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...
1. Rob brought Star Wars Epic Duels to Waco with him after launching leagues at previous universities where he worked, so he thought he would test the nerd waters at the 2013 CL Training retreat. That's where a brash motor-mouth by the name of Alex R. hoped for Boba Fett, somehow randomly picked Boba Fett, and proceeded to win the game while running his mouth the entire time. Rob had never seen Boba win a 12-Way before that. Though the league wouldn't start in earnest until a year later...the seeds were planted!
2. At what became the league's first official match, the 2014 CL Training Duel was an exciting affair where Rob, playing with Darth Vader, hatched a plan halfway through the game that landed him in first place after a successful All Too Easy against Sakina, multiple Throw Debris at others, and a Your Skills Are Not Complete against Chris K.'s Jango Fett in the final two. Life would never be the same after that...
3. Some folks never realized it, but we play a Doubleheader the last weekend of August each year because it's Rob's birthday and that is his birthday wish he cashes in with his family. At Doubleheader #1 in 2014, Alex R. was back for more as he became the first Dueler to win with Darth Maul, but then...
4. ....he finished in last place in Doubleheader #2! He was the first, but certainly not the last, Dueler to pull that feat during a Doubleheader. It would be first-time Dueler Curtis, playing with Yoda, who won the second game of the night. That was Yoda's first win and Curtis remains the only official first-time Dueler to win their debut game.
5. Nobody knows the exact date, but it was in the fall of 2014 when the term "gentleman's discard" was first used. This implied a Dueler was attacking another Dueler with a very low attack value, instead of just discarding. Kristin, the best Dueler in league history to never actually win a Duel, was infamous for saying "gentleman's discard" and then attacking with something much stronger!
6. David C. won the 2014 Fall Brawl, perfecting a loathed strategy of feigning commitment to an alliance but never actually doing much to support it. He remains the only Dueler in league history to score a win without eventually becoming a professional (professionals play in a minimum of 6 Duels, David stopped after 5).
7. The 2014 Fight Night Duel was memorable as the first career victory for Grant, one of the best and most decorated Duelers in league history.
8. At Thanksdueling 2014, Ryan became the first person to defect with Mace Windu to the dark side of the board in the Geonosis Arena, a move now called the "Cohenour Run." Alex R. would win with Boba Fett again, making it the first league-official Boba win, but it was nothing new for Alex.
9. Few Duels have produced more memories than the first Championship! In December of 2014 the top 12 ranked Duelers gathered for the Super Bowl of Dueling. Sakina was feeling uber-confident with her Yoda pick, but then JD's Obi hit her and ran away, and that set off a chain reaction that culminated in Sakina getting Bowcasted in last place. The silent fury she managed to contain made the hairs stand up on the backs of our collective necks. Simeon later became the first Dueler to combo Emperor's You Will Die with Meditation, meaning the cardless victim couldn't get new cards on their next turn! But it would be the trio of Ryan, Rob, and Kristin who made their alliance last until the final three, and the Thermal Ryan used against Rob eventually secured his first career win.
10. The 2015 A New Hope Duel was another memory-filled battle. It marked the debut of David G., who was so nervous his hands were shaking. His Jango boldly attacked Curtis's Darth Maul. Curtis tried to talk him out of the move, but when David didn't use Rocket Retreat on his second attack, Curtis was forced to destroy him. This Duel might be Rob's favorite win, as he was in an alliance with Alex R. the whole night, but Alex kept trying to figure out how to out-maneuver Rob the whole time. The pinnacle moment came when Alex, about to attack Curtis, formed a verbal alliance with him instead. When Curtis asked for confirmation from Rob too, Rob said, "I hear you!" On Rob's very next move he attacked Curtis, as his words didn't technically mean he was in agreement too. Sure enough, Rob beat Alex in the final two, marking Mace Windu's first win in the league.
11. For the 2015 Valentine's Duel, Rob suggested everybody bring a sweet treat to share. Daniel went all out and shamed the rest of us by baking red velvet cupcakes. Sakina was playing again for the first time since her Championship demise, and in an effort to guarantee she didn't finish last again, killed Daniel right out of the gate! Brutal!! He was dead almost as soon as he set out the cupcakes.
