The Fall Brawl - September 6, 2026

 

Geonosis Arena (via Hoth)

We love to see a huge turnout of students at a Duel, and the Fall Brawl delivered on that front.  8 of the 12 Duelers were students, and three of the four "adults" were in their early 20s...leaving one sad "unc" to navigate gen Z slang all by his lonesome.  One thing's for sure: that guy is buns.

From Brawler to Bawlers...

Things started quite spicy in this year's Fall Brawl when Jonah's Captain Phasma shot Riley's Lobot down the Geonosis alley before she and Lando could even flip to the dark side!  Similarly, Sam's Jabba the Hutt dispatched his lil' piggies to block Rob's Rey from doing the same.  With Lobot on just one point of health, Rob decided he would stick with the light side and used Jedi Healing to bring Lobot back to life!  That ensured it would be a true 6v6 match, and poor Junior suffered for it.  His Allegiant General Pryde lost his Sith Troopers and his life not long after that.  Junior was out in twelfth!

The dark side focused many of their attacks on the over-powered Rey, but Rob managed to use Rise of Skywalker to return to full health, ready to help his alliance continue to press the bad guys.  But Emmanuel/Aayla Secura had seen enough, and attacked Rey two different times!  Rob's fate was sealed when Sam played My Kind of Scum.  Jonah's Captain Phasma (Sam's not-so-secret crush) hit the kill shot and Unc Rob was done in eleventh.

We are laughing!

By this point most of the characters were in the middle of the board, and a light vs. dark alliance was still mostly in place despite Emmanuel betraying Rey.  That's when Kaizer's Supreme Leader Snoke pulled a dastardly maneuver.  He played his All Is Lost attack on Caden's Bo-Katan, who chose not to defend.  That caused Caden to dump the rest of his hand!!  A whacky night got even whackier and poor Caden had no cards to defend.  Jabba knocked him out in tenth.

After that, the momentum swung back to the light side.  James, who was a much appreciated last-minute sub, had been laying nice hits with Reva.  But he got caught under multiple attacks, including Emmanuel's wild Aayla Secura.  But Mason would use the splash damage of his Clone Commando Grenade Launcher to auto-damage James into ninth.  Ka-boom!!  

Riley always peeps the camera.

The light side was surging at this point.  Sam's Jabba retreated behind the snow mounds, locked into 1v1 battle with Riley's Lando Calrissian.  Karis' Jod Na Nawood had deftly sent shots across the board and rehealed by axing Brutus, but she soon found herself the next target.  Once again Emmanuel's Aayla delivered big - rolling a "5" for his Acrobatic Attack, making it a ten point swing of his light saber!  Karis was benched in eighth.

Her fellow Penland conspirator Poe/Yoyo was delivering nice shots against the dark side, but when mean ol' Jonah killed BB-8, the tide turned against Yoyo.  Some of the melee folks started attacking too, and Captain Phasma delivered the death knell when Yoyo only had one card left.  That's two seventh place finishes for Yoyo in two career Duels!

Supreme Leader Switzerland

With six Duelers to go, Jonah/Phasma and Sam/Jabba were desperate to get Riley/Lando to join them against the Tealthica power-duo of Kaizer/Snoke and Emmanuel/Aayla.  Mason's Clone Commandos were navigating the middle of that alliance switch.  In the end, it was once again Emmanuel dictating the next move, as he unloaded on Captain Phasma and blasted Jonah off the board in sixth place with the Rotary Cannon.

There was a LOT of jawing after that, as everyone was pleading with Kaizer to have him join their respective side.  But Kaizer treated Supreme Leader Snoke like Switzerland for most of the night.  When Emmanuel's Aayla was finally taking damage, Kaizer used a double-dose of Force Lightning to halve Tealthica in two.  What a night of chaos and carnage for Emmanuel, though!

Aayla wreaking havoc!

With four Duelers left Mason's last remaining Clone Commando was bruised and battered.  Jonah's Phasma had managed to New Recruit the first two.  Mason had a chance to Detonate Sam's Jabba, but let the Hutt pass.  That proved to be fatal, as Jabba attacked twice.  Mason survived those attacks, but Kaizer's Snoke layed two points on the final Clone and Mason was gone in fourth.  That's his personal best finish, though.  Well done, Mason!

