2025 Championship - December 6, 2025

Carbon Freezing Chamber via Dagobah

Oh.  My.  GOODNESS!!!  The 2025 Championship will go down in league history as one of the most memorable Duels we've ever battled - and also historic!!!  There was high drama throughout, crazy tactics, and maybe most remarkable of all...the whole thing was done by 9:30PM!!!  That duel was MAYBE two hours and fifteen minutes.  It was all glorious and head-spinning for sure.

Smile if you intend to win the '25 Championship!

The hallmark of the Championship blog recaps is that each Dueler poses with the card that eliminated them.  So let's jump into it!!!

12th Place

Dueler:  Caden

Character:  Princess Leia

Card That Killed Him:  Force Lightning

Why He Died:  The most consequential move of the game was Josiah's Rey deciding to betray the light side by attacking it and Backflipping to the dark side!  Caden was his punching bag for that move, and the Emperor (Grant) made the kill shot.  BRUTAL.

11th Place

Dueler:  Ally

Character:  Mace Windu

Card That Killed Her:  Throw Debris

Why She Died:  By the time Rey flipped (literally!) and the light side realized Jillian's Clone Commandos were never on their side, they were doomed.  Ally's Mace fought valiantly but she couldn't withstand the whole dark side.  On the bright side, she turns professional at her next Duel!

10th Place

Dueler:  James

Character:  Lando Calrissian

Card That Killed Him:  Tobias Beckett 4-1

Why He Died:  His fellow light side alliance tried so hard to protect him with their minors, but they were overwhelmed.  James did set up the craziest play of the game (keep reading!) when he switched places with Curtis' Tarkin.  But Michael's Tobias Beckett eliminated his new neighbor in tenth.

9th Place

Dueler:  Josiah

Character:  Rey

Card That Killed Him:  All Too Easy

Why He Died:  ...the wombo-combo!!!  It's been many Duels since we've seen the Emperor (Grant) play You Will Die and Darth Vader (Riley) hit that victim with All Too Easy!  A.T.E. is a 20 point attack if it goes undefended...and poor Josiah had no cards with which to defend!!!  INSANE!

8th Place

Dueler:  Jordyn

Character:  Bo-Katan Kryze

Card That Killed Her:  You May Fire When Ready

Why She Died:  The craziest moment of the night came courtesy of Curts' Grand Moff Tarkin, who after being attacked by The Stranger (Justin) played BOTH Y.M.F.W.R.s against EVERY CHARACTER STILL ON THE BOARD!!!  The second card splattered poor Jordyn/Bo-Katan.

7th Place

Dueler:  Curtis

Character:  Grand Moff Tarkin

Card That Killed Him:  The Stranger 5-1

Why He Died: ...because he attacked every character on the board twice, killing six of them!!!  That was the biggest killing spree in league history since Kaleb's infamous Trash Compactor victory.  Credit Justin, though, who finished what he started by killing the giddy-with-bloodlust Curtis.

6th Place

Dueler:  Jillian

Character:  Clone Commandos

Card That Killed Her:  her own Magnetic Thermal Detonator!!!

Why She Died:  to paraphrase Frank Sinatara...she did it her way!!  Jillian's Clone Commandos really got jacked up by the Tarkin attacks, and she quickly lost two of her three after that.  Facing certain death, she decided to go out with a bang - LITERALLY - by blowing herself up while damaging others!

5th Place

Dueler:  Justin

Character:  The Stranger

Card That Killed Him:  It's Been A Ride, Babe

Why He Died:  In the final five it looked like Justin was secure in his alliance, but that's when Grant's Emperor put the target on The Stranger!  Rob's Maul was shocked but started the barrage.  It would be Michael's Val, though, who proved most disruptive when she got to both of them and blew them up!

4th Place

Dueler:  Michael

Character:  Tobias Beckett

Card That Killed Him:  Darth Vader 5-1

Why He Died:  On a board filled with big blades, Michael deftly navigated the wily Beckett.  But the Tarkin attacks damaged him for sure, and when he locked horns with Grant's Emperor Palpatine, he was cooked.  Riley put the kill shot on her table neighbor.

3rd Place

Dueler:  Grant

Character:  Emperor Palpatine

Card That Killed Him:  Darth Vader 4-2

Why He Died:  It was apparent the whole night the only two Duelers who knew what was going on were Grant and Riley.  But as he moved against Rob/Maul, Rob begged Riley to use him against the Emperor.  They both attacked him, but Vader got the character trophy.

2nd Place

Dueler:  Rob

Character:  Darth Maul

Card That Killed Him:  Wrath 

Why He Died:  Rob was playing from the back of his heels all night, but using a Blinding Surge against Val without killing her and her subsequent suicide bomb doomed his fate.  He barely eked ahead of Grant's Emperor...only to face his own daughter, who used double Wraths to take him down!

1st Place

Dueler:  Riley

Character:  Darth Vader

How She Won:  By being king/queen of the dark side!!!

What an incredible week for Riley!  Not only was she accepted to Baylor (!!!), but she won her third career Duel and THE 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  She is also the first woman to win a Championship!!!  What a time for the league - our last three Duel winners are all female - incredible!  This also moved Darth Vader ahead of Darth Maul for the all-time wins leader on the character side.

