Preview: May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2024

I'm not sure how it's already May, but here we are fellow Duelers!  The 23-24 academic year is coming to a close, as is our tenth (!!!) year of 12-way Duels.  A decade is officially in the books once we play this Saturday's May the 4th Be With You Duel, the highest holy day of the Dueling calendar and Star Wars fandom in general.  We'll be on the Arvala-7 board and we're making this one an all-shooters Duel.  PEW PEW!

HISTORY OF THE MAY THE 4th BE WITH YOU DUEL:

2023 - JD M. won with Orson Krennic in the Narkina 5 Imperial Prison

2022 - Rob won with Kylo Ren on the Conveyex Train

2021 - Kaleb won with Jango Fett in the Trash Compactor

2020 - Ryan won with Han Solo on the Kamino Platform

2019 - Riley won with Emperor Palpatine in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 - Rob won with Mace Windu in the Emperor's Throne Room

2017 - JD N. won with Yoda in the Emperor's Throne Room

2016 - Chris K . won with Jango Fett in the Emperor's Throne Room

2015 - Rob won with Jango Fett in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

MEET THE DUELERS:

Alex A. - poor Alex has been holding onto the Golden Jar Jar since his unfortunate last place finish at January's A New Hope.  He'll gladly trade it in for the Golden Obi!

Bekah - after three straight top-five finishes, Bekah reached professional status with a rough exit in tenth at last month's Duel of the Fates.  Did she turn her assignments in on time that night?

Elliot - Elliot comes into May the 4th with three top-three finishes in his last four Duels.  He's tasted victory and wouldn't mind adding a second trophy to his current collection.

Grant D. - the feel good story of the 23-24 season only got better last month as Grant, fresh off his first win in almost six years, won just six days later at Duel of the Fates!

Ian - this will be Ian's last Duel as an unmarried man!  His pending nuptials hasn't distracted his play, four of his last five Duels have been top-five finishes.

Isaiah - the May the 4th Duel is always emotionally tough because we have to say goodbye to some of our friends.  This includes two-time winner Isaiah, who is playing his last Duel!!

Jordann - new professional alert!  May the 4th will mark her sixth Duel, adding her to the professional ranks.  She'd love to improve upon her second place finish at The Imperial March.

Josh S. - ...and a new Dueler alert!  Josh is jumping in for his first Duel right at the end of the year, but it's never too late for your first Duel.  

Riley B. - the bad news first: Riley graduates from Truett next weekend.  The good news: he got a job at a local church, so we're sure to see him at the Dueling table again in the future.

Riley E. - the long-standing tradition of Riley getting to Duel the night before her birthday is back!  Winning her second May the 4th would make a particularly sweet 16th birthday.

Rob - he's had mixed results since winning the 2023 Championship, but Rob did finish in second place at last month's Duel of the Fates.

Spencer - bad luck with on-call schedules has prevented Spencer from joining his second Duel, but he's finally free for May the 4th!

Tears, laughter, and anger are sure to flow Saturday night!  Feel free to swing by the North Village Classroom at 7PM to catch the action.  PEW PEW PEW!

Duel of the Fates - April 19, 2024

Ewok Village

Friends - we finished a Duel before midnight!  IT'S ABOUT TIME.  What a great pace, people!  We were wrapped up around 11:15, which is a welcome change.  What's that?  You want to know who actually won??  Ok, ok, let's get into it...

Duel of the Fates was played in the treetops of Ewok Village.  Those poor forest dwellers didn't deserve the carnage that was about to take place.  Rob pushed play on "Duel of the Fates" on repeat, and poor CJ was almost immediately plugging her ears.  THAT'S WHY WE DO IT, BWAHAHAHAHA!

Those smiles will soon fade...

As with past Duels, the main bridge area became the spot for early conflict.  Rico/Han and Riley B./Fennec chose to put their respective Wookies facing their light side alliance instead of the threats on the dark side of the board.  That might have been in part because they didn't know Curtis was signaling the desire to flip to the dark side.  Riley B. took one of the first shots of the game, targeting Riley E./Moff Gideon.  The dark side then focused their attacks on Fennec.  It took a couple of rounds, but Moff Gideon blasted Riley B. with Astute Panic and it was a quick night for poor Riley B.

Not going well on the light side of the board...

Curtis' flip to the dark side was solid at that point, making Rico's Han Solo the next easiest target.  Grant D./Kylo Ren managed to march a Knight of Ren to the far end of the bridge, landing a three point attack on poor Han and sending Rico home in eleventh.  This was all in within the first half hour or so!

