Duel of the Fates - April 6, 2019

Emperor's Throne Room

I can still hear it ringing in my ears.

No, not the sounds of the mega-dice making clacking noises on the plastic table.  Not the sound of Grant grinding his teeth after drawing Han Solo AGAIN.  Not the sound of Boba Fett's rocket pack, searching for a place to land.

No...I can only hear...DUEL OF THE FATES.  On repeat.  For two and a half hours!  But that's the good news!!!  We proved you can play a Duel in under three hours!

Kaleb trolling us in his "Star Wars" t-shirt

God bless the twelve who played in Duel of the Fates and committed to fast but strategic play.  Especially for those of us who died early.  Ahem.

When Alex picked the Throne Room it was pretty obvious the front row light side characters would defect and that's just what happened.  Grant's Han leapt behind Chewey and Kaleb's Obi-Wan flipped behind his Clones.  Rob's Anakin was cranky for not using Padme cards before the defection so moved in with a double-Wrath to kill Chewbacca...except he miscalculated the Wookie's hit points and he lived with one point of health remaining!  The blunder led to Rob's Padme and Anakin getting jacked up.

The Prodigal Dueler

Viktor's Yoda was also taking hits, especially after Alex's Luke and Leia defected too.  Courtney's Mace was stuck in the back row with them but all indications were she was safe with the dark side alliance.  Rob begged Viktor to throw her into a kill box on the other side of the board, and with a burdened conscience, he did!  Ian's Darth Maul was excited for the fresh meat and Rob was giggling because he thought he escaped last place.  But, after killing Chewbacca (and Grant pulled the Bowcaster right after he died, lol), Grant shot Anakin and Rob died in last.

Ian's Maul used four heavy attack cards to eliminate Mace in eleventh but that resulted in immediate chaos because Joel's Vader immediately petitioned to go after Maul next, and did just that with an attack.  Multiple fights broke out among the alliance while Viktor kept his head down, thankful for his well-timed Force Push.

Grant died in tenth because Chris W., playing with Boba Fett for the second game in a row, was loaded with heavy attacks.  He used the Kyber Dart to send him to the rails.  Meanwhile, Joel/Vader and Ben/Dooku were working over Ian's Maul but not without taking their own licks from the horned Sith.  Riley, hanging tight with Jango, became the rope in a faction tug-of-war.  Joel and Ben wanted her to stay loyal while Ian/Maul and Elijah/Emperor hoped she stay true to them.  It was somewhat shocking when Riley killed Maul in ninth to send Ian packing.

Your final four on Final Four weekend

All eyes turned to Elijah's Emperor after that, and with so many blades surrounding him, he didn't last long, bowing out in eighth.  At that point the Duelers remembered Viktor's Yoda was still hanging on the other end of the board and the dark side began to move in their minor characters to take pot shots.  But it was Chris' Greedo who made the risky kill with the Desperate Shot.  That was a heck of a finish for Viktor, who looked to be a surefire early kill.

The remaining six Duelers had a multitude of perceived and true alliances, but it would be a fateful Thermal Detonator from Chris that would set the final tone.  After a Rocket Retreat he looked for a place to cast the grenade and that's when Kaleb's Obi-Wan made the call to go after Ben/Dooku and Joel/Vader.  The chaos was glorious.  But Riley's Jango saw no loyalty towards Boba and ended Chris' night with her Missile Launch!

You got the sense Kaleb could smell victory because he boldly entered the fray and took down Ben's Dooku in fifth with a 7-point Force Control.  Riley, however, was begging Joel and Alex to help her with Obi-Wan.  While they agreed in theory but Luke and Vader couldn't help but take shots at each other.  Joel couldn't survive so he was done in third.  From there Alex was more or less with Riley's Jango but Kaleb moved in and took out Riley in third.  This marked Riley's sixth Duel - so she's professional now!  The youngest ever to do so!!!

I could write about the final two...but why not watch it for yourself!



That wink at the end!!!  A super big congrats to Kaleb, who hadn't won in two years.  That last victory?  DUEL OF THE FATES!  He recaptured his Maul trophy.  He and Alex both moved into a tie for second as the Dueler rankings were shook up after this one.  They're right behind Grant now.  And Alex almost made Trey Rey's first correct prediction of the year...

