tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90973868827079846532024-03-19T01:06:15.720-04:00On The RocksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-29965179757219012312020-08-29T15:35:00.076-04:002020-09-18T10:00:58.098-04:00Commitment Points<p>One phrase you might hear used when describing X-Wing strategy is "whoever commits first loses." Like all catchy X-Wing proverbs, it's a useful rule of thumb, even if it's not always true. But it's also a bit ambiguous. What does commitment in X-Wing look like?</p><p>Here's what I look at when identifying commitment in an X-Wing game.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">First Steps</h2><p style="text-align: left;">The early game, specifically the first couple of turns of the game where ships are unlikely to engage, can be seen as a fairly uneventful (and typically brief) sequence leading up to the more exciting tactical dog fighting that we expect from a game of X-Wing. But for the observant, this stage of a game can be extremely telling in identifying key items of information about how your opponent chooses to play.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The first turns of X-Wing can almost be considered a duel of counter-espionage efforts. Since ships in X-wing are <i>generally </i>forced to advance, each turn thus requires players to make decisions on how they're positioning their ships. If the player has a strategy, even one they're not conscious of themselves, this is where you get the first indications of what it is. Do they intend to split their forces and set up one or more flankers? Will they be jousting head-on, or feinting a joust and turning away? Do they aim to drag you through the rocks, or plunge into the obstacles themselves to force you to engage into the obstacles and have limited options in the post-engagement turns?</p><p style="text-align: left;">But no player wants their opponents to know any of this. Secrecy and unpredictability are key elements of X-Wing; that's why we flip our dials face down, after all. So the player who is able to disguise their opening movements and hide their larger strategy has a one-sided advantage. It's Sense on a strategic level, minus the Force point cost.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Where do we lose this ability to hide our master plans? Let's look at what I call Commitment Points.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Decide, You Must</h2><p style="text-align: left;">I'm never quite sure whether to call them pivots, commitment points, points of no return, or something else more elegant and/or Star Wars-y, but what I'm talking about are points on the board where you or your opponent have to commit, to some extent, on where your ships are going. These points are almost always seen in the form of obstacles.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Let's look at an example from a recent game I played on VASSAL that I felt demonstrated a few great examples of commitment points. Here's how we set up:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8w7b785MbrW9v2kOUWb_TSOQ7Qxrg4Y7njEB9MYdpAB9iOWjguyHc_kjwFHRXN_s1TiyzXO34uoqeGBGGKQ0EGCHfa731GITaYOi0lGYqrNgiTMjbluzA_Ir3Pf88lzkYOvZvWU4btE7/s955/Ex1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8w7b785MbrW9v2kOUWb_TSOQ7Qxrg4Y7njEB9MYdpAB9iOWjguyHc_kjwFHRXN_s1TiyzXO34uoqeGBGGKQ0EGCHfa731GITaYOi0lGYqrNgiTMjbluzA_Ir3Pf88lzkYOvZvWU4btE7/s640/Ex1.png" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm set up on the lower left, and my opponent is deployed at top right (as is typical in VASSAL, we're playing left-to-right). Most of my ships are initiative 1, while my opponent is i4 and i6 (and moving after my i6 ship, thanks to a bid). Generally, my opponent will have more information to make decisions, so based on initiative, I'm at an informational disadvantage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But my opponent also has a less responsive list than I do. Bossk is among the clumsiest ships in the game, and Dengar is strong but limited in that unique JumpMaster 5000 fashion. 75% of my ships are Fang Fighters with great dials, and a Nom Lumb that I won't be requiring any fancy arc dodging or outmaneuvering from. All of this means I might have a bit more flexibility in giving away my plan than my opponent will.</p><p style="text-align: left;">What are our goals here? For me, it's reasonably straightforward: Nom Lumb wants to get into my opponent's ideal positions and draw bumps and shots, punishing them with Dengar gunner and counter attacks. The Zealous Recruits want to get into range 1 and deal damage, absorb shots, and block opponent ships, roughly in that order of priority. Finally, Fenn wants to play a bit safe and be either out of range or range 3 of enemy ships, or right at range 1 and able to do Fenn Rau things.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My opponent's goals are likely somewhat similar. Bossk will likely want to get in close and reinforce to eat damage, and this Bossk has Intimidation so we can assume that the Bossk flank is not on the menu here. Dengar will likely be looking to flank, and if I turn on him, my opponent is probably happy to tolerate that too as it means Dengar will be shooting multiple times. My opponent's Fenn Rau plan is likely the same as my own.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">So, where are the commitment points here? Early on, these are the ones we're concerned about:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_E9lqw6jkALe6ut8C0wqwRFIaQ5-ZZ2nyFCN6_U_2Ysp5dGH0VnCnPwjUgQgVOUhmCUMLiWG-nE7vXZhj44mjwkPScC22Ky3EqvYzSs24RK6sIhDlNqPwhfO1LTaSFcdTLR1tl-KqZXs/s955/Ex2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_E9lqw6jkALe6ut8C0wqwRFIaQ5-ZZ2nyFCN6_U_2Ysp5dGH0VnCnPwjUgQgVOUhmCUMLiWG-nE7vXZhj44mjwkPScC22Ky3EqvYzSs24RK6sIhDlNqPwhfO1LTaSFcdTLR1tl-KqZXs/s640/Ex2.png" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Let's focus on my opponent's commitment point first. Immediately, my opponent has a decision to make with Bossk. Bossk can either go straight, or he can hard turn left. The only other option is a hard stop, but this is only staving off the inevitable, as Bossk's blue maneuvers mean he'll almost certainly be going straight to clear stress.</p><p style="text-align: left;">With Bossk uncommitted, this is a rough idea of all of the approaches I need to consider with Bossk:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9X-edOZ-2ShVBgypmszDDomjylVBLWHyPP9u0yM3KUslDVDNA0bg8do_7mE8GHwIjM5B5XEN8Dcz6PkwvrVu2bOXv6-Sm1jOjm9iBvkCnnafTxeGrjWS-Lji4GMYxrSS5VlRblSSQg4F1/s955/Ex3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9X-edOZ-2ShVBgypmszDDomjylVBLWHyPP9u0yM3KUslDVDNA0bg8do_7mE8GHwIjM5B5XEN8Dcz6PkwvrVu2bOXv6-Sm1jOjm9iBvkCnnafTxeGrjWS-Lji4GMYxrSS5VlRblSSQg4F1/s640/Ex3.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Basically, we've determined that Bossk's flight plan is "anywhere."<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Dengar has the same decision to make right now. Whatever he does this turn is going to commit him to either starting by going along the top edge of the board, or down the right side.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So, with the above in mind, we revisit my goals. I want jousting Fangs and a Nom Lumb in the mix, and I don't want Fenn to die early. Right now, I can speculate where to go in order to make sure these things happen, but what would make this decision easier would be to delay. I also have a commitment point in my corner, but look closer. Even after I commit to that cornered asteroid, because of how open my side of the board is, I can reasonably change course without it taking an awkward amount of turns. Plus, I'm mostly a bunch of Fang Fighters, and they can delay these decisions with combinations of hard turns and barrel rolls.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(An unrelated aside: My starting deployment is flawed for several reasons. Can you identify why? I'll tell you what I think I messed up at the very end.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now, fast forward to turn two, planning phase:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKha5Bzz_CGs4Onhgu7XKpVVFoEolmQDxTyjia8Fr_OHsTR3yZH1kn9rEcA7VHFYJmxONRPxxyI17sUJgo1tU7P5A7LCcmymao6_-22yksI7AfvZjwCeXRW2h1daYuVwaXB9LrjAOIWhi/s955/Ex4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKha5Bzz_CGs4Onhgu7XKpVVFoEolmQDxTyjia8Fr_OHsTR3yZH1kn9rEcA7VHFYJmxONRPxxyI17sUJgo1tU7P5A7LCcmymao6_-22yksI7AfvZjwCeXRW2h1daYuVwaXB9LrjAOIWhi/s640/Ex4.png" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We now have a ton of additional information to process! Let's look at what our opponent has told us.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Look at Bossk first again. He's made his choice on the large cornered rock, and that choice was to go north. We now can extrapolate the following potential lines of play:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0A9Fkg2mSqKJvMzpgEtrfQzRGtgI2-BtOVzwssHExCsHmcnVEQiupn_x5SB2A6PDKXBm3xo8nqBBZqp5Jby1-__lo6tjj3TqLY2vksNn3FRMl5SETwkK9pJgdZZwDBn8zaMzmCZi9dm7/s955/Ex5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0A9Fkg2mSqKJvMzpgEtrfQzRGtgI2-BtOVzwssHExCsHmcnVEQiupn_x5SB2A6PDKXBm3xo8nqBBZqp5Jby1-__lo6tjj3TqLY2vksNn3FRMl5SETwkK9pJgdZZwDBn8zaMzmCZi9dm7/s640/Ex5.png" /></a></div><br />A lot fewer ambiguous red arrows in every direction now! That big shaded blue area is all now effectively out of scope for Bossk's future maneuvers, and the non-shaded area is reasonably unlikely. If he tries to go there after the choice he made on the first asteroid, it will mean turning away from my entire force, and that spells death for any YV-666. Bossk will either be continuing along the top or cutting left right now, because he also now has a new commitment point:<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhVIQK1arAX8TChn5c-qTDRlYnfHeEbhZQkLnnXjMrTjqlSxWjbbQD3wAWdxQBVu72OBnBPJH6l9DAUxcHF_LdjQ-t0vadh9dY0D84DjHM_0N0lhxrWigtoYnTyuh9YHUqpc0od28QZAH/s955/Ex6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhVIQK1arAX8TChn5c-qTDRlYnfHeEbhZQkLnnXjMrTjqlSxWjbbQD3wAWdxQBVu72OBnBPJH6l9DAUxcHF_LdjQ-t0vadh9dY0D84DjHM_0N0lhxrWigtoYnTyuh9YHUqpc0od28QZAH/s640/Ex6.png" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">If Bossk does not hard turn now, then thanks to that commitment point identified above, he's stuck going straight. In fact, right now we can narrow down Bossk's maneuvers to probably around three broad choices: 3 forward (give or take a speed), 2 or 3 hard left, or a hard stop.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Dengar and Fenn are also committed to avoiding that far right board edge any time soon. Fenn can get there in a couple turns, if he's really desperate, but it would mean being exposed to my whole list. Same goes for Dengar, in fact.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Looking at this first decision, and our basic assumptions about our opponent's game plan, we can start making observations on strategy and anticipating future moves:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dengar remains on the outside and moved fairly far in the first turn, suggesting he's going to blow right by that next commitment point and flank wide. Interestingly, the far right obstacle might make it tricky if he's not careful with his next maneuver.</li><li>Bossk is not deviating from our expectation that he will want to be central and jousting. It seems more likely he'll turn in here, but we can't discount the possibility that he also goes straight and turns in after the next commitment point, hoping to catch me out of position if I fly my Fenn conservatively here. However, this will also mean bringing Bossk right into the heart of the obstacle clump, and his future positioning will be impaired. The reasonable call here is to assume he's hard turning but account for the possibility that he does not.</li><li>Fenn's position does not entirely line up with the original expectation. Perhaps he intends to follow Dengar? Otherwise, flying in from behind Bossk might be problematic and lead to Fenn having to navigate an extremely crowded board.</li></ul><p>Considering our own game plan, we can make some decisions here. If the intention was to flank with Fenn as safely as possible, then we now have a relatively safe haven in the form of that big blue area I highlighted above. We also have a Bossk poised to come up the middle and a Dengar who looks to flank wide (and who we would ideally like to not expose our Zealous Recruits to if we can avoid it). </p><p>We also don't have any real commitment points to contend with here, from our perspective. Our ships all "picked a direction" on our cornered rock, but this turn we can hard turn and change the plan. The only obstacle we're truly thinking about this turn, for our ships, is the bottom right asteroid, as Fenn, if he went fast enough, would need to consider by the end of this turn whether he'll want to go outside of it or cut the corner. But remember, we're playing the counter-intelligence game, and I don't want my opponent to know where he's going! So therefore, I'll be flying Fenn at a suitable speed where both options remain open next turn.</p><p>No shots have been fired here so far, and yet an awful lot is already happening in this game! Let's skip ahead again and look at the planning phase for the next turn, turn 3:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QSjGibjpC_eA5Eka9QaRr27Ihw_HSMHZrrWiahGJ44BqD83MAQ7lUkezIyzd5PX8H7TQBfgRZJi01SOFEBsW_XIxv6d2giWHjJX9s2eXWU_Dd-YXxctbJ_7Mr0ysmbyWhCy4vPlg1L4S/s955/Ex7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QSjGibjpC_eA5Eka9QaRr27Ihw_HSMHZrrWiahGJ44BqD83MAQ7lUkezIyzd5PX8H7TQBfgRZJi01SOFEBsW_XIxv6d2giWHjJX9s2eXWU_Dd-YXxctbJ_7Mr0ysmbyWhCy4vPlg1L4S/s640/Ex7.png" /></a></div><br /><p>We now probably have all the information we need to understand how the opening engagement is going to look. Dengar will be flanking wide, and those rocks are going to cause problems with him doing it any time soon. Asteroids are preventing him from banking in or going forward fast. Our opponent has told us that Dengar will not be arriving at the party promptly, and we need to take this opportunity to get an uneven engagement. Here's what we can reasonably anticipate from Dengar:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_Kl8qfs5lWuHx9jUBZhJkP-ENZuyzRMrHkwCPsSYkuJlCf45Biz6qlnn0EN_pa5iPc5BcuhJqbguzlvKguxi1GucUX53SqZAqb3R9nTLmSazwNBmdfhljIx5QbcLBrxjvKBvMP0ecUr_/s955/Ex8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_Kl8qfs5lWuHx9jUBZhJkP-ENZuyzRMrHkwCPsSYkuJlCf45Biz6qlnn0EN_pa5iPc5BcuhJqbguzlvKguxi1GucUX53SqZAqb3R9nTLmSazwNBmdfhljIx5QbcLBrxjvKBvMP0ecUr_/s640/Ex8.png" /></a></div><p></p><p>Red are things he might do this turn, and blue are things he might do the turn after that. Massive areas of the board are outside of his grasp and will be for the foreseeable future. Our most precious piece, Fenn Rau, is in absolutely no danger from Dengar for a while.</p><p></p><p>Bossk has indeed turned in, and by choosing the 3 hard, he already skipped the next commitment point, the large pivot rock in the middle of the board. Here's his outlook for the next two turns:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUqaCGH5DuX47lS2i-GFmyr5AfIfdv2SjDIZC-iWKqbONC-lWSdMsgfs8CE5E8zHPXleq00CNA5p3TgO__HEPM_wPkGOCI7TP5_29fNiUy2ZhTCp2a6mO7r_Vn-0ENLhGmKgUCeso6OpA/s955/Ex9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUqaCGH5DuX47lS2i-GFmyr5AfIfdv2SjDIZC-iWKqbONC-lWSdMsgfs8CE5E8zHPXleq00CNA5p3TgO__HEPM_wPkGOCI7TP5_29fNiUy2ZhTCp2a6mO7r_Vn-0ENLhGmKgUCeso6OpA/s640/Ex9.png" /></a></div><br /><p>Bossk's only real options at this point are whether he wants to follow this course now, or hard stop and put it off for a turn. Anything else that he might do (turning away from the engagement, flying into the big rock) are poor enough plays that we don't even need to consider them. You don't have to predict every opponent move, just the ones that are likely to hurt you!</p><p>Finally, Fenn's position has some struggles as well. He's in line with the rock in front of him and therefore can't go fast to run left of the big rock in the middle. If Bossk hits the brakes this turn, Fenn has almost no good options, in fact (which should give us some insight into whether we can actually anticipate a Bossk stop here). Fenn is thus nearly as committed to Bossk's path as Bossk is himself, as most other routes leave him away from the opening engagement and doom Bossk to fighting 1v4 against my list.</p><p>Because of these commitments from my opponent, we can make very informed decisions now. The Fangs can hard turn and boost in and probably get shots on Bossk. Fenn can turn here and play it safe, either being in R3 or having no shot at all, but able to dial a straight maneuver next turn that, combined with the boost option, will give him range 1 with a focus token. Nom Lumb can park right where he needs to this turn so that next turn he can become a royal pain.</p><p>And what does my opponent know? Not nearly as much, because of my open board and conservative choices. Are my non-Fenn ships going to hard turn and ambush Dengar? They could! Is Fenn turning in or going the long way around that cornered rock in order to flank extra wide? I've committed to neither option so far! My opponent can see most of my initial strategy now (Fenn to flank, Nom to be central in the board) but my options for following turns are still a mess of red and blue arrows pointing in a lot of directions.</p><p>The combat phase of turn three ends up looking like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6-BIU75sH6hwjm6YOf45ji6tgI4OcXM_YVQ6oiZU8qo9C5SPuvrVl5X2o61BwljFMuoKypYemNnGi1oq2NMEgMYhZmBokLsLFbYoX_Kf4SdqogexX8ID2STFZKXH0pET12BMI57_YVvS/s955/Ex10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6-BIU75sH6hwjm6YOf45ji6tgI4OcXM_YVQ6oiZU8qo9C5SPuvrVl5X2o61BwljFMuoKypYemNnGi1oq2NMEgMYhZmBokLsLFbYoX_Kf4SdqogexX8ID2STFZKXH0pET12BMI57_YVvS/s640/Ex10.png" /></a></div><br /><p>Other than the Zealous Recruits being perhaps 1 ship length too far back, this is a decent tentative first engagement for me, and a nightmare of a turn coming up for my opponent. Bossk is in big trouble, Fenn is running out of options, and Dengar has precisely one maneuver option for the next turn. All of this was largely because we committed later, leaving our good options as open as possible, and were able to make actionable observations based on where our opponent committed.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Foresight</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Now that we see how they can be used, we should make sure we know when a commitment point is relevant.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Consider Wolffe below. He's approaching an asteroid. Is it a commitment point for him right now?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKwDKGzXCQiPN9R0vlQQiMpgNRVyok1tlGnOi55PHckjvXUx6TfN6NWuOJCtuv8w1-zIE2xCxH3NknOr8pxn5LoW7CUgR0Eyx4cCvr5dkZ7H3RjI3w8eG1f-jvBF2E_M2aH3c1HnDhjpY/s492/arc1.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKwDKGzXCQiPN9R0vlQQiMpgNRVyok1tlGnOi55PHckjvXUx6TfN6NWuOJCtuv8w1-zIE2xCxH3NknOr8pxn5LoW7CUgR0Eyx4cCvr5dkZ7H3RjI3w8eG1f-jvBF2E_M2aH3c1HnDhjpY/s0/arc1.PNG" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The answer is that yes, this is a very relevant commitment point. Without considering the context of the rest of the board, we can see here that Wolffe appears to have a key decision: a hard turn to go to the right of this asteroid, or a straight maneuver that commits him to not going right. These are mutually exclusive and the decision is forced on this turn:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrqk-9qxcB7DgusKT0Nw8s1eWSCekYVMJ-_n8nIFjGEfcyznnay-AchIKgf2iJLifW4dqhQJK_Cvuig-XkRFh_fd7tfqFOBHfY1KE7pvGnBWBchZU1dViMDmTitAdehyphenhyphendmcNcKzhSAY4T/s476/arc2.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrqk-9qxcB7DgusKT0Nw8s1eWSCekYVMJ-_n8nIFjGEfcyznnay-AchIKgf2iJLifW4dqhQJK_Cvuig-XkRFh_fd7tfqFOBHfY1KE7pvGnBWBchZU1dViMDmTitAdehyphenhyphendmcNcKzhSAY4T/s0/arc2.PNG" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Wolffe has committed, even though if he went straight, he hasn't actually passed the asteroid yet. If he wants to change his mind and go right, he'll be hard turning right onto the asteroid, and this is rarely a good move for Wolffe!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now, what about this. Is this a commitment point for Wolffe on this turn?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpd_j9ndpHnnCmgioj3HXSQi_YVuBRfderghUnnbF6X_t7wOloQ7-PZpxmeY8iZ1pkVQKAW4LzyJiYXgifGiRRxLlyQQnGZdNvEZxa6bJ8EjcdH0YqPiGiRr5dVeWpbfvQm7fb5tdewmU/s434/arc3.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpd_j9ndpHnnCmgioj3HXSQi_YVuBRfderghUnnbF6X_t7wOloQ7-PZpxmeY8iZ1pkVQKAW4LzyJiYXgifGiRRxLlyQQnGZdNvEZxa6bJ8EjcdH0YqPiGiRr5dVeWpbfvQm7fb5tdewmU/s0/arc3.PNG" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">It looks almost the same as the first example, but it's an illusion. Because of Wolffe's size and dial, he no longer has an option to turn right without landing squarely on the asteroid. Wolffe is almost two base lengths away from the asteroid, but he's committed. You can safely plan around Wolffe going straight here, and if he doesn't, then he's on the rock and you're probably even more okay with that.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA1MGsrU65Lwt7Bmo2IvqRf5LpuolWNxG88pZxIv10GsI6Jq2jbtbKDqZFRcEPiJfGdODD_JOF0H66xegROSlohJ0Q-3Q6seySxWdBK7cbybxmiLqlXRRoN8DrDyhBGLc_tclNqxbuCUQ/s440/arc4.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA1MGsrU65Lwt7Bmo2IvqRf5LpuolWNxG88pZxIv10GsI6Jq2jbtbKDqZFRcEPiJfGdODD_JOF0H66xegROSlohJ0Q-3Q6seySxWdBK7cbybxmiLqlXRRoN8DrDyhBGLc_tclNqxbuCUQ/s0/arc4.PNG" /></a></div><p></p><p>Same asteroid, same positioning, but different ship. Is the situation different now? Very much so! The small size TIE/ba, with a dial featuring a 1-speed hard turn, is still able to make a choice here, as the hard 1 fits nicely (and threatens a variety of options on the following turn). Larger ships and ships with poorer dials (specifically a lack of either
hard turns or white barrel rolls) tend to be more likely to have to
commit early. Think of an ARC-170 Sinker Swarm, or a group of Dorsal
Turret Veteran Turret Gunner Y-Wings, or a Lambda shuttle. Some of these
lists need to commit to a rock turns before they even get near it (or
find themselves in uncomfortable predicaments if they didn't).</p><p>Ultimately, this becomes an exercise in being cognizant of your opponent's ship sizes, dials, and action bars, and having a good sense of where X-Wing maneuvers will land a ship of a given size. Using this information, you can identify pertinent commitment points and use them to roughly map opponent future turns. Especially early in the game, you don't need to predict precise maneuver choices, just the broad strokes on a strategic level. </p><p>Later, when the game becomes more tactics-focused, these commitment points become more useful in ruling out specific potential maneuvers. They also allow you to foresee the value of future moves, both for yourself or your opponent. If what feels like the best move this turn will leave you with a problematic encounter with a commitment point next turn, you may want to reconsider something less restrictive, board position-wise.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">You Cannot Hide Forever</h2><p style="text-align: left;">There are a few other things to keep in mind when thinking about commitment points. </p><p style="text-align: left;">First, some lists are much better than others at staving off these decisions and delaying while the opponent shows their hand. The StarViper is infamous for doing this, as are ships that move laterally (such as the TIE Phantom or the HMP Droid Gunship). The Phantoms, for example, can end a turn pointed right at the commitment point in question, forcing the opponent to do their next planning phase without knowing which way the Phantoms will be decloaking.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Any ship that has hard 1 turns and barrel rolls is also usually quite good at delaying and avoiding (or recovering from) commitment points. Currently, the Nantex is a prominent example. The final two matches of the Corellia Galactic Championship Qualifier (<a href="https://youtu.be/hzOw64bn88A" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/d9GZVzZrTnk" target="_blank">here</a>, courtesy of <a href="https://www.goldsquadronpodcast.com/" target="_blank">Gold Squadron Podcast</a>) are both excellent examples of Bohan Li's Nantex squad avoiding heavy commitment to a board until the opposing squad has passed commitment points of their own. In the semifinal game, this is leveraged to jump on Redline, while in the final game, the Nantexes are able to wait until Rear Admiral Chiraneau has committed to a lane so that the Nantexes can safely engage from directions that RAC can no longer effectively respond to.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">The next thing to consider about commitment points: they aren't always obstacles, and nor are obstacles always commitment points. In the examples above, Bossk himself was almost acting as a commitment point for Fenn Rau. Ships fully control the space they occupy until they activate on that turn, and so anything moving before them needs to consider them as a temporary commitment point. When facing lists with multiple initiative values, this is why it's sometimes very valuable to do a sanity check on the maneuvers you're anticipating from your opponent and seeing if the early initiative ships' decisions might illuminate the later moving ships choices (or perhaps vice versa).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some ships ignore obstacles and therefore aren't bound to commit by them. Dash Rendar is of course the poster boy for this, but Grappling Strut Vultures, Mining Guild TIEs, Nantexes, or Collision Detector ships are all examples of ships that are bound by obstacles to a lesser extent, if any. You'll need to adjust your conclusions on a case by case basis, given the restrictions of the given ship; for example, Mining Guild TIEs are still unlikely to land on asteroids, strong Vulture play means the Vulture is more likely to barrel roll off the obstacle than stay on it, etc.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ships are less likely to respect non-asteroid obstacles. A gas cloud is hardly a deterrent in a slow early game, where the action is relatively unimportant and the strain is easily cleared before an engagement. Debris clouds are also usually a tolerable obstacle, and a strong opponent will opt to accept the risk of a debris field overlap rather than take an inferior board position.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Critically, don't fall into the trap of believing that your opponent won't go over an asteroid! It's usually unlikely, but if an opponent can trade an action and 50% chance of one damage to catch you vastly out of position based on a faulty assumption, they will! Just consider that an opponent moving through an asteroid intentionally is significantly more likely than an opponent landing on an asteroid, an opponent will rarely, if ever, purposely land on an asteroid such that they'll be hitting it again the following turn, and ships with health to spare are far more likely to take such a bold action than low health ships. Bossk might have caught me off guard and yolo'd through the commitment point in the examples above, but Soontir Fel certainly wouldn't be expected to do something so reckless and potentially self-destructive.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, if you're flying ships that can get early target locks (e.g. E-Wings, DRK-1 Probe Droids, Colonel Jendon, perhaps Sensor Buoy Suites), this entire post is doubly relevant for you. Waiting to observe your opponent's commitments and making educated target lock decisions based on those can make you far more likely to be able to get value from those locks in the critical early engagements. For Jendon users, don't be afraid to wait a turn or two (if no engagement is imminent) to see where your opponent is heading before spending a charge. For E-Wings, observe where your opponent is flying their ships, determine which ones you want to target first based on their indicated strategy, and target lock accordingly. For Probe Droids, send those target lock balls towards the key commitment points and prepare to lock intelligently!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hope this helps. As always, looking forward to hearing others' thoughts on how they consider these sorts of things in game, or barring that, what clever Star Wars-y name they give to them.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzs4mtx5L2wkxHLmgJPNVPaXipaYKpXh7DT3TC_2eNilKy7ZVlO0kObrWNv-y1mSc-zcWhO4ND1_oX4JnrPMJ2JXLUnYZjACo7-LEdj6Tc3ZUf7lUeLmU95AgpceFaTq4gpJXhQtDClIg/s600/your-tauntaun-will-freeze-before-you-reach-the-first-marker.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzs4mtx5L2wkxHLmgJPNVPaXipaYKpXh7DT3TC_2eNilKy7ZVlO0kObrWNv-y1mSc-zcWhO4ND1_oX4JnrPMJ2JXLUnYZjACo7-LEdj6Tc3ZUf7lUeLmU95AgpceFaTq4gpJXhQtDClIg/s0/your-tauntaun-will-freeze-before-you-reach-the-first-marker.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Listen, we're calling them Commitment Points now, not markers. And also, <i>I'll see you in hell!</i>"<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>---</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hey, what are you still doing here? The post is over! Go home! Go!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Oh, right, I promised I'd tell you why my bad deployment was bad. You remembered! You must really care!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two main things: First, you shouldn't put your high initiative pilots in front of your low initiative pilots, like how I have Fenn parked right in front of two Zealous Recruits. It worked this time because I was doing some early hard turn shenanigans with the Zealous Recruits, but it's a bad idea in general and basically makes your high initiative ship into a bonus commitment point, which is bad. This is why Howlrunner always goes in the back corner in TIE swarms! Second, don't start ships right up against each other as I did with Fenn and Nom Lumb. If you try to bank with either of them, you're going to start having all sorts of issues. Both of these mistakes give your opponent free information on what possible moves you can open with, and free information is bad!</span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-87878918563244427142020-05-25T14:58:00.010-04:002020-09-01T16:30:29.545-04:00Match Review - XVT Top 4: Oli Aces vs. Jedi Aces<i>It's another match review, and as usual, this game was
played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a Top 4 game in the X-Wing Vassal Tournament, Season 6. The
format for season 6 was pretty straightforward: Extended lists, players
are locked to once faction of their choice but can otherwise freely
change lists as they see fit, and (for this match) 12 round games. I
went 5-1 through Swiss (albeit including one late drop for a regrettable
win-by-default) and made it through the Top 8 to reach this point.</i><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><i></i>
<br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z199XW240W82WY169XWWY173XW113WW105&sn=Imp%20Aces%202020&obs=coreasteroid0,core2asteroid0,core2asteroid2">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z199XW240W82WY169XWWY173XW113WW105&sn=Imp%20Aces%202020&obs=coreasteroid0,core2asteroid0,core2asteroid2</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/oli_186/" target="_blank">Oli Aces</a>
with a twist. I'd run Oli Pocknell's exact version previously at Gold
Squadron's first Space Jam tournament and made cut with it (ironically,
losing once in Swiss to Oli himself in a straight mirror match). I'd
also used it in my last couple Swiss games. I've played a lot of
Imperial Aces going all the way back to 1.0 Palp Aces lists, so this is
always a bit of a comfort zone play for me. I wasn't inclined to use it
again here, however, my opponent had played the same list in all of his
games (<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Republic&d=v8ZsZ200Z278XWW200WY314X75WW200WY312XWW200WY276XWW200W&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=" target="_blank">a 199 point CLT Jedi list</a>). My other go-to lists were a <a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z202XWWY202XWWY202XWWY199XW240W82W&sn=Whisper%20Imdaars%202020&obs=coreasteroid0,core2asteroid0,core2asteroid2" target="_blank">200 point Whisper/Imdaars list</a>, and a <a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z214X124WW26W50W63WW70W165W147Y199XW240W82W166&sn=Whisper%2FRAC&obs=gascloud1,gascloud2,gascloud6" target="_blank">198 point Whisper/RAC list</a> (an updated take on <a href="https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/294856-hot-rod-the-decimator-lives/" target="_blank">Dalli's Hot Rod list</a>),
and while I think they might have been able to contend well, the Oli
Aces list seemed like a slam dunk. Seeing as my opponent would be
playing at 199, I swapped Passive Sensors out for Fire Control System on
Vader. Make no mistake, I am fully in the Church of Oli when it comes
to a firm belief that Passive is the right call, but with no i6's in
sight and a guaranteed bid advantage, making the swap this time seemed
like a no brainer.</div><div><br /></div><div>I won't go into too much
depth about the list itself because it's well documented and relatively
self-explanatory. Whisper is a premiere endgame piece and a constant
threat, Vader is an i6 flamethrower that has usually helped clear the
field of threats before he's used his afterburners and is able to be
pinned down, and Grand Inquisitor is a flanker/bait piece that has just
enough firepower to viably threaten an opponent who ignores him (and,
occasionally, can piece together an endgame win).</div><div><br /></div><div>Against 4 CLT Jedi that rely on near-perfect board knowledge to line up CLTs and avoid arcs, the list is a heavy favourite...<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Republic&d=v8ZsZ200Z273XW2W201WY278XW252W200WY312XWW200W&sn=Oops%20Not%20CLT%20Jedi%20At%20All&obs=" target="_blank">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Republic&d=v8ZsZ200Z273XW2W201WY278XW252W200WY312XWW200W&sn=Oops%20Not%20CLT%20Jedi%20At%20All&obs=</a><br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>My opponent changes it up and brings his own triple ace list at 198
points. 7B Anakin with R2 Astromech is arguably too expensive at
current prices, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not a tremendous
ship that can absolutely devastate my i5's and give my own grown-up
Anakin a giant headache. The CLT users are less scary, and if I can
avoid the bullseyes, not really scary at all, although this will depend
greatly on the initiative roll's result. The real problem here, though,
is sitting in Obi-Wan's astromech slot, waiting to go crazy. C1-10P's
Erratic state means Obi-Wan will be dishing out a jam token after every
maneuver he makes, interfering with GrInq's token stacks, impairing
Vader's flexibility by knocking off his target locks, and most
importantly, devastating Whisper by threatening to rob her precious
evade token and leave her dangerously exposed to being knocked out of
the cloak/recloak cycle.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a well chosen
list that would have caused severe issues for any of my standard lists,
all of which feature Whisper, and one of which also includes a Decimator
that absolutely needs to reinforce constantly or die quickly and with
little damage output. Clearly I needed to splash a TIE/x1 or TIE/ln
swarm somewhere along the line in Swiss to throw my opponent off the
trail!<br /></div><br /><div>
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
</div>
<div>Step one was to discard almost everything I'd learned from studying
my opponent's list and previous games. Step two was momentary panic. I
combined these two steps in the interest of efficiency and allowed
myself a 15 second period of cursing and head-shaking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Step three was to pray to the dice gods that I win the initiative roll. I don't. <b>I'm going first </b>against
a bunch of arc dodgers that can now relatively freely line up bullseyes
and become viable 3-die threats. Step four, more panic.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With
that done, it was time to look at the list again. Anakin and Chopper
are the big problems, and so target priority is relatively easy to
determine as a result. When facing Force using pilots, I tend to just
assume that, within reason, every green die they roll is going to mean
an Evade symbol. Therefore, the ideal first target here is probably the
92 point sole 3-die attacker that happens to roll one less green die
than the other two ships. R2 makes him function as a pseudo-8 HP ship,
but if I'm able to pile damage on him quickly, the shield regeneration
doesn't get a chance to happen, and I can take out the most dangerous
piece of my opponent's list and grab a big lead in the process. I would
be happy to trade any of my ships 1-for-1 with Anakin and go from there.</div><div><br /></div><div>That said, the big orange 6 on Anakin's card, as well as that bit of text after the words <b>Fine-tuned Controls</b>,
means it's highly unlikely I'm able to pin him down reliably and kill
him with any sort of speed, barring a significant misplay by my opponent
or some seriously wild dice. If I'd won the die roll, it would be
difficult but doable; having lost it, it's a real long shot.
Fortunately, Obi-Wan is a bit less likely to get away from me (at least
while Vader still lives), so realistically he's probably going to end up
being the first target assuming Anakin slips through my fingers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically,
my target priority decisions here aren't so much who I'm targeting as
they are who I'm not targeting. In the context of this match, Plo Koon
is simply something I need to tolerate and mitigate, but I'm not wasting
shots on him unless I have no other option.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My
opponent will likely be thinking similarly against me: ignore/mitigate
the Inquisitor, shoot Vader opportunistically, but catch and kill
Whisper first if at all possible. Knowing this, I'll need to be very
careful with Whisper, cloaking judiciously if I'm going to be in
multiple dangerous arcs, and preferring positions for survivability and
escape paths rather than prioritizing damage output at all costs.
Whisper can shoot and kill her way out of many situations, but this is a
list that can <a href="http://xwing.gateofstorms.net/2/multi/?d=EkAAAAAAAAAC&a1=MwMAAAAAAAAA&a2=IwIAAAAACAAA&a3=IwIAAAAACAAA" target="_blank">viably threaten to kill Whisper in one round of shooting without even getting to range 1</a>.</div><div><br />
<h2>
</h2><h2>Deployment</h2>
</div>
<div>With arc dodgers in general (and especially with cloaking ships), I
want as much open area as possible. That means small rocks, especially
as I don't have any real love of gas clouds or debris, and in fact both
can do pretty annoying things to my ships. My opponent brings big rocks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Normally,
with this list, I like to corner the rocks as much as possible to give
me as much open space as possible to reposition. Unfortunately, that
will work against me here, as my opponent has a significant advantage on
me in his ability to leverage repositions. Therefore, I adjust my
approach, looking to use the rocks to make a relatively large area that I
can use as one big pivot. If my opponent chooses to go through the
rocks, even better for me, as those will limit his ability to maneuver
freely and get bullseyes. Lining up bullseyes isn't trivial, and it's
much more difficult when you have to consider asteroids as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>All
that said, I don't know that there's any approach here that gives me an
advantage. Basically I need to give myself an area for Whisper to
decloak without limiting her options, and otherwise just hope to arrange
the rocks in the least disadvantaged array possible.<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxysEyVf7et4o01qfq4ETvappXwLHjRycYITupraLgJXFXBZkRmxOtFRs82WkGvzQ4x5DfP86vmc89U0WynTh8BvVqkdGmRLskkRgjI0cUBMMZXyd7hq83xYZ06dJKwuh1psUTcMjn5EI0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxysEyVf7et4o01qfq4ETvappXwLHjRycYITupraLgJXFXBZkRmxOtFRs82WkGvzQ4x5DfP86vmc89U0WynTh8BvVqkdGmRLskkRgjI0cUBMMZXyd7hq83xYZ06dJKwuh1psUTcMjn5EI0/w640-h640/0-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I
place the big rock right in the middle (1). If he chooses to corner
rocks, this at least gives me a small pivot to work with, forcing him to
identify his main force and/or flankers a bit more clearly. My opponent
is on board with this, though, and places another large rock at range 1
of the first one (2). I make a triangle with my next pick (3) and he
confirms his interest in making a big tight clump with his next rock
(4). This gives me a bit of a choice of where I want the battlefield to
mostly happen, as my next rock will mostly determine which side of the
board has the biggest open area. I want Whisper to be able to get to a
decent position quickly, so I place my last rock (5) at range 1 of my
other two rocks. My opponent places his last (6) opposite of the large
rock, giving us a big asteroid wall running down the center. He might
get cute and fly one or more straight through the narrow lanes running
between the two sides (I certainly won't be doing that), but more likely
I can anticipate one or two ships coming around one way, and the rest
going the other.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Whisper gets placed first.
I like to set her up in a corner, and I am reasonably certain that my
opponent will line up his main force across from her (and she will
therefore be moving away from those ships), so whichever corner I place
her in should be the opposite of where I want her to be. The north
corner is a bit more open (my opponent's last rock wasn't quite range 1
of the other rocks), which lots of space to decloak in multiple
directions, so I place Whisper at the south corner. Inquisitor goes in
the middle, where he can feign attacks in either direction.</div><div><br /></div><div>My
opponent places Plo in the top right corner (facing south) and Obi
lined up across from Whisper. This strongly suggests that Plo will be
the flanker, which is ideal for me, as it means I don't need to worry
about making any difficult choices in what section of the board to
position my ships to attack. I put Vader up in the top corner, across
from Plo and also facing south. I can feign an attack on Plo from here
(and actually pursue it if for some reason that looks advantageous), and
this leaves me with hopefully some ability to choose how Vader enters
the fight. Finally, Anakin does indeed go down beside Obi, across from
Whisper.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
<div>I don't see any advantage in committing early to this board. While
being bold and running Vader and/or Inquisitor up super fast to try to
flank the Jedi might be unexpected, my opponent's list is much better
than mine at quickly changing targets and reacting to a unexpected board
state. I mostly need to make this something resembling an honest joust,
so for now I don't want to show my hand. Non-committal banks for
everyone!</div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Activation<br /></h4></div>
<div>
<ul><li>"Whisper": 1 bank left, cloak</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 1 bank left, focus</li><li>Obi-Wan Kenobi: 1 bank left, spend 1 charge on C1-10P (1 remaining), gain an evade, stress</li><li>Plo Koon: 1 bank right, focus, spend 1 Force to barrel roll right backward</li></ul><div>I'd
wondered if my opponent would try to rush forward fast with Ani and Obi
to catch Whisper off-guard, but he plays it safe. One Chopper charge is
burned so that the jam functionality can be turned on prior to the full
engagement; this is a pretty standard approach to using Chopper. Plo
also plays the game of non-commitment.<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>Darth Vader: 2 bank left, barrel roll left backward<br /></li><li>Anakin Skywalker: 2 forward, spend 1 Force to barrel roll left forward, boost forward<br /></li></ul></div>Vader
still threatens either element of my opponent's list. Anakin moves in
slightly more aggressively, going nice and wide. No surprises yet!<br /><div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3><div>This turn, I need to get everyone in position to
hopefully all shoot at the same target next turn, ideally while still
offering at least a passing threat to Plo in order to force my opponent
to advance a bit more cautiously with him. Whisper has two options: she
can candycane (decloak left, 1 hard right) and catch Anakin in case my
opponent tries to get aggressive with him this turn, trading shots
1-on-1 with Anakin since Obi's current state means he can't get close
enough to shoot this turn. However, this limits my options next turn to
decloaking into a corner, decloaking forward into an Anakin that can
threaten to sloop and double-modded attack me, or decloaking right and
getting completely enveloped by opposing ships. I choose what I feel to
be the safer option, sending Whisper back towards my other ships. This
also feigns an attack on Plo, which is probably not something my
opponent is terribly scared of, but keeping him guessing at least a
little bit seems decent.</div><div><br /></div><div>All that said, looking
at this now, there's a decent argument for candycaning, trading shots,
and then next turn decloaking forward and then going as fast as I can
past Ani and Obi, with the goal of turning and shooting them in the back
while they get engaged by my two other ships. It would have been
interesting to see how that went; Whisper taking unexpected damage,
losing her evade, or having her forward decloak blocked all would have
thrown big wrenches into the plan, but if none of those happened, it
might have at least forced my opponent to make some difficult choices,
and any choice your opponent makes is an opportunity for them to make a
mistake.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5dErmcyUTxuXSy687_pBdtnlhi1GXkEB_Tu0KWmrzI7poylzEmlLItfNNKlL9L3iYVzoOi9WviM7vB8EqgEbcSGw-KYe7Mjg-aZFnBUSzAG2cbtreuMULeDayQ8FhetUiI16szAGuLIP/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5dErmcyUTxuXSy687_pBdtnlhi1GXkEB_Tu0KWmrzI7poylzEmlLItfNNKlL9L3iYVzoOi9WviM7vB8EqgEbcSGw-KYe7Mjg-aZFnBUSzAG2cbtreuMULeDayQ8FhetUiI16szAGuLIP/w640-h640/2-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
<h4>Systems<br /></h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h4><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whisper decloaks left backward, gains evade</span><br /></h4></li></ul><h4>Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Whisper: 4 forward, barrel roll left backward</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 1 bank right, focus<br /></li></ul>
<div>The Plo feint is as convincing as I can make it without actually
being committed to it. If I'm lucky, my opponent sees this and bails out
with Plo to try to drag me around the asteroids. If that happens, I
don't have to worry about him coming in from behind.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Obi-Wan: 2 bank right, clear stress, spend 1 Force to boost forward, lock (an asteroid)</li><li>Plo: 2 forward, spend 1 Force to barrel roll left backward, focus</li></ul><div>At
the very least, I've slowed Plo down. If I'd gone aggressively towards
Obi/Ani, I expect Plo would have boosted and/or barrel rolled forward.
Instead, he's now positioned defensively to leave himself the option of
bailing out or going across the top of the board and potentially getting
nuked by my whole squad.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 3 forward, focus</li></ul><div>My
position is ever so slightly awkard here, as Vader's no longer
convincingly threatening Plo, thanks to the asteroid. I considered
barrel rolling left to continue to threaten a quick charge at Plo, but
then I wouldn't be able to do what I actually wanted to do and move
south towards Obi and Ani. The last thing I want to be doing is chasing
Plo Koon of all ships around while Ani and Obi kill me from behind.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: 1 bank right, spend 1 Force to boost forward, lock (an asteroid)<br /></li></ul></div></div></div>
</div>
<div>Anakin dials cautiously to avoid the candy cane.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're still well out of range, so Whisper recloaks and we move to turn 3.<br /></div>
<div>
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Turn 3</h3><div>I probably can't put off an engagement much longer,
depending on how aggressively my opponent wants to be here. Since he
didn't spend his second Chopper charge on Obi, I expect a fairly
cautious advance from Obi and to sit in a position where his next turn's
blues get him where he needs to go. I can't really pursue the Plo feint
any longer, so now I need to position to not get bamboozled by Obi and
Ani. They seem poised to come at me from the south west corner of the
map, but I've watched enough of my opponent's other games to know that
he likes to move in cagey and unpredictable ways, so either Obi or Ani
(or both, but I expect only one) might try to cut the corner and come
through the inside corner of the southwest asteroid. My arcs need to be
positioned to not lose shots if that does come to pass.</div><div><br /></div><div>I
do choose to hold Vader back here. This lets me at least mildly
threaten Plo, perhaps punishing him if he comes in too aggressively. The
alternative, advancing as quickly as possible, opens up a full Plo
backdoor right away, and the last thing I want to do is accidentally
stumble into Plo's bullseye with my i6; a 3 bank from Vader and a
straight-plus-barrel roll from Plo might lead to exactly that. I'm not
above taking a pot shot at Plo, so I'll give Vader a chance to do that
here. The rest will be turning to threaten Ani and Obi.<br /></div><div><br />
</div><div>I should add that, like an absolute pro, I accidentally
flipped my dials mid-planning and so had to change my precise maneuvers
to cover my butt. The broad strokes are roughly the same, except Vader
was going to bank instead of going straight and Inquisitor was going to
go wide with a hard 3. I prefer the changed maneuver for Vader, as it
happens, so all's well that ends well. But I wouldn't have minded
Inquisitor being able to cut in to the west on the next turn, which was
one of my reasons for wanting the hard 3.<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>Systems</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks left backward, gains evade<br /></li></ul></div><h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Whisper: 2 hard right, activates passive sensors</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 1 hard right, focus</li><li>Plo Koon: 1 bank right, spend 1 Force to barrel roll right center, focus</li></ul><div>Plo
wisely barrel rolls, avoiding the potential for Vader to 1 forward plus
barrel roll to try to shoot at him. He's still not fully committed to
the flank, but now that I'm pointed south toward Ani and Obi, he doesn't
need to leave his options open anymore.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Obi-Wan: 3 bank right, spend 1 Force to barrel roll left backward, spend 1 charge on C1-10P (0 remaining), gain evade, stress</li></ul><div>Obi
moves in and decides to not cut the corner. I'm assuming my opponent
landed the bank and didn't like the look of his angle, which is probably
correct; barrel rolling right would have committed Obi to a 2- or
3-forward the following turn, which I would have then been able to block
nicely with the Inquisitor.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 1 forward, focus</li></ul><div>A
barrel roll right would have been nice for next turn's positioning, but
it would have cost me one of Whisper's decloaks, and I wasn't sure
which one I wanted yet. Besides, having three viable decloaks for an
opponent to consider is never, ever a bad thing.<br /></div></div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: 3 bank left, spend 1 force to barrel roll left forward, boost right</li></ul><div>Anakin
stays wide but comes in almost a bit too aggressively. He ends his turn
about 1/10th of a ship base out of shooting range with Whisper, which
would have given Whisper an early lock and an exchange of fire that
almost certainly does no damage to Whisper while having a decent chance
at knocking a free shield off of Ani. Alas!</div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Engagement</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper acquires a lock (asteroid)</li></ul><div>No shots, but this will be the last round for that. Whisper recloaks, C1-10P flips to Erratic, and we go back to dials.<br /></div></div></div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3><div>So here's the thing that I just noticed while putting
this together. One of the spectators pointed out here that we'd missed a
round and it was actually turn 5. Honestly, it sounded right to me, I
was deep in my dials and didn't want to distract myself by digging
through the chat, so we ticked it up to 5 and carried on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't
ever do that. Announce your round number in chat every time you go back
to dials, and double check the log when this happens.</div><div><br /></div><div>So there was no turn 4. My laziness and a spectator cost us a turn. X-Wing is weird sometimes. Nothing to do here but move on.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Turn 5<br /></h3></div><div><br /></div><div>We're
definitely engaging here, so my only real hope is that I can do it as
unpredictably as possible to avoid my opponent from just annihilating
one of my ships (namely, Whisper). I have to be careful not to leave her
isolated and/or at range 1 from Anakin, because getting one-way attacks
from Ani on Whisper are exactly how I will lose this game if I'm not
careful. Whisper's decloak right (i.e. southwest) spreads her out and
distances her from Plo, but I don't know how to approach from there
without risking Anakin just doing a 1 bank, barrel roll, and shooting me
unanswered. Going forward leaves Whisper exposed and makes everyone
else's positioning tricky, not to mention giving Ani and even Obi
options to arc dodge her. Therefore, I choose to decloak left. I can't
quite tell if this will block Vader; if it does, I'll need to barrel
roll, which is awfully annoying.</div><div><br /></div><div>Inquisitor
also has two choices: set up to attack, or try to sneak a block. I'm
reasonably confident that a 5-straight from Inquisitor blocks Obi's
2-straight and 2-bank, and the angle might be right that it blocks the
3-straight as well. That block is too appealing for me not to try for.
