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Episode 27: The “Last” Worlds Preview
80 Plays25 days ago
A long time ago… in a windy city, far, far away… Your hosts Andrew Kouba and Nick Sperry discuss the upcoming and FINAL AMG-Sanctioned World Championship at Adepticon this week. The two discuss trends, look back on Illy’s Worlds run, and predict what they expect to see for the 2025 winner. .
Link to the 2024 World Championship: https://rollbetter.gg/tournaments/1350
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Transcript
Worlds Submission Deadline Announcement
00:00:02
Speaker
Hello, everybody. You are listening to the 312 Squadron Podcast. My name is Andrew Kuba. My name is Nick Sperry. And we are finally here. Worlds is upon us this week. So if you're listening to this, you definitely should have submitted your list by now.
Farewell to AMG 2.5 and Milwaukee Excitement
00:00:19
Speaker
Points are set. There's no more surprises.
00:00:22
Speaker
And this is going to be it. It's going to be fun seeing all of our friends again. And it's going to be great saying goodbye to the AMG 2.5 version that we know and love here. So ah I can't think of a better time and a better place than Milwaukee to have this send off.
00:00:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I could think of one better place. It would be the Chicago proper, but I'll take Milwaukee. I've never been there before. um I'm excited for that. Yeah, I've never been. I've been in Wisconsin a couple times. So Milwaukee always wanted to visit.
Tradition Building and Event Travel
00:00:52
Speaker
So, and that and you know, another opportunity to go to a place I've never been to for something excellent related. It started with Vegas and that became a tradition. So um for sure, going to stay at Milwaukee for a while. So that could be another tradition starting up here, and potentially.
00:01:06
Speaker
Well, that's cool. Yeah, it's only an hour away. So that's ah that's I'm surprised you haven't like been there on accident. yeah no i guess i haven't had a car until last since may of 2023 so yeah you are yeah that's fair yeah but you're right not far either way and driving or not no i mean yeah it's gonna be a lot easier than like indianapolis too for for us to get to yes that's a long drive too for sure But great, we're going to get you some cheese curds and some ah new Glarus brews.
X-Wing Enthusiasts' B&B Geek Out
00:01:37
Speaker
And yeah, get to see the wonderful Milwaukee proper. we got It's a good city. like it. 12 people, too. We got a full B&B. Yeah, yeah, we we have ah quite the the X-Wing house going on. I'm very excited to have like a full weekend of just Star Wars nerding out around other Star Wars nerds.
Worlds Prep: Using Comfortable Lists
00:01:58
Speaker
So getting back to it, we've been doing a little bit of prep for Worlds. However, not as much, I admit for myself, not as much as I would have liked, but I've done enough um where i' I have a list that I'm i'm comfortable with.
00:02:11
Speaker
um But we and I don't know. How about you? How's testing gone for you? um I haven't really... I'm a little apathetic, and I think it's only because I found something that I i' was i liked and was comfortable with ah like before PAX, brought it to PAX, played pretty well at PAX with it, brought it to LVO, played pretty well at LVO with it, but miscut because of a technicality of all the draws that had happened that day, and it was just kind of nonsense.
00:02:41
Speaker
um And so, yeah I'm six... I think I'm like six... three and one or whatever, six, one and three, wherever the draws are. I can't remember how people do it for X-Swing, but one draw in there, um which isn't, you know, a big sample size, but I played it casually at the game store the other day, just kind of going through the reps.
00:03:00
Speaker
It's just a pretty straightforward list. Um, and And honestly, that my attitude towards it is just kind of like my attitude towards just like building lists with AMG points at this stage. It's just not inspiring. um So not to like bring the mood down like I'm looking forward to playing and I like the list enough that I, you know, I'll stay in it and stay engaged. And I think I have a decent chance of winning games with it. Yeah, you're still playing um at the end of that.
00:03:24
Speaker
Right. at this stage, I just like ah people who are like, oh, I really got to get my practice. And it's like, man, like, I think we've had our practice for quite a long time now, unless you're changing lists all the time or really trying to figure out what you're bringing.
Expectations for AMG Points Update
00:03:35
Speaker
But in my case, I'm not.
00:03:37
Speaker
Yeah. Just, you know, just kind of. I was going to say I was expecting an AMG supply like surprise points update like right before. i ah Just because I felt like that um yeah that would be like their style.
00:03:49
Speaker
um But looking back, they really did seal it up in November. September was last time we had points updates. November was last time we had upgrades updates. And that was it So, yeah, we've kind of been with these points for the past year. The only real shakeup was the added of the new standard loadout cards for Empire.
00:04:07
Speaker
Yeah, which, as you have played with a whisper, I think is the only one that truly makes an appearance. Yeah. You know, consistently, the others are not. They're not they're good, but not like.
00:04:18
Speaker
Unfortunately, AMG was like, we're going to release pilots that are lower initiative than five and no one will play them because yeah our game does not really allow for many lower initiative pilots to be played um across all factions. So and and for Empire, when you have so many a AC choices for a cheaper same price. So why? Why would you not just bring those instead? So yeah, it's a bummer. I think they could have maybe gotten the game to a point where those S cells, all of them were a little bit more playable in the competitive structure. But there's just not the world that we're in. It's not the matter that we're in. And I think we'll see them get played more in XWA. Oh, for sure. this But like you said, besides that that, that content update and them doing some kind of much needed nerfs like the Tomex going up to four death troopers changing price.
00:05:06
Speaker
Yeah. um You know, what was the other big thing? There was one more. Han went down to five. i let's Oh, the um oddball. Han went down to Oh, yeah. I think ah in in s Scum.
00:05:19
Speaker
um Sorry. That's right. Yeah. yeah the the famous on The famous Han yeah lost then oddball, yeah, going up. and then and then oddball yeah going on That's that was the other big one. That's right. Yeah, it was oddball in the SOC arc going up to five points so that if you wanted to bring three arcs, you couldn't bring the maximum feels bad synergy that the SOC arcs brought.
00:05:39
Speaker
Yeah, three together. So minor, you know, in terms of total changes, fairly minor, but you know, ah pleasant surprise ah as as pal, as Palpatine would say, ah a surprise to be sure, but a welcome
Reflecting on Last Year's Meta
00:05:52
Speaker
one. And, you know, at least gave people a ah ah little bit of and a small breath of fresh air going into 2024 worlds that they didn't know exactly what they were going to see. They knew that people were going to have to make adaptations to their lists.
00:06:05
Speaker
The timing of it was a little unfortunate because it was so soon to worlds like so close to it, but I don't think it ended up being that big of a deal. Yeah. No, I would agree with that wholeheartedly.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah. um In terms of last year versus that, we can start with just overall perspective on what we noticed last year and what we expect this year. And then we can kind of maybe dive into the factions like you had mentioned in the pre-show before we started rolling here. Yeah. um What did you when you played? What did you feel like you had looked looking around your immediate area at your table and what you played against? What did you see the most of?
