Written by Matt Evans
The Michigan GT is now over and we wanted to highlight the top 8 from this fantastic event. But first we need to shout out to the Tournament Organizer (Matthew Gergely), Michigan GT staff and everyone involved in putting on this event.
There were 23 players and an almost even split between each faction (minus shadow collection). This event took place over Saturday (3 rounds) and Sunday (2 rounds) competing for some great prize support and a world invite. Here is a breakdown of the faction numbers:
Empire - 6
Republic - 5
Rebel - 5
Separatists - 6
Shadow Collective - 1
We had a bit of an unusual top 8 at this event from what we've seen at other USA events recently (3 Rebels, 3 CIS, 1 Shadow Collective and 1 GAR). A couple of things of interesting note is that Darth Vader was not taken (both Commander and Operative), 3/6 empire lists were triple ATST Tempest force and 3/6 droid lists were Experimental Droids. So without any more intro lets hop into our top 8 from this weekend:
#8 Matthew Pierson - Rogue One
Rebellions are built on hope and I am extremely happy to see Jyn back into the top 8. This list is a classic rebel take on the Rogue One "skew". Matthew has up to five infiltrating units to get early objectives or push dice to turn the tide his way.
The snipers also help raise his activation count to 12 so that infiltrations can be done fairly safely. I do love the edition of fleets with scatter guns to really draw attention away from other units. Overall this is a list with a ton of tricks and tempo that made it's way to the number 8 slot.
#7 Robert Ferraiuolo - Not Yet Tested (Experimental Droids)
Our first of three experimental droids list from this weekend (all 3 experimental droid lists made it into the top 8 FYI). Robert is sporting Kalani in his version but keeps a lot of similarities to the other two lists. The BX's are the meat of this team and provides some really heavy fire power to shoot with and are tanky with those shields. And with Kalani's support they have impervious surging red save defense dice from aggressive tactics. And should those fail they can repair from the b1's.
#6 Kyle Eggert - All Barc no bite
Kyle's list REALLY likes fire support. He can fire support from five different great platforms and with the direct from both Commander Cody and the Clone Commander it is very easy to setup one or two great fire supports. Overall this is a solid gun line to take down armor and other gun lines but may struggle a bit into heavy pierce shots or melee skews. Great job to Kyle on making it to number 6.
#5 Tim Dew – Shadow Collective
I had to play Tim's list in round 4 of day 2 and it was great game. The pykes with capo dig in with their dodges and apply the ranged firepower to out gun most shooting lines with 2-3 dodges on units each round. Then while you worry about the guns, the black suns, A-A5 Truck and Maul all come charging in.
This list has a little bit of both worlds wanting to split and be aggressive. Maul has his four cunning command cards to win those draws and slice first into opponents. And if he should take some stray wounds the A-A5 Speeder Truck can heal with the Medic. Overall a unique take on shadow collective.
#4 Andrew Gleason - An Experiment (Experimental Droids)
Using the battle force rules outlined for Experimental Droids, Andrew used the BX snipers to shoot at range 5 with two red dice, a black and a white dice with several aims to reroll and pierce.
The BX units shoot with nine white dice, two red dice and a black dice with multiple aims and pierce one at range 3. The magna guard can also be used for anti-armor and linebackers to keep armor and melee skews at bay. The b1's can also repair your BX's to keep your gun line intact. The super tactical droid cards also add to some tricks up your sleeve with recovers and other tricks.
This list will look almost identical to the #3 spot with only one or two upgrade card variants but Andrew wanted to note that the lists were originally his idea.
#3 Marvin Harris - Oh Roger, My Roger (Experimental Droids)
The third Experimental droid list we see at the event made it to third place. Marvin Harris from the Cincinnati Outpost went 4-1 with his variation of the battle force. Using the battle force rules outlined for Experimental Droids, Marvin uses the BX snipers to shoot at range 5 with two red dice, a black and a white dice with several aims to reroll and pierce.
And if you would dare to get into range three of his army those same BX units shoot with nine white dice, two red dice and a black dice with multiple aims and pierce one. The magna guard can also be used for anti-armor and linebackers to keep armor and melee skews at bay. The b1's can also repair your BX's to keep your gunline intact. Overall a very effective list I can say with certainty.
#2 Adam "the lists" Slaber - 1967 Chevy Impala
Adam Slaber was the Invite winner actually from this weekend, thanks to the pass down system. His list is one of overwhelming fire power. The FD cannons can throw 5-7 dice at range five from the barrage generators, the Landspeeder can also throw eight dice at range four (twice in a turn with the r6 upgrade) and the Rebel Veterans can shoot with four dice at range four as well.
On top of all of that you can lead with Boba Fett's Rule with Respect command card to add 1 extra black die to each attack and you end up with some very overwhelming fire power out of the gate. Also of note is how much this list melts anything with the armor keyword. It sports a total of impact 9 (including Boba's Rocket command card), Critical 8 and both heroes surge to critical.
Han and Boba are both also there as prime targets to fire support with the mark 2's. Last but not the least R2-D2 helps to push a victory token for a clutch objective win or some repairs on the landspeeder. Overall this is a hard list to play against and Adam's only loss of the weekend was to our number 1.
#1 Matt Evans (FlawedZombie) - Sisters of Battle
Hey that's me. It's really weird to write about my own list but I will give it a try. This list centers around the synergy between Ahsoka & Sabine. Both are aggressive "play makers" that can deal some damage or really turn the tide of battle. Ahsoka uses her 2 and 3 pips to help support the squishier rebel units by giving them dodges at key moments to endure alpha strikes and bigger shots.
Sabine and Ahsoka can also leap far across the battle field to dive into lines, setup for Explosions! or chase down objectives with Ahsoka's 2 pip (Family Reunion). Sabine is a great way to shut down a force user or objective players by immobilizing them with her Electro Grappling Line.
Swoops? You might be asking the same questions others are; he won with Swoop bikes? Wow. The swoop bikes may seem like a strange addition to this list but they do an excellent job of cleaning up units that have taken some chip damage (maybe from slinger rocks, rebel shots or Explosions!). They also can still attack units that are engaged in melee. When Sabine and Ahsoka get into melee then here comes the calvary. Overall this list did great work for me over the weekend going 5-0.
And that's a wrap.
We here at the Indianapolis Garrison had a great time this weekend and are already planning our trip up to next year's Michigan GT. I hope everyone enjoyed this article! And we hope to see you at the next event near us. Feel free to check out any of our other content and until next time, may the Force be with you.
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