It will cost me the Inquisitor's token from the Chopper jam, but that's a
reasonable price for a chance to mitigate Obi's attack and, if Ani
dodges me, get some early damage through.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div>
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Activation</h4><div><ul><li>Grand Inquisitor: 5 forward, lock (Obi-Wan)</li><li>Whisper: 1 bank right, barrel roll right backward</li></ul><div>I'm
happy with Inquisitor's final position, less so with Whisper. I'm not
100% that she's not blocking Vader (as it happens, she wasn't), and if I
leave here there, she'll almost certainly end up in Plo's bullseye.
It's not ideal but the barrel roll feels like the right call here.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Plo: 3 bank left, spend 1 force to boost forward, lock (Whisper)<br /></li><li>Obi-Wan: 2 bank left, spend 1 force to boost right, jam Inquisitor (removes lock), barrel roll left backward</li></ul><div>Obi
calls my block and avoids it, but it does prevent me from getting shot
at by him this turn, so the end result is reasonable. Plo advances
predictably and commits to Whisper, but with the bullseye dodged, this
is okay, as the attack is unlikely to cost me my evade token, let alone
do any damage.<br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 3 bank right, spend 1 charge on Afterburners to boost right, lock (Obi-Wan), spend 1 force to focus</li></ul><div>Tough
choice on who to lock here. Obi-Wan is a sure thing, while Anakin might
just arc dodge me and leave me with a piddly 2-die shot on Obi at range
3. I play it safe and lock Kenobi.<br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: 3 bank right, spend 1 force to boost forward, lock (Whisper)</li></ul><div>This
is a surprisingly aggressive play. What I expected (and dreaded) was
Anakin boosting right and barrel rolling left, dodging all of my arcs
and taking a free range 1 on Whisper. Instead, he boosts in to offer up a
range 1 exchange with Whisper and leave Vader the option to shoot him.
Had I locked Anakin with Vader, I imagine he might have chosen
differently, but who knows?</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div><h4>Engagement</h4><div><br /></div>
<div>
<div>A difficult choice for Vader. Neither the range 3 shot at Obi nor
the range 2 non-Advanced Targeting Computer shot at Anakin are expected
to accomplish much, with both sub-50% chances to do any damage. Given
that they both still have shields (and therefore the chances of getting
an ATC crit through are almost nil), I decide to shoot at Ani, where at
least I have a chance of getting rid of some Force and saving some pain
for Whisper.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader attacks Anakin (range 2), no damage</li></ul><div>Natties into natties. Well, it was worth a shot.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader attacks Whisper (range 1), spends lock and 1 Force, Whisper spends evade, 2 shield damage</li><li>Whisper attacks Vader (range 1), spends 1 Force, 3 shield damage, Whisper gains evade<br /></li><li>Plo attacks Whisper (range 3), spends 1 Force, 1 hull damage</li></ul><div>The
Whisper attack is reasonably lucky. All things considered, this isn't a
crazy outcome. I'm ahead on points (temporarily, thanks to R2), and
Anakin has to at least be a little more cautious (but so does Whisper).
Whisper doesn't really have a choice whether to spend the evade on Plo's
attack, as doing so almost certainly dooms her next turn.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Whisper recloaks.</div></div></div></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div>This is an interesting turn. Grand Inquisitor is pretty easy, he'll
be turning in and grabbing a token, possibly as a sacrifice to Chopper.
I don't see a safe way to engage with Whisper here, so I'll be looking
to decloak, get distance, and recloak. I could go straight, but
decloaking right and flying forward might set up the block on Obi. It's
not guaranteed, but it's a reasonably likely block on two of Obi's hard
turns, which might give Vader and the Inquisitor a chance to make
something happen.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Vader's position is
annoying here. I don't see a way to pursue Anakin without risking
getting arc dodged and/or mobbed by all three opposing ships, since
Anakin can K-Turn or sloop relatively safely here and potentially shed
his stress in the process - if I hard turn Vader right and Anakin sloops
right, it's curtains for Vader from there. My lock is on Obi, so I
might as well continue on him. This will make my next turn a bit
awkward, but as long as I don't have to spend my lock, I should be in
reasonable shape to press that attack. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Precisely
how far forward to go with Vader is tricky. Too far and I risk getting
blocked or dodged by Obi, too close and I risk getting blocked or
murdered by Anakin and Plo. Getting a bit more distance now also
hopefully gives me a clear Tallon or K-Turn next turn, so I go with a
2-forward and hope that works.<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">Systems</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks right forward, gains evade<br /></li></ul></div><h4>Activation</h4>
<div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
Whisper: 4 forward, cloak</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 1 hard right, lock (Obi-Wan)</li><li>Plo: 3 forward, spend 1 Force to boost forward, focus</li><li>Obi-Wan: 2 hard right, bumps Whisper, jams Whisper (removes evade)<br /></li></ul>
</div><div>Success! Unfortunately, Plo has Whisper in the bullseye arc.
It was something I couldn't tell for certain beforehand based on the
angles, but I figured it might end up that way. It's a tolerable risk,
as long as it's just Plo shooting, as with the cloak and Fifth Brother's
Force point, Whisper is highly unlikely to die from Plo's shot alone,
even double modded and with CLT.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 2 Forward, barrel roll left back, spend 1 Force for focus</li></ul><div>I
was reasonably sure that I wasn't at range 1 when I landed my 2 forward
(and checking now, I was right, it was just barely range 2), and even
if I was wrong, it meant Obi-Wan would be shooting Vader back at range
1. Barrel rolling deprives Obi-Wan of any shots and only costs me the
single Force point to grab the focus.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: 4 K-Turn, stress</li></ul><div>I
expected either of the sloops, or something forward and an R2 charge.
This is mostly fine, although Whisper is going to really need to count
on green dice.</div><div><br /></div></div></div><h4>Engagement</h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Vader attacks Obi-Wan (range 2), spends lock and focus, no damage</li></ul><div>The worst possible outcome. I lose my lock and my focus, and Obi-Wan doesn't even spend a single Force. Bad luck for Vader.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin attacks Whisper (range 3), spends 2 Force, no damage</li></ul><div>Sometimes five green dice really do work!</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Grand
Inquisitor attacks Obi-Wan (range 2), spends 1 Force for extra attack
die, spends lock, Obi-Wan spends 1 force, takes 1 shield damage and 1
critical hull damage (Panicked Pilot), Obi-Wan gains 2 stress</li></ul><div>A
much better outcome. Panicked Pilot is an awful crit for Obi here, but
all things considered, he got off easy in this exchange. 60% of the
time, he's down to 1 hull, and 30% of the time Vader and the Inquisitor
just kill him (not counting crit damage).</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Plo attacks Whisper (range 3), adds eyeball, spends focus, Whisper spends 1 force, 1 hull damage</li></ul><div>Whisper
survives the round, and therefore I'm not dead on the table! The lesson
is that green dice are very reliable and you can always trust them to
keep your precious ship alive, and when they don't, you're fully
entitled to complain loudly and vigorously.<br /></div></div></div></div></div><div>
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<h3>
Turn 7</h3><div>My aggressive Obi-Wan trap sacrificed a bit of long-term
position for short-term gain, which is why it hurts that Obi-Wan didn't
get quite as torched as I'd hoped (although the double stress impairing
Obi-Wan takes a lot of that sting off). This feels like a turn where
none of my options are particularly attractive. This is the real tricky
thing with ace match-ups when you're going first: you sometimes have to
play reactively to the board, but you're still moving first. So my
challenge here is to pre-react (act, I guess?) in the least disastrous
way possible. Doing damage this turn will be a nice bonus, but mostly I
need to avoid getting blocked and absolutely keep Whisper alive. Unless a
golden opportunity comes, Whisper's job now is to preserve points (and
if she can survive some attacks in the process, bonus).</div><div><br /></div><div>Staying
cloaked isn't really an option because Whisper needs the evade token
too badly. Therefore I can decloak forward and hard turn, or decloak
left and bank. I go with the latter, hoping that my opponent will call
me on the former and try to catch me in the corner. This also has the
added benefit that if my opponent for some reason completely abandons
the pursuit of Whisper, next turn she can possibly candy cane in for
some greedy attacking. This is highly unlikely, but I feel like I need
her damage too badly to <i>completely </i>give up on it. This might be irrational!</div><div><br /></div><div>With
Whisper vacating that space, I can park Grand Inquisitor right there
with a hard 3 and block Obi-Wan. It doesn't accomplish much, since the
stress is already depriving him of his action, but it's still one less
gun threatening my ships. I also don't anticipate Plo to continue to go
straight, so this might keep me out of that bullseye. I considered a
tighter turn with a boost to block Plo, but the truth is I wasn't
certain enough about Plo's maneuver to feel comfortable setting a block,
and I didn't want to sit somewhere without a token. That would mean a
reposition linked to a focus, which would further mean that I can't turn
around the following turn. I don't feel comfortable here sacrificing my
next turn (or more) of Inquisitor relevance for a potentially failed
block, where I can instead do the larger 3 turn and have some
interesting options to threaten my opponent next turn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Vader's
hard turn is likely to be blocked, whether by Obi or the Inquisitor,
but even if it isn't, I don't see Anakin and Plo being caught in Vader's
arc. It would be trivial for Anakin to barrel roll out of it if he goes
straight, and he'll be safe already if he banks towards the east. I
could hard turn and then barrel roll, but that potentially results in
Vader being shot at by all three enemy ships (which is bad). I go for
the K-Turn, in the hopes that I've eyeballed it well enough that I'll
just barely have arc on Obi-Wan. Spending the lock last turn hurts a lot
here. This is the only turn where I can still be certain that not all
three opponent ships can turn on me (due to Obi's stress), so it's as
good a time as any to do this.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pHxzJNQKL69F7sgsUatbhjz7CxTdkgq144phYUFeWR0LMQhWgMRB2zADBzcyUAzetZeYmIicB2dRxoS2aQlNi-1Kma-slS9egjPRmnx1ZTb1lBqFjWZJyzJdTVyGO1yoJbz66sgu1PNx/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pHxzJNQKL69F7sgsUatbhjz7CxTdkgq144phYUFeWR0LMQhWgMRB2zADBzcyUAzetZeYmIicB2dRxoS2aQlNi-1Kma-slS9egjPRmnx1ZTb1lBqFjWZJyzJdTVyGO1yoJbz66sgu1PNx/w640-h640/7-1.png" width="640" /></a></div></div><div>
<br /></div>
<h4>Systems</h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks left forward, gains evade<br /></li></ul><h4>
</h4><h4>Activation</h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper: 3 bank left, cloak</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 3 hard right, evade</li></ul><div>Inquisitor's
token choice here is barely relevant given that he's highly likely to
be jammed. I wouldn't know who to lock here anyway.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Obi-Wan: 1 bank right, removes 1 stress (1 remaining), bumps Grand Inquisitor, jams Grand Inquisitor (loses evade)</li><li>Plo: 2 forward, lock Grand Inquisitor</li></ul><div>I
expected a bank from Plo, but this makes sense as it threatens Whisper
if she stays in the corner, and threatens Inquisitor if he doesn't. This
would be a decent exchange if not for Chopper costing Inquisitor his
evade.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 4 K-Turn, stress</li><li>Anakin: 3 Forward, focus</li></ul><div>This
looks awful, and in fairness, it's not great. But it's also just the
Grand Inquisitor. While he's not as disposable as usual, given Whisper's
current state, the fact that he's got a big range 1 shot on Anakin
isn't awful.<br /></div></div><div><br /></div></div><h4>Engagement<br /></h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Vader attacks Plo Koon (range 3), spends 1 Force, 1 shield damage</li></ul><div>Vader
misses arc on Obi-Wan and only has Plo. Plo opts not to spend a Force
here to avoid taking any damage. Reasonably lucky outcome.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin
attacks Grand Inquisitor (range 1), Grand Inquisitor spends 1 Force to
remove one red die, Anakin spends focus, Obi-Wan spends 1 force to
recover Anakin's focus, 1 shield damage</li><li>Grand Inquisitor attacks Anakin (range 1), 2 damage (including Stunned Pilot)</li><li>Plo attacks Grand Inquisitor (range 1), Grand Inquisitor spends 1 Force to remove one red die, Plo spends lock, 1 shield damage</li></ul><div>A
hot Inquisitor die roll very nearly swings the game! This was a great
exchange for me. Plo beats the odds on damage (54% chance of taking 3
damage, and he outright dies 27% of the time) and forces Anakin to
really start considering his R2 Astromech. More importantly, Anakin is
now permanently at half points, regardless of R2.</div><div><br /></div><div>Despite my misjudging of Vader's arc post K-Turn, this ends up being a pretty good turn.</div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 8</h3>
<div>My opponent is where I was last turn, looking at the aftermath of a
killbox that failed to kill and trying to put together the pieces.</div><div><br /></div><div>My
opponents are all poised to potentially continue the pursuit of
Whisper, so I don't feel any sort of comfort level turning her back in.
We can walk through this a bit. Leaving aside the ability for my list to
close the game, losing Whisper costs me 35 points. Trading for Anakin
would put me ahead, as he's sitting on 45 points himself, but if Anakin
actually turns on Whisper, the chances are that he pushes through 1
damage and initiative kills me before Whisper shoots. No other trades
are attractive: half of Obi is less than half, and Whisper killing Plo
in one shot isn't viable enough to plan around. The risk reward isn't
quite there, so Whisper will continue to run away. I still want to leave
the door open for her to re-engage safely if at all possible, so I
choose to decloak forward and hard turn (rather than decloak left and
bank or go forward). This gives me a decent angle to decloak and
re-engage next turn, and a lot of range from Ani and Obi, where a bank
instead would leave me pointed to the east and therefore two turns away
from re-engaging.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I want the Inquisitor to
get shots here because if I can get rid of Anakin or Obi (ideally,
before they start working on Vader), the direction of this game really
turns in my favour. I go with the 2 Tallon Roll to the left because I
don't think my opponent will block it, given the positional sacrifice
he'd need to make to do so, and because even if my shots this turn
aren't ideal, it probably leaves me with good position for next turn,
assuming my opponent continues south on the board. A K-Turn works here
too, and might be more optimal overall, but then if Obi-Wan then just
banks into Anakin, I'm likely caught in the bullseye. My hope is that
the Tallon Roll is off-book enough that my opponent doesn't have arc
coverage over there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Vader is the tricky one
here, I think. He needs to remove stress in order to target lock and
become relevant, but his blue maneuvers here are all really dangerous.
Plo has full choice to block any of the banks left or straights that he
chooses, which means I need to figure out which ones hurt my opponent
the most and then assume he blocks them. Since my banking in could
threaten the vulnerable Obi or Anik, that suggests he'll be parking on
my 1-bank and 2-bank left. The least convenient block for him is on the
3-forward, so in all likelihood, I'm conceding shots here in the
interest of reasonable position and hopefully better options for next
turn. I still have one charge on afterburners if my position ends up
looking dicey.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Vader banks to the right are open, I should add, but getting chased by these Jedi does not seem like a path to victory.<br /></div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Systems</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks forward, gains evade<br /></li></ul></div><h4>Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Whisper: 3 hard left, cloak</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 2 Tallon roll left backward, stress</li><li>Plo: 2 hard left, lock (Darth Vader)</li><li>Obi-Wan: 1 bank left, removes stress, bumps Anakin, jams Inquisitor (jam token)<br /></li></ul>
<div>Obi does indeed bump Anakin, so my Tallon roll avoids the CLT shot
and potentially Obi's arc altogether. Plo does the hard turn which
blocks Vader's banks, by the looks of it. Checking now, though, it's
actually a failed block on the one bank left, which would have had Vader
sitting just out of arc on Plo and able to really inflict some pain on
Obi or Plo. It's a real shame to miss out on it, but even though the
result would have been great, I think the 1 bank in was still too risky
to try and would have been the wrong choice.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader:
3 forward, removes stress, spend 1 charge on Afterburners to boost left
(0 charges remaining), barrel roll left center, spend 1 Force to focus,
spend 1 Force to lock (Obi-Wan)</li></ul><div>My 3 forward left me
sitting smack in front of a range 1 Plo bullseye, so the afterburners
charge decision was an easy one. The barrel roll into a potential range 1
shot on Obi might be a big winner, assuming I have arc. It's going to
be close, but I'm confident enough that it's in that I do something I
don't usually do and burn down to 1 Force with my actions.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: takes 1 disarm token, recovers 1 shield, 2 forward, spend 1 force to boost left, focus</li></ul><div>My
worry over the turn had been that Anakin was going to K-Turn and kill
something, but my opponent feels the pressure and takes this time to
recover a shield.</div><br /><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Engagement<br /></h4></div></div><div>Vader misses arc on Obi by a hair.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQn-x1xpbnkCgFUCe1jYGuLzijwA2b2I1Wyw1lIO9Oi451ZdlLyYXJguPeijnegafLbgVJAYKTyCIWBung4e3CTsf7mVnEzxg5i-ZJo-26zFHXfkNhkdXN2kiCGvQby-34AK7jpewxS4_/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQn-x1xpbnkCgFUCe1jYGuLzijwA2b2I1Wyw1lIO9Oi451ZdlLyYXJguPeijnegafLbgVJAYKTyCIWBung4e3CTsf7mVnEzxg5i-ZJo-26zFHXfkNhkdXN2kiCGvQby-34AK7jpewxS4_/w400-h400/8-1a.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This
would have been a big turning point in the game, as Vader was all but
assured to get a crit on Obi, and 65% of the time Obi dies here if Vader
shoots him. Missing this arc is a heartbreaker. If Vader could have
barrel rolled backward, it would have been a done deal, but
unfortunately Plo was just far enough back to block it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's close enough that I don't feel incorrect for trying for it, as this was a real golden opportunity, but it hurts!</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Grand Inquisitor attacks Anakin (range 2), no damage</li></ul><div>A
shot that's not expected to do too much, and it doesn't. Checking the
numbers here, spending my single Force point for the extra red die
increases my chances of doing 1 damage ever so slightly (37% to 41%).
That said, now that Anakin is no longer at a point where a single damage
kills him, I preferred to save my Force for the next turn and accept
that this shot likely wasn't doing much.<br /></div></div></div></div><div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 9</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whisper
is still being hunted, so disengagement and retreat will continue.
Noting that we only have 3 rounds after this one, I choose a bank rather
than a straight maneuver, again so that I can potentially re-engage in
one turn instead of two.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Inquisitor
has very little pressure on him right now, so I just need to clear
stress and point my gun at something with double mods. This was
essentially what I was hoping the Tallon Roll would accomplish, so at
least something is working out well!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Vader
has a tricky decision. Obi-Wan is going to block something, but the
question is what? Realistically, I figure my opponent has to be
expecting a white or blue maneuver, since we both know that Vader is
going to lose his lock before he activates. However, if I don't turn
around this turn, then next turn I'm likely pointed in the wrong
direction, and with very little time to get back into the fight. I'm up
on points right now but I'm not confident enough in the margin or the
board state to take my lead and run for time. If it were even one turn
later, perhaps, but for now, the chance of actually killing Obi and
getting a lead with breathing room is too tempting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So
I choose the risky option and K-Turn with Vader. I think it's the less
likely choice for Obi to block. If he does, then I'm basically committed
to running to time, which as the current leader, isn't awful. If he
doesn't block it, then I have a range 1 shot at Obi with single mods.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Systems</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks forward, gains evade<br /></li></ul></div><h4>Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul><li>Whisper: 3 bank left, cloak</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: 2 straight, removes stress, boost left, focus, stress<br /></li></ul><div>Would
love to lock Anakin here, but there are far too many ways for him to
just dodge Inquisitor's arc and not even sacrifice moving towards any of
his other viable goals (hunting Whisper, turning on Vader). At least
the focus token lets me use Inquisitor's ability and not be forced to
use up all of my Force in the attack, should I still have a shot at
something. That said, in hindsight, the better action is still probably
to grab a lock here.<br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Plo: 2 forward, spend 1 Force to boost left, barrel roll left forward</li><li>Obi-Wan: 1 hard right, jams Vader (removes lock), lock (Grand Inquisitor)<br /></li></ul></div><div>Plo
has a range 3 unmodded shot out of bullseye on Whisper, which is fine.
Obi blocks most of Vader's slow maneuvers, but leaves my K-Turn open.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 4 K-Turn, stress</li><li>Anakin: takes 1 disarm token, recovers 1 shield, 1 bank left, spends 1 Force to barrel roll left backward, focus<br /></li></ul></div><div>Anakin
indeed dodges the Inquisitor's arc. He's no positioned to attack any of
my ships next turn. Initiative 6 Aethersprites are fun!<br /></div></div>
<h4>Engagement</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader attacks Obi-Wan (range 1), Obi-Wan spends 1 Force, no damage</li><li>Plo attacks Whisper (range 3), no damage<br /></li></ul></div><div><div>Nothing
wildly unexpected here. A damage on Obi would have been nice but the
odds don't favour it. Whisper was as safe as houses; her dying to that
shot (0.4% chance) would absolutely have been grounds for a table flip
and X-Wing retirement.<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT0kcDJdx2oZxHRhzX-Hr0NiU0_5mkAxfwEDSpkKtvffRYoo4IoAe2fFZnJYXkQ3xv2u8K1MG-Qci8hgYpsojJxAJ3ubVCt4E7Nc6B8v4zF2ZfcLUuB7Np-QdNQUe8VZfIoAWIk2g3hF6/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT0kcDJdx2oZxHRhzX-Hr0NiU0_5mkAxfwEDSpkKtvffRYoo4IoAe2fFZnJYXkQ3xv2u8K1MG-Qci8hgYpsojJxAJ3ubVCt4E7Nc6B8v4zF2ZfcLUuB7Np-QdNQUe8VZfIoAWIk2g3hF6/w640-h640/9-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div><br />
</div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Turn 10</h3><div>This
is an interesting turn as well. As I mentioned earlier, I'd watched a
number of my opponent's previous games, and so I knew that he was very
comfortable in switching targets opportunistically (and unexpectedly),
making good use of the Aethersprite's hard 1 turn plus one or two
repositions to get into novel, advantageous positions. So while this
would normally look like a pretty strong board position for me, my
status as player one and the Jedi's ability to effectively attack a wide
area of the board mean that I still need to be alert for surprises.</div><div><br /></div><div>So,
knowing that, and noting Plo Koon's target lock on Vader, I'm on high
alert for a full ambush on Vader to grab half points on him. If my
opponent anticipates a blue bank towards the east from Vader, he is more
than capable of blocking it with Obi and turning hard on it with Anakin
and Plo. If that happens, Vader is very likely to lose at least both
shields, if not a hull (and therefore half points). Therefore, I
conclude that I need to use discretion, and bank west, away from the
Obi-Wan block and hopefully out of danger from Anakin and/or Plo Koon. I
won't have any shots this turn, but I might be able to get a lock on
something without getting jammed, and then be set up to consider a
Tallon Roll or a hard turn on the following turn to do some damage.</div><div><br /></div><div>This
means I'm light on offense this turn, so I make another decision: I'm
going to come back in with Whisper. I've established a pretty clear
pattern of cutting and running with Whisper now, and I've noticed in my
opponent's other games that he prefers to focus his attacks on viable
targets rather than chase runners. I don't think he's going to continue
to chase and throw long range attacks at a cloaked, tokened Whisper. I'm
calling him on turning on Vader by candy caning into him. If I'm wrong,
I probably lose, but my feeling at the time is that I'm just not
confident enough that I won't lose points on my other ships before time
is called to concede that Whisper is done contributing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Grand
Inquisitor can hard turn here and shoot at Obi (unless Anakin offers
him a better shot). I don't think he's in a great deal of danger on the
whole, so I don't see any need to do something fancy.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNecbCzBIgVKnG0-GNyqlPJdSDYYecdZT8skzKrqw5Dx5ZX22H6i5D1Q9VmRQc7vYZ8l9zag6-sJCb4WxRnnFQ86FtX5mgN5MVdELV86opchwuvgmQhKFgZAuPOsRm2spGXYgR5qpfFKfc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNecbCzBIgVKnG0-GNyqlPJdSDYYecdZT8skzKrqw5Dx5ZX22H6i5D1Q9VmRQc7vYZ8l9zag6-sJCb4WxRnnFQ86FtX5mgN5MVdELV86opchwuvgmQhKFgZAuPOsRm2spGXYgR5qpfFKfc/w640-h640/10-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Systems</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper decloaks right forward, gains evade<br /></li></ul><div>A very small misjudgement here given my plan; right backward was probably more correct.</div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Activation</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whisper: hard 1 left, spend charge on Passive Sensors</li><li>Grand Inquisitor: hard 1 left, remove stress, focus</li><li>Obi-Wan: 2 sloop right, stress, jam Vader (jam token)<br /></li><li>Plo: 5 forward, spend 1 Force to boost left, lock (Whisper)</li></ul><div>I
was wrong. Plo was perfectly willing to keep chasing Whisper, and I
reward him with a reasonably certain kill shot (72%). A barrel roll left
would have at least given me a shot back at Plo (and half on Plo would
keep me up on points if I traded for Whisper), but I was too confident
that he was turning in on Vader and wanted Whisper to still be able to
decloak forward on the following turn.</div><div><br /></div><div>An incredibly costly misjudgement of my opponent.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 2 bank right, remove stress, barrel roll right forward</li><li>Anakin: 1 hard left, spend 1 Force to boost left, focus</li></ul><div>I
was wrong on Plo but right on Anakin. I barrel roll with Vader to get
out of range 1 of Obi and force a reposition from Anakin. The jam is
annoying here, since I don't want to spend 2 Force just to get a focus
token, so I need to hope for favourable dice (and a nice shot from
Inquisitor to recover some value from this turn).</div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Engagement</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin attacks Vader (range 2), 1 shield damage</li><li>Inquisitor attacks Anakin (range 2), spends 1 Force to add one red die, spends focus, Anakin spends focus, 1 shield damage</li><li>Obi-Wan attacks Vader (range 2), spends 2 Force, Vader spends 1 Force, no damage<br /></li></ul><div>A decent exchange for me, although I probably needed more lopsided dice results to stay afloat in this game.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Plo attacks Whisper, Whisper spends evade, one hull damage, and Whisper dies</li></ul><div>Highly likely outcome, but Plo rolling triple natural hits still felt deflating. I'm now behind 76-97.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_w8rS5X652HwDwREehGCJD71-pCEgoSpmIxaAXzNqoxj2Owanu-xm87QDoQRAjgdpeNJHdbOc3Mfi998xl2AQIiSOoGGULaVqXrvPhtyacAt6Xh__DNt1gOuQpk-uj43oDX06b8ydFJs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_w8rS5X652HwDwREehGCJD71-pCEgoSpmIxaAXzNqoxj2Owanu-xm87QDoQRAjgdpeNJHdbOc3Mfi998xl2AQIiSOoGGULaVqXrvPhtyacAt6Xh__DNt1gOuQpk-uj43oDX06b8ydFJs/w640-h640/10-2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Turn 11</h3><div>The
clock is no longer on my side. I have two turns to finish Ani or Obi
and not lose any more points in the process. Desperation and a bit of
tilt from my Whisper misplay are both factors now.</div><div><br /></div><div>I
can't really afford to not shoot anymore, since not shooting means
losing. Vader is obligated to Tallon roll, rather than spend a turn
regrouping and hoping to have a shot on Turn 12. Sadly, this means
another 2-die attack from Vader.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Grand
Inquisitor also needs to get into the fray, but I still need to keep
Vader from getting torched. I'm concerned about Anakin doing a hard one
and blowing up one of my remaining ships, so I'm going to risk losing a
shot by setting a block with Grand Inquisitor. I dial up the 2 bank, and
presumably a boost left after that will block some of Anakin's scarier
options.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w9J-qfJCRaed-uAXhpbIFjpUAGlmZGirobvw62i49xSVQDAPh4MQK7zvdQHSydOPHIq0ZzsAokYRwq2HejcKSSQGLKYbGyTJAcgIBRLdnUP-kchjwZD-038dKjv-EQIEFz56yl3BVEA_/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w9J-qfJCRaed-uAXhpbIFjpUAGlmZGirobvw62i49xSVQDAPh4MQK7zvdQHSydOPHIq0ZzsAokYRwq2HejcKSSQGLKYbGyTJAcgIBRLdnUP-kchjwZD-038dKjv-EQIEFz56yl3BVEA_/w640-h640/11-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Activation</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Grand Inquisitor: 2 bank left, boost left, focus, stress</li><li>Plo: 1 hard left, spend 1 Force to barrel roll left forward, boost left<br /></li><li>Obi-Wan: 2 bank right, bumps Grand Inquisitor, jam Vader (jam token)</li></ul><div>Not
the bump I expected, but I'll take it. That said, in hindsight, I
probably should have expected this. I was thinking Obi was doing a 3
forward, but that too would have been a bump on Inquisitor. Following
that thought process through informs Anakin's plan (i.e. he's unlikely
to be doing a hard 1 because that's where Obi will be staying), and
probably should have had me leaning more towards Anakin doing a K-Turn
or sloop.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 3 Tallon Roll left backward, stress</li><li>Anakin: 3 bank right, spend 1 force to evade<br /></li></ul></div><div>Anakin
plays it safer than I expected, but then I should have probably
anticipated this given that my opponent is up with only two rounds of
combat remaining. I think my bad Whisper call the previous turn was
shaking my confidence in my reads on the opponent.</div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Engagement</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader attacks Obi-Wan (range 2), no damage</li><li>Obi-Wan attacks Vader (range 2), 1 shield damage</li></ul><div>We both have a 1-in-5 chance of doing damage here. I don't, he does. Variance is fickle!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UaNaH00XYKT0kimnnMR0P5GZWesoz1ssJoan94w9fFWXPHIOpTKNCgQTHksUypWmJXZ0ezkEzj7EqCtZqo86HI5Pq5djIHfoetvjT0N9ZJ3wm6NwrHeUBxrXZ3JRQF4Td7lpiBy4CfxK/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UaNaH00XYKT0kimnnMR0P5GZWesoz1ssJoan94w9fFWXPHIOpTKNCgQTHksUypWmJXZ0ezkEzj7EqCtZqo86HI5Pq5djIHfoetvjT0N9ZJ3wm6NwrHeUBxrXZ3JRQF4Td7lpiBy4CfxK/w640-h640/11-2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Turn 12</h3><div>It's
my last turn to get points, and I don't really have any reliable ways
to do it. The good news is that I just need to get another half points
on any one ship (i.e. get half on Plo or finish off Obi/Ani). The bad
news is that I just have no means of reliably doing so if my opponent
decides to deny me the chance.</div><div><br /></div><div>I more or less
have to hail mary here with whatever I can. There's a chance my opponent
also tries to get some last minute points here to cover in case I do
manage a coup of my own. That first hull on Vader for half points has to
be at least somewhat tempting.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know if
I can catch Anakin with Vader, and if Obi blocks Vader (which is
likely), I won't get my target lock and will therefore have little
chance of killing him anyway. I can't go for Obi with Vader because if I
bump Obi, we're range 0. So half points on Plo is the option I choose,
hoping that the asteroid Plo is next to prevents him from bailing out
too aggressively. Plo certainly still has outs (hard right, barrel roll,
boost, for example), but I need to hope that my opponent wants Plo to
get some last minute points.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I'd like to
do with Plo is a 1 hard right and then barrel roll left and focus. The
problem there is that I'm pretty certain the hard 1 is blocked (and
checking now, after the fact, it turns out I'm right, it just barely
would bump). With that denied, I choose a 2 bank, with the option of
doing a reposition after if I like the angle more once I've landed it.
The only other concern here is that if Obi isn't blocking Vader, it will
be because he's trying to kill the Inquisitor.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYy6K-ZbgU7biAAfqI8IrO08uQCY5GryUOZgvad9WVqHVBDA-Srj2s9fIVjkXfWDPlsDZeWUMNs9wYBtoIjhPkFdertZPyu_5zjVqN0BDz0LBG9UNOHEAnuwP3rYFsgJU_LfXAW8ZVHs3B/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYy6K-ZbgU7biAAfqI8IrO08uQCY5GryUOZgvad9WVqHVBDA-Srj2s9fIVjkXfWDPlsDZeWUMNs9wYBtoIjhPkFdertZPyu_5zjVqN0BDz0LBG9UNOHEAnuwP3rYFsgJU_LfXAW8ZVHs3B/w640-h640/12-1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Activation</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Grand Inquisitor: 3 bank right, evade</li></ul><div>The
moment I land, I notice the easy access Obi has to turn and bullseye
me, so I evade. I'm hoping at this point that Anakin has K-Turned or
slooped, and dreading that he's going to 3 bank right and nope out of
the whole thing.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Plo: 2 hard left, spend 1 Force to barrel roll left forward, boost left</li></ul><div>Plo
skirts around the rock and gains ground. Vader has no chance of
catching him now, so all hope rests on the Inquisitor and Anakin's dial.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Obi-Wan: 1 hard left, spends 1 Force to barrel roll right backward, jams Vader (jam token)</li></ul><div>My
opponent lands the block I anticipated, but then barrel rolls out of
it. He must have anticipated that I would do a 1 bank left, as thats the
only blue maneuver he's now blocking. This means that Vader could have
safely done a 2 bank and tried to pursue Anakin!</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Vader: 2 bank right, no action</li></ul><div>There's no barrel roll that gets me a shot on Plo.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anakin: 3 bank left, spend 1 Force to evade</li></ul><div>Other
than the lack of target lock, I have about as good of a chance as I
could have asked for. In hindsight, knowing that Vader could have been
on Anakin here, that would have certainly helped, although my chances of
killing Anakin would still be a long shot. If he blanks out completely
and I roll three hits, I win, but any paint and I lose.<br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Engagement</h4><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Grand Inquisitor attacks Anakin (range 1), spends 1 Force, 1 shield damage</li></ul><div>Anakin rolls double evade. I lose 97-76.</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2><div><br /></div><div>The moment I lost the
initiative roll, this was going to be a really tough one to win. Triple
Ace lists generally win by exploiting superior boardstate knowledge and
repositioning so that they are frequently attacking without defending in
return. When you can't do that (and your opponent is playing the same
type of list, and they <i>can </i>do that, it means you've essentially
spent points in listbuilding that are going wasted. So with the
initiative roll lost, my list immediately becomes far less efficient.</div><div><br /></div><div>That
said, for the most part I think my decisions were reasonable, and I
stayed in this one pretty well. I missed on a couple key arcs that would
have made a big difference, but I think they were close enough that I
can't feel too bad about having a horrible eye or anything like that.
