Duel of the Fates - April 15, 2023

Geonosis Arena (Hoth)

Without spoiling the ending of the 2023 Duel of the Fates, I will share we went past 1AM in the morning before it was all said and done.  That means, conservatively speaking, we listened to the "Duel of the Fates" score over 90 times.  NINETY TIMES.  There was a new tactic for Duel of the Fates this year, though.  Several Duelers conditioned themselves by listening to it on repeat the week leading up to the game.  If you ever wondered if Duelers are crazy...yes.  Yes they are.

Who will still be smiling 90 Duel of the Fates from now?

Geonosis via Hoth was the board for the evening, and it's historically known as a tough environment for the light side which gets clustered behind the columns/snow drifts.  It didn't help in this game that the dark side was loaded with shooters.  It took Ian/Lando all of one turn to turn and run to the dark side and things started falling apart.  JD/Mace tried to plug the lane while Parker/Obi-Wan and Duncan/Padme tried to defend against the open side of the board.

Parker spent a lot of time trying to court Grant H./Kylo to flip to their side, and Grant spent an equal amount of time pretending to consider it with no intention of doing so.  This culminated in him manipulating Obi's Force Control placements.  It was at least an hour and a half before the first Dueler fell, and in that time Ian's Lando got double Whirlwinded by JD's Mace thanks in part to a major communication gaff between Ian and Riley B./Emperor.  The dam finally broke when Duncan's Anakin Wrathed to the dark side, hoping to jump ship and delay a last place finish.  Alas, after Obi's Force Control, Anakin was the only viable candidate for a lot of dark side players and Duncan, for the first time in 27 Duels, finished last after Bella/Cad Bane used There's No Shame In It.

Sometimes all you can do is hang your head...

The light side was happy to see their delayed traitor go first, but they had a ton of problems left to deal with.  Rob's Boba Fett landed a Thermal Detonator that further deteriorated their defenses and Parker's Obi was exposed.  He became the common target for the dark side, and it would be Julia's Moff Gideon who popped Parker's bubble in eleventh.  Parker's bad luck streak is still in play.

That left a final light side trio of Riley E./Qui-Gon, Michael/Fennec, and JD/Mace.  JD was in relatively good shape, but Riley had lost Jar Jar and Fennec was without Black Krrsantan.  Julia pulled off a really slick move when she sent a Dark Trooper into enemy lines and Kidnapped JD's Mace into a dark side kill box.  It has been a minute since we've seen one, but a "wombo-combo" got played!  That's the league term for when Emperor (Riley B.) plays You Will Die and Vader (Miguel) plays All Too Easy.  Poor JD was eliminated in tenth.

The doomed three amigos

Michael's Fennec was the next endangered Dueler.  In a salty bit of marital revenge, his real life partner Julia/Moff Gideon landed the kill shot and Michael was left to play with the exercise ball that has mysteriously been in the Fine Arts Studio all year.  Riley E.'s Qui-Gon played scrappy, but her infamous There's Always A Bigger Fish never materialized and it was Julia/Moff once again handing out walking papers.  Riley was out in eighth.

It took Ian 80 career Duels to finally wear Star Wars garb.

You have to hand it to the dark side alliance - they stuck together until the enemy was completely eliminated.  But every experienced Dueler knows what that means:  who's next???  Julia had just completed her turn, and Rob/Boba were up next.  He wasn't crazy about targeting Emperor/Vader/Kylo, but he also didn't want to lose the chance to put the target on someone either, so he attacked Julia's Moff Gideon, who was in the middle of the board and in easy attack range of other players.  This caused a bit of a storm at the table!

Rob had Rocket Retreated into a corner by Ian's Lando, who was still bleeding all over the place from the double Whirlwinds.  Ian had been cool with Julia/Moff, so he wasn't too happy.  Julia immediately lobbied the board to go after Rob's Boba, but when Riley B.'s Emperor Palpatine followed Rob's lead, he too became a Moff Gideon target.

Characters froze while Duelers debated.

The board turned chaotic.  Lando attacked Boba.  Vader attacked Emperor.  Cad Bane took pot shots.  But it would be Grant's Kylo Ren who set the course for the rest of the evening.  He flipped next to Moff Gideon and used a combo of I Know What I Have To Do (complete with impersonating the line!) and a 5 point attack to off Julia/Moff in seventh place.  Just after that a badly injured Emperor fell to Miguel's Storm Trooper attack in sixth.  With that sudden change in board dynamics, Rob and Ian commenced in an immediate ceasefire. 

Big players pulling big moves!

Grant's eyes were definitely getting bigger as he could see a possible win coming, but the rest of the board was getting mighty anxious about such a powerful character still being in the game.  They began to dart eyes with each other to lock in on the next move.  A bit earlier in the game Grant had accidentally tipped of he had Redemption, which allowed him to heal an opposing character up to 6 points of health.  Believing Rob/Boba were still with him, he bestowed that benefit once he had to use it.  But in the cruelest moment of the night, Rob took the healing and then attacked Boba on his next turn!  Those damn Fetts!  Grant was justifiably seething, and got more upset when Miguel/Vader joined the three shooters in taking out Kylo Ren in fifth place.

Initially it looked like the relatively healthy Miguel/Vader and Bella/Cad Bane would stick together to hunt down the mangled Boba and Lando.  But Bella slowly realized she'd need help to win against a dark lord of the Sith.  Miguel couldn't block all three at the same time, and it would be Greedo (somehow still alive!) who would use a 2 point attack to add Vader to the funeral pyre in fourth.  (And you can bet Grant gave him a good "I told you so!" afterwards)

Final three stress!

Ian and Rob, who will need couples counseling in the near future, were bonded to work together against Bella's Cad Bane due to her relative strength and their obvious battle damage.  They managed to land a couple of blows, but Ian was starting to heal while Rob's Boba couldn't because Greedo was still hanging tough after surviving a Vader Choke.  Rob made a desperate move to further his game.  He used Greedo's Desperate Shot to kill his minor character and make Lando the target with help from Bella.  Boba was down to his last three health points, so Ian/Lando rolled towards him.  But Rob shocked him with double Wrist Cables to do four points of damage, leaving Ian with no actions on his next turn.  Bella landed shots too, and Ian was on the verge of elimination.  What was worse, he knew Rob had a Thermal Detonator, so he was too weak to go after Rob himself.  Bella finally decided to end Lando's night (early morning really) despite Ian's desperate protestations that she was doomed to fall to Boba.

