FFG news this week and...

So, another week and not a lot going on game wise…  FFG just announced that the format for almost all of their events will be Extended going forward though…  And I’ve put out the “Shall we run a Store Championship” question to the local group…  Maybe?  Scheduling might be an issue and I have no idea the cost of the kit itself, so we will see I guess…  But with Extended becoming the de facto standard for all events there is no longer the issue of having to be concerned about say my Firespray list having thise slight differences to stay legal in whichever style is being run for the current event…  

On one hand, that is great…  On the other hand of course, there ARE things that were never really well balanced for this edition of the game and there are simply too many things to playtest and balance to achieve perfect balance of course, but…  Nothing that seems too far out of balance that I can see of course, but then I did not see a lot of the Meta monsters coming either, so I may not be the one to judge I suspect…  Eh, time to get some of my more fun lists out onto the table I suspect but everyone is still in the “waiting on the points change” that is supposed to be hitting next month now.  No real point getting in reps with things that are “likely” to become far more expensive and be driven out of the current Meta…  Things like Regen Jedi for instance are almost certain to go up enough to no longer be the staple Squad they are now…  Or at least it is hoped by many.

Personally, I’ve been having a number of medical issues with my (formerly) good eye.  Iritis again.  So, pain, blurred vision and a generally bad time all around.  No motorcycle riding for a bit, no contacts, etc…  Painting has also taken a break as focusing clearly is an issue.  Makes doing things like say, working on computers a joy and a treat as well…  Back to the Doctor who did my last surgery this week to see what she says regarding a treatment plan going forward.

Next event is the 14^th I think….  More Legion stuff as Ken is running that…  My Clones are at least primed/base coated by now, so I’ll be fielding either General Kenobi and 2 Squads backed by the Speeder or CPT Rex and 3 Squads backed by the same speeder…  Either way, seems good with the new 500 point rules FFG put up.  The Clones are a solid Infantry choice and liking how they play so far…

Interviews and short updates...

Well, another week and 2 more interviews.  One that was local went amazingly well, but I almost felt like my answers were entirely TOO practiced.  Got me thinking that I have by now been on a LOT of interviews in the last few years.  In almost every case there are the same basic questions, so the answers by now are just completely natural and flow out well.  PROBABLY a bit too well if one is paying attention I suppose.  The one today was for Texas A&M…  Some parts were completely outside of my (recent) comfort level.  A number of highly technical questions, and as I have not physically touched a real server in several years now…  Well, talking my way around it a bit, but…  The other questions regarding leadership style and the like I hit easily.  So, guess we’ll see what if anything comes of these interviews.

My Clones are assembled for Legion now…  Primed and the painting is moving along slowly.  Trying some of the GW Contrast stuff and Nuln Oil…  The lads seem to be coming along well, and I was quite impressed with their play on the field.  The Phase 2 Clones are coming “soon” and they will bring in some more stuff that should work well.  But honestly, not sure how much more I will actually need for that game…  I now have a solid 500 point force, will expand to the 800 level easily enough, but beyond that?  Probably not…  Still, quite a fun game.

X-Wing?  Well, been play testing my next Republic squad…  Mace, Luminara, Wolfe and either Matchstick or Broadside in the Y-Wing…  Solid, mid-level ships.  Some tricks, but mostly just solid ships all around.  My Firesprays are my backup plan.  Good ships, but…

Life update and even some gaming stuff (Legion and X-Wing)

So….  Between getting more serious about running and actually taking the diet thing serious (my wife started WW and I joined her there) I am now officially lighter than I was when I entered the Army back in 1990…  I am wearing a sweatshirt that my Aunt got me when I was back in High School (so late 80’s) when she was rather hoping I would go to USC…  I went to the University of Illinois for Engineering instead.  Well, for a bit J  Before joining the Army on the “Stripes” plan of course.  Things there seem like they are going well.  Losing a few pounds every week and my run times are getting better every week as well.  NOT nearly what they were at my prime playing Army of course, but the 15-minute miles have become 12-minute miles and I run effectively 3 5K’s every week.  Not really lifting much, mostly doing body weight workouts as my “prison workouts” I can do at my Office.  So, I just keep moving I suppose and we’ll see how this work out as time goes on…

Job search is continuing.  Amusingly I have 2 interviews this week…  One local but not at the University and the other in Texas (via video chat, not flying out there)…  We will see I suppose?  Both sound interesting and would be a major change for me, but of course I have to actually get the real offers before J….

