Store Championship Report - Forgotten Path Games

Forgotten Path Games
Vacaville, CA
28-Feb-2016

Number of Players: 36 (Confirmed)
My placing at the event: 8th

Finally got my range ruler.

My List

x2 Syndicate Thug w/ Unhinged Astromech, BTL-A4 and Twin Laser Turret
Torkil Mux w/ Blaster Turret and Moldy Crow
x2 Binayre Pirate

I wont go over the blow by blow for this post. I went 3-2 and had a very respectable MoV. I am damned happy that I finally made top 8. Special thanks to 707 Squadron and to the event itself for being one of the best I've attended so far. Aside from a snafu which cost 20 minutes of time in the 5th round to get sorted out it went very well. They gave away game mats during each round which was especially welcome. From a meta perspective I say a TON of bro-bots and x4 TLT Y-Wings. I played both of those lists once. The most interesting lists I saw were x8 Z-95 and x2 Kihrahxz and x3 Z-95 on the top tables. My next post will hopefully be a link to the video of my 3rd round game at Gamescape North.

One last note: all content on the blog has been tournament driven and will remain so until the end of March. After that the main tournament season is over and I will return to regular content.

Store Championship Report - Gamescape North

Gamescape North
San Rafael, CA
20-Feb-2016

Number of Players: 28 (Confirmed)
My placing at the event: 11th

This was the best I've ever done at a tournament and I was very proud of my performance.

My List

x2 Syndicate Thug w/ Unhinged Astromech, BTL-A4 and Twin Laser Turret
Graz the Hunter
N'Dru w/ Lone Wolf, Cluster Missiles and Glitterstim

Round 1
Result - Win (100-50)

Name: Marshall

List

Dash w/ Push the Limit, Heavy Laser Cannon, Kyle Katarn, Outrider and Engine Upgrade
Miranda w/ Twin Laser Turret, C3-PO and Conner Net

Notes: Lost N'dru due to poor flying. Flew Graz okay but was too bold with him and got him dead. It was up to the awesome no-name Y-wing pilots to win the day.

Round 2
Result - Win (100-25)

Name: Bobby

List

Poe w/ Push the Limit, BB-8 and Autothrusters
Wedge w/ Predator, R2-D2 and Integrated Astromech
Gold Squadron Pilot w/ R3-A2, BTL-A4 and Twin Laser Turret

Notes: Flew well but it turned into a straight joust and I came out ahead. Lost N'dru again to poor flying.

Round 3
Result - Loss (62-100)

Name: James
Player Note: He ended up placing 2nd at the event. 707 Squadron represent!

List

Miranda w/ C3-PO and Twin Laser Turret
Gold Squadron Pilot w/ R3-A2, BTL-A4 and Twin Laser Turret
Gold Squadron Pilot w/ Twin Laser Turret
Tala Squadron Pilot

Notes: Had to fly against another member of 707 Squadron. It was a complete slugfest. I made a couple mistakes, one of which was costly but overall it just came down to who could punch harder and he came out ahead. Great game. It was recorded by Trinity Squad Gaming and I will post the video once its up.

Round 4
Result - Win (100-50)
Name: Darryl

List

Poe w/ Veteran Instincts, R5-P9 and Autothrusters
Dutch w/ Twin Laser Turret and Targeting Astromech
Prototype Pilot w/ Chaardan Refit and Autothrusters
Prototype Pilot w/ Chaardan Refit

Notes: Another tough slugfest that almost went to time. Managed an early takedown of Dutch but had to slowly work Poe and the A-Wings down. Flew decently well. Even got to vaporize an A-Wing with N'dru but again he and Graz died after eating way more shots than he should have.

Round 5
Result - Loss (30-100)
Name: Jossle

List

Howlrunner w/ Crack Shot
x3 Black Squadron Pilot w/ Crack Shot
Darth Vader w/ Veteran Instincts, Advanced Targeting Computer, TIE-X1 and Engine Upgrade

Notes: We both flew well and it was a damned tough game. Critical move that cost me the game was the right one but it was stopped by about being a millimeter too close to Vader. That move not working was the loss of the game and kept me from 8th place. Brutal. Still great game and it felt really good to taste the top tables for the first time.

