The Last Jedi Standing - December 14th, 2017

Geonosis Arena

First and foremost, have you seen The Last Jedi yet???

YOU MUST.

Here are some of my spoiler free thoughts.  It's definitely a fun movie, but in my humble opinion, it runs a little long and could easily have cut one of the sub-plots to tighten up the run time and keep the suspense up.  That being said, if you love Star Wars, you'll like it just fine.  I want to say a LOT more, but it's too soon.

One of these guys will be the last Jedi standing.

What we CAN talk about is what went down before the world premiere of the latest movie - The Last Jedi Standing Duel!  Who doesn't love an early matinee Duel?!?

Stephen drew the first chair and the first character - Anakin Skywalker.  He also picked the board, Geonosis Arena.  We hadn't played there since September.  I think we should nickname it "The Dust Bowl."  I feel like I get sand in my Jedi boots just looking at it.  I don't like sand.  It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.  Everyone else grabbed their characters, shuffled their cards, and Rob pushed play on The Force Awakens, which we got to watch on the overhead projector to get us PUMPED UP for the movie!  But for those people sitting with their backs to the screen, it looked like the Duelers across the table were trying to make eyes with them when in reality they were just digging Episode VII.

Many nails died to bring us
this Duel recap...

Geonosis is a tricky board but it looked like the light and dark sides would stay aligned...until Curtis' Luke and Leia flipped!  Rob's Greedo Desperate Shot a clone trooper to get the death toll rolling, but Stephen's Anakin Wrathed Greedo off the board in retaliation. 

Rookie Luke R., playing in his first ever Duel as a last minute sub, had Mace Windu, who has never finished last. 

Until now.

Poor Luke R., he wasn't playing badly, but after a Boba Fett Thermal Detonator wiped out three more clones he was left exposed and unprotected.  The dark side concentrated their attacks on him and then Kaleb's Darth Vader brutalized him with a double Debris and it was quickly a seven-on-four battle.

Did I say seven on four?  Because I meant eight on three!  Jacob's Han Solo, deathly afraid of a battle droid and royal guard, defected to the dark side too, using a Never Tell Me The Odds on Toby's Yoda, Andrew's Obi, and Stephen's Anakin.  But the trio wouldn't go down without a fight.  Andrew played Force Balance and everyone had to unload their hands and start with three new cards.  That left Toby's Yoda exposed and without defense cards and it would be Ben's battle droid that killed him in eleventh.

Rob loves this part of the movie.

Andrew still refused to go quietly into the night.  He played two Force Controls to mix and match the board and create discomfort for the dark side.  Sadly for Stephen, that second attack came at his own expense after he expressed an openness to turn on Obi.

With nine Duelers left the dark side finally cannibalized one of their own.  Curtis marched his Leia behind Ben's Darth Maul and squeezed off two shots to end Ben's game.  He had taken damage from the early light side counterattacks and was repaid for his loyalty with death.  It happens.

At this point in the game most folks wanted Jacob's Han Solo dead, but he was conveniently hidden behind the columns.  That left Andrew's Obi-Wan Kenobi hanging out to dry and it was Nathan's super battle droid that laid down the kill shot.  Still, a big congrats goes out to Andrew - this was his sixth Duel, meaning he's joined the professional ranks.  Way to go, Andrew!

Jacob figured out he was the next target so he got aggressive with everyone's favorite Wookie.  He Bowcasted Joel's Emperor Palpatine within two points of dying, and then Wookie Tossed him for the trophy.  I don't think we paid that enough attention at the time, but as I write this...THAT WAS AWESOME.  Not for Joel, who finished in seventh, but still.  No shame in being Chewey's punching bag.  Not long after, Jacob's Han got taken down by Curtis' Leia, which just don't seem right!

The Rey trophy watches from afar.

That left five to go:  Rob's Boba, JD's Jango, Curtis and Luke, Nathan's Dooku, and Kaleb with Vader and both storm troopers.  Rob was convinced he was next to go, but Nathan dropped a Taunting on JD's Jango and chaos ensued.  The Kaleb/Vader and Curtis/Luke joined JD in flipping the script on Nathan, whose Dooku was fully healthy.  That didn't last long.  As he accumulated damage Kaleb's Vader finally Wrathed him off the board.  It was good to have Nathan playing with us, though.  He had a busy semester and hasn't been able to play as much.

