The SSL Journals

The Sydney Skirmish League (SSL) has just wrapped up its second season. Organised by Veteran Captain Ken (aka Iro Ken) of the MOTF youtube channel, the SSL is a purely community driven Legion competition. It builds local participation and brings groups of Legion players normally separated by the suburban sprawl of Sydney together.

Ken is a talented graphic designer amongst many other things. You can see the logo he designed for SSL above, the banner and many other cool graphics below.

The league was set up with a tournament structure similar to the Football World Cup. Players were first allocated into various pools based on their geographical locations. They played round robin matches within their pool. Those who qualified then went into the single elimination rounds. This is the draw for the pool matches.

I landed on the desert planet of Jakku along with Nick, Joseph and Brendan. Who are my parents? I don't know. But what I do know is I got some tough battles ahead to try to qualify for the single elims.

I was really happy to play Joe first up. Joe is known as Uncle Joey around the local Legion and wargaming communities, and no one ever has a bad thing to say about him. It's the first time I' got to play him. Generous, jovial, loves a good stir, a keen hobbyist and mad Star Wars fan, just the sort of person I like to roll dice with! He's my plastic crack supplier as well, Mini War Store, check it out.

We played at Company of Dice's May club meet. Company of Dice is an awesome community-based gaming club where Legion has taken off. The monthly meet for May just happened to fall on... wait for it... May the Fourth, Star Wars Day! We had 14 Legion players and a lot of SSL games going on. It was a great day.

If you're interested in checking Company of Dice out, they meet on the first Saturday of every month at Padstow RSL. You can request to join their facebook group for event info and to keep in touch with what's happening.

For my first pool match, I took my newly painted Palpatine for his first outing, supported by IRG, Stormtroopers and Snipers. Across the table Joe fielded Jyn which he stayed up till well after midnight to finish painting, plus Chewie, Pathfinders, Z6 squads and one Sniper team.

Early on my IRG took heavy fire before cannon balling into the Pathfinders and wiping them out. Luckily this happened way before their Danger Sense was buffed to include melee attacks!

Having never faced Palp before, Joe charged Jyn straight into him on her Rebellious turn. Palp saved like an Emperor and was wounded only once.

He then force lightnings Jyn and force pushed her into the gunsights of half of my army. Poor Stardust!

Palp then went on his merry way and electrocuted Chewie and a Z6 squad on his ANYWD turn. It was pretty much over by that point and I had taken the W in my first pool match!

May 4th 2019

My second pool match was on the same day at Company of Dice. I knew it was going to be a tough game, as it was against Full Fulcrum Agent Nick from MOTF. Nick is a very experienced gamer and regularly finishes on the podium at Legion competitions. I had played Nick twice before for a 0-2 record, not exactly confidence boosting stuff.

Nick fielded an unusual rebel army of Landspeeder, 2xAT-RTs, Leia, Fleets, Z6 squads and Snipers. I went with the same Palp list from my first pool match.

The RTs supported by an Astromech Z6 squad advanced aggressively and drew most of my fire. I took down one, reduced the other to one wound and smashed the Z6 squad with my IRG. But it wasn't quick enough as I had much less Impact than my usual Bobba Veers list. Nick's list was designed to overwhelm with the amount of armour it fielded, and it worked. Whilst I was fully occupied by the RTs, the Landspeeder and Leia ran up my flanks and decimated my Stormtroopers. Nick pulled off a wicked move with the Landspeeder that handed out five suppressions in one activation, displacing two Stormtrooper squads and then split firing three ways.

More importantly, Nick's Fleets and two remaining Z6 squads were able to advance unmolested and take commanding positions over the central transmitter objective. Compounding this sorry state of affairs was my decision to deploy Palp on the short table edge in Advanced Positions. Had I deployed him on the long table edge with my Stormtroopers (bottom right), he would've been in a much better position to influence the game. As it was the game ended on Round 4 due to venue time restrictions, and Palp never got a chance to contest the central objective nor use ANYWD.

Despite going down in my second pool match and extending my losing streak to Nick to three, many valuable lessons were learnt which will go on to serve me well.