Final Order of Finish:

12 - Caden/Princess Leia

11 - Ally/Mace Windu

10 - James/Lando Calrissian

9 - Josiah/Rey

8 - Jordyn/Bo-Katan Kryze

7 - Curtis/Grand Moff Tarkin

6 - Jillian/Clone Commandos

5 - Justin/The Stranger

4 - Michael/Tobias Beckett

3 - Grant/Emperor Palpatine

2 - Rob/Darth Maul

1 - Riley/Darth Vader

I'm not kidding - that was a LEGENDARY Duel!  It was one for the ages for sure.  Thanks to all who played - and for a great 2025!!!  We've got some big things planned for 2026...including the debut of four NEW characters at January's A New Hope Duel.  That will be the weekend after we get back for CL Training.  Until then...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  Pew Pew!!!

 

A New Hope - January 18, 2025

 

Arvala-7

Hope springs eternal in the hearts of all Duelers!  So what better way to start a new year with...A New Hope!  That's right, our annual January Duel went down in the twisty canyons of Arvala-7.  We had a big wait list for this one - Duelers were trying to complete their New Year's resolutions to win all the 12-Way Duels in 2025!  But only one would pull it off...and who was that?  Read the recap below to find out!

Happy New Year's!

There were a lot of folks at the table who hadn't played the Arvala-7 board before, and they immediately noticed how segregated the light and dark sides were from each other.  That being said, nobody wanted to defect to the other side, so each team began plotting on how to gain the upper hand.  Recent birthday boy Austin, playing for the first time since the last A New Hope, got bold and moved his Han to the side to attack and kill Sam's New Order Trooper.  But his rust showed when he didn't retreat afterwards.  The dark side pounced, and by the time Austin could escape he was down to four points of health.  That so happens to be the exact damage a DarthVader Throw Debris delivers...and Rob killed Austin in last!    Woof!

The light side stayed strong, though Han and Chewie were some of the precious few shooters their team had.  The dark side continued picking off other minors.  This next portion of the game took a looooooong time to play.  Like, several hours, but there was a lot of action.  The dark side was determined to kill James' Torbin before he used Barash Vow to plug a main passageway.  It turned comical as Torbin stayed alive while desperately searching for the card.  The dark side finally got him, though, and Indara fell soon after thanks to Curtis' General Grievous making a bold attack.  If there was a silver lining it was James turning pro - congrats James!

A Teal divided cannot stand...

Alex G. had pulled off a couple of slick attacks with Ahsoka, but Rob made sure the rest of his team knew it appeared Alex was hurting for defense cards.  The dark side smelled the blood in the water and combined their efforts on him.  A Vader Wrath was the last blow as the unofficial rookie of the year in 2024 was gone in tenth place.

The light side was collapsing and that's when the defections commenced.  Jordyn/Luke turned first, attacking Elliot's Qui-Gon, who got messed over by Curtis' General Grievous earlier in the game.  But Elliot and Josiah/Sol had tangled with Mark/Dooku and Eric/Boba to positive effect.  It looked like one of those dark side characters would be next, but a shocking Force Push of Sol from Dooku put Josiah in a kill box and he was cooked after that.  It was ninth place for Josiah, but it was fun having him back for the first time since CL Training!

The Torbin Terminators

The 2024 Champion Elliot was bobbing and weaving throughout the night with his Qui-Gon and Jar Jar.  His main arch nemesis was Mark/Dooku.  Mark was on the ropes when Sam, using Captain Phasma, relieved Mark of his last Super Battle Droid with a New Recruit special.  Mark was crestfallen and finally fell to a Prophecy from Elliot.  Mark finished in eighth, but his shiny BRC water bottle was a welcome upgrade at the table!

Sam used Phasma's brand new Super Battle Droid to lay a one point death shot on Qui-Gon, which is always a little frustrating when you go out like that.  But Elliot took it in stride...a sign of a recent champion for sure!  

The end of the light side alliance.

The final six standing were the dark side alliance, which included Jordyn's Luke by that point.  Though there were several hours of play with no deaths, the dam broke quickly from eleventh place to seventh.  Nobody was sure how to proceed.  Caden excused himself from the table for a moment, and that's when the rest of the group put the target on him.  He's not the first person to fall victim to the call of nature, and he won't be the last!  His Beckett, who was terrorized by Qui-Gon for most of the game, was stuck in an unintentional kill box.  Rob's Vader landed the final two blows.  Caden played well with a short card hand all night, this kid has a future in the league!

Eric's Boba Fett rode shotgun most of the night with Mark's Count Dooku, but as a result, he was fairly banged up.  He was loyal to the alliance through and through, but as the weakest character left he was the next target.  Jordyn/Luke handed him his walking papers in fifth.  Eric has played twice and finished fifth twice.  Those are very good performances!

The ethics sub-committee of the Jedi Council will be 
meeting this week to discuss the new trend of desecrating
destroyed characters...

