Duel of the Fates - April 17, 2026

Trash Compactor

This month, for the first time in league history, we had to postpone a Duel date due to lack of available Duelers!!!  Fortunately, we had no problem filling the makeup date...you made me nervous, people!

Oodles of Odles at the table...

If you're familiar with the Trash Compactor board, you know it's a tense affair as folks try to avoid being smashed by the closing walls.  And when you add in the nonstop playing of "Duel of the Fates" for the whole night...let's just say we're glad there's 24 hour mental healthcare available to staff and students!

The early story of the game was the targeting of minor characters on the board.  These valuable shooters are pivotal for each side.  In one of the funniest moments in recent memory, Jonah's Rey played Jedi Mind Control on James' Greedo...forcing him to use Desperate Shot against his own Boba!  Greedo was instantly destroyed!!!  Nayshaun's Chewbacca found himself a target too, which is a bit unusual in league play as folks usually just go after Han directly.  But with just two points of health left, it would be the dianoga that pulled the wookie under water to his death!  BRUTAL.  Han didn't last much longer after that, with Caleb's Beckett using a Trust No One shot from across the board.  Poor Nayshaun!

Jonah doing Greedo dirty!

The rest of the night was a definite grind.  About two hours in we finally saw our next elimination.  Caleb's Beckett got caught too far forward and Jonah/Rey and Riley B./Yoda teamed up to take him down.  Rey got the kill shot and somewhere in the universe Ian was smiling about it...

You gotta hand it to Riley B., he's always going to play aggressively.  His Yoda was causing chaos throughout the night but he got caught low carded on defense.  After some dekes, he could no longer withstand the dark side peppering.  Grant's Droideka rollied Yoda off the board in tenth.

Duel of the Fates is a fire song...

Yoda falling definitely shifted the tide against the light side.  Though Sam's Kit Fisto had Pushed Rob's General Grievous With A Smile, Rob was able to Spider Crawl to safety, thanks in part to a friendly Flamethrower assist from Eric's Jango.  Not long after Kit Fisto was surrounded, and Curtis' Vader laid a five point attack to off Sam in ninth.

Miles, just a high school freshman, was piloting K-2SO but tried to flip a little too late to the dark side.  Rob's Grievous landed a couple of attacks but Miles took no damage, showing how formidable K-2 can be.  But he couldn't hold out forever, and Grant's last remaining Droideka, with just a point of health, decommissioned his clanker cousin in eighth place.  

Grant and Jonah accepting their fate.

This brought up a crucial moment, as the next kill would once again close the walls another row.  Mark, who was quite covert all night with Jyn and Cassian, marched Mr. Andor next to Grant's Droideka and played Spy Contact, killing Grant and closing the walls!  But poor Rey/Jonah were on the back line!!!  Jonah had just used Rise of Skywalker and ran away from his attempted kill box, only to be smashed by the Trash Compactor in sixth.  ROUGH!

There were only five Duelers left at this point, and Curtis/Vader, Eric/Jango, Mark/Jyn, and James/Boba, all felt character inferiority to Rob's Grievous, so the General was the next target.  Rob tried to sweettalk his way out of it, but a desperate Curtis used Wrath to send General Grievous packing.

Final four plotting and scheming.

The three remaining shooters wanted nothing to do with Curtis' Vader.  Mark pulled off a real nifty move, switching his main character to Cassian and then using Jyn's Jailbreak to push James into a corner, off the final four squares that would ensure safety on the next wall closure.  James managed to Rocket Retreat back to the main four squares, and then used a Thermal Detnoator to hit a few characters, including Vader's final health points.  Darth Curtis was out in fourth.

The walls closed, and Mark's Cassian found himself standing between James' Boba Fett and Eric's Jango.  James and Mark traded blows, but they finally decided it wasn't fair that Eric's Jango was missing out on the action.  James moved to the middle to try and take on his father Jango, but he got hit a couple of times by the dianoga.  With just two points of health left, Eric hit him with the Wrist Cable!  James was out in third, but he had a heck of a Duel, especially with how it started with Greedo at the start of the game.

Guaranteed new winner!

