The Imperial March - March 28, 2020

Kamino Platform

We did it!

We played a 12-way Duel online!

Honestly, it wasn't that bad.  Outside of the occasional lag time or spotty internet it worked quite well.  We made a decision Friday night to move to Zoom instead of Microsoft Teams.  Rob set up his webcam to have one shot on the board at all times.  Rob's daughter Penny picked the Kamino Platform ahead of time, much to the relief of most of the Duelers.  It was the first time on that board since an August Doubleheader.

"Here's the story, of a lovely Dueler..."

It looked like Elliot either forgot or was standing us up, but turns out, his internet was wonky at the house.  Riley almost played in his place but once he was logged on we were ready to go.  Very early it was clear there would be no flipping.  Elliot/Dooku stayed loyal to the dark side while Christopher's Han Solo hung in there with the light.  Kaleb, acting as Yoda, rallied the light side to begin moving forward while the dark side retreated their main characters back to let their minors begin with distance attacks.

The setup at Rob's house

Early in the match it was clear Curtis/Emperor and Ben/Vader were going to focus distance attacks on Jordan's Obi-Wan.  Christopher's Chewbacca was also a favorite target, and it was a brutal double-Choke from Vader that removed the Wookie from the game.

Elliot's Dooku got Force Pushed by Kaleb's Yoda into a light side kill box, but Ryan valiantly sent his Greedo into the fray with a Sudden Arrival that blocked attack lanes.  That wasn't Ryan's only significant contribution.  Two early Thermal Detonators had wiped out most of the Clone Troopers on the lights side.  It looked especially desperate when Elliot eliminated Jordan in 12th place with a five point attack.  The silver lining is that Jordan turned professional this Duel!  But like Rylie before him, the last two Duelers to go pro did so in last place.  Oof!  Welcome to the club...

Elliot couldn't do much after the Force Push and elimination of Jordan.  He succumbed to a Yoda Clone Trooper attack in eleventh place.  Playing Dooku on the Kamino Platform is always a tricky situation.  Elliot, come back again next month!

With Elliot off the board it was back to an even fight between the light side and the dark.  But things slowed down.  A lot.  Like seriously.  Why does it take ten minutes to decided and move a minor character one space!??!  It wasn't an online issue, that's for sure.  There was finally a moment where it looked like the dark side was going to break through, and Alex's Jango had a Missile Launch pointed at Rob's Mace, but he promised Alex he would Whirlwind and Wisdom to the dark side if he spared him the attack.  Alex showed mercy and retreated.  Rob lied!

Dead Duelers leaving funny messages is the new "it" thing...

With the light side escaping a near-fall, Ben's Vader finally accepted their repeated offer to have him flip.  On his way out from Jango's ship, he started in with distance attacks on Curtis' Emperor.  Curtis was not amused.

But the next death would actually be a light side character...Christopher's Han Solo!  He was wounded and had retreated backwards, but was still getting his shots in.  Rylie's Anakin was fully carded, though, and with Vader on their side she decided to take out the smuggler.  It was a stunning turn and poor Christopher went home in tenth.

Alex's Jango was the next one in trouble.  He had moved to the front line to lay attacks, but hadn't retreated.  That's when Grant's Luke swooped in.  Leia was dead, so his Justice attacks were now worth ten points!  He cracked one on Jango and Alex was near death.  But much like Rob had earlier, he begged Grant for mercy and promised to attack whoever Grant picked.  Grant picked Lucas' Darth Maul, who he had previously played an I Will Not Fight You on but Lucas had regained his hand and looked ready to strike.  Surprisingly, Alex kept his word and launched a Rocket Retreat on Maul, hoping to land on the light side and finally lay the Missile Attack on Rob.  Except...Lucas played Blinding Surge!  Alex was dead in ninth!!!  Rob laughed hard, knowing he had barely escaped Alex's wrath.

