Emperor's Throne Room
Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, wookies and ewoks...here we go again!
SEASON SEVEN!!!
That's right, our 12-way Duel League is now in its seventh season of existence. That is insane. That means our rookie student Duelers were in eighth grade when this league started. It also means some of us who have played since the very beginning are OLD.
Every season usually starts in Glen Rose, TX, at the Community Leader training retreat. Because of stupid COVID-19, we had to stay in town and play online. That's ultimately not a big deal when facing a devastating pandemic, but man, it sure is fun playing in the rec room at camp and stuffing our faces with snacks.
It also means Rob had to recruit people virtually instead of face to face, but a nice balance of Duelers signed up to play. We had four professionals, four amateurs, and four rookies. But of the twelve Duelers playing, it seemed like most of them were connected to Brooks Residential College. One concerned Dueler texted Rob before the game (it was Kaleb) and asked, "should we be concerned about all the BRC folks playing?" Rob responded, "oh, we're doomed for sure." #foreshadowing #brooksmafia
 |
| Smile if Samuel Palmer Brooks is your homeboy. |
After a quick tutorial for the newbies, we were off and running! Poor Rylie got stuck with Boba Fett for her second game in a row, but at least she got to go first, right? But the very next Dueler after her, David T./Han Solo, playing in his very first Duel, swung Chewbacca towards Rylie's Greedo and dropped a card for his very first action. The card? BOWCASTER! An 11-point attack and Greedo was dead out of the gate and Rylie was reeling! THIS KID CAME TO PLAY.
It didn't get any less chaotic. Kaleb, piloting Luke Skywalker, appeared to lead the charge against the dark side. Ian/Mace followed him up the bridge, but as it turned out...Kaleb was flipping! Rob used his Yoda to Insight Luke and discarded a Latent Force Abilities card, but was also startled to see Kaleb already had both Justices. Rob didn't communicate that well to Ian, and the light side started shooting Leia. By the time Ian realized what was happening, it was too late. Kaleb convinced his own alliance to kill his minor character in order to activate the Justices. Despite Ian's scary-serious promise to unload on Kaleb (one rookie noted he sounded like Liam Neeson in Taken), they sided with Luke, and Kaleb double-Justiced Ian's Mace into last place.
You probably thought Kaleb was now in tight with the dark side. You would be wrong. The dark side alliance turned on him faster than the Millenium Falcon making the Kessel Run. Everyone chipped in with attacks, but it was a shot from Rachel's Padme that ended his night in eleventh.
 |
| The Epic Meltdown |
Rylie's Boba had begun firing on David's Han Solo, but the blood lust on the dark side couldn't be quenched. They turned on the bounty hunter, especially after Delaney non-committally wandered to their side of the board. Migual Miguel, also playing in his first Duel, blurted out he had 20 points worth of attacks for Boba. Rob explained how Sith Speed actually works, and Miguel cracked Rylie out of the game in tenth. Brutal.
Rob saw the writing on the wall and tried to get Elliot/Jango, Delaney/Obi, and Hannah/Vader to join him, Rachel/Anakin, and David/Han. He tried pointing out the tiered nature of their alliance. It was to no avail. David's Han was the next target, and it was Elliot who used a Rocket Retreat to punch out Han Solo in ninth. Still, you have to hand it to David. His first-ever card played was a Bowcaster! That's so awesome!!!
Rachel, playing with Anakin, tried to lay low all game and hide in the corner, but the dark side alliance, aka the Brooks Mafia, turned on one of their own. It was the seemingly innocent Hannah, using Darth Vader, that marched down and punched Rachel's ticket in eighth place. That next one-on-one will be a bit awkward...