Gaming wise?  Got in a Legion event this weekend and my Clones won out…  They are surprisingly solid troops.  Obi-Wan is a GREAT support leader.  NOT as good offensively as Luke or Grievous, but better by far for the Army he is leading.  The lads are primed now, and I am going to head out to the Gopher to pick up some of the Contrast paints to give them a shot I think… 

X-Wing?  I think I’ll throw this on the table:

Mace Luminara Wolfe Matc… (200)

"Matchstick" — BTL-B Y-Wing	43
Ion Cannon Turret	5
R4 Astromech	2
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 4
Mace Windu — Delta-7 Aethersprite	45
R4 Astromech	2
Calibrated Laser Targeting	3
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2
Luminara Unduli — Delta-7 Aethersprite	43
C1-10P	7
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2
“Wolffe” — ARC-170 Starfighter	50
Ship Total: 50
Half Points: 25 Threshold: 5

Something to keep the power creep out of it and make for a more friendly game I think…  Though if I play it well, I suspect this will be competitive.  This and my standard Dual Firespray lists will be my staples I think…

More X-Wing... Just stalling for time I suppose?

So, going forward I suppose I have a few options in my travel kit… 

The Firesprays are amusing, but I suspect strongly that at the very least there will be some “adjustments” made on Boba Fett’s ship as he is actually a bit too good at the moment.  Krassis?  Eh.  Amusing, but at the end of the day an I3 Firespray, so nothing that should cause TOO much concern.  Well, for most people.  The low I swarm type build actually does fear this ship quite a bit.  Aces?  Well, iff I get lucky on the Snap Shot that could be an issue for them, but in general it is nothing to be overly concerned about.  So, this is an absolutely solid build and likely the one I would fly were I to be entering a serious competition today.

The Jedi are another I enjoy…  Obi-Wan loaded out with the Droid to adjust his dial, Sense and CLT is almost certainly going up, up, up in Jan…  Simply WAY too good for the points now.  Yes, it is an I5 that relies on the 3 Agility to survive in the very fragile frame.  3 Force means I will likely have at least SOME modification for my Defense and it is probably the best dial in the game with the Fine Tuned Controls ability to double reposition without Stress.  Anakin is there because he is an I6.  His Pilot Ability is so very situational that I seldom actually use it honestly.  But at I6 with the double reposition I can line up the CLT shot or just not get shot with frightening regularity.  Goes back to my days when I was a more serious Martial Arts student (mostly Aikido), turns out that it hurts a LOT less when you do not get hit as often…  So, I got better at the blocks, evasions and break falls…  REALLY good at the falls because being a bigger guy I was asked to help demonstrate things and work with the folks going for their Blacks a lot that they might perfect their techniques against a competent and larger opponent.  That helped me a LOT turns out as time went on.  And a good philosophy in general, work with and compete against the best.  Learn from every exchange and you WILL get better a lot quicker for it.  Now with the Republic list, I have to come up with a third Ship…  I’ve tried the Y-Wing a bit, Broadsides is good, but does not fit with my more aggressive style with which I fly the Aethersprites…  Same for the ARCs frankly.  Solid ships and quite good, but just not really my play style.  Ric in the N-1 fits well enough, and if I have Anakin loaded out with the CLT I can load the N-1 out with things that include Juke and FCS to make it a solid Offensive threat.  Takes some time to set up, and he is ALWAYS my flanker.  Force the opponent to choose between chasing the N-1 or the Aethersprites.   Either can just cut and run better than most ships in the game, and in the meantime the other one just hammers their flank…  “Klingon Saber Dance” with the long ranged engagement, I have decent odds to do a little Damage while avoiding taking any (ideally, “much” is far more accurate of course) Damage in the exchange.  Down side of this one being that games often run to time and the sheer number of repositions and the like are just brain melting for a long event…  Solid though and a blast to fly…

Other than that?  I’ve been running Toreni Kulda with Snap Shot on the Kimogila and Guri, usually paired with Fett…  Solid, and decent I suppose.  Just have REALLY bad matchups against actual Ace lists.  They DO kill most Swarm builds, so the Rock/Paper/Scissors effect is there.  Just have to dodge those matchups I suppose to do well in an event?  J  Sounds like a winning strategy…  My Dash + 1 builds are all “meh” as well.  Best one I have found is ironically the Dash/Roark combo…  The Hawk giving Dash the I7 shots is of course a gimmick, but it is throwing a LOT of Dice, so…  But of course, 2 mid-range I ships that are just not all that hard to hunt down in the long run…

Frankly, seeing a lot of malaise in the scene now…  Seems like a long pause between content being added, and with the major Events now past most are just waiting on the points adjustment (presumably) coming in January…

Other than that?  I have my Clones assembled for the Legion event coming Saturday at Titan…  Will NOT be fully painted, but they will be on the table.  Neat?  Seem solid and more my speed as far as troopers go, I was really never comfortable with the “IG” like Rebel builds with the waves of unarmored “meh” troopers on the table.  The Republic is just in a bad position having only the Basic Clone Troopers and a single Vehicle to accompany Obi-Wan as their only Commander.  Good base, but more options will make it FAR more interesting I suspect.

