Preview: The 2023 Championship, December 2, 2023

He sees you when you're winning,

He knows when your hands shake,

He knows if you Duel bad or good,

So Duel good for the Championship's sake!

You better watch out...you better not DIE...you better be renown...I'm telling you why...'CAUSE THE 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP IS COMING TO TOWN!!!

LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

This the biggest Duel of the year, where only the best of the best from the past eleven months are invited to engage in fantasy combat with characters from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!  The first chairs are given to those who claimed a trophy during the calendar year.  The last remaining spots are parsed out to the top ranked professionals.  The cream of the crop!  

And we saved the most complex game board in the league for the 12 savants trying to win the Vader trophy:  the Eravana Cargo Hold!  That's right - besides a dozen murderous Duelers, there will be two RATHTARS wandering the board that can't be killed but have NO PROBLEM devouring any character that moves.  *chef's kiss*

The 2023 Championship will be, simply put...EPIC!!!

HISTORY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP DUELS:

2022 - Evan won with Count Dooku in the Emperor's Throne Room

2021 - Rob won with Jango Fett in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2020 - Ben H. won with Boba Fett in the Naboo Reactor Pit

2019 - Ian won with Darth Maul in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 - Ben H. won with Jango Fett on the Kamino Platform

2017 - Austin won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2016 - Curtis won with Mace Windu on the Kamino Platform

2015 - Nathan won with Count Dooku in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2014 - Ryan won with Boba Fett on the Kamino Platform

MEET THE CHAMPIONSHIP DUELERS:

The Duelers and seating during a normal match are randomized by who can respond to the invite fastest and a pick a wooden spool out of a too-small box, but not the Championship!  You have to play your way in, and Duelers are seated based on how well they Dueled this year.  Let's meet them!

Chair 12 - Riley E.  This high school sophomore Dueled 9 times in 2023 but barely made the cut despite a respectable ranking.  Her best finish this year was third place at the Imperial March.

Chair 11 - Evan.  Evan scored one of the most amazing first-career-win's in league history by winning the 2022 Championship last year.  He's defending his trophy from the eleventh chair.  He played six times in 2023, with three 4th place finishes.

Chair 10 - Curtis.  With so many various winners in 2023, Curtis was sweating whether he'd make the December table.  He played eight times this year, with his best finish in second place at the Fall Brawl.

Chair 9 - Grant D.  He's one of just three Duelers at the table to appear in the first Championship match.  This league veteran played six times in 2023, with his best finish in second place at the Valentine's Duel.

Chair 8 - Penny.  She only played once this year, as an emergency backup.  But in just her fourth career Duel she won Fight Night, her second ever victory.

Chair 7 - Miguel.  This Ivy League Dueler retired in May but is coming back to Waco to claim his rightful seat at the table thanks to his win at the Valentine's Duel.  He played three times in 2023.

Chair 6 - Michael.  He played nine times over the past eleven months, but he was the first person to punch his ticket for the 2023 Championship when he won A New Hope.

Chair 5 - Kat.  She stayed out of the spotlight for most of the Fall, but a win at Twin Sun Slam #2 already guaranteed her spot in the December Duel.

Chair 4 - Julia.  Julia was on the bubble for making the Championship until she took home a victory at Thanksdueling!  She Dueled six times this year.

Chair 3 - Isaiah.  The rookie sensation will turn professional at the Championship.  His outstanding debut included wins at CL Training and the Fall Brawl.

Chair 2 - Ian.  Across eight games played in 2023 Ian secured wins at Twin Sun Slam #1 and Doubleheader #1 and was just one of three Duelers with multiple wins.  

Chair 1 - Rob.  He played in twelve Duels, plus a guest appearance as the rancor, this year.  He was the only Dueler to win three times (The Imperial March, Duel of the Fates, and Doubleheader #2).  

MEET THE CHARACTERS:

Similar to the Duelers for the Championship game, the best characters of 2023 will be featured too.  These are the 12 characters (six light side, six dark side) who either won a Duel or were top ranked.  The dark side actually had more than six winners, so we decided based on ranking of those who won.