Rob/Vader and Curtis/Grievous had a secret agreement to eliminate the shooters from the board, and their plan was working with Beckett and Boba gone.  But Curtis was hiding in a corner behind his double-resurrected Magna Guards when Sam/Captain Phasma made mention that he didn't think anybody but Grievous wins if Curtis made it to the top three.  Sam had a point - General Grievous was the most powerful character still in the game and Curtis is an expert Dueler.  Rob made the painful decision to side with Jordyn and Sam against Curtis.  He used Your Skills Are Not Complete and a Choke to expose Grievous and Sam and Jordyn took it from there.  The kill shot was a Justice from Luke Skywalker.  Curtis played outstanding.

And then there were three!  Rob/Vader and Sam/Captain Phasma were both full health and each had a minor character left...until Captain Phasma took Rob's Storm Trooper with another New Recruit!  In an ironic twist of fate, Vader was forced to kill his former Trooper for his own protection.  Curse you, Phasma!

Jordyn committing Dueling blasphemy.

Sam and Rob were both lobbying hard for Jordyn to join them against the other.  She waffled for a couple of rounds before boldly moving in against Rob's Vader.  She was low carded, though, and so Rob countered with two attacks.  The second card was All Too Easy...and Jordyn couldn't defend!  Luke Skywalker was killed instantly!  Still, kudos to Jordyn who is proving to be a formidable amateur. 

That left a Captain Phasma vs. Darth Vader finale.  Arvala is a shooter's board, and Sam was loaded with Phasma's best cards.  Rob, meanwhile, was pulling a lot of Storm Trooper cards after his redeal.  Rob did have the luck advantage with dice rolls, though.  He was able to stay away from Phasma as his rolls were big while Sam's were small.  They kept running in circles and Vader was able to start healing and using Wraths and Throw Debris (deb-riss).  After a few rounds Vader was definitely wounded but found his last two Throw Debris on consecutive turns to pull out the win!!!  The winningest character in league history combined with the winningest Dueler in league history to take down the trophy!  It was nearly ten years (Valentine's Duel, 2015) since Rob last won with Vader, but once a decade is still nice!

Congrats to Sam too, who played a heck of a game and just ran into some bad luck.  Let's hope his second place doesn't negatively impact his relational pursuits...

The final order of finish:

12.  Austin/Han

11.  James/Indara

10.  Alex G./Ahsoka

9.  Josiah/Sol

8.  Mark/Dooku

7.  Elliot/Qui-Gon

6.  Caden/Beckett  

5.  Eric/Boba

4.  Curtis/Grievous

3.  Jordyn/Luke

2.  Sam/Phasma

1.  Rob/Vader

That was a long Duel but expertly played by all!  Folks better bring their "A" game in 2025 - it's tough sledding in the league this year.  Save the date for our February match - Valentine's Duel - which we think we'll play on Friday, February 7th at 7PM.

Until then...PEW PEW!

Twin Sun Slam #2 - June 3, 2023

 

Kamino Platform

Game #2 started a bit later than intended thanks to the length of the first Duel and the dramatic ending of Episode III that was playing in the Loser's Lounge during dinner.  But once the burgers were consumed and a fresh vat of Yoda Soda was poured, we were ready for the dark side Duel!

Everyone grumbled when Ian, who had won the first match of the day, once again got the first pick!  The complaints only grew louder when he selected Darth Maul!!  Here's how the draft went down:

1.  Ian picked Maul

2.  Isaiah picked Dooku

3.  Grant D. picked Gideon

4.  Rob picked Captain Phasma

5.  Kat picked Vader

6.  Michael picked Grievous

7.  Riley B. picked Snoke

8.  Curtis picked Krennic

9.  Chris K. picked Palpatine

10.  Grant H. picked Cad Bane (!!!)

11.  Caleb picked Boba

12.  Riley E. picked Kylo

Not picked:  Jango and Beckett

Don't get comfortable, Caleb...

When everyone had placed their characters on the Kamino Platform...history was made in the first round of play.  It's not an official record, but Caleb, big brother to Miles and padawan of Curtis, had his Boba Fett attacked by Ian's Maul right out of the gate!  Sith Speed, a 4-point attack, and Athletic Surge killed the rookie in less than 5 minutes of game play!!!  It was the fastest (most brutal?) elimination ever seen!  It was so mean, which is to say, so like Darth Maul.  BRUTAL!!!

As you could imagine Curtis was quite ticked to see his progeny destroyed that fast, so he took out his anger by destroying the Super Battle Droids of Isaiah's Count Dooku.  But a series of minor characters from the other end of the board started whittling Krennic down, which enabled Riley E.'s Knight of Ren to come out of hiding behind Jango's ship (can you believe nobody picked Jango on Jango's board?) and strike him down in eleventh.  Not a great day of Dueling for Clan Curtis!

School's in session and Chris is teaching!

It was great to have retired Dueler Chris K. play with us in game 2!  He's soon to depart to visit the studios where they shot the original Star Wars, and though he wasn't pleased to see all the new characters, he had no problem schooling newer Duelers on the ways of Emperor Palpatine.  Riley B. used Snoke's Tied To A String and Force Lightning to send Chris/Emperor to a kill box on the other side of the board.  Folks got nervous when Chris didn't look at all fazed.  On his turn he used Royal Command and You Will Die to go right back to his hiding spot behind the ship while dumping Riley B.'s hand!!!  *insert laughing Emperor GIF*  The side Riley B. tried to defect to turned on him after that catastrophic sequence and Riley was out in tenth.