Unfortunately, the game was tight enough that it only took one tactical
misplay, my ill-fated Whisper turn-in, to cost me the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>So
then, strategically, my failure here was to really accept the points
situation and how it was driving my opponent's decisions (and not just
my own). I think I anticipated a bit more defensive play from an
opponent who was behind on points, and therefore motivated to play more
offensively. And I think I was too worried about how close the game was
to accept that there wasn't a lot of time remaining in the game, and
that I could worry less about being shot and more about surviving, and
still win it.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Those two high level
misconceptions directly lead to my Whisper call. I still don't think it
was a gigantic blunder, to be clear, though. I really felt that I had a
specific read on my opponent and his playstyle, and if I had been the
one playing Plo, I can tell you that <i>I</i> would have been turning
him back to the main fight and letting Whisper run away. My Whisper hard
turn looks like a stupid mistake with the benefit of hindsight, of
course, but I'm at least comfortable that it wasn't thoughtless and
there was logic behind it, even if the logic was imperfect.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which
means the biggest lesson here is that it is crucial to adapt and adjust
the plan to the circumstances of the game. I recognized that I was
ahead, but perhaps failed to fully account for the fact that my opponent
was behind and would be adjusting his strategy accordingly. And I was
overly worried about losing points and missing out scoring more points
to pad the lead, and as a result I ended up unnecessarily risking points
in hand. I needed to do a better job of recognizing that my risk
tolerance should have been very low, and that the potential gains of
turning in Whisper were not worth the cost of what would happen if I was
wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, a very close game against a
skilled opponent flying a list match-up nightmare. Losing sucks, but I
think I can sleep at night with this one.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to
share your thoughts and observations in the comments below!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-38770567650258926432020-01-16T15:54:00.004-05:002020-05-22T15:28:09.773-04:00Flight of the Seasoned NavigatorHere's a red hot take: post-Planning phase dial changes are really strong. Leaving aside the disruptive and generally frustrating effect they have on the game in general, there are few things more conducive to winning than looking at what your opponent has done, looking at your own dial, and saying "actually, no thanks."<br />
<br />
Despite relatively wide availability, the generic crew upgrade Seasoned Navigator doesn't see significant play. Throughout all of 2019, it was only recorded as making three significant cuts, once at a Hyperspace Trial and twice at two System Opens. In all three instances, it was used on a large ship with access to Force (Darth Maul in one list, Han Solo with Rey crew in the other two).<br />
<br /><div>
History has not smiled upon Seasoned Navigator, but that doesn't mean we can't explore some builds with it and see if there might be something there.<br />
</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHSFqbTa2-VBzNgo2aXViJ2iU6oAkBhObAVzux3fuRWGgd-4DP_DVl8L-7PFDjmZAj_u1cmm8OlqMRYvCMiftLiIejCLSMBCyfUMJKlCHNHAhCOZhQlAT0wx46n48LqLvz1pkwIm9PMIn/s1600/Seasoned_Navigator.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="700" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHSFqbTa2-VBzNgo2aXViJ2iU6oAkBhObAVzux3fuRWGgd-4DP_DVl8L-7PFDjmZAj_u1cmm8OlqMRYvCMiftLiIejCLSMBCyfUMJKlCHNHAhCOZhQlAT0wx46n48LqLvz1pkwIm9PMIn/s400/Seasoned_Navigator.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"That navigator over there is playing Galaga. <br />
Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
<span><a name='more'></a></span>The ideal Seasoned Navigator user</h3>
<div>
When considering good Seasoned Navigatees, you'll be wanting to check off as many of these wishlist items as possible:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Crew slot - </b>Reasonably self-explanatory.</li>
<li><b>High initiative</b> - Being able to change your dial becomes far more valuable if you've actually gleaned more information than you had during the Planning phase when you set it in the first place. There's a reason Seasoned Navigator is both dirt cheap on Initiative 1 pilots and almost entirely ignored on said pilots. The higher the initiative, the more powerful a dial change ability becomes.</li>
<li><b>Dial peeks</b> - The exception to above, effects like Informant, Sense, or other dial revealing abilities allows even lower initiative dial changes to be useful. That said, most of these other abilities cost points and are limited in other ways (specific targets, range, Force point cost, etc.) and you need to account for that in determining whether you've come up with an effective combo or an overpriced gimmick.</li>
<li><b>Dials with full rows of non-red basic maneuvers</b> - Ideally, you want to be able to use Seasoned Navigator in as many situations as possible. The more full rows of maneuvers you have (e.g. all straights, banks, and hard turns of a given speed), the more options you have. Since Seasoned Navigator only allows you to change to a non-red, this also means that if your dial has red hard turns, you'll be able to switch <i>from</i> that maneuver but not <i>to</i> the other red maneuver of the same speed.</li>
<li><b>Dials with non-basic maneuvers of speed 3 or lower</b> - Following from the above, it's sometimes especially handy if you can switch a S-Loop, T-Roll, or K-Turn into something non-rotational. Switching a K-Turn of speed 4 or 5 into the corresponding straight maneuver is also useful, but being able to convert a non-basic into a variety of other options can be highly effective.</li>
<li><b>Dials with full rows of blue maneuvers</b> - On dials where all basic maneuvers of a given speed are blue, it means that you can always Seasoned Navigator onto another maneuver and still perform a white maneuver (and therefore not lose your action).</li>
<li><b>Multiple firing arcs</b> - More firing arcs means you have more possible maneuvers that afford you optimal positioning without denying you shots.</li>
<li><b>Ships with stress-mitigating or stress-synergizing effects</b> - Since in many situations, using Seasoned Navigator means you're taking stress, any ships that incentivize you to take a stress or enable you to easily get rid of stress can provide more opportunities to effectively use the upgrade.</li>
<li><b>The Force</b> - Especially for ships that can't do anything special with stress, ships with access to the Force can at least perform red maneuvers without losing all dice mods.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BajwbcRe8auBjzXPCgOlViiyNIVivTDUkxSl1sHBMxLTKGAzGTTp6gAIcfcvMCAU232Cd1Zv9yyfoA50aAj1lDGsV5jwF3t6bU-GCRFrhm5NBiJRUibXvyVWjJAnrfiJ7GN9oeWPVZDY/s1600/navigator-droid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BajwbcRe8auBjzXPCgOlViiyNIVivTDUkxSl1sHBMxLTKGAzGTTp6gAIcfcvMCAU232Cd1Zv9yyfoA50aAj1lDGsV5jwF3t6bU-GCRFrhm5NBiJRUibXvyVWjJAnrfiJ7GN9oeWPVZDY/s400/navigator-droid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
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</div>
<h3>
Examples for all seasons</h3>
<div>
Given the above criteria, these are a few ships that I think synergize particularly well with Seasoned Navigator, along with a few ideas for additional upgrades.<br />
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<h4>
Ibtisam (Rebel, ARC-170) - 51 points</h4>
<div>
Ibtisam is Jek Porkins-esque in that he can mitigate stress but has an ability tied to variance and is therefore inconsistent. Fifty percent of the time, you're going to be in pretty great shape, and the other fifty percent of the time, you're a stressed and presumably token-less ARC-170. Incidentally, these are the exact sort of ARC-170's opponents like to throw a whole bunch of red dice at. Further, at i3, you're not getting much value out of the dial change, although you might occasionally be able to dodge a few arcs from low initiative swarms or jousters. Finally, the red hard 3 turns make that a bad speed to Seasoned Navigate. Overall, this is near the low end of Seasoned Navigator uses I'd really consider.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
"Odd Ball" (Republic, ARC-170) - 58 points</h4>
<div>
Just as questionable as Ibtisam, if not more so. You'll be able to more reliably get the ability to go off, though, and at initiative 5, you'll have a much better picture of the boardstate in most situations. Still, you're going to be left with a relatively defenseless ARC-170, and your friends are going to make fun of you for flying Odd Ball. These are both probably decent examples of ships that just don't tick enough of the above boxes to be decent (see also: L3-37, Ezra, Oicunn, or any flavour of Han Solo).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Leia Organa (Rebel, Modified YT-1300) - 86 points</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfpVGxu0UUST-pT3FXoMNMFnn7qpGcVcOawfqQTAXv8zaNOsAzNypwzUxYRLT5fDlJc25Bc5yx1lLHPpdP3ys2qFS_jygKI2OM2_HSbi4b8-Thhg4tk-V4gCdBoFclQQYsSD_YlPbOeeZ/s1600/Hoth-3-ESB.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="616" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfpVGxu0UUST-pT3FXoMNMFnn7qpGcVcOawfqQTAXv8zaNOsAzNypwzUxYRLT5fDlJc25Bc5yx1lLHPpdP3ys2qFS_jygKI2OM2_HSbi4b8-Thhg4tk-V4gCdBoFclQQYsSD_YlPbOeeZ/s320/Hoth-3-ESB.jpg" width="320" /></a>One of the most expensive builds listed here, out of the box, but one with some good potential. Swapping a sloop for a non-sloop is a Good Trick, and Leia's ability works nicely here, letting you Seasonably Navigate and then grab a focus token. At i5, the Organavigator has good board knowledge to abuse her dial swap with, but you can invest further here by taking Sense to avoid being easily bamboozled by the likes of Fenn Rau or Soontir Fel. "Chopper" or Hera Syndulla crew are viable (but possibly not great) upgrade options. You can also add Cassian to the mix for a dial peek, but at that point, why are you really running Seasoned Navigator to begin with?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
Rey (Resistance, Scavenged YT-1300) - 77 points</h4>
<div>
I think this is probably inferior in general to Leia, and I definitely don't think it's the superior Rey build out there right now. That said, she's i5, she has a Force point, and she has some interesting options at speed 3, especially switching off of the sloops into a basic maneuver. The Rey's Millenium Falcon title is almost mandatory in this build, possibly being good enough to push this somewhat near Viability Town. With the title, you'll probably start accumulating stress, thus necessitating Korr Sella, and now we're getting into some build bloat. Basically, this is a Seasoned Navigator build that probably wants one or two more crew/gunner slots to really sing, but it might be worth a look regardless.<br />
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<h4>
Dash Rendar (Rebel, YT-2400) - 98 points, or 112 with Outrider</h4>
</div>
</div>
<div>
Have more points in your list than you know what to do with? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPgf_btTFlc" target="_blank">Here comes your man</a>! Without Outrider, this is just an indulgent mess that doesn't really do anything, but once you embrace the Dash Rendar Sunk Cost Fallacy and throw more good points after bad, there's an actual build to be considered here. Seasoned Dashigator at i5 has good board knowledge and if he navigates on or through an obstacle, he can change his dial without stress. This is therefore an incredibly difficult ship to pin down. You have various upgrade options here, although he really would love to have multiple talent slots, as there are strong arguments for Expert Handling, Trick Shot, and Lone Wolf. You can also throw a Force user gunner in there because if you're flying 112 point Dash, thriftiness is a concept you clearly do not understand or care to accept in your greedy heart. I have no idea what the rest of this list looks like, but it's possibly just one other ship; whether that second ship is a complementary piece (the Fenn to this Boba-like construct you've made) or a support piece (like Jan Ors or something with Sense/Informant) is something I leave to your discretion.<br />
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<div>
<h4>
Darth Maul (Separatist, Sith Infiltrator) - 72 points</h4>
<div>
I'm not sure I'm sold on it, but it's i5 with lots of Force and a pretty viable Seasoned Navigator dial. Dialing the 2-Sloop with the option to change is likely going to be the standard approach once you're deep into an engagement. It's unfortunate that you can't also Navigate off of the K-Turn. Also, clearing stress is annoying with this ship in many situations. You can consider getting really gimmicky and adding Scimitar to the mix, giving you the freedom to decloak and dial in a variety of unexpected ways. Sense is also an option here, as are Proximity Mines. There might be something worth exploring here, and as mentioned earlier, it's basically the only build that's actually seen any real success to date.<br />
<br />
(EDIT: Here's a link to the first Swiss round of one of those successes which would eventually make it to Top 16 of the Denver System Open: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o7ISFL4N5Y" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o7ISFL4N5Y</a>)</div>
</div>
<div>
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<h4>
4-LOM (Scum, G-1A Starfighter) - 54 points</h4>
<div>
This one might have potential. 4-LOM gets tokens from red maneuvers, wants to have stress tokens to give away, and has a full white/blue maneuver row at speed 2 along with a 2 K-Turn. Initiative 3 is a problem, but the build might be effective enough to warrant a dial peek from somewhere else in the list (such as a Sense Asajj). Against lower initiative ships, you have a decent opportunity to get in a position where you can just dial the 2K every turn and change it as you see fit to stay stuck on whatever poor ship you have decided should be permanently stressed. Advanced Sensors and Contraband Cybernetics are both worth considering for a 4-LOMigator build.</div>
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<h4>
Asajj Ventress (Scum, Lancer-class Pursuit Craft) - 78 points</h4>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Speaking of Sense Asajj, this is probably the Seasoned Navigator build I'm most intrigued by. All of those blue 3 speed maneuvers mean you can safely dial a 3 speed maneuever and change it without any real consequence. I4 is not ideal, but Sense is a natural choice here, bringing the total build up to 83 points and giving you a ship that has an incredible amount of freedom in dictating board position. One point for the Shadow Caster is probably too cheap to pass up, given how much more able you'll be to line up eligible shots. Rigged Cargo Chute is another upgrade to consider, synergizing somewhat with Asajj's own ability (should you choose to use it).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVMn93ZUDbEo_BlR682TOF8NNqubXnpVgnoN1leCU5k0ZFlMqvlneENJO2KHc19VyQ5eOAV4wDpNv-Mpct-Gezof-6j4FlNkxYz46asrxKYJmws9_bt9Y4Q7vhTu3nYKRyIa5Wc9HvO8w/s1600/asajj.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1296" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVMn93ZUDbEo_BlR682TOF8NNqubXnpVgnoN1leCU5k0ZFlMqvlneENJO2KHc19VyQ5eOAV4wDpNv-Mpct-Gezof-6j4FlNkxYz46asrxKYJmws9_bt9Y4Q7vhTu3nYKRyIa5Wc9HvO8w/s400/asajj.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Actually, let's do a 3 Hard to the left instead."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span><!--more--></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-18448841687559143802020-01-04T19:06:00.001-05:002020-05-22T15:27:21.258-04:00Stray Thoughts on EpicWith no impending major events and a points adjustment imminent, I've been spending a fair amount of my X-Wing time playing and theorycrafting Epic. I wasn't a huge fan of Epic in 1.0, but the 2.0 Epic is a huge improvement and feels much more like a real game and less like some combination of meme and meat grinder (meme grinder?!).<br />
<br />
So without further preamble, here are some random observations I've had.<br />
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<h3>
Scenarios</h3>
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In terms of true Epic, I've played Intel Pickup, Cover the Evacuation (twice), and Strategic Salvo. I've certainly played a fair amount of Aces High as well, but that's sort of beside the point.</div>
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<div>
Intel Pickup was my first Epic game and I don't have a good sense of how strong the scenario is. It felt fine, but also potentially like one where I could probably ignore the objective.</div>
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<div>
Cover the Evacuation is a great concept but, in my opinion, needs to be reworked or house ruled. The first game I played of this, the defender rolled a ton of blanks on the end phase rolls to trigger shuttle tokens, and the shuttles basically just sat in park while we meat-grindered away. During my second game, I encountered a different design issue, where as the attacker I destroyed two points-free shuttles early and then we hit a time limit.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Mostly, with this one, there isn't enough drive to scenario resolution, and you can end up in bizarre situations where the attacker destroys the shuttles but doesn't earn any points for doing so, and may in fact lose if they happened to take more damage than the defender in the process. Thematically, I'm not sure why the attacker wants to blow up the shuttles but is incentivized to let them get close to escape first; is this actually a scenario about crushing hopes?</div>
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<div>
I think the rules around token accrual should at least be looked at, but on a larger level, I think there are probably better ways to structure how this scenario works while retaining a fantastic theme.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally, Strategic Salvo is great. Unlike Evacuation, this one absolutely drives towards an specific ending and doesn't drag. I think it might be a bit slanted towards the attackers, as it strikes me as incredibly challenging for the defenders to destroy multiple warheads, all of which might just obliterate the defender's ships in the process if the defender isn't able to attack them from just the right angle.<br />
<br />
All of the above seem to consistently run between 4 and 6 rounds, and I've mostly been enforcing that with a 2 hour clock, mostly to avoid extra mop up turns. Either way, plan accordingly; if an upgrade will require many turns to be useful, then reconsider. Keep your plans relatively short term.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Huge Ships</h3>
<div>
The huge ships continue to be fun, although it's a real disappointment that they only feel half-supported for their non-native factions. The lack of titles really hurts, especially given how role-defining some of the titles can be for the huge ships in their native factions.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJHl59U_Bq3voWbt4k5ynzQg0KfDYQ6XcrkAvsdOWur8mvw64V8bJxnle_EcnB_DRVeZKCHTyeWHmkcv1nkzj9jEv4uUAgE9SW_WQOBgeA_HrLSiRBp-jkA7Hg_rhwSxUFTxcoPjlC5X7/s1600/cr90.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1320" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJHl59U_Bq3voWbt4k5ynzQg0KfDYQ6XcrkAvsdOWur8mvw64V8bJxnle_EcnB_DRVeZKCHTyeWHmkcv1nkzj9jEv4uUAgE9SW_WQOBgeA_HrLSiRBp-jkA7Hg_rhwSxUFTxcoPjlC5X7/s400/cr90.jpg" width="400" /></a>The CR90 and Imperial Raider both seem worthy of sinking points into, and it doesn't seem particularly unrealistic to expect either of them to be able to point-and-click kill one small ship per turn. The Raider feels stronger of the two, mostly because of the arc placement. For the Raider, things are straightforward: point your guns straight ahead, reinforce fore, and murder everything in front of you. The CR90 seems designed to broadside, but this leaves you very exposed to ineffective reinforce tokens, and these huge ships really need to be reinforcing as much as absolutely possible. Ordnance Tube Raider builds feel like the strongest option of all here.<br />
<br />
I'm less sold on the smaller huge ships. I've run two different Gozanti builds and was not convinced either was really pulling its weight. Ship docking seems a bit less appealing since this is incompatible with wings, and half of the Gozanti titles seem oriented around this. I think there are attractive support builds for both Gozanti and GR-75, but 70+ points for a support ship seems pretty steep, even in a 500 point list. Maybe I'm just being too cheap.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I haven't seen the C-ROC in play firsthand so I can't comment on it, unfortunately. Being able to put a Tactical upgrade on it in Separatists seems interesting.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Wings</h3>
<div>
Wings are great. Setting 3 or 4 dials for a 12+ ship list is amazing. These are a big design win and, in my opinion, are really the special sauce in what makes Epic feel fun and different.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrrDBCmFcFCXqYRd0TwuQZM0PBMjGCASKsYgMjxkWBG9YXda8mtdZ_fqNO7W2ei2C4kTSWr973JzdQx_3L96-oGty3oMC-AdnPBf8g2OxcUwrlzXeqPNs9BVUE5C3if15GGIpA5A7l6Zn/s1600/gozantities.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrrDBCmFcFCXqYRd0TwuQZM0PBMjGCASKsYgMjxkWBG9YXda8mtdZ_fqNO7W2ei2C4kTSWr973JzdQx_3L96-oGty3oMC-AdnPBf8g2OxcUwrlzXeqPNs9BVUE5C3if15GGIpA5A7l6Zn/s400/gozantities.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Again, I wish there were more unique wing leader Command upgrades, perhaps even for specific pilots as wing leaders. The Quickbuild cards hint at some fun combinations, but it would have been really fun to have some more unique options for these wings.</div>
<div>
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<div>
My go to wing has been "Pure Sabacc" plus 2 Planetary Sentinels. Currently costing 114 points, this is an incredibly strong piece that can react nicely to opponent plays and can usually get around to objectives as needed.<br />
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<div>
Inferno Squadron is also an obvious hit. I've run it with both Howlrunner and Vader as wing leaders and I prefer Howlrunner, but I'd like to try a TIE Swarm with Grand Inquisitor in the lead as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Notable Pilots/Upgrades</h3>
<div>
Global effects are obviously strong. Grand Moff Tarkin is a great example of a borderline useless card in standard, since his timing usually means you get the TL you needed... one turn too late. On a ship that can grab a target lock at long range (such as through a Targeting Battery shot, depending on how your local players rule that effect), Tarkin becomes an incredible option.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Bullseye effects are much stronger in Epic, given that there are more ships flying around to bullseye, stationary objectives that aren't slipping out of your sights, and most notably, huge ships that are incredibly easy to line up shots on. Proton Rockets, "Scourge" Skutu, Predator, Foresight, and Calibrated Laser Targetting all get boosts to their value in most Epic games.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sloane is good but doesn't punish huge ships very hard. Also, range 1-3 feels a lot smaller on a double-sized play area.<br />
<br />
Jam is very strong against huge ships as they are highly dependent on their tokens, specifically Reinforce. Many huge ships also tend to stack a lot of tokens, which means this is a format where Jamming Beam is actually useful. High initiative ships that can throw on a Jamming Beam could be pretty good (Poe Dameron comes to mind).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Plasma Torpedoes are excellent anti-huge ship weapons. I've run mixed Plasma/Proton Torpedo wings of TIE Bombers (with Tarkin support) and these can absolutely take down one of the smaller huge ships in one turn.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Damage Control Team is probably way too cheap and is an auto-include in basically any huge ship build. Very rarely are you not going to be spending one of your actions reinforcing, and if you aren't getting a free calculate from <i>something</i> on every turn with your huge ship, you're doing something wrong. The fact that it has an ability that will occasionally mean an extra turn (or more) of effective shooting from your huge ship is not insignificant.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Relating to that, any effect that gives you additional calculate tokens is also relevant. This includes Corvus title on the Raider, any variation of C-3PO, and IG-88D.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Targeting Battery is the other standout upgrade, and I'm usually including it on any huge ship that isn't a truly dedicated support. It's up to rules debate whether you can get the free target lock beyond range 3, but if your group allows that (most of the players I know have been), then this is a fantastic upgrade.</div>
<div>
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<div>
I'm not sure if I'm sold on Point-Defense Battery, but it's probably good if you can build enough support around it, specifically mods on most/all attacks, decent energy recovery, and enough survivability that the opponent won't just erase your ship. This is also probably better in the 300-point epic scenarios.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82gLpEMemniOsVfphMIxkKkr1AH_eJINv4rtow1T9W1cs8oIxcn2X7VatcSNt5KcnPLcWAy_BBjELPNJ96t_sYzB7zBY19A6QRc-MuPYNdN0ARdbxnkWCP4eYFfK39uX3hcR__S1jSBW0/s1600/turbolasers.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82gLpEMemniOsVfphMIxkKkr1AH_eJINv4rtow1T9W1cs8oIxcn2X7VatcSNt5KcnPLcWAy_BBjELPNJ96t_sYzB7zBY19A6QRc-MuPYNdN0ARdbxnkWCP4eYFfK39uX3hcR__S1jSBW0/s400/turbolasers.png" width="400" /></a></div>
I don't like Turbolaser Battery. When it works, it's fantastic, but the TL requirement can be an issue, even with Targeting Battery in the mix. Consider that a Targeting Battery + Turbolaser shot requires <b>four</b> energy. Hopefully you're not spending any other energy, because you're going to run out of firepower very quickly if you are!</div>
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<div>
Optimized Power Core seems fine if you <i>are</i> running an energy-hungry build, but so far I've found it to be unnecessary on the ships I've put it on. The action cost on Tibanna Reserves feels a bit too prohibitive, I don't think I'd run them unless my huge ship had a coordinator supporting it.</div>
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<h3>
Conclusions</h3>
<div>
Epic is a lot of fun. Set up and tear down are still a pain compared to standard play, but this is obviously to be expected. I think there are interesting list ideas and ship builds floating around that haven't yet been discovered, and I'd love to see more discussion on how to refine these huge ship builds (especially the smaller huge ships, as I'd like to see how they can be effective).</div>
<div>
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<div>
Please feel free to share your comments or experiences on Epic, I'm definitely interested to hear some other real-life experiences on what people are seeing with this format!</div>
<span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-1126581313085984572019-10-25T10:20:00.000-04:002019-10-26T09:33:35.650-04:00From Imdaar With Love<div style="text-align: justify;">
For nearly a year, I've been a man with a dark (and somewhat open) secret. With Worlds finally behind me, the time has come for me to step into the light and declare with pride: I am an Imdaar Test Pilot enthusiast.</div>
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<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/a/a1/Phantom_Imdaar.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20180913215355" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Phantom Imdaar" border="0" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/a/a1/Phantom_Imdaar.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20180913215355" width="228" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
And you should be too. Because this ship is one of the most criminally underplayed and underrated ships in our current game of X-Wing.</div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
The Runt of the Litter</h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Much has been said about the other Phantom pilots, and the merits of each are well known and well documented by now. Whisper is a staple in Imperial ace lists, one of the top 5 ace options in the faction and supporting multiple viable upgrade paths to be effective at various price points. Echo is a unique ship with an almost unmatched level of positioning options available and a modest record of success, including a Top 16 appearance at this year's Worlds. The Sigma Squadron Ace (aka the Juke Phantom) is perhaps the most notorious of Phantoms, dominating the early Second Edition meta with a list that took two different nerfs through points adjustments to finally knock it out of the meta, and forever associating the ship with a vague aura of Negative Play Experience even after the Juke Sigma meta is gone. I can assure you, the Sigma Stigma is still very real.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Imdaar Test Pilot has never seen a ton of play, despite documented successes (several of which we'll touch on later). It's not glamorous and it's not immediately evident why it's so good. But it <i>is</i> good. It's <i>very </i>good.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
On a basic level, we can loosely compare to similar ships across the factions:</div>
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<img alt="Kihraxz Ace" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/0/03/Kihraxz_Ace.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20180914021158" width="230" /></div>
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The <b>I3 Kihraxz Fighter</b> costs three points less, swapping one shield for two additional hull, and has the lock action. The dial is a bit worse, with no access to 3 Hard turns but exchanging one of the Phantom's K-turns for the more situational Tallon Roll. On a purely efficiency basis, this is the ship that likely gives the Phantom the biggest run for its money, setting aside some of the bells and whistles of other options here in favour of being a dirt cheap, functional 3-die attacker. Incidentally, the I1 Kihraxz also feels somewhat underutilised (outside of its use in the Torkil/Seevor/Kihraxz list, where it shines).</div>
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<img alt="Swz29 skakoan ace" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/1/16/Swz29_skakoan_ace.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20190602033135" width="230" /></div>
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The <b>I3 Belbullab-22</b> also costs three points less and has a very similar dial to the Phantom, with the handy addition of a 5 forward at the cost of the 3 Hards becoming red, as well as having only the S-Loop as a means of turning around strictly by the dial. Action-wise, the Belbullab is a big upgrade, gaining access to either reposition option (and able to link them both to dice mods), although the dial makes shedding stress as cumbersome here as it is for the Phantom. The lack of an evade (shared with most of the other ships on this list) makes this ship pretty fragile. There are strong upgrades available to counter this, but the cost increases accordingly and the ship becomes much less comparable to the Imdaar at that point.</div>
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<img alt="Red Squadron Veteran Pilot Card" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/9/92/Red_Squadron_Veteran_Pilot_Card.png/revision/latest?cb=20180604191725" width="229" /></div>
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The <b>I3 T-65 X-Wing</b> costs one point less and has one more hull, and it has access to the Lock and (with closed S-Foils) Boost actions. The dial points to a fairly different ship in practice, swapping out the responsiveness of the 1 Hard for the jouster's 1 Forward, and also exchanging one of the K-turns for Tallon Rolls. Due to the dial and the nature of S-Foils, in most situations the T-65 has a slightly harder time pivoting into an arc dodger role than the Imdaar.</div>
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<img alt="Swz25 red-sqd a1" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/a/a9/Swz25_red-sqd_a1.png/revision/latest?cb=20181025223059" width="229" /></div>
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The <b>I3 T-70 X-Wing</b> costs three points <b>more</b> than the Imdaar. It's generally just an improvement across the board over the T-65, but at this point cost is becoming prohibitive and it's a bit less relevant in a discussion on the Imdaar where affordability is one of the main arguments for the Imperial ship.</div>
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<img alt="Delta-7 Jedi Knight" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/d/d2/Delta-7_Jedi_Knight.png/revision/latest?cb=20190205050340" width="229" /></div>
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The <b>I3 Aethersprite</b> with 7B costs 12 more points than an Imdaar, and two more points than an Imdaar with Fifth Brother. It makes a poor comparison point for numerous reasons, and there's not a lot of point in discussing it further since we're really outside of Imdaar territory now.</div>
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Incidentally, there's one other ship that can compares surprisingly closely to the Imdaar, but we'll discuss that one at the end.</div>
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Of course, none of these include the most defining features of the Imdaar Test Pilot!</div>
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The Imdaar, like all Phantoms, gets a free Evade whenever it decloaks. In practice, we can consider this to be comparable to first edition's <a href="https://xwing-miniatures.fandom.com/wiki/Comm_Relay">Comm Relay</a>. You can also compare it to a sort of regen, treating the first free Evade as an extra shield on the ship, with the option to regenerate that shield by re-acquiring an Evade and getting back into a cycle of decloaking each turn. This means that, durability-wise, the ship punches above its weight compared to its peers above. By comparison, consider how much the Belbullab-22 pays for these sorts of survivability gains!</div>
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The Imdaar also gets a big reposition in the System Phase, assuming it is able to decloak; typically you can expect to be starting turns cloaked and decloaking around 80% of the time, if not more, depending on matchup and dice variance. This is overall a bit weaker than Supernatural Reflexes et al., since it happens before everything else moves, but the size of the reposition mitigates this by being really big. Moving 2-Straight in one of three different directions is obviously very valuable.</div>
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Finally, access to the cloak token itself means that the ship can choose to have two more green dice at the cost of shooting. This is situational but is certainly an option that the other 2 agility jousters can natively use. As a rule of thumb, you're better off evading against a single target, but if you're expecting incoming shots from more than two ships, the cloak starts paying dividends. With a cloak token, the Imdaar Test Pilot actually has a chance at surviving slipping into some of the arcs of a TIE swarm that would almost certainly kill an X-Wing or Belbullab (although I certainly wouldn't advise testing this theory more than necessary).</div>
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To illustrate, here's a table of expected damage on an Imdaar across a few dozen different scenarios:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1S62K853MHwGTmb3KiSnsXubjIDIzcDr8jwWD_mngtHKfOVIJEQ8nl-Z5bkMUZNiW_LL_mGhQ4hUnDVY1u2nudv_OcfKd_NEbaGiWucX8x4Ft4uPpl1l_stl1o1mVCNQe09XX1CAYpA2/s1600/attack-and-cloak.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1S62K853MHwGTmb3KiSnsXubjIDIzcDr8jwWD_mngtHKfOVIJEQ8nl-Z5bkMUZNiW_LL_mGhQ4hUnDVY1u2nudv_OcfKd_NEbaGiWucX8x4Ft4uPpl1l_stl1o1mVCNQe09XX1CAYpA2/s1600/attack-and-cloak.png" /></a></div>
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Especially when dealing with larger attacks, you can see from the table that a cloak token is often the better choice for surviving multiple attacks, and a cloak token with a focus token on defense is almost always a defensive upgrade (and in some cases a very significant one). Consider as well that many of the 2 Agi + Evade scenarios will cost you your evade token and require you to either Evade or Cloak on a following turn, while the Cloak token cannot be stripped (and will give you the free Evade on the following turn, should you decloak).</div>
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What we're then left with is a ship that is largely built to be a capable jouster (and comparable, although largely a bit inferior, to other similar costed ships in the same role), but one that gains the unpredictability and versatility of large pre-dial repositions and the resilience of a regenerating ship. It's in some ways a hybrid ship (see also the TIE Silencer or the 7B Aethersprite), a ship that is nominally a jousting ship but one that can leverage the advantages of an arc dodger and avoid falling into the predictable patterns that the comparable ships in the class above tend to find themselves in.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Big Trouble in Little Imdaar Alpha</h2>
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There are several pitfalls that should be addressed, of course. Like any good relationship, falling in love with the Imdaar Test Pilot means accepting the ship's flaws.</div>
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Having no ability to modify red dice can make it difficult to snowball from successful flanks or otherwise superior positions, and it makes it a bit more challenging to bank on the outcome of an engagement since you often just underperform on damage and can't do much about it. Your ability to reliably and consistently initiative-kill threats is affected by this. This doesn't mean the Imdaar is bad on the flank, but it does mean that they won't output quite as much damage as something like a T-65 or a Belbullab would if it finds itself in a position to fire unanswered shots at targets.</div>
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The Decloaks require a lot of forethought in how you maneuver, and it's not difficult to find your cloaked Phantom in a place where it can't legally decloak. Almost as bad is having only one legal decloak, leading to your unpredictable ship becoming... well, predictable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPD35a0QL52G3_z9PoxC7N3-mlQnKftnotNVs1f2GgEMIlcwK3-a95U4pF3i4brYUKZPKYP5MRJsvi7BUOZcsW5P4OKYIstGg4esOxk7eAgKmpxIKLSt9tRYehhU2SLq0bREYlZu-muK_/s1600/decloaks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPD35a0QL52G3_z9PoxC7N3-mlQnKftnotNVs1f2GgEMIlcwK3-a95U4pF3i4brYUKZPKYP5MRJsvi7BUOZcsW5P4OKYIstGg4esOxk7eAgKmpxIKLSt9tRYehhU2SLq0bREYlZu-muK_/s640/decloaks.png" width="568" /></a></div>
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The ship does not take stress well. The blue maneuvers that clear stress are very rarely the maneuvers you want to be using as a TIE Phantom, and thus a Phantom that is stressed is very predictable, especially at I3. Further, you don't get your free Evade token when you decloak while stressed, meaning that if you decloak, you now need to spend an action to Evade or Cloak in order to get back into a decloak rhythm. For these reasons, try to avoid K-Turning whenever possible (mostly by planning ahead so that this turn's position means your next turn's decloak leaves you able to Hard 1 back into engagement), and consider remaining cloaked on a turn in which you are clearing stress in order to stay safe.</div>
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The Imdaar is susceptible to burst damage. With only five total hit points, a double modded Proton Torpedo is killing your token-stacked Imdaar outright 7% of the time on damage alone, not even considering situations where you only take four damage but die due to the torpedo's auto crit (a crit which you'll be taking over 60% of the time). Volleys of Energy Shell Charges are also dangerous, as even with perfect rolls from the Imdaar, if they roll enough paint to get full hits, you're dead in five shots (if not fewer due to the forced crits). The table in the last section really emphasizes the difference between an Imdaar facing down 2-die versus 3-die attacks. Essentially, you can tolerate sitting in a couple of 2-die arcs or a single 3-die or even 4-die arc, but beyond that, you need to either get out of there or cloak and hope.<br />
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Phantoms also hate being jammed. An opponent that jams your Evade immediately removes almost all of those advantages I discussed last section, making you back into an expensive Belbullab or an inferior X-Wing. Ships with mostly free jamming abilities, like Captain Seevor or Lieutenant Tavson, can cause you all sorts of headaches and need to be evaluated accordingly.</div>
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Under the current ion rules, being ionized is worse for Phantoms than it was previously, since you no longer get to take the free Evade action off of the decloak. Again, as with stress, consider remaining cloaked on an ion turn, since as we may conclude from the table in the last section, not shooting but having 4 focus-modded green dice is likely often better than losing your evade token, especially considering that you're more likely to get focus fired on your ion maneuver turn.</div>
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Finally, tractors are bad news and really kill the value of your token stack. Nantexes are just generally awful to deal with and need to be carefully approached with range control and careful consideration of the Nantex's current turret position and probable future maneuvers. The introduction of Chertek is possibly the worst thing ever to have happened to the Imdaar Test Pilot. Nantex match-ups are not even remotely easy for Imdaar lists.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Imdaar Listbuilding</h2>
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There are a few upgrades you could consider on the Imdaars. Passive Sensors are relatively cheap and give you the red dice modification the ship sorely lacks. Shield Upgrade makes Imdaars even more difficult to punch through, although they don't change the fact that it's three hits to get you to half points.</div>
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Either of those upgrades could be used for a Quad Imdaar list, or for a list where you're using one or two Imdaars as filler. I don't think I would use both at the same time, as it's investing a lot of points in what is originally a fairly cheap and efficient ship, but if you can get value out of them, it could certainly work.</div>
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There might be situations where Collision Detector is a good Imdaar upgrade, and I certainly will agree that ColDet is great on Phantoms in general, but I would suspect that the points are better spent elsewhere. Otherwise, I don't think any of the other upgrades make much sense for Imdaars.</div>
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There are multiple viable approaches to building out lists featuring Imdaars. My personal preference has been to run them naked and use the efficiency they offer to fit in a high-end ship to go along with them, effectively using a hammer-and-anvil approach. Essentially, I put three Imdaars in the list, and then stick the best ace I can find in to finish the list.</div>
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I'll discuss two of the ace options below, but Soontir Fel and Duchess are viable here as well, with some flexibility for loadout.</div>
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I have seen lists as well using the Imdaars as the main attacking force and adding a support ship (i.e. Jendon supporting Passive Sensor Imdaars) and this might work, but my suspicion is that this sort of list would just have more bad match-ups than Imdaars+Ace without gaining any more advantageous ones.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
My Imdaar Lists</h2>
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My first Imdaar list, legal during the 2019 Q1-Q2 period, was probably my favourite:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Darth Vader, Fire Control System, Hate</li>
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FCS Hate Vader was not the arc dodging Vader one expects from Afterburners Vader. FCS Hate Vader is a bruiser, perfectly willing to accept the odd incoming shot in exchange for punching the other guy awfully hard in the face.</div>
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The list generally approaches gamed by moving the Imdaars as one for the early game and sending Vader off to flank, with either element able to punish the opponent's decision on which element to pursue.</div>
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I took this one to the Top 4 of the Toronto System Open, getting knocked out in what would turn out to be one of the more infamous games of X-Wing in recent history: </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ranA-tUBbss/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ranA-tUBbss?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Outside of the controversy of the Toronto Tallon Roll, this game is actually a good example of how I flew that list and how it succeeded. Hate Vader flanking through the rocks is quite happy to have enemy ships try to attack him; in this match, where my Imdaars were all higher initiative than my opponent's ships, I would have been absolutely comfortable trading off Vader for a couple of my opponent's pieces if it meant I could snowball with the Imdaars.</div>
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Variations on this list actually did start to see some traction after the Toronto System Open. Another instance of this list made cut at Atlanta System Open, and 3x Imdaar plus Afterburners Vader made cut at Denver SOS, Adepticon, and UK Nationals.</div>
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The points adjustment upped the Imdaar by a woefully inadequate one point, but between that and Vader's adjustment, the list needed to be adjusted. The second (and current) iteration, legal for 2019 Q3-Q4, is thus:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Imdaar Test Pilot</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Whisper, Predator, Fifth Brother</li>
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Whisper's no Vader, but she's no slouch either. Fifth Brother on Whisper is excellent, and gives me some of the crit forcing that Vader was able to leverage so well in the previous list. I've foregone a bid in favour of Predator, as I don't think a two point bid will consistently outbid anything of consequence, and Whisper can tolerate going first thanks to her ability.</div>
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This list got me to a Top 4 finish in Canadian Nationals. I did get a game on stream (without commentary), but it doesn't seem to have made it to YouTube, and frankly it was a pretty sloppy Round 6 match-up against a list that required me to really take an unusual approach (8x Torrents!), and isn't really indicative of how this list usually operates.</div>
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It's also the list I took to Worlds, barely missing cut with a 4-3 record after a close, tough loss on my last game of the day. That said, a 3x Imdaar + Soontir list did make the cut.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
The Phantom Menace</h2>
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This is all to say that the Imdaar Test Pilot is an amazing value for 44 points. Even beyond my preferred list architecture outlined above, you can fit it into all sorts of lists. It's cheap enough that it doesn't have to do a lot to pull its weight, and multiple Imdaars is a real problem for the opponent to have to deal with.</div>
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And should the points go up on the Imdaar Test Pilot (which I absolutely feel they should), let me introduce you to Imdaar Junior:</div>
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<img alt="AdvancedV1 Inquisitor" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/6/64/AdvancedV1_Inquisitor.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20180913211904" width="229" /><img height="227" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/b/b0/Supernatural_Reflexes.png/revision/latest?cb=20180604183259" width="320" /></div>
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Supernatural Inquisitors essentially do everything the Imdaar does, just worse. Your 3-die attack is now a 2-die attack. Your pre-maneuver 2-speed reposition is now a 1-speed reposition. Your 3 hull is now 2 hull.</div>
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But hey, at least you can target lock or boost!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-33279421148032197162019-08-18T13:03:00.000-04:002019-10-25T15:34:01.028-04:00Match Review - SuperKylo Thiccdraw vs. QD Kylo Engineer<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>If you read <a href="https://xwingontherocks.blogspot.com/2019/08/match-review-superkylo-thiccdraw-vs_17.html">my last match review</a>, you know that it was a complete disaster. After blogging about it, the last step in my process of accepting and moving on needed to be getting back on the horse and reminding myself that I'm not actually (always) that bad. It was also a good opportunity to immediately apply some of the lessons learned from the previous affair.</i><br />
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My list</h4>
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<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236X74W178WWY243X181W206W99W182W113W105&sn=SuperKylo%20Thiccdraw&obs=core2asteroid5,gascloud2,gascloud3">https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236X74W178WWY243X181W206W99W182W113W105&sn=SuperKylo%20Thiccdraw&obs=core2asteroid5,gascloud2,gascloud3</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
This is, in my opinion, the strongest "standard" two ship list in the game right now. Supernatural Kylo with Primed Thrusters can basically just dial a blue maneuver (including the ridiculous 5 straight) and be placed wherever on the board you see fit. Meanwhile, fully loaded Quickdraw can (usually) play the opening like an I6 arc dodger while the Afterburner charges are up, then later transition to a more traditional Quickdraw bruiser role once some of the larger threats are gone. With Pattern Analyzer and Afterburners, Quickdraw has all sorts of silly interactions, and I usually discover a new trick to do with her every two or three games. She's the gift that keeps giving. Typically, if you can trade Quickdraw for the ship that Kylo most fears, you can find a path to victory in most match-ups, and occasionally you just steamroll to a win without losing points. The points currently spent on Concussion Missile are flexible and I'm continuing to tinker to find out where they best fit, with the current build based around trying to give QD some more options when she has to disengage, since 2-ship lists need to throw as many red dice as humanly possible to make up for the lack of warm bodies. This is a list I've had some success with, including getting to the final table at a Hyperspace Trial back in May, and I like to stay fluent with it as it's a nice option to be able to use for things like the Vassal league.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236XWWWY243X181W186WW182W113W105Y286X186WW&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236XWWWY243X181W186WW182W113W105Y286X186WW&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Interestingly, this is the second time in as many days that I've encountered someone running this basic archetype. My main play test partner runs a lot of Kylo QD Tavson, but this is actually a pretty different archetype, swapping out Tavson's brute force and frustrating target priority confusion for an extremely solid blocker that can play a few different roles, depending on the match-up and the situation. Dropping Tavson to a Silencer also opens up a lot of flexible points that can be used to further change some of the fundamentals of how the list plays; in this variant, my opponent has gone for a similar arc dodging Quickdraw build, as well as Optics on the two non-Kylo ships. Unfortunately...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
</div>
<div>
...my list is basically a hard counter to my opponent's. I give up the third ship to have an absurdly capable Kylo and a bid that beats almost any other common list (Guri/Fenn and some Imperial Ace builds do bid a bit higher still). I feel a bit bad about this, considering this was a casual match, but after the previous match, I'm not quite in a place where I'm going to complain about getting an easier ride. To his absolute credit, my opponent was a fantastic sport about it too. Besides, I felt good about the last match-up too, and we all remember how that went.<br />
<br />
Killing Quickdraw first is ideal, as my opponent's Quickdraw is the only real roadblock for Kylo preventing him from having more or less free reign over the board. The baby Silencer can be left aside, for the most part. Normally, the blocks would be a problem, but Kylo is nigh-unblockable, and Quickdraw will hopefully not be in a position where being blocked leads to anything disastrous. Hopefully saying that doesn't jinx me.<br />
<br />
Another thing I look at this game is switching up my previous approach, with Quickdraw as my "main force" and Kylo as the flanker. In previous games, I've flown Kylo more directly, since he can usually react and avoid arcs while Quickdraw flanks. Quickdraw, as we saw last game, can get pretty locked into some bad approaches. Look at the last game and put Kylo in Quickdraw's positions on turn 2, 3, or 4, and think about all of the different options Kylo would have to get out of that position.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
</div>
<div>
As before, with this list I bring two gas and one big rock. I'd prefer three gas but having one rock gives me a pivot point on the board in case my opponent is bringing a swarm, which I need in order to set up a safe approach. My opponent is using two large rocks and a medium rock.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I give my opponent first player because, despite recent evidence to the contrary, I'm not a <i>complete</i> dummy!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent places his first rock (1) about halfway across the bottom edge of the board, giving me a chance to corner a big rock (2) nice and far away. The next rock ends up near the middle (3), and I corner the other rock (4). Gas clouds go top middle (5) and top left (6), leaving two very big open areas at 2 to 4 o'clock and 6 to 10 o'clock. This is a lot of open space for Kylo to find angles with Supernatural, and the clear lanes give him great options as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Sienar-Jaemus Engineer gets placed midway on my opponent's board, facing south, and Kylo is in line with the bottom row of obstacles. I consider setting up directly opposite Kylo, but I don't think I want to be in a straight joust, since my goal is to hunt down the yet undeclared Quickdraw. I put Kylo in my top right on a diagonal, a previous opening for him that I didn't use last game and immediately regretted, since it lets him very quickly several major board regions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent's Quickdraw mirror my Kylo, facing diagonally on the top left corner, and I have another choice. I can change my plan and put my Quickdraw in the bottom corner, threatening Kylo immediately and giving my opponent a dilemma to start. However, I think in that situation, my opponent will aggressively move all of his pieces to corner Quickdraw, and I already made that mistake once. I stick with the plan, placing Quickdraw diagonally behind Kylo. He'll be making a break for Quickdraw, but this at least leaves his intentions momentarily unclear.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdIVLoM4lEhmBH-0Ivec95PMVQGCMfeY3WE3n9NsnKH7PqLRD4g89f4jlMk-FfdvQhvyxEmzkaXJ_g2E9F67i-ykWDNEZ2ZsoD2JEc8GYOu95w8jP3yz2i4fIykkqCSDFxB2zPKaLfZU4/s1600/0-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdIVLoM4lEhmBH-0Ivec95PMVQGCMfeY3WE3n9NsnKH7PqLRD4g89f4jlMk-FfdvQhvyxEmzkaXJ_g2E9F67i-ykWDNEZ2ZsoD2JEc8GYOu95w8jP3yz2i4fIykkqCSDFxB2zPKaLfZU4/s640/0-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
<div>
No half measures this game. Especially considering that I'm not at as much of a firepower disadvantage, it seems in my interest to apply pressure early and force some responses. I imagine the generic Silencer will be turning in, but his Kylo has a couple of options, either moving toward my ship or taking a longer route around the bottom rocks to set up a wide flank. My blue Kylo is tentatively on red Kylo guard duty, so I dial the infamous 5 Forward. If his Kylo indicates a flank, I'll send my Kylo south to intercept and occupy his Kylo's attention, and if not, then I'll send my Kylo straight over to Red Quickdraw along with my own Quickdraw, hoping to get some early damage on the enemy ship.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Sienar-Jaemus Engineer: 1 Hard Left, Barrel Roll Right Forward</li>
<li>Kylo Ren (Opponent): 3 Bank Left, Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Engineer does indeed turn in but stays otherwise conservative, leaving his options open to pursue threats breaking west or south. Kylo also moves into a flank; not quite as wide as he might have gone, but certainly wide enough that I feel I need to respond to it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo Ren (me): Supernatural Reflexes Boost Left (1 Force remaining), 5 Forward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
If his Kylo wants to flank mine now, he's going to have to really work for it, leaving himself out of the fight for a lengthy period. For my part, while having a second gun to harass his Quickdraw would be nice, a Kylo vs. SuperKylo match-up clearly favours the ship with more upgrades and final move, so if my opponent is offering it, I will absolutely take it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent): 3 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me): 3 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