Bekah/Bo-Katan, who skipped a formal and had homework due at midnight (!!!), was playing in her sixth Duel, meaning she's now a professional.  Congrats Bekah!  Unfortunately, she tried to flip to the dark side a tad too late.  She landed next to Rob/Emperor and Parker/Vader.  They welcomed her with open arms...holding light sabers!  A You Will Die from Rob helped off Bekah in tenth, but she's debuting in the professional rankings in ninth place, and that ain't shabby!

Ahsoka Oh-no!

Julia/Ahsoka and Bella/Luke were hiding around the tree on the light side of the board, but with the rest of their alliance falling, they were suddenly exposed.  Bella played I Will Not Fight You on CJ's General Grievous, who had been stuck on the opposite end of Ewok Village discarding and drawing.  Curtis, meanwhile, used Grappling Line to pull Ahsoka into a dark side kill box.  She took hits from multiple people, and even used a nifty I Choose to Live, but Parker's Storm Trooper blasted her into ninth.

While half of the dark side alliance turned their attention to Bella/Luke, Grant/Kylo was the first to break the dark side bonds.  He began attacking Parker's Darth Vader.  Parker responded with a well-timed Your Skills Are Not Complete.  Ian/Cad stayed in hot pursuit of Luke Skywalker...literally!  Ian used his Flame Gauntlet to finish Bella in eighth place.  This was also Bella's sixth Duel, adding her to the professional level too.  Well done, Bella!

Mandone

Ian wasn't done pulling people's cards.  He used a two-point Pike attack to eliminate Parker in seventh.  Ian did a great job throughout the game keeping Cad Bane on the move and directing the action.

The final six were a very tight unit, but then it was that awkward moment in every Duel when the superior alliance has to start eating itself.  It was Rob's turn and he secretly wanted to go after Curtis' Mandalorian.  He wasn't alone, as Riley E. verbalized the same urge.  Rob promptly used a Force Lightning on Mando and Riley followed with The Great Purge (which that card is SICK, btw...).  The kill shot, however, came from CJ's General Grievous, who had finally crawled out of her back corner to join the action.  She successfully used A Fine Addition, meaning she got to add a five-point Mandalorian attack card to her own hand!  We think that's only the second time in league history Grievous has actually killed somebody with the card.

This board is so sweet!!!

That made it five Duelers left: Rob/Emperor, Grant/Kylo, Ian/Cad, CJ/Grievous, and Riley/Moff Gideon.  It was once again Rob's turn, and he asked for feedback.  Ian bravely put it on CJ's Grievous, who had literally been carding up the whole game.  A half second behind Ian saying that, Grant put his foot in his mouth and named Riley (which was pretty funny as it happened).  Arguments were presented, but Grant and Rob signaled they wanted to stick with blades, so Rob called open season on the remaining shooters.

Rob used a couple of Force Lightnings on Cad Bane, and CJ chased Ian down with Grievous.  Grant/Kylo, meanwhile, engaged with Moff Gideon.  Ian and Riley decided to focus their shared attacks on Grievous, greatly weakening CJ's hand and characters.  Riley, however, finally fell to the combined attacks of Kylo and the Royal Guards.  She was out in fifth.  CJ had Ian pinned in the back corner of the board, and would not accept his overtures to work together as near-dead Duelers.  Cad got chopped down with a five-point attack.  Ian rested in fourth.

The dark side three.

Once Cad Bane was gone the Royal Guards started shooting at Kylo Ren, which did not surprise Grant in the least.  He moved to eliminate CJ next though, and did so in brutal fashion when CJ didn't defend Vader's Bloodline.  This was just CJ's fourth career Duel, and her third place finish is her personal best.  She may have wrestled the "Tiny Titan of Terror" title from her big sister!

Grant had managed to hold onto his I Know What I Must Do (12 attack), and used it to annihilate one of Rob's Royal Guards while also reshuffling that same card back into his fresh draw pile.  Rob had reshuffled too, but he was quickly in danger as he started pulling Guard cards who were now gone from the board.  A couple of attacks later the Emperor was down to three points of health, and Grant used Choke to win the game!!!  Grant went six years between wins after his last victory, and now he went six DAYS between first place finishes!!!  He played fantastic, and it's a good reminder for the league that, despite his low character ranking, Kylo Ren is a BOSS!

Smiles all around!