Light Side - Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, The Mandalorian, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, and Rey.

Dark Side - Supreme Leader Snoke, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Darth Vader, General Grievous, and Cad Bane.

If that doesn't get you hyped I'm not sure you read the blog all the way to this sentence.  Everyone is free to come and watch the Championship Duel this Saturday at 7:30PM in the North Village Classroom.  One person will be named the victor!

Thanksdueling! - November 11, 2023

Naboo Reactor Pit

This was our 10th annual Thanksdueling! Duel, and our 137th match in league history.  Let's take a moment to give thanks for these past ten years!  If you had told me ten years ago we'd be going stronger than ever in the year of our Lord 2023, and there were 12 boards, 12 trophies, and 32 characters...I wouldn't have believed you.  OK, maybe I would have believed you a little because this game is so awesome, but still!!!  Look at all we've done!  Way to go, Duelers!  If you're snacking on deviled eggs or candy corn this Thanksgiving, feel free to consume it in honor of Star Wars Epic Duels.  

Rob's in the picture!?!

Thanksdueling! 2023 was special right out of the gate because it was the debut Duel for Michaela and Joe!  We're so excited to have them on campus, and hopefully their first Duel wasn't too scarring.  We played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, which is our cool color-changing board.  Unfortunately, the battery to the remote was shot, so Grant had to keep plugging/unplugging the chord to produce the desired effect.  Did they have to deal with that kind of tech on the Deathstar!?

It was obvious at the start the characters in the reactor pit side of the board were going to try and stay united against the players in the hallway side of the board.  Riley E./Moff Gideon and Elliot/Anakin were stuck on the front line of that battlefront, so they both tried to flip sides.  Elliot got their first and minor characters started taking damage.  

Michael/Obi-Wan took bold action when he used a Force Control to pull Riley/Moff and Jordann/Ahsoka forward into kill boxes!  Riley managed to stay behind a laser wall while Jordann was trapped with no escape.  It didn't take long to whittle her down, and she received the Golden Jar Jar when Joe's Night Trooper shot her off the board.  That was a rough finish for Jordann, who finished third in both of her previous Duels.

General Kat rallies the troops.

Kat was piloting Reva - the Third Sister in the hallway, and tried to coordinate a charge with her remaining alliance.  But Riley/Moff Gideon was finally given an invitation to join the power alliance.  Kat was in trouble after that, especially because Isaiah/Vader was hesitant to move forward, and Bekah/Qui-Gon were stuck in the back chamber, which affectionately became known as the VIP Room.  Joe, playing in his first ever Duel, came down with a common symptom during a Duel:  trophy blood lust!  After knocking off Ahsoka he wanted more kills.  In a bold move, he charged in with Morgan Elsbeth and used the Blade of Talzin to eliminate Kat/Reva in eleventh.  Kat maintained a great attitude throughout.

Isaiah, who has won twice this year and isn't even a professional Dueler yet, was in deep trouble.  His Vader was all alone.  As the big alliance depleted his health indicator card, Grant/Boba used Greedo's Desperate Shot for a dramatic end to Vader's night.  Isaiah was out in tenth.

Clone Wars vibes with Obi, Sky-Guy, and Snips.

Bekah/Qui-Gon was the presumed next target, but she was still chilling in the VIP room, and Elliot made a coded suggestion to other Duelers at the table that Joe's Morgan was a scary threat to deal with.  After Joe had taken down Reva he was vulnerable to attacks from multiple angles.  Bekah used the opportunity to bargain for advancement by joining in on the attacks.  Qui-Gon played a Prophecy, and Joe was suddenly out in ninth!  He had quite the trophy collection for his first Duel, well done Joe!

While Michaela didn't object to Joe (her husband's) death, she hadn't used her minor character to shoot him either.  Rob/Jyn Erso and Julia/The Mandalorian both noticed, so they started attacking Michaela's Cad Bane.  She used Rocket Boots twice to try and escape, but she was surrounded without help.  It was a fast death when Julia played Disintegration!  Michaela was smoked in eighth place.  We sure hope she and Joe had fun - they were a great addition to Thanksdueling!

