The Naboo Reactor Pit
Thank goodness the Trash Compactor held to its reputation as a fast board, because we actually started the second Duel of the night on time! Some folks don't realize the Doubleheader, which we play in late August every year, is actually a top secret birthday party for Rob. Rob doesn't like people to know that, but his wife Jessica made sure it was BURNED into our memories this year:
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| They should have put a toy Darth Vader on top... |
The league would like to formally recognize Jess for all her support over the years, and not just for cooking us all those Padawans in a Blanket. She does a lot of things behind the scenes to let us nerd out once a month. And she's a great Dueler too, if you can get her to sit down and play...
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| Elliot looks like a little centaur. |
Round two was played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, and though it was designed to force mini-confrontations all over the board, many of the games have turned into a prolonged battle between those stuck in the hallway and those in the reactor pit area. That's kind of how things started in this game too.
The open area of the board aligned together quickly, led by the real life alliance of Michael (Fennec) and Julia (Rey). Curtis/Mandalorian talked his way into joining their team by getting out of the hallway. Andrew/Krennec and Elliot/Beckett even made way for Riley E.'s Darth Vader to move to the back corner to commence distance attack. TEAMWORK!
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| From resident-CL, to peers, to mortal enemies. |
Duncan's Kylo Ren found himself stuck in the middle of the hallway, so he started to rally his end of the board by going on the offensive. Riley B., playing in his second career game and second game of the night, made the eyebrow-raising move of charging his Yoda to the front lines too. His strong defense and the frequent protection of the laser walls turning on guarded him well.
The reactor pit side of the board focused their attacks on the hallway, and soon the hallway was starting to in-fight with each other as they had no one else to attack but the person next to them. Kevin tried to flip on Duncan's Kylo, and eventually retreated into a killbox of his own making when he didn't heed the warnings offered by said killbox. Julia/Rey, Michael/Fennec, Elliot/Beckett, and Rob/Luke chopped him up quickly. Poor Kevin was done in 12th!
Though most of the reactor pit alliance thought Riley B/Yoda and Duncan/Kylo were the next targets, Andrew made a stunning play by trapping The Mandalorian with Krennec's Death Troopers. This was just Andrew's second game, but both times he's played, he's piloted Krennec. That's why we shouldn't have been surprised when he played Peace and Security, gutting our hands and helping him against Mando. But on the redraw Curtis secured Disintegration! He mortally wounded Krennec, and Riley E. finished him off with a Throw Debris. Andrew was a real trooper, though, and hung around to operate the lights for the board the rest of the night. Thanks Andrew!!!
Krennec was gone, and now the attention turned back in full to Riley B.'s Yoda. The Doubleheader was Riley's first two games in our league, but he's already bought a copy of the board for himself so it's clear he's all in. And I'm glad, because it was a rough night for him! Though he held his own for a good chunk of time, the hits from everywhere took their toll, and Cara Dune used a 2-point attack to but the lil' green Jedi to bed in tenth.
The feel-good alliance on the open end of the board couldn't last long. Elliot/Beckett whispered to Rob/Luke what he thought about Rey or Fennec. Rob shared he was down for Michael's Fennec, and that's the direction it went. Michael implored his wife to fight with him, but Rob played an I Will Not Fight You on both Rey and Fennec. Rob assured Julia she wasn't the target, and that play was to protect himself as others hounded Fennec. That's exactly what happened. Michael had little time for recovery, and yet another Throw Debris from Riley E. parked Fennec in ninth.
It was around this point in the night something truly loopy happened. Corona/Anakin and Duncan/Kylo were high-carded at the end of the hallway with nobody to attack but each other. That's when they mutually agreed to a Kylo vs. Anakin battle to the death. So much teen angst! Meanwhile Grant, playing with Boba in the hallway but never able to do anything because the laser walls were up EVERY...TIME...HE...ROLLED, could only look on and watch, confused by the shenanigans around him.
