Scum list // Imperial list // VASSAL file

2 Sigma Squadron Aces remain after a fierce battle of out-positioning. Only Boba remains for the Scum player. In the opening exchange of the match the phantoms managed to shave off 3 of Boba’s shields before moving on to squash the 1-agility 4-Lom. The phantoms have just this round deleted the pesky Palob, but Sigma Squadron #2 lost their evade token and shields for the effort. The Imperial player has killed 104 points while the Scum player has killed 100 points. There are 10 minutes left in the match. The Imperial player is the first player. Boba has 1 charge remaining on his Seismic Charges upgrade. We begin in the end phase.

Solution to last puzzle: 2 Swarms go to Coruscant

Solution

A fair amount of good discussion on this one. Many wanted to play a 4-straight + right barrel roll with SS2, but alas this does not fit.

What is the win condition for the Phantoms? Forum user Jike sets the scene:

An interesting scenario. The first question should probably be, can the Imperials realistically go for 10 minutes without losing half point of Sigma #2 (or even on #1 since all it takes is two good shots and some bad dice). That seems a little unlikely, especially considering the position of Sigma #2.

Forum user Transmogrify agrees:

I don’t have confidence that I could preserve the points as-is for the next 10 mins, so my win condition is getting half points on Boba, under the expectation that I will almost certainly lose half on one of my Phantoms in the next 10 mins. At this point, taking a single Seismic is acceptable, assuming it allows me to get good shots in the process.

Reddit user mfive_ expands:

running with both is wining if you survive the next round. avoiding bomb dmg with sigma 2 is possible by left turning 1 and rolling left. now you cannot attack and wont have defensive mods. a shot from boba will probably hit for one or more damage. staying on boba with both phantoms is smart but sigma 2 cannot fit behind boba. it will lose its action, eat a seismic and get shot, most likely dieing before shooting itself. so, what to do? you cant run, you cant fight with sigma 2. so sigma 1 has to win the day. decloak left back, straight 2, roll left, i believe, still eats the seismic [editorial note: yes, it does], so does any decloak and move that tries to stay on boba like decloak right and bank left 1. so we embrace the seismic and go north, two straight and focus. now boba has to decide who to shoot and can only get 25 pts off one of the phantoms. in return, sigma 1 might manage two damage. as soon as those hits are in, it turns away never to be seen again. side note: as the boba player i would bank right 1. since i can choose which rock to blow up, i can choose the left one and take no damage. i keep my back arc at sigma 1 if it tries to flank and dont stare at the corner of the board. if both phantoms disengage, i can boost around and catch one in time. lesson: avoiding arcs or bombs or any negative effect makes sense, but if you cannot save all of your ships, you might as well put all of them in the danger zone. in this puzzle, you can avoid the bomb damage and shot on sigma 1 by turning away, but since sigma 2 cannot evade both, you might as well put sigma 1 in a spot where it can shoot.

Most agree that protecting SS2’s half points is not worth it. But he also can’t be totally killed. A 1-hard BR left from SS2 keeps him safe from the seismic but leaves him tokenless from a shot from Boba. A decloak north + focus from SS1 puts SS1 at range 2 seems correct.

The Phantoms are in a tight spot and the discussion has not completely resolved this problem. My play would be to 1-hard right with SS2 and decloak north + focus with SS1. My play with Boba would always be to 1-hard right to have the best chance at catching SS1 and anyway catching something in R1 for Boba’s ability. This gives the Boba player a tough choice: SS1 is likely to shave a damage off him in engagement. Can the Boba player really afford to blow the Seismic on himself? No. This leaves him with taking the Seismic on SS1 and a R2 shot into SS1, with SS2 out of arc unless he boosts left.

Heroes of the internet, have you anything else to say about this problem?