Gearing up for Springfield and Firesprays in 2nd Ed?

So…  Just over a month until the Springfield Hyperspace Trial and I have the standard list set:

Anakin Obi Wan Ric2 (199)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	62
R2 Astromech	6
Delta-7B	20
Ship Total: 88
Half Points: 44 Threshold: 3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Sense	5
R2-A6	6
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
Daredevil	3
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 49
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 3

With the “Republic Ace” list…  Anakin is the solid hammer of the list, surprisingly Obi-Wan is really slippery and likely to survive to the end if I do not mess up and let him get caught…  Ric is mostly a fast distraction.  “Neat”, but not really much of a threat overall…  Mind, if you DO ignore him, I will run a flank and he’ll likely have a nice fully modded 4 Dice Attack with which to punish you for ignoring him…  Pretty standard, but I think more and more people are learning how to deal with the Ace builds these days and frankly Swarms or “Beef en masse” are things I am really rather a bit concerned about…  3 FAST ships, but none REALLY hit all that hard, and not for long if they cannot dodge Arcs…

Got to watch a Dual Firespray list last weekend at one of the events, I’ll have to go back and re-watch it to see what they did…  But it got me thinking and I dug out my 2 Firesprays and:

Boba Emon 1 (198)

Boba Fett — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	85
Lone Wolf	5
IG-88D	3
Proximity Mines	6
Slave I	2
Ship Total: 101
Half Points: 51 Threshold: 5
Emon Azzameen — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	74
Trick Shot	4
Cad Bane	4
Proximity Mines	6
Andrasta	4
Proton Bombs	5
Ship Total: 97
Half Points: 49 Threshold: 5

Different than the one I saw on Gold Squadron’s Stream, but I think the Bombs Emon can chuck about while getting the Red Boost from Cad Bane might make him fast enough to really punish anyone who wants to try to run him down.  Makes him sort of my End Game ship as Boba Fett is a REALLY solid hammer…  But he dies in the exchange.  Trick of course is to take out more than he costs one the way down…  Slave 1, 88D and Lone Wolf should make him a lot more difficult to deal with overall…  And the Proximity Mines are just dirty for a close in knife fighter like him…  If I can overrun something, smack it at Range 1, then drop the Mine on it before it can move away for the guaranteed 1 Damage and potential 2 more?  Yes Please… 

Of course, I ran a LOT of Firesprays in First Edition…  And I know exactly how easy they are to Arc Dodge and eventually kill…  The v2 Firesprays ARE a bit different, and I am really liking the movement options I have here…  At the very least I think it will be fun and something unexpected for a lot of the folks I end up facing...

Post interview workouts and gearing up for the Hyperspace Trial...

Well, after the West Texas did not come through, I got back to being more serious with my workouts again.  Not QUITE the “divorce body” effect, but I suppose the same basic effect.  The adage of “just keep moving, you’ll be fine” hitting me again.  So, I am working out 6 day/week and seeing my run times drop almost every run and each workout gets slightly easier and getting in more reps.  Not at all concerned about the weight as I suspect strongly that it will sort itself out as it were.  I suppose I’ll check at some point, but at this point feeling stronger, having my clothes fit far more loosely and the like I suspect I’m heading in the correct direction there. 

A few more applications sent off, got a few more interviews…  We’ll see.  No hurry.  Oh, and one locally opened up so I have to get my resume tweaked for that.  THAT would frankly be preferable at the moment as we would not be having to move in the short term, but of course first I HAVE to get the bloody job J…  Will see.  Another one where I think I have the requisite skills and experience of course, but my opinion is not one of those that matters J…

