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.

CL Training Duel - August 12, 2024

Emperor's Throne Room (via Mustafar) 

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

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

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

Josiah, Caden, and Jordyn - welcome rookies!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That board is gorgeous.

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

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

Rob being told it was past 3AM.

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

Residential Colleges at their finest.

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

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

Dueling skills > 9 square in the air skills

Final order of finish:

12.  Caden/Obi-Wan Kenobi

11.  Jonah/Mace Windu

10.  Jordyn/Captain Phasma

9.  Justin/Han Solo

8.  Spencer/Supreme Leader Snoke

7.  Liam/Kylo Ren

6.  Elliot/Qui-Gon Jinn

5.  Jordann/Darth Vader

4.  Connor/Jyn Erso

3.  Rob/Moff Gideon

2.  Josiah/Fennec Shand

1.  Alex G./Cad Bane

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

 

CL Training Duel - August 7, 2023

 

Emperor's Throne Room (via Mustafar)

I can't believe this is true, but we're off and running with our TENTH season of 12-Way Duels!!!  How in the world did we get to ten years of Dueling???

One thing is for sure, to keep the league alive for ten seasons, you need new recruits!  CL Training has historically been the introductory Duel for many folks who went on to become Hall of Fame Duelers.  So it was especially exciting when this year's CL Training Duel featured eight folks playing a 12-way Duel for the very first time, with only three Duelers who ranked as professionals, and only two who had ever won a Duel before!   

Look at these padawans!

Once Rob had explained the rules, the Duelers had drawn characters, and everyone had shuffled their cards, we were off!  Cole got excited early when his Jyn Erso started taking on Austin's Armorer.  Rob/Luke Skywalker and Elliot/Fennec Shand tried to calm their light side alliance down, explaining to the newer Duelers that if we started infighting the dark side opponents on the other end of the board would find us easy targets.

Cooler heads started to prevail, and the light side, made up of almost entirely shooting characters, concentrated their fire power on the dark side of the board.  Even Jackson's Ewok, Wicket, got into the action when he threw Whirling Rocks at Atticus' Darth Vader for four points of damage!  The dark side, however, were worried about the two Wookies on the board.  The first significant loss of the game came when Elliot's minor character, Black Krrsantan,  got eliminated before he could even use Cannon Blast.

That was a big blow for the light side, but several dark side characters got caught taking major damage when they advanced forward to attack the light.  That included Michael's Moff Gideon.  When he retreated, he blocked an escape lane for his alliance mate Alex/General Grievous.  With nowhere to escape the light side shooters took advantage and Elliot's Fennec Shand eliminated Alex in 12th!  If you're new to Star Wars Epic Duels, you might be amused to learn whoever finishes last gets the "Golden Jar Jar" trophy until the next game.  Here is Alex humbly accepting it:

The light side was feeling pretty good that they suddenly had a numbers advantage against the dark, but that's a dangerous feeling because dark side Duelers are always so tricky!  Riley B.'s Orson Krennec looked like he was exposed and would be the next Dueler dying, but he managed to pull his guards in front of his main character with a special defense card and then he played Peace and Security, which forces all opponents to discard their hand and draw four new cards.  That devastated Rob's Luke Skywalker, who had just advanced with a fist full of attacks.  The dark side sensed his vulnerability and, before too long, poor Rob was out in eleventh after a Wrath from Atticus' Darth Vader.

The remaining Duelers hunker down...

Despite Jordann's Beckett and Michael's Moff Gideon being forced to hide on the back row due to severe injuries, the dark side still managed to turn the tide of the game.  Austin's Armorer became the next focal point of attack, and after a couple of misplays he found himself cardless when Isaiah's Supreme Leader Snoke moved in with a 5-point attack to off Austin in tenth place.

Atticus, who had been fixated on killing Jackson's Ewok after those rocks to the helmet, got caught moving too far forward in his lust for revenge.  That's when Rafael's Chewbacca unloaded a Bowcaster on Vader!  Atticus learned the hard way it's not wise to mess with a Wookie!  He was done in ninth place.

