some times the future is not to cloudy to see

Yay! DOTF has done its job to turn the OR from being a laughing stock faction to a near top-tier one. Good work designers! (PS: Bastila is one annoying character lol)

I am looking forward to seeing the actual squads. Not quite the variety that most want right now, but it is getting there.

LOL, so true. As far as I can tell, Ian's OR squad is pretty much the best it gets for them, so they still have a ways to go to get the strength of having many options like the other top factions, but it's great to see them do well. Also keep in mind that Ian is a GREAT player who has been playing OR squads competitively throughout the year, so them getting the win has more than a little to do with player skill.

There are really only 9 factions - nobody runs pure Fringe, so it doesn't really count in this situation. 5 different factions out of 8 spots is great diversity. There's plenty of parity. We have the gatekeeper (Seps), the finals representatives last year (Imperial and Rebels), the winner this year (OR), and the 2 biggest representatives in this year's top 8 (NR and Republic). The only factions that could claim to be 'weak' are Sith, Mando, and Vong, and they've gotten considerably stronger.

So now that Gencon has passed, and I can give my real opinions of where things stand :) Here goes.
Old Republic is still behind the others. (I'll speak on Vong in a moment who are both worse and not worse). Despite Ian winning with a very good OR squad, it has its weaknesses. One of the things that can be easily missed by simply assessing which squad finishes where is that who played it, and who played against it matters as much as the squad. As it was mentioned, Ian knows the squad well, has been playing it most of the year and knows how to play it against the field that he prepared for. The opposite however, is not true. Ian was able to succeed in part because many of his opponents didn't know how to attack his squad, and by the time they figured it out, it would often be too late. It's also a squad that really needs a closed off map (as do any melee swarms of course) and in the finals, he won the map roll. Theed is a very good map for his squad in general and he got to play the finals on it. And even with all of that, it was a still a game that came down to a 10hp General Skywalker failing the block on the Jedi Reflexes attack when he moved in to try to finish off the Seer. In the end, the Seer was the only real damage piece left on the board. His game with Matt Spry was the closest final that I can remember. And no offense to Matt, but it did seem he wasn't sure at times the best ways to attack Ian's unique squad, I think just enough that it allowed Ian the room to make up strategically for what should have been a bad match up for him (he lost twice in Swiss to the other two top 8 Skybuck squads). He also may have had an advantage from having already played and lost to us (I didn't get a chance to ask him if he felt like he learned anything that helped in the finals but I will when we get him on the SHNN :)). Anyways, the point is the two players matters at least as much as the strength of the squad. Certainly many of us believed that the OR was capable of making the top 8, and I can speak for a great many of us watching, no one was unhappy that the OR won the event! (Except for maybe Matt Spry :)). But it doesn't mean that the OR is now too strong, or that Bastilla is any more overpowered than a great number of other things already in the game.

Many things happen in the finals that turn those games, and it's seldom squad strength. By the top 8, every player is strong, and every squad is strong, but still some match ups matter as much as anything else. For example, Urbanjedi with double lancer has a pretty good advantage over Skybuck on Muunalist, but not on Jedi Temple or Smuggler's Base. As a consequence, he beat me in a very tight down to the wire game (winning init when my Yoda was at 20hps, and needed one more gallop to clear the fodder which would have given me the eventual win), and then lost map to Matt Spry for the second time. So it's as much about match ups as anything. If Ian had had to face Jason in the first round or in the finals, I don't think we'd be talking about OR at all.

Now, with RaR, I think the OR hits the top tier as a faction, and people will start to play it quite regularly - which is great. But they also have a natural foil in the vong. So moving onto that faction, I can say a few things about the champs. As it were, there were 2 very good players running very good Vong squads that they both knew very well. And sometimes things simply work out poorly for a player in a given event. I don't think the strengths of the Vong were particularly demonstrated in this event, because of bad luck as much as anything else. Going into it, I heard several people say they were excited to see the two Vong players compete for the top 8 and fully expected them to do so. It didn't work out that way this year, but it wasn't because of the faction. But going forward, RaR helps a lot, and Vengeance will really help. Vong are a hard faction to help because they have both really high strengths and really really bad weaknesses, which as a designer, it becomes pretty tough to address the weaknesses without making the strengths overpowered. We have lots of ideas though about how to do it, so I think we will see them continue to improve.

