The Centurion - March 27, 2021

 

Carbon Freezing Chamber

We did it.

We played a 100 Duels.

100!!!

In honor of the 100th Duel in league history, we gathered a dozen of the all-time greats to ring in the era of triple-digits.  We even had three Duelers from the first Duel - CL Training back in 2014 - playing in the game!  That's enough exposition, though...let's hear how it went down!

Look at that gallery of all-stars!

We were fittingly stuck in the Carbon Freezing Chamber for this bad boy, and as veterans know, Carbon comes down to what happens to Vader (Ian) and Luke (Ben H.) at the start of the game.  Grant's Count Dooku went first, though, and he wasted no time by laying an attack on Luke with his Super Battle Droid!

The game split dead even at the start, with the six light and six dark side characters staying loyal to each other.  Joel's minor character, Greedo, was the first character to bite the dust.  Soon after, Curtis' Mace Windu charged in with a Whirlwind and then a Wisdom to retreat backwards.  Just as it looked like Joel's Boba would be the first to die, he struck a deal with the light side, promising to flip!  Rob was next, and he and Ian tried to convince Joel to stay.  Rob was low-carded after Ben's banged-up Luke Skywalker played I Will Not Fight You on him, but his Emperor still had You Will Die.  Instead of using it on Joel, he dropped it on Kaleb's Han Solo, who had Chewbacca leading the light side charge with a possible Bowcaster in his hand.  In the end, it didn't matter...Joel betrayed his alliance!  He threw a Thermal and attacked Emperor with a Kyber Dart.  With Rob bleeding out, JD's Obi-Wan clone finished the league founder off in last place.

Rob played in 100 Duels and all 
he has to show for it is this lousy
Palpatine t-shirt.

The crazy thing about Joel attacking his own side was that he didn't use a Rocket Retreat to peace out.  Vengeance was dished cold when Ian's Vader and Stephen's Darth Maul eliminated him in eleventh place.

With ten Duelers left and only four dark side characters, it was open season for the light side.  Their minors started peppering the remaining bad guys with distance shots.  Stephen got tempted by the light side to betray his alliance to further himself in the game, so he reluctantly dropped hits on an understanding Grant/Dooku.  But it would be JD who made a really big splash.  His Obi-Wan pulled off a feat that hadn't been seen in quite a few Duels.  He killed two main characters in one turn!  First he used a Jedi Attack to kill Ian's boxed-in Vader, and the movement from that allowed him to rush Grant's Dooku, who succumbed to a four point death in ninth place!

Ian with nowhere to run.

There were just eight Duelers left, and Ryan's Jango, who had been flirting with Alex R.'s Anakin all game, made good on his promise to shake things up.  He used a Rocket Retreat to stand next to Ben's Luke, and then fired a Missile Launch at point-blank range.  That was more than Ben could handle, and he was dead in eighth.  Considering how badly he was hounded by the dark side at the start of the game, that was actually a great finish.

With seven to go, something happened that hadn't occurred since 2016.  I am speaking, of course, of Alex R. shaking things up in crazy and radical ways!  (And now that we mention it, I'm pretty sure Alex set a record for longest time between Duels, at just under five years!)  Alex R.'s Anakin called out Alex C.'s Yoda for being silent and hanging back, and tried to cause a lot of chaos while doing so.  What was even crazier was that it was Alex C.'s turn!  He hoped to rally folks against Yoda, but Alex R. was stunned when Curtis' Mace Windu attacked him instead of Yoda!  Alex R. was highly annoyed when others joined in, cursing the formulaic play.  Kaleb's Han got the final shot on Alex R., and the Dueling legend bowed out in seventh.

That left six folks vying for the title of the Centurion, and the board almost unanimously decided Ryan's Jango's services were no longer needed.  He was cranky, but Stephen chopped him up for a sixth place finish.  

You could cut the tension with a knife.

