Birthday Duel - May 5, 2020

Carbon Freezing Chamber

Happy birthday...to you!

Happy birthday...to you!

Happy birthday...dear Riley,

Happy birthday...to-wait, what?  You want to attack your dad who organized this whole Duel for you on your birthday?

Before we're done singing?

Before you blow out the candle?  Oh you want to use a Bowcaster to blow it out all over his face?

Welp, that's pretty much how things started!

This special edition Duel was in honor of Riley, who wanted to play a 12-way for her twelfth birthday.  We were more than happy to oblige!  And she thanked her dad by immediately lobbying to kill his Emperor first.  I raised her well...TOO well!

Birthday Party

The fireworks started in the first round of the game.  Christopher's Boba Fett, with his first four cards, threw a Thermal Detonator into the dark side and Rocket Retreated to the light!  It was a shocking and disruptive start to the game.  Diego's Obi-Wan followed up with a double Force Control, jacking up the positioning of the remaining light side.  Throw in a Curtis/Darth Vader flip to the light side too, and the remaining Sith and bounty hunters were hopeless.

It would be Rob's Emperor Palpatine who fell first.  He broke his own record for most last place finishes in league history.  That's kind of a badge of honor and respect, but mostly a badge of enormous disappointment.  It was Diego's second Force Control that did the trick.  Lucas' Count Dooku wasn't far behind after the birthday girl swung her Wookie into attack position to finish him off in eleventh.

Those baby-blues looking for her next victim.

Troy's Jango Fett and Kaleb's Darth Maul tried to scramble and make something happen, but they mostly came up empty.  Alex's Padme was popping shots all over the board and caught the senior Fett with a Shot on the Run to end Troy's night in tenth.  He should have gone to bed but instead he stayed up and watched the rest of the shenanigans.

Everyone assumed Kaleb's Darth Maul would be the next target (and I really wish you could see the Survivor-themed text exchange he and Rob were having), but Elliot, seemingly out of nowhere (but also lightly inspired by Kaleb's gift for dying gab), made a stand and called for the stronger Jedi on the light side to take down the experienced Duelers in the league.  His first target?  Alex's Anakin!  The top Dueler in the game!  THE NOOBIES HAVE TAKEN OVER!  THEY'RE THE CAPTAIN NOW!  Alex's jaw dropped as Christopher's Boba ended his night early in ninth.  It was a stunning turn of events.

The herd is thinning...

Kaleb kept running his mouth but the Rylie/Riley twins of Yoda and Han weren't having it anymore and they targeted Maul.  I'm pretty sure this was the first time a Survivor buff was worn to a Duel.  I hope it's not the last.  But Kaleb bowed out in eighth regardless.

That left seven Duelers, all members of the post-flip alliance.  The gang of Rylie/Yoda, Diego/Obi, and Elliot/Mace struck again, making Christopher's Boba the odd shooter out.  Grant's Luke, who somehow survived starting in the middle of the board and going 11th out of twelve Duelers at the beginning, laid down the final hit.  Nobody knew it, but sadly, this was Christopher's last Duel with us!  I'm really sorry we didn't get to announce it, he made a lasting impression in his lone season of Dueling with us.  We salute you, Christopher!

Not looking good for Curtis' Vader.

Though Grant was a loyal soldier to the light side, he had that same stink of experienced Dueler all over him that got the others in trouble.  Curtis started noting how powerful Diego's Obi and Rylie's Yoda looked in the moment, but the others weren't having it.  They converged on him and it would be Elliot's Mace that did the deed.  That was a sixth place finish, which if you had told Grant at the start of the game that's how things would end, he'd probably have taken it!

And then there were five!  Riley, newly blessed with twelve years of life experience, made it known she thought they should go after Curtis' Vader.  Curtis tried to make his case that the remaining Duelers would need his help to take down one of the remaining Jedi.  Again, the newer Duelers declined the overtures and it was a gruesome Wookie Toss from Riley that ended Curtis' night.

That left four Duelers, with only one career victory (Riley!) between them.  The odds were strong for a new player to be crowned victor.  It was about this time Diego made his play for the end game.  He attacked Riley's Han, but Elliot/Mace and Rylie/Yoda were hesitant to follow suit.  Diego even took a Clone Trooper shot at Yoda, and that's when the other three decided his days of running the table were numbered.  Diego was extra crafty as he bounced around, but he eventually fell to the combined attack in fourth place.