00:06:39
Speaker
So I prizes. I knew that triple arcs were going to be but the arcrks were goingnna be big. And also, ah that was the same meta that Han, even though it was nerfed slightly beforehand, the Han lists were running wild.
00:06:57
Speaker
So I had brought i five Republic T-70s. to combat some of those big ship lists that were coming. And whenever I did face those big ship lists, I did well. The ones that I lost out on were a lot of like the AC Imperial lists that we had started to see coming out.
00:07:17
Speaker
And also, i think that the people who got ahead on for the Rebels, the new, the Braylon-Gina combo,
00:07:28
Speaker
And some of those standard loadout pieces that had come out too did very well. And then also there was a couple of really crazy seven ship Republic lists. I remembered that were also running around the tournament as well and had made it pretty far. ah Yeah, they're probably with the Y wings and viewings. I would assume.
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah. And I just wanted to issue a correction talking about the points change that they had made that happened after worlds. I kind of the way I talked about it. made Right. Like I was talking about it happened before worlds. um that There was a the the ha the change like Han and that had may happen before worlds. But this like update that we were just talking about had happened after. So I just correct. People will probably comment be like, hey, you got that wrong.
00:08:10
Speaker
I sure did. And I'm going to own up as Michael Scott would say, it takes a big man to and admit his mistakes. And I am that big man. Oh, no, I i thought we were talking about. Yeah, I think I got self-conscious that I made it seem like I was not.
00:08:23
Speaker
So, yeah, just in case. Um, yeah, I would say i didn't expect to see for some reason because I was ignorant. The be the rebel B wings as much yeah as I did. And when I had to play against them with my mall, like with a couple of TIE fighters with four hole, I was miserable.
00:08:42
Speaker
It was. Oh, it was the hardest counter of hard counters. and and And then because of the proton ion bombs being dropped anywhere, i won't go too deep into my complaining about it. But it was pretty much impossible for me to try to play against because I didn't know what they where things would be.
00:08:58
Speaker
You can't arrange one of them or you get caught in an ion bomb chain that never ends. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Yeah. And then yeah dropping out the side is just nasty and so good.
00:09:09
Speaker
We thought that they were good, but we I remember when they were released, we questioned how good they could possibly be because they were a combined ah nine points in your list.
00:09:21
Speaker
And so we were like, we're like, they're good. But like, are people really going to going to play them because they can be super vulnerable for nine points? um And we i I think we got that one wrong. They absolutely were worth the nine points.
00:09:37
Speaker
at the time. Yeah. Yeah. So, so, so good. And and because of the rerolls that they get, the ability of focus of a target lock and in some cases focus, focus of aid, depending on Braylon and and then the versatility of dropping bombs out the side.
00:09:54
Speaker
if they want to as well, really kind of gave them an edge. Yeah. And I think even when they were ionized, they'd still... it would Depending on what the other one did, they still feed fed off of each other. So it was just difficult to... You had to lock down Gina because of the Juke proton torpedo, which is just like Juke being given to Gina just made no sense either. i just dramatically thought that was really bizarre.
00:10:16
Speaker
Like Juke proton torpedoes and bombs all at the same time. ah was like, huh, that's like... pick one they like pick a lane you know like like yeah i always feel like a juke is like uh that's like a maneuverable ship move yeah it's it's supposed to be acer like right it's it's eight it's like fast usually right yeah it's a wings it's three agility ships like juke on a like how is a b-wing gonna be juking no uh but crazy powerful combination yeah yeah and i i saw that more than i saw like jenden and i know jenna and soon tear was
Surprising Meta Elements: Rebel B-Wings
00:10:54
Speaker
really popular but jenden i thought was one i would see a little bit more um but i didn't i know like duncan brought jenden um and ah and a couple other folks but in terms of his liability being like
00:11:06
Speaker
he he spends everything and then sits there and just prays that he rolls well on defense. Like, I think that scared a lot enough people away. And i was I was glad because the thought of taking a five die proton, double mana proton cannon with one of my, ah bat with one of the the boys really made me shudder. It really freaked me out. So I was like, oh, thank God I don't have to play against that.
00:11:27
Speaker
That's good. That sounds miserable. Yeah, I would say like at the time to Jenden was kind of an awkward fit because there were just so many efficient three point options for Empire already. So you were basically choosing between Jenden or Vader.
00:11:42
Speaker
And Vader had the action economy and the defensive capabilities that like Jenden just didn't because. At that point, there were so many, you know, you could take the boys, you could take ah the the bomber that had come out, Tomax. Tomax was like three points and was incredible.
00:11:58
Speaker
There is lots of those tie bombers as well for for three points. They had amazing action economy and you could get the three dice reliably with barrage rockets.
00:12:09
Speaker
Yeah, Battle over Endor was a huge part of of Worlds last year, and it was kind of up in the air as if, you know, as to if people were even going to be allowed to play it and a smart business decision before making the ah bad business decision that we all know was letting people play it at Worlds, which was the expectation.
00:12:27
Speaker
um And it really I think it people were excited to play new stuff. So they brought it and it was the power level was pretty much unmatched outside of Republic Republic just is like, hey, we've had SOC for a long time, but you can't beat efficiency.
00:12:43
Speaker
Even though you have your fun new toys that get to do all these fun, cool things. um We have pure efficiency at value and you cannot beat that. And that's what was proven with Illy and Jorge playing each other, Illy beating him the final table at worlds to be the world championship to be the world champion and um you know we'll dive into republic but you know i think republic's gonna have a strong opportunity again um this world's to to win um to win it all i'm hoping that at least the final table is not to the same faction i just really don't want that again just for the just kind of just doesn't really matter people are gonna say oh it doesn't matter like you know it's it's just the last amg worlds like doesn't matter i think it matters
00:13:26
Speaker
I'd like to see things be a little different
Predicting Worlds Meta: Rebel and Republic Dominance
00:13:28
Speaker
this time. you know Yeah, for sure. Yeah. yeah No, I agree. yeah Do we want to go over over that? Jump right into it? Yeah, do we want to talk about his list really quick? and Illy's list? Sure.
00:13:40
Speaker
um yeah So the winning list has i the SoC Oddball, which at the time was four points, ah which Selfless, R4P, Veteran Tailgunner, also has Wolf in the ARC 170 with Wolfpack,
00:13:56
Speaker
Q7 and veteran tail gunner, same thing with the SOC has matchstick in the B wing, another chunky ship to get through just ion cannon and ion bombs.
00:14:07
Speaker
um And then slider as the two points objective getter in the Z95. And then there was broadside and in the Y wing as well with ion cannon turret and proton bombs and then jag. So another three arc list.
00:14:21
Speaker
ah with that same i upgrade from of Coruscant. ah veteran tail gunner synchronized console and r4p astromech yeah and uh slider had uh dedicated which is allows friendly ships to reroll their blank results not their defensive um a blank result at the cost of a strain as long as he has them in the side arc range zero to two so kind of a actually a pretty major upgrade in the list um keeps things alive for another shot another turn yeah that yeah that's a good call out um
00:14:55
Speaker
So yeah, that, that list, uh, works with, uh, odd ball and Jag and Wolf all passing mods and locks to each other. It did. Yeah. Yeah. No, it won't, but now it won't. Yeah. If you look at the list now, it is 21 points.
