2024 Championship - December 6, 2024

Carbon Freezing Chamber (via Dagobah)

The best and the brightest of the 2024 Dueling year gathered on Friday night to award the Darth Vader trophy to a victor among victors.  Only those who won a Duel in the past calendar year and/or who were ranked high enough got a seat at the table.  The mood was light but determined - every Dueler there wanted to be the Champion!  Alas, only one would pull it off...

Who shall be crowned champion?

A tradition of the Championship recap blog is to post the Duelers with the card that killed them.  It's just a little extra salt in the wound!

12th place - Riley B.

Character - Rey

Card that killed him - 5-point attack from Grievous

Though Riley has moved into a reserve player status after graduating last spring, his win this summer promised him a spot at the Championship.  Julia's Armorer defecting to the dark side out of the gate left the light side deficient.  Riley tried to mind the gap by boldly moving Rey to the front of the battleline, but he couldn't survive Alex's General Grievous.

11th place - Julia

Character - The Armorer

Card that killed her - Justice

The big news of the night was Julia announcing to the table that she and Michael are expecting their first child in May!  Congrats Julia!!!  She got stuck with an unfortunate starting spot but defected early to the dark side.  A second flip much later in the game by Michael unintentionally left Julia exposed to the last stand of the light side.  Grant's Luke hammered her with Justice.

10th place - Ian

Character - Sol

Card that killed him - Hero of the Empire

Ian was the defacto leader of light side alliance and did his best to hold his troops together.  But with a non-shooting minor character and a starting position in the back corner, he was limited in what he could do.  He did help coordinate Julia's ouster, but the presence of Justin's Orson Krennic proved too much and the #1 chair was excused in tenth.

9th place - Grant

Character - Luke Skywalker

Card that killed hi - 2-point attack from Anakin

One of the big moves of the first half of the Championship was Grant playing I Will Not Fight You on Rob's Darth Maul.  That sent the whole dark side into a scramble as they tried to save the horned sith.  Everyone wanted Leia off the board but she was nearly impossible to kill until Michael's Wrath.  Still, it must have felt good to use Justice before being eliminated.

8th place - Jonah

Character - Bo-Katan Kryze

Card that killed him - Faster Than You

Jonah was low-key the MVP for the light side, deftly using Bo and the Night Owls to deliver damage or provide cover when their team was in a pinch.  His Teal buddy Alex kept giving him the "flip" hand signal, but Jonah was noble and stuck to his side of the board.  Even better?  This was Jonah's sixth Duel, meaning he's now a professional Dueler.  Congrats Jonah!

7th place - Alex G.

Character - General Grievous

Card that killed him - 5-point attack from Kylo Ren

When Michael's Anakin became the second flipper to the dark side, that meant an original alliance member was getting squeezed out.  Alex drew the short straw, as folks were nervous about him, especially after seeing how well he played Grievous at last month's Thanksdueling!.  He was justifiably disappointed by the betrayal.  

6th place - Justin

Character - Orson Krennic

Card that killed him - Athletic Surge

Justin proved quite pesky for the light side in the early stages of the game, as Orson and his Death Troopers gave the Jedi and friends all they could handle.  At the final six, negotiations became quite tense as folks were trying to figure out who to take to the final three and beyond.  Justin was loyal to Elliot/Cad and Rob/Maul throughout, but in a surprise move Rob unloaded on him!

5th place - Curtis

Character - Reva - Third Sister

Card that killed him - Athletic Surge

Curtis was heroic in the first half of the game, using his Purge Troopers to protect Rob's depleted Darth Maul.  But in the second half of the game he was clearly aligned with Jordann/Kylo.  He and Rob tried to turn the table against each other, and he was shocked when Michael turned against him too.  But Rob got the death blow when he used his final action after killing Justin to get Curtis too.

4th place - Rob

Character - Darth Maul

Card that killed him - I Know What I Have To Do

Rob went from nearly being the first one dead to the final four after a double elimination of two characters in one turn.  That proved problematic as he attempted to maneuver into the top three.  Neither Michael nor Jordann would work with him and Elliot couldn't stick his neck out for him.  The 2023 Champion couldn't survive and got destroyed by Kylo's best card.