The final five began jockeying for position, and I'll be honest, there was a long boring streak in here I don't have a lot of memory of because I was texting with a lot of dead Duelers, but, here's what I remember.  Alex C.'s Yoda, who survived Alex R.'s uprising, made it known he wasn't too keen on Stephen's Maul sticking around.  In a bit of a surprise, JD agreed.  JD and Stephen had partnered, but that alliance was now at an end.  We should note Stephen was playing with us from ITALY, as in EUROPE, and had to message us most of the night because it was 4 in the morning there and he didn't want to wake up his wife.  But he turned his mic back on and made whisper pleas to no avail.  They ganged up on him and Kaleb reluctantly put him down in fifth with a Never Tell Me The Odds.

At the final four, everyone was still in strong health, but JD thought it was time to go after Alex's Yoda.  Alex responded by double-Force Pushing him for six points of damage!  It loosely turned into a doubles match, as Alex/Yoda and Kaleb/Han loosely worked with each other against Curtis/Mace and JD/Obi.  JD was starting to wrack up the damage, though.  Kaleb begged him to take a step back and see what was happening - three of them were getting weaker while Curtis' Mace was still in great shape.  JD was determined he and Curtis were faithful, and in a bit of a surprise, he ran down to Kaleb's end of the board and dispatched him with a Jedi Attack.  Kaleb was none-too-pleased.

Gotta get those arms loose for the WHIRLWINDS!

JD retreated down to Curtis' Mace, assuming they were still good.  But with only a couple of health points left, Curtis decided he no longer needed his fellow Jedi, and JD was disheartened to learn he would finish in third place instead of second.  Alex C. played nimbly with a banged-up Yoda, but because his Clone was still alive, he couldn't heal.  Curtis played patiently, and after a couple of charges, he finally ended the night by Whirlwinding Alex for the win!!!

For now on, we shall call Curtis by his new name:  THE CENTURION!!!

The Final Order of Finish:

12.  Rob/Emperor

11.  Joel/Boba

10.  Ian/Vader

9.  Grant/Dooku

8.  Ben H./Luke

7.  Alex R./Anakin

6.  Ryan/Jango

5.  Stephen/Maul

4.  Kaleb/Han

3. JD/Obi-Wan

2.  Alex C./Yoda

1.  Curtis/Mace

Just look at that list...84 of the leagues 100 wins are represented!!!  What a night.  We'll do it again at 200...

In April we're back to our normal Dueling schedule - Duel of the Fates will likely be on April 10th - stay tuned for more details!

Preview: The Centurion - March 27, 2021

 

This league has been in action for almost seven years now, and in that span we have played 99 Duels.  In honor of the big one-zero-zero, we're holding a special Duel.  We've invited back 12 of the most legendary Duelers to ever take the battlefield and repeatedly stab eleven of their friends in the back.

We're calling this Duel...THE CENTURION!

There is no doubt this will be the toughest Duel ever played.  And in honor of the roots of the game, we're playing with the original 12 characters.  We randomized the board selection among the 4 original playing surfaces and the five new creations.  It was only fitting that the CARBON FREEZING CHAMBER - the cruelest board there is - was selected.  

MEET THE DUELERS:

It was hard to narrow the field to this dynamic dozen, and one could certainly argue for others to be included.  That being said, we don't think anyone would deny the 12 Duelers below deserve their spot.  Here they are...

Chair #1 - Grant w/ Count Dooku.  5.45 AVG, 66 Duels, 7 Wins, 10.6 WIN%

Grant has been playing since season one, and ranks third all-time in Duels played and tied for third in career wins.  He's one of only two Duelers to win with the same character three times (Han Solo).

Chair #2 - Alex R. w/ Anakin Skywalker.  5.53 AVG, 17 Duels, 4 Wins, 23.5 WIN%

Alex R. won the first 12-Way Duel played in Waco, the year prior to the league starting, and he's the all-time leader in win percentage for Duelers with ten or more Duels played.

Chair #3 - Ian w/ Darth Vader.  5.18 AVG, 59 Duels, 8 Wins, 13.5 WIN%

Ian debuted at the tail end of season one and now ranks fifth in career Duels played and tied for second in wins.  

Chair #4 - Stephen w/ Darth Maul.  6.56 AVG, 34 Duels, 3 Wins, 8.8 WIN%

Stephen debuted in year two at CL Training.  He is the all-time leader in Duels played by a student and in the top ten for total Duels.  