The jig was finally up for Kaizer's Snoke as well.  Though he had plenty of cards in his hand, few of them were defensive.  He faced an agonizing moment with six points of health left.  Riley's Lando was attacking, and Kaizer had to decide whether or not to take one more hit before trying to use I Cannot Be Beaten - his guard resurrecting defense.  He chose not to defend...but Riley used her Battle of Tanaab to off Snoke in third!  Both Emmanuel and Kaizer have finished in the top five in their first two career Duels - wow!  Tealthica has replenished their ranks for sure.

Ten round, knockdown fight ahead...

And then there were two!!!  Sam's Jabba and Riley's Lando had largely avoided the chaos of the night and the two wily veterans were just about dead-evenly matched with their characters.  And this final two went a LONG TIME...deep into the night, shuffling through their decks MULTIPLE times.  This one was no joke - maybe the longest final two in league history because neither character could ever get the upper hand.  It was going to come down to one reshuffle being very lucky while the opponent was unlucky...and that's what happened!  Poor Riley got caught with nine Lobot cards in her hand while crack Hookah Pipe-loving Jabba had a beautiful run of cards.  Give Sam credit, he stayed aggressive the entire time and it paid off!  With just two points of health left, Salacious B. Crumb took a bite out of Lando to seal the victory for Sam!!!

This marked Sam's first career win - way to go Sam!  He previously held the record for most career Duels without a win, but that monkey is now officially off of his back.  Congrats!!!  And this is Jabba's second victory in a row - yikes!!!  The galactic gangster is a new force to be reckoned with.  Riley deserves kudos as well - she nearly won her second Duel in her last three games!

Final order of finish:

12.  Junior/AG Pryde

11.  Rob/Rey

10.  Caden/Bo-Katan

9.  James/Reva

8.  Karis/Jod

7.  Yoyo/Poe

6.  Jonah/Phasma

5.  Emmanuel/Aayla

4.  Mason/Commandos

3.  Kaizer/Snoke

2.  Riley E./Lando

1.  Sam S./Jabba

Your 2007 US Open Champion.

Congrats again to Sam!  That win was well deserved and a long time coming.  Our streak of no repeat winners in 2026 is still alive!!  We'll see if that continues at next month's FIGHT NIGHT!  Pencil in Saturday, Oct. 3rd, as the tentative date for that one.

Until then...PEW PEW!

Fight Night - October 3, 2025

Geonosis Arena (via Hoth)

For just the third time in league history, we were playing with 12 brand new characters!  The push to get to 64 unique characters for next summer's single's tournament has led the charge, as we also had an all-new character Duel at the 12x12-way tournament this summer.  While that dozen was a complete surprise, the league Instagram page leaked who the new characters would be leading up to Fight Night, with the most buzz-worthy addition being Sith Apprentice Anakin!

Trick or Treat, 2025!

Once the new characters were assigned and the decks were examined, Fight Night was off and running!  Eric/Saesee Tiin, who somehow turned professional two Duels ago without Rob noticing (congrats Eric - and sorry!!!), immediately ran to the dark side via the Geonosis famous "Cohenour Run".  That sent the light side of the board into chaos.  Alex, playing Poe Dameron, ran to the dark side too.  But there's a long standing, unofficial theory in 12-way Duels: never be the second flipper!  Alex, despite sitting next to Ian/Aurra Sing, hadn't cleared his move with him and Ian pounced!  Poor Poe/Alex was soon getting attacked from all sides, including a kill shot from Jonah's MINOR character, Luke Skywalker (Old Ben Kenobi)!  Alex didn't even get to deploy BB-8...

A rough night for Alex.

The light side infighting continued.  Caden/K-2SO and CJ/Ford Yandar Yord Fandar couldn't coexist and started attacking each other.  It would be K-2, though, who found himself attacked from all angles.  A double attack of Save the Dream, by Junior/Saw Gerrera's Partisans, made it all she wrote for the Andor hero.  Caden is stuck in a rough stretch of finishes right now.

Though CJ was pleased to be rid of K-2SO, she became the next target.  Though she managed to get Yord to Put Your Clothes On, Curtis' Jet Trooper hit her with a three-point attack to end her night in tenth.  She wasn't even supposed to play - she was filling in last minute for her sick sister!  Thanks for helping us out, Clementine!

Curtis asking others if they prefer salmon over steak...

