Another successful event by one of our community leaders, Jim Fraser (yes the head judge at last year's SWM events at GenCon).

On Saturday, Jim hosted a 200 point tournament with a turn-out of approximately 15 people.
In the week leading up to the event, I poured over my list of pieces (I still don't have them all), squad lists, and reviews of what was played in Carbondale at a warm-up game last Monday.

One of the squads I practiced with and against was Luke Skywalker's new B&B:

Lord Vader
Thrawn
Mas Amedda
Nyna Calixte
Gran Raider x8
Storm Commando x2

It was just brutal. It didn't care about Han GH's nerfing or the YV Jedi Hunters. Lord Vader wins games against both of those concepts. The only problem I had was with a mirror match where JH Vader might show up, or Puppetmaster (a name I thought up for a squad that uses Yoda of Dagobah with Rebel Force characters like Luke Hoth Pilot or Vader's Apprentice, Redeemed). Those elements kick LV's ass. I was also nervous about "SloDonna."

So, after much thought, I made the following change:
- Lord Vader
+ Roan Fel, Ugnaught, Ozzel

Was it the right decision? Looking back at how my games went, I would say no. But with that said, there were times during certain games when I was glad I had Fel instead (like when Mara couldn't LS Block my Triple Opp because I had Force Immunity - I could not have had Force Immunity and LS Assault/Twin with LV).

Of course, I grabbed Rancor Pit as my map.

Round 1 - vs Rebels (Han Rogue, Elite Rebel Commandos, RC Strike Team Leader, Princess Leia, Luke Hoth Pilot, Shaak Ti)

I lost map, and so we played on Chancellor's Starship. Using Ozzel, it didn't matter that I didn't have initiative control. I eventually swapped Fel into position, triple-opped on Han, and then won init on the next round. I swapped Ozzel with Fel and let my opponent use his Shaak Ti to kill Ozzel. The Storm Commandos took down Shaak Ti pretty easily (Deadeye + Cunning + Nyna's CE vs. Shaak Ti with no cover = 80 damage). The only mistake I made was when I didn't realize the RCSTL was setting in cover (damn square bases that take up the whole square!) and I had to move my SC one square closer. Still won, though, so it was okay.

Meanwhile, and this is going to be important later, "Mr. Tortise" arrived 10 minutes late to the first round and continued to play 15 minutes after time was called on the first match while he and his opponent finished the final round. He ended up winning.

1-0

Round 2 - vs. CRuBLs variant with Prince Xizor.
Lost map, we played on hardboard.

I won side and set up near the pit area. I made a tactical mistake when I placed Thrawn in LOS of his pieces and told him to go first, but luckily he didn't see it and I quickly moved Thrawn to safety (whew!) Damn did I feel like a noob just then lol.
Anyway, the game went fairly quick, as my SC's blasted Talon Karrde and his Ugnaughts from a safe distance while the Gran and Thrawn worked together to place Fel where he needed to be. I eventually allowed my opponent to kill Ozzel and he was only too eager, then I really unloaded. My favorite moment in that game was when I had to call Jim over to explain that he couldn't use Mara's LS Block against Fel because Fel was within 6 of Thrawn (even though Mara wasn't). Fel triple-opped and critted on the third attack for the kill.

We played it out at his request, and it was overall a fun game. We had a good laugh about Thrawn afterwards.

Time is called and "Mr. Tortise" is last to finish up. There's apparently some dispute about points, as I recall (it was a long weekend; my memory is a bit fuzzy).

2-0

Round 3
vs Dark Jedi 21, (my friend who traveled to the con with me). He is playing Han GH, Dodonna, Boba Fett BH, and LOTS of Ugnaughts. Of course, he knew what I was planning before hand so duh lol.

Seriously though, he had a tough squad and by all rights should have won.
Anyway, I won map and side, so we're on Rancor Pit and I am in the "safe zone" on the pen side. Goddang was this a boring game. Here's what happened:

Me: Init, I win with 15. Go.
DJ21: Dodonna, go.
Me: Ozzel, go.
DJ21: Ug, go.
Me: Mas, go.
DJ21: Ug, go.
Me: Gran moves 12, go.
DJ21: Ug, go.
Me: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
DJ21: That's okay, man. Take a nap. I'll let you know when it's over.

