Ewok Village
Before Game 2 started, we ate! That's the best part of the Twin Suns Slam, the fellowship between hours of backstabbing! You also capture moments like this, Duncan sitting on a tiny chair:
Anyhoo, after the burgers were grilled and the Yoda Soda was ladled, it was time for the character draft! That's right, this Duel would be the first ever all-dark side match! The poor Ewoks of Endor, I'm not sure what they did to deserve this unholy terror in their treetops. Here is how the draft went:
1. Kat - Kylo Ren
2. Natalie - Emperor Palpatine
3. Karson - General Grievous
4. Elliot - Supreme Leader Snoke
5. JD M. - Count Dooku
6. Duncan - Cad Bane
7. Ian - Darth Maul
8. Ben - Tobias Beckett
9. John - Boba Fett
10. Evan - Moff Gideon
11. Riley - Darth Vader
12. Rob - Orson Krennic
not picked - Jango Fett
Once the characters were picked, the board placement commenced and the minor characters were deposited too. We actually had to alter the last starting spot on the bridge for Kat, so her Knights of Ren could start adjacent to Kylo.
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| To the trees! |
Elliot predicted before the game even started this would be a fast Duel, and he was mostly right! After a couple of rounds of carding up, Rob's Death Trooper couldn't resist chucking a Grenade across the length of the bridge, catching damage on JD/Dooku and Kat/Kylo. That started a chain reaction of chaos. The early victim was Karson's General Grievous. He started on the bridge of death, and a couple of Duelers began peppering him, including Elliot's Supreme Leader Snoke, who sent him banged up with a Force Lightning to the back corner of the board. He took a couple of more hits, and then Natalie's Emperor Palpatine finished him with a Force Lightning of her own! BRUTAL!!!
Kat's Kylo was a bit feisty with bloodlust after all the early action, and swung here and there at nearby targets. But out of nowhere, Evan's Dark Trooper Kidnapped Kylo and plopped her down right in front of Ian's fully carded Darth Maul!!! Kat survived the initial onslaught, but with just a couple of health points left...you guessed it, Natalie's Emperor landed her second Force Lightning kill of the game! OH THE HUMANITY!!!
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| So much malice behind these smiles! |
JD organized a counter-offensive on the bridge, and that's when Elliot was locked into trouble. There was nowhere to run, and JD's Dooku eventually speared him with a Taunt. That ended Elliot's day in 10th, a hard fall after second in the first game.
Unfortunately for JD, that also meant he was now exposed to attacks. The rest of the boar didn't resist, and before he knew it, JD was just a few points from dying. Tell me if you've heard this one before...THE EMPEROR FORCE LIGHTNINGED HIM TO DEATH. Natalie is stone cold!!!
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| This board is legit gorgeous. |
Ian's Maul had been running around swinging at different folks, but Riley's Vader had been stuck in her starting position for most of the game. She was contributing with her distance attacks, but she was itching to do more. The only character in her range to attack was Natalie's Emperor. It may not have been the soundest strategy, but she plunged into battle like it was the climatic scene in Return of the Jedi. Instead of throwing Emperor over the rope bridge, though, she got peppered by a lot of shooters. Ben P., playing his first Duel in a few years (it was great to see you, Ben!), used a combination of attacks from Beckett to end Riley's night in 8th.
Natalie's Emperor was still on the big bridge, and Duncan's Cad Bane had been largely silent all night, minus his strange fascination with Mr. & Mrs. Pike (you had to be there). He was in perfect position to rain distance shots, and caught her low health. The first ranked Dueler in the league was out in 7th, but her overall average is still good enough for top of the leaderboard!
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| Wicket looks on in disgust. |
It was around this point of the game Ian had been obsessed with killing John's Boba Fett, who had hit him once or twice. But that end of the board began debating who should go next. I don't remember all the details, but Evan's Moff Gideon suddenly found himself without friends. It was due in part to a shot or two he took on Beckett if I recall. This was the third time Evan has played with Gideon. There's some sort of special bond between the two! Beckett got the final shot and Evan exited in 6th.
Now there were five Duelers left. It seemed clear Ben/Beckett, Duncan/Cad, and John/Boba were in cahoots, while Ian's Maul and Rob's Krennic were on the outs. Rob tried to convince Ian they were in trouble and should partner up...but Ian refused! Rob was bewildered and went on quite the rant. It wasn't really him talking, it was all of the Raspberry Iced Tea he had been drinking all night. No matter how many times Rob pledged his loyalties, Ian wasn't interested. Rob shifted into a new gear, and started poke holes in the alliance of other shooters. Sure enough, a crack developed when John intimated he may not be secure with one of his alliance partners. When the dust settled Ben's Beckett, who was in the driver's seat all night, was suddenly turned against and stuck fighting Maul and Cad Bane at the same time. Maul dropped the 4-point attack, and Ben was done in 5th. But that was the best ever finish for the retired Dueler, and we'll keep him on the call list for backup Duelers!
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| Rob gets animated, Ian laughs. |
At the final four Rob once again said he was with Ian until the end, something none of the other Duelers would commit to. Ian still didn't care! Krennic had been in his starting corner for most of the game, but he moved to start attacking Duncan's Cad Bane, and dumped everyone's hands with Peace and Security. The card dump switched the current on the board, and John, believing in his partnership with once enemy Ian/Maul, sensed the time was ripe to flip on the still mysterious Cad Bane. Duncan was taking hits and low carded, and John put the nail in the coffin with a Kyber Dart! Duncan finished 4th, his second top-5 finish on the night!
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| Pew pew in the woods! |
That left three Duelers. Ian's Maul was certainly bleeding, and he still had a Battledroid on the field, meaning he couldn't heal. Rob's Krennic was running out of defense, but was still annoyingly hard to reach. John, playing his first in-person Duel (he played with us online last year), was playing great, but Ian finally saw that Boba might be a bigger threat than Rob's Krennic. It pained him to do it, but an Athletic Surge chopped John down in third. That's John's best finish, and we're hopeful to see him battle with us again this coming school year!
And then there were two...the old guys, the bitter rivals with nothing but respect for the other! Rob pulled a couple more tricks out of his bag to delay his demise, but after several minutes of carding and shuffling, Ian was finally ready to move in for the kill. Rob was hoping for another Peace and Security, but couldn't find it in time. One more Athletic Surge, and Ian was the winner. Congrats Ian!!! That was his tenth career win, moving him into a tie with Curtis for 2nd on the all-time list. This also marked Maul's 13th win, moving him one behind Vader's all-time lead of 14!
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| Ian thinking, "I've got this..." |
Let's check that final order of finish again:
12. Karson/Grievous
11. Kat/Kylo
10. Elliot/Snoke
9. JD/Dooku
8. Riley/Vader
7. Natalie/Emperor
6. Evan/Gideon
5. Ben/Beckett
4. Duncan/Cad
3. John/Boba
2. Rob/Krennic
1. Ian/Maul
Well...that's the final 12-way until the CL Training retreat in August! Stay tuned for details on July's Singles Tournament! We're looking at the final Sunday in July. We'll need 32 folks for that!!!
Until then...
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