12. The Imperial March in 2015 featured what is arguably the most dramatic ending in league history. Grant was playing with Han Solo, and made it to the final two against amateur Dueler Ian, who had Count Dooku. It looked like Han was comfortably in the lead, but a couple of vicious attacks from Ian left Han in serious trouble. Grant was down to his last three cards when Ian played Force Drain, meaning Grant had to randomly discard two of his last three. Ian picked them from Grant's hand. The only card left? BOWCASTER!!!! Chewbacca played it immediately after, hitting Dooku point-blank in the head for the victory. If you're at all familiar with the league's history, it should come as no surprise Grant was the first to win with Han Solo.
13. The 2015 Duel of the Fates match saw Curtis become the first Dueler to ever win with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
14. The 2015 May the 4th Duel was quite chaotic, as the light side and Fetts rallied to thwart an obvious dark side power alliance. Alex R. had a super sneaky plan of attack to win with Han, but Rob called him out on it before he could play double Never Tell Me The Odds on four Duelers at once. Rob's wife Jess got called in as a last minute sub, and the husband and wife duo finished first and second on the day. That was also Jango Fett's first win.
15. Knowing the summer was the offseason for the league, the Duelers still around campus tried the first singles tournament. Eight Duelers got to pick 8 characters in a 64-entry tournament bracket. It was all fun and games until Curtis won all eight of his first round match-ups, meaning the entire tournament ground to a crawl because everyone had to wait for Curtis to play them next. Curtis' forearms developed sores from being at the table so long. It was cruel he didn't actually make it to the final match, where Chris K.'s Yoda beat Ian.
16. Rob's 40th birthday was the same day as the 2015 Doubleheader, and in a ludicrous move, his wife arranged a surprise Duel BEFORE the Doubleheader. That's right - the only time we've played three Duels in one day. Though the birthday Duel would mark JD's first league win, it was more memorable for Sakina announcing she was attacking her tight alliance partner Molly, but Sakina was so excited she announced it a turn too early. Who had to go first? Molly!!! This picture says it all:
17. Later that night at Doubleheader #2, Ryan pulled off one of the most evil moves ever. He had been Force Lifted, and asked if anybody would be willing to stand him up. Sakina agreed, but as soon as she did...Ryan attacked her! I can still hear his giggling...
18. Rookie Duelers always emerge in the fall, and the 2015 Fall Brawl was no exception. And sometimes...newbies do the cutest things! First-timer Julio, playing with the Emperor, noticed his Imperial Guard was getting banged up by the light side of the board. So he moved the Emperor in front of the Guard to protect it. It did not end well for the Emperor.
19. Some nights a Dueler is just plain in the zone, and that was Nathan at the 2015 Thanksdueling. His Darth Vader registered seven main character kills on his way to victory. He took that momentum...
20. ...and became the first Dueler to win Thanksdueling and the Championship back to back! This time he was Count Dooku. He partnered with Curtis' Darth Maul and ran a clinic, including an intentional Force Push of Maul to enable a kill. Nathan was also the first Dueler to guide Dooku to victory.
21. The 2016 A New Hope Duel was memorable because JD became the first Dueler to win with Anakin Skywalker.
22. The Dueler rankings are based on order of finish during a match, but technically, there are numerous ways Duelers could "tie" in the death order if they both get eliminated at the same time. Amazingly, this has only happened once. At the 2016 Valentine's Duel, Ian and Rob were quite weak, while Grant's Han was in better shape. Ian would not stop going after Rob for a previous betrayal. Despite Rob's pleas to put aside their differences and take care of Han first, they continued, and Grant used a combo of Heroic Retreat to run TOWARDS Rob and Ian and then Never Tell Me The Odds to kill those two at the same time and win the game!
23. In the spring semester of 2016 Alex R. was close to graduating and, sensing his own departure, he pulled off an incredible streak of back to back victories at The Imperial March and Duel of the Fates, and then a second place finish at May the 4th that he nearly won as well. It remains one of the most impressive streaks in league history.
24. To honor Alex R.'s superior play, he became the first member of the Dueler's Hall of Fame in a short ceremony before the 2016 May the 4th match. Ever since, when a Dueler of notable talent and impact on the league departs, they too receive the same honor.
25. The May the 4th Duel in 2016 was also graduation, and JD received his MDiv, so he came to the Duel in his graduation robe and a Darth Vader helmet. Hilariously, he picked Vader as his character, and would put the helmet back on every time it was his turn.
