Thursday, February 6, 2020

VWC Elimination Round - MandolorianMoose vs Roquax

MandolorianMoose - 400 Bid



Onager Testbed (96)
• General Romodi (20)
• Admiral Ozzel (2)
• Veteran Gunners (5)
• Gunnery Chief Varnillian (6)
• Medical Team (1)
• Orbital Bombardment Particle Cannons (5)
• Cataclysm (5)
= 140 Points



Quasar Fire I (54)
• Governor Pryce (7)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Squall (3)
= 74 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
• Comms Net (2)
= 27 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Darth Vader (1)
• Comms Net (2)
= 26 Points

Squadrons:
• Morna Kee (27)
• Maarek Stele (21)
• Colonel Jendon (20)
• Major Rhymer (16)
• Tempest Squadron (13)
• Mauler Mithel (15)
• JumpMaster 5000 (12)
• Black Squadron (9)
= 133 Points


Mandolorian Moose made it through POD play with one of only two perfect scores, and the highest MOV in the tournament by 10 whole points.  He's running a Romodi variant of the Imperial 2 ship... but with more activations and Gozantis backing him up as the Onager is a bit cheaper than an Avenger.  Ozzel, Catacylsm, OP Cannons, and Hondo hiding on the Gozanti give him the chance to set up across from an opponent and delete them turn 1 unless they understand the gimmick and are ready for it.

To add to this long range threat, he's brought a Pryce Quasar and a 133 point Imperial Ace Ball comprised of MMJ, Rhymer, Tempest, Mithel, Black Squadron, with just a lone generic Jumpmaster as Mithel's best buddy.  This is a hard nut for any squadron ball to crack.

4 activations (+ Pryce), 8 Deployments, 400 point bid



Roquax - 400 Bid



RCAF-D 4.0

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57)
• General Dodonna (20)
• Yavaris (5)
= 82 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Adar Tallon (10)
= 28 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Toryn Farr (7)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
= 33 Points

MC75 Ordnance Cruiser (100)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• External Racks (3)
= 123 Points

Squadrons:
• Dutch Vander (16)
• Luke Skywalker (20)
• Ten Numb (19)
• Gold Squadron (12)
• 2 x VCX-100 Freighter (30)
• Lando Calrissian (23)
• Rogue Squadron (14)
= 134 Points

And attempting to crack Mando's fleet will be Roquax and the RCAF.  Yavaris, a pair of squadron built GR-75s, 134 points of mostly ace squadrons, and an MC75 built for brawling.  Roquax has a slightly stronger squadron ball here with the GR-75's and Yavaris built for squadron brawls and the MC75 being the only real combat ship threat.

The squadron breakdown has Dutch, Ten Numb, Rogue Squadron and Lando as anti-squadron killers, with just about everything doing double duty as ship killers.  A pair of VCXs give it strong objective play.  Yavaris, Adar Tallon, Toryn Farr, and Bomber Command Center multiply the advantage of these squadrons.

4 (+1) activations, 8 deployments, 400 point bid


Biggs' Analysis:


Ho boy, it's hard to bet against Mando here, since watching him CRUSH through his POD as though he was the only one there.  That being said, he did the same thing last year to drop in the first round of elimination, so a strong POD play and weak Elimination play against serious competition is his modus operandi.  Regardless, he's got one really, really good trick, and if that doesn't surprise you he's got a ton of really good Imperial squadrons which isn't a bad second trick really.

Roquax has only really one good trick as well, and that trick is the biggest Rebel squadron ball he can build out.  The question is can he keep his support ships alive against Cataclysm and still have them contribute to the game?

Got to give this one to MandoMoose here, as I think he loses the squadron battle, but keeps it close enough to win over in the ship fighting.  Not accounting for the biggest ships of each fleet, more points are tied up in Roquax's supports, including his commander, and MandoMoose has a better chance of sniping them out.


Astrodar's Analysis


Roquax returns with the Royal Canadian Air Force, this time with everyone’s favorite gambler / smuggler / baron / general whose middle name is Balthazar. In 2018, Roquax and the RCAF made top four in VWC before losing out to the eventual champion. That experience will be much needed in this squad heavy match.

With a Rhymer powered MMJ, Mauler, Pryce-Squall-Flight Controllers, and the Onager’s Orbital Bombardment to boot, MandolorianMoose has potential for a nasty alpha strike. Roquax will have to be particularly careful about how he plays the squads. Yavaris and the flotillas will be in early danger with Cataclysm reaching across the play area, as seen in Roquax’s POD match up against another Onager. That said, Moose will have to hit early and hard, as the MC75 will win head to head against any of Moose’s ships and the RCAF has a lot of meat to chew through.

Moose’s weak point will be his generic jumpmaster and escorts with no defense tokens. A Yavaris squad strike could easily leave the entire ball tied up and unable to threaten ships. Roquax’s weak point is Yavaris and the flotillas being susceptible to crippling Onager shots.

Despite Roquax’s experience with the RCAF, I think this match will go to MandolorianMoose. Neither will come out of the squad battle particularly well off, and when combined, Moose’s ships have a few more teeth, particularly if Romodi gets set up. On top of that, Moose showed the strength of this list with a perfect 30 in POD play and shows no signs of slowing. 

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