WWG X Wing Store Championship – There is another…

Hello fellow junkies. How are you? It’s feels like it’s been a while, doesn’t it? You good? Good. Right enough about you, lets talk about me!

Firstly, this has taken longer to publish than I would have liked. (Saying that, I’d rather I took my time and I put out something I felt was decent, than rush something out that was garbage). Reason being, my part-time job has finally been upgraded to full-time hours and I have a lot less free time during the day. This is really great news for me as I lost my job in the January before original lockdown and things were tight for a while. But, I decided that instead of ‘just getting another job’ I would make a career move into something I actually wanted to be doing. Sadly, at the time, all that was available was part-time. Well, the time has come and after blood, sweat and only a few tears I’m full-time and I can get some semblance of normality back after the horrendous 2020/21we’ve had.

Right, so what have I been doing? Well, this time I have something slightly different for you. Worcester Wargames was to host their Store Championship and as this is my local store I was very excited. What Extended list would I be flying? Republic Jedi? Ooo! Maybe something new? Double ooo! The possibilities were endless. Turns out I wouldn’t be flying anything Extended as this was a Hyperspace event… Bugger. I hold no punches when talking about the Hyperspace format: I don’t like it. I don’t personally feel like the restrictions laid upon the format make for interesting and complex list building. However, saying that I can see how your opinion could be different based on what type of faction preference you have. As somebody who uses a lot of Aethersprite Jedi I’m obviously not a fan of not being able to fly them. So, we’re back to that traditional question of what am I going to fly?

It was suggested to me by friendly neighbourhood Toby Harris that I use the event as a pallet cleanser going into the new points and that I should fly something different to what I normally fly. So knowing good advice when I see it, that’s what I did. I started brainstorming what types of list I felt like playing and spent some time with LaunchBay creating and changing various lists. My first thought was…

List #1:
Resistance (197) – YASB Link for this list.
Ello Asty T-70 X-Wing (54)
Intergrated S-Foils
Nien Nunb T-70 X-Wing (53)
Intergrated S-Foils
Zizi Tlo RZ-2 A-Wing (46)
Proton Rockets
Lulo L’ampar RZ-2 A-Wing (44)
XX-23 Thread Tracers

What I like about this list is they’re all Initiative 5 which means in the Hyperspace format there isn’t much that will be moving before them. Also, seeing as the event is using the currently written (read: real) rules I feel like the 3 point bid will be enough to sneak me the choice of initiative. Move up, focus, fire thread tracers, get locks, do big damage. It’s nice, simple and well-rounded with the addition of the T-70’s having a decent health pool.

However, ‘There is another…’ 

List #2:
Rebel Alliance (198) – YASB Link for this list.
Leia Organa Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter (83)
Shattering Shot + Millennium Falcon
Luke Skywalker T-65 X-Wing (60)
Servomotor S-Foils
Ahsoka Tano RZ-1 A-Wing (55)
Instinctive Aim + Proton Rockets

Same as the list before this one, I like that they’re all Initiative 5. Also, I have a soft spot for the Falcon. There’s just something about it on the table I love. The new Shattering Shot upgrade is intriguing and while everybody is putting it on ETA-2’s I think Leia and Rey make better carriers for it. Being able to double mod my shots using Ahsoka’s pilot ability means I can use Leia’s force to add the focus result and really push the damage. Seeing as Trick Shot isn’t in the hyperspace format, this is probably as good as it gets for the YT-1300 chassis. I thought Luke would make for a great end piece ship but my games didn’t quite turn out that way… It’s not all doom and gloom though as Ahsoka packs a helluva punch herself being able to target lock and utilise Instinctive Aim to deliver her payload, essentially double modded. Originally, I had Agile Gunner in the space of the Millennium Falcon title so I could end phase rotate to set-up better shots with the Falcons dial. However, in the end I felt the swarm/concentrated fire protection the title added would yield better results over the course of a day essentially still being able to take an Ahsoka action on Leia to mod my shots with a Target Lock/Force if needed.

I started practising with this list at casual night and finding games on TTS where I could spare the time. The week before the event I would be away in Dorset and would have no time to practise so this week was crucial to get as much time as I could with the list so I felt comfortable flying it competitively. (Again I can’t express how useful the Discord is for finding TTS games if that’s your kind of thing. Invite Link Here). Long story short, during the course of the week I went 7/1 with my list only losing to Supernatural Kylo and Snoke Tavson which isn’t Hyperspace Legal, so I felt rather comfortable with my list. I was all but certain this was what I wanted to use.