00:15:09
Speaker
ah But they still have a lot of great pieces. Yeah. You could run this list back with just switching to four point um or sorry, four point oddball custom. um You don't get the selfless and extra shield and stuff, though. So it's it's it's certainly not, you know, nearly as good.
00:15:27
Speaker
But yeah it is something that you could do. Yeah. Yeah. So this list, um as we talked about, just going back to efficiency and value, um the the Y wings with plated hole, um being able to to turn results down um makes them pretty strong salvage carriers.
00:15:44
Speaker
ah This list excels. at every scenario assault especially yeah um salvage is really good with because slider will take a box matchstick will take a box um you can have any a of the arcs take a box because of selfless oddball can pull crits off um scramble it just take they just take up so much space that if you can even clear a maneuver you probably don't even want to scramble because you're going to get shot at four or five times yeah so it's just And they can also jump over you to clear stress with blue maneuvers and still shoot out the back. They can do 4Ks. They're very maneuverable ships on top of it as well.
00:16:22
Speaker
And just huge damage soaps. You just need to to pump you know ah damage into them. Yeah, how much how much health is in this list? with this list So it's 10 hit points for Oddball, and then it's 19, 57 hit points in this list. Is that true? Is that right? Did I get that right?
00:16:42
Speaker
Is it really that much? for i So that 48. 48. I just added, i think I counted for an arc twice in my ah epic, yeah super accurate calculation, but still a lot of damage.
00:16:56
Speaker
Hit points. So it's also throwing 18, ah what eighteen green dice or red dice at you too yeah and a lot of double mods in this list because of broadside ability match that gets the re-rolls uh oddball provides target locks yeah um so jag does jag things and wolf gets that re-roll with his ability and then be able to recharge and shoot at the back it's just oh yeah definitely a reason why like this list was the boogeyman of 2024 Yeah, twenty twenty and no Jedi in the list. So Republic for the longest time, when I think of Republic, when I used to think of Republic, I always thought of the the high the the the high floor, high ceiling AC Jedi faction. 302.0 is like three ships. They would regen. You had, you know, I five, I five, I six out of Anakin and a lot of lists.
00:17:44
Speaker
And it'll be. Anakin and Obi and now sometimes you see SOC Anakin because he's so cheap. But no, this like to win worlds, you don't want to bring a Jedi. You just bring the clones.
00:17:55
Speaker
They execute Order 66 on everybody. Yeah, it's um I don't think if we see.
Challenges for Republic Lists in Evolving Meta
00:18:03
Speaker
i played against Triple Arcs at LVO and I wasn't that I wasn't worried about it really at all with my list because It's just it the the the combo, the wombo combo that they used to provide wasn't in that list anymore. um Yeah. with ah In the archetype, at least.
00:18:21
Speaker
And with ah Wedge in my my list, have that the Battle over Endor, Wedge, and Luke. That's, you know, five dice, double modded, advanced proton torpedo, and Luke's proton torpedo and Fenrau being able to take a shot. I one-shotted Oddball in that game. It was very easy, too.
00:18:35
Speaker
It was filthy. So it's just I do think that they will um have a little bit more trouble now. with what people have figured out is is strong um but you know you have proton cannons seeing uh a bit of a comeback we're seeing them on the rogues but you're seeing them on on gina moonsong and rebels the four point version um you know you're still a lot you're seeing jendon still getting played so it's the bullseye tech the pumping up the extra attack dice medium and large bases absolutely hate to see that stuff um so that's something that would be a huge problem for them
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah, though, I do. I do think that we
Diversity in Republic Strategies
00:19:14
Speaker
we're going to see them. We're also going to see, i think, a different type of Republic list as well. I would say like recently, Ahsoka has been seeing a lot more play in in tournaments.
00:19:24
Speaker
And so we're we're going to get like those those lists where the Jedis are going to come back a little bit. Ahsoka Ricolet is starting to to come back and see some play. But then we're also going to see a lot of torrents, ah which are also just another kind of fulfill that same role that some of the arcs do. They're just and yeah, yeah axe axe is a big one. And um odd and is it odd? Well, no, it's kickback kickback is the I five with the ability to ah fire diamond boron missiles. Yeah, so um that's the other in in this current meta, the other type of Republic list that i'm I imagine that we're going to be seeing a lot of. Yeah, i agree. I don't in terms of, I know Stephen Weiland is into playing this like, so I think it's seven ship Republic. It's like ah it's oddball in the viewing.
00:20:09
Speaker
He's also got, oh, it's not click. It's a slider and i like Contrail. We don't have to like blow up his list before worlds, though. no no no you're good i mean i don't think he could particularly but he has a few yeah i won't dox his list um but he loves talking about it he loves i mean he's it's it's good why a couple of y wings he's got a soka in there yeah it's like ah a bunch of i think he does have click in that list actually so it's a lot um a ton of bombs though that's the thing yes my name It is. Yeah, it's ah everyone's carrying bombs except for like Ahsoka. But Ahsoka is a great efficiency police and kind of fulfills like I wouldn't want say that completely fulfills that oddball role, but is the person who's giving extra actions to to ships as well can set up some some really devastating.
00:20:57
Speaker
uh, alpha strikes. Yeah. And, and use it for herself and have a heightened perception. Yep. Uh, to shoot at I seven with double bonds, focus target lock. Yep. Yeah. scene yeah Good. Yeah. Those are the two ways that I really see Republic like going for worlds. Yeah. Um,
00:21:13
Speaker
next up who who would we think would which faction do we think would be second to that um i mean is that or do we agree republic has the best chance yes i don't know if i oh with okay republic yeah i don't know if i would say that uh you think so i'd say they have a good chance i wouldn't be surprised to see them
Versatility in Rebel Strategies
00:21:32
Speaker
at the at the top tables i think rebels too I think I if if I was betting today, I would say that like I would see rebels up there as well.
00:21:44
Speaker
Like I would agree. um Let's talk about rebels. So um you've got you've got a lot of choices in rebels, but I mean, that you got 10 points of a double modded APT I six with the ability to to take ah an action, a target lock. um not as an action just acquire after doing any action uh and has an extra shield a defensive reroll with more friendlies nearby and can get his focuses back when his attack hits that's wedge five points and then paired with luke there's half your list but that is uh nine dice of double modded torpedoes the apt for wedge luke of course has the proton torpedo
00:22:25
Speaker
And then you get to fill out the rest. I feel like that's really what we're going to see the most of. It's going to be Luke and Wedge. And then who's the other 10 points? Is Fen Rao in the list? Because Fen, that archetype, Paul Heaver's been playing.