3rd place - Jordann

Character - Kylo Ren

Card that killed her - Flame Gauntlet with a side of Bounty

The best dressed Dueler played a deft and strategic game all night but fell short when her rotating allegiances between Elliot and Michael ultimately led to them teaming up against her.  It took a looooooong time to eliminate her, which is a credit to both Kylo Ren and the great way Jordann was piloting him.  Her first win remains elusive but within reach!

2nd place - Michael

Character - Anakin Skywalker

Card that killed him - No Shame In It

In the history of our league the "second flipper," the frowned upon moniker of the second person who jumps a sinking ship late in the process, is usually the first to go in the remaining alliance.  However, Michael moved to the front of the line and nearly took the whole thing down.  A determined bounty hunter and an unlucky run of Padme cards at the end doomed him in second, though.

1st place - Elliot!!!

Character - Cad Bane

How he won - ...he's Batman!

Elliot had a terrible starting spot on the board, a weaker character, and constantly shifting alliance dynamics throughout the game.  But he also had Cad Freakin' Bane - a slick and slippery villain made for the tensions of a Championship.  He kept his head down, was never the perceived threat, and was always on the right side of the numbers.  Well done on career victory number two, Elliot!!!

What a night!  That was some high caliber Dueling that went late into Saturday morning.  Shoutout to Cad Bane, too, who becomes the first new character to reach 4 wins.  That's impressive - he's only one win away from tying original character Luke Skywalker for 12th place in wins!

Thank you everyone for a fantastic 2024!  What a year - one of the most exciting in league history.  Let's carry that mojo into 2025.  We're tentatively planning the January Duel - A New Hope - for Satruday, January 17th.  Announcements will go out for that in the new year...

Until then, may the force be with you.  Always.

 

CL Training Duel - August 12, 2024

Emperor's Throne Room (via Mustafar) 

Here we go again!!!  Season 11 of our 12-Way Star Wars Epic Duels league launched this week at our annual CL Training Duel.  This is an important Duel for us because we introduce padawans to the game for the first time, in hopes of raising them up into professional Duelers.  This year's match didn't disappoint - we had EIGHT brand new Duelers play for the first time with many more joining the mailing list.  The future looks bright!

Nobody has any clue how late they're about to stay up...

With so many newbies it took a minute to teach the game and pass out the seats and characters, but our new friends figured it out quickly.  Folks explored alliances and the bounds of their characters.  The first big move of the game was definitely Caden and his Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He became an early target and, just as folks were reaching their 10-card hand limit...he played Force Balance, dumping everyone's hands and resetting the action!  He didn't win over any new friends that way, as even light side characters joined the dark in knocking him out.  Justin's Han Solo put in the kill shot and Caden became the proud owner of the Golden Jar Jar trophy.

Josiah, Caden, and Jordyn - welcome rookies!

With Obi gone it looked like the dark side alliance, which included Jonah's Mace Windu, would roll through the light.  But Jonah couldn't resist the siren call to backstab, and Mace Whirlwinded Rob's Dark Troopers!  The first time Dueler locked horns with the Godfather of the league!  I gotta tell you, I like his moxie.  The dark side didn't let that pass without punishment.  Spencer's Supreme Leader Snoke used Tied to a String to yank Mace into a dark side kill box.  Liam annihilated him in eleventh with Kylo's I Know What I Have to Do (12 point attack!!!).  Ouch!

There was a lot of buzzing around the table after that, and the new Duelers weren't afraid to leave their seats to whisper into others' ears.  Normally that would put a huge target on yourself...and that's kind of what happened to poor Jordyn!  She wanted to move in against Jordann's Darth Vader and said as much to Rob/Moff Gideon and Elliot/Qui-Gon Jinn.  But when Elliot's name came up as the next target, he spilled the beans on Jordyn and her Captain Phasma was quickly surrounded and attacked.  Liam's Kylo once again offered the death blow with double Force Chokes from Kylo.

Was there, or was there not, a Teal alliance?  We may never know...