At this point it should be noted Michael had done an outstanding job at the social component of the Duel as he continually had alliance members moving their characters in front of Moff Gideon, who was still badly injured.  But Michael supported them in return by playing The Great Purge on Cole's Jyn Erso.  That let him pick three of Cole's cards to dump while at the same time adding three cards for Gideon.  It was an absolute backbreaker for Jyn, and eventually Michael's last Dark Trooper shot Cole off the board in eighth.

Rafael declares himself a free agent!

Nobody was having more fun at the table than Rafael.  After his Han/Chewey had blown a hole straight through Vader, Rafael got that Dueling blood lust!  With Riley/Krennec and Michael/Gideon whispering in his ear to start shooting his own light side alliance, Rafael suddenly declared himself an independent contractor.  What was bad news for everyone else was Rafael had the Bowcaster back in his hand.  He couldn't resist using it again on poor Jackson's Princess Leia, who couldn't withstand the 11 points of fury.  Jackson was gone in seventh.

Elliot/Fennec, who had tried to keep the light side together, was obviously cranky.  But hope emerged when a dark side Dueler made an unexpected attack!  Jordann, whose Beckett was deeply wounded by one of Jackson's defense cards, had been permitted to heal and card up behind her enemy alliance.  In that time she pulled both Double Blaster cards, which deal 3 points of damage each to anyone she can attack.  So Jordann rolled up on Michael/Moff Gideon and Riley/Krennec and put six points of damage on each of them!  That was enough to kill Michael in sixth, but don't let that middle-of-the-order finish diminish the fantastic night Michael had orchestrating his survival in the game.  Bravo!

Jordann just flipped the whole game!

Jordann assumed she was next after that betrayal, but to her surprise, it actually prompted Isaiah's Supreme Leader Snoke to go after the badly injured Riley's Krennec.  Before that could go down, however, Elliot had unfinished business with Rafael's Han Solo.  He used Fennec's I Don't Miss to zap Rafael/Han into fifth place.  

After that Riley was hard-pressed to find help against Isaiah's Snoke.  Jordann actually came to Isaiah's aid when she used a Trust No One attack on Riley, and Krennec bowed out in fourth place.  Poor Riley!  The undisputed general of the dark side was blindsided by his alliance, but it was a very strong Duel for Riley.

And then there were three!  Jordann's Beckett was still in rough shape.  Elliot's Fennec was at full health but, unbeknownst to the other two Duelers, he had ten minor character cards in his hand!  In what had to be one of the worst reshuffles in league history, Elliot had nothing that could help his Fennec despite holding 10 cards.  Isaiah realized he was going to have to eliminate both shooters all by himself, so he used two Force Lightnings on Jordann to eliminate her in third.  Well done, Jordann, what an amazing debut!

That left Isaiah/Snoke and Elliot/Fennec.  Elliot tried desperately to stay away from Snoke and his last Guard, but with so many BK cards in his hand his options were limited.  Isaiah, who had taken significant damage, managed to land the death blow and put Elliot out in second.  In just his third career Duel, Isaiah won!!!

Who knew Snoke could smile that big?

Congrats to Isaiah!  That win also marked the second victory for Supreme Leader Snoke.  Elliot was so close to his first career win - it's coming soon, Elliot!  Let's review that final order of finish:

12.  Alex A./General Grievous

11.  Rob/Luke Skywalker

10.  Austin E./The Armorer

9.  Atticus/Darth Vader

8.  Cole/Jyn Erso

7.  Jackson/Princess Leia

6.  Michael/Moff Gideon

5.  Rafael/Han Solo

4.  Riley B./Orson Krennec

3.  Jordann/Tobias Beckett

2.  Elliot/Fennec Shand

1.  Isaiah/Supreme Leader Snoke

Mark you calendars for Saturday, August 26, as that is the likely date for the Doubleheader!  That's right, we play two duels in one evening!  Rob has everyone out to his house and feeds you Star Wars snacks all night, including his galaxy famous YODA SODA.  The official invite email will come out soon.