And then there were four!  It was Curtis' turn, and his Luke had a big decision to make - who to attack.  This was the biggest negotiation of the game.  The Fetts didn't want to attack each other but they couldn't vocalize that for fear of being attacked.  After a LOT of debate and anxiety Curtis attacked Jango, with Kaleb/Vader and Rob/Boba promising to follow suit.  Kaleb upheld his end of the bargain but Rob Fetted like a Fett and dropped a Thermal/Wrist Cable on Vader!  Jango Wrist Cabled him too but couldn't finish Vader off and that resulted in JD dying in fourth.

With three to go Rob/Boba and Kaleb/Vader had to put aside their differences and work together to take down Curtis, who still had Leia and a very healthy Luke.  The partnership didn't last long, though, because Vader was down to fourth health points.  Rob was holding his Kyber Dart, which rewards three cards if it kills the character.  Being low-carded and fearing Leia was about to kill Vader anyway, Rob/Boba dropped the dart on Vader!

That left Boba Fett against the Skywalker twins.  Rob soon killed Leia, activating Curtis' Justice attacks but eliminating Leia's long range attacks.  He Rocket Retreated to the far side of the board.  Curtis rolled out soon after that.  His small dice rolls enabled Rob to inflict some critical damage, including another Kyber Dart and a Thermal Detonator.  All of a sudden Curtis only had two health points while Rob was sitting at five.  Rob could withstand any non-Justice attack.  Curtis played his second "I Will Not Fight You" and dumped both of their hands.  From there, it was a race for cards.  Rob drew a useless Greedo card for his first action but then his SECOND Thermal Detonator with his second!  Knowing Curtis had to draw a card for his first action, as long as it wasn't Justice, Rob was going to win!!!

Curtis picked a card for his first action.  He attacked with his second action.

The card?

JUSTICE.  Game Over.

LUKE SKYWALKER WAS THE LAST JEDI...STANDING!!!

That's Luke's first-ever 12-Way Duel win in the league.  It was also Curtis' fifth career victory, giving him five career wins.  That also moves him into a three-way tie for second on the career victory list.  Most importantly, it also means Pez Vader picked the right character, against all logic and probability.

The final order of finish:

12.  Luke R. - Mace Windu
11.  Toby - Yoda
10.  Stephen - Anakin Skywalker
9.  Ben H. - Darth Maul
8.  Andrew - Obi-Wan Kenobi
7.  Joel - Emperor Palpatine
6.  Jacob - Han Solo
5.  Nathan - Count Dooku
4.  JD - Jango Fett
3.  Kaleb - Darth Vader
2.  Rob - Boba Fett
1.  Curtis - Luke Skywalker

That closes the books on 2017.  We'll kickoff 2018 with our annual A New Hope Duel.  And guess what - that's our 50th Duel in league history.  Stay tuned for some special stuff related to that!

Preview: The Last Jedi Standing, December 14th, 2017

If you are newer to our Duels league you've learned we have 12 annual Duels (one for each major character) throughout the year.  However, we also like to celebrate special events with one-off Duels.  Surprise birthday Duels are a great example.  Another tradition we started last year was Dueling before a new movie.  Can we just take a moment and be thankful and excited that there are NEW MOVIES!!!???!!!

So, in honor of the Episode VIII - The Last Jedi - we are DUELING!  That's right, and we're calling it the "Last Jedi Standing."  Get it!?! 


MEET THE DUELERS:

Let's meet the Last Jedi Standing Duelers by the number of Porgs they deserve...

Andrew - Andrew is playing in his sixth Duel, so he's going professional.  Congrats Andrew!  That deserves six Porgs:

Austin - Austin just won the 2017 Championship for his first ever career win!  He gets one Porg for being #1:

Ben H. - Can you believe Ben's last two Duels were both with Han Solo?  Woof!  That deserves one Porg plus a Chewie:

Curtis - Poor Curtis.  After the Championship he's now without the Darth Vader trophy, or any other trophy for that matter.  He's quite sad.  Let's give him a lot of Porgs:

Jacob - Jacob will be playing in his third career Duel, but he's never finished above 11th.  Let's give him warrior Porgs to help him do better:

JD - Do you know JD has a deep yearning to be the first Dueler to ever win in our league with Luke Skywalker?  Let's improve his odds by giving him Luke and Porgs:

Joel - I was recently at an HRC event and saw Joel drinking hot chocolate.  True story.  He gets a Porg mug:

Kaleb - After a 7th place finish at the 2017 Championship he's still the number one ranked Dueler in the league.  That warms his heart.  He deserves a heart Porg:

Nathan - Man, it feels like forever since Nathan has Dueled with us.  He's back in action, so he gets all the returning Porgs.  And...BB-8's head?