Brendan unfortunately had to pull out of our game, so I took it by default. With a 2-1 record I came second in my pool and advanced to the single elimination stage. This was the goal I set for my self at the start of the competition, anything from here will be a bonus. Nick finished first in our pool with a perfect 3-0 record. Considering I'm now 0-3 head-to-head with Nick, I hoped that I don't need to face him anytime soon in this competition.

12 players advanced to the single eliminations. Of the players who had won all three of their pool matches, four were randomly drawn to advance directly into the quarterfinals - Nick, Felix, Sam and Luke. Nick and Luke from MOTF are pretty much professional gamers, so not surprising to see them do well. Felix only picked up Legion a few months before, and it was awesome seeing him sweep his pool matches. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Sam yet but well done to him.

The other eight players including yours truly battled it out for the remaining four spots in the quarterfinals. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw I don't need face Nick again until the semi finals, if I made it that far. Felix would be my quarterfinals opponent if I made it past Lindsay, which would be no easy task.

13 June 2019

I headed into the Games Cube on a Thursday night to battle it out with Lindsay. The Cube is Lindsay's home ground as he owns the place! He has been into Legion for a long time and supported the community by organising events like the first ever Legion tournament at Cancon this year.

I returned to my faithful Bobba Veers list for the single elims. Bobba deployed with two squads of DLT Stormtroopers on my right flank. Two sniper teams and a Stormtrooper squad deployed near the centre turret. Veers (Muddy Officer), a sniper team and two HH-12 Stormtrooper squads deployed on the left. Lindsay is well known for running double armour, so I brought the rainbow unicorn of Stormtrooper heavy weapon upgrades for this battle. Two medical droids and an Imperial officer attached to Stormtroopers rounded out the list.

Lindsay deployed both his AT-STs and two squads of naked Stormtroopers up front. The trophy adorned Predator ST came with grenade launcher and First Sergeant Arbmab, whilst its squadron mate had mortar and Imperial Hammers pilot.

Three Sniper teams, Veers and a squad of Stormtroopers with medical droid deployed behind the frontline in support. Those snipers were gangsta.

Long march was fairly neutral for this match up. Double AT-STs always love the narrow field provided by long march. However my Imperial gunline don't mind it either, as I like to keep my forces concentrated. Recover the Supplies definitely favoured me with Bobba in my list.

Early on both of us advanced Stormtroopers to pick up the supply boxes nearest our deployment zones.

Lindsay made the first move by pushing the Predator AT-ST and two Stormtrooper squads towards the central objective. The Predator started to take damage from my HH-12s.

In response Bobba jumped onto the platform in base contact with the central supply crate. He was immediately focus fired upon and reduced to one wound. The Predator also copped more rockets and Veer's artillery strike, to be one wound away from its damage threshold.

Deciding discretion is the better part of valour, Bobba jumped back to get some cover and medical attention, without claiming the supply crate. Relinquishing the central objective was only temporary though, as two full DLT squads took Bobba's place. Lindsay's supporting Stormtroopers had mostly been eliminated by this stage. His Veers made a last ditch push to try to contest the centre.

Meanwhile our snipers kept shooting at each other and getting brought back by medical droids. It was a stalemate and the snipers from both sides had little influence all game.

Half way through the game the Officer led HH-12 squad rolled 3 natural crits and 3 converted crits, and the Predator went down! Veers and two HH-12 squads are a great combo. Veers supplies them with aims, and they recover and shoot. Veers and the Officer upgrade ensured any suppressions were removed so they always had two actions.

After this it was all over. Lindsay only had the remaining AT-ST to dish out serious damage, and I had too many troopers left. The game ended with 3 supply crates to 2, and I had advanced into the quarterfinals!

Daniel who hails from the Rebel Outpost on the Central Coast had defeated last season's runner up Michael to advance and face Nick. I was secretly praying hard that Daniel would win his quarterfinal, so if I beat Felix I wouldn't have to face Nick. On the other side of the draw, Damo who was my opponent from the Maximum Annihilation batrep unfortunately had to pull out sick, and Tim advanced to face Sam. My good mate James also advanced, and now has the daunting task of challenging MOTF Luke for a spot in the semis.