Final Thoughts: I think I underestimated the value of Graz in my Kihraxz article. The fact that he can semi-reliably bounce TLT shots really helped in my games and people had difficulty compensating for him. Consequently he took a lot of shots meant for my Y-Wings and that was very useful. N'dru however was very lackluster and was definitely the weak point of the list. I will not be running him again. Overall a great event and a good venue with the best players. Can't wait to see Drew win it again next year. ;)

Store Championship Report - Great Escape Games

Great Escape Games
Sacramento, CA
6-Feb-2016

Number of Players: 46 (Confirmed)
My placing at the event: 27th
Score: 13 MoV: 556 SoS: 85

My list:

Zeta Leader w/ Crackshot
Howlrunner w/ Crackshot
Mauler Mithel w/ Crackshot
Scourge w/ Crackshot
x2 Academy TIEs

100 pts

Note: I was the only pure TIE swarm at the event.

Round 1
Loss (31 - 100)

His list:

Rear Admiral Chirneau w/ Expert Handling, Papa Palpatine, Rebel Captive and Engine Upgrade
Vader w/ TIE/x1, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Targeting Computer, and Engine Upgrade

Notes: This guy ended up going to the top eight. I got the Decimator down to half  and beat up Vader but I couldn't seal the deal. He flew well and my Evade dice betrayed me.

Round 2
Modified Win (50 - 43)

Her List:

Omicron Pilot w/ Papa Palpatine
Wampa
Vader w/ TIE/x1, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Targeting Computer, and Engine Upgrade
Zeta Leader w/ Wired

Notes: This was a tough list. I liked seeing Wired on Zeta Leader. It was well flown and I barely scraped by with a modified win.

Round 3
Win (100 - 0)

His List

IG88-A w/ Crack Shot, Fire Control System, Heavy Laser Cannon, Glitterstim, IG-2000, and Autothrusters

IG88-B w/ Crack Shot, Fire Control System, Heavy Laser Cannon, Glitterstim, IG-2000, and Autothrusters

Notes: This was my only super stomping of the tournament. I had built the list to give the robots a hard time and when it came around it worked exactly the way it was supposed to and he rolled green dice like I did my first game. It was over in four rounds. Not much to say.

Round 4
Loss (0 - 100)

His List:

Han Solo w/ Veteran Instincts, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, Millennium Falcon, and Engine Upgrade
Poe Dameron w/ Veteran Instincts, R2-D2, and Autothrusters

Notes: This was a long drawn out slog against my natural predator. He flew it well.

Round 5
Loss (35 - 100)

His List:

Soontir Fel w/ Royal Guard TIE, Push the Limit, Autothrusters, and Stealth Device
Omicron Pilot w/ Papa Palpatine
Vader w/ TIE/x1, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Targeting Computer, and Engine Upgrade

Notes: The best I flew all day. I got the shuttle down to one shield so I could have gotten 50 pts with a little bit more luck. Bad evade dice. Awesome flying. Good opponent. Pro tier experience.

Round 6
Win (100 - 18)

His List:

Ten Numb w/ Veteran Instincts, Fire Control System, and Mangler Cannon
Biggs
Gold Squadron Pilot w/ R3-A2 and Ion Cannon Turret
Bandit Squadron Pilot

Still on fire from my last game I used my TIEs and built and inescapable box that he could not fly through or around. Systematically blew him apart. Rolled average. Flew well. Booya.

Overall it was a decent event. Wish the store had provided some secondary support outside of the store kit. Seems a little thin in that regard considering the 15.00 entry cost and number of players. They also started rounds pretty much immediately after posting pairings but it seemed to work out actually so I didn't have a problem with it. But six rounds in a row with no break is brutal. A trial by fire. Special thanks to 707 Squadron.

Store Championship Report - Game Kastle Santa Clara

Tournament Report - UPDATED -

Game Kastle
Santa Clara CA
30-Jan-2016

Number of Players: 51 (Confirmed)
My placing at the event: 36th
Score: 2 2 0 10 389

Three notes before we get to it; as usual I missed taking a few pictures here and there. I only played four rounds of the event and I knew this going in as I had prior commitments and lastly I took the same list I took to Games of Berkeley to this event. I had a lot of fun and it was a taste of the endurance needed to play at a high level.

Round 1

Result: Loss (48 vs 100)

My first opponent was named Eli and he was flying almost a mirror of my list, No Comms Relay on Omega Leader and no VI on Vader but he had EU.

Deployment

Round 1 - no action.

Round 2 - My Vader Rng 3 rolls HHC doing 1 to his Vader. His Vader Rng 1 rolls C on Wampa doing no dmg. My Omega R2 rolls H to Vader doing 0 with Palp. His Omega R2 rolls HH on my Wampa doing 1. My Wampa palps for C for one hull on his Vader. His Wampa R3 at my shuttle doing 1 dmg. My shuttle is out of arc. His shuttle Rng 2 rolls HHC on my shuttle. My shuttle is down by 3 shields. 

