12x12-Way Weekend Episode 1: The Dueling Menace - June 19, 2025 (12PM)

Emperor's Throne Room (via the 3D Mustafar Board)

There's just too many of these 12-way Duels in a row to do an official recap for each, so enjoy the final order of finish and some pics!  The big moment was definitely the final three, when Rob/Emperor thought he and Ian/Vader would do the wombo-combo (You Will Die/All Too Easy) on Dunan's Count Dooku, but Ian backed out on Rob!  That left the door open for Duncan to secure the first win of the weekend!

Episode 1 - Classic 12 characters in their original starting positions.

A New Hope - January 15, 2022

 

Geonosis Arena (Hoth board)

Well it felt a bit weird to be Dueling in person with our COVID masks on, especially when face to face Dueling usually means whispering or mouthing secret communication across the table.  However, Dueling with masks on and keeping ourselves safe is better than not Dueling at all!  So we started 2022 with A New Hope...for more Duels, an end to COVID, and an appreciation of what the league provides each and every one of us!

Can you tell which Dueler is sticking their tongue out?

I'll just say it up front - the 2022 A New Hope Duel will not be remembered as the most logical, standard, rational match in league history.  It will more likely be remembered as one of the most chaotic, head-scratching, and goofy battles we've ever played!

Out of the gate Duncan's Emperor defected to the light side of the board, but Miguel's Lando responded by flipping to the dark!  Not be out done, JD's Kylo Ren headed to the light side too.  It was all quite dizzying.  Despite the dark side being down on numbers, occupying the open end of the board with a number of shooters gave them some tactical advantages.  They started attacking minors, and Ian's Jar Jar was the first to fall.  That exposed his Qui-Gon, who started in the inner elbow of the columns/snow drift.  Thanks to some crafty defending by Miguel's Lando, they were eventually able to move Qui-Gon into a kill box.  But just as Kevin's Darth Maul was about to send home Ian first...he flipped too!  He attacked Rob's Snoke!  

That was a back-breaker because the very next Dueler, Corona, was jumping from the light side with his Mandalorian!  Instead of killing Ian first, Ian was now accepted on the dark side and they in turn went after Kevin's Maul.  It looked like Kevin might escape, but Rob used one of his last two cards on him...it was Force Lightning!  It would have been a very different night had Maul stayed on the dark side, that's for sure...

Nobody in this pic knew what the heck was going on.

Rob self-sacrificed taking Maul out, because it left him exposed to Curtis' Light Them Up from Cassian.  The 2021 Championship winner was gone in eleventh.  The new alliances continued attacking each other, with the dark side holding out hope that they could overcome the light side logjam of major characters on the other end of the board.  However, it would be a brutal and undefended shot from Jyn Erso that left Corona's Mandalorian in critical condition.  Duncan's Emperor killed him in tenth with a Force Lightning.

Right around this point of the game Ian's Qui-Gon quietly moved away from the dark side alliance, and Riley's Jango Fett was recruited to flip sides.  The writing was on the wall for Karson's Beckett and Miguel's Lando.  Despite both playing well and trying to keep their side together, hope was gone once Riley's Jango turned on them too.  It would be Ian's Qui-Gon, trying to curry favor with the light side again, who cut down Karson in ninth with a 7 point Prophecy.  Then Elliot's Mace Whilwinded Miguel to his doom in eighth place.

Ian watches JD's foot enter his mouth.

That left seven Duelers, and the most crucial moments of the night.  Ian's Qui-Gon appeared to be the odd Dueler out, but he pointed out it sure seemed like JD/Kylo, Elliot/Mace, and Riley/Jango looked like a tight final three alliance.  JD basically confirmed that when he said Elliot was his #1 and Riley his #2.  Despite that verbal confirmation, Duncan still wanted a piece of Qui-Gon.  The board cleared for those two to go head to head, but a couple of shots from Riley's Jango angered Ian and he went after the tiny titan of terror instead.  Ian got beat up fast, though, cashing in his chips in seventh when Mace chopped him down.

JD and Elliot tried to make their move in the final six.  But the rest of the board started to realize they were in danger.  Duncan finally played You Will Die, and directed it at Elliot's Mace Windu.  Poor Elliot - he had his cards dumped multiple times during the game, first by Qui-Gon's There's Always a Bigger Fish and then the Emperor.  Unable to defend, he was gone soon after, with the Emperor landing the final shot.

JD, now without his buddy, swooped in on an unsuspecting Kat/Luke, which was the opposite of what happened at the Championship last month.  Kat was none too pleased when she was unable to defend Kylo's Vader's Bloodline.  It seems like she's been stuck with Luke ten times in the last five Duels!  She was dunzo in fifth.