The not-so-secret female alliance of Riley and Rylie turned their attention to Elliot's Mace Windu.  Riley was doing her part to whittle Mace down, but she got major damage from Obi prior.  With Chewbacca still on the board she couldn't heal, and Elliot ended up ending her birthday party with a Whirlwind.  Have no fear, she was quite pleased with her finish.

A winning smile

That left two Duelers, but the ending wasn't in doubt.  Elliot's Mace was banged up and Yoda only had a single point of damage plus a Clone Trooper who managed to still be on the board.  She toyed with Elliot for a couple of turns but finally sent him out in second with a glorious Force Strike.  Congrats to Rylie on her first ever victory!!!  She is the third female in league history to win, and the 21st Dueler to ever win a 12-way Duel.  Let's also recognize Elliot, who had a career-best finish.  Woot woot!

Your final order of finish:

12.  Rob/Emperor
11.  Lucas/Dooku
10.  Troy/Jango
9.  Alex/Anakin
8.  Kaleb/Maul
7.  Christopher/Boba
6.  Grant/Luke
5.  Curtis/Vader
4.  Diego/Obi
3.  Riley/Han
2.  Elliot/Mace
1.  Rylie/Yoda

Rylie's victory also propels her to second place in the rankings - whoa!

To everyone out there...thanks for a GREAT sixth season of Dueling.  We have 88 Duels under our league's belt and, God willing, more to come.  The last two summers we've played the Twin Sun Slam, a doubleheader that traditionally doubles as a cookout at Rob's house.  We probably can't do that due to Covid, but we'll try and squeeze those in online.  As for the single's tournament in July...that might be harder to do.  We can't go and have 32 Duelers in the same room under current conditions.  Who knows - we'll figure that out later.

For now, we're signing off.  The stats are updated.

May the Force Be with You.  Always.

May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2020

Kamino Platform

Last year's May the 4th Duel was momentous in that it featured one of the most memorable wins in league history.  Riley, at ten years and 364 days old, shocked the world when her Emperor, about to be destroyed by Ben's Dooku, pulled out a second You Will Die and rode to a win.  It was insane and joyful and maybe the only time the other eleven Duelers didn't mind losing.

This year's May the 4th?

...not so much!

It always starts so innocently...

Right out of the gate, Ryan, using Han and Chewy, targeted lil' Riley's Darth Maul.  He Wookie Tossed her to the edge of the light side alliance, and then Elliot's Yoda further pushed her back to get decimated by the Jedi.  But Rob, whose dad anger was raging, rolled in and Force Pushed her back to the dark side, and then Gave Orders to hide again behind his Super Battle Droids.

The dark side was certainly roughed up at that point, but the scales were balanced again...until Nathan's Jango killed Riley's Maul and then Rocket Retreated to the light side!  Riley, the defending champ, was eliminated first!  The day before her 12th birthday!  May God have mercy on all of our souls...

...but make sure you have a power cord. 

The dark side got cranky after that and tried their best to retaliate.  It wasn't easy.  Rob's Dooku got shot up by Ryan's Han Solo.  That was largely assisted by Christopher's Luke Skywalker, who played his second I Will Not Fight You of the game.  That's when Diego went for the Hail Mary and played his You Will Die on Nathan's Jango, who had betrayed them.  The play worked.  The light side was bottle-necked and fully carded, so they turned on their new teammate.  It was Kaleb's Greedo, though, using a Desperate Shot, that put him down in eleventh!  What is it with Kaleb and Greedo???

Obi looks on.

After that, though, the light side pushed forward to eliminate the light side.  Rob and Kaleb tried to find cracks in the alliance but couldn't get a toehold.  That's when Rob did something so, so dirty.  His Dooku Force Pushed Troy's Darth Vader!  Poor Troy did nothing wrong, but he landed in a light side kill box with very little defense.  It didn't take long for them erase him in tenth.

From there Diego/Emperor, Rob/Dooku, and Kaleb/Boba were huddled behind Jango's ship.  And that was also when Rachel's internet connection went out because her computer ran out of power.  She literally dialed in a Force Control attack that left Diego exposed.  Rylie used her Padme's Shot on the Run and Diego was done in ninth.

