This week my LGS is running a home rules game. Normal DCI build rules for the squad except at the start of the game your opponent chooses one piece from your squad as the hostage. The hostage piece is placed by the oppsing player in thier starting area with thier squad. For gameplay purposes it does not exist. It can not be affected in any way, although it can provide cover. If you can get one of yor other minis across the map and end a turn adjacant to the hostage the hostage is freed and joins your team able to be activated that round. Normal scoring applies with one exception. If you're able to free your hostage and move the hostage back to your starting area before the piece you took hostage is freed you win.

I haven't worked out the numbers yet, but I'll be building a JWM swarm squad so there's no single big piece that it will hurt too much to lose.



EDIT: oops I meant to post this in the squad ideas board. Sorry about that. I was thinking about how its going to be 150 points squad and opened that board without thinking.

Whatever you run, i would run a swoop bike to get down the board as fast as possible.

If they take a commander, do you still get to use the CE? That would really kill squads.

I'm guessing a hostage's CE can't be used until they're rescued. Otherwaise you could leave them as a hostage so you wouldn't have to worry about losing the CE if the commander was killed.

That is what i am thinking too, but that really nerfs so many squads if they lose their commander.....as i said, swoop bike.

Yeah, definitely take a squad that is not dependent on CEs, but also a squad that doesn't have any real single powerful hitter. Of course, the flip side to that is taking a really powerful hitter, and banking on the fact that your opponent will take that piece 'hostage'. Then, use a Swoopbike to rescue him as early as possible, and then your power hitter is already in the midst of their forces. At that point, either beat the heck out of their team, or race your piece back across the board before they can free their hostage.

Sounds like a fun format!

My initial thought as posted in the OP was a JWM swarm squad that would function fine with any piece missing.

The big hitter idea I cam up with was to use Boba, BH and Jango, JH along with the doombot and filler. With that squad I would be ignoring the other squad and just trying to get to the hostage and then get him back to my area. Problem with that is if i face another flight squad I might not beable to get my hostage back to my starting area before they rescue thiers.

OK. just got word from the store owner. CE's are not active until the hostage is rescued.

I would say just take 15 Swoops. They've got to take one hostage and 1 of the other 14 will get to the hostage one in like 2 turns and you will be able to get back fast. However, you're probably going to run into trapping like that with the 2x2 base.

I think a combo of Boba, BH + R2, Astro + Typho + Naboo Soldiers would do well. The opponent will probably take Boba hostage and then you can use R2 to fly towards him, with the Naboos swarmed around him to Bodyguard. Once he gets to Boba, just Tow him back to your starting area. Maybe use the rest of your points on JWMs or other Jedi to prevent the opponent from getting to the hostage that you took.

Ok Ive got it. Exar Kun and a bunch of swoops, lobot and a bunch of ugos. Assuming they take Exar as their hostage, use lobot and the swoops to get to your hostage round 2. Transfer into an ugo in the starting area and win the game

I think I just broke your format.

nope, the opponent could surround their hostage so the swoops can't get adjacent to exar.

Nice idea!! But, you are assuming that the opponent won't realize what you're up to with Transfer Essence. Even then, if they don't take Exar, you have him running a muck while their best piece is waiting to be freed in this epic game of freeze tag. Again, like I said with my 15 Swoop squad, you run the risk of your hostage being trapped, and let's face it. You don't have much other offensive output aside from Exar.

This is a pretty good idea for a format...there's a lot to think about when building your squad. I LIKE IT!

I didn't like the idea when I first saw it, but it got more interesting the more I thought about it.

I found out I'm not going to be able to make it up there this week after all so it looks like i don't have to think of a squad after all. I guess I can get an early start on next week's 150 point DCI build instead.

Wow...just realized this too.....Override the hostage into a room. Then the opponent HAS to either get an Override char in LOS of the door, or work the Ugo all the way up there. OK....so there's a few easily abusable options in this format.

I'm not a huge fan of banning characters, but you may need to ban characters with override for this format.

Too late to worry about that now. This was done on Friday. If I can I'll try and get some info on how things went.