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Saturday, February 18, 2017

2017/02/18 Tournament Report

So, today was the first Imperial Assault tournament held in my city in nearly a year. It was a ton of fun to get back into the swing of things. We got six people, which was about average for what it was a year ago, which is a good sign for going forward.

Today I ran the Dewback Brigade, which was the subject of a recent article. The list was a ton of fun and worked pretty well. I tried to take photos at the end of each round, but failed to remember most of the time. I got a few from the first game, got the entirety of the second, but failed to photograph any of the final game, much to my chagrin.



Game 1
We're playing Lair of the Dianoga. I faced off against a Bantha, a Rancor, Jabba, Hired Guns, and eHKs. I lost the coin flip and my opponent had initiative. ("Lost", but I'd much rather have initiative the second round anyhow.) I knew the Rancor would come screaming down the connecting hallway, so I setup to send my dewbacks to go around the far side. He sends the Bantha around the side and the rest down the connecting hallway, while I shift to the right, sending a volley into the Dianoga. The Stormtroopers do mediocre damage, but the dewbacks put a good hurting onto it. It's taken ~12 by the end of the first round.

This is midway through the second round. The two Dewback Riders and the Stormtroopers have finished off the Dianoga, putting me up 25 points. I really don't want to face the Rancor and the HKs, so I run away. But you know what's worth the 15 points I need to score? The Bantha, who's committed to facing down my entire army, and Jabba, who literally cannot move. I swing hard around the right and melt down those two within a round or two. The Rancor and the HKs never get close enough to really threaten my army.

Game 2
We're playing Reprogrammed on the old Training Grounds map. I have such fond recollections of this map. This map is so much fun to play aggressive on, whether it's busting through the door or coming around the outside.

My opponent has Boba, HKs,eTrandoshans, an rNexu, and an rWampa. I once again lose initiative. I deploy my dewbacks to be able to run as far around the corner as they can. I'm not spending any time breaking down the door, I'd rather be able to engage them on the other side of the opening.

And boy are those dewbacks fast if they double-move turn 1. Captain Terro opens up the second round with a flamethrower and an attack on the Trandoshans. I'm particularly concerned about the eTrandos, the +2 damage from ACP Scattergun is fairly concerning, moreso than the nearby Boba. (Who is unfortunately pillow-fisted more often than not.) The Trandos fall back, and I use the momentum to put out the Nexu and just force my way forward.

The rest of the game consists of me forcing forward until my obtained VPs more than equal Boba's cost.

Game 3

Sad that I failed to get a picture, even one, of this game. It was the most challenging one of the day. We were playing Fallout, where we retrieve the droids. My opponent was running Jedi Luke, Old Ben, Diala, eRebel Troopers, C-3PO, and R2-D2. I once again lost initiative. My opponent took the top deployment zone and posed everything towards the tunnel. I put all three dewbacks towards the tunnel and had the Stormtroopers and Officers hang out near the door.

First turn I open my door and decide to shoot his open with my Stormtroopers, thanks to the unique wording of the mission. I send one Dewback Rider through the center and the other down the hallway, who got a good shot onto Diala, who had run and grabbed an objective. Luke and Ben have run into the tunnel, where Luke gets blasted by Terro who runs in last. 

Over the course of the next round, Luke gets heavily damaged by the two dewbacks, but kills both with his Jedi friends' help. I take the center and start hurting his Rebel Troopers, who had hung out near the deployment zone.

The next round I sweep the top, killing R2, Diala, and the Troopers, while the remaining Luke, Ben, and C-3PO run down into my deployment zone.

The final round ends with my converging on the two remaining Jedi and defeating them.

This last match was the most concerning because of how quickly the Jedi had slaughtered my dewbacks. Had I failed to damage Luke and Diala as much as I had on the first two turns, the game would have swung the other way, with my Stormtroopers likely being unable to deal serious damage to the Jedi.

Conclusion
Going 3-0, I did end up with 1st place, netting me some erratad Imperial Officer cards, a promo Alliance Smuggler, and a slick acrylic damage dial. But most importantly, I got several people to play the game having taken nearly a year off. I expect to see even more people back next month, when the next monthly tournament occurs.

The List
This list is a ton of fun. The dewbacks feel strong and flexible, useful for their ability to place weaken on Jedi with inherit defenses, and good with their three dice attacks. For only 5 or 7 points, they're really good. Add on that they're Troopers just to make some good synergy. I didn't get to use their special action all that much, but that's probably because I didn't come across a list that really liked to clash, like Stormtroopers or the like. The closest thing was the last Jedi list, who evaporated my dewbacks with their hokey laser swords before I really got a chance to use my lightning sticks. What heathens.

The rest of the list is just vanilla Stormtroopers and Officers, which are just as fun as always to play.

Overall, it's a list that likes to hit hard and fast, and is very good at doing so. It's really threatened by Jedi Luke and the shenanigans he can pull, but a proper alpha strike can remove him quickly. I'm thinking that this list could even threaten Vader, though that's a statement that should always be tested.

Well, overall today was fun. I'm hopeful for the upcoming Imperial Assault prospects in my town.

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