Best Zions Finest Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 93 - Love and Loss in the Confederacy of Independent Systems 51:25

5d ago51:25

51:25

What AMG giveth, AMG taketh away. In this episode, we discuss the changes that AMG made to Asajj, Jango, and Magnas. As you can imagine, Sam and I are pretty distressed over the nerfs to Magnas, but we lead with discussions of Asajj (she is awesome), and then follow up with Jango (we totally approve of the changes). It gets a little dour at the end…

1
Episode 92 - Programmed for Etiquette ... Not Destruction 46:18

12d ago46:18

46:18

Welcome to Episode 92! We are continuing our survey of the updates from the patch, this time with a focus on Rebels--which means a focus on Ewoks. JK was thrilled that his murder bears got updated, and he talks with Scott about where he thinks they land. You will enjoy it. We will have our Separatist and Bounty Hunter episodes coming out soon. We l…

1
Episode 91 - In the Kitchen with a Plummer (Michael Plummer Design Interview) 1:03:59

16d ago1:03:59

1:03:59

Welcome to Episode 91! In this episode, Kenny and Sam are joined by Michael Plummer from AMG to talk about AMG's design process and the recent balance patch. We tried to focus on systemic questions of design for Plummer and how those principles were manifest in the recent patch update. It's not a unit-by-unit analysis, but much more a conversation …

1
Episode 90 - Bringing Peace, Freedom, Justice, & Security to My New... Republic (The Republic Episode 1:08:15

17d ago1:08:15

1:08:15

Kenny, Sam, & Matt review the changes to Galactic Republic Units in the May 12, 2025 balance update for Star Wars: Shatterpoint. You can also watch this episode on Youtube. Please join the Slack! We are having a blast yelling at each other about the changes and would love for you to join us.

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Episode 89 - Look How They Massacred My Boy (The Empire Episode) 1:08:27

17d ago1:08:27

1:08:27

Whew boy did AMG have at the top-performing units in the Empire, and some (most (nearly all)) of us couldn't be happier. AMG absolutely nailed the changes to Gideon Hask, ISFs, and Dark Troopers, while also giving a huge lift to Inquisitors. You can also watch this episode on Youtube. Please join the Slack! We are having so much fun discussing the …

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Episode 88 - Cassian Can Do That 1:34:09

19d ago1:34:09

1:34:09

Welcome to Episode 88! In this episode, Titus Kosloff (the recent winner of the Tablebound Open in Ontario, Canada), joins the podcast to talk about his Cassian-Core List, with Cassian/Lobit(!)/Fifth + Moff/Ezra/Darks + Han Box + PL/K2/Bar2. It is an incredibly unique list that went 6-1 at one of the most competitive events of the year. Titus discu…

1
Episode 87 - On the Verge of Greatness 32:47

25d ago32:47

32:47

Welcome to Episode 87! Like the previous episode, JK and Sam are back reviewing units, this time Director Krennic! Is his design AMG's greatest achievement? Let us know what you think of him in the comments! Join the slack and continue the conversation!

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Episode 86 - Fil? His name is CC-3714 34:19

26d ago34:19

34:19

Welcome to Episode 86! In this episode, JK and Sam dive into the oceans of Star Wars to deliver a unit review of the Requesting Your Surrender Box. We break down the key abilities of each unit and discuss whether they will make waves in the meta. Let us know how you think our aquatic jedi friend performs in the comments! Join the Slack to continue …

1
Episode 85 - Prematurely Cracking Metas 1:11:15

1M ago1:11:15

1:11:15

Welcome to Episode 85! In this episode, Matt Bronson of Bombad Tactics and many other avenues of fame joins Kenny to give a preliminary take on expected winners and losers of the next meta. Matt and Kenny use Matt's recent tournament win at the Wet Coast GT in British Columbia to frame their discussion as to what they think thrives and struggles in…

1
Episode 84 - Balance and DotA 1:04:11

1M ago1:04:11

1:04:11

Welcome to Episode 84! This episode is a kind of high-level discussion analyzing Shatterpoint units through the frame of the online MOBA DotA. We discuss carries, supports, and offlane/tanks and how they function (or are supposed to function) and how that affects our understanding and analysis of a unit's quality. All of this is very likely to go u…