Ian's early aggression against Boba, combined with a dust-up against Riley E.'s Kylo Ren, had him retreat deep towards his alliance but banged up and low carded.  He slowly realized he was in trouble, and Grant D.'s Dark Trooper proved it when a Concussive Punch put the game one winner down in ninth.

The Dark Troopers weren't done, though.  On that same turn they managed to kidnap Chris' Emperor and bring him into a kill box.  That's where Isaiah's Dooku used a 5-point attack to end the Emperor's reign.

The end of the table that was having the most fun.

We were quickly down to seven Duelers (we should have played Kamino first!).  Grant H. hilariously was playing with Cad Bane AGAIN, but not having as much fun as he had hoped.  He was pinned in the back corner with both Michael/Grievous and Riley E./Kylo bearing down on him.  He was desperate to find Rocket Boots but his card luck wasn't there for him.  When he was down to two health points Kat's Vader Wrathed him into seventh place.  Grant H. still reserves the right to play with Cad Bane at all future Duels, though.

Riley E.'s Kylo Ren was the last character standing from her end of the board.  She tussled with numerous folks throughout, but her luck was finally running out.  Grant D.'s Moff Gideon used Astute Panic to end Ben Solo's night in sixth.

Isaiah dictating the flow!

The final five would prove to be new Dueler Isaiah's coming out party!  Michael/Grievous and Kat/Vader had put the target on Grant's Gideon, and Rob's Captain Phasma followed suit by making an attack.  But when it came time for Isaiah to join in...he didn't!  He passed on his first round by drawing, and then on his next turn he made it be known he was more worried about Michael's General Grievous.  This caused a lot of unrest on the board.  When Michael's Grievous started moving toward Rob's Phasma, Rob took that as a sign of aggression and used a Let's Make This Hurt on one of Grievous' minor characters.  That further muddied the waters, but eventually, largely by Isaiah's will, Michael became the target and was out in fifth, killed by a Storm Trooper.

With four to go it became quite clear that Isaiah/Dooku and Grant D./Moff Gideon were sticking together, which forced Rob and Kat to align.  They managed to concentrate their efforts on a loaded Dooku, thanks in part to Kat playing Your Skills Are Not Complete on Gideon.  Captain Phasma, playing just her second Duel, finally got to play New Recruit on the last remaining minor character on the board, Kat's Storm Trooper.  But Rob was loaded with minor character cards, and now that FN-216 was on his team, he fired a volley of shots that finally ended the wily Isaiah's night in fourth!  Holy cow we have a great new Dueler in our ranks, folks!

Final three silliness.

Rob and Kat were galvanized to stay together against Moff Gideon.  Rob was in rougher shape than Kat but kept popping shots, and Kat stayed active too.  She eventually knocked out Gideon in third.  Grant played a heck of a game, though.

At the final two it looked like Vader would trounce Captain Phasma, but Vader wasn't pulling great cards and Phasma had a few tricks up her sleeve.  Rob managed to start docking health points on Kat's Vader, but Kat stayed calm and collected, and eventually landed a Dark Side Drain for the win!  Kat becomes the first woman in league history with three wins!!!  Congrats, Kat!  Vader's win increases his league-leading total to 16.  

Like a boss.

With all the new boards in the league, it's nice to be reminded how fun the original four arenas can be!  Kamino was a great battleground for the dark side to do combat.  Here's the final order of finish:

12.  Caleb/Boba

11.  Curtis/Krennic

10.  Riley B./Snoke

9.  Ian/Maul

8.  Chris K./Emperor

7.  Grant H./Cad

6.  Riley E./Kylo

5.  Michael/Grievous

4.  Isaiah/Dooku

3.  Grant D./Gideon

2.  Rob/Phasma

1.  Kat/Vader

Our next 12-way Duel will be in August, when we kick off year ten (!!!) at CL Training.  Before that, though, we have our annual Singles Tournament!  It looks like we'll play that on Sunday, July 30, starting at 2PM.  We need 32 Duelers to sign up!  It's one of the coolest things we do each year, and it uses a very different part of your Dueling brain.  Stay tuned for more info on that, but mark your calendars now!

Congrats again to Kat! 

Doubleheader #2 - August 27, 2022

The Naboo Reactor Pit

Thank goodness the Trash Compactor held to its reputation as a fast board, because we actually started the second Duel of the night on time!  Some folks don't realize the Doubleheader, which we play in late August every year, is actually a top secret birthday party for Rob.  Rob doesn't like people to know that, but his wife Jessica made sure it was BURNED into our memories this year:

They should have put a toy Darth Vader on top...

The league would like to formally recognize Jess for all her support over the years, and not just for cooking us all those Padawans in a Blanket.  She does a lot of things behind the scenes to let us nerd out once a month.  And she's a great Dueler too, if you can get her to sit down and play...

Elliot looks like a little centaur.

Round two was played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, and though it was designed to force mini-confrontations all over the board, many of the games have turned into a prolonged battle between those stuck in the hallway and those in the reactor pit area.  That's kind of how things started in this game too.

