So, Firesprays it is for Springfield next week?

So, getting a very few games…  With the release of the Nantex I have to admit it pushed me to the edge where I do not believe that my Jedi list will do nearly so well at the Hyperspace event.  Boba Fett is a wrecking ball and surprisingly difficult to kill while he DOES a lot of damage…  Krassis is sneaky good.  The Snap Shot out both Arcs is huge.  I have run him with Qi’ra crew to lock onto a big obstacle and ignore it while moving and shooting.  Ideally it will be a big rock or Debris cloud to gain all of the advantages while shooting back at incoming enemy ships.  Snap fired 4-5 times actually doing a fair bit of damage for me and the Seismic Charges did a bit more and discouraged pursuit…  As a former “demo” guy I am quite familiar with that at least…  The Nantex or at least Sun is super scary for my Ace type list.  Yes, I can “just play better” and maybe avoid getting killed trivially by it, but enough people have figured out how to play against my Republic Ace list by now and Sun is just the final nail I think in that coffin.  At the end of the day, I have A-Wings (or an X-Wing if I use the 7B variant) and they will just die eventually.  Obi-Wan is incredibly difficult to block (or keep me from blocking) in his current configuration (CLT, Sense and R2-A6 to change the dial if needed)…  Fun, and probably on the broken good side.  But at the end of the day he is still just an A-Wing and even his Force and Luck will eventually run out. 

So, back to my Dual Firesprays it seems.  2 Ships and not a WHOLE lot of thought required as I am not really going to be trying to anticipate Arc Dodges or desperately trying to do so myself…  Big, heavy ships that I am going to be pointing at the enemy and running at them…  NOT a line up and Joust list, so I will be flanking, overrunning their positions and firing out the Rear Arc (and leaving a Bomb/Mine as a special gift on the way out).  Krassis getting the extra shots and having the Autoblaster to have the Ace killing threat if I can ignore their Evades is amusing and potentially something that can keep him alive in the end game. 
Borrowing the AB from a buddy here as I have no Resistance stuff for 2nd edition…  The down side of the new stuff only coming out in specific Ship packs for the moment is a thing…  Yes, the card packs that are coming “soon” will alleviate this in the longer run but of course this does nothing for the “right now”.  Overall I am still quite happy with 2nd edition…  The recent Tractor stuff is a fairly big negative, but nothing that is unbeatable.

Legion stuff coming along as well, I have a decent 500/800 point list set up I think for the next event locally…  500 point, and just straight kill units to score points…  Not a whole lot of strategy there and now that I actually have a basic understanding of the rules I suspect that I will do fairly well…  Things like knowing that Jedi like Luke can do the Evade action to allow the “Push” (Focus result in this game) to not only convert to a Dodge, but also cause an automatic wound to the shooting Unit…  Would have been brutal in my first Event as he did end up getting shot down eventually…  Had he the extra Dodges and ability to cause damage to the Attacking Unit?  Well, still PROBABLY would have died when he did, just would have taken a lot more of them with him…  And figuring out the ranking of the Dice colors (White -> Black -> Red) with the Red dice being SO much better than anything?  Well, the Heavy Weapon choices for my Gropos units has certainly changed from the Rotary Blaster to the Ion…  Honestly not even sure what the Ion effect does to Vehicles.  Just knowing that 2 Red 8 sided Dice are far better than 6 White 8 sided Dice :-) …

Job hunt continues, I am taking ITIL certification training to get that merit badge for my resume as well…  Unfortunately everything in Education seems to move at the speed of “Committee” and so it definitely takes a LOT longer than one might expect in the real world.  Even dug up my CS diploma and supporting documentation :-)  Amazing what you find from the ancient times.  I had honestly thought these things lost in the old house on Clark Street here or the other place I lived during that time frame…  But no, scanned in and now have the Transcripts ready should they become relevant for any of the positions I have or will apply for…  “Neat”, but as my old Platoon SGT would have said: “That and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of coffee”…  So, nothing really THAT important, I think my experience and track record is far more important, but I suppose having the piece of paper saying “I did things” is good as well…

Legion and X-Wing for the Springfield HS event...

