Doubleheader #2 - August 29, 2015

Green and Mean

Emperor's Throne Room

The second game of the night and third match of the day didn't get started until well after 10PM.  The players looked like they had been through hell...but they were only half way to the finish line...a finish line only one of them would even reach.

dun-Dun-DUNNNN!!!!

Shockingly, three players redrew the same characters they had the match before:  Elysa/Maul, Tommy/Boba, and Stephen/Obi.  Sakina got the Emperor, after already playing Vader and Maul earlier in the day.  That's an evil head space to have to occupy for such a long period of time!  Alex also decided to give up his chair to Grant, who had come to watch the first match.  Grant would take advantage of the opportunity...  #forshadowing

The Throne Room was selected for the second time this season and we were off and running.  Once again, as has been common in the past few Duels, the light side and dark appeared to gravitate towards each other.  But just as alliances were starting to form, side-hopping started to take place.  Stephen took a page out of Curtis' book and had his Obi-Wan run over to the dark side.  Similarly, Ethen flipped to the light side with Dooku.  What happened next was quite comical.  With Chewbacca holding his bowcaster, JD forced Tommy's Boba to defect as well by threat of 11 points of damage.  Tommy knew what to do - let the Wookie win!

The Throne Room stayed congested and after a lot of shots across the board, Elysa was once again isolated and attacked out of fear of the Sith-Speed wielding menace.  Poor Elysa had a repeat twelfth place finish, a cruel reminder on how vicious this game can be.  That shouldn't be a reflection on Elysa's skills, though.  It was much more circumstantial than anything else.  We hope she'll be back out there the next time we play!

The dominoes continued to fall after that.  Stephen discovered a move too late that his Obi-Wan was exposed to a long diagonal shot from Rob's Padme, and sure enough, she delivered 15 attack points in two actions.  Obi perished soon after.  Ethen, fighting valiantly but stuck in the middle of the board, was next to go as the dark side were too persistent in their revenge on Dooku.  Curtis/Jango were next to fall, marking a day Curtis would just as soon forget.  With the dark side players disappearing, Grant/Yoda and Rob/Anakin sensed Ryan/Luke might have been making nice with the remaining dark side characters.  Despite Ryan's efforts to prove his loyalty by attacking Vader, Grant ultimately "Force Lifted" him and threw him across the board to Sakina.  Sakina, though, decided to make nice with Ryan.  As Chris/Mace marched down to attack Luke, Ryan suggested Sakina discard three of her cards to stand him up.  Sakina obliged!

Behold!  Ryan's Evil Giggle

What happened next will be a move that lives in infamy.  Sweet, hilarious, infamy.  After Sakina discarded from her own deck to help Ryan...he attacked her!!!  You could argue he was simply reestablishing his commitment to his original alliance, but that picture says it all!  Sakina perished soon after, and then the rest of the board struck down Tommy/Boba, who had stayed loyal to his light side switch.

With five to go a pecking order needed to be established, and that's where Grant/Yoda made the next move.  He went after JD/Han, who had been hanging out near Yoda for most of the game.  JD didn't survive, but he had a heck of a day - first, second, and fifth place finishes.  Amazing!  And well deserved. 

Things got dicey when the final four were left.  Rob left the table for a minute to let his dog outside, and heard the treacherous whispers behind his back.  Saboteurs!!!  That's a big lesson for any of you rookie duelers reading this blog:  NEVER LEAVE THE TABLE.  Rob confronted them immediately and their nervous laughter confirmed his suspicions.  Chris/Mace proposed it would take a unified effort to oust Grant/Yoda, and as everyone agreed he attacked Rob/Anakin!  The conniving continued, but it was Ryan/Luke who fell first.  Like JD, Ryan had a truly epic day, finishing first, second, and fourth in the duels.

Despite Rob's incessant verbal temptations to form a two-on-one alliance with Chris and Grant, neither caved and Anakin petered out in third.  That left two.  Though Chris/Mace looked like he had the early advantage, Grant leveraged incredible dice rolls with perfectly timed card plays.  Mace could never get fully comfortable, and was finally force pushed to his death!  Congrats to Grant, who becomes just the second player to win three duels...and he wasn't even supposed to be playing!!!  It also marks Yoda's second career victory.  Yoda rules.

Thanks to everyone who played two, and in some cases, three duels on the day!  I love that interest in the league continues to grow.  Mark your calendars now, the next Duel, "The Fall Brawl," is tentatively scheduled for September 19th.  More details and official invitations will come out in a few weeks. 

In the meantime, I'm working to update the stat tabs.  I can tell you the most exciting news is that Ryan has eked past Rob by just .01 percent to retake the top ranked player title!  I should also note Daniel became a professionally ranked dueler by playing his sixth Duel at the Birthday Surprise.  Congrats Daniel!  Also, the there's a shakeup in the bottom three characters, as the Emperor has moved up to eighth place and Han has fallen into the bottom three.  That impacts the handicap points for our rankings, but like I said, I'll get that updated/better explained on the blog in the coming days.

