Clone Wars Round 1 Cut

 Game 4

The Clone Wars Tournament rages on.  With a grand total of 22 Tournament Points I somehow scrambled my way to second place in the Euro division of the Clone Wars Tournament.  From here the Swiss rounds are over and we were going to Sudden Death, or rather elimination rounds.  Now you could play the game and go for a bare minimum of kills in order to win and keep eeking by, but we're here for Clone on Droid action and I would do my best to win while still having fun and playing the game of Star Wars Armada.  Gotta push those plastic spaceships around and throw dice, even if they're virtual.  

For the next round I was paired up with PT106 who was cruising into the round with a solid 22 Tourney points as well.  I was surprised I made it this far but I was having fun and learning new Clone wars stuff every game.  PT106 was also rolling in with some Acclamators and C70s, so it'd be some Clone on Clone action.  Without further ado, let's hop to the lists.

PT 106's List

Shiny Swivel Mount Batteries...How do those work again?

PT had a list with a pair of Acc II gunships decked out for long range black dice, though he was going for raw damage rather than any black dice crits.  And those two gunships would be backed up by Bail riding in his Acc I, and a pair of Armed cruisers, one built for flak and the other for a stream CF tokens.  All this firepower was reinforced with Intel Officers to deny defense tokens, though there was a lack of squads in the build that I would have to do my best to capitalize on. 

PT had a plan to counter squads though. There was double dice flak from every ship and also Ord Pods, so thats a potential 3 damage hitting a squad per ship, which could really add up fast. Especially for my non-Jedi type starfighters.

My List

In case you're new here, the general gist of my list is this. A squad ball of V-19s powered by Luminara and Plo Koon, which should delay any serious squad ball all game if required or be able to do some chip damage against ships each round they're unopposed.  Each of my Acclamators was equipped the same. Reserve Hanger decks to keep squads alive, Boarding Troopers to punch a single ship hard and then External Racks and Linked Turbolaser towers to fix some dice or just add a bunch more.  All this was powered by Bail who would keep the Acclamators in the fighter while they push squadrons and Clone Navigation Officers to hand out tokens to power Boarding Teams and roll into battle with 3 tokens a piece.

It had worked so far and we'd see how they'd hold up against other Acclamators now.

Setup

We were both at 400 and so rolled for the choice of initiative.  I lost (as is usual on roll-offs) and PT elected to go first. Contested Outpost was chosen as the objective and obstacles got placed with the station being placed somewhat in the center. I probably would've tried to get it more in the corner but canny use of obstacles prevented me from that master plan.  By the way, this should always be your move with the obstacles if you're the first player against Contested Outpost.  That way at least you have some flanking options as player two accumulates victory points on the station.

I setup my Acclamators to grab the station for the first couple turns while presenting a wall of firepower to the enemy.  I knew I would eventually leave the station behind but planned on all three 'Clams blasting a hole in PT's formation and punching their way out.  Well, lets be serious...Nevoota was going to go down in flames but Implacable and Bail should be able to push through the hole they made.  

PT setup with the C70 in either support (Radiant) or flanking positions (external racks) with both gunship Acclamators to either side of the station.  Finally, Bail's flagship went down favoring the right side of the board. Finally, I received an exciting 2 pass tokens to burn at my time of choosing.

End of setup

Round 1

PT started with the C70s while I elected to take Implacable and Nevoota and turn them towards the right side of the board to focus on the Acclamators coming from that direction.  Bail went straight ahead to keep the left-most Acclamator worried about something. Everyone grabbed a repair token as they were most likely getting shot by piles of black dice.

Finally, PTs gunboat Acclamators darted forward at speed 3 and got into range to bring their swivel batteries to bear for the next round.  My fighters scooted around and made sure to stay out of flak range.  Implaccable was in range of the station so 1 victory token for me.

End of Round 1

Round 2

PT's flagship started and trundled forward at speed 1 after grabbing a repair token.  I then elected to burn a pass token so the munitions resupply C70 went and grabbed a repair token as well.

I finally had to move one member of my fleet. I elected Implacable to bear the honor and crept her forward at speed 1, grabbing a Nav token for herself and using Clone Nav Officer to give one to Nevoota.  Then she turned harder toward the right side of the board but stayed inside support range (range 2) of eveyone.

The flanking C70 with external racks activated and darted forward staying out of range and then I used my final pass token.  This caused the left most gunship to activate and she threw 4 damage with swivel batteries, a Con Fire, and Intel Officer that locked my brace and salvo.  So with the help of Implaccable's sharing shields, Bail and Implacable both took 2 shield damage.  The gunship then slowed and chugged forward remaining out of close range.  