We're off and running in season ten...PEW PEW!!!

2022 Championship - December 3, 2022

 

Emperor's Throne Room (Mustafar)

What a great night of Dueling!!!  The attacks came early, the first two hours were an absolute grind, and then Duelers started getting eliminated left and right!  As always, the Championship Duel recap is told in the pictures of those who were vanquished, holding the card that eliminated them from the game.  Is it brutal?  Absolutely.  Is it funny to see?  YES.

12th Place - Jillian

Character - The Mandalorian

Card that Killed Her - The Last Jedi

The Championship started off with near immediate tumult when Penny's Anakin Skywalker started attacking Kevin's Jyn Erso.  The light side was confused by the play and, sensing Jillian was partnered with Penny, they worked together to eliminate her in last!

11th Place - Penny

Character - Anakin Skywalker

Card that Killed Her - Jedi Attack

Penny tried to get the drop early by attacking Jyn Erso and entertaining overtures from the dark side alliance.  She didn't anticipate the quick unification of the remaining light side, and she eventually met her demise in eleventh place.

10th Place - Ian

Character - Lando Calrissian

Card that Killed Him - 5-point Imperial Guard attack

It was Ian who led the quick elimination of Jillian's Mandalorian, but that ultimately left his light side alliance outnumbered and outgunned by dark side minor characters.  Despite his valiant efforts and intimidation tactics, his Lando finally bowed out in tenth place.

9th Place - Kat

Character - Obi-Wan Kenobi

Card that Killed Her - Blinding Surge

Kat was like a cat in this Duel, as she seemed to be playing with nine lives.  Just as she would be close to death, she would be able to heal or get healed by teammates.  She and Riley formed a tight bond, and they decided to go out swinging by targeting Duncan's Maul.  Though she landed a Force Control for seven points of damage on Maul, his Blinding Surge defense offed her.

8th Place - Riley E.

Character - Rey

Card that Killed Her - I Rebel

Those present at the Duel could argue Riley was playing better than anyone, just under dire circumstances.  She managed to land two The Last Jedi attacks, eliminate cards from opponent hands, and even healed Kat at one point.  But teammate Kevin inadvertently killed her with Jyn's I Rebel attack on Duncan's Maul - the bonus point of damage caught her in the crossfire.

7th Place - Duncan

Character - Darth Maul

Card that Killed Him - Force Lightning

Duncan was a loyal dark side alliance member throughout, and he stayed aggressive as her pursued Kat's Obi-Wan Kenobi.  But he did not anticipate Kat and Riley's blaze-of-glory last stand.  Once Kevin's Jyn hit him with I Rebel, he was down to two health points.  Rob's Emperor saw that as the right time to eliminate the scary Darth Maul.

6th Place - Kevin

Character - Jyn Erso

Card that Killed Him - 5-point Darth Vader attack

It was somewhat of a miracle Kevin made it to sixth place, as he was betrayed out of the gate by Penny and suffered attacks from the dark side alliance throughout the game.  Once it got to the final six, he couldn't find anyone willing to take him further, and Grant's Vader sent him packing.

5th Place - Grant H.

Character - Cad Bane

Card that Killed Him - Force Lightning

Grant once again won "best dressed" with his Clone Wars era Obi armor.  He also pulled Cad Bane for the third time this year!  He played a fantastic game all night, but Rob perceived he wasn't as loyal to him, so Emperor tried to turn everyone else against Grant.  There was a LOT of arguing and, in the end, Rob used his last gasp of cards to fry Grant in fourth.

4th Place - Curtis

Character - Tobias Beckett

Card that Killed Him - All Too Easy (!!!)