That left 9 Duelers at the table and we were well into the wee hours of night at that point.  Josiah's Fennec Shand took early damage, especially after losing Black Krrsantan.  But he slipped off the radar and instead a new Wookie became the target - Han and Chewbacca!  Justin had done a good job keeping the pair out of trouble, but the attention soon fell to them.  Elliot's Qui-Gon absolutely unloaded on Chewey, leaving Han exposed for a final shot from Connor's Jyn Erso, who was playing a similar game of hiding in the corner and keeping his head down.

The dark side alliance cracked after that.  After some nervous haggling at the table, Spencer's Supreme Leader Snoke found himself short on partners.  In a cruel twist, his Snoke was caught without defense and Jordann used her Vader's All Too Easy to administer 20 points of auto-kill on Spencer.  Spencer was one of just four Duelers at the table with playing experience.  The newbies were out for blood!!

Happy or delirious?  It's hard to tell...

And then there were seven!  In many ways, Liam's Kylo Ren had been the backbone of the dark side alliance.  But folks were getting nervous and the alliance started to disintegrate.  The center couldn't hold and the fear of Kylo making a deep run took root.  He became the new enemy and was pounced on when he was low carded.  The final blow came from Jordann's Throw Debris.  Liam played Kylo quite well, though!

That board is gorgeous.

That left two sabers (Jordann/Vader and Elliot/Qui-Gon) and four shooters (Rob/Moff Gideon, Connor/Jyn Erson, Josiah/Fennec, and Alex/Cad Bane).  Rob didn't like how healthy Vader was or how easy it would be for Jordann to do auto-distance damage.  Elliot, meanwhile, wanted Connor's Jyn gone and his alliance with Rob splintered.  There was some side-switching going for the next couple of rounds, but eventually, the shooters formed a final four agreement.  Elliot's Qui-Gon couldn't hang on longer than Jordann's Vader, and he was sent to bed after Connor's Looks Like a Killer was delivered by Cassian.

It took a long time to eliminate Jordann's Darth Vader, thanks in large part to a Storm Trooper who was jacked on steroids, but she couldn't hold out forever.  She left some parting damage on Alex's Cad Bane before settling for fifth place.  Alex picked up the Vader trophy with a 3-point attack.

Rob being told it was past 3AM.

The four remaining shooters were quite pleased to make it to the final four together, as they had stuck with each other.  Connor/Jyn and Josiah/Fennec survived being early targets, while Rob/Moff Gideon and Alex/Cad Bane had stayed loyal throughout.  But someone had to go next, and the pleasantries evaporated when the three rookies named Rob as the next target.  It would be hard to describe the next bits if you weren't there, but let's just say Rob used some verbal jujitsu to move the target off himself and onto Connor's Jyn Erso.  Connor proved early in the game he had good instincts for Dueling, but Rob managed to rally the others and go after Jyn.  Josiah's Fennec played a 4-point attack to finally eliminate Jyn, but kudos to Connor with an amazing fourth place finish in his first Duel.

Residential Colleges at their finest.

Rob put a LOT of pressure on Alex and Josiah since they were dead set on making sure a newbie walked out of this Duel with the CL Training trophy.  He wielded cold, hard Dueling logic while dealing hit points, cycling defense cards, and sowing seeds of doubt.  His last move was to try and strong arm Josiah into an alliance by making him weaker than Connor, but Alex was loyal to Connor and Rob was out in third!  A first time Dueler was going to win!!

It looked like Josiah's Fennec Shand would be an easy target since he was badly damaged, but Josiah was deft in combatting Alex's Cad Bane.  In the end, though, he couldn't gain an advantage and Alex used There's No Shame In It to knock out Josiah.  Alex G. and Cad Bane were the victors!!!  Alex becomes the third Dueler in league history to win their debut Duel - that's rare air!!  This also makes it three career wins for Cad Bane, which is quite impressive given how new to the league he is.  A big spotlight should be put on Josiah too.  How he survived the early light side demise to make it to the final two is incredible.  Well done everyone!!!