Chair #5 - Curtis w/ Mace Windu.  5.89 AVG, 62 Duels, 7 Wins, 11 WIN%

Curtis debuted with a win at the first ever Doubleheader, the only Dueler to accomplish that feat, and now ranks fourth all-time in Duels played and is tied for third in wins.

Chair #6 - Ryan w/ Jango Fett.  5.05 AVG, 58 Duels, 6 Wins, 10.3 WIN%

The creator of the three-dimensional boards, Ryan has the best average of any Dueler with ten or more Duels played and ranks sixth all-time in Duels played.

Chair #7 - Alex C. w/ Yoda.  5.07 AVG, 30 Duels, 6 Wins, 20 WIN%

Alex holds the greatest career win percentage for Duelers with 20 or more games played, a staggering 20%.  He's second all-time in average for Duelers with ten or more games played.

Chair #8 - Ben H. w/ Luke Skywalker.  5.22 AVG, 41 Duels, 6 Wins, 14.6 WIN%

He first Dueled in year four.  Ben is the only Dueler in league history to win two championship matches.  He ranks eighth all-time in career Duels played.

Chair #9 - Rob w/ Emperor Palpatine.  5.38 AVG, 99 Duels, 17 Wins, 17.1 WIN%

The Godfather of the 12-Way Duel format has played in every Duel in league history and leads in all-time wins.  

Chair #10 - Joel w/ Boba Fett.  5.31 AVG, 32 Duels, 6 Wins, 18.8 WIN%

Joel is one of the most dominant Duelers in league history.  He has the best career average of any student to play the game.  He debuted in year three.

Chair #11 - Kaleb w/ Han Solo.  5.16 AVG, 50 Duels, 5 Wins, 10 WIN%

Kaleb won his first Duel in just his third game, back in early 2017.  Kaleb ranks in the all-time top ten for average, duels, and wins.

Chair #12 - JD w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi.  6.09 AVG, 68 Duels, 8 Wins, 11.8 WIN%

JD sat at the table for the very first official league Duel, and is now second all-time in Duels played and tied for second in wins.  He's also the creator of the league trophies.

As you can see above, you'd have a hard time finding a more wretched hive of scum an villainy to ring in the hundredth Duel in league history!  This is the biggest Duel in league history, and somebody will have ultimate bragging rights...at least until the 200th!  ;)

It all goes down at 7PM on Saturday, March 27th.    

100 Memories from the first 100 Duels

 

If you had told any of us who played at the CL Training Duel back in August of 2014 that this game would evolve into a league of rabid Duelers with 99 Duels played in just under seven years...with new boards, characters, singles tournaments, trophies, and blogs...we might have considered you a little nutty.

But here we are!    

We have officially played 99 Duels in our league...and that deserves a celebration!  This Saturday we're playing what has been titled The Centurion.  We invited 12 of the most celebrated, famous, ruthless, and best Duelers in league history to officially ring in the 100th Duel played.  Duelers who span the first game all the way through the 99th.  But we'll preview that Duel later in the week!  In the meantime, we thought it was important to commemorate this milestone in league history by looking back at some of our favorite memories from the first seven years.  Presented below are 100 legendary tales, humorous anecdotes, silly stories, random factoids, and other assorted tidbits.  This list is by no means all-encompassing, for we all hold our own personal favorite flashbacks.  Nonetheless, enjoy this trip down memory lane...

The Imperial March - March 6, 2021

 

Conveyex Train

Whereas most of the Duels this season consisted of a dozen grizzled veterans, already keen on the tendencies of their peers, the 2021 Imperial March saw FIVE first time Duelers enter the fray!  This week conflicted with a lot of the professional players, leaving the door wide open for a host of rookies!

The other big story of note was the use of our new board - the Conveyex Train!  The train car covers the center of the board as its pursued by three Enfys Nest speeders and an Imperial cargo ship, just like the Han Solo movie!  Each Dueler was provided one tow cable, which allowed characters to move from one vehicle to the next once played.  This is the first board in Duels history that is edited by the players during the game.

There's a clue in this picture of who ends up winning...

