I hope it's Durge Speeder with Sniper, Spotter, and two CDOs!

What are cdo's?

+1 to that.

I won in the finals vs Lillian. Very good game, that one.

6-0 for The Keeper of the Southern Gate (for lack of a better squad name). Yes, it's the NZ version. I net-decked it...who says that net-deckers never win? I'll post a report/summary soon. Pastor Poggle has to go and preach now! :)

My minis regional experience began with playing Lou in the first round. When I heard the pairing I uttered an expletive because I'd played Lou the night before in my basement and he'd beaten me. Apparently I learned something, because this game went my way. Lou missed a save with Ferus Olin and he became mine (Ferus Olin, not Lou) for the rest of the match. After that missed save, I rakghouled 5 pieces (Leia, uggie, Jax, Laranth and Rieeken) and I won going away. Celeste was awesome: she killed like 3 people and rakghouled a couple of others. 1-0

Next I drew Trevor and his Kiwi gatekeeper squad. Sometimes when 2 tier 1 squads meet, you might have an auto win situation come up; it's rare, but it happens. A tier 2 squad will see that happen a bit more often. Such was the case here. When I looked across the board and saw all of the Poggle Bombs I saw lots of potential rakghouls. But when I saw the rest of the squad my heart sank. I realized that, in the hands of even just a competent player I didn't have much of a chance. In Trevor's hands, the hands of a former national champion, I knew I had no chance. Sometimes people scoop in that situation, but I usually play it out. In this case, I knew that Trevor would want some satisfaction and revenge for my 2 pretty convincing wins against him in New York. He got that revenge and gave me a bruise on my butt the shape of a maple leaf as a thank you from a Canadian. That was a bad beat down and I was 1-1.

Thanks for hosting the event, it was a lot of fun!

It was my first time playing X Wing and that showed, I didn't destroy an opponent's ship all day. But I do like the game. Hopefully I can get more time to play both minis and X Wing now.

Well, I know that places 2-5 all came in the same van.

Yea, maybe more than a little bit, except for possibly the number of activations. Also, used elite scouts as upposed to raxus, but it worked well for the most part. This squad fit my play style more than the raxus squad... I also felt I had a better time with gallop and strafe. Not to derail the thread, lol

I played Rebel Jax Ferris I5YQ Leia Commando Laranth Roan ERCx2 Crix Rieekan Ugo Mouse

RD1 Jimbo
Jim about summed it up in RD3 or 4 when Ferris(at full health) joined his squad the game was pretty much over even though at one time I had C Morn down to 10HP and Ferris down to 20HP
RD2 Ted
He played new Han game was really challenging due to the fack I could not base Han and shoot so I had to hope he missed evade rolls finally I took chewy(Hans BG) down and Han dropped soon after.
RD3 Andy
He played 100pt OBI Luke commando Yoda 44pt Rieeken I was really worried about this squad but the game was never really close Yoda died doing no damage to any of my characters Obi only defeated a ERC and Jax and Luke never got into battle again crappy shooters beat melee jedi.
RD4 Lillian
It was a really good game she did not make many mistakes and I don't feel I mad many also. game was a 2-5pt game with 3 minutes left then she finally killed Crix and the rest of my squad fell soon after we played 4rds in the last 3 minutes.

I tried to play something different this weekend to see if I would have more fun but realized how much I hate the shooter play style.

PA Regional 2015 winner’s report (Keeper of the Southern Gate)

First off, I’ve gotta say Thank You to everyone for a fabulous time! Even without playing SWM, it was great to see so many of my good friends again. And it was also a privilege to meet the legendary Lily-Wan—and during our match I learned that she has plenty of skill, in addition to her customizing expertise!

Big thanks to all of you, and especially to Jim for hosting us at your house on Friday and setting the whole weekend up for us. Really, we had a great time this weekend, and we have you to thank for it! I hope the Maple-Leaf-shaped tattoo on your butt has started to wear off by now….

Squad Selection:
I had several squads in mind for this event. First, I wanted to play the unique Vong tanks (Shakel, Minos, Shedao), and I would’ve done that, if only there was a way for Shakel to gain Evade from Zenoc. But since he can’t (not a follower), he made for a big weakspot in the squad’s competitive viability. So then I looked into Domain Lah Warriors, with Evade 7s and charging for 16 squares. And I had that squad all ready to go…but I didn’t feel like it had what it took…doing 20dmg per attack isn’t high enough for pieces that will die once they get into the thick of things. Both of these Vong squads looked really close, but they weren’t -quite- there, IMHO.