26. We brought the singles tournament back in the Summer of 2016, and this time secured 16 Duelers with four entries each, making a bracket of 64. Curtis dominated, landing two of his characters in the finals (Dooku and Luke) and he declared Luke the winner.
27. The 16-17 Dueling season kicked off at CL Training...where Ian brought home his first career victory!
28. Josh was a CL who played in three Duels. All of three them were CL Training Duels. The first two times he played he got Darth Vader, and he would pronounce "Throw Debris" as "Throw Deb-RISS," annunciating the silent "s" in Debris to comedic effect. One of those "you had to be there" moments that makes Dueling so fun.
29. We didn't quite know it at the time, but Doubleheader #2 in 2016 became a precursor of sorts for the playing boards in our league. Ryan recreated the Emperor's Throne Room in Lego's! It marked the first time we played a three-dimensional board and it sparked an interest in Ryan to do more in that format...
30. In the early days of the league, there was an unspoken but known piece of advice: never leave the table to go to the bathroom. The first time Rob died in last place he had violated that rule. Rob made it to the final three in the 2016 Fall Brawl, but he couldn't hold it any longer and he left the room. He figured JD and Ian would form their alliance in his absence. He was right. He started to make his case. But Ian told Rob, "you can say what you want, but I'm with JD and I'm not going to change my mind." Five minutes later...Rob had changed Ian's mind! Somebody caught this picture of the immediate aftermath, and it really represents the epitome of the Dueling experience:
(And for the record - Ian won! So it was the right move....)
31. Stephen B. made a memory at Fight Night 2016 by becoming the first Dueler to win with Emperor Palpatine.
32. The 2016 Championship marked an evolution in the league - it was the first time a travelling trophy was up for grabs! The Darth Vader trophy remains the most coveted of the league's hardware. Rob will never forget the subtle but horrifying look Chris K. gave him, indicating he was about to ambush an unsuspecting JD. Chris K. and Rob would make it to the final three with Curtis, but it was Curtis who ended the night triumphant.
33. If Rob was still sore from his second place finish in the December Championship, the pain was erased a few days later when the league implemented the first movie Duel! For Rogue One we played Rogue Won (get it!?!), and Rob became the first person to win three times with the same character: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
34. Sometimes you don't do anything wrong and still get punished. At the 2017 A New Hope match, Stephen was in a strong alliance with his side of the board, but he was physically separated from them at the table and sitting next to Rob. Stephen and Rob were just catching up on life but Stephen's alliance distrusted Rob so much they killed Stephen just for talking to him. Egad!
35. The 2017 Imperial March featured the final chapter in one of the most curious stories in league history. Dalton played in just six Duels, enough to turn pro. But he is the only Dueler to finish better than his previous Duel each time he played, culminating in a victory at the Imperial March. He walked away from the game after reaching the mountain top.
36. The 2017 Duel of the Fates featured a couple of hot shot rookies out of the HRC: Kaleb and Joel! In a final two dripping with symbolism, Kaleb's Vader destroyed Joel's Luke, marking Kaleb's first win in just three Duels played!
37. For Curtis' 40th birthday we worked with his wife to coordinate a surprise doubleheader! He showed up at Rob's house thinking he was picking up a coupon for a romantic dinner, but instead he was thrown into the crucible! It turned into a brutal birthday when, after finishing a lackluster 8th place in the first game, Ryan turned on him and ousted him in 11th in game two! On his BIRTHDAY!!! That second game also featured Kaleb's crazy Boba Fett win when Greedo magically became the most powerful character on the board.
38. In the summer of 2017 Rob had a vision. Most said it was insane. What if we could get 32 Duelers for the singles tournament...with four entries each...meaning a field of 128 characters total!!! They said it couldn't be done...but it happened!!! 32 folks entered the fray, but it would be a Rain Man-esque performance by Jonathan and Yoda who would defeat a returning Alex R. for the 1992 King of the Ball trophy. Jonathan was so in the zone he was telling opponents the card they were about to play. And he was right!!!
39. The 2017 CL Training was monumental for several reasons. First, it marked the debut of the Golden Jar Jar, the trophy for the person who finishes last in a Duel. Second, just as Austin was about to finish off Stephen's Darth Vader, Stephen played his very last card on an unsuspecting Austin and it turned out to be ALL TOO EASY, killing a fully healthy Austin. Third, Ian and JD had to enter couples-counseling after their backstabbing of each other. But most importantly, it was the first time Joel won a Duel!