X-Wing wise, I am still flying my Jedi but…  S&V are calling to me I think.  Got to watch a dual Firespray this morning at the Nova Open and it was hugely impressive.  I flew that type of list a LOT in the twilight of First Edition.  The dials are a bit different, but still fairly familiar.  And I tend to play a lot more aggressively than most so Boba Fett is about perfect for my style.  Will see I suppose if there is a points adjustment that negates the Jedi I am flying.  Speaking of which, I have purchased my ticket for the Titan (Springfield IL) Hyperspace Trial and am heading out Friday the 11^th of October.  Trying to sneak in on that Friday to get a better chance of making the cut/getting Dice…  Honestly not even sure how many people will even be showing up for the event.  Attendance has kind of tanked across the board, seems to be similar to the end of First Edition with the almost endless Store Championships…  Will see I suppose, I am still having fun and have not earned my Dice yet, so that is my motivation to hit this one hard…  But trying a few different iterations of the Anakin/Obi-Wan/Ric setup to see if there is a better way to do it than the one I am currently set up on…

Back to X-Wing... Post Gen Con adjustments

So, finally back to playing some X-Wing…  Settled mostly on the standard squad of Anakin/Obi-Wan and Ric:

Anakin Obi Wan Ric2 (199)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	62
R2 Astromech	6
Delta-7B	20
Ship Total: 88
Half Points: 44 Threshold: 3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Sense	5
R2-A6	6
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
Daredevil	3
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 49
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 3

Not really anything left for a Bid, but Obi-Wan becomes essentially un-blockable and Ric?  Well, I have not flown with Daredevil yet but it does look promising.  The Gen Con champion’s list was this with Predator on Ric.  I have played that and while occasionally useful I frankly would probably have simply dropped it and kept the extra 2 points for a bigger Bid…  Or Spare Parts on Anakin perhaps…  Have to say I am missing the Juke on Ric…  That was really good, and perhaps too good?  But in any case I am having a blast flying Obi-Wan and Anakin’s ships at the least…  MAYBE a third Jedi in there?  The 186 Squadron had some good success with one of their lads flying Anakin and 2 Jedi with Sense/Spare Parts to block and jam the heck out of the board while Anakin skirted and was the hammer of opportunity when he could snipe a bit of Damage in…  While that does seem quite good, it is not really my play style frankly, I’m just not that good at the whole “Blocking” thing…  And of course when I see a lot of I4 and below Blocking is simply not a thing I can do.  With the other Republic list that is doing quite well at the moment being a Sinker Swarm there will be no blocking in any case, just hoping to do a LOT of Arc Dodging.  For me, this is where my setup with Ric separate from the Jedi shines…  The Swarm must try and chase one or the other down.  Once the choice is made, the other element hits in the flank and usually does a bit of damage.  Hoping to get them to turn and try to chase the now running flanker.  Allowing the other element to take its turn as the one hitting a flank and stinging them a bit.  Slow process and requires patience, but when it works it is solid.  Having Regeneration allows me to dive in, take a bit of Damage and then swoop away to regenerate Shields and Force…

Have the next event coming up in October it seems, perhaps I can schedule a local kit event before then…  I’m a far more casual TO/player so maybe?  Looking to get more games in, so we’ll see I suppose…  Legion game coming up next month as well so I suppose I should make an effort to get at least some of that fully painted…

Job hunt?  Well, the initial finalist run ended in another “thanks for playing”…  Still, I did get to the point where they flew me down to Texas for the interviews and presentations.  And I was REALLY in serious contention to become a VP…  That is pretty darn good.  I thought I did well but was clearly not what they were looking for.  On the major plus side, the short-term stress of moving there is gone, but it has certainly cemented my decision to make this move.  Even Maggie is on board, so mostly looking in the AZ/TX area at this point.  More applications submitted and even had a brief screening chat with one, so we will see I suppose…  Balances out yet another “thanks for playing” from another place in AZ…  With the sheer volume of applications I am sending out, it is of course unsurprising that the majority end in a “no thanks”, but maybe one or two will be successful?  Accuracy through volume as the “typical US Army” response would go…  Or in my case, the “Military Safety Factor” for demolitions work being find how much you NEED to do the job and double it.  Not concerned with “neat”, just results.