Rob - This blog preview might be the goofiest Preview Rob's ever written.  He gets the silly Porgs:

Stephen - He only finished in 11th place at the 2017 Championship, but his move swooping in with Mace Windu was brave and honorable.  He deserves a flying Porg:

Toby - Toby plays crazy and you never know what you're going to get from him.  Lets just give him all the Porgs left:

PEZ VADER PREDICTS THE WINNER:

"Just for once... let me... look on you
with my own plastic eyes."

Whoa!!!  The proud father is picking his son, Luke Skywalker, the LAST JEDI, to be...THE LAST JEDI STANDING!  It must be his destiny!

Pez Vader prediction record:  1-5

So next Thursday, December 14th at 1PM, we'll be playing in the North Village Community Center.  I'm going to stream The Force Awakens on the big screen at the same time.  Afterwards we'll grab a bite to eat and head to the 7:40PM showing of The Last Jedi at the AMC/Galaxy on Valley Mills.  Come on by and hang out if you aren't playing, or join us later at the theater.  Tickets are going fast!

2017 Championship - December 2, 2017

Carbon Freezing Chamber

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!

One of these Duelers is the 2017 Champion...

As we did with last year's Duel, we'll tell the story of the 2017 Championship through pictures!  Keep reading to see the Duelers in their pained attempts at not looking bitter in their snapshots...

12th Place Dueler:  Jonathan

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.

11th Place Dueler:  Stephen

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!!!

10th Place Dueler:  Kat

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!

9th Place Dueler:  Joel

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.

8th Place Dueler:  JD

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.

7th Place Dueler:  Kaleb

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.

6th Place Dueler:  Curtis

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.

5th Place Dueler:  Ryan

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.

4th Place Dueler:  Ian

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.

3rd Place Dueler:  Rob

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...

2nd Place Dueler:  Grant

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!!!

Preview: 2017 Championship - December 2, 2017

It's hard to even fathom, but this is the league's fourth annual Championship match.  If you're newer to our Dueling insanity, the Championship match is the biggest, hardest game of the year.  The top 12 ranked Duelers get the first invitations to the game, and those who can't commit are replaced with the next ranked Dueler.  It's the best of the best, and you sit around the table in the order of your ranking.  It's a nice way to ratchet up the tension!

This will also mark the first time our travelling Duels trophies (potentially) change hands.  Curtis currently holds the giant golden Darth Vader and he isn't eager to let it go.  In fact, he's been walking around the office with it today.  It was a nice run, Curtis, but this Saturday at 8PM it's back up for grabs!  For those of you not playing, feel free to come on out and watch the chaos.  It will be worth the price of admission!  (Admission is free.)

HISTORY:

2016 - Curtis won with Mace Windu
2015 - Nathan won with Count Dooku
2014 - Ryan won with Boba Fett

MEET THE DUELERS:

We're going back to our Championship Preview tradition of assigning the "most appropriate" main character to each of our Duelers!

Chair #12 - Austin.  He is currently the 14th ranked Dueler in the league and had a bit of a rough go in 2017.  He played in six Duels this year, including three straight appearances with Han Solo.  His best finish was at CL Training, where he was 5th.  Never tell Austin the odds, though...his perfect character is HAN SOLO.

Chair #11 - Jonathan.  Jonathan currently ranks in 13th place, just .05 points behind Daniel for the top 12.  He started the first four Duels of the year with shooters and also notched two second place finishes.  His cold, calculating style makes his perfect character...BOBA FETT.

Chair #10 - Stephen.  It's been a very strong 2017 for Stephen, the 11th ranked Dueler.  Despite earning no wins he had six top 4 finishes with three of those being second place!  Two of those second place finishes came with Darth Maul in the same day - the Doubleheader.  Stephen's ability to follow his heart makes him the perfect LUKE SKYWALKER.

Chair #9 - Curtis.  After an incredible 2016 Championship win in the same year as his singles title, 2017 was a rough sled for the 9th ranked Dueler.  He did manage five top 5 showings, though.  That included three fourth places too.  There's no denying his skill or his ability to get angry when needed, making him the perfect ANAKIN SKYWALKER.