The elephant in the room all night was John James and his much-feared Sith Apprentice Anakin.  James tends to be a very quiet Dueler as it is, and his silence only scared folks more, as Duelers were waiting to see who his first victim would be.  Rob/Allegiant General Pryde tried to direct the fury at Eric's Jedi.  James was agreeable to the proposition and delivered two big hits, including My New Empire.  But Ian/Aurra showed his Dueling prowess and rallied the board to target James/Anakin instead of Eric/Saesee!!!  And folks were excited to do it!  James didn't know what hit him, but plenty of folks took a turn.  Ironically, it was a shot from his partner Rob's Sith Trooper that landed him in ninth.

The remaining dark side started to close ranks at that point.  Though Eric/Saesee was loyal from his initial flip, the shooters on the board saw him as the odd Dueler out.  Jillian/Grand Moff Tarkin used Name Another Target to dispatch the loner Jedi in eighth.

LIES!  DECEPTION!

This next sequence was a critical part of the game.  Ian/Aurra and Jonah/Old Ben were clearly partnered, and were trying to woo Junior/Saw Gerrera.  Curtis/Hux, Grant/Dedra, and Jillian/Tarkin were in an alliance and Jillian was giving the signal to take down Ian.  Rob was still reeling a bit from Anakin being eliminated, but he decided to side with the cadre of Imperial Officers and throw in against Aurra.  In a bit of a surprise move, Junior joined in too, and the Partisans got another major kill.  Ian was out in seventh.

Jonah/Old Ben Kenobi managed to last a long time after that, hiding behind the snow banks and even deploying fan-favorite R2-D2!  He also pulled off the biggest surprise in the senior Kenobi deck - using Force Ghost to remove Old Ben and make young Luke Skywalker the major character!  In the end he defended too low against Grant's Syril and was ousted in sixth.  #battleofthebluemilk

Look at those two grizzled veterans!

And then there were five!  Junior became the odd man out, as his Saw Gerrera was the last light side character in the game.  Even a huff of Rhydo couldn't save him, as Grant's Dedra used You Disgust Me to blast him off the board.  Kudos to Junior, though, that's two top five finishes in his first two career games!

With four to go Rob/AG Pryde and Curtis/Hux locked horns and started unloading specials and sneak attacks on each other.  Curtis used Bow to the First Order to dump Rob's hand.  But Jillian and Grant decided to hone in on Hux too, and Curtis ran into a string of Jet Trooper cards after they were both already destroyed.  Jillian used You May Fire When Ready and Hux couldn't defend - Curt-Curt was eliminated in fourth.

Nobody wants to play with me!

Real life father-daughter duo Jillian and Grant immediately declared their allegiance against Rob's AG Pryde.  Rob was forced to concentrate his efforts on Jillian's Grand Moff Tarkin.  But as both sustained damage, they pivoted and started working together against Grant's Dedra and Syril.  Rob lost both Sith Troopers though, and that is Pryde's bread and butter.  In a humiliating final attack, Grant shot him off the board with a one-point attack by Syril!  Embarassing!

Things looked very even between Dedra and Tarkin, but Jillian slowly started gaining an advantage, especially with her distance attacks with the Fire When Ready specials.  To make matters worse, Syril finally died and Grant started pulling the momma's boys cards.  Jillian landed the death blow with a One Swift Stroke to win her second career goal!!!  This was her first win since...her first career game!  Congrats to Grant too - second place is often the worst place to finish, unless it's your daughter who eliminates you!

Charming to the last!

Final order of finish:

12.  Alex G./Poe Dameron

11.  Caden/K-2SO

10.  CJ/Yord Fandar

9.  James/Sith Apprentice Anakin

8.  Eric/Saesee Tiin

7.  Ian/Aurra Sing

6.  Jonah/Old Ben Kenobi

5.  Junior/Saw Gerrera

4. Curtis/General Hux

3.  Rob/Allegiant General Pryde

2.  Grant/Dedra Meero

1.  Jillian/Grand Moff Tarkin

We're on break until November where we'll play the Thanksdueling! Duel, tentatively schedule for Saturday, November 8th.  More details to come on that!  That will also be the last Duel to qualify for December's Championship Match!  PEW PEW!

 

12x12-Way Weekend Episode IV: Very Little Hope - June 20, 2025 (8AM)

Geonosis Arena (via Hoth 3D board)

Several Duelers played well past midnight the evening before, so the 8AM kickoff was particularly brutal.  Ian's Sol immediately defected from the light side, leaving a pocket of defense-first light side characters hiding behind the snowbanks.  The dark side whittled them down, and lo and behold...the last one standing was the previous nights' winner - Jonathan!!!  He started the weekend with zero career wins and suddenly had back to back victories!!!