Well, not moving to TX (yet)

So, got the call yesterday and I did not get the VP job in Texas...  So, not moving yet...  But it DID start the ball rolling it seems and we may well end up in that direction sooner rather than later...

Just jotting down thoughts from the Airport... No X-Wing, just real life stuff I guess...

Wanted to jot down a bit while I was still moving and it is rattling around in my head…  It REALLY hit me last night while I was stuck at DFW…  So, I got flown out there and they have actually spent a fair bit of money on me already.  They did the Security Checks already… 

The interviews in person seemed like I absolutely killed it.  My presentation seemed like it hit every mark and was spot on exactly what they were looking for and needed.  Had lunch with the President and that seemed like it also went quite well.  The Campus tour was great and…  Not sure how to say it, there were just no red flags that I saw anywhere…  And then “my Secretary” ran me out to the Airport.  That was one of the things that I did catch…  Several of them on the Hiring Committees slipped up several times and used the incorrect tense or term implying that I was their choice.  Mind, I could be completely wrong and it could simply be a series of mistakes that all fall in the same direction…  Or of course they could simply be better poker players than I am J…

When the flight out got delayed so long that I was guaranteed to miss my connecting flight I had a bit of time on to calmly go over a lot of this…  I was REALLY hyped up at that point and needed something to keep myself focused.  And so I got the opportunity to put things in order and slowly (for me) come to the somewhat frightening realization that I might get the offer.  And the offer might well be one that is in the range that I would be foolish to not take it…  And that in and of itself is frightening when I consider the sheer magnitude of what this means to move down there. 

I mean, the city itself looks nice enough.  I DEFINITELY need to brush up on my Spanish…  And with the oddness originating from the fact that the area essentially has 100% employment in an industry that pays REALLY well…  For a while.  The cyclical nature of the Industry and the fact that the Industry has absolutely no job security means that it could all go to Hell very quickly.  So, the area is in a great place now, but that might well not be the long term situation…  Working at the College?  MUCH more stable and if I am there?  I’m getting paid well I hope…

Which does concern me?  The Real Estate market is super tight…  And that is not a good thing from my perspective…  IFF I get the job we’ll be looking at selling the house in Tolono and then buying there…  Brief look at Apartments as I’ll be “Advance Party” I am guessing…  Just so many things…  And I do not really want to get ahead of myself since I need to actually you know, get the job before anything major like this need be worried about…

West Texas?

Well, posting from West Texas...  They flew me out for an interview, and I thought it went amazingly well...  Would be a long stretch from SGT Chappell to VP Chappell, but we'll see...  Wow it is hot here :-)  And it does reinforce the quote that came to mind when I got the official word I was a finalist and they were flying me in...

"Better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven"...  :-)  Benefits of that classical education and the fact that I read a LOT when I was younger of course...  NOT saying this place is Hell of course, but someone used to greener places might thing it is "Hell adjacent"...  But year round Motorcycling and no real winter?  Yes please...

Ah, Gen Con and X-Wing...

So…  Flew in another Gen Con this year.  Far more successful I think but still crashed and burned by the end of the day.  I COULD have probably made it to the end of the day, but honestly after playing Aces for 5 LONG games I was just not really looking forward to 2 more games that would likely go to time and since I am doing the Ace thing, it is “put on an Arc Dodging exhibition or die”.  I wound up going with my first choice of:

Anakin Obi Wan Ric (192)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	62
R2 Astromech	6
Delta-7B	20
Ship Total: 88
Half Points: 44 Threshold: 3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
Juke	7
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 53
Half Points: 27 Threshold: 3

I flew it with Anakin and Obi-Wan on one flank across from something I was hunting and Ric on the other flank, usually across from the bulk of the enemy ships.  He is essentially bait.  I got every single player I flew against to try to chase him down.  USUALLY in vain…  But if you ignore him, he hits your Flank and he does hit HARD especially with Juke.