The logistical issue with Rachel being out of the loop proved a nightmare.  Just as Kaleb and Rob convinced Elliot to Force Push Ben's Mace back to their corner, Rachel dialed in one last time and laid a hit on Boba before stopping.  We eventually decided to remove her Obi from the game.  As penalty for the "did not finish" we're going to mark her in last place.  You gotta be in it to win it!

LONESTAR!

Rob and Kaleb got their hits in on Ben's Mace, but Mace survived and Whirlwinded Dooku, leaving Rob in eighth.  Kaleb's Boba had Rocket Retreated to the other end of the board, right into the arms of Christopher's Luke and Rylie's Anakin.  They made short work of him, and with that, there were five left!

Ben/Mace and Rylie/Anakin were a little put-off by Elliot's previous Force Push, so the attacks started in on his Yoda.  Elliot went behind the ship to hide, but an unrelenting volley of shots finally landed him in fifth place.  Congrats to Elliot, though - that was his best finish!

That left four Duelers, and in a bit of a surprise move, Rylie's Anakin went after Christopher's Luke.  Ben and Ryan didn't mind the move and started to help.  But Christopher was playing brilliantly as Luke and managed to, at different points, drop a Justice on both Anakin and Han as well as playing another I Will Not Fight You on Mace.  He finally clipped Rylie with a four point attack and she finished in fourth.

Evil will always win, because "good" is dumb!

Christopher's expertise couldn't withstand a two-point attack, though.  While he locked horns with Ryan's Han, Ben's mangled Mace rolled up and put a big hit first on Luke, and then he Whirlwinded them both.  That knocked Christopher our, but he played arguably the best game at the table that night.  Great job Christopher!

The final two were quite interesting.  Ryan had healed up but was hurting from the Justice.  Meanwhile, Ben couldn't heal because he still had a Clone Trooper on the board.  Ryan played Heroic Retreat, knocking Mace within three points of death.  Han also ran away.  Ben figured he had one shot left.  So he used a Wisdom and Masterful Fighting, hoping for the knockout.  Ryan just survived it, and that's when he played the two cards he held onto for the entire night - both NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!

Ryan won with Han on Kamino!!!

Your final order of finish, edited to reflect the rankings after the Rachel logoff:

12.  Rachel/Obi-Wan Kenobi*
12. 11.  Riley/Darth Maul
11. 10.  Nathan/Jango Fett
10. 9.  Troy/Darth Vader
9. 8.  Diego/Emperor Palpatine
8. 7.  Rob/Count Dooku
7.  Rachel/Obi-Wan Kenobi*
6.  Kaleb/Boba Fett
5.  Elliot/Yoda
4.  Rylie/Anakin Skywalker
3.  Christopher/Luke Skywalker
2.  Ben H./Mace Windu
1.  Ryan/Han Solo

Congrats again to Ryan - any win with Han is special, but especially on that board.  I need to check the stats, but Ryan might be the first person to win with all three shooters!

Stats won't be updated until after the Birthday Duel...which is later tonight!

Preview: May the 4th Be With You (May 4, 2020) AND Birthday Duel (May 5, 2020)

Riley Dueling with Mommy

Look at that precious face in her Star Wars onesie!  That was Riley's first Duel outside of the womb.  Sitting on Mommy's lap, thirsting for thermal detonators.  We started her young!  And now, a dozen years later, she's turning 12!!!

And how did she want to celebrate her special day? A 12-WAY DUEL.

To all of you future parents...this is the goal.  Start them young!  And one day, they will betray you and join another alliance.  It will hurt, but as you move your damage indicator to red, you'll also feel an immense sense of pride.

So we have two Duels, back to back:  our sixth annual May the 4th Be With You, as well as Riley's Birthday Duel, so we'll go ahead preview both of those at the same time!

HISTORY OF MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU:

2019 - Riley won with Emperor Palpatine in the Emperor's Throne Room
2018 - Rob won with Mace Windu in the Emperor's Throne Room
2017 - JD won with Yoda in the Emperor's Throne Room
2016 - Chris K . won with Jango Fett in the Emperor's Throne Room
2015 - Rob won with Jango Fett in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

MEET THE MAY THE 4TH DUELERS:

Chair #1 - Rob w/ Count Dooku - I know, I know, this looks totally shady.  I swear that's what the randomizer produced!  I also know it's my second game in a row with Dooku too.  I don't even like him!!!  I swear!