Episode 4 - randomized characters and starting spaces.

 

Thanksdueling! - November 9, 2024

Geonosis Arena (via the Hoth 3D board)

Ok folks, before we jump into the Thanksdueling! recap, we have a couple of important public service announcements for our Epic Duels league.

First - you're taking too long on your turn.  We all our.  Let's speed it up, people!  Think of your move ahead of time, etc.  There will of course be crucial moments in the game where prolonged discussion is appropriate and even encouraged.  But if you're moving one space and drawing two cards...that should go quickly.  Thank you for your help.

Second - you don't have to hit "reply all" when RSVPing for a Duel.  Just reply to Rob - you'll be ok!  Unless you like driving Curtis crazy.  Then, by all means, hit "reply all" or at least "cc" him.  Thank you for your help.

We now return to our normal blog recap schedule... 

11 turkeys about to get basted...

Our 12 Duelers donned their parkas for the Geonosis via Hoth board.  If you're new to the league, the Hoth board is the exact same layout as the Geonosis map that came with the original game.  In other words, it's a classic!

This game was a real slobber-knocker in that the light and dark sides, at least initially, would not flip on each other.  The board got even more gummed up when Justin's Torbin took the Barash Vow, blocking the side lane from the dark side advance.  This turned the action to the middle, where the light side was quickly eliminating dark side minor characters, including Rob's Han Solo using a Bowcaster on his first turn to destroy one of James' Super Battle Droids.  A couple of hours later Rob was rewarded by being Tied To A String by Curtis' Supreme Leader Snoke.  Han had no chance in the dark side kill box, and the Godfather won the Golden Jar Jar for the second month in a row!

It looked like the light side might be in trouble, but Kiera's Yoda decided to be the true leader of the alliance by charging into the dark side to try and help Ian's Anakin.  She Force Pushed James' Count Dooku into the light side corner and tormented others, allowing Ian to retreat and Riley E.'s Mandalorian to fire Disintegration at Jonah's Maul!  Jonah couldn't block it and he was shockingly gone in eleventh.

Kiera quietly plotting while the dark side debated.

Despite Kiera's heroics, she quickly became the target and poor Yoda was down to his last two points of health.  Sam proved how sneaky Cad Bane could be, and used Flame Gauntlet to destroy Kiera's night in tenth.  It was one of the most selfless moves in recent league history though, Kiera!

Sam/Cad and Jordyn/Jango joined forces with James' Dooku, who despite saying he was joining the light side, flipped once again and had Justin's Indara pinned against the still sleeping Torbin.  But Justin was able to use Jedi Prowess to extend his life.  Meanwhile, Caden was using the double-minor character combo of Chirut and Baze.  Before Baze died he unleashed two Staccato Lightnings to eliminate three dark side minors.  A couple of rounds later Chirut used double Blind Lightbows to finish off Cad Bane.  Sam checked out in ninth!

You can't see, but James was wearing flip-flops under the table.

With eight Duelers left in the game, the light and dark sides were still locked against each other and dead even.  James flipped YET AGAIN and sweet talked himself back into the good graces of the light side, but before the ink had even dried on the new contract his Dooku Force Pushed Justin/Indara to an eighth place death!  And Torbin had just woken up and changed his galactic diaper, too!

This became a key turning point in the game, because instead of the dark side now having the distinct advantage, James/Dooku and Alex G./Grievous started acting as independent contractors.  The long term effect was they left Curtis/Snoke out to dry and open to shots when they wouldn't make room for him behind the snow drifts.  Curtis was justifiably cranky.  He inflicted some damage on his way out the door, but Ian's Padme laid down the final hit.

The Thanksdueling! trophy looming in the background...

Things were still chaotic and unsettled.  Alex/Grievous and James/Dooku looked to be in a solid alliance, but Jordyn/Jango was starting to waffle on them and was having sidebars with Riley/Mando.  Riley and Ian/Anakin looked tight with Caden/Chirut along for the ride.  Give Caden credit, navigating double minor characters on that treacherous of a board was daunting, but James/Dooku moved in and punched Chirut's card in sixth.  

Alex had a Magnaguard protecting Dooku, but moved him on his term (on purpuse?), leaving James exposed to The Mandalorian.  Riley had already reshuffled and, for the second time that night, laid wasted to a dark side character with Disintegration!  James flipped more times in a single night than I can ever recall in a game - hat tip to him for making it work all the way to fifth place!

