The Fall Brawl - September 21, 2024

Eravana Cargo Hold

It was supposed to be mentioned in the preview blog, but the 2024 Fall Brawl was a historic 12-way Duel for the league because it was our 150th battle!  You have to love big round numbers like that.  Here we are in season 11, still surpassing milestones.  I'm not crying...you're crying!

Smile if you're thinking about releasing the rathtars...

It was nice to be back in our old Dueling headquarters of the North Village Fine Arts Studio.  The room wasn't available to us last year, but setting up was just like slipping into a comfortable set of Mandalorian armor again.  It was much less comfortable playing the Eravana Cargo Hold board, and for two reasons:  RC and CJ - AKA - the two rathtars locked in storage, just waiting for a Dueler to release them into the wild!

Guess how long that took...

Run!!!

...it took no time at all.  Never change, you cutthroat Duelers!!

A lot of positioning for control of the center four squares of the board - the only four squares immune from the path of the rathtars - started just as the rathtars were released.  Connor/Death Trooper #1, Joe/Paz, and Kiera/Mace's Clonetrooper all made it to the middle.  Joe couldn't help it and let out RC, who immediately terrorized the light side of the board...which was Joe's side!  Some Duelers just want to see the world burn.

A secondary door opening by Kiera inadvertently left Alex G.'s Obi-Wan Kenobi open to multiple attacks.  He soon found himself tussling with numerous dark side operatives.  Alex lost a lot of momentum when he attacked James' The Stranger, only to lose an action to Kortosis Armor.  Grant/Tobias Beckett got the kill shot though with a brutal undefended Trust No One.  Alex wanted a third trophy for his collection...but not the Golden Jar Jar!

Duel Arm Rests

Joe's Armorer continued swinging and throwing her hammer and tongs, and there was no rhyme or reason to the violence.  This turned the light side of the board volatile.  It reached a fever pitch when Joe tangled on the board with his real life wife, Michaela/Bo-Katan!  In-fighting had left Bo-Katan weak, but it was quite the shock when Joe knocked out Michaela in eleventh.  We're looking for confirmation Joe spent the night on the couch...

Joe was pretty banged up, but he earned as many admirers as he did enemies with his loosey-goosey style of play.  In the end, though, James retired The Armorer in tenth with The Stranger's Force Blast, which all things considered, is a pretty cool way to go out.

What's behind door number two?

Curtis' Cad Bane was taking shots with his Pyke troopers, but he left the safety of the middle four squares to try and collect his bounty on Jonah's Fennec Shand.  Jonah had already lost Black Krrsantan, but he was able to put some surprise damage back on Curtis.  There was fresh blood in the water and Curtis' alliance started chomping at the bit.  Rob/General Grievous made a pact with James/The Stranger and they worked together on Cad.  Curtis was NOT happy about that betrayal.  James' minor character Mae used Deadly Daggers to send Curtis home in ninth.  Rob will try to make nice with him at lunch on Monday...if Curtis will sit with him.  To be continued...

Give credit to Jonah - he was an early target in the game and ignored his moral compass by betraying his light side alliance to push himself deeper into the night.  But when Grant/Beckett popped some shots, Fennec was damaged.  Kiera, whose Mace Windu had to navigate the light side collapse, exacted sweet revenge with a Whirlwind Attack.  Jonah was dust in the...whirlwind.

Bloody nose incoming...

With seven Duelers to go we were dealing with some chaos above the board.  First, poor Connor got a spontaneous bloody nose that was quite severe - Jillian had swung by to check on her dad Grant and played a couple of rounds for Connor while he went into the bacta tank.  Then, rookie Dueler Noah/Rey nervously broke the base of one of the eliminated MagnaGuards!  

But Rob finally called a pause to the game because something happened that had never been considered before when playing in the Eravana Cargo Hold.  By pure coincidence, Jordann's Darth Maul landed on the starting space of one of the rathtars and then was joined on that square by the CJ rathtar.  It was Rob's turn, and he realized, for his two actions, he could close both doors and trap Jordann/Maul with the rathtar!!!  How would that even work??  Would it be a four point attack on Darth Maul each round until a door was open?  Or two points of auto-damage!?!  We had to break out the Jedi Council on the spot to discuss the implications and render a ruling.  As you could imagine, Jordann was NOT happy that her game might be in jeopardy.  We ended with this decision: Jordann would not have reasonably stayed in that square, with the rathtar approaching, if she knew she could be locked there with a rathtar.  So Rob said he wouldn't close the doors but that, moving forward, if it happens again a character CAN be locked in with a rathtar and the rathtar would attack four on their turn until a door is open again or the character is eliminated!

