The Imperial March - March 20, 2026

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!!!

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...

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Doubleheader #1 - August 31, 2025

Rancor Dungeon

A little known secret to the annual Doubleheader Duels in late August/early September is that they double as Rob's birthday party every year.  He doesn't like to make a fuss about his b-day, but he does enjoy hanging out with people he likes playing the game he loves - Star Wars Epic Duels!  And this year Rob turned the big 5-0, which is insane and he doesn't really want to wrap his brain around that, but his lovely wife Jessica and his awesome daughters really went all out decorating the house and cooking up treats for the Duelers.  He just wants to say...thank you!!!  His family and fellow Duelers mean the world to him...

It's Dueling time!

 ...ok, enough of that mushy stuff, there's hardcore Dueling to recap!  The first game of the Doubleheader went down in the Rancor Dungeon, and the youngest pro in the league, CJ, was the designated monster.  Newbie Matthew couldn't help himself and killed one of Grant's MagnaGuards right out of the gate.  How did CJ react?  Let's just say she understood the assignment!  She ate Nayshaun's Qi'ra, Rob's Q9-0, and Jordyn's Baze!!!  Those three Duelers were immediately devastated in the game, as all three needed those minors to even hope to survive.  RANCORS GONNA DO WHAT RANCORS GONNA DO!

There was no recovery for poor Jordyn, as her double-minor character deck was all dead Baze cards and nothing for the remaining Chirrut.  The Rogue One heroes were done in twelfth when Josiah's Clone Trooper put her out of her misery.  Brutal!

CJ analyzing who to eat next...

Rob got a modicum of revenge against his youngest daughter when his Migs used the Cycler Rifle to put the Rancor out of the game.  But he didn't last long after that when James/Vader directed a bunch of distance damage to him.  A Wrath did him in and Rob was gone in eleventh.  Being 50 is hard!

Matthew, soaking up his first Duel like a kid in a candy shop, was bouncing everywhere with his Luke Skywalker, but the attention turned to him next.  Grant's General Grievous got some payback for his MagnaGuard by destroying Luke with A Fine Addition, which also meant he could pick up a 5-point attack from Luke's discard pile.  That card is the best!

Alex G.'s Kylo Ren had been hopping between factions, but finally settled on an alliance.  Riley's Sol became the target as she was quickly surrounded.  Kylo delivered the death blow and Riley was out in ninth.

Who put this Magnetic Thermal Detonator in the middle of the board?

Nayshaun had fought valiantly against the Rancor and others, but without Qi'ra, his Dryden Vos was definitely operating at half capacity.  He got caught without defense and Grant once again cleared the board.  Nayshaun, in just his second career Duel, was gone in eighth.  Considering how things started with the Rancor, though, that was a good showing!

James' Vader, meanwhile, had received some early heavy damage but managed to lay low for a good portion of the game, even dodging several 6-7 jokes hurled around the table  (you had to be there).  But his game-long nemesis, Ally's Ki-Adi-Mundi, proved to be his undoing.  This was just Ki-Adi-Mundi's second game, but Ally was dropping Hostile Environment attacks all over the place, and that's what ousted James in seventh.

Grant can't convince the others of the Clone Commando threat.

With six Duelers left, it clearly became Ally/Ki-Adi, Grant/Grievous, and Josiah/Obi against Curtis/Clone Commandos, Justin/Maul, and Alex/Kylo.  That was a pretty even split, but Curtis got the drop on Obi-Wan by using the double-damage of the DC-17 pistol to send Josiah back to the HRC in sixth place.

Ally and Grant rallied, though, and took down Alex's Kylo Ren.  I didn't catch the card that did him in, but I know it was delivered by Ki-Adi-Mundi.  

The final four!

The Rancor Dungeon usually plays fast, but the thermal detonator Curtis planted in the middle of the board really slowed things down.  We were pushing up against our second game start time before the levee broke.  Grant nobly protected the healthier Ally, desperate to find his Reinforcements card.  Alas, when Grant got excited and moved in to attack Justin's Maul, he forgot he was standing in the blast radius of the Clone bomb, and Curtis blew him up in fourth place.