Well, to make a long story short, I won. We spent most of the game mulling over the tough decisions between moments of smack talk, and DJ21's disgust that I got first round gambit and he didn't. I won by 1 point. Ironically, if he had used Flamethrower on my Gran he could have won. Oh well, I figured being lucky twice in one day I should count my blessings and move on.

Time is called. We finish the round and I win. I mozy over to Mr. Tortise's table where he is still trying to decide what to do. I had an idea: finish the effing round!! That's when I get a good look at his squad. He had 5 characters

WTF?!! How is this guy winning? Well, I was about to find out.

He and I are paired in the 4th and final round, both with 3-0 records. I win map and after considering his map (hardboard), I choose mine. I figured even if I lost side I could get first round gambit and win the way I beat DJ 21. Plus, between Ozzel and Nyna, I should have some decent control of the game. I wasn't so sure of my chances with SS against his squad if I was on hardboard.

Round 4 (final round) - vs. Cade, Boba BH, Luke JS (Cade), Han GH, Galactic Alliance Scout

I lost side and he picked the Rancor Pen side, and the whole time I'm thinking it should be in the bag. 15 activations vs. 5. Tempo control. Super-stealth. First round gambit. No worries.

But something happened I had never seen before. He started in the Rancor Pen, and spent a force point from Cade to get into gambit on the first round. Each match round is an hour, and the turn Cade moved into Gambit was somewhere around 30-35 minutes into the first round.
His first turn, (TURN mind you, not effing phase, not effing round, but first effing activation, took him about 10 minutes to decide.)

Suddenly, I was on the defensive, and we were halfway into the game. His whole team was bunched up with Han GH the fartherest away and there was no way short of a miracle I could hit with my Gran. (They would need 14's vs. Han and 15's vs. Boba/Cade.)

Mr. Tortise never emerged from his campsite, and the rest of the game he took about as long to complete his turns as he did the first one. I might not have minded, but he tended to delay the game with idle chatter, and was constantly distracted by his son, (talk about a dilemma, you don't want to tell someone to send their kid away, but the kid refused to sit quietly). Mr. Tortise was also very smug about the fact that he was "camping."
I finally decided to force the issue and it backfired. Fel swapped in, ran up to Han and swung, rolled a 1. I couldn't re-roll since I spent a fp to move 8 to get there. It was at that moment I wished I had stuck with Lord Vader. Then, I lost init, and he doubled with both Boba and Han, killing Fel before he could activate. Fel just doesn't have enough HP. From there, I simply didn't have the means to catch up. What damage I did to Cade with my SCs was healed over and over again, and I couldn't risk putting Thrawn out there to get vaporized by Boba.

When Jim called there were 10 minutes left in the match, we might have played 3 rounds. The score was something like 15-76. I just had no way to beat the turtle. So I told him, "This isn't even fun anymore, and I don't think I can beat you, so I concede." He smiled (which only pissed me off more) and nodded.

It's easy to dismiss my disgust with the fact that I lost, but that's not the case. I lost HORRIBLY at E-Con last year, hell I lose all the time (I lost 2 other events over the weekend), but I still had a great time PLAYING. Mr. Tortise just makes the event not fun, and I find it terribly, terribly disappointing that a player can design what most people here would call a poorly-designed squad and unsportsmanlike tactics to win a tournament. What happened to me in the final round happened to everyone else playing, and that is just sad. Stalling, camping, power-playing, distracting.

Now, had this been a "real" event with cash prizes or something more serious on the line, I would have had the judge over there in 2.2 seconds. But it's important to keep things in perspective. First of all, prizes were individual picks of minis, so everyone was getting something. The tournament was a "localized" event where most of the people knew each other, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I mean, I still took second and got a VR from LotF to trade. He took the Boba Mercenary from TFU, in case you were wondering.

It really sucks when a great event can be overshadowed by a single player who actually wins not in spite of his poor behavior and sportsmanship but because of it. I'm not sure I could have beat him even if he had engaged his figs, but it would have been way WAY more fun for me to have been able to try and still lose than to watch Mr. Tortise sit and struggle with five decisions per round. (I plan to post more on this in the general thread and on WotC.)

So, I ended 3-1 and took second like I said. Jim did a great job running the events, and the Dynamic Duo and 150 that followed were great fun.

