:116,-1,-1:;191:111,136,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs=

V
Ryan Farmer: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v5!s!4:74,136,-1,-1,142:;77:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;5:116,136,-1,-1,142:&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=

Analysis: Farmer already out here memeing. Honestly I think he has outs and he’s going to hit really hard. But It’s going to be very difficult to lock down Vader and Soontir while also killing Redline.

Prediction: BUNN!

Will Barnickle: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v5!s!5:119,-1,-1,-1,142:;9:119,-1,-1,-1,142:;7:-1,-1,-1,142:;2:130,-1,-1,-1,142:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=
V
Alex Smittle: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v5!s!86:-1,137,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;95:-1,61,-1:;143:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;143:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;143:-1,-1,-1,-1,-1:;159:-1,-1,-1:;159:-1,-1,-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=

Analysis: This is actually a really fun match. Will brings his off kilter Biggs list vs the full blown Junkyard Swarm. Alex definitely out guns Will. But Will has higher init pilots and Biggs to help deal with the swarm. How Alex uses his Quads and how Will uses his board knowledge will determine this game.

Prediction: Alex Smittle

Richard White: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v5!s!20:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,71,-1,-1:;20:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,69,-1,-1:;20:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,71,-1,-1:;20:-1,97,-1,-1,-1,69,-1,-1:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=
V
Tyler Tippett: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v5!s!218:132,-1:;217:132,-1:;221:-1:;222:-1,-1:;223:-1,-1:;229:-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=

Analysis: This is funny. Tyler and I have both been doing Shuttle/Soontir/Whisper for a while now. We both thought about our bids for multiple hours. We both decided to let the other guy figure it out and flew something else. Tyler settles into a tie swarm that he’s very comfortable flying. I picked K wings, because I think they’re undervalued in the meta right now. Stylistically this is a very cool game. He out jousts me and out initiative’s me. I have turrets and bombs and medium based ships should gum up a swarm well. Honestly if I were a better player I’d feel at least comfortable. But here we are.

Prediction: Tyler Tippett

To all the Aces, Good Hunting.

Kelvan Tiberius

14 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

Marcel eschews the typical Junkyard Swarm and drops a Quad for Proton Rockets. I think that’s pretty **** interesting as it ups your firepower quite a bit. The range 1 restriction is going to be very difficult to pull off with the maneuverability of Travis’ ships.

Prockets are range 1-2 now, bullseye arc. Something to remember if you ever end up going against them or think about using them. Adv. Prots are still range 1 and front arc though.

1 minute ago, Hiemfire said:

Prockets are range 1-2 now, bullseye arc. Something to remember if you ever end up going against them or think about using them. Adv. Prots are still range 1 and front arc though.

hmm... someone do the math but is that actually less surface area?

3 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

hmm... someone do the math but is that actually less surface area?

If this pic is any indication (seems to be a fair depiction, Proton Rockets would extend to the second range band, Adv. Prots would only extend to the first, but cover the entire range 1 front arc), Proton Rockets cover less surface area than Advanced Proton torpedoes by a fair bit:

5 hours ago, Hiemfire said:

If this pic is any indication (seems to be a fair depiction, Proton Rockets would extend to the second range band, Adv. Prots would only extend to the first, but cover the entire range 1 front arc), Proton Rockets cover less surface area than Advanced Proton torpedoes by a fair bit:

honestly that change makes me sad.

4 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

honestly that change makes me sad.

Only requires a focus still. Just takes a bit more to line up than it used to. Still nasty against Large bases, though for 7 points you really want it on a missile carrier with reload.

10 hours ago, Hiemfire said:

Only requires a focus still. Just takes a bit more to line up than it used to. Still nasty against Large bases, though for 7 points you really want it on a missile carrier with reload.

it'll threaten Redline maybe more than I thought... but overall Redline will still be able to escape it, probably.

55 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

it'll threaten Redline maybe more than I thought... but overall Redline will still be able to escape it, probably.

The Zs might have enough mobility for it.

4 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

The Zs might have enough mobility for it.

They'd more likely be available for blocking lanes. The biggest issues is you CAN block Redline. But then you're likely giving open lanes to Soontir and Whisper.

4 hours ago, Kelvan said:

They'd more likely be available for blocking lanes. The biggest issues is you CAN block Redline. But then you're likely giving open lanes to Soontir and Whisper.

5 minutes ago, Tlfj200 said:

Travis is going to beat me because I won't be able to resist flying Wedge against him. My over under is too high.

Have any of these been scheduled yet?

1 minute ago, Q10fanatic said:

Have any of these been scheduled yet?

