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IG-108
Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 11:41:06 PM
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LoboStele wrote:
swmimperial130 wrote:
Use GGDACS, I destroyed with it.


Um....if you're talking about your squad GGDACS, you'd be lucky to win even 1 game at a Regional event with that squad, let alone GenCon. Sorry, not trying to be mean, just stating the facts.

The GGDAC squads with a Lancer and an IG-86 or two can do OK I think, but I'm not convinced they are top tier anymore. The trouble is that you often end up losing the Lancer after only 1 strafe. And depending on what your opponent is running, oftentimes it's tough to kill more than 30 points worth of pieces to make it worth it.

And the IG-86's are easy enough to work around anymore, IMO. Especially since you can screw them over with a Mouse Droid/Ugnaught easy enough, and not allow them to get the shots on key pieces behind that. Even sticking GOWK in front as the shield can be devastating.

I played a game a while back where GOWK went up against GGDAC and 4 IG-86 droids (was near the end of the game, and all my other pieces were dead). GOWK lasted long enough to kill GGDAC, even with 4 IG's shooting Twins at him every round. So, I really don't think 1 or 2 IG-86's will be enough to kill GOWK fast enough to keep him from winning that match-up.

Crap. My only semi-good squad is a GGDAC squad. If that's the case, I'll never do well in Regional tournaments.
What about Chameleon Droids?
LoboStele
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:14:28 AM
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Well, do you think GOWK will be failing many Mines saves? Not to mention the problem that R2 could Tow Rex/Dash up adjacent to the Chameleon, and kill it in one volley of shots (Rex needs 8s, 6s for Dash if Opportunist is in play). At best, the Chameleon gets to do about 40-60 damage before it bites the dust. And those shots are probably aimed at GOWK, who Soresu's it away anyways.

If you're going to run GGDAC, a combo of Lancer and IG-86's is defintiely the way to go. Use the long range and Strafe of the Lancer to take out GOWK's support as much as possible. A lot of it comes down to maps though. Once you strafe one time, the GOWK player will do everything they can to take out the Lancer before it can strafe again. With good door control (likely kept alive via Bodyguard), it will be nearly impossible to hide the Lancer anywhere and keep it alive.

With easy access to Disruptive for the Rebels/NR as well, those are near auto-loss games for a Lancer squad. And I'm not sure that in 150 you can use enough IG-86s to kill GOWK in the time limit.

Here's a NR squad that I've had some fun with: http://www.bloomilk.com/Squads/View.aspx?ID=27295

I got toasted by the typical GOWK/Rex/Dash squad a few weeks ago, but I made some horrible play mistakes. It has a massive number of attacks per round, and you can link Luke to Kyp for the Force Push 5 on GOWK, or the unlimited Lightning. In the game I lost (was playing Shinja, btw), he led with GOWK (smart move), but he also got off a killer round of shots that took out both my Lobot and Jag Fel, and then he managed to kill Luke FS with a FP from GOWK, lol. So nothing went my way at all, on top of my play mistakes. But even so, I managed to kill GOWK. Had I not made those other mistakes earlier on, might've been a much different game.

As for GOWK/JWM squads, here's the one I like at the moment: http://www.bloomilk.com/Squads/View.aspx?ID=37614

I beat a GOWK/Rex/Dash squad, and a GOWK/Rex/Genoharada/Lando DS squad with it in the Vassal tourney 2 weeks ago.
Sithborg
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:43:26 AM
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There is an interesting experiment with the Czerka that I want to try with Greivious. Toss in a few more saves into the mix could be interesting...
Cybit
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:20:26 AM
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@ Sith

Yeah, I saw a game at our local tournaments in which GOWK was neutralized via Jolt. The player led with GOWK, but either he burned FP re-rolling jolt saves, or he didn't get a FP for the round. Significantly less FP either way.

LoboStele
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 5:17:24 AM
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I saw a comment in a squad thread about trying to use Princess Leia instead of Rieekan in some of these squads.

So what about this twist on the Rieekan Reinforced Rebels in the first post?

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Unleashed
Luke HPU
Han Smuggler
Princess Leia
Gen Dodonna
R2
Juno
Mouse Droid
Ugo
(150 Points, 9 activations)

Has a ton more damage potential (70 more per round), but loses a lot of survivability, IMO. Would end up playing pretty similar to San squads in that you have to be willing to put a major piece (like Aurra) in harm's way in order to put damage on the opponent as well.