Order of finish for this Duel:

12.  Elysa - Darth Maul

11.  Stephen - Obi-Wan Kenobi

10.  Ethen - Count Dooku

9.  Curtis - Jango Fett

8.  Nathan - Darth Vader

7.  Sakina - Emperor Palpatine

6.  Tommy - Boba Fett

5.  JD - Han Solo

4.  Ryan - Luke Skywalker

3.  Rob - Anakin Skywalker

2.  Chris - Mace Windu

1.  Grant - Yoda

Doubleheader #1 - August 29, 2015

Geonosis Arena

As mentioned in the previous post, even though this was supposed to be the first Duel of the day, it was already the second!  Geonosis Arena was the board picked, and the characters were assigned.  Curtis and Alex were surprised to see themselves repeating their use of Anakin and Mace.  One would fair better than the other by the end of the game...

Excitement and tensions were high as the game started.  There seemed to be a natural divide, once again, between the light and dark sides.  However, after some tricky board maneuvers, including JD's Emperor joining Rob's Dooku in the Dooku hidey-hole, Alex's Mace made a bold defection by running down to the dark side.  It was reminiscent of Ryan's same move from last Spring.  Not long after that, Nathan's Luke did the same thing.  The dark side characters were welcoming while the light side had to scramble to try and turn the tide.

That's when the first brutal take down of the night occurred.  The dark side had been slowly advancing towards the Jedi, and doing damage along the way, but out of nowhere Stephen's Obi-Wan played the "Force Balance" and moved all of the characters in play up to three spaces each.  The terrible effect was poor Elysa/Darth Maul being completely surrounded by the light side characters!

She fought valiantly and inflicted damage, but it wasn't enough to escape a twelfth place finish.  Not long after Chris/Yoda and Curtis/Anakin were gone, victims of a blind-side by Ethen/Han Solo.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on what happened next, but I do know Alex's Mace made numerous public declarations that all he was seeking in this Duel was "friendship," going so far as to have his Mace hold hands with Ryan/Jango for numerous rounds.  That was especially ironic given the two characters and the board we were playing on.  Alex was clearly drinking too much Yoda Soda.  Tommy's Boba was next to die, and then Stephen/Obi and Ethen/Han got thrown into the triangle of death by Rob/Dooku.  The triangle consisted of Nathan/Luke, Alex/Mace, and Ryan/Jango, who rewarded each arrival with exits from the game.  Ethen did manage to drop seven points of damage on Dooku with the "Bowcaster," though.  That brought the game down to six players.  Nathan, lacking defense cards for Luke, was identified as next to go, and then there were five.

What happened next was one of the most grueling, painful, un-fun hours in league history.  The final five were stuck in a stalemate.  Rob/Dooku and JD/Emperor were strongly aligned.  Alex/Mace and Ryan/Jango were more or less aligned, but Jango was feeling weak and Sakina's Vader was hard to pin down as far as her alliances went.  The five traded barbs and slowly started whittling each other down.  Sakina eventually bowed out in fifth, but not after hanging on much longer than anyone thought.  Rob became delirious and worried about the start time for the next Duel, so when Alex proposed that they align to take out Emperor and Jango, he agreed.

That didn't go well for either, as they were next out.  That's right, we had the same final two from earlier in the afternoon:

This time, though, it would be Ryan with the upper hand!  Ryan had played the stalemate the most patiently and evasively, giving him a strong hand to finish off the battered Emperor.  Congrats to Ryan!  He won his second career Duel with the victory, which includes the 2014 Championship.  It also marked the second victory for the topped ranked character in the league, Jango Fett.

Order of finish:

12.  Elysa - Darth Maul

11.  Chris - Yoda

10.  Curtis - Anakin Skywalker

9.  Tommy - Boba Fett

8.  Stephen - Obi-Wan Kenobi

7.  Ethen - Han Solo

6.  Nathan - Luke Skywalker

5.  Sakina - Darth Vader

4.  Rob - Count Dooku

3.  Alex - Mace Windu

2.  JD - Emperor Palpatine

1.  Ryan - Jango Fett 



Surprise Birthday Duel! - August 29, 2015

Yes, Rob is old.

Kamino Platform

What the what!?!?!

Amateur dueler Jess surprised her husband Rob/me with a secret, surprise birthday duel...on the same day as the double header.  THAT'S THREE DUELS IN ONE DAY AND UTTER MADNESS!!!

After a "joke" start in which Curtis and Ryan killed Rob in two seconds, the real game was under way.  It was an experienced bunch of duelers eager to cash in on an extra shot at glory.  An amazing seven players were already signed up to play the evening double header.  We have reached addiction status!