The Mandalorian Armor Twins

That left four Duelers, and Riley made a shocking declaration by suggesting the three of them focus on Ian's Anakin and Padme, who were both in good shape.  That's how it played out for several rounds, but Ian/Anakin proved to be elusive as they darted around the snow drifts and Riley and Jordyn didn't want to commit their shooting characters to up-close attacks on Anakin.  That forced Alex/Grievous to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and he eventually grew tired of that and instead offed Jordyn/Jango in fourth.  Well done, Jordyn!  That was just her second career Duel.

Riley and Ian patched up their differences at that point and agreed to go in on Grievous.  Alex was fully healthy and had just reinstalled his Magnaguards.  Riley was drawing nothing but deceased Cara cards at that point, though, so Ian was having to do most of the work.  Alex bluffed it well, but he couldn't draw a Grievous card to save his life.  His luck finally ran out when Padme (still alive!) used a Precise Shot.  The 2024 unofficial rookie of the year was finally out in third.

GULP!

It was past 2AM for the final two, and it looked like it was going to be an epic showdown.  Anakin was banged up but still had Padme.  The Mandalorian was healing up while Ian was tracking down Grievous.  Riley came out firing with This Is The Way, which she had held back to use against Ian, and then miraculously top-decked it on the DRAW A CARD when she had to reshuffle her deck!  But Ian used a Counterattack...and then another a couple of rounds later when Riley played her third Disintegration!  Riley hit a terrible run of luck as her hand was soon almost entirely made up of Cara cards.  Ian stayed persistent and finally used an Anger to end Riley/Mando in second place...denying Riley a chair in the Championship match!  Congrats to Ian - who added to his career win total (16!), still good for second place all-time in league history.  Kudos to Riley too, who had a heck of a night with the Mandalorian.

Ani and Padme winning on Geonosis - how appropriate!

FINAL ORDER OF FINISH:

12.  Rob/Han

11.  Jonah/Maul

10.  Kiera/Yoda

9.  Sam/Cad

8.  Justin/Indara

7.  Curtis/Snoke

6.  Caden/Chirut & Baze

5.  James/Dooku

4.  Jordyn/Jango

3.  Alex G./Grievous

2.  Riley E./Mando

1.  Ian/Anakin

This win gives Ian three for 2024 - which means he'll occupy the #1 chair for the Championship next month!  More details are coming on that one.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday everyone!

 

Fight Night - October 21, 2023

 

Geonosis Arena via Hoth

History was made in a few different ways during this Duel, and we'll get to more of that later, but one cool "first" was that eight of the main characters were female!  Adding Ahsoka and Morgan to the league, along with the randomly selected Princess Leia, Bo-Katan, Jyn Erso, Fennec Shand, Captain Phasma, and Reva, the Third Sister, helped us tip the scales.  The original 12 main characters that came with the game were all male.  It's nice the new characters have helped us balanced things out a bit!

Trick or treat...

The game was tight right out of the gate, especially with the weird placement of the light side starting characters on the board.  Parker's Fennec was invited to flip sides out of the traditional Mace Windu starting spot in the elbow of the snow columns, but he retreated deeper into his light side alliance instead.  That left his minor BK the Wookie all alone, and the dark side immediately started shooting him until he was off the board.

That wasn't the only advantage the dark side alliance gained.  Atticus' Count Dooku was feeling spry, so he charged down the narrow side of the columns and engaged Jackson's Mace Windu!  They were both taking damage but Atticus showed a flare for the dramatic when he Force Pushed poor Jackson into a dark side kill box!  Rob, playing the new character Morgan, used an enhanced 4-point attack to finish off Mace in last.  It was a brutal turn of events for Jackson - there was nothing he could do.

There really IS a wampa in there!

Parker's Fennec was alone and shivering in the cold, and the dark side didn't hesitate.  Parker managed a couple of Body Mods, but it wasn't enough to withstand the onslaught, especially after Rico's Reva pulled a nifty Grand Ambition kill and then used a Honing Beacon to jump back to his dark side alliance.  Parker cratered in eleventh.

Riley E. tried to keep the spirits up of the light side, but Riley B. saw the writing on the wall and defected to the dark side alliance!  That left Curtis/Leia, Riley E./Jyn, and Bella/Ahsoka all by themselves.  Curtis had seen enough and engaged in one vs. one battle with Atticus' Dooku.  Atticus was stunned by all of the auto damage and he was gone soon after, thanks to a Camouflage attack from Curtis.  Atticus was out in tenth, but give him credit, he always gets his money's worth!