1
Episode 83 - A Pie of Meta Shared Unequally (Adepticon Analysis) 59:25

2M ago59:25

59:25

Welcome to Episode 83 of Zion's Finest! This one is a bit of a sweaty episode, as Kenny provides an overview of the Top 8 from Adepticon and Sam gives an incredible review of "meta share," meaning how units were represented in progressive stages of the cut from swiss to the final match between Scott B. and Matt B. It's an amazing discussion that yo…

1
Episode 81 - Dealing With a Wretched Hive 54:52

2M ago54:52

54:52

Welcome to Episode 81! This episode is all about competitive tournament etiquette, with a specific focus on how to handle what might be termed a little-too-opportunistic-play on the part of your opponent (specifically, opponents changing dice, mis-measuring, slow-playing, or otherwise riding that gray line of what is acceptable). It's a great episo…

1
Episode 82 - A Brave New Worlds (Adepticon Preview) 1:07:47

2M ago1:07:47

1:07:47

Welcome to Episode 82! In this episode, Sammy Kaye and Kenny talk about the Adepticon meta and run down the matchups that they expect to be heavily prevalent during the tournament. I think you will enjoy our discussion, and it's a great listen as you are traveling to the event. Fill out the Goonhammer prediction document here. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! W…

1
Episode 80 - Power Doesn't Panic 32:10

3M ago32:10

32:10

Welcome to Episode 80 of Zion's Finest! First off, we highly encourage you to watch this video on Youtube. JK prepared a beautiful set of slides and you will heartily enjoy the visual feast that has been prepared. In this episode, JK and Sam give a splash-ripple-thud analysis of the Cassian Andor box. How do these Rebels fit in the current meta? Wh…

1
Episode 79 - The Turning Point 52:07

3M ago52:07

52:07

Welcome to Episode 79! We are releasing this episode on both audio platforms and Youtube. Feel free to enjoy it in whatever way you see fit but know that JK prepared some beautiful slides for you should you choose to consume content with your eyeballs. This is a bonus episode that we are releasing to discuss Ahsoka Fulcrum and Vader-3. We meant for…

1
Episode 78 - The Agency of Design 1:00:25

3M ago1:00:25

1:00:25

Welcome to Episode 78! Everyone once in a while, we record and release something really special on ZiFi, and it generally involves Sammy Sweets talking about something that has been stuck in his brain. This is one for the ages. Sammy and Matt get together to talk about design, agency, and a myriad other aspects of gaming that you will find interest…

1
Episode 77 - Bring a Torch, Sean, Kyle (Torchlight GT) 1:18:53

3M ago1:18:53

1:18:53

Hello and welcome to Episode 77! In this episode, Sean and Kyle talk about their 4-1 runs at the Torchlight GT that happened in Ontario, Canada last month. Rather than giving play-by-plays, they focus on matchups and thoughts regarding how lists performed against each other. It's a part of our drive to move away from minute descriptions of games to…

1
Episode 76 - Tim-Tam Flavored Meta Musings 48:49

4M ago48:49

48:49

Welcome to Episode 76! In this episode, Kenny and Sammy talk about the recent CanCon tournament that happened in Australia and give some meta observations. They talk about the seeming mismatch between Iden's swiss WR and her power level. Listen to Luke and Tobias on the Red Mandos episode give a summary of the event. In classic Red Mando style, it …

1
Episode 75 - These Matchups Ain't What They Used to Be (LVO Episode) 1:14:11

4M ago1:14:11

1:14:11

Welcome to Episode 75! In this episode, Scott and Kenny discuss the LVO tournament, with a particular focus on more high-level analysis of the matchups from their run through the tournament. There is less of a focus on play-by-play analysis (as in, we tried to avoid it entirely), and more a discussion on how their lists (Iden Moff and Kanan Hera) p…

1
Episode 74 - Questions at Lightspeed 30:44

4M ago30:44

30:44

Welcome to Episode 74! We will have our LVO episodes start releasing on Monday, January 27, but this episode was recorded right after LVO and was an opportunity for Ken and Dan to ask and answer rapid-fire questions from the community. This is just a straight-up fun episode. We talk about the competitive meta, surviving cons, etc., with a series of…