Until…

Two days before I was due to leave for Dorset I had this pesky thought come around in my head that I should fly a TIE Swarm. It’s online success at GSP – Hoth caught my attention and it looked super fun. I purchased a couple of missing cards and base plates and got everything ready… However, having no time to practise with it I couldn’t bring myself to make the decision to swap this late in the game. But, if there is another Hyperspace event in the future it is something I want to try! Watch this space.

WWG X Wing Store Championship
My week in Dorset was over way too quickly but this is the way with time off/holidays. The day came around fast and before I knew it I was en route to Worcester wondering what the day would bring, what lists would be present but overall just looking forward to playing some good wholesome X-Wing with new people and people I’d not seen for a while. I got to the hall and had a chat with a few people, one of which being good friend Ben Saunders. I knew you’d come. The grovelling worked! Huzzah. After chatting for a little while, Lians magnificent voice boomed out cutting through the excited buzz in the room like a hot knife through butter and we fell silent for introductions and the round one draw… Let the games begin.  

Game #1 – Ashley Turner

Rebel Alliance (200)
Red Squadron Veteran T-65 X-Wing (41)
Marg Sabl Closure + Servomotor S-Foils
Red Squadron Veteran T-65 X-Wing (41)
Marg Sabl Closure + Servomotor S-Foils
Red Squadron Veteran T-65 X-Wing (41)
Marg Sabl Closure + Servomotor S-Foils
Red Squadron Veteran T-65 X-Wing (41)
Marg Sabl Closure + Servomotor S-Foils
Jake Farrell RZ-1 A-Wing (36)
Vectored Cannons + Deadeye Shot + Starbird Slash

I’ve not played Ashley before and his list was beefy. This was going to be a tough game as one wrong move could see my ships heavily damaged or destroyed completely. Ashley started his forces in a block formation in the top right corner and I opted to start mine in the corner opposite to entice his forces through the obstacles – keeping my distance, being careful not to enable his Marg Sabl Closure.

As Ashleys T-65’s came forward, I went left and outward. Then a few turns in when it looked like an engage was upon us I decided to try and get some cheeky shots with Luke Skywalker. Luke did no damage despite having a target lock and force and lost one of his own shields. Crap. 

Leia moved up, playing it safe hoping to use the rock next turn for some Shattering Shots. Ahsoka came in nabbing Luke in her range 2 bubble and gave him a barrel roll to help him avoid the oncoming T-65 onslaught. There was a T-65 in front of Luke which took 4 damage from his range 1 attack but in response Luke took 3 damage over all Ashleys incoming shots, leaving him with 1 hull. Not an awful trade off considering the shots taken. Leia also managed to put some damage through on another T-65 as I couldn’t reach the one Luke shot at. Sad face. I then tried to 4-K turn with Luke for it to be blocked and he promptly died. It was worth a shot. However, before he died he put another 4 damage into a T-65 so at least I had three of Ashleys T-65’s on half, or limping on 1 health. The next couple of turns Leia and Ahsoka tag teamed up to remove those T-65’s before they could shoot. One managed to squirrel away into a position where it wasn’t taking shots nor firing back so the force wielding duo bullied Jake Farrell who didn’t last long…

Result – Win: 159-60. 

Game #2 – Andrew Robertson

Rebel Alliance (200)
Luke Skywalker T-65 X-wing (67)
Adv. Proton Torpedoes + R4 Astromech + Servomotor S-foils
Jake Farrell RZ-1 A-wing (39)
Proton Rockets
Sabine Wren RZ-1 A-wing (40)
Proton Rockets
Ahsoka Tano RZ-1 A-wing (54)
Mag-Pulse Warheads

Another Rebel list? Interesting. Not only another rebel list but one that contains two out of three of the pilots I’m flying too! I knew that 2 point bid would come in handy… I made Andrew first player. Sorry, not sorry! Andrew started top right and I bottom left with the same plan as before – to entice his forces through the obstacles.