So Bail activated, shifted rear shields to the front with his repair token, used Clone Nav Officer to give himself a squad token (for future boarding team shenanigans) and then flung a V-19 and both Delta Jedi Aces forward for not much before throwing damage itself and getting it redirected to strip the rear shields.  She then turned towards the gunship at speed 1.

PT's final gunship activated and with a Con Fire and Swivel Batteries, tossed 4 damage into Nevoota that she redirected and salvoed back for a damage. The gunship turned hard into the board, starting to move to the station.

Finally, Nevoota activated, used a Bail Eng to fix her shields, CNO to gain a squad token for her Boarding Troopers and then tossed 2 V-19s and Anakin at the gunship off her nose.  4 damage later Nevoota shot another 3 into the gunship. Stripping the redirect and leaving her with 2 rear shields and a single front shield but no hull damage. Then she accelerated to get the gunship in close range next round.

End of the round I used my free refresh for all the CNOs and then it was off to the races and I gained another victory point for the station.

Explosions are happening soon.

Round 3

PT used his Flag Bridge to give a 1 turn use of Take Evasive Action this round.  I really liked TEA! used with Acclamators and will probably have to give it a go at some point myself.  It definately is one way to get to not turn like a pig.  He activated the right most Acclamator gunship sitting across from Nevoota, used a Bail repair command, and then with a Con Fire command and Intel Officer-ing my Brace threw 10 damage.  I elected to burn the brace and use Implacable to only take 3 damage to Nevoota's front shields.  Then she salvoed back for another 2.  Then a fancy 2 click turn had the gunship end up in close range and double arc'd. In hindsight, ending in a double arc probably ensured she was going to get hurt or destroyed later but the odds were already pretty high that was going to happen if the gunship remained in the front arc of Nevoota.

I activated Bail next to try to get out of his own double arc.  He launched his boarding troopers onto the left-most gunship, had CNO send a squad token to Implacable, and then hurled the Delta Jedi and V-19 into the side arc of the enemy dealing 3 damage and getting 2 points onto the hull.  Bad planning on my part meant only the still fully shielded front arc was in close range so Bail dumped everything in and dealt a not great 5 damage with External Racks.  The gunship burned the redirect leaving her with a single front shield and salvoed back for 2, leaving her with only a Brace defense token.  Bail then deftly maneuvered into a double arc of his side in the attempt to dodge despite having an extra click available thanks to a Bail Nav dial.

Next, PTs flagship tossed 4 damage into Nevoota that got redirected and then moved forward at speed 2.

Nevoota activated, drew her usual Bail Eng command, and CNO'd a squad token to Bail after using her own token to Boarding Trooper the near gunship 'Clam. The V-19s and Ani dealt 5 damage into the hull before a vicious external rack powered side arc ripped the gunship apart.  The gunship salvoed back for 2 damage even in her death. A paltry 2 for 1 shot front arc to front arc from Nevotta to PT's Bail happened before Nevoota scooted straight ahead at speed 2, ending up with a double arc of Bail's flagship next turn.

The munitions resupply C70 scooted along without any shots and then Implacable activated doing 1 and 2 damage to the remaining gunship and then PT's flagship before trundling onto the station at speed 1 and turning even further right.  

Finally, the left most gunship activated and ripped into Bail, Intel Officer sripped the brace with 8 damage and then a 3 damage side arc with a crit (disengaged fire control so no obstructed targets) slammed into Bail.  My Bail salvoed back for 3 and PT ate it leaving him on a single hull but I had no other means of shooting.  In hindsight burning out my Salvo on both attacks might have put enough hurt that the gunship wouldn't have lived through its second attack. But it limped away at speed 2 turning towards the station with a single hull point and a fresh copy of Reinforced Blast Doors.  

The flanking C70 turned towards the station and then I claimed my final victory token of the game as my Clam's were all pointed towards freedom.

Ships are starting to trail debris

Round 4

PT used Reinforced blast doors on the injured Clam and then a Bail repair to bring it back to life with some shields.  A highly accurate Swivel Battery, Con Fire side arc forced me to trigger Implacable and then eat only a single hull point of damage on Bail. Then the gunship darted forward to well within range of the station.