And then on the forums someone (I think it was Hutts) mentioned that he hoped someone would play the Durge/CDO squad that was proving strong in NZ. I hadn’t played the CDOs yet so I wasn’t entirely sure what all the fuss was about (in hindsight, I think their cannon-shot CE should only work on followers, not allies). I didn’t like the squad because it uses Poggle, whom I’ve despised from the start and I knew I’d feel dirty using him. The squad is also designed to use the MTB, which was a piece I have never been comfortable with using before, so I knew it would be a bit of a stretch for me. However, I could see that the squad design was solid so I decided to give it a go. If what I’d prefer to play can’t cut it in heavy competition, then I’ll play something that can. It turns out that I ended up liking the squad because it tends to be so aggressive, which is right up my alley.

Here is the squad that I -made-...er...net-decked. All credit goes to the original author (Mike Moore Smuggler, I think?).

--Keeper of the Southern Gate--
56 Durge on Speeder
27 Lobot
44 Commando Droid Officer x2
16 BX Commando Droid Spotter
15 BX Commando Droid Sniper
10 San Hill
9 Poggle the Lesser
3 Ugnaught Demolitionist
20 Geonosian Drone x10
(200pts. 19 activations)

The map I used was Anchorhead, since it offered lots of good hiding places for Durge and good lines of approach. I’m not sure it was the best map for the squad, but it’s the one I chose with relatively little time for preparation.

Round 1: Ted (Eroschilles), playing NR with Han, Chewbacca GH, Wedge, Leia (for the reroll CE), a rolling attacks guy, Dodonna
-Reinforcements: Human BG and Ugs/Mice (no MTB because of Han’s NTMTO)

He won the map so we played on his map (Ravaged Base) and I chose the left side to deny him the turbolifts. Throughout my time in SWM I’ve played more games on this map than on any other, so I knew it well and used that to my advantage. Everything was working against Ted in this matchup…and it only got worse when I rolled a 1 for the first initiative! I brought in an extra Spotter Droid and some more Drones. I got a huge strafe in the end of the 2nd round, which put good damage on most of Ted’s main pieces and killed both his Uggies. I then won the next init and strafed back over his guys again with Durge, leaving a heavily wounded Wedge (10hp after making several Avoid Defeat saves), Han (30hp), Leia (40hp), and Ganner (60hp). Durge died to Ted’s counter-attack, but he had done enough damage (making 4 attacks on everyone) that I had no trouble finishing up the match.
-40 minutes 1-0, 3pts

Round 2: Jim (Darth_Jim), who was playing his Big Raks squad: Celeste, Mira (slaved via Watto), R2, Foul, a Rak, Malakili, etc.
-Reinforcements: MTB and Ugs/Mice

I won the map roll so we played on Anchorhead and I ended up starting on the right side. Jim advanced all of his guys along the small rooms at the top of the map. At the end of the first round I flew Durge into a position from which I could use Blaster 20 (twin) on Mira and then strafe his whole squad for 12 squares. So Mira died, and just about everything else did too. Celese and Foul died after another round or 2 of fire from my droids. Jim didn’t manage to make any Raks this game (sorry Jim!), and I only lost a few bombs and a CDO before I finished off his squad.
-29 minutes. 2-0, 3pts

Round 3: TJ (FlyingArrow), playing Caedus, Fringe Barriss (w Mines 20), 2 ghosts, Figrin, Todo, and fodder.
-Reinforcements: MTB and Ugs/Mice

TJ won the map roll so we played on his map (the newish one with all the pits). I let him choose his side (on the right, near the top) and so I set up on the left at the top. By the end of the first round I had opened up the doors I needed and I had put damage on some of his pieces with my Sniper. When I won init the next round I strafed his entire squad. However, I had to fly over Barriss and her scary Mines (with Twin Riposte), and so I had taken 80dmg (Mines and Riposte) before I ended up way back near the rest of my pieces…and close to some pits! At this point TJ had only 4 pieces on the board (Caedus, Barriss, and 2 ghosts), so Durge jumped off of his speeder so that he could hopefully regenerate a little bit and use his Jedi Hunter goodness against the 2 force users. TJ responded by using SBM several times to try to move my pieces into pits. Statistically, he should’ve killed a lot more of my guys, but my dice were amazing. I only ended up losing my Sniper and Spotter and a CDO, but I never lost Durge (who made all 4 of his Pit saves). Caedus and Barriss eventually fell to the overwhelming combo of heavy duty firepower and 2pt Bombs with the MTB as the fuse. TJ scored the most points against me of anyone all day: 108. After the match we agreed that his squad was helpless against mine if he didn’t win the map roll, but that it has a decent chance on his map. If Exar had been within range for those SBMs, it would’ve been a different result.
-This match took most of the time we had...55 minutes or so? 3-0, 9pts

Now we had 1 more round to play, and I knew that I was guaranteed a spot in the Top 4, so I could relax a little.

Round 4: Eric (Engineer), playing 8 Domain Lah Warriors and a Quednak. No Quorreal.
-Reinforcements: I was afraid to take the MTB because if I did, then the Yammosk could steal San’s CE, which would quickly place me in a very difficult position with regard to activations. I ended up taking 4 Caamasi Nobles, since none of his guys had a way to deal with them. Eric copied Durge’s CE (Close Quarters Fighting), so he never missed an attack.