Bird's Eye View

I don't remember all the details, but Maul somehow landed deep in the light side.  Maybe Kaleb Force Pushed him?  Anyway, Lucas was in trouble.  Rylie's Anakin laid a hit and then it was Rob's turn.  The only problem was, at the same time, the rest of the light side was trying to kill Curtis, but Grant's last hit on the Emperor didn't finish him, he had one point of health left!  This was bad news for Grant, who was close to death himself.  Rob had to decide between killing Lucas or killing Curtis.  Rob thought he could do both.  He used a Masterful Fighting to knock out Lucas' Maul in eighth.  Then he used Seal Team Six with a two point attack on Curtis.  He was sure Curtis had no defense left.  The light side was crestfallen when Curtis turned over the two defense!  Grant had no defense and his Luke Skywalker was done in seventh.

Curtis finally bit it after that.  One of Ben's Storm Troopers sent him to the rails in sixth.  That left five Duelers, with only Ryan alive from the original dark side alliance.  His Boba tried to strike a deal, but he couldn't find any takers.  He shot Rylie's Anakin, who had Wrathed next to him, and Rocket Retreated to the other end of the board.  Rob was the only Dueler left back there, but he didn't want to align with the Fett.  Boba was done after a Battlemind.  It was fifth for Ryan, but the local morgue ran out of room after all the characters he destroyed in this game.

And then there were four!  Kaleb's Yoda was still full health and hadn't played any of his big defense cards.  This scared everyone a lot, and they started circling him.  Rylie got a little reluctant to go after him with Seal Team Six still on the board, and decided to kill him next.  This perturbed Rob, who had an irrational love for his last Clone.  He decided to go after Rylie, who finished in fourth after another Battlemind.  That was a nice rebound finish after her last place at the Valentine's Duel!

Ben lifts his trophy.

That left three, and Kaleb's Yoda still looked like the most healthy, but he was equally worried about Ben's distance attacks and Mace's generally strong character.  Ben and Rob aligned and cornered Kaleb's Yoda.  Kaleb is crafty, though, and Yoda is a boss, so he Force Pushed Mace back to the opposite side of the board.  While he came walking back across the platform Kaleb convinced Ben to use a Wrath on Rob.  That stung.

Ben and Rob decided to patch things up again, but then Rob almost flipped when Kaleb made the valid point they were destroying each other to the benefit of Vader.  But Rob drew a Whirlwind and couldn't help himself, he used it on Yoda.  Ben Threw Debris at him as well, and a five point attack from Mace later left Kaleb in third place.  It was a decision that would haunt Rob, because Ben had too much health for Mace to overcome.  Rob's card luck went cold while Ben's went hot.  It would be a long distance Wrath that left Rob one spot short of being the first Dueler ever to win the same trophy three times in a row.  But all the congrats go to Ben, who had gone a year and a month since his last victory.  And who did he win with that time?  Darth Vader!  It also marks Vader's 12th career victory, extending his lead.

The final order of finish:

12.  Jordan/Obi-Wan Kenobi
11.  Elliot/Count Dooku
10.  Christopher/Han Solo
9.  Alex C./Jango Fett
8.  Lucas/Darth Maul
7.  Grant/Luke Skywalker
6.  Curtis/Emperor Palpatine
5.  Ryan/Boba Fett
4.  Rylie/Anakin Skywalker
3.  Kaleb/Yoda
2.  Rob/Mace Windu
1.  Ben H./Darth Vader

We'll be sticking to the online format while the sheltering in place and social distancing rules are still in place.  Stay tuned for Duel of the Fates info, our April Duel.  What a crazy time, I'm glad we have this league to distract us.  Stay safe and wash your hands!

Preview: The Imperial March - March 28, 2020

Well folks, I've said it before.

I've mentioned how there's no way we could possibly get nerdier when it comes to this beautiful game of Star Wars Epic Duels.

Yet here we are.

Restricted by a global pandemic that necessitates social distancing, it looked like our game, like every other professional sporting league, wouldn't be able to continue until public health officials deemed it safe, possibly months from now.  But where there are Duelers, there is a way!