Everyone took Rob's pregame advice and carded up over the first two rounds of the game, but when rookie Fiona, playing with Rey and Finn, took a potshot at one of Delaney/Snoke's guards, all hell broke loose.  Two alliances formed, split roughly diagonally across the board.  While Fiona tried to escape to the other end of the train, Miguel's Anakin started up and attacked John B.'s Kylo Ren.  It got sassy real quick!

Stephanie's Grievous started moving towards the back of the train to allow Kylo and Rey a place to escape.  Meanwhile, Duncan/Obi-Wan and Delaney/Snoke tried to orchestrate a counterstrike with Jessica/Emperor and Rob/Luke basically joining in by default.  Ian/Yoda sat stoically on his speeder, Riley's Lando kept her head down in the corner of the cargo ship, and Jon W.'s Darth Maul loomed menacingly in the background. 

All-aboard the PAIN TRAIN!!!

Miguel/Anakin and Fiona/Rey took the brunt of most of the attacks, and Stephanie's Grievous attempted to board the train to add her support.  But Delaney's Snoke played Tied to a String and suddenly the General was in a kill box!  And wouldn't you know it, Jon W.'s Maul was fully carded and chomping at the bit.  This was Stephanie's first game and she didn't do anything wrong, but sometimes them's-the-breaks in Epic Duels.  She became the first victim of the evening.

It looked like the alliance being led by Duncan's Obi-Wan were going to run over their opponents, but Elliot's Val had other ideas.  For the first time in league history, we finally saw It's Been A Ride, Babe played!  That's a five point self-destruct card that killed both of Jessica's royal guards and jacked up Anakin, Leia, and Yoda to boot.  And Val didn't even die!  With the alliance still on tilt, Jon W'.s Maul was still at the back of the train and fully loaded again, so he shocked Delaney's Snoke by launching a Sith-Speeded assault!  Delaney couldn't hang and she was gone in a shocking 11th place.

The majority alliance regrouped and kept pinging Kylo Ren.  Duncan was finally able to get a couple of decent rolls and and landed damage too.  It was Riley's Lobot, though, hanging in the corner, who betrayed her tentative alliance with an Activation kill shot!  John W. finished 10th with Kylo, but if there's a silver lining, that's Kylo's best finish in three games.  Folks are clearly scared of the sequel villain.

Keep feeding Maul!

Darth Maul was still at the rear of the train, making Jessica/Emperor, Miguel/Anakin, and Rob/Luke pretty nervous after the Snoke takedown.  But after Elliot's Beckett cracked folks with his Double Blasters, he got stuck a little too far forward.  That's when Ian's Yoda moved in for the second time with a Force Push and sent Elliot right into the hungry arms of Jon W.'s Maul.  He was excited to add his third major character kill of the night and Elliot was hobbled in 9th.

Poor Fiona, her Rey was chased throughout the game and now she was absent any partners.  Despite pulling of a clutch Rise of Skywalker heal, and receiving Kylo's Redemption heal points, her damage indicator card was nearing the red dot.  She tried once again to get Riley's Lando to join her, but Riley coldly shot that down.  Fiona learned the hard way why they call Riley the tiny titan of terror.  She landed hits on a cardless Rey, but it would be Fiona's own CL, Jessica, that put the final hit to send her home in 8th!  Fiona has a meeting set for Monday morning to discuss the situation with their hall director.

And then there were seven!

Miguel's Anakin was down to a couple of points of health, and it was Rob/Luke's turn.  He knew good and well Duncan's Obi-Wan was loaded with cards and ready to win the game.  That's when he rallied the remaining characters to focus their fire on Duncan!  Obi was chagrinned but understood, but also wasn't done fighting.  Leia landed a full 7 points of damage with her Latent Force Abilities, and that's when Miguel made a desperate plea to help secure him a sixth place finish, his highest ever, by Wrathing in and attacking Obi.  However, he landed on the tow cable that was the only entry point to go after Obi, so Duncan dispatched Anakin in seventh.  You fought valiantly, Miguel!  A top six finish is on the horizon some day...