The open area of the board aligned together quickly, led by the real life alliance of Michael (Fennec) and Julia (Rey).  Curtis/Mandalorian talked his way into joining their team by getting out of the hallway.  Andrew/Krennec and Elliot/Beckett even made way for Riley E.'s Darth Vader to move to the back corner to commence distance attack.  TEAMWORK!

From resident-CL, to peers, to mortal enemies.

Duncan's Kylo Ren found himself stuck in the middle of the hallway, so he started to rally his end of the board by going on the offensive.  Riley B., playing in his second career game and second game of the night, made the eyebrow-raising move of charging his Yoda to the front lines too.  His strong defense and the frequent protection of the laser walls turning on guarded him well.

The reactor pit side of the board focused their attacks on the hallway, and soon the hallway was starting to in-fight with each other as they had no one else to attack but the person next to them.  Kevin tried to flip on Duncan's Kylo, and eventually retreated into a killbox of his own making when he didn't heed the warnings offered by said killbox.  Julia/Rey, Michael/Fennec, Elliot/Beckett, and Rob/Luke chopped him up quickly.  Poor Kevin was done in 12th!

Though most of the reactor pit alliance thought Riley B/Yoda and Duncan/Kylo were the next targets, Andrew made a stunning play by trapping The Mandalorian with Krennec's Death Troopers.  This was just Andrew's second game, but both times he's played, he's piloted Krennec.  That's why we shouldn't have been surprised when he played Peace and Security, gutting our hands and helping him against Mando.  But on the redraw Curtis secured Disintegration!  He mortally wounded Krennec, and Riley E. finished him off with a Throw Debris.  Andrew was a real trooper, though, and hung around to operate the lights for the board the rest of the night.  Thanks Andrew!!!

Krennec was gone, and now the attention turned back in full to Riley B.'s Yoda.  The Doubleheader was Riley's first two games in our league, but he's already bought a copy of the board for himself so it's clear he's all in.  And I'm glad, because it was a rough night for him!  Though he held his own for a good chunk of time, the hits from everywhere took their toll, and Cara Dune used a 2-point attack to but the lil' green Jedi to bed in tenth.

The feel-good alliance on the open end of the board couldn't last long.  Elliot/Beckett whispered to Rob/Luke what he thought about Rey or Fennec.  Rob shared he was down for Michael's Fennec, and that's the direction it went.  Michael implored his wife to fight with him, but Rob played an I Will Not Fight You on both Rey and Fennec.  Rob assured Julia she wasn't the target, and that play was to protect himself as others hounded Fennec.  That's exactly what happened.  Michael had little time for recovery, and yet another Throw Debris from Riley E. parked Fennec in ninth.

It was around this point in the night something truly loopy happened.  Corona/Anakin and Duncan/Kylo were high-carded at the end of the hallway with nobody to attack but each other.  That's when they mutually agreed to a Kylo vs. Anakin battle to the death.  So much teen angst!  Meanwhile Grant, playing with Boba in the hallway but never able to do anything because the laser walls were up EVERY...TIME...HE...ROLLED, could only look on and watch, confused by the shenanigans around him.

Duncan feeling the effects of all that Yoda Soda

Though Duncan and Corona definitely traded punches, they eventually got sucked into playing against the rest of the board too.  Anakin's wounded state enabled Rob's Princess Leia to use a Latent Force Abilities attack to eliminate Corona in eight.  Meanwhile, the laser walls were finally down and Grant was making himself known.  He launched a vicious Thermal Detonator and was landing other hits too.  That's when Elliot took a play from the department of redundancy department handbook and used double Double Blasters to smoke Boba in seventh.  It was a long strange night for Grant.

Duncan had no allies at that point, so he fell not long after, with the kill shot once again delivered by Elliot.  That left a final five of Curtis/Mando, Rob/Luke, Julia/Rey, Riley E./Vader, and Elliot/Beckett.  Curtis finally vocalized what everyone else was thinking:  Rey was the most powerful character left on the board, by a longshot.  Everyone agreed to go after Rey, but everyone was scared she was lulling us into a false sense of security, waiting patiently to deploy the healing powers of Rise of Skywalker.  Alas, it ended up that Julia had lost it on the Peace and Security, and had yet to re-draw it.  Curtis offed her in fifth with This Is The Way.

Things got interesting as Curtis advocated going for Rob while Rob advocated for going for Curtis.  Elliot was on the fence.  Riley said she had NO interest in two shooters being on the board in the final three.  Rob proposed they work together to kill Curtis, and then the other two could take down Luke in third place.  Elliot finally decided he would stick with Riley, and that's what they did.  The Mandalorian could only defend so long before Beckett hit him with a 4-point knockout.  Fourth place was a nice rebound for Curtis, after finishing eleventh earlier in the night.

The Three Amigos

Rob assumed Riley and Elliot would go after him next, but unbeknownst to Elliot...Riley gave her father a secret wink!  Rob decided to go whole-hog after Elliot, who had been his table bestie all night.  He stayed aggressive, using multiple I Will Not Fight You's on him to keep him unbalanced.  Then the game got stuck because there were multiple turns without the walls coming down.  When Rob/Luke finally reached Beckett, he used a Justice to knock Elliot within two of dying.  It was Riley's turn next, and Rob said she better use a distance attack or he'd be cranky.  She Wrathed Elliot, who was out in third.  It was a great night of Dueling for Elliot, who was in the top five for both matches.

