Carbon Freezing Chamber (via Dagobah)
The best and the brightest of the 2024 Dueling year gathered on Friday night to award the Darth Vader trophy to a victor among victors. Only those who won a Duel in the past calendar year and/or who were ranked high enough got a seat at the table. The mood was light but determined - every Dueler there wanted to be the Champion! Alas, only one would pull it off...
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| Who shall be crowned champion? |
A tradition of the Championship recap blog is to post the Duelers with the card that killed them. It's just a little extra salt in the wound!
12th place - Riley B.
Character - Rey
Card that killed him - 5-point attack from Grievous
Though Riley has moved into a reserve player status after graduating last spring, his win this summer promised him a spot at the Championship. Julia's Armorer defecting to the dark side out of the gate left the light side deficient. Riley tried to mind the gap by boldly moving Rey to the front of the battleline, but he couldn't survive Alex's General Grievous.
11th place - Julia
Character - The Armorer
Card that killed her - Justice
The big news of the night was Julia announcing to the table that she and Michael are expecting their first child in May! Congrats Julia!!! She got stuck with an unfortunate starting spot but defected early to the dark side. A second flip much later in the game by Michael unintentionally left Julia exposed to the last stand of the light side. Grant's Luke hammered her with Justice.
10th place - Ian
Character - Sol
Card that killed him - Hero of the Empire
Ian was the defacto leader of light side alliance and did his best to hold his troops together. But with a non-shooting minor character and a starting position in the back corner, he was limited in what he could do. He did help coordinate Julia's ouster, but the presence of Justin's Orson Krennic proved too much and the #1 chair was excused in tenth.
9th place - Grant
Character - Luke Skywalker
Card that killed hi - 2-point attack from Anakin
One of the big moves of the first half of the Championship was Grant playing I Will Not Fight You on Rob's Darth Maul. That sent the whole dark side into a scramble as they tried to save the horned sith. Everyone wanted Leia off the board but she was nearly impossible to kill until Michael's Wrath. Still, it must have felt good to use Justice before being eliminated.
Character - Bo-Katan Kryze
Card that killed him - Faster Than You
Jonah was low-key the MVP for the light side, deftly using Bo and the Night Owls to deliver damage or provide cover when their team was in a pinch. His Teal buddy Alex kept giving him the "flip" hand signal, but Jonah was noble and stuck to his side of the board. Even better? This was Jonah's sixth Duel, meaning he's now a professional Dueler. Congrats Jonah!
7th place - Alex G.
Character - General Grievous
Card that killed him - 5-point attack from Kylo Ren
When Michael's Anakin became the second flipper to the dark side, that meant an original alliance member was getting squeezed out. Alex drew the short straw, as folks were nervous about him, especially after seeing how well he played Grievous at last month's Thanksdueling!. He was justifiably disappointed by the betrayal.
6th place - Justin
Character - Orson Krennic
Card that killed him - Athletic Surge
Justin proved quite pesky for the light side in the early stages of the game, as Orson and his Death Troopers gave the Jedi and friends all they could handle. At the final six, negotiations became quite tense as folks were trying to figure out who to take to the final three and beyond. Justin was loyal to Elliot/Cad and Rob/Maul throughout, but in a surprise move Rob unloaded on him!
5th place - Curtis
Character - Reva - Third Sister
Card that killed him - Athletic Surge
Curtis was heroic in the first half of the game, using his Purge Troopers to protect Rob's depleted Darth Maul. But in the second half of the game he was clearly aligned with Jordann/Kylo. He and Rob tried to turn the table against each other, and he was shocked when Michael turned against him too. But Rob got the death blow when he used his final action after killing Justin to get Curtis too.
4th place - Rob
Character - Darth Maul
Card that killed him - I Know What I Have To Do
Rob went from nearly being the first one dead to the final four after a double elimination of two characters in one turn. That proved problematic as he attempted to maneuver into the top three. Neither Michael nor Jordann would work with him and Elliot couldn't stick his neck out for him. The 2023 Champion couldn't survive and got destroyed by Kylo's best card.
3rd place - Jordann
Character - Kylo Ren
Card that killed her - Flame Gauntlet with a side of Bounty
The best dressed Dueler played a deft and strategic game all night but fell short when her rotating allegiances between Elliot and Michael ultimately led to them teaming up against her. It took a looooooong time to eliminate her, which is a credit to both Kylo Ren and the great way Jordann was piloting him. Her first win remains elusive but within reach!
2nd place - Michael
Character - Anakin Skywalker
Card that killed him - No Shame In It
In the history of our league the "second flipper," the frowned upon moniker of the second person who jumps a sinking ship late in the process, is usually the first to go in the remaining alliance. However, Michael moved to the front of the line and nearly took the whole thing down. A determined bounty hunter and an unlucky run of Padme cards at the end doomed him in second, though.
Character - Cad Bane
How he won - ...he's Batman!
Elliot had a terrible starting spot on the board, a weaker character, and constantly shifting alliance dynamics throughout the game. But he also had Cad Freakin' Bane - a slick and slippery villain made for the tensions of a Championship. He kept his head down, was never the perceived threat, and was always on the right side of the numbers. Well done on career victory number two, Elliot!!!
What a night! That was some high caliber Dueling that went late into Saturday morning. Shoutout to Cad Bane, too, who becomes the first new character to reach 4 wins. That's impressive - he's only one win away from tying original character Luke Skywalker for 12th place in wins!
Thank you everyone for a fantastic 2024! What a year - one of the most exciting in league history. Let's carry that mojo into 2025. We're tentatively planning the January Duel - A New Hope - for Satruday, January 17th. Announcements will go out for that in the new year...
Until then, may the force be with you. Always.