The dark side alliance stayed strong until the final five, but that was when Curtis wanted Rob's Emperor off the board.  There was a lot of chaos after that.  Rob had promised You Will Die for Cad Bane, but he switched it to Curtis once he was attacked.  Grant got lucky in his card draw and movement and pulled the wombo-combo on Curtis!!!

3rd Place - Rob

Character - Emperor Palpatine

Card that Killed Him - 3-point attack from Super Battledroid

There was an audible groan when Rob got Emperor Palpatine for the Championship Duel.  Despite that uphill sledding, his dark side alliance stayed strong until the final five.  At different points Evan, Grant H., and Curtis were attacking him.  It proved to be too much, though he did claw his way to third by the end.

2nd Place - Grant D.

Character - Darth Vader

Card that Killed Him - 4-point attack from Count Dooku

It sure looked like Grant might finally end his win drought.  He expertly piloted Darth Vader to the end of the game.  He was particularly effective in the final five, when he could start swinging his big light saber attacks.  But as he faced off against Evan's Dooku, the superior character advantage was too much to withstand.

1st Place - Evan!!!

Character - Count Dooku

Card that Killed Him - none, he won it all, baby!!!

For just the third time in league history, a Dueler won their first trophy at the Championship Duel!  Evan deserves a huge congratulations!  He played his Count Dooku flawlessly, navigating the chaos of the first half of the game and establishing himself as the person everyone wanted to align with in the final five.  Way to go Evan!!!

Well 2022 proved to be an outstanding year for Dueling!  When the calendar turns to 2023 we'll still have five Duels remaining for the current academic year.  Right now it looks like the January Duel, A New Hope, will be played on Friday, January 13th.  More information will be coming your way about that after the New Year.  Congrats again, Evan!  Let's take one final look at the top 12 Duelers of 2022!!!

Fight Night - October 23, 2021

 

Emperor's Throne Room (via Mustafar)

Though the campus was quiet due to Fall Break, there were still the deafening sounds of light sabers clashing and blasters blasting in the North Village Classroom on Saturday night!  PEW PEW PEW!!!  Fight Night featured the debut of two new Duelers as well as a couple of historic firsts in the league.  Onto the recap!

Thank the maker - finally, a round table!

Fight Night technically took place in the Emperor's Throne Room, but we used the 3-D Mustafar edition (we miss you Ryan!).  Out of the gate the light and dark sides of the board tried to tempt the other into a flip, and though each side maintained the status quo through the first two rounds, it would be Kat's Rey who made the first shocking turn as she took a shot on Rob's Yoda on her way to defecting.

Not long after that Evan deployed his Dark Trooper next to Corona's Anakin Skywalker and Kidnapped him deep inside a dark side kill box.  Brutal!  Corona tried to hold out, but it would be a Force Lightning from Grant H.'s Supreme Leader Snoke that would sadly end Corona's night in last place.  He had to lug the Golden Jar Jar all the way back to East Village.

The light side was in chaos by that point.  Rob's Yoda tried to hold the line, but newbie Kevin, playing with Mace Windu, started shooting the little green Jedi!  The ultimate betrayal would come from Rob's daughter, Riley, who joined in on the mutiny with her Han Solo.  Rylie's Jango Fett landed the kill shot, and Rob was out early.

Miguel heralds Duncan's doom

With ten Duelers to go Peach's Jyn Erso was the next target for the mega-alliance.  She fought valiantly in her first Duel, but with no partners left and all of her good defense stuck at the bottom of her draw pile, she couldn't hold out long.  It would be Riley's Chewbacca, using a Wookie Toss, that would send her to the rails in tenth.

It was at this point of the game Miguel, playing with Darth Maul and bound and determined to get his first career top-six finish, called open season on Duncan's Count Dooku.  Duncan got cranky while Miguel was incredulous.  Duncan tried to talk his way out of it but others in the alliance jumped in too, and it would be Grant's Guard that delivered the death blow.  The defending Fight Night champion was out too soon!