His Quickdraw wisely opts out of a straight joust in a lane that offers limited escape options. I opt in, and leave Quickdraw set up with two viable attack paths for next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No combat, so Kylo regains Force and we go back to dials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3>
<div>
I'm still feeling comfortable taking some of the initiative here, and I'm definitely not going to wait passively for the board to come to me this time. My opponent's engineer can pursue either of my ships, but likely not with any significant firepower this turn, as he'll have range issues and/or actions spent on repositions. His Kylo may either go straight toward my board edge to try to flank, he might bank in to threaten a slow Quickdraw move, or he might turn hard to really try to come after Quickdraw. My Kylo can deal with any of these with another 5 Forward. There are other options that could be considered, but the 5 Forward will serve to either bring my Kylo in a position to join the main fight next turn or tie his Kylo up in the bottom right corner, depending on where his Kylo goes. It's a somewhat safe play but shouldn't keep Kylo irrelevant unacceptably long. My Quickdraw will also be going 5 Forward, hoping to use afterburners to threaten his Quickdraw immediately.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSUwicmca-yvyd-ZX7rD-QpvMBEzq_zuCcTCOxb7H2WIPsoLPENb5_uPGYYoJwpxTkv02kLfyZUz3qm1-TlkIZfZ6ONA9M_nKnMNpMIg5EW40-iX1p2wGWZfQ3FeBbxrbt8PVJGKtKRuY/s1600/2-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSUwicmca-yvyd-ZX7rD-QpvMBEzq_zuCcTCOxb7H2WIPsoLPENb5_uPGYYoJwpxTkv02kLfyZUz3qm1-TlkIZfZ6ONA9M_nKnMNpMIg5EW40-iX1p2wGWZfQ3FeBbxrbt8PVJGKtKRuY/s640/2-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 1 Hard Left, Barrel Roll right middle</li>
<li>Kylo (opponent): 1 Hard Left, Barrel Roll left forward</li>
<li>Kylo (me): Supernatural Barrel Roll right backward (1 Force remaining), Autothrusters Boost right, stress, 5 Forward, clear stress, lock (Kylo Ren)</li>
</ul>
<div>
His Kylo gives up on the flank and moves to threaten my Quickdraw. Doing this does accept my Kylo as a flanker, but I don't think my opponent has a ton of other great options, so he opts for the target he can actually hope to isolate. The fact that he has these difficult decisions already suggests that I'm playing this much less stupidly this time. My Kylo moves in to the main fight; his next turn is completely telegraphed, but I don't think my opponent will be able to punish it very hard if he chooses to.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent): 2 Hard Left, Focus</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me): 5 Forward, Afterburners Boost left (1 charge remaining), lock (Quickdraw)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I spend a long moment after my 5 Forward double- and triple-checking my geometry before boosting, and I look to be out of arc without needing a barrel roll. With only one shot coming in, I'm happy to grab a lock and hope to put some free damage in on Quickdraw.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Quickdraw (concussion missile, range 3), spends lock, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Concussion Missiles are mostly there for meaningful rear arc shots, but I'm happy to use one here to avoid the third green die from Quickdraw. He natties out, but one damage is all I would realistically expect here anyway, and every free shield off of a Quickdraw is a big win.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer attacks Quickdraw (range 3), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nearly a coin flip that I take damage here, but given that my opponent's Quickdraw didn't end up spending his focus (and so is unlikely to take damage from an unmodded QD shot from me), I'm relieved that I win the coin flip and take no damage.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kylo regenerates a Force, and we're on to turn 3.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuh57jjNsQ4RwwyU6pRkPID44MrhY-cJ-d73gzabH39O9iyKjpzs2ECvoqC5tLPsWBWgAZddPCoOXrJ_83Vl0-1CdJOZW4-Ba5SpGpL2q9-SL64SluxYP-CsaJLUOLBrV3A6BuHHnFhpY/s1600/2-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuh57jjNsQ4RwwyU6pRkPID44MrhY-cJ-d73gzabH39O9iyKjpzs2ECvoqC5tLPsWBWgAZddPCoOXrJ_83Vl0-1CdJOZW4-Ba5SpGpL2q9-SL64SluxYP-CsaJLUOLBrV3A6BuHHnFhpY/s640/2-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 3</h3>
<div>
My opponent is almost certainly going to try to take on Quickdraw here, but the question is: where does he think Quickdraw is going, and how do I best avoid it? My Quickdraw's most plainly obvious maneuver here is a 1 bank in, but even if my opponent doesn't block that, I'm probably going to be in every arc, possibly even range 1 across the board. I know how that story ends. I could do a hard 3 left here, which if not blocked will almost certainly allow me to spend my final Afterburners charge and get out of arcs, grabbing a lock and shooting a missile out of the rear arc. If it does get blocked, however, I'm in trouble.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The one place I'm almost certain not to get blocked, however, is on that corner gas cloud. I don't imagine my opponent will put me on that maneuver, and if he tries to block the 1 bank, he's not going to be point an arc over there with at least one ship. Plus, with the Sloop, I still get an action <i>and</i> I'm in good position to follow up on the next turn. It seems like a reasonable plan, and almost certainly not the one my opponent will be prepared for.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another alternative I did not consider at the time would be a 4 Forward. This would let me arc dodge almost everything, most likely, but my future positioning wouldn't be ideal. That said, this might actually have been the best option (and really is exactly why I've got Concussion Missiles in the list to begin with).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kylo, as mentioned, is basically committed to a hard one, but as mentioned, he should be safe. If he doesn't get a great shot this turn, he'll still be in fine board position after that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 2 Forward, Focus, Autothrusters Barrel Roll right middle, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
A nice move. This blocks the hard 3 plan nicely, as well as a 2 or 3 bank, while leaving him at range 1 if I do the 1 bank. It's unlikely I'd be able to initiative kill a full health Silencer, but even if I could, my opponent would be delighted to trade the Sienar-Jaemus Engineer for Thiccdraw. Fortunately, I avoided this block.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (opponent): 2 Forward, Focus, Autothrusters Barrel Roll right backward, stress</li>
<li>Kylo (me): Supernatural Reflexes Barrel Roll right backward (1 Force remaining), 1 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
His Kylo stays on my Quickdraw, getting in front of the rock to obstruct the shot from my Kylo's obvious play.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent): 5 Forward, lock (Quickdraw), linked Rotate Arc (rear)</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me): 3 S-Loop Right, Pattern Analyzer Lock (Quickdraw), stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
His Quickdraw tries to open up some space, probably hoping to get the range 1 rear shot on a blocked QD and then regroup afterwards. I avoid the block and one arc, leaving my QD to defend against a couple of single-modded shots. I opt for damage again, locking Quickdraw to fire a second missile. This play does leave me pretty susceptible to losing all of my shields (especially if I get shot at by Quickdraw twice, it's a 51% chance of 3 damage on my Quickdraw), but if I manage to still have one remaining, I will be in a great position.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent) attacks Quickdraw (me) (range 3), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me) spends charge, attacks Quickdraw (opponent) (range 3), reroll with Fire Control System, 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent) spends charge, attacks Quickdraw (me) (range 3), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me) attacks Quickdraw (opponent) (range 3, concussion missile), spends lock, 1 shield damage, 1 critical hull damage (Weapons Failure)</li>
</ul>
<div>
A messy exchange. I decide to spend my QD charge at the first opportunity, rather than wait to see if I lose my last shield and then shoot with Fanatical online. I really didn't want to take a chance that Kylo whiffs and I save a QD charge for nothing.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (opponent) attacks Quickdraw (me) (range 3), spends focus, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Unfortunate but not completely unexpected. I might have gotten lucky and kept a shield, but it doesn't happen for me.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me) attacks Kylo (opponent) (range 2 obstructed), spends focus, Kylo (opponent) spends 2 Force (0 remaining), 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Some bonus Kylo damage to ease the pain of losing Quickdraw's shields so fast.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With the SE Engineer arc dodged, both Kylo's regenerate a Force and we go back to dials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3>
<div>
I'd really like to finish Quickdraw off quickly here, if possible. Since both enemy Silencers are stressed, I can at least be reasonably comfortable knowing that they can't effectively threaten the area directly behind them, so Kylo should have fairly free movement this turn. Either 2 bank seem like decent options for Quickdraw, and I decide that the 2 bank to the right gives me a reasonable chance at catching Quickdraw. It's possible I bump Kylo, but I don't think I get punished too badly for that bump, so I'm happy to avoid a shot that way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A 3 Forward for Kylo means his Force point will likely be spent on Supernatural again, but it lets me either reposition for next turn or possibly catch one of the enemy Silencers out of arc if they decide to clear stress to the left.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 2 Bank Left, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Left, stress</li>
<li>Kylo (opponent): 5 Forward, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Barrel Roll Right Middle, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
My opponent goes for fairly defensive regrouping maneuvers. I get the sense here that <a href="http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/3692_Whos_The_Beatdown.html">taking a fairly aggressive approach</a> has made my opponent take the defensive or reactive role in this game, which I'm pretty happy with. I can't strongly punish either of these, but I don't feel any pressure to need to do so, and both Silencers are in a position that I can look to arc dodge with Kylo next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me): 3 Forward, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Right, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
No need to spend a Force here, as the best I think I can do is get a gas cloud obstructed shot range 3 on Kylo. Since I already have him locked, I can settle for a pot shot at SE Engineer this turn, and I'm in good shape for next turn. I'm completely happy with the blue maneuvers on Kylo's dial for next turn, so taking the stress for a focus on Kylo is fine by me.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent): 1 Forward, repair Weapons Failure</li>
</ul>
<div>
My opponent can either try to prolong Quickdraw's life, or try to maximise his last shot, and chooses the latter.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (me): 2 Bank Right, clear stress, no action (gas cloud)</li>
</ul>
<div>
A bit of a surprise here, I didn't see the tiny bit of gas cloud protruding from in front of me, and I lose a token as a result. A target lock would have been nice to make sure I secure the QD kill.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw (opponent) attacks Quickdraw (me) (range 2), rerolls with FCS, uses Fanatical, 1 hull damage</li>
<li>Quickdraw (me) attacks Quickdraw (opponent) (range 2), uses Fanatical, 2 hull damage and Quickdraw dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
A bit of bad luck for my opponent, but at least my unexpected gas cloud bump ends up being irrelevant.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me) attacks SE Engineer (range 3, gas cloud obstructed), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
With something like a 1-in-5 chance of doing damage here, I would have felt like a bit of a heel if I actually got damage through.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent's Kylo regenerates back to full Force, and we're back to dials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d-dKZ4sjsI3CFSdpJ1jd3_nl9wkgeJVvBgXbOaV32t4g2OD7I9UwqsbKsGxD1GocLY80cpe-neTZQFO6cuPG5iepuB7WQXdIAgD-uAhmapdvR2zX6Plp426SXz0kLe-tYF8WwyG01TaP/s1600/4-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d-dKZ4sjsI3CFSdpJ1jd3_nl9wkgeJVvBgXbOaV32t4g2OD7I9UwqsbKsGxD1GocLY80cpe-neTZQFO6cuPG5iepuB7WQXdIAgD-uAhmapdvR2zX6Plp426SXz0kLe-tYF8WwyG01TaP/s640/4-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 5</h3>
<div>
With Quickdraw down, I now want to take out Kylo as quickly as possible. SE Engineer is still probably a turn away from entering an engagement (I have him on hard turn + boost this turn), so I can set up and only worry about Kylo for now. Kylo is essentially forced to choose a hard turn left or right (possibly followed by a boost), and with two ships still on the board, I can mostly cover both of these and remain relatively safe. A 2 bank in with my Kylo covers the left turn. The hard left turn with Quickdraw catches him if he chooses to escape or try to reengage from that direction, and I don't think I'll be in arc, even if he boosts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijn4Ot5IlZe9LLRe8NDnb6p-QW9cT0yqT7HXvkgTTQ9wvOIJWoje40TwNatgJQUtSDqnZzlOV9cy-R8mJDqdYQdpVxra0_pz5in-wUz2-Ogqe6LL_fw_sNxgb9q_KWXn6vw3qjt8Y8p-dH/s1600/5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijn4Ot5IlZe9LLRe8NDnb6p-QW9cT0yqT7HXvkgTTQ9wvOIJWoje40TwNatgJQUtSDqnZzlOV9cy-R8mJDqdYQdpVxra0_pz5in-wUz2-Ogqe6LL_fw_sNxgb9q_KWXn6vw3qjt8Y8p-dH/s640/5-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 2 Hard Left, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Left, stress</li>
<li>Kylo (opponent): 2 Hard Right, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Forward, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
No surprise from the Engineer, but Kylo going to for the escape is interesting, as I mostly expected him to try to re-engage quickly in order to catch me before I can really set up for a favourable engagement. Unfortunately, he's now exposed even to my very conservative Quickdraw play.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me): 2 Bank Right, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Right, stress</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 Hard Left, lock (Kylo)</li>
</ul>
<div>
A very bad spot for his Kylo. I debate burning an Afterburners charge on Quickdraw to get range 1, but I think I'm comfortable enough right now that I'd rather save it for a greater need.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Kylo (opponent) (range 2, concussion missile), spends lock, Kylo spends 1 Force (1 Force remaining), 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
A pretty silly mistake here, there's almost no reason to shoot the last missile at range 2 on this one. I think I was sort of optimistically hoping I'd get two damage and flip a crit? Regardless, a silly misplay on my part, without question.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me) attacks Kylo (opponent), spends Focus, Kylo (opponent) spends focus, 1 hull damage, Kylo (opponent) spends 1 Force to apply I'll Show You The Dark Side (Panicked Pilot) to Kylo (me)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Half points on Kylo. The condition is annoying, but with the current position and especially with Primed Thrusters, it's not a big concern at the moment.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent's Kylo goes back to 1 Force, and we go to the next turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBc_XOtHNvoRWu8k_JVbOA5SA1E7pR53cy7MizJItP5DZu-EYhWi79rT5mexBZgtYPPw4wWbX6zZ0CrVD4NhLCf8B4ozFgwniYUtnbPAszm69VFAWeCsvgLbI9h3olLq4KElyBSmDqqqY/s1600/5-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBc_XOtHNvoRWu8k_JVbOA5SA1E7pR53cy7MizJItP5DZu-EYhWi79rT5mexBZgtYPPw4wWbX6zZ0CrVD4NhLCf8B4ozFgwniYUtnbPAszm69VFAWeCsvgLbI9h3olLq4KElyBSmDqqqY/s640/5-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div>
My opponent's Kylo is in a real bad spot, with few good options. I figure he'll be banking around the rock and boosting and dial accordingly. A 5 Forward preceded by a supernatural boost for my Kylo should still have a shot. Quickdraw's position is a little annoying to chase, so I dial a Sloop, which should still get me a shot thanks to the options that Afterburners and Pattern Analyzer give me on that maneuver. The SE Engineer might get a shot here, but I'm still not too worried about him at this time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflPQM1UEbDh62E7xjoSYGWh6E3P_uuUngGvrJaWswjlzEIR6mxLz64C-1TjjGbWaUiv96eAXGMciQyfaRLJ1O6e9Mx7s556PbrrDdO6z3asLI_rHI83Uxt-d6vsKdCg2jwjcFAxE88Vb3/s1600/6-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflPQM1UEbDh62E7xjoSYGWh6E3P_uuUngGvrJaWswjlzEIR6mxLz64C-1TjjGbWaUiv96eAXGMciQyfaRLJ1O6e9Mx7s556PbrrDdO6z3asLI_rHI83Uxt-d6vsKdCg2jwjcFAxE88Vb3/s640/6-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 2 Bank Left, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Boost Left, stress</li>
<li>Kylo (opponent): 2 Hard Right, clear stress, Focus, Autothrusters Barrel Roll Right, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
A surprise from Kylo! I didn't think he'd be able to fit something like that without being able to do the hard 1 turn. My Kylo will be missing the shot this turn. Unfortunately, my Quickdraw maneuver happens to punish this maneuver about as hard as possible.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo (me): Supernatural Reflexes Boost Right (1 Force remaining), 5 Forward, clear stress, Focus</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 S-Loop Left, Pattern Analyzer (Focus), stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Kylo blows right by, but is in fine shape to re-engage next turn with a few options. However, Quickdraw sets up a potential deathblow.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Kylo (opponent) (range 1), uses FCS and Fanatical, Kylo spends focus, 2 hull damage and 1 critical hull damage (Disabled Power Regulator), Kylo dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
A nasty bit of bad luck for my opponent, as Kylo only takes 3 hits 26% of the time here.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer attacks Kylo (range 3), uses Advanced Optics, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Engineer has no good shots, unfortunately.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnwcGSWf7UaVOn62VcYpobrGg4K6iP_mG7Ah5Ysifjde8LlD_Wnt_2BaM9TpGM0juIBz5bU7U64jSzLtMCGuBjAIpVLjHb3acG501YM0KxuMAfH3q53sZ50baaHH8FpfKslNj8sO6rjWl/s1600/6-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnwcGSWf7UaVOn62VcYpobrGg4K6iP_mG7Ah5Ysifjde8LlD_Wnt_2BaM9TpGM0juIBz5bU7U64jSzLtMCGuBjAIpVLjHb3acG501YM0KxuMAfH3q53sZ50baaHH8FpfKslNj8sO6rjWl/s640/6-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 7</h3>
<div>
With the enemy Kylo's abrupt death, my opponent is facing a borderline unwinnable endgame. His best hope here is likely to hope to get the rest of Quickdraw's points before going down, but I don't see a path to victory from his position here. For my part, time is now absolutely on my side, so I just need to play safe and deny my opponent any opportunities to get any damage on my ships. For this turn, that means a regroup around the asteroid for Kylo and a 3 Forward from Quickdraw, the latter of which should keep Quickdraw safe, whether through bumping or possible use of Afterburners.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Of8vQm9vcPw8tLVdbo5u4MtIuLHwYlvcydayFNANdfdXhEO6X7tCTMMX564rPUmVND42Ze9oj9VJu9QOUhOxlRAwJYumqGqAKXU2nIIydiNXOI4lmUPZfBGDynwqedTe3jOkfGsjGAd/s1600/7-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Of8vQm9vcPw8tLVdbo5u4MtIuLHwYlvcydayFNANdfdXhEO6X7tCTMMX564rPUmVND42Ze9oj9VJu9QOUhOxlRAwJYumqGqAKXU2nIIydiNXOI4lmUPZfBGDynwqedTe3jOkfGsjGAd/s640/7-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 5 Forward, clear stress, no action (gas cloud)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I imagined I'd be seeing a 2 Bank with a reposition, so this is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: 2 Hard Right, Lock (SE Engineer), Autothrusters Boost Right, stress</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 Forward, Lock, Linked Rotate (aft)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
A pretty unfortunate turn for my opponent, as my ships are all able to freely get target locks and set up to initiative kill the Engineer if he ever tries to exchange fire.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks SE Engineer (range 1, turret arc), uses Fanatical, 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not the worst outcome possible for the Silencer, but pretty close.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98EJVDiUkQPyEJP8xtEQT9I_nNPScg1Qelvpp4lnOEBWjnHo1F4DzpYfj6_ej9IJJ0jzuGn2AQ3VJIi8pyyOfGOTHsIrB56fIU9zaCoU2XeFvXlNX2g3fXvI_w2QYFE4I5BaRBFWeAFFK/s1600/7-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98EJVDiUkQPyEJP8xtEQT9I_nNPScg1Qelvpp4lnOEBWjnHo1F4DzpYfj6_ej9IJJ0jzuGn2AQ3VJIi8pyyOfGOTHsIrB56fIU9zaCoU2XeFvXlNX2g3fXvI_w2QYFE4I5BaRBFWeAFFK/s640/7-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 8</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
SE Engineer is in the estate planning portion of the match. As with Red Kylo previously, he can either regroup around the rock, or turn hard and barrel roll to be tricky and come in the near side. Neither affect my play here, as I'll either be attack him this turn or hounding him on the next.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmy9ZdK7Lj9ICT6K6fJFT3ZBHDpIAuwllP3ieisY1VJ2RsVMHVWOI5GVjK5tHy-0DjKihVoQD6MBDUUW_CL3VXqETAZZNW9vzlByIe4v37o4YHTLUslzoTboxyaSCOz5Jcblh10MoxwRx8/s1600/8-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmy9ZdK7Lj9ICT6K6fJFT3ZBHDpIAuwllP3ieisY1VJ2RsVMHVWOI5GVjK5tHy-0DjKihVoQD6MBDUUW_CL3VXqETAZZNW9vzlByIe4v37o4YHTLUslzoTboxyaSCOz5Jcblh10MoxwRx8/s640/8-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>SE Engineer: 1 Hard Right, Focus, Autothrusters Barrel Roll Right, stress</li>
<li>Kylo: 2 Hard Right, clear stress, Boost Right, Autothrusters Barrel Roll Left Forward, stress</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 Sloop Right, Pattern Analyzer (Focus, linked Rotate Arc (fore)), stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Playing out these sorts of endgames is really not a lot of fun for the guy without the Supernatural ace or the I6 ship that can apparently do eight different things even on a red maneuver.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks SE Engineer (range 2), uses FCS and Fanatical, no damage</li>
<li>Kylo attacks SE Engineer (range 1), spends 1 Force, 3 hull damage, SE Engineer dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
One TIE Silencer blank-out and it's over, 200-38.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83XQNMxYUZyUDwu2uUjkRNAqum-tlnYo8droNf1MF3-UClIo74wa7CYG0hI4kzgOYfxDbKXJtQsj4tuRBXmq8QE5aoo-Hv0dEMVfqGFkfbkP2ozV7xYajIiyB-o1_RtxBUhytdBCdLIbp/s1600/8-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83XQNMxYUZyUDwu2uUjkRNAqum-tlnYo8droNf1MF3-UClIo74wa7CYG0hI4kzgOYfxDbKXJtQsj4tuRBXmq8QE5aoo-Hv0dEMVfqGFkfbkP2ozV7xYajIiyB-o1_RtxBUhytdBCdLIbp/s640/8-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
<div>
X-Wing is awesome?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This one was a bit lopsided from the moment the lists came out, so I really can't fault my opponent for coming out on the losing side. A win for the underdog list here requires a combination of favourable dice, big mistakes by the opponent, super careful flying and great reads, and even then it's not really a sure thing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For my part, I tried to apply the things I beat myself up for not doing in the previous match, and even aside from the mismatch, I think it made for a much smoother ride. I still was maybe a bit reckless with Quickdraw, most notably on Turn 3, which I think is probably the turn most open to debate on my decisions. Otherwise, I tried to apply pressure, put my opponent on the defensive, and avoid getting too greedy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My approach can obviously still be refined further, but I think this was a step in the right direction again, and I feel a lot better after restoring at least some of my confidence in being able to actually get a win with this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to share your thoughts and observations in the comments below!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-56292749574123425602019-08-17T00:14:00.001-04:002019-10-25T15:33:52.303-04:00Match Review - SuperKylo Thiccdraw vs. Finn & Resistance 5s<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a recent match I played as part of the X-Wing Vassal League, a free-to-join league for online X-Wing play involving over hundreds players from around the world. It was, in short, a disaster.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><br /></i>
<br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236X74W178WWY243X181W206W99W182W113W105&sn=SuperKylo%20Thiccdraw&obs=core2asteroid5,gascloud2,gascloud3">https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v8ZsZ200Z236X74W178WWY243X181W206W99W182W113W105&sn=SuperKylo%20Thiccdraw&obs=core2asteroid5,gascloud2,gascloud3</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is, in my opinion, the strongest "standard" two ship list in the game right now. Supernatural Kylo with Primed Thrusters can basically just dial a blue maneuver (including the ridiculous 5 straight) and be placed wherever on the board you see fit. Meanwhile, fully loaded Quickdraw can (usually) play the opening like an I6 arc dodger while the Afterburner charges are up, then later transition to a more traditional Quickdraw bruiser role once some of the larger threats are gone. With Pattern Analyzer and Afterburners, Quickdraw has all sorts of silly interactions, and I usually discover a new trick to do with her every two or three games. She's the gift that keeps giving. Typically, if you can trade Quickdraw for the ship that Kylo most fears, you can find a path to victory in most match-ups, and occasionally you just steamroll to a win without losing points. The points currently spent on Concussion Missile are flexible and I'm continuing to tinker to find out where they best fit, with the current build based around trying to give QD some more options when she has to disengage, since 2-ship lists need to throw as many red dice as humanly possible to make up for the lack of warm bodies. This is a list I've had some success with, including getting to the final table at a Hyperspace Trial back in May, and I like to stay fluent with it as it's a nice option to be able to use for things like the Vassal league.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZsZ200Z298X172W2WW175W206WWY299X172WWW175WWWY240X172W116WW186Y350X172W206WW&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZsZ200Z298X172W2WW175W206WWY299X172WWW175WWWY240X172W116WW186Y350X172W206WW&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A solid Resistance list, basically taking a pre-July Resistance 5's list and replacing Lulo with Finn. All of the individual pieces in this can do work, and it's generally a lot of beefy or difficult-to-catch targets. If it can get an early advantage, this is the sort of list that can just snowball to a win against a lot of lists. Another interest wrinkle with this one is the Pattern Analyzers, which combine with Talli and Ello to give this whole list a Rebel Beef with Leia vibe. These ships all have a lot of dice mod uptime, which makes it difficult to exploit regrouping turns.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
</div>
<div>
This is a pretty favourable match-up for my list, with no ship moving after Kylo. My goal, then, was to make sure Quickdraw kills at least one ship before she dies, as Kylo can feasibly take an end game against three of these ships, and is pretty strongly positioned if he's against only two of them. The T-70s have the least tricks to dodge my arcs, as well as the lowest agility, so my aim is to remove one of them first to make the board a lot less scary for Kylo. That said, none of these are really appetising targets, especially with Heroic across the board.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
<div>
With this list I bring two gas and one big rock. I'd prefer three gas but having one rock gives me a pivot point on the board in case my opponent is bringing a swarm, which I need in order to set up a safe approach. My opponent brings a big rock and two debris, which take up a lot of space and are generally not something I want to see or deal with, so it's not a great scene in general.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBMwPJ_qGsuKXVw0eRpHEoKFzLr0DUSdeJESwhkgUcvFj2ORjIHunVis4hJUWRKbi_nm_UHjU9iT5IWq8qcQ1D41lVAtijwqcbAWGE8z1GxHnrfzWoeu_4qZZ0ZDb07RZWlyJP-zT5OSo/s1600/0-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBMwPJ_qGsuKXVw0eRpHEoKFzLr0DUSdeJESwhkgUcvFj2ORjIHunVis4hJUWRKbi_nm_UHjU9iT5IWq8qcQ1D41lVAtijwqcbAWGE8z1GxHnrfzWoeu_4qZZ0ZDb07RZWlyJP-zT5OSo/s640/0-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent puts a big rock in the middle first (1), which is not ideal but does at least give me a pivot point for his jousters to have to commit to one side of. I put a debris field in one of my corners (2) to try to minimise its impact on the game. Opponent puts the other debris near my bottom corner (3), which is generally annoying as it takes up a fair amount of space but still builds a clump with the middle asteroid that is a bit tighter than I would prefer to see. I corner again with a big rock (4), and my opponent places a gas cloud roughly equidistant from the top three obstacles, also generally annoying for me. Finally, I corner the last cloud (6). It's not as wide open a board as I would like, but there's at least a lot of open space in the bottom left diagonal half of the board, which should give Kylo a lot of room to exploit his options.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent deploys first, placing three of his ships in the bottom corner and Talli in the top corner. I place both of my ships in the top corner. Doing this forces Talli immediately to either run way or risk getting destroyed by Quickdraw, which means one less ship I need to worry about doing something wildly unexpected. This set-up also gives me a reasonable chance to have some amount of engagement that starts in the middle and allows me to K-Turn/S-Loop into the open portion of the board while my opponent has to K-Turn into the obstacles.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is a fairly strong opening set-up for the list I'm running, all things considered. I was feeling pretty confident here, picturing a few different scenarios where my opponent's ships ended up tied up in the rock and awkwardly split.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now seems to be a good time to tell you that this match review is all about learning from big mistakes, so let's start the list with number 1: overconfidence.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
<div>
I'm confident Talli is going to head south on the board, and totally happy if she decides not to anyway. I mostly anticipate the other ships heading straight east, but nothing I'm doing in the dial stage here will be committing me to anything either way. The only real decision I deal with here is whether to open aggressively with Kylo and try to put early pressure on Talli, or to be a bit more conservative. I opt for the latter, just to keep my options open, as I want to be a bit cautious while the other three ships remain uncommitted to anything on the board.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Nien Nunb: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Ello Asty: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Tallissan Lintra: 5 Forward, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
No surprises here, although I would maybe expect Talli to boost.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo Ren: Supernatural Reflexes (Boost Forward, 1 Force remaining), 2 Bank Left, Barrel Roll Left Forward</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 2 Hard Left, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
With the conservative approach used, Kylo is now positioned to threaten a ton of board space (as we'll discuss before next activation). Quickdraw is also taking it slow, as I want to time his approach into the obstacle field so that I can use Afterburners to avoid fire.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No shooting, and so Kylo regenerates his Force and we're back to dials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3>
<div>
One of the keys with this list is making sure Kylo generally positioned so he has multiple viable options for his next turn. I did a decent job of that last turn, but to demonstrate, here are some of the basic options I have on the table (and that my opponent needs to be concerned about):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgURkWVXIkKcjFJknnYL_UjtMPQMlNRrGIMUob19mbCsNVV4umLHAE_MFhsHnyp4XkpAKAafHpRINOpqMC8FqMUPY9n38EtlwR2ezDZDlOSdd_5_xeBXKOPzuquaxZdshAPmow3T1HZNy/s1600/2-a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgURkWVXIkKcjFJknnYL_UjtMPQMlNRrGIMUob19mbCsNVV4umLHAE_MFhsHnyp4XkpAKAafHpRINOpqMC8FqMUPY9n38EtlwR2ezDZDlOSdd_5_xeBXKOPzuquaxZdshAPmow3T1HZNy/s640/2-a.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now notice that these are all the exact same dialled maneuver, the 5 Forward. With basically no commitment, I now threaten any of these areas on the board, all of which leave me multiple options for the following turn. If the opponent commits too hard to one of these, I simply choose not to be there, and if he tries to cover them all, he ends up in 1v1 situations with a ship that essentially outclasses any of his individual pieces.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For this turn, then, Kylo's dial was easy. Quickdraw needs a bit more though, and here I think we can settle on mistake 2: making a slow, predictable approach with Quickdraw.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEsJryWDbLemc-viYTJGJSkz6bNWKiP_Ga07251tq3ej1oUW2J2Ma98rGbuk3hZlL60ebU5pG3oLA8XG0VE-hdv-hHG3CWjHAdtoyT7wLYmwAmaJsSoLPrLy11XCbnrgS2eRjDVAtjWze/s1600/2-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEsJryWDbLemc-viYTJGJSkz6bNWKiP_Ga07251tq3ej1oUW2J2Ma98rGbuk3hZlL60ebU5pG3oLA8XG0VE-hdv-hHG3CWjHAdtoyT7wLYmwAmaJsSoLPrLy11XCbnrgS2eRjDVAtjWze/s640/2-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 1 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Nien: 1 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Ello: 1 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Talli: 3 Bank Left, Barrel Roll Right Forward</li>
</ul>
<div>
1 Forward to victory for the Resistance, leaving the option to turn straight north on the board open and not rushing into any engagements. I think I misread this as too passive when I was playing the game, but I think it's correct now, given that it leaves him open to threaten a few different lines of play. My opponent is very free to do this because, so far, I have put absolutely no pressure on him with my opening moves. So, mistake 3: allowing my opponent ample time to position for his preferred engagement.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: Supernatural Reflexes (Boost Forward, 1 Force remaining), Autothrusters Barrel Roll Right Forward, Stress, 5 Forward, clear stress, Lock (asteroid)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I do what I should have threatened to do a bit more last turn, based on my opponent's setup, and belatedly try to pressure Talli. I come up about a quarter of a base width short of being in engagement range and miss my chance at a free shot on an unmodded Talli.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 1 Bank Right, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
Mistake 2 and 3 are in further evidence here. Quickdraw makes no meaningful threat to the board this turn. I am reasonably poised to advance next turn either straight east, straight south, or diagonally towards my opponent's main force, but I'm far enough away that my opponent isn't forced to guess and commit to any of these. My thought at the time was that my preferred engagement would be near the middle of the obstacle clump, but here we get to mistake 4: flying arc dodger Quickdraw like she's normal jousting Quickdraw. This is a jousting approach, lining up to fly right at the opponent and apply blasters directly to his forehead, but instead I should be quickly moving Quickdraw to a position where my opponent has to commit and react. I force no decisions here and give my opponent the chance to again take a passive approach next turn and avoid getting burned.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No combat, unfortunately for Kylo. He goes back to full Force and we move to turn 3. I'm on a 15 turn clock, and time is not quite on my side.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0reemOiiUQGx9y4P3naFQy6PqWp501g8hCXWNBTW_6zIUKxSC9RSNPfM-ey_6RA8vTCi53F2VRtMJs90ntx1vnqpENRvD12tO4KJ36krGiSnO3Yj10xXDdetlpwlowPYtmT0G-OmjnXBA/s1600/2-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0reemOiiUQGx9y4P3naFQy6PqWp501g8hCXWNBTW_6zIUKxSC9RSNPfM-ey_6RA8vTCi53F2VRtMJs90ntx1vnqpENRvD12tO4KJ36krGiSnO3Yj10xXDdetlpwlowPYtmT0G-OmjnXBA/s640/2-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 3</h3>
<div>
My opponent has essentially two strong options here: a hard turn north to threaten Kylo, or a bank into the middle to threaten Quickdraw and remain able to react to any of Quickdraw's main three avenues of attack. Based on that, the bank seems more likely, but I'm still a bit nervous to bring Kylo in too aggressively, just in case. Once again, this is a mistake, a nice specific one for number 5: going slow with Kylo here instead of dialling up ol' reliable 5 Forward. The 5 Forward gives me the following major positions:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRuCdiDn-hmICsNwBe8uViYJiN9fvvFU-DTsnlzJZrD-eQ0cJ2IDpv5sD-_sMkP_-R2Ey_Kzk7oiPIsACz_yv2mIoxd8nv8sOSD9gGXxVPGBa9f4dkkuD1u8yHREIYN-XZFHksWJdBJW_/s1600/3-a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRuCdiDn-hmICsNwBe8uViYJiN9fvvFU-DTsnlzJZrD-eQ0cJ2IDpv5sD-_sMkP_-R2Ey_Kzk7oiPIsACz_yv2mIoxd8nv8sOSD9gGXxVPGBa9f4dkkuD1u8yHREIYN-XZFHksWJdBJW_/s640/3-a.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The only risk to Kylo here is if my opponent does hard turns followed by boosts from the T-70s, but upon further analysis, there's really not much to be scared of there. Finn can't boost, and since he's in front, he needs to get out of the way of the T-70s so they can boost, which possibly leaves him unable to effectively threaten Kylo anyway. Further, if they boost, the T-70s are unmodded. Finally, if my opponent is so bold to try to call a Kylo play there, he's going to have an awkward turn to follow it, and he's giving Quickdraw a wide open chance to come up from behind.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I fail to really recognise this, instead doing a 2 bank, with these being the options I was mostly considering:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Still decent coverage, but generally leaves Kylo more exposed, not less.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, Quickdraw can probably be aggressive here too. A 5 Forward (with the option to boost) might end up being a fairly direct joust, but it's unlikely to be an exchange of Range 1 fire. More importantly it leaves Quickdraw with some interesting options next turn, including Pattern Analyzer S-Loops to really put my opponent in a bind. Barring that, this would be the time to 3 bank in either direction, forcing my opponent to react and commit to one of my ships. Basically, the three main Quickdraw landing spots here (with boost options shown) look like this:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWaa_13cDgKOsQS-pFu03u4lU73u5XlaJKFqPOHOZFAgRDo09v62A1tufMftNszD31qhWjvMYrdQkQuIuQ3dh-F7QGaIRuS6mzUGhHZjsiTvFxFMzAVqwxhZWSGetBwLrh-977hF43KGn/s1600/3-c.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWaa_13cDgKOsQS-pFu03u4lU73u5XlaJKFqPOHOZFAgRDo09v62A1tufMftNszD31qhWjvMYrdQkQuIuQ3dh-F7QGaIRuS6mzUGhHZjsiTvFxFMzAVqwxhZWSGetBwLrh-977hF43KGn/s640/3-c.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think these are all viable positions. Even the joust straight up the middle is unlikely to get punished too badly (especially if I do <i>not </i>use Afterburners). If my opponent does 3 banks without boosts, QD is only taking shots from two to three of the enemy ships, all at range 3, and this is a fairly strong commitment that leaves the flank totally exposed to Kylo. The right bank, to the north of the middle asteroid, is essentially completely safe, but removes pressure on my opponent as he can isolate my potential locations to one half of the board next turn. The left bank is also mostly safe this turn, although my options for the following turns get a bit tricky (but probably still manageable). Ultimately, I think any of these are probably decent options.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Naturally, I choose to do none of them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 2 Hard Left, Focus</li>
<li>Ello: 2 Hard Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nien: 2 Hard Left, Focus</li>
<li>Talli: 3 Bank Right, Focus, Refined Gyrostabilizers (Boost Left), Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Again, because of the lack of pressure I've applied, my opponent can do this and essentially threaten both of my ships. This is a perfect example of how to recognize a failed flank attempt! If you're offering your opponent two targets and he can feasibly answer "both," you're not really flanking.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: 2 Left Bank, Lock (asteroid), Autothrusters (Barrel Roll Right Forward), Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
A misplay again with Kylo. I play way too conservatively and end up just under a base length away again from locking or shooting.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 2 Forward, Evade</li>
</ul>
<div>
A much bigger misplay. Quickdraw is now almost fully committed to the middle jousting lane, as I've advanced too far to be able to 3 Bank + Afterburners to either side. Even after doing the 2 Forward, I could have mitigated my blunder by barrel rolling in either direction, this at least opening up two viable attack routes, but by staying where I am, I've now reduced Quickdraw's options next turn to either going fast, going slow, or disengaging and risking losing shields with no targets to shoot. The turn after next is going to be terrible (spoiler alert), but the reason that turn is as disastrous as it does is a direct consequence of this turn here.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another turn of no shooting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3>
<div>
My spider sense was tingling, but I don't think I realised just how screwed I was here. Both of Quickdraw's 3 Bank + Afterburners appear blocked (the 3 Bank Right actually can land and be followed with a boost right, but it's very close and I didn't trust my eye enough to attempt it). I can still get out of this with hard turns, although that kind of disengage means I'll have to spend another couple of turns getting Quickdraw set up to reengage. Honestly, it's still probably a better option than marching Quickdraw to her doom, but I'm approaching being a third of the way through this match without scoring any points, and I'm worried about a protracted dance around the rocks. Don't forget that my final salvo is just 5 dice to my opponent's 10!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Based on that, I choose to go straight with Quickdraw, giving me the choice of either going fast or going slow. Fast leaves me boost options, but risks bumping or being smothered and unable to reposition out of any arcs. Slow, in my mind, still leaves me options for next turn (but, of course, this is almost completely incorrect). Of the two choices, a bold 3+ Forward (probably even a 5 Forward) is likely best. Naturally, I choose to go slow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For Kylo, I keep it simple and dial the 5 Forward, allowing me to either tie the opponent's ships up trying to chase me in the bottom corner, or punishing them if they expose their flank by committing to Quickdraw here. I don't think this is a terrible call.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRuygxN3tZOvzCXzjW4yaNGK-NVyoPVvLtIJyjp_JHoS8kKWP-cKObE7WrC99OT_eSpoAD2AOehYM2xdGDu-rDdOyU6aPVAdwZELQ5DGa-ngQ4glNnWHKE_zrVVwlQeWbvUEZ9qdlCUQP/s1600/4-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRuygxN3tZOvzCXzjW4yaNGK-NVyoPVvLtIJyjp_JHoS8kKWP-cKObE7WrC99OT_eSpoAD2AOehYM2xdGDu-rDdOyU6aPVAdwZELQ5DGa-ngQ4glNnWHKE_zrVVwlQeWbvUEZ9qdlCUQP/s640/4-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 2 Bank Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nien: 3 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Ello: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Talli: 2 Hard Left, clear stress, Focus, Refined Gyros (Boost Left), Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
This is actually a pretty good outcome for me. My opponent is trying to pursue both targets, which means neither of my ships is under the full pressure of my opponent's entire list. In a "divide and conquer" strategy, this is pretty much part 1 covered. Unfortunately, of course, I have done a poor job of setting myself up to capitalise on it!</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: 5 Forward, clear stress, Barrel Roll Right Back, Autothrusters Boost Left, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
I stopped counting the mistakes but this is another one. I go with the plan I had in place to respond to a scenario where all of my opponent's arcs are on me, even though only half of them are actually targeting me. Then, I fail at X-Wing fundamentals, failing to reposition to get a shot. I dodge all arcs, but don't even get a target lock to show for it, which is absolutely unacceptable in this situation.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Better choices here would be a supernatural boost left and 5 straight right into Finn, bumping and depriving him of a shot and then trading range one shots with Talli, a situation that likely costs one or both ships one shield. Better still would be a supernatural barrel roll left and then a 5 forward, leaving me just in front of the gas cloud and once again trading range 1 shots with Talli, although this time with an action. That scenario favours Kylo a bit, with a reasonable chance at getting all of Talli's shields while probably giving up a one Kylo shield, at most. Neither of these are ideal trades, but both set up scenarios where Talli can get initiative killed by Quickdraw, which is perhaps worth a slight sacrifice here.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 1 Forward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Stop me if you've heard this before: Quickdraw advances and is under half a base length away from shooting anyone. I have gained nothing and am now almost entirely trapped in a bad joust for next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No shots through four turns.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCzuau1IVNL-lk4Q25vO4VwyEQ0AbLqSF81N28dsCCCQ33-eENu6nFfr9uS8LmtITTgm_rZ5VCfS8nDoYcmoRdRLyy9U1R0XyePjMRbw-UPIajdrNaDWd1CCe7EtlQXSfIWbprKb4ptgo/s1600/4-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCzuau1IVNL-lk4Q25vO4VwyEQ0AbLqSF81N28dsCCCQ33-eENu6nFfr9uS8LmtITTgm_rZ5VCfS8nDoYcmoRdRLyy9U1R0XyePjMRbw-UPIajdrNaDWd1CCe7EtlQXSfIWbprKb4ptgo/s640/4-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 5</h3>
<div>
This is a terrible board state. Quickdraw's only safe outs are now true emergency ejections, hard turns that leave me exposed and likely to take damage with no counterattack. Quickdraw is thus essentially committed to going straight into her doom. I choose a 3 Forward, reasoning that I might somehow have an open boost to dodge arcs, but realistically this will only happen if my opponent misplays and allows me to slip off the hook here. Outside of that slim hope, Quickdraw's fate has been written over the past two turns.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kylo can safely engage here. There's the chance that my opponent does K-Turns and/or Tallon Rolls to turn on him, but that would be inviting Quickdraw to take free shots for the next couple turns, which I'd be only happy to see take place. I've played too scared already as it is, so I need to accept the trap I've willingly (and slowly) walked into and make the best of it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YIZ4Oo1MgF_ebZok7jb5x5u-5zsdDfbQgMeKH6Q_xtNrNnwNNUQ5tkonXL-M_DstoaULkgiASVbmJPhSmBbflTwdPstKO0M0170d66qx8DVki_omwaDb57rJj-M8DsP9l1ckmgwhSK4G/s1600/5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YIZ4Oo1MgF_ebZok7jb5x5u-5zsdDfbQgMeKH6Q_xtNrNnwNNUQ5tkonXL-M_DstoaULkgiASVbmJPhSmBbflTwdPstKO0M0170d66qx8DVki_omwaDb57rJj-M8DsP9l1ckmgwhSK4G/s640/5-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 3 K-Turn, Pattern Analyzer (Focus), Stress</li>
<li>Nien: 2 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Ello: 1 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Talli: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
As expected, the big guns move on Quickdraw, because why would they possibly not? Finn's K-Turn covers their flank and leaves some pressure on Kylo while still threatening my Quickdraw.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: Supernatural Reflexes (Boost Forward, 1 Force remaining), 2 Hard Left, clear stress, Lock (Ello)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Kylo finally manages to get a lock! Of course, I am (wait for it) about a quarter of a base length outside of range 2.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 Forward, Evade</li>
</ul>
<div>
This is the absolute worst case scenario. Even with the Evade, Quickdraw dies here 64% of the time. Given Quickdraw's doomed nature, accepting it and taking the target lock on Ello would have been the better choice, at least providing one single-modded shot (FCS) and one double-modded shot (Fanatical and FCS). The Evade is a bit too optimistic, and I probably miss out on damage as a result.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Alternately, going faster and bumping Nien is also probably better. Quickdraw's survival becomes almost a coin flip, with the enemy's chance at getting a kill dropping to 52%. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course, none of these scenarios are ideal, or even acceptable. But it's really important to emphasise that while these are mistakes, the true mistake that lead to this was two turns ago.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Ello (range 1), 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Hey, maybe this is all going to work out after all!</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nien attacks Quickdraw (range 1), spends focus, Quickdraw spends evade, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Talli attacks Quickdraw (range 2), spends focus, 1 shield damage, 1 hull damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
...so you're telling me... there's a chance?</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw spends charge and attacks Ello (range 1), uses Fanatical, Ello triggers Heroic, 1 shield damage, 1 hull damage</li>
<li>Ello attacks Quickdraw (range 1), 3 hull damage (including Direct Hit) and Console Fire, Quickdraw dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
Things did not work out at all. In fact, Quickdraw manages to die without Finn even needing to shoot him, an unfortunate bit of variance swing.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo attacks Ello (range 3), spends lock and 1 Force, Ello spends focus, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
This one really hurt, but I don't really have much cause to complain, as doing more than 4 damage to Ello here was less than even odds, and I had less than a 10% chance of getting the kill. If Quickdraw had target locked, my chance to kill Ello is a bit better, around 29%, but still not at all the sort of trade situation you're looking for with this list.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn attacks Kylo (range 3, obstructed), uses ability to add focus result, gains 1 strain, spends focus, Kylo converts blank to evade from gas cloud, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Okay, this one just felt cruel. Kylo only takes a damage here 27% of the time, but the dice gods felt that Quickdraw's sacrifice was insufficient, and insult is added to injury.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kylo regenerates a Force (but not his pride) and we limp on to Turn 6.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNhGxMw89d-FLZhnJUdzCegj0o0wI4JmqKUjj0u5vXJNbLyi9xvaaLEEXM4L5iH8hweCuk2ItiMoHCwheU-yBMCyKljDwqA0eZsC0eezAxpkL4QEbb-kPYWeO15KpBomptI8GSKMNoaHx/s1600/5-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNhGxMw89d-FLZhnJUdzCegj0o0wI4JmqKUjj0u5vXJNbLyi9xvaaLEEXM4L5iH8hweCuk2ItiMoHCwheU-yBMCyKljDwqA0eZsC0eezAxpkL4QEbb-kPYWeO15KpBomptI8GSKMNoaHx/s640/5-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPO3RFIhblteq3anS2Zwh2ulNLfKz5AeHisUkW72AU7N6tjxE2tQ64s9SH6Im_JEJVe2bIOvm4LMHtfJnj8_WHvoFBpDEthSt2MlnbFB6f4lvjXynvKAjMmsvoykGeluduDVJD0Hqp3FrW/s1600/spaceowlcameo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPO3RFIhblteq3anS2Zwh2ulNLfKz5AeHisUkW72AU7N6tjxE2tQ64s9SH6Im_JEJVe2bIOvm4LMHtfJnj8_WHvoFBpDEthSt2MlnbFB6f4lvjXynvKAjMmsvoykGeluduDVJD0Hqp3FrW/s1600/spaceowlcameo.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This isn't unwinnable, but it's pretty damn far from ideal. Score wise, I'm actually only down 76-29, thanks to this list hiding 109 of its points in Kylo and another 15 in the bid. In fact, getting the lead back isn't outlandish: if I can finish Ello and get half points on any non-Finn ship, I'm back in the lead. As long as I don't lose half points on Kylo, safe play and a few lucky shots can get me back in. However, there's basically no margin for error, and because I failed to get a single arc off the table, I need to fly very cautiously and avoid taking basically any fire. The fact that I've already lost a shield to a stray Finn shot definitely doesn't help.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
More bad news is that Kylo is not exactly the heavy hitter in this list. Kylo excels at cleaning up half-beaten boards, but it's very difficult for him to get meaningful attacks while dodging 3+ arcs as well. Ello surviving with as much health as he did makes this a real long shot.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another problem: I'm now on tilt. At this point, I'm basically livid with myself for having played this one out the way that I did, and I'm spending far more time and mental capacity beating myself up that I should be pointing towards figuring out a path to victory. The fact that I've played this list well in the past and I have now turned around and done <i>this</i> has me feeling embarrassed, and it absolutely affects my play. Instead of getting a solid read on my opponent, I sort of half-heartedly assume there's going to be some K-Turns, dial in a 5 Forward, and resume the self-loathing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But don't worry, dear reader, because as we're about to see, things can always get worse.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 1 Forward, clear stress, Focus</li>
<li>Talli: 1 Hard Left, Focus, Refined Gyros Boost Forward, stress</li>
<li>Nien: 4 K-Turn, Pattern Analyzer Focus, stress</li>
<li>Ello: 4 Forward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
This is actually a lot less aggressive than I might have expected. Ello choosing not to K-Turn and Talli keeping her arc forward give me far more breathing room than I expected.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Unfortunately, especially with one shield already gone, I'm not comfortable enough to press forward to go for the kill on Ello, as this will almost certainly cost me one shield, if not a hull (and half points), and my chance of doing even one damage is relatively low. Given that, the safe play is probably a boost right and 5 straight, which gets me out of all arcs at the cost of a somewhat awkward turn after this. Of course, why choose the safe play when I can do this...</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kylo: Supernatural Reflexes Boost Left (0 Force remaining), Autothrusters Barrel Roll Right Backward, stress, 5 forward, clear stress, no action (bump asteroid), 1 damage from asteroid</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU9G5vWj5hVLggTU_Cf3y8DVo_H_bYEF_7lYlKgG9VLUbeCBdhwqqmSln3xhDjVdr5UNXh-gm9-kMbrL8BhMlzDTCDoNFOLPHPAPkzDWybC0QJTIaEPY3uM7idwnBIcC77uA8v52E4NDP/s1600/6-a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1136" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU9G5vWj5hVLggTU_Cf3y8DVo_H_bYEF_7lYlKgG9VLUbeCBdhwqqmSln3xhDjVdr5UNXh-gm9-kMbrL8BhMlzDTCDoNFOLPHPAPkzDWybC0QJTIaEPY3uM7idwnBIcC77uA8v52E4NDP/s320/6-a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
I mean, it's been one of those games, so this shouldn't have surprised me. This wouldn't have been a half bad maneuver if I'd dialed a 4 Forward, but instead, it's another nail in the coffin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nien attacks Kylo (range 2, obstructed), 1 hull damage and Loose Stabilizer</li>
</ul>
<div>
Kylo gives up half points and is stuck on straight maneuvers. Just like that, the score is 131-29, and I have to kill two ships and half another to get back in the lead.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_gFD30Z9MpXlm4hLOW4uvmsE_Bnm0eLvtKbrg9LGUTP2ockFlbQesPUUVM0NMTg2VXgauqAWsyCvPo3H_4FH0R7APmQQn8hvfrq6rUSOwq89FN1UrNYpw56TCOCvFgHOSlerQxqlNwiJ/s1600/6-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_gFD30Z9MpXlm4hLOW4uvmsE_Bnm0eLvtKbrg9LGUTP2ockFlbQesPUUVM0NMTg2VXgauqAWsyCvPo3H_4FH0R7APmQQn8hvfrq6rUSOwq89FN1UrNYpw56TCOCvFgHOSlerQxqlNwiJ/s640/6-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 7 (and on)</h3>
<div>