Connor won his own personal Krennic deck.  Game used.

Once that ruling was administered, it was back to Dueling.  Kiera had done a heck of a job to survive the light side implosion, but despite trying to put the target on Rob/Grievous, she found no allies.  James added to his trophy collection with a Trakata Attack.  Kiera took out her homework to be productive while cheering on fellow BRC-er Jordann.

The lone light side character left at that point was Noah, who was playing his first-ever Duel and flying by the seat of his pants trying to avoid rathtars.  One ended up eating his minor character Finn!  Connor decided to spill somebody else's blood instead of his own and blasted Rey with Hero of the Empire.  Noah - you played great!  A top-six finish in your first Duel, on the most complex board in the league - well done!

CJ headed straight for Darth Maul

With five to go, the melee characters had a softly spoken understanding they weren't too keen on working with the shooters (Grant/Beckett and Connor/Krennic) any longer.  That was tough for Connor, who had worked very closely with James/The Stranger all night.  Before the board could eliminate Krennic, though, Connor managed to play Peace and Security, which dumped everyone's hands.  James stayed aggressive, though, and used a four point attack to finally let Connor go to an urgent care.

Rob/Grievous was moving to engage Grant/Beckett when out of nowhere, his alliance partner Jordann/Maul stabbed him in the back with an attack!  Rob was equally miffed and impressed by the blind side.  That basically turned the table into two teams:  Rob and James vs. Grant and Jordann.  But Grant was well protected by closed doors and the repeating loops of the rathtars, forcing Jordann to fight on two fronts.  She couldn't sustain that and James once again used Trakata Attack for the kill.  Jordann has a nice run of high finishes going right now!

It takes two to make a thing go right.

After many hours of Dueling Rob finally needed a bathroom break, knowing good and well Grant would try and persuade James to team with him against Rob.  Rob did a lot of the heavy lifting against Grant since James had done a lot against Maul.  Grant was on his last points of health, pleading with James to let him weaken Rob, but James stuck to his alliance and delivered the kill shot.  Grant was out in third, and we had a Sith-tacular final two of The Stranger vs. General Grievous!

Rob had agreed to card up a round before attacking James when James agreed to off Grant.  With that stipulation, Grievous retreated to the middle four squares on the board just in time to play Reinforcements!  Grievous' minor characters had been a nuisance for many throughout the night, and now The Stranger was going to have to cut through them to get to Rob.  This cat and mouse game lasted a long time, but Rob was able to slowly weaken The Stranger.  James fought valiantly, and even surprised Rob with a Kortosis Armor, but the prequel villain finally laid down a five point attack to win the night!  James is still just an amateur Dueler, but that second place finish was awesome, as was his kill count on the night.  But in the 150th Duel in league history, it would be Rob's night, marking his 30th career win.  That's gross!

Final order of finish:

12.  Alex G./Obi

11.  Michaela/Bo-Katan

10.  Joe H./The Armorer

9.  Curtis/Cad Bane

8.  Jonah/Fennec

7.  Kiera/Mace

6.  Noah C./Rey

5.  Connor A./Krennic

4.  Jordann/Maul

3.  Grant D./Beckett

2.  James/The Stranger

1.  Rob/General Grievous

Next month is extremely busy, but it looks like we can squeeze in the October Duel - FIGHT NIGHT - on Friday, October 4th, at 7PM.  Rob will send out official invites soon.  Until then...here's to the next 150 12-way Duels!  PEW PEW!

Preview: The Fall Brawl - September 21, 2024

 

Now that the temperatures have started to cool (not really) and the leaves are turning color (you mean crickets dying across campus?), it can only mean one thing!  Fall has arrived!  And every autumn brings the Fall Brawl, our annual September Duel!!  We have a doozy in store for 2024, because we're playing in the Eravana Cargo Hold, the most complex board of sliding doors and monstrous rathtars the league has to offer.  So that nip you're feeling in the air is either a cool evening breeze or a rathtar passing by.  It's two points of damage to you either way...

HISTORY OF THE FALL BRAWL:

2023 - Isaiah won with Cad Bane in the Rancor Dungeon

2022 - Ian won with Tobias Beckett in the Rancor Dungeon

2021 - Natalie won with Anakin Skywalker on the Kamino Platform

2020 - Ryan won with Jango Fett on Arvala-7

2019 - Ryan won with Mace Windu in the Carbon Freezing Chamber                                                
2018 - Courtney H. won with Emperor Palpatine in the Emperor's Throne Room
2017 - JD won with Han Solo in the Geonosis Arena
2016 - Ian won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2015 - Rob won with Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Kamino Platform
2014 - David C. won with Darth Maul on the Kamino Platform

MEET THE DUELERS:

Ok, now that we know who won the Fall Brawl in the past, let's meet who could claim victory this weekend!