Round 3 - his shuttle takes 1 from the rock. I land Vader on a rock doing 1 to me. Note: This is my biggest mistake in the game and it costs me the game most likely. His Vader R1 rolls HHC on my Wampa and I lose Wampa. My Omega R2 rolls HH at his Wampafor 0. His Omega R1 rolls HC on my Omega taking 1. His Wampa rolls C doing 1 to my Omega. My shuttle rolls HHC and he Palps and managed to take 0.

Round 4 - I don't take any rock dmg moving Vader. His Vader on my Vader. Rolls H R2 obstructed. He Palps and ATC to HHC I rolls and Palp to take 1 shield. His Omega H with same modifiers and I evade. His Wampa with another natural C. Vader takes 1 hit. My shuttle range 1 on his shuttle doesn't dmg.

My poor flying leaves me needing to eke out a few pts and survive. He is also starting a string of rolling three natural crits in a row with Wampa but I don't know that yet. 

Round 5 - My Vader misses his shuttle. His Vader R3 rolls H at my Omega doing 0. My Omega does 1 to his Vader. His Omega R2 on my Vader. He Palps to get CC. My Darth evades naturally. My shuttle Palps on his Vader to get CC. He flubs and has no Palp and he gets Direct Hit. His Vader is dead. I'm now ahead! It's unexpected and undeserved but still welcome. 

Round 6 - My Vader goes nuts and with Palp and ATC gets CCC on his shuttle which is now down to hull. While this feels good it was a serious pay mistake in regards to target priority and using Palp too early. His Omega R1 rolls H on my Omega. I can't modify and no Palp so my Omega is down to 1 Hull. His Wampa managed to take out my Vader. Ouch. Quickly my lead is crushed.

Round 7 - His Omega R1 rolls C at my Omega doing 0. His Omega R2 rolls CC at my Omega who rolls blanks so he's gone.

I give him full pts for his MOV and to give me an easy next round. I made 4 mistakes, two huge ones which easily cost me that game. Big learning. But still feeling good. 

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Round 2

Result: Win (100 vs 15)

My second opponent was named Dan. His list is was 4 Black Sun Aces with Crack Shot and Inertial Dampners. I love playing Scum and playing against them!

Deployment

Round 1 - No action.

Round 2 - No action.

Round 3 - K44 TL my shuttle. Omega TL K44. Vader TL K40 and Evade. Vader on K40 HC with ATC. He evaded. Omega rolls H on K44 doing 1 shield. K44 atk Shuttle R3 with TL 1 H and I evade. K0 R3 obs on Onega for HHC. I palp and evade token and he crack shots to do 1 to Omega. K40 R2 on Vader Rolls HH and he evades. K39 on Vader R3 rolls HH and I burn evade token and he crack shots to do 2 to Vader. Wampa rolls H on K44 R3 no hits. Shuttle R3 on K44 HHC. He takes 2 dmg and 1 Crit. Console Fire.

Round 4 - K44 K40 and K0 TL shuttle. Omega R2 K39 rolls H he evades. K0 R2 on shuttle gets HHH and I evade so he does 2. K40 at shuttle R3 gets HHH and I evade 1 so he does 2. K44 R2 on shuttle. HHC thanks to all the TL. Gets hit and Weapons Failure. R39 R3 on shuttle gets C and I evade.  Wampa R1 at K39 whiffs so I palp a Crit for a dmg card. Shuttle R2 at K44 rolls H which is dodged.

I remembered his console fire Crit which he now rolled. It killed K44. So we retracted one hit and one Crit on the shuttle.

Round 5 - K0 k turns through a rock and takes one dmg. Vader TL K40. Vader at K40 R3 obs HC. And he evades. Omega Palps a HHC on K39 and he evades down to 1 shield of dmg. K0 whiffs R1 shuttle. K40 R1 shuttle and whiffs again. WTF! Wampa R2 on K39 and he evades. Shuttle HHHC at R1 into K39 and blows him up.

Round 6 - K40 and K0 TL shuttle.Vader on K40 R1 and with palp and ATC get HHCC and get major explosion and Dirext hit. Boom! Omega R1 into K0 and gets 2 hits. No evades. K0 on the shuttle R2 HHC and get 1 evade. 1 hit and a Damaged Engine Crit. Shuttle is so bad it don't care! Wampa R3 at K0, 1 evade 1 hit.

Round 7 - I predict his inertial Dampeners almost perfectly. I use Wampa for insurance and Vader R1 seals the deal. 