00:22:37
Speaker
I've been playing. It's incredibly powerful. But you can also go the cheaper route and put three more ships or four more ships in there, I believe. three Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you could go if you wanted to do Sabine in the like in the TIE fighter, but I've seen also some people just playing Sabine a wing like ah rebel is the most diverse build around list yeah right now. And also we're not like in some of the most recent tournaments. We're not even seeing ah the battle over Yavin wedge or I mean, um battle over Endor wedge.
00:23:07
Speaker
We're also seeing uh just build your own wedge too is still getting the same play in some of these lists and you could build a list with fenn you could build a list with bodica you could build a list with ahsoka there's a lot of people also soca lists are going to be popular too the yeah ah yeah so you would see a list with like luke um bodica ahsoka sabine um and i can't remember who the last ship would be um maybe wedge like i can i don't know I mean, is honestly, yeah, dealer's choice at that point. I mean, you could even, you know, I think people are also going to be flying like some Han Solo lists. People are going to be flying some like Leia and ah Lando lists.
00:23:46
Speaker
Leia, Lando. um I'll take what he's having. have what he's having. I don't know if I'll, I don't know. i don't I don't think they're going to be. I don't think that's, that's the meta, but I would, I would, and wouldn't be sp surprised to see like versions of that yeah because i think there are going to be some people who just don't want to fly with everybody else is flying and i totally understand i totally get that yeah i mean who's going to be i think the the the most consistently taken piece is going to be luke yep and the wedge will be shortly right behind um sabine you know in there as well the uh the taiko uh the um sl taiko with the proton rockets that he can recover yeah i've seen paired with lando custom lando
00:24:26
Speaker
really nasty yeah um you're taking us all tycho right but you're not taking lando no i'm not taking lando yeah um but yeah i'm a i'm a tycho believer um but also i have seen people putting the build your own tycho into lists as well which is still really good um still good it just without being able to to uh pun it to use composure to abuse composure it's just not as fun but still he's right he's still it's It's still good. You can still you know do stuff with stress. Still an I-5, and it's only four points.
00:24:57
Speaker
Yeah. yeah i like I like the be able to do actions even while stressed stuff. It's really fun to be able to do that. Yep. and And you have like the... Unlimited, you know, loadout, you could even go out or you have 14 points of loadout, you could do tons of stuff with with psycho empire, probably third, right?
00:25:18
Speaker
Yes.
Empire's Presence and Potential Builds
00:25:19
Speaker
Yeah, I would say and also just from popularity, you know, I think we always see the the highest count of empire and rebel at these events. Even though ah Empire wasn't at the top tables, I think it Last Worlds, it was the most played faction.
00:25:33
Speaker
It was way up there. a lot of i mean a lot of it like I think we're going to see more of Malmoner a little bit. um Lower initiative, I3, but being able to calculate evade every turn and be able to sense yeah he's uh he's i3 his ability every time he performs a calculator so and when he he performs an evade action he gains a calculate action and then he has outmaneuver he has a shield upgrade built in and then when he has a ah two not recurring charges that when he would perform a red booster barrel roll with his sensitive controls he can spend a charge to make it a two speed instead yeah
00:26:10
Speaker
um So it's just, yeah, I think I don't think he's meta like like like worlds winning meta or anything, but he actually punches above his initiative because of his ability to stay alive and outmaneuver people. He's kind of a scary and thing to face off against.
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I think honestly, soon tier is going to continue to do a lot of heavy lifting for Empire. Just like. he is just really hard to pin down in the hands of good players. It's, it's, it's a nightmare yeah to deal with.
00:26:41
Speaker
Yeah. For a hundred percent. Yeah. I think, I think we're still going to see like the, the standard archetype where you're going to have like either Vader or a a defender,
00:26:53
Speaker
And then you'll have like Soontir and then you'll have a sorry, I'm i'm ah blanking, ah Reaper. You'll have ah a Reaper um probably, you know, with Captain Hark.
00:27:04
Speaker
And then, you know, you'll have like another ah piece, another like five point piece out of that. So could be Whisper, could be, you know, anyone or Echo. I think Echo actually, we were talking about before from the new SLs.
00:27:19
Speaker
uh echo is also i think another ship that punches above its weight some people might be sleeping on it but i think more people would be would be playing that as well yeah uh whisper vader combos i i if i see a list with whisper i know vader is going to be in it um it's just so strong but i can't say the same around for if i see a vader list if i see vader in a list i can't just assume whisper is in it but i was so uh his name is um oh gosh yeah his his discord name is Ham Dongle. I love that name.
00:27:50
Speaker
um He's I met him for the first time at LVO. He played an NCX traffic for a while. um Connor is his name. And he brought a really cool empire list that he actually made it to final table at LVO with. um It was he had whisper invader, um the you know, the also whisper, salvator, and then he had death fire.
00:28:11
Speaker
And then Reimer, Major Reimer and the custom Major Reimer and the bomber and custom Tomax in the bomber with feedback ping and barrage rockets.
00:28:22
Speaker
Yeah. And it's really neat because what happens is Deathfire yeets, you know, yeets proton bombs and then the feedback ping triggers very quickly.
00:28:32
Speaker
So there's double modded barrage rockets high initiative in that list besides Deathfire and Reimer. but middle to high initiative and just really strong and scary. And I love that he played so well with it. I thought it was really cool. it was It was cool to see something different.
00:28:46
Speaker
um No soon tier in that list. um You know, it was it was nice to see some custom bombers get played again. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe we see something like that. If he's there, I'm not sure he would bring that most likely because he had a lot of success with it.
00:29:01
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think we have a good shot. Empire, I think, is the second most customizable list ah ah faction, I should say. The most second most customizable faction. ah as far as the meta goes.
00:29:14
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. i Empire, I think, is going to be a little bit more of a one-trick pony when it comes to just like, argh, aggro, like punch you hard. And I think people
Empire's Aggressive Strategies
00:29:24
Speaker
make a lot of mistakes flying lists like that who don't, if they're not as calculated to turn zero is really important with Empire. It's really important at worlds with any faction, any list ever.
00:29:33
Speaker
For sure. But I do think people just kind of are like, oh well, I'll just throw myself at you. And, um you know, amg wing, is is as is more of a is the most of a dice game that we have had in X-Wing. I can't speak for 1.0, but my experience from when I started 2.0 to now, and we've gotten to the point where you it is all about efficiency. Can your ship have access to or more easily double mod and provide opportunity to do more damage than your opponent's list does?
00:30:05
Speaker
ah going against you. And so um Empire does provide opportunities for that. But it's kind of like their thing at this point is just like, I'm Vader, I'll focus lock soon to your all focus reroll and Jendon, I'll focus lock. And obviously, that stuff's really strong.
00:30:21
Speaker
But it has why it's vulnerable when you start spending your tokens. Yeah. ah Besides Vader, he's the only one who has some sort of defensiveness, but everyone else is like, shit, I'm getting shot at right now.