And then there were two!  Father and Daughter.  Father (Vader) and Son (Luke).  While Rob had been chasing down Elliot, Riley had been slowly healing and stocking up on distance attacks.  Rob had no idea she had gathered so many, but soon his health indicator card was down ten points.  He reached Vader with a Justice to help even the odds.  He intended to use an attack-I Will Not Fight You on his next turn, but Riley sensed the ploy and used Your Skills Are Not Complete!  Rob had to drop both his I Will Not Fight You and his Children of the Force!  Rob's stomach sunk as Riley came in for the attack.  He didn't have enough defense...and he fell to his daughter!!!  What a huge win for Riley!!!  She bounced back from a last place finish in game one and took down game two!!!  This marks her second career victory, and she's only 14 years old!  #prodigee  This win also pushed Vader's career best win total up to 15, giving him a little more cushion from Darth Maul's 13 trophies.  Vader winning was also Plush Poe's pick!  As for Rob...thank goodness that jerk didn't win twice in the same night.  He's the worst!

Winner Winner, Tie-Fighter Ties Dinner!

The final order of finish:

12.  Kevin/Grievous

11.  Andrew/Krennec

10.  Riley B/Yoda

9.  Michael/Fennec

8.  Corona/Anakin

7.  Grant D./Boba

6.  Duncan/Kylo

5.  Julia/Rey

4.  Curtis/Mando

3.  Elliot/Beckett

2.  Rob/Luke

1.  Riley E./Vader

  

This coming Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the very first 12-Way Duel, which was played up in Muncie, Indiana.  I can't believe it's still going, and going stronger than ever.  To all current and past Duelers...thank you for making this a part of your life!  PEW PEW!!!

Dates aren't final yet, but it looks like the September Duel (THE FALL BRAWL) will be played on Saturday, the 24th.  More info to come on that, but guard your calendars now!  And we'll need THIRTEEN Duelers because we're playing in...THE RANCOR DUNGEON!

Thanksdueling! - November 14, 2020

 

Rancor Dungeon

Not unlike after a Thanksgiving meal, when you push back from the table and start to question your gluttonous behavior, twelve gathered and braved a different kind of feast...the Rancor Dungeon!  

We continued our streak of new boards, this time playing the basement of Jabba's Palace, but in a league-first, we had a 13th character...the Rancor!

Release the Kraken!

We had a not-so-mysterious Dueler lined up to play the Rancor...Riley!  The youngest winner in league history was more than excited to play the mindless killing machine.  We hid the identities of the other Duelers and chatter to eliminate any possible bias.  She had one directive - cause as much chaos and destruction as possible.  

Of course, for the Rancor to be released, a character on the board had to be killed first.  And just like the preview post predicted, it was Ian's Luke Skywalker who opened the gate!  He destroyed one of Troy's Battle Droids to release the Rancor, and she made her presence known by immediately attacking and killing the other Battle Droid and then playing Sheer Terror, which discarded several valuable draw cards of the 12 Duelers.  

Those nervous "we're fighting a Rancor???" smiles...

But just as the Rancor entered the fray, Miguel, using Boba Fett, asked Stephen/Obi and Rob/Emperor if they wanted to join him in taking out Ryan's Anakin.  That was a bold declaration for a weaker character with Padme's gun pointed at him.  It would come back to haunt Miguel because Ryan and Rob unleashed attacks on him to nearly kill him.

Meanwhile...there was still a Rancor on the loose!  After playing the Bone Crusher card (every player has one less action), the Rancor took a Big Swing and sent Lucas' Mace Windu flying across the board.  But the rest of the Duelers started peppering the Rancor with distance attacks, including a Sniper Shot from Kaleb's Zam.  As the characters backed up, the Rancor couldn't help but move out of its caged area, putting itself at risk for getting crushed by the gate.  Sure enough, Troy's Darth Maul rushed past and destroyed the gate control panel, crushing and killing the Rancor!  Give Riley credit, she took down four minor characters before exiting the game, and giggled the entire time.

Miguel's Boba was bleeding out, and Stephen's Clone Trooper showed no mercy by shooting the Fett out in 12th place.  After that, Rob/Emperor, Stephen/Obi, and Ryan/Anakin formed up near each other, inadvertently signaling to the rest of the board they were together.  Ian's Luke wasted no time calling it out and rallying the other Duelers, including Kevin's Count Dooku.  Rob scrambled by playing You Will Die on Kaleb's Jango, hoping to put some blood in the water to distract them.  Sure enough, the mega-alliance decided they didn't need the other Fett and he was done in eleventh after Lucas' Mace finished him off.

How did Stephen save himself???

Kevin, literally playing next to Stephen from his home in Florida, Force Pushed his houseguest into the alliance kill box.  But Obi-Wan went next and, using two Force Controls, somehow wiggled out of danger while creating the biggest mess of characters anyone can remember in a long time.  That led to poor Kevin's Dooku becoming the next target, falling to Troy's Darth Maul in tenth.