X-Wing, what to fly next?

So, what to fly now in X-Wing?  My driving goal was to get my Dice and to have paid the “Iron Price” for them (yes, GoT reference)…  Got that and more.  I wound up winning the Prize Templates as well.  So, “neat” and I think I have officially lost my drive to “try hard” and prove that I am actually fairly good at the game.  But this does leave me in a rather odd position as I really have no idea what to fly from this point on…  The Dual Firesprays are fun and quite effective against a lot of things, but lack the ability to deal easily with Aces.  Can I?  Sure, if I play it well and (ideally) the opponent makes a few mistakes.  But against a top tier player on their game it is not a good matchup for me.  

Been playing around with a few other Scum builds and even a Super Dash list…  Pairing him with Wedge makes it interesting, but at the end of the day it is still just a 2 Ship list and not a particularly good one.  Sure, Dash and Wedge both can hit like trucks and Dash with the Focus and Bistan can get 2 Shots/Turn (albeit at different Targets) each of which is essentially a Proton Torpedo…  Still, a good opponent or just a Beef list will cause issues.

On the Scum side I tried a list with CPT Nym and Torini Kulda…  Amusing, but putting too many points in Nym means I have a 3 Ship list that is “meh” for the most part.  I suspect that Kulda is solid in a stripped down role (Snap Shot is nice here), and Nym for the Bomb chucking…

Nym Kulda and (200)

Torani Kulda — M12-L Kimogila Fighter	48
Snap Shot	8
Homing Missiles	5
R2 Astromech	3
Ship Total: 64
Half Points: 32 Threshold: 5
Captain Nym — Scurrg H-6 Bomber	48
Ion Cannon Turret	5
Veteran Turret Gunner	8
Proximity Mines	6
Proton Bombs	5
Havoc	4
Trajectory Simulator	10
R2 Astromech	3
Ship Total: 89
Half Points: 45 Threshold: 5
Crymorah Goon — BTL-A4 Y-Wing	31
Ion Cannon Turret	5
Veteran Turret Gunner	8
Seismic Charges	3
Ship Total: 47
Half Points: 24 Threshold: 4

WAY too much on the Skurrg there.  Amusing to fly, but…  Mostly I wanted to see if there was something to the Trajectory Simulator on that ship.  It is solid, but for a Critical Hit here or there?  Simply too expensive.  Mind, devastating against say, an unshielded Swarm build, but most other things simply ignore it while they kill him.

Still have my Jedi of course.  They are solid and fun.  I have a few ideas with Imperial things as well as we saw the TIE Advanced prototype and the Inquisitors start to really shine…  Imps can use the Force quite well, and it is really good it turns out…  Who knew?

X-Wing, on to something different...

Looking at playing something completely different going forward…  The Dual Firespray list is actually quite good, but…  I do tend to get bored and want to fly different things.  And as there are currently no “highly competitive” events in the local area, time to get back to flying “weird things” again.  As Dash’s YT-2400 was the first ship that my wonderful wife bought for me to get me started in the game, it has always had a special meaning for me…  Yes, it is massively expensive (points wise), but it hits like a bloody truck, and I can kit it out to fire twice every turn…  So:

Dash Wedge 1 (199)

Dash Rendar — YT-2400 Light Freighter	98
Expert Handling	6
Bistan	14
Perceptive Copilot	8
Outrider	14
Ship Total: 140
Half Points: 70 Threshold: 5
Wedge Antilles — T-65 X-Wing	55
R2 Astromech	4
Servomotor S-Foils	0
Ship Total: 59
Half Points: 30 Threshold: 3

Nothing really special and as I have the one ship clocking in at 140 points that does severely limit what I can pair with him as the tournament rules specify 2-8 ships…  So, Wedge it is for me.  I tried Jake in his little A-Wing, but…  Was difficult to keep him close to Dash to give the bonus Focus Action, he just does not hit hard and one “oops” Agility roll and that is it for him…  With Wedge at least I have a solid X-Wing chassis and with his I6/Pilot Ability I have the ability to hit really hard as well, potentially I-killing something and at least keeping things like other “Aces” honest.  Wedge is not himself what I would consider an “Ace” as he lacks the ability to double reposition, but I6 is VERY powerful.  Besides I have the nice acrylic indicator as well as neat Alt Art cards for him that I’ve never used… 