The Force trying to exert his will.

It was about this point in the game where Miguel let it be known he was good with Evan's Moff Gideon and Grant's Supreme Leader Snoke.  The other five Duelers did not like the sound of that three-person alliance, forcing all three to back track from the declaration and start attacking each other.  Evan's Gideon, a key contributor to the early alliance, all of a sudden found himself with no partners.  Curtis' Kylo Ren moved in for the kill, using his Laser Cross-Guard.  Poor Evan was stuck in eighth.

Gideon inflicted major damage on Grant's Snoke before bowing out of the game, so he was ripe for the offing when Miguel excitedly rolled in to eliminate him in seventh place.  I don't recall a time seeing somebody so excited to finish in the top six of a Duel before, but it marked a personal best for Miguel, and he was overjoyed!  Unfortunately for him, he was low carded and low health.  Curtis' Kylo was in the neighborhood, and he reluctantly capped him in sixth.  Miguel was still happy.

Liquid-hot MAGMA

That made it five to go, and that's when Kat went into boss-mode.  As soon as Curtis' turn ended, she put the target on him.  Rey and Kylo drama!!!  So on brand.  Kevin/Mace, Rylie/Jango, and Riley/Han had no issue with that.  Kylo dropped some hits here and there, but he eventually fell to a lowly Mace Clone Trooper attack.  Still, that fifth place finish for Curtis marked a career-best finish for Kylo!  Curtis is playing so well right now an off-night still lands him in the top five!

And then there were four!  We had Kevin the rookie...and three women who said, out loud, it would be pretty cool to have the first-ever all-female top three!  And that's what they set out to do!  Though Kevin had a lot of cards in his hand, it turned out they weren't the right combination to last long.  He did manage to inflict damage on Han before Rylie's Zam ended his first Duel in fourth place.  Congrats Kevin, that's a heck of a debut!  You would never have known it was his first game with us.

History!

So, for the first time in league history, we had women in the top three spots!  Riley and Rylie were both banged up, and so was Kat, but she used her Rise of Skywalker heal card.  It was a good thing, too, because Riley's Chewbacca hit her with the second Bowcaster on the night!  Even though Riley and Rylie were both shooters, they ended up working against each other in hopes of gaining favor with Kat's Rey.  Riley's Han would fall first, after Rey hit her with a four point attack.  And after a brief chase around the board, Rylie's Jango was out in second...Kat won her first career Duel!!!  Congrats Kat!!!  And this also marked Rey's first win in the league!  That means the combined Palpatine win record is...

What a great night of Dueling!  And guess what?  It took just over three hours to play, start to finish!  AS IT SHOULD BE!  *hint hint*

Let's see that final order of finish:

12.  Corona/Anakin

11.  Rob/Yoda

10.  Peach/Jyn

9.  Duncan/Dooku

8.  Evan/Moff Gideon

7.  Grant/Snoke

6.  MIGUEL/DARTH MAUL

5.  Curtis/Kylo

4.  Kevin/Mace

3.  Riley/Han

2.  Rylie/Jango

1.  Kat/Rey

Thanks everyone for a historic night!  Next month is November, and that means... THANKSDUELING!  Right now we're looking at Saturday, November 6th, but we'll wait and see what the game time is for Baylor football at TCU before confirming.  This will also be the last chance to qualify for the 2021 Championship Duel in December!  Any Dueler who won in 2021 gets an automatic bid, and we'll fill the last chairs based on professional rankings.  Until then...may the force be with you.  Always.

CL Training Duel - August 10, 2020

Emperor's Throne Room

Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, wookies and ewoks...here we go again!

SEASON SEVEN!!!

That's right, our 12-way Duel League is now in its seventh season of existence.  That is insane.  That means our rookie student Duelers were in eighth grade when this league started. It also means some of us who have played since the very beginning are OLD.