Nevoota went next with a Bail Eng token to fix her front shields and then launched her V-19s and Ani into PT's flagship.  4 damage from the starfighters left PT's flagship with only rear shields but no hull damage. After a brutal exchange of fire, salvos, and criticals PT's bail was left on a single hull point and Nevoota was left with 3.  A deft ram from Nevoota finished off Bail before he could activate.  

Munitions resupply C70 sent a damage into Nevoota that she could do nothing about then maneuvered into the double arc for next turn after a ram, leaving Nevoota at a single hull.  Next, Bail activated, repaired his rear shields and threw Plo at the remaining gunship for 1 damage, and then completely whiffed on his rear arc to rear arc attack before moving forward.

The flanking C70 finished off Implacable's front shields but took a single damage from salvo in return. Then got into range 1 of the station, denying me the points there.  

Implacable activated, fixed her front shields (to gain an unstoppable redirect via the title, since it works on itself) and then Boarding Troopered the Consular.  The consular burned the redirect and contain to lose only front and side shields and was down to 3 hull.  Then a single point of damage went into the gunship before Implacable rammed Nevoota to death. I had thought about speed zero to keep Nevoota alive but with Bail having done zero damage to the gunship I couldn't risk not getting a shot with Implacable next round. The unacctivated V-19 hopped towards the station and where future C70s might be. PT got the station victory point.

Less Clams here

Round 5

PT activated the gunship at the top of the round and rolled an accuracy (for the brace) and piles of doubles that absolutely eviscerated Implacable.  She lost all of her shields, and was down to 3 hull but did salvo for 2. The follow-up side arc shot got the requisite accuracy and 3 hits which was just enough to finish off Implacable, though she did get to salvo again for another damage point.  Then the gunship plowed ahead and into her own C70 leaving the C70 with 2 hull and the gunship with 1.

Bail activated next and had to do a single damage to finish off the gunship but of course whiffed and moved away and out of the engagement.  Ships kills were now in the hands of the uncommanded Jedi and Clone pilots. 

The C70s put out some heavy flak and killed a V-19 and damaged Ani. The end of the round happened with Plo putting the 1 needed damage into the gunship and then a V-19 and Ani forcing the wounded consular to burn it's evade to stop from taking damage.  Otherwise, Luminara and a V-19 maneuvered into place to catch the 2 hull consular next round.  Another victory point to PT for his consulars.

Fate is left in hands of the fighters

Round 6

I hadn't done the math yet but with Bail safe the game was essentially decided, but we played out the final round quickly.  External Rack powered flak cost Anakin and a V-19 their lives while Bail ran for the hills.  But the wounded C70 had no place to go that wouldn't land on rocks or get shot.  Eventually it dodged the rocks but it was still in range of both squadrons, though they both had to roll hits.  And the V-19 and Luminra didn't miss this time, killing the C70 but PT still got the station victory point. So those were a wash in the end.

End of game

End Result

The end result was 419-286 in favor of me.  A 7-4, not that it really matters in an elimination round.  This was a close game that the final score doesn't quite reflect, as a couple of dice one way in round 3 could've rapidly tipped it away from me and seen my Bail disappear from the board.

If my Bail had taken more damage early in round 3-4, the C70s would've probably had enough time to close and get some dice into the target in addition to simply getting some ram damage in to finish him off and table me.  Also, if the right most gunship hadn't turned so hard in, it might've still been in Implacable range and perhaps wouldn't have died or at least forced me to use both arcs to kill it; therefore, leaving PT's flagship more shielded for the next round and therefore living through the double arc.

I really like how PT used his Swivel Mount Batteries.  I haven't figured out a way I like them but pairing them with CNO or Munitions resupply (or both) to only activate them for a round eliminates the downside of losing dice in the sides as ships maneuver around you.  Paired with Intel Officer though it threw a lot of firepower out that I couldn't do all that much to stop besides burning tokens. Which is a very good way to hurt ships as my entire list is built on that principle.  

PT raised a good point that shaving some points from the C70s and getting EWS instead of RBD on the gunships should work really well. I am definitely stealing this Acclamator for a future list, especially if there is some form of IF! beyond flag bridge to fix those red dice.

Also, GAR flak is potent though not as potent as 6 squadrons getting to pile damage in unmolested for several turns.  While no squadron did an abundance of work they all contributed damage that helped really pile it onto the targets and stress tokens and shields. So while Ord Pods and flak can pose a problem, I don't think it was enough of a deterent and a token fighter screen is probbaly required in these 1.5 Armada times.  

Again, a great game and PT106 was a great opponent to play as we continue the churn to the best droid or Clone Commander.