Alex G. - Just to prove his rookie Duel win at CL Training was no fluke, Alex went ahead and took down game 2 of the Doubleheader too!  He's scorching hot right now.

Connor - Part of the Teal mafia, Connor had a mid-finish at Doubleheader #2 a couple of weeks ago, but he does have the honor of being the first Dueler to play with The Acolyte character Sol.

Curtis - We've reached that awkward phase of tracking Curtis' winless streak, which is shockingly now at three years.  He came close with a 4th place at Doubleheader #1.

Grant - the league newbies are in for a treat at the Fall Brawl...it will be their first time locking horns with the steely veteran who has two wins in 2024.

James - coming off his first two career Duels at the Doubleheader, he's hoping to improve from his shocking 12th place in the second game.

Joe - You've been warned!  Joe isn't a Dueler who likes to sit around twiddling his thumbs and drawing cards.  Something tells me he's going to love the rathtars...

Jonah - Speaking of chaos fans, Jonah improved to 8th place in his last match at Doubleheader #2.  He'd love to ride that streak into the top five at the Fall Brawl.

Jordann - She is the highest ranked professional Dueler without a career victory.  But she came close with a 3rd place finish at Doubleheader #1 a couple of weeks ago.

Kiera - The BRC is well represented at this Duel.  Kiera had a nifty debut at the last game, Doubleheader #2, until her Lando Calrissian got smashed by the trash compactor!

Michaela - She hasn't played since the Twin Sun Slam, but Michaela had a great showing there this summer.  She made it to second place in the first game.

Noah - New Dueler alert!!!  Noah makes his debut at the Fall Brawl.  Welcome to the league, Noah!

Rob - Rob did everything but win at the Doubleheader two weeks ago.  He landed in second the first game and third in the second.  So close, but so far away!

One of these 12 Duelers are taking home the Mace Windu trophy on Saturday!  Feel free to come by the North Village Fine Arts Studio at 7PM to catch the carnage.

Doubleheader #2 - September 1, 2024

Trash Compactor

Thank the maker, the first half of the Doubleheader ended on time, allowing for game 2 to start on time too!  We had a few folks cycle out from the matinee and new blood to replace them in the nightcap.  The Trash Compactor was the board for this one, so wall deaths and dianoga chaos was on the menu!

The Teal guys before the sugar hit their bloodstream...

The Trash Compactor is a densely populated board, and the bevy of newer Duelers weren't concerned about a traditional light vs. dark approach.  That was aided in part by Riley, playing the debut of double minor characters Chirut and Baze from Rogue One.  She moved to the middle of the board to attack Kiera's Lobot, but became a target on both sides of the board.  Kiera, playing her first Duel, made a huge move by sending Lobot to the middle of the board and using Disarmed, which dumped cards from a lot of folks, including 4(!) for Ian's The Stranger.  

Not long after, there was a coup on the dark side.  Elliot/Reva and Alex G./Darth Maul turned on James' Emperor Palpatine!  James took major damage but paid Elliot back by using You Will Die on him!  That sent Elliot scurrying to a far corner to hide.  Unfortunately for James, though, that left the Emperor exposed to light side attacks, and it would be Jonah's Mandalorian who did the final damage.  James was first out.

Why so serious??

Riley's shenanigan's with the fallen heroes of Rogue One became the next point of focus.  She couldn't find a safe space on the board.  Connor, the first Dueler to ever use Sol from The Acolyte, dropped a Noble Intentions on Riley and she was a goner.  But in other news, she was cast in her school play, so it was still a good day!

The erratic play and energy of the board continued as, with just one death away from the closing of the walls in the trash compactor, a new victim needed to be named.  Atticus, turning pro after playing five games last year, was having fun with Paz and The Armorer, but he was surprised to find himself in a kill box.  Ian/The Stranger and Michael/Morgan Elsbeth were the ringleaders, and it would be an attack from Morgan that sent the new professional home in tenth!

Connor in the lab, working on sick beats...

Atticus' death meant the walls of the trash compactor moved forward...but Kiera's Lando Calrissian was stuck on the back row!  She was one turn away from being able to move to safety, but the surprise offing of The Armorer meant the board ousted in her ninth!  It's a brutal way to go, but Kiera showed a lot of promise in her first Duel, we'll look for her to rebound next time!