While there was hope at the start of Turn 6, once Turn 7 rolls around, all I can possibly hope for is getting a bit more MOV from somewhere before I lose Kylo. The game is otherwise essentially beyond hope, and there isn't a lot of valuable insight to be gleaned from the remainder.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It takes me five(!) more turns before I line up a reasonable shot, a double modded range 3 shot on Ello that hits green dice full of paint and does zero damage. Kylo dies two turns later on Turn 14 (I should have been running to preserve MOV but was absolutely not thinking about things clearly at all), and I take a gut punch of a loss, 200-29.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
</div>
<div>
Don't play X-Wing any more?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In all seriousness, this one really got to me. It's tough taking a list that you're reasonably confident with and have had good results with, and then to play so far below your own standards. It took me about a half hour before I could forgive myself for it, and then writing a whole blog post to come to terms with it entirely.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some of this is the nature of two ship lists like Kylo/QD, Fenn/Guri, Supernatural Anakin and friend, etc. These lists can be pretty forgiving for poor board positions, but specific misplays can be catastrophic. I did both in this game, and the results are exactly as I should expect. A review of the dice stats after the game did suggest that they did me no favours, but that is a relatively minor contributing factor and definitely not the main cause. This was a poorly played game, and my opponent did not let me get away with it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The biggest lesson to learn here is that Thiccdraw needs to be played like an arc dodger. If the plan is just to fly into the heart of the enemy squad, then Quickdraw should just take Shield Upgrade and give up on arc dodging altogether. Afterburners Quickdraw needs to play as cagey as possible in the early goings, prioritizing high level positioning over straight-up trades wherever possible. Anytime I forget this, I tend to lose Quickdraw early and then end up playing from behind with Kylo. You can get away with this sometimes, but there are limits, as clearly demonstrated in this game.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This list also needs to put a bit more pressure on the opponent. Having a million options isn't so valuable when your opponent can dial conservatively and remain protected against most or all of those options. I had clear opportunities to apply early pressure, but chose instead to play overly cautious, and by doing so gave my opponent ample time to arrange his ships just the way he wanted. By the time I got around to engaging, I was fighting on his terms.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally, this list requires a ton of attention to the turn ahead. I've always been aware of this with Kylo, but this game really made it clear that it's possibly even more important for Quickdraw. Quickdraw's dial is good, but she certainly doesn't have the ability to respond to an unexpected board state the way Kylo can. If Quickdraw is placed in a position where her next turn has very few options, she becomes easy to predict and isolate. Once that's been done, her two green dice don't hold up very long.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, all in all, given this one to play again, I'd be running Kylo in there to chase Talli off early, I'd probably run Quickdraw out a bit wider, and I'd try to do a much better job of range control so that Quickdraw could actually leverage her Afterburners to arc dodge and get some early one-sided shots instead of trading unfavourably.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was a brutal one on my ego, but I think it made me more aware of some of the limitations and vulnerabilities of the list, and I'd like to think I'll be more aware of them moving forward. Certainly, things can't go any worse than this!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oh god why did I just say that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to share your thoughts and observations in the comments below!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-37567604726472443762019-08-12T17:12:00.000-04:002019-10-25T10:50:13.590-04:00Match Review - Slow News Day vs. Chewie Resistance Beef<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in mid-August 2019. This game was a very early experiment with a list I was tinkering with, so the strategies and openings are still in the building stage.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><br /></i>
<br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z168XWW14WWWY164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232&sn=Slow%20News%20Day&obs=gascloud1,gascloud2,gascloud3">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z168XWW14WWWY164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232Y164XWWW104W144W232&sn=Slow%20News%20Day&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Slow News Day... because it's Sloane+Nu's, get it? I think I saw someone mention in passing that the Autoblaster Xg-1 Gunboat might be something worth looking at, and I thought they might have been on to something. Gunboats are beefier than T-65 X-Wings and the SLAM is a pretty neat trick. I tinkered around with builds involving multiple AutoGunboats until I noticed that a Sloane Lambda actually fit nicely, and I've been a really big fan of Sloane since Second Edition launched. I briefly toyed with using Jendon here but once I realised that an otherwise naked Sloane OGP and 4 Xg-1 Gunboats with Advanced SLAM was exactly 200 points, I figured it was meant to be. My first test game with the list was a win involving some pretty skewed dice, so I wanted to keep testing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZsZ200Z246XWWWWWWWY296X196WW175WWWY254XWW175WWWY350X172WWW&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Resistance&d=v8ZsZ200Z246XWWWWWWWY296X196WW175WWWY254XWW175WWWY350X172WWW&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I want to like Resistance Chewbacca but the games I've played against him, I've found that he doesn't hit quite hard enough unless you stack upgrades on him, at which point he either dies too fast or can't fit enough friends to leverage his ability (or both). He still can't be underestimated, but between his size and his general struggle to get double mods, he's manageable. This list looked otherwise scary, though; Finn is notoriously annoying to kill, Bastian is a cheap (and underutilised, imho) piece that can deliver a nice coup de grâce, and Jess is versatile and pretty cost-effective as well. This list has the pieces to very quickly destroy a target while enduring a fair amount of incoming damage and punishing you when it doesn't.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
<div>
The big choice here in target priority is basically "to Chewie or not to Chewie". Generally, if I'm a list that favours quantity over quality when it comes to red dice, I'm inclined to just bite the bullet and take out the Wookiee first, and that applies here. I'll take shots of opportunity wherever I have to, and I'm not going to look gift 4-die Autoblaster horses in the mouth, but the general plan will be to take down Chewbacca first. After that, the board state will likely determine the order of things, but I'd prefer to take the T-70's first and leave Finn until last. This would be especially true in a tournament situation, where wasting many turns trying to get after Finn's meager 30 points just isn't practical barring a scenario where he's been caught dead to rights.<br />
<br />
I'd prefer my opponent take first player so that I can SLAM in reaction to whatever his I2's do; we're both 200 points, but I win the roll and get my way.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
<div>
I feel pretty strongly about bringing gas clouds with this list. Gas clouds are great for the Lambda, who can not only travel the whole board without fear of taking obstacle damage, but can hid behind them and actually avoid damage to boot. The real reason, however, is because of this:<br />
<br />
<img alt="Image result for advanced slam x wing" height="228" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/3/3a/Advanced_slam.png/revision/latest?cb=20180916042334" width="320" /><br />
<br />
Being able to do a maneuver, then SLAM into or through a gas cloud and still take an action thanks to the wording of Advanced SLAM seems awfully appealing. This really helps to mitigate the clunky Gunboat maneuverability, as they can otherwise get caught in awkward positions as they try to SLAM around in lieu of a K-Turn. It also opens up new and interesting approach vectors. There's also the slim possibility that I autoblaster some unblockable crits through a gas cloud, ignoring the free evade token, but that sounds unlikely (although rage-inducing for my opponents if it happens!). Mostly, the clouds give an advantage that I expect few, if any, of my opponents will be able to leverage, and any time you can set up a one-sided situation like that, you probably should be doing it.<br />
<br />
My opponent also brings gas clouds. Their list strikes me as a "small rock" list, but I'm not about to complain about getting six gas clouds!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje5JAAvqkbIzTLv0Tpkm_vTLg8Zp58fkdW8ZbBp8Fz2TuPyEgd-UljTbLP2HUVRDyhG5W2lANhmLEcGCK_sLfVQLHjQoNMI_mPGOPnoGTsE1SPBkmytG0oeBofbITKxQtu_3FlAlfxLZL/s1600/0-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje5JAAvqkbIzTLv0Tpkm_vTLg8Zp58fkdW8ZbBp8Fz2TuPyEgd-UljTbLP2HUVRDyhG5W2lANhmLEcGCK_sLfVQLHjQoNMI_mPGOPnoGTsE1SPBkmytG0oeBofbITKxQtu_3FlAlfxLZL/s640/0-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
My opponent corners the first cloud (1) while I place my first obstacle one range band away from his corner (2). Given the advantages I mentioned earlier, I want the gas clouds grouped up enough to leverage this without them being prohibitively tight, so setting one here is a good way to keep things loosely grouped.<br />
<br />
My opponent places near the middle of the top board edge for his next choice (3), building a strong barrier along that board edge that will require ships to firmly commit to entering the middle of the board. I do something similar with my next cloud (4), setting it roughly range 3 from my opponent's board edge, but set inwards a little to avoid too many wide lanes for the Falcon to fly through, as well as supporting my goal of building a loose clump.<br />
<br />
Finally, my opponent's last cloud (5) goes in the top left corner, confirming his goal of making a board edge lane with multiple points of no return. I stick with the plan for my last cloud (6), placing just outside of range 1 from my other two clouds to give me a loose clump of clouds that I can approach around or through.<br />
<br />
The Lambda gets placed first. My general approach with this list so far has to take a fairly <a href="http://starfightermafia.blogspot.com/2019/08/article-12-dispersed-jousting.html">dispersed approach</a>, since SLAM allows elements on either flank to react fairly quickly and arrive in time for an engagement at most board locations. As a result, I place the Lamba in a fairly central location with the intent of placing pairs of Gunboats in the vicinity of the two board edges.<br />
<br />
My opponent sets both of his I2's along the bottom edge, avoiding the gauntlet he established at the top edge with his obstacle placement. My Gunboats scoff at gas clouds, so I put a pair of them in that lane; I don't plan on them staying there for long, but this at least should prevent my opponent from getting cheeky with his last two ship deployments and going for a flank. My other two ships end up about two thirds of the way down, where I can slow-roll them into the fight. Chewie and Jess both follow the I2's deployment, setting up for an opening based along the bottom edge. This favours my opponent a bit, as it means that after our opening engagement, I'll likely have to deal with obstacles while my opponent freely maneuvers in the open area. We'll be putting my Gunboats vs. Gas Clouds theory to the test!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvLGGVME4_jx6HKI8OyrycH9R_3zVi29PvD7z_cQv3c6iR7uHO9CkgO7MCirWmLgz4RWWS__sDehboPhIghzAYW4DsANEZd_a7yuSzS-YQ7FS6LlMoBG7dzkMZvGYfsRWXmNmyFm9ldRh/s1600/0-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvLGGVME4_jx6HKI8OyrycH9R_3zVi29PvD7z_cQv3c6iR7uHO9CkgO7MCirWmLgz4RWWS__sDehboPhIghzAYW4DsANEZd_a7yuSzS-YQ7FS6LlMoBG7dzkMZvGYfsRWXmNmyFm9ldRh/s640/0-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Overall, this seems like an acceptable Turn Zero. His ships seem pretty committed to an engagement that I'm prepared for, and I have options to react if he does something unexpected.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
<div>
Since I don't foresee him changing from his indicated plan of running across that bottom board edge, I feel safe in reacting accordingly. I want to get my Gunboats at the top of the board nice and far across the board now so that they'll be coming in on a flank or from behind when they engage, while everyone else needs to slow roll.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkv8a0R8hJ6qlNtmA7ZV5W4Qc16Mdaonl9PfPkB9N11RycZgLeW1o0w-uno2Pcatq5sli9rBVvL61psT9zJZ5Gb73a5Mhad0UxpZJAXdzmjuXViyi4dYfjs_rw5aqyk3XC5KuPLZRlmyq/s1600/1-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkv8a0R8hJ6qlNtmA7ZV5W4Qc16Mdaonl9PfPkB9N11RycZgLeW1o0w-uno2Pcatq5sli9rBVvL61psT9zJZ5Gb73a5Mhad0UxpZJAXdzmjuXViyi4dYfjs_rw5aqyk3XC5KuPLZRlmyq/s640/1-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Activation</h4>
<ul>
<li>Omicron Group Pilot: 2 Forward, Reinforce (fore)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Okay, I lied, that's not slow rolling. However, I'm visualising an engagement happening in the middle of the board with my pieces sort of enveloping the enemy squad, and to do that, I want to get OGP out in the middle. Worst case, I just keep barreling forward and take rear arc shots.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lieutenant Bastian: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Forward, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
No real surprises here.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu Squadron Pilot 1: 3 Forward, SLAM (3 Forward), weapons disabled</li>
<li>Nu Squadron Pilot 2: 3 Forward, SLAM (3 Forward), weapons disabled</li>
<li>Nu Squadron Pilot 3: 1 Bank Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nu Squadron Pilot 4: 1 Bank Left, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
I decide to bank instead of 1 straight just to give me a little bit more space. My intention is that the next turn I can do a hard 2 turn in and SLAM forward, and having the 45 degree angle will give me a decent chance at some bullseye arcs. Finally, it's a (very) half-hearted feint on my intentions with the Nu's; I don't think my opponent will misread them or make any bad calls, but I'm not giving up any real positional advantage to do it, so why not? Meanwhile, the Nu's at the top are nicely set to turn in next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jessika Pava: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 1 Forward, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
Again, nothing crazy. Chewie hasn't turned yet which will limit his speed in getting to the engagement, for what it's worth.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No combat, so we're back to dials.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid2vMTGX1xtoFUyALqpv6FLcz4oOGL85dqVqMpjB3dj74zi97R51c2mdYbkxcIlHhl_qEIxeZqrc6VBywQFN4apjrMo7SFVASB2gGmC_sGWqjog1WsiAtBsV92pLWY1mM2zcP_aOLH0TB/s1600/1-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid2vMTGX1xtoFUyALqpv6FLcz4oOGL85dqVqMpjB3dj74zi97R51c2mdYbkxcIlHhl_qEIxeZqrc6VBywQFN4apjrMo7SFVASB2gGmC_sGWqjog1WsiAtBsV92pLWY1mM2zcP_aOLH0TB/s640/1-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3>
<div>
Time to turn in with my top Gunboats, I think. My list doesn't like engaging at R3, in that half the time it physically can't even shoot R3, so I do need to get my fellows at the top of the board turning in sooner than later. 2 forward followed by a hard 2 SLAM into the board will set them nicely, and I can decide next turn which way I want to go around the gas cloud in the middle of the board based on my opponent's moves this turn. Meanwhile, my Gunboats to the bottom will be doing a Hard 2 and then potentially SLAMming in if I can get some advantageous shots, possibly engaging before Chewie shows up. Since OGP actually can shoot at R3, now seems like a decent time to hit the brakes with him and set up to follow the Gunboats in.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0kkgptz3LaoEESGckMzgmuxFmrM51NzmSngeBexjE-R1Cd1PjjAOZ9t9AHWGV6hQ7ziVh7HTNFI3_6o8sJmY9qez6aZs1oTtBTsP8Qa82hCCRnFhFgQqzDRdh9EDj3-ZRRbTlyisyNA0/s1600/2-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0kkgptz3LaoEESGckMzgmuxFmrM51NzmSngeBexjE-R1Cd1PjjAOZ9t9AHWGV6hQ7ziVh7HTNFI3_6o8sJmY9qez6aZs1oTtBTsP8Qa82hCCRnFhFgQqzDRdh9EDj3-ZRRbTlyisyNA0/s640/2-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Look closely at that shot for a second. Do you see the problem?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: Full Stop, Stress</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Bastian: 2 Forward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Opponent passes their opportunity to turn in behind those gas clouds and makes another advance, with no move towards the middle of the board yet.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then I notice that I've set my dials backwards.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The thing is, sometimes this happens. At a larger event, there's no expectation that your opponent is going to take your word for it and let you fix the error, and so there's something to be said for practicing play from questionable and/or unexpected positions. Given that this was just a random casual game and that none of my maneuvers as dialed were putting a ship off the board, I decided to just go with it and see what I could salvage.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 1: 2 Hard Left, no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Hard Left, no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Forward, no action (bumps OGP)</li>
<li>Nu 4: 2 Forward, SLAM (2 Hard Left), weapons disabled</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Definitely</b> not ideal.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 2 Forward, no action</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 2 Hard Right, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
My chances of engaging before Chewie enters the fray are mostly gone because of my dial error, if they were there to begin with. Note that I do have a ship with Jam, so these early turns might have been used by Resistance player to grab locks on a gas cloud.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Still nobody shooting, so we're back to dials for round 3.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 3</h3>
<div>
I've got to pick up the pieces a bit here. The only ship in the position I was hoping for is Nu 4, while the others are all in situations that are problematic for one reason or another. My original plan would have been to bank in with OGP here, but that's going to get in the way of Nu 3 now, so I need to stay out of the way of my I2's. Going straight with OGP at least leaves me with some reasonable options for the next turn, although this whole chain of events is going to cost me OGP actions (and therefore more incoming damage without being reinforced).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nu 1 and 2 need to get nearby quickly, and 1 needs to also avoid running right from one gas cloud into the next, so I need to split their bearings. It's at least an all right opportunity to get Nu 1 to the right side of that clump of gas in the middle of the board and potentially come in behind the opponent's ships. It's very possible that Chewie goes into that same area this turn or next, and I want to keep pressure on him if he does.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nu 4 was originally going to be part of a big gun line, but instead is now rushed out way ahead, so he's changing his role to flanker as well and making a break for the gas clouds. Like Nu 1, he'll be attacking from behind. Nu 3 needs to set up for next turn, but since he's bumping OGP right now, a hard turn should legally land since they're both still at 45 degree angles.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is almost certainly the turn where my opponent banks in, so I expect some fire to be traded here, and I'm not really poised to be on the good end of a trade here, but it is what it is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIO4gh85FuF_-7sKedz5wf4_-uZUH8ZfPyfsuj3lLkAbT1JKm1nxo_rIL_GmS3IdjSWr-A_TaHlqvv9J8B8KZoWMoz_l-BzkHuRMMXDNlRbMomJz3Ih8QghuFUKtbJxtRq1oYOMM2yImA/s1600/3-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIO4gh85FuF_-7sKedz5wf4_-uZUH8ZfPyfsuj3lLkAbT1JKm1nxo_rIL_GmS3IdjSWr-A_TaHlqvv9J8B8KZoWMoz_l-BzkHuRMMXDNlRbMomJz3Ih8QghuFUKtbJxtRq1oYOMM2yImA/s640/3-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: 1 Forward (clear stress), Coordinate (Nu 4, Focus)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Coordinating is probably right but the precise action and target I chose could be debated. My thinking here is it saves me from Advanced SLAMming later, because I really don't like stressing the Gunboats if I don't have to.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Bastian: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
As expected, a cautious approach into the middle of the board, setting up for the range 3 engagement that I want to avoid.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 4: 2 Bank Left, SLAM (2 Hard Right), weapons disabled</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Hard Right, no action (bumps OGP)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I swear that this isn't supposed to be a bump, based on ship dimensions and maneuver template geometry. It even looks clean up close:</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgGgVTSRspRCxIamyEdrhZ9TJBA6JwBQV0O9VcQaYNkQmPBFLsBZKrjNr4Ra9dbTvPVc9z6MthOl17_JhMZwdBLSKuEYYKM0xag2q6tr383cHPACLIhS4z3Fk8KFOpjz9oKnZSagtm5CN/s1600/3-2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1150" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRgGgVTSRspRCxIamyEdrhZ9TJBA6JwBQV0O9VcQaYNkQmPBFLsBZKrjNr4Ra9dbTvPVc9z6MthOl17_JhMZwdBLSKuEYYKM0xag2q6tr383cHPACLIhS4z3Fk8KFOpjz9oKnZSagtm5CN/s320/3-2.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's an unexpected and mildly frustrating bump, but who am I to argue with VASSAL?</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 1: 3 Bank Left, SLAM (3 Bank Right), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Focus), Stress</li>
<li>Nu 2: 3 Forward, no action (gas cloud)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'm set up to hopefully get two shots this turn. Taking the stress on Nu 1 isn't ideal but I want the modded shots.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 3 Bank Right, Barrel Roll Left Middle</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 1 Bank Right, Lock (Nu 4)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Chewie does indeed set up to come in behind the gas clouds. Jess plays it safe and stays out of the fray for this turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chewbacca attacks Nu 4 (range 1), spends lock, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Nu 4 attacks Chewbacca (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye, but max 3 dice from Xg-1), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Chewbacca (autoblasters, bullseye), 2 shield damage, 1 hull damage, Bastian acquires lock on Chewbacca</li>
</ul>
<div>
With the Nu's dodging most of the Resistance squad, I get off very lightly here and get some relatively cheap damage in on Chewbacca. In a perfect world, I would have had more guns in this engagement, but then again, that scenario would likely have resulted in more of the opponent ships shooting as well. As it stands, Chewie is already at a health total where he needs to be cautious, and his positioning is a bit problematic as well. All things considered, this isn't an awful situation.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyarwxBzt87NX-Ngc8nOOjHJYOCeJ9ijXGayJZp3pqp2wwE4JqQvQfoG2HNw2R9vpYs0BaJCrKOPZPZ93OIFVQNM4uanHPzsHHT7hHoTpnIUcRtvO9Sqw4QDwX4VxbmPlugkkKSyA_dau4/s1600/3-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyarwxBzt87NX-Ngc8nOOjHJYOCeJ9ijXGayJZp3pqp2wwE4JqQvQfoG2HNw2R9vpYs0BaJCrKOPZPZ93OIFVQNM4uanHPzsHHT7hHoTpnIUcRtvO9Sqw4QDwX4VxbmPlugkkKSyA_dau4/s640/3-3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3>
<div>
My assumption this turn is an ongoing general advance (either 1 forward or some faster banks to the right) from my opponent, with Chewbacca either hard turning left to look for some open board space or heading to his right to get behind the gas clouds and Nu's 1 & 4. For my part, I just want to cover some board space with arcs and guarantee shots; if I can focus fire, even better, but because of my early missteps I suspect I'll be shooting targets of opportunity. I'm worried enough about Chewbacca trying to get to the right of those gas clouds that I'll send Nu 2 through the gas cloud in front of him to threaten that area of the board.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of the bigger choices is with the Lambda, who can either hard turn in and face a lot of incoming damage or bank in, face less damage, and leave more options for the following turn. Either way, I stand to lose actions, but the latter choice lets me retreat through the clouds during the following turn(s), so I opt to go that way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-mtefD-ln01_BzLKo6x05v5uDZITKGPdtJm4rGZDEj1j6YvmVHfRX-jOq9ToIRevlz5YmRDQdp_xLcTAPBfT_wFAkOPwyXQ_EdZOPZiI36gX4SJdG9OkBAuu7zP_fc1ObOj0I5A8QfIG/s1600/4-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-mtefD-ln01_BzLKo6x05v5uDZITKGPdtJm4rGZDEj1j6YvmVHfRX-jOq9ToIRevlz5YmRDQdp_xLcTAPBfT_wFAkOPwyXQ_EdZOPZiI36gX4SJdG9OkBAuu7zP_fc1ObOj0I5A8QfIG/s640/4-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: 1 Bank Left, no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Bastian: 3 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
For me, this is probably the more desirable of my opponent's main options, since I don't have to worry about getting denied shots due to range 3. OGP is going to take some fire, of course.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 3: 3 Hard Right, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 4: 2 Hard Right, Lock (Finn)</li>
<li>Nu 1: 2 Bank Right (clear stress) Focus</li>
<li>Nu 2: 3 Bank Left, no action (gas cloud)</li>
</ul>
<div>
A few suboptimal choices here, I think. Nu 4 grabbing that lock felt safe at the time, but the moment I did it, I realised I was still in very clear danger from both Chewbacca and Jess, and Focus would have been preferable. Nu 1 perhaps should have gone a bit slower as well, in order to set up a better block on Chewie, but I wanted to keep my options open for a SLAM there; in hindsight, I don't think there were ever going to be any really tempting SLAMs, and leaving the option open was greedy. Finally, my move on Nu 2 threatens the area I was hoping to, but it's left him a bit more vulnerable than I'd like, and it's potentially very problematic for OGP's options next turn, something I probably should have considered more.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 3 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
As feared, both of these guns are now shooting at a weakened and token-less Nu 4. I'll be getting a lot of shots this turn, but so is my opponent.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chewbacca attacks Nu 4 (range 2), spends focus, 1 shield damage, 2 hull damage</li>
<li>Jess attacks Nu 4 (range 1), spends charge, 2 hull damage, Nu 4 dies, Jess receives 2 stress from Admiral Sloane</li>
</ul>
<div>
My greedy decision to target lock costs Nu 4 his life (and his shot for the turn). If I'd focused, my chance at surviving would have been 76%, but without focus it's only 54%, and I lose the coin toss on this one. The double stress is at least nice, but I'm not sure I'm in a great position to fully capitalise on it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn attacks OGP (range 2), no damage</li>
<li>Bastian attacks OGP (range 1), 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
While Nu 4 didn't get too lucky, OGP dodges far more damage than he ought to. 2 shield damage is a bit short of the expected 3.8 damage he was facing here, but my opponent plays cautiously and conserves his focus tokens for defense, saving me from one damage.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2 attacks Chewbacca (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), 2 hull damage</li>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Jess (autoblasters, range 2), rerolls with Sloane and spends focus, Jess spends BB charge to reroll, no damage</li>
<li>Nu 3 attacks Finn (autoblatsters, range 1, bullseye), spends focus, Finn uses ability and gains strain, spends focus, 1 shield damage, clears strain</li>
<li>OGP attacks Chewbacca (range 2), 1 hull damage and Wounded Pilot</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Nu 4 kill likely saves Jess or Finn from taking at least one more damage here. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 5</h3>
<div>
Positionally, I think things are okay but not great. Chewbacca is not left with too many great options, especially with Wounded Pilot forcing him to either fix the crit, forego an action, or risk giving me Sloane re-rolls. I put him on trying to head towards the top right, but there's a possibility he tries to hard turn to the right and catch me off guard. Finally, he might S-Loop in either direction, but both leave him exposed, vulnerable to Sloane re-rolls, and potentially missing on his Chewie free action upon his death. I try to dial to cover as many of these bases as possible. I'd love to be aggressive and do a 2 bank with OGP here but I'm pretty certain it bumps (and checking after the fact, it indeed would have, although just barely), so I'll opt for a more certain bump with 1 forward and hope that OGP and Nu 2 can finish Chewie off.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'd love to pile on Jess here, but even stressed, I'm not sure if I can get her with mroe than Nu 3. If Nu 1 banks in slow and she avoids that arc, I'll have no shots with Nu 1, so I decide to hedge and pursue targets I'm more confident of keeping in arc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
OGP is almost certainly going to be taking a lot of damage this turn, so I mostly just have to hope that the dice keep it alive for one last turn after this. There's a chance that both Finn and Bastian turn right, in which case I might bump one or both and save OGP some pain.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: 1 Forward, no action (bumps Nu 2)</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
<li>Bastian: 1 Bank Right, no action (bumps Finn)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not sure what Bastian's plan was here, as he was bumping Finn even if OGP wasn't still there, and would have landed on the cloud if both Finn and OGP were out of the way. I can only assume the bump is intentional. He'll still get mods on his OGP attack if OGP takes a damage card before Bastian shoots, though.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 3: 1 Forward, no action (bumps Bastian)</li>
<li>Nu 2: 3 Hard Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 1: 2 Hard Right, Lock (Finn)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nu 3's bump was unexpected and will deprive me of some mods on Jess, unfortunately. Nu 2 moves up to either block or chase Chewbacca, depending on his move. Nu 1 looks like he'll be out on Bastian; I'd thought there might be a SLAM here when setting dials, but my only hope at a shot is the unlikely possibility of Jess winding up in front of Nu 1. This time, I feel pretty safe about locking with Nu 1, but I'm really unsure of who to lock; I pick Finn but this is probably the worst of my possible choices, and almost certainly I should have chosen either of the T-70s, most likely Bastian.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 2 Forward (clear 1 stress, 1 remaining), no action (bumps Nu 1)</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 3 S-Loop Left, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
I get the bump on Jess, which doesn't really accomplish a great deal aside from giving my single modded Nu 3 a bullseye, which is something, I suppose. Chewbacca's S-Loop is aggressive; he'll likely survive my attack (assuming he keeps the focus, Nu 2 has a 39% chance of getting four damage on Chewbacca here), but it's going to hurt a lot.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chewbacca attacks Nu 2 (range 1), no damage</li>
<li>Jess attacks OGP (range 2), spends charge, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Bastian attacks OGP (range 1), no damage</li>
<li>Finn attacks Nu 2 (range 2), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Favourable dice really mitigate some damage here. OGP coming out with no damage cards and no target lock(s) from Bastian is unexpected, as is Nu 2 taking no damage at all. The Bastian miss is a really big swing in win probability and might even mean OGP lives to see not just next turn but the turn after that.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2 attacks Chewbacca (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), spends focus, 3 hull damage and Weapons Failure</li>
<li>Nu 3 attacks Jess (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), 3 shield damage</li>
<li>OGP attacks Finn (range 1), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Good outcomes for both attacks. Getting the kill on Chewbacca isn't out of the question (40% chance), and it would have been nice to get him while he was stressed, but taking 3 shields off Jess salves the wound a bit.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div>
OGP's finally poised to get an action again! Otherwise, this turn is a bit tricky, and order of activation will be key. Nu 2 is easy: with Chewbacca blocking his more direct route back into the fight, I'll need to do two hard turns to the right and hope I have a shot on something. Since there's still a lot of action going on in the area where Nu 2 is sitting at the start of this turn, I want to point my guns in that area in general, so OGP will be banking in and I'll have Nu 3 bank and SLAM in from the bottom of the board. Finally, Nu 1 will do a hard turn to the right and hope my opponent doesn't get clever by bumping with Bastian. Depending on how the board looks by then, Nu 1 might also SLAM; the 2 speed maneuvers are nice with the Gunboat as they really do leave a lot of options open.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: 1 Bank Left, Reinforce (aft)</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Bastian: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'm not quite sure what the plan is with Finn here, aside from gumming up a lane (which is a perfectly fine function for tanky, cheap Finn). Bastian is poised to deliver a killing blow on OGP, if at least one other ship gets arc on the Lambda. However, this is now looking to be a turn where I can get all ships firing once more.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Hard Right, SLAM (2 Hard Right), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Focus), stress</li>
<li>Nu 3: 3 Bank Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 4: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Once Nu 3 landed, I realised that SLAMming would put me on the gas cloud in Finn's arc, and almost certainly without a shot back. Unfortunately, that means no SLAM and some awkward positioning for next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 1 Forward (clear stress), Focus</li>
<li>Chewbacca: 1 Forward (clear stress), repair Weapons Failure, receives 1 stress from Wounded Pilot</li>
</ul>
<div>
Jess moves up and gives a strong indication that she will be using her BB Astromech's last charge next turn. Chewbacca lines himself up to give OGP a tailor-made kill shot.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chewbacca attacks Nu 2 (range 1), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Jess attacks OGP (range 2 obstructed), spends focus, gas cloud converts an evade, no damage</li>
<li>Finn attacks Nu 2 (range 2), Finn adds focus result and gains 1 strain, spends focus, 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Bastian attacks OGP (range 1), spends focus, OGP adds one evade (reinforce), 3 hull damage, Bastian acquires lock on OGP</li>
</ul>
<div>
Things go pretty much as well as could be hoped. Nu 2 surviving with shields intact is a nice bonus.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2 attacks Finn (autoblasters, range 2), Finn uses ability to add blank, rerolls with Heroic, 1 hull damage and clears strain</li>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Bastian (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), spends focus, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>OGP attacks Chewbacca (range 1), 3 hull damage and Disabled Power Regulator, Chewbacca dies, no bonus action (stressed), bonus attack</li>
<li>Chewbacca attacks Nu 2 (range 1), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
A big turn for me. Chewbacca is off the board with no fallout from his ability and Finn is down to half as well as in an awkward position. OGP will almost certainly be gone next turn, though, so I need to keep the pressure and not let my opponent get back into the game.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 7</h3>
<div>
I don't think there's a way to reliably save OGP here. The hard stop leaves me open to getting K-Turned on by Bastian and backdoored by Jess, not to mention blocking Nu 1 from anything meaningful, so I feel forced to get OGP out of the way and just hope for the best.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm not 100% on where exactly Bastian will be going, but the 1 bank from Nu 1 will definitely keep him in arc barring a reposition. Nu 3 will also be turning in, ideally to shoot Bastian as well. There's a chance this gets blocked by Finn (and subsequently punished by Jess, depending on which way she BB barrel rolls), but I'm willing to accept that risk. As far as Nu 2 goes, I see no way of both clearing his stress and putting him in a decent position to do damage this turn, so I'll just keep him stressed and turn him in to the same region of the board I've been generally pointing my guns at so far this game.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>OGP: 1 Bank Left, Reinforce (aft)</li>
<li>Finn: 2 Hard Right, no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Bastian: 1 Forward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
As it happens, the hard stop would have indeed caught Bastian. I still don't know what I would have done with Nu 1, though. I suppose I could have turned Nu 1 around to pursue Finn, but as I mentioned in the preamble, I really hate to sink a lot of time and resources into Finn, especially since I already have 15 of his 30 points.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 1: 1 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Hard Right, no action (stressed)</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Hard Left, no action (bumps Finn)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not quite where I'd hoped to end up with Nu 3, losing a shot and my chance to potentially kill Bastian.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 3 Forward, no action (gas cloud, bumps Nu 1)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I think what happened here is that Nu 3's bump on Finn looked to have blocked Jess's barrel roll, and so Jess just plows through the gas instead. Good news for my gunboats, bad news for the shuttle.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess attacks OGP (range 2), OGP adds one evade (reinforce), 2 hull damage</li>
<li>Bastian attacks OGP (range 1), OGP adds one evade (reinforce), 3 hull damage and Blinded Pilot, OGP dies</li>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Bastian (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), Bastian spends focus, 1 shield damage, 1 hull damage, and Console Fire</li>
<li>Nu 2 attacks Bastian (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), 2 hull damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
OGP dies as expected; I wasn't quite holding out for that 14% chance of survival. On the other hand, I get reasonably lucky against Bastian, outperforming my 2.9 expected damage and putting him in a really terrible situation for next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 8</h3>
<div>
Despite the loss of Omicron Group Pilot, I feel pretty good about the board state now. Bastian is in a devil of a position, having to choose between regrouping and hoping for the best, or K-Turning/Tallon Rolling and praying that the Console Fire doesn't do him in. Finn needs to K-Turn to get back into the fight, so I feel comfortable in ignoring him for this turn. Finally, Jess is also in an awkward position. I vaguely anticipate she'll be heading somewhere towards where Bastian currently sits, but that last BB charge is still live, so I feel like I just have to get broad arc coverage once again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My priority this turn is making absolutely sure that Bastian doesn't survive to see Turn 9, and my moves generally reflect that. Nu 1 will go 1 forward and hope Bastian doesn't get too far away, although even a 1-speed SLAM might be able to catch him if he does. Nu 2 needs to clear stress, and doing so with a 2 bank to the right both puts pressure on Bastian if he tries to bug out that way and potentially blocks Jess (or forces the BB charge) depending on her maneuver. Finally, Nu 3 no longer has enough room to hard turn in, so I'll need to go forward and SLAM in, which should also close off Bastian's other escape vector.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavunzFHPPtEF5pODtXrSt2D6zihYce424psK-NOEo6AzH4S6TqIDTzO7oCxOpKI7foiSYboInkSpH7Jjsq5-EZBhSHd84qjaDNMrOmbtIW1wYAe5zkTArz8Ixvu75kXfjqSd1Ap8B5Cb8/s1600/8-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavunzFHPPtEF5pODtXrSt2D6zihYce424psK-NOEo6AzH4S6TqIDTzO7oCxOpKI7foiSYboInkSpH7Jjsq5-EZBhSHd84qjaDNMrOmbtIW1wYAe5zkTArz8Ixvu75kXfjqSd1Ap8B5Cb8/s640/8-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 3 K-Turn, Stress</li>
<li>Bastian: 4 K-Turn, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Bastian chooses to play the Console Fire lottery, likely aware that he has few ways to survive this turn regardless and may as well get a shot before he goes.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Bank Right (clear stress), SLAM (2 Hard Left), weapons disabled</li>
</ul>
<div>
I call an audible when I land the 2 bank as I don't like my odds at blocking Jess and foresee taking a lot of free shots, so I slam to the left to set up a re-entry to the fight on the next turn. Not Advanced SLAMming here for a defensive focus is almost certainly a mistake, given that Bastian and potentially Jess could be shooting at me.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 1: 1 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Forward, SLAM (2 Bank Left), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Focus), stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nu 3 perhaps should have done a 2 Hard with his SLAM, but I was nervous about missing the arc on Bastian.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: Spends 1 BB Astromech charge (0 remaining), Barrel Roll Left Backward, 1 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
The last BB charge is spent, and it will probably get Jess an awfully big chunk of Nu 1's health pool.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess attacks Nu 1 (range 1), spends focus, 3 shield damage, 1 hull damage, Bastian acquires a lock on Nu 1</li>
<li>Bastian takes no Console Fire damage and attacks Nu 1 (range 2), spends lock, 2 hull damage, Bastian acquires a lock on Nu 1</li>
<li>Finn attacks Nu 1 (range 3), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nu 1 gets absolutely shellacked. Jess getting into Nu 1's hull to feed Bastian the TL is a sub 5% likely event, and Nu 1 suffering 6 damage in that whole exchange is lower still. I've benefited from some timely variance a few times previously in this game, but here the dice gods rain their wrath upon me and leave Nu 1 gasping.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 3 attacks Bastian (autoblasters, range 1), spends focus, 1 hull damage, Bastian dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
Bastian pays for his crimes against the Empire, but the damage is done. Instead of cruising into a very favourable endgame, I'll have to remain pretty cautious to make sure Jess doesn't start mowing down gunboats.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ShHmdogvytqMHPwRwHMK1-yilhND7YsIt_0In5Yet-HotVMbnZ-6X8bweH-g4W9SbzUiIEaAIyPmTc5JghazOI-x3FOxrWEutDKnGnKoR4hkptkq3_7V0ekpxrS-xWo2W59kzHXC6G6m/s1600/8-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ShHmdogvytqMHPwRwHMK1-yilhND7YsIt_0In5Yet-HotVMbnZ-6X8bweH-g4W9SbzUiIEaAIyPmTc5JghazOI-x3FOxrWEutDKnGnKoR4hkptkq3_7V0ekpxrS-xWo2W59kzHXC6G6m/s640/8-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 9</h3>
<div>
After witnessing my opponent's display of brutality, I get a little gun shy on this turn. Keeping Nu 1 alive is my first priority, so to do that I'll run him toward the bottom of the board and hope to harass Finn with him, since Finn seems likely to head back toward the middle of that gas cloud clump. If Jess calls this and chases, I'll be amazed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nu 2's positioning is awkward, and trying to regroup by heading down through the middle of the board feels more predictable and less favourable for future turns, whereas regrouping toward the top of the board and swing around the top right gas cloud means Nu 2 will have a different attack path for future turns. Finally, Nu 3 needs to clear stress and then try to threaten Jess. I'm not 100% on what Jess does; my best guess is that my opponent thinks I'll predict a Jess K-Turn and will go 1 Forward to try to catch me doing the same.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWN4XJETqWzmkmmV1A79ZUFGlENGYKqvxHhrUjL1fpgQZlnzZ8dmW5MLSwJAGkljn6DqrWAJIyUb7RUhXjLboWXuinx3Iqq4qpJM3koEZoUN3gKh5M655t-k6kFsc4J7zcrP8Gub55vgC/s1600/9-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWN4XJETqWzmkmmV1A79ZUFGlENGYKqvxHhrUjL1fpgQZlnzZ8dmW5MLSwJAGkljn6DqrWAJIyUb7RUhXjLboWXuinx3Iqq4qpJM3koEZoUN3gKh5M655t-k6kFsc4J7zcrP8Gub55vgC/s640/9-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 1 Bank Left (clear stress), Focus</li>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Hard Right, SLAM (2 Hard Right), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Lock Jess), stress</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Bank Left (clear stress), SLAM (2 Hard Left), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Focus), stress</li>
<li>Nu 1: 3 Hard Right, SLAM (3 Hard Right), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM (Focus), stress</li>
<li>Jess: 1 Forward, Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
I get some good reads and am rewarded with a relatively nice board position. Jess slips out of Nu 3's arc, but at least none of my ships will be dying before I'm ready for them to go.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Finn (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye, but max 3 dice due to Xg-1 config), spends lock and focus, Finn adds focus result and takes 1 strain, spends focus, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Have I mentioned yet how aggravating and fruitless trying to take Finn down can be?</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 10</h3>
<div>
The quest to keep Nu 1 safe continues. All three of my gunboats need to clear stress, but hopefully I can get shots with at least two of them. Nu 2 will bank right to threaten Jess, Nu 3 will bank left to threaten Finn, and Nu 1 will bank right and then consider a follow-up action based on wherever Finn is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg4cIeZQcdJCngUqlkMLG6Hte4IfjO9o1BnXFbl13HQMGo5Uq2rUr0cdLvXFU6jGOjw2zt6ZOa-X_l_yJtsw5YPE_OBjL_78-v10EwwnPr7Y2aFdi_TVHYyliEixI8JzEGGkByfE0S2Tg/s1600/10-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg4cIeZQcdJCngUqlkMLG6Hte4IfjO9o1BnXFbl13HQMGo5Uq2rUr0cdLvXFU6jGOjw2zt6ZOa-X_l_yJtsw5YPE_OBjL_78-v10EwwnPr7Y2aFdi_TVHYyliEixI8JzEGGkByfE0S2Tg/s640/10-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 1 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 1: 2 Bank Right (clear stress), SLAM (2 Hard Right), weapons disabled, Advanced SLAM, Lock Finn, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not sure if the SLAM was really necessary there, but my position is pretty safe and reasonably well set for next turn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Bank Left, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 2: 2 Bank Right, SLAM (2 Bank Right), weapons disabled</li>
</ul>
<div>
Another mistake, Nu 2 should have Advanced SLAM for the focus. I was thinking that it wouldn't be that useful offensively, but defense was what I should have been thinking about.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 4 K-Turn, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
A somewhat risky maneuver from Jess, but not one I'm punishing this turn. Her next turn becomes much more predictable, though.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess attacks Nu 2 (range 3), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Finn attacks Nu 3 (range 1), 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nu 2 is punished for not taking the focus, while Nu 3 coughs up some shields. Unfortunate but not catastrophic.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 3 attacks Finn (autoblasters, range 1), Finn adds focus result and takes 1 strain, spends focus, no damage, clears strain</li>
</ul>
<div>
Seriously, have I mentioned that Finn is a huge pain?</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 11</h3>
<div>
Other than perhaps Nu 3, this is actually a pretty decent looking board for me. Jess has limited options given her stress, while Finn's options are narrow due to the Transport Pod's dial. Nu 1 and 2 will dial fairly conservatively to just try to kill whatever shows up in front of them (and hope that Jess doesn't initiative-kill Nu 1). Nu 3 doesn't have great options, but a couple of hard turns might be able to catch Jess with a block.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4AIAIIbo659hyphenhyphenNqVJJotDOSBxZQlVtiBHWpSKBnBHWqSIhpm0Yw8hF00t6vK8fC7HHOzrQA29XUjcoj1PLfU44HCshoc9UAJCB4dmI-r67QqrI_bG7r_9Fwx1kFJsCW_kFv2anSQNz-H/s1600/11-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="943" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4AIAIIbo659hyphenhyphenNqVJJotDOSBxZQlVtiBHWpSKBnBHWqSIhpm0Yw8hF00t6vK8fC7HHOzrQA29XUjcoj1PLfU44HCshoc9UAJCB4dmI-r67QqrI_bG7r_9Fwx1kFJsCW_kFv2anSQNz-H/s640/11-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn: 3 K-Turn, stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
This was very unexpected. It's an extremely aggressive play to get Nu 1 but leaves Finn terribly exposed.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2: 1 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Nu 3: 2 Hard Left, no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Nu 1: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Didn't quite eyeball Nu 3 well there, and end up on a gas cloud instead of SLAMming.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess: 1 Forward (clear stress), Boost Forward</li>
</ul>
<div>
Another surprising choice. The boost dodges Nu 3's unmodded arc and guarantees a Jess reroll, but it fails to get range one on Nu 1, gives a double-modded 4 die shot on Jess to Nu 2, and leaves Jess without a token. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Jess attacks Nu 1 (range 2), spends charge to reroll, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Nu 1 dying here was a bit of a coin flip (57% chance of taking 1+ damage), but the gunboat surviving with focus token intact is a disastrous outcome for my opponent.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Finn attacks Nu 1 (range 1), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Now my opponent is in real trouble. He had a 77% chance to kill Nu 1 here but it didn't happen, which will make his future turns that much more aggravating.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Nu 2 attacks Jess (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), spends focus, 4 hull damage including one crit (not revealed), Jess dies</li>
<li>Nu 1 attacks Finn (autoblasters, range 1, bullseye), spends lock and focus, 4 hull damage, Finn dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
Or maybe there won't be any future turns to worry about. The Empire wins, 200-108.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
</div>
<div>
This might seem like a weird game to showcase, given the dial blunder at the start, but I do think that there's value to playing from an unexpected or disadvantaged position and trying to find ways to make it work. As it happened, the dial snafu made my opening engagement much more awkward, but I was able to make it work reasonably well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Action decisions were an issue in this one a couple of times, at least. The early target lock that lead to my gunboat casualty is the most obvious example, but a few other times I either made questionable lock decisions or chose not to Advanced SLAM when I should have (or vice versa). The decision on when to stress the gunboat is a tricky one, thanks to their lack of blue 1-banks. Certainly it's a ship that needs consideration of at least the next turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finn is obnoxious and I definitely still maintain that if you can ignore him, do it. His survivability is high but he's not a huge damage dealer, his dial leaves him somewhat predictable, and killing him doesn't result in a big scoring advantage.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another issue this game was my OGP play. Palp shuttles are easy since you're still getting value from them even if you just play super safe in a distant corner. Sloane shuttles need to be at least reasonably close to the action, which means a bit more of a tight rope act. I think I was a bit too reckless with my Lambda this game and tried to get a bit too cute, where coming in slower from the start might have been better overall.<br />
<br />
Finally, I think I caught a break at the end with my opponent getting a bit aggressive. I'm still reasonably comfortable with the endgame situation the board was heading to, but this really brought the game to a quick end, where I think it might have been in my opponent's interest to drag it out and keep trying to win by attrition (or at least claw some more points out of my weakened gunboats).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyway, thanks for reading, please feel free to comment below with your observations and thoughts!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-7482300080554296792019-04-29T17:37:00.001-04:002019-10-25T10:50:26.279-04:00Is Ruthless Garbage?tl;dr - No, but it’s not exactly a world beater.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I confess, I used to be like you, once <strike>before I took an arrow to the knee</strike>. I thought that Ruthless was the worst upgrade in the game, a bad joke played upon the players by the dev team. At the very least, it was clear evidence of the very well-known-and-definitely-a-real-thing anti-Empire bias exhibited by FFG (aside from those times when the Empire is dominant, which I can only assume are just momentary lapses in their ability to suppress the one faction that they want to produce product for but also not sell).<br />
<br />
Then, I looked at Ruthless more. And I tried it a few times. And I realised that it’s perhaps not <i>the </i>worst upgrade. Not great, perhaps. But not the<i> </i>worst!<br />
<br />
So how do we use Ruthless in such a way that our opponent does not ridicule us? How can we even, dare I be bold, win a game with Ruthless?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3jH-_ehXP_0aeZhyphenhyphensLmGgAUeckCT92CCSzxT2w5pASv4PKJ3C9iG4iKBq_cXCECMHIPv0a3aTzIB3IcezTMQoT76KwhhNnjogEhPHhdHItOptIFA9qmq4hwWVRDHKoL18hLdBSqR0y8u/s1600/Swz15_a1_ruthless.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="418" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3jH-_ehXP_0aeZhyphenhyphensLmGgAUeckCT92CCSzxT2w5pASv4PKJ3C9iG4iKBq_cXCECMHIPv0a3aTzIB3IcezTMQoT76KwhhNnjogEhPHhdHItOptIFA9qmq4hwWVRDHKoL18hLdBSqR0y8u/s320/Swz15_a1_ruthless.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<h2>
The art of living ruthlessly</h2>
<div>
At it’s core, Ruthless is offensive dice modification. The positive effect is powerful in that it can convert any die result, not just an eyeball, into a hit. Comparable abilities, such as Major Vermeil or the Fearless talent, tend to be pretty powerful and see decent play where priced fairly. At only 1 point, Ruthless would appear to meet that requirement as well.<br />
<br />
The cost of the ability itself is the real problem, of course. Ruthless requires you to not only have a ship at range 0-1 of your intended target, but also to damage that friendly ship as well. This is significant, obviously. Since the game is essentially a competition to see who can deal more damage to their opponent’s ships first, doing damage to yourself is a very questionable move. Ruthless is the sacrifice bunt of X-Wing.<br />
<br />
The silver lining of that, however, is that when you’re not actively using the ability, you aren’t typically setting doing anything you didn’t already want to do. Vermeil players sometimes sacrifice their action to Jam to set up their shot (<a href="https://xwingontherocks.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-best-tie-reaper-isnt-one-youve-been.html">but they shouldn’t</a>), and if a Fearless user whiffs on their attack, they’re now sitting in arc at range 1 of their opponent waiting for a nasty counterattack. With Ruthless, if your attack roll comes up empty, you can safely pass on the trigger, and all it cost you was something you likely wanted to do anyway: get ships at range 1 of your target.<br />
<br />
Better yet, those ships don’t need to have your target in arc. This means a ship that might have been arc dodged and could even be woefully out of position might still be able to serve a purpose by fuelling a Ruthless attack. This is a really important and easily overlooked aspect of Ruthless! In addition to being attackers and doing whatever else your other ships usually do, each of your ships is now threatening a potential die mod for your Ruthless attacker(s), and all they have to do is be there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