The engage came on turn three where multiple shots were traded at range 3; my Luke took 1 shield, Jake took 2 shields – half points. There was an integral turn to the game where I 5-K turned Ahsoka and granted Luke a Barrel Roll so his own 4-K turn fit snug behind Andrews Luke and Ahsoka who tried to block. Sadly, this wasn’t enough to kill his Luke but brought him down to 3 Hull. We take the little victories. Leia was floating round the edges and I took her too far out of the fight and would now need to spend a few turns getting her safely back in; she was my contingency plan if Luke and Ahsoka bit the dust. After forgetting about the R4 unit on Andrews Luke, it was a Luke-off and they both killed each other in a blaze of glory. Adv. Proton Torpedoes are no joke! Thankfully, his was more expensive and with Jake on half I was still up on points and now Leia was in a position to come in and help mop things up.

Ahsoka ended Jakes suffering at range 1, and Leia started on enemy Ahsoka by wiping out her shields. My Ahsoka took 2 damage from his Ahsoka in revenge for what she’d just done to Jake. Fair. As we approached the last couple of turns enemy Ahsoka blanked out to Leia again and she unceremoniously blew up leaving Sabine on her own on half points. Leia couldn’t finish her off in the final shots and that was game. The points don’t do this game justice. It was a fantastic game and one of my favourites throughout the day. Thanks Andrew!

Result – Win: 180-88

Game #3 – Simon Greenaway

Rebel Alliance (200)
Evaan Verlaine BTL-A4 Y-wing (48)
Ion Cannon Turret + XX-23 S-Thread Tracers + R4 Astromech + Conner Nets
Blue Squadron Escort T-65 X-wing (38)
Servomotor S-foils
Blue Squadron Escort T-65 X-wing (38)
Servomotor S-foils
Blue Squadron Escort T-65 X-wing (38)
Servomotor S-foils
Blue Squadron Escort T-65 X-wing (38)
Servomotor S-foils

MORE REBELS? Seriously? Okay then… Having faced ‘beef’ in the first round and managing to do well against it I was confident I knew how to handle this match-up. However, while there was an air of mystery about Ashley as I’d never played him before, Simon I have. He’s a deadly killer, don’t let those puppy dog eyes fool you. It runs in the family… Simon started his forces in the top right and I did as I did in the first game and started opposite. Guess why? Yes, you guessed it. Lets say it together. “To entice his forces through the obstacles”. I wanted to play down the left hand side of the board where there were plenty of obstacles but Simon was too clever for this and slow-rolled until he knew he could get my Falcon in a good position to focus-fire it down. I came up the top of his board edge and Simon 2-turned his forces into the board. Thankfully, there was a gas cloud blocking the formations way and he’d need to break up to get shots. While this was happening I made sure Ahsoka and Luke were coming in from behind on a flank so they could get safe shots if Simon did go for the Falcon.

Simon changed his mind and saw the flanking ships as better opportunities turning his ships in, all but one which got an expertly done block on forward moving Leia. I thought Ahsoka and Luke might look tempting… So I’d made sure they weren’t in a position to take any shots opting to play it safe myself. Thankfully, this meant that Leia had shots on the T-65s and she started going to work putting damage through on one. The turns that followed meant I was splitting fire trying to score what points I could, successfully managing to half two T-65’s only taking a few shields in return. The Y-Wing made for an obvious target but I couldn’t quite finish it off before time was called. Simon set-up a kill-box for the Falcon on the last turn of the game trying to put through enough damage to get half, only being 2 damage away! But a 4-forward and a boost meant Leia dodged every arc and that was game. Another game where the points don’t do the game justice. This was tense, tight and exciting. Simon was an excellent opponent as always. That was revenge for Plo in Bristol, Simon!

Result – Win: 62-0

Game #4 – Kester Smith

First Order (199)
Kylo Ren Tie WI Whisper Modified Interceptor (65)
Predator + Enhanced Jamming Suite
”Grudge” Tie SE Bomber (48)
Thermal Detonators + Cluster Mines
Sienar-Jaemus Test Pilot Tie SE Bomber (43)
Thermal Detonators + Cluster Mines
Sienar-Jaemus Test Pilot Tie SE Bomber (43)
Thermal Detonators + Cluster Mines