Final order of finish:

12.  Riley B./Fennec

11.  Rico/Han

10.  Bekah/Bo-Katan

9.  Julia/Ahsoka

8.  Bella/Luke

7.  Parker/Vader

6.  Curtis/Mandalorian

5.  Riley E./Moff Gideon

4.  Ian/Cad Bane

3.  CJ/General Grievous

2.  Rob/Emperor

1.  Grant D./Kylo

Grant has won the last two Duels in a row, all in the span of a week.  That's a hot Dueler!!!  

Our next Duel is the last of the academic year:  MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU, which will be played on, you guessed it, May the 4th!!!  Invites will go out for that next weekend, and Rob will reserve spots for anybody graduating/leaving Waco to get one last Duel in.  It's a sad time of year for the Dueling league in that regard...

Oh - and next month will be an ALL-SHOOTERS DUEL - pew pew!!!

Preview: Duel of the Fates - April 19, 2024

 

How are we already at our second to last Duel of the academic year???  We snuck in a surprise bachelor party Duel for Ian, but the only April Duel is usually Duel of the Fates.  And that means tonight, when the Duelers gather, they'll have to listen to "Duel of the Fates" on REPEAT for the entire match!!!  Sanity will be tested, blood will boil, and ears will bleed.  We can't wait!!!

HISTORY OF DUEL OF THE FATES

2023 - Rob won with Boba Fett in the Geonosis Arena

2022 - Grant H. won with Cad Bane on Arvala-7

2021 - Curtis won with Darth Maul in Ewok Village

2020 - Alex C. won with Darth Maul in the Geonosis Arena

2019 - Kaleb won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room

2018 - Ian won with Count Dooku in the Emperor's Throne Room
2017 - Kaleb won with Darth Vader in the Geonosis Arena
2016 - Alex R. won with Count Dooku in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2015 - Curtis won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room

MEET THE DUELERS

Bekah - She's riding high after securing her first career win in last month's Imperial March, and turns pro (Duel of the Fates) this month!

Bella - Pinch-hitter supreme Bella is back at the table, graciously helping us get to 12.  Duel of the Fates will also elevate her to pro status!

CJ - The Duelers will have to contend with one of the fiercest Duelers in recent league history.  She had a good run last month, finishing fifth at the Imperial March.

Curtis - After a string of subpar finishes, Curtis nearly won the Power Coupling Duel last week, finishing third with Yoda.

Grant D. - Nobody will be smiling bigger than Grant tonight.  He's still aglow from his win last weekend at the bachelor party Duel.  It was his first win in nearly six years!

Ian - My apologies for not taking a picture of Ian's surprised face when he walked in on his surprise bachelor party Duel.  He had a good showing too, finishing fifth with his favorite Darth Maul.

Julia - Julia comes into Duel of the Fates with three straight top-four finishes, including second place at the Valentine's Duel.

Parker - Shout out to Parker, pinch-hitting tonight.  He's hoping to place better than his last match, where he finished in 11th at the Fight Night duel last October.

Rico - Rico is jumping into the Duel tonight too, and like Parker, hasn't played since October.  But he did finish in fourth at that Duel!

Riley B. - The Dueling diehard is running out of time to win his first Duel before his impending graduation.  He got ganged up on at last week's Power Coupling, finishing 11th.

Riley E. - She'll hope to escape the wrath of her little sister CJ, who was responsible for Riley's lackluster seventh place ouster last month.

Rob - He's defending his Darth Maul trophy, having won Duel of the Fates last year.  Can he retain the creepiest trophy in the league?

Tonight will be high anxiety - swing on by if you want to watch some of the action!

Power Coupling Duel (surprise bachelor party for Ian) - April 13, 2024

Conveyex Train

With Ian's pending nuptials coming soon, the Jedi Council determined a surprise bachelor's party Duel was in order for one of the legends of the league.  Our only regret?  We didn't invite his lovely fiancé, who for some reason, Ian won't let come and play with us.  I wonder why...?

Surprise, Ian!

Our 12 Duelers spanned the ten-year history of the league, including Hall of Famers (JD! Nathan! Kaleb! Duncan!) and current players, all excited to pepper Ian with awkward questions about his future wife.  We owe a big thanks to JD and Jonathan, who helped orchestrate the surprise.  Speaking of surprises...none of us were when Ian, picking his character last, ended up with his favorite - DARTH MAUL!!!

