A New Hope - January 14, 2017

Carbon Freezing Chamber

The first Duel of 2017 started off on a somber note as the dozen combatants dedicated the night's battle to the memory of Carrie Fisher, the late actress who so expertly portrayed Princess Leia on the big screen for generations of Star Wars fans.

But there were things to celebrate, too.  Donald sat down for his sixth Duel, meaning he has now reached professional status.  And this was the first Duel in league history that featured laminated playing cards.  That's right - Rob finally bit the bullet and upgraded his game to better protect it in the future.  A big thanks to Chris for his help in that effort, as he met with Rob over Christmas break to walk him through the process.

Grant wastes no time!

Liz drew the first chair and picked Carbon Freezing Chamber.  For the first time in almost a year we were back on the scariest board there is.  It's essentially a giant kill box - nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.  And Grant proved that right out of the gate!  In only the fourth turn of the match, Obi swooped in to attack Jonathan's Jango and he used the attack that enables him to move the entire board around.  He promptly made frightening kill boxes around Kaleb's Emperor and JD's Darth Vader.  It looked like it was going to be a quick night for the both of them...but that wasn't to be!  Kaleb was actually working with Grant and Curtis/Yoda, while JD convinced his light side oppressors that his Darth Vader was coming over all along.  Suddenly, Rob's Dooku, Stevie's Maul, and Ryan's Boba Fett were endangered species!

Kaleb, exposed and vulnerable.

Sure enough, that's what started to transpire.  The mega-light side alliance were raining down shots on Dooku, but Rob had managed to pull most of Dooku's defense in the early going to hang in there.  Meanwhile, Ryan's Boba sent a thermal at Grant/Obi and Curtis/Yoda in an attempt to shake up the too-big alliance.  But it would be Rob's incessant chatter with Stephen, his neighbor at the table, that would cause the first kill.  Stephen was playing Anakin but his light side brothers feared he was flipping, so out of nowhere, they killed him first with JD/Vader delivering the final blow!  During that same stretch Boba gave Liz's Han Solo a beat-down, knocking him down to two health points.  Rob then force pushed his alliance partner, Stevie/Maul, to Obi-Wan in one last attempt to shake up the light side.

It didn't ultimately work.  Rob was bleeding out and Liz used her Bowcaster to kill Dooku, leaving the board a lot quieter without his psychological warfare.  They got Ryan's Boba next, ending his night in tenth.  Stevie, still stuck in the middle of the light side but without the Sith Speed's Rob assumed he had, did knock out Liz in ninth.  But Jonathan's Jango punched Maul's ticket to leave Stevie falling short in eighth.

Rain Man dropping card knowledge.

With the have-nots out of the game, the large alliance had to start looking inward.  Grant/Obi was clearly linked with Kaleb/Emperor, while Nathan/Mace and JD/Vader started making silent overtures to Donald/Luke and Jonathan/Jango.  Meanwhile, Curtis/Yoda was stuck uncomfortably between the two factions, with loyalties to both.  Grant tried to focus the group against Mace and Vader, but he quickly realized it was going to be he and Emperor against the other five.  So he went to work!  Not only did he move everyone around the board again, but he also dropped a "Force Balance," meaning everyone had to discard their hands and draw three.  It.  Was.  HILARIOUS!  You have to hand it to Grant, even against stiff odds he knows how to maximize the talents of his character.

While the committee of five deliberated (that's my kind way of saying took FOREVER to do anything), Grant and Kaleb went to work.  They caught Donald napping and loaded with special cards, meaning Luke had no defense.  Kaleb ejected him in seventh.  It wasn't quite the finish Ducky was looking for, but he is indeed a professional Dueler know.  Congrats Donald!  With Luke dead the remaining four in the alliance started zeroing in on Emperor.  You wouldn't have known it by his bluffing skills, but Kaleb was rocking it in his rookie Duel.  He finally ran out of cards and finished in fifth, but not before playing "You Will Die" on Curtis/Yoda and knocking his health points down.  Keep your eye out for Kaleb in the future, he's got the right stuff.

The Final Showdown

That left five to go:  Curtis/Yoda, JD/Vader, Nathan/Mace, Jonathan/Jango, and Grant/Obi-Wan.  Everybody agreed Grant should die next, but nobody was going out of their way to get the dirty work done.  It was obvious all four Duelers were trying to stay strong handed for the final run to first place.  Grant took advantage of the malaise by getting some shots in where he could, but Jonathan pulled off a massive deception by feigning a low attack against Grant.  Grant chose not to defend, but it was really the "Missile Launch!"  Grant was finally done in fifth.  Ironically, he had a perfect 5.00 average heading into the Duel, and his fifth place finish kept the whole number.  Nobody made a bigger impact in this Duel than Grant, that's for sure.

With four to go, the mortally wounded Yoda had to face three attackers at once.  Though Curtis fought valiantly, Jango Wrist Cable-ed him to death in fourth.  That was the second game in a row with Yoda for Curtis.

