Twin Sun Slam #2 - June 15, 2019

Kamino Platform

It was already 10PM by the time the second Duel started, and that just means folks are tired and ready to act a little crazy to get home to their bed.  That, and the skunky Yoda Soda, was enough to start game number two off with a bang.

Seats were redistributed and characters recycled, unless you were Alex or Chris, who got the exact same character as the first Duel of the evening (Han and Maul, respectively).  And since those two were the first two dead in game number one, they weren't excited about their next chance at success.  Turns out, they had nothing to worry about...  #foreshadowing

I apologize up front, I remember very few details from this one.
Ask one of these smiling maniacs for more info...

This game was played on Kamino, and the three big thinkers from the first game (JD, Ben, and Ian) just happened to all be sitting next to each other at the table and on the same light side starting block.  And wouldn't you know it, Ben got a Force Control to start the game.  But instead of pulling a dark side character into a kill box, they got all cute with their Clones and minor characters by pushing them to the front of the class.  The dark side couldn't believe their luck.  As soon as Ben's Obi was done the dark side went to work.  Grant/Emperor and Rob/Vader commenced distance attacks on Obi, Kaleb's Jango landed a couple of shots, and their precious Clones started dropping like flies.  In fact, it was a Jango Rocket Retreat that killed Ben in a quick last place.

Ian thinking about whose night to ruin...

You could see the frustration mounting on JD's face as he realized Yoda would be the next target.  He made a bold speech by drawing attention to the historical tendency for Joel, Kaleb, and Alex to align before Grant unleashed Force Lighting and the game one winner was out in eleventh.

The dark side tried to talk Kat into attacking Ian's Luke, but instead she sent some damage Courtney/Dooku's way from Padme.  We've said it before, people.  Kat doesn't flip.  The stubbornness proved fatal, though, when previous flipper Alex used his Chewbacca to Wookie Toss Anakin off the platform to his watery grave.

Ian was the last remaining light side alliance member and the obvious next target, but when it got to his turn, he had one last trick up his sleeve.  He revealed he had an I Will Not Fight You and asked the alliance who he should play it on.  Nobody would reply so he declared he'd use it on Rob's fully carded Vader.  This forced Rob into suggesting Curtis' Mace Windu.  Ian got exactly what he wanted, because the once tight alliance began planning their siege of Vader and Emperor behind Jango's ship.  Ian still played the card on Rob, who went from the driver's seat to road kill with just two puny Storm Trooper cards.

Curtis/Mace, Courtney/Dooku, and Chris/Maul all took turns rolling into the power duo and it was a Maul attack of 5 that killed a shocked Rob in ninth.  Kaleb's Boba, not directly involved in the skirmish, chucked a Thermal Detonator at Ian's Luke to put him down in eighth.  Ian had a pretty big grin on his face, though.

Five for Fighting

Grant was damaged by Maul too, so Courtney's Dooku, who earlier had been protected and possibly even saved by Vader and Emperor, drove the dagger all the way into Grant's back to leave him in seventh.  It was rough for Vader and Emperor, that's for sure.

The person who writes these blogs took a step away from the table to drown his sorrows in Oreos and a fresh bowl of Yoda Soda, so he's not quite sure how Kaleb's Boba got on the outs, but that was the result nonetheless.  Joel's Jango Fett, with the home court advantage, eliminated his biological offspring and real-life mentor in a cruel, foul, swoop. 

That left five Duelers, and boy, it was a tough vibe on the board.  A lot of talk started shifting the negative attention from one Dueler to the next.  They finally zeroed in on Courtney's Dooku.  She fought valiantly but couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack.  4th and 5th in the same night is a good way to pad your retired resume.

Chris, playing with Maul, was now officially in his highest position ever in a Duel.  The new status wouldn't last long, though, as he had few friends left at that point.  It was Alex, using Heroic Retreat, that would send Maul to rails.  Congrats to Chris on a personal best, however!

Curtis, using Mace Windu, was in great health but now stuck alone with two shooters on the board.  That's the dream scenario for shooters and they methodically whittled down Curtis.  He did manage to eliminate Chewbacca before dying in third.  He was happy with a good showing, though.