So many hopes and dreams about to be dashed...

The chaos started early when Rob/Boba got a "Thermal Detonator" and chucked it down on the light side of the board, killing three clone troopers and doing four points of damage on three main characters.  The light side started panicking and infighting followed.  Alex's Mace became an early target as folks scrambled to avoid a 12th place finish.  But it was Curtis who was the unexpected first victim.  He and Ian/Obi had marched down to tussle with Molly's Dooku, but Molly went on the offensive and dropped two "Taunting" cards on him.  JD/Vader finished him off with a wrath.

Alex, you deserved better.

The situation kept getting worse for Alex/Mace, especially when Christian/Yoda "Force Lifted" him.  Alex bowed out in eleventh, while Christian was next to go in tenth after considering too publically the overtures of the dark side alliance.

The next big shakeup occurred when Grant/Han flipped on the light side and tried to make his way down to the dark.  But Greedo blocked his path and fired his "Desperate Shot," only needing to do four points of damage to kill Han.  But Han still had his "4" defense card and Greedo died!  Not only that, but Ian made an unexpected charge into the dark side of the board and killed Rob/Boba like the lying bounty hunting dog that he was.  Sakina's Maul ousted Grant/Han and Ryan/Emperor put the finishing blows on Ian's Obi for 7th place.  You can probably tell there was a fast pace to this game, and it mostly involved the light side getting chewed up by the bad guys.

That's right, Molly, Sakina just stabbed you in the back
 as hard as she possibly could!

That left Nathan/Luke as the lone light side character left, staring down five dark side players.  While Ryan and JD were roasting smores behind Jango's ship, the tight alliance of Molly/Dooku, Sakina/Maul, and Daniel/Jango (seriously Daniel, pick a different character!) moved in to take out young Skywalker.  But in one of the sketchiest back-stabs in dueling history, Sakina and Nathan suddenly formed a new alliance and aimed to destroy Molly and Daniel!  EXCEPT...Sakina tried to attack Molly BEFORE IT WAS HER TURN!!!  Look at that picture - Molly had no clue Sakina was flipping!  With Sakina's failure to capture the ultimate surprise attack, Molly dropped two more "Tauntings" in a desperate attempt at saving herself.  It didn't work.  In the same turn Sakina took down Molly and Daniel and secured a story that will be passed on for eternity in this league.  Unfortunately, the false start left her too damaged to hang, and Nathan/Luke put her down in fourth.

It's too bad this game was on Kamino instead of the Emperor's Throne Room, because we had the most historically accurate final three in league history.  Luke...Vader...and Emperor.  At first it appeared as if JD and Ryan would stay loyal to their alliance as they moved towards Ryan.  JD was doing a bit more of the heavy lifting, though, and knew Ryan was still holding the "You Will Die" card.  With that knowledge, he used a "Wrath" and "Throw Debris" card on Ryan.  It was hectic after that as all three moved back and forth on who was attacking who.  Eventually, though, JD was able to drop the "All Too Easy" undefended on Nathan's Luke, who still had half of his health points, for 20 points of damage.  We now had our final two!

 

So...much...concentration.





Vader and Emperor danced around Slave One as they desperately searched their decks for Special cards.  JD was at a disadvantage because he still had a Storm Trooper alive, but he used him to his advantage by blocking for Vader and taking the occasional pot-shot.  They grinded for at least a good 20 minutes before JD had Ryan down to one point of health left.  He used his "Dark Side Drain," with a "3" attack value, but Ryan could only block for "2"!!!  And with that, JD won his first Duel!!!  That was also the FOURTH victory for Vader, not to mention he had a Storm Trooper still alive.  Way to go Storm Trooper #2!

 

I would like to give a special shout out to my wife, who arranged this madness and is too supporting of my dueling obsession.  Love you baby!!!

Order of finish:
12.  Curtis - Anakin Skywalker
11.  Alex - Mace Windu
10.  Christian - Yoda
9.  Rob - Boba Fett
8.  Grant - Han Solo
7.  Ian - Obi-Wan Kenobi
6.  Molly - Count Dooku
5.  Daniel - Jango Fett
4.  Sakina - Darth Maul
3.  Nathan - Luke Skywalker
2.  Ryan - Emperor Palpatine
1.  JD - Darth Vader

Preview: The Doubleheader - August 29, 6:30PM

This Saturday the second and third matches of the Dueling season take place out at Rob's house.  That's right - it's time for the Double Header!  Traditionally played at the end of August or over the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Double Header provides twice the fun, insanity, and back-stabbing.

Who would be crazy enough to play two games in one night?  I'm glad you asked!  Meet the twelve brave souls searching for Duels glory:

Alex
Alex is a two-time 12-way league champion (three if you count the first ever CL Retreat match).  No longer a CL, the president of the LEAD community is a cagey strategist who finished fourth place with Han Solo in his last duel, May the 4th Be With You.