Bella had the definite health advantage, but Rob stood on the far side of the board, out of attack range, and dropping Greedo cards to stay out of Faster Than You auto-damage.  Bella finally got a big roll and headed down the back alley of the board.  Rob was puzzled by this, knowing it left her vulnerable for attack.  He used a Thermal Detonator and Kyber Dart to put her within two points of dying.  But when it was Bella's turn she kept charging!  As she landed next to Boba she shocked Rob (literally!) with the Stun Gauntlet and an attack.  Rob could barely move anywhere because they were on the open terrain side of the board.  He took more damage and was down to his last point of health.  He could either attack twice with a 3 and 4 point attack, or he could draw first knowing he was almost guaranteed either a Thermal, Wrist Cable, or Rocket Retreat.  Assuming she still had a Rocket Boots, he drew a card and got the Rocket Retreat.  Rob was relieved to know he could fly behind the columns to buy more time, but his jaw dropped when she couldn't defend it and was out in second!  Holy cow, that was a crazy finish!!!  In just her third Duel Bella took Cad to second place and near victory, with Boba having zero health left.  Great job Bella!   As for Rob, that son of a gun just won back to back Duels (26 total) and his first ever Duel of the Fates.  This also marked Boba Fett's tenth career win, placing him in fifth all-time on the character listings.

Final order of finish:

12.  Duncan/Anakin

11.  Parker/Obi

10.  JD M./Mace

9.  Michael B./Fennec

8.  Riley E./Qui-Gon

7.  Julia/Moff Gideon

6.  Riley B./Emperor

5.  Grant H./Kylo (who also made Rob laugh so hard when he hit himself in the ribs, mimicking Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens)

4.  Miguel/Vader

3.  Ian/Lando

2.  Bella/Cad

1.  Rob/Boba

We're down to our last Duel of the 22-23 school year!  We're still debating the actual date and time for May the 4th Be With You, but right now we're leaning towards the evening of May 4th, directly after the Golden Bears.  Stay tuned...

 

Valentine's Duel - February 4, 2023

 

Eravana Cargo Hold

There wasn't love in the air this Valentine's Duel...no, that was smoke from Thermal Detonators, overheating blasters, and rathtar farts!  I know, I know, I paint pretty pictures with my words.  You're welcome.

Before we dive too deep into the recap, let's give a special shoutout to the THREE Duelers who turned professional at the Valentine's Duel!  Andrew R., Michael, and Parker all played in their sixth match, meaning they're seasoned veterans now.  Rob hadn't realized it ahead of the game, so a big shoutout to those three!!!

12 Duelers and their sweet treats.

Once the rules of the Eravana Cargo Hold were explained, and the chairs and characters were assigned, we were off and running.  At the start of the game it looked like it would be a traditional light vs. dark battle.  Both sides engaged in trench warfare, trying to secure the middle four squares, which were free from rathtars but controlled the doors of their holding cells.  Ian's Black Krrsantan made it to the middle first, but he was soon joined by Michael's Cad Bane.  They immediately started duking it out, and in the chaos rathar RC was released!  Cad quickly found out, though, that he was no match for the dark Wookie.  Ian hit him with a combo Electric Knuckles/Cannon Blast and Cad was in bad shape.  Though Cad retreated out of the middle row and behind the closed gold door, Miguel suddenly flipped by using Sudden Arrival for Greedo and knocking out Cad in last!  Poor Michael has gone from last to first to last.  What a way to become a new professional!  It also knocked Cad Bane out of the top ranking on the character side.

With Boba jumping sides, the rest of the dark side descended into confusion.  They started attacking each other, and Duncan's Snoke became a target when they suspected he was going to open and close doors for the benefit of the light side alliance.  Parker's Jango Fett started taking shots, but he was startled when Snoke moved adjacent to him, hitting him with a Make Them Suffer and a Force Lightning.  Jango was sent to the opposite corner of the board, and the rest of the light side made short work of him.  The kill shot came from JD M.'s Lando Calrissian.  Parker has been stuck with some rough finishes of late, but he did turn pro, so welcome to that prestigious club at least!

RC on the loose, CJ waiting her turn...

Though the dark side was growing weaker by the minute, the light side of the board found themselves fully carded with few people to attack.  That's when Andrew decided to spend a Yoda Clone Trooper shot on Rob's Rey.  Andrew didn't think it was too big a deal, but Rob responded with two shots on Yoda from Finn.  Unfortunately for Andrew, those led to some significant damage.  Others on the light side joined in.  Yoda was near death, but the light side let up when Andrew agreed to spend an action on opening doors for CJ to join the fray.  However, Miguel made his alliance flip official when he came to the light side and blasted Yoda with a Kyber Dart.  Andrew was done in tenth while also turning pro.  Our three new professionals joined the league in 12th, 11th, and 10th place.  Hazing has no place in our Duel league and the Jedi Council will review these actions...

Ian and JD calling shots from the middle.

Meanwhile, Riley B.'s Orson Krennic was navigating his dwindling odds when he played Peace and Security, dropping everyone else's hands.  That put a pretty big target on his back.  He started receiving damage from multiple characters, but it would be Elliot's Obi-Wan Kenobi that eliminated him in ninth with an efficient 2-point attack.

With eight Duelers left, there was a clear power alliance running the game in Ian/Fennec and JD/Lando.  They controlled the middle of the board and were hard to attack in those middle spaces.  That's when Elliot made the biggest move of the night.  His Obi-Wan played a Force Control, that moved Fennec and Lando out of the middle and replaced them with himself, Rob/Rey, and Julia/Beckett.  It was a bold move and turned everyone's game upside down.  

The tables are turned!

Elliot stayed aggressive, trying to put targets on Lando or Fennec.  However, he inadvertently moved himself into a kill box by standing in one of the rathar spaces.  The whispering grew strong at the table, and all of a sudden, Obi was hurting.  This was especially complicated when Duncan, whose Supreme Leader Snoke had been lurking on the outside track of the board, getting trampled by rathtars, used a combo Tied To A String and Force Lightning on Rob's Rey!  Ian got very nervous when Snoke placed him near Fennec instead of in front of Obi-Wan.  Rob promised he wouldn't go after Fennec, so Ian eventually accepted it.  Even though Rob had told Elliot/Obi earlier in the game they needed to stick together, Rob found himself needing to stay in the good graces of the other Duelers too.  Miguel tipped Rob off, though, that a Thermal Detonator was headed towards Lando/Obi/Beckett.  So instead of joining in against Obi, Rob's Rey opened a door to let his Finn take a shot on a surprised Supreme Leader Snoke!  When it was Miguel's turn the Thermal was indeed chucked, and poor Elliot was done in eighth.

