A Surprising Story: So Cal Regionals Recap

Due to X-Wing and the rest of the FFG Star Wars family is moving to the May Track, we are having Regional Tournaments again, very shortly after Worlds. The So Cal Regional was in fact actually the weekend after Worlds. For me it was a very exciting tournament. Instead of a battle rep or quick recap, I wanted to make this more into a story as I hope it will inspire others…

November 12, 2016 10:00 AM
San Diego, CA

I arrived about an hour before check-in closed for the day. The only thing for me to do was turn in my list. Over the past few weeks, I was very concerned about how my list would fair against others. And Worlds 2016 really made my choice even harder with Dengaroo taking the top spot. However, it being the only thing I’d practice with over the last couple of months, I chose to go ahead and take my Lucky 8s!

Lucky 8s (99)
The Inquisitor — TIE Advanced Prototype 25
Push the Limit 3
Proton Rockets 3
Autothrusters 2
TIE/v1 1
Ship Total: 34

Colonel Vessery — TIE Defender 35
Veteran Instincts 1
Ion Cannon 3
TIE/D 0
Ship Total: 39

“Omega Leader” — TIE/fo Fighter 21
Juke 2
Comm Relay 3
Ship Total: 26

Round 1

Going into the first round of the game, I was ready. The confidence was high, having played a few games the day before and faired well (I beat up pretty good on a guy that’d also go 4-2 at regionals). Still there were a few lists I didn’t want to see if possible. My Round 1 opponent had brought a list that was very unique to me. I did not like seeing Sabine. The ARC also did not appeal to me, both because of the stress and the rear firing arc. While Tarn wasn’t a big threat in my mind.

Rd1 Opponent (99)
Braylen Stramm — ARC-170 25
Gunner 5
R3-A2 2
Alliance Overhaul 0
Ship Total: 32

Warden Squadron Pilot — K-Wing 23
Twin Laser Turret 6
Extra Munitions 2
Sabine Wren 2
Proximity Mines 3
Cluster Mines 4
Advanced SLAM 2
Ship Total: 42

Tarn Mison — X-Wing 23
R7 Astromech 2
Integrated Astromech 0
Ship Total: 25

Overall I had mixed feelings about the match up. I had a strategy and tried to stick to it. My first target was the ARC. It hits hard and can take a lot of hits. Braylen targeted the Inquisitor and stacked up his stress. I decided to get the Inquisitor out of combat since a bad roll could kill him. However, I think this might have hurt me in the end since it took and extra round to take him off. Sabine did her work and I ended up having Tarn at 1 hull and the Warden fairly low as well. The Inquisitor was the sole survivor with 1 hull. Trying to turn back after disengaging again, a bad boost forced me to fly over a cluster mine…losing 32-100.

Needless to say, it was a rough start. My opponent, who perhaps traveled the furthest to play (not really since he was passing through, but hometown/meta was the furthest) ended up 5-1 with MOV 857, but falling in the Top 16 as well.

My one of my only two pictures of the day…

Round 2

Shaking off the first loss, I was ready to turn things around. I felt the list was fairly solid and I definitely lost to pilot skill rather than a poor list or bad dice. However, looking across the table at a Shadowcaster, I began to feel a little worried. That thing was not going to be fun…

Rd2 Opponent (100)
Asajj Ventress — Lancer-class Pursuit Craft 37
Push the Limit 3
Latts Razzi 2
Glitterstim 2
Engine Upgrade 4
Ship Total: 48

Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing 18
Twin Laser Turret 6
R4 Agromech 2
Ship Total: 26

Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing 18
Twin Laser Turret 6
R4 Agromech 2
Ship Total: 26

Looking at the list in more detail, I felt better because there were no tractor beams. Ventress would be tanking but not dealing damage. I knew I might have a good chance if I could take out the Y-Wings quickly. That was my basic strategy and it worked for the most part. The game neared time, there were less than 10 minutes, perhaps even less than 5 minutes left. The last two ships were Omega Leader and Ventress. Losing on points I kept pressure on Ventress who had only lost shields so far, and my opponent did not run, trying to finish Omega Leader who had 2 hull left. I ended up getting the two hull damage I needed to get half points on Asajj. In the last turn (not knowing that I could win on points), however, I gambled again and trying to get more shots on the Shadowcaster. My hard 2 left me on a rock with no arc and at Range 1 of Ventress’s mobile firing arc. My opponent rolled 2 hits and 2 crits, and I ended up rolling foci and blanks. The score would settle at 76-100. In hindsight, had I ran or even played it safe to not hit the rock, I might have survived this one.

