This weekend I’ve only got one event to go and play at, bit of a reprieve from the fairly intensive schedule of late, and I’m giving the JCBs a whirl. In the middle of last week I posted an interview with the Jesper Hills about IGs, and have set myself the challenge of having a go with them.

I’ve played 4 games on vassal with them this week, it’s not gone well, I’ve won one, lost three. Not a great sign. It’s often been said that the list is challenging to play, and it really is, but the likes of Jesper and Simeon Dellapina make it look ridiculously easy. The second you take a crit, you’re in trouble. The second you lose one ship it’s very hard to come back.

In previous conversations Jesper has said that he used to be a very aggressive player (something I can certainly relate to) and has learned to play the game differently and with great patience thanks to picking up the Control Bots. That seems a lesson worth learning. Slow calculating play is not his default setting, and it’s certainly not mine so trading ships that do 4-5 damage in a single hit for ion cannons is a very big change of pace.

Just because 2.0 is coming doesn’t mean there aren’t still lessons to learn in 1-0. Sure upgrades and pilot abilities are changing, but good positioning and managing opening engagements are certainly not, this is a list that requires those things more than many. The frustration of learning to be patient is that the only way to learn patience is to be patient!

This weekend event at Warboar Games is a tribute to a player called Nathan Ellis who was sadly taken by cancer earlier this year at the tender age of 29. All the proceeds of the event are going to a charity chosen by Nathan’s family. The X-Wing community of the south east of England has come out in force to support. Justin Hove has organised the event and Warboar games, every the first to step up for a good cause, have donated the gaming space for the event for free. Hopefully the event does justice to Nathan’s memory and more importantly raises money for a good and worthy cause in his name.

The event is going to be full of fun lists, as that is the theme of the day. A theme which I may well be missing due to my choice of lists. While other people are flying Firesprays, Star Vipers, Tie Bombers, and Fel’s Wrath (well done there Pete Wood) I have netlisted the World Championship winning list… it’s like the world has turned on it’s head! However my excuses are:

How does this list work?

I’m off to the French Open next week and would very much like some table time with this list to see if I want to take it on the trip.

The first round is a pairing that no one really wants in their first round, James Finlayson. He’s a bit good. James has forgone his usual 3 ship rebel build for a 4 ships scum build, heavy with control. The opening engagement goes well for me, then the second phase happens… One of the ways the event is raising money for the day is that people can buy a re-roll a game for £2. James spends £2 to re-roll one evade dice. If he fails his Unkar ends up on a rock, out of the way of my ships, and the way the board is we both expect me to win. Of course he doesn’t fail and this happens:

With Unkar stuck in place (and not on the rock to his right in this picture where he should have been) 2 ion cannons and only one IG able to shoot James went on to win the game 100-0.

Game 2 was against Peter Burnis, running triple defenders. A list that I had a better idea of how to engage and stay engaged with. The Ion Cannons went to work and the IGs green dice did their thing too. I was able to win this one 100-24. It’s a good match up for the IGs as TIE Defenders aren’t the most evasive ships. But 2 rounds in and my head was beginning to hurt a little!

My third game of the day was one I was really hoping to get, Alex Watkins (that chap who until recently ran all the European events like System Opens, Euros, that kind of thing) with his double Shadowcasters. Alex is a lovely a guy to play as you would hope him to be, flawless in his sportsmanship. This is only his second X-Wing event (that he has played in), his last was at the Gaming vs Cancer Event last year.

We both got engagements we were happy with, and Alex will readily admit that the dice were in his favour here as the Lancers rolled evade after evade at the key times. Losing 100-0 reflected how one sided the opening engagement had been. The only crit I rolled was when one of my IGs had to take a rock on for positioning. Alex, ever the sportsman (or generous soul taking pity on me) paid my £2 re-roll on that one. Despite how one sided the game was it was so much fun to play him, and as the game wound to it’s inevitable conclusion I couldn’t begrudge the dice. You can only play with what’s in front of you, and Alex did so very well indeed.

Game four was another loss but only 100-50 this time. Fred Betsworth was flying Dengar and Assaj. I was able to split his ships and go for Ventress. With Dengar having 3 stress tokens and being on the wrong side of the board the IGs had the opportunity to drop the Shadow Caster, but unfortunately my seven red dice that turn only did one damage to a 4 hull ship. After that Dengar got back in the fight and was able to start throwing his super consistent red dice. As a final spiteful gesture IG-B threw a 4 dice primary into the flank of the Punishing One to get me the half points and soften the blow, but it was too little to late.

1-3 with a round to play and a little pep talk with Jesper was required. I’d been able to manage the opening engagements really well, in most of them get the outcomes I’d wanted, but my second engagements were generally going really badly. My normal play-style is to get the opening then keep the pressure on my opponent. carrying the threat to push them into a mistake or a vulnerable position. The advice I received though was get the opening right, then to disengage until I could re-engage on my terms. A totally different way of playing and having played a few games with the list one that makes sense, but is actually incredibly difficult to engineer.

The other key thing that grates with my way of playing is that the IGs do not set out to win 100-0, or 100-anything. They win on tournament points not MoV, and going in for kill shots isn’t how they are meant to be played. A 16-0 win is as valid as a 100-0 but my mentality has always been that of a games workshop Ork, you win by hitting the opponent harder than they hit you. Disengaging and running when you are points up is totally valid with these things, and at range 3 with all the tokens they are nigh on impervious to damage, just a shame that I like parking at range one…

My last game of the day was against John Hills, a brave man who bought 3 E-Wing to the party. A stripped down Corran, Etahn and a PS1 E-Wing proved to be a somewhat trickier list to engage than I suspect Jesper or Sim would have found it. I got the essential double damage crit through on Etahn and then a one hull IG-B was left against a one hull Corran Horn. In what would prove to be the final Joust the focus and Evade were definitive as Corrans shorts bounced but the IGs shots didn’t.

A massive day of learning about the list, and I enjoyed every game with them. But If ever you needed proof that just because a list does well in one persons hands doesn’t mean it will do so in another’s then this was it. Had I flown Boba/Guri or Boba/Fenn I suspect I would have done a lot better than I did, and had less of a headache at the end of the day, but I wouldn’t have learned as much about my game in the process.

I’m left with a choice, I’m getting an idea with the IGs and enjoy flying them, but then I have Boba and friends readily available. The French open is the last European Open of the year, what I want to fly is the question. Baring UK Nationals this is the last big hurrah for 1.0. I suspect I might do better with lists that I know better, but at the same time, one tournament does not a lesson make.

Calum Brown (2 Silencers and Vader) and Jesper Hills (Kylo Shuttle and Soontir) went on to go 5-0 for the day with Calum taking the top spot with a superb MoV, only losing 2 ships all day. And for those interested, Mr Watkins went a very healthy 4-1 coming in 4th.

But that wasn’t the best achievement of the day, what matters is that well over £2000 was raised for charity. When Justin first has the idea of the event he was aiming at £100. 40 players (plus people contributing through squad mates) on a hot and sweaty Saturday afternoon beat that quite considerably. If any one would like to add their support to the event then please contact Justin Ten Hove through the UK facebook page and he will be able to add your donation.

Hopefully we did Nathan proud.

Next Time: VIVE LA FRANCE!

If you’re looking for X-Wing events to head to the 186th Tournament Calendar is a good place to look.