Built on Hope

Zion's Finest Episode 101 - Fueled By Dreams and RAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGEEEEEE!!!!!!!

What can we say in the face of BPK's triumph? He has been a mainstay of the community for years, he is one of the leading members of the IA Continuity Project, and he is one of the most passionate members of our little slacker ship of Zion. The man, the myth, the legend. Brett Kelly.

In this episode Brett gives a survey of Worlds. He provides a lot of insights as to why he took the defensive kit for Spectre, how he was able to grind out so many mirrors, and what it's like to finally make it to the top. I know you're all going to love this.

Zion's Finest Episode 100 - Solo Century

ONE HUNDRED.

No one to join me in this centurion commemoration of our little boat’s journey across the mighty ocean of Star Wars gaming fandom. I wanted to just record a short little bit, give a recap of Worlds, and wax melodramatic while reading poetry about ancient deeds of heroism.

That’s right. I read poetry, and I ain’t one damned sight ashamed of it.

Please give it a listen. I give a short summary of the recording schedule for the next few weeks and give some general thoughts on the future of the game, then I talk about Worlds, and I close with a paean of acclamation for our fledgling band of heroes.

Zion's Finest Episode 099 - Again We Gather Round the Board

We few, we happy few. Friends, what an incredible ride we have had. In the last two years, we created a Slack that has grown to over two hundred and fifty players, started a podcast that has consumed almost one hundred thousand hours of people's waking time, got organized about IA skirmish, and have sustained competitive skirmish far longer than it would have lasted without our efforts. 

In this episode, we give one final joust into the Worlds prep meta and then proceed to wax both salty (about FFG) and sweet (about literally everything besides FFG). This is a glorious episode and I know you will enjoy it.

Oh how I cannot wait to see your glorious visages at Worlds. We'll be recording Episode 100 on-site, and lots is going to be happening, so make sure that everyone stays close to the Renaissance so that we can ensure that we get lots of participation in all the side events that we will be doing (Smash, Root, Two Rooms and a Boom, and much much more).

Zion's Finest Episode 098 - They Came To Zion!

TOURNAMENT RECAP

Sam Sweeten and I give a rundown on the recent, AMAZING, online Vassal tournament that the Zion's Finest crew hosted. We had forty-one players show up for an epic bout of swiss. There weren't a ton of surprises; no IG or Han in the cut, and no Alliance Rangers in the tournament at all, and I think it gives us an excellent picture of what to expect at Worlds.

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS!

Zion's Finest Episode 097 - Courting Counsel Contra Challengers

WORLDS PREP!

DT graciously agreed to come on the podcast in order to give some very sage counsel regarding Worlds Prep. Our conversation focuses around Spectre, obvs, and DT has the usual incredible insights regarding positioning, advantage, and strategy that I am sure will take him to the four-peat.

Buckle up and prepare your brain, you are in for a crazy ride.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Good luck on Saturday to the Vassal tournament participants!

Zion's Finest Episode 096 - Twice More Unto the Breach! (Worlds Prep II)

The follow-up to Episode 095. Make sure to listen to that episode first!

Zion's Finest Episode 095 - Once More Unto The Breach (Worlds Prep I)

WORLDS PREP!

Scott, Jamal, Matt, Dave, and I gathered round the board to discuss Worlds prep. We focused on the major non-Spectre archetypes for the nine players planning to not play Spectre at Worlds. We have a lot of fun, and we talk about how we have adjusted our play style or what our plan is for defeating Spectre at Worlds. So it's a good episode for you Spectre players looking to crush our hopes and dreams.

Check out Episode 096, which is the second part of this episode (because we planned--and did--run a bit long).

MAKE SURE TO GET YOURSELVES PREPPED FOR THE VASSAL REGIONAL THIS SATURDAY! Even if you're not playing any games, it's going to be a great way to prep for Worlds as you watch players go through the paces on the various maps.

THANK YOU ALL!

Zion's Finest Episode 094 - I Hear Spectre In the Sound

REGIONAL REPORT!

Noa Pestana, an incredible and long-standing member of the northwestern US IA community, was the champion of the Seattle Regional! The Seattle Regional is one of the most competitive in the world and they had a great showing this year. Many props to Noa for bringing it home.

Subscribe to Noa's Youtube channel! It has awesome IA content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-Eab4g9zRXwdZjVdzS-DQ

GET READY FOR WORLDS! GET YOUR REPS IN ON VASSAL! GET HYPED FOR THE VASSAL REGIONALS!

We're going to be having some awesome episodes in the coming weeks getting ready for Worlds and announcing some new things on our IA horizon. Thank you to everyone who continues to be such positive members of the community. We love and need you all.

 

Zion's Finest Episode 093 - The Darkest Hour

We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history....

So said Winston Churchill at a time when it actually mattered and before England would again pour itself out in the defense of its ancient kingdom and liberties.

***

I wanted to make a lot of clever comparisons between Lothal Blitz and the air campaign waged in the defense of Britain, but fortunately came to my senses and decided instead to merely quote the eminent statesmen and include a selection of music from Oldman's masterwork.

On to the real bit. Friends, Spectre on Lothal Blitz is one hundred percent broken. In a non-mirror match, where the opposing list needs at least one turn to gin up in terms of focusing, drawing command cards, etc., Spectre will win approximately ninety percent of the time. I am sure that some of you will think I am being hyperbolic (I am not), that more testing is necessary (it isn't), and that we can crack this nut before Worlds (we won't). Spectre is in their opponent's deployment zone in round one. As Matt and I discuss, in his first activation in the majority of his games as Spectre on Lothal Blitz, he was able to deal approximately fifteen damage (killing Onar, two Rangers, etc.). His first activation. I even attempted to deploy my forces at the very back of my deployment zone. It did not matter, except to briefly delay the end.

There is no way to stop Spectre when you have no time to power up your attacks, and on Blitz you will get no time.

I wish there was a bit of shine I could put on the problem, but it just isn't there. When Ugnaughts appeared and briefly dominated the meta, there was at least hope for support from FFG in the form of an errata or future product. While new product may be in the pipeline, it will not arrive before Worlds and there is a vanishingly small chance of an errata to Spectre prior to Worlds.

Let's talk about this more on the Slack. We have played it enough that we feel comfortable making these kind of stark claims. We have a lot of fun talking about the existential crisis that we think we are facing, but we keep on target enough to make our reasons clear (especially Matt, for all the obvious reasons). I have spent all my fan-capital with Todd and FFG, but if anyone has a line to someone in a position of authority, as Obi-Wan says, "Now is the time."

I love you all. Thank you so much for your support.

Zion's Finest Episode 12 - The LaLa Regional (and Riding Into the Beautiful SoCal Sunset)

Welcome to Episode 12 of the Fully Armed and Operational Podcast!

Andrew asked if I would be willing to host their final (or is it ANDREW NICHOLAS JORGEN or is it?!) Imperial Assault episode (at least for a while), to which I happily agreed. Someone has to stick around to keep the lights on, and I'm glad that we can serve as a message board for people producing amazing content.

In this episode, Andrew and Nick give a report of their showing at the SoCal Regional. As expected, they dominated on the day, proving their mettle again and again and undoubtedly ensuring that a whole new wave of poor IA skirmishers will have PTSD like I did after I playing Nick and Jorgen.

They give a send-off, of sorts, and we can only hope that we will see them again in the future. COME ON FFG GIVE THESE BROTHERS A REASON TO COME BACK.

I LOVE THESE BROTHERS AND THEY ARE THE BEST.