40. Between the 2016 and 2017 Doubleheaders, Stephen finished second place three times and first place once. That is pretty darn awesome.
41. At the 2017 Doubleheader, Rob and Nathan both won with Jango Fett. Each took home a Fett trophy. Fett yeah!
42. Long time readers of the blog know that, each season, a new "character" predicts who will win the upcoming Duel. In the fall of 2017 it was Pez Vader, a Darth Vader Pez dispenser. For the Fall Brawl, Pez Vader predicted Han Solo. JD texted Rob the day of the Duel saying he hoped he got Han to prove Pez Vader right. JD did end up picking Han...and won the Duel!
43. Surprise birthday Duels are the way to go for milestone birthdays, so when Ian turned the big 3-0 we met in the Martin lobby and went to battle. And wouldn't you know it...the birthday boy won!
44. Around the fall of 2017 there were rumors of an underground league in the HRC. Those rebels had taken to calling the combination play of Emperor's You Will Die and Vader's All Too Easy the "Wombo Combo." At the 2017 Fight Night, Joel and Jonathan Wombo-Comboed Rob to his death.
45. At the 2017 Championship, JD brought a replica of the Emperor's Throne to pose with when holding the card that killed you (a Championship tradition because it's like salt in an open wound). But the story of the night was the 12th seeded Austin, who using Obi-Wan Kenobi, played one of the most ruthless games in league history on his way to the Vader trophy. It was as shocking as it was awesome.
46. 2017 featured another movie Duel - The Last Jedi - and in a nail-biting finish, it came down to Curtis' Luke and Rob's Boba Fett. Rob had Curtis on the ropes, and as long as Curtis didn't pull a Justice (he had like a 1 in 16 shot), Rob was going to win with a Thermal. What card did Curtis pull? JUSTICE! That was the first win for Luke, who was the last character in the league to win a Duel.
47. Speaking of Luke Skywalker...nobody can remember exactly when it started, but Ryan called the Children of the Force cards "Children of the Corn" and it really stuck. The Duelers under 40 years old probably have no idea about that movie reference, but for the old guys it's hilarious.
48. We started 2018 with A New Hope - the 50th Duel in league history! And it marked the debut of Ryan's first three-dimensional board - the Kamino Platform! Complete with lights and Slave 1.
49. For the 2018 Valentine's Duel preview post, Rob started a new tradition. He assigned a Star Wars Valentine's Day card for each Dueler. He's done it every year since and has yet to duplicate a card. At the actual Duel, Ryan had one of the most dominant wins ever when his Darth Vader and two Storm Troopers finish with just a single point of damage on their damage indicator card.
50. There was an incredible finish at the 2018 Imperial March. It came down to Rob's Luke Skywalker and Grant's Han and Chewy (naturally). Grant amazingly top decked the Bowcaster on his redraw, but Luke survived and played both Justices to win the game!
51. There were two big debuts at the 2018 Duel of the Fates. Ryan converted the Emperor's Throne Room board into Mustafar, and we played the song "Duel of the Fates" on repeat for the entire night. The blood pressure was so high there was nearly a heart attack. Ian pulled out the win with Count Dooku.
52. We tried to pull off a surprise birthday Duel for Ryan's 40th, but he saw it coming a mile away so he brought his 3-D Hoth board to play on. After eating Rudy's we sat down and Curtis exacted birthday revenge when he killed Ryan in ninth place.
53. Dueling fever was at such a high pitch that in the summer of 2018, normally the offseason, we played the first Twin Sun Slam doubleheader at Rob's house. Everyone brought a side dish while Rob grilled burgers and hot dogs. What did Heidi bring? Cupcakes with icing that read "KILL ROB FIRST". And what happened? Rob died first in BOTH Duels!!! Alex C. won his first Duel, though, and Grant became the second Dueler to win with one character three times. That's right, it was Han Solo. There's no better Dueler/character combo in league history than Grant and Han.
54. At the 2018 Singles Tourney we once again had 32 Duelers and 128 entries. This time it would be Brannon who won, when his Darth Maul defeated Rob's Yoda.