Bat reps?  Sort of, it all got a bit blurry there for a bit…  First game was a loss against an Imperial Ace list.  This was my theorized absolute hard counters… 2 I6’s even if mine moves last is just too much for my I5’s to handle.  Still was surprisingly close.  Second game was against an awesome Canadian player flying a Rebel “beef” list.  Lacked the I6 Wedge however and so my “All Aces, All the Time” list simply flew circles around him while I killed whatever I could catch.  Third game was streamed on the Gold Squadron stream (Linked here).  Flew against a Republic “beef” list here.  Ric, Obi-Wan kitted out like mine and 2 ARCs…  Wolfe and a 104^th with the 7^th Fleet Gunner.  Another long game but I arc dodged quite well, avoided the kill boxes and killed his Ric.  Half points on Wolfe and Obi-Wan (his of course) gave me the 123 – 0 win.  Third game was against someone out of Illinois, local(ish) running the Y-wing swarm with the Ion Turrets and Gunners to double tap…  Scary, but low I meant that I was dodging like my life depended on it…  Spoiler, it did.  So, the 200-0 win there got me to the top group…  Table 9 I think, and there I met another of my nemesis lists…  Resistance Aces, or at least Poe and 3 A-Wings.  I played too aggressive as time was running out and should have realized I was actually winning at that point…  “Stay on target, remember the mission” …  After that I dropped and went to a nice dinner with my lovely wife J…  By then I was just kind of worn out from bending over those tables all day and that was probably the better decision… 

Oh, ran into an old HS buddy of mine after 30 or so years while playing, so that was great…  One of the very few I’ve bothered to keep in touch with from that life as I consider it a pretty much completely separate life from my pre/post Army life…

July X-Wing post points adjustment... Gearing up for Gen Con... And moving maybe?

So, a few more games in with the new points and I think I have boiled my long term lists to the following:

Anakin Obi Wan Ric (192)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	62
R2 Astromech	6
Delta-7B	20
Ship Total: 88
Half Points: 44 Threshold: 3
Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
Juke	7
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 53
Half Points: 27 Threshold: 3

Or:

Obi-Wan Ric 2 x 104 (199)

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 46
Half Points: 23 Threshold: 3
104th Battalion Pilot — ARC-170 Starfighter	42
Seventh Fleet Gunner	9
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 5
104th Battalion Pilot — ARC-170 Starfighter	42
Seventh Fleet Gunner	9
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 5

Common theme there of course being that Obi-Wan is OK with the Calibrated Laser Targeting (CLT) and that Ric is a solid choice.  I DO like Juke on him and I am finding that the way I fly he is almost always getting 3 Dice on Attack and Defense…  If I am in trouble, 5 Straight away, get the free evade, regen a Shield and either Focus or Boost/Barrel Roll to try to dodge Arcs… 

First build is my “I fly Aces” build with I5/6 being the whole trio…  Anakin is amazingly solid still at 88 points.  Obi-Wan is pretty good and Ric I think will be the “sleeper” piece that gets hit with a points hike ASAP but until then…  Well, 3 Dice Attack backed by Juke and likely at least one dice mod is darn good…  And with 2 of the Ships being Regenerators I can do the Klingon Saber Dance and just wear down the enemy…  So, DEFINITELY my play style and exactly what I envisioned with these ships.