Curtis was clearly in the pole position with his Clone Commandos while Justin was trying to live the Dueling dream of defending his trophy from last year's DH1.  He took down Ally's Ki-Adi-Mundi with an Athletic Surge to improve his odds!  Congrats to Ally - third place in just her second Duel!  She played Ki-Adi-Mundi at EXPERT level!

Sadly for Justin, he wasn't in any shape to take down the two remaining Clone Commandos.  Curtis dispatched Maul in short order to win the Duel!!!  Congrats to Curtis!  And is the Clone Commandos deck the most powerful in the league???  They've played twice and won twice!!

Final order of finish:

12.  Jordyn/Chirrut

11.  Rob/Migs

10.  Matthew/Luke

9.  Riley/Sol

8.  Nayshaun/Dryden

7.  James/Vader

6.  Josiah/Obi

5.  Alex G./Kylo

4.  Grant/Grievous

3.  Ally/Ki-Adi-Mundi

2.  Justin/Maul

1.  Curtis/Clone Commandos

Check out the recap for game 2 next!

12x12-Way Weekend Episode VII: The Force Was Mistaken - June 20, 2025 (8PM)

Narkina-5 Prison

This Duel marked the first time in league history that we played FOUR Duels in one day!!!  And this one, like the night before, went DEEP into the night before it was resolved.  Once the prison floor stopped pulsing with electricity, it would be Curtis' Lando Calrissian who survived!  He was the perfect character on the perfect starting spot to make it to the end.

Episode 7 - all-shooter Duel.

 

12x12-Way Weekend Episode V: The Empire Sounds Whack - June 20, 2025 (12PM)

Trash Compactor (sneak preview of the new Death Star board)

We tried to place the fastest playing boards for our noon Duels over the weekend, so that brought us to the Trash Compactor.  Instead of using the 2D board, we used Ryan's new Death Star board pieces to create the Trash Compactor!  Nothing is quite as tense in a 12-way Duel as being stuck on the row that is about to crush you out of the game!!  The final four was quite odd, as Ryan's Dooku made a weird play that guaranteed his own death and Curtis' Kylo Ren the win! 

Episode 5 - all-dark side Duel.

The Imperial March - March 22, 2025

Conveyex Train

Sometimes in this league, things are so serendipitous it makes you believe in a higher power...like THE FORCE!  Sacrilege and pending lightning strikes aside, what if I were to tell you the last two characters standing in The Imperial March were also the two big characters from the scene in the movie that the playing board was based on???   Read on for the details!

All aboard the choo-choo train!

Eric (Chirrut & Baze) became the early target with his double-minor combo of Rogue One rebels, and that included Elliot using his tow cable to jump back onto their speeder to commence attacks.  But Eric was one with the Force and the Force was with him, so the attention, almost out of nowhere, shifted to Jonah's The Stranger on the other end of the board.  Riley B/Jyn Erso, Riley E/Han Solo, and CJ/Darth Maul managed to avoid a huge infight and direct their collective ire against poor Jonah.  The Stranger was the top ranked character heading into the Duel, and folks were clearly uninterested in keeping him around.  Even Jonah's Teal bestie Alex/Reva was forced to join in.  It would be CJ's Maul who got the glory of eliminating The Stranger, and Jonah got the glory of holding the Golden Jar Jar.  Brutal!

By this point a lot of folks were fully carded on a crowded board.  Despite some early mistrust Josiah/Captain Phasma and Rob/Mace Windu had stood next to each other peacefully.  But Josiah was in an unintentional kill box and the Duelers sitting after Rob and before Josiah's turn started to give Mace the "let's destroy Phasma" vibes.  Poor Josiah couldn't defend that many enemies.  Jordann/ General Grievous landed the eleventh place blow with Make Them Suffer.  Why is Grievous so mean???

That's the "why did I get Han?" face.

With Phasma gone Chirrut and Baze became the next target.  Chirrut died first and Baze was surrounded with nowhere to run and plenty of people gunning for him.  But Eric was insistent that Elliot's Obi-Wan Kenobi make the final kill shot, and Elliot was happy to oblige.  Eric was gone in tenth.

Elliot ended up using a Force Control, and ended up surrounding Cate's Bo-Katan Kryze, who had made threats of attack to nearly everyone on the board, and everyone on the board basically agreed she should go next.  Cate's blood lust is famous at this point, as her "never have ten cards in your hand" philosophy keeps the game moving.  But the Conveyex was moving too and needed to offboard more characters.  Two attacks from Rob/Mace Windu's Clone Trooper finished the job in ninth.