55. It was mentioned above that the blog features a new, comical prognosticator for each Dueling season. In the past we've seen Obi and Jar Jar, Pez Vader, Lego Magnet Admiral Ackbar, and BB-8. But for the 18-19 season, we were treated to the insane monthly adventures of Trey Rey, three different sized Rey toys on a quest to escape the evil clutches of Kylo Ren. It was complete insanity and had quite the plot twist at the end. (Hint: there was another Rey...)
56. For the 2018 Doubleheader, Rob put the character and board draws in a punch box, adding a flair of excitement to kick off the night. Both Darths won, Alex C. and Vader and then Joel and Maul.
57. One of the most historic Duels in league history occurred at the 2018 Fall Brawl, and it was LONG overdue. Courtney, still just an amateur Dueler, became the first female victor! And even better, she did so before her professionally ranked husband Ben. That is a LIFETIME of bragging rights that can never be trumped.
58. Inspired by his wife's recent success, Ben H. finally took down his first trophy at Thanksdueling with Luke Skywalker, and rode that success...
59. ...to back to back wins at the 2018 Championship!!! He joined Nathan as the only Duelers to win two in a row in November and December.
60. It was time for yet another birthday surprise, this time for Grant! His wife reached out and wanted to sneak 11 of his hooligan friends into his living room for a night of Dueling. The look of surprise and slow realization that we were defiling his abode was priceless. That night also featured JD's epic meltdown when Rob would no longer work with him:
61. There were grumblings for a few months about a not-so-secret HRC alliance, and it all came to fruition at the 2019 A New Hope battle. Joel, Alex, and Kaleb came in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and we all felt dirty afterwards for letting it happen!
62. Ryan finished his foursome of new boards with Dagobah via Carbon Freezing Chamber for the '19 Imperial March. Rob won the Palpatine trophy for the second year, meaning he could listen to the song whenever he wanted to since the trophy has a button that plays it because of course it does.
63. The 2019 Duel of the Fates once again featured the song on constant rotation all night, with Kaleb noting his Apple Watch was worried about his heartrate. It was worth it for him, though, because he beat Alex C. to win the Maul trophy for the second time in his career.
64. Almost all of the Duels up to this point in the league had been played on Rob's original game, and the wear and tear was taking a toll. JD scored a brand new board off eBay, so we implemented the Galactic Credits Duel. It cost $5 to play, and served as a fundraiser to reimburse JD. The winner got to write their name on the board in the spot they won. Nathan, who was staked in the game because he was a poor MDiv student, won in the back corner of Kamino!
65. "Epic Duels" and "heartwarming" are rarely used in the same sentence, but a true feel-good outcome occurred at the '19 May the 4th Duel. That's when Rob's daughter Riley, the day before her 11th birthday, hung around to make it to the final three at the table. As folks were killed, they slowly migrated behind her in the room, forming an impromptu rooting section as everyone was willing her to victory. Ben decided to side with her against Ryan, and Ryan was out in third. Then his Count Dooku moved in on Riley's Emperor, and it looked like the dream run was done. But on her first action before Ben's inevitable double-Tauntings, she drew YOU WILL DIE. And then she said, in her pip-squeak voice, "For my second action, I play You Will Die." Ben's head dropped, the room went nuts, and a few turns later Riley became the second female and youngest winner by almost a decade in league history AND ROB IS STILL SO PROUD OF HER THAT HE'S TYPING IN ALL-CAPS!!!
66. At the 2019 Twin Sun slam we debuted the painted and newly mounted characters, all thanks to Ryan's fine craftsmanship. JD and Joel walked away as dual duel victors.
67. For the third year in a row, we gathered 32 Duelers for the Singles Tournament, but we had a wholly unexpected outcome. Troy, just an amateur Dueler at the time but a veteran of the North Village underground game, took the Emperor (not generally thought of as a strong singles character) all the way to the finals, where he upset Ryan's Obi-Wan Kenobi in an absolutely kooky outcome!
68. The CL Training Duel is the most important Duel of the year to attract new recruits. At the 2019 retreat CL David M. was playing with Han Solo and having the time of his life, cracking everybody up in the process. When he saw Darth Maul unleash a furious volley of attacks, he looked down at his cards, and declared, "Han sucks!"