Chair #2 - Kaleb w/ Boba Fett - He last played with Boba Fett at the 2019 Fall Brawl and finished a respectable fifth place.  Kaleb has two top-three finishes in his last four battles.

Chair #3 - Christopher w/ Luke Skywalker - Christopher enters this match coming off a career-best second place finish at Duel of the Fates.  Better card luck would have meant victory...

Chair #4 - Ben H. w/ Mace Windu - After winning the Imperial March he cooled off with an eighth place finish at Duel of the Fates.  He'd love a second trophy.

Chair #5 - Ryan w/ Han Solo - Oh no!  This marks Ryan's third straight game with a shooter!  Don't feel sorry for him, though.  He piloted Boba Fett to a third and fifth place finish.

Chair #6 - Elliot w/ Yoda - This is Elliot's fourth straight Duel.  It's clear he has Dueling fever, and the only antidote is MORE DUELING.

Chair #7 - Nathan w/ Jango Fett - Well look at what the cat dragged in!  Welcome back Nathan!  The Hall of Famer is playing his first game since the 2019 Championship, where he finished sixth with Obi-Wan.

Chair #8 - Riley w/ Darth Maul - the defending May the 4th Champion and youngest winner ever would love to keep her trophy on birthday-eve.

Chair #9 - Troy w/ Darth Vader - the 2019 Singles Champion had a scheduling snafu and missed last month's Duel, but he's locked in and ready to add to his resume.

Chair #10 - Diego w/ Emperor Palpatine - poor Diego got jacked up when Ben flipped last game, causing Diego's Mace to finish in last.  He's hoping to rebound this time around.

Chair #11 - Rachel w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi - everybody's favorite Yoda cosplayer is a different Jedi this time.  This is her second career Duel and she's ready to make a splash.

Chair #12 - Rylie w/ Anakin Skywalker - she used Anakin two months ago and landed in fourth place.  Pair that with a second place finish at A New Hope and it's clear Rylie is all business in 2020.

BB-8 PREDICTS THE WINNER:

Well, everyone's favorite lil' roller droid has only been right twice this year.  Who does he have winning May the 4th?


Vader it is!  On to the next preview...

MEET THE BIRTHDAY DUELERS:

Chair #1 - Kaleb w/ Darth Maul - look out folks, it's on!  Kaleb has three top-five finishes in his last three Duels with a dark side character.

Chair #2 - Alex w/ Anakin Skywalker - three wins in his last six games!!!  The stats say, pound for pound, Alex could be the best Dueler in league history!

Chair #3 - Ryan w/ Mace Windu - the originator of the "Cohenour Run," Ryan is partnered again with his main-man Mace.  Be ready for the Whirlwinds!

Chair #4 - Christopher w/ Boba Fett - this marks the third time in his young career playing with Boba.  He's hoping to improve upon to seventh place finishes with the character.

Chair #5 - Curtis w/ Darth Vader - Curtis would love to add a second trophy to his 2020 total after winning the A New Hope Duel in convincing fashion.

Chair #6 - Diego w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi - this will mark Diego's fourth career Duel.  He has yet to draw a shooter.  Yet...

Chair #7 - Riley w/ Han Solo - good grief, what kind of birthday present is this???  Riley turns 12 and gets stuck with Han for her special Duel?  She'll be so jaded by 13...

Chair #8 - Rob w/ Emperor Palpatine - Rob's favorite GIF is the one with laughing Emperor with his hands out to his sides.  It's fate!

Chair #9 - Rylie w/ Yoda - this marks Rylie's first venture with Yoda.  The soon-to-be graduate apprentice is playing with the master!

Chair #10 - Troy w/ Jango Fett - Playing with Vader the night before, and now he has Jango too?  Those are the two top characters in the game!  Well done, Troy.

Chair #11 - Grant w/ Luke Skywalker - the good news for Grant is he didn't get Han Solo.  The bad news for Grant is this his THIRD time with Luke in the last FOUR games!!!

Chair #12 - Lucas w/ Count Dooku - Lucas righted the ship by finishing in the top half of the game last month after four Duels in a row finishing eighth or worse.

BB-8 PREDICTS THE WINNER:

I can't predict the winner, so who knows if BB's Monday pick was right.  Is he picking the birthday girl?



C'mon BB, it's for the kids!!!