Chair #8 - Chris.  The number 8 ranked Dueler only played in five matches in 2017, but three of those were top five finishes.  His greatest achievement in those games might be two fourth place spots with Luke Skywalker.  Because he has a soft spot for Luke, his perfect character is DARTH VADER.

Chair #7 - Joel.  Joel turned professional in 2017 and now sits as the 7th ranked Dueler.  He won two trophies this year with victories at CL Training and Fight Night.  He also logged a second place finish at Duel of the Fates back in April.  He's not afraid to be the leader in his alliances, directing how the action should flow.  This makes him the perfect COUNT DOOKU.

Chair #6 - JD.  Our master trophy maker is also our 6th ranked Dueler.  With two wins in 2017 (May the 4th and the Fall Brawl) he's now tied for second place in career victories.  He also nabbed three 3rd place finishes this year.  He's the second most experienced Dueler and has a strong moral compass at the table.  This makes him the perfect OBI-WAN KENOBI.

Chair #5 - Ian.  Ian is the 5th ranked Dueler in the league and brought home two wins this year.  The first came back in February at the Valentine's Duel and the second was his magical Birthday Surprise match.  He also came in second at CL Training.  We all know when Ian makes a decision he is ruthless in its execution.  That is why DARTH MAUL is his perfect character.

Chair #4 - Grant.  Don't be fooled by the lack of wins in 2017 - Grant is the fourth ranked Dueler for good reason.  In ten Duels this year he finished no worse than 8th!  Seven of those games he ended up in the top five!  Grant never dies first and is one of the most balanced professionals to ever play the game.  His Wisdom and skill make him the perfect MACE WINDU.

Chair #3 - Ryan.  The 3rd ranked Dueler in our league is Ryan, who is winless since 2015 but still near the top of the rankings.  He only played in six Duels in 2017 but finished in the top four three times!  That includes a second place finish at the Fall Brawl.  He's Rob's personal kryptonite and infamous for his mastermind tendencies.  That makes him the ultimate EMPEROR PALPATINE.

Chair #2 - Rob.  Rob enters the Championship 2nd in the rankings but with the most wins, three, in 2017.  Those took place at Curtis' Birthday Duel #1, Doubleheader #1, and just last month at Thanksdueling!.  He also came in 2nd at May the 4th.  Nobody is older or wiser in the ways of 12 Way Duels, and he's most likely to die first of natural causes, so that makes him the perfect...YODA.  (Wait, what...?)

Chair #1 - Kaleb.  That's right, the number one chair and top ranked Dueler in the league belongs to 2017's brightest star - Kaleb.  In just seven career Duels he already has two wins (Duel of the Fates and Birthday Duel #2) and a second place finish at Thanksdueling!.  When he debuted in the professional rankings he started right at the top.  He's a chameleon on the board, always adapting to his character and the changing conditions of the match.  Those skills make him the best JANGO FETT.

PEZ VADER PREDICTS THE WINNER:

"Search your Pez dispenser...you know it to be true!"

Whoa!  Pez Vader is picking himself for the win!  That's a bold call but fitting, considering the Championship trophy is also in his likeness.  #synergy

Pez Vader Prediction Record:  1-4

Folks, that's all for this preview.  On Saturday we'll literally see the best game of the Dueling season.  Don't miss it!  Saturday, 8PM, North Village...come watch history be made.

 

Thanksdueling! - November 11, 2017

Kamino Platform

The first victims of our Duel were out before the game even started!  Kat came down sick on Saturday and then Ryan had to bow out with a kid who was under the weather too.  (I'll spare you the details, but kids who get sick in the back seats of cars...it's just so gross...the poor thing!)  Even Rob was loaded up on cold medicine to keep his Duels streak alive at 47 games.  Fortunately, Jonathan and Jacob could jump in at the last minute to keep the game intact. 

Stephen brought the Vader helmet but
Jonathan refused to wear it.

Jonathan got seat one so he drew the Kamino Platform.  This was the first game on Kamino since Doubleheader #1 back in August.  Everyone else gathered around the table and all three shooters were grabbed within the first five picks, much to the relief of the back half of the table.  However, it would be a shooter alliance that helped determine the outcome of this game!  #foreshadowing

Introductions were made and we were off.  Chris' Obi-Wan Kenobi, stuck in the middle of the board, very covertly moved next to JD's Dooku and somehow the light side didn't perceive this as a flip.  Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Andrew's Darth Maul attacked Rob's Boba Fett!  Despite having the numbers advantage and a spot nicely protected on the board, he decided to defect to the light side.  Rob was lucky to escape with only six points of damage as Maul didn't use his Sith Speeds. 

