The Fall Brawl - September 16, 2017

Geonosis Arena

The Duelers gathered in the North Village Community Center to face their worst fears...all in hopes to win the coveted Mace Windu trophy for the Fall Brawl!  But there was an added "pressure."  In their bladders!  An improv group was using the main community area, meaning a pee break would interrupt their show!  Rob didn't care as he drank a tall can of Arnold Palmer.  He would regret that decision about 45 minutes later...

Joel drew the first chair and picked Geonosis.  That means our Carbon Freezing Chamber drought continues - we haven't played there since last spring.  He also grabbed Mace Windu, which was good luck since he was featured on the night's trophy!

JD grabbed Han Solo, as all of the shooters were picked within the first four chairs at the table.  He laughed because of the text exchange he had with Rob earlier in the day (pictured below).  He wanted the scruffy looking nerf herder in order to prove Pez Vader's prediction correct.  If you understood any of that previous sentence I both respect and feel sorry for you.

JD calling his shot!

The game started with a quick flare of action.  Ryan, playing with Luke Skywalker for the billionth time, honored a half-in-jest offer from the Dark Side to switch alliances.  He shot at Kaleb's Anakin and used Children of the Force to do just that!  JD/Han Solo was having none of that.  He marched Chewbacca down to that end of the board and Bowcasted Luke!  Ryan was injured but the rest of his new alliance slowly chipped away at the Wookie, who was the first character to succumb to his injuries.

The 44th time 12 have gathered...

Rob, who had Count Dooku, planned to stick with the Dark Side too from his middle-board starting spot, but Elijah advanced his Greedo up the alley Dooku wanted to occupy.  So he flipped over to the light side and spent several rounds convincing Andrew and his Darth Maul to do the same.

The Dark Side weren't too keen on that turn of events, so Stephen/Vader and Toby/Emperor started riding Rob's Dooku like a pack mule, raining down Force Lightning, Debris, and Wraths.  Rob was quickly approaching his death but he wouldn't end up going out first.  Elijah, who had lost a Thermal Detonator and Greedo's Desperate Shot from a Dooku Force Drain, found himself face to face with Andrew's fully carded Darth Maul.  Three attacks later and Elijah was off the board thanks to the Athletic Surge.

TWO AND A HALF HOURS (I wish I was kidding) transpired before the next death.  The light side clump had pot-shotted the Dark Side for a long time, and the Sith decided it was time to move out.  They tried to isolate Andrew's Maul but Toby's Emperor was getting hit pretty badly.  JD's Han took the mercy shot from long distance to eliminate Toby in eleventh.  Stephen's Vader was next when Andrew threw down another volley of Sith Speed.

Ani and Mace sleeping on the job

Rob's Dooku was still bleeding out, and prior to Vader and the Emperor's deaths he had Force Pushed Kaleb's Anakin because he didn't feel like Kaleb was doing his fair share of the heavy lifting.  That ended up rearranging the rest of the alliances on the board.  Ryan/Luke and Grant/Jango looked like they were going to be the next two to go but suddenly they found themselves flush with suitors.  Their new club turned their attention on Andrew and it was Joel's Mace who delivered the death knell.

Dooku begged an approaching Jango Fett to spare his life as he was hoping to go after Anakin, but Grant wasn't having it and Rob bowed out in eighth with a Wrist Cable.  The remaining seven stared at each other until the suggestion was made to converge on rookie Dueler Ben and his fully healthy Yoda.  Ben put up a heck of a fight.  He dropped three Force Lifts, including two at the same time on Anakin/Kaleb and Mace/Joel!  But eventually the gang of six wore him down.  He got off his Force Rebound on JD's Han before Ethan's Obi-Wan clone blasted him for good.  It was a great debut for the rookie Dueler!

Kaleb and Ethan in deep doo-doo

What transpired next was another key moment of the game.  Ryan, who looked mortally wounded at the start of the game, was thriving with his new partnerships.  And then he dropped a bomb on Kaleb/Anakin and Ethan/Obi-Wan...DOUBLE "I WILL NOT FIGHT YOU."  Kaleb basically lost his entire hand while Ehtan, holding all three of his 12 defense cards, lost two big attacks.  That's when JD stepped up in a big way.  He used two Gambler's Luck cards to not only kill Kaleb but also steal cards from Obi-Wan!  This was Kaleb's sixth Duel, meaning he's a professional now!  You'll want to check the Dueler rankings too because he's making an unprecedented debut.

That meant there were five Duelers left:  Ryan/Luke, Joel/Mace, Ethan/Obi, JD/Han, and Grant/Jango.  Ethan realized he was the next target so he played the nuclear option by dropping his Force Balance card.  That was a crazy move to make with two of his 12 defense cards still in his hand.  The move would prove to be unlucky as Ryan's Leia smoked him with a seven point attack.  That set up the final kill for Grant's Jango.  This was Ethan's career best finish, though, and he'll go professional in his next match.

A real nail biter...

The final four salvaged what was an obnoxiously tedious Duel up to that point.  JD's Han was the only character without a minor still alive, as Leia, Sha-ZAM, and a purple Clone were still alive and kicking.  Folks were wanting to eliminate Joel's Mace Windu, but there were several subtle changes in partnerships and strategies in the ensuing play.  Joel eventually got the drop on Grant's Jango, though, which I just realized happened in the REAL Geonosis Arena!  Dang it, wish we had realized that at the time...  It was another stellar finish for both Grant and Jango.