There were only three left.  Mace/Nathan and Vader/JD were pretty much full health, but Jonathan/Jango was still carrying his initial damage from the start of the game, and with Zam still alive, he wasn't able to heal.  Jonathan and JD made the agreement to work together against Nathan's Mace Windu.  At that point, it looked like JD would be the likely victor but he got caught being too close to Mace with too many special cards and not enough defense.  Nathan ripped off a couple of Battleminds and the audience was stunned as poor JD had to go home in third.  That left Jango and Zam against Mace.  Jonathan decided to go down in a blaze of glory.  It looked like an impossible task: he had less than half of his health left and Mace barely had a scratch.  But Nathan ran through a bad streak with cards that Jango took advantage of.  As Mace chased Jonathan around the board his health was rapidly declining, and before you knew it, both characters only had two health points left!  But Nathan's persistence paid off.  On his last turn he drew a card for his first action.  It was a Whirlwind!  He used that for his second move and Jonathan/Jango was dead!  Jonathan, a newly minted professional, finished in second for a career-best effort.  And you have to hand it to him, he was the first one damaged in the game yet he took out four main characters and was the last one to exit.  And a big round of applause goes out to Nathan!  This was his third career victory and the fourth for Mace (and the second Mace win in the last three games).

Nathan and his New Hope loot.

Final order of finish:

12.  Stephen/Anakin
11.  Rob/Dooku
10.  Ryan/Boba
9.  Liz/Han
8.  Stevie/Maul
7.  Donald/Luke
6.  Kaleb/Emperor
5.  Grant/Obi
4.  Curtis/Yoda
3.  JD/Vader
2.  Jonathan/Jango
1.  Nathan/Mace

Thanks to all the Duelers who played in A New Hope!  And thanks to Ian who reserved the room and table for us!  And thanks to JD for another kick-butt trophy!  And thanks to all of you reading this!  And thanks to - what?  I should shut up now?  Ok...

February's Valentine's Duel will be the next battle - stay tuned for the details, they'll be coming soon enough!

Preview: A New Hope - January 14, 2017

If you're like me, you're still depressed that Carrie Fisher passed away during the Christmas Break.  Her iconic portrayal of Princess Leia is the stuff of legends.  When it comes to Epic Duels, she's the second "death" I'm aware of besides Christopher Lee (Count Dooku).

I think the biggest knock against Epic Duels is it's gender imbalance with main characters.  Females are only in supporting roles in the game.  It would be cool to see an alternate deck with Leia as the main and maybe Wicket as her supporting character?  We would definitely need a "Nub Nub" special card if that were the case...

Fisher's passing is sadly ironic too, given the last line in Rogue One.  But we must march on, fellow Duelers.  2017 is a new year...and it brings...A NEW HOPE!

HISTORY:

2015 - the infamous Alex/Curtis/Rob double-cross, where Rob didn't technically agree to the same deal Alex made with Curtis.  Rob finished first with Mace while Alex was second with Luke.

2016 - Rob and Curtis let their alliance fizzle at the end and JD swooped in for his second career victory, winning with Anakin.

MEET THE DUELERS:

A new year also means...New Year's Resolutions!  Let's see what the resolutions are for the 12 brave souls battling this Saturday night:

Curtis - you could argue nobody had a better 2016 than Curtis, he won the Championship and the Singles Tourney!  His resolution?  More trophies!

Donald - A New Hope marks Donald's sixth Duel.  That means he's reached professional status!  His resolution?  Improve his ranking - he needs some higher finishes to bump his numbers.

Grant - After winning one of the Doubleheader matches this past Fall, Grant's finishes have been more middle of the pack.  His resolution?  More wins - he trails only Rob in career victories.

JD - JD won twice in 2016, one of several Duelers to do so.  His resolution?  Repeat that success!  He has matured into one of the best Duelers in the league.

Jonathan - he recently reached professional status, but no Dueler has had worse luck in character draws than Jonathan.  67% of his characters have been ranked in the bottom three.  His resolution?  Pick better characters!

Kaleb - the HRC Chaplain has long desired to get into the Dueling action and now his time has finally come!  His resolution?  Have fun at A New Hope...and play many more Duels in the future!

Liz - she was the hero at the 2016 Championship by taking the chair vacated by a sick Nathan, and she even scored a fifth place finish.  Her resolution?  Don't pick Darth Vader!  She's had Vader in three of four Duels played.

Nathan - the word on the street is that Nathan is changing his last name to "Fett."  He's picked Boba in his last FOUR duels!  His resolution?  Keep picking Boba!  BOBA RULEZZZZZZ!!!

Rob - despite being the top ranked Dueler Rob didn't win in 2016 until the impromptu Rogue One match in mid-December.  His resolution?  More first place finishes.

Ryan - he played with Luke Skywalker FOUR times in 2016 and still finished the year in second place!  His resolution?  Stop playing "Children of the Corn Force" cards.

Stephen - it was a tale of two 2016's for Stephen, as he had two victories and two last place finishes.  His resolution?  Greater consistency.

Stevie - he had a solid 2016 until his last place finish at the Championship.  The veteran Dueler is still looking for his first victory.  His resolution?  Just win one, baby.

MAGNETIC LEGO ADMIRAL ACKBAR PREDICTS THE WINNER:

"May the Force be with Leia"

Ah geez, Ackbar.  You've made me all misty-eyed!  The Admiral is picking Luke and Leia in honor of her passing.  I promised myself I wouldn't cry...  *sniffles*

Magnetic Lego Admiral Ackbar's prediction record:  1-6

That's it for now, folks!  Join us at 8PM, this Saturday, for the A New Hope Duel in the North Village Community Center.  We're starting 2017 off right!