If you look closely you can see the smoke
coming out of Austin's ears...

But the flipping wasn't done!  Ben, stuck playing with Han Solo for the second game in a row, decided the grass was greener on the other side.  Jacob's Yoda had already received a Thermal Detonator and Force Lightning among other attacks, so, sensing weakness, Ben pulled out the Bowcaster and dropped Jacob in last place!  Ouch!

At that point chaos erupted on the light side.  When Maul had defected he essentially created a bottleneck, trapping Luke, Anakin, and Mace.  Grant's Luke read the tea leaves before the others and chose to attack Andrew's Maul as he peaced out to join JD and Chris.  This led to several turns of infighting, especially as Maul started attacking his own alliance!  Austin/Anakin finally had enough and eliminated Andrew in eleventh place.  Joel's Mace was caught up in a lot of the infighting and was nursing wounds, especially as the dark side alliance shooters had moved in and were potshotting him.  Austin decided to put him down too with Anger.  That was tenth place for Joel.

Chris pleads his case.

The rest of the board was in agreement that Austin's Anakin needed to be next, as he was the last remaining player on the board who wasn't part of the original alliance.  Ninth place wasn't what he wanted, but it was actually not a bad finish considering what went down on his end of the platform.

At this point the remaining eight players were just staring at each other.  Nobody knew what to do next.  JD suggested to Stephen's Emperor that Jonathan's Darth Vader should be next.  Jonathan was none too pleased about that.  But in a bold move, Stephen rallied the shooters to join he and Jonathan against Chirs/Obi, Grant/Luke, and JD/Dooku.  The shooters agreed and the fight was on. 

Dooku, Luke, and Obi had the advantage of being hidden behind Jango's ship, but the minor characters of the opposition moved into position to start whittling down their defenses.  That's when Chris made an aggressive move.  He used Force Control to rearrange the board.  It allowed shots on Jonathan's Darth Vader as well as JD Force Pushing Ben's Han into a kill box.  Han got some shots on Grant's Luke but it was Chris' Obi-Wan who finally killed Ben in eighth.

Yes.  We have fans who like to dress up
for the big games.

Before Ben got pushed into the kill box Grant played "I Will Not Fight You" on him.  But that left Luke exposed too.  Rob's Boba was afraid of that card being played again on him so he moved in for the kill with a Kyber Dart.  Luke was done in seventh place and he still remains the only character to never have won a 12-Way Duel.

JD's Dooku was still tussling with Jonathan's Darth Vader but he was getting banged up.  Low-carded, it looked like Jonathan might use the dreaded All Too Easy card to finish him.  It turned out that he didn't need it, as two normal attacks destroyed Pez Vader's pick to click.

With JD off the board there were five remaining:  Chris/Obi, Rob/Boba, Kaleb/Jango, Stephen/Emperor, and Jonathan/Vader.  Obi-Wan looked like the most powerful character left so the other four turned their attention on him.  Chris still had some tricks up his sleeve, though.  He dropped his Force Balance, meaning everyone had to discard their entire hands and draw three new cards.  That was a big blow for a couple of the remaining players, especially Stephen and Rob.  It took some effort, but Obi-Wan was finally eliminated in fifth place when Vader Threw Debris at him.   

A quick selfie before they attacked each other.

That left four Duelers.  Stephen proposed that he/Emperor, Rob/Boba, and Jonathan/Vader go after Kaleb's Jango.  Stephen reasoned that the number one ranked Dueler and Character were a dangerous combination.  But Rob was hesitant to lose his shooting partner against a dangerous character like the Emperor.  Furthermore, he was afraid of Vader's distance attacks.  Since Jonathan only had four health points left, Boba decided to Rocket Retreat and Wristcable him, finishing Vader in fourth place.

