The Imperial March - March 25, 2003

 

Arvala-7

Let's just acknowledge something up front.  How has it taken this league NINE years to put our game boards on a lazy Susan?  We tried it for the first time at this month's Imperial March, and it was divine!!!  Thank the maker!!!  We'll be using that for now on with all of the non-electrical boards.  So smooth, so spinny, like a Mace Windu whirlwind...

"Smile if you plan to eat baby Yoda fruit snacks!"

In what may have been the first time in league history, the game started with almost all 12 Duelers drawing up to their maximum of ten cards in their hands.  It would be Kaleb, drawing last, who got things started by having his Han Solo attack Riley's Royal Guard after swearing they were good.  Kaleb initiated that shot because he thought that was the direction the rest of his light side alliance was taking.  Things when completely off the rails when Julia's Finn and Kevin's green (Yoda) Clone Troopers instead attacked Jocelyn's Obi-Wan Kenobi!

The light side in-fighting galvanized the dark side to stick together.  Rob's Supreme Leader Snoke played Tied To A String on Grant H.'s Mace Windu, pulling him into a dark side kill box.  Meanwhile, Jocelyn's Obi and Rylie's Mandalorian decided to hit back at Rey and Yoda!  The first to fall was poor Julia, as her Rey had very little defense in her hand.  Despite the last place finish, Julia did turn pro!  Congrats Julia!  It only took ten years!

Jocelyn shushing non-alliance partners was hilarious!

Jocelyn took down Julia using a Force Control, and she couldn't believe she got to rearrange the entire board as a result.  Kevin's Yoda didn't fair too well in the new configuration as he found himself in a kill box.  But it would be Grant's Mace Windu who got cut down next.  Grant never had much of a chance as Rob/Snoke, Kat/Grievous, Curtis/Maul, and Evan/Boba all took shots.  Maul's Athletic Surge was the deathblow and Grant was eliminated in eleventh.  Meanwhile, Kevin managed to put a couple of enemies in Force Lifts before Kaleb's Chewbacca, who somehow retreated with Han to the back corner of the board, used a combo Wookie Instincts and Bowcaster to obliterate Yoda/Kevin in tenth.  It burns!

We were less than an hour into the game, and three Duelers were already eliminated!  The carnage continued when the dark side got full-carded again.  Michael, whose Jango had yet to play a card against anyone else, threw out Evan's Boba as the next target.  That was good enough for Rob/Snoke and Kat/Grievous to go in on too.  Evan was loyal to his side, but his side wasn't loyal to him and the '22 Champ fell into a metaphorical Sarlacc pit in ninth place.

An alliance forming...

Things started to slow down a bit at this point.  Some highlights included Kaleb's Han Solo getting an unexpected diagonal shot on Curtis' Maul and Rylie's Mandalorian using Whistling Birds on all of Curtis and Rob's characters.  The dark side, needing a target, turned on Michael's Jango Fett, but Michael escaped to the light side with a Rocket Retreat.  Once the target looked to be moving to Jocelyn's Obi Wan, Michael came back to the dark side, being promised safe passage by his former team.  However, in a cruel bit of bad luck, Rob didn't roll an "all" to move in towards Mando and Obi.  With a loaded hand, he decided to use two Cruelest Strokes on Jango and Michael was grounded in eighth.

The most entertaining Dueler of the night was Jocelyn by far - her external processing of the death and carnage had us all laughing ("Sorry 'bout the Clones"), but there was no denying Obi-Wan was a scary character to keep around.  Rob used a Force Connection on Riley's Emperor and Jocelyn's Obi, allowing them to see each other's hands.  Riley got spooked by all of the 12 defense cards, so she played You Will Die on Jocelyn.  As Obi began to take attacks from everyone around her, Kat did something never seen before by General Grievous - she successfully used A Fine Addition, killing Obi and picking up a 7 attack card for her own hand!!!

Rising Phoenix!

Half the Duelers were eliminated, but five more needed to fall before the chaos was over.  More than a few folks were uneasy with Curtis' Darth Maul.  Riley used a couple of Force Lightnings to whittle him down.  But a fully loaded Mandalorian finally took to the sky with Rising Phoenix, where Rylie used Disintegration to off Maul in sixth!

Don't get snuff'd.

Though that move was cool, Rylie landed right back in her corner, and the rest of the board got worried about what else she had in her hand.  Rob/Snoke, Kat/Grievous, and Riley/Emperor started hitting her, but Kaleb's Han and Chewy were still loyal, and Chewbacca blasted Snoke with his second Bowcaster of the game.  That forced Rob's injured Supreme Leader to retreat.  Unfortunately for Rylie she eventually was taken out in fifth by Snoke.  It was a great game for our retired Dueler - we sure appreciated she and Kaleb joining us from Dallas!

Kaleb knew he was on an island at that point, but his fully healthy Wookie had Han well protected in the corner.  The Snoke/Grievous/Emperor trio couldn't figure out how to isolate Han until Rob used a Force Lightning on Chewbacca, sending him to the other side of the board.  Han and Kaleb were out of luck, and Kat's General Grievous landed the death blow.  Still, Kaleb can't be mad about being snuff'd in fourth place with Han Solo and a bad starting location!

Final three!

And then there were three!  Riley and Rob's characters had some damage, while Kat's General Grievous was remarkably unscathed.  Kat was hoping to defend her trophy from last year's Imperial March, but Rob and Riley knew they needed to team up to even the odds.  That's just what they did.  Grievous was soon taking damage, and his MagnaGuards were off the board.  Kat did a good job of keeping Grievous moving, and she eventually isolated Riley's Emperor.  Just as she was about to inflict further damage, Riley cut a deal!  They agreed to work together against Rob's Snoke, who had been slowly healing as he chased Kat around the board.

Rob was able to move Snoke into position to attack either Kat or Riley for an elimination.  Just as he was moving in to eliminate Grievous, Kat reminded him of the threat Emperor remained.  That's when Rob realized Riley likely had You Will Die back in her hand, so he formally partnered with Kat, his ally for most of the game, and attacked the Emperor instead.  Riley was badly injured, and Kat successfully played a SECOND A Fine Edition to kill Riley and pick up one of Emperor's attack cards!

Rob was loaded with defense cards - including two Such Spunks!, which cause damage to those who attack.  He used his last Force Lightning to pin Grievous behind Snoke.  Rob had to draw a couple of turns, but he eventually found a four point attack to end Kat's near-repeat in second place.  Kat and Riley played an incredible game, but Rob took home career win #25!  It was also Snoke's first career victory.

The final order of finish:

12.  Julia/Rey

11.  Grant H./Mace

10.  Kevin/Yoda

9.  Evan/Boba

8.  Michael/Jango

7.  Jocelyn/Obi

6.  Curtis/Maul

5.  Rylie/Mando

4.  Kaleb/Han

3.  Riley/Emperor

2.  Kat/Grievous

1.  Rob/Snoke

There's just two Duels left on the school year.  We're tentatively scheduling April's Duel, DUEL OF THE FATES, for Saturday, April 15, at 7PM.  Rob will send out more info on that next month.  And don't forget, we play the nerve-wrecking Duel of the Fates score on repeat for the entire duration of the match.  The stress is terrible and wonderful.  See you then!