So, got in a few games of Star Wars Legion over the weekend and I have to say I am impressed by the system so far…  Quick, simple and a fair bit of fun to play.  Turns out the Jedi are absolute wrecking balls…  Or at least Luke Skywalker with the Rebels is.  Turns out I did not know some of the rules and he would have been far better than he played out as with the ability to redirect shots back at those shooting at him.  Fast and the Charge ability is quite powerful with his Lightsaber.  Even missing out on those defensive abilities he murdered a LOT of things in the 2 games I won.  One was somewhat thematic with him taking down the Imperial Walker singlehandedly…  So, back to painting the lads up.  Have one of the AT-RT walkers magnetized so that I can swap out the weapon loadout, need to get the second one set up.  Those were amazingly good.  The Infantry rotary blaster on the other hand?  Meh.  Yes, it IS a 6 Dice shot, but turns out the White 8 siders are probably the worst WRT hit percentage.  The Walker (AT-RT) has the same weapon, but it fires the 6 Black Dice which makes its output better than a full squad of the basic Riflemen (they also fire a single Black 8 sider, but 1 each and max of 5 in a Squad)…  Glad the initial event was a low point value one…  While I COULD field an 800 point force, it would be a stretch and having no clue the actual game rules before hand (well, a LITTLE bit, I read the rule book, just had never played) I would have made some truly poor choices on Army Building…  Well, MORE poor choices.  I had 3 basic Squads of Rebels maxed out with the Rotary Blaster in each Squad.  I think I would have been better off with the Ion or even just another basic Rifleman (though not an option)…  I have the Speeder painted up, just need to put a magnet on the Flight Stand to have that fully ready…  Ordered a second set of the Dice as FFG sends ~ half the Dice needed in a game with the Starter set.  Should do for the near term.  Republic and Separatists are coming out (some were released at Gen Con), so there will be 4 Factions.  While I like the Jedi, I really have no interest in the Clones.  Especially as I know how that story turns out and I have…  Issues with the whole fanatically loyal troops suddenly turning on and betraying their allies… 

For X-Wing?  Well, have the 2 basic lists built I think…  My Jedi:

Anakin Obi-Wan Ric 4 (194)

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Delta-7 Aethersprite	47
Sense	5
R2-A6	6
Calibrated Laser Targeting	4
Ship Total: 62
Half Points: 31 Threshold: 2
Anakin Skywalker — Delta-7 Aethersprite	62
Brilliant Evasion	3
C1-10P	7
Calibrated Laser Targeting	5
Ship Total: 77
Half Points: 39 Threshold: 2
Ric Olié — Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter	42
Juke	7
Fire-Control System	2
R2 Astromech	4
Ship Total: 55
Half Points: 28 Threshold: 3

With the Jedi it is a variation on the standard “Jedi + Ric” list I’ve been flying for a bit…  Anakin drops down to the CLT and Chopper…  Or I just keep an R2 in there and take the Shields back when he does get damaged…  3 Agility and Brilliant Evasion should keep him alive longer, am slightly concerned that the loss of the 3rd Attack Dice will be a killer…  Though with CLT, it does even out if I get a Bullseye shot off.  Ric with Juke and FCS just hits HARD…  Completely ignoring one Evade if they have no Focus, FCS for a re-roll, the Evade is free to activate Juke…  Yes, predictable in general, but OK…  I run and gun, hitting WAY harder than they have come to expect from the version of Ric being played elsewhere.  Fun and completely my style…

And my Firesprays:

Boba Krassis 1 (200)

Boba Fett — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	85
Lone Wolf	5
Jamming Beam	0
Perceptive Copilot	8
Proximity Mines	6
Deadman’s Switch	2
Stealth Device	6
Slave I	2
Ship Total: 114
Half Points: 57 Threshold: 5
Krassis Trelix — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	68
Snap Shot	8
Autoblasters	2
Qi’ra	2
Proximity Mines	6
Ship Total: 86
Half Points: 43 Threshold: 5

This one I am far less sure on.  It might be the thing I field next Month at the local kit event.  And still working on the last few points here and there…  Mostly just the current version of what I flew toward the end of v1…  Krassis is amusing with Snap and Autoblasters being able to fire out of BOTH Arcs making approaching him an issue for anything fragile…  Medium Bases so less concern about the silliness of Tractor Beams.  Fett is still a wrecking ball… 

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…