Rancor Dungeon
A little known secret to the annual Doubleheader Duels in late August/early September is that they double as Rob's birthday party every year. He doesn't like to make a fuss about his b-day, but he does enjoy hanging out with people he likes playing the game he loves - Star Wars Epic Duels! And this year Rob turned the big 5-0, which is insane and he doesn't really want to wrap his brain around that, but his lovely wife Jessica and his awesome daughters really went all out decorating the house and cooking up treats for the Duelers. He just wants to say...thank you!!! His family and fellow Duelers mean the world to him...
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| It's Dueling time! |
...ok, enough of that mushy stuff, there's hardcore Dueling to recap! The first game of the Doubleheader went down in the Rancor Dungeon, and the youngest pro in the league, CJ, was the designated monster. Newbie Matthew couldn't help himself and killed one of Grant's MagnaGuards right out of the gate. How did CJ react? Let's just say she understood the assignment! She ate Nayshaun's Qi'ra, Rob's Q9-0, and Jordyn's Baze!!! Those three Duelers were immediately devastated in the game, as all three needed those minors to even hope to survive. RANCORS GONNA DO WHAT RANCORS GONNA DO!
There was no recovery for poor Jordyn, as her double-minor character deck was all dead Baze cards and nothing for the remaining Chirrut. The Rogue One heroes were done in twelfth when Josiah's Clone Trooper put her out of her misery. Brutal!
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| CJ analyzing who to eat next... |
Rob got a modicum of revenge against his youngest daughter when his Migs used the Cycler Rifle to put the Rancor out of the game. But he didn't last long after that when James/Vader directed a bunch of distance damage to him. A Wrath did him in and Rob was gone in eleventh. Being 50 is hard!
Matthew, soaking up his first Duel like a kid in a candy shop, was bouncing everywhere with his Luke Skywalker, but the attention turned to him next. Grant's General Grievous got some payback for his MagnaGuard by destroying Luke with A Fine Addition, which also meant he could pick up a 5-point attack from Luke's discard pile. That card is the best!
Alex G.'s Kylo Ren had been hopping between factions, but finally settled on an alliance. Riley's Sol became the target as she was quickly surrounded. Kylo delivered the death blow and Riley was out in ninth.
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| Who put this Magnetic Thermal Detonator in the middle of the board? |
Nayshaun had fought valiantly against the Rancor and others, but without Qi'ra, his Dryden Vos was definitely operating at half capacity. He got caught without defense and Grant once again cleared the board. Nayshaun, in just his second career Duel, was gone in eighth. Considering how things started with the Rancor, though, that was a good showing!
James' Vader, meanwhile, had received some early heavy damage but managed to lay low for a good portion of the game, even dodging several 6-7 jokes hurled around the table (you had to be there). But his game-long nemesis, Ally's Ki-Adi-Mundi, proved to be his undoing. This was just Ki-Adi-Mundi's second game, but Ally was dropping Hostile Environment attacks all over the place, and that's what ousted James in seventh.
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| Grant can't convince the others of the Clone Commando threat. |
With six Duelers left, it clearly became Ally/Ki-Adi, Grant/Grievous, and Josiah/Obi against Curtis/Clone Commandos, Justin/Maul, and Alex/Kylo. That was a pretty even split, but Curtis got the drop on Obi-Wan by using the double-damage of the DC-17 pistol to send Josiah back to the HRC in sixth place.
Ally and Grant rallied, though, and took down Alex's Kylo Ren. I didn't catch the card that did him in, but I know it was delivered by Ki-Adi-Mundi.
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| The final four! |
The Rancor Dungeon usually plays fast, but the thermal detonator Curtis planted in the middle of the board really slowed things down. We were pushing up against our second game start time before the levee broke. Grant nobly protected the healthier Ally, desperate to find his Reinforcements card. Alas, when Grant got excited and moved in to attack Justin's Maul, he forgot he was standing in the blast radius of the Clone bomb, and Curtis blew him up in fourth place.
Curtis was clearly in the pole position with his Clone Commandos while Justin was trying to live the Dueling dream of defending his trophy from last year's DH1. He took down Ally's Ki-Adi-Mundi with an Athletic Surge to improve his odds! Congrats to Ally - third place in just her second Duel! She played Ki-Adi-Mundi at EXPERT level!
Sadly for Justin, he wasn't in any shape to take down the two remaining Clone Commandos. Curtis dispatched Maul in short order to win the Duel!!! Congrats to Curtis! And is the Clone Commandos deck the most powerful in the league??? They've played twice and won twice!!
Final order of finish:
12. Jordyn/Chirrut
11. Rob/Migs
10. Matthew/Luke
9. Riley/Sol
8. Nayshaun/Dryden
7. James/Vader
6. Josiah/Obi
5. Alex G./Kylo
4. Grant/Grievous
3. Ally/Ki-Adi-Mundi
2. Justin/Maul
1. Curtis/Clone Commandos
Check out the recap for game 2 next!
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