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Hey all,

So I took my Vessedy D, Ryad x7, Omega Leader list 4-2 to 17th place at the Mass. Regionals (described in more detail in my Deadline Jitters thread), and now I'm thinking abut the Jan 28 regionals in Newington CT -- Where for the $25 entry fee, you get a $25 gift certificate to the store! It's a hike from Boston but I can stay with a friend halfway home or with my folks in CT if I make the cut.

Because of the location and timing (i.e. not December) I kinda expect this to be a more difficult/ hard meta tournament, so I'm thinking about changes to my list to make it more competitive in hopes of matching/exceeding my last performance.

One key element I id'ed in my list is that Vessery D is (comparitively) squishy -- I don't plan on running him again, or at least not without palp support to help keep him alive. The tractor beam didn't have nearly the impact I'd hoped it would (though token stripping did help).

So If I make the most minimal of changes to my list it's likely to be:
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LXX (Tournament)
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70th Imperial Fighter Squadron

100 points
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“Omega Leader” (29)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2), Stealth Device (3)

Countess Ryad (36)
TIE Defender (34), Push the Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Colonel Vessery (35)
TIE Defender (35), Juke (2), TIE/x7 (-2)

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I'm toying with swapping Juke for VI/Adapt or maybe lightning reflexes and Eng. Mk. II so Asaj & stress lists don't make me cry, but I've worked around that so I'm not hugely concerned.

Pros: It flys (as a whole) basically the same as my previous list but is a bit more survivable AND I keep Omega Leader in the mix as an answer of sorts to Rey/Finn or Dengaroo or Ghost lists that rely on a lot of dice mods.
Cons: I I lost my matches vs standard palp defenders (part of this was my fault for not trying to kill the shuttle first) and against a Dengar Party bus. And I'm kinda expecting more of those kinds of lists to appear at the next regionals. So even with a slightly better build, I could be at a bigger deficit.

Option 2: Palp Defenders/ Or Palp Defender + something else:

For this I'm considering a couple of options, from just a straight up swap of and OG Pilot & Palpatine for Omega Leader above to more exotic options -- replacing Ryad with Marek Stele in a Tie Advanced (PTL, Eng. Mk. II, x1, ATC) and a Yorr shuttle for Palp alongside Vessery x7 Juke perhaps, or Vessery D/Tractor, plus OL (stealth/juke/coms) and OG Palp with title (or maybe a system/mod instead of the title).

Pros: It keeps some of the elements of what I've been flying but packs an extra "oomph"
Cons: I need to learn how to fly a large base ship reasonably well in 6 weeks (less the holidays when I may not be able to get as many games). Also, everybody and their brothers have probably figured out their strategy to kill Palp Defenders and will likely have practiced it, where I may not have as many chances.

Option 3: Deci-Defender

I was also really impressed by the performance of the Decimator + Ryad (PtL/etc) list I watched online in the Wisconsin regionals, and I'm thinking of several ways I'd like to do it a bit differently (Deci w/ VI gunner, hotshot copilot and weapons engineer + vessery Juke x7, seems strong, or a pair of PS 10 Imperials with Rexler Brath subbing for Vessery and fleet officer instead of Weps to trigger Rexler in the midgame. (I'm leery of Vader and what his ability would do to my MOV stats-- but winning is more important than MOV so he's not off the table).

Pros: Very strong against Poe and token stacking lists, probably a "new look" for many opponents. Feels like it would have more hitting power than a palpatinre list. PS 10 (eat it Dengar)
Cons: seriously new territory for me with a 2-ship build (and I don't have that many video options to work with to get a sense of how the deci flies, unlike the shuttle). Probably the biggest learning curve of the lot.

EDIT: Another con - I'm not sure how well this variant stacks up against the Rey/Finn combo. 4/5 dice rerolling 2 blanks can chew through a lot of shields and hull PDQ

What do y'all think/which route would you go, and why?

I've played against the Deci-Ryad list and to me it was rather easy to defeat. i did it with a bomber and two defenders admittedly...