The Carbon Freezing Chamber (Dagobah version)
Remember that time Rob picked the Carbon Freezing Chamber for the first Duel in a doubleheader because he expected it to play fast? Because there's no raised or open terrain to run around? Do you remember that?
Do you remember the time the game took almost SEVEN hours anyway???
THIS IS THE WAY...
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| They're smiling now... |
The tradition of the Twin Sun Slam is to do an all-light side Duel for game 1, and an all-dark side for the nightcap. We also randomize a draft order so Duelers can pick the character they want! The Duelers picked up their chosen avatars, with new double-minor deck of Chirrut and Baze being a noticeable omission.
Let's state the obvious first - this Duel went six plus hours. But, BUT!!! Every Dueler there would tell you it was one of their favorite Duels they can remember. The first Dueler out played close to three hours before being eliminated! That's because the board deadlocked into a six vs. six, with no defection, so it became more like two teams instead of 12 loosely affiliated independent contractors.
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| Guess which Dueler was playing as a favor to her father. |
The action started early because CJ, playing The Mandalorian, took immediate shots at Hall of Famer JD's Ahsoka and Sabine. The reason? CJ has an illogical dislike for Ahsoka. That formed the two teams: JD/Ahsoka, Jonathan/Rey, Penny/Leia, Ian/Yoda, Parker/Bo-Katan, and Riley E./Lando against Rob/Armorer, Michaela/Anakin, Kevin/Mace, Sam/Obi-Wan, Riley B./Qui-Gon, and CJ/Mando.
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| Swampy. |
After two-plus hours of minor characters blasting each other from across the board the first casualty was claimed. Ian's Yoda had moved a bit deep into enemy territory and CJ's eyes got big. She was sitting on Mando's 10-point Disintegration card and used it on Yoda...only to be FORCE REBOUNDED into a last place finish!!!
Desperate, the remaining alliance played Force Balance, discarding everyone's hands after Kevin/Mace and Rob/Armorer got jacked up by Penny's reverse damage Eye Know defense cards. The other alliance laughed, feigning they had the turn order advantage and that the cards they lost weren't too consequential.
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| An unjust finish. |
CJ's alliance's spirits were crushed, they were now short a Dueler and the momentum was going the wrong way. Furthermore, Rob's Armorer got caught in a kill box. Just as it looked like all hope was lost, Sam's Obi-Wan swooped in with a Force Control, rescuing Rob and putting Penny in a reverse kill box after she had been doing most of the heavy lifting for her team! Poor Penny - gone in eleventh. Sam's Force Control would prove to be the biggest move of the game, as it snatched victory out of the Jawas jaws of defeat.
The next biggest move was Rob playing A Mandalorian No More on Jonathan's Rey. His alliance had been focusing attacks on the sequel hero, but everyone was afraid Jonathan was about to play Rise of Skywalker, a massive defense card that enables her to recover a ton of health. As Jonathan showed his hand for all to see, the shock of a Dueling lifetime was had when he showed all Finn minor cards!!!
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| The difference maker. |
The dominoes fell quickly after that. Parker's Bo-Katan, who had been pursued for a flip all game, felt the wrath first. Kevin's Mace chopped him down in tenth. JD's Ahsoka was gone next, as Michaela's Padme gunned him down with the single point attack. That was rough as JD had spent most of the game appealing to Michaela to switch sides.
The remaining trio of Ian/Yoda, Riley E./Lando, and Jonathan/Rey focused their attacks on Sam's Obi-Wan. They were successful in finally taking him down. Sam's teammates are sure to erect a statue in his honor, because he made the ultimate sacrifice for his alliance.
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| Ian running out of options. |
Jonathan's Rey was finally taken down thanks to a Prophecy attack by Riley B.'s Qui-Gon Jinn. Riley E.'s Lando, who had scrambled for his life from the start of the game in the middle of the board, succumbed to her wounds at the hands of Kevin's Mace.
Ian's Yoda tried to turn negative attention on Riley B.'s Qui-Gon, and Michaela was more than willing to oblige and start shooting Qui-Gon too. Riley was flustered by the flip but Michaela was clearly done dealing with Riley as a teammate. Kevin and Rob, meanwhile, tried to grind out attacks on Ian's Yoda. There was a lot of tension around the final five, but Michaela finally agree to relent and Ian's Yoda was next to go, with Kevin's Mace getting the kill shot.
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| Different reactions to smelling hamburgers but not being able to eat them yet... |
With four to go there was little discussion on who was next - Riley B.'s Qui-Gon Jinn. Riley proved what a tank Qui-Gon is, as he weathered multiple attacks while also laying hits on Michaela's Anakin. He couldn't hang on forever, though, and Kevin picked up yet another kill on the night with a two-point finisher. Kevin's end of the table looked like a graveyard.
The final three was bittersweet as Kevin/Mace, Rob/Armorer, and Michaela/Anakin had been rock solid in can what only be described as a six hour war. It was Rob's turn and he painfully shared he would align with Michaela. Kevin's Mace was in better health and had that as a big advantage. Kevin spent most of his attacks on Michaela so she was forced to finish him off with a Shot on the Run. He was gone in third.
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| Final showdown. |
Rob's Armorer had a health advantage after the Mace attacks, and he moved in quickly. He whittled down Michaela's Anakin to low enough health for Way of the Mandalore to put three points of auto-damage on Anakin. That was enough to put Michaela, playing in just her second Duel, down in second. Great job, Michaela!!! This marked the Armorer's first career win and Rob's 29th.
I couldn't capture all of the nuance and epic-swings of fortune in this recap, but trust me...it was worth the time played!!!
Final order of finish:
12. CJ/Mando
11. Penny/Leia
10. Parker/Bo-Katan
9. JD N./Ahsoka
8. Sam S./Obi-Wan
7. Jonathan/Rey
6. Riley E./Lando
5. Ian/Yoda
4. Riley B./Qui-Gon
3. Kevin/Mace
2. Michaela/Anakin
1. Rob/Armorer
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