Still my opponent was a great guy and the match was fun. He ended up 3-3 with MOV 559.

Lunch Break

After the round, I was looking at a similar start to last regionals 0-2. I knew I could drop now and have a fairly satisfying rest of the day. I discussed it with a few friends and they convinced me that I should at least play one more game. I had decided that again my poor flying and game awareness led to my 2 losses. My list had held up fairly well against 2 lists I was uncomfortable with. I ate lunch a lone and pondered the next game…

Round 3

After two fairly strong match ups, I drew the most interesting match up and probably the worst match up…a nearly identical mirror match.

Rd3 Opponent (100)
The Inquisitor — TIE Advanced Prototype 25
Push the Limit 3
Proton Rockets 3
Autothrusters 2
TIE/v1 1
Ship Total: 34

Colonel Vessery — TIE Defender 35
Veteran Instincts 1
Tractor Beam 1
TIE/D 0
Ship Total: 37

“Omega Leader” — TIE/fo Fighter 21
Juke 2
Comm Relay 3
Stealth Device 3
Ship Total: 29

Now, I was honestly fairly confident against the list as I had almost the same list and also because the previous month I had played a similar list, the difference being Vader instead of the Inquisitor. This game I would again pass the initiative to my opponent.

The tractor beam would be my weakness, so I targeted Vessery first while trying to keep my opponent’s Inquisitor from firing his proton rockets. The plan worked for the most part, tractor beam put Omega Leader on a rock in a critical moment of combat. Losing her I struggled to get back into the game, but my opponent’s rockets ended up only scoring 1 damage on my Vessery. The end game came down to my 2 hull Inquisitor to his full shield and hull Inquisitor. However, the positioning was in my favor as I was behind him and headed towards a corner. He boosted to try and line up a 4 K-turn, leaving him token less. My Inquisitor banked into Range 1 and fired the proton rockets, rolling 5 hits. My opponent ended up rolling all foci and blanks, watching his Inquisitor fall. Thus I won my first match of the day. 100-65.

It was a very disappointing loss for him, especially after such a hard fought battle. However, he was able to getting the next 3 games right and finished 3-3 with MOV 677.

And again, I think passing the initiative hurt in the beginning, but worked in my favor late in the game.

Round 4

While I was now 1-2, I did not feel much more confident, the thought of dropping continued to bug me. If I left now, my wife and I could catch the movies at the drive-in (something she really wanted to do).

My next opponent was 1-2 but I noticed it was due to a bye. Looking at the list, I was a little surprised, but very confident. Seeing the popularity of Defenders, I had studied the strategy to succeed against them.

Rd4 Opponent (100)
Gamma Squadron Veteran — TIE Bomber 19
Veteran Instincts 1
Systems Officer 2
Fleet Officer 3
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II 1
TIE Shuttle 0
Ship Total: 26

Countess Ryad — TIE Defender 34
Veteran Instincts 1
Shield Upgrade 4
TIE/x7 -2
Ship Total: 37

Glaive Squadron Pilot — TIE Defender 34
Veteran Instincts 1
Shield Upgrade 4
TIE/x7 -2
Ship Total: 37

Ryad was the biggest threat in the list. Depending on the opportunity, I would take the bomber, but I needed to remove Ryad quickly. She is too powerful in the late game.

I can’t remember exactly if my opponent and I talked much before the game, but in the first turn he forgot his free evades (it didn’t matter so there was no need to deal with the error) and I felt he was fairly new. When he barrel rolled Ryad into a position that would force her to fly over a rock the next turn, I know something wasn’t right. I found out that he had played a limited number of times over the past few months and this was his first attempt at the competitive scene. Looking back I definitely know how he felt about being at a tournament for the first time. It can be quite overwhelming, especially an event with 115 people.

In this game, I followed my plan. Due to the bad placement of Ryad, a Ion Cannon put her onto the rock where all three of my ships ripped into her, the Inquisitor landing the kill with a proton rocket. The bomber fell next and finally the Glaive. So I won this one 100-0.

Being from the area, I hope to see him continue with attending tournaments. He seemed to enjoy the experience and took it all as a great learning opportunity. He ended up 1-5 with MOV 272.

Round 5

Now, what to do…at 2-2 with an average MOV there might be hope. Things were looking like a possible repeat of the last regional tournament, where I went 0-2 and then won 3 in a row (only to lose my final match). The hour was getting late, no chance to make the drive-in, so I decided to continue on. My wife of course was encouraging me to do well, though I’m sure going to the movies would have made her happy.

The match up in Round 5 looked tough. A lot of hull and shield to burn through.

