Intro
Yes, it’s ANOTHER UK SOS post. #SorryNotSorry
This time though, I wanted to give a different angle of it. So far I’ve talked about the highs and lows of my games on both days, the overall feel of the event, how amazing it is, etc, etc.
I wasn’t the only person in my car who attended though. I wanted to get some insight from Cai. Whilst we were next to each other all weekend I was pretty engaged in what was happening on my table (most of the time, anyway!) and so I wanted to hear his take on things, what he enjoyed (and what he didn’t) and generally see it through a different pair of eyes.
Getting information isn’t always that easy though.
If you have kids then you know how difficult it can be to get any kind of detail from them about things. Historically we would have this conversation with both my sons:
Me: ‘How was school today?’
Them: ‘good’
Me: ‘What was good about it?’
Them: ‘Everything’
Repeat ad-nauseam.
To try and get around this we have come up with a solution. When we sit down for dinner we take turns going around the table to share 3 things that have happened today. They don’t have to be good things (or even interesting things!) but you have to share something. This can sometimes be more of a challenge for the adults than the kids…
Over time it has got to the stage where it now happens automatically and the kids will think about what to say before we sit down. Sometimes it’s over quickly (and that’s ok) and sometimes it sparks long deep conversations.
Where am I going with this? Well, I had the idea to do an ‘interview’ with Cai as a blog entry and so I gave him a few questions that I would later ask and told him beforehand to remember things as they happened that it might be interesting to write about.
So without any further ado, let’s begin…
Interview with a Teenager
Dylan: Starting with the main System Open Hyperspace format event, what list did you play and why?
Cai: On the Saturday I played:
Captain Oicunn (74)
Intimidation (3)
Fifth Brother (11)
Proton Bombs (5)
Hull Upgrade (2)
Dauntless (4)
Ship total: 99 Half Points: 50 Threshold: 9
Seyn Marana (30)
Ship total: 30 Half Points: 15 Threshold: 2
Gideon Hask (30)
Ship total: 30 Half Points: 15 Threshold: 2
Iden Versio (41)
Ship total: 41 Half Points: 21 Threshold: 2
Total: 200
View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZhZ200Z215X122WWWWW82W69W164W147Y224XWY223XWY218XW&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=
I flew them because it’s an Inferno squad themed system open (for prizes) and I also really like Inferno squad so why not take them to play! And also I like flying the Decimator.
Dylan: What’s the ‘trick’ with this squad? What are you trying to do?
Cai: I don’t really know? I wanted to bump with Oicunn but I also need to make sure the TIE Fighters get their actions to stay alive longer as they are valuable (being 40-ish points each rather than 22). Seyn and Gideon’s abilities work well together so they need to stay alive and Iden is there to help that. Gideon often died sooner than Seyn mostly because he needs the range 1 shot to make the most of his ability so ended up closer to the opposing ships.
Dylan: And what about for the Worlds Qualifier?
Cai: For the worlds qualifier I played:
Captain Oicunn (74)
Intimidation (3)
Death Troopers (6)
Admiral Sloane (9)
Fifth Brother (11)
Shield Upgrade (3)
Dauntless (4)
Ship total: 110 Half Points: 55 Threshold: 9
Academy Pilot (22)
Ship total: 22 Half Points: 11 Threshold: 2
Academy Pilot (22)
Ship total: 22 Half Points: 11 Threshold: 2
Academy Pilot (22)
Ship total: 22 Half Points: 11 Threshold: 2
Academy Pilot (22)
Ship total: 22 Half Points: 11 Threshold: 2
Total: 198
View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v8ZsZ200Z215X122WW27WW14W82WW165W147Y229XY229XY229XY229X&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron&obs=
Dylan: So what do you want to do with this squad?
Cai: Well ideally what you want is to have Oicunn to bump into your target, stress himself (Dauntless title) and take an action (preferably a lock if you’re not being shot at, otherwise a reinforce) and have the Fifth Brother force available to turn an eyeball to a crit. With Intimidation being triggered you try and line up the TIE Fighters for shots on the same target. In my last game on Sunday I took out Jendon in one turn by doing that. It doesn’t always work though. If people shoot the TIE Fighters then Sloane gets them stressed and Death Troopers make sure they can’t remove it.
Dylan: If we were heading to another tournament next week would you change anything in either of the lists?
Cai: With the Hyperspace list if it wasn’t Inferno themed then I might change it a bit and find something that works better. I’m not sure how though.
For an extended tournament I’d keep that list list the same. It’s really fun to fly. Once you get someone at range 0 with bumps and stress you can keep them there and it’s good fun. For me anyway!
Dylan: What was the most fun game that you played?
Cai: The last game on day 1 I think. I was up against a guy called Joshua who had only been playing for 3 weeks but had come along to the System Open anyway. He way flying Vader, Mauler Mithel, Scurge and Duchess. It was just really fun and he was funny. We were making prequel quotes the whole time. I won but only by about 40 points as he destroyed all my TIES and got half the Decimator.
Dylan: What was the hardest game you played and why was it hard?
Cai: I came up against a list (in Extended) I’ve never played against before – a 5 ship Rebel Beef (JARGON ALERT!!). He pushed Blount in my face but kept the Bandit back which I was surprised at. I took out Blount first but not before he did damage to the Decimator. Getting a Structural Damage on a TIE wasn’t fun, then Wedge took a shot at it so it just had 1 agility. Ten Numb one-shotted a TIE. Oicunn just missed a bump on Wedge by about 3mm and then died. In the end I was left with 1 TIE against a full health Ten Numb, full health Jake and Wedge with just 1 shield off. I called it there with 20 minutes to go as I wanted to get to the prize wall and pick up the next Inferno punch I now had enough tickets to buy.
Dylan: What was the best move you pulled off over the weekend?
Cai: On the 2nd day I managed to bump Col Jendon with the Decimator and all 4 TIEs had a focus and were out of arc of him. Oicunn had a lock from a previous turn and the intimidation meant zero agility for Jendon. They combined to wipe the Lambda out without it having shot.
Dylan: What was the silliest mistake you made? (in a game…)
Cai: One move I put Oicunn right in front of a rock. I thought I’d do a 3 bank next turn and just roll for damage. Then a vulture droid moved into the way and blocked me onto the rock (meaning no shot) but also left me facing ANOTHER rock next turn with no way to avoid it as I had then picked up a Loose Stabilizer crit meaning I couldn’t turn without taking even more damage and only had 2 health left. It turns out it died that turn anyway…
Dylan: What was the best bit of the whole weekend?
Cai: I enjoyed lots of things! Meeting new people, trading alt arts, giving out our Exile 1 forwards templates and spending time with you.
To conclude…
Look, in case you haven’t worked it out by now, the System Open is great. I realise that I’ve gone on about it now for 4 whole blog posts but I really can’t stress enough how great it is. It’s a celebration of X-Wing and all the wonderful things about it, the community being the main one.
If you’ve never been I would REALLY encourage you to try and go next year. If you’d be going by yourself (and not as part of a group) and are nervous about being in a room full of strangers, please don’t be. Come and find us and we can have a chat. We’ll be there.
If you’re looking to buy some gaming ‘stuff’ and don’t have a local gaming store, you can use my affiliate link for Firestorm games. They’re great!