And then there were seven! Miguel/Maul was up and decided to card up after he was told to pipe down by his partners. Rob's Yoda knew this was his chance. He noted how Maul was already in a kill box and would never be weaker to attack. Miguel, sweet Miguel, sweet, innocent, never been back-stabbed because it was his first Duel Miguel. He was so loyal to his alliance. But his alliance saw an opportunity! And after Noah's Dooku and Delaney's Obi both verbally committed to going in on him, Natalie's Emperor was forced to follow suit. Miguel...did not take it well. But those are the breaks! And that's what makes this game so deliciously fun. Everyone contributed attacks against him and he was in rough shape. The Brooks Mafia counted on Hannah's Vader to finish him off...but she didn't! She ran away! It was a jaw dropper. And it also let Miguel survive until his turn, and he took his vengeance out on Natalie's Emperor. She survived, but he did not. He finished seventh after Noah offed him, one spot short of his desired goal of sixth or better. So close, yet so far away.
 |
| Coming to blows. |
With six to go, Rob was sure he was next, and that was the initial plan. His hand got gutted when Delaney played Force Balance, dumping his three best defense cards. Just as he carded up again, Natalie finally let loose with the You Will Die. Rob was running out of options fast, but Delaney had a score to settle with Hannah for bailing out on the Maul kill. Poor Hannah, who started the day in Ohio and ended it late in the night and out in sixth.
Elliot's Jango popped some shots on Yoda, but it was Natalie's Force Lightning that finally put down the last light side alliance player.
There were four players left, and Noah's Dooku was already taking damage. He pulled off some nifty attacks, though, whittling Natalie's Emperor back down after she had played two Meditations to recover from Miguel's attacks. But the Brooks Mafia was ready to eliminate the last non-Brooks player, and Delaney swooped in with a Force Attack. It was a heck of a night for Noah, though, who survived some early skirmishes to make it to the top four.
And then there were three! And what a final three it was. Besties Natalie/Emperor, Delaney/Obi, and Elliot/Jango. Each cringed as their core alliance was about to come undone. Natalie decided early to team up with Jango, and Delaney was incensed. She marched down and clobbered the Emperor close to death. Meanwhile, Elliot's Jango was fully healthy and Obi was wounded. He figured he didn't need Natalie on the board any longer, and shot her down in third! Natalie played a great game, easily seen as the leader of the Brooks family Dueling syndicate.
 |
| The Nervous Nellies in the final two |
Delaney still had both of her clone troopers alive (one still pinned down from a Yoda Force Lift), and thus couldn't heal. Elliot's Zam Wessell was long gone, so he was healing Jango back to the top bar. It didn't look good for Delaney, but there's a reason Obi-Wan is often considered the best character in the game! She came roaring back, all while Elliot was loaded with Zam cards. To Delaney's credit, she didn't hold back and chased Elliot all around the board. There was a suspenseful moment where he was a point away from dying, and with her second attack, she laid down a two...only to be countered by Jango's last two defense! But a few moments later it was over, and Delaney, in just her fourth career Duel, won the game!!! She became the fourth female winner in league history, and as of this posting, has the highest win percentage (25%) in league history! And she's not even a professional yet! Let's also not overlook the fact she won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room, one of the lowest ranked character/board combos out there. It's usually a bad outcome but Delaney pulled it off! She also had a money line at the end of the game: "I won because I had the high ground."
Let's also give a hand to our runner-up, Elliot, who was the last major character to take damage in the game and nearly pulled off the upset. Well done Elliot!
Our next match will likely be on Saturday, August 29th - THE DOUBLEHEADER. And if you're new to the league, I will confirm, we're playing two games in one day. GET READY. As we bring our 90th (!!!) game in league history to a close, let's review the final order of finish once again:
12. Ian/Mace Windu
11. Kaleb/Luke Skywalker
10. Rylie/Boba Fett
9. David T./Han Solo
8. Rachel O./Anakin Skywalker
7. Miguel/Darth Maul
6. Hannah/Darth Vader
5. Rob/Yoda
4. Noah/Count Dooku
3. Natalie/Emperor Palpatine
2. Elliot/Jango Fett
1. Delaney/Obi-Wan Kenobi
 |
| Yoda's #1 Fan |
No comments:
Post a Comment