Death Star
What a night of firsts! We saw the "official" league debut of the Death Star board, a 70-tile 3-D printout of Death Star-themed pieces that are randomly placed each time we play on it, meaning we'll never see the same configuration twice. IG-88 and Commander Cody made their first character appearances, while Tatum and Kevin K. made played in their first career Duels too! But it was also a night of 35ths...more on that below!
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| 11 hearts breaking on Valentine's Day... |
The evening got off to a late start thanks to I2E parking issues and having to set up the Death Star board, but once the dice started rolling, it was on! Ian/Dr. Evazan recognized Justin/Captain Rex was fairly exposed to distance attacks from Ian's side of the action. They immediately started attacking Rex! Justin eventually Secured the Perimeter to escape, but it was short lived when Jillian's Jod Na Nawood sent him home in last!!! Poor Justin - that's two 12th place finishes in a row. :(
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| Hard start for Rex and IG-88 |
Meanwhile, on an isolated corner of the board, David/IG-88 and rookie Dueler Tatum/Saesee Tiin started mixing it up. Even though this was just Tatum's first Duel, she caught the blood lust for attacking! David was getting peppered by the other side of the board too. In a final act of defiance, he blew up IG-88 and hit surrounding characters with his Security Protocols. It wasn't the night David wanted and it was a rough start to league play for IG-88, but they'll both surely be back again soon...
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| Kevin wonders what he got himself into... |
The self-destruct move from IG-88 left Tatum in really rough shape. She tried to join forces with Ian and James/Beckett's alliance. They were all for it but Kevin/Kylo Ren and Rob/Kit Fisto did not appreciate the perceived defection. Kevin went in for some big hits, but he accidently left himself exposed to laser fire from the opposite alliance. Nayshaun's Storm Trooper (Grand Inquisitor) sent Kevin home in tenth. Welcome to the league though, Kevin!
Tatum's Saesee Tiin couldn't hold out much longer after that. The board was too clogged for her to run to safety. Riley used Commander Cody to blast her into ninth place. Playing in a Duel was on Tatum's Baylor bucket list. Let's hope playing a second match is on there too!
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| Kicking the bucket. |
Ian/Evazan, Nayshaun/Grand Inquisitor, Jillian/Jod Na, and James/Beckett were running things at that point, especially after convincing Junior/Luminara not to defect. But with such a strong pack of shooters, Rob/Kit Fisto made overtures to Nayshaun and Junior to flip sides and stick to a melee alliance. James and Ian were pretty annoyed when they eventually did! Kit Fisto and Grand Inquisitor managed to damage and Push Tobias Beckett With A Smile to the opposite corner, where Michael's Baze was ready with some Staccato Lightning. James survived the first round of attacks and hit a Double Blasters, but Baze shot him with the Lightning again and James bowed out in eighth.
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| The script was flipped. |
The majority alliance became the minority, but Jillian and Ian were fairly well protected on the Death Star map and the only way to get to them was through a bottleneck. Riley, piloting the new Commander Cody, finally played the most anticipated card of the evening: AT-RT! That's right, Cody removed his minor characters to climb into the first vehicle in league history. The excitement was short lived, however, when Dr. Evazan wisely destroyed it before it could destroy him. Riley retreated and tried to heal for a couple of rounds, but Ponda Boba hit a cross-map shot to send the 2025 Champion home in seventh place.
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| The AT-RT towers over the board! |
Ian and Jillian were now running out of options. Jod Na Nawood pulled off a well-timed Pirate Charm, but Junior/Luminara and then Rob/Kit Fisto charged in. Junior got the elimination with a 3-point attack. Jillian/Jod Na was gone in sixth.
Rob/Kit Fisto and Michael/Chirrut & Baze both assumed Ian's Dr. Evazan was the next target. But after Jillian was gone, Junior and Nayshaun stood up and had a whispering sidebar, without including Rob or Michael. It was painfully obvious those two were plotting how to make the final two. Rob and Michael didn't appreciate that at all, and Ian was more than happy to join forces with them! Kit Fisto and Dr. Evazan went from game-long enemies to alliance partners, attacking Junior's Luminara Unduli. Meanwhile, Michael started taking potshots on Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor, who had been carding up for several rounds. Everyone was beyond nervous with the number of 5/1 base cards he had already discarded.
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| Congrats to Nayshaun for turning pro! |
Junior tried to retreat to the Grand Inquisitor's side of the board, but Chirrut pulled off the Blind Lightbow attack to eradicate Luminara! Junior went from visions of top two to a fifth place finish. That good finish helped him hold onto #1 in the amateur rankings.
It was now three characters against Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor. Rob and Ian were set up well to lure Nayshaun into a kill zone, but Michael - who was down to just Chirrut - got caught away from his teammates. Though he fought valiantly, there was just no way to withstand the Inquisitor's onslaught. Michael was out in fourth place, but that's an outstanding effort for having double minor characters.
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| Enemies to Besties: the Rob and Ian Story. |
The layout of the Death Star board meant Nayshaun could only access Rob and Ian through one pathway. Ian began shooting him with Dr. Evazan at long distances while Rob's Kit Fisto moved forward to entice the Grand Inquisitor to fall for their trap. Ian weakened Nayshaun's defenses, which allowed Rob's Kit Fisto to move in for the attack. They were able to put the Grand Inquisitor on ice in third place with a Push With A Smile. A big congrats is owed to Nayshaun, though! He turned professional in this match and is now ranked fourth in the professional Dueler standings!
Ian had told Rob earlier he probably couldn't defeat him in the final two, but he kept his word anyway to stick with him to the final two. It was a funny turn of events as they had locked horns for most of the night. Ian's prediction ran true, Dr. Evazan couldn't muster attacks big enough to damage Kit Fisto. Rob used a final Push With A Smile to win his 35th career Duel! That is obnoxious. This also marked Kit Fisto's first career win in just his third game played.
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| Pushing with a smile! |
Final order of finish:
12. Justin/Captain Rex
11. David/IG-88
10. Kevin/Kylo Ren
9. Tatum/Saesee Tiin
8. James/Tobias Beckett
7. Riley/Commander Cody
6. Jillian/Jod Na Nawood
5. Junior/Luminara Unduli
4. Michael/Chirrut & Baze
3. Nashaun/Grand Inquisitor
2. Ian/Dr. Evazan
1. Rob/Kit Fisto
Thanks again to everyone who came out to play! And thanks to the random strangers who gave us leftover Shorty's Pizza. Next month's Imperial March will have to wait until after Spring Break. March 20th is the likely date, so that pencil that in until it's confirmed.
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. PEW PEW!
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