After explaining the Conveyex Train board to our senior Duelers, we were ch-ch-chugging along (get!?!).  There was a lot of nervous energy thanks to the cramped board, but things got off to a brutal start when Kaleb's Emperor Palpatine dropped JD/Anakin's hand with YOU WILL DIE.  Woof!!!  JD paid for half of the Airbnb and got sent to the (train) rails in last place when Elliot's Greedo finished him off.

Ouch.

Things didn't get any more friendly.  Riley B.'s Jango, caught on one of the side speeders, was taking shots when all of a sudden Ian's Darth Maul laid his tow cable and boarded Riley's area!  I don't have to tell you how that turned out.  Fortunately, though, JD had just bought a new Star Wars card game so he and Riley played that together for the rest of the night.

Hobby Lobby Chic

Rob's Darth Vader was looking for a character on the opposite side of the board to start doing distance damage too, and with a nod of approval from Nathan's Count Dooku, Jonathan/Mace were shelled.  That end of the board collapsed when Elliot/Boba joined in.  The fatality shot came from one of Duncan/Obi's Clone Troopers.  

Despite trying to join the other side of the board, Elliot found himself the next target.  He's had a strong run of late, but his Boba was landlocked for most of the game, and folks weren't excited to see him start using Thermal Detonators.  Fittingly, Michael's Han Solo finished him off with Gambler's luck.

Friends become our chosen Dueling family.

Nathan/Dooku, Ian/Maul, and Grant/Luke looked to be a firm alliance.  Duncan used double Force Controls, however, to isolate Nathan's Count Dooku.  He fought bravely but couldn't withstand the onslaught, especially when Luke and Maul were moved so far away from supporting him.  Kaleb reluctantly used a Force Lightning to stop Nathan in eighth.  It was fun having him back at the table, though!

Duncan thinking about his drive back to Houston...

Ian, the man of the hour, became cranky that his alliance kept shrinking.  He made it known he was headed over to Rob/Vader to pay his respects and share his feelings about it.  But this wasn't Rob's first rodeo with an upset Ian, and he managed to flip the attention to Duncan's Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He hated to do it, but Vader isn't known for his sympathy.  Others rallied to that idea, and with Duncan losing a number of his cards, he was blasted into seventh courtesy of Michael's second Bowcaster of the game.

And then there were six!  Nobody was sure which direction to go, and Curtis moved in on Ian's Maul.  He survived a Force Push but, once again, wanted to tangle with Rob's Darth Vader.  Despite Rob's pleas to work with Grant/Luke to eliminate Michael's Han, Ian wasn't having it.  It was his party, and he'll Sith Speed if he wants to!  The kill shot, though, came from a Justice by Grant's Luke Skywalker.

Rob and Ian tangling - some things never change!

That left five and, just as Rob had tried to explain to Ian, Darth Maul was the next target!  Han Solo took shots and nobody else seemed excited to keep him around, bachelor party or not.  It took a couple of rounds, but Kaleb/Emperor made his second Force Lightning kill of the night.  Good game, Ian, we wish you many years of wedded bliss.

The final four players finally realized Kaleb's Emperor Palpatine was sitting pretty.  Despite taking a Bowcaster very early in the game Kaleb had deftly floated into the final four with little attention.  That finally came to an end, though.  There was a lot of haggling and some side-switching, but Curtis/Yoda didn't want to stay united.  His Force Strike parked Kaleb in fourth.  He's so good!

Three married guys at the bachelor party.

The final three had a lot of twists and turns too, and eventually all three of Grant/Luke, Michael/Han, and Curtis/Yoda were damaged.  Michael still had Chewbacca on the board, so he was the only one of the three who couldn't heal.  Over a period of time Michael somehow had the lead.  He was about to finish off a near-dead Grant with a Wookie Toss, but Grant pointed out to Michael he could use both Tosses and kill the healthier - and harder to eliminate - Yoda.  Much to Curtis' dismay, that's what Michael did!  Curtis/Yoda finished with the bronze.

Michael/Han still had the health advantage, though he was low-carded too.  Grant was just two points from dying, and only had a couple of Leia cards in his hand.  In a Hail Mary move, he charged Han with nothing in his hand, and drew for his first action.  He got a 5 point attack for Luke and used it for his second action...killing Han!!!  GRANT WON!!!  GRANT FINALLY WON AGAIN!!!  It had been nearly six years since his last victory, and this one makes it eight for his career.  He also becomes just the fifth Dueler in league history to win with Luke Skywalker, one of the original 12 characters from the game but the one with the least amount of wins.  Congrats to Michael too, who somehow survived with Han on a tough board and nearly took it down.

