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