Eravana Cargo Hold
The Championship match should be a hard-fought battle of expert Duelers with surprising moves, tactics, and game play. This Duel did not disappoint! Read the pictorial recap of eliminations to find out who the winner was!
Character - Supreme Leader Snoke
Card that Killed Him - 4 point Princess Leia attack
The best rookie of 2023 came into the Championship looking to turn professional by winning his first league title. In-fighting on the dark side and the constant trample of rathtars limited what Isaiah could do. Princess Leia eliminated him in last...but congrats on turning pro!
Character - Jango Fett
Card that Killed Her - Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Attack
Riley tried to flip sides once Julia's Boba Fett Rocket Retreated to the middle of the board. She attacked her own sister (Darth Vader) before getting pulled into a kill box by Isaiah. She survived the onslaught...only to be killed moments later by her dad (Obi-Wan)!
Character - Darth Vader
Card that Killed Her - 3 point Princess Leia attack
Penny was left reeling when Julia/Boba Fett used a Rocket Retreat on Vader to move to the control panels in the center of the board. Isaiah/Snoke nearly turned on her too, but she survived temporarily to keep fighting. In the end there were too many in the light side alliance and she was done in tenth.
Character - Cad Bane
Card that Killed Her - 4 point The Mandalorian attack
Kat did a great job staying out of the path of the rathtars, and she wisely evacuated the dark side of the board when the alliance crumbled. However, she couldn't get any inroads with the light side alliance and her Cad Bane soon found himself in a kill box after an Obi-Wan Force Control. There weren't enough Rocket Boots to survive.
Character - Yoda
Card that Killed Him - 3 point MagnaGuard attack
Curtis was one of the vocal leaders for the light side, giving orders on how to use the walls to move rathtars towards the enemy. But when Michael/Rey and Miguel/Lando's characters were fully carded with nobody to attack, Curtis unexpectedly found himself the target. He deployed a nice Force Rebound but nobody came to his side in his time of need.
Character - General Grievous
Card that Killed Him - Cara Dune's Heavy Weapon
Grant was left with few options when his dark side teammates collapsed against each other almost immediately. He did manage to sneak his General Grievous to the middle squares to help control doors. But once he retreated when the light side alliance advanced, his only other major success was brining his minor characters back on line.
Character - The Mandalorian
Card that Killed Him - 3 point Rey attack
Last year's 2022 Champion hoped to retain his Vader trophy. He started off strong, as his Mandalorian character established dominance and chased down opponents like General Grievous. But he also picked up some damage. When the dark side alliance was eliminated, he became the target thanks to Rob/Obi-Wan.
Character - Rey
Card that Killed Him - 4 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack.
After helping take down Curtis' Yoda earlier in the game, he next put a big target on Rob's Obi-Wan Kenobi. He lost any hope of future partnership when he successfully played Rise of Skywalker twice! Everyone was terrified of Rey, so the rest of the board united and Rob's Obi-Wan scored the knockout punch.
Character - Boba Fett
Card that Killed Her - 3 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack
The most influential move of the game was Julia shooting Darth Vader to Rocket Retreat to the safety of the inner squares of the cargo hold. Julia managed to roost there for most of the game. But when she opened a door to direct the rathtars towards Ian's Princess Leia, she acquired a huge target on her back. Rob and Ian eliminated her before she could drop her Thermals.
3rd Place - Ian
Character - Princess Leia
Card that Killed Him - Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force Control
Ian played masterfully, ruling a corner of the board in the early going and teaming with Miguel to eliminate Rob in the final three. But just as Rob was on the cusp of dying, a false promise from Rob prompted Miguel to attack Ian. Ian and Rob then joined forces, but Miguel's Lando made it hard for Leia and Rob eliminated Ian after he lost both I Know cards.
Character - Lando Calrissian
Card that Killed Him - 5 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack
The retired Dueler, birthday boy, and current Ivy League grad student flew into Waco to play his best personal board - the Eravana Cargo Hold. Just like the 2022 Valentine's Duel, it got down to Rob, Miguel, and the rathtars. Rob was just a couple of health points away from dying, but the nimbleness of Obi-Wan allowed him to slowly heal as Miguel's Lando desperately tried to finish off Rob...but he couldn't!
Character - Obi-Wan Kenobi
How He Won - by being a survivor!
Miguel and Ian nearly eliminated Rob, but Rob managed to drop everyone's hands in his most desperate hour. The redraw saw Rob's Obi get all three Jedi Blocks very early from his new deck. He slowly healed to stay out of danger of the rathtars, and a late alliance split between Miguel and Ian created the crack Rob needed to win his second-ever Championship! Rob joins Ben H. as the only Duelers to ever repeat as Championship winners. Rob also becomes the first Dueler to win a Duel four times with the same character. The win also moved Obi-Wan Kenobi into a tie for second place for career wins among characters.
What an incredible night of Dueling!!! Exceptional play from start to (a very late) finish! You can't ask for much more from a Championship.
We'll kick off 2024 (!!!) with the January Duel - A New Hope - on Friday, January 12th, 7PM, to avoid overlap with a men's basketball game. Thanks to everyone who sat at a table in 2023!!! This league continues to thrive because of invested Duelers like you!!!
PEW PEW!
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