Together Grant has it all!!!

Final order of finish:

12.  Anakin/JD N.

11.  Jango/Riley B.

10.  Mace/Jonathan

9.  Boba/Elliot

8.  Dooku/Nathan

7.  Obi/Duncan

6.  Vader/Rob

5.  Maul/Ian

4.  Emperor/Kaleb

3.  Yoda/Curtis

2.  Han/Michael

1.  Luke/Grant

What a fun night celebrating our friend and Dueler, Ian!!!

The Imperial March - March 23, 2024

Carbon Freezing Chamber (via Dagobah)

With the weather warming and NCAA brackets buzzing, it can only mean one thing:  THE IMPERIAL MARCH is upon us!  March is always a tough month to navigate with spring break and Easter in the mix, but we cobbled together 12 Duelers to do their worst to each other.  And their worst was done!

Ain't no trustin' those smiles...

We were playing the Carbon Freezing Chamber map but with the Dagobah esthetic and the early going saw the light and dark sides holding strong in their alliances...with the possible exception of CJ, whose Princess Leia was hanging on the side of the board, merely saying she will dedicate her whole existence to eliminating whoever attacks her first.

Minor characters were shooting across the board, and some of the dark side minors were the first to fall.  It was right around this time Sarah, playing her first ever Duel, decided to take Reva from deep in the back of her alliance all the way to a light side flip!  She seemed pleased by the chaos.

Sam S., playing with the formidable Darth Maul, felt it was time to strike.  He jacked up Rob's Cara Dune, but instead of using an Athletic Surge to retreat back to the safety of his alliance, he stayed!  That proved disastrous as the light side alliance rained down attacks.  It would be Jordann's Paz Vizsla who landed the finishing blow.  Sam was done in last and his real-life boss Sarah was half horrified, half laughing.  It was Chipotle for dinner for Sam, because Fuego is for winners.  (You had to be there for that to make sense...)

So...much...glee!

Elliot, piloting Tobias Beckett, was none to pleased by the dark side loss and sent Val into the middle of a light side grouping for a reverse kill box, using It's Been a Ride, Babe, on Riley/Han, Curtis/Lando, and Jordann/Armorer among others.  Lando took some other damage too, and that's when Bekah finally leaned into the ruthlessness of her character, Emperor Palpatine, to Force Lightning Curtis into eleventh place.  It was a short night for the veteran tied for second all-time in Duels played.

One of the reasons Curtis' Lando was weakened was because Caleb H., playing his second career Duel, went psycho.  His Ahsoka was a core member of the light side alliance but out of nowhere decided to turn on his own team!  He managed to get half way to the dark side before the light made him pay.  Rob's Mandalorian used Amban Shock to dump most of Ahsoka's cards, but the most graphic kill of the night came from CJ's sweet little Ewok, Wicket.  Caleb chose not to defend but CJ used Surprise Attack, which doubled her 4 point attack to eight, killing Caleb!!!  It was like a scene out of a horror movie, especially with CJ's maniacal laugh.

The scariest Dueler at the Imperial March

The dark side alliance was once again on tilt, and the most topsy-turvy Duel in recent memory continued in a crazy fashion.  Despite Elliot drawing major heat by using Val's self-destruct card, nobody really punished him.  Instead, Isaiah's General Grievous became the next target.  He tried to join the light side but they were no longer taking applications.  Riley E. hit him with the Bowcaster.  Then Jordann's Armorer fired up The Forge and used double Hammer Throws to send Isaiah whimpering (literally!) into ninth place.  Even the dog was worried.

It was right around this point Riley B., largely out of the spotlight during the match, made it known his Cad Bane was now targeting his own teammate, Elliot's Beckett.  However, Elliot once again evaded attention when Sarah's Reva couldn't help herself.  She launched an attack on Riley E.'s Chewbacca.  The light side did not like that one bit, and they made Sarah the target.  It was a hard thing to witness as Sarah slowly realized she had made a fatal mistake.  Riley B. had a cool combo of Bounty and Flame Gauntlet to both off Sarah in eighth and replenish his own hand.  Good job though, Sarah!  Your flip really got things rolling.  Play with us again!!!

Little sister problems, amiright??

