Rancor Dungeon
A crazy kind of history was made at this year's Fall Brawl. For the first time in 135 12-way Duels, Rob was not one of the official 12 Duelers playing the game!!! And that's because his lucky number was picked to be...the Rancor!
I guess when you wear the shirt of the monster on the board, you're destined to pull his deck! Most folks looked relieved to not play the Rancor and quickly began worrying about how they would avoid it once the game started...
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| First 12-Way w/out Rob among the 12! |
The Rancor doesn't appear until the first character dies. Riley E.'s Darth Vader wasted no time on that, as she quickly used a Choke to eliminate one of Kevin's Death Trooper! With that, the gate was raised, and Rob's Rancor was ready to wreak havoc! He played two straight Sheer Terrors, which forced each Dueler at the table to reveal the top card of their deck and discard it. The Rancor was VERY lucky as a whole host of iconic cards were wasted before they were played.
Folks got cranky about that and began whittling down the Rancor's health. The rest of the table didn't know Rob no longer had defense cards, so he risked 12 points of damage by standing underneath the gate and using two Tastes Like Gamoreans...which means he could eat two minor characters! He made those count, as the Rancor ate both Evan's Black Krrsantan and Rico's Cassian Andor! Atticus finally had enough, and he sent Val via a Grappling Line to the gate control panel, doing 12 points of damage and a kill shot on the Rancor. It was a short but chaotic life for Rob's Rancor. RIP.
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| Why scoot away from the Rancor??? |
With the Rancor gone, the infighting really took off. Kevin couldn't shake the blood-in-the-water stink from losing his Death Trooper early. He started taking shots from everyone, and Parker's Obi-Wan eventually ended Krennic in last. Brutal.
Atticus' Tobias Beckett wasn't fairing much better. After he took a crack at Jordann's Luke Skywalker, others responded by putting the target back on Beckett. Atticus couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack, and Jordann's Princess Leia got revenge for her brother by outing Atticus in eleventh. That was not how Atticus wanted to break his ninth place streak...
Riley B.'s The Armorer, meanwhile, decided to play The Forge, adding +2 to all attacks and defenses until his next turn. He lined up Paz Vizsla against Evan's Fennec Shand and used multiple Blaster Cannons to eviscerate poor Evan in tenth. Evan didn't have a shred of luck in this one.
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| Bella talking trash to Parker. |
Rico wasn't doing much better than Evan. Both of them lost their awesome minor characters to the Rancor (*burp*) and Rico found himself in a kill box courtesy of Bella/Kylo and Parker/Obi-Wan. Grant H.'s Moff Gideon wasn't sure what to take of that unsteady alliance, so he Kidnapped Rico's Jyn Erso to the other end of the dungeon, placing Jyn in a new kill box. That group complied with the fresh meat, and Riley E.'s Vader stabbed Rico for the last time. Jyn was out in ninth.
Most people assumed Parker's Obi-Wan would be next, especially with the public knowledge he held Force Balance. But in one of the early surprises of the night, Curtis' Mandalorian put the target on Grant's Gideon instead. It was just like a real episode on Disney+! Grant had little room to negotiate, and he was frustrated when Parker - granted amnesty for a round by the other Duelers - put him down in eighth.
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| Kylo's last stand. |
Moff Gideon was gone, and Bella found herself the next target, especially after tangling with Jordann's Luke. But Kylo is a tough customer, and Bella swung I Know What I Have To Do - a 12 point attack! - on a stunned Skywalker. Kylo and Luke really need counselling. Bella could exit knowing she left an impact, and that's just what Isaiah's Cad Bane arranged, using Faster Than You to fell the sequel Sith in seventh.
Somehow Parker's Obi-Wan was still alive, despite being the preferred target for most of the game. Riley E. played a Your Skills Are Not Complete to neutralize the Force Balance, and Parker was in scramble mode after that. He started taking multiple attacks and Isaiah once again eliminated a Dueler, this time with There's No Shame In It.
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| Best Side-Eye in Duels History |
The final five was tense because Riley B. (mistakenly?) accused Jordann of putting the target on Isaiah, and Riley B. ratted it out to Isaiah. Jordann was emphatic in saying that wasn't what happened. When the dust settled, Curtis once again named the target, and put it on Riley B.'s Armorer. No sooner had he done that when Riley B. pulled A Mandalorian No More, dumping Curtis' entire Mandalorian hand!!! Jordann was also weak because she had just played double I Will Not Fight You's. In the end it would be Riley B.'s turn to bow out. Isaiah's Cad Bane once again got the kill shot.
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| Final Four Machinations |
The final four took a looooooooong time to play out, and alliances switched several times. It started with Curtis' Mandalorian surprisingly naming his alliance-mate Riley E./Vader as the target. Jordann initially agreed but flipped to join Riley. Isaiah tried to play Switzerland throughout. Eventually everyone was taking shots on Riley and, despite a late re-alliance with Curtis, Riley's Vader was blown away by Leia's Latent Force Abilities in fourth. Daddy issues for sure!
Curtis popped Jordann's Luke with a Disintegration, mortally wounding the Skywalker twins. He used a Rising Phoenix to get two 4-point shots on Luke, which Jordann couldn't successfully defend. Jordann was done in third. This new Dueler has played twice and finished third twice!!! Well done, Jordann!
It was more or less a miracle Curtis made it to the final two considering all the great cards he had to drop along the way, be it Rancor or The Armorer. Meanwhile, Isaiah's Cad Bane had been stockpiling his best attacks, and another No Shame In It killed Curtis in second! Isaiah won his second Duel in just his fourth game played!!! Only Kaleb has done the same thing in the history of this league!!! It also marked Cad Bane's second career win.
The final order of finish:
(13. Rob/Rancor)
12. Kevin/Krennic
11. Atticus/Beckett
10. Evan/Fennec
9. Rico/Jyn
8. Grant H./Gideon
7. Bella/Kylo
6. Parker/Obi-Wan
5. Riley B./Armorer
4. Riley E./Vader
3. Jordann/Luke
2. Curtis/Mandalorian
1. Isaiah/Cad freakin' Bane!
Well played, everyone! And congrats to Isaiah's truly historic night. The October's Duel, FIGHT NIGHT, will be played on Saturday, Oct. 21st, at 7PM. Mark your calendars now. The official invite will go out in a couple of weeks.
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