The second one is one detailed out by Chris Allen on the “Fly Better” (Mynock) podcast…  REALLY close to one I was testing and I picked up a 4^th ARC (2^nd Republic ARC) since I do really like that ship…  But with the 2 x 7^th Fleet Gunners it allows for some 4 Dice Attacks from the 2 Ace(ish) ships…  Technically, Obi-Wan can go to a 5 Dice Attack iff he can line up the Bullseye arc…  Could be a really nasty surprise, and frankly it might be the one I fly at Gen Con as it is a LOT easier during a long day…  The specific thing I was testing was Anakin loaded out with the 2 104^th/7^th Fleet Gunners…  Solid but not nearly so nasty as this one I think…  NOT going to be one I can sit back to go to Final Salvo with as half of my Ships are 2 Attack on the card…  And I’m not the type who would do the fortress to time for that sort of a win in any case….  Mind, if I am winning late in the game, I have NO problem running/dodging to time, but that means that we had an actual game and I did more damage to that point…  Just me of course, nothing wrong with it per se as it would be technically legal…  J  But if I DO encounter say a TIE Phantom fortress, both of my lists are built to take it down handily I suspect as the Phantom is NOT built to withstand 4-5 Dice Attacks.  Kill one to two and then just turn out to make them come out and play…  Or just keep crashing in to wipe them off the field I suppose…  Agility 2 ships shouldn’t last long in that grinder…  But in any case, with the points update I do not think the 4 Phantoms are a good list…  Frankly not entirely sure WHAT I’ll encounter.  Tyler’s Sense Vader list is pretty scary, but even that?  Eh, I have no need to get close and most of my ships are reasonably fast… 

 Other than that?  Had one interview locally and getting ready for 2 Video Conference interviews...  Should be interesting at least.  Worst case, good interview practice.  HUGE plus side, I am GETTING interviews for these positions that include things like "VP" or "CIO" in the title...  So, the tweaked resume is working and the fact that I DO have the required prerequisites for these jobs is actually quite heartening...  So, at least I can smile at that part...  Minor down side would be moving if I get one of the "more distant" jobs, but both of those are places I'd not mind ending up I think...

Mid June X-Wing doldrums...

Not getting in as many physical games as I’d like these days…  Some events this weekend, but the 2 hour drive to compete for prizes that are Factions I do not play?  Less enthused honestly, but maybe.  I DO have Gen Con coming up and as my lists are Republic they are legal for both Hyperspace and Extended…  Mostly settled to 2 lists at the moment with the Iron Curtain and the 2 Jedi + support (2 x Torrent, an ARC or even a third Jedi) being the hands down favorites.  The Iron Curtain is easy to fly, but kind of boring honestly…  VERY solid ships and with the passive mods I can usually get double modified shots making the whole firing line extremely accurate.  Problem being of course what to do when the other side does not just line up and let me joust them off the table?  Imperial Aces have become a thing again with Vader and Soonter Fel + support being pretty darn good.  NOT a lot of Attack Dice, but then have the 2 I6’s and a bid making them move last for the likely Arc dodge.  Bringing my own Jedi as Arc Dodgers at least makes this a game…  Albeit a difficult one that I MUST land the blocks because as good as Anakin is, Vader and Fel are both likely to move AFTER him and that is never a good thing.  Well, in the hands of an expert of course, but since there are enough of those locally (well, semi locally I would say, certainly will b at the big events I am going to or thinking about going to)…  NOT something to bank on them making mistakes. 

At this point I am eagerly awaiting both the points update and the Wave 4 ship(s)…  The N1 Starfighter for the Republic looks quite interesting…  Almost a mix of the TIE Defender and the Jedi Aethersprites/A-Wings…  Sharing the “go fast for the free Evade” ability with the TIE Defender should make this a good one for a run and gun style of play I am comfortable with. Anakin, Mace and an N1 SHOULD make for a very solid list.  Still “should” because of course we have no clue what the specifics are on the new ships nor do we know that the current stuff is staying where it is points wise…  Slightly frustrating.

