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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!!
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