After a long day of Rob texting GIFs of each main character to various Duelers in anxious anticipation of the night's big battle, it was finally time for the twelve combatants to meet and wage war. JD and Ian arrived earlier in the day to straighten up the room and make a special delivery - a replica of the Emperor's Throne! To celebrate this masterpiece each Dueler agreed to sit on it for their picture of death (see below). It added a nice bit of ambiance to the room!
Kaleb, the top ranked Dueler and thus the one charged with picking the Championship battlefield, drew the CARBON FREEZING CHAMBER! This sent an immediate chill down the spines of the Duelers. There is no more frenzied environment than the Carbon Chamber. There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. This guaranteed the Championship would be a real slobber-knocker.
The Carbon Chamber also meant you didn't want to get stuck with Luke or Vader, who start dead center on the board. Kaleb, picking for Rob in the #2 chair, did him dirty by selecting Darth Vader! Jonathan was the other unlucky Dueler, getting stuck with Luke. Austin won first roll, the Duelers shuffled their cards, and they were off and running!
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| One of these Duelers is the 2017 Champion... |
Character: Luke Skywalker
How He Died: Emperor Palpatine's Force Lightning
Everyone needs a little luck to win a 12-Way Duel, especially the Championship match. Jonathan had NONE. Everything that could go wrong did. Worst character and starting position for the board? Check. Get stuck rolling the dice last? Check. Draw all minor character cards in your first six? Check. Finally get a main character card but is has no defense? Check. Decide to use your minor character's two biggest attacks, only needing to roll anything besides a "2 all", and rolling a "2 all"? CHECK. A thermal detonator, Zam sniper shot, and Force Lightning ended poor Jonathan's night very early.
Character: Mace Windu
How He Died: 5 point attack from Darth Vader
There was a loooooong period of time between Jonathan and Stephen's deaths. During that span the light side stayed strong as did the dark. But the light side was getting chewed up faster than the dark during that period of time. Ian's Dooku swooped in and Force Pushed Kat's Anakin to a dark side kill box. JD and Stephen hatched a "last stand" plan. Mace would Wisdom in and JD's Yoda Force Pushed Obi-Wan to flip the kill box and make Kaleb's Emperor Palpatine the new point of focus. But in the biggest turning point of the game, Austin's Obi-Wan made one of the most cold-blooded decisions in Dueling history. He attacked Mace! Stephen, JD, and Kat were outraged but Obi's Force Control created yet another new kill box, where Rob's Vader finished off Mace. BRUTAL!!!
Character: Anakin Skywalker
How She Died: 3 point attack from Greedo
Poor Kat! She was super awesome by subbing in for Chris, who had to bow out of the Championship just two days before the big fight. But the top ranked amateur heeded the call and came to stake her claim. Sadly, she was collateral damage from Austin's light side betrayal. She had lost Padme very early in the game but deftly defended attacks from both Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi. She was determined to extract revenge on Austin's Obi, but Grant's Greedo put the final nail in the proverbial coffin. With four Duels under her belt she's just two games away from professional status!
Character: Jango Fett
How He Died: 5 point attack from Count Dooku
Joel was loyal to the dark side alliance but his evil peers felt he was timid in his game play. At this point in the game folks were fully loaded with cards and Ryan's Han Solo and JD's Yoda were too far away to attack. That made Joel's Jango the sacrificial lamb. Grant's Boba and Ian's Dooku made quick work of him. It wasn't the outcome Joel was looking for, but credit him with a masterful Sniper Shot that set up Jonathan's last place finish.
Character: Yoda
How He Died: Emperor Palpatine's Force Lightning (x2)
JD made the quick and valiant decision to Force Push Obi-Wan to the dark side in an attempt to turn the tide against the Sith, but it backfired spectacularly when Austin refused to play along. From there JD was left with little to do. And he barely got to play any of his great defense cards! That's because Rob's Darth Vader and Kaleb's Emperor Palpatine kept damaging him with Special Cards. Kaleb brought it to a scorching close with two Lightnings at once. JD is a great Dueler but his bad luck streak at the Championship matches continues.
