1) It is Important - The game has implications on who will be on the top of the leaderboards.
2) It is Interesting - The game has lists that we haven't seen run before, or some interesting gimmick. Maybe it's just two high level players clashing against one another, or it has an fun story line.
3) I Can Actually Livestream It - If I can't be there to watch (and record) the game, all this build-up is for nothing, right?
So let's have a look at our first "Match-up of the Week" - Ardaedhel vs Caribbean Ninja!
Ardaedhel:
Ardaedhel - Combined Forces Space Component Commander
Commander, Task Force 3
The Shores of Confession v1.6 (383/400)
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CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (74)
- General Rieekan (30)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (44)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (44)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (44)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (44)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (44)
- SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
CR90 Corvette: CR90 Corvette B (39)
Squadrons: (50)
- Dash Rendar (24)
- Han Solo (26)
Here's an interesting list, with an interesting player. Ardaedhel found himself up against Clontroper5 in the Quarter-finals of the World Cup, and we know what happened in that tournament by now. It could be that the B-Wing heavy list that lost to Clontroper caused him to snap, deciding that anything with a "B" would work, as long as he had more activations and the best initiative bid. Enter Rieekan and 7 CR90B's, most with SW-7s.
CaribbeanNinja:
CaribbeanNinja (Captain) - Grand Moff Token
Points: 398/400
Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (111 points)
- Grand Moff Tarkin ( 38 points)
Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (77 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (77 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
Squadrons: (133 points)
- "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
- Soontir Fel ( 18 points)
- "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)
- TIE Advanced Squadron ( 12 points)
- Major Rhymer ( 16 points)
- TIE Bomber Squadrons x4 ( 36 points)
- Dengar ( 20 points)
While Ardaedhel found Clontroper5 in the Quarter-Finals, CaribbeanNinja found the other eventual finalist, Madaghmire. Taking some lessons away from his previous list of elite fighters and 2 carriers, he's instead brought more ships and more Bombers. He still doesn't seem to believe in initiative though, as he's packed his list almost to the bursting point.
The Matchup:
Ardaedhel wins the head to head on not only initiative (383 to 398) but blows CaribbeanNinja out of the water in total activations (7). On deployment though, there is some parity, with both clocking in at 8 total deployments. For ship vs ship matchups, Ardaedhel has not only numbers, but damage output on his side - at least at Medium range. Even close range, his numbers and ability to not remove CR90Bs from play give him excellent board control, and has the maneuverability to take advantage of it.
Caribbean Ninja's advantages all lie in his close range firepower (averaging 5.25 damage per attack from the front arc) and his squadrons, which have 7 Black dice, 5 of them Bombers. With Dengar and Intel, he should be able to keep his squadrons away from Han and Dash, and focus shots on the targets that need them.
This match-up looks like it is set up to be a bloody game, with positioning, good objective play, and luck being the deciding factors.
And the game becomes that much more important for both players with the result of Wednesday's 10-0 win by DourPrize of Alamo City. CaribbeanNinja not only needs a win, but a convincing one, to get his team back into the fight, and Ardaedhel has the chance with a big win here to put Alamo City Fleet on top of the standing.
Biggs' Pre-Match Bet:
The only time I've seen a CR90 swarm actually flown, was in Game 3 at Worlds, where FFG streamed the top table of a 6-ship Mothma CR90 swarm against a Gen-Con Special. I have no idea how well the Rieekan list will function in practice, but I know how it is supposed to in theory.
I'm not sure if it has the firepower to trade a VSD for only a single CR90 (though Tarkin's VSD is worth 2), and it really doesn't have much to contribute to the fighter game. I could certainly be wrong, but I'm going to put my bet on CaribbeanNinja coming out on top of a close game.
And don't forget, because this is the Match-up of the Week, you can watch it live at http://www.twitch.tv/biggsirl on Friday 4th @ 8:30PM EST / 1:30AM GMT Saturday 5th, or after the fact on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJ-LkwpPPTBXJPxuRDdDww
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