Chris K.
The NoRo RHD and self-styled Watto of Epic Duels board game trafficking, Chris is a crafty veteran and operator of several underground Duel games in his church and residence hall.  Chris finished in third place at the May the 4th match but a disappointing ninth at the CL Retreat.

Curtis
Curtis hasn't competitively dueled since the May the 4th match either, but this summer during the singles tournament he was a stunning 8-0 in his first round matches.  Curtis, ranked third,  has two trophies on his mantle and is eager for more hardware.

Elysa
Elysa is a dueling rookie who made a strong showing at the CL Retreat side game that featured 10 players, finishing second place with Vader.  A former pupil of Rob's, is the student ready to overthrow the master?

Ethen
Though officially new to this dueling league, the word on the street is that Ethen took down eleven of his NoRo peers in a bootleg match during Welcome Week.  How will this rookie handle the pressures of playing at the highest level of dueling competition?

JD
Another experienced professional with the intelligence to take down the rest of the board, JD was off to an outstanding start with Mace Windu at the CL Retreat until the Emperor devastated him with the "You Will Die" card and a tenth place finish.  Be scared - retribution is near!

Nathan
Nathan's eighth place finish with Boba Fett at the CL Retreat belies a natural grasp of the finer intricacies of 12-way Duels.  His Boba punished all of those before him, and he has displayed strong loyalty to his alliances.

Rob
The number one ranked professional and five time winner might be officially out of his gourd.  He's writing about himself in the third person and spending a shameful amount of time on this new blog.  He has not traditionally played well at the Double Header and will need to be at his best.

Ryan
Ryan is the second ranked professional and winner of the 2014 Championship.  Has he spent the summer seething over his early exit at the May the 4th match last Spring?  His eleven competitors will find out soon enough!

Sakina
Sakina got a close glimpse of the promised land with her outstanding second place finish with Yoda at the CL Retreat a couple of weeks ago.  She has finally recovered from her 2014 Championship ouster.  Pray when you sit across from her you don't hear her famous battle cry:  "We're dueling."

Stephen
You would never have known Stephen was a rookie to the ways of dueling based on his strong third place finish with Darth Maul at the CL Retreat.  His timing with Maul's aggressive nature was impeccable.  Expect big things from this noob. 

Tommy
Little is known about Tommy - this dueling rookie could be the dark horse others ignore at risk of their own peril.  Does he have the fortitude to take on such an accomplished table?

So who will win the two games at the Double Header?  Let's ask the experts:

JAR JAR AND OBI-WAN PREDICT THE WINNERS:

So Jar Jar, who you got winning these matches?

"Mesa think emperor is boom-bad!  Wesa like da Luke too!
Mesa be betting a rook-rook win one, and a veteran!"



Ok...
Obi-Wan, what is your prediction?

"I will win both Duels.  I suggest these Dulers pick me.  I have the high ground."

 And so concludes the dumbest segment you'll ever read on this blog.  We'll see you Saturday for the Double Header!

CL Training Duel - August 11, 2015

Emperor's Throne Room

It's hard to believe, but with the student staff back on campus and the new academic year about to start, the 2015-16 Epic Duels 12-Way season is off and running!

The first fight, as always, is the CL Training Duel, which takes place during the CL retreat at Glen Lake Camp in Glen Rose, TX.  There was an early buzz that more than 12 folks were interested in playing.  That turned out to be quite the understatement!  Not only did we quickly fill all 12 seats for the main event, but ten additional folks played on the spare game Chris brought.  That made for 22 duelers playing at one time!!!  Here's to hoping this bounty of interest will continue once classes start!

Six first time duelers joined six veterans for the match, giving it a nice mix of rookies and pros.  The newbies weren't afraid to make their presence known, as Max used his Luke Skywalker to get into early scrapes with multiple folks, including JD's Mace.  That ultimately didn't bode well for Max as he was out first. 

The roughest death of the night might have been Josh in eleventh.  Though he was new to 12-way duels, he had played smaller games before.  He was confident that his Darth Vader was in a good alliance with his surrounding dark side, but he was soon betrayed by Christian/Emperor and Steve/Maul.  As Josh himself said, "I'm feeling salty!"  The game had reached over an hour in length by the point JD was ousted in tenth.  He was feeling good with Mace, but Christian dropped the brutal "You Will Die" card on him, and he was done for.

That death set off a chain reaction of sorts.  The light side was feeling vulnerable and agitated by the strong dark side alliance.  Chris overextended himself with Anakin and got Wookie-tossed by Stevie to finish his night.  (Big thanks to Chris for helping the new folks playing at the other table at the same time as the 12-way duel).  Nathan/Boba was in tight on the dark side, but had taken some damage, especially after an early thermal detonator he threw had disgruntled some folks.  David P's Dooku, who had been trying to stay neutral, fell in line with the remaining Jedi and finished off Boba.  Stevie's attempts at an isolationist approach with Han did him in too.  Sakina/Yoda couldn't trust him and unexpectedly killed him off.