00:30:33
Speaker
Yeah. Even soon, dear, as you saw when I played against you and you had suits here and you took damage at range three, like immediately. and It's like, ah, that's like an an annoying role. Like, ah, you know, sure.
00:30:43
Speaker
Oh, no, I mean, careful. Yeah. And soon to your is still ship that can just, you know, you can just blank out and that's it. Yep. Yeah, a little word to the wise for those of you that are looking to bring um b o e soon tier. Do not be afraid to evade with him. If they that evade action is going to be crucial for you.
00:31:02
Speaker
Lean, lean on the rerolls sometimes. Yeah. Yeah, that's for sure. um So so so far we're putting if we're be betting today, we're putting rebels at number one, Republic at number two, best odds in our in our little heads here. Right. In our opinions.
00:31:20
Speaker
And then Empire number three. Now it starts to get a little interesting. Number four.
Resistance vs. First Order Debate
00:31:26
Speaker
Is it my question you is I don't know if you would think that it would be anybody else, but between First Order and Resistance, that's where I would pick for number four. I don't think I would put Scum or CIS at number four, but maybe maybe. Yeah, maybe you think differently what you think. Are we talking about CIS would be better?
00:31:43
Speaker
Are we talking about most people bringing the list or most likely to like most most like just in terms of overall like power rankings powering? I guess that could tie and I could tie into the number of lists, but I'm going to say no, like that's not what I'm referring to.
00:31:58
Speaker
I mean, for me, number four is going to be resistance. And why is why do you think that? I think that resistance has. two very or three very powerful archetypes ah in in its wheelhouse that it can abuse.
00:32:15
Speaker
You're going to be able to have, you can go the death ray route. You can go the ah efficient five T-70s route. You could also do like the mixed bag between ah the A-wing and the T-70s.
00:32:31
Speaker
um like why wing list yeah wartime loadout yeah i mean because resistance has the same kind of thing republic does where with those wartime loadout chips they're just so much to chew through it's just so many hit points you can get Yeah, I like I talked about efficiency with Republic and how that's king. If I'm going based on that still following that line of logic, I'm like, yeah, resistance number four.
00:32:56
Speaker
But if I'm looking at ACN this and like, do I think ACN this is going to win out? Because that's always every year with X. It's like, is it going to be the value pieces that win worlds or is it going to be the aces that win worlds? Right. It's like one or the other. Right.
00:33:09
Speaker
um First order is so is super AC, right? Malris is three points with with that super. is malo is Yeah, Malris is still three, right? Did she go up to four for some reason? I'm thinking that she... I know in XWA she did. Hold on.
00:33:23
Speaker
yeah Let me make sure I'm not getting it wrong three here. She's still three. he's still three um Yeah, she's still three. Her loadout was decreased, though. okay yeah so we'll take can take uh cluster missiles or uh magpul's warheads is still super cheap um super good on malrus oh for sure oh you have malrus you have um whisper kylo who's very strong the jamming ability that's only eight points and then you have five points of von reg that gets you to uh that gets you to 13 and then you still have seven points left over you can do a four point sf like
00:33:57
Speaker
um backdraft or a lehue's more popular lehue's because he's i5 and then you can do a three-pointer like midnight you could do another you could do uh scorch you could do dt there is value in the cheaper tie fighters yet aciness as well in those archetypes with fo the issue is is that they, I don't know if I want to call them one trick ponies, but I kind of am inclined to as well. Like similar to empire. You kind of know what they're trying to do and they can't really do many other things very well.
00:34:28
Speaker
yeah um They are pretty objectively bad on assault salvage. They're okay with if you have a lot of tie fighters, but if you bring a, like a, ah if you bring a more centric list, like a four ship list, you are going to struggle with pretty much every scenario, maybe outside of scramble because that's the ACE scenario. ACEs love scramble.
00:34:47
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah, um I'm going to we got to write these down so we can look back and see who was right and who was wrong. Oh, I do want to. I'm going to break from you just for the sake of it and say, oh, yeah, I've ever've read i'm been writing a about.
00:35:00
Speaker
Yeah. um So I'll say, oh, number four. But with the asterisks that resistance and FO are essentially in the same ballpark. And at this point, you know, you can say, well, I think resistance based on last year is in a better spot. So you picking resistance, I think, is the more like safe, logical route.
00:35:20
Speaker
I'm over here just trying to be edgy and being like, oh, the ACness that, you know, and the and the the The big thing is more people are just going to be more inclined to bring resistance. A lot of people just don't bring FO lists. So like that could be why I'm going to be wrong here is just because you just didn't see a lot of people historically and still playing first order right now for AMG standard.
00:35:40
Speaker
It's just not a thing that a lot of people like to to do is bring first order. You're not going to see first order players in droves, right? Like I just feel like they've kind of always been that faction where it's just like,
00:35:51
Speaker
You know, Resistance 2, CIS 2. um It's always been Rebel Republic Empire Scum where I'm like, oh, like there's a decent amount of this and this and this. But like Resistance and First Order, I feel like you just get these little pockets.
00:36:04
Speaker
Yeah, i that that's that's what I would say, too. You have the the people who really love and know F.O. well, who played a ton. And I'd say that Separatist and F.O. are kind of in that camp.
00:36:15
Speaker
Which is going to lead me to my spiciest take, I think, yet. Yeah, um business we like
Potential of Separatists in the Meta
00:36:21
Speaker
spicy. Yeah, Separatist, I would put next after Resistance and FO. However, i think if we're talking about likelihood to like win the championship, I think Separatist might have an edge over FO or Resistance.
00:36:39
Speaker
oh Oh, I couldn't disagree more. You think that in terms of winning the world championship, you think ah it would be a CIS player more likely than an F.O. or resistance player? Is that what I'm hearing? Is that correct? Yeah. Yes.
00:36:52
Speaker
What's the biggest reason for that you that you think that? I think that it's one. I mean, it's a it's a faction that from some of the more recent tournaments I'm seeing is being played a little bit more. And I Sun fact and Grievous are still so good.
00:37:09
Speaker
um And ah talking about efficiency, it's another faction that can really be efficient with objectives as well. It has that same punchiness. And also you can build it with the Sunfad Grievous list, or you can also just go um all in on like an infiltrator list and just have these really big, heavy, evasive ships that are just going to be tough to deal with.
00:37:31
Speaker
So I think that the power for that that separatist has is still there and maybe people might be sleeping on it a bit. Separatist has a lot of pinatas still for the the meta right now.
00:37:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's that's true too. Yeah. I mean, like half of SIS list is just a bunch of low initiative pinatas. And in terms of as as players see them when they bring when they roll up with soon to your invader and whisper and roll when they roll up with ah yeah an oddball and jag and they roll up with, um yeah um you know, the but rebels right now, the APT wedge and and protons were Peter Luke that rebels in particular would salivate playing against.
