Ewok Village
It was a night of conflicting emotions and stellar play as twelve Duelers gathered - IN PERSON - for the first time in 16 months for the Twin Sun Slam! The excitement of sitting around the table together was tempered by the realization that this would be the last league Duel for both Kaleb and Ryan, who will each soon depart Waco for their next stops in this crazy journey we call life. It can't be stated enough how crucial these two have been to the league, and they're absolute legends. We tip our caps to you, good sirs!
 |
| Rob's clearly rusty when it comes to centering pictures. |
We let Ryan pick the board, since he is the amazing architect for our 3-D playing surfaces, and he chose the spectacular Ewok Village. He also got the number one chair! Once the envelopes were opened we divvied the characters and got to work.
Out of the gate it looked like it was going to be a strong light versus dark battle, as neither side looked like they had a flipper in their ranks. That was bad news for the Duelers exposed on the bridges. Jocelyn, a Singles Tournament veteran but first-time 12-Way Dueler, was stuck up front with her Mace Windu. Meanwhile, Duncan's Supreme Leader Snoke got popped by a long distance Precise Shot from Kaleb's Padme, and took an immediate seven points of damage.
 |
| Battle on the bridge. |
Duncan finally retreated behind alliance minor characters, but the light side could smell the blood in the water and prepped a push across the main bridge. To hold off the onslaught, Rob's Emperor Palpatine played You Will Die on Guyler's Qui-Gon Jinn, leaving one of their big hitters completely empty handed. Unbeknownst to Rob, Alex C.'s Orson Krennic was already holding both of his Hero of the Empire attacks. A previous Grenade had already weakened Qui-Gon, but the double Hero shots sent Guyler out in a shocking last place finish!
The light side decided it was time to rush forward. Jocelyn's Mace Windu, who had the worst starting position on the board, charged ahead and landed a Whirlwind. Kaleb's Anakin, banged up from pesky Palpatine Force Lightnings, Wrathed in as well, as they hoped to knock out Duncan's Snoke in eleventh. But their sequence of attacks didn't produce the results they were looking for, as the dark side closed ranks and neutralized the threat. Snoke ended Kaleb's night in eleventh with a Cruelest Stroke, and later put the final hit on Jocelyn's Mace in tenth. Kaleb now stands second in the rankings on the retired Dueler list!
 |
| Grant's having fun, I promise! |
The light side was down two members, so the dark side decided to line up for their push. Troy kept peppering their end of the board with Jango and Zam shots while Karson's Kylo Ren escaped the far corner to make it to the bridge. The light side got tricky, though, when Ryan's Mandalorian used his Grappling Line to pull Alex's Krennic to the light side! They gave Alex the choice to switch alliances or be killed, so Alex feigned a new partnership. Meanwhile, the Emperor's Royal Guards and Kylo Ren charged forward to free their brother from the tree-huggers. Though Alex escaped, it would be Kylo who fell. Jesse, finally playing his first 12-Way Duel, blasted him with the Bowcaster, and the Mandalorian and Grant's Jyn Erso hit him too. Jyn got the last shot, and Karson was done in ninth.
There were now only eight Duelers left, and the light side begged and begged Russell's Dooku or Alex's Krennic to finish off the mortally wounded Snoke. The dark side stayed loyal, though, and concentrated their fire power onto Jesse's Han Solo. Poor Jesse never moved more than two squares, stuck on the side of the tree for the entire game. He soon ran out of defense, falling to a four-point attack from Zam Wessell.
 |
| Final five haggling. |
Ryan's Mandalorian and Grant's Jyn Erso were stuck and in bad shape. The Royal Guards, Russell's Count Dooku, and Supreme Leader Snoke, had advanced to their end while Alex/Krennic and Troy/Jango kept firing shots from long distance. Mandalorian and Jyn turned out to be a dynamic duo, though, because the dark side struggled to knock them out. They focused most of their attacks on Snoke, who was just a couple of health points away from dying. The duo talked Russell into killing Duncan first, who ended the night in seventh place. He never recovered from the opening Precise Shot.
Duncan's last move was to Force Lightning the Mandalorian into a kill box on the dark side of the board. Ryan pled for his life, but the logical action was to take him down. It would be Rob, Ryan's real life work bestie but Duel life archrival, who delivered the kill shot. If I think anymore about this being Ryan's last Duel I will cry, but now Ryan tops the leaderboard on the retired Dueler list!
 |
| A range of emotions among the final three... |
There were just five left now, and Grant was out of alliance partners, so he got stuck in fifth, but that was a great finish considering all that transpired. He showed Jyn Erso was a force to be reckoned with, as he got under the feathers of several Duelers throughout the game. The bigger news, though, is that Grant is now second place all-time in Duels played!
With the final four set, Rob feared Russell's Count Dooku, who had slowly healed as the night went on, was the biggest threat, so he put the target on him with a Force Lightning. Alex followed suit, though Troy was initially more hesitant to do so. He came around, though, and they concentrated their efforts on Dooku. Russell, playing in his first Duel, had an outstanding night with his fourth place finish.
There were just three left. Alex was banged up from the Mandalorian's Disintegration attack earlier, so Troy assumed he would want to partner with him against Rob's Emperor Palpatine. But Alex had a big trick up his sleeve, and declined. As a result, Troy attacked Krennic, but he soon ran out of cards as he couldn't withstand both Alex and Rob. Jango was eliminated in third, but that was a career best finish for Troy. Good job Troy!!!
Alex and Rob were tickled to be in the final two together, as it had been quite some time since they had partnered so well together. Rob was feeling quite confident, as he only had minor damage, a Royal Guard still on the board, and a fist full of Emperor defense cards. Alex, however, finally revealed his big trick: the Peace and Security card, which forced Rob to drop his hand and draw four new cards! Even though Rob created that card he forgot it existed, and he was shocked by the turn of events. Alex was feeling pretty good about it...until Rob drew his four new cards. He had literally just shuffled his discards back into the draw pile for the first time, and he picked up a 5 point attack for the Guard, a 4-2 for Emperor, Future Foreseen...and YOU WILL DIE! Rob smirked, because Alex had just seven points of health left. Rob immediately played You Will Die on Alex, who just laughed at his own bad luck. Rob followed with the unblocked five point attack from the Guard. Alex drew two for his turn, so it was back to Rob. He used Future Foreseen and uncovered...FORCE LIGHTNING. The Lightning ended the game, Alex finishing in second place with Krennic and Rob winning with the Emperor!
Alex's second place finish further cemented his lead at the top of the Dueler rankings. Meanwhile, this marks career victory #18 for Rob! His Dueling record can now legally vote. He also joins Grant (Han Solo) and himself (Obi-Wan Kenobi) as the only Duelers to win three times with the same character.
Final order of finish:
12. Guyler/Qui-Gon
11. Kaleb/Anakin
10. Jocelyn/Mace
9. Karson/Kylo
8. Jesse/Han
7. Duncan/Snoke
6. Ryan/Mandalorian
5. Grant/Jyn
4. Russell/Dooku
3. Troy/Jango
2. Alex C./Krennic
1. Rob/Emperor
That was the last 12-Way until the CL Training Duel in August...but...we're bringing back the Singles Tournament!!! Mark your calendars now for July 25th. We have more info coming, but we need 32 players to make it work!