That brought us to the halfway point.  The Emperor/Maul alliance was still rock strong, including their third member, Ian/Jango.  Sakina and I (Rob/Obi) were solid, and David P. was more or less on our side too.  David and I were able to charge in and start doing some damage on the dark side alliance, who were a bit weak carded at that point.  Once my final decent defense card was used, I dropped Obi-Wan's "Force Balance" card, and forced everyone to discard and draw three.  That brought me some good offense which was used on Christian's Emperor.  David P. couldn't make it, though, and was gone in sixth before Christian exited in fifth. 

With four to go, it was still Sakina and I against Ian and Steve/Maul.  I used my "Force Quickness" and the attack card that lets me move folks up to three spaces to create the cool pic to the right.  Ian was almost successful in running away, bloodied and bruised, but both Sakina and I rolled "5's" to trap him and put him down.  That was bad luck for Ian, though his top four finish keeps his string of strong finishes alive. 

Steve was hurting with his Darth Maul, and it didn't look good as he had to go against Obi-Wan and Yoda.  He made a valiant effort, but couldn't repel either character.  His fate was sealed when he played an "Athletic Surge" on Sakina's Yoda but Sakina countered with the "Force Rebound."  Still though, what a great rookie duel for Steve!

With two left, Sakina and I wished each other well and started dueling!  Sakina force lifted Obi-Wan and also played "Insight."  She discarded my 12 defense but left me my three 6-attack cards.  I used two of those on Sakina and discovered she didn't have any defense left, but I didn't have enough to finish her off either.  Sensing she still had a trick or two up her sleeve, I retreated.  It was a good thing, too, because she still had another force lift and two force pushes! 

Sakina pursued me a bit too aggressively, allowing me to strike her first and doing enough damage to secure victory for a fifth time in our league's 13 match history.  Sakina's second place finish was excellent and a nice bounce back with her favorite character who was gutted in the 2014 Championship match.  Obi-Wan wins his second career duel too, with the first being last Spring under the control of Curtis.  The final order of finish:

12.  Max - Luke Skywalker
11.  Josh - Darth Vader
10.  JD - Mace Windu
9.  Chris - Anakin Skywalker
8.  Nathan - Boba Fett
7.  Stevie - Han Solo
6.  David P. - Count Dooku
5.  Christian - Emperor Palpatine
4.  Ian - Jango Fett
3.  Steve - Darth Maul
2.  Sakina - Yoda
1.  Rob - Obi-Wan Kenobi

And by the way...welcome to the new blog!  Bookmark it now for all your 12-Way Duel needs and information.  The Player and Character ranking tabs are up to date too!

Tentative date for the next match is August 29 - it will be a double header!  That's right, we're playing twice in one night.  More details to come...

Epic Duels Singles Tournament - June 6, 2015

This wasn't part of our 12-way Duels League, but this summer eight of us got together to do a 64-character singles tournament, just like the NCAA Basketball Tourney.  All of eight of us got to play with eight different characters - four light side, four dark side.  Here's how it turned out:

Key Moments:

• Curtis won all eight of his first round matches, which was awesome, but it made the tournament last until 2AM because it created a massive log jam.
• Chris scored TWO spots in the final four, and won the whole tournament.
• There was only one same character matchup - Chris' Dooku vs. Rob's Dooku.
• There was only one same dueler matchup - Chris vs. Chris in the final four.
• I don't know that we'll ever do this again because it was insane and took forever.

May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2015

Carbon Freezing Chamber

For just the second time on the year, we were back in the Carbon Chamber.  This was the last duel of the academic year, but was also on the greatest Star Wars day of the year - May the 4th!

The results were:

12.  Simeon - Boba Fett
11.  JD - Darth Vader
10.  Ryan - Count Dooku
9.  Grant - Darth Maul
8.  Curtis - Emperor Palpatine
7.  David G. - Mace Windu
6.  Ian - Obi-Wan Kenobi
5.  Daniel - Yoda
4.  Alex - Han Solo
3.  Chris - Luke Skywalker
2.  Jess - Anakin Skywalker
1.  Rob - Jango Fett

Key Moments:

• These were the last ever 12-way duels for Simeon and David G., who graduated this Spring.
• Simeon got Boba Fett three games in a row!
• JD abandoned the dark side to join the light, but Alex bowcasted him!
• The players realized Grant, Ryan, and Curtis had a tight alliance, so folks joined together to take them out.
• David G. and Ian were in a tight alliance and about to kill Rob/Jango, but Daniel/Yoda had forced pushed the Fett, leaving David G. and Ian to go after Yoda.
• Alex was close to running the board with his cards, but Chris wisely played the "I will not fight you" card.  That wrecked Alex.
• The final three was a solid alliance from the get-go, and Rob outlasted the other two for his fourth win of the year!  It was also Jango's first career victory.
• The was the last Duel of the season - the next Duel will be August 11, 2015, at the CL Retreat!