Eric won the map roll and I started on the left. It’s a lot harder to use Durge when you don’t have the MTB, but I was still able to get a decent strafe in at the end of the 2nd round, killing a few Warriors and some fodder. I won the next init and strafed a bunch more guys and ended up close to Eric’s starting zone. Durge died there, but by that time there were only 3 Warriors left on the board and so it was relatively simple to clean up the rest of them, with Bombs and Nobles blocking the hallways and my shooters picking away at his non-evading commanders.
-This game also took a good 50 minutes or so. 4-0, 12pts.

So I went into the playoff rounds with a perfect score (12pts in 4 rounds), but I had heard of people who had allowed that to make them over-confident in the past, and so I Jedi Mind Tricked myself to stay focused.

Semi-finals: Jason (urbanjedi), playing Caedus and 2 ghosts and 2 Dread Masters.
-Reinforcements: MTB and fodder.

Jason won the map roll, so I once again had to play against Caedus on his pit-i-full map (that’s my attempt to be as pun-ny as Jim!). However, this time Jason set up on the bottom side, away from most of the pits. I set up at the bottom as well, because that allowed me to shoot some guys and strafe most of his squad at the end of the first round. I won the next init with the MTB but Caedus used Aing-Ti to try to SBM Durge into a pit. However, Durge was a save boss all day, and so he was able to survive and strafe back over everything on his way out to safety. After that, I continued to pick at his guys with my shooter droids, and the match ended a few rounds after that when Caedus finally went down after a pile of Bombs and shots had pounded into him.
-30 minutes, 5-0

Finals: Lillian (Lily-Wan), playing a modified version of the CDO squad she had used in Chicago recently. The big change (as it pertained to this matchup) was that she had dropped her Poggle Bombs for more CDOs.
-Reinforcements: Human BG and fodder for me. Lillian chose a Rakghoul and some mice.

I won the map roll (the 2nd time all day!) so we played on Anchorhead and Lillian chose the left side. I shot some stuff in the end of the first round, and then strafed over 4 of her pieces with Durge…I rolled three 1s on those eight attacks! Ugh. But it’s was all okay, since I rolled a 15 for init! But then she rolled an 18. Arg. But hey, Durge is at full health, so he should be fine!...Don’t get cocky, kid. Lillian moved a CDO up to base Durge and combined fire with the Spotter to do 40, and then 20 on the Twin, and then gave the CE to another CDO which was beside Durge, and which would’ve done the last 50 dmg to Durge if it didn’t miss on the first free attack. So Durge survived with 30hp! That was game-changing. [If I had lost Durge, that would’ve really swung the match…but if I had won the init Durge would’ve been completely unscathed. It turns out that this was probably the key turning point of the match.] I strafed 24 squares with Durge back to safety. By this time Durge had rolled a 1 five times, and those misses were really making a difference, since they meant that Lillian’s Spotter was still alive and very much a hindrance to my shooters, and she had lost only one CDO of the two that could’ve died. We continued to maneuver and jockey for position, with her running a CDO and a mouse and her Rakghoul up around the bottom of the gambit room. She was able to shoot a few of my Bombs this way, which was starting to wear down my activation advantage. However, I was able the next round to kill that CDO when it advanced to chase down Poggle; I used one CDO (hit twice) and then gave the free attack to my other CDO, who was able to hit Lilly’s CDO off of the board. At this point the game started to swing in my favor; it was really tight and tense up until that point. She turned one of my Ugs into a Rakghoul, but then I killed both Rakghouls with my other CDO and my Sniper Droid. Then Durge was able to fly 12 to strafe & Blaster one of Lillian’s CDOs which was advancing through the small rooms at the top of the map. This was big, since I think that dropped her down to having just 1 CDO left. I won the next init and used Durge to strafe her Spotter (FINALLY getting that last hit on it!) and put the finishing hit on her last CDO. At this point she extended her hand and conceded the victory. This was a great match! Very close, very intense…just the way a Regional Final should be.
-53 minutes, 6-0

Closing thoughts:
1. This is the first face-to-face Regional that I've ever won! (The Vassal Regional is different, since you have to shower for this one.)
2. Once again, the NZ guys are right: this is one solid squad!
3. I feel dirty. I used Poggle, which is an NPE I’ve been dead-set against from the start. They’re not even fun when I’m the guy benefitting from them!
4. Durge is fun. He’s beefy and aggressive. But when he can’t use an MTB (mostly vs NTMTO and an opponent’s San) it’s far more risky to be aggressive with him.
5. I love the natural synergy between all of the Commando Droid pieces (Officers, Sniper, Spotter). You can do some really creative things with those pieces.

The tournament finished at midnight (started just before 6:00), and I then had a 3 hour drive to get home, and an early morning after that since I’m a pastor. Regardless, it was a great time! Thanks again to everyone involved!