Guess who's holding a thermal detonator...

Riley/Moff, Julia/Mando, and Grant/Boba hatched a plan to go after Elliot's Anakin next.  Elliot played an aggressive game all night, but the remaining shooters weren't crazy about leaving the melee characters on the board.  The biggest moment of the night was when Michael/Obi, Elliot/Ani, and Bekah/Qui-Gon sniffed out what was going on, and decided to align against the four shooters still in the game.  They also concentrated their attacks on Riley's Moff Gideon.  If Riley was killed, it would be 3 vs. 3, and the shooters would be in big trouble.

It all came down to whether Elliot could move his Anakin out of the Reactor Room and into the hallway where Obi and Qui-Gon were.  Unfortunately for Elliot, his roll activated the laser walls!  He was trapped!!!  He went down to one card after playing an Anger, and Grant assassinated him in seventh with a Kyber Dart.  Elliot played a heck of a game for sure.

The Qui-Gon/Obi/Anakin family tree!

Riley's Moff Gideon was still trapped with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and she was no match for that combination.  Riley was gone in sixth, but considering her starting position, that was a major accomplishment.  She stayed in the crucible of that first chamber almost the entire game.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon retreated to the VIP room, and Rob sent his Cassian Andor back there too after Michael played Force Balance, dumping everyone's hand.  Qui-Gon was taking a lot of hits when the walls were down, but Bekah was hanging tough.  She eventually fell when Boba Fett used Deadly Aim.  This was just Bekah's third game and she pulled a fifth place finish.  Bravo!

Michael's Obi-Wan had nobody left to work with, and he was still stuck in a room with Cassian.  Rob finally drew Looks Like A Killer, and used it to park Obi/Michael in fourth.  Michael played Obi-Wan beautifully...had Elliot escaped, Michael would have been a good bet to win it all.

Mandalorian Armor fans.

The final three was Julia/Mando, Grant/Boba, and Rob/Jyn Erso.  The three of them were happy they managed to stick together and finish off the blades, but now it was a new game.  They immediately pledged to work together to eliminate Rob, which shocked nobody.  However, Rob pointed out to Grant that Julia's Mandalorian was certainly stronger than Boba Fett, and by this point, Jyn Erso was banged up and Cassian had been eliminated too.  Grant reluctantly but eventually agreed to work with Rob to try and kill Julia/The Mandalorian.  

When Rob was finally healed all the way again, he snuck into the reactor room with Mando.  Julia used a combo of Grappling Line and Amban Shock to drop three of Jyn's cards, though!  Grant's eyes got wide as saucers once the two of them were adjacent.  He quickly chucked double Thermal Detonators, doing 8 points of damage each to Mando and Jyn!  Rob and Julia's only hope was to align and attack.  Rob played two attacks on Grant and then Julia lowered the boom with her second Disintegration of the night!!!  Grant was so close to ending his winless streak, but nobody could blame him for the Double Thermals.  Good job, Grant!

Rob and Julia were both hurting, so Rob attacked with his first action on his next turn.  It damaged Mando.  Rob had to decided between using his last attack card and go for the win - which would leave him with only one defense card - or drawing and hoping to survive to a second turn.  Since Julia/Mando only had five cards left he went for it...and The Mandalorian deflected it!  Julia attacked twice on her turn, killing Rob in second.  Julia won her first career Duel!!!

Julia deserves a special shout-out.  Way back in 2013 we played the first-ever 12-Way Duel in Waco.  This was a game that predated the league.  She was a CL at the time and was one of the first 12 who sat at the table.  All these years later she's back and has her first win!!!  Kudos to Julia!!!  This also marks The Mandalorian's second career win.

The final order of finish:

12.  Jordann/Ahsoka

11.  Kat/Reva

10.  Isaiah/Vader

9.  Joe/Morgan

8.  Michaela/Cad

7.  Elliot/Anakin

6.  Riley E./Gideon

5.  Bekah/Qui-Gon

4.  Michael/Obi

3.  Grant D./Boba

2.  Rob/Jyn

1.  Julia/The Mandalorian!!!

What a crazy night!  Next month is the biggest Duel of the year...the 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  Anyone who won during the calendar year is invited to play, and the remaining spots will go to the topped ranked Duelers.  More info is coming on that one...