29 June 2019

I'd come to know Felix through the Legion community over the past few months. He's a top bloke and I looked forward to playing him for the first time. I was taking nothing for granted as Felix swept his pool matches.

I had the home ground advantage this time as we played at my place. I finished making/painting some more buildings for this game, and the table is looking better and better. Thanks to my friends KFC and Fred who "deposited" their 3D printed terrain and gaming mat at my place before Cancon and never bothered to pick them up again.

It was to be Recover the Supplies again! I have an almost perfect record for this mission when I take Bobba.

But two can play that game! Felix brought an almost mirror list, with double Bounty Hunters, Veers, DLT Stormies and Snipers. Bossk had just been released at the time and it was my first time facing him. This should be good!

Shout out to Felix for fielding a beautifully painted Imperial army.

Right at the end of round 1, both Bobbas jumped and ran towards the centre supply crate. It's a Bobba Off! Belying his gentle demeanour, Felix was more aggressive and placed his Bobba in base contact with the crate.

Top of Round 2 and both of us play Whipchord. I won the roll off and whipchorded the opposing Bobba as my first activation.

Felix's Bobba picked up the supply crate and shot at his mirror image. Behind him, Felix's Bossk and Stormtroopers moved up in support. My gunline opened up on Felix's Bobba until he went down.

Undaunted by the loss of his bounty bro, Bossk immediately pushes forward to claim the central supply crate. My Bobba got immobilised and heavily suppressed. Stormtroopers advanced from both sides and a massive scrum starts to form in the middle of the field.

Bossk was also defeated, but not before he carried the precious supply crate back behind Felix's lines, thanks to e stims and the extra move from Reptilian Rampage.

The rest of the game resembled a chase scene from a Star Wars movie. Felix's troopers (top left) carried the central supply crate back towards his deployment zone in relay, with my army (centre and right) running and firing in hot pursuit. As each trooper carrying the crate fell, another picked it up and continued to run.

I sent two Stormtrooper squads around Felix's left flank to try and pin his retreating Stormtroopers down. Felix's Scout Sniper bravely charges into melee to delay them!

In the end it wasn't enough. My Bobba and Stormtroopers finally caught up with Felix's few surviving troopers in Round 6. Bobba made his shots count and eliminated the squad carrying the central supply crate. The game ended with VP tied at 2-2 and I'd won on kill points. It was a super tense chase from Rounds 3-6 and I had never played a game like it. Felix who was super aggressive with his Bounty Hunters gunning for the centre crate, and his strategy almost paid off.

Whilst I was over the moon to make it into the semis, you know what's coming. Yep Daniel couldn't get the job done for me, and I gotta face my arch nemesis Nick again.

On the other side of the draw, Intel Officer Luke has slain all challengers and already qualified for the final. You can watch the other semifinal between Luke and Tim on youtube.

Can I somehow overcome my atrocious head-to-head record against Nick and prevent it from becoming an all MOTF final? Can I?!

4 July 2019

We returned to the Games Cube for the semifinal showdown. Look at Full Fulcrum Agent Nick, just look at him! Pretending to organise his command deck but really plotting how to table me by Round 2!

Classic scenario -0 Key Positions and Major Offensive.

I wasn't surprised to see Sabine as I heard she was Nick's MVP in his quarterfinal win, setting off bombs and tanking force lightning and blaster fire. I was very surprised to see the T-47 make an appearance though. Sure it has the Outter Rim Jocky, but it's... the T-47. Nick has given me a 30-40pt handicap here, can I capitalise? Is the door slightly ajar?

The rest of Nick's list was Leia, five Z6 squads and two sniper teams.

I deployed in the classic Imperial gunline. It's the might of the Empire vs the courage of the Rebel Alliance, let's go!

Unsurprisingly Coordinated Bombardment and Maximum Firepower were played the first round.  

Wanting to get inside Maximum Firepower range, Nick aggressively flies the T-47 up. It aims and shoots at the officer Stormtrooper squad. They shrug off both hits.

In return DLT-19s spit out rapid fire and mauls the T-47 badly. Bobba then fires both his carbine and wrist rockets, scoring 2 natural crits and 1 converted crit. The T-47 goes down!

