Geonosis Arena (via Hoth)
For just the third time in league history, we were playing with 12 brand new characters! The push to get to 64 unique characters for next summer's single's tournament has led the charge, as we also had an all-new character Duel at the 12x12-way tournament this summer. While that dozen was a complete surprise, the league Instagram page leaked who the new characters would be leading up to Fight Night, with the most buzz-worthy addition being Sith Apprentice Anakin!
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| Trick or Treat, 2025! |
Once the new characters were assigned and the decks were examined, Fight Night was off and running! Eric/Saesee Tiin, who somehow turned professional two Duels ago without Rob noticing (congrats Eric - and sorry!!!), immediately ran to the dark side via the Geonosis famous "Cohenour Run". That sent the light side of the board into chaos. Alex, playing Poe Dameron, ran to the dark side too. But there's a long standing, unofficial theory in 12-way Duels: never be the second flipper! Alex, despite sitting next to Ian/Aurra Sing, hadn't cleared his move with him and Ian pounced! Poor Poe/Alex was soon getting attacked from all sides, including a kill shot from Jonah's MINOR character, Luke Skywalker (Old Ben Kenobi)! Alex didn't even get to deploy BB-8...
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| A rough night for Alex. |
The light side infighting continued. Caden/K-2SO and CJ/Ford Yandar Yord Fandar couldn't coexist and started attacking each other. It would be K-2, though, who found himself attacked from all angles. A double attack of Save the Dream, by Junior/Saw Gerrera's Partisans, made it all she wrote for the Andor hero. Caden is stuck in a rough stretch of finishes right now.
Though CJ was pleased to be rid of K-2SO, she became the next target. Though she managed to get Yord to Put Your Clothes On, Curtis' Jet Trooper hit her with a three-point attack to end her night in tenth. She wasn't even supposed to play - she was filling in last minute for her sick sister! Thanks for helping us out, Clementine!
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| Curtis asking others if they prefer salmon over steak... |
The elephant in the room all night was John James and his much-feared Sith Apprentice Anakin. James tends to be a very quiet Dueler as it is, and his silence only scared folks more, as Duelers were waiting to see who his first victim would be. Rob/Allegiant General Pryde tried to direct the fury at Eric's Jedi. James was agreeable to the proposition and delivered two big hits, including My New Empire. But Ian/Aurra showed his Dueling prowess and rallied the board to target James/Anakin instead of Eric/Saesee!!! And folks were excited to do it! James didn't know what hit him, but plenty of folks took a turn. Ironically, it was a shot from his partner Rob's Sith Trooper that landed him in ninth.
The remaining dark side started to close ranks at that point. Though Eric/Saesee was loyal from his initial flip, the shooters on the board saw him as the odd Dueler out. Jillian/Grand Moff Tarkin used Name Another Target to dispatch the loner Jedi in eighth.
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| LIES! DECEPTION! |
This next sequence was a critical part of the game. Ian/Aurra and Jonah/Old Ben were clearly partnered, and were trying to woo Junior/Saw Gerrera. Curtis/Hux, Grant/Dedra, and Jillian/Tarkin were in an alliance and Jillian was giving the signal to take down Ian. Rob was still reeling a bit from Anakin being eliminated, but he decided to side with the cadre of Imperial Officers and throw in against Aurra. In a bit of a surprise move, Junior joined in too, and the Partisans got another major kill. Ian was out in seventh.
Jonah/Old Ben Kenobi managed to last a long time after that, hiding behind the snow banks and even deploying fan-favorite R2-D2! He also pulled off the biggest surprise in the senior Kenobi deck - using Force Ghost to remove Old Ben and make young Luke Skywalker the major character! In the end he defended too low against Grant's Syril and was ousted in sixth. #battleofthebluemilk
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| Look at those two grizzled veterans! |
And then there were five! Junior became the odd man out, as his Saw Gerrera was the last light side character in the game. Even a huff of Rhydo couldn't save him, as Grant's Dedra used You Disgust Me to blast him off the board. Kudos to Junior, though, that's two top five finishes in his first two career games!
With four to go Rob/AG Pryde and Curtis/Hux locked horns and started unloading specials and sneak attacks on each other. Curtis used Bow to the First Order to dump Rob's hand. But Jillian and Grant decided to hone in on Hux too, and Curtis ran into a string of Jet Trooper cards after they were both already destroyed. Jillian used You May Fire When Ready and Hux couldn't defend - Curt-Curt was eliminated in fourth.
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| Nobody wants to play with me! |
Real life father-daughter duo Jillian and Grant immediately declared their allegiance against Rob's AG Pryde. Rob was forced to concentrate his efforts on Jillian's Grand Moff Tarkin. But as both sustained damage, they pivoted and started working together against Grant's Dedra and Syril. Rob lost both Sith Troopers though, and that is Pryde's bread and butter. In a humiliating final attack, Grant shot him off the board with a one-point attack by Syril! Embarassing!
Things looked very even between Dedra and Tarkin, but Jillian slowly started gaining an advantage, especially with her distance attacks with the Fire When Ready specials. To make matters worse, Syril finally died and Grant started pulling the momma's boys cards. Jillian landed the death blow with a One Swift Stroke to win her second career goal!!! This was her first win since...her first career game! Congrats to Grant too - second place is often the worst place to finish, unless it's your daughter who eliminates you!
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| Charming to the last! |
Final order of finish:
12. Alex G./Poe Dameron
11. Caden/K-2SO
10. CJ/Yord Fandar
9. James/Sith Apprentice Anakin
8. Eric/Saesee Tiin
7. Ian/Aurra Sing
6. Jonah/Old Ben Kenobi
5. Junior/Saw Gerrera
4. Curtis/General Hux
3. Rob/Allegiant General Pryde
2. Grant/Dedra Meero
1. Jillian/Grand Moff Tarkin
We're on break until November where we'll play the Thanksdueling! Duel, tentatively schedule for Saturday, November 8th. More details to come on that! That will also be the last Duel to qualify for December's Championship Match! PEW PEW!