That meant three were left and Ryan's Luke gravitated towards JD's Han Solo.  But Joel wouldn't rest without voicing all of his strategic opinions.  For a brief moment Ryan actually flipped, which would have been disaster for JD's Han.  He was nearly fully recovered health-wise, while his two opponents still couldn't heal because of their living minor characters.  Ryan ended up switching back, though, and it was Luke who dropped the ax on Mace.  That's not a bad run for Joel!  He finished first at CL Training and third in his next match.

That meant Luke Skywalker, who has never won a Duel in the Waco league but leads the league in second place finishes, was once again in the final two.  And who was he facing?  Pez Vader's pick to click, Han Solo!  Even more crazy?  Ryan and JD had the first major tussle of the match, when  his Chewbacca bowcasted Luke and then his Wookie died.  Who could have predicted they would be the last two standing!?

Once Joel was gone, though, the match didn't last long.  Ryan was down to his final health point when JD finally shot and killed Leia with his first action to remove Luke's human shield.  And in a dramatic chorus, the rest of the spectators echoed JD as he said, "And for my second action, NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!"  That was the automatic damage JD needed to make Luke the bridesmaid and Han the bride.  That marks JD's fifth career win, which ties him with Grant for second all time.  It was also Han's fourth career victory even  though he's the last ranked character.  Anyone can win a Duel!  Except Luke, apparently...  And we'd be remiss not to point out that Kaleb debuts in the TOP SPOT of the Professional Dueler rankings!  Well done Kaleb!

The final order of finish:

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

The blog stats are updated!  Our next match will be October 7, 8PM - our fourth annual Fight Night!  Stay tuned for more details.

Preview: The Fall Brawl - September 16, 2017

It's fall!  (Not that you can tell by the weather yet...)  And that means it's TIME TO BRAWL.

This Saturday will be the 4th Annual Fall Brawl.  So put on your big kid pants and keep your head on a swivel, it's going to be a vicious fight!

HISTORY:

2016 - Ian won with Obi-Wan Kenobi
2015 - Rob won with Obi-Wan Kenobi
2014 - David C. won with Darth Maul

MEET THE DUELERS:

Ben - Rookie Dueler alert!  Ben is making his Dueling debut Saturday night.  He's one of four chaplains playing, so we'll see who is praying hardest to win.

Elijah - After nearly being banned for life by forgetting about the Doubleheader, Elijah is back and brings his chaotic style with him.  He's in the professional rankings now to boot.

Ethan - He's the current owner of the Golden Jar Jar and is ready to unload that monstrosity.  This is Ethan's fifth Duel, meaning he's one Duel short from going pro.

Grant - It was a tale of two Duels for Grant at last month's Doubleheader...though he had the same character for both of those tales (Boba Fett).  He finished in third in the first match but near the back of the pack in the second.

Jacob - This is Jacob's second ever Duel, having first gained experienced at the surprise Birthday doubleheader this past April.  He's hoping to do better than that eleventh place finish.

JD - I've seen a sneak peak of the Fall Brawl trophy, and this could be JD's best work yet.  Let's hope he doesn't pull Luke again so he has chance to win it - he played with him both games of the Doubleheader!

Joel - The HRC retreat forced Joel to miss the Doubleheader, but the last time he played he won!  The reigning CL Training champ hopes to add more hardware to his trophy case.

Kaleb - This could be a monumental night for Kaleb.  It's his sixth Duel, which means he's turning professional.  With a high enough finish he could dethrone Rob as the top ranked Dueler!

Rob - Rob is NOT nervous about losing his top ranking to Kaleb.  Pfft.  He's not worried at all.  He definitely hasn't chewed his fingernails into bloody stumps because of the anxiety it's producing.  Nope, Rob is cool as a cucumber...

Ryan - The drought since his last win (2015 Doubleheader) must end at some point, and the Fall Brawl could quench that thirst.  He slipped to third place in the rankings after the Doubleheader.

Stephen - Depending how you look at it, Stephen either had the best or the worst night at the Doubleheader.  He piloted Darth Maul to two second place finishes.  So close, yet so far away...

Toby - Toby is the first ever winner of the Golden Jar Jar, though he's happy to shed that distinction with a solid performance at the Fall Brawl.  It will be his second Duel.

PEZ VADER PREDICTS THE WINNER:

"When I left you I was just a piece of plastic...
Now I am the dispenser."

Pez Vader with a bold choice - Han Solo!  We'll see how that unorthodox pick holds out Saturday.

Pez Vader's Prediction Record - 0-2

We're in the North Village Community Center on Saturday - swing on by around 8PM and watch the carnage!

Board Analysis - Character Finishes

Professional Dueler Jonathan spent some time this summer running analytics on character performance and the different boards we play on.  He used the data from the first 40 Duels of our league and ranked all 12 characters on all 4 boards from highest average finish (Jango on Carbon) to last (Boba on Carbon).  Those are two crazy bookends on some rather illuminating findings.  Click on the picture and see for yourself - thanks Jonathan!