Geonosis Arena via Hoth
History was made in a few different ways during this Duel, and we'll get to more of that later, but one cool "first" was that eight of the main characters were female! Adding Ahsoka and Morgan to the league, along with the randomly selected Princess Leia, Bo-Katan, Jyn Erso, Fennec Shand, Captain Phasma, and Reva, the Third Sister, helped us tip the scales. The original 12 main characters that came with the game were all male. It's nice the new characters have helped us balanced things out a bit!
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| Trick or treat... |
The game was tight right out of the gate, especially with the weird placement of the light side starting characters on the board. Parker's Fennec was invited to flip sides out of the traditional Mace Windu starting spot in the elbow of the snow columns, but he retreated deeper into his light side alliance instead. That left his minor BK the Wookie all alone, and the dark side immediately started shooting him until he was off the board.
That wasn't the only advantage the dark side alliance gained. Atticus' Count Dooku was feeling spry, so he charged down the narrow side of the columns and engaged Jackson's Mace Windu! They were both taking damage but Atticus showed a flare for the dramatic when he Force Pushed poor Jackson into a dark side kill box! Rob, playing the new character Morgan, used an enhanced 4-point attack to finish off Mace in last. It was a brutal turn of events for Jackson - there was nothing he could do.
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| There really IS a wampa in there! |
Parker's Fennec was alone and shivering in the cold, and the dark side didn't hesitate. Parker managed a couple of Body Mods, but it wasn't enough to withstand the onslaught, especially after Rico's Reva pulled a nifty Grand Ambition kill and then used a Honing Beacon to jump back to his dark side alliance. Parker cratered in eleventh.
Riley E. tried to keep the spirits up of the light side, but Riley B. saw the writing on the wall and defected to the dark side alliance! That left Curtis/Leia, Riley E./Jyn, and Bella/Ahsoka all by themselves. Curtis had seen enough and engaged in one vs. one battle with Atticus' Dooku. Atticus was stunned by all of the auto damage and he was gone soon after, thanks to a Camouflage attack from Curtis. Atticus was out in tenth, but give him credit, he always gets his money's worth!
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| Bella, Curtis, and Riley scrambling... |
Curtis was lucky to unload so many of his good cards on Dooku, because Kevin ruined his night when the Emperor played You Will Die on Curtis' Leia. A host of dark side characters took shots down the alley on a defenseless Curtis. Penny's Beckett used an Improvise for the K.O. Curtis was gone in ninth.
Bella's Ahsoka Tano was the next target of an air-tight dark side alliance. She got off some cool shots with her minor character Sabine, but caught on her heels and with dwindling options, Bella couldn't perform any of the cool new attacks Ahsoka brings to the league. Bella was kaput in eighth.
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| The Emperor betrayed! |
Riley E.'s Jyn Erso was the last remaining non-flipper from the light side, and she was dug in tight behind the snow columns. Rob's Morgan wandered down, only to see the major character status flipped to Cassian! The dark side was loaded, and that's when Elliot's Captain Phasma put the target on Kevin's Emperor. Kevin didn't realize everyone else at the table was ok with it. He was loyal to the end, but Penny's Beckett put the final nail in the coffin in seventh for a saddened Kevin.
Riley E. was tickled by the stay of execution, but her time was up after Kevin's exit. Rico moved a Purge Trooper into position and layed a vicious 5 point attack to oust Cassian and Riley in sixth place.
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| Bo-Katan abandoned! |
Rico deserved a comedy award for his less-than-subtle table talking in this match. He made it known Riley B.'s Bo-Katan was next on the chopping block. Riley had been whole-hearted in his new dark side alliance, but they didn't return the favor! Elliot had New Recruited one of Rob's zombie (Rob Zombie?!) Night Troopers (the new Morgan deck is spooky!), and the zombie trooper ate Riley's brains - figuratively - in fifth place, much to Riley B.'s chagrin.
There were four left: Rob/Morgan, Penny/Beckett, Elliot/Phasma, and Rico/Reva. It was Rob's turn, but the other three were deadly silent. Rob assumed they were waiting for him to pick the target, but unbeknownst to Rob, the three of them were already aligned to take down his Morgan in fourth place! They almost got away with it, but at the last second, he caught Elliot winking to Rico after Rob had said he thought they should aim their efforts at Reva!
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| Our league does not endorse the dark arts of the Night Sisters |
Rob was kicking himself for forgetting one of the golden rules of the league: if you don't know who's next, it's you! He pivoted and told Rico they ought to stick together to avoid a final three with two shooters. Elliot attacked Rob regardless, but Rico chickened out on attacking Rob too after Rob had dumped one of his better cards. That was all the crack Rob needed to drive a mile-wide wedge between Rico and Elliot. Penny was also grumpy that Rico had put a homing beacon on her Beckett, implying she was next after Rob was gone. The combined efforts of the board, but really a double dose of Double Blasters from Penny, sent Rico packing in fourth. He played great with Reva!
Rob's Morgan and Elliot's Captain Phasma were both battered, especially after Val played a It's Been a Ride, Babe, on Phasma. They finally held off on attacking each other, but it was too little too late as Penny had reshuffled and pocketed another Double Blasters to off Elliot in third. Elliot was once again so close to his first win!!!
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| All in the family. |
The final two was a daddy-daughter dance between Penny and Rob...just like Penny's first career victory at last year's Thanksdueling! Rob Reincarnated another zombie Night Trooper for some extra protection, but down to his last health point, he knew he needed to go on the offensive and try and knock Penny off before her second Double Blasters emerged from the new draw pile. He definitely put damage on her, but he couldn't risk more attacks in fear of not being able to defend himself. Luck was on Penny's side as she Double Blasted Rob into second place! Penny won her second Duel in just four career matches!!! That ties the record Kaleb and Isaiah have both achieved. Wow!!! Rob hates finishing second, but it hurts a lot less when it's your offspring claiming the trophy!
Final order of finish:
12. Jackson/Mace
11. Parker/Fennec
10. Atticus/Dooku
9. Curtis/Leia
8. Bella/Ahsoka
7. Kevin/Emperor
6. Riley E./Jyn
5. Riley B./Bo-Katan
4. Rico/Reva
3. Elliot/Phasma
2. Rob/Morgan
1. Penny/Beckett
Congrats again, Penny!!! She currently has two trophies in her possession. Crazy!!!
Our November Duel, Thanksdueling!, will likely be held Saturday, November 11th, at 7PM. Save the date now! And for those who qualify for the 2023 Championship in December, we're looking at Saturday, December 2!!! I can't believe how close we are to that...
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