There was a lot less room in the trash compactor after that, and the dianoga, the vicious creature that looks to do two points of damage each round of play, was starting to rack up the hit points too.  Jonah's Mandalorian was caught low carded and was soon surrounded.  This time it would be Connor's minor character, the padawan Jecki, who used Loyal Pupil to bump Mando into eighth.

Why is the dianoga so mean??

Once again, the Duelers were one major character death away from the walls closing a second time.  Elliot/Reva and Ian/The Stranger were nervous because they were in danger of getting crushed.  Rob/General Grievous made room for Ian, and Connor's Sol started taking hits from the dark side.  He couldn't last forever, and Michael's Morgan claimed his second kill of the night.  Connor was seventh.

That triggered the walls...where Elliot's Reva was still standing!!  Poor Elliot never fully recovered from the You Will Die, forcing him to hide.  That ultimately left him in the wrong spot as the trash compactor claimed him in sixth place.

The Ian/Michael alliance in full effect.

Suddenly we were down to the final five:  Rob/Grievous, Ian/Stranger, Michael/Morgan, Sam/Luke, and Alex/Maul.  All Duelers not named Rob managed to land their major character in the final protected row of the trash compactor.  It was still going to take two more deaths to close the walls a final time, though.  Ian took charge and put the target on Rob, seeming to confirm he and Michael/Morgan were a tight alliance.  Alex/Maul had maintained good connection with both Rob and Sam, though.  I'll save you all the haggling, but in the end, Ian started taking attacks, and Sam's Luke Skywalker crushed the Acolyte villain with Justice.  Ian was out in fifth.

Alex subtly taking the driver's seat with Darth Maul

Rob's Grievous was still on the outside looking in because Michael resurrected his Night Troopers, and those freaky zombies are hard to kill!  I'll fast forward an hour or so...but after grueling, back and forth trench warfare, Rob's Grievous finally made his way to the inner four squares.  Nobody was going to move off the center with the walls about to close.  In the end, it would be Sam's Luke that eliminated.  He was fourth and the walls closed to the final four squares!  Sam also turned pro thanks to the Doubleheader - congrats Sam!

Grievous was caught in between Alex/Maul and Michael/Morgan.  Rob was low carded fighting his way into the final four squares, but after taking a couple of hits, he used Spider Crawl to move past Michael/Morgan, letting Alex attack Morgan too.  But that vicious dianoga attacked Rob twice, and with those hit points, Michael used his Beskar Spear to pierce Rob into third.  Not a bad day of Dueling for Rob...but there would be no trophies.

No room left!

And then there were two!  Michael was running a clinic on how to use Morgan, while Alex's social game and threat of a Darth Maul whooping to any who opposed him left a compelling final battle.  Alex had an early advantage on attacks, but then Michael resurrected those darn Night Troopers again!  Maul had to methodically chop them down, all while Michael was carding up.  By the time Alex did they tangled again.  Even though Maul got Morgan down to two health points, Michael's hand was still loaded and Alex looked like he was in trouble...until it was time to roll for the dianoga!  In one of the most crushing second place finishes in league history, the DIANOGA dragged Michael's Morgan Elsbeth to a water grave!!!  Alex won his second game in just his third career Duel!!!  Are you kidding?!?  Poor Michael - just a brutal end to a fantastic night of play.  Well done to both Duelers!!

Final order of finish:

12.  James/Emperor

11.  Riley E./Chirut & Baze

10.  Atticus/Armorer

9.  Kiera/Lando

8.  Jonah/Mandalorian

7.  Connor/Sol

6.  Elliot/Reva

5.  Ian/Stranger

4.  Sam/Luke

3.  Rob/Grievous

2.  Michael/Morgan

1.  Alex G./Darth freakin' Maul!

That was a great day of Dueling, people!  Our next Duel is the Fall Brawl, which we're tentatively scheduling for Saturday, September 21st.  Rob will send out more info soon on that one.  Until then...pew pew!!

Doubleheader #1 - September 1, 2024

Ewok Village

The 2024 Doubleheader Duels took place on a Sunday this year, something a bit out of the ordinary, but with a home football game and Labor Day weekend conspiring together, it just kind of made sense!  We had three new Duelers and handful of veterans to make for a good mix.  Ewok Village was the board, and folks were in awe of the design and esthetic.  

To the trees!

