So the dates for Yavin next year have been revealed, even if the 2019 System Open series hasn't been formally announced yet, and it's not too early to start thinking about your list [NOTE: I started writing this last week before Monday's announcements...]. Which for me right now means I'll be taking Imperials. (I'll be interested to see what the First Order conversion kit brings to the table, but based on previous experiences I have little confidence in FFG's ability to get the kits out this side of Christmas, and I'd like my Yavin list pretty much locked in for the start of the new year). And that in turn currently means I'll be taking a named Defender, an ordnance carrier and, um, something else yet to be determined...
So with that in mind I headed off to Alpha Games today for a Season Kit tournament armed with my TIE Interceptor socks and the following list:
Nothing Rymes With Soontir
Soontir Fel
- Outmaneuver
- Stealth Device
Countess Ryad
- Juke
Major Rhymer
- Marksmanship
- Cluster Missiles
Ryad's the only named Defender pilot I haven't flown yet, with Juke because I'm more and more coming to the opinion that Juke should be stapled to all the Defender pilots. I played a couple of practice games with Fel in the week (thanks Adam and Steve!) and he seems really strong especially in the endgame; I'm a bit torn right now between Predator and Outmaneuver so I'm trying the latter. I also haven't tried the TIE Bomber yet, and I'm hoping to get some value out of Rhymer's ability allowing him to use Cluster Missiles at any range.
It was good to see another great turnout, with 16 players competing.
Game 1 - Michael Maggs
Deathrain
- Trajectory simulator
- Proton torpedoes
- Ablative plating
- Proton bombs
- Seismic charges
Redline
- Trajectory simulator
- Proton torpedoes
- Ablative plating
- Proton bombs
Echo
- Juke
- Darth Vader
Michael set up his Punishers to come down the right-hand side towards me with Echo on the left side. I set up to joust the Punishers with all my ships; with hindsight I should have gone for Echo first, but we'll come to that in a second.
In the initial engagement I got my cluster missiles off on both the Punishers whilst avoiding proton bombs. And then in came Echo, and Darth Vader started stripping Evade tokens from the Countess. Rhymer got his second load of Cluster Missiles off before he died, but Soontir was in a position where he Slooped - right onto a Proton Bomb which gave him a Loose Stabiliser. Soontir finished off Deathrain but died shortly after, and Ryad put hits on Redline but picked up Panicked Pilot and had to run away. Two turns later I had a great position to knock out Redline, but I still had one stress token, so no greens, and Darth Vader killed me.
(Only after the game did I realise I'd completely forgotten to use Autothrusters the whole game)
Game 2 - James Ritter
Ten Numb
- Ion cannon
- Outmaneuver
Luke Skywalker
- R2 astromech
- Servomotor S-foils
Norra Wexley
- Elusive
- R2 astromech
- Novice technician
Recalling my winning tactic from last time, I set up with Rhymer on my right and Fel and Ryad on my left, while James set up to joust Rhymer. Which meant while Rhymer was shooting missiles at Luke and Norra I was able to swoop around on my left and come in behind Ten Numb, taking him down quickly. I lost Rhymer but he'd already done his job, however a combination of Norra's ability, Luke's Force-assisted evasion and the shield regen of the R2's meant I ended up chasing Luke all over the bottom of the board before I could get into a position where both Fel and Ryad had regular good shots on him. With time called, Luke died with the last shot of the game.
Game 3 - Chris Neal
Luke Skywalker
- Supernatural Reflexes
- Servomotor S-foils
Jan Ors
- Jyn Erso
- Moldy Crow
Sabine Wren
Lieutenant Blount
I have a tactic that I'm reasonably happy with, so clearly I'm going to keep doing it. Until I cock it up, of course...
I set out to do the same thing, except Ryad spent the first couple of turns picking her way through a few obstacles. And that meant that while Rhymer got his first load of missiles off, Chris' ships had time to deal with Rhymer and then get turned around to face Fel/Ryad. A couple of turns later, Ryad was head-to-head with Lt Blount, and Chris and I both said 'Well, I'd prefer to be in the Defender in that situation'. Ah, the commentator's kiss of death. Blount at Range 1 and with a friendly ship close by, got to roll 4 dice, 2 hits and 2 crits, and with the timing they've become famous for, my green dice blanked out and Ryad lost all her shields in one shot. To a Z-95. Frankly, I was ashamed for her.
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| "This isn't going to go the way you think..." |
Game 4 - Chris Wilding
Ten Numb
- Juke
- Shield upgrade
Thane Kyrell
- Predator
- R5 astromech
- Servomotor S-foils
Cassian Andor
- Lando Calrissian
- Pivot wing
AP-5
- Jyn Erso
I set Ryad and Fel up on the right-hand side this time - after all I don't want to get predictable when I can play this tactic any of two different ways! It did however mean that Fel ended up behind Ryad. I was able to take out AP-5, but a combination of Ten and Thane was too much for my tired dice.
This week's takeaways...
- Remember to use your ship's abilities...
- Norra is a PITA to kill, go for her early in the game
- Crew Vader is also a PITA needing to go down quickly
- When you have a tactic, don't mess it up...
I need more practice with Soontir and getting the best out of him, but I think he's strong enough that I'll want him in my Yavin list - I still want more experimentation with Predator vs Outmaneuver though. The other two I'm less convinced by, but there's still more ships to try yet...
All glory to the Emperor!