This would slaughter BOB IMO though. Only Ozzel builds would be able to take the chance of swapping in. And if you don't swap out immediately at the beginning of the next round (which would likely be impossible thanks to Juno), then Vader is going to eat 90 damage or so from FP4 and Han's attacks. Again, it'd be an issue of being willing to sacrifice another piece as bait, probably, but wouldn't be a pretty matchup.

I'd worry about how this would fare against GOWK/Dash/Rex though. Without Mobile/Evade, these are all fairly fragile pieces. Maybe if you can manage to take out Rex/Dash before they kill you too much, but a good player won't give you those chances, most likely.

I don't know, just an idea.
Omnus
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 10:39:56 AM
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LoboStele wrote:
As for GOWK/JWM squads, here's the one I like at the moment: http://www.bloomilk.com/Squads/View.aspx?ID=37614

I beat a GOWK/Rex/Dash squad, and a GOWK/Rex/Genoharada/Lando DS squad with it in the Vassal tourney 2 weeks ago.


I like that. the Double override could be devastating. Only thing it loses is the caamasi, which you could bring in with lobot if needed, because the caamasi is mostly needed for the throne squads which wouldn't need a BG since most of the damage is auto anyway.

LoboStele wrote:
I saw a comment in a squad thread about trying to use Princess Leia instead of Rieekan in some of these squads.

So what about this twist on the Rieekan Reinforced Rebels in the first post?

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Unleashed
Luke HPU
Han Smuggler
Princess Leia
Gen Dodonna
R2
Juno
Mouse Droid
Ugo
(150 Points, 9 activations)

Has a ton more damage potential (70 more per round), but loses a lot of survivability, IMO. Would end up playing pretty similar to San squads in that you have to be willing to put a major piece (like Aurra) in harm's way in order to put damage on the opponent as well.

This would slaughter BOB IMO though. Only Ozzel builds would be able to take the chance of swapping in. And if you don't swap out immediately at the beginning of the next round (which would likely be impossible thanks to Juno), then Vader is going to eat 90 damage or so from FP4 and Han's attacks. Again, it'd be an issue of being willing to sacrifice another piece as bait, probably, but wouldn't be a pretty matchup.

I'd worry about how this would fare against GOWK/Dash/Rex though. Without Mobile/Evade, these are all fairly fragile pieces. Maybe if you can manage to take out Rex/Dash before they kill you too much, but a good player won't give you those chances, most likely.

I don't know, just an idea.


For the imperial player the goal should be to swap, then leap and sweep juno. The rebel player needs to make that as hard as possible. At the very least try to force vader to spend for speed and leap just to kill juno. Map will play a huge roll in this. Once that happens the game is basically on a timer. The rebel squads will start destroying all the activations quickly and vader can pretty much kill a unique per round. Honestly I think that much up with be all about skill and unluckly low rolls if they happen...such as vader rolling a 1 on the opening juno kill or Han's shot from leia getting a 1 or 2 against vader. It's really just...who kills more efficiently at that point.
billiv15
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:02:27 AM
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LoboStele wrote:
This would slaughter BOB IMO though. Only Ozzel builds would be able to take the chance of swapping in. And if you don't swap out immediately at the beginning of the next round (which would likely be impossible thanks to Juno), then Vader is going to eat 90 damage or so from FP4 and Han's attacks. Again, it'd be an issue of being willing to sacrifice another piece as bait, probably, but wouldn't be a pretty matchup.


I gotta disagree with this. B&B is better in this specific matchup without Ozzel. You need to swap in an unactivated Vader somewhere dangerous. The Rebel player then has to act, odds are force push for 40 and Leia activating to give Luke another shot. Both of those figures will now move as far away from Vader as possible, leaving Han and Juno to likely die. Vader then activates, kills Han and bases juno if he can. When he wins init, he goes first, kills Juno and runs away 10. At best, you have done 70-80dmg to LV, you get two more shots with Luke and Leia if you can still get LOS, and now he swaps away safely.

With Ozzel, if you outactivate it, LV has major issues. Once he moves the swapper anywhere close, Juno disrupts it, since you need 2 full phases to swap.

I've said it many times, Ozzel makes B&B worse overall. This is actually a perfect example of why.

The only thing the Rebel player can do is spread out carefully, but since LV can kill most of your figures from 8 away, whether activated or not, it's a very tall order.

I do not believe this Rebel build can beat a well played B&B without Ozzel on a regular basis.
Cybit
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:56:25 AM
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With the existence of Dodonna/San Hill, isn't it rough for B&B to survive in a tournament without that activation control though?
billiv15
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 12:02:14 PM
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Cybit wrote:
With the existence of Dodonna/San Hill, isn't it rough for B&B to survive in a tournament without that activation control though?