Duncan was desperate to claw his way into the top half of the finishers, and it looked like Julia's Beckett might be next.  But Grant's Padme avoided Snoke's I Cannot Be Beaten defense and eliminated Duncan with a Precise Shot in seventh.  The I Cannot Be Beaten still hasn't been successfully played in a Duel!

Your top six.

Julia's Beckett still looked like the odd-Dueler out, but Rob's Rey was itching to make a big move.  Ian's Fennec had received damage against Elliot's Obi-Wan, making her vulnerable.  Black Krrsantan was still on the board too, so on Rob's next turn, he used a Backflip for four automatic points of damage on Fennec, and then attacked with Last Jedi Standing, which was just big enough to eliminate Ian in sixth!  

Luck had finally run out for Julia.  JD's Lando was in no mood to negotiate, as Beckett had put the target on him more than once.  Once Beckett had two health points left, Miguel's Boba used a Wrist Cable to send her packing in fifth.  But that tied for Julia's best finish, and her next Duel will put her in the professional ranks too!

Three, oh three, it's the magic number...

And then there were four!  At this point Rob couldn't believe he had made it this deep with Rey, the same character/board combo he won last year's Valentine's Duel with.  And though the remaining three put a soft target on Rob, Miguel sensed he would be better off without the other shooter on the board, so he committed to eliminating Lando and put the final shot on him with a 3-point attack.  JD was out in fourth, but he played a heck of a game considering all of the chaos he was in the middle throughout the Duel.

I won't bore you, dear reader, with too many details on what happened next, but I will say Miguel/Boba and Grant/Anakin agreed to work together to eliminate Rob's Rey...and it took a loooooong time to do it, lol.  He played every sneaky card in Rey's deck (and some more than once), but the two-pronged attack and roving rathtars eventually proved too much.  It would be Padme, still on the board, who got the kill shot on Rob in third place.

It all came down to this!

What a final two!  Miguel's previous best finish was second place on this board at last year's Valentine's Duel, and he had never won a game.  Grant is one of the best and most respected Duelers in the league, but he's been on a frustrating winless streak going back to the Han Solo movie Duel.  

Boba and Anakin were right next to each other after eliminating Rob's Rey.  Miguel deployed another Thermal Detonator, moving Grant to within two points of death.  Grant moved in for the kill, dropping an Anger on Miguel's already injured Boba Fett.  He brought Boba to within a point of dying!  Grant had to drop all of his cards but one.  Most veterans know the best card to have is Calm, so you can retreat and draw five new cards.  But Grant was holding both of his Counterattacks, which would have put an auto-kill on Boba should Boba attack with a non-special card.  Grant didn't think about that option, though, and stuck to keeping the Calm.  Miguel rolled a 4, enabling him to move into attack position on a bloodied Anakin.  He didn't have anything to attack with, though, so he drew a card for his first action.  That card?  DEADLY AIM.  He played it against Grant but Anakin no longer had a big enough defense card to block it.  MIGUEL WON!!!  I wish more folks could have seen Miguel's emotions as the reality of a win washed over him.  Well done Miguel!  This marks the fourth Duel in a row where a first-time winner was crowned.  Unbelievable!  

Final order of finish:

12.  Michael B./Cad Bane

11.  Parker/Jango Fett

10.  Andrew R./Yoda

9.  Riley B./Orson Krennec

8.  Elliot/Obi-Wan Kenobi

7.  Duncan/Supreme Leader Snoke

6.  Ian/Fennec Shand

5.  Julia/Tobias Beckett

4.  JD M./Lando Calrissian

3.  Rob/Rey

2.  Grant D./Anakin Skywalker

1.  Miguel/Boba Fett

Well friends, that was an awesome night of Dueling.  It was great to see Miguel take home a trophy that didn't feature Jar Jar Binks!  Our next Duel, The Imperial March, will likely take place on Saturday, March 25.  That's quite a long time from now, but have no fear, Rob will keep you posted via the email list and Instagram account.  He's also working on a NEW BOARD for the May Duel, and this could be the most diabolical one yet...MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

2020 Championship - December 5, 2020

 

Naboo Reactor Pit

What a doozy, folks!  The action was fast and furious (at least until the final five) and at the end of the night we had our first ever two-time winner of a Championship!  In normal years we take a picture of each person as they die, holding the card that eliminated them, but stupid COVID has disrupted that a bit.  I'll sprinkle in a few pictures as we do our Championship breakdown!

The top 12 Duelers of 2020

12th Place - Rob

Character - Darth Maul

Card that killed him  - Precise Shot from Padme

Padme finished him off, but it was Boba Fett's shocking attack and Rocket Retreat that doomed Rob.

11th Place - Grant

Character - Obi-Wan Kenobi

Card that killed him - 4 point attack from Greedo

It was a rough night for Grant too.  He tried to get the board to go in on Count Dooku, but others rallied to his aid and Grant's alliance crumbled and betrayed him.

Ryan working on 3D boards...

10th Place - Rylie

Character - Luke Skywalker

Card that killed her - Han Solo's Heroic Retreat

Rylie tried to argue going after her was silly and short-sighted, but her own backline alliance member finished her off in tenth.

9th Place - Duncan

Character - Han Solo

Card that killed him - Throw Debris from Vader

Duncan legitimately drew mostly defense cards at the start of the game, precluding him from helping any alliance, but it left a sour taste in folks' mouths so they offed him early.

The "where are my defense cards???" look

8th Place - Alex C.

Character - Jango Fett

Card that killed him - 3 point attack from a Super Battle Droid

We've played Naboo twice.  Alex has been Jango both times.  Both times the doors never opened for him.  Then everyone killed him.  Twice.