We were now down to seven Duelers, and it seemed like Elliot/Beckett and Bekah/Emperor were probably going to be the next targets.  But out of nowhere, CJ's Princess Leia used Speeder Chase to fly halfway across the board, landing next to her sister Riley E.'s Han Solo.  She then attacked twice to knock Han to within two points of dying.  The other six Duelers sat there with mouths agape, as CJ once again rocked the table in shocking fashion.  CJ could not have been more pleased with herself.  

Rob's Mandalorian knew it was the right time to solidify his preferred final our with Elliot/Beckett, Jordann/Armorer, and Bekah/Emperor.  He fired off Whistling Birds to the other three Duelers, killing Riley E.'s Han in the process.  Riley B. wasn't long for the game afterwards, succumbing to Elliot/Beckett's Double Blasters in sixth.  Those two need to hug it out - it was tense the whole game lol!

The Dueling apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

And then there were five!  Everyone agreed CJ's Princess Leia was the biggest remaining threat, but with two ...I Knows left in her hand, the other four had to painstakingly tease them out without taking their four points of auto-damage.  Elliot craftily used Price on Your Head to dump the last of them (and weaken his alliance), leaving CJ exposed.  Beckett put the final shot on her and CJ/Leia was done in fifth.  CJ left quite the impression, though!!!

The final four was a very looooooooong affair, so I'll skip over a lot of the drama, but Rob/Mandalorian became the early target, while both Rob and Elliot tried to convince Bekah/Emperor and Jordann/Armorer they needed them to defeat the other.  Bekah and Jordann did finally tangle, but then called a truce, declaring March "Women's History Month", and promising to go final two with each other.

Just about done...

Rob managed to fire a Disintegration at both Jordann and Bekah before giving up on partnering with either and pledging to work with Elliot until the end.  Bekah and Jordann were both extremely wounded from the Mando shots, but Elliot tried a Hail Mary and attacked a cardless Rob, hoping to curry favor with Bekah/Emperor.  Rob was dead in fourth, outraged that Elliot wouldn't work with him.  The turn got to Bekah and she was in full Sith boss mode.  On her first action she attacked and killed Elliot/Beckett in third, and on her second action she eliminated Jordann in second with Force Lightning!!!  Bekah, playing just her fifth Duel, was the first time winner!!!  Incredible!!!  Jordann finished a career-best second place and was masterful as The Armorer throughout.  This also brings Emperor Palpatine's career wins to double digits with ten.

Final order of finish:

12.  Sam S./Darth Maul

11.  Curtis/Lando Calrissian

10.  Caleb H./Ahsoka Tano

9.  Isaiah/General Grievous

8.  Sarah/Reva-Third Sister

7.  Riley E./Han Solo

6.  Riley B./Cad Bane

5.  CJ/Princess Leia

4.  Rob/The Mandalorian

3.  Elliot/Tobias Beckett

2.  Jordann/The Armorer

1.  Bekah/Emperor Palpatine

We're tentatively holding Friday, April 19th, for next month's Duel:  DUEL OF THE FATES!  Yes, that's the Duel where we listen to "Duel of the Fates" on repeat for the entire match!!!  Blood pressure will spike for sure.  We're also playing in the Ewok Village, which is the prettiest 3D board we have.  This one is a can't miss!!!

Congrats again to Bekah!!!

Fuego-worthy!

Preview: The Imperial March - March 22, 2024

 

There's two kinds of "March Madness"...the basketball variety, and the DUELING type!  Neither has a cure...unless you can host the trophy over your head at the end of the tournament/night!

HISTORY OF THE IMPERIAL MARCH

2023 - Rob won with Supreme Leader Snoke on Arvala-7

2022 - Kat won with Darth Maul in the Naboo Reactor Pit

2021 - Ian won with Yoda on the Conveyex Train

2020 - Ben H. won with Darth Vader on the Kamino Platform

2019 - Rob won with Darth Maul in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2018 - Rob won with Luke Skywalker in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2017 - Dalton won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room
2016 - Alex R. won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena
2015 - Grant won with Han Solo in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

MEET THE DUELERS

We didn't wrap up the 12 Duelers for this one until this morning, so this post is going up hastily, but in the spirit of the NCAA Tourney...here is who each Dueler is rooting for to win it all in their bracket with ZERO explanation:

Bekah - Creighton

Caleb H. - Dayton

CJ - Texas A&M

Curtis - Houston

Elliot - Baylor

Isaiah - Saint Mary's

Jordann - Marquette

Riley B. - Duke

Riley E. - Tennessee

Rob - Oakland

Samuel S. - Purdue

Sarah P. - Texas

Keep in mind these are 100% factual and accurate to each Dueler.  They may deny it when asked about it, but it's all true.