Sure it is, but it's better without it. If you need Activation control Tarkin is a much better choice.

However, I used to beat San Hill squads regularly with LV B&B without Ozzel or Tarkin. The two activations in a round offers a critical strategic element that helps you beat activation control squads more often than you will do with it.

Play a game with Ozzel being out activated, even by 1. It's an auto-loss. Play the same game without Ozzel, and you will find your kill options improve greatly. That's what B&B is all about, get in, strike something (presumably kill it) and get out. For years, the tactics against opposing activation control was to strike when the opportunity is right earlier in a round, when they don't expect it.

with two activations you can force the action on your terms. With 1, you are screwed more often than not.

We went through this exact argument when Ozzel first came out, and rarely were people winning with Ozzel B&B in 150pts. People quickly came around to the fact that the one activation requirement was just too limiting. Right now people are enamored with the idea of giving LV opportunist, but the same result will happen. Opp Thrawn is a good choice because it gets you another swapper, and the ability to hit some squads harder with LV than before. But Ozzel doesn't offer you nearly as much help as the options he takes away.
Cybit
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 12:07:37 PM
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Hrm. I noticed the change locally towards Ozzel once the new init rule came in, IE, no running in, beating someone, winning init, crushing something, and leaving a stormtrooper around.

Interesting.
Omnus
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 5:27:44 PM
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Ozzell vs No Ozzell

Anyone who is useing this threat to help them get an idea of what to run or playtest for regionals here are some thoughts to keep in mind...

Without Ozzell: If you are not running Ozzell (or San Hill) with your squad whether BoB or otherwise it holds some advantages and disadvanatges. You maintain the 2 activations per round which allows suprise your opponent better than 1. Being able to swap and activate the swaped piece in the same round can be key. Or being able to move 6 with LV, attack and then swap him out. Also you maintian the ability to open a door with lobot and the move and attack with LV (pr any other character) in the same round. Also moving a piece and it's BG in the same round. Also keep in mind if your opponent out activates by alot more than a couple characters there is alot thats going to happen after your last piece has gone. Always to keep in mind those possibilities while you still have pieces left to do something about it.

With Ozzell: If you have Ozzell (or San Hill) you should be building your squad as well as plalning to play the squad in a way that benefits a great deal from what for your opponent to activate all their figures and then you strike and strike hard. I also see a lot of players feel they need to get ozzell/san killed once the initial out activate and charge has happened, but thats not always the case. Especially in the round right after the charge. Keeping one key piece such as lobot or a geno assasin until the end of the round. Sometimes you can put them in a bad postion at the beginning of the round by locking a key door after they have activated their last piece or run up a geno and base rex even if it takes 12 movement. Anything that hurts the way they might have been planning their first activations next round. Even rounning a few uggies or mouse droids out at the end to block non accurate los.


Whichever way you plan your squad, remember that each version plays alot different. If you aren't running temp control (except dodonna), use that to your advantage against san or ozzell. Such as galloping in with yobuck and then swapping in jarjar in the same phase so they have no real response. If you are playing san or ozzell use the out activation in every round you can benefit from it. Don't activate a piece too early when you don't have too. Obviously if cunning is an issue or the piece is low on hp (or perhaps just at risk of dieing) use them while you can, but if there isn;t any risk of jolt or death, wait until it benefits you most.

I probably could have written more but the main thing to keep in mind is they play very differently and you need to plan your moves and pre game choices based on which whether you will have tempo control or not. If you walk into a game playing a squad with san hill or ozzell that was designed without them in mind, with a strat meant for 2 activations per phase the piece won't help you.
IG-108
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 11:37:40 PM
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I think I realized my big problem with tournament squads.
I have no good shooters. Most of my best pieces are all melee (GOWK, Dooku/Darth Tyranus, Maul, Vader, Anakin CN, Juhani, Lumiya, Caedus, ect.). My only good shooters might be IG-88 and Zam Wessel.
If I put IG-86's with Grievous DAC, I can get a semi-good shooter squad. But it's nothing that's going to do real well in a tournament. Any suggestions on what I can do with melee? I know GOWK is always useful, but he costs a lot to put into a squad.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 12:41:37 AM
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In Rebel or NR, you could give them Evade. GOWK at least ups the defence of followers, so that helps. JWMs get 23 natural Def (27 in cover) and they are non-unique. Seps are pretty much screwed unless you run GGDAC. Sith have access to GMobile thru the Twilek BSV. And so on...
Omnus
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 8:11:39 AM
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http://bloomilk.com/Squads/View.aspx?ID=22586

