Eravana Cargo Hold
What a night of history in our beloved league! On a somber note, it has now officially been a year since we have Dueled face to face. The 2020 Valentine's Duel was our last time being physically present with each other. Let's all do our part to wear our masks and be smart so we can get back to our normal Dueling lives!
This was also the first time old and new characters were teeing off against each other. There were seven new and five old, and I gotta admit, I found myself rooting for the senior characters! But the biggest part of the night was our brand new board - the Eravana Cargo Hold, complete with TWO indestructible Rathtars!!! And Ryan made the board in 3-D, let's take a look at it!!!
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| "Run Chewey!" |
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| CJ bustin' loose |
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| RC feeling blue |
The board is stunning, and the light display under the grating is fantastic. It almost looks like something out of the Alien franchise. Unfortunately, the lights didn't show up well on camera, so we had them off except for the occasional dance break or when Rob was bored by the alliance chatter.
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| Be mine, Valentines! |
The game started off with a whistle. Literally! Rob was the Mandalorian, and he had Whistling Birds in his first four cards and couldn't resist doing 24 points of damage right out of the gate. He would pay the price, though, as the rest of the board began to punish him for his stingers. He was taking damage early and often. But Ryan (Yoda) and Kaleb (Vader) moved into the center four spaces of the board, and before we knew it, the two Rathtars were on the loose! Because of the Whistling Birds card, four minor characters died as soon as the Rathars passed. IT WAS AWESOME.
However, Rob wasn't long for the board. When Elliot/Jyn and Delaney/Lando found themselves full carded, they took down The Child's babysitter in last. Oof! Rob won last month but couldn't defend his trophy from last year's Valentine's battle.
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| Kylo in trouble |
Rylie's Anakin and Padme started wandering down to the dark side of the board, more so out of trying to flee the Rathtars than anything else, but when she rounded the corner she decided, what the heck, let's tussle with Duncan's Kylo! Duncan was surprised and cranky, especially when others joined in on the attack. He couldn't withstand the barrage, especially after Rylie used an Anger in an unorthodox second action. Duncan took a big hit on his Dueling average but he's still ranked number one.
Ryan's Yoda kept flip-flopping on whose side he was on, a move he had to make occupying the center spaces, and he ended up Force Pushing Karson's Beckett. But the dark side alliance really wanted to take out Elliot's Jyn, partially because she was a threat and partially because Ryan's Yoda had been friendly with him. Just as Jyn was in trouble health points-wise, Elliot pulled of a league first! He played Trust Goes Both Ways, making his minor character, Cassian Andor, his major!!! Kaleb seized on the switch too, though, using a Force Choke to finish Jyn.
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| CJ chompin' like a chomper |
Meanwhile, Riley's Han Solo was all banged up and had lost Chewbacca after having her Bowcaster dropped. Bummer! The "tiny titan of terror" was trying to lick boots to stick around, but Curtis' Krennic ordered the hit, and Karson's Beckett obliged by ending her night in tenth.
Delaney's Lando and Elliot's Cassian were soon without any friends on the board. They tried to hang tough, but the rest of the Duelers were united in taking them down next. Cassian was first to fall when Curtis' Death Trooper dropped him in ninth. Delaney's Lando proved a much tougher take down, as she pivoted around the board much to the chagrin of her pursuers. Alas, she couldn't hold out forever, and Krennic dropped her in eighth place.
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| Miguel's last stand |
With seven to go, the alliance had to turn on itself. Miguel's Moff Gideon, who had been playing like a mad man and thorn in many opponents' sides, found his loyalty betrayed when his partners turned on him. Rylie was full carded and made the call, and Kaleb/Vader followed suit though neither were proud of it. It would be a 5-point attack from Vader that ended Miguel's night, but let's give him a big cheer, because he turned professional with this his sixth Duel. Congrats Miguel!!!
And then there were six! The alliance had grown weary of Yoda's fence-sitting in the middle of the board. Despite Ryan's use of Insights and Force Pushes, the rest no longer wanted the old Jedi on the board. Ryan took the offensive, though, and Force Lifted Curtis' Krennic, imploring Rylie/Anakin and Kaleb/Vader to help him flip the script on Krennic. Rylie and Kaleb waffled for a moment, but they soon chose to stick with Curtis and Ryan couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack. It would be Karson of all people that took him down with a Trust No One. That sixth place finish caused Ryan to slide .01 points behind Alex C. for third in the league now.
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| Brotherly love? |
You have to hand it to Karson/Beckett and Ethan/Boba - those two stayed so far below the radar Duelers forgot they were on the board. But when it hit the final five, the core alliance of Rylie/Kaleb/Curtis grew mighty concerned. Despite Karson doing his part to take out Yoda, his own brother Kaleb moved into attack position! Though Beckett fought valiantly and even got some licks in on Vader, it would be a double Wrath that left Karson in fifth place. That's a career-best finish for Karson, though. Good job!
Ethan begged Rylie to join him against Kaleb's Vader, but Rylie was very low health (and shout out to her for playing with a carefree attitude - it was a great way to use Anakin!), and couldn't commit. Ethan no longer had use for her, and a wicked Kyber Dart did major damage on Rylie, ending her night in fourth place.
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| Q: What is Curtis' favorite song by No Doubt? A: "Trapped in a Box" |
With three to go Curtis' Krennic briefly abandoned Kaleb/Vader and joined Boba, but in stunning move, switched back, and that put Boba's game on tilt. Krennic landed a four point attack and Ethan, our retired Dueler who was joining us all the way from Virginia, was gone. It was a heck of a game Ethan!
And then there were two! The two Rathtars had been stuck in a loop at the top of the board, but Vader flipped a couple of door switches and, for the first time that night, they both ended up in the inner circle. Krennic had trouble going after Vader in the middle of the board. At one point he stepped into a Rathtar holding bin...and the trap was sprung! Kaleb quickly raised the other door and Krennic couldn't move!!! You could hear Curtis's hopes crash to the floor all the way across town, as he assumed Vader could distance attack Krennic to death. But Curtis kept healing, and it became apparent Kaleb was going to have to do more. That's when he set up the doors again to move both Rathtars towards Curtis just as he let Curtis out of the box. And man, RC and CJ (our nicknames for the Rathtars) jacked him up for eight points of damage while blocking his path. However, Krennic survived and started chasing Vader around the board!
Let's give it up for Kaleb too, who played great with Lord Vader. Let's also lift him and Aly up in prayer and praise as they get married later this month! That's what Dueling is all about folks, the love!!!
Final order of finish:
12. Rob/Mandalorian
11. Duncan/Kylo Ren
10. Riley/Han Solo
9. Elliot/Jyn Erso Cassian Andor
8. Delaney/Lando Calrissian
7. Miguel/Moff Gideon
6. Ryan/Yoda
5. Karson/Tobias Beckett
4. Rylie/Anakin Skywalker
3. Ethan/Boba Fett
2. Kaleb/Darth Vader
1. Curtis/Orson Krennic
The consensus seemed to be the Eravana Cargo Hold was an awesome board! Big shout outs again to Ryan on the design and build. It's so cool! We can't wait to play that one again in person.
Stay tuned for next month, as The Imperial March will be our next battle! I've already drawn the characters for the Duel, and let's just say...this one is going to be a SLUGFEST!
We'll also be playing on a new board again! Want a hint? Here you go...
See you next month!