7th Place - Delaney

Character - Darth Vader

Card that killed her - 5 point attack from Mace Windu

This should have been a joyous evening for Delaney, who was turning pro with a good character, good placement, and solid allies.  The only thing missing from her night?  Not a single defense card.  One of the worst luck decks we've seen in years.  Brutal.

Ryan makes a move.

6th Place - Nathan

Character - Count Dooku

Card that killed him - 3 point attack from an Imperial Guard

Nathan was the first person attacked in the game but he stuck with the corridor folks with his have-no-cares attitude and was cruising until he launched an attack against Yoda.  It didn't end well after that.

5th Place - Ryan

Character - Anakin Skywalker

Card that killed him - Force Push by Yoda

Nobody had more character kills on the night than Ryan, and towards the end he made a bold move by Wrathing to the Emperor to attempt a kill box, but nobody followed.  He weaseled his way out of it but finally bowed out in fifth.

4th Place - Curtis

Character - Mace Windu

Card that killed him - 4 point attack from the Emperor

Curtis kept his head down at the start of the game and moved around the board well.  He just ran up against a three-person alliance that wasn't interested in shaking things up.  It was a solid night for the former champ.

A super-tense final two.

3rd Place - Kaleb

Character - Yoda

Card that killed him - Force Lightning by the Emperor

At one point Yoda was the strongest character on the board, health-wise, and that scared the other two.  He hung around a long time messing with the final two, trying to find a crack, but they weren't willing to make a deal.  Kaleb played great!

2nd Place - Ian

Character - Emperor Palpatine

Card that killed him - Wrist Cable

From his very first turn on the night, Ian made it clear the road to victory ran through the Emperor as he took control and haunted Duelers beyond reach at the end of the hall.  He was the mafia don ordering many of the hits, he just ran out of cards at the end.  Three straight second place finishers, and he almost defended his Vader trophy.  Outstanding!!!

TWO championship titles???

1st Place - Ben H.

Character - Boba Fett

How he won the game - by being a mother fetting fett!!!

Ben laid the first big attack on the night, and somehow survived a nightmare final three against Yoda and Emperor to become the first person to win the Championship twice in our league!  He consistently moved around the board and took the knee in bowing to Ian's Emperor.  He was down to his last two health points before Ian was drawing cold.  He survived multiple You Will Die's and landed an undefended Kyber Dart to put the Emperor in big time trouble.  The laser walls stayed open and he finally drew an auto-damage card - the Wrist Cable - to win the day!  This dude will now have two years of his life with the prized Darth Vader trophy in his possession.  Unreal!!!

FINAL ORDER OF FINISH:

12 - Rob/Darth Maul

11 - Grant/Obi-Wan Kenobi

10 - Rylie/Luke Skywalker

9 - Duncan/Han Solo

8 - Alex C./Jango Fett

7 - Delaney/Darth Vader

6 - Nathan/Count Dooku

5 - Ryan/Anakin Skywalker 

4 - Curtis/Mace Windu

3 - Kaleb/Yoda

2 - Ian/Emperor Palpatine

1 - Ben H./Boba Fett

Our next Duel isn't an official Duel, it's a "test" Duel for our 12 new characters!  We're playing on December 18, and Rob still has two spots open.  Let him know if you want to play!!!

We'll kick off 2021 with the A New Hope Duel...which will be the 12 new characters too!  After that, we'll mix all the characters for future Duels.  And...we have more new boards coming.  2021 is shaping up to be out biggest year yet!

Congrats to Ben H. again, and Merry Christmas everyone!  Christ the Savior is born!

Rise of Skywalker - December 19, 2019

Chances are if you're reading this post, you've already seen Rise of Skywalker.  Don't worry - I'll keep this spoiler free!  I'm still processing my feelings about it, but I think I liked it, particularly the parts with this motley crew pictured above.  That was good stuff.  I'm sure I'll see it again, if not three or four more times.  And I can't help but think this isn't the last we'll see of these friends...

...or these friends!

That's right, as is our custom, we Dueled before a new Star Wars movie!  It's always slightly strange to Duel while the sun is in the sky, and even stranger when we actually get done in three hours.  Imagine that! 

Our Rise of Skywalker Duel was momentous for a couple of reasons, including the debut Duels for Diego and Jeremy as well as Lucas turning professional.  Congrats to all three!

Curtis chose chair one and repeated his 2019 Championship character pick with Luke Skywalker.  That's not a good thing on Carbon, though.  Rob (Emperor Palpatine) and Kaleb (Anakin Skywalker) also doubled their character picks from the Championship.

The face of a madman.

The fireworks started early when Jeremy made the decision to wreak as much havoc as possible.  His Darth Vader zeroed in on Rob's Emperor among others.  Rob couldn't convince Lucas to work with him to eliminate the threat, and thus the wrinkly old man (wait, is that Rob, or the Emperor?) started taking damage.  It was Jordan's Bowcaster, though, that extended Rob's lead in most times finishing last.  He was really glad to take vacation time for that experience.

The Fetts (Alex and Christopher) flipped early too in order to stay in the majority.  While that majority started picking off the remaining dark side, things took a brutal turn when Diego's Yoda went after David's Obi-Wan.  That included a Force Lift, which was a real back-breaker for David.  Ben's Mace eventually killed Obi in eleventh.  They did you dirty, David!

Lucas' Darth Maul, who had refused to help Rob against Vader, was now being targeted by Jeremy.  And to add to his worries, Curtis' Luke Skywalker played I Will Not Fight You on him too.  There was little he could do after that as the majority block rained down lasers.  It was Curtis' Princess Leia who got the final hit on Maul.  Lucas finished tenth in the Duel, but debuted as the eighth ranked professional on the charts - congrats Lucas!

Plotting and scheming.

Jeremy's Darth Vader kept up his chaos mission when he Threw Debris at Alex's Boba Fett.  But Natalie's Count Dooku was allowed into the alliance late, making Vader the only remaining target.  There wasn't much Jeremy could do after that.  Alex got the last laugh when, in a slightly risky move, he used Greedo's Desperate Shot for the exact seven points of damage he needed to oust Jeremy.  It worked, and Jeremy was a goner.

That left eight Duelers on the board, and Christopher had the unfortunate honor of being the next victim.  He tried to retreat to the other end of the board, but Kaleb's Anakin Wrathed to that side and dropped a five point attack to lay Jango to rest.