--Count the Pawns--
51 Count Dooku of Serenno
36 Darth Sidious
27 Lobot
17 IG-86 Assassin Droid
10 San Hill
9 Battle Droid Officer

Lobot:
11 Human Bodyguard
9 Ugnaught Demolitionist x3
(150pts. 10 activations)


Seps definately aren't screwd without GG, DAC. This is something I played around with before the gowk errata. Everyone told me dooku was a waste and I should run DT, lotds which I have done many times. But I was seeing so much Kyle JBM, Shado Vao, Yobuck, GOWK, JWM, Lancer and a few malak's or vaders that Makashi would give me atleast a little boost in almost every game. Force Lightning 2 may not activate the piece but it still hits BG's and R2's that are next to the target. So that eventually led to this design.

Dooku provides the main counter to LV, and GOWK. He also can still makashi attacks from Vong JH's. Yes, LV can still OF through makashi but if you outactivate the squad and vader use Lightsaber assult and OF, then he needs 11's to hit and is going to get riposted and possibly doubled right after for which dooku needs 5's

Lobot is the second key. If you don't need the activations, bring in a second IG. Still a +17 for 30 non-unique that can't be thud-bugged or get poison spit at it. If you need the activations pull in a caamasi and 5 uggies, which even the high activation BOB squads are going to have a hard time out activating you, which is part of what makes dooku even harder for Vader.

Sidous provides the tactics. he has 3 aspects for this squad. First he can provide extra force to dooku if needed. Second he also has sith lightning so he has an auto-damage ability to use on gowk that won't hurt an adjacent dooku. Sidous can also pawn the IG's to get extra movement or just an extra attack, which is nice because its actually a way to use sidious' force even against vong.

I am not saying this is even tier 1, I haven't been able to play test yet against the current meta. But I think it has some potential. Just don't count the faction out yet.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 8:23:04 AM
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I stand corrected Omnus...you're an oak.
Thank you for showing us that squad and the basis for it.
Omnus
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 11:04:13 AM
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imyurhukaberry wrote:
I stand corrected Omnus...you're an oak.
Thank you for showing us that squad and the basis for it.



I am really not sure how to take that...I think its a compliment : ) In which case thanks, the whole goal of of the topic was just to get ideas flowing and hopefully get some useful information out there for players gearing up for regionals.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 12:03:18 PM
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oops...sorry...forgot the smiley! (and yes, it was meant to be honest and truly thankful)
BigGrin
Sithborg
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 2:28:51 PM
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Omnus wrote:
--Count the Pawns--
51 Count Dooku of Serenno
36 Darth Sidious
27 Lobot
17 IG-86 Assassin Droid
10 San Hill
9 Battle Droid Officer

Lobot:
11 Human Bodyguard
9 Ugnaught Demolitionist x3
(150pts. 10 activations)


This squad has a ton of issues, it is too watered down.

If you want a Dooku squad, look at fingersandteeth's Serreno squad. I played it, and it is definately the best squad with Dooku of Serreno yet. I am going to be playing around with it a lot, to see if I can find a good makeup for me. It was fun to play on Thur, even if I didn't get to face Obi. Only had one true test as well.
danielmcdougall
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 2:37:46 PM
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Joined: 4/23/2008
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Sithborg wrote:
Omnus wrote:
--Count the Pawns--
51 Count Dooku of Serenno
36 Darth Sidious
27 Lobot
17 IG-86 Assassin Droid
10 San Hill
9 Battle Droid Officer

Lobot:
11 Human Bodyguard
9 Ugnaught Demolitionist x3
(150pts. 10 activations)


This squad has a ton of issues, it is too watered down.

If you want a Dooku squad, look at fingersandteeth's Serreno squad. I played it, and it is definately the best squad with Dooku of Serreno yet. I am going to be playing around with it a lot, to see if I can find a good makeup for me. It was fun to play on Thur, even if I didn't get to face Obi. Only had one true test as well.


Could you enumerate on "a ton of issues"? Omnus' explanation of why it could work in our local Meta made sense to me. I'm interested to know what issues you believe it has.
danielmcdougall
Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 2:43:39 PM
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Location: Bellevue, WA
I have yet to play a Sep squad at any of our events. I'm often tempted to as I have had some very enjoyable games against them. I really like some of the Tyrannus/Dooku squads that I've seen in the last few months. If there is a tier 1 Dooku of Serreno squad that has at least a fighting chance at other gatekeeper squads then that would be a great choice against all the GOWK we're supposed to see. I think I'm going to the dark side ... at least to experiment.
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