We're going online.

For the first time in league history, and to keep our league going, we're playing a Duel online!  Will it be painful?  Almost guaranteed.  Will it be slow?  Of course.  Will it be hilarious?  Maybe.  Will we pull it off?  NEVER TELL US THE ODDS!

If Rob can get his act together, he might actually live stream it.  Are you bored enough, isolated at home, to watch???

THE IMPERIAL MARCH HISTORY:

2019 - Rob won with Darth Maul in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2018 - Rob won with Luke Skywalker in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2017 - Dalton won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room
2016 - Alex R. won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena
2015 - Grant won with Han Solo in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

MEET THE DUELERS:

Because we're playing online and isolated from each other, we needed to get folks without a copy of the game their playing decks.  So last week we randomly drew for chair and character.  Here were the results!

Chair 1 - Elliot w/ Count Dooku.  He made his rookie debut last month at the Valentine's Duel and got roughed up in tenth place.  We're glad he's back with us for a second chance.

Chair 2 - Christoper w/ Han Solo.  This will be Christopher's ninth Duel and, incredibly, his fifth time with a shooter!  Is that good luck or bad?  Depends on the board?  Who knows, but Grant sure is glad he doesn't have Han again...

Chair 3 - Rylie w/ Anakin Skywalker.  Rylie recently renewed her contract with the league to extend her playing time another two years.  Congrats Rylie!  Now let's try to rebound from that last place finish at the Valentine's Duel.

Chair 4 - Jordan w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He's trying to recapture that magic from his first Duel, when he finished fourth at CL Training.  That's a career high finish for him.

Chair 5 - Ryan w/ Boba Fett.  This will be Ryan's first time with Boba Fett since the New Hope Duel back in 2017.  He has a first place finish and two fifth place finishes in his past four Duels.

Chair 6 - Grant w/ Luke Skywalker.  Grant is coming off consecutive eleventh place finishes, including with Luke Skywalker at the New Hope Duel.  He hasn't finished above seventh since the Twin Sun Slam.  He's due!

Chair 7 - Alex C. w/ Jango Fett.  Incredibly, this will mark his fifth time playing with a Fett in his last six games!!!  Before you go feeling sorry for him, realize that includes a first and second place finish.  Pew pew!!

Chair 8 - Rob w/ Mace Windu.  Rob is looking to be the first Dueler to win a trophy three years in a row.  It would be convenient for him if he did because he has no idea how to deliver it to somebody new in the time of covid-19!

Chair 9 - Curtis w/ Emperor Palpatine.  2020 has been a tale of two Duelers for Curtis.  He followed his A New Hope victory in January with an eleventh place finish at the Valentine's Duel.

Chair 10 - Lucas w/ Darth Maul.  After a string of early success Lucas is looking to turnaround from two ninth place finishes and a tenth.  He's still learning the social dynamics of the game but be warned, he knows how to play his cards.

Chair 11 - Ben H. w/ Darth Vader.  The entire Duel could be in jeopardy if the Emperor's Throne Room is picked.  Ben might walk.  Er, log off.  The early Vegas betting lines have it as a 50/50 toss-up.

Chair 12 - Kaleb w/ Yoda.  This marks the fifth game in a row Kaleb has been blessed with a Jedi.  The second ranked Dueler, though, is trying to avoid the seventh place finishes that have plagued two of his last three Duels.   

BB-8 PREDICTS THE WINNER:

In a shocking pick last month, BB-8 predicted Anakin Walker to win...and he was right!!!  That brings his record to 2-7 on the year, which really ain't that bad.  Who does he have for the Imperial March?  Watch the video to find out!



No matter what happens tomorrow night, it's bound to be historic.  We're playing in a way we never have before.  Wash your hands, keep your distance, and get ready to DUEL.  Tomorrow at 7PM, let Rob know if you want to watch it live!