Preparing for Store Champ season
So this year I plan on going to 6 Store Championships. And I set myself a challenge. I will fly a new list-archetype every tournament. Most-if-not-all will be meta-archetypes. Some of them will be new, some of them will be old. Some of them I will have flown before, some of them I never even touched.
Why would I do this? In preparation for the European Championship I consistently flew my Kanan/Biggs list. And I got good with it. At least good enough to be happy with it. But I also felt I became predictable. Flying a list you've rarely or never flown before makes you less predictable. And with 6 tournaments planned in about as many weeks it's also a tool to fight tournament fatigue. I love X-wing, but sometimes you have to protect yourself from a burn-out. And being the competitive player that I am I don't like to take intentionally 'gimped' stuff just for lulz and giggles. So let's break open the tournament-meta and as the Carolina Krayts say: "Git Gud!".
Why would I do this? In preparation for the European Championship I consistently flew my Kanan/Biggs list. And I got good with it. At least good enough to be happy with it. But I also felt I became predictable. Flying a list you've rarely or never flown before makes you less predictable. And with 6 tournaments planned in about as many weeks it's also a tool to fight tournament fatigue. I love X-wing, but sometimes you have to protect yourself from a burn-out. And being the competitive player that I am I don't like to take intentionally 'gimped' stuff just for lulz and giggles. So let's break open the tournament-meta and as the Carolina Krayts say: "Git Gud!".
So I'm going to outline my planned lists here, with the link to a squadbuilder. Together with some of my previous experiences and plans with the list and some design decisions where applicable. These lists will not be in a specific order.
Thug life
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/305821/papercuts
Classic scum 4 TLT Y-wings with Unhinged Astromech. I flew these in a swarm during the 2015 Nationals. But I plan on flying them separate this time. Make them choose targets and always have several ships outside of range 1. Torpedo-boats are a threat as they can delete a Y-wing before it can fire. But if they survive the initial volley I might be able to remove a Jumpmaster myself. Fenn or anything with Autothrusters might be a problem.
Classic scum 4 TLT Y-wings with Unhinged Astromech. I flew these in a swarm during the 2015 Nationals. But I plan on flying them separate this time. Make them choose targets and always have several ships outside of range 1. Torpedo-boats are a threat as they can delete a Y-wing before it can fire. But if they survive the initial volley I might be able to remove a Jumpmaster myself. Fenn or anything with Autothrusters might be a problem.
Den Trevura
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/721411/den-trevura
Disclaimer: I was basing this list of Justin Phua's World's winning list, turns out I made it exactly the same! (Okay, that might be an overreaction.) The combination of Unhinged Astromech and K4 Security Droid is great as it gives you free target locks on an amazing dial. This allows you to fire powered up Plasma Torpedoes. Though as preparation, I better re-watch that amazing final against Nand Torfs!
Disclaimer: I was basing this list of Justin Phua's World's winning list, turns out I made it exactly the same! (Okay, that might be an overreaction.) The combination of Unhinged Astromech and K4 Security Droid is great as it gives you free target locks on an amazing dial. This allows you to fire powered up Plasma Torpedoes. Though as preparation, I better re-watch that amazing final against Nand Torfs!
Kanan/Biggs
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/653312/spark-of-rebellion
Ah, my personal favorite. I don't have a lot to say on this list. Went 5-4 at Euro's with it and you can read some tournament stories in previous blog posts.
Ah, my personal favorite. I don't have a lot to say on this list. Went 5-4 at Euro's with it and you can read some tournament stories in previous blog posts.
BBBBZ
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/721412/bbbbz
An oldie, but a goodie. Classic Rebels swarm that brings 36 hit points to the table! I saw this list played, quite expertly by Benoît a few weeks ago. This sparked my interest in the build again as I now have enough B-wings to run it! It looks like a fun little swarm build, something I love to play. I believe it's generally assumed that the B-wing has a poor dial, but that 2 koiogran turn is pretty amazing. Intending on flying the B-wings in formation with the Z running interference and blocking. Collision Detector can give some options and help with tractor beams going around. It's free, so why not. Just need to get 4 of them, which is difficult as they are only available in the TIE/SF pack.
An oldie, but a goodie. Classic Rebels swarm that brings 36 hit points to the table! I saw this list played, quite expertly by Benoît a few weeks ago. This sparked my interest in the build again as I now have enough B-wings to run it! It looks like a fun little swarm build, something I love to play. I believe it's generally assumed that the B-wing has a poor dial, but that 2 koiogran turn is pretty amazing. Intending on flying the B-wings in formation with the Z running interference and blocking. Collision Detector can give some options and help with tractor beams going around. It's free, so why not. Just need to get 4 of them, which is difficult as they are only available in the TIE/SF pack.
The Last Jedi
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/659592/the-last-jedi
A fluff-build! Classic Sloop-Rey with Kanan + Luke in his X-wing. For Rey, Finn works together well with Rey's title. Kanan works together with the sloop from the Millennium Falcon. Inertial Dampeners gives some movement options, sadly doesn't work together with Kanan. Luke can modify focus results on both offense and defense. R2-D2 gives some regen abilities to Luke. Going to fly them in loose formation.
A fluff-build! Classic Sloop-Rey with Kanan + Luke in his X-wing. For Rey, Finn works together well with Rey's title. Kanan works together with the sloop from the Millennium Falcon. Inertial Dampeners gives some movement options, sadly doesn't work together with Kanan. Luke can modify focus results on both offense and defense. R2-D2 gives some regen abilities to Luke. Going to fly them in loose formation.
Triple Defenders
http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/608253/triple-defenders
TIE/X7 isn't dead. On the other hand, in the hands of a skilled pilot the nerf doesn't even matter. At least that's my feeling. Vessery is obvious the juicy target here. He get's his target locks for free thanks to the locks from Countess Ryad and Onyx Squadron Pilot. Onyx can run interference and blocking and with Ryad's improved movement capabilities I assume these will not fly in formation.
Got any tips for me? Any other builds I should try when another Store Championship becomes available? Do you know of any other Store Championships going on? Something in Flanders not yet on T3 or maybe in the Netherlands or Germany along the border? Let me know in the comments below!
TIE/X7 isn't dead. On the other hand, in the hands of a skilled pilot the nerf doesn't even matter. At least that's my feeling. Vessery is obvious the juicy target here. He get's his target locks for free thanks to the locks from Countess Ryad and Onyx Squadron Pilot. Onyx can run interference and blocking and with Ryad's improved movement capabilities I assume these will not fly in formation.
Got any tips for me? Any other builds I should try when another Store Championship becomes available? Do you know of any other Store Championships going on? Something in Flanders not yet on T3 or maybe in the Netherlands or Germany along the border? Let me know in the comments below!
What about Dual Aggressors? IG-88B and C. I once came across a list that had the following:
ReplyDeleteIG-88B: Crack Shot, Fire Control System, Heavy Laser Cannon, Tractor Beam, Glitterstim, IG-2000, Autothrusters
IG-88C: Crack Shot, Fire Control System, Mangler Cannon, Tractor Beam, Glitterstim, IG-2000, Autothrusters
It was a potent list that chewed through my pre nerf Tie Defenders with contemptuous ease.