Well past midnight at this point...

It was pretty clear at this point Curtis and Duncan were trying to simultaneously work together and card up to defeat the other in the final two.  They had no interest in taking JD's Kylo any further, and talked Riley into joining them against JD.  He had little chance against three at once, and it was a kill shot from Riley's Jango that parked JD in fourth.  Still, that's a career-best finish for Kylo, who is still the last ranked character in the league.

Curtis put the target on a healthy Jango next.  Duncan feigned agreement, but once Jyn roughed up Riley a bit, Duncan was suddenly willing to partner with Jango.  Curtis used a nifty defense card against Riley, preventing her from Rocket Retreating and staying within attack range of Jyn.  Riley was in danger the whole game, but managed a nifty third place finish for her troubles.

That left two Duelers!  Jyn was a bit banged up, and as the Emperor began chasing her around the columns/snow, it looked like Duncan's Emperor was going to be able to slowly whittle Curtis' Jyn down...and that's just what happened!  It took a bit of time, but Duncan was patient and eliminated Curtis in second.  Congrats to Duncan and the Emperor!!!  This marked Duncan's third career victory, and his first in over a year.

Let's see that final order of finish one more time:

12.  Kevin/Darth Maul

11.  Rob/Supreme Leader Snoke

10.  Corona/The Mandalorian

9.  Karson/Tobias Beckett

8.  Miguel/Lando Calrissian

7.  Ian/Qui-Gon Jinn

6.  Elliot/Mace Windu

5.  Kat/Luke Skywalker

4.  JD/Kylo Ren

3.  Riley/Jango Fett

2.  Curtis/Jyn Erso

1.  Duncan/Emperor Palpatine

Duncan has the best win percentage of active Duelers now - not too shabby, Duncan!  It looks like we'll play our February match - The Valentine's Duel - on the 5th.  And it will feature the return of the craziest board in the league...stay tuned for details!

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...

Fight Night - October 24, 2020

 

Naboo Reactor Pit

The lights...they were so pretty!  I'm talking about our new board, of course - the Naboo Reactor Pit!  Ryan created a brilliant LED board to turn the playing surface different colors.  Just like the setting in Episode I, the laser walls would turn on or off if a Dueler rolled a 2-ALL or a 5.  And it created a lot of drama...TO THE RECAP!

The Inaugural Naboo Duelers

The laser walls started up, and everyone tensely started drawing cards, expecting chaos.  The first few times they turned on or off were anxiety-inducing, which was fantastic and expected.  It was Miguel's Dooku, though, who got caught with the early attention.  When the walls came down a host of folks near the reactor, led by Ian's Luke Skywalker, targeted the first Sith in the hallway.  Just as things looked grim, though...the walls came on to protect him!  That turn of events, however, hurt an unsuspecting Rylie, president of the Boba Fett Fan Club.  Kaleb's Darth Maul was standing right next to her and was fully carded.  He decided to unload on the bounty hunter!  Rylie was stunned and left critically damaged.  She fell to another attack from him a turn later.  Ouch!!!  Rylie might slash Rob's tires if she gets Boba again anytime soon.

We laugh so we don't cry...

The walls were still up when the dust settled from Boba's exit, and Kaleb's Maul was left exposed across the open air of the reactor pit.  Ryan's Chewbacca took advantage by unloading his Bowcaster for nine points of damage on the horned Sith.  It was a big blow but Ryan assured Kaleb they were good moving forward.

Meanwhile, Curtis' Anakin Skywalker abandoned the hallway to join the reactor room folks.  But his Padme got offed when Rob/Mace and Miguel/Dooku eliminated her.  Rob managed a couple of attack-Wisdom combos to thin the reactor room minor characters, but they had the advantage for sure, and Rob used a Whirlwind on them that caught Miguel in the crossfire.  It was an inglorious end for poor Dooku.

Alex's Jango was loyal to Rob's Mace the whole time, painfully discarding cards while the walls were up, but as he saw the reactor room moving forward against Mace he Rocket Retreated the heck on out of there, to hang out with Ryan's Han Solo.  It would be attacks from Hannah's Yoda and Lucas' Emperor, though, that proved damning and Rob was out in a disappointing tenth.

