I did well, winning the three rounds against 17 players - my first Regional win in Australia, if not Australasia.
My list:
I went back and forth on my list, looking at many different things - but in the end I went with what has been my list for most of 2018, including Nationals. It is a variant on my Auckland Regionals list, with the same basic fighter package, and slightly different ships. It is identical to my Nationals 2018 list. Why? Because I have little imagination. AND I don't get to play that much in real life, so better to play something I know quite well and have thought out thoroughly. Armada is a game that requires a lot of practice to play well, and this list I know pretty well.
Also, I like MSU (it is NOT dead! MSU lives! etc).
The Rieekan six of one and half-a-dozen of the other
The list is General Rieekan on a CR90A with Engine Techs and Turbolaser Reroute Circuits.
Then three CR90s equipped the same, one with Jaina's Light.
Two GR75 Transports, one with Quantum Storm and Slicer Tools.
Squadrons are 3 X-Wings, Jan Ors, and 2 VCX100s.
Objectives are Most Wanted, Fire lanes, and Sensor Net.
It has no bid, forcing opponents to choose their own destruction - awkward and difficult objectives if they make me second, and 6 vicious activations if they make me first.
Round One was against Rory, a chap who has been in the game since wave one, but is coming back after some years off. Rory lives in Melbourne, but works up in this part of the world blowing things up and looking for gold (he is some kind of Pirate).
Rory, the well known Pirate.
(with Theo and Hamish in the background, cursing me for losing Theo's Shara Bey card. It is at home somewhere I promise)
Rory's List - Kuat with SA, Demolisher, Arquitens with Tagge (yes! Tagge!), Goz, Whisper, Ciena Ree
Rory had a bid, and elected to go second. His missions were Station Assault, Contested Outpost, and Minefields.
I chose Station Assault, because I have had good results from it in the past. Destroy one station to even it out, or both to gain an 80 point swing. MSUs are good for this, since they either get behind the enemy to the stations late in the game, OR if they spread the stations out and defend one, the isolated one can be destroyed by a single unit which still has time to make it to the main battle.
End of Deployment
My fleet has 9 deployments to Rory's five, so I was able to put my four corvettes down AFTER he had deployed his entire fleet. This allowed me to line up a nice echelon to my left, and bring all my guns to bear on one target at a time. I also deployed as far from Demolisher as possible. Rule of thumb - if Demolisher goes left, you go right. And vice-versa.
Start of Round Two
I made a small mistake in round one, forgetting part way through that I was first player - as a result I did not set up a nice start of round 2 shot with a Corvette. Instead I sent fighters forwards to plink shields from the Kuat. Everything else maneuvered.
Start of Round Three
Three corvettes have nice shots lined up on the flagship Arquitens, and the fourth lies in wait for when it moves forward (if it survives). This round I was able to destroy the Arq and ram the Gozanti to bits.
Start of Round Four
My four Corvettes have made it to the back of the Kuat, and start chopping it to bits. Kuats are not much of a worry to Corvettes at medium range in side and rear, so the goal is just to activate ships in the right order so nothing ends in black range before it activates.
A closer view of Round Four Start
Start of Round Five
Corvettes finish off the Kuat and start blowing up the stations. Some of squads have succumbed to Cienna Ree and Gladiator Flak.
Start of Turn Six
I started to think in Round five I might lose Rieekan to the Gladiator, so I moved a GR in to block the attack - then I remembered I was first player and could just scoot away.
End of Game
I did not put many shots into the Gladiator at all, and it survived the game happily. As did all my ships. I lost all my squads except for one VCX. Rory still had Whisper. My squads had given their lives to damage the ISD, while the VCXs endured Ciena Ree's counter to whittle her down to nothing.
Final score was Rory 75, me on 365, a difference of 290, or a 9/2.
Rory is a good player with a lot of potential. In this game I had deployment and activation advantage, and was able to turn the objective to help me.
There were a couple of 10/1s in the crowd, and some other 9/2s. Felix and Nick both got 10s and faced each other at table 1, Theo and I faced off at table 2.
Game Two: Calvin v. Hobbes
Theo: Deep in Contemplation
Theo was flying a Dodonna on Jaina's Light TRC, MC30c with OE, APT, H9s (no title!), 2 comms net GRs, and a Liberty with Spinals, Dual Turbolasers, Sensor Teams, Strategic Adviser, and something something. Hawk, 2 VCXs, Green, and Shara Bey.
We both had no bid, so rolled for it. Theo won, and after some ums and ahs decided to go first. He chose my Most Wanted. I wonder whether Fire Lanes would have been a better choice for him, since his VCXs would have allowed him to pinch (or at least compete) for two the tokens in round 1.
Round One: After deployment
Most of the obstacles were put on the left, and we then deployed there as well. I chose Theo's Liberty as my objective ship, and my naked GR as well.
Round Two - Action Stations!
Theo jumped Shara forwards to tie up my Squadron ball, but I was happy to take that - My squad plan was to eliminate Theo's smaller wing, and leave the ships to my Corvettes.
It has been a while since Theo has played against my Engine Teching corvettes, so he was caught a bit unprepared for my deliberate ramming of his MC30. Because we both had six activations, I lost a corvette during the ramming - perhaps I should have rammed it in the front. Jaina's light was also heavily damaged finishing off the MC30. Theo's flagship shot in front of his Liberty to go GR hunting, while my flagship (off screen right) came roaring in to threaten the Liberty's rear.
Start of Round Three
My Jaina's Light was left stranded in close range of the front and side of the Liberty, and did not live long - but Rieekan meant it got some shots in never the less.