Dueling skills > 9 square in the air skills

Final order of finish:

12.  Caden/Obi-Wan Kenobi

11.  Jonah/Mace Windu

10.  Jordyn/Captain Phasma

9.  Justin/Han Solo

8.  Spencer/Supreme Leader Snoke

7.  Liam/Kylo Ren

6.  Elliot/Qui-Gon Jinn

5.  Jordann/Darth Vader

4.  Connor/Jyn Erso

3.  Rob/Moff Gideon

2.  Josiah/Fennec Shand

1.  Alex G./Cad Bane

What a great way to start off the year!!!  Our next Duel is The Doubleheader - that's right, we're playing two Duels in one day!  Rob will send out an official RSVP for that in a couple of weeks, but we're targeting the Sunday of Labor Day weekend (September 1st) at 2PM and 7PM out at Rob's house.  More info soon!!!

 

The Fall Brawl - September 30, 2023

Rancor Dungeon

A crazy kind of history was made at this year's Fall Brawl.  For the first time in 135 12-way Duels, Rob was not one of the official 12 Duelers playing the game!!!  And that's because his lucky number was picked to be...the Rancor!

I guess when you wear the shirt of the monster on the board, you're destined to pull his deck!  Most folks looked relieved to not play the Rancor and quickly began worrying about how they would avoid it once the game started...

First 12-Way w/out Rob among the 12!

The Rancor doesn't appear until the first character dies.  Riley E.'s Darth Vader wasted no time on that, as she quickly used a Choke to eliminate one of Kevin's Death Trooper!  With that, the gate was raised, and Rob's Rancor was ready to wreak havoc!  He played two straight Sheer Terrors, which forced each Dueler at the table to reveal the top card of their deck and discard it.  The Rancor was VERY lucky as a whole host of iconic cards were wasted before they were played.

Folks got cranky about that and began whittling down the Rancor's health.  The rest of the table didn't know Rob no longer had defense cards, so he risked 12 points of damage by standing underneath the gate and using two Tastes Like Gamoreans...which means he could eat two minor characters!  He made those count, as the Rancor ate both Evan's Black Krrsantan and Rico's Cassian Andor!  Atticus finally had enough, and he sent Val via a Grappling Line to the gate control panel, doing 12 points of damage and a kill shot on the Rancor.  It was a short but chaotic life for Rob's Rancor.  RIP.

Why scoot away from the Rancor???

With the Rancor gone, the infighting really took off.  Kevin couldn't shake the blood-in-the-water stink from losing his Death Trooper early.  He started taking shots from everyone, and Parker's Obi-Wan eventually ended Krennic in last.  Brutal.

Atticus' Tobias Beckett wasn't fairing much better.  After he took a crack at Jordann's Luke Skywalker, others responded by putting the target back on Beckett.  Atticus couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack, and Jordann's Princess Leia got revenge for her brother by outing Atticus in eleventh.  That was not how Atticus wanted to break his ninth place streak...

Riley B.'s The Armorer, meanwhile, decided to play The Forge, adding +2 to all attacks and defenses until his next turn.  He lined up Paz Vizsla against Evan's Fennec Shand and used multiple Blaster Cannons to eviscerate poor Evan in tenth.  Evan didn't have a shred of luck in this one.

Bella talking trash to Parker.

Rico wasn't doing much better than Evan.  Both of them lost their awesome minor characters to the Rancor (*burp*) and Rico found himself in a kill box courtesy of Bella/Kylo and Parker/Obi-Wan.  Grant H.'s Moff Gideon wasn't sure what to take of that unsteady alliance, so he Kidnapped Rico's Jyn Erso to the other end of the dungeon, placing Jyn in a new kill box.  That group complied with the fresh meat, and Riley E.'s Vader stabbed Rico for the last time.  Jyn was out in ninth.

Most people assumed Parker's Obi-Wan would be next, especially with the public knowledge he held Force Balance.  But in one of the early surprises of the night, Curtis' Mandalorian put the target on Grant's Gideon instead.  It was just like a real episode on Disney+!  Grant had little room to negotiate, and he was frustrated when Parker - granted amnesty for a round by the other Duelers - put him down in eighth.

Kylo's last stand.

Moff Gideon was gone, and Bella found herself the next target, especially after tangling with Jordann's Luke.  But Kylo is a tough customer, and Bella swung I Know What I Have To Do - a 12 point attack! - on a stunned Skywalker.  Kylo and Luke really need counselling.  Bella could exit knowing she left an impact, and that's just what Isaiah's Cad Bane arranged, using Faster Than You to fell the sequel Sith in seventh.