And then there were two!  And they were both Brooks Colleges staff!  Check out BroCo!!  And neither had won a Duel before, making it extra exciting.  It looked like Jango would have the edge, but Mark was pulling his Cassian cards at the right time and the dianoga clipped Eric a couple of times too.  After a few rounds...Cassian came out on top!!!  Congrats to Mark on his first win!!!  This also marks the first time in league history a minor character switched to a major and won.  Crazy!

Eric deserves a huge shoutout too.  He protected the dark side all night and landed his second 2nd place finish in a row.  Nice!

He has friends everywhere.

The final order of finish:

12.  Nayshaun/Han

11.  Caleb O./Beckett

10.  Riley B./Yoda

9.  Sam/Kit Fisto

8.  Miles O./K-2SO

7.  Grant/Droidekas

6.  Jonah/Rey

5.  Rob/Grievous

4.  Curtis/Vader

3.  James/Boba

2.  Eric/Jango

1.  Mark/Jyn Cassian

Nothing is quite as relaxing as pushing "stop" on an iphone that's been bumping "Duel of the Fates" for four hours!  Congrats again to Mark - well done!  

The final Duel of the school year is May the 4th Be With You - we'll try to schedule that the weekend before, stay tuned for details.

Also!  We're going to do a movie premiere Duel for The Mandalorian and Grogu, so info coming on that as well.

As always...PEW PEW!
 

Preview: Duel of the Fates - April 17, 2026

Fellow Duelers...you had me worried!  For the first time in 12 years, we actually had to postpone a Duel because we didn't have enough tributes volunteer for duty!!!  I guess the Friday after Easter was a bad move - I'll remember that for next year!

But fear not - we're back at it this Friday with twelve excited Duelers, ready to listen to the song "Duel of the Fates" on repeat until only one Dueler is left standing!  That level of mental torture is exquisite, though likely short-lived as we're playing the Trash Compactor board, a notoriously shorter Duel environment thanks to the walls that keep closing in throughout the game, crushing characters to death, not to mention the hungry dianoga randomly pulling combatants under water.

HISTORY OF DUEL OF THE FATES:

2025 - Ian won with Darth Maul on the Kamino Platform

2024 - Grant D. won with Kylo Ren in Ewok Village

2023 - Rob won with Boba Fett in the Geonosis Arena

2022 - Grant H. won with Cad Bane on Arvala-7

2021 - Curtis won with Darth Maul in Ewok Village

2020 - Alex C. won with Darth Maul in the Geonosis Arena

2019 - Kaleb won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 - Ian won with Count Dooku in the Emperor's Throne Room

2017 - Kaleb won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena

2016 - Alex R. won with Count Dooku in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2015 - Curtis won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room 

MEET THE DUELERS:

Curtis - nobody is riding higher than Curtis, who won last month's Imperial March with the psycho clanker IG-88!

Eric - folks tend to be disappointed when they draw a double-minor character deck, but Eric doesn't let that slow him down.  He nearly won the Imperial March, finishing in second place with the pyscho clanker Q9-0!  (Our league might have a psycho clanker problem...)

Grant - his last three Duels have been second place, third place, and second place.  That last one was with the Wampa during the A New Hope Duel.

James - James will kindly avoid playing Sith Apprentice Anakin again anytime soon.  He's the only Dueler to use that character, but has finished in ninth place both times.

Jonah - our super-sub is back at the table.  He had a nice run at last month's Imperial March, finishing in fifth place with Jod Na Nawood.

Mark - Mark is currently the sixth ranked Dueler in the league with a perfect 6 average finish.  He wouldn't mind busting that symmetry up with a top five (or better!) finish at Duel of the Fates.

Miles - it's been a few years since Miles debuted with his one and only career 12-way, but the plucky high schooler is a singles tournament veteran and league fanboy.

Nayshaun - the recently-turned professional has three top five finishes in his last four duels, including a near victory at the Valentine's Duel, where he finished in third with the Grand Inquisitor.

Riley B. - the retired professional might be seeking vengeance after we destroyed half of his 3D printed figures at the singles tournament test Duel last month.  We're still so sorry Riley!!!