Once it got to seven Duelers, the light sabers were still nervous about the shooters, particularly when Jordan publicly announced he was going to use Never Tell Me The Odds to shuffle his Bowcaster back into his draw pile.  Nobody wanted to see that 11-point attack come back into play, so the Corellian smuggler got popped.  The final blow as a three point attack from Natalie's remaining Super Battledroid.

Curtis and Natalie in happier times...

And then there were six.  Alex's Boba was still limping from the Throw Debris, and Ben's Mace was fully loaded.  He wanted Curtis to follow him on an attack of Boba.  Curtis was a bit reluctant and, in an unexpected turn of events, Ben instead turned his attention to Curtis and attacked Luke!  That caused a lot of confusion as Diego/Yoda and Natalie/Dooku had to decide who they would follow into battle.  Curtis ended up winning the argument and the collective directed their ire on Mace.  Ben tried a desperate Wisdom to escape the situation, but Kaleb was waiting with an attack from Anakin to seal Ben's fate in sixth place.

After that stunning turn of events, the rest of the board was no longer comfortable with Yoda in the game.  You have to give Diego credit, as a rookie Dueler, he wasn't afraid to call his shots and be aggressive in order to advance.  It was out of respect for both the character and newbie Dueler came to a halt in fifth place.  That's a great Dueling start, Diego!

With four to go, Kaleb/Anakin and Curtis/Luke got into it with each other, but when Natalie was reluctant to join Curtis, Curtis tried to weaken Dooku with a Justice as a means to solidify their partnership against Ani.  It didn't work.  Natalie committed to go after Luke and before Curtis knew it, it was three against one.  Alex's Boba got the kill shot.  If you told Curtis he would have Luke on Carbon and finish fourth before the game, he'd gladly take it.  Well done, Curtis!

How romantic!

Then there were three!  Folks watching the Duel assumed Kaleb/Anakin and Natalie/Dooku would team together to play against Alex's Boba Fett, but that's not quite how it went down.  All three traded attacks with each other, but it was Natalie who bore the worst of it and quickly started running out of defense cards.  Kaleb finally dispatched her in third place.  Hand it to the amateur, though, Natalie has two top-four finishes in three career Duels!  We've got ourselves a natural!

Despite fawning to the rest of the table they didn't trust each other, Kaleb and Alex were clearly working together most of the game.  But Alex was fully loaded with all of his best cards, and topped some monsters after he reshuffled.  It would be a Wrist Cable that would prevent Kaleb from doing a double Anger, as he lost an action.  Alex stayed adjacent to Dooku as he Thermaled himself and the Count, and then unleashed a final Wrist Cable for the win.  Boba Fett!!!  Congrats to Alex, who is performing at an unprecedented level in league history and now has five career wins.  Here's the final order of finish:


12.  Rob/Emperor
11.  David/Obi-Wan
10.  Lucas/Maul
9.  Jeremy/Vader
8.  Christopher/Jango
7.  Jordan/Han
6.  Ben/Mace
5.  Diego/Yoda
4.  Curtis/Luke
3.  Natalie/Dooku
2.  Kaleb/Anakin
1.  Alex/Boba freakin' Fett

Folks...that ends things for 2019!  We'll be back in January, probably on the 11th, for the annual A NEW HOPE Duel, stay tuned for more details on that.  And go see RISE OF SKYWALKER, give them all the money so they'll make more!!!

Fight Night - October 19, 2019

Emperor's Throne Room

Ok, it's hard to have a 12-Way Duel when you don't have 12 Duelers.  It's especially hard when THREE of the Duelers aren't there for the start time!  We quickly tracked down Nathan and Noah at a hall event, which left one lone Dueler, NAY, one SOLO Dueler to go.

Where was Curtis?

We called, we texted, we sent messenger pigeons.  Heck, we even tried to Force Time him like Kylo and Rey.  We finally reached him.  He thought we started at 8 instead of 7.  It would prove to be a bad omen for him... 

There's a lot going on in this picture...

I swear it was just a coincidence, but Curtis did have horrendous luck in the board and character draw.  He wasn't there for either, but we promise we were on the up and up.  That being said, Emperor's Throne Room was the board, and Han Solo was his character.  That's tough sledding.  And he lost Chewbacca pretty quickly too.  Rob's Boba Fett, fearing a Bowcaster, launched a Kyber Dart and Rocket Retreat and Nathan's Vader then choked out the Wookie for the kill.  Turns out that was smart thinking, because Curtis did indeed have the Bowcaster!!!  But then everyone else started attacking his Han!  After Kaleb let loose a Force Lightning, Curtis was driving back home, probably in a more lawful way than his trip to campus...

General Grievous

That was a tough loss right out of the gate for the light side.  Ian, playing with Anakin, tried to hold his alliance together, but Christopher's Luke Skywalker got nervous and tried to make a flip.  Luke got in on the Han kill, but didn't use a Children of the Force to run all the way over to the dark side.  That left him exposed to his former allies.  If you've ever played with Ian, you know how he reacts to a flipper.  He made it his mission to punish Christopher.  Aided by Noah's Obi-Wan, they whittled down Luke until Ian, playing his last card, dropped an Anger for the kill.  It feels like Christopher has bad starting luck each time he plays!  That being said, this was Duel #5 for him, so in his next match he goes professional!

As satisfying as that retribution was for Ian, he was seriously exposed.  It was six dark side characters against four light side, and now Anakin was left without any cards to defend himself.  The dark side took notice and started peppering him with gunfire and distance attacks.  It was ultimately two Sniper Shots from Alex's Zam Wessell that finished off Ian.  He took the death in stride and was happy to go watch the Astros beat the Yankees.

Lucas enjoys tossing Jedi's

Noah's Obi-Wan appeared to be the next target.  While Rob's Boba suggested a distance attack, Lucas maneuvered his Count Dooku to Force Push Kenobi into a dark side kill box!

Noah wasn't going down without a fight, though.  He suggested Troy, playing with Yoda and a tshirt wrapped around his head, Force Push Jordan's Mace into the dark side too so they could cause as much disruption as possible before their presumed demise.  That was a major decision point, but Troy eventually decided not to sacrifice Mace.  That wasn't what Noah wanted to hear, though.  Rob's Boba was the first to attack Obi-Wan, and he checked in with Sam to make sure his Darth Maul would follow suit.  When it got to Sam, though...he only attacked once!  With a normal 4 attack!  That caused immediate confusion and distrust within the dark side alliance.

