Had an interesting game last night with a longtime player who has been out of the game recently due to work. I brought a 4 interceptor lost while he brought 7 TIEs.
My list was:
Soontir Fel w/ Push the Limit
Saber Squadron Pilot w/ Veteran Instincts
Saber Squadron Pilot w/ Push the Limit
Saber Squadron Pilot w/ Push the Limit
My opponent had:
Howlrunner w/ Swarm Tactics
Black Squadron Pilot w/ Marksmanship
Black Squadron Pilot w/ Draw Their Fire
Academy Pilot
Academy Pilot
Academy Pilot
Academy Pilot
I won initiative (/facepalm). He deployed his Academy Pilots in the centre of the table, so I deployed on the right side so I could take advantage of asteroids as I advanced up-table. To my surprise he merrily barreled over the asteroids to get to me, and his gambit worked - sort of. He was able to get his four academy pilots into range 1 of Fel when the dogfight started. Unfortunately, he had given up his actions, so thanks to double focus and evade, Fel emerged unscathed. At the end of the initial exchange, one of my PTL Sabers had taken one damage, and both Black Squadron Pilots were destroyed.
My VI Saber stayed to keep the swarm busy while the rest of my ships turned around to re-engage. He comported himself well on the second round of combat, dealing a point to an academy and taking none in return (he had k-5'd). The Academy pilots were trying to keep him pinned (more or less) and yet he still managed to evade the incoming fire because none of the shots had the advantage focus. Turn 3 of the dogfight saw the undamaged interceptor re-engage and destroy Howlrunner. Turn 4 saw another Academy Pilot die and the VI Saber suffer three hits and roll all blanks on evade. We were down to three on three.
At this point, Fel and the other Saber were ready to re-engage. And I got cocky. Fel boosted and barrel rolled to get a range 1 at one of the undamaged Academy Pilots, rolled two hits and a focus. I foolishly spent Fel's focus, and 2 damage got through on the TIE. He turned around and one shot Fel, as I rolled a blank and two Focus. To make matters worse, he one shot another of the PTL Sabers (who had bumped and didn't have an action as a result). The other Saber had killed off another TIE, leaving it as a two on one.
The next few rounds saw me get some distance on the TIEs (and take a second damage) before I finally banked around an asteroid to re-engage. I took out the lead TIE and didn't take any damage in return. We then chased each other around for a couple of turns before I was able to seal the deal with a range one shot.
It was quite the game and it was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the inevitable rematch.
Edited by niceas