Rd5 Opponent (100)
Lothal Rebel — VCX-100 35
Fire-Control System 2
“Chopper” 0
Ship Total: 37

Han Solo — YT-1300 46
Predator 3
Gunner 5
R2-D2 (Crew) 4
Engine Upgrade 4
Millennium Falcon 1
Ship Total: 63

Again after looking at the list, I realized I knew how to beat it. I would have a fairly good chance if I could remove one of the big ships quickly. The rock placement forced me to make a few changes to my normal opening placement. I moved Vessery and Omega Leader a little closer to the middle to get around the rocks better.

The first moves, Lothal and Han kind of split a part, though the Lothal could turn hard behind Han on the next turn. I had moved fast forward as was my regular opening. The second series of maneuvers, Lothal moved forward away from Falcon, while Han also moved forward further from the VCX. I had hard turned Vessery and Omega Leader to face directly at Han. My thought was that if Han had turned in, I could go 2 on 1 against him. However, seeing that there was a clear line toward the Lothal, in the 3rd round I hard turned my two back towards the VCX. I would have all three ships targeting the beast. The Ion cannon hit twice leading to a bump the next turn allowing my ships to take the VCX off with hardly any damage getting through. Han during this had been forced to go nearly the length of the table before turning around and back into the fight. Looking at 3 on 1, my confidence at winning was at a peak. However, I still needed to win big to give myself a shot at day 2.  In the end, I was able to maneuver around and survive just enough shots to keep the Inquisitor and Omega Leader alive each with 1 hull and Vessery with hardly a scratch, winning my 3 match 100-0.

My opponent was disheartened and tired. He ended up 2-4 with MOV 387.

From Round 1, but this was my basic opening placement

Round 6

Looking at the standings at the end of Round 5, I was 28th with MOV 643. Based on the last regionals, the Top 16 cut off would land around 4-2 with MOV 840. Now, I knew exactly how close I was to making the cut. I would need to win 100-0 to even have a consideration at making the cut. In my mind losing 1 ship would end my chances.

When we took our places for the final match of the day, I was nervous from again coming back from a 0-2 start and because the list across from me was completely new to me…

Rd6 Opponent (100)
Omicron Group Pilot — Lambda-Class Shuttle 21
Emperor Palpatine 8
Ship Total: 29

“Wampa” — TIE Fighter 14
Ship Total: 14

“Omega Leader” — TIE/fo Fighter 21
Juke 2
Comm Relay 3
Ship Total: 26

“Backdraft” — TIE/sf Fighter 27
Crack Shot 1
Advanced Sensors 3
Special Ops Training 0
Ship Total: 31

I was unsure of the approach to this match up. Wampa and Palp were a huge threat to the Inquisitor. It would take only 2 turns of combat to kill him with my opponent’s attack combo. Backdraft was a little scary because it was new and the rear arc. Omega Leader was annoying, but wasn’t my main focus and with 2-3 attack dice, I didn’t place her at a very high priority. Palp alone was another big threat offensively and defensively.

He set the shuttle towards the left corner facing to my right and the TIEs in the middle, triangle formation. I went back to my standard opening set up in the left corner.

The plan for me was to shoot down the side fast (again the same idea in almost every match), then catch Palp or Wampa quickly. My opponent moved Palp forward and did a hard 3 towards the left. His ships bumped, which for the first round wasn’t a major problem. I still am not sure if that was intentional. Seeing this opening, I debated slowing my ships to get a better read on his plan.

However, I decided that I need to catch Palp before it was too late. My fast maneuvers put me at Range 3. Having passed the initiative again, I was able to target lock while my opponent wasn’t able to do so. In the opening combat, Vessery and the Inquisitor were able to eliminate Wampa! This was a great relief for me. I would not have to worry about Palp as an offensive threat as much as before. The positioning looked favorable for me. Vessery could K-turn, the Inquisitor could do a hard 1, and Omega Leader a hard or bank.

Backdraft turned in and sat right in the middle of the kill box. My opponent’s Omega Leader banked, but went over the rock and was unable to target lock. The kill box worked! The Inquisitor landed a strong proton rocket shot to eliminate Backdraft.

And after the 2nd round of combat, my opponent conceded the battle. His position was really in the worst possible way. I was extremely lucky to land at least 1 damage on all my shots. He had only taken 1 shield off Vessery and Omega Leader with all his work. With his Omega Leader turning into the faces of the Inquisitor and Vessery, it was not a favorable position. Palp still being on the board would have helped him if he continued on, but it probably would not have helped long enough for Omega Leader to survive 4 shots per round. Thus, I was gifted a 100-0 victory.