Still, if new toys coming out is the worst thing for me then I DO have it VERY good.  Pro tip, it is not :-) …  Lightning strike on the house fried our AC, Refrigerator and all of the circuits in the garage…  No one hurt, but damn those things are expensive.  Got them paid for and the HVAC techs pointed out the blackened refrigerant that indicated the lightning…  So except for the deductible it is covered.  Yea.  Of course an extremely stress filled couple of weeks.  But behind us now I suppose…  Job front?  Still applying and interviewing.  Can afford to be picky, but frustrating having jobs get pulled off the market WHILE you are interviewing for them of course.  And of course having to deal with extremely unrealistic qualifications for the salary level they are offering.  DID manage not to laugh at the one offer I got in a State just to the West of my current one…  Requiring the MS, 20 years experience, 10 in Management and offering half my current salary?  Oh, but with the potential to grow later to ALMOST what I am making now?  I did politely smile my evil little smile and tell them I think I know why they are having a difficult time finding qualified people to take that particular job :-) …

So, painting up Star Wars Legion things and my WWII British Airborne forces in the mean time...  Killer of time at least it is...

X-Wing, Mid June before the points adjustments...

So…  Waiting on the next points update…  Still.  Seems like we are in a stage of “solved meta” and kind of stagnating a bit. 

DID get onto the Thule Squadron Radio podcast here:  https://thulesquadronradio.podbean.com/e/episode-38-this-is-not-a-star-wars-themed-podcast/

Might be a bit long, but we chat quite a bit…  And one of my cats even gets to the cast J… 

Playing has mostly been my Jedi + Filler…  2 Torrents, 1 ARC or a third Jedi…  Though the 3^rd Jedi must be fairly lean and therefore far less resilient in general…  I say in general of course because with the 3 Agility that third Aethersprite MIGHT just dodge everything and survive…  It does happen on occasion.  NOT something to count on, and frankly that third Aether is really just there to support the main 2.  In my case Anakin and Mace with 7B/R2.  Thematically I would LOVE to fly Anakin and Ashoka as the cost is the same but +1 I and that third Force point are simply too good.  Ashoka’s ability is great, so long as your Force does not run out.  With only 2 though and regenerating only 1/turn I tend to run through it too quickly for my own good.  And Mace allows me to be a bit more aggressive which does suit my play style far more.  Anakin is still absolutely the best ship in the game for me.  When my luck holds and I play it smart, it is unbeatable.  J  When I make a mistake however…  Well, the game does tend to end a lot quicker.  Finding a lot of my games going to time with the Republic. 

Still waiting on the Wave 4 stuff…  Assuming that the points update will coincide with the now delayed release…  Will see I suppose.  Should revitalize the game a lot…  And the next “wave” of Hyperspace trials are getting scheduled, and looking like I’ll be heading to Springfield in October…  After the Continentals or whatever the big event there is called now, Grand Championship?  Whatever, I’m in the first flight on Friday so we’ll see how well my Jedi fare there…  Will see if there are any other local events coming up…

X-Wing as the Republic...

So, getting in more games with my Republic forces…  I DID try the 2 Jedi list for a bit, but with only Anakin and Obi-Wan on the field it was good but extremely unforgiving.  A single mistake or bad roll and it is over.  So, probably a no for me.  The 2 lists I have been having success with are the Obi-Wan and 3 ARCs and the Anikin/Mace with 2 Torrents.  With the first list flying a single 104th  Squadron with Sinker and Wolfe.  Obi-Wan is basically just there to support and I lack the points to put the 7B upgrade on his ship.  Trying a swap to Luminara to help mitigate Damage but losing the 3rd Force point and I5 might be bad…  That list I’ve been calling my “Iron Curtain” list as I grew up watching the Pittsburg Steelers a lot in the 70’s (my father was from near there) and it just seemed apt…  NOT subtle, just line up and bull rush the other side.  Even if they DO get behind you, not the end of the world as there are still Arcs covering that area and I’ve spent a long time flying the ARCs between the two editions and so am fairly used to the quirks of the ship.  I am flying a slightly different version as the 104th cards are only 1/pack and I have re-purposed my “Rebel” ARCs to fly for my Republic forces…  And I like having the slightly higher I and re-rolls for everyone…  Seems solid.

