Conveyex Train
With so many new characters now in the league, it's a bit refreshing that nobody seems to have all the cards memorized, and the combination of new cards and opponents is creating some new gameplay! That was on full display at this month's Imperial March Duel - keep reading for all the exciting details!!!
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| The 180th 12-way Duel in league history! |
We had a bit of a delayed start as newly professional Dueler Ally sorta kinda forgot she was playing in the Imperial March. When she got to the table she found herself with a good character (Bo-Katan) but a brutal starting spot, right in the middle of the train. She started taking shots immediately. It would be Junior's Saw Gerrera (second time playing him!) who got the elimination. Why does our league have such a terrible history of anointing new professionals with last place finishes??
Riley, who preferenced Brooks Residential College in her housing app, had used her Plo Koon to help take down Bo-Katan. But she wasn't ready for James' Sith Apprentice Anakin (second time playing him!) to lay some hits when she jumped onto the train. It looked like she might escape to safety...until Alex G. used a Vader Wrath to knock her out in eleventh! She was grateful for the couch somebody moved into the Fine Arts Studio...
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| Sam piloting his pesky Galactic Marines |
It looked like the non-train end of the board had an advantage over the other end, but an indecisive and noncommittal Junior/Saw Gerrera suddenly prompted everyone to go after him instead. Tatum/Fennec Shand's lit up at the idea, and she helped lead the charge. It would be a Vader Wrath once again terminating a player from the board. Saw has only played twice in the league, and both times have been with Junior!
James/Sith Ani, Alex/Vader, and Mark/Aayla finally decided to rush the other side of the board. Fearing for his life, and kind of wanting to see how the first volley went, Rob's Tobias Beckett said he would join them. He had been stuck in the middle of the board all game at that point, trying not to pick a side. But he didn't like the odds of that matchup, so he backstabbed that trio by moving Val behind Sith Ani, making it impossible for him to escape. Curtis used Dengar to knock him out in ninth. Sith Apprentice Anakin has played twice, finished ninth twice, and been used both times by James. Weird.
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| Tatum about to pull the play of the game... |
Tatum's Fennec Shand was very beat up after that exchange. She decided to make a REALLY big move by using a movement card to run up to Alex's Darth Vader and peep his cards. Then she made an attack...and Alex chose not to defend! It was Fennec's I Don't Miss - for 7 points of damage...the exact amount of health Vader had left!!! That was crazy - good job Tatum!
Unfortunately for Tatum, though, she was left exposed and without nearby alliance partners. Mark took advantage, and Aayla Secura sent Tatum on an early set of rounds in seventh place. That was a nice jump up from her first Duel last month, though!
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| Complexity at the final six. |
Things got screwy with six Duelers left. Sam/Ki-Adi-saymyfullname wanted to go after Eric's double minors (Migs and Q9-0). Rob wanted to go after Ki-Adi for their first scuffle two hours before. Mark's Aayla was the odd one out and Curtis had no idea what to do. After some random damage across the board, the group finally decided to go after Sam. It was a good thing, too, because Ki-Adi-Mundi is a beast and Sam was playing him quite well. The 12x12-way summer veteran made the group work for it but he finally bowed out in sixth. His jokes per minute ratio, though, was spectacular. (Personal favorite: "Jonah, how many cards do you have?" - asked before the game had started...)
Jonah's Jod Na Nawood (say that five times fast...) had been bobbing and weaving all night, but he definitely took some damage from Ki-Adi and after he got further attacked by Curtis' IG-88, it wasn't looking good for Jude Law. Rob's Beckett got the elimination shot and Jonah rested in fifth.
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| Freakin' clankers... |
The most influential moment of the night, though, came down to Mark's Aayla Secura. He had no alliance partners left on the board, but got to decide who he would attack before being eliminated. He chose Rob's Beckett over Curtis/IG-88 and Eric/Q9-0. Those extra attacks proved problematic for Rob, though he thanked both Mark and Curtis with a Double Blasters. That sent home Mark in crutches in fourth place.
Rob ran out of cards at that point, and Curtis took full advantage. Dengar got the kill shot and Beckett was out in third...two spots away from repeating as the winning character of Imperial March.
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| Our first droid final two??? |
We're pretty sure history was made in the final two because the last two characters standing were Eric's Q9-0 and Curtis' IG-88 - both droids!!! Let's hope that's not foreshadowing civilization's downfall in the age of AI. Eric played really well, but Curtis/IG-88 had the clear deck advantage since Eric was stuck with so many Migs cards. It took a few turns, but Curtis pulled off the win to defend his Imperial March trophy with IG-88! This was just IG-88's second Duel and he already has a trophy. This was Curtis' 15th career win, too. Eric deserves a ton of praise though - he took a double minor deck all the way to second place!
Final order of finish:
12. Ally/Bo-Katan
11. Riley/Plo Koon
10. Junior/Saw Gerrera
9. James/Sith Anakin
8. Alex G./Vader
7. Tatum/Fennec Shand
6. Sam/Ki-Adi-Mundi
5. Jonah/Jod Na Nawood
4. Mark/Aayla Secura
3. Rob/Tobias Beckett
2. Eric/Q9-0
1. Curtis/IG-88
Next month is our infamous Duel of the Fates - where we listen to "Duel of the Fates" on repeat for the duration of the battle! The tentative date for that is April 10, but that will be confirmed later...
...until then, PEW PEW!