Duncan had one more trick up his sleeve.  He used a Force Control attack to trap Rob's Luke Skywalker in a kill box!  Duncan argued he was injured and less threatening than Luke at that point.  Rob promised he was still going after Obi.  But Jessica's Emperor moved to let Luke out, and nobody attacked.  Instead, there was a different shocking conflict...out of nowhere, Jon W.'s Maul went after the Emperor!  Poor Jessica didn't see it coming.  Maul knocked her down to her last final points before death.  It was Obi's turn next, and he had the choice to get a last hit on Rob, or to play for ranking and finish off the Emperor.  He chose the stats and Jessica, in her first Duel, finished a more than respectable 6th place.  Good job Jessica!  Riley's Lobot got his second kill of the night by finishing Duncan in 5th.

Father and daughter divided!

With four to go, it was Ian/Yoda's turn.  Rob told him he would follow his lead.  Riley piped in she would too.  Maul just sneered menacingly.  Ian made the call...on Riley's Lando!  It killed Rob to go against his own daughter, but he wanted to win and knew how hard Lando is take down after winning with him in January.  Maul retreated to the far end of the board and Rob and Ian started chasing Riley.  

They landed a few hits without much success when, ominously,  Jon W.'s Maul started creeping forward.  It was Rob's turn next, and he suddenly worried about their survival against the horned Sith.  Ian and Rob made the call to hit Maul instead, and Riley agreed to help.  Maul made a semi-offer to work with Lando, but Riley was terrified of him by that point in the game.  

Luke and Lando were landing hits, but at one point Ian called out Riley for not doing more.  He had Insighted her earlier and knew how powerful her hand was, but she was just taking pot shots.  Rob was shocked as he had no clue his daughter was stockpiling and was instantly proud yet terrified of her.  During the battle with Maul Ian landed a Force Rebound on an Athletic Surge, which was a back-breaker.  It would be Rob's Luke who finally knocked out Jon's Maul.  Jon is OLD SCHOOL with Duels - he bought the game when it was first released and loved his first 12-way Duel!  We'll hit you up again in the future, Jon!

Always the bride's maid...finally the bride!

Maul was dead and now Luke and Yoda went after Lando again.  Both tried to hold back some good cards for the end game.  Rob was crestfallen when Riley killed Yoda's last pesky Clone Trooper.  He knew that was very bad for his end game, but Lando was too strong to take on by himself so he stuck with Ian.  After a LONG chase, Riley finally bowed out when her own father used Justice.  It's such a brutal game!!!  But Riley had a heck of a night and played Lando and the board perfectly.

That left two, and Rob knew Ian still hadn't played his redrawn Force Rebound, which was problematic.  He actually tricked Yoda into using it with just a 2-point attack, but he was quickly overwhelmed.  At one point Luke played an I Will Not Fight You, but Ian's Yoda got to keep all nine cards in his hand.  OUCH!  I'll save you the gritty details, but Luke ran all over the train multiple times before finally getting put down with a 4-point attack from Ian.  Congrats Ian!!!  Ian finished in second place in his last FOUR Duels, which is both an awesome and horrific record to have.  But you know what they say, fifth time's the charm!  Wait, what...?  Ian is also now tied for second in league history with 8 wins.  That also makes it 8 career victories for Yoda.  

The final order of finish:

12.  Stephanie/Grievous

11.  Delaney/Snoke

10.  John B./Kylo

9.  Elliot/Beckett

8.  Fiona/Rey

7.  Miguel/Anakin

6.  Jessica/Emperor

5.  Duncan/Obi-Wan

4.  Jon W./Maul

3.  Riley/Lando

2.  Rob/Luke

1.  Ian/Yoda

Believe it or not, this Duel was the 99th game in league history.  Our April Duel, Duel of the Fates, will be in April like normal.  But in honor of our 100th game, we are inviting back 12 of the most decorated Duelers in league history for a match we're calling...The Centurion!  If you stacked a Duel with the 12 best to every play...these would likely be your picks!  They span all seven years of the league's history, and some have never sat across from each other at the table.  It will be EPIC!!!  That match goes down on March 27th.  

Thanks to all our new folks for playing tonight - rookie Duelers become professional Duelers,  you're the lifeblood of the league!  Until next time...may the Force be with you.

Preview: The Imperial March - March 6th, 2021

 

Egads we're back at it, it's our seventh annual The Imperial March!!!

Can you hear the music in your head???  