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Round 3

Result: Win (100 vs 59)

Chris game 3 he is running Poe with VI, AT, R2-D2. Stresshog, TLT Y wing, and a Bandit Z-95.

Round 1 - No action.

Round 2 - No action.

Round 3 - Vader on Poe R3 obs HHC and only gets 1 evade. 2 dmg shields down. Poe R1 Wampa HHC and I roll 1 evade and take 1 dmg and Direct Hit! On man. Wampa down! Two TLT shots at Vader from Y0 and with Palp no dmg on Vader.

Round 4 - Stresshog rocks for no dmg. Omega TL Poe. Vader R1 Poe and with Palp and ATC I get HCCC. Poe is vaporized. Omega C on Y0 for 1 shield. Stresshog R2 on Vader rolling no dmg but 1 stress then TLT and I lose a shield. Z95 does R1 1 to Vader. Shields down. Y0 TLT Vader and 1 dmg goes through. Shuttle HH on the Z-95 and both go through.

Round 5 - Omega on Y0 R1 does HC and it goes through. Y0 TLTd Vader down. All the blanks! Stresshog TLT into Omega for no dmg. Z95 R1 Shuttle rolls H and I palp an evade. Shuttle R3 at Y0 1 C and gets Thrust Control Fire.

Round 6 - Omega into Y0 R1 HHC with Palp and get 2 through with 1 hit and a Damaged Sensor Array. Shuttle R2 on Stresshog and get HC taking 2 shields off.

Round 7 - Omega R1 into Y0 rolling HHH killing Y0. Stresshog R2 obs fires primary rolling HH which I evade and take a stress. Then TLT stresses and does no dmg with Palp and Evade Token. Shuttle R3 at Stresshog getting HC and he evades 1. Shields down on Stresshog.

Round 8 - Y0 at Omega R1 Primary rolls H no dmg. Z at Omega R3 rolls C  and no dmg. Shuttle R3 at Stresshog Palps for HC and gets a hit an a Direct hit!

Round 9 - Only shot is R1 shuttle against the Z. With TL and Palp got HHHC and wiped the Z out.

Round 10 - Stresshog fires into Lambda R1 HH and 1 hull. Down to 4. Shuttle uses TL and Palp for HHCC and the hog is dead.

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Round 4

Result: Loss (15 vs 100)

This was my toughest round my far and this person went to take second at the event. His name was David and he was running; Vader w/ Crack Shot, ATC, Title. Zeta Leader w/ Crack Shot. Howlrunner w/ Crack Shot. BSP w/ Crackshot. Wampa

Round 1 - No action.

Round 2 - My Vader at BSP R2 and had to burn TL to get HH and 1 got through. His Vader R2 at Omega and he HHC with ATC and I burn evade and he Crack shots to get te shield off. Omega at BSP and I palp for HCC and one Crit goes through Dorect Hit killing BSP. Zeta at Omega 1 using Zeta and his ability and Howl is HHHH. I managed to evade but he crack shots and takes him out. Wampa R1 whiffs His Vader. His Wampa R3 Vader HH with Howl and I still take 1. Those blanks!

Round 3 - Vader R1 into Howl HCC with Palp another Direct Hit! His Vader gets HCC. Doing 3 shields. Howlrunner R2 into Shuttle HC down to hull on Shuttle. Zeta into Shuttle CC Direct Hit and Console Fore! Ow. Wampa R1 into shuttle and gets 3 hits. Shuttle goes down.

Round 4 - Vader into Howl R2 H evades by Howl. My Wampa R1 into Zeta and whiffs. His Wampa into mine rolls a natural Crit and does 1 to my Wampa.

Round 5 - His Vader R2 obs at my Wampa. Rolls C which is evaded. Zeta whiffs R2 on Wampa. My Wampa does HH and gets a shield off his Vader. His Wampa rolls natural Crit at R1 and does 1 to my Wampa.

Round 6 - Zeta on Wampa for HHHH which wipes out Wampa. His Wampa rolls HC at R2 on Vader doing 1 through shields.

Round 7 - My Vader R1 HC on Zeta which is evades. His Vader R2 obs on my Vader CCC which I evade. Howl R1 on my Vader HH which does 2 after crack shot. Vader down to 1 Zeta wraps it up at R1 HHCC. 

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Overall a great event and an excellent opportunity for learning. I wish I could have stayed longer and gone to all the rounds. I will be going to the Sacramento event this upcoming Saturday and I have no idea what I'm going to take. I will be experimenting with a couple lists tonight but I don't expect much from them.