Right, c’mon then what Rebel list have you got for me Kester? Oh, finally something different! First Order. Not only First Order but the new shiny, stuff! Ooo! Kester started his ships spread out in a line across the middle of his board edge, and Kylo on the far right side. This meant there was a nice opportunity for me to go quick down the left edge and see if I can get some cheeky shots off and remove a Sienar-Jamus bomber before it does anything. Seeing as we’d broken the three game rebel train, I thought I’d break my three game defensive play style for an aggressive one. I didn’t know how effective that would be until later… Kester went forward slowly, and I went full throttle narrowly missing a turn 1 shot. However, the following turn I was in a great position to take advantage of the early positioning and the danger close SE bomber took a pounding, losing its shields and 2 hull. Kester then tried to fly in and block my ships to stop the SE bomber meeting its early demise, but I moved Ahsoka first into range 1, then self bumped leia into Ahsoka’s rear granting her range 1 shots too, denying any advantageous bumps. Sorry Kester. Luke also bumped into Leia’s rear granting him range 2 shot too… Needless to say, that bomber died and it was an early lead to me. I slooped and turned my ships giving me better positioning for the turn after and started working on Kylo. What followed was disgusting and I acknowledge the dice were completely in my favour. Kylo died in two rounds of hot, hot, hot Leia shooting and Grudge and the last SE Bomber were below half threshold thanks to Luke and Ahsoka. They dropped their payloads but some more tactical bumping meant I only took 1 damage on Leia. I finished both Grudge and the remaining Bomber in the turns that followed opting to just eat all the bombs dropped in Leia’s path as she was already at half threshold and saw the game out destroying “Grudge” with 35 minutes to spare. Ouch!

Result – Win: 200-42

Game #5 – Tim Greenaway

First Order (200)
Gideon Hask Xi-class Light Shuttle (45)
Fanatical + Sensor Buoy Suite
”Breach” Tie SE Bomber (52)
Feedback Ping + Proton Torpedoes + Conner Nets
”Scorch” Tie SE Bomber (51)
Feedback Ping + Proton Torpedoes + Conner Nets
”Nightfall” Tie WI Whisper Modified Interceptor (52)
Deadeye Shot + Fanatical + Sensor Scramblers + Enhanced Jamming Suite

I’d honestly been having so much fun the fact we were now on the last round of Swiss blew my mind. It had gone so fast! Now, it would be a battle on the top table for myself and Tim who were the only people on 4-0. Andy (WWG Shop Owner) had last minute found the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Swiss trophies which were 3D printed lightsabers appropriately coloured for their position and I was in awe. I was confident with my MOV that I would be able to get one regardless of this games outcome, but I wanted the gold one!

Tim’s list was a touch of genius. I really liked it’s concept and it was frightening for my ships to face. The Sensor Buoys were on the clouds nearest to my board edge and I placed forces with the intention to kill one to buy myself room before the main engage. However, the dice had other intentions and it shrugged off a collective attack of 9 hits! Insane… I got a little too close with Luke on the following turn and he suffered for it and was now carrying a collection of three target lock tokens. Bugger! As a reprise though, the Buoy met it’s demise. Good! My forces came around the outside right edge while Tims came down the left. Neither one of us particularly wanted an engage that wasn’t favourable. Tims forces turned up and into the board where it looked like a juicy Luke Skywalker sandwich would be, but I baited him out and got to safety instead putting the Falcon in a position where Tim would need to commit to it. Shots were traded and there were minor shield casualties on either side. Next turn, Tims SE Bombers banked left slowly, turning their focus to Leia and both took locks in an attempt to launch their Proton Torpedoes. Leia went 4-forward and boosted around, dodging one arc and narrowly failing to escape the other. So close… Either way, a single modded torp wasn’t the end of the world. It did 4 damage, and she took 4 on the shields after failing to roll a singular evade. The next turn, Luke and Ahsoka obliterated Scorch while Leia came around behind Gideon Hask hoping to start whittling away at his health pool. Then, Luke traded with “Breach” while Ahsoka and Leia gave chase to Gideon, just doing enough damage to score half threshold in the final turn of the game. Luckily for me, this meant I had won; even if Tim scored the two hits required on Leia for half. So it happens, he didn’t quite get enough and the game was seen out with a final score of…

Result – Win: 126-60.

