Ackbar "double dragon" vs Sloane

All craft, prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark!
- Smelly Fish Man

Ackbar tries this time to take on Sloane just to see how bad it can go against the (IMO) worst matchup! I had had previous success with this Ackbar list against Thrawn and Raddus. The following battle report will provide the details....

My opponent had on my request brought Sloane. I belive this list got second at the Regionals at Uppsala, Sweden (a bit of scrolling required) earlier in february this year, so it was to say at least competitive. And the mind behind it is experienced and knows how to effectively use a list like this.

Sloanes Fighters

I dont remember the complete list but I do remember the squadrons!

Dengar (TP-man), Mareek and Jendon (Bros), Cienna, Valen, Mauler, Black Squadron, Howlrunner.

They where backed up by a standard (for this list) Quasar with all the bells and jingles. A Gozanti with Comms, and a ISD-II with Sloane and also alot of bells and jingles.

Turn 0:

Ackbar faced initially 2 problems:

• Outactivated and outdeployed. What else when you only have 2 ships and just the bare essential squadrons.
• Very few Squadrons. The points are simply elsewhere...

We both had 400 pts. total so we rolled a die. Ackbar won and me suspecting which (squadron) objectives where in a Sloane squadron list I selected to go second, due to my objective heavy list and including Bail. Sloane selected Advance Gunnery.

I was a bit inconcistent with the documentation round for round so photos for some rounds are missing.

Setup and begining Round 1

Being outdeployed is always a steep uphill. Sloanes big ships would still be off the table even after all Ackbar's squadrons and ships were placed.
We set up as above, and Bail goes first on turn 3. Ackbars AdvGun ship is the MC80 and Sloanes is the Gozanti. A very interesting choice that had some

All hands to battle stations!

Sloane had a cautious approach, edging forward with the ISD, Quasar and the Gozanti. The TIE-blob set up roughly in the middle of everything where everything would go.

Tycho and Shara went ahead to meet the TIE-ball and try to tie them down. In retrospect this was pretty stupid of me doing that, realizing after the game that a more defensive approach would have been better, keeping them within flak-distance of the big ships. Also my eye-balling was off (as of late it has been) and I set up the MC80 and MC75 for a collision next round...

Round 2

Sloane's Quasar opens the round with a squadron activation, sending forth 4 TIE's towards Shara and Tycho, effectively ending them then and there. Mareek and Best Bro Jendon makes a strafing run against the MC75, landing 2 blows, spending the brace and discarding it from the MC75. Ackbar shruggs at that, counting on his engineers to hold the ship together.

Hot flak from the MC75 deals damage to both of the Bros*, then trying to widen the distance between the MC80, failing to do so, resulting in a collision when the MC80 activates. Hot flak from the MC80 deals more damage to the Bros*.

Sloanes ISD is evading the range from both the MC80 and MC75, obviously very concerned about the side arcs of both MC's.

Round 3

Bail round. A round way too early. The MC75 opens up to a not so good round. I had miscalculated The Quasar is too far away for a front arc and outside sidearc. So flak it is. My opponent comments on my very hot flak dice's. They often are untill they really need to be. The Gozanti is detroyed by a front shot from the MC75. Objective ship is down!

Sloanes ISD keeps evading out of long range and sails straight down towards Ackbars board edge. The Quasar trails after it.

Squardons keep nipping away at the defense tokens of the MC75 and dealing some damage in the process. Jendon is brought down when the MC80 passes and pours heavy flak onto both Bros*. Mareek makes it away with 1 hull left. 

Round 4 (no photo)

Quasar activates alot of squadrons, only this time, its to pull out off flak range after firing their shots and regroup closer to the Quasar and to intercept the MC75. The MC75 has taken serious damage and is only alive thanks to overuse of engineering commands and being in range of its friend MC80. This has left the MC75 on a constant speed 3 course in a wide arc across the area of engagement.

Sloane ISD does a little skip and a hop and makes away toward the board edge, not firing from its front arc at all this game.

Round 5

Last round for the MC75 being alive, and the last round of importance this game. We skipped the last round because there was no targets left for the MC80 to do anything of importance. 

MC75 goes down after Mareek does 2 hull and Mithell finishes it.

Closing Thoughts

With the matchup in mind, Ackbars list fared better, way better than I expected. Had I not done all of the following things the outcome had been different:

1. Not being aggressive. Wanting to get into long range of the ISD-II was not a bright idea. Being second player is not a great position to play aggressive. Chasing a First Player is almost impossible. Had I instead played more defensively and waited till my opponents ships were in range and also try to force him to over reach with his squadrons there would have been more use of Ackbar. His ability were used 0 times this game. If no engagements were to be had a victory of 6/5 would have went to my favor. But in a tournament that is probably not putting anyone on the top anyway.
2. Bail turn. Simply put: Do. Not. Choose. The. Wrong. Turn. This punished me in the worst possible way. Had I instead went with turn 4 I would have had the Quasar in a deathgrip. But not this time.
3. Throwing away my squadons. Making some sort of weird plan that trying to tie up his squadrons for a round with Shara and Tycho was not happening. And trying to put some damage into the ISD with the VCX's. A joke.

The upgrades for this list made the 2 big ships really dangerous. The ISD simply staying out of range the whole game except for a side arc with 2-3 dice once is a proof of that.

Having ECM + EWS makes the MC80 a hard target to engage. Major Derlin is there to help also but for his cost he is too expensive for the effect (EWS does what he does but every attack, only on one side arc, and it makes alot of squadrons attacks ineffective).

The MC75 is good! Being verstile in a Ackbar congaline helps when obnoxious ships like Demolisher and Radiers wants to stop it by parking in front of the line might think twice when there is suddenly and MC30 sidearc in the front to handle. Some upgrades can go, like leading shots and External Racks. This list does not want to close in more than long range, Caithken & Shollan is enough. What the list lacks is teeth against squadons. 

The MC80 usually has Engine Techs, but I feel this can go. Also Major Derlin gets to clock out.

What this list wants badly is support! More than ever was I wanting those extra tokens from Comms Net to help change speed and boost Engineering dials. Even a single Squadron token would have been helpfull had I not flown my squadrons into certain death. 

More on this in a following post!