Somehow Parker's Obi-Wan was still alive, despite being the preferred target for most of the game.  Riley E. played a Your Skills Are Not Complete to neutralize the Force Balance, and Parker was in scramble mode after that.  He started taking multiple attacks and Isaiah once again eliminated a Dueler, this time with There's No Shame In It.

Best Side-Eye in Duels History

The final five was tense because Riley B. (mistakenly?) accused Jordann of putting the target on Isaiah, and Riley B. ratted it out to Isaiah.  Jordann was emphatic in saying that wasn't what happened.  When the dust settled, Curtis once again named the target, and put it on Riley B.'s Armorer.  No sooner had he done that when Riley B. pulled A Mandalorian No More, dumping Curtis' entire Mandalorian hand!!!  Jordann was also weak because she had just played double I Will Not Fight You's.  In the end it would be Riley B.'s turn to bow out.  Isaiah's Cad Bane once again got the kill shot.

Final Four Machinations

The final four took a looooooooong time to play out, and alliances switched several times.  It started with Curtis' Mandalorian surprisingly naming his alliance-mate Riley E./Vader as the target.  Jordann initially agreed but flipped to join Riley.  Isaiah tried to play Switzerland throughout.  Eventually everyone was taking shots on Riley and, despite a late re-alliance with Curtis, Riley's Vader was blown away by Leia's Latent Force Abilities in fourth.  Daddy issues for sure!

Curtis popped Jordann's Luke with a Disintegration, mortally wounding the Skywalker twins.  He used a Rising Phoenix to get two 4-point shots on Luke, which Jordann couldn't successfully defend.  Jordann was done in third.  This new Dueler has played twice and finished third twice!!!  Well done, Jordann!

It was more or less a miracle Curtis made it to the final two considering all the great cards he had to drop along the way, be it Rancor or The Armorer.  Meanwhile, Isaiah's Cad Bane had been stockpiling his best attacks, and another No Shame In It killed Curtis in second!  Isaiah won his second Duel in just his fourth game played!!!  Only Kaleb has done the same thing in the history of this league!!!  It also marked Cad Bane's second career win.

The final order of finish:

(13.  Rob/Rancor)

12.  Kevin/Krennic

11.  Atticus/Beckett

10.  Evan/Fennec

9.  Rico/Jyn

8.  Grant H./Gideon

7.  Bella/Kylo

6.  Parker/Obi-Wan

5.  Riley B./Armorer

4.  Riley E./Vader

3.  Jordann/Luke

2.  Curtis/Mandalorian

1.  Isaiah/Cad freakin' Bane!

Well played, everyone!  And congrats to Isaiah's truly historic night.  The October's Duel, FIGHT NIGHT, will be played on Saturday, Oct. 21st, at 7PM.  Mark your calendars now.  The official invite will go out in a couple of weeks.

Duel of the Fates - April 9, 2022

 

Arvala-7

What. A. Night!  The Yoda Soda was flowing, the Duel of the Fates was blaring from the NV Classroom speakers, the dirt was palpable on the Arvala-7 board, and two new characters made their debut in the league's first all-shooter Duel!  It was just about perfect.  On to the recap!

Hello there!

Tensions were high when the music started and everyone realized they were in the middle of a 12-person shootout.  Karson's Krennec wanted to make sure Rob's Fennec wasn't going to turn on him, and scared to tussle with him, Rob agreed to target Corona's Princess Leia after Ian whispered he would follow.  That's when Black Krrsantan played his first card in league history...and it happened to be his best!  A Cannon Blast put 11 points of total damage on Leia, which sent Corona reeling.  Evan's Han Solo used Gambler's Luck to kill poor Corona in 12th.  But this marked his sixth Duel, so he's now professionally ranked.  Congrats, Corona!

CJ, playing her first Duel as a last minute backup, became the youngest Dueler in league history.  She didn't waste the opportunity to start attacking Chewbacca with Moff Gideon.  But she was stuck in the middle of the board, and multiple folks started tagging her, including JD's Lando and Lobot.  Backed into a corner, CJ flipped the table by playing It Means More To Me, which discarded most of Lando's defense!  Ian seized that opportunity and played Disintegration with his Mandalorian.  Grant H., dressed in full Obi-Wan Kenobi garb, got the kill shot on poor JD, who departed quickly after in 11th.