We've got quite a lineup of characters to play, with just two shooters and ten of the most powerful characters in the game ready to have at it.  And like we have for most of the year...we're playing on a new board!  This time we're using the train heist scene from Solo: A Star Wars Story!  

This will be our first battle IN AIR, as Duelers will balance precariously between the conveyex train, Enfys Nest raiding ships, and an imperial transport hauler.  Take a look!

Don't take a bad step or you could plummet to your death!  You may be asking yourself, if that's open terrain between the ships and the train, how do you move from one to the other?  Well, for the first time in league history...the board will evolve during the game!  Each Dueler will be provided one tow cable they can place between themselves and a new ship or the train.  If you want to lay it down, you do so after you roll.  Once a cable is laid, it can't be taken away for the rest of the game.  If you die still holding your cable, the person who took you out gets to take it from you!  There are 16 different squares a cable can be laid, but only 12 total cables.  Choose wisely!

DUELS HISTORY:

Let's take a gander at the past champions...

2020 - Ben H. won with Darth Vader on the Kamino Platform

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

Ben isn't playing this time around so the trophy is officially up for grabs!

MEET THE DUELERS:

This is a pretty exciting month - due to the busy schedule of a lot of our "regulars," we've got five first time Duelers this month!  I believe the rookies are the future, train them well and let them lead the way, show them all the back-stabbing they possess inside...!

Chair #1 - Fiona w/ Rey!  First time Dueler alert!  This member of the ever-expanding Brooks mafia gets the first chair and the awesome star of the sequel trilogy.  Not a bad way to start.

Chair #2 - John W. w/ Darth Maul!  This will be John's first league Duel, but he owns a copy of the game.  His wife and Rob's wife were best friends in college, and he'll be dialing in all the way from North Carolina!

Chair #3 - Rob w/ Luke Skywalker!  Rob's Dueling life has been a rollercoaster as his last three Duels have been a last place, first place, and last place finish.  That's not easy on his constitution.

Chair #4 - John B. w/ Kylo Ren!  That's right, we have two new Duelers with the first name of John, just to add an extra layer of confusion to the game!  John hails from the Brooks mafia too.

Chair #5 - Duncan w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi!  Duncan did not enjoy his low finish at the Valentine's Duel, but he has to be happy to roll into the Imperial March with Obi-Wan Kenobi.  One of his two career victories was with Kenobi!

Chair #6 - Riley w/ Lando Calrissian!  Last month the tiny titan of terror played with Han Solo, and this month she get's Han's bestie.  Could she be the second member of her family to win with this new character?

Chair #7 - Miguel w/ Anakin Skywalker!  Miguel is now a professionally ranked Dueler, and you have to figure he's ready for a career-best finish.  Will he take the trophy?

Chair #8 - Ian w/ Yoda!  Ian has finished in second place over the last four Duels he's played.  That's either totally heartbreaking or awesome, depending on your point of view.  He would love to inch one spot further.

Chair #9 - Elliot w/Beckett!  Beckett is one of three of the new characters who has played in all three games since being introduced to the league.  And the conveyex train scene is from his movie so I guess that means Elliot has home field advantage!

Chair #10 - Jessica B. w/Emperor Palpatine!  Jessica made it nearly two years as a CL before finally getting sucked into her first Duel!  She's got an awesome character to make her debut.  Brooks again is well represented!

Chair #11 - Delaney w/Supreme Leader Snoke!  Only one Dueler has ever played with Snoke in a league-official game, and Delaney is the lucky(?) player to have that distinction.  The word on the street is she's fascinated with trains, so this board is a dream scenario for her.

Chair #12 - Stephanie w/General Grievous!  In our final chair is our final rookie - welcome to the action Stephanie!  General Grievous finished in second place the last time he played and is currently the number one ranked Character.

STAR WARS POSTER BOOK PREDICTS THE WINNER:

After a strong start to the year, the Star Wars Poster Book has fallen to 3-5 with its predictions.  It's time for is to turn things around.  Ok inanimate object...who will win the Duel???

Whoa-ho-ho!  We've got not one, not two, but three pics of Yoda on the same poster.  The book has spoken!

We'll see if it's right.  One thing's for sure, it's time to get on the train.  ALL ABOARD!!!