00:38:12
Speaker
cis just because uh sun fact is absolutely terrified of proton torpedoes yeah wedge and sun fact with the initiative six overlap and advanced proton torpedo he's pretty much got to be really careful um but shout out to dwight lindsey who is a friend of the show we had on a few episodes ago he was with me at lvo and he brought a cis list and made it made top cut with it and it had grievous and sun fact in it as well as um I think at least one, maybe two HMPs.
00:38:40
Speaker
think the HMPs, like they have more health. So therefore, and the side slipping makes them a little bit harder to pin down. Those types of archetypes I could see being more popular. But with that said, I do think it's going to be the same issue as First Order suffers where people are just not going to bother bringing it. It's just going to be a few people. And obviously when you have less people playing, the odds of it even getting to the higher higher tables in Swiss or making cut are so low.
00:39:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and that's, and that's you know what I'm saying, like, that's that's my by vote for for fifth place. Like, I think that the power level is there. I just don't think enough people are going to bring it to really take advantage of that.
00:39:17
Speaker
That's yeah that's where I'm I'm that's where I'm i'm sitting. I will say that I think both CIS and Scum got better with that little tweak that they made, the little update. But I but Scum has more punchy, higher initiative and value choices than CIS does. So I'm personally putting separatists last and Scum as sixth.
00:39:41
Speaker
I think like Jorge proved that if you know what you're doing with scum on going down to five, you can win a major multi day events with scum.
00:39:53
Speaker
And, he you know, he did it with the six point Fenrow, whereas an XWA people are getting used to flying a five point Fenrow.
Scum and Separatists' Roles
00:39:59
Speaker
We're talking about grievous. People are used to playing him at four XWA. He's still five.
00:40:05
Speaker
so there are some patients and caveats there and the AMG meta. i mean yeah but he's also has uh twin tunnel loadout 24 loadout yeah yeah his main issue is just like 15 he's got 15 loadout yeah yeah six so taking six point yeah you got the i6 but the problem is you once you start stressing yourself you're really locking yourself in a pretty predictable flight path and there's just too many torpedoes out there uh for for the average player to be like i feel confident bringing six point fen route
00:40:37
Speaker
But Jorge is like, well, I'm going to bring dirge. I'm going to bring Lima. I'm going to bring scum Han. I'm going to bring ah all of these pieces that are high initiative that can have access to or build ways to get double modded shots so that there's a little bit of protection for his ace for. Yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker
Now, I will say like Han scum Han coming down to five points is big. I think that we are going to be seeing a lot of Han Solo in the scum faction list. And I think so. Yeah. I think we'll see more of them for sure. He is a tough one to do to play well.
00:41:11
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, no, for sure. Uh, Fenn also kind of sitting at, at six points though, makes it a little bit tough. Yeah. you know, I still think we're probably going see more old T.
00:41:23
Speaker
like over over Fenn yeah old ter it's just the Fang fighter like the Fang fighters i feel I really enjoy playing in XWA because the landscape of that is it' just so vastly different right it's like oh for sure and it is um night and day yeah I mean night and day it's objectively better i mean it's just is it's it's so much more fun you can play way way more stuff and we know take out the cardboard shit for that one pilot that you forgot existed and play it and enjoy it right yeah that's kind of where that's at and you know kudos to not not even because i'm a part of that org but just like kudos to them for getting us excited in um at a time where it's generally been harder to be excited about i mean well that was the one thing that i think most players were clamoring for for a year was they just wanted more support for scum
00:42:08
Speaker
And I mean, XWA is something that that brought it. I would say that XWA, the scum in XWA is the faction that has the most build potential. You can mix and match any pieces that you really want and you can come up with a somewhat decent list versus, you know, and and then in AMG points, rebels kind of have that where you can mix and match pieces and still have a pretty good list.
00:42:30
Speaker
Yeah, just thinking. um Yeah, I think scums turnout and performance is going to be. I'm going to say it's going to be marginally better. It will be better than than to la last year.
00:42:42
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I think ah you also like that list that Alex Merrill has played for so long. Didn't get touched by that little tweak, um brought it to to PAX.
00:42:54
Speaker
and he made top four with it yeah so yeah there are like it's just the thing is you don't have a lot of people like alex merrill who are just kind of like these mad scientists like type niche uh play style players and those are the the types of players who play scum and do well with scum there's just ah not a lot of casual scum players who go to tournaments like worlds with a scum list it's just Right. I just, i would think I was going to argue there's kind of the, the scum has its diehards that will always bring a scum list to any tournament, you know, there are not a lot of diehar um players who go to tournaments. That's the problem.
00:43:31
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Fair enough. Yeah. But, but I will say this, you don't get a lot of them in terms of counts and quantity, but you do get them. Right. Yeah. That makes sense. Right. they They will be there, but there will only be a couple.
00:43:44
Speaker
Yeah. So, But they will be flying list that they know very, very well. And they are going to be you know flying their favorite ships. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, TLDR, what a shock that Republic, Rebels, Empire, the three factions who have access to high initiative value efficiency and the latest content over the last year and a half, two years, are the ones that are going to be the most competitive, the most likely to win worlds and yeah and have the most
Scenario Packs Favor Rebels and Empire
00:44:12
Speaker
people bring.
00:44:12
Speaker
list Also, the ships with the most standard loadout support. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, oh, well, you know, CIS got their stuff in the siege of Coruscant. But here's the thing in the siege of Coruscant, the Republic stuff is like transcends the scenario.
00:44:29
Speaker
It's good in the in competitive play. The CIS stuff is just made for the scenario generally for the most part. It's bad for an in competitive play for the most part. Right. No, I agree. Well, I would also argue that the scenario is actually so weighted have favorably towards the CIS players that they had to kind of overcompensate that by making the individual pieces in the Republic for the scenario. a Great point. yeah and Because it's such an uphill battle for the Republic player.
00:45:02
Speaker
Yeah, and they don't. And I think they infinitely respond, the dr droids, the vultures. Correct. Yeah. um Yeah. That's a great point, actually, Andrea. You know, we haven't talked about that and I haven't even thought about that. But I hear that that scenario is incredibly hard to win with if you're playing Republic.
00:45:16
Speaker
It is. It is so hard. And I think it mean it is very thematic. It's supposed to be this, you know, overcoming the the odds type of scenario. um And it makes droids feel like droids, you know, that there's an endless swarm of them.
00:45:29
Speaker
But when it comes to tournament play, I think you kind of see the results when you're just playing on the table, not on the scenario. And that unfortunately also means that the CIS seat standard loadout cards cannot be that good because they already have such an advantage in the scenario.
00:45:45
Speaker
yeah yeah so poor cis i mean it's just you you the it's it's so wild to think about how long ago a battle of yavin came out versus you know like battle of yavin the only real battle of yavin stuff that we still see now like right now is luke like we like all the time um boy vader really at this point is you're only bringing him if you don't have access to the ssp vader because if you're trying to win worlds you bring ssp vader he is the swiss army knife vader yeah significantly better so just yeah it's yeah the um i think people kind of sussed out that the aggro i need to do damage every turn but i only get one opportunity to get a lock and that's my only action and if you block me i'm really sad vader is just like
00:46:33
Speaker
yeah Not it when it comes to trying to beat other meta lists and scenarios. Yeah, actions are just extra actions are just better in X-Wing in general. Yeah. um So I don't know. I guess like compared to last year, not surprising because the the shakeup wasn't that
Meta Stagnation and Player Apathy
00:46:50
Speaker
big. The little points shake up overall kind of in in the same kind of place expectation wise in terms of what we're going to see the most of and what we think is going to have the best chance.