Stephen/Emperor and Kaleb/Jango didn't realize it, but after the Obi-Wan Force Balance Rob's Boba Fett was loaded with Greedo cards.  They were useless because Greedo died many rounds ago.  Faced with such a weak hand, Rob had no idea who to align with.  Naturally, he started flipping from one side to the other!  At different points he attacked Emperor and then Jango, but Emperor and Jango weren't willing to align with each other as they were both worried about that being a bad match-up in the final two.  Boba was slowly able to heal up during the chaos and, when he finally found a Thermal Detonator, promptly used it on Stephen's Emperor, ending his night in third place.  You have to give it to Stephen, though.  The turning point of the game was his rallying the shooters to stick with Jonathan.

*pew pew!*

That left an all-Fett final two!  Boba/Rob had the advantage as he had healed up and was starting to pull his big attack cards again.  Kaleb/Jango started running around his ship but Boba finally rolled a five and dropped his third Thermal Detonator of the game and then ended it on a Deadly Aim.  Jango was out in second, but Kaleb played a heck of a game, always staying one step ahead of the danger.  He also improved his league-leading Dueling average to 4.0, which is crazy good.  Rob's win extends his league record to ten career victories and his first with Boba Fett.  It was Boba's fourth career win.

The final order of finish:

12.  Jacob/Yoda
11.  Andrew/Darth Maul
10.  Joel/Mace Windu
9.  Austin/Anakin Skywalker
8.  Ben/Han Solo
7.  Grant/Luke Skywalker
6.  JD/Count Dooku
5.  Chris/Obi-Wan Kenobi
4.  Jonathan/Darth Vader
3.  Stephen/Emperor Palpatine
2.  Kaleb/Jango Fett
1.  Rob/Boba Fett

Thanks to everyone who came out and played!  Our next Duel is the 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP!  It's the World Series/Superbowl/All-Star game all rolled into one.  The top 12 ranked Duelers have a spot at the table and one will be crowned the champion.  That will take place on December 2nd.  I can't wait!

Also, we plan to do a Duel for the new movie, which we're going to call "The Last Jedi Standing."  Tentative plans are for that to take place on the afternoon of December 14th.  Afterwards, we'll all go see the movie premiere. 

Thanks again for reading the blog!

Preview: Thanksdueling! - November 11, 2017

It's been over a month since our last Duel, Fight Night, and things have changed.  It's much colder and harsher now.  What was once living is now lifeless and detached.  And I'm not even talking about the weather...I'm talking about the hearts of our Duelers!  Hey-ooooo!

Just kidding!!!  Kind of...

But the calendar doesn't lie.  It is November and that means it's time for THANKSDUELING!  It's the only Duel that ends in an exclamation point, so you know it's exciting.  It's also the last Duel before the 2017 Championship, so folks are jockeying to be in position to make a run at the biggest Duel of the year.  But that's next month, let's focus on Thankdueling! and see who won in years past:

HISTORY:

2016 - JD won with Yoda
2015 - Nathan won with Darth Vader
2014 - Alex won with Boba Fett

MEET THE DUELERS:

Our tradition for the Thanksdueling! preview is to list what our Duelers are thankful for this year.  So here we go...

Andrew - after his 5th place finish at Fight Night, Andrew has four Duels under his belt and has improved from 12th place to two 9th places finishes and now 5th.  Andrew is thankful for upward trajectories.

Austin - though Austin finished a disappointing 10th place with Yoda at Fight Night, he was glad he wasn't playing with Han Solo, whom he had controlled in his previous three Duels.  Austin is thankful for any character besides Han.

Ben - he played in his second career Duel at Fight Night, but got stuck with Han Solo in the Emperor's Throne Room and finished dead last.  Ben is thankful for a fresh start.

Chris - do you know a fun game to play?  Whisper under your breath to Chris about how slow some Duelers are, or point out alliances who can't operate without making group decisions on every turn.  He loves it!  Chris is thankful for fast Duelers and/or righteous retribution.

Grant - he took the two Duels in October off but is back in action for Thanksdueling!  Here's something weird:  Grant has been a Fett in six of his last eight Duels.  Grant is thankful for bounty hunters.

JD - we're nearing the end of an era.  Thanksdueling! marks the last official travelling trophy JD needs to make for our annual Duels.  He'll probably add one more for movie premiere Duels, but that should be about it.  JD is thankful for gold paint fumes.

Joel - in Joel's last three appearances he's finished first, third, and first again at Fight Night.  That's crazy good!  Joel is thankful for mantles, where he displays all of his trophies.