Every season usually starts in Glen Rose, TX, at the Community Leader training retreat.  Because of stupid COVID-19, we had to stay in town and play online.  That's ultimately not a big deal when facing a devastating pandemic, but man, it sure is fun playing in the rec room at camp and stuffing our faces with snacks.

It also means Rob had to recruit people virtually instead of face to face, but a nice balance of Duelers signed up to play.  We had four professionals, four amateurs, and four rookies.  But of the twelve Duelers playing, it seemed like most of them were connected to Brooks Residential College.  One concerned Dueler texted Rob before the game (it was Kaleb) and asked, "should we be concerned about all the BRC folks playing?"  Rob responded, "oh, we're doomed for sure."  #foreshadowing #brooksmafia

 

Smile if Samuel Palmer Brooks is your homeboy.

After a quick tutorial for the newbies, we were off and running!  Poor Rylie got stuck with Boba Fett for her second game in a row, but at least she got to go first, right?  But the very next Dueler after her, David T./Han Solo, playing in his very first Duel, swung Chewbacca towards Rylie's Greedo and dropped a card for his very first action.  The card?  BOWCASTER!  An 11-point attack and Greedo was dead out of the gate and Rylie was reeling!  THIS KID CAME TO PLAY.

It didn't get any less chaotic.  Kaleb, piloting Luke Skywalker, appeared to lead the charge against the dark side.  Ian/Mace followed him up the bridge, but as it turned out...Kaleb was flipping!  Rob used his Yoda to Insight Luke and discarded a Latent Force Abilities card, but was also startled to see Kaleb already had both Justices.  Rob didn't communicate that well to Ian, and the light side started shooting Leia.  By the time Ian realized what was happening, it was too late.  Kaleb convinced his own alliance to kill his minor character in order to activate the Justices.  Despite Ian's scary-serious promise to unload on Kaleb (one rookie noted he sounded like Liam Neeson in Taken), they sided with Luke, and Kaleb double-Justiced Ian's Mace into last place.

You probably thought Kaleb was now in tight with the dark side.  You would be wrong.  The dark side alliance turned on him faster than the Millenium Falcon making the Kessel Run.  Everyone chipped in with attacks, but it was a shot from Rachel's Padme that ended his night in eleventh.

The Epic Meltdown

Rylie's Boba had begun firing on David's Han Solo, but the blood lust on the dark side couldn't be quenched.  They turned on the bounty hunter, especially after Delaney non-committally wandered to their side of the board.  Migual Miguel, also playing in his first Duel, blurted out he had 20 points worth of attacks for Boba.  Rob explained how Sith Speed actually works, and Miguel cracked Rylie out of the game in tenth.  Brutal.

Rob saw the writing on the wall and tried to get Elliot/Jango, Delaney/Obi, and Hannah/Vader to join him, Rachel/Anakin, and David/Han.  He tried pointing out the tiered nature of their alliance.  It was to no avail.  David's Han was the next target, and it was Elliot who used a Rocket Retreat to punch out Han Solo in ninth.  Still, you have to hand it to David.  His first-ever card played was a Bowcaster!  That's so awesome!!!

Rachel, playing with Anakin, tried to lay low all game and hide in the corner, but the dark side alliance, aka the Brooks Mafia, turned on one of their own.  It was the seemingly innocent Hannah, using Darth Vader, that marched down and punched Rachel's ticket in eighth place.  That next one-on-one will be a bit awkward...