From there Ian once again led the charge, putting the focus back on Ryan/Anakin and Rob/Emperor.  Ryan and Rob tried desperately to form a new alliance against Curtis/Yoda, Grant/Han, and Ian/Luke.  The rest of the board wasn't having it, though, and Duncan Threw Debris to finish off Ryan in ninth.

It got a little testy after that.  Troy's Maul was making his way across the board to attack Rob's Emperor, but Ian got nervous about Troy's intentions and called on everyone to go after Maul next.  Troy was incensed as the others betrayed him.  It would Duncan again with the kill shot, this time using a Wrath.

First time a Dueler played from a moving vehicle.

Rob was next to go, but before falling, he knocked Ian's Luke down to one point of health.  Surely somebody would finish him off immediately after, right?  Right!?!?!?  Wrong!  Ian stayed around for a LONG time after, but I'm getting ahead of myself...

With six to go, nobody was quite sure who to go after next, until Grant reluctantly pointed at the fully healthy Yoda who had been reluctant to do much damage against Troy's Maul.  The rest of the board eventually came around to that line of thinking.  The big damage came from Chewbacca's Bowcaster, which Yoda didn't defend!  It was brutal.  Stephen's Obi finished it and Curtis was out in sixth.

That left five Duelers, and Kevin finally kicked Stephen out of his house, meaning he had to play from his phone in the car (don't worry, his wife was driving).  His Obi, though, became the next target, led by Lucas' Mace Windu.  Obi fought valiantly, but he ran out of defense before Mace Whirlwinded him into fifth.

Final Three Chaos

At this point in the game it really looked like Grant's Han Solo was going to bring it home but, after Wookie Tossing Ian's still-weak Luke, Ian rolled a five, bringing him in range of Han.  He got an evil grin and moved in to hit him with the Justice - ten points!  Duncan's Vader got the last shot, and Grant was gone.  He almost became the first Dueler in league history to win four times with one character!

That left a final three of Mace/Lucas, Vader/Duncan, and Luke/Ian.  Lucas was in a strong position, but as Ian continued to heal up, the balance shifted.  They couldn't agree to team with each other against Duncan, and damaged each other in the process.  Ultimately it was Luke who got the final hit on Mace, and Lucas was done in third.  He played a great game, though, especially after getting smacked early by the Rancor!

That left the same final two from last month's Fight Night - Ian and Duncan!  Master and apprentice!  Jedi and Padawan!  Both were only at half health, and Duncan combo-ed a Throw Debris and Wrath to bring Ian within two points of death.  Ian responded by charging Vader and unleashing his second Justice.  He followed up with a four point attack, which left Vader within two of dying too!  But Duncan had one last Wrath, and he used it to win his second Duel in a row!!!  No amateur Dueler has EVER won back to back, and it was the first back to back win since Ben H. two years ago (Thanksdueling! and the 2018 Championship).  Duncan might be the chosen one Qui-Gon Jinn was speaking of!!!  Congrats Duncan!!!  And let's not forget Ian, who finished second two games in a row and somehow got this second place despite only having a point of health for a good portion of it!

Hand it over, Alex!

Here's the final order of finish again:

12.  Miguel/Boba Fett

11.  Kaleb/Jango Fett

10.  Kevin/Count Dooku

9.  Ryan/Anakin Skywalker

8.  Troy/Darth Maul

7.  Rob/Emperor Palpatine

6.  Curtis/Yoda

5.  Stephen/Obi-Wan Kenobi

4.  Grant/Han Solo

3.  Lucas/Mace Windu

2.  Ian/Luke Skywalker

1.  Duncan/Darth Vader

My goodness - what a night!!!

The new Rancor's Dungeon board is a definite keeper, it sure was fun to have that fantastic beast mixing things up for us.

So December brings us...THE 2020 CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL!!!  This is the biggest Duel of the year.  It's our SUPER BOWL of Dueling.  The top 12 ranked Duelers and winners from 2020 are invited to play and capture the Darth Vader trophy, the best trophy there is.  We'll have more information on that soon!  Also, keep an eye on your email in December...there's a rumor Rob is working on something big...

Doubleheader #1 - August 29, 2020

 

Geonosis Arena

Friends, I usually put a lot of time and effort into these recaps, but forgive me, tonight I'm just trying to get to bed!!!  I typically get the stats updated and stories posted the day after a Duel.  So I'm burning the midnight oil to churn these out and have them in your hand when you wake up Monday morning (or got to bed REALLY late Sunday night).  It's the Doubleheader, so that means it takes twice as long to write!

To the recap!

The first thing you might note is...I forgot to take the picture of all the Duelers at the table on the screen before we started battle.  Our punishment for that mishap?  A FIVE AND A HALF HOUR DUEL.  Brutal and way too long.  So in place of the missing group shot, here's a pic of my favorite Dueler:

Look closely at the painting...THAT'S NO MOON.

Thanks for humoring me - I do the Doubleheader each year for my birthday, and I love the fact my oldest daughter loves to play this game.  And I noticed this year my middle child was lurking in the living room, watching and listening.  Perhaps a second daughter is nearing her Dueling destiny!?  THERE IS ANOTHER.

