A New Season Begins!

Welcome to a new season of Heroes of the Aturi Cluster!

We've upgraded a few components and completed the collection of ships, so everything looks great and we're going to have a great time!

Over last few campaigns, Tyler and I came to realize that a very few specific ships and builds were significantly more powerful than any other options (namely, B-Wing with HLC, K-Wing, and T-70 with the right PA/EPTs). While these builds were fun to play the first time around, as we got about halfway through our second campaign with another group of friends it became aparent that we were going to be building the same ships again, and we needed some additional options. We're staying focused on the Original Trilogy timeframe (3 BBY to 7 ABY), so we're leaving out the idea of things like E-wings and ARC-170s and a lot of the Wave 7+ ships. This season we're playing with a few house rules and some additional upgrades and options to help with those balance issues and open up more viable paths for mid- and end-game options. These include Pandemonium's Season 6 house rules, and a list of custom/modified cards.

We're really excited and feel this will open up a whole bunch of new options this season.

Dianoga Squadron

Lets introduce our pilots and their starting loadouts:

"Divvik" (Joel, Rebel):

A-wing, Missile: Torpedo Loadout, Torpedo: Ion Torpedo, Modification: Extra Munitions, 1XP floating

All the maneuverability and speed of an A-wing, with a couple of Ion Torpedoes jammed in there for extra punch.

"Gellbeast" (David, Rebel): (Aturi Cluster Squadron Leader)

Z-95, Title: "Recon Loadout", System: Accuracy Corrector, Illicit: Scavenger Crane, Modification: Shield Upgrade, Modification: Stealth Device, Missile: XX-23 S-Thread Tracers, 0XP floating

Built to either stay cloaked and tank with 5 green dice or decloak and push 2 hits in no matter what, this experiment is pretty heavily focused on assists with the occasional shiv in the back of a TIE. (Proxy Alert! I didn't get my Z-95 in time, so I had to proxy a T-70... ugh!)

"Rathtar" (Tyler, Scum): (Wingman)

Z-95, Title: "Heavy Loadout", Cannon: Ion Cannon, Illicit: Scavenger Crane, Modification: Overcharge Capacitors, Modification: Stealth Device, 3XP floating

An overcharged ion cannon makes for a rather serious threat, combining good damage output with the control of ion tokens, while a stealth device (complete with crane for recovery after any impacts) means this ship has both good punch and good survival.

"Gundark" (Tom, Rebel):

Y-Wing, Title: BTL-A4, Turret: Twin Laser Turret, Astromech: R4 Astromech, Modification: Vectored Thrusters

The "Warthog" build is so reliable it never gets old, and the Vectored Thrusters are a nice alternative to the unique BB-8.

And here we go!

Mission 1: Local Trouble

Turn 1: Don't split the party!

So our setup for the first round was a bit rough. Divvik tucked himself into one edge, aiming to flank up beside the main group of TIE Fighters as they were approaching, and Rathtar set up near the other edge to attempt to slice through the second group of TIEs. Gellbeast took a more central approach, hoping the TIEs would come zooming in at full speed and be in range of a Turn 1 Tracer shot, while Gundark took up a solid position between the Z-95s and the A-Wing, planning on rolling in and dropping the "BRRRT!" on some eyeballs! The TIE pilots were wise to this positioning, however, and rolled in with a (relatively) slow 3-straight advance, staying just out of range of everyone's weapons, making for an uneventful first turn.

Turn 1 - Lock S-Foils in Attack position!

Turn 2: Just passing through...

Anticipating that the main group of TIEs would turn in to close on the forward-most threat, Gellbeast swooped forward and activated his cloak for the extra defense. Divvik pushed hard up the left flank, Gundark dodged an asteroid to close up next to the invisible Z-95, and Rathtar closed on the second group of TIE Fighters. The TIEs all continued their steady forward progression, passing directly between the A-Wing and "The Two Gs", but Gundark caught one in arc and managed to clip him and send him out of formation with the others. Rathtar was the only one in a position to get off a good shot, but the blinding exchange of laser fire resulted in no damage to the TIEs and a shield dropping off the Heavy Z-95.

Turn 2 - Passing Shots

Turn 3: That was a mistake.

The pair of TIE Fighters facing off against Rathtar decided to attempt a Koiogran Turn to keep him engaged but while the Z-95 successfully completed his own K-turn, one of the two T/Fs misjudged the asteroid and tore a chunk out of his solar panels, throwing him wildly out of position to support his wingmate. Rathtar capitalized on this and landed a solid Overcharged Ion Cannon shot with no effective return fire.

Overcharged Ion Shot 1 - The Pattern Begins

The main contingent of TIEs broke up formation, with some performing their own K-turn to engage the rest of the squadron while the wounded one simply limped off (probably trying to regan control of his own ship). Gundark and Gellbeast K-turned as well, keeping up the sustained fire on the wounded 'Fighter, but he managed to artfully dodge every shot.

Turn 3 - Blood in the water

Turn 4: Knife fighting in an asteroid field

The beginning of this turn saw scary and awesome events. Two TIE Interceptors entered the battle, aligning themselves perfectly behind The Two Gs and ready to wreck Divvik's lone A-wing. What they failed to realize is that Divvik doesn't fly an A-wing because he likes dodging at long range; he flys one because he likes scraping paint off of TIEs in an up-close-and-personal way. Divvik's sharp turn and boost directly into their path positioned him perfectly to cause both T/Is to bump him, leaving him an invalid target for them, limiting them to Range 3 for their only valid targets, and costing them any additional actions. This startled them so badly that they both nearly missed their shots on The G Team and caused only shield damage to Gundark's Y-wing.