If I hadn’t have scored half on Gideon and Tim did get half on Leia the score would have been  103-103.. Could you ask for a potentially tighter game!? Well done Tim, thank you for an amazing final swiss game of the day. You did exceptionally well and should be very proud of yourself. But you know this already!

Overall Results:

As the rewards were handed out (congrats to Adam Searle for the Razorcrest Wooden Spoon!) and we ran up the leader board I was over the moon with my performance and how I’d flown my list. It had been a mentally taxing day with five tough games. Lian called me up and I collected my golden first place lightsaber trophy! Brrzzzzhhhh! That’s me making happy lightsaber noises. What a day this has been… I’d like to thank Lian for hosting, Andy for… *Scratch record*

Wait! Now it was time for the cut. It’s not over! Let’s go, I’m sure this will be fine!

Boss Battle – Craig Reed.

Ah crap. Craig is a pillar of our community and an all round brilliant guy who pilots with master-class precision and expertise. I can all but hear the boss battle music starting… We’d faced each other once before at the last system open and he beat me on the final shot of the game! I was worried going into this game but did my best to kept my resolve. Craig was flying:

Scum (200)
Torkil Mux HWK-290 Light Freighter (58)
L3-37 + Moldy Crow
Bossk YV-66 Light Freighter (66)
Greedo + Contraband Cybernetics + Cutthroat
Genesis Red M3-A Interceptor (45)
Cutthroat + Proton Torpedoes
Sunny Bounder M3-A Interceptor (31)
Ion Torpedoes

Craig started his forces top left and I started mine adjacent bottom left, hoping to go right and drag Craig through the debris and get some effective shots. I moved slowly and Craig fast, which meant he was upon me really quick. The majority of his forces took a lock on Leia on the second turn of the game and despite moving fast to avoid shots, this was bad news. The combination of Craigs experience, Tokil Mux making one of my ships initiative 0 and the heavy damage Bossk and Torpedoes can do ruined me. 

Leia lost all of her shields in the first proper engage and claimed 2 shields from Bossk in response. The following turn the onslaught continued and Leia received the following crits:

1. Hull Breach
2. Panicked Pilot
3. Fuel Leak
4. Structural Damage

Good giddy aunt! Among the other damage received Leia was now on 3 Hull. There was a mild reprisal and Bossk picked up a Disabled Power Regulator which I thought would be useful to pick up some damage in a couple turns if I could survive. However, Leia bumped the following turn, was made initiative 0 by Mux and promptly finished off by Bossk. Ouch! Luke was not in a good position to follow up with any shots and was being chased down by a hungry for blood pack of M3-A Interceptor’s.

Ahsoka was made initiative 0 by Mux which meant I couldn’t initiative kill Genesis Red and Luke succumb to the onslaught joining his sister on the sidelines. Don’t worry, you’ll become a force ghost. As the clock ticked down I was extremely behind on points. Bossk finally got ion’d and Ahsoka launched her Proton Rocket payload achieving half on Bossk. That means poor little Fulcum was on her own against the world. I tried my best to keep her from destruction and still get shots but it was desperate. I managed to score half on Mux and time was called…

Result – Loss: 171-62.

Good game Craig, very well deserved. I had an absolute blast and congratulations for going on to win the day as a whole. I can’t wait for our next game.

Conclusion:

What a day. What a result! Needless to say I’m very happy to have topped swiss with a result of 5/0 and despite crashing out of the cut, I couldn’t be happier. The list performed really well and there’s really not much I would change about it. If it was Extended, I’d use Jyn Erso instead of the Millennium Falcon title as it adds more value to my other ships, especially Luke. But for Hyperspace, I don’t think it gets much better than this. Shattering Shot was less useful during the event than it was in practise but I think that was due to what I was facing. Heavy beefy lists where I need to be careful but quick means I can’t just sit where I want and get perfect shots. Despite that, it’s totally worth the 3 points.

Thank you to everybody that made the day great. To all my opponents, everybody who turned up, Andy of WWG and a big special thank you to Lian Smith and Law for running a smooth, fun day. Always a pleasure.

My next event is Board in Brum (Extended) on the 13^th November. I’m hoping to make a return with a new and improved Jedi list which has been going decently in practise. However, following the event at Worcester I did buy myself a Ghost which I’ve wanted for some time and have enjoyed flying that a couple of times… Who knows. But until then my fellow Junkies…

Peace. o/