1
Episode 73 - Rebels With A Cause (with Jesse from Hello There) 1:04:49

5M ago1:04:49

1:04:49

Welcome to Episode 73! This is a continuation of our LVO prep series and is focused on the Rebel faction. Specifically, we are looking at constructing and piloting Rebels at a competitive tournament. Sammy Kaye and Jesse are experts at rebelling, and they have incredible insights in terms of thinking about running Rebels as one part or all of your …

1
Episode 72 - All I Want For Christmas is a Good Republic List (the Ki-Adi-Mundi Preview) 1:02:28

5M ago1:02:28

1:02:28

That's right I said it. Merry Christmas everyone!!! We hope that everyone has a safe and warm holiday and more importantly than spending time with their family is able to get a few games of Shatterpoint in! (I kid, I kid.) In this episode, Matt, Sammy Kaye, and Kenny talk about the Ki-Adi-Mundi box and give their thoughts on the patent strengths an…

1
Episode 71 - Josef Makes an Appearance at Christmas 1:13:00

5M ago1:13:00

1:13:00

(No not THAT Joseph!) Welcome to Episode 71! In this episode, General Josef discusses his list that he took to PAX Unplugged (Lumi, GG, Ahsoka, and Mando), and talks about how his off-meta assemblage performed and his assessment of the various matchups. We get into the weeds with respect to list construction and how we think this list fares into th…

1
Episode 70 - Stronger Together During the Holidays (with Dyz) 1:09:17

6M ago1:09:17

1:09:17

Welcome to Episode 70! In this episode, Kenny and Dyz break down the Mando list. This is the first of a series of pseudo LVO-prep episodes where we discuss list construction, piloting, and strategy with an eye towards preparing to fight with or against this list. You will enjoy Dyz's scorching hot takes here. Listen to the Rogue Support podcast! Th…

1
Episode 69 - It Happened In Monterey (Meta Talk and Tournament Review) 50:49

6M ago50:49

50:49

Dang straight it happened in Monterey! In this episode, Scott and Kenny gather to summarize a wonderful small tournament they attended in Monterey, California, in the basement of Ulysses (an excellent and well-known player in the MCP and SP scene). Their discussion glances over the tournament, but is mostly focused on Mandos, the Batch, and some re…

1
Episode 68 - A Thankful Meta 50:35

6M ago50:35

50:35

Kind of. Mostly we just love you all and Thanksgiving. In this episode, Sammy Kay and Kenny discuss the current meta (briefly, I promise it's brief) and then transition to talking about why Shatterpoint is their number one game. This conversation was inspired by a post on the Slack from Ace, and it led to a really good chat there and here. We hope …

1
Episode 67 - Managing Bodacious Bubbles (the Mando Fix Episode) 36:49

7M ago36:49

36:49

It's short, but sweet. In this episode, Sammy Kay and Kenny discuss the Bo update and, specifically, how they think the all Mando list now works. What does Bo and CK add to the Mando + Armorer Box package? Does it take it to the next level? What should you be thinking about when playing this list? How does it match up into the opposition? All this …

1
Episode 66 - A ZiFi Invi. Summar...eye 1:13:39

7M ago1:13:39

1:13:39

T.S. Eliot I aint. In this episode, Scott and Kenny discuss the ZiFi Invi. Scott went 5-0 on the day running Iden-Moff and Kanan-Hera. We discuss matchups, how lists felt into each other, and then close with (preliminary) thoughts on the new stuff that has released over the past few weeks. Check out the results from the Battle for the Breath, a 22-…

1
Episode 65 - Getting In and Staying In (An Intro and Buyer's Guide to Shatterpoint) 1:22:24

7M ago1:22:24

1:22:24

Welcome to Episode 65! Matt headlined this episode, wanting to talk about how to help potential players to know (1) if they would like Shatterpoint and (2) how to approach buying for Shatterpoint. While this is mostly for new players, I think everyone would enjoy this episode and we would really love feedback with respect to our buyer's guide as we…

1
Episode 64 - Ewok To Remember 1:12:19

8M ago1:12:19

1:12:19

JK's title, not mine. How I wish I could take credit for it. Do you want to run Ewoks? And by Ewoks, we mean the best two Ewoks, which are Leia FF and Logray? Well, look no further, because Dean has been absolutely crushing into all non-Iden Empire lists with this incredible concatenation. In this episode, Dean breaks down his list, why it works, h…

