Big Ships Rarely Tire

Hello people,

Yesterday myslef, Mr C, Dave T and Hadrian T rocked up at Lost Ark for thier X-Wing Store Championship.

I'm a big fan of Lost Ark and have always had a good day out with them. With a field of 24 it was a more laid back event with a number of well known friendly faces.

As such I was running a more laid back list which kind of bits and pieces;
Decimator - Patrol Leader - Darth Vader
Firespray - Kath Scarlet - Rebel Captive
TIE Fighter - Backstabber 

In short across four rounds I went 2-2 to finish a respectable 11th.

First up young Flint gave me my best game of the day with a unique Chewbacca build just taking the win. Second game was against five A-Wings which was always going to be a struggle and my opponent made it worse. Best forgotten for many reasons.

Two losses saw me up against Mr C who was running the same Rebel swarm list that had done so well for him at Dark Sphere. It was a very close game but I took it at the last. This is what I love about X-Wing, many lists can do well on thier day. My final game against Luke, Wedge, Biggs and a Tala was a bit of a cakewalk. 

There were plenty of big ships and 360s in attendence so it was good to see a TIE swarm take the title. Huge kudos to Dave T who ran a Patrol Leader and two Sigmas to finish first after four rounds, only to go out at the first eliminator.

Generally speaking I was happy that I flew pretty well on the day. Backstabber was fun but the list lacked much synergy, which was no great surprise. For myself I've decided to concentrate on running a supported mini swarm for a while. It's flexible, seems to suit my style and still gives plenty of options. I may need to ween myself away from Howlrunner :)

On that note I've recently finished up my Boba repaint, 3 PPs, and I'm very, very pleased with him. My own version I've squeezed in a bit of check to fit with my Scum while keeping to his classic scheme.

Furthering that note I pre-ordered two of everything from Lost Ark as we're back up there next Saturday for Attack Wing. Ironic?

I've told myself that I'm going to have to control myself with it all.  Hmmmm.......;)

Fly Dodgy

Hello people,

Just one night's gaming this week, last night down at Dark Sphere running a bunch of TIE Interceptors all with Stealth Device.

More specifically a loaded Soontir Fel (Push the Limit, Royal TIE, Targeting Computer, Stealth Device) with Alphas. 

In short across two games it didn't really work, though that was for multiple reasons;
- my Evade dice generally betrayed me
- I didn't fly very well
- the Alphas weren't a swarm but weren't effective individually
- I didn't fly very well, especially Soontir

I still feel that the theory in there is sound,  the list needs honing with more of a purpose and I need to learn to fly Interceptors.....gradually :)

Meanwhile it's Lost Ark's Store Championship tomorrow. 

I'll be running something far more familiar to me!

Playing Away

Hello people,

Another X-Wing fuelled week keeping the world sane as Project Dunkirk continues.

Tuesday at Enfield Gamers I ran another TIE Bomber list. Having realised that Howlrunner is run best as a buff it occurred that Capt Jonus is the same but just for secondary weapons. As such I ran the following;

TIE Bomber - Capt Jonus - Swarm Tactics
TIE Bomber - Major Rhymer - PTL - Advanced Proton Torps - Cluster Missiles
TIE Defender - Delta - Heavy Laser Cannon

Playing Dave twice I soon realised how deadly  Rhymer can be though he didn't need Jonus. First game Dave ran Leebo with twin Hawks and got blown away. Second time out was Chiraneau / Mini Swarm and far closer. Jonus went early doors and I didn't fly the Defender too well to give the game away. 

I came away with some interesting ideas for twin Defenders (HLC or Mangler Cannon) or a maxed Rhymer as Decimator support. Quite possibly swarm fodder though.

 Thursday night I dropped in on Dark Sphere's games night. Working by London Bridge it was 30 minutes door to door and there were a few guys that I'd met and played last Saturday. Getting in a couple of games with another chubby swarm this time it was Howly, 4 Academys and a pair of Interceptors. 

On the night I went or a pair of PS4 Sabers but I'm likely to drop them to PS1 Alphas to have them run with either Stealth Device or Hull Upgrade. I can see the strengths and weaknesses either way, same with Howlrunner, Stealth relies on dice Hull doesn't. I'll just have to fly it a few more times and see.

First up was yet another Whisper list with Kath and a Doom Shuttle. Doom Shuttle died, can't ignore it, beore I chased Whisper round the table. I played her a lot better, working out de-cloak points and denying them whenever possible. Unortunately I couldn't make it stick and Kath hunted me down.



Second game was against Oicunn and a mini swarm. I tried coming around the edges but turned in too early and then the dice went against me....Game Over!

In all a good night. Amusingly even the guys at work who know about Toys realised it was the wrong night and asked me if I was out cheating on Tuesday! Have to admit it was interesting on a couple of levels as when I was back with GW I couldn't understand why a lot of older guys would play in the shop but then Dark Sphere's a very different crowd. Besides a regular Thursay night game means that I may even dig Dreadball Extreme out of the box!

While I was there I picked up a second Firespray, having spent some time working out a couple valid Scum Boba & Kath lists. This one will be a full Boba repaint. Gotta scratch the itch :)

Dunkirk Spirit

Hello people,

Project Dunkirk, aka the miracle of the small ships, set out on a major offensive yesterday as myself and Mr C attended Dark Sphere's Store Championship. The day consisted of 6 rounds amongst a field of 44 players.