Bella, Curtis, and Riley scrambling...

Curtis was lucky to unload so many of his good cards on Dooku, because Kevin ruined his night when the Emperor played You Will Die on Curtis' Leia.  A host of dark side characters took shots down the alley on a defenseless Curtis.  Penny's Beckett used an Improvise for the K.O.  Curtis was gone in ninth.

Bella's Ahsoka Tano was the next target of an air-tight dark side alliance.  She got off some cool shots with her minor character Sabine, but caught on her heels and with dwindling options, Bella couldn't perform any of the cool new attacks Ahsoka brings to the league.  Bella was kaput in eighth.

The Emperor betrayed!

Riley E.'s Jyn Erso was the last remaining non-flipper from the light side, and she was dug in tight behind the snow columns.  Rob's Morgan wandered down, only to see the major character status flipped to Cassian!  The dark side was loaded, and that's when Elliot's Captain Phasma put the target on Kevin's Emperor.  Kevin didn't realize everyone else at the table was ok with it.  He was loyal to the end, but Penny's Beckett put the final nail in the coffin in seventh for a saddened Kevin.

Riley E. was tickled by the stay of execution, but her time was up after Kevin's exit.  Rico moved a Purge Trooper into position and layed a vicious 5 point attack to oust Cassian and Riley in sixth place.

Bo-Katan abandoned!

Rico deserved a comedy award for his less-than-subtle table talking in this match.  He made it known Riley B.'s Bo-Katan was next on the chopping block.  Riley had been whole-hearted in his new dark side alliance, but they didn't return the favor!  Elliot had New Recruited one of Rob's zombie (Rob Zombie?!)  Night Troopers (the new Morgan deck is spooky!), and the zombie trooper ate Riley's brains - figuratively - in fifth place, much to Riley B.'s chagrin.  

There were four left:  Rob/Morgan, Penny/Beckett, Elliot/Phasma, and Rico/Reva.  It was Rob's turn, but the other three were deadly silent.  Rob assumed they were waiting for him to pick the target, but unbeknownst to Rob, the three of them were already aligned to take down his Morgan in fourth place!  They almost got away with it, but at the last second, he caught Elliot winking to Rico after Rob had said he thought they should aim their efforts at Reva!  

Our league does not endorse the dark arts of the Night Sisters

Rob was kicking himself for forgetting one of the golden rules of the league:  if you don't know who's next, it's you!  He pivoted and told Rico they ought to stick together to avoid a final three with two shooters.  Elliot attacked Rob regardless, but Rico chickened out on attacking Rob too after Rob had dumped one of his better cards.  That was all the crack Rob needed to drive a mile-wide wedge between Rico and Elliot.  Penny was also grumpy that Rico had put a homing beacon on her Beckett, implying she was next after Rob was gone.  The combined efforts of the board, but really a double dose of Double Blasters from Penny, sent Rico packing in fourth.  He played great with Reva!

Rob's Morgan and Elliot's Captain Phasma were both battered, especially after Val played a It's Been a Ride, Babe, on Phasma.  They finally held off on attacking each other, but it was too little too late as Penny had reshuffled and pocketed another Double Blasters to off Elliot in third.  Elliot was once again so close to his first win!!!

All in the family.

The final two was a daddy-daughter dance between Penny and Rob...just like Penny's first career victory at last year's Thanksdueling!  Rob Reincarnated another zombie Night Trooper for some extra protection, but down to his last health point, he knew he needed to go on the offensive and try and knock Penny off before her second Double Blasters emerged from the new draw pile.  He definitely put damage on her, but he couldn't risk more attacks in fear of not being able to defend himself.  Luck was on Penny's side as she Double Blasted Rob into second place!  Penny won her second Duel in just four career matches!!!  That ties the record Kaleb and Isaiah have both achieved.  Wow!!!  Rob hates finishing second, but it hurts a lot less when it's your offspring claiming the trophy!

Final order of finish:

12.  Jackson/Mace

11.  Parker/Fennec

10.  Atticus/Dooku

9.  Curtis/Leia

8.  Bella/Ahsoka

7.  Kevin/Emperor

6.  Riley E./Jyn

5.  Riley B./Bo-Katan

4.  Rico/Reva

3.  Elliot/Phasma

2.  Rob/Morgan

1.  Penny/Beckett

Congrats again, Penny!!!  She currently has two trophies in her possession.  Crazy!!!  