1
Episode 63 - Excellent Shatterpoint, Eh? 1:21:44

8M ago1:21:44

1:21:44

Welcome to Episode 63! In this episode, Kenny and Sam are joined (again) by Sean Peconi and Kyle Russell to talk about the Canadian GT, as well as the two other GTs that happened this weekend. There is a major discussion as to the diversity of units at these events and generally, as well as tournament formats and everyone's thoughts. It's a great d…

1
Episode 62 - Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye (in Hamilton, CA) 1:25:37

8M ago1:25:37

1:25:37

You're welcome! Some wholesome goodness for Sam's awesome win at the CSWGO Grand Tournament in Ontario, Canada. The Canadians put on an awesome tournament and Sam took a trip across the border to go 6-0 and bring the tournament home. This episode is (almost) all about Spectre, and specifically why Hera is so strong in that list. Sam has the reps an…

1
Episode 61 - Box Reviews, the ZiFi Way 1:07:54

9M ago1:07:54

1:07:54

First off, rest in peace James Earl Jones. That good man with the greatest voice has gone home. We added as appropriate of a tribute as we could on short notice. That is why the format for the episode is slightly beatified, as we included some of the iconic moments of Darth Vader from the original trilogy in tribute to the master. Second off, JK ha…

1
Episode 60 - A Typical Father-Son Duo In Star Wars 1:12:23

9M ago1:12:23

1:12:23

Why, you ask? Because this outing also ends in an episode of patricide?!?!?! Why don't you listen and find out! In this episode, Kenny is joined by Ryan Munsell and his son Donovan to discuss their stellar performance at the Evergreen Open. They made it to the cut running Spectre/Batch (Ryan) and Dooku Mando/Empire (Donovan). Ryan has some excellen…

1
Episode 59 - An Updating Meta 1:02:55

9M ago1:02:55

1:02:55

** UPDATE - If you downloaded this Sunday night or Monday morning redownload it. We were missing 30 seconds of Sam’s audio but that has been fixed. ** I drafted a long description for this episode twice. Spotify ate it. Twice. This episode is Sammy Kaye and Kenny discussing the meta like try-hards. Enjoy it. The Shattered Mirrors event is happening…

1
Episode 58 - Managing Bedlam (or, Running Local Events) with Dan and Abi 1:18:13

10M ago1:18:13

1:18:13

Welcome to Episode 58! In this episode, Kenny is joined by Dan (RedWolf) and Abi (ElabranGal) to get their insights and input on running events. They break down pre-event, event, and post-event things to think about and manage. For players looking to organize local events, this is a great resource. Make sure to check out the shoutouts for all the G…

1
Episode 57 - Better To Be Lucky Than Good 1:12:26

10M ago1:12:26

1:12:26

In this episode, Kenny and Scott discuss their first and second place finishes at the Salt Lake Open. They discuss the meta of the tournament, their swiss matchups (it was a straight swiss event with five rounds), and their thoughts on the power levels and points of observation from the tournament. Kenny was able to win with Kanan/Sabine/Chopper, P…

1
Episode 56 - Ride or Die 1:13:09

10M ago1:13:09

1:13:09

This is the Salt Lake Open prep episode! The SLO post-op will be releasing tomorrow. In this episode, Kenny and Matt talk through their preparations for the SLO, with Sam serving as Adam Smith's impartial spectator to opine on improvements and things for them to think about. This episode was recorded the Thursday before SLO, which has since transpi…

1
Episode 55 - A Philagreed Approach to the Meta 1:03:31

10M ago1:03:31

1:03:31

Phil Hastings took second at the Lone Star Open. He lost to Aman from Hello There in the final after going 4-0 in swiss and winning his Top 4 matchup. His premier list is, by far, the most creative approach to the current meta (to also do well) and I love that he did as well as he did at a very competitive event. You will love this episode. GOOD LU…

1
Episode 54 - Caleb Dume Can Do That 1:00:14

11M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Kanan Jarrus is one of the best primaries in terms of his kit in a hot minute, and he's worth building Rebel teams around. In this episode, Sam and Kenny talk about Kanan, his strengths (many) his weaknesses (few), and different playstyles and listbuilding ideas to use as you're diving into Rebels. The ZiFi Invi. Fall 2024 is scheduled for October …