00:47:00
Speaker
It's not like all of a sudden CIS and in scum are going to be like the lookout for these two. They're going to be all over kind of factions, right? Like, no, you know, not not when not in standard. um You know, i I think a big part of this is like, besides just the obvious nature of closing the door on official support for the game, you know, just like, how are, you know, what are we closing the door on in terms of a meta? Like, are we proud? Are you proud or happy with...
00:47:28
Speaker
kind of the way X-Wing ended in terms of where the power level for everything. um Overall, no. Like for me, I like, I really wish there was a little bit more effort put into making seven, like there's seven factions, like them being more competitive compared to each other.
00:47:46
Speaker
And um we got that, that slipped away from us ah with the scenario packs. Yeah. It just really slipped away from us um too much in favor of rebels and empire, like way too much.
00:47:57
Speaker
Oh, for sure. And also just the all-offense high-initiative meta is was wild. I mean, just to to play two years in that type of meta...
00:48:10
Speaker
um where there's really only a handful of viable ships and and you're kind of locked into specific archetypes is a little, it's a little exhausting. Yeah. Yeah. Like I was telling you today later when I saw you in person, i was like, you know, talking about practice and it's just like, you know, I brought my list and I was like, I've never like not wanted to play like a a list so much.
00:48:31
Speaker
You know, I was just like, wasn't up for it. But I but but it was just again, it's just the apathy. Like, but then I played a really fun game with Matt and we had a lot of it was a one point game. It was it was good. It was like, you know, and so that I felt good about that.
00:48:44
Speaker
But it was just like, to your point, it's just I just feel the fatigue. It's like there's nothing really I can really look at my list and be like, oh, I got to swap that out or I could change that one upgrade. It's like, no, it's really you know You have a two-pointer with no loadout, and then you have two SLs that you can't change the upgrades for.
00:49:01
Speaker
You have a Fang Fighter that has two... to objectively decent builds everything else is just on play is bad and then you have keo and the a-wing you can't bring any other a-wing all these three-point options but keo is so good compared to the others like what are you doing why you bringing a different a-wing why are you not why are you not bringing keo and i think honestly amg to sum it up amg wing is like a lot of just like well why aren't you just bringing that that's that's like that's the right choice what you brought is the wrong choice because it's not the right choice Yeah, it's not that one or two things. The meta choices are obvious, yeah.
00:49:36
Speaker
So I'm ready to close the door on that. Yeah, I mean, I would say honestly, though, just because the the points updates have just been so small that it just we've been in this meta for about two years now.
00:49:47
Speaker
and yeah And then I honestly, you know, just because i want something different to Like I know I was supposed to be practicing more for worlds. I spent my time just kind of list building XWA lists. Yeah, I think you're probably crafting. there yeah Yeah. 90% of players are probably doing the same thing right now. Yeah. um Yeah.
Speculating Worlds Turnout and Game Stagnation
00:50:08
Speaker
I I turn out is not yeah i what I've what I've heard is that there's about like 180 people that are going to which is all which is pretty decent. But it's it is it is a drop off from Adepticon 2022 to now.
00:50:24
Speaker
It's much smaller than last year's. And it it makes sense. Why? Because it moved locations to a place where a lot of international people simply just can't really easily get to. yeah um And the game just hasn't really changed much. And so interest is just like when nothing really changes, people are just like, I'm just going to wait it out and just wait for XWA if they're still even playing.
00:50:45
Speaker
So um we might see the top cut threshold change to be able to make day two um because there's just not that many people. So what we'll see. But I think last year, I can't remember the exact number, but it was like the biggest of the AMG titles in terms of turnout.
00:51:03
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that was the good thing about having like the Stork Championships mean something to get those invites because it did really get a lot of people there. Even even with the whole kerfuffle with rescinding people's invites and stuff as well.
00:51:18
Speaker
Yeah, it's just as I like the idea of like the system of of invites to worlds because it's just it's cool, but it was botched. Yeah, I mean, ra sauce honestly, yeah, like I think that they just should have just honored them from the beginning. Yeah. I mean, right. We are. We are we already lived through that, though.
00:51:37
Speaker
Yeah, we did. And on the to side of things, it's just like we can't wait.
Impact of World's Invite System
00:51:42
Speaker
I mean, I'm so happy that we moved past that and and changed that. You know, I think the way they're doing it this year, at first I was upset there was no invites, um but it's better for just like everyone in terms of people who play in areas that don't have as many players yeah and i also just didn't realize that this was kind of the foreshadowing of them just kind of winding things down and calling it a day that's the other reason why the structure is the way it is no store champ kit they didn't want people i mean i don't know if it's it's not fair to say they didn't want but they didn't really they didn't have a they didn't prioritize people being able to play um officially sanctions store tournaments this uh this past year yeah um so
00:52:22
Speaker
just wasn't a thing. And, and that's the thing is we felt that is that if you wanted to play in X-Wing tournament, you just hope that you had a really cool TO who went through the extra effort to put something together with extra prizes from the community because there was nothing.
00:52:36
Speaker
um Yep. Yeah. I mean, honestly, that was just a big part of it. So, yeah, I mean, well, I think a lot of this for a lot of people, including us, is going to be more about being there and being with people and and our friends and playing some X-Wing as a as a you know, just kind of a ah going through the motion of playing and and doing our best.
X-Wing Community and Future Excitement
00:52:56
Speaker
Yeah. But I think we're all kind of ready to to take the next step forward and um be able to to have. Yeah. ah worlds to look forward to you know, what would be unofficial with XWA that would feature new things to look forward to where things would be changing. There would be, you know, just knowing that there is a system in place that allows for new content and rules changes, maybe scenario changes, points changes, um all things that we kind of just like gave up on expecting from AMG.
00:53:33
Speaker
You know, they should have done one more major points update. Honestly, that's yeah, I was really nothing else. Right. yeah Nothing else. It's that's at least free. They don't have to spend money to manufacture a points change like they would for product. I mean, they definitely need time, time, though. Yeah.
00:53:50
Speaker
Yeah. But and and that's their job. But, you know, they they've been directed to focus on the titles that they believe are going to make them more money. It's a business. It sucks because I always felt like X-Wing was always in a pretty healthy spot in terms of participation and just the community heart.
00:54:06
Speaker
and But, you know, it doesn't translate to dollars. Yep. so yeah But, you know, that's not why I think that it's also going to be better managed in the hands of the people who love and care it care for it than, know, a corporate entity that's attempting to just make as much money ah as possible off of it.