Lucas had a good plan

From there it was obvious the reactor room alliance wanted to march down the hallway and take out Emperor and Yoda.  But the laser walls going up and down were hampering their movement, and the alliance got twitchy as they all became full carded with nobody to hit.  Ian's Luke sensed he was on the chopping block, so he made a dramatic move to charge down the hallway, standing next to Lucas and Hannah.  This confused the rest of the alliance, especially Curtis' Anakin.  He rolled a five on his next turn and, in his stress, commented how he was in position to attack anybody on the board but not knowing who to go after.  He settled on Ben's Darth Vader, expecting Kaleb/Maul to join suit.  But his hemming and hawing didn't gain him any support, and instead, Maul attacked Ani!  Several Duelers joined in, and by the time it got back to Ben, Curtis had no defense left, and Vader eliminated him with an All Too Easy in ninth.

By this point Duncan's Obi-Wan, who had partnered with Ian's Luke the whole game, joined the Skywalker twins near Yoda and Emperor.  That's when Lucas suggested the four of them, along with Alex's Jango Fett, turn against Han/Ryan, Vader/Ben, and Maul/Kaleb.  It looked like a good move, but Hannah wasn't feeling it and turned on the Emperor!  Luke and Obi followed suit, and poor Lucas was eliminated in eighth.

Things got crazy after that.  Obi used a Force Control to make a kill box around Yoda as well as Ryan's Han, which was a bit shocking.  Kaleb's Maul was in on the attack of Ryan, so when it came to Ryan's turn, he attacked Maul but Maul used a Blinding Surge to absorb the damage but deliver three back to kill Han!  But because it was Gambler's Luck, the dying Han still got to discard another card out of Kaleb's hand.  We'd never seen that move before!

Post-Yoda kill box.

With Han off the board that left Hannah's Yoda as the next target.  The laser walls and superior defense of Yoda, though, made it tough sledding.  Hannah eventually succumbed to a Latent Force attack from Leia to die in sixth.  That's three Duels for Hannah, and she's finished top-six each time!

That left five to go - Ian/Luke, Alex/Jango, Duncan/Obi, Kaleb/Maul, and Ben/Vader.  It was pretty clear Ian and Duncan were together, even though Ian hinted that was circumstantial more than anything else.  The other three wanted Obi dead, but Ian couldn't support that.  Instead, Vader became the focus of attack, especially after Ian pitched that to the injured Kaleb.  It would be a five point attack from Maul that ended Ben's strong run in fifth place.

The final four!  By this point Duncan had taken control of the board, and favored Jango's ouster.  His Obi, though, took a number of hits from indirect damage from both Vader as well as a double Wrist Cable from Jango.  Kaleb's Maul, also banged up, figured he and Obi could partner to take out Ian's healthy Luke, so he sided with Duncan to take down Alex's Jango.  It was a Jedi Attack from Obi that ended Alex's run in fourth place.  

Blood Red

The final three featured both Kaleb and Ian pleading with Duncan's Obi to partner and eliminate the other.  This was a long debate, highlighted by Kaleb's promise/threat to use two Blinding Surges on Obi, which would have him critically damaged should he attack.  Ian, in turn, promised to use yet another I Will Not Fight You on Maul.  Duncan got the best case scenario when his Obi was safe behind laser walls while Luke and Maul went at it.  Maul smacked Luke around, but Luke won the day when he dropped a ten point Justice to kill Maul in the Naboo Reactor Pit, which is kind of meta when you think about it.

Luke was bleeding out, and Obi-Wan was loaded in defense cards, but instead of charging in to attack Luke, Duncan retreated down the hallway to play it safe and try to card and heal up.  Though this stretched the Duel out, it proved to be a patient and justified tactic.  Despite two more I Will Not Fight Yous, Duncan's Obi outlasted Luke and eliminated his real world boss with a pair of four attacks!  Congrats Duncan!  This was just the amateur Dueler's third Duel, but just like the movie, he left the Reactor Pit the victor!!!

Let's check that final order of finish again:

12.  Rylie/Boba Fett

11.  Miguel/Count Dooku

10.  Rob/Mace Windu

9.  Curtis/Anakin Skywalker

8.  Lucas/Emperor Palpatine

7.  Ryan/Han Solo

6.  Hannah/Yoda

5.  Ben H./Darth Vader

4.  Alex C./Jango Fett

3.  Kaleb/Darth Maul

2.  Ian/Luke Skywalker

1.  Duncan/Obi-Wan Kenobi

My goodness, that new board was fun!!!  And congrats again to Duncan - very, very few Duelers have ever won a Duel that early in their careers.  You deserve that Dooku trophy hanging in your room!!!

Next month's Duel is Thanksdueling!  The tentative plan is to play on the evening of Saturday, November 14th.  We have yet another new board on tap, and this one is unlike anything we've seen before.  It is our Thanksgiving-themed Duel, so here's a hint:  GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Is that not enough of a hint?  Ok, here's one more:

Stay tuned to your emails and our instagram account for more info soon!!!