Our November Duel, Thanksdueling!, will likely be held Saturday, November 11th, at 7PM.  Save the date now!  And for those who qualify for the 2023 Championship in December, we're looking at Saturday, December 2!!!  I can't believe how close we are to that...

Duel of the Fates - April 15, 2023

Geonosis Arena (Hoth)

Without spoiling the ending of the 2023 Duel of the Fates, I will share we went past 1AM in the morning before it was all said and done.  That means, conservatively speaking, we listened to the "Duel of the Fates" score over 90 times.  NINETY TIMES.  There was a new tactic for Duel of the Fates this year, though.  Several Duelers conditioned themselves by listening to it on repeat the week leading up to the game.  If you ever wondered if Duelers are crazy...yes.  Yes they are.

Who will still be smiling 90 Duel of the Fates from now?

Geonosis via Hoth was the board for the evening, and it's historically known as a tough environment for the light side which gets clustered behind the columns/snow drifts.  It didn't help in this game that the dark side was loaded with shooters.  It took Ian/Lando all of one turn to turn and run to the dark side and things started falling apart.  JD/Mace tried to plug the lane while Parker/Obi-Wan and Duncan/Padme tried to defend against the open side of the board.

Parker spent a lot of time trying to court Grant H./Kylo to flip to their side, and Grant spent an equal amount of time pretending to consider it with no intention of doing so.  This culminated in him manipulating Obi's Force Control placements.  It was at least an hour and a half before the first Dueler fell, and in that time Ian's Lando got double Whirlwinded by JD's Mace thanks in part to a major communication gaff between Ian and Riley B./Emperor.  The dam finally broke when Duncan's Anakin Wrathed to the dark side, hoping to jump ship and delay a last place finish.  Alas, after Obi's Force Control, Anakin was the only viable candidate for a lot of dark side players and Duncan, for the first time in 27 Duels, finished last after Bella/Cad Bane used There's No Shame In It.

Sometimes all you can do is hang your head...

The light side was happy to see their delayed traitor go first, but they had a ton of problems left to deal with.  Rob's Boba Fett landed a Thermal Detonator that further deteriorated their defenses and Parker's Obi was exposed.  He became the common target for the dark side, and it would be Julia's Moff Gideon who popped Parker's bubble in eleventh.  Parker's bad luck streak is still in play.

That left a final light side trio of Riley E./Qui-Gon, Michael/Fennec, and JD/Mace.  JD was in relatively good shape, but Riley had lost Jar Jar and Fennec was without Black Krrsantan.  Julia pulled off a really slick move when she sent a Dark Trooper into enemy lines and Kidnapped JD's Mace into a dark side kill box.  It has been a minute since we've seen one, but a "wombo-combo" got played!  That's the league term for when Emperor (Riley B.) plays You Will Die and Vader (Miguel) plays All Too Easy.  Poor JD was eliminated in tenth.

The doomed three amigos

Michael's Fennec was the next endangered Dueler.  In a salty bit of marital revenge, his real life partner Julia/Moff Gideon landed the kill shot and Michael was left to play with the exercise ball that has mysteriously been in the Fine Arts Studio all year.  Riley E.'s Qui-Gon played scrappy, but her infamous There's Always A Bigger Fish never materialized and it was Julia/Moff once again handing out walking papers.  Riley was out in eighth.

It took Ian 80 career Duels to finally wear Star Wars garb.

You have to hand it to the dark side alliance - they stuck together until the enemy was completely eliminated.  But every experienced Dueler knows what that means:  who's next???  Julia had just completed her turn, and Rob/Boba were up next.  He wasn't crazy about targeting Emperor/Vader/Kylo, but he also didn't want to lose the chance to put the target on someone either, so he attacked Julia's Moff Gideon, who was in the middle of the board and in easy attack range of other players.  This caused a bit of a storm at the table!

Rob had Rocket Retreated into a corner by Ian's Lando, who was still bleeding all over the place from the double Whirlwinds.  Ian had been cool with Julia/Moff, so he wasn't too happy.  Julia immediately lobbied the board to go after Rob's Boba, but when Riley B.'s Emperor Palpatine followed Rob's lead, he too became a Moff Gideon target.

Characters froze while Duelers debated.