Character: Emperor Palpatine
How He Died: 4 point attack from Obi-Wan Kenobi
Kaleb dodged certain death all night long, especially in his miraculous sales pitch to Austin's Force Pushed Kenobi. But as the number one ranked Dueler with a scary character who had yet to play "You Will Die," Curtis' Darth Maul was getting nervous. In a covert alliance with Austin (!), they jumped Kaleb! It was a startling turn of events for poor Kaleb, especially with the kill shot coming from Austin, who he had more or less protected after his flip. Don't worry about Kaleb, though! The breakout star of 2017 is still the league's #1 ranked Dueler.
Character: Darth Maul
How He Died: Boba Fett's Kyber Dart
After Maul and Kenobi had eliminated the Emperor, it was clear to Vader/Rob, Dooku/Ian, Han/Ryan, and Boba/Grant that those two were in cahoots. Rob suggested the four of them team together to make them the next two out. It helped that Maul and Kenobi were on one end of the board and everyone else, flush with shooters and long range attacks, were on the other. Curtis was frustrated, but couldn't withstand the barrage, and Grant went for the style points too when he ended Maul's night with the Kyber Dart.
Character: Han Solo
How He Died: Count Dooku's Taunting
Ryan, like he's prone to do, somehow survived the disintegration of his light side alliance and had joined up with Dooku, Boba, and Vader. It was at this juncture that the second biggest moment of the night occurred. Rather than finish off Austin's Obi-Wan, Ian got nervous about Han and tried to change the alliance's focus of attack, going in on Ryan. That's when Rob really stuck his neck out and suggested he, Ryan, Austin and Grant instead go after Ian's Dooku, who was in full health and still had a Super Battle Droid on the board. It made sense strategically but was a brutal thing to commit to, especially for Grant who was obviously tight with Ian the whole game. But everyone agreed to go along. Everyone expected Ian to start attacking Rob for revenge's sake, but he surprised everyone by using a Gain Power and then a Taunt to get the drop on Ryan's Han Solo.
Character: Count Dooku
How He Died: Darth Vader's Throw Debris
Despite Ian being one point from dying, Grant was more concerned with Rob's Darth Vader and began attacking him instead. Rob tried in vain to align with Austin's Obi-Wan Kenobi, but instead of putting the kill shot on Ian, he drew cards instead, slowly healing his injured main character. That frustrated Rob, who couldn't reach Dooku for a direct attack. That forced him to use Throw Debris on Dooku instead of Boba.
Character: Darth Vader
How He Died: Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force Control
Rob tried many different attempts to align with Austin's Obi-Wan or Grant's Boba Fett, but neither were excited to play with Darth Vader anymore. Rob couldn't maintain a two-front attack on a board like Carbon Freezing Chamber and slowly fell from his wounds. Austin, once Rob's student in a leadership class, had bested his teacher. It was fitting, poetic even. It didn't make Rob any less salty...
Character: Boba Fett
How He Died: 5 point attack from Obi-Wan Kenobi
Boba Fett nearly won back to back Duels but fell just short in second place. Give huge credit to Grant, who played a masterful game. It was a bittersweet Duel for the fourth ranked Dueler and second on the all-time wins list. His drought since his last victory is still in place, but it's a testament to his skills and strengths that he did so well in the Championship!
1st Place Dueler: Austin
Character: Obi-Wan Kenobi
How He DIDN'T Die: by being a ruthless son of a gun!
Austin flipped a certain bottom three finish to a Championship victory through grit and a complete commitment to gutting everyone in his way! It might be the most brutal win in league history, and I meen that as the highest compliment! It's his first career win and ties Obi-Wan with Darth Vader for the most character wins in league history.
Thanks to everyone who played in the Championship or at any point in 2017. It's you who makes all the nerdery possible!
And finally...a fun announcement! We're looking to play one last Duel in 2017!!! LAST JEDI STANDING will be our pre-The Last Jedi screening Duel. More details to come, but we're trying to play the afternoon of December 14th and then head to the new movie after that. Clear your schedules now!!!
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