Also I got to run my Hoth game which always makes me happy.

First I have to thank Jim for running a wonderful event as always. I had a great time playing with the new set and even won both the Dynamic Duo tournament (Darth Kryat + Jariah Syn is awesome) and the 150 after finishing 3rd in the 200. I understand what Dennis is talking about with the slow play. I played the same guy at E-Con last year. He was running a very low activation squad and played very slow.

Well I'll give my match report as I faced none of the same players Boris did in this event.

My Squad:
Super Stealth B&B with Lord Vader and Commando's.

1st Round: I honestly dont remember what I faced, but it was not an experienced player with a lot of pieces at his disposal, and I won quickly and decisively.

2nd Round: vs Jugger-er I mean Uggernaughts. (my fiance): Hardboard.

I lost several key initiatives and she managed to take out Nyxia early, She proceded to wipe the floor with my squad after that.

3rd Round:
Vs Super Stealth Commando's Sevs Fixers what not. Lets just say that if a gran raider can get adjacent to Bacara and the training Sargent and you dont roll a 1 on initiative then the game can go quickly. This was on Chancellor's Starship.

4th Round:
Vs
Yoda of Dagobah
Shaak Ti Jedi mAster
Luke HPU
2-1b
Dodonna
4x ugo
Juno Eclipse
Wicket
Elite Rebel commando.

Well I was being a little agressive with Nyxia, and shaak ti ran up and crit her for a kill, but that was ok because I had already put 70 damage on her from Thrawn and a Commando in the previous round. I moved thrawn to within 6 squares of her and swapped in vader for a Assault/Rage Combo, no blocks.

Thrawn was a little exposed and took 40 points of damage but I figured I was still ok. Next round I used Storm Commando's to defeat Juno and the Elite Rebel commando, and luke walked up and crit Thrawn for a kill. (crap! can I catch a friggin BREAK?)

Well I had put 60 on luke and with a lucky initiative Vader did a leap and sweep to take out Luke and 2-1b and wicket, leaving Dodonna and yoda to clean up the mess, Vader had full hp.

End of the day I'm 3-1 losing only to Amanda, and I get Leia and Marisaiah Fel for prize support, from 5th place, not too shabby, Amanda finished 6th after losing to Jason, and Mr. Tortise ( not in that order) after our game.

You did the right thing. The wedding is still on, right?



I think it would be good if you or Amanda could describe how your game went, help put things in perspective about the matches (rather than some people thinking it's just me having some kind of temper tantrum, which by the way, I did have a great time this weekend overall).

Well I sat by Amanda All day, and I have to say that "Mr. Tortoise" does have a tendency to play very slowly. But you know what he doesn't do, make a lot of mistakes. His kid was not around during his game with Amanda, I don't know where he was.
Do I think I would have beat him with my squad? Yes in all probability.
Do I think that he slow played against Amanda? I wasn't watching closely enough, but I know he did camp in a room the whole game.
I hadn't seen him in a few weeks, and haven't played against him in a few months. It sounds to me like during your match you got a little impatient in your play style and made a rush that didn't pan out for you. This probably was influenced by factors outside of your board, but what can you do? With Lord Vader instead of Fel I think you win without any trouble of any kind.

That would be an example of stalling and something you should call a judge/TO about.

Amanda just reminded me off a gambit dispute in there game, Joel won by 4 points killing Lobot and collecting 1 round of gambit, compared to Amanda assassinating one of his 13 point Galactic alliance troopers, and collecting 3 rounds of gambit, but Amanda thought she had 4 rounds of gambit and not 3, they didn't keep track. He camped until the last round and ran Cade Out to collect gambit.

Amanda is not one to complain about such things, until we are in the car.

Yes Lord Vader could have beat him. If I had had Lord Vader I could have swapped from 7 squares away with Wicket hanging back 6 from Han, then ran Vader 6 squares to base Han and Assault with Rage, needing to hit 3 out of 4 times.

Alternatively, I needed to hit with Fel, win init, and then finish the job with a triple. Barring a crit, Boba couldn't have killed Fel.

Instead, I rolled a 1 and then lost init. In the future, I will stick with Vader.



Then I'm not explaining it sufficiently. In order to maintain equal gambit, I had to keep a stealth character in cover in the gambit zone. Round 8 or 9 all he had to do was move up and flamethrow the Gran or SC, and then do it again (if it was an SC) before time was called to win.

I don't know about Amanda, I only saw the last 3-5 minutes (AFTER time was called), but I know Jon had problems with the way he played in round 1. (10 minute tardiness. I told Jon he should have forced a match loss, but I think he just wanted to play, can't blame him for that.)

It's too bad you faced the turtle/slow player this tourney.

He really took 10 min to make one move? I would have called Jim over to give this guy a warning.
About 4 years ago, the CA DDM meta was only high HP figs (no fodder and few activations). This was before Vassal and no one could figure out why these squads were winning. At Gencon these guys won all the tournies on Thursday. Slow play was winning them all their games. When they eliminated an opponents fodder piece, they would turtle and slow play for the win.

I'm not sure if SWM is headed this directions with high actication San Hill/Ozzel/Dononna squads. I have not figured out how many reinforcements you could being in at 200 DCI. With the Cal noble, you might be able to slow down your opponent enough for the win.

Well, if you really want high activations and turtle options at maximum, this is something that can be done.

50 Jabba the Hutt
45 Garm Bel Iblis
27 Lobot
09 General Dodonna
30 Han RH
18 Lando Dashing Scoundrel
21 Ugnaught Demolitionist x7

Then with Jabba's reinforcements, bring in 10 more Ugnaughts, and with Lobot's reinforcements bring in 4 more Ugnaughts and 2 Gran Raiders. With Dodonna bring in 5 Mon Cal Tech Specialists and 2 Rebel Troopers.

That's a total of 36 pieces. You could probably afford to cut 6 Ugnaugts from the main build and run a Rebel Leader for Spotter 20 support.

I would have been disappointed that he won no matter who played him, not that I have anything against him personally, but because of the tactics he employed to win. It's just poor sportsmanship.

It's not that he beat me, I don't care about that. By all accounts, I should have lost all but the first game I played. But I just got lucky. My opponents didn't catch my mistakes.

I hate that my tournament report was overshadowed by the slow play issue but I felt it was a relevant issue that coincided so I brought it up. I am learning alot about how to handle this crap, so something good did come out of it.

If your behind on points then you have to press. Its a disadvantage sure but if your losing anyway you might aswell actually try and enjoy the game. Even if you are playing slow tempo squads.
Slow tempo only applies until the first engagement. Then the game should progress rapidly for the next round or so.




you have to say something to him under these conditions. i don't care if he is there with his son your playing a tourney and there are time constraints. I know that its a casual tournament but even then your trying to enjoy the game.

sorry you had a crap tourney end.

I really did have a great time at the SWM events despite that one game. If he had actually played, I would have still had fun losing while trying to win. I know I couldn't have won without a lot of luck and given all the luck I had before in the tournament, I was pretty sure I had run out.

Rolling a 1 on my only attack of the game and then losing initiative the next round proved it lol.

yeah I would have called out the dude to the TD for slow playing it.

I am supprised that with everyone he slowplayed for the win no one said anything to the TD.

esp, with your TD being a very qualified judge having GenCon on his resume and all.

Instead throw in an Ithorian Cmdr and replace the Ugos with Ewoks except about 4, keep the 4x Ugos. Then, throw in Wicket too.

LOVE IT!!!

-b

Yeah that would be good. I would downgrade Han from Rogue to Stormtrooper Armor, too. Talk about annoying.

[/quote]Yeah that would be good. I would downgrade Han from Rogue to Stormtrooper Armor, too. Talk about annoying.[/quote]

Yep, you're on the right track. This is my base Charging Ewok Swarm Squad:

Lobot (27)
Han ST (25)
Leia, HC (19)
Ith Cmdr (14)
Wicket (8)
R2(8)
Juno (8)
Ewok Warrior x5 (25)
Ewok x29 (87)
41 activations, 198 pts.

I'll be trying this out with Dodonna added in, taking Juno and the Ewok Wariors out. Might leave Juno for Disruptive, but she really can't hang on too long. Taking the Ewok Warriors out will allow me to add some Ugos.

Anyways, you get the point.

Garm and Dodonna will only make these things better.

-b

Use Garm to bring in a Cor Sec Officer and give the 'woks Deceptive and It's a Trap!

Eecheewhammee!!!!!!!!!!!

-b