Duel of the Fates - April 18, 2015

Emperor's Throne Room

The second to last Duel of the school year!  The results were:

12.  Mackenzie - Darth Maul
11.  Grant - Mace Windu
10.  Chris - Darth Vader
9.  Molly - Yoda
8.  Alex - Han Solo
7.  Simeon - Boba Fett
6.  Rob - Anakin Skywalker
5.  JD - Emperor Palpatine
4.  Daniel - Jango Fett
3.  Ian - Count Dooku
2.  Ryan - Luke Skywalker
1.  Curtis - Obi-Wan Kenobi

Key Moments:

•  My apologies - I remember very little about this duel!
• I know Ian entered and backed out of multiple alliances.
• Daniel had his best ever finish.
• Curtis played a great game for his second win and Obi's first!

Imperial March - March 28, 2015

Carbon Freezing Chamber

For the first time ever, we finally picked the Carbon Freezing Chamber!!!  This duel happened after a seven week break, so folks were ready to throw down...the results were:

12.  Simeon - Boba Fett
11.  Kristin - Emperor Palpatine
10.  Mackenzie - Jango Fett
9.  Alex - Obi-Wan Kenobi
8.  Elijah - Luke Skywalker
7.  David G. - Yoda
6.  Molly - Darth Maul
5.  Ryan - Anakin Skywalker
4.  Curtis - Mace Windu
3.  Rob - Darth Vader
2.  Ian - Count Dooku
1.  Grant - Han Solo (and Chewbacca!!!)

Key Moments:

• Alex twice used the force balance card to move folks around the board.  That put Rob in the back row with the Jedi and Kristin in the middle of those same Jedi.  And yes, Rob was Vader AGAIN...
• Molly was playing her first 12-way Duel...and of course got Darth Maul.  Hence, Darth Molly.
• Molly and Ian, also playing his first Duel, made a strained alliance. 
• Ryan went in to kill Ian's Dooku, but wasn't anticipating the double taunting attack from Dooku, which ended up ending Ryan's duel.
• Curtis saw the writing on the wall and flipped on his alliance with Rob.  Rob convincingly argued for Grant to take down Curtis first, which he did!
• It got down to Ian's Dooku and Grant's Han and Chewey.  Ian force drained Grant's hand down to one card.  That one card left?  THE BOWCASTER!!!  On Grant's turn he shot Dooku in the face, POINT BLANK FOR THE WIN!!!
• This is probably the most exciting win we've had in this league.
• This was Grant's second win and Han's first!

Valentine's Duel - February 7, 2015

Kamino Platform

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Even on Valentines,
We still EPIC DUEL!

The results:

12.  Daniel - Jango Fett
11.  Chris - Anakin Skywalker
10.  Simeon - Obi-Wan Kenobi
9.  Ryan - Count Dooku
8.  JD - Emperor Palpatine
7.  David G. - Boba Fett
6.  Sakina - Darth Maul
5.  Haley P. - Han Solo
4.  Mackenzie - Mace Windu
3.  Grant - Luke Skywalker
2.  Kristin - Yoda
1.  Rob - Darth Vader

Key Moments:

• Sakina played her first duel since the Championship massacre.  Determined not to die first, she destroyed poor Daniel, who had been nice enough to bring Star Wars-themed cupcakes.
• Chris died early and promptly left early.  We all thought he was mad.  He claims he wasn't! 
• Simeon roughed up the light side early and ran over to the dark side corner near Slave 1.  That brought unwanted attention to Ryan too.  They both were out shortly later, with Rob getting the final shot on Ryan. 
• Rob and Grant tried to take down Yoda.  Grant fought valiantly but fell to Kristin.  But Kristin fell to Rob!
• Rob and Vader both won for the third time on the season.  It was Rob's fourth time playing with Vader... 

A New Hope - January 10, 2015

Emperor's Throne Room

After the dust settled from the '14 Championship, and the holidays concluded...it was time to duel again!