When to be ruthless</h2>
The important thing to get clear right away is that Ruthless has a time and a place. This isn’t a Crack Shot or a Trick Shot, where you can generally put it on just about any ship in any list and hope to see at least some value. Moreso than even the other faction-specific talents, this is a niche upgrade with a very limited range of usefulness. Within that small range, however, Ruthless can be pretty decent.<br />
<br />
So, we have an upgrade that can give us die mods on blanks and damages our own ships. How do we take advantage of this?<br />
<div>
<br />
For the former, we look at ships that struggle to modify blanks on the attack. In the Empire, that’s basically anything that doesn’t have target lock. We also want 3+ attack ships, as we really don’t want to be wasting our friendly ships’ health pools on small attacks. When looking at Ruthless, we want fewer, bigger attacks and not multiple, smaller attacks. Your Ruthless TIE swarm is going to have some real sustainability problems.<br />
<br />
Given the above, your best candidates are the following ships:<br />
<ul>
<li>TIE Interceptor</li>
<li>TIE Reaper</li>
<li>TIE/sk Striker</li>
<li>TIE/ph Phantom</li>
<li>Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle</li>
</ul>
To get to specific pilots, we can narrow that down further. Obviously, you need a Talent slot. Less obviously, you probably don't want to be super high initiative. Soontir Fel, for instance, is a viable Ruthless user, but he's also someone who has the repositioning and positional knowledge at initiative 6 to arguably get more value out of something like Predator or even Outmaneuver. Duchess can make similar arguments (but not nearly as compellingly). Basically, it's a nice advantage of Ruthless that it gives dice mods to ships that don't have the ability to meet the positional requirements of things like Predator, so it makes some sense to avoid putting it on ships that could use better Talents more effectively. 1 point or not, opportunity cost is still something to be concerned about!<br />
<br />
Let's look at each of these ships in turn.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Lambda Shuttle</h3>
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The Lambda might be a usable Ruthless carrier. It does have a few flaws in that regard, however, and the biggest one to come to mind (and the only one I'm going to bring up here) is that none of its pilots have a Talent slot. Let's move on.<br />
<br />
<h3>
TIE Phantom</h3>
The TIE Phantom has an interesting dilemma, as Juke is such a great fit for that ship. That said, Ruthless is still worth considering if you can't afford Juke; this is occasionally true now, and would certainly become more true if the cost of Juke were to be increased in the future. Basically, if your Phantoms can afford Juke, you should probably be taking it, but if you're not, then Ruthless is a pretty good way of raising the offensive output of the Phantom.<br />
<br />
<h3>
TIE Reaper</h3>
<div>
I think this is the wrong end of the Ruthless equation for the Reaper (as we'll discuss below), but it's not awful. The Reaper (when used for combat) does tend to bump or sloop a lot, which leaves it short on dice mods. Also note that this is not the only solution the Reaper currently has to modify blanks, with Director Krennic an option to give one Reaper the Lock action (albeit with a much more significant points cost).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ruthless is somewhat redundant with Vermeil, given the similarities in the two effects, but it does give you a very good chance at 3 hit attacks even without a focus token. If you expect to be making a lot of attacks with focus, however, Ruthless only provides a minimal increase in offense and is probably too marginal to bother with.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Captain Feroph with Ruthless is actually very interesting, as it's a tanky ship that now has pretty meaningful offense, since your Ruthless focused attacks are going to be 3-hit shots the majority of the time. The key here is making sure Feroph has good uptime on her attacks, since the Reaper is a bit more dodgeable and a bit more cumbersome to keep pointed at a specific target.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
TIE Interceptor</h3>
<div>
Now we're getting into what I feel are the good Ruthless users! All but the cheapest Alpha Squadron Interceptors can legally take Ruthless, and any of them can make pretty decent use of it. TIE Interceptors have maneuverability to keep their arcs on a Ruthless-eligible target, and all of the Talent-eligible Interceptors are I4 or higher, giving you enough board knowledge to typically succeed at that goal. Ruthless also gives them an offensive mod on turns where they have been force do use both repositioning actions instead of grabbing a focus token.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ruthless Sabers are fine. Paying 4 points to upgrade to Turr Phennir is tricky; Turr probably lives longer with his ability to reposition away from the counterattacks, but sometimes I4 Interceptors just die. That said, either of these make a fine third or fourth ship in a list that can support Ruthless. Neither are "build around" ships, and listbuilding should be handled accordingly. It is probably a poor list that puts most or all of its hopes on the shoulders of Turr Phennir.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Soontir, as discussed above, is a ship that can get a lot of great use out of Ruthless, but might just be better off with Predator. That said, Ruthless gives Soontir a pretty consistent 3-hit attack, even on turns that he's performed both repositions. He will also probably make your opponent's target priority a bit more straightforward, as most players would likely prefer to kill Soontir's Ruthless fuel quickly rather than try to chase Soontir around while he lays on Vader-like damage all the while.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
TIE Striker</h3>
<div>
Like the Interceptor, the Striker is a would-be slippery attacker that often lacks the ability to actually make meaningful attacks. Viable lists use the Striker as an important source of damage output, and when those Strikers fail to roll much paint, those lists simply lose.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Any of the non-baseline Strikers can take Ruthless, but only the named pilots should be considered, as the Black Squadron Scout is currently too overpriced to be competitive. Ruthless makes Countdown far more annoying for your opponent, since now they are even more inclined to deal with him. However, Countdown is still vulnerable to focused fire, and he also can lack the attack frequency of the other Strikers since he is more likely to end a turn stressed and therefore be stuck resetting with blue maneuvers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ruthless Duchess is appealing. Duchess can often be fairly safely ignored, as she only has dice mods some of the time, and even when she does, she can (and does) still blank out. With Ruthless, Duchess becomes an ongoing threat that your opponent really shouldn't ignore.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ruthless Pure Sabacc is my favourite Ruthless ship. While his ability is live, a focused Pure Sabacc has a 74% chance of getting 4 hits, and a 63% chance of getting 5 hits at range 1. This is an absolute ton of potential damage, comparable damage to something like Fenn Rau, but at two-thirds the price. This is double-modded Proton Torpedo territory we've wandered into.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<h2>
Fodder for your cannons</h2>
No upgrade gets taken in a vacuum, and this is true even more so than usual with Ruthless. Not only do you need to carefully consider who you're putting Ruthless on, you also need to ensure that Ruthless is being taken with the right ships in the list to fuel your Ruthless attacks.<br />
<br />
What does a good Ruthless ship look like? Ideally, it's some combination of cheap, bulky, weak, and low-agility. What we're looking for is ships with a lot of hit points, but that isn't paying a lot to give you those hit points.<br />
<br />
One quick and dirty way to look at this is just to divide the points you're spending by the number of hit points the ship is bringing. This at least gives you a very basic idea of how many points you're potentially spending for each Ruthless use. This is very imperfect, of course; the health of a ship with 2 or 3 agility is inherently more valuable than the health of a ship with 1 or 0 agility, since the latter ship is expected to give up those hit points easily (and therefore is paying less for them).<br />
<br />
Using the above metric, you're generally looking to use ships that are 5 points per health or less to fuel your Ruthless attacks. This definitely rules out ships like the TIE Defender (which pays <i>at least </i>10 points per hit point) or the TIE Fighter (which is cheap and disposable in general, but still pays over 7 points per hit point for its 3 agility protected hull).<br />
<br />
Again, to be clear, this is a very broad methodology and is certainly more refinable (such as by using a more holistic metric that captures overall durability per point, rather than the brute force approach used here that ignores agility value or shields vs. hull). However, you can do this math very quickly and it's easy to update as points adjustments happen, and overall it's a fine back-of-the-envelope way to point yourself towards good Ruthless fodder.<br />
<br />
Let's quickly look at the best Ruthless fuel, including a range of Points per Health (PPH) for each ship.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Good options</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
TIE Reaper (5.1 to 6.1 PPH)</h4>
</div>
<div>
Probably my preferred source of Ruthless damage, despite being higher on the PPH scale than I said you should look for just a couple paragraphs higher. This is one of the more offensively-independent ships on this list, and its unique maneuvering options (and thicc medium base) let the Scarif Base Pilot function is an annoying blocker (while still feeding Ruthless hits). As an attacker on its own, it's a 3-die attack, which is meaningful in general. Putting Death Troopers on an SBP makes it even more disruptive (but also means you're now Ruthlessing your own Death Troopers). Tactical Officer on an SBP isn't investing too much more heavily in your Ruthless fuel, and it gives it more value for your other ships on turns where you're likely to be at R1 of an enemy but not have a shot. I've run Ruthless with Vermeil to fuel it before, but that's absolutely not ideal (and is basically a once- or twice-per-game emergency kill shot, not a standard game plan), although <a href="https://listfortress.com/tournaments/531">I did manage to get Ruthless into a Hyperspace Trial cut this way</a>. <b>Never</b> use Feroph as Ruthless-fuel.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
Lambda (4.3 to 4.8 PPH)</h4>
</div>
<div>
Sort of a weird way to use Lambda shuttles, since they're usually brought for their abilities or the crew they're carrying. That said, even the named Lambdas aren't crazy options to plink a health or two away from, assuming you haven't sunk a lot of points into their crew. The bigger struggle here is getting them to range 1 of your target.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
TIE Punisher (4.2 to 5.8 PPH) </h4>
The absolute cheapest way to get hit points in a list, but it's a bit of a mirage, as you're often taking at least an ordnance upgrade, like Barrage Rockets, to make the Punisher a bit more of a threat on its own. That said, even with Barrage Rockets, the baseline Cutlass Squadron is still a reasonably cheap source of Ruthless fodder that can do damage on its own. The dial makes it a bit more difficult to get into range 0-1, and that's also counterproductive to using Barrage Rockets, but it does make Ruthless a sort of "plan B" for the Punisher's contribution to your squad's damage.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ADbKtg_CDkCArtphOreSdRMic4smQq-MXlqQl45V3O0KJnJlXSn57wsSLDCq5iWfjlB1Oiy7FlH5d3Q9r41WZxQZ5eWINAuNam7luskUy-D-b4Y9NndAh7glwuFIZAQ7LG14QlFmmBDY/s1600/friendlyfire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="800" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ADbKtg_CDkCArtphOreSdRMic4smQq-MXlqQl45V3O0KJnJlXSn57wsSLDCq5iWfjlB1Oiy7FlH5d3Q9r41WZxQZ5eWINAuNam7luskUy-D-b4Y9NndAh7glwuFIZAQ7LG14QlFmmBDY/s640/friendlyfire.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Questionable options</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
TIE Bomber (5.0 to 7.1 PPH)</h4>
Similar issue to the TIE Punisher above: it's cheap on paper, but in practice, the chances are that you're bringing Bombers with Stuff, not naked Bombers, and then they cost more and are therefore less attractive to hurt with Ruthless. However, naked Bombers are more viable than you might think, even if typically you'd be seeing that in something like a Sloane swarm. The hard turn + barrel roll makes them decent blockers, although not quite as good as if they'd had a 1-speed hard turn, and they require less of an investment than the Punisher in general. However, using a 2-agility ship to fuel Ruthless is not ideal by any means. An edge use case here might be extracting a bit more value from a Bomber that brought something like Proton Torpedos, shot them both, and doesn't want to reload, but still wants to contribute. Of course, if that's the situation you're in, you probably don't need Ruthless to win that game!<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
Decimator (4.5 to 5.0 PPH)</h4>
</div>
<div>
This is probably a bad idea, but there's something to be said for just slamming 16 hit points on the table on a large base. The Decimator is already on the clock the moment it shows up, and taking one damage off of it in order to score a hit something that presumably actually has green dice and therefore doesn't always plan on losing those hull points is appealing. However, it's hard to get a Decimator to range 1 of your target consistently, and harder still to keep it alive for more than a turn or two once it's there. It's also a lot of points to sink into one very dubious basket. If the Decimator gets cheaper, this might be worth a look, but as it stands, this is probably a much better idea on paper than it is in practice (and it's not a great idea on paper).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
Gunboats (4.6 to 5.6 PPH)</h4>
</div>
<div>
Take everything I said about Punishers and Bombers and add more emphasis. You're not taking naked Gunboats. You're mostly paying for an ordnance platform that isn't particularly capable in combat when it doesn't have a torpedo or a cannon, and anything bigger than a jamming beam is probably pushing this into the range where blowing it up yourself is wasting your own points badly.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Bad options</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
Everything else</h4>
Don't damage your own TIE Advanced (7.60+ PPH) with Ruthless. Don't willingly give up a quarter of your TIE Adv v1's (8.25+ PPH) very limited lifespan for one extra hit. Treasure and protect all seven of your TIE Defender's (10+ PPH!) hit points as if they were your own children. Outside of absolute emergencies (i.e. a guaranteed kill shot on your opponent's last ship, or an initiative kill that will prevent you from otherwise outright losing the game), if it's not one of the ships listed above, you shouldn't be tapping it for Ruthless.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<h2>
The garbage will do</h2>
Even when it finds its way into one of your lists, you need to choose your moments on when to use Ruthless carefully. As we touched on way back at the top of this post, if you've just rolled a bunch of blanks with your red dice, that's probably a bad time to Ruthless a damage from one of your friends (since it's likely going to bounce off of green dice anyway).<br />
<br />
Basically, when you choose to trigger Ruthless, it should be with the reasonable expectation that you are doing 1 more damage as a result, based on your die mods and your target's die mods. And further, for the most part, that 1 damage should be worth more than the 1 damage you're giving up. Hurting your generic Cutlass Squadron TIE Punisher feels a bit bad, but it doesn't sting nearly so much when it means you're taking off a quarter of the hull of your opponent's Fenn Rau.<br />
<br />
Because this is the crux of Ruthless. It is Selfless in reverse. We want to trade our easy damage, our cheap health points, for our opponents hard-to-get, pricey health. We are sacrificing pawns to win a Queen. We are getting rid of expendable hull on expendable ships in the hopes of removing much more valuable threats from our opponent's list.<br />
<br />
It's not a card (or, more accurately, a strategy) that works for every list, and you shouldn't try to shoehorn Ruthless into lists where it's not optimal, or worse, where it's actually detrimental. And if you do use Ruthless, you should be comfortable with the idea of going several games without using it, whether because you're never able or because the damage trade just isn't justified. But for lists in which it fits, Ruthless is a perfectly acceptable alternative to the other 1- or 2-point Talents, and you should keep it in mind when list building with the Empire.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-36161442091779519122019-04-25T21:00:00.001-04:002019-10-25T10:51:26.163-04:00Match Review - 4 Ship FO vs. Fenn Boba Lando<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in late April 2019. I've been experimenting with a bunch of permutations of four ship First Order lists, swapping out ships and upgrades and figuring out what works, so my approach is still very unrefined. Consider that my excuse in advance for a myriad of misplays (incidentally, that's the name of my forthcoming X-Wing self help book).</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><br /></i>
<br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<h4>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v6!s=200!242:181,,,,,:;243:181,,,182,113,:;262:181,,:;284:127,,,:&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs=coreasteroid2">https://raithos.github.io/?f=First%20Order&d=v6!s=200!242:181,,,,,:;243:181,,,182,113,:;262:181,,:;284:127,,,:&sn=Unsaved%20Squadron&obs=coreasteroid2</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
4 Ship FO (or FO Salad, if you like) is an archetype that I actually suspect may be more diverse in options than its Imperial counterpart. Most of my First Order listbuilding starts with either Kylo Ren or Quickdraw; this one features the latter, with FCS and the SF gunner. I like Backdraft as well, not so much for the rear arc but mostly as a bulky initiative 4 shooter with decent upside. Recoil (today featuring Predator) is a recent experiment. I love the TIE Silencer chassis in general and I think there's some merit to the non-Kylo pilots (as does the current version of the impressive <a href="https://spaceowlsxwing.blogspot.com/p/ship-effectiveness-documentation.html">X-Wing Efficiency Model</a> developed by noted blogger and good friend Bohan over at the must-read <a href="https://spaceowlsxwing.blogspot.com/">Star Hooters</a>). Finally, Scorch is playing the role of Gideon Hask: a TIE Fighter with upside that has the distinction of being a decent-ish ship that fits, points-wise. I'm opting to punt on a bid and go to the full 200 by throwing Fanatical on everyone with an open talent slot.</div>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<h4>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v6!s=200!97:119,:;103:,,,54,,,,161:U.-1;93:,61,:&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v6!s=200!97:119,:;103:,,,54,,,,161:U.-1;93:,61,:&sn=New%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
</h4>
Not a meta list, but that doesn't mean you should sleep on it. A coordinated Boba (with two focus, thanks to Perceptive Co-pilot) and Fenn Rau are an alpha strike that is both punishing and resilient if faced head on. Both ships can be a real pain in the endgame as well; Boba can kite and live forever, while Fenn can arc dodge indefinitely until deciding he wants to kill his opponent, at which point he simply does so. Lando in the Escape Craft isn't terribly common, but he can be annoying. I won't say it's a fully optimised list, but the ships in it are sound and can do an awful lot of damage relatively quickly.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Opening Strategy</h2>
<div>
Well, we can remove one target from the priority list: I have zero interest in sinking attacks into Boba Fett while he and Fenn annihilate my list. I can do okay in a typical joust (at least on paper!), but I don't trust my list to kill super quickly (or at least not as quickly as I worry Fenn can). That means I'm looking to either take Fenn out immediately, or failing that, take down Lando and get rid of the support ship to remove the threat of a double-focus Boba. It's more likely that Fenn will go first, since Fenn tends to fly aggressively out in front to get the range 1 attack, while the Escape Craft is much more likely to sit back out of range and coordinate from safety.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Given the aforementioned threat of double focus and reinforced Boba, I'm really reluctant to straight joust this list. In a straight joust, my opponent's list can absolutely initiative kill Scorch or very plausibly take out Backdraft or Quickdraw without suffering any loss of materiel. That said, there's a reasonable argument for just straight jousting regardless, but it's a bit more risk than I prefer to take. Running a few of the more likely scenarios through <a href="http://xwing.gateofstorms.net/2/multi/">the probability calculator</a>, I see few outcomes where I do more than two or three damage to Fenn without suffering much harsher losses to my list.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll look to set up in a corner and hope that my opponent chooses the opposite corner. If not, I'll try to run down my edge of the board until I can come up with an engagement that feels more favourable. Fortunately, my opponent is trying to maneuver a Fang, a Firespray, and a relatively clumsy Escape Craft together, and the longer he tries to do that, the more complicated maneuvering should get. For my part, I'll look to keep my 4's generally together (with the option of breaking Recoil off as a secondary flanker) while running Quickdraw on a flank. Quickdraw is an interesting (and somewhat unconventional) flanker; he doesn't have the responsiveness or speed that you would like to see from the role, but he also has an unusually high burst damage output, so he can do a lot of damage to any element(s) of an opposing list that choose to turn on him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
<div>
I'm bringing small rocks with this list. I have no real reason to bring large obstacles of any sort, given that my TIE/sf's aren't especially maneuverable and I have nothing in my list to exploit obstacles in any way. Recoil also likes the extra space. Mostly, though, I just don't have any good reason to take anything else! My opponent brings gas clouds, which I don't think are a great fit for his list, to be honest. While coordinate can mitigate their impact, losing actions hurts Fenn badly, and Boba didn't bring a Perceptive Copilot to <i>not</i> take a focus action! Fortunately, they're not the end of the world for me; both Fanatical and Fire Control System can provide me with some mods despite losing actions, situationally.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent gives me first player.<br />
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I don't have a super firm notion of what I'm looking for in a rock setup. I don't want a wide open field, as I don't want Boba boosting at will or Fenn given a ton of space to arc dodge, but I don't want things to be so clustered that my TIE/sf's become jammed up and predictable. So I go with a middle of the road approach, placing my first gas cloud (1) at R3 of my opponent's corner. My opponent chooses to corner with the second obstacle (2), which encourages me; if he wants to corner rocks, then in lieu of any better insight, that probably means not cornering them is the right move for me. I do another R3 corner deployment (3), which will also give me an ideal corner to start in with plenty of breathing room. His fourth obstacle (4) changes things up, so I decide to build a jousting lane setup by placing my last rock (5) in line with the previous two obstacles. As mentioned above, other than the initial engagement, I'm actually fairly comfortable jousting midgame, so clear jousting lanes for my SF's seems appealing. Opponent goes back to cornering with his last obstacle (6).<br />
<br />
I place first and put all of my I4's in the top right corner. My midboard is an alternative, but my concern is that it would leave me with less room to get away if the opponent tries to aggressively joust from the start (which seems likely). The middle might have also let me set up a more favourable engagement by immediately heading right and using the top right cloud as cover, but generally I don't like to set up outside of a corner unless I have a very clear plan in place, and I didn't. My opponent places in the corner across the board, and I position Quickdraw just inside the bottom of the two midfield jousting lanes, intending to use him as a flanker unless another approach presents itself.<br />
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<br />
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
</div>
<div>
Nothing fancy to start things out. I don't like the joust so I'm going to turn south with my main forces while running QD across the board to set up a flank. If my opponent is faking me out and decides to turn here, I should still be able to adjust thanks to the gas cloud's position in my corner. Quickdraw's 5 forward will commit him past that small rock, but that's fine; his options are still pretty open for the next turn.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Backdraft: 2 Hard Left, Evade</li>
<li>Scorch: 2 Hard Left, Barrel Roll Left Forward</li>
<li>Recoil: 2 Hard Left, Left Barrel Roll, Autothrusters Boost Forward, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Good thing this isn't a formation list! I improved a bit, trying to get every bit of movement south along the board as possible while also getting Recoil into position ahead of the rest so that he can break forward from Scorch and Backdraft. I end up with a very ugly looking starting position, but looks don't win X-Wing matches.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lando Calrissian: 3 Forward, Focus</li>
<li>Boba Fett: 2 Forward, Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
The boost suggests Boba is fully on board with cutting off my escape down the edge of the board.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 5 Forward, Barrel Roll Left Forward</li>
</ul>
<div>
With Boba's boost, I'm a bit wary of he and Fenn biting a bit too aggressively on Quickdraw, so I improvise some more and get myself a bit more space.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fenn Rau: 4 Forward, Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
Fenn follows suit with Boba. It would be awkward for Fenn to now try to get back to my starting corner, so next turn he is either hitting middle-east or gunning for Quickdraw.</div>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No combat, so we're back to dials for turn 2.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3>
<div>
Here, I re-evaluate my options and realise I need to change my plan, mostly thanks to the fact that my opponents ships both have boost and can chase me a lot harder than I can escape. If I proceed down the board with my I4's, I'm likely giving up free shots this turn, and my ability to effectively engage the following turn is awkward; I'd either be turning in and risk opponent ships arc dodging me, or K-Turning and lacking dice mods. Given that, I feel forced to abort my run down the board and turn back in. The bright side of this is that there's a decent chance Fenn doesn't get an optimal shot, as his current position requires him to roughly commit to one of three approaches: north of the top right gas cloud to catch my turn in, south of that gas cloud to pursue me fleeing, or south to catch and kill Quickdraw. I think north is the least likely of these, but really, there's not a lot I can do about it anyway.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for Quickdraw, Fenn is a problem for him too. My sense here is that Fenn is dialling something like a 3 straight, which would let him either go for Quickdraw or my I4 guys if they were to be going down the board edge. This possibility limits Quickdraw's options. I no longer feel safe or wise going 5 straight, as there a lot of different ways that Fenn can catch that and heavily damage a Quickdraw that is unlikely to be pointing an arc at him. A soft bank in means exchanging fire if he comes at Quickdraw, but it also means no shot if he sticks to the north edge. I can 3 bank left in order safely avoid Fenn and regroup, but if Fenn is not pursuing Quickdraw, this puts QD out of the fight for a very long time (2 to 4 turns). I decide I need to go all in with my new plan of turning in my main forces, so I'll do a hard 3 with Quickdraw. It might result in an exchange of fire from Fenn, but that's difficult to avoid if my opponent chooses. If my opponent chooses a conservative move, it's also a move that might let Quickdraw get some damage in. At any rate, it's going to force my opponent to decide what part of my squad he wants to deal with (or encourage him to try to deal with both, a mistake I'd be happy to capitalise on).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Interestingly, this feels like a pivotal turn (perhaps <i>the</i> pivotal turn), which doesn't seem terribly common on turn 2.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Backdraft: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
<li>Recoil: 2 Hard Right, Focus</li>
<li>Scorch: 1 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
This turned out decently, as it happens. Recoil and Scorch still have options open for next turn, and Backdraft is probably content to go straight and rear-arc something next turn anyway. I opt to focus here, even though I think Backdraft at least is in TL range of Fenn, just in case I get no shots at Fenn. Scorch remains in the back, as intended; he tends to die if not kept a bit safer than my other ships.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lando: 3 Forward, Coordinate Boba (Focus, extra focus)</li>
<li>Boba: 3 Forward, Lock (Backdraft)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I half expected a Reinforce here, which suggests Fenn is coming north after all.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 Hard Right, Lock (Fenn Rau)</li>
<li>Fenn: 2 Hard Left, Boost Right, linked Focus, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Fenn did come north after all. My opponent mentions that he was expecting me to carry on down the board, so I think his plan was to attack with Boba here while setting up Fenn to chase from behind. The result is a pretty decent engagement for me, as only one of my ships is going to get disrupted by Fenn's range 1 defenses, Boba has no ability rerolls, and I have full shots on Fenn (if not Boba as well).</div>
</div>
<div>
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<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Fenn (range 3), FCS reroll, Fenn spends focus and Elusive reroll, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Shooting at Fenn seems like the correct choice, especially as I suspect Scorch has no Boba shot. There's a relatively decent chance that I can kill Fenn here, but barring that, I should be able to get 3 damage with all of my guns, unless I spend most of my tokens on defense. I anticipate that Backdraft will be the only one getting shot at, though. Looking at the numbers, my 3 non-Backdraft shooters have a 62% chance of getting 3 damage and a 39% chance of killing Fenn.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fenn attacks Backdraft (range 1), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Boba attacks Backdraft (range 2), spends focus, Backdraft spends focus, 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Half points on Backdraft happens fast, but it's a fair outcome: 3 damage is a 65% chance there, with 38% chance of Backdraft taking 4 damage. Fun probability fact: .05% of the time, Backdraft dies from those two attacks. That's a very dark and salty timeline for this writer. Regardless, Backdraft takes expected levels of damage, which against a Boba/Fenn list suggests that this was a pretty decent opening engagement.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch attacks Fenn, Scorch takes stress for an extra attack die, no damage</li>
<li>Recoil attacks Fenn, spends focus, 2 hull damage</li>
<li>Backdraft attacks Fenn, no damage</li>
<li>Lando attacks Backdraft, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
I come up a bit shorter than I'd hope on Fenn, but overall this turn was fine. I'm slightly up on points and have securely put Fenn into one-shot range. Against a list that I expected to lose a ship on the opening engagement to, this is a totally acceptable outcome.</div>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 3</h3>
<div>
Moving quickly into the midgame, I'm not convinced I can get a Fenn Rau kill this turn, but this does seem like a decent opportunity to splash Lando really quickly if I don't; I'll aim for the Fenn but anticipate Lando ending up as the target. I think Backdraft's move is straightforward enough (3 forward) that not only is it his only real move, my opponent will be anticipating it. That means Boba is unlikely do be doing a 1 left turn bump into Fenn, since Backdraft will prevent him from getting any angle change, and he'll be going faster than 1 forward. Most likely he banks toward Quickdraw to either get shots on my initiative 6 or rear arc shots on Backdraft; Quickdraw therefore will be doing a 3 bank right and hope to get past Boba's arc. If he bumps, I still have a modded shot on Fenn Rau, unless Fenn turns right and boosts. I'm okay with this, if he does, as that's a double tap (albeit unmodded) on Lando and safety from Boba. Scorch could either hard turn left in anticipation of Fenn going that way, or he can go straight to block Fenn trying to surprise me by going left/straight (and get a shot on Land as well). Recoil will go right as well; I'm hopeful that the 2 bank fits, and if it doesn't, I'm again still looking at a R1 shot at Lando. The alternative here is going 2 bank right to go hard on Boba, and that's a better move in a lot of respects, but I really would love to take Lando out here, and since I'm going to be somewhat short on dice mods, I'll need quantity over quality with my red dice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I will say that, with hindsight, the better play might have just been to aggressively anticipate Fenn Rau doing a 2 hard right, as it's unlikely he does anything else given how ugly most other options would leave his position for next turn. Lando is not a ship that would really bother me getting free shots from behind, and keeping the pressure on Fenn seems like a good tactic. Most damning is when I think about who my opponent would rather lose if he had to choose; almost certainly, he would rather lose Lando, and therefore my decision here is questionable.</div>
<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Backdraft: 3 Forward, Evade</li>
</ul>
<div>
Fanatical really encourages me to value evade tokens a lot higher, especially on 2 agility ship like a TIE/sf.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Recoil: 2 Bank Right, bumps Fenn</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;">Scorch: 2 Forward (clear stress), Focus</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Lando: 3 Forward, Barrel Roll Left Forward</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Boba: 1 Bank Right, Focus (extra focus)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Quickdraw: 3 Bank Right, bumps Boba</li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Zero breaks to be caught on my maneuvers this turn! Fortunately none of them are catastrophic, so it's more amusing than anything (especially the Boba bump, where clearing would have been a happy surprise more than anything), although not bumping with Quickdraw would have protected me from...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li>Fenn: 2 Hard Right (clear stress), Boost Right, linked Focus (stress)</li>
</ul>
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<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Lando (range 3), 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Unfortunately, Fenn is just barely out of QD's arc, so I'm forced to take my only available shot. On the bright side, I chip in some damage in the process.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fenn attacks Quickdraw (range 1), spends focus, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Quickdraw spends charge to attack Lando (range 3), Lando take stress to reroll, 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Boba attacks Backdraft (range 1), spends focus, 3 hull damage, Backdraft dies</li>
<li>Recoil attacks Lando (range 2), no damage</li>
<li>Scorch attacks Lando (range 2), no damage</li>
<li>Lando attacks Scorch (range 2), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
A less good turn for me. Losing Backdraft and only getting half on Lando are disappointing results given the attacks being made, but variance giveth and variance taketh away. The bump on Recoil is especially painful, as a focus token there means a dead Lando. On the bright side, I still have a shield on Quickdraw!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWwiPgrFpIoQd1ipCagG3pnfo3agMvveKAas_d7gaK3wfRWYaYHB7XQuNH_sZxOk2czQBkpymMoAZ2GB5hikfCMuinPJo-0fvkBBhU5oCU-gulbJVtyanOYc1oPljU1v1LeUloeIf4nE9/s1600/3-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWwiPgrFpIoQd1ipCagG3pnfo3agMvveKAas_d7gaK3wfRWYaYHB7XQuNH_sZxOk2czQBkpymMoAZ2GB5hikfCMuinPJo-0fvkBBhU5oCU-gulbJVtyanOYc1oPljU1v1LeUloeIf4nE9/s640/3-3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3>
<div>
Given positions, I'm a bit farther behind than I'd hoped to have been this turn, so I need to do some housekeeping, dedicating at least some resources to getting rid of Lando. Recoil is best suited to being able to kill Lando and get back into the fight quickly, so he gets the job. Scorch's turn is going to be a bit rougher, as I decide to hard turn him into the gas cloud; it will cost an action, but I anticipate no more than one shot on him this turn (possibly through the cloud, depending on where I land on it), if any, so it's probably a safe risk and sets him up well for the following turn. Quickdraw I decide to sloop left; this will give a bit of distance from Boba to avoid feeding him rerolls, as well as catch Fenn should he try to turn back into the top right corner (perhaps anticipating Recoil to be heading west).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wBBk1aO6Vzl1y9uzoQ8WtwU45wQD4ogNwZeYfMCQ6jb0O7wamEnoXxiDPotbOMPhgsbwFQakSeYf4Ajvjvv_4eEW1pV7MILQF94h06IuHhecILTQ4B2fBy82rd46m8OHmaf7oLpGYNsJ/s1600/4-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wBBk1aO6Vzl1y9uzoQ8WtwU45wQD4ogNwZeYfMCQ6jb0O7wamEnoXxiDPotbOMPhgsbwFQakSeYf4Ajvjvv_4eEW1pV7MILQF94h06IuHhecILTQ4B2fBy82rd46m8OHmaf7oLpGYNsJ/s640/4-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Recoil: 1 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
I consider failing a barrel roll to get stress and activate Recoil's Predator, but if I do get the Lando kill here, I plan to be Tallon rolling next turn, so I need to stay unstressed.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch: 2 Hard Left (clear stress), no action (gas cloud)</li>
<li>Lando: 3 Bank Right, no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
I was anticipating something slower (and bluer), but I will absolutely take a range 1 stressed Lando.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Boba: 1 Bank Right, Focus (extra focus)</li>
<li>Quickdraw: 3 S-Loop Left, Stress</li>
<li>Fenn: 2 Hard Right, Boost Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
I underestimated the angle QD was on from his Boba bump, and it looks here like Fenn may have arc dodged me. Mercifully, I learn momentarily that he did not, by about a hair.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Quickdraw attacks Fenn (range 1), rerolls with FCS, 2 hull damage, Fenn dies</li>
<li>Fenn attacks Quickdraw (range 1), 1 shield damage, 2 hull damage and Damaged Sensor Array</li>
<li>Quickdraw spends charge to attack Boba (range 2), converts with Fanatical, 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Boba attacks Quickdraw (range 2), spends focus, 2 hull damage, Quickdraw dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
A very bloody exchange, but I'm okay with it, all things considered. Had Fenn arc dodged me that turn, the next few turns would have been extremely awkward. With Fenn gone and Boba moving away, the amount of pressure being put on my ships plummets. I don't have a lot of damage still on the board, but Quickdraw did a fair amount of work before leaving, so I have the pieces to win, as long as I don't make any significant misplays.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Recoil attacks Lando (range 1), 3 damage, Lando dies</li>
</ul>
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<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h4>
Turn 5</h4>
<div>
Hopefully you didn't blink, because we've essentially moved into an endgame situation already. Recoil's a bit out of position, but a Tallon roll this turn positions him nicely to chase Boba no matter which way he goes this turn. I'm not actually sure which way Boba will go, but I don't strictly need to guess. The important thing is that I stay out of range 1 to avoid giving Boba rerolls, so I dial a somewhat conservative 2 bank for Scorch. A hard 1 is possibly better here, but I thought Boba might be heading south for the open area, where he'd be able to freely T-Roll or boost on future turns, so I opted for the bank.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx3M2RTIfy4Yp8GVjZOvzsFVhe35H9RXHKKKFRl_dXykwfxnb-avPdgkqQxiZl7YE3MGVXkn73CcqxvshD4LdeFsM-f5poPst2-Mnph9lzR2XAGcJvFl9DOLpXVyVuivuHahc5MDpvAVEC/s1600/5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx3M2RTIfy4Yp8GVjZOvzsFVhe35H9RXHKKKFRl_dXykwfxnb-avPdgkqQxiZl7YE3MGVXkn73CcqxvshD4LdeFsM-f5poPst2-Mnph9lzR2XAGcJvFl9DOLpXVyVuivuHahc5MDpvAVEC/s640/5-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
<li>Recoil: 3 Tallon Roll Right Forward, Stress</li>
<li>Boba: 1 Bank Right, Focus (extra focus)</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELUDvmLaXRAHN2gJqxDWDMPuTgCA2hf4XqZBqeXTFACZUkSLjKNvhi_45wxFXOJJl88CyHweNUpjjZzhg8y4RmL0wy91dGiPRTV5WrqTExWwXGft15ds5rYoPnQOLYBQAibWRJlmRU32U/s1600/5-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELUDvmLaXRAHN2gJqxDWDMPuTgCA2hf4XqZBqeXTFACZUkSLjKNvhi_45wxFXOJJl88CyHweNUpjjZzhg8y4RmL0wy91dGiPRTV5WrqTExWwXGft15ds5rYoPnQOLYBQAibWRJlmRU32U/s640/5-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Boba attacks Scorch (range 2), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Scorch attacks Boba (range 2), takes stress for extra attack die, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not terribly consequential, other than Scorch getting Fanatical activated and changing his action decisions for future turns.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-vP_JA8rvr8-Cj0Z435YtpcRShAkTJsd9FjTJXxpt8oJSsyF-PY_cBSlRcN36HpiONDRxNex_bAJKbBgeuj13iSc6tZvbwGzjmdzIj73epdk87zBVe04-Uymy2qnAAQ_YyZJ2J2BjLQE/s1600/5-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-vP_JA8rvr8-Cj0Z435YtpcRShAkTJsd9FjTJXxpt8oJSsyF-PY_cBSlRcN36HpiONDRxNex_bAJKbBgeuj13iSc6tZvbwGzjmdzIj73epdk87zBVe04-Uymy2qnAAQ_YyZJ2J2BjLQE/s640/5-3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div>
Another straightforward turn. I figure Boba's move is probably a Tallon roll, since he's not going to be getting shots with focus this turn otherwise; his alternative to the Tallon roll is a hard turn to avoid the cloud plus a boost to get arc on Scorch. Either way, I'm just looking to keep Scorch's arc on Boba from a safe range while Recoil advances to add pressure, so both of my ships will 2 bank.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3AUvYPwIXHQVvORCn-bHs_pw_G7kfmgdSkHWQxPJNh4HqUOQQkt4LdRRbsNlFSxVb4QJxyMrWvmgvBel1VA42zfci3dmJdPCI0nDHq_M-ZsYmeU_ohLLEdkA_U7GZGZfey6d1BFKIZ7N/s1600/6-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3AUvYPwIXHQVvORCn-bHs_pw_G7kfmgdSkHWQxPJNh4HqUOQQkt4LdRRbsNlFSxVb4QJxyMrWvmgvBel1VA42zfci3dmJdPCI0nDHq_M-ZsYmeU_ohLLEdkA_U7GZGZfey6d1BFKIZ7N/s640/6-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch: 2 Bank Right (clears stress), Lock (Boba)</li>
<li>Recoil: 2 Bank Right (clears stress), Focus, Autothrusters Boost Forward, Stress</li>
<li>Boba: 1 Hard Right, Boost Left</li>
</ul>
<div>
Boba goes with option B after all. Fortunately, he goes right, meaning that Recoil will be in the fight immediately. This is the worst case for Boba, as my best path for victory is essentially to get engagements like this, shooting at him twice and avoiding range 1.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLysaA_frML_IjsKZ32yLhpxa-mxZDQ59W9iQrxZxb641GkwhKPOCg04fXf31GSUq3VHBnioU_7AvXcFN5nW5NY6gEO6GwzAHdePq0-Jz8PiEF0RqH7mxOFnLOZkvP8e-OrCxxmmWkZXRj/s1600/6-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLysaA_frML_IjsKZ32yLhpxa-mxZDQ59W9iQrxZxb641GkwhKPOCg04fXf31GSUq3VHBnioU_7AvXcFN5nW5NY6gEO6GwzAHdePq0-Jz8PiEF0RqH7mxOFnLOZkvP8e-OrCxxmmWkZXRj/s640/6-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Boba attacks Scorch (range 3), 2 hull damage and Blinded Pilot</li>
</ul>
<div>
That's not how this was supposed to go! My risky call to grab a lock plays out in about the worst case scenario (at least excluding ones where Scorch just dies), resulting in me getting smashed <i>and</i> losing the ability to use my new lock.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch attacks Boba (range 3), takes stress for additional attack die, 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Recoil attacks Boba (range 3 obstructed), spends focus, Boba converts evade with gas cloud, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
All told, an acceptable exchange. Boba is shieldless and in pretty poor position. Even if I lose Scorch, a full health TIE Silencer is still a reasonable match for a half-dead Boba.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 7</h3>
<div>
Boba has a few options, some better than others. Both Tallon Rolls are viable, and if he goes to the right, Recoil might end up taking some damage while Scorch is forced to shoot through a gas cloud. My gut feeling is that he'll go hard right here to catch Recoil with mods while hopefully getting space from Scorch. I'm happy to trade a bit more damage, so I choose to run Recoil forward to meet him, while Scorch banks in. I don't anticipate Scorch being in arc this turn, so I'll look to risk fixing that crit now (hoping to avoid the mistakes of <a href="https://xwingontherocks.blogspot.com/2019/04/match-review-triple-aethersprites-vs.html">last episode</a>).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm43a10iBHJ0wJHpYHdGV7nAlVW1lZnAmjxBQgyKn-UVfMyw2R-Q3OByqPGffptD8mDrK-FoT4o-jIx-EjJLaE0I2RtN6eSZ6X-7tWzaDJ3ql3EkPyW-5KMf1RJbHpvdZsaPhLYwUg0sJ/s1600/7-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm43a10iBHJ0wJHpYHdGV7nAlVW1lZnAmjxBQgyKn-UVfMyw2R-Q3OByqPGffptD8mDrK-FoT4o-jIx-EjJLaE0I2RtN6eSZ6X-7tWzaDJ3ql3EkPyW-5KMf1RJbHpvdZsaPhLYwUg0sJ/s640/7-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Recoil: 2 Forward (clear stress), Focus, Autothrusters Boost Forward, Stress</li>
<li>Scorch: 2 Bank Right (clear stress), repair Blinded Pilot</li>
<li>Boba: Hard 1 Left, Boost Left</li>
</ul>
<div>
A real surprising move here. Had Boba been trying to keep distance from Recoil, I would have imagined he'd have tried to do so in the turns previous, as doing so now sets him up for a terminal chase condition. This move feels like a real boon for my ships, who are poised to have great position for the next two turns at least.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAc1na_qTpwN0o3XhWZpqHNFLY_AYUGR8B8xMZ84iE6zqOBd685xpkuWgliDtGvR-5a27t0fqNLWO76n2WpJ_NfE573utY9m4Jk97jN836hdJ7tEDcNht-pKwBwQWy_YvSJog12bPxyz8/s1600/7-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAc1na_qTpwN0o3XhWZpqHNFLY_AYUGR8B8xMZ84iE6zqOBd685xpkuWgliDtGvR-5a27t0fqNLWO76n2WpJ_NfE573utY9m4Jk97jN836hdJ7tEDcNht-pKwBwQWy_YvSJog12bPxyz8/s640/7-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Recoil attacks Boba (range 3), spends Focus, 2 hull damage and Panicked Pilot (2 Stress), Console Fire</li>
</ul>
<div>
Boba Fett plunges right into the proverbial Sarlacc pit. This is a horrible turn of events for him, and it is extremely difficult to see any realistic way out now.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIaIkEXhC3vKPNCqtqML8-7MLtKe5ozFoO5uTTc50g_x2pET_zEZ6TfbS2-WSMZR3x-lno0bDjkErQCuh44_fmS34h11fZmddW0thoLDZbKhBotO-2f1lzz8I-rFQXhJsofWvzbt9wXyb/s1600/7-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIaIkEXhC3vKPNCqtqML8-7MLtKe5ozFoO5uTTc50g_x2pET_zEZ6TfbS2-WSMZR3x-lno0bDjkErQCuh44_fmS34h11fZmddW0thoLDZbKhBotO-2f1lzz8I-rFQXhJsofWvzbt9wXyb/s640/7-3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 8</h3>
<div>
Boba had few options before the Panicked Pilot, and almost none now that he's received it. Conservatively, his only options are straight or banking, with banking the most likely in order to try to get to that gas cloud to protect himself from Recoil. I don't need to do anything super aggressive here, so I'm just turning hard with Scorch and advancing up with Recoil. Boba has one unorthodox play here, opting to keep all stress and perform a hard turn left toward that gas cloud. With Boba dice mods, it might very well spell the end of Scorch. However, between 2+ rounds of Recoil shooting at him and 3+ turns of Console Fire, I'm absolutely willing to accept that risk here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-zAiT3tAW5QP0_9Na-NIp9pHdMqQMmTBsxb4ba7vuQ7WWEDbW1HJ-mOURNCJ5VArcoqSR2Cmh1ClH_r4sWDS6HF4xZMBy4TVjpuwK7irxv0qdcLndmeO_UY_Irv5St27XL3NC-VOJSfC/s1600/8-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="955" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-zAiT3tAW5QP0_9Na-NIp9pHdMqQMmTBsxb4ba7vuQ7WWEDbW1HJ-mOURNCJ5VArcoqSR2Cmh1ClH_r4sWDS6HF4xZMBy4TVjpuwK7irxv0qdcLndmeO_UY_Irv5St27XL3NC-VOJSfC/s640/8-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Scorch: 1 Hard Left, Evade</li>
<li>Recoil: 2 Bank Left (clear stress), Focus, Autothrusters Boost Left, Stress</li>
<li>Boba: 3 Forward (clear 1 stress), no action (1 stress remaining)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Not my first guess, but as mentioned, none of his blue maneuvers were anything I felt I needed to be worried about, so this is absolutely fine.</div>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Boba takes 1 hull damage from Console Fire, attacks Recoil (range 3), no damage</li>
<li>Recoil attacks Boba, spends focus, 3 hull damage, Boba dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
The First Order triumphs, 200-122!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
<div>
Experienced players will sometimes scoff at the notion of "jousting fancy," in which two forces sort of dance around rocks for a bit and then just joust anyway. However, sometimes I feel that this is actually desirable, and this was one of those cases. I didn't have confidence in a straight joust, but my squad is still generally a jousting list, so I needed to disrupt the opening joust just enough to nullify at least some of my opponent's advantages. This time, it worked out great.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I find rear arc ships are easy to misplay. I see a lot of players (and for a long time I was included in this number) trying to kite with the rear arc, flying around and inviting the opponent to chase. However, while this is nice in theory, it's problematic in practise; the lead ship falls into predictable patterns, and ultimately (and counter intuitively) the chasing player can sort of "lead" the engagement. This could be seen in the last couple turns of this game: the moment Boba turned to be chased, I no longer had to do any complicated guessing or predicting. Just aim for the general area that Boba is starting his turn, account for a potential boost, and enjoy my shots. This is also why I generally don't try to rely heavily on Backdraft's rear arc, instead using him as a bulky 2-die attacker that happens to have a rear arc to punish enemy jousters K-Turning behind him and to discourage being backdoored. I can't take credit for either of these revelations; you'll find the link to that particular X-Winger's blog way back near the intro. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Incidentally, the one turn I tried to get greedy and find Backdraft a rear arc shot was the turn he got Thanos-snapped by Boba.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As mentioned earlier, I do think there were a few different opening approaches I could have taken, and I'm still not 100% on this list's opening formation or rock strategy, but the general approach worked out reasonably well here. Granted, this wasn't a fully tuned meta list, but it required some careful consideration to avoid being erased.<br />
<br />
Not 100% on Recoil. I think he'll be great to punish lists with low initiative, but against higher initiative stuff like this, I could be getting the same performance out of a First Order Test Pilot. Or I could just use Tavson! More experimentation required.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My play was a bit rough (especially that turn with the bumps), and in fact is about the third or fourth game in a row where I've won and have left the game feeling that I played terribly. Mentally, the challenge there is trying to focus on the positives and avoid beating myself up for imperfect play or finding myself in a negative feedback loop, especially if the results start to turn the other way. Certainly, the worst thing to do would probably be to write an in-depth dive where I analyse and agonise over all my misplays.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oh, whoops.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As always, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read these. Please feel free to share your thoughts and observations in the comments below. How would you have set up here? Are you flying the lesser-known TIE Silencers, and if so, what have you seen? Please let me know!</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-67590949670616570122019-04-20T23:35:00.000-04:002019-10-25T10:50:32.573-04:00Match Review - Triple Aethersprites vs. Sai Rexler Duchess<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a casual game I played on VASSAL in early April 2019. I hadn't tried the Aethersprites out yet so I thought I'd give them a whirl. Unlike other games, I didn't come into this one with a fully developed plan, so there's a fair amount of improvising to see in this one! Do try this at home (and don't try this at tournaments).</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><br /></i>
<br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Republic&d=v6!h=200!273:,,201,:;314:,,201,:;274:,,201,:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Republic&d=v6!h=200!273:,,201,:;314:,,201,:;274:,,201,:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As mentioned above, this was my first time trying out the Aethersprite. I was pining for the days of first edition Imperial Aces, which meant I started my list with the I6 Anakin. A lot of Vader games have taught me the value of a 3 force pilot, and Mace is a great value in that respect, so he got added in next. The last ship is a toss-up between Luminara and Saesee, but I'd seen Luminara's ability do some decent work in other games against me, and I wanted to keep things fairly straightforward for my first Aethersprite match, so she was the lucky third ship. 7B on all three gives me resilient ships with a good punch and no finicky bullseye to worry about. There are no points left over for upgrades (let alone a bid for Anakin).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v6!s=200!166:,,29,,,162:;196:123,113,,:;211:127,,,164:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v6!s=200!166:,,29,,,162:;196:123,113,,:;211:127,,,164:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a fun coincidence, while I try to reimagine classic Imperial Aces, my opponent goes and brings them! Sai is a very pricey Lambda, especially with ST-321, but if it can get value from those two abilities more than a couple of times, it's going to hurt. Against an opponent flying agile ships, however, that's easier said than done. Rexler with Juke and FCS is a very strong ship; in my mind, the biggest downside with him is that while he can and often does pull his weight for the points cost, he still makes it awkward to fit enough other meaningful ships in the list. To that end, my opponent has the relatively frail Duchess as the third ship, with a Hull Upgrade and Predator. I'm not the biggest fan of bullseye talents like Predator in general, but on a high initiative Striker, it can probably work. Finally, the list includes Emperor Palpatine, who has a very strong ability that can give a lot more flexibility to the other two aces, such as allowing Duchess to evade while still retaining offensive dice mods or letting Rexler set up a target lock and immediately get double mods.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
<div>
Target priority for this match is perhaps a bit less obvious than it might seem at first glance. Proponents of <a href="https://spaceowlsxwing.blogspot.com/2016/11/support-theory.html">support theory</a> might suggest removing the Lambda first to reduce the effectiveness of the aces and make beating them more manageable. However, in this instance, my concern is that both Duchess and Rexler (especially Rexler!) are perfectly viable on their own, even without the help of Sai's coordination and Palpatine's force point. If I opt to take Sai down first, and lose Anakin in the process, I'm going to have an incredibly difficult time taking down Rexler and Duchess. Instead, I'll have to try to manage the Lambda by isolating it from the ships its trying to support and avoiding its front arc as much as possible. The downside of this is that the TIE Defender can really take advantage of that Coordinate, but it's a risk I decide I'm willing to take.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So that leaves Rexler and Duchess. Rexler is the clear dominant end game ship in my opponent's list, but the TIE Defender is very well equipped to thrive in the midgame as well, and trying to take Rexler down early can mean a lot of wasted effort, thanks to the token stacks and three agility. Without an alpha strike with a reasonable shot at obliterating Rexler, I don't want to take that risk.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Duchess is flexible but fragile. I can reasonably expect to take her out before losing an Aethersprite, leaving my opponent with only two 3-die attackers. From there, I'd theoretically be looking to remove the Lambda and then try to deal with Rexler as best as possible. If, along the way, I find myself with opportunities where Rexler is vulnerable, I'll be happy to opportunistically damage him where possible.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For my part, I plan to generally keep Luminara and Mace together as one element (at least to start) while looking to flank with Anakin. If I'm not comfortable with the amount of firepower pointed at Skywalker, I'll be looking to disengage and hop back into the fight when it's a bit safer. Especially if you can leverage his ability, Anakin has the potential to re-engage very well (reminiscent of my opponent's Defender), so he's very well suited to the task of flanking.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
