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!
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| 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...)
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| 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.
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| 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!!!
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!!!
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| Fuego-worthy! |
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