The board turned chaotic.  Lando attacked Boba.  Vader attacked Emperor.  Cad Bane took pot shots.  But it would be Grant's Kylo Ren who set the course for the rest of the evening.  He flipped next to Moff Gideon and used a combo of I Know What I Have To Do (complete with impersonating the line!) and a 5 point attack to off Julia/Moff in seventh place.  Just after that a badly injured Emperor fell to Miguel's Storm Trooper attack in sixth.  With that sudden change in board dynamics, Rob and Ian commenced in an immediate ceasefire. 

Big players pulling big moves!

Grant's eyes were definitely getting bigger as he could see a possible win coming, but the rest of the board was getting mighty anxious about such a powerful character still being in the game.  They began to dart eyes with each other to lock in on the next move.  A bit earlier in the game Grant had accidentally tipped of he had Redemption, which allowed him to heal an opposing character up to 6 points of health.  Believing Rob/Boba were still with him, he bestowed that benefit once he had to use it.  But in the cruelest moment of the night, Rob took the healing and then attacked Boba on his next turn!  Those damn Fetts!  Grant was justifiably seething, and got more upset when Miguel/Vader joined the three shooters in taking out Kylo Ren in fifth place.

Initially it looked like the relatively healthy Miguel/Vader and Bella/Cad Bane would stick together to hunt down the mangled Boba and Lando.  But Bella slowly realized she'd need help to win against a dark lord of the Sith.  Miguel couldn't block all three at the same time, and it would be Greedo (somehow still alive!) who would use a 2 point attack to add Vader to the funeral pyre in fourth.  (And you can bet Grant gave him a good "I told you so!" afterwards)

Final three stress!

Ian and Rob, who will need couples counseling in the near future, were bonded to work together against Bella's Cad Bane due to her relative strength and their obvious battle damage.  They managed to land a couple of blows, but Ian was starting to heal while Rob's Boba couldn't because Greedo was still hanging tough after surviving a Vader Choke.  Rob made a desperate move to further his game.  He used Greedo's Desperate Shot to kill his minor character and make Lando the target with help from Bella.  Boba was down to his last three health points, so Ian/Lando rolled towards him.  But Rob shocked him with double Wrist Cables to do four points of damage, leaving Ian with no actions on his next turn.  Bella landed shots too, and Ian was on the verge of elimination.  What was worse, he knew Rob had a Thermal Detonator, so he was too weak to go after Rob himself.  Bella finally decided to end Lando's night (early morning really) despite Ian's desperate protestations that she was doomed to fall to Boba.

Bella had the definite health advantage, but Rob stood on the far side of the board, out of attack range, and dropping Greedo cards to stay out of Faster Than You auto-damage.  Bella finally got a big roll and headed down the back alley of the board.  Rob was puzzled by this, knowing it left her vulnerable for attack.  He used a Thermal Detonator and Kyber Dart to put her within two points of dying.  But when it was Bella's turn she kept charging!  As she landed next to Boba she shocked Rob (literally!) with the Stun Gauntlet and an attack.  Rob could barely move anywhere because they were on the open terrain side of the board.  He took more damage and was down to his last point of health.  He could either attack twice with a 3 and 4 point attack, or he could draw first knowing he was almost guaranteed either a Thermal, Wrist Cable, or Rocket Retreat.  Assuming she still had a Rocket Boots, he drew a card and got the Rocket Retreat.  Rob was relieved to know he could fly behind the columns to buy more time, but his jaw dropped when she couldn't defend it and was out in second!  Holy cow, that was a crazy finish!!!  In just her third Duel Bella took Cad to second place and near victory, with Boba having zero health left.  Great job Bella!   As for Rob, that son of a gun just won back to back Duels (26 total) and his first ever Duel of the Fates.  This also marked Boba Fett's tenth career win, placing him in fifth all-time on the character listings.

Final order of finish:

12.  Duncan/Anakin

11.  Parker/Obi

10.  JD M./Mace

9.  Michael B./Fennec

8.  Riley E./Qui-Gon

7.  Julia/Moff Gideon

6.  Riley B./Emperor

5.  Grant H./Kylo (who also made Rob laugh so hard when he hit himself in the ribs, mimicking Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens)

4.  Miguel/Vader

3.  Ian/Lando

2.  Bella/Cad

1.  Rob/Boba

We're down to our last Duel of the 22-23 school year!  We're still debating the actual date and time for May the 4th Be With You, but right now we're leaning towards the evening of May 4th, directly after the Golden Bears.  Stay tuned...

 

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!