3-Player 300-Point Deathmatch!

This was a really interesting 3-Player match. We decided to forgo Admirals and to run 300-point fleets. We played the contested outpost and used the bid to determine player deployment zones. I brought an MC75, TRC90, GR75, and some rogue squadrons. Andy, opposite me, brought a Hammerhead-heavy MSU with Shara/Tycho. Anthony, between us, brought a Harrow-titled Victory 1, Demolisher, Corvus-titled Raider 1, and a bunch of generic fighters. He had reserve hanger decks on both the Victory and Raider. Here is the opening of round 1:

Here is the opening of round 2:

Here is the opening of round 3:

At the opening of the third round, I was able to destroy both Demolisher with my MC75 front arc as well as the Raider with my side arc. Both had been softened up in the previous round. Here is the opening of round 4:

In the fourth round, I just barely rammed my CR90 with the MC75, forcing me back to close range of the Victory. That cost me big time. Here is the opening of round 5:

In the fifth round, Andy lost three hammerheads, I lost my MC75, and Anthony lost his Victory. It was a blood-bath. We called the game at that point with a clear victory for myself. It was a lot of fun, though Anthony had a very hard time of it being essentially sandwiched between two opposing fleets. Here was my complete fleet:

Points: 296/300   

[ flagship ] MC75 Armored Cruiser (104 points)
-  X-Custom Commander  ( 0  points) 
-  Walex Blissex  ( 5  points) 
-  Weapons Battery Techs  ( 5  points) 
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points) 
-  Quad Battery Turrets  ( 5  points) 
-  Heavy Ion Emplacements  ( 9  points) 
-  External Racks  ( 3  points) 
= 138 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 20 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)
-  Jainas Light  ( 2  points) 
-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits  ( 7  points) 
= 53 total ship cost

1 Ketsu Onyo ( 22 points) 
1 Lando Calrissian ( 23 points) 
1 YT-2400 ( 16 points) 
1 Dash Rendar ( 24 points) 
= 85 total squadron cost

Thrawn Victory vs Reeikan MSU

For this game, I brought a Thrawn Victory, Quasar-2 (with Kallus and Ruthless Strategists), Arquittens, and a large squadron component. On the other side, Andy brought a Reeikan MSU with Pelta, three hammerheads, a pair of GR75s, and a small squadron component. I took first and select Rift Assault. Here is the opening of round 1:

Here is the opening of round 2:

Here is the opening of round 3:

Here is the opening of round 4:

In the fifth round, I was unable to command squadrons thanks to slicers/Cham and so could not finish off either the Pelta or remaining hammerhead. My Quasar was destroyed during this round as well. We called the game at that point, giving Andy a 6-5 victory. Andy challenged me to use the Quasar 2 in a fleet and so I did, but the Kallus/ruthless flak never really contributed because of obstruction. Single dice flak, even at red range tends to operate sub-optimally. Here is my complete list:

Points: 399/400  

Assault Objective: Precision Strike 
Defense Objective: Fighter Ambush 
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions 

Quasar Fire II-class Cruiser-Carrier (61 points)
-  Squall  ( 3  points) 
-  Agent Kallus  ( 3  points) 
-  Ruthless Strategists  ( 4  points) 
-  Boosted Comms  ( 4  points) 
= 75 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (73 points)
-  Grand Admiral Thrawn  ( 32  points) 
-  Expert Shield Tech  ( 5  points) 
-  Ordnance Experts  ( 4  points) 
-  Boosted Comms  ( 4  points) 
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points) 
-  External Racks  ( 3  points) 
= 128 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
-  Expert Shield Tech  ( 5  points) 
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points) 
= 66 total ship cost

1 Zertik Strom ( 15 points) 
1 Gamma Squadron ( 10 points) 
1 Tempest Squadron ( 13 points) 
1 Mauler Mithel ( 15 points) 
1 Dengar ( 20 points) 
1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points) 
1 Maarek Stele ( 21 points) 
1 Major Rhymer ( 16 points) 
= 130 total squadron cost

Agate Assault Frigate & Nebulons vs Agate Concord & Hammerheads

This game was an Agate vs Agate match. On my side, I had an Assault Frigate, a pair of Nebulons, a pair of GR75s, and a medium squadron component. On the other side, Andy had a Concord-titled Starhawk, three hammerheads, and a GR75. Andy had the bid, took first, and selected Surprise Attack. Here is the opening of round 1:

Here is the opening of round 2:

Here is the opening of round 3:

Here is the opening of round 4:

Here is the opening of round 5:

Here is the opening of round 6:

In the end, I was unable to finish off the Starhawk, but still managed to gain the victory overall. Here is my complete list, for the record:

Points: 400/400  

Assault Objective: Surprise Attack 
Defense Objective: Planetary Ion Cannon 
Navigation Objective: Doomed Station 

