Two Thirds of a Trifecta, again

Well, the dice were with Mssr. Wood this past week.  With a high roll to start, he chose Hutts.  Ric went with the E-Vile Empire, leaving yours truly with the Rebels.  In a daring variation, the set up left the Hutts with 6 planets and the Rebels with much of the Mid Rim.  

Out of the gates, General Karl did quite well, capturing the El'Rood Sector and setting the Empire back significantly.  The Hutts gradually gained strength and the Emperor's storm troopers were able to push the force meter farther to the dark side with each turn.

The turning point was when the Death Star destroyed the garrison at Sullust.  A turn later and a second system, Byss, was eliminated.  With the force meter pegged and the El'Rood bonus lost, it looked like a sure win for the Storm Troopers.

But in Sith Laban's efforts to claw his way back from the initial setbacks, he left the Hutt's too strong.  A lucky run and a faction card straight gave Kent the Hutt his second victory and two thirds of a trifecta.  But next week, he must win as the Rebel faction... a desperate and forlorn hope.

Resumption of Hostilities

After nearly six weeks without a battle for galactic supremacy, dice-driven hostilities resumed this week after Ko Palace take-out.  Horak the Hutt, recently returned from Planet Caledonia, faced off against Rebel Leader Ric and Sith Lord Wood.

With a strong position in the Wild Space, it wasn't surprising that the Hutts were able to control that sector by the second turn and hold on to it for the duration of the war.  The Rebels also started strong, very nearly sweeping the Outer Rim.  Faction cards let Rebel Ric push the force meter far to the light side.  However, the dice and the faction cards still favored the Storm Troopers.  Darth Kent was able to reclaim the Outer Rim from the Rebels, capture the El'Rood Sector, and even destroy the large Rebel garrison on Bespin.

Somewhere along the way, the cask-strength Campbeltown Whiskey came out.  After that, the quality of strategic thinking rapidly declined among the Hutts and Rebels. 

With the Rebels reeling from the Imperial counter-attacks and the Scotch, the Hutts reinforced their 15 legion assault force with a capital ship and struck back at the Empire, taking a round-about path through Mon Calamari all the way to Sluis Van and Sullust.  But eight resource planets were not enough.

Armed with a faction card straight and a small fleet, Darth Kent plowed through the remaining Rebels, surprising the Hutts at Yavin 4, and finished the game on Turn 5.  Victory Empire.