I don't think that's what the wedge-shape was meant for...

Rathtar cleverly avoided incoming fire from the ionized TIE by bouncing right off his face, lining up an excellent ion cannon shot on the unfortunate astroid-loving wingman and putting him in a precarious position of nearly gliding off the board.

That's not a hug... I'm just ionizing your wingman.

Gellbeast and Gundark's sustained fire dropped one of the closing TIEs just as he pulled back around to engage the fight, and the other TIEs were totally ineffective in their fire.

Turn 5: I love the smell of Ozone in the morning...

The TIE Fighters were scrambling at this point, chaotically swooping or gliding around the board while trying to both survive and hunt down our heroes. The Interceptors were able to close in unimpeded, intent on bringing their considerable firepower to bear on the slow-moving Y-wing that had just destroyed one of their compatriots. But the heroes were clever, elusive, and vicious. Rathtar turned in to begin engaging what remained of the main team of TIEs, his own targets scattered and soon approaching their doom. Gundark K-turned again, bringing his Warthog-configuration to bear on almost the entire enemy group. Gellbeast engaged the cloaking device on his Recon Z-95, preparing for the withering hail of fire his positioning was sure to bring. And Divvik K-turned and set up for the defining moment of the night.

The setup...

The T/Is fired wildly, shields tearing off of Rathtar's ship and the shadowy shape of Gellbeast's hidden form narrowly avoiding blast after blast until the lone A-wing at the edge of the engagement zone lit off the secret weapon he'd been holding for such a perfect positioning.

... the pitch...

The Ion Torpedo caught the TIE interceptor flat-footed, his focus already exhausted trying to hit the targets in front of him. His evasiveness was little comfort, as the torpedo was nearly inside his ion engine's exhaust manifold when it detonated.

... and solid contact.

The ion energy from the detonation spilled over on to his wingman, but the distraction and psychological shock of seeing how quickly, efficiently, and ruthlessly the heroes had dealt with such a threat stunned the TIE Fighter pilots and cost them the fight. Gundark raked his fire across the field and Rathtar began shunting power back into his Overcharged Ion Cannons, preparing for another devastating blast.

Turn 6: I'm sorry, you were planning on going around that, weren't you?

TIEs closed in, turning to engage the forces of one of the Rebellion's new elite squadrons. The Interceptor's pilot stared in horror and frustration as his ionized ship gently glided into an asteroid, throwing off any chance for an attack.

With supporting fire from Divvik and Rathtar, Gellbeast decloaked and raked fire into the back of one Fighter while Gundark finished off another.

Fire from the flank!

Rotary Rebellion!

Turn 6 - Two more down

Turn 7: Reinforcements? More like "Bonus Round"

Two additional TIE Fighters entered the fray, maneuvering to block Divvik from finishing off the last Interceptor. Gundark closed in at minimum speed, his rotary laser array spinning up for another devastating volley. Rathtar locked on to the Interceptor, his Overcharged Ion Cannons glowing hot from the power being shunted into them. Gellbeast maneuvered into a support position to try and cover Divvik, one of the last of the original TIE Fighters having closed in behind him. The Interceptor had nowhere to move in the tight melee created by Gundark and Rathtar and was left scraping his tail along the asteroid, damaging his hull and denied another shot by bumping into Gundark. Rathtar's Ion Cannon roared blue bolts so bright that sun shielded cockpits turned almost black... and when they faded, the interceptor was a cloud of dust gliding slowly around Gundark's particle shields.

Gellbeast's fire distracted the newly-arrived pair of TIEs enough that they caused no damage to Divvik, and while the TIE behind Gellbeast had lined up a perfect shot, the last flicker of his cloaking and stealth systems left Gelldark unscathed as the whithering bolts of green flew past.

This is not that day!

Turn 7: You latecomers might want to rethink this...

Turn 8: Bright Red Lights

The last two TIEs from the original force were shaken by what they had seen, but gathered their (small) wits about them and began lining up a final attack pass. The latest reinforcements sought to engage our forces directly, the one Gellbeast wounded last turn turning to engage the Heavy Z-95 and the other K-turning to line up a better shot on Divvik. The heroes closed ranks on these newcomers and while the combined firepower of Gellbeast and Rathtar wrecked the Fighter who was drawing a bead on Divvik, Gundark wielded his rotary blasters like a surgeon with a knife and expertly excised the TIE caught in the middle of the group.

Melee (n): "a confused fight, skirmish, or scuffle."

Zs of Fury!!

Precision BRRT!

Turn 8: 2+2-2 = 2

Turn 9: Someone tell the nice singing lady she's up next.

At this point, it's just a clean-up operation. The two remaining TIEs (still from the original groups, amazingly enough) turned to close in and try some last-ditch effort at vengeance for their fellow eyeball-jockies. Divvik sliced out to engage one, The G Team closed on the other, and Rathtar rolled a K-turn to line up some a finishing shot. Divvik managed to land some damage and stress on his, while Rathtar's Ion Cannon (even with a regular charge) was enough to finish off the other T/F, leaving another static-charged husk floating through space.

Locked and Loaded

That's gonna sting

Blue Bolts

Turn 9 - That's a lot of red tokens...

Turn 10: BRRRRRT!!

Only one final action remained. Only one that mattered. And while the last Fighter dodged nimbly around A-wings and Z-95s, the calm and inexorable advance of a Y-wing finally brought an end to this fight.

And the Y-wing finishes it all up.

Overall this was a great start to our new campaign, and we're really excited to continue! Stay tuned for more!