I’ll probably keep the Jedi and maybe the Firesprays in the travel kit giving me 3 totally different lists to have options wherever I do go…

Legion tomorrow and playing my Rebels again…  “Kill Points” mission, so short and small games it seems…  I’ll see if they have the Clone Wars Starter I ordered in and if so, I’ll have clones and Obi-Wan to assemble and field…  Anyone looking for some older (mostly) 40K things as I should probably dump some of those to make room in the Basement of Doom™…

Tournament Results for the Titan event 20 October, no commentary

So, just a quick post for the event we had on Sunday (20 October) to have it in a “nice” format for folks to review if they’d like…

Tony:

(39) Chertek [Nantex-class Starfighter]
(10) Ensnare
Points: 49

(44) General Grievous [Belbullab-22 Starfighter]
(4) Impervium Plating
(6) Outmaneuver
(6) Soulless One
Points: 60

(30) DBS-404 [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(1) Landing Struts
(6) Afterburners
(6) Adv. Proton Torpedoes
Points: 43

(38) Petranaki Arena Ace [Nantex-class Starfighter]
(10) Ensnare
Points: 48

Total points: 200

Chris:

              Anakin, 7B

              Obi-Wan, 7B

              Plo Koon, 7B

              196

Paul:

Boba Krassis (200)

Boba Fett — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	85
Lone Wolf	5
Maul	12
Proximity Mines	6
Stealth Device	6
Slave I	2
Ship Total: 116
Half Points: 58 Threshold: 5
Krassis Trelix — Firespray-class Patrol Craft	68
Snap Shot	8
Ion Cannon	5
IG-88D	3
Ship Total: 84
Half Points: 42 Threshold: 5

Patrick:

[b]BTL-B Y-wing - Shadow Squadron Veteran - 48[/b]
Shadow Squadron Veteran - [i][/i] (35)
Dorsal Turret (3)
R4 Astromech (2)
Veteran Turret Gunner (8)

[b]BTL-B Y-wing - Shadow Squadron Veteran - 48[/b]
Shadow Squadron Veteran - [i][/i] (35)
Dorsal Turret (3)
R4 Astromech (2)
Veteran Turret Gunner (8)

[b]ARC-170 Starfighter - •“Sinker” - 54[/b]
•“Sinker” - [i]Wolfpack Veteran[/i] (54)

[b]BTL-B Y-wing - Shadow Squadron Veteran - 48[/b]
Shadow Squadron Veteran - [i][/i] (35)
Dorsal Turret (3)
R4 Astromech (2)
Veteran Turret Gunner (8)

[b]Total: 198/200
[/b]
[url="https://squadbuilder.fantasyflightgames.com/.../c07ed652..."]View in the X-Wing Squad Builder[/url]

Brody ran:

Obi-Wan Kenobi (47)
Sense (5)
R2 Astromech (6)
Delta-7B (19)

Ship total: 77 Half Points: 39 Threshold: 3

Plo Koon (44)
R2 Astromech (6)
Delta-7B (19)

Ship total: 69 Half Points: 35 Threshold: 3

Ric Olié (42)
R2 Astromech (4)

Ship total: 46 Half Points: 23 Threshold: 3

Total: 192

Round 1

1: Chris Wilson VS Chad Billman - Match Results: Chad Billman is the winner 119 to 132

2: Tony Hillen VS Brody Walworth - Match Results: Tony Hillen is the winner 200 to 109

3: Paul Chappell VS Patrick Shaw - Match Results: Paul Chappell is the winner 200 to 58

Round 2

1: Chad Billman VS Tony Hillen - Match Results: Chad Billman is the winner 200 to 145

2: Paul Chappell VS Brody Walworth - Match Results: Brody Walworth is the winner 35 to 84

3: Patrick Shaw VS Chris Wilson - Match Results: Patrick Shaw is the winner 200 to 72

Round 3

1: Chad Billman VS Brody Walworth - Match Results: Brody Walworth is the winner 0 to 200

2: Tony Hillen VS Patrick Shaw - Match Results: Patrick Shaw is the winner 123 to 200

3: Paul Chappell VS Chris Wilson - Match Results: Paul Chappell is the winner 200 to 142

Rankings

Rank	Name	Faction	Score	MoV	SoS
1	Brody Walworth		2	758	0.56
2	Paul Chappell	SCUM	2	751	0.44
3	Patrick Shaw		2	663	0.33
4	Chad Billman		2	468	0.33
5	Tony Hillen		1	559	0.67
6	Chris Wilson		0	401	0.67

So, a quick and fairly casual event to get things started back up, hopefully this is the beginning of an upward trend to get folks back out playing more regularly :-)