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, pew pew!!

Preview: Thanksdueling! - Saturday, November 11, 2023

How is it November already!?!?  We're winding down our calendar year, and this weekend's Thanksdueling! is the last chance for Duelers to qualify for December's 2023 Championship match, the biggest Duel of the year!  But don't sleep on Thanksdueling!, it has a long history of EPIC battles and outcomes.  Whether you prefer light side meat or dark side meat on the turkey, this Duel will have something for everyone.  

HISTORY OF THANKSDUELING!

2022 - Penny won with Anakin Skywalker in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2021 - Kaleb won with Princess Leia in the Rancor Dungeon

2020 - Duncan won with Darth Vader in the Rancor Dungeon

2019 - Alex C. won with Darth Maul in the Geonosis Arena

2018 - Ben H. won with Luke Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena
2017 - Rob won with Boba Fett on the Kamino Platform
2016 - JD won with Yoda in the Emperor's Throne Room
2015 - Nathan won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena
2014 - Alex R. won with Boba Fett in the Geonosis Arena

MEET THE DUELERS

Every year we use the Thanksdueling! preview to list what our Duelers are thankful for!  Gobble gobble...

Bekah - Bekah is thankful for...a chance to get back at the table!  She debuted at the August Doubleheader but couldn't play again until now.  Thanksdueling! will be her third career match.

Elliot - Elliot is thankful for...being so close!  He holds the league record for most Duels played without a victory, but this Fall he's come close multiple times.  Will this be the Duel!?

Grant D. - Grant is thankful for...no Han Solo at the Thanksdueling! Duel.  New folks to the league may not understand this, but Grant is equally blessed/cursed by the Han Solo character...never wanting him but winning with him three times!

Isaiah - Isaiah is thankful for...back to back wins!!!  The last two times he's played - CL Training and the Fall Brawl - he brought home trophies!  He hasn't even turned professional yet!

Joe - Joe is thankful for...his first time Dueling!  This Star Wars fan is getting his first taste of Epic Duels!  And what does that taste like, exactly?  Candy corn.  In other words, DELICIOUS.

Jordann - Jordann is thankful for...third place!  Jordann has played two career Duels and finished third both times!  That's an incredible start to her Dueling journey, but she wouldn't mind placing higher!

Julia - Julia is thankful for...a free calendar!  A true OG of the Dueling league, Julia's busy schedule has kept her away from the table this Fall, but now she's here and ready to rumble.

Kat - Kat is thankful for...Bethany!  Though Bethany refuses to join our cabal, she did recruit Kat to play in Thanksdueling!  Kat will use this as her warm-up to next month's Championship.

Michael - Michael is thankful for...January!  That's when he won the first Duel of 2023, meaning he had the most stress-free year in the league, knowing he was already good for the Championship.

Michaela - Michaela is thankful for...being back in Waco!  Our newest RHD is finally playing her first Duel, despite previously being a CL for three years!

Riley E. - Riley is thankful for...the top five!  She's landed in the top five four times in 2023.  She'd love to win Thanksdueling! to secure her spot in December, she's right on the bubble!

Rob - Rob is thankful for...new characters!  The league added a few new characters in 2023, and Rob got to be the first Dueler to ever play Morgan and her zombie troopers.  Brrrraaaiiiinnnssss!!!!

GUESS THE EPIC DUELS CARD VIA EMOJIS

We skipped this last month, but we're back with a new installment!  So far we've had Boba's "Thermal Detonator" and Mace's "Whirlwind Attack."  For Thanksdueling...which card is this???

🐟<🐠

The answer is below!  Feel free to come and watch Thanksdueling! in the North Village classroom on Saturday night, starting at 7PM!

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Answer:  Qui-Gon Jinn's "There's Always a Bigger Fish"