Here's your final order of finish:

12.  Rob/Anakin
11.  Courtney/Mace
10.  Grant/Han
9.  Ian/Maul
8.  Elijah/Emperor
7.  Viktor/Yoda
6.  Chris/Boba
5.  Ben/Dooku
4.  Joel/Vader
3.  Riley/Jango
2.  Alex/Luke
1.  Kaleb/Obi

So...big news to announce for the last two Duels of the season!  On the afternoon of May 3rd we'll have a one-time only Duel called "Galactic Credits."  This is a fundraiser Duel for the league - JD bought a brand new copy of the game for $60 off eBay.  We're going to charge $5 a seat to pay and this board will become property of the league.  And, the winner of the game will be able to sign their name on the square of the board they win the match!  That's for all-time, folks!  And then the next day, May 4th, will be the last Duel of the seasong - MAY THE 4th BE WITH YOU!  Stay tuned for more details...

Preview: Duel of the Fates

Can you feel it - the end of the season approaches!  But not before we play one of the nastiest matches of the year...DUEL OF THE FATES!

The tensions are high as graduating Duelers are seeking a final chance for glory.  The road is tough.  And we're going to play "Duel of the Fates" on repeat until somebody cracks from the pressure.  It should be fun!

DUEL OF THE FATES HISTORY:

2018 - Ian won with Count Dooku in the Emperors Throne Room
2017 - Kaleb won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena
2016 - Alex R. won with Count Dooku in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2015 - Curtis won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room

MEET THE DUELERS:

Alex C. - He missed the last two Duels but he has two top-three finishes in his last two matches, including a second place finish at the 2018 Championship.

Ben H. - Ben's last six Duels?  Four top-four finishes including three victories.  But the clock is ticking...can he claim one more trophy?

Chris W. - Three Duels ago Chris bottomed out in twelfth but has improved in each of his last two games.  Now he's looking for a top-six finish or better.

Courtney H. - She's never finished lower than eighth in six career starts, and that eighth place finish was in her last match at the Valentine's Duel.  She's looking to trend back in the right direction.

Elijah - Who is that in the distance I see...?  It's Elijah, the prodigal Dueler!  Quick, bring him my finest Jedi robe!  He hasn't played since June, where he had a career-best fifth place finish.

Grant - He had an uncharacteristic "lower" finish in sixth place at the Imperial March.  Despite strong showings he's still looking for his first victory since the Twin Sun Slams in June.

Ian - He'll look to become the second player in league history to defend his trophy at Duel of the Fates.  He nearly won last month, finishing third with Jango Fett.

Joel - He's ready to play again after taking the March Duel off.  He has three top six finishes in his last four Duels, including the victory at A New Hope.

Kaleb - A couple of crueler Duelers in the league have been taunting Kaleb about his winless streak.  He has a history of winning this Duel so it's best not to make him angry.

Riley - In a Dueling world where nothing makes sense, the Dueler who strikes the most fear in the league is a pipsqueak 10 year old.  God help us all, she goes professional after this Duel.

Rob - With his win at the Imperial March, Rob now has three top-four finishes in his last three Duels.  He's also the first Dueler to ever defend their trophy.

Viktor - Bless his rookie soul, we didn't scare Viktor off!  The amateur Dueler is back after a not-too-shabby eighth place finish in his first Duel.  He'll look to improve his second time out.

TREY REY PREDICTS THE WINNER:

Let's check in with Trey Rey to see who they like to win this one...my goodness!  Kylo Ren has the upper hand!!!

Kylo Ren:  Admit defeat, Trey Rey.  Let go of your picks.  Kill them if you have to
Lil' Rey:  never!
Big Rey:  WE HAVE ONE MORE TRICK - AND PICK - UP OUR SLEEVE!
Lego Rey:  wE PIcK maSTeR lUKe!

How on earth are Trey Rey going to get out of this one???  Tune in next month for the exciting conclusion of this EPIC battle.  And, for what it's worth...Trey Rey is 0-9 on picks this year.

Here we go, friends!  Tomorrow night, 7:30PM - DUEL OF THE FATES.  What's that?  You want a sneak peak on the music selection?  I'm so glad you asked!