Riley E. - Baylor Bound and ready to Duel.  Riley is hoping to rebound after a disappointing 11th place finish with Plo Koon last month on the Conveyex Train.

Rob - this is pretty gross, but Rob has seven top-three finishes in his last eight Duels.  He got close to winning last month's Imperial March before landing in third place with Beckett.

Sam - you can take the Dueler out of Waco, but not the willingness to drive back to Waco out of the Dueler!  Thanks again to Sam, who is helping us reach quorum Friday night!

MEET THE CHARACTERS:

Here are the characters doing battle in the claustrophobic Trash Compactor...

Egad!  Those are some bigtime characters throwing down.  Friday - 7PM - NV Fine Arts Studio is when and where it's happening.  Swing on by and watch!  We'll be in the room bumping Duel of the Fates on blast all night...

PEW PEW! 

The Imperial March - March 20, 2026

Conveyex Train

With so many new characters now in the league, it's a bit refreshing that nobody seems to have all the cards memorized, and the combination of new cards and opponents is creating some new gameplay!  That was on full display at this month's Imperial March Duel - keep reading for all the exciting details!!!

The 180th 12-way Duel in league history!

We had a bit of a delayed start as newly professional Dueler Ally sorta kinda forgot she was playing in the Imperial March.  When she got to the table she found herself with a good character (Bo-Katan) but a brutal starting spot, right in the middle of the train.  She started taking shots immediately.  It would be Junior's Saw Gerrera (second time playing him!) who got the elimination.  Why does our league have such a terrible history of anointing new professionals with last place finishes??

Riley, who preferenced Brooks Residential College in her housing app, had used her Plo Koon to help take down Bo-Katan.  But she wasn't ready for James' Sith Apprentice Anakin (second time playing him!) to lay some hits when she jumped onto the train.  It looked like she might escape to safety...until Alex G. used a Vader Wrath to knock her out in eleventh!  She was grateful for the couch somebody moved into the Fine Arts Studio...

Sam piloting his pesky Galactic Marines

It looked like the non-train end of the board had an advantage over the other end, but an indecisive and noncommittal Junior/Saw Gerrera suddenly prompted everyone to go after him instead.  Tatum/Fennec Shand's lit up at the idea, and she helped lead the charge.  It would be a Vader Wrath once again terminating a player from the board.  Saw has only played twice in the league, and both times have been with Junior!

James/Sith Ani, Alex/Vader, and Mark/Aayla finally decided to rush the other side of the board.  Fearing for his life, and kind of wanting to see how the first volley went, Rob's Tobias Beckett said he would join them.  He had been stuck in the middle of the board all game at that point, trying not to pick a side.  But he didn't like the odds of that matchup, so he backstabbed that trio by moving Val behind Sith Ani, making it impossible for him to escape.  Curtis used Dengar to knock him out in ninth.  Sith Apprentice Anakin has played twice, finished ninth twice, and been used both times by James.  Weird.

Tatum about to pull the play of the game...

Tatum's Fennec Shand was very beat up after that exchange.  She decided to make a REALLY big move by using a movement card to run up to Alex's Darth Vader and peep his cards.  Then she made an attack...and Alex chose not to defend!  It was Fennec's I Don't Miss - for 7 points of damage...the exact amount of health Vader had left!!!  That was crazy - good job Tatum!

Unfortunately for Tatum, though, she was left exposed and without nearby alliance partners.  Mark took advantage, and Aayla Secura sent Tatum on an early set of rounds in seventh place.  That was a nice jump up from her first Duel last month, though!

Complexity at the final six.

Things got screwy with six Duelers left.  Sam/Ki-Adi-saymyfullname wanted to go after Eric's double minors (Migs and Q9-0).  Rob wanted to go after Ki-Adi for their first scuffle two hours before.  Mark's Aayla was the odd one out and Curtis had no idea what to do.  After some random damage across the board, the group finally decided to go after Sam.  It was a good thing, too, because Ki-Adi-Mundi is a beast and Sam was playing him quite well.  The 12x12-way summer veteran made the group work for it but he finally bowed out in sixth.  His jokes per minute ratio, though, was spectacular.  (Personal favorite:  "Jonah, how many cards do you have?" - asked before the game had started...)