As is normal on the Ewok board, the big bridge became the tension point.  Cate, playing with Bo-Katan in her first-ever Duel, was eager to start blasting!  Joined by Michael's Leia and Wicket, they held the front of the bridge while Alex G.'s Boba Fett made way for Ian's Mother Koril and Kelnacca (possessed!), one of the new characters made their way for reinforcements.  But the dark side was shocked my lil' Wicket, who used a Surprise Attack to lay major damage.  Ian kept at it, but after attacking Leia twice, got shocked by 8 points of defensive damage from the two ...I Know cards!  Cate, playing with bloodlust, shot Ian off the board in last place!

Michael's commitment to the front line defense was noble, but the light side had a lot of sabers stuck on the back row.  By the time they had moved forward Leia was hurting.  Alex used a shot from Boba Fett to send Michael to the bacta tank in eleventh.  Two top ranked Duelers were gone just like that!

Michael and Cate strategizing.

Alex/Boba, who came into the game fresh off his CL Training debut victory, learned it's hard to win two games in a row the hard way.  He became the new target, despite Julia/Krennic's continued invitations for Cate to flip sides.  Curtis' Yoda Clone Troopers got the drop on him, eliminating their identical brother in tenth.

The view from above.

Julia tried to keep her side rallied, and managed to off Rob's Padme while she was at it.  She also wrecked everyone with Peace and Security, but when Jordann/Indara and Justin/Rey rolled in, there wasn't much left in her tank.  Justin dropped the hammer with The Last Jedi and a four point attack.  Julia outlasted her husband but not a ninth place finish.

Poker-faced James, also playing his first Duel, was dug in as Count Dooku at the base of the tree.  He was quickly surrounded by Rob/Anakin, Curtis/Yoda, Justin/Rey, and Jordann/Indara.  No matter how strong a Sith Dooku is, nobody can outlast that kind of a threat.  Jordann, piloting Indara's debut Duel, used a Mission Leader attack to park James in seventh.

Maybe we should play this board every month?

Mark, playing with Jango, was stuck in the back corner all game and didn't have a lot of options.  When Rob/Anakin and Sam/Beckett rolled in, his Jango managed to Rocket Retreat to the opposite corner.  His new spot on the board didn't last, though, and Cate pulled off a nifty Ariel Assault to end a fellow Mandalorian in seventh place.

Hand it to Cate, she wanted to get her money's worth in her first Duel!  It pained her not to drop at least one attack on each of her turns.  She didn't realize that the remaining sabers weren't too keen on leaving shooters on the board.  She was quickly surrounded but it would be fellow shooter Sam/Beckett who used Double Blasters on her in sixth place.  It was a great first Duel, Cate!

Rob/Anakin had tried to stick with Sam, but he was perceived as too passive, so when Jorann/Indara put the target on him, Rob followed suit by Wrathing Val.  Sam pulled off a slick Grappling Line/It's Been A Ride, Babe combo, though, jacking up Indara, Yoda, and Rey.  But Ani hit Beckett with Anger and Sam was gone in fifth.

That left the final four, and Curtis' Yoda was in the best shape card and health wise.  That led to Rob putting the target on him and Jordann/Indara and Justin/Rey agreeing.  Curtis went to the hidey-hole spot on the board and dug in like a tic on a bantha.  But even the little green Jedi Master couldn't hold out forever.  Just once again used The Last Jedi and Curtis exited late to his small group in fourth.

.5 selfies are not skibidi cringe

Jordann's Indara was hurt but couldn't heal because Torbin was still alive and kicking, so she and Ani/Rob formed an alliance against Justin's Rey.  Rob went in for a big attack, but Justin used The Force Awakens to heal Rey eight points.  He then used a Backflip to off Jordann!  Rob misremembered the direct damage of that card, and was in big trouble as Rey and Finn started lighting him up.  He managed to finally Wrath Finn but it was too little, too late.  Justin/Rey eliminated Rob in second.  Justin was his second-ever career Duel!!!  How about these new Duelers this year!??!?  The win also marked Rey's third career victory.

The final order of finish:

12.  Ian/Mother Koril

11.  Michael/Princess Leia

10.  Alex G./Boba Fett

9.  Julia/Orson Krennic

8.  James/Count Dooku

7.  Mark/Jango Fett

6.  Cate/Bo-Katan Kryze

5.  Sam/Tobias Beckett

4.  Curtis/Yoda

3.  Jordann/Indara

2.  Rob/Anakin Skywalker

1.  Justin/Rey

Congrats again, Justin!!!  You played great.  But this is just the first recap on the day...