Finally the Mandos. Mandos are close. But they aren't there yet. We gave them some very good things this year, but they will continue to need more diversity. Thankfully, the V-sets can provide it. There were a couple of Mandos played in the champs, and one went at 3-3. Death shots are the top version right now, but more will come for them I promise :).

So that's my rundown of the bottom 3 at Gencon. I saw considerable improvement for the bottom 3 this year from past years, even without counting Ian's winning OR squad. All in all, people were really happy with the results from just one V-set, and I look forward to seeing how you all like RaR and BoT!

I'll say that Ian's OR squad is rather "one sided" being all melee. Now that can be a really good thing because beefing up one a particular approach can lead into an easy win. Yet, it probably means it has a fair share of bad match-ups as well. Perhaps it is like lancer in this way. So, I am guessing it was a mix of good matchups and excellent play by Ian that pulled him through in the end.

So, this approach seems much different than most NR squads (for example) that bring a mix of attacks to the table. Hence NR may not have any easy wins, but it does decent against a variety of squads...

And the one shooter the OR did have (prior to V-Sets) was Mira; who is an amazing shooter--kind of like Han; but a bit better (IMHO). Force Sense + Accurate shooter all in one!

Plus; with the addition of V-Sets; you can now dust off your old Carth Onasi and Atton Rand to play their new version -- Atton; a very decent shotoer....with Override! The only other shooter who has Override are the ERCs; and without CEs theyre not much more than scrub killers.

With so much support coming in; I wouldnt be surprised if OR becomes top tier.

Ok, to answer people's questions about what my squad was, here ya go:

Bastila Shan, Jedi Master 33
Jedi Battlemasters x3 81
Jedi Seer 27
Lobot 27
Old Republic Senator 14
R7 Astromech Droid 8
Mouse Droids x2 6
Ugnaught Demolitionist 3

Map: Theed/Royal City Plaza
Preferred Reinforcements: Human BG w/ either 2 uggies and 1 mouse or 1 uggy and 2 mice.

I won the VA with that same squad and was a variant of a squad I ran in MD using Mira instead of the 3rd battlemaster and Senator.

SWISS ROUNDS 4-2 12 points, 5th overall

Round 1 vs Rebels. Loda, Han Smuggler, Princess Leia, ERC, Crix, Dodonna, Reeikan:
We play on Peaceful City. This was not a tough match for me. We both rush to gambit round 1. I was able to kill Han and Crix quickly leaving Loda to be overwhelmed by my Seer and Battlemasters. 3 point win.

Round 2 vs Imps. IE Thrawn, Atris, Veers, Jaba CL, 3 Handmaidens:
We play on Theed. With his squad so heavily CE dependant, Bastila really just shuts him down. I kill Atris, Veers and 2 maidens before he's able to use his CEs again. I don't even lose an uggy in the match. 3 points.

Round 3 vs Republic (Weeks). Yobuck, Rex, R2, Gen. Skywalker, Panaka:
We play on Theed. This was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. We both met in the middle and just slugged it out. Before the last initiative was rolled, all we had left for attackers were his Rex (40 HP) and Bastila (40 HP, 1 FP & within 6 squares of Rex). He wins the roll and finishes off Bastila. Awesome game even though I lost!

Round 4 vs Seps (Graham). Sidious, Lancer, Worm, 2 IG-86s, & Poggle w/ 6 Drones:
We play on Theed. Graham made a big error by Pawning his lancer to strafe my squad (taking an AOO from the Seer) and then landing next to the Seer. He flies the lancer away only to be killed by the Seer from the AOO. He runs an IG into the room w/ Bastila to stop ABM, but the IG ends up getting taken out. So Graham is forced to throw all of his guys at me to try and slow me down and inflict as much damage as possible. The game ends with me collecting enough gambit (40 points worth) to win. All I had left was Lobot, the R7, the Senator and a battlemaster with 80 HP and no FPs. He had a Drone and Sidious w/ 40 HP and no FPs. 3 points.