The loss of Chewbacca put Han at a big disadvantage against Jango.  He was loaded with attack cards but Jango would rarely stay in one place long, using an effective hit and run technique.  Eventually Han fell to a Wrist Cable and Joel, in all of his recent graduate glory, claimed his sixth (!) victory in the league.  That also brought his win percentage to the D.Coy line (20%).  Congrats Joel!!!

The final order of finish:

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

Congrats to all, and it was great to have some of our recent retirees join us for a victory lap.  Our next big event is the Singles Tournament - July 28 - mark your calendars now!!!

Twin Sun Slam #1 - June 15, 2019

Geonosis Arena

Well, we'll start with the pressing question on the minds of all Duelers who weren't able to attend the Twin Sun Slam.

No, nobody brought cupcakes with icing that read "kill Rob first."  Your concern for Rob in this trying time is appreciated.

But folks did bring a lot of good food!  Hamburgers were grilled, stomachs were stuffed.  Really, there was only one thing missing that could have made it the perfect balance of friendship and sportsmanship.  Did I say only one thing was missing?  Because I meant to say there were TWO things missing.  The trophies!  JD remembered the mac'n'cheese but not R2D2 and C-3PO.  Everyone except Ian tried to make him feel guilty about it.  (And no worries, Kaleb brought them with him when he arrived for game #2.)

"Smile if you ate too much!"

Ben drew chair number one and picked Geonosis for our playing surface.  Everyone else grabbed their respective characters and we were off and running with the Duel.

Out of the gate the light side stayed strong with each other and the dark side did the same.  But, a couple of rounds later, Chris decided the grass might be greener on the other side and had his Darth Maul flip to the light!  The dark side were quite cranky about it and wasted no time going after him.  A big blow was delivered when JD's Boba Fett sent a Thermal Detonator into the crowd the wiped out half of the Clone Troopers, who were looking quite good in their newly painted uniforms.  But the lane Boba used also left Grant's Count Dooku exposed for attacks.  If Rob/Anakin and Ben/Mace could each roll a four, it would be game over for Grant.  However, neither did, so Ben flipped to the dark side!

That's Alex's "I don't have the Bowcaster" face.

Ben's defection was a gut punch for the light, I've never seen Curtis (Obi-Wan) look so disgusted.  It also spelled certain doom for Chris, whose Darth Maul finally died in last thanks to a Throw Debris from Riley's Darth Vader.

But the light side had a couple of tricks up their sleeves.  Curtis sent Obi-Wan deep into enemy territory to drop a Force Control.  They were able to pull Kat's Emperor Palpatine into a light side kill box.  They offered Kat the chance to flip but everyone knows Kat never plays the turncoat.  She started getting jacked up but the dark side rallied by focusing on Alex's Han Solo.  Both Fetts (JD/Boba and Ian/Jango) unloaded on Han and Chewey but failed to land the kill shot.  That left Chewbacca in position to launch the Bowcaster on Boba...except he didn't have it.  Kat finished him off in eleventh with a blast of Force Lightning.

Kat couldn't deny her own fate after that.  Courtney used a Yoda Clone Trooper to force Kat into tenth place.  Nobody likes dying to a minor character who doesn't even have a proper name. 

An interesting twist occurred right around this time.  Ben's Mace, who had flipped over to the dark side early in the game, wandered over to the light side and assumed a position on the board that seemed to indicate he had flipped back.  He stood next to Rob's Anakin, who was badly damaged, so Rob had to accept this unexpected turn of events.  But just a couple of turns later Ben revealed his true intentions - to attack Joel's Luke Skywalker!  Joel seethed after JD kicked him out with a Rocket Retreat in ninth.

These new bases are sweet!

Curtis, meanwhile, commenced on his own travels and ended up on the back line with the rest of the dark side alliance.  Curiously, he didn't attack, seeming to bate the dark side into attacking him.  Eventually they did, and as he moved back across the board he used one last Force Control to try and buy himself some time.  It didn't work out for him, and Riley's Vader registered another kill, this time with a Wrath.  That left Curtis in eight place.

Rob's card combination with Anakin had been a mess all night, especially when he was forced to discard one of his precious Angers.  Even though he kept following Ben around like a little lost puppy, the rest of the dark side weren't so keen to keep the godfather on the board any longer.  They chased him down to the back of the pillars and it would be his original alliance partner, Courtney/Yoda, who killed him in seventh with a 4-point attack.