Smittle v Yarnickel Thursday 730 Est

Chris Allen v Paul Heaver " Wednesday after 9-930pm eastern, hopefully."

Duncan v Morgan and Marcel v Johnson Johnson delayed to next week.

24 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

Smittle v Yarnickel Thursday 730 Est

Chris Allen v Paul Heaver " Wednesday after 9-930pm eastern, hopefully."

Duncan v Morgan and Marcel v Johnson Johnson delayed to next week.

I'm going to say Marcel, but that is just because I want to see an ace list get gutted.

17 hours ago, Kelvan said:

honestly that change makes me sad.

It's not entirely fair to compared the area of just the arc as the firing area. Because if just the corner of a ship is in a firing arc, the ship counts as in that arc. Because of that, you'd actually rather have the long narrow firing arc instead of the short fat one, because while the surface area is smaller, the total number of ship positions you can catch is larger.

EDIT: easy way to intuit this: how often do you have range 1 shots that are not bullseye arc?

3 minutes ago, Brunas said:

It's not entirely fair to compared the area of just the arc as the firing area. Because if just the corner of a ship is in a firing arc, the ship counts as in that arc. Because of that, you'd actually rather have the long narrow firing arc instead of the short fat one, because while the surface area is smaller, the total number of ship positions you can catch is larger.

EDIT: easy way to intuit this: how often do you have range 1 shots that are not bullseye arc?

A very fair point.

4 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

Smittle v Yarnickel Thursday 730 Est

Require. Scouting. Info.

Yeah, with unplugged this week, Marcel and I couldn't find a night to schedule.

2 - games next week it is!

21 minutes ago, Brunas said:

It's not entirely fair to compared the area of just the arc as the firing area. Because if just the corner of a ship is in a firing arc, the ship counts as in that arc. Because of that, you'd actually rather have the long narrow firing arc instead of the short fat one, because while the surface area is smaller, the total number of ship positions you can catch is larger.

EDIT: easy way to intuit this: how often do you have range 1 shots that are not bullseye arc?

This sure looks a lot like content.

FYI your calculation on how many ship bases you could shoot with TLT was the lightbulb of how broken that was.

4 minutes ago, Kelvan said:

This sure looks a lot like content.

FYI your calculation on how many ship bases you could shoot with TLT was the lightbulb of how broken that was.

Haha, glad it helped.

Even writing I had to like triple check because those numbers are nonsense

It's crazy how fast we've normalized. Put a large base ship down in the middle of the board and look how small the area that ISN'T at range 1-3 is. It's ridiculous! How were there not riots in the streets? 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Just now, Brunas said:

Haha, glad it helped.

Even writing I had to like triple check because those numbers are nonsense

It's crazy how fast we've normalized. Put a large base ship down in the middle of the board and look how small the area that ISN'T at range 1-3 is. It's ridiculous! How were there not riots in the streets? 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Can one riot when one's soul is thoroughly crushed, and when the company actively punishes you for wanting a position-based game when it goes into full apocalypse mode in its game's final year? Thank God that 2nd edition is literally a different game altogether. It is leagues ahead of 1st edition (AKA, Stockholm Syndrome).

38 minutes ago, player3010587 said:

Can one riot when one's soul is thoroughly crushed, and when the company actively punishes you for wanting a position-based game when it goes into full apocalypse mode in its game's final year? Thank God that 2nd edition is literally a different game altogether. It is leagues ahead of 1st edition (AKA, Stockholm Syndrome).

What's funny is I both stopped caring and performed better in the last year. (I guess I did have tlt in the list though).

3 hours ago, Brunas said:

It's not entirely fair to compared the area of just the arc as the firing area. Because if just the corner of a ship is in a firing arc, the ship counts as in that arc. Because of that, you'd actually rather have the long narrow firing arc instead of the short fat one, because while the surface area is smaller, the total number of ship positions you can catch is larger.

EDIT: easy way to intuit this: how often do you have range 1 shots that are not bullseye arc?

Thanks for posting this, because I was going to.

4 hours ago, Brunas said:

It's not entirely fair to compared the area of just the arc as the firing area. Because if just the corner of a ship is in a firing arc, the ship counts as in that arc.

This has always been an interesting function of X-Wing's firing arcs, and it leads to seemingly contradictory things. Consider the double-arc on a VCX-100 versus the 180-degree arc on the YV-666. The VCX-100 arcs cover less area (they're only about 165 degrees combined), but significantly more effective area, due to what Brunas mentioned above. But then it swings the other way again, because (generally speaking) it's easier to ensure a ship is in -- and remains in -- a contiguous arc like the YV-666's.

Bunn vs Farmer " 6pst on Friday it looks like"