<div>
I've brought gas clouds for this. My force users can fly through them while retaining mods, and the Aethersprite's ability is also unimpeded by obstacles. The gas clouds also let me leverage my maneuverability to take meaningful cover if I'm unable (or unwilling) to fully disengage. My opponent brings rocks of varying sizes. Between his large, cumbersome Lambda, the Striker with ailerons that can exploit the gas clouds by moving through them freely, and the Defender who also has an ability that doesn't care about obstacles, I'm surprised not to see gas clouds from my opponent as well, but I'm happy to make use of his rocks in this one!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I win the initiative roll and take first player, as there's no initiative overlap, and I happen to have a plan for the first obstacle.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, after gushing about how well my ships make use of gas clouds, I slap a big rock right in the middle with the first obstacle (1). My reasoning for this goes back to what I said at the start of the Opening Strategy: I don't plan on killing the Lambda first, so I need to avoid it instead. The cornered rock is what I plan to pivot around with my ships, keeping it between my Aethersprites and the Lambda.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent's first rock (2) gives me the beginnings of a tight obstacle clump. Normally, with agile arc dodgers like my Aethersprites, I'd like to have a lot of spaced out asteroids in order to leave myself with a lot of open area to freely reposition into, and avoid having fewer options and becoming predictable (and dead). However, in the immortal words of Robert Baratheon, only a fool would meet TIE Defenders on an open field! I want to have a tight obstacle field to make it harder for the Defender to K-Turn with impunity. This also gives me an even bigger no-go area for the Lambda that I can use to manage it. My next obstacles (3 and 5) continues to build this clump, while my opponent corners his next tow (4 and 6). This does leave some big, scary areas for the Defender to exploit, so I'll need to do my best to avoid getting drawn away from the obstacle clump and into open space, especially with my Initiative 4 ships.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My opponent places first, and makes things easy for me by placing the Lambda in the bottom right corner facing north. Had he placed elsewhere, I would have had to spend several turns in order to get the asteroid clump positioned correctly between me and the Lambda, but as it is, I'll be able to get into action safely much earlier. I certainly don't want to joust his list head on with mine, so I place my first two Aethersprites pointed downward at top left, with the intention of heading towards the asteroid clump and using repositions to go around the clump on the opposite side of whichever way the Lambda commits. Rexler and Duchess don't do anything funny, setting up in the Lambda's corner and strongly indicating at least one turn of stalling from at least the Lambda, if not the Striker as well. Finally, I put Anakin in the corner with my other Aethersprites pointed the same way; he'll be heading in at least somewhat of a different direction, but I don't need to indicate that just yet.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
All things considered, I'm very pleased with all of the Turn Zero activities in this one. Everything basically set up the way I was hoping, which isn't all that common, of course! Even the cornered gas clouds are fine by me; it might be useful having a couple oases throughout the board for my Aethersprites to run for, just in case.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
<div>
No need to deviate from the plan yet! I'm just going to advance the Aethersprites forward for now, while hard turning Anakin to start his way across the top of the board, giving my opponent the early indication of a decision for him to eventually make on which portion of my list to pursue. I don't anticipate his Lambda will be moving so I'll be largely noncommittal here as well, although on the off chance the Lambda declares in a direction, I'll be able to react. Given the location of that large rock in the corner, basically any move other than a bump/stop will force the Lambda to either commit or land <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TITLEDROP">on the rocks</a>.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lieutenant Sai: 2 Hard Left, Stress</li>
</ul>
This is unexpected, but I'll take it! Sai is very committed to going along the bottom of the board now; even if he wants to cut through the middle of that obstacle clump, he can't safely do it for another two turns, assuming he wants to clear stress. This is either a firm commitment or a truly devious bluff, but if it is, I'm biting.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Luminara Unduli: 2 Forward, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Boost Left</li>
<li>Mace Windu: 2 Forward, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Boost Left</li>
<li>Rexler Brath: 5 Forward (free evade), Boost Forward</li>
<li>Duchess: No Ailerons, 1 Hard Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
I honestly couldn't ask for any better. Sai is committed to a direction, Rexler's going that way as well (and has gone so far forward that he is fully committed to going past the obstacles), and my intended target is going off all on her own. I'm going to have to deal with Rexler back dooring me before long, but it's not as if my Initiative 4's were going to be arc dodging him much anyway during the early-mid game.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anakin's choice is now made as well: flanking by running down the left side of the board would be a bit more risky than I'm willing to go, so he'll run across the top and work with the other Aethersprites to flank Duchess. That said, there's an argument to be made for Anakin to run south toward the Defender and Sai and try to distract them by provoking Rexler and/or Sai to try to go for him and then arc dodging them. However, it's a bit more aggressive and risky than I'm feeling this game, so I take the more conservative approach. There are merits to both approaches, though.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin Skywalker: 1 Hard Left, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<div>
No combat, so everyone goes back to full Force and we move to dials!</div>
</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 2</h3>
<div>
With Sai and Rexler committed, I now want to get my Aethersprites past that asteroid clump and pressuring Duchess as quickly as possible, so I'll be banking and repositioning past the big rock as needed. I'll go straight with Ani instead of banking toward the top edge; I want him to be able to dive Duchess if the opportunity presents to get all three guns on her early on.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I assume Sai will be going 1 or 2 forward to clear stress and coordinate, and Rexler will be banking or hard turning in. I'm not sure what Duchess is up to, but it doesn't affect my plan all that much; I'll be engaging her this turn or next, in all likelihood.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 1 Forward, Coordinate Rexler Brath (Focus), gain focus (no ST-321 lock)</li>
<li>Luminara: 3 Bank Left, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Boost straight</li>
<li>Mace: 3 Bank Left, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Boost straight</li>
</ul>
<div>
The rock's position forces Luminara to roll left to avoid it, which then forces Mace over to stay lined up. I was hoping I'd be able to scrape by the rock without the barrel roll being necessary, but I was prepared for and comfortable with this. Positionally, these two moves commit both Aethersprites to going past the big rock, but I don't imagine bluffing the notion of going the other way and jousting the Lambda would have gone far regardless. It does, however, give Duchess more information for the coming turns, which will make her harder to pin down. Especially with her initiative and her ability, she has between a two and three turn advantage on moving at this moment.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 3 Bank Right (free evade), Boost right</li>
</ul>
<div>
Confession time: I was a huge Defender fan in first edition, even during the dark days before their perfectly fair and balanced x7 titles, so I tend to forget that they can boost in second edition (and thus how quickly they can get around). I wasn't quite anticipating Rexler being able to get all the way around and potentially shooting at Luminara, especially after my barrel rolls. It's not a big deal, hopefully, but it's going to be an unanswered attack sooner than I anticipated.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess: Ailerons Bank Left, 2 Bank Left, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Also a little surprising at the time, although there's really no reason it should be. Duchess is extremely capable of navigating the asteroids without becoming super predictable. I become concerned now that it might be difficult for both Lumi and Mace to get shots on her next turn; certainly Anakin is going to have to play catch up.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin: 3 Forward, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Backward, Focus</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Luminara (range 3), 1 shield damage, -1 Force</li>
</ul>
<div>
An annoying free shot that makes next turn significantly more annoying, now that I can't reposition and still have the force for an attack mod. I'm disappointed with myself on this; from a tactics standpoint, it's difficult to defend the idea of giving up unanswered shots in the opening like this even when they <i>don't</i> do damage, let alone eat into both shields and Force. With rare exception, being shot at without being able to return fire on turn 2 is a blunder, although perhaps only a minor one here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Incidentally, perhaps the other Anakin play discussed earlier now looks more appealing, in hindsight. If we'd followed that line of play, Rexler would now have to consider Anakin, and Anakin might be attacking Rexler himself. However, that said, given Duchess' direction, the next two turns would be fairly perilous as a Rexler K-Turn and a Duchess advance would leave Anakin trapped in that southwest corner, trying to dodge 3 enemy arcs with all manner of dice mods, while the other two Aethersprites race to get into the fray and support.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So perhaps this line of play is fine after all.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Back in the actual game, everyone regenerates some Force, and we go back to dials.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfDW_XymDcxMF9MBcagt0w5NbnIADAeHCC1vTnfF6wqvDj0oF7zAXnDNu-Mb5aP6A9khGrpN58JyBuY8GaR6qYQilNS9ceBx3Xvov4PlRoh-DzZ-tUi-TZAFcy66LMrU4rqe7XTj7txkv/s1600/2-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfDW_XymDcxMF9MBcagt0w5NbnIADAeHCC1vTnfF6wqvDj0oF7zAXnDNu-Mb5aP6A9khGrpN58JyBuY8GaR6qYQilNS9ceBx3Xvov4PlRoh-DzZ-tUi-TZAFcy66LMrU4rqe7XTj7txkv/s640/2-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 3</h3>
<div>
The chase in on to try to get shots on Duchess. She's committed to going into or through the obstacles, so I'll look to get my Aethersprites there as quickly as possible. I'm choosing to abort a lengthy flank with Anakin now in favour of just massing guns, as the flank would now only serve to reduce the firepower I have in play. I need to consider the Lambda turning into the middle of the obstacles here, but it's not something I can really do much about this turn. If I try to avoid the Lambda doing that, I'm likely compromising overall positioning, or exposing myself to other attackers, depending on how I try to handle it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another alternative here would be to play it a bit more patiently and just start flying to roughly my opponent's starting position, in order to really stick to the original plan of keeping all the obstacles between me and my opponent. However, I foresee that resulting in more unanswered shots from Rexler in the short term, and I can't play that game for very long thanks to my non-infinite Force pool and his Juke. Ultimately, I don't play for the long game and opt to dive the obstacles, but this might be the wrong call. Despite things feeling like they were going according to plan, the sense I have at this point is that I am engaging on my opponent's terms and not my own. My decision to go into the tight asteroid clump is going to leave me predictable and far more easy to outmaneuver, and it's arguably a mistake for that reason alone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNn4eBFqzzytJdMC2NyHX10iPHlQhyih9dk5GxRtcKlz7stq9loiltyAWX6AFRXXG3ozaUEFRgobg1Y51-0r26oO6LpoNctPiCGGbUQ3wDqZ5XaGYkQCcyPqaBElTAxq4etMTqTv87rfQ_/s1600/3-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNn4eBFqzzytJdMC2NyHX10iPHlQhyih9dk5GxRtcKlz7stq9loiltyAWX6AFRXXG3ozaUEFRgobg1Y51-0r26oO6LpoNctPiCGGbUQ3wDqZ5XaGYkQCcyPqaBElTAxq4etMTqTv87rfQ_/s640/3-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 3 Forward, Coordinate Rexler Brath (Focus), gain focus (ST-321 lock on Luminara)</li>
<li>Luminara: 2 Hard Right, Lock (Duchess)</li>
<li>Mace: 2 Hard Right, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Forward, Lock (Duchess)</li>
</ul>
<div>
This is not a random barrel roll, despite perhaps seeming to be. The barrel roll with Mace does a few things, but mostly I did it to open up maneuvering options for the next turn; I don't anticipate having much pressure on Mace's Force this turn so I'm okay spending one here. Now, he has a different vector going into the obstacle clump than Luminara, so that my opponent has to consider two different elements; this is important since I'm making myself so much more predictable in general going into this corridor. This barrel roll also means that Mace is no longer telegraphing going into the asteroids at all (compared to Luminara, who is fully committed), forcing my opponent to at least consider that Mace might just speed around them and threaten things like Sai, or a retreating Duchess.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 3 Bank Right (free evade), Lock (Luminara)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Leaving Rexler here commits Sai to coordinating a barrel roll next turn (denying Sai the free focus) or will force Rexler to go through the asteroid.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess: Ailerons Bank Left*, 3 Right Bank (bumps Sai)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
I didn't notice at the time but my opponent used a 2 bank on the ailerons maneuver instead of the 1. That said, the end position doesn't change significantly (Duchess would have bumped between Sai's mid-line and back corner instead of directly on Sai's back corner), so this isn't a hugely impactful issue, fortunately.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin: 5 Forward, Evade (spend 1 Force)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Anakin's position is clogged up by the other two Aethersprites, and there are no repositions that can get me through or around that is particularly advantageous for this turn or next. The only thing I might have done differently is barrel roll left backward, allowing me to bank or turn in next turn and catch Rexler on a K-Turn. I take the Evade but there's little to no chance Rexler chooses not to shoot Luminara.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Luminara (range 2 obstructed), Rexler spends lock and focus, 2 shield damage, -1 Force</li>
<li>Luminara attacks Duchess (range 3), Luminara spends lock, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Luminara's lost Force from last turn costs her here. Unfortunately, I'm not able to take advantage of Duchess' bump, and I've lost half points on Luminara. My position moving into the midgame is not particularly strong, so I'll need to play catch-up in order to take control of the game. Everyone regenerates Force (Luminara is still on 1 Force) and we're back to dials.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NaeCREyCYfdq-ptndo3AB0OdZUuAYSVw0jy6KomtOGdj5OxW6K_rYk9LK1z95bQMY0FI8l1Fsn4XTKD34MTNtIR4_bA6cmEVHz7RVtENj2gtnokJB0OSFR6KMGgkomzPuhfpB1USI3s2/s1600/3-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NaeCREyCYfdq-ptndo3AB0OdZUuAYSVw0jy6KomtOGdj5OxW6K_rYk9LK1z95bQMY0FI8l1Fsn4XTKD34MTNtIR4_bA6cmEVHz7RVtENj2gtnokJB0OSFR6KMGgkomzPuhfpB1USI3s2/s640/3-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 4</h3>
<div>
We're into the midgame now. Rexler's stuck behind the rock, but he's a Defender with ships heading past him, so the 4K is the obvious move and I don't see better alternatives. I can't do much about it with my I4 Aethers, so their task remains the same: pursue and destroy Duchess by banking in. Anakin, however, should be able to finally become the flanker he was intended to be. A sloop to the left should leave him right behind Rexler's 4K, clearing stress and hopefully punishing the Defender nicely. Sai will be turning in, and Duchess will either be doing the same or slooping, but either way I'm intending on continuing to press on her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's a decent plan, but I've had a mental lapse and forgotten something critical here. Did you catch it?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQHV-DCe3KtA3Snvk4Y54ajBOkSSMf7wmy9yf7qwILB4COS582zfo5G2aouEmRC_63iP9UDDKUUEsN9ed_o6hiBkepAzAaIkWWA-k6u_vA7jw2JAQz29nc6C-IqlVOgzx-10ySKHa-QnW/s1600/4-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQHV-DCe3KtA3Snvk4Y54ajBOkSSMf7wmy9yf7qwILB4COS582zfo5G2aouEmRC_63iP9UDDKUUEsN9ed_o6hiBkepAzAaIkWWA-k6u_vA7jw2JAQz29nc6C-IqlVOgzx-10ySKHa-QnW/s640/4-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 2 Bank Right, Coordinate Rexler (Barrel Roll Right Forward)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Yep, it's the coordinate that I predicted last turn and then promptly forgot was a thing that could or would happen. I kick myself hard the moment I see it. A barrel roll in either direction was painfully obvious, but I've gotten distracted with trying to figure out what sloop or K-Turn to do with Anakin that I've forgotten my target won't even be where I'm expecting him. Thanks to my mental misstep, I've allowed my opponent to outplay me, plain and simple.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Luminara: 2 Bank Right (bumps Rexler)</li>
<li>Mace: 2 Bank Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Whenever you read articles suggesting tight rock placements favour arc dodgers, consider situations like this. Mace is totally pinned down and unable to do anything really constructive because of Luminara and the tight obstacles. If so much of my arc dodger's value is in the repositioning ability, what does a tight obstacle cluster do for that value?</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Lock (Luminara)</li>
<li>Duchess: Aileron Bank Right, 1 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Rexler does the obvious and correct maneuver, locking to secure a double modded shot (thanks to Palpatine). Duchess plays aggressively, perhaps more aggressively than was really necessary, but I suppose my opponent wants to snowball here and try to secure a kill on Luminara rather than give me opportunity to stabilise. It's a smart call; he now has a roughly 71% chance of initiative-killing Luminara here.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin: 2 S-Loop Left, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
With Rexler having exploited my fallible mind, Anakin doesn't have the blow-out turn he was looking for. Instead, he's just in an awkward position, shooting nothing.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess attacks Luminara (range 2), spends Palpatine Force, 1 hull damage</li>
<li>Rexler attacks Luminara (range 2), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
A very lucky break. Spending the force on Duchess' attack was probably sub-optimal, spending the focus instead for the initiative kill is likely stronger. Also, I believe my opponent forgot about his Rexler TL and so didn't spend it (his roll was eyeballs and a blank). Luminara is saved by luck and some minor missteps (but my opponent will have to blunder much harder than that to keep up with my mistakes).</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Luminara attacks Duchess (range 2), spends 1 Force, 2 hull damage</li>
<li>Mace attacks Duchess (range 3), spends Focus, 2 hull damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
More luck for me, I do 4 damage where realistically I might have expected one or two at best. Dice variance is smoothing over the rough spots of my opening. That Hull Upgrade on Duchess has worked out nicely for my opponent, at least. With that, Force is regenerated and we're back to dials.</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3Lc6oxqmoK7XeSVxHd_YDvzp3ExyBmvyl5HWiyXw7iCJ8f1IELT35pqGetx-9Qz6xdnElTTG03PLBhCruhzxP6tPGE80qM5V_o6i4DRbLE5JnYqtU-AJ9pWDg9Ufwk6dNGOxilSE99nb/s1600/4-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3Lc6oxqmoK7XeSVxHd_YDvzp3ExyBmvyl5HWiyXw7iCJ8f1IELT35pqGetx-9Qz6xdnElTTG03PLBhCruhzxP6tPGE80qM5V_o6i4DRbLE5JnYqtU-AJ9pWDg9Ufwk6dNGOxilSE99nb/s640/4-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 5</h3>
<div>
Going around the asteroids was my plan, going through them wasn't. My options are relatively limited here, so I need to strongly consider how predictable I want to be. Looking at the opponent's position, I'm anticipating Sai doing a 2 Hard turn in towards my ships. Predicting Duchess is annoying enough without the added possibility of a pre-activation coordinated barrel roll, so my strategy there is to broadly project likely ending points and consider blocking places I don't want her to go. Finally, I anticipate Rexler to either go straight slow to shoot Lumi or Mace or possibly to K-Turn to threaten Anakin; the latter would be pretty greedy and dubious. Other alternatives, such as Rexler hard turning right, are acceptable as they don't really threaten me this turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Given the above, I'm going to try to restrict Duchess and block what I can from Rexler while trying to salvage Anakin's board position without restricting his options too badly for next turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExbgVMx3UTjuK7mP4lqh9Dp4mmoztgYn36M6-T-F7SfKnh8JTkVLjUng4fWw01mh8mDZMFA8fhHdzPk50eUnyKq4qAif3Dw8BmPFCAu6obtDvDoIZpcKu6B3XjmcUsdIM2RB_0KdaohSw/s1600/5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExbgVMx3UTjuK7mP4lqh9Dp4mmoztgYn36M6-T-F7SfKnh8JTkVLjUng4fWw01mh8mDZMFA8fhHdzPk50eUnyKq4qAif3Dw8BmPFCAu6obtDvDoIZpcKu6B3XjmcUsdIM2RB_0KdaohSw/s640/5-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 1 Bank Right, Coordinate Duchess (Focus), gain focus</li>
<li>Mace: 1 Bank Right, bump Luminara</li>
<li>Luminara: 1 Hard Right, Barrel Roll left backward</li>
</ul>
<div>
Mace bumps to block a 2 Forward from Rexler. Luminara rolls to shut down some of Duchess' non-ailerons maneuvers. I choose to use her action to barrel roll instead of spending Force. My thinking at the time was that I was optimistic I'd be perhaps going back to full Force during the next turn. In hindsight, I'm probably better off just Force barrel rolling and grabbing a focus.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess: Ailerons Bank Left, 3 Bank Right, Evade</li>
<li>Rexler: 3 Bank Right, bump Mace</li>
</ul>
<div>
Duchess flees, which is understandable and gives me a bit of breathing room. Rexler's move was somewhat unexpected (clearly he intended to barrel roll), but I still get the bump and Rexler's next turn is now much more awkward.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin: 1 Bank Left (clear stress), Lock (Rexler)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Remember earlier when I mentioned I'd be happy taking opportunistic shots at an exposed Rexler? This was precisely the type of situation I had in mind. While a kill shot on Duchess is awfully tempting, I don't expect to get great opportunities to nail Rexler often, so I feel it's worth spreading the damage around to take what I've been given.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Rexler (range 1), spends 3 Force, 3 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
It costs me all of my Force, but I'll take it to knock most of Rexler's shields off. This is a nice swing in momentum. If <a href="https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/wpa/">Win Probability Added</a> existed in X-Wing, this would be a pretty decent spike in it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Luminara (range 3), 3 hull damage, Luminara dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
And the momentum slams back the other way again. Even though I'd blocked Rexler, between the target lock and Palpatine's Force, Luminara surviving here was essentially a coin flip. I still got a ton of value from the block both with Anakin's attack and Rexler's compromised position, but it's a great reminder that you need to consider all the sources of dice mods for a potential block victim when considering how aggressive you're willing to be to block.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace attacks Sai (range 3), spends 1 Force, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCUUz4Ge6-Ilef9hgbNe_4L9hsmamy0u7HszZDBZ8vLPMaAUaAXzx8Kqn9y0EbKJs1_yidKGxVOn6Zuis-zgM1X2lUPcvHex6erJyElfS1gKLQVhaINO36B6JQSqNBGPu_hDF2qtgmHxp/s1600/5-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCUUz4Ge6-Ilef9hgbNe_4L9hsmamy0u7HszZDBZ8vLPMaAUaAXzx8Kqn9y0EbKJs1_yidKGxVOn6Zuis-zgM1X2lUPcvHex6erJyElfS1gKLQVhaINO36B6JQSqNBGPu_hDF2qtgmHxp/s640/5-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h3>
Turn 6</h3>
<div>
The board position is mixed for both sides. Duchess' flexibility will allow her to get back into the mix relatively easily, but she needs to be cautious to avoid Anakin, given her health. Neither of my ships have a ton of options. For now, I'll look to get Mace clear of the asteroids for future turns (and likely get some more free damage on Sai in the process) and turn Anakin north to try to kill Duchess (or, failing that, at least force her to flee further). I don't see any particularly good way to press the attack further on Rexler right now; a sloop from Mace would probably give me a shot, but it would almost certainly be at range 3 and/or obstructed, and Mace would then be committed to going right back into the obstacle mess.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJevLxtwuZ2FHgZeo0P9WMmhvMnKBXgcKTP5yefNlRY_K4KQkGauNZtlFKXSPetRaWlw8KSNF3O4IkZCPq9t3749SmiEIrkq58DQxDYvIdggojZOVUw5V9CTbk3YFDArObdZywNOKfXKF/s1600/6-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJevLxtwuZ2FHgZeo0P9WMmhvMnKBXgcKTP5yefNlRY_K4KQkGauNZtlFKXSPetRaWlw8KSNF3O4IkZCPq9t3749SmiEIrkq58DQxDYvIdggojZOVUw5V9CTbk3YFDArObdZywNOKfXKF/s640/6-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 3 Forward, Coordinate Duchess (Focus), gain focus (no ST-321 lock - forgot?)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Sai never does quite what I think he'll do. Fortunately, being a Lambda, his options are so limited that I don't need to predict with any precision to account for that ship and avoid its arcs. That's not to say he hasn't been valuable, though, as his coordination is now giving Duchess repeated turns of token stacking.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 Bank Right, spend Force to Boost Bank Right, Barrel Roll Right Forward</li>
</ul>
<div>
Sai's fast move forces a barrel roll to dodge the rear arc, but I'm inclined to anyway to keep my arcs as close to Duchess as possible.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 1 Hard Right, Stress</li>
<li>Duchess: Ailerons Bank Right, 1 Hard Right, Evade</li>
<li>Anakin: 1 Hard Right, bump Rexler</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Rexler move is a surprise, as I'd misjudged the board and convinced myself he couldn't do it without bumping. It results in an awkward bump, with Duchess moving up perfectly to capitalise.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Lt. Sai (range 3), 1 shield damage</li>
<li>Duchess attacks Anakin (range 1), 3 shield damage</li>
<li>Mace attacks Lt. Sai (range 1), Lt. Sai spends focus, 2 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
My bump costs half points on Anakin, the delayed cost of my decision to put damage on Rexler last turn instead of trying to kill Duchess. Half points on Sai is a poor consolation.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__-FoARRY3hK8w2K5DnN2s1vxH1GZofxXTEkU6VP069xexa2M71lAtIk4bMKQskwwtl0QIVhFMi4iWkBewz6RBey-Zh2XA586WNgfQ4AzOIAB-NoIBBKtz8qP26kiPW_qbhS6aQra4FvK/s1600/6-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__-FoARRY3hK8w2K5DnN2s1vxH1GZofxXTEkU6VP069xexa2M71lAtIk4bMKQskwwtl0QIVhFMi4iWkBewz6RBey-Zh2XA586WNgfQ4AzOIAB-NoIBBKtz8qP26kiPW_qbhS6aQra4FvK/s640/6-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 7</h3>
<div>
Duchess is essentially out of grasp for now; she simply has too many options this turn that would get her free of Mace's arc, the only ship I have that can feasibly try to go for her. My approach this turn is to point arcs to the north of the board; if I can catch Rexler exposed, I'll maybe take a shot at him, but otherwise, this will be a turn for damaging Sai. I'm a bit concerned about Duchess purposely blocking Anakin in place for a second turn in a row, but I think he's much more likely to Segnor's behind me instead.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUcRVIaLvw57TN1Dup5MifOLtizu5W9nzI1rildmJm3QtdDs6hpmf-mmnoo8WfnK1jLjHOHq4p06VCOJE8EVDC6RTB98cO7JW4n7yPuZ8DAZw7LAOk2ul4bi5OT11ehZ7Eq4dXFVLEMeB/s1600/7-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUcRVIaLvw57TN1Dup5MifOLtizu5W9nzI1rildmJm3QtdDs6hpmf-mmnoo8WfnK1jLjHOHq4p06VCOJE8EVDC6RTB98cO7JW4n7yPuZ8DAZw7LAOk2ul4bi5OT11ehZ7Eq4dXFVLEMeB/s640/7-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 2 Hard Right, Stress</li>
<li>Mace: 1 Bank Right, Lock Sai</li>
<li>Duchess: Ailerons Forward (bump), 2 S-Loop Left, Stress</li>
<li>Rexler: 1 Bank Left (clear stress), Evade</li>
<li>Anakin: 1 Hard Right, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
Things go pretty well for me, here, all things considered. I did debate using Anakin's action to move my lock to Sai and go for the kill this turn, but ultimately decide that this is another decent opportunity to put damage on Rexler. As in the last scenario, it's a decision with a cost, as a locked Anakin and Mace together are pretty likely to initiative kill the Lambda. However, it's not quite a sure enough thing for me to go for it. Had the Lambda been at even one less hull, I think I would go for it, but as it is, I don't want to end up leaving the Lambda alive (since it's bound to die in the next turn or so anyway) and also miss out on a chance to damage Rexler.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Rexler (range 1), Anakin spends lock and focus, Rexler spends Evade and Palpatine's Force, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
I was hoping for more, but this is a deceptively tough shot; while I have an 86% chance of doing a damage (and thus getting half points on Rexler), there's only a 32% chance of getting that second damage through.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess attacks Anakin (range 1), rerolls with Predator, no damage</li>
<li>Rexler attacks Mace (range 1), 2 shield damage</li>
<li>Mace attacks Sai (range 1), 3 hull damage plus 1 extra hull damage (Direct Hit!)</li>
<li>Lt. Sai attacks Anakin (range 2), 1 hull damage and Disabled Power Regulator</li>
</ul>
<div>
Well, if I'd known that's how the attacks were going to go, I definitely would have focused on Sai this turn! On the bright side, unless I really mess things up next turn, that was Lt. Sai's last shot. Everyone goes back to full Force and back to dials!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNB29pIFnO0fsU0sNKaMVHklf_E_HqfdhoybYequKVbHmoJdJ2RVNyNKMzntnMSvkUtFWI7B2HbuQU2TD3azzqOOWxJIJ7gBP9eV5KP44FcUuXssZY8Bdv5m6AyGrG3gcJVYWan6cwA9ce/s1600/7-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNB29pIFnO0fsU0sNKaMVHklf_E_HqfdhoybYequKVbHmoJdJ2RVNyNKMzntnMSvkUtFWI7B2HbuQU2TD3azzqOOWxJIJ7gBP9eV5KP44FcUuXssZY8Bdv5m6AyGrG3gcJVYWan6cwA9ce/s640/7-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 8</h3>
<div>
Sai being stressed this turn makes my life easier, since I don't need to plan around the 0 stop. As long as the Lambda moves up (even just to bump Rexler), I'm confident I can land a 5 K-Turn for Anakin, which should either give me a kill shot on Sai or a range 1 on Rexler if he chooses to K-Turn as well (I anticipate that he will). Mace will K-Turn as well, looking to have shots on one or both of those targets as well. Ideally, he'll be able to shoot at Sai so I can let Anakin use his attack elsewhere. There's also an off-chance that Duchess comes in close enough to take down, but that seems like something to worry about next turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I do consider that Sai might coordinate Rexler and then Rexler will do something unexpected, but none of the outcomes I consider there affect my plan too much, so I accept it as a possibility and proceed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzr8ubLsBy80lluERSrxWdjTYNPLmJah4vM4ghfT7GHk_zvU8Vzsx2lm70UpTJ8rqN5_tIMQCKO_dHvcACjg-zvXLS7fAbKdeePn-iNbQNqkGnfbRpHzrASjT8twN9siXtiClTivL5Q3iq/s1600/8-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzr8ubLsBy80lluERSrxWdjTYNPLmJah4vM4ghfT7GHk_zvU8Vzsx2lm70UpTJ8rqN5_tIMQCKO_dHvcACjg-zvXLS7fAbKdeePn-iNbQNqkGnfbRpHzrASjT8twN9siXtiClTivL5Q3iq/s640/8-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lt. Sai: 1 Bank Left, Coordinate Rexler (Barrel Roll Left Backward)</li>
<li>Mace: 4 K-Turn, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
The kill shot for Mace is confirmed. With his lock from previous turns, Mace's chance to kill Sai is way up in the >99% range, so Anakin can shoot whatever else happens to stray into his arc.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn, Focus</li>
<li>Duchess: No Ailerons, 1 Bank Right (clear Stress), Focus</li>
<li>Anakin: 5 K-Turn, spend 1 Force to clear Stress, Lock (Duchess)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
Duchess being in range of Anakin is a nice surprise, as is Duchess choosing not to Evade. This has the potential for a big turn.</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Duchess (range 3), spends Lock and 1 Force, no damage, Anakin gains 1 ion</li>
</ul>
<div>
My target lock fails me and Duchess escapes unscathed, not even spending the focus token. Very nearly the worst possible outcome, unfortunately.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess attacks Mace (range 3), no damage</li>
<li>Mace attacks Lt. Sai (range 1), spends target lock and 3 Force, 3 hull damage, Lt. Sai dies</li>
</ul>
<div>
I get the kill, but it costs me all of Mace's Force, and he's two turns away from a red maneuver to recover it faster. Still, a kill is a kill.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbEIcnTmBisqcKmJhU5lJCHCLnfKmmStceT928v6hzHxjhrhO-q-CcE5TdPYCFMkoQWd1Uqa8wX6mPc1a8odbLin7g0NSZpW4mHsVTGxcdZFjAQmWliH-aRUCXmmy1bveMw93cns7i5jT/s1600/8-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbEIcnTmBisqcKmJhU5lJCHCLnfKmmStceT928v6hzHxjhrhO-q-CcE5TdPYCFMkoQWd1Uqa8wX6mPc1a8odbLin7g0NSZpW4mHsVTGxcdZFjAQmWliH-aRUCXmmy1bveMw93cns7i5jT/s640/8-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 9</h3>
<div>
The lack of Duchess kill on the last turn makes this turn much more annoying. My biggest concern is Rexler K-Turning and finishing Anakin off, so I plan to block it with Mace; this might also keep Mace safe from Duchess (assuming she does something like aileron right and hard turn left, for instance) and set up a pincer on the Striker for the following turn. Anakin's ionised, but Fine-Tuned Controls doesn't get prevented by that, so there's a chance my reposition might get me some value here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3W1hpoIqm9ywEGq3zRd7X4qDdDnOHqkMWTZq0qFC9n_cPqNNeV4ibfwRMDwE8lcQW2Bxxg1r1mEZ6tOL70DBS-OVL-BkUOY8voiVezZDKL-wPiJmn0FaCOPbu3I-c1z10XblTbgvMby2/s1600/Turn+9-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3W1hpoIqm9ywEGq3zRd7X4qDdDnOHqkMWTZq0qFC9n_cPqNNeV4ibfwRMDwE8lcQW2Bxxg1r1mEZ6tOL70DBS-OVL-BkUOY8voiVezZDKL-wPiJmn0FaCOPbu3I-c1z10XblTbgvMby2/s640/Turn+9-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 Bank Left (clear stress), spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Right Center, Boost Left</li>
<li>Duchess: 2 S-Loop Right, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
Wasn't quite expecting this; it means a shot on Mace with zero Force.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler: 3 Hard Left, Lock (Anakin)</li>
<li>Anakin: 1 Forward (ion maneuver, clear stress), bump Rexler</li>
</ul>
<div>
Duchess' move makes even more sense now. It's a clever move by Rexler, preventing me from exploiting Fine-Tuned Controls and exposing me to a pot shot from Duchess that might tax my force a bit, let alone do damage.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Duchess attacks Mace, rerolls with Predator, 1 shield damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
He opts to take the modded shot on Mace instead, getting half points. That damage is brought to you by Hull Upgrade, the upgrade that has quietly just kept on giving for my opponent this game.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLUxx2sjP9HOxreFyFtzyHWdmNGQE-t91MtK2C-e-SR_V4XtizoSjnuwpQhtvoL7y8Xpzv7lBsP3g3ZxSAu8wqS8OzRQrY8HXbDSWR79IKAicZfkox2oo5Axn2KeQHmSr7xIj0aoLXcGx/s1600/Turn+9-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLUxx2sjP9HOxreFyFtzyHWdmNGQE-t91MtK2C-e-SR_V4XtizoSjnuwpQhtvoL7y8Xpzv7lBsP3g3ZxSAu8wqS8OzRQrY8HXbDSWR79IKAicZfkox2oo5Axn2KeQHmSr7xIj0aoLXcGx/s640/Turn+9-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 10</h3>
<div>
Clearly I need to kill a ship or else I'm going to keep hemorrhaging hull. This turn, I'll look to dial somewhat conservatively. Sloops from both of my Aethersprites should cast a wide enough net that I catch most maneuvers that aren't hard disengages, and this will ideally be the last turn for Duchess. The sloop has a few added benefits: Mace badly needs the force back, and I think there's a decent chance I can catch something in Anakin's bullseye and ditch the stress. Rexler is almost certainly doing a 4K, which gives him relatively poor or no shots on my ships.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4sbudDBkGr0QspNJMLIpVP6kLGX8TlyBr_GSVJlYKrL-PjgHmhX9XmWRmbbTlpx-8bnPu7jOo5Kc4yaHbZXtDUuSBsNdzPNvg2FbyHC9EFgmZfSjXpAEjSZWsTTh6xEW_REPZVyuZfOG/s1600/10-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4sbudDBkGr0QspNJMLIpVP6kLGX8TlyBr_GSVJlYKrL-PjgHmhX9XmWRmbbTlpx-8bnPu7jOo5Kc4yaHbZXtDUuSBsNdzPNvg2FbyHC9EFgmZfSjXpAEjSZWsTTh6xEW_REPZVyuZfOG/s640/10-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 S-Loop Right, Stress, Regenerate 1 Force (2 remaining)</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Focus</li>
<li>Duchess: 2 Bank Left (clear stress), Focus</li>
<li>Anakin: 2 S-Loop Right, Stress, spend 1 Force to remove stress (2 remaining), Lock (Duchess)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Anakin catches Duchess' back corner by a hair, which makes or breaks this turn.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Duchess (range 1), spends lock and 1 Force (1 remaining), 1 hull damage, Duchess dies</li>
<li>Rexler attacks Anakin (range 3), spends Focus, Anakin spends 1 Force, 1 hull damage and Damaged Sensor Array, Rexler exposes Disabled Power Regulator</li>
<li>Mace attacks Rexler (range 3), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
The crit on Anakin is rough. Now, my opponent doesn't need to block him to prevent me from using Fine-Tuned Controls when ionised, not to mention that my arc dodging is just generally impaired at this point. This drastically changes the end game from something that was fairly favourable to me into something that is even, or worse. (Note: Anakin's displayed hull value is incorrect for the next few turns.)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_SAyIBa2MIe6syoJwgjFrCHVsewQlMjsAPeX62eFby7TEIT0N525d11gNMCRKauvFzdqN5Q4KMObdvyyo0dE05zzEeYlXjpOczpw-Zgx3JoI-U05SdeWhXHUkSZwTneSikLcOgsAU-rQ/s1600/10-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_SAyIBa2MIe6syoJwgjFrCHVsewQlMjsAPeX62eFby7TEIT0N525d11gNMCRKauvFzdqN5Q4KMObdvyyo0dE05zzEeYlXjpOczpw-Zgx3JoI-U05SdeWhXHUkSZwTneSikLcOgsAU-rQ/s640/10-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 11</h3>
<div>
So we've arrived at an endgame that should prove challenging, starting with a very key turn here. Rexler is shieldless but still able to manage a lot of incoming data, thanks to his steady diet of evades that I'm going to be testing less and less now that my ship count is dwindling. Anakin is limping and is no longer able to avoid and/or bully Rexler the way he would if he weren't bogged down by his crits. Once Anakin is gone, time is on Rexler's side, as he can use his repositioning to avoid engagements he doesn't like and bide his time for either a favourable exchange or the timer. I'll need to avoid moving too predictably with Mace (which will require both leaving his options fairly open and occasionally avoid the most optimal but predictable maneuvers) and try to keep Anakin safe, if possible.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On this turn, I'm hoping to at least get some shots with Anakin. I'm not entirely sure where Rexler is going here. I don't think the 4K seems terribly likely, but Rexler is likely going to anticipate me advancing slowly (1 banks from both of my Aethersprites, perhaps) and plan accordingly. Given the amount of uncertainty, it's likely he just goes fast to get to safety and try to fight my ships one at a time during the following turns, but I consider that he might try to bamboozle me by hard turning toward the east side of the board too. My dials are basically set to cover a few of these alternatives; I'd prefer to focus on one likely location, but frankly I just don't have a great read on Rexler this turn.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrvoOBdoB2bxgJh7Mu4VpPu4VLqNyuq3N5hQmPgxjsR8F0IvurUUkI-6lJi6sYsYWwh6BfaTsSdshorJl3DRpg60TY_lHWWud7SdQAtUjvDyGkrNzkJ2RYuqBd77AhWyoP95z3G8_wZvY/s1600/11-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrvoOBdoB2bxgJh7Mu4VpPu4VLqNyuq3N5hQmPgxjsR8F0IvurUUkI-6lJi6sYsYWwh6BfaTsSdshorJl3DRpg60TY_lHWWud7SdQAtUjvDyGkrNzkJ2RYuqBd77AhWyoP95z3G8_wZvY/s640/11-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 1 Bank Right (clear stress), spend 1 force to Barrel Roll Left Backward, Lock (Rexler)</li>
<li>Rexler: 5 Forward (free evade), Boost Forward</li>
<li>Anakin: 2 S-Loop Left, Stress, spend 1 force to clear stress, Focus</li>
</ul>
<div>
I make a half-hearted attempt with Mace to block the Defender's forward maneuvers, but it's a bad eyeball and I'm not really close. Rexler does choose to go fast in order to set up better engages for the future. My S-Loop with Anakin works nicely, but I make the dubious decision of Focusing instead of fixing my action crit. I believe my thinking at the time was that Anakin was doomed soon anyway so I would take the focus in the hopes of a big attack roll (which I would get!), but in hindsight this is a mistake; the better choice is playing for the next turn, where I could Fine-Tuned off of the ion maneuver and possibly get some safe distance from Rexler.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Rexler (range 1), spends focus, 2 hull damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Close but not quite enough. Mace's missed block leaves him out of position and unable to take a follow-up shot that might have ended the game here.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYH80RyANRGoJASOwL3rlyrtO46ACpmdJlkQ1bmtRrUXVtXBojbx1DoD_Y2Yd0-8zsSuJShJ-DkGu26ukmwCTVkwLQrInwmGQ_RPsNQkylFCFhHjUdtCCq-G0Q50_fmBg0QDjFRbVmp2Fc/s1600/11-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYH80RyANRGoJASOwL3rlyrtO46ACpmdJlkQ1bmtRrUXVtXBojbx1DoD_Y2Yd0-8zsSuJShJ-DkGu26ukmwCTVkwLQrInwmGQ_RPsNQkylFCFhHjUdtCCq-G0Q50_fmBg0QDjFRbVmp2Fc/s640/11-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 12</h3>
<div>
Last turn was the turn I really needed to end things and put the game away. Now, I've lost the positional advantage I had, and am moving towards a situation where Rexler can start finishing off my ships. My mistake last turn in not fixing Anakin's crit means I can't boost for a shot this turn. I'm now just hoping to get one more shot and for Rexler's dice to blank out. When your plan in X-Wing sounds something like this, you are almost certainly losing!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Rexler is K-Turning here, almost without question. If Mace sloops, he might be out of range, so my only choice to get a win is a hard turn with boost, and then hope my double modded shot doesn't fail me. Unfortunately, there's a small flaw with this plan: Rexler is a higher initiative and would block that. I realise my error in time to fix the dial, but I know that this means there likely won't be a shot for Mace this turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggv7iEjKflb2-RuodokPgu_rW9MtveYwIQcibIh9X4rvNLuSpBGegb4H6cqnkLDPF5mjx_KEvvs_jQwg42uap8AY0HbQjUjlzthvOgRy18E4b6TX6qZtFR8VHlQYlDPdMwRmap63kb5GQn/s1600/12-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggv7iEjKflb2-RuodokPgu_rW9MtveYwIQcibIh9X4rvNLuSpBGegb4H6cqnkLDPF5mjx_KEvvs_jQwg42uap8AY0HbQjUjlzthvOgRy18E4b6TX6qZtFR8VHlQYlDPdMwRmap63kb5GQn/s640/12-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 S-Loop Right, Stress</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Focus</li>
<li>Anakin: 1 Forward (ion maneuver), Focus</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Anakin (range 3), spends Focus, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Anakin survives the errors of his player! Mace has no shot, as anticipated.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmxum0Akj8x0h1zrHV7YSj-G7sOrMe2hC6p7K2XJaU98jTMmPvAmjsQYbVu2OpoWeVp-qVFmTnCMLnNz5BZM2cE8pWUKU9WGoN5cmqC1mwf8DJJkYmfVYKd7H5gDJmi6BJdKEyybqb2RR/s1600/12-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmxum0Akj8x0h1zrHV7YSj-G7sOrMe2hC6p7K2XJaU98jTMmPvAmjsQYbVu2OpoWeVp-qVFmTnCMLnNz5BZM2cE8pWUKU9WGoN5cmqC1mwf8DJJkYmfVYKd7H5gDJmi6BJdKEyybqb2RR/s640/12-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 13</h3>
<div>
Two ways to approach this turn: I can disengage with Anakin, fix his crit, and hope to come back for a kill later (but risk losing Mace by then), or I can sloop here and try to get both guns on Rexler to score that last hit and win. I choose to push for the kill shot, as this seems like about as good an opportunity as I'll get to put multiple arcs on the Defender.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOTKvNz1y2SUB9pN21IjgwGcplB76rRS7IFS5lTusNRfthYU6cckPxidGMiTZxPjDPDgtdUTWqOsq9mYCvOM6nPoeiekdBqESBXZPRkfWwOxxsE8Xhz8AK1Wu-gbG7YzMh4xQr1WOGIih/s1600/13-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOTKvNz1y2SUB9pN21IjgwGcplB76rRS7IFS5lTusNRfthYU6cckPxidGMiTZxPjDPDgtdUTWqOsq9mYCvOM6nPoeiekdBqESBXZPRkfWwOxxsE8Xhz8AK1Wu-gbG7YzMh4xQr1WOGIih/s640/13-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 Forward (clear stress*), bumps Anakin</li>
<li>Rexler: 3 Bank Right (free evade), Boost Left</li>
</ul>
<div>
The moment I see this maneuver from Rexler, I realise a bank would have been better, but my thinking at the time was that Rexler would go straight.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin: 2 S-Loop Left, Stress</li>
</ul>
<div>
I choose to keep the stress with Anakin, but again, the wiser decision was probably to ditch it, grab the focus, and hope for the kill.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Anakin attacks Rexler (range 1), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
It was a 64% chance to get a kill (and in a situation like this where time is not quite on my side, that;s within my risk appetite), but Anakin can't get it done. To demonstrate the cost of my mistakes, if I had fixed that crit earlier and was doing this attack with 1 Force (spending one to clear stress) and a target lock instead, the chance to get the kill is over 82%. Alternatively, if Mace had banked this turn and been able to follow up Anakin's shot with a Force-modified shot, it's an 86% chance of a Rexler kill. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's hard to draw a more actionable lesson from this than "don't make mistakes in the endgame," but it really does drive home that these relatively innocuous decisions need to be really carefully considered by the end of the game. It's easy to start making little mental mistakes this late in the game (you'll notice I've forgotten to clear stress on Mace this turn, for instance), and this is just one casual game, not the fifth or sixth game of tournament Swiss. Don't get lulled into rushing these last turns, and give your decisions a quick final logic check.</div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Anakin (range 1), 3 hull damage and Wounded Pilot, Stunned Pilot</li>
</ul>
<div>
Anakin is dead and Mace is barely out of arc. I'm now in incredibly bad shape.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDzkWUbQLJuBOlKji_Jc2_pp3IK3fPZzP2WhhkBOQ41Q0szn5mBRa8CqaHUAghZu7Vqhj6_Fo6ewAM18hOD3UzLnD72FSuTPBJ_Db98PWGlMVttZQ_ZcGYeuqqlwbAVDOxPCd-S6cKdha/s1600/13-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDzkWUbQLJuBOlKji_Jc2_pp3IK3fPZzP2WhhkBOQ41Q0szn5mBRa8CqaHUAghZu7Vqhj6_Fo6ewAM18hOD3UzLnD72FSuTPBJ_Db98PWGlMVttZQ_ZcGYeuqqlwbAVDOxPCd-S6cKdha/s640/13-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 14</h3>
<div>
Forgetting to clear stress is frustrating here, especially since I don't need to grab a lock. Had I not had the lock already, that would be the goal here, ensuring that the one shot I hope to get before dying will be a kill. That said, it's not looking very good. I presume Rexler will be K-Turning, I dial a 3 straight to get distance and to leave multiple options for next turn's K-Turn. Banking toward the rocks might have been better, but I was concerned it would expose me to a range 2 attack this turn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwPaPR6QuK5qNWY3A75hyphenhyphenEobtTzfh668l3SqjVXOYm97CtQwGBPla0kWaCN024OjxZrECJYqGhyphenhyphenVyNFnPQH_1fgxpgnwgNWsQFaFS5OSdmyABrhJaPBERI2xM5jxN7KqQwD6_5UDPizKk/s1600/14-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwPaPR6QuK5qNWY3A75hyphenhyphenEobtTzfh668l3SqjVXOYm97CtQwGBPla0kWaCN024OjxZrECJYqGhyphenhyphenVyNFnPQH_1fgxpgnwgNWsQFaFS5OSdmyABrhJaPBERI2xM5jxN7KqQwD6_5UDPizKk/s640/14-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 3 Forward, spend 1 Force to Boost Left, Focus</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Boost Right</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Mace (range 3), no damage</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpgdQpIV5YlksrZscf-yB2B9ruDLfxhZ3NA1Uik8gh7xsVnZ-zJP5FOtcdjj_sUFjEznIbuaqJWT0UFw9Yx2u2EPJQgtRD8QIsCY6hYqjidY_5YMDpVcPghT_bVUxYl2Bc6bgjQw3vzpr/s1600/14-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpgdQpIV5YlksrZscf-yB2B9ruDLfxhZ3NA1Uik8gh7xsVnZ-zJP5FOtcdjj_sUFjEznIbuaqJWT0UFw9Yx2u2EPJQgtRD8QIsCY6hYqjidY_5YMDpVcPghT_bVUxYl2Bc6bgjQw3vzpr/s640/14-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h3>
Turn 15</h3>
<div>
More sloppy play from me here. I decide to sloop left, although this is probably the one turnaround maneuver that leaves the most opportunity for Rexler to arc dodge me. My thought process at the time was that it might have been the least expected and therefore the least counterable, but there are limits to how unpredictable you should be at the cost of deviating from fundamentally strong maneuvers. I stray a bit beyond those limits with this one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0DlNuDbADtD_tITs0FMOCnOrvawRmHoklWbmicWx1rVFCaqeTD10My0dfk9GepyotrRkm25IexHOLZz5XRWqC-7QPzAUeOlmOFitiQj5JZntYHMGB4D4YZ6OYZBvE-AaoYgLmWjj4Uvs/s1600/15-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0DlNuDbADtD_tITs0FMOCnOrvawRmHoklWbmicWx1rVFCaqeTD10My0dfk9GepyotrRkm25IexHOLZz5XRWqC-7QPzAUeOlmOFitiQj5JZntYHMGB4D4YZ6OYZBvE-AaoYgLmWjj4Uvs/s640/15-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 S-Loop Left, Stress</li>
<li>Rexler: 3 Bank Left (free evade), Barrel Roll Left Forward</li>
</ul>
<div>
Arc dodged, as expected. Any other U-Turn either guarantees a shot for Mace, or at worst, prevents any fire from being exchanged.</div>
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Mace (range 2), Mace spends 1 Force, 1 hull damage and Fuel Leak</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNywknC79kxDLzgtzzx59GhrHEOjo79dxjisa0jjbYhU93BKYyFQyrLwfVKmrPv-7xv1IhdERmEUmeqGw98VA780B43DXG2ZAs1fBfMcpdNWFreAYmu4BcwzRQ234tgscB58Eyca8fqvc3/s1600/15-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNywknC79kxDLzgtzzx59GhrHEOjo79dxjisa0jjbYhU93BKYyFQyrLwfVKmrPv-7xv1IhdERmEUmeqGw98VA780B43DXG2ZAs1fBfMcpdNWFreAYmu4BcwzRQ234tgscB58Eyca8fqvc3/s640/15-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<h3>
Turn 16</h3>
<div>
I'm another two turns away from shooting, if then. We're in conceding territory, realistically, but I decide to keep hope alive and go for the big finish! Rexler and Mace are in a situation where both are guessing whether the other one will go fast or slow. I decide to look to the ancient wisdom: "If you can't guess what a Defender is doing, assume it's a K-Turn."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTq2UCsH5TPzle7eHtnORmKc-pOLNbfWwP0Wmeapfb387RMg1U9HC4tgBKZ0uCOarrzHeWYh1rsWS93HXsEDCY93aWa8kSJSLAd5yLfnP-1EFB0fXICoYhhTZUSC_70HSlbKdodz292fH/s1600/16-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTq2UCsH5TPzle7eHtnORmKc-pOLNbfWwP0Wmeapfb387RMg1U9HC4tgBKZ0uCOarrzHeWYh1rsWS93HXsEDCY93aWa8kSJSLAd5yLfnP-1EFB0fXICoYhhTZUSC_70HSlbKdodz292fH/s640/16-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 1 Bank Left, spend 1 Force to Barrel Roll Left Backward, Focus</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), no action</li>
</ul>
<div>
Sometimes the ancient wisdom is correct.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Should have repaired the Fuel Leak, but was worried about getting shot and wanted to be able to avoid it without spending all my Force. The logic behind that doesn't hold up, though.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-gDLoaEmNvm1Qsyim0AuxEX7Xd9hGrqbtgpxr3RIkRScopH3DX3hMt10jcVthq1OEzKdev2UfhUTWFpx7iURWkUwgBv-By39XxX-BG9qnEPKCiOifv_aOQhzBrV3-UOgFkJK_yLZUmq_/s1600/16-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-gDLoaEmNvm1Qsyim0AuxEX7Xd9hGrqbtgpxr3RIkRScopH3DX3hMt10jcVthq1OEzKdev2UfhUTWFpx7iURWkUwgBv-By39XxX-BG9qnEPKCiOifv_aOQhzBrV3-UOgFkJK_yLZUmq_/s640/16-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Turn 17</h3>
<div>
Unless he wants to really surprise me, this is another K-Turn from Rexler. Nothing else for it but to hard turn and go for the kill, and hope I don't get killed first, since there's no way to get my shot and dodge his too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVw8wDbEzOAppRfmnUdYIyOcbogLQpDl7i7E70LOhESOQrXHieco7ZCriDWdzSg9ISvd0umYpRkXuA84qWpEqnJvEnYPASMsd5edMZanfH-OKOnyml51YTuItrAMCwH6OqhdfvGTlqs0an/s1600/17-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVw8wDbEzOAppRfmnUdYIyOcbogLQpDl7i7E70LOhESOQrXHieco7ZCriDWdzSg9ISvd0umYpRkXuA84qWpEqnJvEnYPASMsd5edMZanfH-OKOnyml51YTuItrAMCwH6OqhdfvGTlqs0an/s640/17-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 1 Hard Right, spend 1 Force to Boost Right, repair Fuel Leak</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Focus</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Mace (range 2), spends focus, Mace spends 2 Force, 1 hull damage, Rexler exposes Fuel Leak</li>
<li>Mace attacks Rexler (range 2), spends target lock, no damage</li>
</ul>
<div>
Even if I hadn't had to spend my Force on defense, this was only going to be around a 60% shot at a kill, but once the Force was gone, I was depending on too much luck. My target lock rerolls into blanks, and the game is now almost certainly lost.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn25yZy3zbdudnAW7MU8nZM6PXggxPMmeDsfyYgbzVNf2z8VPes88UkaqYTXClWKA5LHIlvQl6XVxjKm_F1_68BTgQV3gZJ3cRaOMhWCPlU9EoAvnHTM8xfxVbSnhw6j7zdEDLZ-0CJrM4/s1600/17-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn25yZy3zbdudnAW7MU8nZM6PXggxPMmeDsfyYgbzVNf2z8VPes88UkaqYTXClWKA5LHIlvQl6XVxjKm_F1_68BTgQV3gZJ3cRaOMhWCPlU9EoAvnHTM8xfxVbSnhw6j7zdEDLZ-0CJrM4/s640/17-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3>
Turn 18</h3>
<div>
Fleeing, grabbing a target lock when safe, and trying to get one last double modded shot down the line is wiser, but it's academic. No tournament game would still be going at this point, and even a formal VASSAL game would be done in one more turn. After 18 turns, I'm going to make my stand here and be done, one way or the other. Rexler will be K-Turning again, and if I somehow survive it and don't kill him this turn, I'll be tipping my king over regardless.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUoYS1DFzzieX4Q-O_4AgC4v4Zm5gZW_kDNzdbHJLfQZ1OjhhG1mIERF_H_Wy-8X4hlJAchu4blSlTueQ9G_5jQygC5tB2u7gcXSvjPi-ZkeTn7WQ1iqroTR2KBqK0xjqGYZmFHSYsfZ8/s1600/18-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="940" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUoYS1DFzzieX4Q-O_4AgC4v4Zm5gZW_kDNzdbHJLfQZ1OjhhG1mIERF_H_Wy-8X4hlJAchu4blSlTueQ9G_5jQygC5tB2u7gcXSvjPi-ZkeTn7WQ1iqroTR2KBqK0xjqGYZmFHSYsfZ8/s640/18-1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
Activation</h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Mace: 2 S-Loop Left, Stress, regain 1 Force (2 remaining)</li>
<li>Rexler: 4 K-Turn (free evade), Focus</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Combat</h4>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Rexler attacks Mace, 1+ hull damage, Mace dies.</li>
</ul>
<div>
The game ends in defeat, 155-200.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
<div>