The 2 7B’s and 2 Torrent list is amusing…  I’ve skipped a bid and Mace has Sense to help assure Blocking and the Torrents are surprisingly good at that…  I can see why this list has been doing so well in Tournaments.  I’m getting better at the whole fly to block thing that is pretty much the opposite of my normal “Ace” flying where I am trying hard to avoid being blocked and shot at while getting in my shots where I can… Flew it last evening and the Torrents got in more blocks than they did shots…  Mace with Sense made it fairly trivial to place the ships to block and it allowed me to get in the hits while the target was out of position and off balance…  This list with Luminara in place of Mace works out fairly well…  Less direct damage from the Jedi, but those Torrents last bloody forever…

Signing up for some events at Gen Con…  Trying for Nationals (or whatever they are called now) on Friday and maybe another Hyperspace event either Friday or Saturday…  Will see, likely will still be running my Republic forces then against the likely field of Rebel Beef (Beef Wedgeington as it has been dubbed :-) )… 

Post HS event X-Wing and minor updates...

So, the Bloomington Hyperspace Trial happened…  LONG day and I wound up close to the top, but in no danger of making the cut to play on day two.  Had a lot of fun and played the list I thought would do well.  ONLY minor exception being my last game where my opponent went to an absolutely glacial pace once he was in the lead…  Frustrating and I had to sit down and center myself a bit so I did not lose my temper…  :-)  Some things I suppose become easier as I get older.  Had the game gone another 2 turns I know Anakin could have swept the board for me, but alas it was not to be.  Got a load of neat alt arts and acrylic prizes, but most important I did enjoy playing a LOT of X-Wing.  

Think going forward I drop the ARC and swap to Obi-Wan from Mace.  Supernatural Reflexes on Obi-Wan since Anakin is priced JUST outside of sanity level at 32 points for that upgrade…  Still, I5 with SNR and the double repositioning should be difficult to catch if I choose to break off and run.  Anakin drops the Spare Parts for Afterburners since the extra Boosts even if I am Stressed is just REALLY good on this ship I think…  As it happens I am fairly good at arc dodging and being able to then boost to Range 1 for the extra Dice should allow me to clear the field a bit quicker.  Obi-Wan’s Pilot Ability is “neat”, but certainly NOT why I am bringing him.  Well, aside from being one of my favorite Jedi…  I5 and 3 Force being the break point where things get good for him to be a “Jedi AND Ace”.  Yes, the list is only 2 ships and both of them are essentially X-Wings with the dials of A-Wings…  But these are ships I do really enjoy flying and since I have no need to stay in anything like a formation should be difficult to pin down for most folks…  

DID get the word from the Springfield TO that there will in fact be a Hyperspace event there in the second part of the season…  So July or later…  Signing up for some events at Gen Con as well, so there should be at least a few more big events that I am flying in.  Have to say I am rather enjoying the way my Jedi fly, will have to see if they stay more or less the same post the July points rebalance…  Not entirely sure how well I’ll DO at the events both in terms of placement and physically as it is extremely draining to be bending over those tables all day, but as I get more and more in shape these things do seem to become a bit easier…

Running a fair bit, typically ~5K/day and 3 days/week…  Lifting a bit, etc…  And now that the weather has cleared a bit (at least n terms of the temperature) I’ll be doing more yard work and the like so I’ll have my tan back in no time…  

The job hunt is still ongoing and I am applying further out as I am now over my 20 years here at the University…  Faculty positions as well as “IT Director” type positions as I’m qualified for either really…  Sadly some that I’ve interviewed with have what I consider extremely unrealistic salary expectations.  One required a Masters, 10+ years experience, Industry Certifications, etc…  And they were offering $35,000-40,000 for the salary.  Since that is below the range we START people here, I think I know why they are having a difficult time attracting qualified candidates.  Especially when those qualifications would command several times that salary elsewhere…  The CIO here is leaving in June and looking at the list of retirements there should be some local opportunities as well.  I would MUCH prefer to stay here I suppose given that I know so many people and am very familiar with the environment…  Will see what comes up as I’ve now gotten a LOT of interview practice and even several offers over the last few years.  Just none that I’ve accepted yet :-) …

X-Wing Déjà vu all over again?