CJ is not impressed.

CJ's sister Riley had spearheaded the charge to get rid of Moff Gideon, but in a strategic blunder, she got caught empty handed.  Literally!  The rest of the board pounced on her inability to defend, and it would be CJ who got revenge on her big sis by punching her ticket for 10th place.  Rumor has it she delighted in sharing that story with their mother this morning...

About this time Rob caught wind that Karson/Krennec and Kat/Boba Fett were throwing his name around, and Karson confessed it was Kat's idea.  The tide started to turn against Boba, but she Rocket Retreated to the same corner as Rob's Fennec, hoping to force a ceasefire.  But Rob used Throwing Blade, which pinned Boba to her space and the rest of that side of the board went after her, including a Bowcaster.  Grant's Cad Bane once again got the kill shot, and Kat was stuck in 9th.

The attention of the board turned back to CJ at this point, who fought valiantly considering how targeted she was at the start of the game.  But Karson used a Hero of the Empire on a defenseless Moff Gideon to end her night in 8th.

Who's next?

It was getting dicey as the board thinned.  Karson found himself without partners and taking hits, but he did pull of his Peace and Security to buy time.  Kevin's Jango Fett finally eliminated him in 7th with his Rocket Retreat.  With six Duelers left, it was hard to know where to go next.  Ian voiced that he was concerned with Juan's Jyn Erso, who was fully carded and hadn't used many attacks.  He was also concerned of a NV CL alliance.  He was able to convince Grant/Cad and Evan/Han to follow suit.  Juan couldn't hold out, and stop me if you read this already, but Cad got the kill shot!

Pew Pew Pew!

That left five Duelers, and Kevin tried to rally the board against Cad Bane.  Ian/Mando and Grant/Cad decided to target Kevin's Jango instead, while Rob's Black Krrsantan used Dismemberment to put Chewbacca near death.  Kevin made some great arguments, but Ian was pot-committed to stick with Grant, so it would be The Mandalorian taking down Jango Fett in 5th, which just seemed weird in the context of the rich history of Mandalore...

And then there were four!  Rob's Fennec tried to convince Ian's Mando they should team against Cad Bane, but Ian was still bound and determined to work with Grant.  Rob held out the best he could, including a second Dismemberment against Cara Dune, but he finally fell in 4th after a blast from The Mandalorian.

Stone Cold Killers

Mando and Cad agreed it was time for Evan's Han to exit stage left.  Give credit to Evan, who smartly ran and hid, especially after Chewbacca perished.  He managed to lay quite a bit of damage on The Mandalorian, though, before finally dying in 3rd when - you guessed it! - Cad Bane delivered the fatal wound.

Ian was a bit banged up, but used The Child to heal.  But he took that damage back and then some when Grant used Fire Gauntlet and Stun Gauntlet.  Despite a second Rising Phoenix, Grant had smartly hid some of Cad's trickier cards while pretending he was only getting minor Pyke cards from his redraw.  With an epic combo of There's No Shame In It and Faster Than You, Grant won his first career Duel and Cad Bane won the first game he ever played.  Both were huge!!!  And congrats to Ian, who piloted The Mandalorian to that character's best-ever finish.

The final order of finish:

12.  Corona/Princess Leia

11.  JD M./Lando Calrissian

10.  Riley/Tobias Beckett

9.  Kat/Boba Fett

8.  CJ/Moff Gideon

7.  Karson/Orson Krennec

6.  Juan/Jyn Erso

5.  Kevin/Jango Fett

4.  Rob/Fennec Shand

3.  Evan/Han Solo

2.  Ian/The Mandalorian

1.  Grant H./Cad Bane

We're just about at the end of the year!  The final Duel before summer is May the 4th Be With You, which we usually play on May the 4th (duh), but that is a Wednesday while classes are still in session, so stay tuned to see if we actually play that a day or two later.

The first all-shooter Duel was awesome, congrats again to Grant H.!!!