May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2024

Arvala-7

I hope you don't have a sweet tooth, because this game was SALTY!  So much fear which led to anger, anger which led to hate, hate which led to...YOU KNOW THE REST!  Let's recap the shooter's Duel, PEW PEW!

May the 4th Be With Them

This post is a couple of days late, so apologies if not all of the details are remembered.  The author of this post was on a lot of cold medicine, which his fellow Duelers learned means he can't keep his inside thoughts from becoming outside thoughts!

The front of this Duel was tediously slow as the dark and light wanted to remain united, and just as the action was picking up, Ian/Krennic played Peace and Security, dumping everyone's hands and leading to even more card drawing.  The first blood in the water was Isaiah's Jango Fett.  He was roughed up when Josh S.'s Lobot and Riley B.'s Jyn Erso came barging in.  Rob's Boba Fett chose to defect to the light side with a Rocket Retreat, though he refused to use it on Isaiah, since it was his last Duel.  That didn't stop Riley B., though!  Jyn took down Jango, and poor Isaiah was gone in last!!!  The league will miss him for sure - it's hard to think of a Dueler more well-loved than Isaiah.

Riley B./Jyn's bloodlust led him into the dark side territory, but he was woefully unprepared to defend himself once Jango was dead.  Ian/Krennic, Riley E./Moff Gideon, and Grant D./Cad Bane concentrated their efforts on the Rogue One hero.  A brutal There's No Shame In It 7-point attack from Cad Bane smoked Riley B./Jyn into eleventh.  Riley graduates this week too, but he took a job locally so I'm sure we'll see him at the table again in the future.

Mando and Lando in trouble.

The light side still had the numbers advantage, thanks in part to Bekah/Beckett defecting to their side after Ian/Krennic's opening Grenade earlier, but Rob/Boba decided to go for the rare double-defection.  Hopped up on Benadryl, he told the rest of the board they should focus on the three strongest characters in the game:  Elliot/Princess Leia, Jordann/The Mandalorian, and Josh/Land Calrissian.  He put his money where his mouth is when he used a combo Deadly Aim and Rocket Retreat to end Jordann's night early in tenth!

You could see the smoke coming out of Elliot's ears after the momentum shifted.  He made many compelling arguments but folks weren't eager to see Leia go deep.  Spencer/Bo-Katan used Aerial Assault to make the finishing shot - Elliot was out in ninth.  There were early rumblings about a chaplain alliance, but they ended up being the first four gone!!!

Alex A. lending a hand?

Josh, playing in his first Duel, found himself as the last standing shooter Rob had called out earlier.  He made some nifty moves, but couldn't withstand the coalition working against him.  Riley E.'s Moff Gideon was near death, and was twice about to be eliminated by Spencer's Bo-Katan before pledging to weaken others on the board if her life was spared.  Instead, Spencer's Night Owl offed Lando.  Not a bad first Duel, Josh!

Sweet 16 Eve

There were only six Duelers left, and Alex had been staying under the radar quite nicely with Han and Chewy.  He used the It's Not Wise Wookie toss to finally put Riley E. out of her misery in seventh.  The birthday girl was gone (Cinco de Riley!), and that's when Ian put the target on Han.  Krennic finished what he started with a 4-point shot.  It was the end of the road for Alex, but that sixth place finish marked a personal best!

With only five to go, Rob's Boba Fett was loaded, and spent an attack on Grant's Cad Bane.  He thought Grant and Ian/Krennic were a solid alliance, so he proposed a trio of himself, Spencer/Bo-Katan, and Bekah/Beckett work together.  But Bekah wouldn't even look Rob in the eye and Spencer kept trying to court Ian instead, who steadfastly refused to commit to anything past Boba biting the dust.  Rob kinda lost his mind since the Benadryl was wearing off, and the rest of the Duelers zapped him in fifth.

"I think Rob might have been right..."

Spencer's Quixotic attempt to court Ian came to a crashing thud once Boba was gone.  The three remaining Duelers all turned against his Bo-Katan.  Grant's Cad Bane got the last shot.  Spencer drowned his sorrows in Cane's, which is a tasty way to die.

The final three saw Bekah/Beckett and Grant/Cad Bane join forces against Ian's Orson Krennic.  Ian played his movements masterfully, though, running around the large rock structure in the center of the board.  That, combined with Bekah's atrocious dice luck, left Grant dueling Ian by himself.  Ian used another Peace and Security to weaken them both and used a deadly Hero of the Empire to stop Grant in third.  He was so close to being the first Dueler to ever win three Duels in a row!!!

This board is so pretty!!!

Bekah's Tobias Beckett was fully loaded, but Ian was in a beautiful rhythm with Krennic.  They danced around the board but Bekah was quickly on the ropes.  After a short chase Krennic fired off a winning shot - Ian won the game!!!  This is his second win of 2024.  Amazingly, Krennic defended his May the 4th Be With You title too, as he won last year!  I can't remember the last time a character repeated...

"Oh, it's beautiful!"

Final order of finish:

12.  Isaiah/Jango Fett

11.  Riley B./Jyn Erso

10.  Jordann/The Mandalorian

9.  Elliot/Princess Leia

8.  Josh S./Lando Calrissian

7.  Riley E./Moff Gideon

6.  Alex A./Han Solo

5.  Rob/Boba Fett

4.  Spencer/Bo-Katan Kryze

3.  Grant D/Cad Bane

2.  Bekah/Tobias Beckett

1.  Ian/Orson Krennic

Congrats again to Ian.  That concludes our 23-24 season of Epic Dueling!!!  Rob will host the Twin Sun Slam doubleheader sometime in June, he'll pick a date once the fog of sickness has cleared his head.  Isaiah and Riley B. - we love you!  Thanks for all the memories!!!

May the Force be with you.  Always.