If you want to swing by today at 7PM in the North Village classroom, that's where we'll be!

Valentine's Duel - February 9, 2024

Kamino Platform

Before we jump into the recap...Elliot, one of our seasoned Duelers, is doing something truly sacrificial at the end of the month.  He's donating one of his kidneys to his uncle!  We said a prayer for him last night, but we'd ask you be thinking about him as he does this incredibly daunting thing.  We already know Elliot is an incredible person, so here's to a speedy recovery!!!  We're sending lots of Wookie Healing his way.

February has proven to be a busy time of year.  Many of our Dueling regulars found themselves stuck with other obligations, so we had FIVE newbies join our ranks to get the Valentine's Duel off the ground.  We want to offer a big thanks to everyone who made their debut last night!  It sure looks like they enjoyed themselves...let's get into it!

Not pictured:  the table of sweet treats!

Kamino historically plays as a tricky map at the start of the game.  Do the light and dark sides stay true to each other?  Do smaller fights break out?  Julia/Jyn Erso made the first move in this regard.  She quietly slid over to the dark side, since her starting spot was essentially on their end of the board.  Elliot/Bo-Katan was cranky when she shot at one of his Night Owls...so he decided to join her!  He used an Ariel Assault to rocket deep into dark side territory.  Rob's Armorer became the target for that, especially after his Paz had shredded Sam L.'s Super Battle Droids.  The light side was in complete disarray, capped off by Jordan's Obi-Wan Kenobi finishing off Rob in last place!  That did allow Rob to use Instagram Live for our first official live broadcast of a Duel, though!  #littlevictories

Hunter itching to reach the Emperor.

With Rob gone and Julia/Elliot defecting, the negative attention was focused on Samuel/Han and Jackson/Lando.  However, Hunter's Reva was buried deep on the back line.  When he casually asked about being able to shoot the Emperor - his own alliance mate! - others in the back of the dark side put the target on the rookie Dueler.  While Reva has an impressive offensive skillset, her defense is lacking.  Caleb, also playing his first Duel, used Kylo Ren's Laserguard to make the kill!  The bonus damage put Reva on tilt, and Hunter was gone in eleventh.

Samuel M. learned the hard way Han is hard to protect in a 12-way.  Despite some nice attacks from Chewbacca, the onslaught was too much.  Michael maneuvered a Royal Guard to put the final hit on everyone's favorite smuggler.  No worries Samuel - there's nothing you can do in that situation!

Deflecting attention away from the power couple.

There were nine Duelers left, and eight of them wanted poor Jackson's Lando Calrissian off the board.  Everyone knows Lando is a tenacious defender.  Jackson proved it by lasting several rounds, pinned down on the far side of the board.  He eventually succumbed to his injuries after trading spots with Count Dooku.  But congrats to Jackson - by playing his sixth 12-way, he's turned professional in the rankings!

A big swing came after Lando's ouster.  Ian/Captain Phasma and Michael/Emperor Palpatine declared war against each other, and tried to rally everyone else to their respective sides.  The tide turned when Michael played You Will Die on Phasma.  The other Duelers couldn't resist the unblocked attacks.  Caleb finished him off with a Kylo Force Choke.  Last month's big winner was gone in eighth.

A post-Phasma world...

The next stretch of game reallllllllyyyyyyyyy dragged on.  I mean close to two hours, it was silly.  There was a ton of debate on how to proceed, alliances formed and disappeared like the swirling Kamino seas.  By the end of it Sam L.'s Count Dooku was in trouble.  Up to that point he had implemented a brilliant floating Switzerland strategy, never staying one place too long and always malleable to what was happening around him.  But he got caught in the middle of a loose alliance, led largely by Elliot/Bo-Katan and Julia/Jyn.  Cassian delivered the kill shot and Sam was gone in seventh.  It was a heck of a debut, Sam!

Obi-Wan emerging as a force on the board.

Riley B./Morgan had long been advocating an anti-shooters alliance, but he was chagrinned to learn some of the blades wanted to join the blasters.  Everyone moved in on Morgan, but Riley activated his zombie Night Troopers, protecting Morgan and frustrating the other Duelers.  Caleb, who had been stalking the board all night with Kylo, finally agreed with Riley and joined with him.  They were crestfallen to learn Michael/Emperor and Jordan/Obi wouldn't join them.  Caleb obliterated Julia's Cassian with an undefended Vader's Bloodline (we think the first time that's worked in league history?), but Kylo was finally caught without defense.  Jyn got revenge and shot Caleb down in sixth.  Caleb looked like a veteran though, and not the rookie he actually was.