Round 5 vs NR. Han, Mara, Anakin, Ganner, Lobot and Dodonna:
We play on Jabba's Palace, he brings in a Human BG and 3 mice. I end up in the middle of his squad round 2 with all three of my battlemasters. Round 3, he runs Anakin away from a Battlemaster I had set up to Assault and possibly kill him. Another of my battlemasters drops 60 damage on Han and my Seer bases Anakin. Mara uses Assault to do some damage to a battlemaster and has to block an attack that comes back at her. Han puts 20 damage on the BM that's in his face while my third walks up and finishes Han off. Bastila runs up at the end of round 3 to provide a little help. Round 4, Mara finishes off the BM she was facing and moves to try and catch Bastila. The Seer drops 20 damage on Anakin and tries to finish him off using the Senator's CE, but Anakin blocks. I continue to chase Anakin around the map and using the Senator's CE to kill him, but he made a lot of block saves but eventually went down. Meanwhile Mara had my other two BMs engage her and killed her shortly after Anakin died. He eventually kills the Seer, but that left Ganner to deal with 2 BMs, Bastila and the Senator. 3 points.

Round 6 vs Republic (Bill). Yobuck, Gen. Skywalker, R2, Dash, Panaka:
We play on Theed. Bill didn't make any mistakes this match. I, however, misplaced Bastila that allowed Yobuck to get back to her and stop ABM prematurely. At first, my BMs pretty much Blocked anything Yobuck threw at them, but that luck didn't last. Bill had some impressive rolls with Dash and making a high percentage of Block/Defense saves. I ended up killing Yobuck, but had lost Bastila, a BM and my Seer by then. Gen. Skywalker was left w/ 20 HP at the end of the game and Dash was untouched when my last BM was taken out.

PLAY-OFFS

Quarter Final vs Rebels (Ricky). Han Smuggler, Princess Leia, Luke Commando, Crix, ERC, Juno, Lobot, Dodonna, Reeikan:
We play on Theed. He brings in Wicket, an R4 and a Brute. Round 1 & 2 is positioning with me using ABM round 2 and Han killing an uggy. Round 3, I send in my Seer that kills a brute and has the door locked behind him by the ERC. Two of my BMs run down the long hallway to base a bunch of brutes. I use ABM again w/ Bastila. The mistake Rick made (due to lack of experience w/ the Seer) was he walked Han up on it and took 30 damage from the Seer. Rick throws everything he has at the Seer including Luke (who took 30 damage) and leaves it w/ 10 HP left. The next round, I won initiative and kill Han with the Seer dying to the ERC. I proceed to kill a bunch of brutes and blow open a door to allow my 3rd BM to enter in where the Seer was to kill Luke. I do end up losing one of my BMs, but the game ends with Reeikan having to deal with an untouched Bastila and two BMs who were both above half HP.

Semi-Final vs Republic (Weeks.....again):
This time we play on Smuggler's Base. I really thought this is where I would get knocked out. Yobuck gallops some BMs a couple times as I make a mad dash for the center room locking the door behind me. Round 3 Bastila uses ABM. Yobuck gallops into my Seer taking 50 damage from a crit and ends his move within striking distance of two BMs who end up killing Yoda. Round 4 Gen. Skywalker rushes in and takes 30 damage from the Seer's AOO but kills him in return. I walk up and Assault Ani for 30 then use the Senator to finish Ani off with a 40 damage shot. So now all that David has left is Panaka, Rex and R2 as his threat pieces. I wait in the gambit room a couple rounds forcing him to close with Rex. I was able to base R2 and kill him using the Senator's CE keeping Rex from escaping easily and base him w/ Bastila. Panaka kills one of my BMs and Rex drops 40 damage on Bastila only to be killed by using Bastila's attacks and the Senator's CE. That left Panaka to deal with Bastila (70 HPs) and 2 BMs (80-90 HPs) with the Senator. On to the finals!