I now had two corvettes to hunt down the liberty, while my GRs spent the rest of the game trying to avoid being rammed to death and shot by Dodonna's flagship.
Start of Round Four
My corvettes pursue the MC80L towards the corner. Of my X-Wings escapes the squadron fight to put some torpedoes into its side.
Start of Round Five
The corvettes manage to finish off the Liberty, but Rieekan nearly gets the chop in the process. Relay certainly helped as an X-Wing put in a vital hit, and Rieekan's flag rammed for one, before the final corvette (with one hull remaining) rolled just right to finish it off. If that last corvette had to ram, it would have done it - Most Wanted made that thing worth a lot of points.
Start of Turn Six
Theo still had his flagship and a VCX surviving. I did my best to finish it off, but did not succeed. Theo rammed my most wanted transport to put the final nail in that specific coffin.
End of Game
In the end I scored 395 to Theo's 223 (I lost 2 corvettes, GR (MW), GR slicer tools, 2 X-Wings and I think a VCX?).
That was a difference of 172, enough for a 8/3 to me. I went into third round on 17 points, in second place.
THE END GAME
Nick W: Master of the Fleet
Nick was on top of the table and we met again in the third round - we have played a number of times, and Nick is clearly one of (if not the) best players in NSW. He is tactical, practical, and efficient.
We had met at this table in Bathurst last year, and I had lost to Nick (and we both lost to Dan whose opponent doesn't read, just looks at colours).
To make matters more interesting, Nick's list was almost the same as the Australian Nationals Winner list that had bested my in Round One of Day Two of Nationals - the only change: ISD2 instead of Kuat, and a smaller bid. The ISD2 makes the list even scarier for my list. But I should have won that game at Nationals, and I was determined not to lose this one.
Round One: After Deployment
Nick had the bid and chose to go first - he already knew my objectives before I revealed them, and he chose Fire Lanes. I was surprised, since I expected Most Wanted. But I was happy not to argue. We spread out the terrain (I put the station in my left corner, which is my traditional placement). I put one Fire Lanes token on my left, and two on my right. Nick moved the left one onto the Station, and one of the rights onto an asteroid.
I had a deployment advantage (9 to 5, plus second player) so my corvettes went down after all of the enemy. My squads went on the right with two GRs and Jaina's Light, while my Corvettes went on the left.
Nick deployed his ISD2 first, smack bang in the middle of the table. When I saw the Gladiator on my right, I deployed my corvettes to the left. My plan was to destroy the Raider (my left), avoid the Gladiator, and move the tokens under the Imperial ships as they went into the corner.
The Right Board State
Start of Turn 2
I was surprised when Nick's ISD went to my left, and my last activation (the central Corvette) had a choice to make - go left and fight it out with the ISD and the Raider, or break right and try to bring down the Gladiator. In the end I went right, or at least middle of the board. The remaining two corvettes on the left pulled off a miracle and took out the Vader Raider with a wonderful combination of shooting and ramming from the Rieekan flagship. My second corvette ended turn in blue of the ISD, but Rieekan rammed in such a way as to only be in long range (by a few millimetres).
Start of Round Three
Although I lost the Corvette first activation of turn 3, I had maintained activation parity, meaning that Nick could not First / Last me. I did not get all three tokens turn 2, but I had 3 from turn one, and got 2 every turn after that. Nick got four tokens overall. The left one on turn 2 was not claimed by either of us (obstructed and in rear arc of a CR).
On the right, I had to make a decision with Jaina's Light - slow down and go mano a mano with the Gladiator, or use discretion and fly away.
Discretion won. Jaina Jumped to four plus ETs, and went far, far away. But I was still able to move the tokens to maintain control - Jaina is fabulous for this, as obstructions do not interfere.
Start of Round Four: Right
On the right I made some efforts to bring down Gozantis with determined fighter attacks - I managed to do some damage on one. My GRs moved about, trying not to get caught. Nick sent in his slicer tools here and there upsetting my orders somewhat.
Start of Round Four: Left
My surviving corvettes on the left start the rapid redeployment to the right. Unlike messing around with Kuats and even ISD1s, the sides and rear of an ISD2 is not safe for a Corvette for the length of time it takes to bring one down. So they just ran away.
Start of Round Five: Right
Corvettes arrive in time to threaten the gladiator and friends, while my Quantum Storm escapes without a scatter token from repeated attacks.
Start of turn 6: Right
I was able to end one of the Gozantis with ramming (it was already damaged by the squadrons from earlier) but I decided it was best not to try for the Gladiator - Brunsen, five hull, etc. I would have lost a Corvette for sure, and could not guarantee the kill. So again, discretion.
End of Game: Right
End of Game: Left
Nick's ISD was left dominating the left token and station. A number of observers asked if it was dead. "No."
"Then why is it over here?"
"That's where most of his fleet was."
Nick destroyed one of my Corvettes, and an X-Wing to concentrated flak. He gained four tokens from the left objective in turns 3 to 6.
I destroyed a Vader Raider and the Suppressor Gozanti with Minister Tua. I also won 13 tokens.
Final score of 285 to 132, difference of 150, which is an 8/3.
Overall I ended up on 25 tournament points, with the next chap on 24. He had been on 15 going in to Round 3, and managed a 9/2. There had been some folks on 15 going in to Round Four, but none of them managed the 10/1 to catch up.
My Spock shirt thought it most logical that I win, and can I stop wearing it now, it is getting old and worn.
(As always, the Bathurst shop is fantastic - lots of space, air conditioned, food on site, great staff. A terrific venue).
I will do up a post shortly-ish with all the lists and players.
Ken tries, and fails, to give me the finger. Sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment