Zamalekite
[ flagship ] CR90 Corvette B (39 points)
- General Dodonna ( 20 points)
- Tantive IV ( 3 points)
- Leia Organa ( 3 points)
= 65 total ship cost
Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57 points)
- Yavaris ( 5 points)
- Flight Commander ( 3 points)
= 65 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Ahsoka Tano ( 2 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 22 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Quantum Storm ( 1 points)
- Toryn Farr ( 7 points)
- Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
= 34 total ship cost
Modified Pelta-class Command Ship (60 points)
- Adar Tallon ( 10 points)
- Fighter Coordination Team ( 3 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
- All Fighters, Follow Me! ( 5 points)
= 82 total ship cost
2 VCX-100 Freighters ( 30 points)
1 Tycho Celchu ( 16 points)
1 Luke Skywalker ( 20 points)
1 Gold Squadron ( 12 points)
1 Scurrg H-6 Bomber ( 16 points)
1 Dagger Squadron ( 15 points)
1 Corran Horn ( 22 points)
= 131 total squadron cost
Total Points = 399
Dodonna Aces with a 3+2, the natural successor of the 2+3. Zamalekite and his annoying to type name bring 5 small base ships and 8 squadrons for 5 activations and 9 deployments. Zamalekite's list has everything you'd expect from a Rebel Aces based list:
- Toryn Farr and Bomber Command Center (on the same high value target!)
- Yavaris (with a Flight Commander)
- Adar Tallon (on a Pelta with Boosted Comms, Fighter Coordination Team, and AFFM!)
Let's talk about the Pelta for a second - it's built to push squadrons, and with Adar Tallon, Fighter Coordination Team, and All Fighters Follow Me! it can push them a lot farther and faster than you'd expect, potentially jumping Corran Horn more than 2 range rulers worth of movement for example.
Speaking of squadrons, you've got a decent spread of Rebel aces, backed up by VCX's to keep the main ships out of the fight. Luke, Gold, and the generic Scurrg are all good anti-shipping fighters, while Corran gives you the ability to snipe a particularly troublesome enemy. Dagger can do double duty, but needs the Pelta to help it push into position.
The CR90B seems like just an overcosted, under-squadroned transport here. With Tantive IV, Ashoka Tano (on a different ship) and Leia, it is there for slicer insurance, and to toss a token to be corrected into the right one with Ashoka.
With a 399 point bid, it's not intending to win first player, and is probably very comfortable with its second player objective choices.
PartyPotato
Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (73 points)
- Captain Brunson ( 5 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
- Quad Battery Turrets ( 5 points)
- External Racks ( 3 points)
= 95 total ship cost
[ flagship ] Victory II-Class Star Destroyer (85 points)
- Moff Jerjerrod ( 23 points)
- Warlord ( 8 points)
- Minister Tua ( 2 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points)
- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)
- H9 Turbolasers ( 8 points)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries ( 5 points)
= 148 total ship cost
1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points)
1 ""Mauler"" Mithel ( 15 points)
4 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 32 points)
1 ""Howlrunner"" ( 16 points)
1 JumpMaster 5000 ( 12 points)
1 Captain Jonus ( 16 points)
2 TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 18 points)
1 Saber Squadron ( 12 points)
= 134 total squadron cost
Total Points: 377
When you think "Imperial 2 ship" do you think "Double Victories?" Party Potato does. There's a lot to unpack here, because the list is NOT standard by any stretch of the imagination.
2 ships. 12 squadrons. 8 deployments and 2 activations. Clearly looking for first player with what might be the biggest bid of the tournament at 377 points.
The Victories are built for defense and combat, as they'd have to be to stand up to a fight. The flagship is a VSD-II with Moff Jerjerrod onboard giving both better movement than most would expect out of a VSD. Minister Tua / Electronic Countermeasures gives access to the Brace that is so necessary to VSD survival. For offense, you've got Disposable Capacitors, for long range. SW-7 Ions to even out the Blue dice, H-9 / Warlord Combo for guaranteed flak and Red Double Damage spin-ups, and Gunnery Team to ensure that it can reach out and touch whatever it needs to.
The other VSD is a I-Class built with Captain Brunson for survivability. Quad Battery Turrets give it a little more oomph at Medium / Long range, but External Racks and Ordnance Experts are what make it prickly if you get too close. It also has Expanded Hangers, bringing the list to 7 native squadron activations.
Interestingly, that means the list has just a bit more than half the activations for the squadrons it has, and no Rogues to make up the difference. Clearly, it is expecting casualties in it's fighter cover, as well it should as it packs in 4 generic TIE Fighters. It has a lot of anti-squadron firepower in its fighter compliment - "Howlrunner", "Mauler" Mithel, Valen Rudor, a Jumpmaster, and Saber Squadron do most of the damage, while Jonus and two TIE Bombers add much needed anti-ship damage.
Biggs' Prediction
Potato's list is so out of left field that it's hard to say.... what to think about this. He is a true wild card in the tournament, scoring 21 points in the POD round and missing out on winning the POD by just a single point (and losing a game to POD winner Roquax in a 39 point squeaker).
Zamalekite had by far the most evenly matched POD to take first place in. Tokra being bounced from the tournament was one of the more surprising POD results. Even so, Zamalekite didn't manage to win all his games either, losing a close game to the eventual runner-up Dark Raver.
This fight is going to come down to two things: Objective Selection and Squadron Battle. Zamalekite obviously has quality Yellow / Blue objectives with a low bid and VCX's, so expect whatever his Red objective is to get serious scrutiny.
The Squadron Battle is going to be... something. Potato has squadrons to burn, but Zamalekite has tricks to extend his squadron's range, protecting his more important pieces from an Alpha strike. I'd say if you've got the time to get up early (in the States) and watch this game it'd be the one I'd want to see.
I'm going to take Zamalekite as the winner of this game, but only just. Expect a game of multiple pieces being traded a turn, with the winner in doubt until Turn 5 or 6. We might even see the game decided on a Turn 6 die roll, and that is some of the most fun and intense Armada you can play.
So a kite gets mad at a potato, and this is the result. Potato is flying 2 crocodiles, and Kite is flying a Pelta, proving to everyone involved that these ships exist on top tables. Going to our usual metrics, OFFENSE appears to go to Potato, just based on weight of fire. If he can bring those Vics to bear…. Hoo boy, watch out for that chomp. With a LOT of (potentially) disposable squadrons, he can keep throwing them at his problems, watching Kite’s squadrons melt as more and more piddly attacks keep hitting him.
But for DEFENSE, however, Kite has All Fighters Follow Me!, the greatest threat and range extender you can find. They say the best defense is a good offense, but I say the BEST Defense was the 1985 Chicago Bears. But Kite’s is pretty good, too, as he can KITE his way all around the battlefield with some massively high hull squadrons to chew through. If those Vics get on target, chomp. But that’s a heck of an IF, with all the hull on those squadrons he’s defending with.
So, as always, INTANGIBLES! And while I want to give it to Kite for running Leia on a Tantive IV which is both thematic and passes the most important Leia test, I have to believe that a man running TWO victories has some wily tricks up his sleeve.
Zamalekite wins, but Party Potato gets the Golden Snitch.
Special Guest - Geek19
So a kite gets mad at a potato, and this is the result. Potato is flying 2 crocodiles, and Kite is flying a Pelta, proving to everyone involved that these ships exist on top tables. Going to our usual metrics, OFFENSE appears to go to Potato, just based on weight of fire. If he can bring those Vics to bear…. Hoo boy, watch out for that chomp. With a LOT of (potentially) disposable squadrons, he can keep throwing them at his problems, watching Kite’s squadrons melt as more and more piddly attacks keep hitting him.
But for DEFENSE, however, Kite has All Fighters Follow Me!, the greatest threat and range extender you can find. They say the best defense is a good offense, but I say the BEST Defense was the 1985 Chicago Bears. But Kite’s is pretty good, too, as he can KITE his way all around the battlefield with some massively high hull squadrons to chew through. If those Vics get on target, chomp. But that’s a heck of an IF, with all the hull on those squadrons he’s defending with.
So, as always, INTANGIBLES! And while I want to give it to Kite for running Leia on a Tantive IV which is both thematic and passes the most important Leia test, I have to believe that a man running TWO victories has some wily tricks up his sleeve.
Zamalekite wins, but Party Potato gets the Golden Snitch.
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