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 :-) …