The results were:

12.  David G. - Jango Fett
11.  Elijah - Obi-Wan Kenobi
10.  D. Coy - Boba Fett
9.  Christian - Yoda
8.  Chris - Count Dooku
7.  Curtis - Darth Maul
6.  JD - Darth Vader
5.  Mackenzie - Han Solo
4.  Becky - Emperor Palpatine
3.  Kristin - Anakin Skywalker
2.  Alex - Luke Skywalker
1.  Rob - Mace Windu

Key Moments:

• David G. was playing his first 12-way, and his nerves showed.  He insanely attacked Maul, standing right next to him, without rocket retreating.  Ouch.
• This was the infamous game when Rob tricked Curtis.  Alex and Rob had an alliance and Alex made a deal with Curtis.  If Curtis attacked JD, Alex (and supposedly Rob) wouldn't attack him.  But Rob didn't technically agree to this, so after Curtis attacked JD, Rob killed Curtis.  Thems the breaks.
• The final three of Kristin, Rob, and Alex went back and forth, but Alex and Rob finally agreed to off Kristin.  Alex couldn't quite outlast Rob in an epic final two.
• This was Rob's second win, making him the second dueler to win two.
• This was Mace's first win, and just the second win by a Jedi on the season.

2014 Championship - December 7, 2014

Kamino Platform

This game represents the Super Bowl/World Series/NBA Finals of the 12-way Dueling world.  The top twelve ranked duelers are invited to play, and sit in that order around the board.  The results were:

12.  Sakina - Yoda
11.  Curtis - Count Dooku
10.  Tyler - Han Solo
9.  JD - Obi-Wan Kenobi
8.  Chris - Anakin Skywalker
7.  Alex - Luke Skywalker
6.  Simeon - Emperor Palpatine
5.  Connor - Darth Vader
4.  D. Coy - Mace Windu
3.  Kristin - Jango Fett
2.  Rob - Darth Maul
1.  Ryan - Boba Fett

Key Moments:

• Sakina suffered the most brutal death in our dueling league's history.  She was PUMPED to have Yoda in the biggest game of the year.  But in an attack started by JD, nearly every light sided character attacked her, including Tyler's undefended bowcaster, and Sakina was out of the game in less than five minutes.  So.  Much.  ANGER.
• Ryan, Rob and Kristin had a tight alliance in the starting corner of Kamino.  JD ran over there to join the alliance, but was the odd one out when they turned on him.
• The light side charged into the Maul/Vader corner of Kamino, but pulled out, leaving Chris unprotected and eventually dead.
• Ryan, Rob, and Kristin kept their heads down while those two sides continued to battle and kill themselves.  Only D. Coy would survive.
• As Rob moved to attack Coy, Ryan threw a thermal detonator that hit both of them.  It would prove to be the difference because Maul couldn't recover to defeat Boba.  Ryan won his first game, and it was the toughest game of the year!!!
• Boba won his second game in a row.  Which is ludicrous. 

Thanksdueling! - November 15, 2014

Geonosis Arena


There are few things to be more thankful for than 12-way duels.  The results were:

12.  Daniel - Luke Skywalker
11.  Courtney - Emperor Palpatine
10.  Kyle - Obi-Wan Kenobi
9.  Tyler - Count Dooku
8.  David - Jango Fett
7.  Haley P. - Darth Maul
6.  JD - Anakin Skywalker
5.  Grant - Yoda
4.  Rob - Darth Vader
3.  Simeon - Han Solo
2.  Ryan - Mace Windu
1.  Alex - Boba Fett

Key Moments:

• Simeon went gangbusters in his first ever duel in our league (he previously owned the game).  He shot his best friend JD before even drawing a card, and unleashed the bowcaster on an unsuspecting Courtney shortly after.
• Ryan made one of the gutsiest moves in Duels history when he marched his Mace away from the light side, all the way across the board to the dark side, without taking any damage.
• Ryan and Rob turned on Haley P.
• JD became obsessed with killing Rob, but was unsuccessful.
• Simeon became obsessed with killing Rob, but was successful.
• Rob drew Darth Vader for the third time in six games!
• Alex played a flawless game and won with his favorite character, Boba Fett.  Alex became the first dueler to win two games during the season.

Fight Night - October 24, 2014

Emperor's Throne Room

We finally picked a non-prequel game board!

The results were:

12.  Cameron - Count Dooku
11.  Kristin - Han Solo
10.  Daniel - Luke Skywalker
9.  Rob - Anakin Skywalker
8.  Courtney - Mace Windu
7.  D. Copeland - Obi-Wan Kenobi
6.  C. Kim - Emperor Palpatine
5.  Connor - Yoda
4.  Ryan - Darth Maul
3.  Sakina - Jango Fett
2.  Chris - Boba Fett
1.  Grant - Darth Vader

Key Moments:

• Kristin and Cameron were picked on early and often.
• Chris dealt a ton of damage to Rob, ending his game early.
• Five duelers made their debut in this game, the most since the CL Training Duel.
• The dark side held strong together, and Grant was quite strategic as he took Vader all the way to the finish line. 
• This was Darth Vader's second victory of the season!

The Fall Brawl - September 28, 2014

Kamino Platform

Four weeks passed before twelve duelers were once again ready for the brutal onslaught known as "The Fall Brawl."  Like the leaves on the trees in late September, many would fall...