Seriously, back to the recap.  The game started roughly for the light side.  After swearing up and down he was loyal to the good guys, Alex's Luke Skywalker immediately bailed and defected to the dark.  That's all Lucas' Mace Windu needed to see before he came over too.  The light side, particularly Troy's Yoda and Rylie's Obi-Wan, were the early targets.  Retired Dueler Jonathan, playing with Anakin, tried to jump ship too.  He laid a hit and started running down the alley behind the columns, but Grant's Han (yes Grant got Han again!) lowered a BOWCASTER to put a serious hurt on him.  Alex on the dark side laid the final hit, and just like that, our former Singles Champion was done.  Brutal.

The light side was doomed after that.  Rylie, who called out Rob during the player introductions (not the first time that's happened to him), received payback when his Emperor hit her with a Force Lightning or two.  It would be retired Hall of Famer Stephen B., though, who killed her with Vader's Wrath in eleventh.  Troy's Yoda tried to move forward to cause some chaos, but got chewed up and spat out in tenth, dying on a four point attack from Greedo of all people (Kaleb would have been proud).

Folks, he hates it every time it happens, but there is no finer character/Dueler combo than Han Solo and Grant.  It's poetry in motion.  It's like peanut butter and jelly.  But this day, there was nothing even Grant could do to escape a ninth place finish.  And it was Ian's Greedo again!  GREEDO SHOT FIRST!

Rob finally remembered to take a picture.

With eight to go and Rob just finishing his turn, Alex made a bold suggestion and said the entire back row of dark side characters should kill the emperor in eighth.  Rob was startled but also secretly impressed with the move.  A very Russell on Survivor kind of a play.  But the dark side wasn't feeling it, and that left Alex out to dry.  They made Luke the next target and it was Riley's Dooku who knocked our top ranked Dueler out of the game.  But newer Duelers, Alex made a good try there - learning something from it.  Big moves can pave your way to victory, it just didn't work out for Alex this time.

With seven left, the attention turned to Miguel's Darth Maul.  This was only his second career Duel but his second time playing with Maul.  Grant temporarily brainwashed him and convinced him to flip to the dying light side, but Miguel came to his senses and killed Han.  That moment of weakness, though, but a huge target on him and Ian's Boba Fett led the charge.  With one point of health left, Riley's Dooku Force Pushed him to seventh for the second game in row.  #symmetry.

The alliance had held together to make top six, but that's when the infighting occurred.  Ian publicly named his fear of the father/daughter combo of Emperor and Dooku.  Rob countered by noting Boba had not even played his best cards yet.  Stephen's Vader and Ryan's Jango hemmed an hawed, while Lucas faced the painful decision of whether to back-stab Riley, who had been vocally loyal with him.  

After much debate most of the board decided on Riley's Dooku and started in on her, but Rob was still fearful of the Thermals and Kyber Darts and made a bold move to attack Boba instead.  That caused some chaos but Riley couldn't survive and peaced out in sixth place.

With five to go Lucas' Mace happened to be caught in the middle of the board at full health, and the other four dark side characters thought, why not?  Mace got peppered by attacks and finally succumbed to his wounds after Stephen Threw Debris at him.  That fifth place finish, though, was a nice little rebound game for Lucas.

The final four featured both Fetts (Ian and Ryan) with the wombo-combo of Rob/Emperor and Stephen/Vader.  There was a lot of talk back and forth, and even though it looked like Stephen wanted to stay loyal to his former RHD Ian, he realized he couldn't survive two shooters on a shooter's board, so the two on two battle commenced.  Rob and Stephen decided to focus their attacks on Ian's Boba, and they had him down to his last couple of health points.  Rob's Emperor was in rough shape.  Stephen rolled a high enough number to finish off Boba, but he reversed course and started chasing Jango instead.  That frustrated Rob, who was now open for more attacks from both Fetts.  Stephen did eventually eliminate him fourth, though.

Ian managed to heal up quite a bit, and Stephen finally realized Rob's banged up Emperor was the better dance partner at the end.  He rained down a double-Debris and smoked Ian in third.  Ouch!  Stephen began chasing Rob around the columns while he desperately looked for distance attacks or defense cards after reshuffling.  He moved far enough away where Stephen had a 50/50 chance to reach him for attack.  Rob could draw or heal twice, which would prevent him automatically dying.  He chose the double heal and Stephen rolled strong enough to attack him and use Wrath to win!  And what was the first card Rob would have drawn had he not healed?  YOU WILL DIE.  He would have dumped Vader's whole hand!!!  But that's not the real story, the real story is HALL OF FAMER Stephen coming out of retirement to show the league his induction was no joke!  Congrats Stephen!!!

  The final order of finish:

12.  Jonathan/Anakin

11.  Rylie/Obi

10.  Troy/Yoda

9.  Grant/Han

8.  Alex C./Luke

7.  Miguel/Maul

6.  Riley/Dooku

5.  Lucas/Mace

4.  Ryan/Jango

3.  Ian/Boba

2.  Rob/Emperor

1.  Stephen/Vader

...on to game two!