Jonah's Jod Na Nawood (say that five times fast...) had been bobbing and weaving all night, but he definitely took some damage from Ki-Adi and after he got further attacked by Curtis' IG-88, it wasn't looking good for Jude Law.  Rob's Beckett got the elimination shot and Jonah rested in fifth.

Freakin' clankers...

The most influential moment of the night, though, came down to Mark's Aayla Secura.  He had no alliance partners left on the board, but got to decide who he would attack before being eliminated.  He chose Rob's Beckett over Curtis/IG-88 and Eric/Q9-0.  Those extra attacks proved problematic for Rob, though he thanked both Mark and Curtis with a Double Blasters.  That sent home Mark in crutches in fourth place.

Rob ran out of cards at that point, and Curtis took full advantage.  Dengar got the kill shot and Beckett was out in third...two spots away from repeating as the winning character of Imperial March.

Our first droid final two???

We're pretty sure history was made in the final two because the last two characters standing were Eric's Q9-0 and Curtis' IG-88 - both droids!!!  Let's hope that's not foreshadowing civilization's downfall in the age of AI.  Eric played really well, but Curtis/IG-88 had the clear deck advantage since Eric was stuck with so many Migs cards.  It took a few turns, but Curtis pulled off the win to defend his Imperial March trophy with IG-88!  This was just IG-88's second Duel and he already has a trophy.  This was Curtis' 15th career win, too.  Eric deserves a ton of praise though - he took a double minor deck all the way to second place!

Final order of finish:

12.  Ally/Bo-Katan

11.  Riley/Plo Koon

10.  Junior/Saw Gerrera

9.  James/Sith Anakin

8.  Alex G./Vader

7.  Tatum/Fennec Shand

6.  Sam/Ki-Adi-Mundi

5.  Jonah/Jod Na Nawood

4.  Mark/Aayla Secura

3.  Rob/Tobias Beckett

2.  Eric/Q9-0

1.  Curtis/IG-88

Next month is our infamous Duel of the Fates - where we listen to "Duel of the Fates" on repeat for the duration of the battle!  The tentative date for that is April 10, but that will be confirmed later...

...until then, PEW PEW!

Preview: The Imperial March - March 20, 2026

 

My goodness, it seems like the end of the school year is sneaking up on us!  It's been several weeks since the Valentine's Duel, thanks in large part to spring break.  Now we're in the middle of March Madness, so why not go crazy with a bit of Dueling!?!

The Imperial March will be played on the Conveyex Train board, made famous in the Solo movie.  It should be a good one!  We're playing Friday at 7PM in the Fine Arts Studio.

HISTORY OF THE IMPERIAL MARCH:

2025 - Curtis won with Tobias Beckett on the Conveyex Train

2024 - Bekah won with Emperor Palpatine in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2023 - Rob won with Supreme Leader Snoke on Arvala-7

2022 - Kat won with Darth Maul in the Naboo Reactor Pit

2021 - Ian won with Yoda on the Conveyex Train

2020 - Ben H. won with Darth Vader on the Kamino Platform

2019 - Rob won with Darth Maul in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2018 - Rob won with Luke Skywalker in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2017 - Dalton won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room

2016 - Alex R. won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2015 - Grant won with Han Solo in the Carbon Freezing Chamber 

MEET THE DUELERS:

Here are the 12 brave souls with tickets to ride on Friday...

Alex G. - this marks Alex's first Duel back since winning the A New Hope Duel with Orson Krennic back in January!  Can he make it two wins in 2026?

Ally - professional Dueler alert!!!  The Imperial March is Ally's sixth Duel, turning her professional in the rankings!  She already has a win in the record books too.

Curtis - repeat alert?  Curtis won this Duel last year on the Conveyex Train with Tobias Beckett.  We're back on the board AND Beckett is playing too.

Eric - Eric started off 2026 nicely with a fifth place finish with a double-minor deck (Chirrut & Baze) at the A New Hope Duel.  He'd love to notch career victory number one...