The Maul-CJ partnership is as terrifying as it is hilarious.

One of the key moments of the game kicked in after Bo-Katan was eliminated.  Jordann/Grievous and Alex/Reva locked horns in a fated battle in the middle of the board.  Nobody but those two knew it was a foregone conclusion they would tangle, and that's just what happened.  The unintentional consequence was that it tipped the scales in the favor of the shooting characters.  CJ was actually next to go, after using two Blinding Surges on defense made her week.  Reva offed her in eighth with Grand Ambition.

Alex's penchant for being wishy-washy on his alliances left him no dancing partners after that move, and it would be Jordann who would secure the upper hand as her MagnaGuard pushed Reva to her demise.  Rob was kicking himself for not interjecting earlier, because with Maul and Reva gone the blades were sledding up hill on a shooter's board with plenty of shooters left.  

Fit check - does your shirt match your light saber?

Rob desperately tried to get Jordann and Elliot to stay loyal with each other, but Jordann wouldn't look Rob in the eye and Elliot was experiencing Jedi mind tricks from Riley E/Han and Riley B/Jyn.  Just as Rob was going to but severe damage on an exposed Han Solo, Riley B. used Jyn's Kyber Krystal luck to dump Mace's Wisdoms and a Whirlwind!  Rob was stunned by his sudden turn of fortunes, and was gone soon after charging in against Jyn in a final attempt to try and get even.  It was nutty!

Riley B., who was doing us a big-time solid by subbing for a sick Dueler, was playing a fantastic game as Jyn and Cassian.  But the other Duelers began to fear him and were having a hard time setting up a firm final three.  So Riley B. became the odd Dueler out.  It took quite a bit of work to whittle him down, but Elliot's Obi nailed the final nail in the coffin and Jyn was gone in fifth.

Obi-Gone Kenobi.

The game slowed down quite a bit at this point, which was a bummer because we played pretty quickly at this Duel.  After a lot of haggling, hemming, and hawing, Elliot/Obi became the target.  Curtis flew about as low under the radar as a shooter can this game.  He used a It's Been A Ride Babe! with his Val, which actually didn't kill her but did hurt Obi something fierce.  Elliot would finally go down with a subsequent attack from Val for fourth place.

The biggest move of the game went down next.  Curtis/Beckett and Riley E/Han realized they needed to work together to take oust Jordann's General Grievous.  Riley had already used her Bowcaster earlier in the game (to little effect when Mace blocked all but two points of damage), but had secretly got it again on her reshuffle.  She attacked Jordann twice...but Jordann didn't defend on the second attack...WHICH WAS THE BOWCASTER!!!  ELEVEN POINTS OF DAMAGE!  Jordann was stunned and used a couple of Spare Parts to try and recover, but there was no digging out of that hole.  Curtis used Trust No One to send Jordann out in third.  Her desperate hope to win a Duel before graduating is in jeopardy, but her absolutely stellar finishes this year have actually moved her into the top spot in the Dueler rankings!  Congrats Jordann!

Boom goes the Bowcaster!

And then there were two!!!  And who were the two???  Tobias Beckett and Han Solo...on the Conveyex Train from the Solo movie!!!  How cool was that?!

Curtis definitely had the stronger major, but Riley's Chewbacca was still alive and kicking.  But unfortunately for Riley, so was Val!  And for maybe the first time in league history, Val used It's Been A Ride, Babe! twice in the same game!!!  That was five points of auto-damage to Han, which is too much on an already weak-health character.  Riley managed a final Wookie toss, but Curtis had one last Trust No One that offed Riley in second!  Curtis won with Beckett!!!  On the train!  This broke a three and a half year winless streak for Curtis, to bring his career total to eleven wins.  This was also Beckett's third win.