The results:

12.  Kyle - Boba Fett
11.  Grant - Han Solo
10.  Kristin - Obi-Wan Kenobi
9.  Chris - Emperor Palpatine
8.  Alex - Count Dooku
7.  Haley P. - Luke Sykwalker
6.  Rob - Darth Vader
5.  Sakina - Mace Windu
4.  Curtis - Anakin Skywalker
3.  Ryan - Yoda
2.  JD - Jango Fett
1.  D. Coy - Darth Maul

Key Moments:

• Rob and Chris began the game huddled in the corner behind Slave 1, hurling debris and lightning at Curtis and Ryan.  Until Alex snuck back there and force pushed Chris out of his alliance into a light side death circle.
• Ryan force pushed Sakina to Rob, and somehow managed to convince Sakina this wasn't an act of aggression.  Sakina bought it and attacked Rob instead of joining him against Ryan and Curtis.
• D. Coy spent most of the game standing around and looking threatening...and it worked!  He won!
• Darth Maul became the first character to win two duels on the season.
• Jango Fett was the number one ranked character after his crazy-good start to the season.

Labor Day Doubleheader #2 - August 30, 2014

Geonosis Arena

This Duel almost didn't happen - Mackenzie and Landon decided to leave after the first game.  Fortunately, Curtis was there to watch the festivities and Jess jumped in to preserve the 12-way.  The results were:

12.  Alex - Obi-Wan Kenobi
11.  Rob - Darth Maul
10.  Connor - Luke Skywalker
9.  Jess - Han Solo
8.  Sakina - Darth Vader
7.  JD - Boba Fett
6.  Chris - Count Dooku
5.  Grant - Mace Windu
4.  Kristin - Anakin Skywalker
3.  D. Coy - Jango Fett
2.  Ryan - Emperor Palpatine
1.  Curtis - Yoda

Key Moments:

• Alex, who only minutes ago had just won, got force pushed by Curtis into the middle of the dark side.  The dark side destroyed him immediately after.  He went from first place to last, all in the same night!
• Rob was out next when Chris and Ryan teamed up against him.
• Kristin finished fourth, which left her as the top ranked dueler for the season at this point in the season.
• This game took FOREVER.  That was partly because Kristin and D. Coy were quite passive and the final two characters, Palpatine and Yoda, took a long time to beat each other down.
• Ryan finished second place in just his second ever Duel.
• ...and Curtis won in his first ever Duel!!!

Labor Day Doubleheader #1 - August 30, 2014

Kamino Platform

Just a couple of weeks after the CL Retreat, Rob hosted at his house for the annual "double header" - two games in one night!  The order of finish was:

12.  Landon - Anakin Skywalker
11.  JD - Emperor Palpatine
10.  Grant - Count Dooku
9.  Chris - Mace Windu
8.  D. Coy - Obi-Wan Kenobi
7.  Connor - Han Solo
6.  Ryan - Darth Vader
5.  Mackenzie - Yoda
4.  Sakina - Boba Fett
3.  Rob - Jango Fett
2.  Kristin - Luke Skywalker
1.  Alex - Darth Maul

Key Moments:

• Alex was pretty much in control of this game from the beginning.  He aligned with Kristin and loosely with the Fetts, and had his way with everyone else.
• Despite his brutal betrayal of Sakina at the CL Retreat, Rob and Sakina were loyal to the end in this one.

CL Training Duel - August 12, 2014

Geonosis Arena

After a few false starts during the 2013-14 academic year, our CL&L Star Wars Epic Duels 12-way league was officially off and running.  The season started at the CL Retreat!  The official order of finish was:

12.  Haley A. - Han Solo
11.  Mackenzie - Emperor Palpatine
10.  Stephen - Mace Windu
9.  Julianna - Darth Maul
8.  Alex - Yoda
7.  Connor - Count Dooku
6.  JD - Obi-Wan Kenobi
5.  Sakina - Luke Skywalker
4.  Christian - Boba Fett
3.  Kristin - Anakin Skywalker
2.  Chris - Jango Fett
1.  Rob - Darth Vader

Key Moments:

• Rob convinced the table to go after Alex early, who had won the CL Training Duel in 2013.  The table complied, ousting Alex and his alliance partner, Connor.
• Sakina and Rob agreed to an alliance, with Christian as the next target to go.  But when Sakina played an "I will not fight you card" on Christian (dumping Christian's entire hand), Rob saw that Sakina only had one defense card left for Luke.  On Rob's very next turn, he got Christian and Chris to join his alliance, attacked Sakina once, and then attacked with the "All too easy" card, which instant-killed Sakina (who had been at full health).
• With two duelers left, Rob played the "Your skills are not complete" card on Chris, forcing him to dump a bunch of Special cards.  Rob won soon after.