Morgan - the alleged least powerful character on the board...

And then there were five!  Unfortunately for Riley B., everyone was sick (and kind of scared) of zombies and Nightsister Magicks.  Riley delivered some masterful taunting, but once the other Duelers finally buckled down with serious attacks, Morgan wasn't long for this world.  The Emperor actually made the deathblow.  Riley expired in fifth.

Cute dog alert.

In a continuing theme of the night, the alliances stayed rather fluid.  Jordan/Obi and Michael/Emperor eventually connected with each other against the shooters, but Michael had caught some damage when the Emperor left the protection of Jango's ship.  He dropped another You Will Die, this time on Elliot's Bo-Katan.  But the shooters rallied.  Julia brilliantly used Kyber Crystal Luck to dump both of the Emperor's Meditation cards!  Jordan sensed this was the time to turn on Emperor too.  But it would be a combo Darksaber - Ariel Attack from Bo-Katan that shockingly eliminated Michael in fourth!

It was nothing short of stunning to see three light side characters as the last ones standing.  That was the side which had imploded at the start of the game, but they managed to oust the entire dark side!  It wasn't surprising when Julia/Jyn and Elliot/Bo-Katan stuck together against Jordan's superior Obi-Wan Kenobi.  This was Jordan's first game, but you never would have known it!  Despite a valiant effort, he couldn't maintain a two-front battle.  The shooters whittled him down to nothing.  But Jordan - third place in your first game!?!  Incredible!

Julia and Elliot - the first two Duelers to attack each other in the game, were the last two!  Elliot had the advantage, as Jyn was without Cassian but undoubtedly burdened with useless Cassian cards in her hand.  Elliot was patient, chose his spots, and with a lightly wounded Jyn he made his move.  He attacked with the Darksaber and Julia...chose not to defend!!!  The eight point attack secured Elliot his first career win!!!  He previously had the league record for most games played without a win, but that is now erased from the history books.  Congrats Elliot!!!  This also marked Bo-Katan Kryze's first victory...in just her fourth Duel!  Big shout-out to Julia too, who stayed one step ahead of trouble all night.

Elliot - our thoughts and prayers are with you this month as you and your uncle head into surgery.  You are amazing - congrats on your first win!!!

Final order of finish:

12.  Rob/The Armorer

11.  Hunter/Reva - Third Sister

10.  Samuel M./Han Solo

9.  Jackson/Lando Calrissian

8.  Ian/Captain Phasma

7.  Sam L./Count Dooku

6.  Caleb/Kylo Ren

5.  Riley B./Morgan Elsbeth

4.  Michael/Emperor Palpatine

3.  Jordan/Obi-Wan Kenobi

2.  Julia/Jyn Erso

1.  Elliot/Bo-Katan Kryze

Next month brings us...THE IMPERIAL MARCH!  We'll need to wait and see where Baylor falls in the NCAA Tournament, but we're looking at either the night of March 22 or 23.  Until then...

PEW PEW!

 

Preview: Valentine's Duel - February 9, 2024

 

Yikes - we barely got this Duel off the ground!  Was this just a bad date?  Are Fridays no good for folks - do we switch back to Saturdays?  Let Rob know!

HISTORY OF THE VALENTINE'S DUEL

2023 - Miguel won with Boba Fett in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2022 - Rob won with Rey in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2021 - Curtis won with Orson Krennic in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2020 - Rob won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2019 - Ben won with Darth Vader in the Emperor's Throne Room
2018 - Ryan won with Darth Vader in the Emperor's Throne Room
2017 - Ian won with Darth Maul on the Kamino Platform
2016 - Grant won with Han Solo in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2015 - Rob won with Darth Vader on the Kamino Platform

MEET THE DUELERS

Our longstanding tradition for the Valentine's Duel is to show the Valentine's card each of the participating Duelers will be handing out this year.  Without further adieu...

Caleb:

Elliot:

Hunter:

Ian:

Jackson:

Jordan:

Julia:

Michael:

Riley B:

Rob:

Sam:

Samuel:

We've got several new faces at the table tonight - should be exciting!!!  We throw down at 7PM in the North Village classroom.  See you all then!!!