00:54:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, honestly, Asmodee kind of reminds me of Warner Brothers a little bit these days, just with like kind of liquidating and trying to shuffle things for sale. And it's just...
00:54:35
Speaker
It's just the world we live in now. It's not yeah they don't it's just all about trying to liquidate, liquidate, liquidate and and and you know try to to move your assets and your your update your portfolio or admitig you know make it smaller or whatever. yeah If you're private equity company, you know ah you're just loading it up with debt while you you know ah charge consulting fees to the company.
00:54:58
Speaker
Yeah, super fun. Yeah. um Any any other kind of last, ah you know, and expectations or anything else you want to say about it? Yeah, i um you know as much as much as you know, we're we're we're ending the AMG era kind of like on a downer note. I was going to say, I know for a fact that I'm just going to have the most fun at this world too.
00:55:19
Speaker
Like, it's going to be so great seeing everybody. I'm going to be playing like a ton of X-Wing. um And I just know that even despite like everything going on, it's still going to be a really fun send off and ah in a good way to like yeah say, you know, goodbye to the AMG era, but hello to the future that X-Wing is going to have ahead.
00:55:40
Speaker
And I'm so I've I'm always super excited to come around to Worlds every year. And this has been no different. I am already like having my back packing my bags. I'm already like so excited to to hit the road and head to Milwaukee.
00:55:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's. yeah I was super excited to go to LVO. This time crept up. At first was like, oh, like I got to do this, like same with packs like I like, you know, I'll go and do this like just to to kind of, you know, have a presence and and be there. And then I do um I actually get up to that date and it's time is winding down to when I get to go and I just get really excited and you just kind of get caught up in the tournament atmosphere and being with your friends and yeah that, you know, honestly, no game system, though we were x X-Wing is in the place it it is now where it's better or it's worse, like.
00:56:26
Speaker
you know, it's that can't be taken away from you. And so, um yeah, I echo the same still X-Wing. And it's still it's still the environment of X-Wing is why we still play it. Right. How much of it is because of the community and the friends that we've made.
00:56:40
Speaker
You and i are friends because of X-Wing. And you helped me get the job that I still have today after three years because of X-Wing. So it's just like, you know, that is the stuff that you need to keep with you.
00:56:51
Speaker
yeah Oh, let we keep going. for Sure. ten Obviously. Right. i'm I'm always blown away on all of the the cool people that I've met playing X-Wing and just how different my life would just be without it. The fact that this can like just bring all of these really amazing, interesting people together is so incredible. And that's also part of the thing that just always makes X-Wing magical for me.
00:57:11
Speaker
And that nomad like no points, updates, or lack of or you know a stale meta is ever going to keep me from having you know fun and really appreciating like what the game is all about.
00:57:23
Speaker
Yeah. And speaking of long live X-Wing. Yes. Yeah. X-Wing is dead. Long live X-Wing. And I would say for any of your fans that like are our fans out there or people who just like listening to the sounds of our voices, i come say hi.
00:57:39
Speaker
Absolutely. Like I will be hard to mess. Swap our jerseys on. We'll be branded as hell. Yeah. Super branded. So, yeah. Yeah, I mean, here you have two guys who work in marketing, right? Like, yeah, we we we know how to show up. Yeah, exactly. yeah but So, yeah, you will be hard to miss. for Yeah. Yeah. ah Brand is what we do all day, every day. Yeah.
00:58:01
Speaker
Like Last World's meeting people from Europe. who are like, I love watching your stuff. And i'm like, I don't know how to react right now. What do I do with my hands? Am I like famous, like on the smallest scale? Like what? Like, what is what is this? Like, this is crazy.
00:58:13
Speaker
Super cool. It's it's incredible. Yeah, no, i've I've had so much fun just meeting anybody at at these tournaments. So yeah, I'm super excited to saying hi to all of you as well.
00:58:25
Speaker
Yeah, no, well said. And please, yeah, please come up.
Encouraging Community Interaction at Worlds
00:58:28
Speaker
We'll we'll hang out. We don't bite. um Yeah, please do that. um yeah Anything else? I was going to throw, i was going to ask you the exact same thing. I know. I think i i think i've I've gotten everything that i was I'm thinking about going into Worlds out.
00:58:45
Speaker
Awesome. Well, um Andrew and I have something kind of special cooked up um for after Worlds for our podcast coverage. We'll we'll talk about that more later. But again, if you are going to Worlds, please come up to us and say hi. You'll be able to watch Worlds on GSP.
00:59:02
Speaker
They'll be covering from the first heat on Thursday through the top cut and final table. and the championship on Sunday. So we'll have, there'll be a bunch of coverage. We'll be doing our interviews and social media videos. Um, as usual, I love doing that.
00:59:18
Speaker
And, um, yeah, it's, uh, it's going to be exciting to step into the new chapter of X-Wing, a kind of an unprecedented chapter that I think the XWA has already shown that they're up for the task and put in a lot of pieces in place to transition, um, pretty smoothly. Honestly, it could be.
00:59:36
Speaker
It's very difficult to be able to to to get this done. And we've been able to do a lot of work with X on the XWA side to get people excited and playing. And if the conquest series, you guys got to check out our conquest series that were pretty much sold out. I added more room for the Windy City Conquest on April 19th.
00:59:54
Speaker
So um we'll have a link to that, to the tickets for the first three. different time zones um check out uh those uh online tournament series tickets just five bucks goes to assisting the xwa and 312 communities and i'm doing all these plugs right now our patreon we're the only uh x-wing ah content creator left that still does commissioned anything um you know in all the cool swag that you'll get every three months, every quarter. So if you want to support our channel in an extra way, be so as generous as all of you guys are, you can check out our Patreon tiers. You get some awesome benefits and some cool swag sent to you in the mail every few months.
01:00:37
Speaker
And ah subscribe to our YouTube channel. Like us on Facebook. Join the Discord because we have an awesome Discord. The next Teen League season will be in a few months, probably in the fall. You should get in and play with us there.
01:00:49
Speaker
It's been a blast. We got an awesome community. And yeah, thank you for listening to the podcast. Up to this point, this is the 27th episode. Please, if you're listening on any of the the podcast platforms, especially Spotify, give us a rating.
01:01:04
Speaker
I wouldn't tell you which rating. Five stars is awesome. But if you enjoy, if you just enjoy it, um we appreciate it Give us a rating if you can. And a shout out my longtime partner, strata strike Mark Yule.
01:01:18
Speaker
He created a beautiful wood carved 312 squadron template tray and templates for me to bring the worlds. And he's been an incredible partner with all of our price support for all of our events league or in person for years.
01:01:31
Speaker
So, uh, please check out strata strike and get a little discount with coupon code well include the link as well. Appreciate you all. I hope to see most of you at Worlds. And if not, I'll we'll catch you very soon. Regardless, my name is Nick Sperry and I'm Andrew Kubar. And thank you for listening.
01:01:49
Speaker
See you at Worlds.