Coach Rhule not happy with Rob

Troy of all people reminded the dark side that Noah might be holding the Force Balance, so that meant the dark side needed to kill Obi-Wan before it got back to him.  Noah had run out of defense, and it was Kaleb's Royal Guard who sent him packing in ninth place. 

From there the dark side was forced to deal with Sam's Darth Maul.  Rob's Boba fired a double Wrist Cable to neutralize his attacks, and it was ultimately a 4 point attack from Lucas' Count Dooku that ended Sam's night in eighth.

That left seven Duelers to go, including the two remaining light side players.  Troy's Yoda and Jordan's Mace, though, weren't playing nicely with each other.  Jordan dropped a Whirlwind on Troy to begin the tense exchange, and the dark side troopers started in on the little green Jedi too.  For as many cards as Troy had, it turned out his deck was very unlucky as he was missing several of his juicy defense cards.  It would be Jordan, though, who delivered the kill shot by jacking him with a Battlemind.  It was a tough night for Troy, but it was good to have the Summer 2019 Singles Tournament champion back in the fold with us!

A Tale of Two Faces

That left six Duelers, and the remaining dark side wanted to stay united more so out of fear of suggesting who to betray first instead of malice towards Mace.  The safe bet, though, was to finish off Jordan, and that they did, when Greedo Bandito played his Desperate Shot.  Give credit to Jordan, though, who really had to grind for that nice sixth place finish.

That left five dark side characters and the moment of truth.  Who would they target first?  Alex's Jango and Rob's Boba tried not to make eye contact while Kaleb deferred to Nathan.  Nathan finally offered Lucas' name.  Lucas was none too pleased by that suggestion, and tried to throw it back at Nathan.  Nathan got to go first, though, so that set the tone.  Dooku was the target.  He couldn't defend all the different attack angles and it was Greedo who used a one point attack to end Lucas in fifth.  That's three top-five finishes in four career Duels for Lucas, though.  Impressive!

And then there were four!  Kaleb's Emperor, Nathan's Vader, Rob's Boba, and Alex's Jango.

Rob and Alex couldn't believe the rest of the board had permitted two shooters to make it to the final four, as that presents obvious problems for the light saber characters.  Nathan's Vader wanted Alex's Jango gone next, and Rob happened to reveal he was holding his first Thermal Detonator of the evening.  Rob faced a dilemma, though.  He could throw it at Alex's Jango or throw it into a cluster of Royal Guards and Storm Trooopers and even Darth Vader.  Rob would have preferred to throw it at Kaleb's Emperor, who was full health and had yet to use his Meditations, but he wasn't in range.  The logical move would have been to follow Nathan's order...but as Rob always says...Fetts don't attack Fetts!  He threw caution to the wind, along with his Thermal Detonator, and the board was in chaos.  Nathan and Alex were essentially locked in battle with each other as were Rob and Kaleb. 

It didn't initially look good for either Fett, but Alex's Jango persistently attacked Nathan's Vader from long distance and was really taking him down.  Kaleb, sensing Nathan would team with Rob against his Emperor, wouldn't use his remaining Guard to shield Vader.  A late Choke on Rob's Greedo forced Rob to shoot Nathan too, and with two points of health left Alex Shot a Wrist Cable to send Vader and Coach Rhule to the showers.  But Baylor Football is undefeated!

Father and Son

That left a final three of Rob/Boba, Kaleb/Emperor, and Alex/Jango.  Kaleb and Rob had been relentless in attacking each other, and both were showing signs of damage, but Jango soon joined the fight and the Emperor was down to his bottom row of damage.  As Kaleb chased Rob towards the actual throne in the Throne Room, Alex made a bold choice to Flame Thrower both Kaleb and Rob.  Though Rob wasn't as damaged as the Emperor, Jango was certainly in much better health. 

This did not make Boba happy.

Kaleb and Rob finally stopped attacking each other and focused on Jango's near perfect health.  Boba started the party by tossing a Thermal Detonator while the Emperor played a Force Lightning.  The tables were suddenly a lot more even.

All three Duelers had reshuffled their discard piles at this point, and Rob's Boba once again had the Kyber Dart.  The benefit of the Kyber Dart, besides being a 9(!) point attack, is you get to draw three cards with a kill.  Rob really needed those extra cards, and knew he could kill the Emperor, so he took a page out of his Last Jedi Duel playbook and offed Kaleb in third.

That left the two Fetts!  Jango was hurting, especially after Rob launched his second double Wrist Cable of the game.  Rob was holding mostly Greedo cards, but he used one of his last two cards, a 4 point attack, to kill knock Alex's Jango to one point of health.  One turn later, he used his last Boba card, a three point attack, to win the game!  Congrats to Alex, who by outlasting Kaleb takes over the top spot in the Dueler rankings!  This win was victory #15 for Rob, which is just plain stupid.  It also propelled Boba Fett up two spots in the character rankings.

Your final order of finish:

12.  Han Solo/Curtis
11.  Luke Skywalker/Christopher
10.  Anakin Skywalker/Ian
9.  Obi-Wan Kenobi/Noah
8.  Darth Maul/Sam
7.  Yoda/Troy
6.  Mace Windu/Jordan
5.  Count Dooku/Lucas
4.  Darth Vader/Nathan
3.  Emperor Palpatine/Kaleb
2.  Jango Fett/Alex C.
1.  Boba Fett/Rob

Thanks to everyone who (eventually) came out to play!

We do have some major news on the horizon.  First, Thanksdueling! will likely be played on November 9th, but we might add a second Duel in honor of the Mandalorian, stay tuned for that.

AND!!!  The final trailer for Rise of Skywalker debuts Monday night, and tickets go on sale Monday too.  Our tradition is to play a Duel before the movie debuts.  That will likely be the late afternoon of Thursday, December 19.  I'll email tomorrow with more details!!!

Twin Sun Slam #1 - June 15, 2019

Geonosis Arena

Well, we'll start with the pressing question on the minds of all Duelers who weren't able to attend the Twin Sun Slam.

No, nobody brought cupcakes with icing that read "kill Rob first."  Your concern for Rob in this trying time is appreciated.

