Store Champs 2: Round 1 Fight!

So it was time to take this list out, see what it can do.

Why did it have to be Sloane?!

First round I was matched against Isabel, who brought:

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 398/400

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

[ flagship ] Victory II-Class Star Destroyer (85 points)
-  Admiral Sloane  ( 24  points)
-  Minister Tua  ( 2  points)
-  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
-  Disposable Capacitors  ( 3  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
-  Quad Battery Turrets  ( 5  points)
-  SW 7 Ion Batteries  ( 5  points)
= 138 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
-  Flight Controllers  ( 6  points)
-  Boosted Comms  ( 4  points)
-  Expanded Hangar Bay  ( 5  points)
= 69 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits  ( 7  points)
= 61 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 25 total ship cost

1 TIE Advanced Squadron ( 12 points)
1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points)
1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)
1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
1 Black Squadron ( 9 points)
4 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 32 points)

So this looked like a pretty solid Sloane list, and Isabel drove all the way up from St. Louis to play with us.  She got the bid and decided to go first, choosing my Most Wanted.  It (as obviously built as such) went on the VSD and my naked GR75.

And as for deployment, let's throw this out below.  The point of this writeup isn't just to post Simpsons gifs, of course.

Quasar on my left, my boarding troopers hammerhead on the far right. Naked GR on my left, the Quantum just to the right of the Salvation

So, everything of mine was deployed relatively slowly (IIRC, speed 1) with the option of zooming forward as needed.  Leia was at a 3, and was ready to start sweeping around and doing what she could.  And Isabel had ALSO dropped everything slowly, with several of her ships at speed 1.... and the VSD dropped to speed zero turn 1! This was less than ideal, as I would have to speed up, get shot by her Quad Battery Turrets, and then slow down.  She was supposed to come to me, dangit!

So turn 2, she jumped me with that quasar and its 6 fighters.  Mauler moved in and jumped the A-wings I had vaguely clustered defensively, and then it trundled forwards.  I threw two A-wings with my Quantum around, shot a TIE to death, and then jumped to speed 3 (which really meant 4).  I was attempting to turn around and hit the VSD next turn, hopefully keeping it stuck at a certain speed or futzing with its commands, but this turn? I hacked that Quasar.  Clearly, undamaged as it was, it was very worried about getting shot.  My hackers used their Slicer Tools and helped it out there, giving it the Engineering command it CLEARLY wanted.  Those squadrons would be FINE on their own, I promise!

That's my Quantum Storm in the middle.  He's so helpful! Mauler is just south of it in the picture, and 2 more TIEs and Maarek had went in on attacking my Hammerheads, spending one Evade.

(Waylon Jennings voice): Well, it was round bout now that mean ol' speed 0 VSD threw them there remaining squadrons at my Quantum Storm, somehow rolling 2 accuracies in 3 attacks.  Looks like the ol' Quantum Storm was in for a heap of trouble, she was! Powerful trouble!

The Arquitens went, but didnt kill anything.  Leia's CR90 fired on it, concentrating fire. The Salvation fired on it too, and my Hammerheads moved further forwards, murder gleaming in their eyes.  Murder!

Top of next turn, that Arquitens went and lit up my poor, misunderstood Quantum Storm.  Without a Scatter to save her, she exploded. TRAGICALLY. Arq moved forward after that into close of the Hammerhead.

Au revoir, Quantum Storm.  I'll miss you!

I forget who went next after that, but the VSD eventually fired his DCaps, bringing the Hammerhead next to the Arq down to 1 health left.  The VSD had gotten a Comms Net token and sped up to speed 1, but it was time to start shooting it with everything I had! Leia Con Fired again, and bam, down went the Arq.  Salvation started shooting what it could, and I started lighting up squadrons.  Turns out the Quantum Storm was UNHELPFUL, and those squadrons weren't as fine as they thought they would be.  Who would have thought! I ended up pushing one of my Hammerheads forward and it was sitting in the front of the VSD.

Top of 4, I believe....

Con Fires and murder all around, but the end of 4 had resulted in the VSD starting to take good amounts of damage, the Quasar shieldless, and a dead Gozanti. There's not much else to tell, but turn 5 resulted in another dead Hammerhead (the one currently in front of the VSD), and a Hammerhead ready to strike the VSD. VSD went first, shot and hurt the Nebulon, and the Quasar's activation finsihed it off with one last die in my side (life lesson: activate it first if i want it alive, next time).  We were nearing time, so I didn't take any more pictures, but the Most Wanted VSD dying helped me out a LOT and gave me a good margin of victory.

It was a very fun game, and Isabel was a great opponent.  Sloane is not super crazy overpowered but she can definitely wreck you if you're not prepared for her.  I will fully say that I did NOT expect my Scatter to get double shot so fast out from under me, and I knew it was only a matter of time after THAT.  Leia circling the battlefield and con-firing helped a LOT, too, and the A-wings killed pretty solidly, as well.  Onwards to game 2!