James - he's riding a bit of a down streak heading into the Imperial March, having only finished in the top six once in his last five Duels.

Jonah - one of our most trusted and respected backups is at the table this month!  Don't sleep on Jonah, he has two career wins.

Junior - rookie of the year alert?  Junior has three top five finishes in four career Duels!  He was cruising in last month's Valentine's Duel until a not-so-subtle alliance whisper doomed him in fifth.

Mark - he's still trying to shake off the emotional (and physical?) scars of debuting the Dr. Evazan deck in January.  Who knows what injury he'll have by tomorrow!

Riley - it is official.  Riley submitted her housing preferences a few days ago for the fall.  Her first pick?  *drumroll* ...Brooks Residential College!

Rob - Rob's win with Kit Fisto last month made it the eleventh character he's been the first Dueler to guide to victory.  Check out the new tab on the blog - "First Time Wins."

Sam - retired Dueler Sam was in town last weekend helping us test out the new decks for the summer single's tournament, and now he's rolling back into Waco for a 12-way.  You can't teach heart!

Tatum - Tatum made her debut last month and is back for more!  She loved playing those attack cards but will try to go deeper into the game this go-round.

MEET THE CHARACTERS:

Here are the characters you'll find on the train Friday night!  There's a lot of newer decks...

There are some big decks in this one - see everyone Friday night at 7PM in the Fine Arts Studio!

Valentine's Duel - February 7, 2026

Death Star

What a night of firsts!  We saw the "official" league debut of the Death Star board, a 70-tile 3-D printout of Death Star-themed pieces that are randomly placed each time we play on it, meaning we'll never see the same configuration twice.  IG-88 and Commander Cody made their first character appearances, while Tatum and Kevin K. made played in their first career Duels too!  But it was also a night of 35ths...more on that below!

11 hearts breaking on Valentine's Day...

The evening got off to a late start thanks to I2E parking issues and having to set up the Death Star board, but once the dice started rolling, it was on!  Ian/Dr. Evazan recognized Justin/Captain Rex was fairly exposed to distance attacks from Ian's side of the action.  They immediately started attacking Rex!  Justin eventually Secured the Perimeter to escape, but it was short lived when Jillian's Jod Na Nawood sent him home in last!!!  Poor Justin - that's two 12th place finishes in a row.  :(

Hard start for Rex and IG-88

Meanwhile, on an isolated corner of the board, David/IG-88 and rookie Dueler Tatum/Saesee Tiin started mixing it up.  Even though this was just Tatum's first Duel, she caught the blood lust for attacking!  David was getting peppered by the other side of the board too.  In a final act of defiance, he blew up IG-88 and hit surrounding characters with his Security Protocols.  It wasn't the night David wanted and it was a rough start to league play for IG-88, but they'll both surely be back again soon...

Kevin wonders what he got himself into...

The self-destruct move from IG-88 left Tatum in really rough shape.  She tried to join forces with Ian and James/Beckett's alliance.  They were all for it but Kevin/Kylo Ren and Rob/Kit Fisto did not appreciate the perceived defection.  Kevin went in for some big hits, but he accidently left himself exposed to laser fire from the opposite alliance.  Nayshaun's Storm Trooper (Grand Inquisitor) sent Kevin home in tenth.  Welcome to the league though, Kevin!

Tatum's Saesee Tiin couldn't hold out much longer after that.  The board was too clogged for her to run to safety.  Riley used Commander Cody to blast her into ninth place.  Playing in a Duel was on Tatum's Baylor bucket list.  Let's hope playing a second match is on there too!

Kicking the bucket.

Ian/Evazan, Nayshaun/Grand Inquisitor, Jillian/Jod Na, and James/Beckett were running things at that point, especially after convincing Junior/Luminara not to defect.  But with such a strong pack of shooters, Rob/Kit Fisto made overtures to Nayshaun and Junior to flip sides and stick to a melee alliance.  James and Ian were pretty annoyed when they eventually did!  Kit Fisto and Grand Inquisitor managed to damage and Push Tobias Beckett With A Smile to the opposite corner, where Michael's Baze was ready with some Staccato Lightning.  James survived the first round of attacks and hit a Double Blasters, but Baze shot him with the Lightning again and James bowed out in eighth.