Unfazed by the Airspeeder's demise, Sabine advances confidently and is worryingly close to my lines at the end of Round 1.

Top of Round 2 and the Sabine bombs were coming!

The thermal charges were well placed and hit half of my army. I roll really well for my armour saves though and only suffered minor casualties. In return I was able to focus fire on Sabine and bring her down at the top of Round 3. I had taken down Nick's two best pieces for little loss. It was starting to feel like my night! 

Nick bravely fought on and was first to contest the central key position with two Z6 squads. Leia and two more Z6 squads were just behind them. I advanced more slowly, preferring to aim and fire to whittle down Nick's troopers.

The strategy ultimately proved successful. Towards the end of the game only a few of Nick's troopers remained effective, whereas I had only lost one Stormtrooper squad. We called it at the top of Round 6.

I was pinching myself. I won my first game against Nick and now advance into the grand final!

20 July 2019

Surprising many people, myself included, I made it all the way to the grand final. To top it off it was recorded as a MOTF Batrep. As a wargamer and Legionnaire I had been a fan of MOTF's batreps for a while. So I was really looking forward to visiting their studio and playing against Luke for the first time.

Now stop reading my blog and go watch the batrep. You won't be disappointed, I promise!

Oh you're still here? Ok keep reading then I guess. I had finished Bossk just before the final, so I went with a double bounty list. Bobba, Bossk, Veers, 4 DLT Stormtroopers and 3 Snipers.

Luke, being the sneaky Intel Officer he is, pulled a big surprise on me and fielded triple Saboteurs! What??? In every Legion batrep I've watched he's field 2-3 snipers, and never once the Sabs. It was going to be an explosive grand final!

It was Key Positions, Battle Lines and Rapid Reinforcement. The landing platform was the central objective. I choose the domed building as my objective, and Luke choose the crate next to the bunker as his.

You can see my deployment in the Imperial Blob formation. In hindsight that was a big mistake as the closely packed formation maximised the Saboteurs' effectiveness. Luke's forces all deployed behind the bunker out of line of sight.

I made more deployment errors with my snipers, by placing one team on either flank. The team on the right was taken out by Deathtroopers in the first volley of the game. The team on the left was taken out by rapid reinforcement Stormtroopers. Deploy your snipers behind your main line people!

Having very little experience with Saboteurs, Luke made them sing like violins. He last/firsted with them on Rounds 2 and 3, and set off three charges in the heart of my army at the top of Round 3. This was the aftermath. As you can see my troopers were either dying or fleeing, and the amount of suppression piled on was incredible.

To my credit I hung on and made it a contest till Round 6, when I ran out of troopers and paths to victory. Congrats to Luke for playing an almost perfect game and becoming the Sydney Skirmish League Season 2 Champion!

Upon reflection, I needed to counter the Sabs much more proactively. Pushing Bossk towards them and setting off his diosis charge would have been a good move. Alternatively I should've retreated, opening up space between the bulk of my forces and the Sabs, deal with Luke's rapidly reinforced Stormtroopers, and then come back to contest my objective late game.

Honestly though, that was the most fun I had losing in a long time. The bad jokes, the trash talking, Luke's wardrobe change mid game, being on a MOTF batrep for the first time, I felt the buzz for days after.

Why are you still reading my blog? Go watch the batrep already!

I had an amazing rollercoaster ride through SSL Season 2. I got to meet and play with a whole new bunch of people who shared my passion for Star Wars, Wargaming and Legion. I travelled all around Sydney to some fantastic places for gaming - Company of Dice, Games Cube and the MOTF Studio. I painted more minis to get them ready for games. I developed the gameplay aspect of my hobby and rode the wave all the way into the grand final.

I think the local Legion community is strengthened through by the SSL. People got to meet face-to-face and roll dice. There was plenty of good natured trash talking on messenger chat. The league created interest on social media and brought new players into the community.

Lastly a heart felt thank you to Iro Ken. Look at these sweet sweet medals and trophy Iro designed! Your vision, creativity, community-minded spirit and hard work made the SSL a reality for all of us nerds to enjoy. I for one cannot wait for Season 3. Watch out Luke, I'm coming for ya!