Kaleb - he missed both October Duels but that doesn't change the fact Kaleb is still the number one ranked Dueler!  He dethroned Rob who sat in first for months.  Kaleb is thankful for becoming a professional Dueler.

Kat - this amateur Dueler has logged three Duels this semester and is already tied for first in those rankings.  Her third place finish at Fight Night was a master class in jumping from a sinking ship.  Kat is thankful for scaring the heck out of those who Duel against her.

Rob - since winning the first Doubleheader Duel in August, Rob has been in a funk, not finishing higher than 7th place since then.  Rob is thankful for top six finishes, even if he can't remember what they look like.

Ryan - he hasn't played since he finished second place with Luke Skywalker at the Fall Brawl.  But who are we kidding?  He LOVES LUKE SKYWALKER.  Ryan is thankful for Children of the Corn jokes.

Stephen - in Stephen's last four Duels he's only played with characters that have "Darth" in their name.  That includes two second place finishes and a 4th.  Stephen is thankful for Darth Vader and/or Maul.

PEZ VADER PREDICTS THE WINNER:

"Tear this ship apart until you've found
those candy corns!"

The Dark Lord of Candy *nearly* got his Mace Windu pick right last month, but he won Ian's birthday surprise instead of Fight Night.  That brings his record to 1-3 on the year.  He likes Dooku for Thanksdueling.

Well folks, in just a couple of days we'll know who our Thanksdueling! winner is - check back on Sunday for the recap!

Fight Night - October 7, 2017

Emperor's Throne Room

If you are newer to the league and/or blog, I thought I should take a moment and explain how we do our Dueler rankings.  Essentially, we just average out your order of finish, but with a twist.  If you finish in first place, we subtract one point from your finish.  For instance if you have a fourth place finish in your first Duel and a first place finish in your second Duel, your dueler average would be "2" (4+1-1/2) instead of "2.5" (4+1/2).  We have that rule in place to incentivize winning the game instead of playing for ranking.  Over the course of the league folks can forget what the ultimate goal is - to be the last Dueler standing!

You can tell a lot about a Dueler
by their pre-game picture pose...

The other factor we bring into play is a handicap bonus for operating with a bottom ranked character.  The theory is that you are at a disadvantage if your character stinks.  So after every Duel we recalculate the character rankings, and if you have ever played with a character who is in the bottom three, we subtract one point for each instance.  So using the example above, if you finished fourth and first, and one of those characters was in the bottom three, we would add five, subtract one for winning and another for the handicap, and divide by the two Duels played.  That would be a "1.5" average. 

I bring all of this up because, after yesterday's Fight Night, the tenth and ninth place characters (Darth Maul and Count Dooku) tied for the last spot in handicap points.  It's a major pain to recalculate a change in character handicap points, especially knowing they won't be tied again after the next Duel.  So I kept Maul in the bottom three and didn't award handicap points to Dooku.  You may commence carrying pitchforks and torches on behalf of Dooku now.

Nobody puts Obi in the corner

Anyway, enough boring ranking talk.  Let's get to the Duel!  Ben H., playing in his second Duel, got the number one chair and picked the Emperor's Throne Room for the battle.  Unfortunately, he also picked Han Solo.  Woof.  Everyone else grabbed their character and we were off to the races.

Nathan's Obi-Wan Kenobi became an early target of the dark side and he lost both of his Clone Troopers very early.  That's when Ian's Count Dooku moved in.  He Force Pushed Obi into a dark side kill box at the back of the board!  But Nathan wasn't going down without a fight.  He used his Force Control attack and created a path for his escape while also boxing out the big-bads on the dark side.  He then used Force Quickness to get the heck out of Dodge.

While this completely ruined Dooku's plan it did leave Ben's Chewbacca exposed to attacks.  Despite holding his Bowcaster he couldn't use it because they killed the Wookie before he had the chance.  I'm going to fast forward through the painstaking "dark side by committee" play to the part where Andrew's Jango killed Ben's Han.  Ben didn't play poorly, he just got unlucky with character and placement.

Despite his boss escape, Nathan's Obi-Wan continued to receive damage and he misplayed his last turn by not using two of his big attack cards.  The dark side didn't miss a beat and Ian's Dooku finally tasted misery by eliminating Obi in eleventh.  What had been a stand up, knock down fight between the six dark and six light side characters was now a 6 on 4 route.