But folks did bring a lot of good food!  Hamburgers were grilled, stomachs were stuffed.  Really, there was only one thing missing that could have made it the perfect balance of friendship and sportsmanship.  Did I say only one thing was missing?  Because I meant to say there were TWO things missing.  The trophies!  JD remembered the mac'n'cheese but not R2D2 and C-3PO.  Everyone except Ian tried to make him feel guilty about it.  (And no worries, Kaleb brought them with him when he arrived for game #2.)

"Smile if you ate too much!"

Ben drew chair number one and picked Geonosis for our playing surface.  Everyone else grabbed their respective characters and we were off and running with the Duel.

Out of the gate the light side stayed strong with each other and the dark side did the same.  But, a couple of rounds later, Chris decided the grass might be greener on the other side and had his Darth Maul flip to the light!  The dark side were quite cranky about it and wasted no time going after him.  A big blow was delivered when JD's Boba Fett sent a Thermal Detonator into the crowd the wiped out half of the Clone Troopers, who were looking quite good in their newly painted uniforms.  But the lane Boba used also left Grant's Count Dooku exposed for attacks.  If Rob/Anakin and Ben/Mace could each roll a four, it would be game over for Grant.  However, neither did, so Ben flipped to the dark side!

That's Alex's "I don't have the Bowcaster" face.

Ben's defection was a gut punch for the light, I've never seen Curtis (Obi-Wan) look so disgusted.  It also spelled certain doom for Chris, whose Darth Maul finally died in last thanks to a Throw Debris from Riley's Darth Vader.

But the light side had a couple of tricks up their sleeves.  Curtis sent Obi-Wan deep into enemy territory to drop a Force Control.  They were able to pull Kat's Emperor Palpatine into a light side kill box.  They offered Kat the chance to flip but everyone knows Kat never plays the turncoat.  She started getting jacked up but the dark side rallied by focusing on Alex's Han Solo.  Both Fetts (JD/Boba and Ian/Jango) unloaded on Han and Chewey but failed to land the kill shot.  That left Chewbacca in position to launch the Bowcaster on Boba...except he didn't have it.  Kat finished him off in eleventh with a blast of Force Lightning.

Kat couldn't deny her own fate after that.  Courtney used a Yoda Clone Trooper to force Kat into tenth place.  Nobody likes dying to a minor character who doesn't even have a proper name. 

An interesting twist occurred right around this time.  Ben's Mace, who had flipped over to the dark side early in the game, wandered over to the light side and assumed a position on the board that seemed to indicate he had flipped back.  He stood next to Rob's Anakin, who was badly damaged, so Rob had to accept this unexpected turn of events.  But just a couple of turns later Ben revealed his true intentions - to attack Joel's Luke Skywalker!  Joel seethed after JD kicked him out with a Rocket Retreat in ninth.

These new bases are sweet!

Curtis, meanwhile, commenced on his own travels and ended up on the back line with the rest of the dark side alliance.  Curiously, he didn't attack, seeming to bate the dark side into attacking him.  Eventually they did, and as he moved back across the board he used one last Force Control to try and buy himself some time.  It didn't work out for him, and Riley's Vader registered another kill, this time with a Wrath.  That left Curtis in eight place.

Rob's card combination with Anakin had been a mess all night, especially when he was forced to discard one of his precious Angers.  Even though he kept following Ben around like a little lost puppy, the rest of the dark side weren't so keen to keep the godfather on the board any longer.  They chased him down to the back of the pillars and it would be his original alliance partner, Courtney/Yoda, who killed him in seventh with a 4-point attack.

Chris checks in with the final three.

With six to go the remaining Duelers realized the match had taken so long the second game should have already started.  Despite some protracted negotiations the infighting started once Rob was gone.  Ian's Jango got the short end of the stick, and he took one for the team to not fight to hard against the rationale - he was ready for the next Duel to start too.

That left five Duelers, and Riley's Darth Vader became the target.  She herself was under the weather all night and seemed to welcome the sweet oblivion when Grant's Dooku sent her there in fifth place.  The plucky May the 4th champ improved her average to 6 for her career with that finish.

Nobody was too excited to find Yoda still alive and kicking so late in the game, and thus Courtney began defending a three on one attack.  She held in there as long as she could but it was a Boba Fett Wrist Cable that ended her run.

And then there were three!  Grant/Dooku and JD/Boba were both roughed up that late in the game while Ben's Mace was nearly full-health.  That was all Grant and JD needed to see to justify joining forces against Mace.  Ben hung in there for quite a while, and even left some critical damage on Grant before succumbing to third place.

The Sweet Taste of Victory

Grant's Dooku charged at JD's Boba Fett several times but his Rocket Retreats kept Dooku at bay as he fired off distance attacks.  Dooku's health slowly drained away while Boba seemed to stay just out of reach of the Taunts.  Sensing weakness in Grant, JD pulled off two attacks on his turn, ending in a game-winning Rocket Retreat.  That win moved JD into second place in league history for wins.  Thank goodness Kaleb delivered him his trophy...

Your final order of finish:

12.  Chris/Darth Maul
11.  Alex/Han Solo
10.  Kat/Emperor Palpatine
9.  Joel/Luke Skywalker
8.  Curtis/Obi-Wan Kenobi
7.  Rob/Anakin Skywalker
6.  Ian/Jango Fett
5.  Riley/Darth Vader
4.  Courtney/Yoda
3.  Ben/Mace Windu
2.  Grant/Count Dooku
1.  JD/Boba Fett

This wasn't the last Duel of the night...

Thanksdueling! - November 11, 2017

Kamino Platform

The first victims of our Duel were out before the game even started!  Kat came down sick on Saturday and then Ryan had to bow out with a kid who was under the weather too.  (I'll spare you the details, but kids who get sick in the back seats of cars...it's just so gross...the poor thing!)  Even Rob was loaded up on cold medicine to keep his Duels streak alive at 47 games.  Fortunately, Jonathan and Jacob could jump in at the last minute to keep the game intact. 

Stephen brought the Vader helmet but
Jonathan refused to wear it.