This very sportsman gentleman ended up 3-3 with MOV 491.

I was indeed shocked that he decided to concede, but I will be forever grateful. My Swiss record would end at 4-2 with MOV 843. Being one of the first games to complete, it was not clear if I’d have enough MOV to make it. Though I was fairly certain if I did make it I’d be in 16th place.

The TO (Tournament Organizer) decided to call off the top 16 from bottom up. 16th place would go to…not me…Uh oh. I felt a momentary sadness, until he announced 15th place…I had made the top 16! I felt so relieved. It had been a long up hill battle, but some how the magic of tournaments came to me that day.

As I said earlier, I hope this shows that anything is possible in X-Wing. After only 2 rounds of playing, I nearly quit! What a mistake would that have been!

There was a least one other magical Top 16 at our regionals! The player said it was his first tournament and he won a final salvo to put him into the Top 16!

Top 16

November 12, 2016 9:30 AM
San Diego, CA

This morning there were a lot fewer X-Wing players than the day before. It was definitely a little intimidating going into the single elimination portion of the tournament. To me this was World’s. I had figured out what the match up was going to be. I didn’t like it. And looking at the bracket, I was really stressing the miracle of winning the first game.

My Top 16 opponent was the 2nd seed. At end of Swiss he was 6-0 with MOV 913.

Top16 Opponent (100)
Miranda Doni — K-Wing 29
Twin Laser Turret 6
Extra Munitions 2
Homing Missiles 5
Sabine Wren 2
Conner Net 4
Ion Bombs 2
Advanced SLAM 2
Ship Total: 52

Gold Squadron Pilot — Y-Wing 18
Twin Laser Turret 6
Ship Total: 24

Gold Squadron Pilot — Y-Wing 18
Twin Laser Turret 6
Ship Total: 24

The idea for this was pretty simple. I needed to get the Y-Wings off the board while surviving Miranda and Sabine…man do I not like facing Sabine on a K-Wing.

The starting set up was pretty good. I liked the starting maneuvers as well, all three of my opponents ships did a 1 forward, while I speed down the right side. One the first round of combat, I had 2 ships firing at 1 ships. My opponent only had 1 ship firing back. The next round however, I made my first critical mistake. I was not thinking clearly of the turn after the current, so the Inquisitor boosted into Range 1 of Miranda and one of the Y-Wings. Looking back, I might have been safer at Range 2 because I could have gotten both an evade and focus to use on defense. Especially since I hoped to delete the Y-Wing in question. However, the Inquisitor was unable to evade the Range 1 from Miranda and went down to 1 hull. A conner net later, the Inquisitor was gone and Vessery lost a shield.

Having faith, I pounded on the remaining Y-Wing. My second critical mistake as trying to get Omega Leader to S-Loop toward Vessery. The maneuver bumped, leaving Omega Leader facing the wrong direction and stressed. Despite this, Omega Leader had the Y-Wing locked, and Vessery was in fast pursuit. When Miranda finally got shots into Vessery, Vessery had still been able to finish off the Y-Wing from Range 1! The Y-Wing was down to about 2 or 3 hull. Omega Leader was slightly wounded.

I moved Omega Leader way to gain back my evade token and get distance to reengage. Omega Leader shot and landed 1 hit at Range 3. Taking some damage, I guessed right and put Omega Leader at Range 1 of the Y-Wing…still unable to finish the Y-Wing. At this point, Omega Leader had 1 hull remaining. I S-looped her around, finally not hitting the rock! Miranda killed Omega Leader, but with simultaneous fire I was finally, after 5 or 6 rounds of targeting, able to finish off that blasted Y-Wing!

And that was the end for me at the 2nd Regionals in 2016.

My opponent went on to win the Elite 8 match, but ended up losing in the Top 4 to the tournament winner!

What an amazing experience!

Special thanks to all my opponents! Not one of our matches went sour! I look forward to seeing you all at the next regionals or store tournaments!

And a very special thanks to my friends who convinced me to keep playing! And the biggest thanks to my Round 6 opponent!

Final Thoughts

• Fly better!
• The list actually could hold its own for the most part (though I was most worried about some different builds on the large base ships and Dengaroo)
• Make sure to follow the game state, both the time and points can save a win

 

 

NOTE: Just for anyone who wondering about the effects of my opponent conceding to me in Round 6. Based on the final standings, I had enough MOV to lose 1 ship. Omega Leader can do well in the late game, but 1 on 3…the odds are not very good. Palp shuttle would have fallen to ion cannons and heavy hitting from the Inquisitor and Vessery.