That's Chris' evil Darth Maul smile

Kat, playing with Mace Windu, decided to flip the script.  She attacked Austin's Yoda!  The light side alliance was now officially kaput.  They traded blows and Force Lifts but Austin was really unlucky in his Yoda cards, lacking several of his big defenses and the Force Pushes.  He was out in tenth.

Rob, playing with Luke Skywalker, and Chris, playing with Darth Maul, were seated next to each other and constantly trying to convince the other to switch sides.  Now was there chance to work together!  Sensing he was at the bottom of the dark side alliance, or perhaps just beaten down by Rob's incessant talking, he pulled a big move when he attacked JD's Boba!  Rob followed suite by Children of the Forcing over to the Fett to kill JD in ninth.  But instead of staying near Luke, Maul used his Athletic Surge movement to stand by Dooku, Joel's Vader, and Jonathan's Emperor.  They were not happy to lose Boba and began attacking Maul.  But Ian's Dooku was already damaged and Chris used a couple of desperation attacks to set up a kill for Curtis' Anakin, who was stuck hiding in the corner for most of the game. 

hehehe...look at Ian and JD venting in the background...

The kids who play over in the HRC are fond of calling the Emperor "You Will Die" followed by the Vader "All Too Easy" a "wombo combo."  I don't know how I feel about that corny name, but it doesn't help that I WAS KILLED WITH IT.  That's right, Rob's Luke, who only had one point of damage, got purged by Jonathan and Joel for seventh place.  It was a shocking turn of events and cemented Vader and Emperor as the pair to beat. 

Chris tried to start talking with the other Duelers to alert them to the danger of not attacking this dangerous duo but Andrew's Jango Fett was eager for a trophy, so Maul went out in sixth.  That was kind of ironic because Rob kept mentioning the best Chris could do if he didn't flip was finish sixth.  All roads led to sixth place for Chris.

The final five were Andrew/Jango, Kat/Mace, Curtis/Anakin, Joel/Vader, and Jonathan/Emperor.  The smart play would have been for Anakin, Mace, and Jango to form an alliance to oust Vader and Emperor, but they couldn't mobilize that before Vader and Emperor shocked Andrew's Jango by going after the last remaining shooter.  Andrew finished fifth but that was a career best for him - way to go Andrew!

Jonathan and Joel used their evil persuasion skills to turn Kat's Mace against Curtis' Anakin.  Despite Anakin's pleas to work together, Kat stuck with the dark lords of the Sith.  Kat was a tough negotiator, though, forcing Joel to move in on Anakin with her.  Despite a brief Wrath escape, Vader Wrathed his younger self, sending Curtis out in fourth.

A fitting final two, considering the board...

With three to go Joel and Kat made an agreement to go against Jonathan's Emperor.  Both he and Vader were full health.  Their combined attacks deeply damaged the wrinkled old goon, but not before he dropped a Force Lightning on Mace to end Kat's night in third.  That's her best finish, though, and now she's tied for first in the amateur rankings!  If we had a rookie of the year award Kat would be the leading candidate.  (Note to self, consider implementing a Rookie of the Year...)

...and then there were two!  Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine!  In the Emperor's Throne Room!  It was Return of the Jedi recreated!!!  Joel had positioned himself well for the take down.  He and Mace already roughed up Jonathan, and despite a Meditation, Joel moved in for the kill.  That's Joel's second win of the year, and his second in the last three games he's played.  EN FUEGO!  It also means, at seven victories, Darth Vader has regained sole possession of the lead for character wins.  And a big congrats to Jonathan, too.  He tied a career best second place finish.

Remember, no nails in your residence
hall room!

The final order of finish:

12.  Ben H./Han Solo
11.  Nathan/Obi-Wan Kenobi
10.  Austin/Yoda
9.  JD/Boba Fett
8.  Ian/Count Dooku
7.  Rob/Luke Skywalker
6.  Chris/Darth Maul
5.  Andrew/Jango Fett
4.  Curtis/Anakin Skywalker
3.  Kat/Mace Windu
2.  Jonathan/Emperor Palpatine
1.  Joel/Darth Vader

Thanks to all for a great Duel!  Stay tuned for details and dates for next month's Thanksdueling! match.  It's a cornucopia of death and destruction.

AND ONE MORE THING!  Tune into Monday Night Football tomorrow because the NEW TRAILER FOR THE LAST JEDI WILL DEBUT!!!!!  You KNOW we're going to do a movie premiere Duel.  Oh yes, we will...