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH vs Republic (Mat Spry). Same build as Bill's Skybuck squad:
We play on Theed. He gets a gallop off on my BMs, but I block most of the damage. Round 2 I use ABM and move up in the room next to where gambit is. He positions Yobuck and I move the rest of my squad up with the Human BG and Seer next to Bastila. Round 3, I blow open the door to get in the center room. He gallops with Yobuck back to Bastila taking some damage on the way in. The BG takes the damage for Bastila and dies to keep ABM going. My Seer goes after Yobuck and drops some damage on him. I base Dash and Panaka with a BM and put 30 on both of them (Panaka taking a hit for Dash). He Tows Dash away and has Ani do some damage to the BM next to Panaka. The Senator uses his CE to finish off Panaka and I run Bastilla into the room with gambit joining her BMs. Dash defeats the BM that killed Panaka using Momentum.

Next round, Yobuck gallops into my Seer, kills a BM and drops some damage on Bastila. Bastila walks up taking an AOO from Yoda to kill Dash. My Seer runs up to join the rest of my squad. Ani kills Bastila and I kill Yobuck. So by the end of the round I have a BM (50 HP & 1 FP), the Seer (60 HP & 2 FPs) an R7, Lobot and the Senator left. Mat has Ani (50 HP & 1 FP), R2, Lobot and 3 brutes left. He win initiative and goes first with Ani. He walks up and attack the BM hitting him with the first attack and missing with the 2nd. He FPRRs to hit and I fail the block. As I am taking the BM off the tabel, Brad stops game play and asks Mat to show the path Ani took to base the BM. He origionally walked straight 6 squares through my Senator (can't believe I didn't catch that myself). Since he couldn't do that, Mat was forced to burn his last FP thus not allowing him to reroll his 2nd attack.

So I ended up having the BM left alive w/ 20 HP and a FP. In return, I drop 40 damage on Ani and he fails his Djem So saves. The BM uses the Senators CE, but misses the attack. The Seer walks up and takes out Lobot. R2 Tows Ani away and tries to kill the BM with his brutes, but nothing hits. Mat wins initiative, but has a dilemma. If I went first I could base Ani w/ the Seer and kill him. If he goes first, he could Tow Ani around the Seer to set up a kill shot w/ Ani but then I would base him with my Seer and use the Senator to try and kill him. He elected to go first and walked up on the Seer w/ Ani. The game pretty much ended when Seer hit with the AOO killing him and Ani failed his Djem So save. I based R2 w/ the Seer to hit him for 20 and killed 2 of 3 brutes with the BM.


AFTER THOUGHTS

To be honest, my goal was just to get OR in the top 8. I've been practicing w/ the OR for several months now, and felt that I had found a way to get them into the meta. I knew that you had to build a squad to go for the 3 point wins to try and give you the edge over other squads that are only getting 2. I didn't want to play with Rebels or NR cause that was the thing everyone was expecting to see played a lot, and I didn't like the idea of Lancers being a one trick pony. I was thinking about running General Skywalker with some JWMs, but didn't like how they played against the mouse droid wall and other match ups. I thought that having Bastila would greatly help out with those heavy shooter squads that are CE reliant (like the Thrawn Handmaiden squad I played in round 2). I also liked how ABM gave me a damage boost even if I was being Disrupted.

But I've really got to thank the guys in my local gaming group for all the support they've given and challenging my skills to become the player I am today. I've been collecting the minis since the game first came out, but really didn't start playing until 2008-2009. My first release tournament was for the Clone Wars set, which is when I started to play competetively.

I also want to thank Ray, Brad and anyone else who volunteered their time to run the tournaments. Lou, please thank all the guys for me that made those spiral bound books with the card stats. Awesome job!! Thanks to everyone who is involved with making the V-Sets to keep the game thriving. Also, for those of you who made the Epic Duo customs, ROCK ON!!

But the biggest thanks goes out to everyone in the community for keeping this game alive and fun. I know times are tough right now, but it's nice to know there are people out there who love this game and Star Wars as much as I do. I really enjoyed meeting everyone this year and hope to meet more of you as time goes on. Until then, I wish you all well. CHEERS!!

Sincerely,
Ian Gordon

Well, Mira has Mobile (well, so does Atton...and I think Carth too). Mira also is good for clearing out mouse droid clusters, something Carth and Atton cant do. They each have their places.

On a side note, Mira + Lord Hoth LotAoL would be totally awesome...Mira with Furious Assault....*shudders*. And I thought Arica Blaster Barages were bad...