69. The 2019 Doubleheader was once again at Rob's house, and he once again served Yoda Soda and Tie-Figther Ties. Rob and Alex C. had a funny evening as they each finished first and last. Alex had the good sense to win the first one and be first gone in game 2 so he could leave.
70. Sometimes Rob does weird things on the blog related to Duels. For instance, if you find the label "philosophy," you can read his interpretation of Machiavelli's The Prince from a Dueling lens...
71. For Fight Night 2019, we were all ready to start except Curtis, who thought it started an hour later than the game time. He rushed to campus only to die in last place with Han. Troy dressed up as Grievous, Nathan as Coach Rhule, and Rob outlasted Alex C. in an all-Fett final two.
72. Thanksdueling 2019 was memorable for a few reasons. These reasons include, in no particular order, Ben H. dropping an accidental F-bomb, Alex C. winning yet again, and maybe most notably, it marked Kaleb's first-ever last place finish, the second longest streak in league history.
73. In November of 2019 the departmental leadership team went to Painting with a Twist, and were tasked with creating a Waco cityscape. Ryan abandoned that altogether and painted the X-Wing trench run. Rob changed "Alico" to "Epic" and added a Millennium Falcon to the skyline, Rachel had an AT-AT attack the Silos, but Ben won the day but superimposing the Emperor looking upon Waco from his Throne Room.
74. The 2019 Championship was one of the most brutal, confounding nights of Dueling in league history. After Riley's Boba Fett killed the first two characters, a whisper chain had Ben asking Rob if he could go in on his own daughter. He suggested Jango instead, and the message came back that they were going after him too. Brutal!!! As the night progressed Rob thought his Emperor would finally land him the one accolade missing from his resume. But an unorthodox move by JD in the final five spoiled that, and it would be Ian and Ben spending HOURS trying to get Christopher to join them. Most of us blacked out, but when we came to, Ian was the champ.
75. December of 2019 featured the last Star Wars movie Duel for awhile - The Rise of Skywalker - and Alex C. won with a nifty Thermal/Wrist Cable combo against his bestie Kaleb. The less we say about the movie...the better.
76. Curtis started off 2020 with a bang when he brought home the A New Hope trophy - it was his first win in over two years. Up and comer Dueler Rylie finished a career-best 2nd place as well.
77. Nobody fully understood it at the time, but the 2020 Valentine's Duel would be the last in-person Duel for an indefinite amount of time. Rob scored his sweet 16 victory with an Anakin trifecta: he was Anakin, Anakin was picked to win, and it was the Anakin trophy!
78. By March of 2020 the world was shutting down and life was chaos...but Dueling felt like a refuge from the insanity. So we played online for the first time, with Rob setting up a webcam of the board and damage cards and everyone playing with a deck in their own home. Ben H. won and all of a sudden Zoom Duels became the norm.
79. The 2020 Duel of the Fates was another milestone in Alex C.'s dominance atop the Dueler rankings, as he outlasted Christopher for the win. It also started a new trend of Zoom humor - as folks died, they changed their background to the moment the character perished in the movies.
80. History was made at the May the 4th Duel in 2020. Ryan won with Han Solo, earning the first "shooter trifecta," meaning he'd won with Han, Jango, and Boba. No other Dueler has done so.
81. Riley's birthday is on May "revenge of the" 5th, and for her 12th birthday she obviously wanted a 12-way Duel! She had a great night, finishing third, but it was the other Rylie who won big - it marked her first career victory!
82. Zoom fatigue was already in play once summer 2020 rolled around. The tradition of the Twin Sun Slam doubleheader took a hit when there were only enough volunteers for one game. Kaleb made the most of it, winning with Luke Skywalker.
83. With CL Training being almost entirely virtual, for the first time in league history we weren't playing the CL Training Duel in Glen Rose, TX. Instead, we held it on Zoom, and the Brooks Mafia showed up big time!
It was a crazy night, including Miguel's hilarious reaction to his first-ever backstab. Delaney was the big winner, and was THRILLED to have the Yoda trophy because Yoda is her favorite.
The league owes the Brooks Mafia a huge debt of gratitude as their passion for the game has kept it afloat in this season of online Dueling.
84. The August Doubleheader was online of course, and that enabled Duelers from the past and across the country to rejoin the fray! It would be Hall of Famer Stephen who won the first Duel of the evening, all the way from Florida.