Jonathan got seat one so he drew the Kamino Platform.  This was the first game on Kamino since Doubleheader #1 back in August.  Everyone else gathered around the table and all three shooters were grabbed within the first five picks, much to the relief of the back half of the table.  However, it would be a shooter alliance that helped determine the outcome of this game!  #foreshadowing

Introductions were made and we were off.  Chris' Obi-Wan Kenobi, stuck in the middle of the board, very covertly moved next to JD's Dooku and somehow the light side didn't perceive this as a flip.  Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Andrew's Darth Maul attacked Rob's Boba Fett!  Despite having the numbers advantage and a spot nicely protected on the board, he decided to defect to the light side.  Rob was lucky to escape with only six points of damage as Maul didn't use his Sith Speeds. 

If you look closely you can see the smoke
coming out of Austin's ears...

But the flipping wasn't done!  Ben, stuck playing with Han Solo for the second game in a row, decided the grass was greener on the other side.  Jacob's Yoda had already received a Thermal Detonator and Force Lightning among other attacks, so, sensing weakness, Ben pulled out the Bowcaster and dropped Jacob in last place!  Ouch!

At that point chaos erupted on the light side.  When Maul had defected he essentially created a bottleneck, trapping Luke, Anakin, and Mace.  Grant's Luke read the tea leaves before the others and chose to attack Andrew's Maul as he peaced out to join JD and Chris.  This led to several turns of infighting, especially as Maul started attacking his own alliance!  Austin/Anakin finally had enough and eliminated Andrew in eleventh place.  Joel's Mace was caught up in a lot of the infighting and was nursing wounds, especially as the dark side alliance shooters had moved in and were potshotting him.  Austin decided to put him down too with Anger.  That was tenth place for Joel.

Chris pleads his case.

The rest of the board was in agreement that Austin's Anakin needed to be next, as he was the last remaining player on the board who wasn't part of the original alliance.  Ninth place wasn't what he wanted, but it was actually not a bad finish considering what went down on his end of the platform.

At this point the remaining eight players were just staring at each other.  Nobody knew what to do next.  JD suggested to Stephen's Emperor that Jonathan's Darth Vader should be next.  Jonathan was none too pleased about that.  But in a bold move, Stephen rallied the shooters to join he and Jonathan against Chirs/Obi, Grant/Luke, and JD/Dooku.  The shooters agreed and the fight was on. 

Dooku, Luke, and Obi had the advantage of being hidden behind Jango's ship, but the minor characters of the opposition moved into position to start whittling down their defenses.  That's when Chris made an aggressive move.  He used Force Control to rearrange the board.  It allowed shots on Jonathan's Darth Vader as well as JD Force Pushing Ben's Han into a kill box.  Han got some shots on Grant's Luke but it was Chris' Obi-Wan who finally killed Ben in eighth.

Yes.  We have fans who like to dress up
for the big games.

Before Ben got pushed into the kill box Grant played "I Will Not Fight You" on him.  But that left Luke exposed too.  Rob's Boba was afraid of that card being played again on him so he moved in for the kill with a Kyber Dart.  Luke was done in seventh place and he still remains the only character to never have won a 12-Way Duel.

JD's Dooku was still tussling with Jonathan's Darth Vader but he was getting banged up.  Low-carded, it looked like Jonathan might use the dreaded All Too Easy card to finish him.  It turned out that he didn't need it, as two normal attacks destroyed Pez Vader's pick to click.

With JD off the board there were five remaining:  Chris/Obi, Rob/Boba, Kaleb/Jango, Stephen/Emperor, and Jonathan/Vader.  Obi-Wan looked like the most powerful character left so the other four turned their attention on him.  Chris still had some tricks up his sleeve, though.  He dropped his Force Balance, meaning everyone had to discard their entire hands and draw three new cards.  That was a big blow for a couple of the remaining players, especially Stephen and Rob.  It took some effort, but Obi-Wan was finally eliminated in fifth place when Vader Threw Debris at him.   

A quick selfie before they attacked each other.

That left four Duelers.  Stephen proposed that he/Emperor, Rob/Boba, and Jonathan/Vader go after Kaleb's Jango.  Stephen reasoned that the number one ranked Dueler and Character were a dangerous combination.  But Rob was hesitant to lose his shooting partner against a dangerous character like the Emperor.  Furthermore, he was afraid of Vader's distance attacks.  Since Jonathan only had four health points left, Boba decided to Rocket Retreat and Wristcable him, finishing Vader in fourth place.

Stephen/Emperor and Kaleb/Jango didn't realize it, but after the Obi-Wan Force Balance Rob's Boba Fett was loaded with Greedo cards.  They were useless because Greedo died many rounds ago.  Faced with such a weak hand, Rob had no idea who to align with.  Naturally, he started flipping from one side to the other!  At different points he attacked Emperor and then Jango, but Emperor and Jango weren't willing to align with each other as they were both worried about that being a bad match-up in the final two.  Boba was slowly able to heal up during the chaos and, when he finally found a Thermal Detonator, promptly used it on Stephen's Emperor, ending his night in third place.  You have to give it to Stephen, though.  The turning point of the game was his rallying the shooters to stick with Jonathan.

*pew pew!*

That left an all-Fett final two!  Boba/Rob had the advantage as he had healed up and was starting to pull his big attack cards again.  Kaleb/Jango started running around his ship but Boba finally rolled a five and dropped his third Thermal Detonator of the game and then ended it on a Deadly Aim.  Jango was out in second, but Kaleb played a heck of a game, always staying one step ahead of the danger.  He also improved his league-leading Dueling average to 4.0, which is crazy good.  Rob's win extends his league record to ten career victories and his first with Boba Fett.  It was Boba's fourth career win.

The final order of finish:

12.  Jacob/Yoda
11.  Andrew/Darth Maul
10.  Joel/Mace Windu
9.  Austin/Anakin Skywalker
8.  Ben/Han Solo
7.  Grant/Luke Skywalker
6.  JD/Count Dooku
5.  Chris/Obi-Wan Kenobi
4.  Jonathan/Darth Vader
3.  Stephen/Emperor Palpatine
2.  Kaleb/Jango Fett
1.  Rob/Boba Fett

Thanks to everyone who came out and played!  Our next Duel is the 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP!  It's the World Series/Superbowl/All-Star game all rolled into one.  The top 12 ranked Duelers have a spot at the table and one will be crowned the champion.  That will take place on December 2nd.  I can't wait!

Also, we plan to do a Duel for the new movie, which we're going to call "The Last Jedi Standing."  Tentative plans are for that to take place on the afternoon of December 14th.  Afterwards, we'll all go see the movie premiere. 

Thanks again for reading the blog!