Chris checks in with the final three.

With six to go the remaining Duelers realized the match had taken so long the second game should have already started.  Despite some protracted negotiations the infighting started once Rob was gone.  Ian's Jango got the short end of the stick, and he took one for the team to not fight to hard against the rationale - he was ready for the next Duel to start too.

That left five Duelers, and Riley's Darth Vader became the target.  She herself was under the weather all night and seemed to welcome the sweet oblivion when Grant's Dooku sent her there in fifth place.  The plucky May the 4th champ improved her average to 6 for her career with that finish.

Nobody was too excited to find Yoda still alive and kicking so late in the game, and thus Courtney began defending a three on one attack.  She held in there as long as she could but it was a Boba Fett Wrist Cable that ended her run.

And then there were three!  Grant/Dooku and JD/Boba were both roughed up that late in the game while Ben's Mace was nearly full-health.  That was all Grant and JD needed to see to justify joining forces against Mace.  Ben hung in there for quite a while, and even left some critical damage on Grant before succumbing to third place.

The Sweet Taste of Victory

Grant's Dooku charged at JD's Boba Fett several times but his Rocket Retreats kept Dooku at bay as he fired off distance attacks.  Dooku's health slowly drained away while Boba seemed to stay just out of reach of the Taunts.  Sensing weakness in Grant, JD pulled off two attacks on his turn, ending in a game-winning Rocket Retreat.  That win moved JD into second place in league history for wins.  Thank goodness Kaleb delivered him his trophy...

Your final order of finish:

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

This wasn't the last Duel of the night...

Preview: Twin Sun Slam - June 15, 2019

Summer.  A hazy, lazy time of year.  Relaxing, sweating, grilling, getting sunsburned.  That's right, "suns," because in our summer months of the Duel league, you better coat yourself  in SPF 50 to prepare for the TWIN SUN SLAM.  It's a guaranteed scorcher.

Speaking of smoking hot...check out the paint job Ryan did on the league board characters!!!

He also cut them from their original bases and affixed them to these Star Wars Legion bases.  They look fantastic!  He even turned Luke back into a blonde, because blondes have more fun.  These updated avatars make their debut on Saturday.  They're incredible.

HISTORY

2018 Game #1 - Alex C. won with Jango Fett in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2018 Game #2 - Grant won with Han Solo (#3) in the Geonosis Arena

MEET THE DUELERS

Alex C. - the Twin Sun Slam marks the one-year anniversary of winning his first Duel, and now he sits atop of the leader board. 

Ben H. - Ben finished second place at May the 4th, and never had a clearer conscience.  He has nothing to lose in these two bonus Duels.

Chris W. - another Dueler cashing in on some free bonus Duels, he's hoping to walk away with a career-defining performance.

Courtney - the Hall of Famer is back in the mix for one more run at immortality.  She'd love to add another trophy to the family trophy case.

Curtis - the word on the street is that he's replaced his Duel's habit with Zelda on the Nintendo Switch.  We're all very worried about his Star Wars salvation.

Grant - his long reign atop of the rankings ended after a brutal May the 4th finish, but he's still one of only  two Duelers to secure a win at a Twin Sun Slam.

Ian - his recent finishes have been a real roller coaster, including a last place showing at May the 4th.  There's a rumor he went to Europe to train for this event.

JD - our resident blacksmith has gone back to the forge to produce two new travelling trophies for the Slam.  Let's just say these are the droids you're looking for...

Joel - the recent graduate plans to take a victory lap (or two) at the Twin Sun Slam.  He'll be relieved to know Riley won't be playing in this one.

Kaleb - he's loving life after a string of strong finishes, including first place at Duel of the Fates.  He also slipped into second place on the Dueler rankings.

Kat - another Dueler grad who is parlaying her summer employment as a means to Dueling glory.  She's due for her first victory.

Rob - he finished in last place for both Twin Sun Slam games last year, so every night this week he's been suffering night terrors and waking up in cold sweats.  #cupcakes

Food and socializing starts at 4:45 on Saturday, back-stabbing and killing around 5:45 and 9PM.  For those playing, we'll see you then!