And then there were seven!  Miguel/Maul was up and decided to card up after he was told to pipe down by his partners.  Rob's Yoda knew this was his chance.  He noted how Maul was already in a kill box and would never be weaker to attack.  Miguel, sweet Miguel, sweet, innocent, never been back-stabbed because it was his first Duel Miguel.  He was so loyal to his alliance.  But his alliance saw an opportunity!  And after Noah's Dooku and Delaney's Obi both verbally committed to going in on him, Natalie's Emperor was forced to follow suit.  Miguel...did not take it well.  But those are the breaks!  And that's what makes this game so deliciously fun.  Everyone contributed attacks against him and he was in rough shape.  The Brooks Mafia counted on Hannah's Vader to finish him off...but she didn't!  She ran away!  It was a jaw dropper.  And it also let Miguel survive until his turn, and he took his vengeance out on Natalie's Emperor.  She survived, but he did not.  He finished seventh after Noah offed him, one spot short of his desired goal of sixth or better.  So close, yet so far away.

Coming to blows.

With six to go, Rob was sure he was next, and that was the initial plan.  His hand got gutted when Delaney played Force Balance, dumping his three best defense cards.  Just as he carded up again, Natalie finally let loose with the You Will Die.  Rob was running out of options fast, but Delaney had a score to settle with Hannah for bailing out on the Maul kill.  Poor Hannah, who started the day in Ohio and ended it late in the night and out in sixth.

Elliot's Jango popped some shots on Yoda, but it was Natalie's Force Lightning that finally put down the last light side alliance player.

There were four players left, and Noah's Dooku was already taking damage.  He pulled off some nifty attacks, though, whittling Natalie's Emperor back down after she had played two Meditations to recover from Miguel's attacks.  But the Brooks Mafia was ready to eliminate the last non-Brooks player, and Delaney swooped in with a Force Attack.  It was a heck of a night for Noah, though, who survived some early skirmishes to make it to the top four.

And then there were three!  And what a final three it was.  Besties Natalie/Emperor, Delaney/Obi, and Elliot/Jango.  Each cringed as their core alliance was about to come undone.  Natalie decided early to team up with Jango, and Delaney was incensed.  She marched down and clobbered the Emperor close to death.  Meanwhile, Elliot's Jango was fully healthy and Obi was wounded.  He figured he didn't need Natalie on the board any longer, and shot her down in third!  Natalie played a great game, easily seen as the leader of the Brooks family Dueling syndicate.  

The Nervous Nellies in the final two

Delaney still had both of her clone troopers alive (one still pinned down from a Yoda Force Lift), and thus couldn't heal.  Elliot's Zam Wessell was long gone, so he was healing Jango back to the top bar.  It didn't look good for Delaney, but there's a reason Obi-Wan is often considered the best character in the game!  She came roaring back, all while Elliot was loaded with Zam cards.  To Delaney's credit, she didn't hold back and chased Elliot all around the board.  There was a suspenseful moment where he was a point away from dying, and with her second attack, she laid down a two...only to be countered by Jango's last two defense!  But a few moments later it was over, and Delaney, in just her fourth career Duel, won the game!!!  She became the fourth female winner in league history, and as of this posting, has the highest win percentage (25%) in league history!  And she's not even a professional yet!  Let's also not overlook the fact she won with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Emperor's Throne Room, one of the lowest ranked character/board combos out there.  It's usually a bad outcome but Delaney pulled it off!  She also had a money line at the end of the game:  "I won because I had the high ground."

Let's also give a hand to our runner-up, Elliot, who was the last major character to take damage in the game and nearly pulled off the upset.  Well done Elliot!

Our next match will likely be on Saturday, August 29th - THE DOUBLEHEADER.  And if you're new to the league, I will confirm, we're playing two games in one day.  GET READY.  As we bring our 90th (!!!) game in league history to a close, let's review the final order of finish once again:

12.  Ian/Mace Windu

11.  Kaleb/Luke Skywalker

10.  Rylie/Boba Fett

9.  David T./Han Solo

8.  Rachel O./Anakin Skywalker

7.  Miguel/Darth Maul

6.  Hannah/Darth Vader

5.  Rob/Yoda

4.  Noah/Count Dooku

3.  Natalie/Emperor Palpatine

2.  Elliot/Jango Fett

1.  Delaney/Obi-Wan Kenobi

Yoda's #1 Fan