Final order of finish:

12.  Jonah/The Stranger

11.  Josiah/Captain Phasma

10.  Eric/Chirrut & Baze

9.  Cate/Bo-Katan

8.  CJ/Darth Maul

7.  Alex G./Reva

6.  Rob/Mace Windu

5.  Riley B/Jyn Erso

4.  Elliot/Obi-Wan

3.  Jordann/General Grievous

2.  Riley E/Han Solo

1.  Curtis/Tobias Beckett

That was a great, and relatively quick, night of Dueling!  Next month is DUEL OF THE FATES, our annual April Duel where we listen to "Duel of the Fates" on repeat the entire night.  Pure audio torture.  It's the best.  We're looking at Friday, April 4, for that, but more details are coming.

Until then...congrats again, Curtis!  PEW PEW!

Doubleheader #2 - August 28th, 2021

 

Ewok Village

We got the first Duel done in under 4 hours - yay us!  After a brief break to stuff our faces with Tacos and set up the new board, we were ready.  For game 2 we were in Ewok Village, probably the prettiest board we play on and a lasting testament to the design stylings of Ryan.  We miss you Ryan!

Nine of these fools decided to play twice!

Ewok Village is a tricky board because of its odd design and starting points.  It doesn't favor the typical 6v6 pattern.  Nonetheless, early in the game it looked like the dark side would try to stay united.  However, Ian's Lobot was on the big bridge and positioned himself to Disarm four cards each from JD's Kylo Ren and Karson's Darth Vader!  Not long after Karson saw the light and flipped sides.  JD, still glowing from his game 1 victory but now threatened with a last place finish, attacked Vader.  He played his 12 attack - I Know What I Have To Do - on Karson...who didn't defend!!!  OUCH!!!  

Meanwhile, Grant D.'s Jyn/Cassian, Kat's lil' Leia, Evan's Mando, and Lando were peppering the dark side with shots and they weren't coping with it well.  Elliot's Jango Rocket Retreated to stand by Grant H.'s Moff Gideon...who promptly attacked him!  Jango didn't last long, and Elliot ended a frustrating day in last place.

JD had run down to the bridge, hoping to curry favor with the light side as he was bleeding health points.  That's when Rylie's Dark Trooper threw not one but TWO grenades!!!  Those did a lot of damage, but it hurt an already wounded Kylo the most.  Evan's Cara Dune used Heavy Weapon to knock him out in 11th.  It's always tough to win the first game of a Doubleheader, the target is immediately on you!

Rylie's use of the Grenades was slick, but she had taken damage from two Camouflage attacks from Rob's Big Leia.  The rest of the bridge shooters whittled her down, and Big Leia got the kill shot, allowing Rylie to play her farming game for the rest of the night.

Feed Maul or Else

Ben's Darth Maul started the game in the back corner, and by this point he was fully carded and ready for revenge on Karson for flipping.  He used an Athletic Surge to kill a Storm Trooper and move in on Vader.  Karson never recovered from the Kylo 12 attack, and Maul deep-sixed him in 9th place.  

Kat's Luke and Leia were fully carded on the other end of the board, and she took the opportunity to fire a shot at Ian's Lando, who was near Maul and Grant H.'s Gideon.  Ian used a defense card that allowed him to switch places with another Dueler, and he was going to do it on Kat's Luke when Ben mentioned he'd prefer Rob's Leia.  This was probably because Wicket the Ewok had used Whirling Rocks to put 4 points of damage on Maul, which was hilarious no matter how grumpy Ben was about it.  Ian agreed and Rob went from great standing within his alliance to alone against Maul and Gideon.  Maul and Leia did battle, with Leia using an I Know defense and Covert Operation to put auto damage on Maul.  Grant H. decided, however, to kill Ben instead of Rob, so Maul was gone in 8th.

Rising Phoenix nesting in the trees.

Ian was really grumpy Rob had survived, so he started going after Leia with renewed purpose.  He couldn't get the kill shot, though.  Rob assured the rest of the light side his only purpose in the game was to take down Lando, but Kat couldn't pass up the easy kill, so Rob came to a halt in 7th.

Evan, playing the Mandalorian, kind of took over the game at this point.  He played the brutal Disintegration on an unsuspecting Grant H., and just like the card implies, Gideon disappeared in sixth!  That's a career best finish for both the character and Grant, though! 

When you get the character of the guy
on your shirt.

Ian/Lando tried very hard to align with anyone who would take him, but it was fairly obvious he was unwanted.  It would be Mando again rising to the occasion (get it!?!?) with Rising Phoenix.  While flying among the treetops he attacked Lando and then played Whistling Birds on everyone else...and that's how Lando died!  A beskar spike to the head.  Brutal!