It would be easy to point at a couple of those attack rolls that didn't quite break my way (such as turns 8 or 13) and point at those as reasons for my defeat, but that would really be letting myself off way too easy. The fact is, I made key mistakes at various times in the game that cost me from having situations where the odds would be strongly in favour of me securing a win.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think I probably deviated a bit too strongly from my opening plan by diving the rocks with Luminara and Mace. It forced me into fairly predictable maneuvers, and I ultimately lost Luminara without getting nearly as much value out of her as I needed to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I lost my focus near the end of the game and kept trying to push for a win instead of playing for a win several turns away. It was unnecessarily short-term thinking, leading me to grabbing tokens when I should have been fixing crits.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ultimately, I could sleep at night with how I played until around Turn 10, at which time I think I just keep making little positional errors and suboptimal decisions that result me in missing multiple opportunities to close the game out. I leave the door wide open for my opponent to take the win, and to his credit, he takes advantage of that opportunity.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I enjoyed the list, but I don't know that it's the best use of Aethersprites. The helpless feeling I was getting when going up against higher initiative ships with repositioning wasn't terribly encouraging, and with no bid, that could even be Anakin. I don't love the idea of being wantonly preyed upon by Supernatural Anakins with bids, or Soontir Fels, or Fenn Raus.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks for reading, please feel free to share your thoughts and observations in the comments below! What horrific misplays did I fail to identify? What made you angrily shout at your screen? Let me know!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-44245767936869056672019-04-17T19:14:00.002-04:002019-10-25T10:50:45.922-04:00Match Review - Maul/Dooku/Grievous vs. Rebel Beef<i>Welcome to an On The Rocks Match Review! As usual, this game was played online using the X-Wing module for VASSAL, which you can <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">learn more about here.</a></i><br />
<br />
<i>This was a recent match I played as part of the X-Wing Vassal League, a free-to-join league for online X-Wing play involving over hundreds players from around the world.</i><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<h4>
My list</h4>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Separatist%20Alliance&d=v6!h=200!334:204,,,,,,,216,:;272:204,,,,,,,,:;305:,,207,229:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Separatist%20Alliance&d=v6!h=200!334:204,,,,,,,216,:;272:204,,,,,,,,:;305:,,207,229:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a><br />
<br />
I’d flown this a couple times before this match, going back and forth between Impervium Plating on Grievous and Hull Upgrades on the Scimitars, so this match was part of that ongoing experiment. Maul’s double taps and Dooku’s cloaking hijinks are both pretty strong, and Grievous is generally pretty useful and occasionally resilient with the modification. I’m still trying to get a stronger feel for Dooku in particular, as well as how aggressively I can safely play Maul and Grievous; my prior match to this involved a one turn kill on Grievous that made me want to play a bit safer with him here.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Opponent's list</h4>
<a href="https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v6!s=200!33:,,46,61,,140:;32:,,61,,,140:;73:,,,,,:;5:132,,,,142:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=">https://raithos.github.io/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v6!s=200!33:,,46,61,,140:;32:,,61,,,140:;73:,,,,,:;5:132,,,,142:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=</a><br />
<br />
Not quite a standard Rebel beef list. Like many Rebel beef players, my opponent has added at least one named B-Wing to the list, supporting Braylen with Cassian to keep Braylen’s dial and actions open. Swarm Tactics Wedge is fairly common and usually fairly annoying; in many situations, this shuts off the opportunity for a key initiative kill, which means managing more incoming damage and possibly taxing tokens a bit more. The second U-Wing is more unusual; this list opts for two U-Wings, both with Tactical Officer for free action sharing, and Leia on Heff Tobber. The list is 200 points, but I don’t think the bid is particularly necessary for Wedge.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Opening strategy</h2>
Without Wedge and Braylen, the rest of this list doesn’t hit particularly hard and is manageable maneuver-wise by my ships, so my target priority is definitely on those two. I decide beforehand that I’ll tentatively prioritise Braylen first, but in hindsight this is almost certainly wrong; against my 1 agility ships, the damage output between these two is very comparable, and Braylen is tankier even without his rerolls (which in most cases should be assumed to always be live). Killing Wedge first shuts down Swarm Tactics, keeps Grievous a bit safer, and gives Maul more breathing room, with the biggest downside being that committing to Wedge might mean wasted turns from being arc dodged (bringing his survivability up again). Heff is my third priority target, but I’m not terribly scared of being punished by Leia once one of the heavy hitters is gone, so he is strictly a target of opportunity for me. Cassian is low priority in this match.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Deployment</h2>
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I like gas clouds with this list; neither force user minds missing an action too badly, and it gives my large ships more room to safely maneuver (as well as leverage that big 5 K-Turn). The biggest downside is it cuts down on decloaks for Dooku, but ideally he’s never doing a classic decloak anyway, once the action starts. My opponent brings big rocks, which is a pain for me.<br />
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I give him first player, which is mostly relevant at initiative 4. Grievous isn't the world's best arc dodger but it certainly is nice when he can pull it off.<br />
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Normally I corner my obstacles with this list, but after he sets his first rock against one edge but a bit further up field (1), I follow suit on the other side (2). I like this a bit better against Rebel beef and similar lists as it makes their list have to either move further up the board to turn in to the middle unless they decide to run along their starting edge. I corner my next obstacle (4), and then opt to place my last one near centre (6), again mostly to disrupt the Rebels if they choose to turn into the middle, as well as provide a relatively safe place for my Scimitars to turn around.<br />
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He sets up in the corner along the more open side of the board. I would have liked this side myself because it's a bit more open past the gas cloud in my corner, but this isn't too bad. I set up using the basic opening I've developed for this list, which allows me to slow roll with Maul and Grievous while allowing Dooku to be responsive to the opponent's opening and force confrontation.<br />
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You'll note that my opponent also deployed his lower initiative pilots closer to the outside and his higher initiative inside. This is typically somewhat to very problematic and you should probably avoid doing this unless you have a specific opening designed around it. If you've ever flown a TIE Swarm and put your Academy in the back corner and Howlrunner on the inside corner, you have probably learned this lesson already!<br />
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I'm pretty satisfied with Turn Zero here. I'm anticipating my opponent to run along the top of the board, which means I'll be hanging Dooku back while sprinting Maul and Grievous along the bottom and then up the opponent's starting edge to get behind them and at least force a Leia turn before the engagement, ideally eliminating the Leia advantage on the follow-up turn to the opening engage.<br />
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None of this comes to pass.<br />
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<h3>
Turn 1</h3>
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I decloak toward the bottom, and he turns into the middle with his first two ships, suggesting a plan to come up the middle through the obstacles. I consider whether this might actually mean a plan to come down his side of the board, but decide that if this was his plan, he would have Leia'd and 90 degree turned the U-Wings to keep them near the board edge. He's going to brave the obstacles, which is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. I don't see a need to deviate from my slow opening, so Dooku recloaks and Grievous blocks Maul as the rest of his ships confirm his intent to drive up the middle.<br />
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Of note, I could have decloaked towards the top to try to set up a flank, but I really want him to have to deal with Dooku before interacting with my other ships. I'm generally happy taking some early damage on Dooku in order to encourage the opponent to continue to commit to him later.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 2</h4>
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His ships continue into the middle; given their positioning, I see that his approach is off and he's going to have problems. Ah, the simple joys of flying mixed base sizes on different initiative counts through an obstacle field! I see the opportunity to get some damage on his ships before he can engage with everyone (Wedge is really clogged up by rocks and U-Wings and I don't anticipate him getting into the fray), so I decide that next turn I can be more aggressive than originally planned. I'd already abandoned the idea of running Maul and Grievous along the bottom in favour of the right board edge, anticipating the above issues, but now I start to plan for a more aggressive Grievous play the following turn.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 3</h4>
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I decloak Dooku right. I'd love to leave him cloaked, but I think he just won't get shot at (nor will he get to shoot), and since I think he won't be shot at by too many other ships, I'm happy to take a shot or two here uncloaked.<br />
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No Leia, but Heff still closes the wings and turns south while Cassian banks down toward Dooku. I'd love to lock Braylen here but he's too far, so I settle for the 1 agility Heff instead. I advance Grievous and try to eyeball the range; I'm not sure I'm shooting and boost up with focus. Being conservative might have been preferable but I didn't want to offer up too many free shots on Dooku. This does leave Grievous with somewhat awkward options for next turn, but my thinking is that even if I can't press against Braylen, pursuing Wedge might become viable.<br />
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Maul is too far back to do much but lock a gas cloud; 3 banking might have gotten him a shot, but it would have bumped Grievous had he not boosted, and I wasn't sure Grievous was going to be doing that boost or not. This is unfortunate but by no means a big deal. Wedge bumps for the third turn in a row but has incidentally gotten himself back to a near 45 degree angle with a few viable options for next turn (specifically, 2+ forward or 1 bank left).<br />
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Braylen opts to shoot Dooku and gets 2 shields, while Grievous shoots back and also scores 2 shields from the B-Wing. Cassian shoots Dooku, who natties out of any damage, and Dooku takes down Heff's shields; I spend my lock to do so, assuming that I'll perhaps be locking something else next turn anyway.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 4</h4>
Now that we're out of the opening and into the midgame, I'm not 100% on my opponent's plan this turn. Heff seems like he'll be turning in or banking into Cassian's rear end to clear stress; my thoughts are that he'll do the former so that Cassian can 1 bank into the middle. Wedge I anticipate either going fast forward or doing the bank, and my sense is that he'll bank to follow Braylen. Braylen I'm uncertain on; I would love to see the 2K here but I can't see him doing that, so I basically just decide to bring Grievous and Maul forward and assume one of them will bump.<br />
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I leave Dooku cloaked. I'm not sure if he's taken enough damage for my opponent to feel committed enough to shoot him while cloaked yet, but I worry about where the reposition+move will leave me given Wedge's position. A decloak left + forward is going to hit a gas cloud, and if I don't also bump a U-Wing, that's 2 to 3 shots coming into Dooku uncloaked.<br />
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Heff decides to keep stress and turn in, with Cassian going straight and coordinating focus to Braylen. I'm pretty happy with this, as Cassian's position for next turn is not ideal (and even this turn is not great for him). I bank into Heff with Dooku, denying one incoming shot. Seeing the lay of the land at this point, I anticipate that Wedge will be going 1 forward, smashing Dooku but allowing me a shot back into Cassian. Not ideal, but not awful.<br />
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I 2 forward with Grievous and decide to boost left, guaranteeing a shot on Heff and threatening Wedge. I also link a focus; this will be costly for next turn's options, but I want the damage badly, as a lucky break here could kill Heff. Braylen goes 4 forward with stress; I imagine he'll be clearing that stress with Cassian and Tallon rolling next turn. Maul goes 1 forward, doesn't bump, and locks Braylen. I consider locking Heff but decide to stick to my original plan. Getting half points on Braylen here seems fine either way. Wedge 1 forwards and focuses with no reposition, which makes Grievous' plan on who to attack straightforward!<br />
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Cassian shoots at I6 thanks to Swarm Tactics, opting to shoot at Maul, and I roll another double evade to avoid any pain. Wedge passes his shot; the Dooku cloak has worked out quite nicely.<br />
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Maul has a range 1 on Braylen and a range 3 on Heff. I start with Braylen, rolling a crit and three blanks. Spending the lock gives me Crit-hit-hit, and saves me any dilemmas on spending force. Braylen's reroll gets him an evade, but he's now at half points. Maul double taps into Heff and spends his third force on that attack to convert an eyeball for three hits total, resulting in 2 more damage to Heff (who is now at 3 hull). Braylen shoots back at Maul, knocking down 2 shields and giving Maul two force back.<br />
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Had Heff taken all 3 damage and been at 2 hull, I may have been tempted to shoot him with Grievous this turn. The shot is obstructed and I'm confident I'm in Heff's arc, which makes doing 3 damage a long shot (roughly 1-in-10 odds). I'll settle with smashing Wedge at range 2 (sporting a 92% chance of doing at least one damage). Unfortunately, my rerolls fail me and Wedge natties out (payback for all of my previous natural evades!), and I do no damage. Alas! Heff then shoots at Maul and costs me a force but no damage.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 5</h4>
All things considered, the opening has been favourable to my side. I've taken relatively little damage (just 2 shields off of both Scimitars) while getting half points on both the B-Wing and Heff. My Scimitars are both in decent position, although Grievous' stress is inconvenient. I just need to avoid making any major errors now!<br />
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Looking at the positions, I decide that this will be the Leia turn. I figure Heff will be rotating 180 degrees to shoot at Dooku's K-Turn. There's a possibility he goes 4 forward and hopes to fit in between Dooku and Braylen (in order to open up space for Wedge to advance), but I don't think I'm confident he can fit and so assume he isn't either. Cassian I expect to rotate 180 degrees. Braylen will presumably be Tallon rolling to his right or getting a coordinated barrel roll and K-Turning. Wedge is a mystery to me; he might go forward to try to occupy Dooku's current space, he might K-Turn into that same position, he might hard turn to the right to catch Dooku's K-Turn, or he might hard turn left and hope not to hit that rock. I'm not sure that he can do the latter.<br />
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Given the above, I decide to be fairly conservative. The Dooku K-Turn will leave me taking shots from at least two U-Wings, but only one will be modded. Wedge shooting Dooku would be unfortunate, but the cloak will hopefully keep him from getting too burned. Grievous should be safe to 2 bank in, hopefully smashing Heff's flank with a kill shot (and perhaps boosting in for a shot elsewhere if things don't go as predicted). I go back and forth on Dooku between the K-Turn and slooping right, but worry that Wedge hard turns and blocks the K-Turn; bumping on a red maneuver like that is disastrous for the Scimitars. I opt for the sloop as it looks to be basically unblockable.<br />
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Things do not go according to plan.<br />
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Activation begins with no Leia. This is alarming. Heff banks left 3, scraping by the asteroid with no damage, and now I panic, as he's parked right on top of the landing site for my unblockable Maul sloop. It's a disaster, largely caused by putting a bit too much certainty on my predictions for the turn. Cassian banks left, which I also wasn't expecting but am not terribly concerned about. It does, however, put a gas cloud between him and Dooku, and his position is now much less hampered by the obstacles.<br />
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Dooku K-Turns safely (that one <i>was</i> unblockable, at least), and Braylen does the K-Turn. I hadn't thought it would fit, but it's not a huge deal at any rate. I bank in with Grievous, leaving him right in front of Wedge. It would block a 1 forward, but I don't think he's going to do that, so I boost left, which blocks a few of Wedge's potential moves to pursue Dooku as well as sets him up nicely for next turn.<br />
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Maul bumps with stress, which is as disastrous as I feared, leaving him being shot at by at least the B-Wing and doomed to be irrelevant for the next few turns, if not the rest of his life. I catch a break as Wedge 4 forwards, just barely clipping the gas cloud.<br />
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It turns out that only Braylen shoots, and he rolls very poorly. Maul spends a force but takes no damage. Numbers-wise, I'm no worse off, but positionally I have all but lost my heaviest hitter.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 6</h4>
Maul's entire plan has now changed. The goal is no longer to deal damage en masse, it is now to waste as many opponent attacks as possible before dying. Grievous and Dooku will need to play a bit more aggressively in order to secure some kills before I lose Maul for good and the opponent snowballs.<br />
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Predicting this turn is generally straightforward; I assume that basically all three non-Heff ships are going to chase Maul in some capacity. Heff is the real question mark; I would love to be able to at least get a target lock this turn so that if Maul is intact next turn, he can do some damage before he goes. Once again, the question is whether or not this will be a Leia turn, and whether or not Heff will try to clear stress. I'm really uncertain about any of it, so I dial a 3 forward for Maul and hope that it at least gets some distance from Cassian to mitigate at least one shooter. As for my other ships, I've got limited options unless Dooku decloaks to swerve out of the way of Grievous, so I plan for that, looking to turn them both toward the centre of the board and kill some ships (or at least retake a more dominant board position).<br />
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I decloak right with Dooku (jamming Cassian with the title) and go one forward; I would have gone faster but I wasn't sure if the decloak would put me far enough south to hit that asteroid, so I'd dialled safe. Heff banks left, and for the second time I'm caught a bit flatfooted from the U-Wing (although I really have no excuse this time). Cassian hard turns into Maul and clears the jam, while Dooku moves one forward and locks. I'm not entirely certain where Braylen will be going, but the gas cloud will prevent Wedge from having any actions, so I know he'll be in Dooku's arc, and so he gets the target lock.<br />
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Braylen advances 3 forward and focuses, and I once again kick myself for my poor Maul dial; the 2 bank right would have been far better, even though ultimately it would have bumped too! Grievous hard turns toward the board centre with a focus, and Maul bumps into Heff (we both forget to give Heff an action here, although I'm not certain he had anyone close enough to coordinate, so it costs him perhaps a target lock). Wedge then does a 2 hard left, bumping into Cassian.<br />
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Braylen shoots Maul at I6, just barely catching the Scimitar in arc, stripping the rest of Maul's shields. Wedge adds a crit, leaving Maul with a Weapons Failure; my thought is that getting Maul another shot alone is a problem, let alone getting full dice.<br />
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Grievous has range 2 shots on all three ships, and here I decide to shoot Braylen. I strongly consider shooting Wedge, given his lack of tokens, but the follow-up shot from Dooku would be obstructed by the gas cloud, so I opt to focus down Braylen and hopefully finish him this turn, although given the reerolls, it's a long shot.<br />
<br />
Grievous gets 2 damage in on Braylen. Cassian shoots at Maul and deals 2 more there, leaving the Scimitar at 3 hull. Dooku shoots at Braylen at R3 and ends up doing no damage, so Braylen survives with 2 hull. I begin to seriously revisit my pregame strategy of taking down Braylen first!<br />
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<h4>
Turn 7</h4>
Maul is basically doomed, unless I can really catch the opponent off guard here. I have to assume that Heff is either banking left to block my sloop right and perhaps my K-Turn (which I'm pretty sure wouldn't fit anyway), and the other sloop leaves Maul really vulnerable and unable to take a meaningful last shot, thanks to the Weapons Failure. The best I can do here is to dial something lousy enough not to bother blocking/pursuing and hope to regroup and get one more shot in this game.<br />
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Grievous and Dooku are in a slightly awkward position. I once again just generally assume that Braylen, Wedge, and Cassian will be advancing to finish Maul, and decide to have them both bank in (3 bank left for Grievous, 2 bank left for Dooku). Dooku will lose an action, but I'm locked on Wedge, so that's pretty much fine. There's a possibility that this is a Leia turn and those ships turn to shoot at Dooku/Grievous, but I decide this is an acceptable risk, and given my maneuvers, I'll likely be bumping enough that the fire will be split and it will be a relatively even exchange if it does happen.<br />
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Heff does a 2 hard left, removing one Maul attacker, and Cassian bumps to go nowhere. Dooku banks in, landing in front of the rock and almost bumping Wedge (not that this would have changed anything). Braylen advances 3 forward takes a focus, and barrel rolls left; my opponent was anticipating Maul to sloop left or hard turn left? My hope for Maul's survival begins to climb, with an unmodded Cassian shot the sole threat so far.<br />
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Grievous 3 banks in, clipping the gas cloud by a pixel and losing his action. Maul hard turns right, repairing the Weapons Failure in a moment of optimism. Wedge performs a 2 hard left, bumping Cassian. This is a disastrous error for Wedge; had Grievous been able to focus, there would have been a very real chance of Wedge dying (35%), but even as it stands, Wedge has a 17% chance of getting one-turn killed.<br />
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Cassian shoots at I6, dealing a single crit, a Fuel Leak. It's a fatal draw for me; Wedge follows up with another single crit getting through, which pops the fuel leak and does exactly fatal damage to Maul. A single bumped sloop has indeed doomed Maul to die without ever shooting again!<br />
<br />
Grievous attacks Wedge at range 1, rolling a crit and three eyeballs; the gas cloud has cost me badly. I reroll into a final roll of hit-crit, which both go through to strip Wedge's shields. Dooku follows up with 2 more hits and a crit, but it's a Disabled Power Regulator, and so Wedge survives with one hull remaining. I hem and haw on whether to spend a force to take an action with Dooku after this shot, but that would be my last remaining force, and I don't want to be on zero force next turn (although in hindsight, the anticipated init 6 attacks would have fixed that problem next turn). I strongly considered cloaking to set up my next turn, but ultimately chose not to.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 8</h4>
Losing Maul has undone a lot of the early advantage I had from the favourable opening; where I might have been able to snowball early, I'm now needing to kill ships quickly in order to stabilise and move to a winnable endgame. An annoying trait of this list is that none of the ships are particularly ideal endgame ships. Maul is close, at I5, but he's also most likely to be dead. Grievous 1v1's fairly well and Dooku can close things out, depending on the initiative of his opponent, but both of these ships have weaknesses that can be exploited. In 1v1's versus more maneuverable ships, they will struggle to find a way to win.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, in this game, there are no hyper-maneuverable ships in play. At this point, my priorities are essentially to kill Wedge this turn (before he can really start putting the damage on), and get Braylen either this turn or soon after for the same reason. If I can make it to an end game of Grievous and Dooku versus one or two U-Wings, it should be a straightforward finish from there. If I lose one of these two ships before getting rid of both Braylen and Wedge, the game is probably lost.<br />
<br />
After 8 turns and a few incorrect guesses, this is the turn that I am absolutely betting on seeing Leia. I predict a Wedge K-Turn, and work backward from there; Cassian likely sits and rotates (probably to face west, possibly to face north), Braylen hard turns into the middle of the board (or Tallon rolls to his right), and Heff either parks and rotates or hard turns to the left. Working with the above assumptions (and considering a few variants of them), my Grievous decision is relatively straightforward: I'll 3 sloop right and likely be in only Wedge's arc. Dooku's options are more limited, but to get the angle I want, I decide that I'll need to just bump Grievous and stay where I am. This might mean shots from all four opponent ships (depending on Heff and Braylen). It's not ideal, but I don't see better options.<br />
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<br />
Finally, Leia is activated! As anticipated, Heff stops and turns, as does Cassian. Dooku bumps. Braylen does the hard turn, focuses, and fails a barrel roll right; the Tallon Roll would have been better for him, and as it stands, this not only keeps me safe from Braylen for a turn but possibly opens up a chance for Grievous to shoot if I call an audible on his target. Grievous sloops, and Wedge K-Turns and focuses. I'm a few die rolls from either losing this game outright or climbing back into the driver's seat.<br />
<br />
Swarm Tactics'd up to I6, Cassian shoots at Dooku at R1 to begin. I catch a break as he rolls blanks on two dice, and Dooku ends up down to 1 shield, spending and regaining one of his two force. A further lucky break, as Wedge shoots at Dooku and rolls two blanks and an eyeball, saving his focus for defence.<br />
<br />
Grievous now has two options: take a range 2 shot at Wedge that will probably kill him, or leave Wedge for Dooku and take a swing at Braylen, probably doing 1 damage and possibly killing him. I decide to play for the big turn and shoot at Braylen. My 3 hits run into two natural evades (although with his dice mods, this was very likely anyway), bringing Braylen down to 1 hull. Dooku fires at Wedge, rolling 2 hits; Wedge rolls only one evade, and dies! Dooku spends a force for a celebratory cloak token, but still takes two damage from the subsequent Cassian attack, dropping Dooku to 5 hull (and spending a force to get rid of the stress from cloaking).<br />
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<h4>
Turn 9</h4>
With Wedge gone, I can breathe a little (but only a little). Barring a misplay, I'm looking to kill Braylen this turn (but I'll settle for Heff). I'm not sure that either Heff or Cassian will be moving this turn; I predict both will be opening their wings and parking, although I'm more certain about that with Cassian than I am with Heff. A Braylen hard turn in seems likely as well.<br />
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It's a turn where, if I'm not careful, I could lose Dooku very quickly, so I choose to leave him cloaked and dare the opponent to either shoot me and let me fire back or let me target lock and prepare for a more favourable engagement. In the meantime, Grievous can do some work with some sense of safety. With full shields and both Impervium Plating charges, I don't see these three ships annihilating him in one turn.<br />
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Leaving Dooku parked, and anticipating a Braylen turn in, I decide to do a hard turn of my own to hopefully block Braylen and deny him an action (as well as a shot on Dooku).<br />
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Heff opts to 1 bank left toward Grievous and focus, while Cassian does indeed open his wings and park. I do a hard 2 left with Dooku, missing the asteroid by a hair. I grab a lock, going back and forth on who to lock before settling on Braylen and accepting that it might not get used before Braylen dies. Braylen does 1 bank to the right. He and Heff were maybe trying to catch Dooku on a 5K? He focuses and punts on a barrel roll to get stress. Grievous tries to execute a 2 bank to the right. I'd suspected it would be a bump, but I needed to clear stress and didn't fancy going to straight and sitting in front of a parked Cassian, so this is acceptable.<br />
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Braylen shoots first, firing at Grievous from range 2 and taking out the Belbullab's shields (but spending his focus in the process). I return fire and get a the outcome I needed, a hit and crit result to finish off Braylen (after 9 long turns of trying!). Heff and Cassian both do no damage on their attacks (Dooku spends a force in the process), and the momentum has swung wildly in my direction.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 10</h4>
My opponent is in real trouble now. He'll need to get a few lucky attacks in order to kill one of my ships, and even then, his U-Wings are not well suited to closing. As long as I play cautiously and take my time, I should be able to close things out.<br />
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This is a regrouping turn for me as I've sacrificed board position to kill Wedge and Braylen. I'm not confident that I can fit a 2 sloop to the right with Dooku (I check after, it's close but would have indeed been a collision), so he'll hard turn left to set up for a sloop or K-Turn the following turn. I'm a bit more aggressive with Grievous, dialling a hard 1 to the right. It's absolutely safe from Cassian, and if he decides to park and rotate with Heff, it's a kill shot. If he parks and leaves his wings open, it's still an exchange of fire I'm happy with, given the rest of the board and our health totals. If he moves ahead, it's a bump, and I'm good to sloop the following turn.<br />
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Heff does indeed go 1 forward with a focus, and Cassian does a 1 bank right, bumping into Dooku. Dooku 3 hard's to the left, not quite getting behind the asteroid, which is unfortunate but fine. I grab a target lock on Cassian, operating under the assumption that Grievous will finish Heff soon. Grievous's hard turn does bump Heff (who coordinates a focus on Cassian), which leaves Grievous with a range 1 shot on Cassian.<br />
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Grievous takes two shields off of Cassian, Cassian does no damage to Dooku, and the turn ends otherwise uneventfully.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 11</h4>
Things are getting pretty straightforward now as the we move into the endgame. With my lock and full force (and some unexpected shield damage from last turn), I'm ready to decloak and start shooting with Dooku again. Grievous's 3 sloop to the right is also relatively safe, and I should be able to get an ability-modded shot on one of the U-Wings, unless they Leia and rotate to get Grievous. If they do, Grievous is in a bit of danger. It's probably a bit riskier than I need to be, given the board state.<br />
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I decloak left with Dooku. Opponent activates Leia and rotates both U-Wings; fortunately for Grievous, he opts to rotate them to cover both of my attackers, and Heff is pointed toward the middle of the board, setting up a modded shot for Grievous after his sloop. I'll take it! Dooku sloops as well.<br />
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Grievous proceeds to completely whiff on his shot to Heff, doing no damage. Fortunately, Cassian whiffs as well. Dooku fares a bit better, rolling a natural 2 hits and a crit, saving me from having to worry about spending the lock. This results in a crit going through: a Weapons Failure for Cassian, who is now at half points.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 12</h4>
With Leia down and Cassian sporting a crit, I'm hoping to kill a U-Wing this turn. Dooku's 2 forward is a pretty simple decision; if he catches something in his arc, he'll be hoping to kill or seriously wound it. Grievous doesn't have wonderful options, so I just dial in a 2 bank to the left. Best case, I'm sitting behind Heff with a kill shot, but more likely I'm bumping a U-Wing. With two U-Wings and one Grievous, I'm happy to be at range 0 of one of them regardless, as there's no need for me to expedite this game at this point.<br />
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Heff does a 2 bank right with focus, while Cassian does a 1 forward and focuses. It's a setup turn that I wasn't quite anticipating. It also works out perfectly for me. Dooku advances 2 forward and focuses, for lack of a better action (an annoying Scimitar problem sometimes). Grievous's 2 bank just barely bumps, resulting in the anticipated range 0, but with an unexpected bonus: I'm now at range one of Heff, and out of his arc!<br />
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Grievous's range 1 shot rolls well, but not quite well enough for the kill, leaving Heff at one hull. Similarly, Dooku's obstructed shot from downtown pings off a single hull from Cassian, leaving him at 3. Both U-Wings are now in very real danger of dying on any given turn.<br />
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<h4>
Turn 13</h4>
None of the U-Wings decisions on turn really impact my choices: if they flee, I'll react to that on the next turn, and if they turn around, they'll be at 1 agility and doomed. Dooku's 3 bank left is forced by the large asteroid near him, and his final position then forces Grievous to sloop left.<br />
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<br />
Both U-Wings close wings and rotate. It's a desperation move, but there really are no other winning options for the Rebel player.<br />
<br />
Grievous shoots Heff, rolling exactly one hit, but it's enough; the U-Wing blanks on his green and Heff is gone. Cassian smokes Dooku with a hit and a crit (costing me half points on Dooku at the end), but the Crit is inconsequential as Dooku responds with a double modded shot. It's three hits and a crit, and Cassian follows Heff to the grave. I win, 200 to 102.<br />
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<h2>
Closing Thoughts and Lessons Learned</h2>
I've previously held a high opinion of U-Wings; on paper they read as outclassing the B-Wing in almost every way. However, in practise, they're awfully clumsy, difficult to fly in multiples, and feel like sitting ducks far too often. I'm not sure I'm convinced that the presence of a second Tactical Officer is worth bringing a second U-Wing over something more functional (unless perhaps it's my favourite sleeper U-Wing, Bodhi Rook!).<br />
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This is (rather embarrassingly) not the first time I've bumped on a sloop or K-Turn with the Scimitar, and both times it's been an absolute disaster that has basically obliterated any relevance the ship had for the rest of that game. The moment it happens, your Scimitar becomes an outflanked Upsilon shuttle, and all the force in the world doesn't change the fact that you're only rolling one green die. It's a common enough danger, given the size of the Scimitar (and would probably be even more of a problem if I wasn't taking gas clouds to at least leave some options open).<br />
<br />
So, the sloop was bad, and it was a good reminder to consider the whole dial of the opponent, even if a ship is stressed and even if the maneuvers will go through obstacles.<br />
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I definitely think my target priority would be Wedge before Braylen, having seen both in action. Both are very dangerous, but Wedge dies a little easier, and he's also much more self-reliant in and endgame (should he survive that long) compared to Braylen.<br />
<br />
Finally, I probably played a touch more aggressively than I needed to in the end. I was eager to close out the game and probably gave up unnecessary MOV on Dooku in the process.<br />
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Also, I'm not sold on this list. There's no convincing endgame closer, but there also isn't always enough critical mass to just bludgeon the way to a victory. If the early game goes poorly, it's very difficult to claw back into the game. I think it's a playable list but I'm not sure if I'm convinced with its consistency, and I think it has exploitable weaknesses.<br />
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It's awful fun, though!<br />
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Thanks for reading, please feel free to share your thoughts and observations in the comments below! Did I make a horrible blunder? What would you have done differently? Let me know!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-7583316480651837552019-04-17T09:43:00.000-04:002019-10-25T10:50:59.822-04:00On BatRepsI don't love them.<br />
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Thanks for visiting my blog, don't forget to like, comment, and share, and be sure to subscribe for more updates!<br />
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...<br />
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Okay, let me clarify. I don't love 5 minute summaries of tournament matches on podcast episodes, or two paragraph summaries of games with a random photo from the middle of the game showing that one time when everybody's ships bumped all at once.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, I think these are fun. I'm glad to see people sharing experiences they had playing this game. I enjoy hearing about bad beats or unexpected wins as much as the next guy. People can and should keep doing these!<br />
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But I won't be doing that here.<br />
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The traditional BatRep is fun (even the word is camel case, which practically guarantees fun), but it doesn't always offer a lot in terms of insight into the game. It's hard to glean much from a typical batrep beyond a general sense of how well (or poorly) the game went, how the dice rolls went, and in some cases, some stray observations on strategy.<br />
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What I'll be doing is something a little less fun, a lot more long-winded, and hopefully a bit more valuable purely in terms of driving strategy and tactics discussion. Because nothing drives web traffic like long-winded strategy discussions!<br />
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In my game reviews, I'm going to try to take the time to discuss the lists, examine how I planned to approach the match, and walk through obstacle placement and deployment. I'll be walking through my thought process on each turn, including why I did what I did, what alternatives I considered, what I was anticipating, and most importantly (and occasionally most embarrassingly), where I went wrong.<br />
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Because, as you're going to see, I go wrong so, so very often.<br />
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I'm hoping this format is informative and useful, and that players at all levels will be able to get at least something from these. At worst, you can marvel at my mistakes, if not learn from them. Everyone likes to watch a train wreck once in a while, and I'll be sharing those here right alongside the times I'm able to pull out a win.<br />
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For the purpose of ease of illustration, I'll be using VASSAL for most or all of these. VASSAL is one of several ways to play X-Wing online, and you can learn all about VASSAL (and the wonderful VASSAL League) <a href="https://xwvassal.info/">right here</a>. There are also various videos on YouTube that go through the finer points of Vassal; new ones get posted often as VASSAL gets updated, so I encourage you to look for a fairly recent one. And if you haven't already played on VASSAL, dive in! The community is generally very friendly and willing to help out a newcomer, and what seems like a daunting interface will become second nature after only one or two games.<br />
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I hope you'll all follow along with my matches in review! I'm looking forward to some great discussions (and probably some chuckles at my own expense). Don't forget to let me know if there's a list you'd like to see me play!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9097386882707984653.post-14540500738518468102019-04-15T22:45:00.000-04:002019-10-25T10:51:13.133-04:00The best TIE Reaper isn't the one you've been usingThe TIE Striker's bigger, chunkier brother, the TIE Reaper, offers an interesting option for a 3-die attacker to Imperial lists, as well as a crew carrier with a very different combat profile than the Lambda. If you've flown Imperial in Hyperspace, you've probably used the Reaper. If you're like many tournament players, you've probably been using Major Vermeil.<br />
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But is Vermeil really your best option?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The TIE Reaper in general</span></h2>
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Given the nature of how it moves, it's difficult to find a clear comp for the Reaper with other ships. Durability wise, it's exactly the same as a Y-Wing; you can reasonably expect to survive 4 single-modded 3-die attacks, and you can reasonably expect to be dead by the 6th attack. Given how hull-heavy it is, incoming crits might expedite that (or neuter the ships effectiveness). If you directly joust something like 5 Ion Y-Wings or a 6 TIE Swarm, <b>you are going to die</b> in the opening engagement the majority of the time. Lists that aren't quite so alpha-strike based might not kill you in one turn, but it's absolutely a possibility against most 4+ ship lists or 3+ alpha strike lists currently in the meta.</div>
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The dial is generally bad (especially if you played the Reaper in first edition). The lack of any white hard turns is a huge pain and needs to be carefully planned around. The hard stop is very situational, especially for the higher initiative Reapers. Unless you're playing your Reaper extremely conservative, you'll often be able to just bump something to accomplish the same goal, with the added benefit of not stressing yourself. The sloops are incredibly useful (but the lack of the Striker's K-Turn can also be annoying).<br />
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All of the above maneuvers, however, result in a stressed Reaper. Unless you've coordinated tokens to your Reaper beforehand, this can leave your ship very vulnerable. Parking a stressed Reaper inside multiple arcs is a <i>very</i> quick way to get rid of your Reaper!<br />
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Where stress does come in handy is in shutting down your ailerons. Again, if you're even roughly planning ahead a turn, you might have some sense on how fast or slow you'll need to be going on that turn, and if that plan involves going slow, you'll want to be stressed if possible. This can also be helpful in trying to maintain some semblance of formation, but it should be stressed that formation flying is very problematic in general given the medium base and the ailerons; take this into consideration if your list requires the Reaper to be within close range of one or more of your other ships for a prolonged period.<br />
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You've got Evade (which is occasionally nice, especially if your Reaper is functioning as a crew carrier), but you don't have Lock. This means that the typical TIE Reaper is not going to be double-modding many shots, which needs to be taken into consideration if your list depends on the Reaper to be doing a significant amount of the damage legwork. Unlike the Lambda, you also don't have Reinforce, which makes this ship die far faster than the shuttle.<br />
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The white Jam action is occasionally useful, mostly when there will be no exchange of fire in either direction for the Reaper. Very rarely, you might find a situation where jamming a key target lock might be able to prevent a ship from dying, or where jamming of a reinforce enables the rest of your list to do some work, but in practice, these situations are not common (and trying to manufacture them is likely a losing play). Jam is basically the action you'll be taking when you essentially have nothing better to do.<br />
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The Coordinate action is interesting for the Reaper, as it's an option to stress your ship without doing a red maneuver. Remember that even if you bring a Tactical Officer, the option is there to take the red Coordinate regardless. It's also worth noting that the Reaper is currently the cheapest way to get Coordinate into an Imperial list.<br />
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This is a fine ship for bringing gas clouds. Flying through a gas cloud with your ailerons maneuver and then doing your real maneuver and still having an action is great. Slooping onto gas clouds is great. Surviving attacks is great. The more points you're sinking into your Reaper, the more you should consider bringing gas clouds.<br />
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Stress control elements are awful to Reapers. Things like 4-LOM or Asajj will ruin your day. A perpetually stressed Reaper is a very slow, very juicy target.<br />
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<h3>
The Scarif Base Pilot</h3>
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It's fine? Basically, if you want to bring support crew into your list and want to do it as cheap as absolutely possible, this is your ship. It's also a decent enough 3-die attacker if you want something a bit less fragile than a Striker or an Interceptor.</div>
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At a similar price point in Hyperspace (at present), the generic Tempest Squadron TIE Adv x1 and the Barrage Rocket TIE Bomber can fill similar roles with various pros and cons, most notably that both of those ships are way less of a pain in the butt to maneuver in multiples. In Extended, the Imdaar Test Pilot is an even better 3-die attacker in this rough price range, and the Lambda is a much clunkier but more resilient ship overall.</div>
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Also, if you've ever wistfully looked at Ruthless and wanted to explore building around it, this is probably a pretty good ship to support your Ruthless carrier(s).</div>
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"Vizier"</h3>
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<img alt="Image result for âVizierâ reaper" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/c/cb/Swx75_card2_vizier.png/revision/latest?cb=20180615175334" width="229" /></div>
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Vizier's not a bad Reaper, really. It's possibly even a good Reaper! But it's a Reaper that doesn't often find a home in lists. It's a named Reaper that isn't tanky like Feroph, doesn't hit hard like Vermeil, and still isn't the cheapest way to get a Reaper into your list.</div>
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The ability is good, although you will bump your ailerons maneuver a non-zero number of times. However, especially on an opening engagement, it's not the worst plan to aileron forward, coordinate a friend, and then do a 3-forward/3-bank to set up a big blocker for the rest of your list. In this way, Vizier could be a good supporter for something like a mid-Initiative ordnance carrier or a non-Vader x1 pilot like Maarek Stele.</div>
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There frankly aren't a lot of lists where you want a Reaper and Vizier is your best option, but especially in a situation where you are looking for some combination of blocker and coordinator, there are worse ideas to explore.</div>
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Major Vermeil</h3>
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<img height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/4/4c/Reaper_Vermeil.png/revision/latest?cb=20180913204450" width="229" /></div>
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Definitely the most popular Reaper at present. A non-fragile 3-die attacker with a built in chance for attack mods at a moderate initiative level is pretty good, it turns out!</div>
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Major Vermeil is certainly a very solid pilot. He fits very well in the 4-ship Imperial archetype, where you really need decent offensive output from 3+ ships, and usually there are higher initiative attackers who will be able to help clear green tokens way for Vermeil's ability to get value. In that list, Vermeil's also generally durable enough to eat some shots while your flanking element(s) do their thing, while still being enough of a threat that he can't quite be ignored. Mid- to late-game, Vermeil can still be an annoying body in the middle of the board to clog up the works, but you definitely want to avoid situations where Vermeil is your end game ship.</div>
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The important thing to watch is that Vermeil's ability is by no means a given. Lists with token stacking are going to deny the heck out of Vermeil. If Vermeil is your highest initiative pilot, you're a bit less likely to see the ability go off. On the other hand, the presence of Vermeil might encourage your opponent to focus when they would rather lock, which isn't the worst outcome.</div>
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Jamming purely to enable Vermeil is situational but probably wrong in the vast majority of scenarios; don't Jam unless the Vermeil bonus is a happy coincidence or you've already got a focus from another source. The point of Vermeil is to be doing ability+focus shots for an 84% change at getting three hits (and a 74% chance at 4 hits at R1). </div>
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Captain Feroph</h3>
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<img alt="Image result for captain feroph" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures-second-edition/images/5/5a/Reaper_Feroph.png/revision/latest?cb=20180913204436" width="229" /></div>
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Yes, in my opinion, it is Captain Feroph and not Major Vermeil who holds the title of best Reaper.</div>
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Feroph's ability is far more consistent than Vermeil since it takes effect <i>after </i>the ship firing at Feroph would spend its token. That hit-hit-eyeball result that would have quite likely resulted in three damage to any other Reaper is two (or possibly even one!) damage to Feroph. In practice, this means Feroph survives one more attack than her Reaper peers.</div>
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This also means that there is much less interest in shooting at Feroph, a ship that can only single mod its own attacks and can result in a lot of frustrating attacks for the ships shooting at it. Here, then, is a crew carrier worth using, especially in Hyperspace. Carrying something like Death Troopers, for instance, creates a dilemma for your opponent: leaving Feroph alive won't kill them (at least no faster than any other single mod 3-die attacker) so shooting her feels wrong, but leaving the Death Troopers online isn't exactly ideal either.</div>
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So Feroph's the best, then?</h2>
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Maybe. It depends. Sometimes.</div>
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Feroph is great if you're bringing strong crew. In Hyperspace, currently there aren't a lot of options. Palpatine's not legal. Krennic is iffy (but probably worth at least experimenting with). A list that really capitalizes on Ciena Ree and justifies her cost hasn't materialized. Vader's quite good, but expensive. Death Troopers are usually good, and occasionally very good. </div>
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If you're looking to the Reaper purely for damage output at a reasonable rate, Vermeil is still the better choice. Death Troopers works here too, but bear in mind that Vermeil is already going to be the first target for your opponent, and as mentioned above, many lists can deal with Vermeil very quickly.<br />
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Scarifs are good if you want or have need of 3 attack dice and bulk. Vizier has niche applications.<br />
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What about upgrades?</h2>
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Death Troopers are pretty good disruption and really hamper ships that want to be stressed often. Named B-Wings, RZ-2 A-Wings, Poe, Nien Nunb, Kylo, and Soontir all tend to finish a lot of turns stressed. Death Troopers can force some awkward re-engages for these ships. For non stress-dependent ships, it can still be a huge pain to deal with, although some lists will be pretty resistant to Death Troopers (bulky Republic lists, for instance). Flying to maximize Death Troopers is a slightly different style of Reaper playing so practice and adjust accordingly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMH84RhO2kvq1CPg9HYJRmiKGjAahtA3G9UVKuahShY3fBJD0jjZBKrp_FFsdRk1rd5XVUlXne3aVsPfowVa1fU_S1hEr_iDyO5pCxvYVvvWmfWL_UBTvF6rOqtBDvW8LlZQ86pODl9Ro8/s1600/deathtrooperbaddies.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="500" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMH84RhO2kvq1CPg9HYJRmiKGjAahtA3G9UVKuahShY3fBJD0jjZBKrp_FFsdRk1rd5XVUlXne3aVsPfowVa1fU_S1hEr_iDyO5pCxvYVvvWmfWL_UBTvF6rOqtBDvW8LlZQ86pODl9Ro8/s400/deathtrooperbaddies.png" width="400" /></a>Tactical Officer is good if you're looking for a Coordinator, and is especially nice on Feroph or SBP. Again, look at the other ships in your list and determine how feasible keeping a Reaper near them throughout the game will be. The TIE Advanced x1, for instance, is always hungry for more actions, especially with the named pilots. However, format dependent, you may find the Lambda more suited to the list.</div>
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Vader combos obviously with Vermeil, but also adds more eggs to a relatively killable basket. Krennic has some merit, but don't take it with the expectation that you'll get a ton of value from the Optimized Prototype part of the deal.</div>
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In Extended, Feroph shines as a great carrier for Admiral Sloane and a fine carrier for Emperor Palpatine. Seventh Sister can work on Feroph or Vermeil but mostly only makes sense if the rest of your list is lower initiative. Agent Kallus on Feroph seems questionable but might work.</div>
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ISB Slicers seem quite bad. Other crew don't seem particularly compelling on this ship either. Minister Tua is downright awful on the Reaper (unless you like uselessly lurching around the board like a bad first edition Lambda).</div>
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Trick Shot is generally good and especially good if you plan on bringing gas clouds and slooping behind them (in order to somewhat mitigate the downside on your attacks). Juke is probably a trap on Vermeil and just a bad idea on Feroph. The bullseye talents (i.e. Predator, Crack Shot, Marksmanship) are all pretty unrealistic on the Reaper (although I've admittedly found myself tempted to throw Crack Shot on Vermeil in the past).</div>
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Hull Upgrade is usable on Vermeil and possibly pretty good on Feroph, but not at the expense of more important pilots/upgrades elsewhere in your list.</div>
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<h2>
That's it!</h2>
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Thanks for reading! If you have a great Reaper build, some general Reaper thoughts, or an elegant Reaper-themed haiku, please share them in the comments!</div>
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