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 20 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
-  Hondo Ohnaka  ( 2  points) 
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 22 total ship cost

Nebulon-B Support Refit (51 points)
-  Skilled First Officer  ( 1  points) 
-  Auxiliary Shields Team  ( 3  points) 
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points) 
= 62 total ship cost

Nebulon-B Support Refit (51 points)
-  Skilled First Officer  ( 1  points) 
-  Auxiliary Shields Team  ( 3  points) 
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points) 
= 62 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Assault Frigate Mark II A (81 points)
-  Kyrsta Agate (com)  ( 20  points) 
-  Walex Blissex  ( 5  points) 
-  Cham Syndulla  ( 5  points) 
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points) 
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points) 
= 125 total ship cost

1 Jan Ors ( 19 points) 
2 X-Wing Squadrons ( 26 points) 
1 Ketsu Onyo ( 22 points) 
1 Lando Calrissian ( 23 points) 
1 Biggs Darklighter ( 19 points) 
= 109 total squadron cost

Garm MSU vs Raddus LMSU

This was an a usual one. I brought out some rarely (by me) used items: Garm on an Assault Frigate with a pair of Nebulons, Admonition, Jan, Dutch, and a pair of X-Wings. On the other side, Andy brought a Raddus MC75 list with 3 Hammerheads, a flotilla, and a pair of A-Wings. He had the bid, took first, and selected Rift Assault. Here is the opening of round 1:

In the first round we began to turn inward, but little else happened. Here is the opening of round 2:

The second round was involved more positioning. Raddus brought the MC75 in from hyperspace at the opening of round 3:

In the third round, Admo was softened up by the MC75 after it activated. Andy made good use of his activation superiority to wait out my fleet and avoid damage. Here is the opening of round 4:

In the fourth round, Andy was able to destroy Admonition with his MC75 on the first activation. My Nebulons and Assault Frigate rolled exceedingly poorly against the Ordnance Cruiser. Here is the opening of round 5:

In the fifth round, I lost a Nebulon and by other two ships began to take on damage. The MC75 was exiting the combat area and I had no way to finish it off. Here is the opening of round 6:

In the sixth round, Andy managed to bring down both my remaining ships for the tabling. Ouch. This was a rough one. I blundered on this one by forgetting to shoot a couple of times and thus failing to collect tokens and put necessary damage on the MC75. It could have been the bourbon, but it probably had more to do with my unfamiliarity with this sort of fleet and this particular objective. Practice is the key.

Piett ISD & Rogues vs Raddus Mon Karren & Admonition

For this game, I brought my list from the previous week: Piett on an ISD2, an Arquittens, Gozanti, and Rogue ball. On the other side, Andy brought Raddus on board Admonition with a TRC90 and GR75 in support. His hyperspace ship was Mon Karren. His squadrons were simply Shara and Tycho. He picked first and selected my Fleet in Being objective. Here is the opening of round 1:

In the first round, I swung my ISD around hard and slow-rolled the Arquittens and Gozanti just enough to pass the range 3 line. Andy deployed his Raddus at the opening of round 2:

In the second round, I dropped the Arquittens to speed 0 and used the Gozanti to keep my ISD from moving. My squadrons began to soften Mon Karren. Here is the opening of round 3:

In the third round, Mon Karren eliminated my Gozanti and brought the Arquittens down to a single hull. It then jumped out of the front arc of the ISD. My squadrons were able to bring Mon Karren down to only 2 hull and no defense token, but could not quite finish the job. Here is the opening of round 4:

In the fourth round, Mon Karren destroyed my Arquittens and was destroyed In turn by my Firesprays. Admonition rolled poorly which meant that my ISD was not in danger. My squads began to lay into the CR90 as well. Here is the opening of round 5:

In the fifth round, I finished off the CR90, GR75, and Shara while Admo and the ISD parted ways. We called it at that. An 8-3 win for the Imperials.

Admiral Piett and Commander Beck once again made a fantastic team. Hand of Justice continued to underperform—likely due to my low activation count.

Piett ISD & Rogues vs Romodi Dual Onagers

For this dual Onager trial, I brought a Piett ISD2, an Arquittens, a Gozanti, and a Rogue ball. On the other side, Andy had a typical dual Onager list with a pair of Gozantis in support as well as a squadron component consisting of Maarek/Jendon, a pair of Defenders, and a Jumpmaster. I had the bid, took first, and selected Surprise Attack. Here is the opening of round 1 after the Ozzel move:

Interestingly, Andy chose to target the Arquittens instead of the ISD. Perhaps he thought that a tabling was required to deal with the Rogues and the Arquittens was the more difficult to pin down. Cataclysm brought my Gozanti down to a single hull and used the super weapon to soften my nearby squadrons. Here is the opening of round 2:

In the second round, I activated the Arquittens to keep it out of black ignition range of both Onagers. My Gozanti was able to avoid the ignition arc of Cataclysm, but Andy sent Maarek over to finish it off. In the squadron phase, I used Hondo to pull Maarek into my squad ball and destroy him. Here is the opening of round 3:

In the third round, I escaped the ignition arc of Cataclysm with the Arquittens and destroyed the trailing Gozanti with my ISD. My Firesprays began to lay into Cataclysm and set it up for destruction on the following round. Here is the opening of round 4:

In the fourth round, I destroyed Cataclysm and the parked my ISD in front of the flagship Onager. I blundered here in not setting up an escape route for the ISD. I ended up burning my brace this round as well, which was a big mistake. In the fifth round, I was unable to procure an accuracy, which allowed Andy to brace and salvo my ISD. Because of my lack of foresight in setting up the escape route, Andy was then able to finish it off with a vicious super weapon hit. My Firesprays continued to pick away at the flagship and I moved the Arquittens into range for a killing blow. Here is the opening of round 6:

In the sixth round, my Arquittens was able to eliminate the remaining Onager for the tabling. It was an 8-3 win for me, which was our best performance thus far against Dual Onagers. Andy may have destroyed the ISD more expeditiously had he focused on it with both Onagers from the outset and ignored the Arquittens. I may not have had the firepower to bring down both Onagers and it would have been a much closer game.

On my side, Beck and Piett worked extremely well to counteract the effects of Surprise Attack. This is certainly my go-to ISD configuration at this point. The squadron ball was effective and the Firesprays had a good level of consistency - much better than Decimators. Tel Trevura helped immensely to keep them alive. Hand of Justice continues to be great in theory, but I struggle to get use out of it, especially with only three activations.

Here is my complete list for the record:

Points: 393/400   

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 25 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
-  Hand of Justice  ( 4  points)
-  Expert Shield Tech  ( 5  points)
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points)
= 70 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
-  Admiral Piett  ( 22  points)
-  Commander Beck  ( 3  points)
-  Local Fire Control  ( 4  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
-  Linked Turbolaser Towers  ( 7  points)
-  SW-7 Ion Batteries  ( 5  points)
= 168 total ship cost

1 Mauler Mithel ( 15 points)
3 Firespray-31s ( 54 points)
1 Dengar ( 20 points)
1 Tel Trevura ( 17 points)
1 Hondo Ohnaka ( 24 points)
= 130 total squadron cost

Romodi Dual Onagers vs JJ Kuat LMSU

This game was another dual Onager test. I brought the Onagers with a medium squadron component and Andy brought a Kuat, Arquittens, and Corvus/BTVader Raider. In support, he had a Gozanti and 6 TIE fighters for deployment help. He also had a significant bid, took first, and picked my Station Assault. Here is the opening of round 1 before the Ozzel move on Cataclysm (in the lead):

In the first round, Cataclysm was able to get off a shot against the Kuat at extreme red range. Thanks to JJ, the Kuat then maneuvered out of the ignition arc. I kept my Firesprays in reserve and brought my flagship in behind Cataclysm. Here is the opening of round 2:

In the second round, I was able to wait out the Raider as Andy needed to save the Kuat for last. When the Raider moved in I softened it up with both Onagers. The Firesprays were then able to finish it off in the squad phase to prevent Vader shenanigans. Here is the opening of round 3:

In the third round, Andy used his BT Avenger Kuat to bring Cataclysm down to a single hull. He had to then ram it to finish the job. This left the Kuat exposed to the ignition arc of my flagship. I was able to knock it down to just a few hull, thanks to a number of JJ moves and rock overlaps. The Firesprays finished it off in the squadron phase. We called it at that point. Here is the closing state:

Another victory for Dual Onagers. This has proven to be an extremely powerful archetype - Romodi Onagers with five activations and a medium squadron component. The Kuat was able to knock out one, but could not handle the second one. We’re both really struggling to find something that can provide consistent results against this fleet.

Here is my complete list:

Points: 397/400   

Onager-class Testbed (96 points)
-  Cataclysm  ( 5  points) 
-  Admiral Ozzel (off)  ( 2  points) 
-  Gunnery Chief Varnillian  ( 6  points) 
-  Veteran Gunners  ( 5  points) 
-  Medical Team  ( 1  points) 
-  Orbital Bombardment Particle Cannons  ( 5  points) 
= 120 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Onager-class Testbed (96 points)
-  General Romodi  ( 20  points) 
-  Strategic Adviser  ( 4  points) 
-  Sensor Team  ( 5  points) 
-  Veteran Gunners  ( 5  points) 
-  Medical Team  ( 1  points) 
-  Orbital Bombardment Particle Cannons  ( 5  points) 
= 136 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Darth Vader (off)  ( 1  points) 
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 26 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Hondo Ohnaka  ( 2  points) 
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 27 total ship cost

1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points) 
3 Firespray-31s ( 54 points) 
1 Tel Trevura ( 17 points) 
= 88 total squadron cost