This brought things to the final four.  It looked like the team would go after Curtis' Anakin, who had been laying low for most of the game.  However, he was fairly isolated from the others, and he managed to put damage on Evan's Mando.  In a surprising move, Kat's lil' Leia killed The Mandalorian in 4th!  What a great run for Evan, though.  He finished tied for 5th in the first game and in 4th for his second.

Three-way tension.

With three to go it looked like Grant's Jyn and Kat's Luke would work together to knock out Curtis' Anakin.  However, Curtis got into Kat's head by commenting on how healthy Jyn and Cassian were and how hard it would be to defend against two shooters.  There was a lot of chaotic attacks between the three of them.  Eventually, though, Grant and Kat were pretty banged up while Anakin was still on his first row of health.  Rather than work together, though, Kat went for a bold strategy.  She eliminated Jyn with a Justice and then dropped I Will Not Fight You.  Curtis had the health advantage but Kat was banking on luck of the draw.  They ran around the board quite a bit, but a patient Curtis somehow pulled out the victory!!!  It was a notable victory for several reasons, too.  Not only did Curtis become the second Dueler in league history with double-digit wins, but he also became the first person to win with all six original light side characters!!!  And it was his 4th win in his last SIX games!!!!  That's insane!  Let's tip our caps to Kat too - her second place finish with Luke was a career best finish!

The final order of finish:

12.  Elliot/Jango Fett

11.  JD M./Kylo Ren

10.  Rylie/Orson Krennic

9.  Karson/Darth Vader

8.  Ben/Darth Maul

7.  Rob/Princess Leia

6.  Grant H./Moff Gideon

5.  Ian/Lando Calrissian

4.  Evan/The Mandalorian

3.  Grant D./Jyn Erso

2.  Kat/Luke Skywalker

1.  Curtis/Anakin Skywalker

That was a great night of Dueling!  And there were only 2 tacos left from an order of 50!  Next month's Duel - THE FALL BRAWL - will likely take place on September 18th.  More info to come!

Duel of the Fates - April 10, 2021

 

EWOK VILLAGE

The 101st Duel in league history went down last night, high up in the trees on the forest moon of Endor.  No actual Ewoks were harmed in the construction of the board, nor the destruction that took place upon it.  We can't wait to play with this one face to face - it's gorgeous!!!

What a bunch of tree huggers...

Things were tense right out of the gate as there were literally only a couple of open squares on the board.  Curtis' Darth Maul got the party started when he slaughtered Riley's Cara Dune on the big bridge.  Fiona's Jar Jar Binks responded by chucking an Oopsa Bombad (we are such nerds) into enemy territory.  There was a lot of shooting across the open terrain, and folks were pulling tricks out of their bags like Rob's Luke playing I Will Not Fight You on John's Jango Fett to devastating effect, Ryan's Yoda Insighting foks, and Kaleb's Lando using Hello What Have We Here?.  

Fiona's Qui-Gon was boot-scootin' boogeying up the bridge, unafraid of the dark side.  In a Dueling first, Fiona played from the Brooks Beauty Salon.  She was banged up when Ian's Kylo played Force Choke and sent her to the country line dance in the sky in last place.

Ugly pipe cleaners helped us see the diagonals online.

Even though the light side was down one player, it was obvious the dark side was hurting.  Jango was in rough shape, Duncan's Vader was getting pot-shotted (not a word), and Riley's Mandalorian smoked Jessica's Emperor with a Disintegration.  Curtis' Darth Maul was defending the bridge and feeling anxious.  Ian was still stuck in the back corner of the board and getting cranky.  Mom and Dad started fighting and a rift was born.  Kevin, Rob's buddy from the Dueling league at the University of Tennessee, seized the day when he used a Force Control to set up kill boxes for John's Jango and Duncan's Vader with the help of...Curtis' Maul and Grant's Supreme Leader Snoke!  The infighting led to a defection and the dark side crumbled.  Maul knocked out John in eleventh and Riley's Mando bumped Duncan off in tenth.

Duncan wins best screen background ever.