1
Episode 53 - The Tablebound Open, the Empire, and You 1:15:47

11M ago1:15:47

1:15:47

I'm not sure where you fit in here ... unless you are Sean Peconi or Kyle Russell! Sean and Kyle took first and second place at the Tablebound Open, the largest Canadian event to date (capped at twenty-four players with twenty-two in Swiss). They give an overview of the tournament, talk about Kyle's amazing website Tablebound--which is an incredibl…

1
Episode 52 - The Best Year of Shatterpoint 1:06:03

12M ago1:06:03

1:06:03

Episode 52! One year! What a wild ride it's been. We love Shatterpoint with the fire of ten thousand suns and cannot wait to see how AMG steers the game for the next year (or seven). In this episode, JK and Kenny talk about their favorite units, what has most surprised them, and why they love Shatterpoint so much. Enjoy it as you are walking in the…

1
Episode 51, P.3 - Thus Ends the Sequel Trilogy 59:38

12M ago59:38

59:38

... maybe that's not the comparison to make. Anyways! Here's the concluding discussion of our tier-making conversation. We have a bit more fighting on this one, mostly because there are some pretty serious thoughts with figures being too high ... or too low. Enjoy it! Next week will be the one-year of Shatterpoint, which shall be glorious. Join the…

1
Episode 51, P. 2 - One Day You'll Be Better Than Jango 42:22

12M ago42:22

42:22

But not today! Join us for part two of our tier-making session. This time we discuss Secondaries. There's some movement, and a bit of fighting (again, an acceptable amount). Here's the link for DION'S FINEST! A showdown tournament happening in Minnesota (at FFG's (old?) headquarters)! Here's the link for the UKGE Grand Tournament. It was a great ev…

1
Episode 51, P. 1 - One Year of Being Worse than Magnas 58:11

12M ago58:11

58:11

We made a huge mistake. We foolishly thought we could do a tiering of the entire set of released material for Shatterpoint, and to do it in a reasonable time. People wouldn't shut up, so we had to break it up. We are going to be releasing Part One now, which is our visiting and revisiting of support tier rankings, and we will be releasing Parts Two…

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Episode 50 - Six Months of Cuts 55:48

1y ago55:48

55:48

Welcome to Episode FIFTY! In this episode, Kenny and Scott discuss the Top 8 cuts from the five largest premier events in the last six months: Polish Nationals, CanCon, Adepticon, Galactic Conquest, and the ZiFi Invi. (Longshanks links included). These are all the standard premier listbuilding tournaments with sixteen or more players in that time p…

1
Episode 49 - The ZiFi Invi Summari(zed) 1:55:19

1y ago1:55:19

1:55:19

Sorry I tried to make that work. And sorry it's so long. What is wild is that we only got through about half of what we wanted to discuss. We will talk more about the logistics of the tournament in the future. In this episode, Kenny, Matt, and Scott talk about the lists and the meta of the ZiFi Invi. They talk through their lists, why they built th…

1
Bonus Ep. 3 - Mama Dooku, Part Twoku (with Aman Khusro) 1:01:24

1y ago1:01:24

1:01:24

DON'T SAY WE NEVER GAVE YOU NOTHIN. In this episode, Kenny is joined by his brother Aman who drops some serious knowledge with respect to the Mama Dooku list, with a particular focus at breaking down the fundamentals and talking about piloting the list in a thickening meta. Aman, as always, has excellent insights and you will love his commentary he…

1
Episode 48 - Hello There ... Republic 1:20:06

1y ago1:20:06

1:20:06

It's Episode 48. It's the week before the ZiFi Invi., and that means that it's time for sweaty tryhard episodes talking about meta archetypes and where they fit for competitive tournaments. In this episode, Matt is joined by none other than Jesse Eakin from Hello There to talk about their mutual masochism: their love of the Republic. Jesse is bona …

1
Bonus Ep. 2 - Turns Out, It's a Good Batch 56:03

1y ago56:03

56:03

Hello and welcome to a mid-week bonus episode of Zions Finest! In this episode, Kenny is joined by Dan (RedWolf) to talk about the Batch, listbuilding, play patterns, and matchups. Dan has been running the Batch a ton recently (and went 4-0 at a well-attended local tournament) and has some great insights. We will have two episodes releasing next we…

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