85. Doubleheader #2 was a raucous affair, and it looked like Rylie's Han Solo was cruising to her second career victory. She was full health and Ben's Anakin was on fumes. But in one of the most gut-wrenching finals in league history, Ben somehow overcame the odds and won the night, crushing Rylie's hopes and dreams.
86. Rob could sense the enthusiasm for playing online was waning. He consulted the Jedi Council to see what could be done to rejuvenate interest, and a dramatic decision was made: new playing boards would be added to the rotation! For the Fall Brawl we played on Arvala-7, the planet the Mandalorian finds the Child on. In a night of twists and turns, it would be Ryan's Jango outlasting Rob's Vader for the win, the first ever not played on one of the original four boards that came with the game.
87. With the creativity of new boards unleashed, new firsts were reached. For Fight Night 2020, we played in the newly created Naboo Reactor Pit, and for the first time ever, the board changed during play! The laser shields would turn on or off anytime a 2 or 5 was rolled. The chaos was perfect, as was the SICK board Ryan made. But it would be the unheralded Duncan, playing in just his third Duel, who won with Obi-Wan...which is all kinds of fitting considering the setting!
88. The promise of a new board for each month of play continued. This time we were in the Rancor's Dungeon, and in another league first, there was a new character on the board...THE RANCOR! Played by Riley, AKA the tiny titan of terror, the Rancor ate several minor characters before the rest of the players could kill it. When the dust settled at the end of the night, history was once again made, because Duncan won BACK TO BACK! No Dueler had ever won two of their first four Duels before.
89. It was decided to play the 2020 Championship on a previously established board, and excitingly, Naboo was back in rotation. Ben played with Boba, and in a move that rivaled Sakina's anger in the '14 Championship, Ben put major damage on Rob's Maul before Rocket Retreating. He continued hopping around the board for the rest of the game and became the first Dueler to ever win the Championship twice!!!
90. Rob couldn't help himself...with the onset of new boards, the next natural step was new CHARACTERS. Throughout the fall of 2020 he created 12 new characters, and in late December, a test Duel was played to work out the kinks. It was hilarious an outstanding as folks never imagined they would get to play a Duel again and have no idea what would happen. It would be former Dueler Ethan who won with Princess Leia and Wicket, though we didn't count the Duel towards official stats.
91. It seemed only fitting - kick off 2021 and the A New Hope Duel with the 12 new characters! We played on Arvala-7 since that naturally spread everybody around. Out of the gate Ryan's Moff Gideon captured Grant's Rey and placed her in a kill box. Just as it looked like Grant would die first, Duncan's Mandalorian used a combination of Rising Phoenix and Grappling Hook to rescue them! The insanity continued until a final three of Rob, Ian, and Ben slugged it out with Rob's Lando winning, becoming the first non-original character to ever record a victory.
92. Can we just draw attention to something from #91? Grant has played in 66 career Duels and has NEVER finished last!!! That is next-level Jedi Master Dueling!!!
93. The 2021 Valentine's Duel saw yet another new board - the Eravana Cargo Hold, complete with sliding doors and two roving Rathtars that cannot be killed. It was a long brutal night, but in the first Duel in league history with a mix of old and new characters, it would be Curtis' Krennic outlasting Kaleb's Vader for the win!
94. The 99th Duel in league history was played on ANOTHER new board. This time it was the Conveyex Train from Solo: A Star Wars Story. This was the first board that could be permanently altered as the game progressed. Once again featuring a mix of old and new characters, a crazy slug fest raged on until Ian and Yoda were the last one's standing. The win tied him with JD for second all-time.
95. How blessed are we by all the creativity and ingenuity Ryan puts into the boards, both original designs and new?
96. How blessed are we by JD's trophy designs? He even started a side-hustle business out of it!
97. Of the original 12 characters, nobody has won more than Darth Vader, which just seems right.
98. Rob has the most career wins with 17. Ian and JD are tied for second with 8, and Curtis and Grant are just behind them with 7 apiece. Of the 12 Duelers playing in The Centurion, 83 of the 99 career wins are represented!!!
99. Over the span of 99 Duels, 126 unique Duelers have played at least one game. On average, that means each of those Duelers would have played nine and a half Duels if they were distributed evenly.
100. And for the 100th memory, it would have to be when________________ won The Centurion on Saturday night!!! Raise a toast of Yoda Soda to that!!!
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