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| Duncan feeling the effects of all that Yoda Soda |
Though Duncan and Corona definitely traded punches, they eventually got sucked into playing against the rest of the board too. Anakin's wounded state enabled Rob's Princess Leia to use a Latent Force Abilities attack to eliminate Corona in eight. Meanwhile, the laser walls were finally down and Grant was making himself known. He launched a vicious Thermal Detonator and was landing other hits too. That's when Elliot took a play from the department of redundancy department handbook and used double Double Blasters to smoke Boba in seventh. It was a long strange night for Grant.
Duncan had no allies at that point, so he fell not long after, with the kill shot once again delivered by Elliot. That left a final five of Curtis/Mando, Rob/Luke, Julia/Rey, Riley E./Vader, and Elliot/Beckett. Curtis finally vocalized what everyone else was thinking: Rey was the most powerful character left on the board, by a longshot. Everyone agreed to go after Rey, but everyone was scared she was lulling us into a false sense of security, waiting patiently to deploy the healing powers of Rise of Skywalker. Alas, it ended up that Julia had lost it on the Peace and Security, and had yet to re-draw it. Curtis offed her in fifth with This Is The Way.
Things got interesting as Curtis advocated going for Rob while Rob advocated for going for Curtis. Elliot was on the fence. Riley said she had NO interest in two shooters being on the board in the final three. Rob proposed they work together to kill Curtis, and then the other two could take down Luke in third place. Elliot finally decided he would stick with Riley, and that's what they did. The Mandalorian could only defend so long before Beckett hit him with a 4-point knockout. Fourth place was a nice rebound for Curtis, after finishing eleventh earlier in the night.
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| The Three Amigos |
Rob assumed Riley and Elliot would go after him next, but unbeknownst to Elliot...Riley gave her father a secret wink! Rob decided to go whole-hog after Elliot, who had been his table bestie all night. He stayed aggressive, using multiple I Will Not Fight You's on him to keep him unbalanced. Then the game got stuck because there were multiple turns without the walls coming down. When Rob/Luke finally reached Beckett, he used a Justice to knock Elliot within two of dying. It was Riley's turn next, and Rob said she better use a distance attack or he'd be cranky. She Wrathed Elliot, who was out in third. It was a great night of Dueling for Elliot, who was in the top five for both matches.
And then there were two! Father and Daughter. Father (Vader) and Son (Luke). While Rob had been chasing down Elliot, Riley had been slowly healing and stocking up on distance attacks. Rob had no idea she had gathered so many, but soon his health indicator card was down ten points. He reached Vader with a Justice to help even the odds. He intended to use an attack-I Will Not Fight You on his next turn, but Riley sensed the ploy and used Your Skills Are Not Complete! Rob had to drop both his I Will Not Fight You and his Children of the Force! Rob's stomach sunk as Riley came in for the attack. He didn't have enough defense...and he fell to his daughter!!! What a huge win for Riley!!! She bounced back from a last place finish in game one and took down game two!!! This marks her second career victory, and she's only 14 years old! #prodigee This win also pushed Vader's career best win total up to 15, giving him a little more cushion from Darth Maul's 13 trophies. Vader winning was also Plush Poe's pick! As for Rob...thank goodness that jerk didn't win twice in the same night. He's the worst!
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| Winner Winner, Tie-Fighter Ties Dinner! |
The final order of finish:
12. Kevin/Grievous
11. Andrew/Krennec
10. Riley B/Yoda
9. Michael/Fennec
8. Corona/Anakin
7. Grant D./Boba
6. Duncan/Kylo
5. Julia/Rey
4. Curtis/Mando
3. Elliot/Beckett
2. Rob/Luke
1. Riley E./Vader
This coming Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the very first 12-Way Duel, which was played up in Muncie, Indiana. I can't believe it's still going, and going stronger than ever. To all current and past Duelers...thank you for making this a part of your life! PEW PEW!!!
Dates aren't final yet, but it looks like the September Duel (THE FALL BRAWL) will be played on Saturday, the 24th. More info to come on that, but guard your calendars now! And we'll need THIRTEEN Duelers because we're playing in...THE RANCOR DUNGEON!
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