The script was flipped.

The majority alliance became the minority, but Jillian and Ian were fairly well protected on the Death Star map and the only way to get to them was through a bottleneck.  Riley, piloting the new Commander Cody, finally played the most anticipated card of the evening:  AT-RT!  That's right, Cody removed his minor characters to climb into the first vehicle in league history.  The excitement was short lived, however, when Dr. Evazan wisely destroyed it before it could destroy him.  Riley retreated and tried to heal for a couple of rounds, but Ponda Boba hit a cross-map shot to send the 2025 Champion home in seventh place.

The AT-RT towers over the board!

Ian and Jillian were now running out of options.  Jod Na Nawood pulled off a well-timed Pirate Charm, but Junior/Luminara and then Rob/Kit Fisto charged in.  Junior got the elimination with a 3-point attack.  Jillian/Jod Na was gone in sixth.

Rob/Kit Fisto and Michael/Chirrut & Baze both assumed Ian's Dr. Evazan was the next target.  But after Jillian was gone, Junior and Nayshaun stood up and had a whispering sidebar, without including Rob or Michael.  It was painfully obvious those two were plotting how to make the final two.  Rob and Michael didn't appreciate that at all, and Ian was more than happy to join forces with them!  Kit Fisto and Dr. Evazan went from game-long enemies to alliance partners, attacking Junior's Luminara Unduli.  Meanwhile, Michael started taking potshots on Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor, who had been carding up for several rounds.  Everyone was beyond nervous with the number of 5/1 base cards he had already discarded.

Congrats to Nayshaun for turning pro!

Junior tried to retreat to the Grand Inquisitor's side of the board, but Chirrut pulled off the Blind Lightbow attack to eradicate Luminara!  Junior went from visions of top two to a fifth place finish.  That good finish helped him hold onto #1 in the amateur rankings.

It was now three characters against Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor.  Rob and Ian were set up well to lure Nayshaun into a kill zone, but Michael - who was down to just Chirrut - got caught away from his teammates.  Though he fought valiantly, there was just no way to withstand the Inquisitor's onslaught.  Michael was out in fourth place, but that's an outstanding effort for having double minor characters.

Enemies to Besties: the Rob and Ian Story.

The layout of the Death Star board meant Nayshaun could only access Rob and Ian through one pathway.  Ian began shooting him with Dr. Evazan at long distances while Rob's Kit Fisto moved forward to entice the Grand Inquisitor to fall for their trap.  Ian weakened Nayshaun's defenses, which allowed Rob's Kit Fisto to move in for the attack.  They were able to put the Grand Inquisitor on ice in third place with a Push With A Smile.  A big congrats is owed to Nayshaun, though!  He turned professional in this match and is now ranked fourth in the professional Dueler standings!

Ian had told Rob earlier he probably couldn't defeat him in the final two, but he kept his word anyway to stick with him to the final two.  It was a funny turn of events as they had locked horns for most of the night.  Ian's prediction ran true, Dr. Evazan couldn't muster attacks big enough to damage Kit Fisto.  Rob used a final Push With A Smile to win his 35th career Duel!  That is obnoxious.  This also marked Kit Fisto's first career win in just his third game played.  

Pushing with a smile!

Final order of finish:

12.  Justin/Captain Rex

11.  David/IG-88

10.  Kevin/Kylo Ren

9.  Tatum/Saesee Tiin

8.  James/Tobias Beckett

7.  Riley/Commander Cody

6.  Jillian/Jod Na Nawood

5.  Junior/Luminara Unduli

4.  Michael/Chirrut & Baze

3.  Nashaun/Grand Inquisitor

2.  Ian/Dr. Evazan

1.  Rob/Kit Fisto

Thanks again to everyone who came out to play!  And thanks to the random strangers who gave us leftover Shorty's Pizza.  Next month's Imperial March will have to wait until after Spring Break.  March 20th is the likely date, so that pencil that in until it's confirmed.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.  PEW PEW!