I was trepiditiously running Vulture Squadron (Catch the Pigeon);
TIE ighter - Howlrunner - Stealth Device
TIE ighter - Academy x3
TIE Bomber - Scimitar x 2 - Flechette Missiles - Proximity Mine

In summary I came 13th with two wins, two modified wins (draws) and two losses. I also had to fly against a total of 6 TIE Phantoms, a fleet of three in the first round and Whisper in the first 4 rounds. As a result I realised that I'm not very good at taking on Phantoms. Other than Round 1 I pretty much tried to ignore them. I appreciate the theory of trying to deny their de-cloak points but that means splitting the swarm......which was an idea I didn't fancy!

Overall I'm well pleased with my performance. The Bombers went OK but I definitely could have, and hopefully will, do better with them. The Proximity Mines were good fun and the flechettes have plenty on anti Phantom potential. The list did well against big ships, though there were far less in attendance than I expected. I also got a few compliments for flying Bombers at all and my paint scheme so all good.

As an aside I learnt a bit more tourney technique. My first opponent stalled the game by disappearing to the loo eating up 8 minutes and denying me a likely full win. I lost focus quite badly or Round 3 just after lunch and allowed myself to be pushed along at a higher pace than I was happy with in Round 4. Otherwise 6 rounds with just 25 minutes for lunch was hard work but still enjoyable even though I was suffering with a bit of lurgy.

Traditionally I finished the last few brushstrokes on the Bombers just 12 hours before rocking up for the tourney. As well as the Bomber Jon donated me his spare TIEs that I've put into Elite schemes. Something a little darker for Howlrunner, as I rarely leave the hanger without a Stealth Device, and a more aggressive red for Mauler / Backstabber. I have to admit that I wasn't so sure about marking out Howlrunner but anyone worth their salt can work that one out or themselves.

Meanwhile Mr C placed 1st after Round 6, and very well done to him. Unfortunately that was at 8pm and then there were three knockout rounds...... we had to leave. The 11am start time slipped to 11:45 and it got worse from there. How people are expected to play nine consecutive rounds, which ended after midnight is entirely alien to me.

So all in all a decent day out, greater motivation or Project Dunkirk, a few more contacts made and another 6 Painting Points. Looking forward to the next one :)

Check-Mate?

Hello peeps,

A couple more X-Wing re-paints, just the two TIE Bombers then I'm out, this time my pair of Scum HWK-290 in preparation for a significant upcoming investment of plastic crack.

One of the HWKs was done and dusted but then I got the compulsion to try and get some black & white check on all of my Scum ships so some remedial work was required. Quite a bit of effort one way or the other but worth it I feel, very pleased indeed.

Not to brag but my repaints have attracted a number of compliments, which is a bonus, and it's always nice to go to town a bit on the bigger ships when you can. The challenge here was to know when to stop so they weren't too busy and hopefully I've got that right.

Another 4 Painting Points claimed, 1 for the remedial work on HWK #1 and 3 for HWK #2. They and Boba are likely to hit a table in Enfield sometime very soon :]

Rawhide!

Hello people,

Yes it's been a little while so here's one of those end of the week scatter gun round-up posts hopefully with a bit more content than the same old, same old.

This weekend I DIDN'T play X-Wing at all. There was Dave T's Attack Wing event up at Lost Ark today but I was running a 10K around central London. It was rather chilly!

I did play a couple of games of X-Wing at Enfield Gamers on Tuesday in preparation for Dark Sphere this Saturday coming. I ran a chubby swarm of Howlrunner, 4 Academys and two Saber Interceptors as I've promised myself to not run a Decimator three events in a row. In honesty I expect a bit of kicking but also to hone my dogfighting abilities. 

I'm going to call this Project Dunkirk, the miracle of the small ships, as I find it difficult to see past Decimators at the moment. Also the big ship meta seems to play into the hands of swarms.

On Tuesday I list to Dave, as per usual, running a K - turn heavy strategy whilst as failing to identify Cracken as Target 1. I varied my tactics against James, a good tourney player, and his BBHHH list to good effect. The Interceptors manoeuvrability was a bonus late game, as I'd expected. I did also get get the rub of the dice after the usual rough end from Dave.

Meanwhile Project Lambda is ready to hit the tabletop as the second shuttle's repaint is now complete. I'm currently thinking Vader in one with a Fleet Officer in the other. Further upgrades and support is option to various options. Meanwhile I'll be claiming another 4 Painting Points.

To complement Project Dunkirk I've recently picked up two TIE Bombers which I hope to give a run out tomorrow night. It'll keep the plastic crack itch at bay for a while.

On that note Wave 2 of my Dreadball Extreme KS turned up over the weekend, though my motivation to play hasn't quite come with it. I also paid postage and confirmed my delivery details for my HeroQuest 25th pledge......far more like it :)

Anyway, Lambda 232 is a touch newer, cleaner and well loved compared to ST-321 but still in the service of a Splinter Squadron, a rogue group of former Imperial pilots who somehow survived the batttle of Yavin and decided to go "independant". Life on the fringes is hard......