Still testing with the Chromebook…  Seems solid, but finding a few more “gotcha” issues..  Some I never really considered like the Mersive Solstice connection App for Android not being compatible with this device.  Never considered that this is not running “real” Android, and so I incorrectly assumed that this device would just work there like everything else I encountered previously.  Opened a ticket with the Vendor, so we will see.  AFAIK I am the first testing this device type in this environment so it is certainly NOT a major issue.

The other issue I am having with the device is related to the physical size of the device I suspect.  The keyboard is just SLIGHTLY smaller that the ne I am used to and so typing is JUST a  bit off…  For me, not as much of a problem as I am certainly not a “professional level” typist like my wife…  I suspect she would have a major issue with this keyboard…

Watched a bit of the Denver System Open over the weekend between Prom “stuff” (2 daughters both going makes for an interesting time) and Endgame/GoT watching…  The winning list was one that one of the Podcasts I listen to brought as a group.  And it’s Palp Aces again…  Déjà vu all over again…  So, having some flashbacks to v1 with the cycle of TIE Phantoms leading to Fat Han leading to Palp Aces…  Mind, they brought a specific “Alpha Class Star Wing” as the second “Ace”, so not really a traditional Ace…  But an Ordnance carrier that does just throw out a LOT of Damage quickly even (and frankly MOSTLY) after performing a SLAM maneuver.  Mind, the SLAM has a Weapons Disabled token as part of doing the Action, but the Alpha has the ability to fire despite having the weapons disabled.  With the Advanced SLAM they can also perform a second Action as part of the SLAM, so Locks an Focus are usually there.

I think this is where my objection to a lot of the Extended stuff at least comes.  There are the rules of the game and then there are things that either ignore the basic rules of the game or are simply FAR too efficient as they get free extra Actions.  Looking specifically at the TIE Phantom here as they get the free Evades when they De-cloak.  Now, with the Evade, it activates Juke making their Offense unnaturally efficient along with their Defense being just better than another similarly priced Ship.  Probably illustrates an issue that FFG should balance sooner rather than later.

Han is another issue, and the current one is the interaction between Han, R2-D2, the Inertial Damper and the infinite Regeneration that comes with that cycle.  And of course the I6 means that most if not all of your opponent’s Ships have moved when you reveal your Dial.  Giving you the option with full board knowledge of where best to put your Ship.  Choosing from 1 of the 8 potential placements as the YT-1300 has a native Boost Action.  Going full Fat Han gives you the Engine Upgrade (making the Boost white rather than Red) and Kannan Jarus to pull away the Stress that the Damper gives you.  Luke Skywalker Gunner is 30(!!) points, but with an additional Force and the ability to change your Turret facing after everything is done moving?  Turns out it is really good in this one particular application.  Especially where cost is a feature rather than a downside…  With a good player, good luck killing or even getting to Half Points this Han build.  And with re-rolls that are defined as “not re-rolls”, this is another area that there is an exception to the basic rules of the game…  You start to get too many exceptions in the game and the rules start to mean less and less over time…

Looking like this is what I am going to fly this weekend at the Hyperspace Qualifiers:

Anakin Mace Wolfe (199)

Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	60
R2 Astromech	4
Delta-7B	18
Ship Total: 82
Half Points: 41 Threshold: 3
Mace Windu — Delta-7 Aethersprite	46
R2 Astromech	4
Delta-7B	16
Ship Total: 66
Half Points: 33 Threshold: 3
“Wolffe” — ARC-170 Starfighter	51
Ship Total: 51
Half Points: 26 Threshold: 5

3 solid ships and Anakin being the perfect ship for the way I play...  Mace is another one that I tend to play a bit more aggressively and Wolfe is just solid...