Things weren't looking good for Ian's Kylo Ren and Jessica's Emperor.  The new alliance formed a plan to use Yoda to Force Push Kylo into a kill box.  Jessica had the chance to block the bridge, but she hoped for a reward by allowing Ryan to pass.  Sure enough, he Force Lifted and Pushed Kylo into danger.  Ian was blood thirsty to lay hits on Curtis' Maul or Kaleb's Lando, but the alliance stayed strong and Maul ended his night.  Jessica wasn't long for the game after that as Ryan Force Pushed her too.  Rob used Justice to send her packing, but not before she got in a hilarious dig about what an overkill it was.

"I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain!"

There were eight Duelers left at this point, and Riley's Mandalorian was active allover the board, but a departing You Will Die from Jessica's Emperor left her really short-carded.  She had retreated to the corner, but Curtis' Maul decided her services were no longer needed and she was done in seventh.

From there it was unclear how things would proceed, so Ryan threw out Kevin's Obi-Wan as a potential target but the rest of the group wasn't feeling it.  Rob used the faux pas to turn it on Ryan.  His Yoda retreated to the far corner where Kylo had been hanging, but Grant's Snoke finally got Tied To A String and yanked him into a kill box.  They got him to spend some of the big defense cards, but everyone knows how tough Yoda is.  He hit Rob's Luke and then Force Pushed him into Curtis' lap.  Darth Maul couldn't resist, and despite the desperate pleas from Rob, he died in sixth place.

Your final five.  Not Rob.  He died.

Ryan offered all sorts of promises of loyalty to everyone on the board, but he knew he was done in fifth.  Kevin's Obi used Jedi Attack to make it so.  With just four to go, he all of a sudden couldn't find a partner to dance with.  He reflected upon his Alanis Morissette-tinged view of irony.  He had saved Maul and Snoke's life earlier in the game, but now he would be put to death by them.  This took a really long time, though, because Obi-Wan Kenobi is AWESOME and this certainly wasn't Kevin's first rodeo.  The St. Louis Kid made them spend a ton of cards on him, but he finally cashed out in fourth, disappointed the Landolorian wouldn't help him.

Who ordered the Maul sandwich?

The final three took about two hours to play.  I can't possibly describe all that happened, but it was pretty fascinating to watch as there was never a clear two-on-one pairing.  It started with Maul damaged and Snoke and Lando fully healthy, but by the end they were all in rough shape.  Grant got stuck fighting a two-front battle.  He was trying to time his I Cannot Be Beaten card, which would have regenerated his Guards, but he missed it when Curtis played an unexpected Athletic Surge (his only one left after Ian permanently discarded the other).  It had looked like Grant was close to his first victory after a long gap, but alas, this game is brutal and he rested in third.

Maul did work!

Curtis used that same Athletic Surge to run and pin Kaleb's Lando in the corner of the board.  Despite being high carded, he basically had nothing left (#rememberlobot).  However, he did have one last attack.  It looked like we might have had the league's first stalemate - if Curtis defended with Blinding Surge they both would have died and there would be no winner.  However, Curtis still had his four defense, and he dispatched Kaleb in second place!!!

Curtis has won THE LAST THREE DUELS he's played in, which include three of the last four league Duels.  THAT IS INSANE!!!  He's on fire!!!  Which is ironic, since he's the facilities guy (#alanismorissette).  At nine career victories he's now second on the all-time list.  The win also puts Darth Maul in second place for career wins by characters.  Maul hadn't won since...the last Duel of the Fates!

Let's get that final order of finish:

12.  Fiona/Qui-Gon Jinn

11.  John B/Jango Fett

10.  Duncan/Darth Vader

9.  Ian/Kylo Ren

8.  Jessica B./Emperor Palpatine

7.  Riley/The Mandalorian

6.  Rob/Luke Skywalker

5.  Ryan/Yoda

4.  Kevin/Obi-Wan Kenobi

3.  Grant/Supreme Leader Snoke

2.  Kaleb/Lando Calrissian

1.  Curtis/Darth Maul

Next month is our final Duel of the school year - May the 4th Be With You!  We usually play on the 4th, but this year that's during finals and closing, so we're going to see if we should move it to a different date that week.  Stay tuned for more information.

We're also going to debut yet ANOTHER new board!  Here's a hint...one thing's for sure, we're all going to be a lot thinner!