Ackbar Triple MC30s vs Ackbar MSU

After my previous defeat at the hands of Vader’s Dual ISDs, I made some modifications to my Ackbar Triple MC30 list. I decreased the fighter cover to the minimum Shara/Tycho compliment and exchanged a TRC MC30S for the standard Torpedo type with Admonition and Lando. My usual opponent, Andy, also brought an Ackbar MSU. He had an Assault Frigate for his flagship, a pair of TRC90s, and an enhanced armament MC30T. My bid allowed me to take first, though he outactivated me, six to five, allowing him to move two ships last. I chose his Solar Corona as I figured my speed would allow me to reposition from the center as needed.

From left to right, I have a vanilla TRC Scout, Admonition, and Foresight. Here is the board state at setup:

In the first round, I attempted to adjust my formation to get in front of his formation. He was moving slowly forward. Here is the close of the first round:


I had to slow Foresight to prevent him from moving into medium range of the enemy MC30 that hadn’t yet activated. This strings my formation out into a longer line than I would have liked, while Andy maintains a very tight and effective formation. I also sent my two fighters after Tycho, who just moved away during his activation - oops. Here is the close of round 2:


In round three, Andy picked up speed to prevent being cut off. I do not believe any shooting had taken place in this round. Foresight was lagging behind. Here is the close of round 3:


Round four was when things began to get interesting. My vanilla MC30 moved up to block the movement of the CR90 force it into close range. This is a successful maneuver, forcing the double arc. I moved Admonition up behind, thinking to block the enemy MC30 at close range. Some clever working of the maneuver tool foils my hopes there (The model doesn’t fit after base is placed). Foresight is dismally out of position and without its nav token now due to a speed change. My first flotilla is popped - small concern at this point. Here is the close of round 4:


Round five was the decisive round of the game. I activated my vanilla MC30 first, which had a solid double arc on the CR90. My black and red dice gave me terrible results, even with external racks and the TRC and I was unable to destroy the corvette (I believe that was 7 black and 3 red dice). Instead, I rammed and was stuck in place, a very tight spot. He activated his TRC90s and popped my vanilla MC30 in return. Admonition moved up to double arc and block his flagship, which had only light damage at this time. I then had to activate Foresight and could not avoid landing at close range of his MC30, which then activated and popped my flagship with a single volley. Ouch, things were really looking grim. This is the close of round 5:


In the final round, I activated Admonition and managed to destroy the assault frigate, clawing back some points to help offset the major losses I had taken. I do not believe any of the Sharas or Tychos went down. No further shooting occurred. Not a crushing defeat, but a decisive one nonetheless.

AAR:
The asteroid placement was mostly a non-factor, though it did make my early maneuvers a bit more complicated. My setup was adequate, though had I deployed at an angle, I would have been better able to move toward his front as a group of three and not left Foresight behind. My round four positioning was decent, though had I dropped the speed of Admonition, I may have been able to keep the opposing MC30 in front of me and that would have allowed Foresight to move up without being popped next round. I let Foresight lag far behind, isolating it from the other two hitters - a major weakness in my approach. My vanilla MC30 should have easily popped the opposing CR90 and then survived the round, but that is a downside of not bringing any black dice modification. My attempt to get my entire fleet in front of his was not a success. His ability to activate two ships after all of mine had moved prevented me from executing any easy first/last hits, though the last round Admonition activation was good.

The loss of a single MC30 Scout is 86 points (ER, IO, TRC) before any title as in the case of Foresight. This is a lot of points for something that is only marginally more difficult to kill than a 51 point TRC90 with comparable long range firepower and better maneuverability. As much as I like the MC30 Scout, I will be retiring it for now.

Lessons Learned:
- Do not neglect your ordnance experts. Black dice can be swingy just like the reds.
- MC30s are very fragile without Admonition. Beware loading them with points.