The Fall Brawl - September 30, 2023

Rancor Dungeon

A crazy kind of history was made at this year's Fall Brawl.  For the first time in 135 12-way Duels, Rob was not one of the official 12 Duelers playing the game!!!  And that's because his lucky number was picked to be...the Rancor!

I guess when you wear the shirt of the monster on the board, you're destined to pull his deck!  Most folks looked relieved to not play the Rancor and quickly began worrying about how they would avoid it once the game started...

First 12-Way w/out Rob among the 12!

The Rancor doesn't appear until the first character dies.  Riley E.'s Darth Vader wasted no time on that, as she quickly used a Choke to eliminate one of Kevin's Death Trooper!  With that, the gate was raised, and Rob's Rancor was ready to wreak havoc!  He played two straight Sheer Terrors, which forced each Dueler at the table to reveal the top card of their deck and discard it.  The Rancor was VERY lucky as a whole host of iconic cards were wasted before they were played.

Folks got cranky about that and began whittling down the Rancor's health.  The rest of the table didn't know Rob no longer had defense cards, so he risked 12 points of damage by standing underneath the gate and using two Tastes Like Gamoreans...which means he could eat two minor characters!  He made those count, as the Rancor ate both Evan's Black Krrsantan and Rico's Cassian Andor!  Atticus finally had enough, and he sent Val via a Grappling Line to the gate control panel, doing 12 points of damage and a kill shot on the Rancor.  It was a short but chaotic life for Rob's Rancor.  RIP.

Why scoot away from the Rancor???

With the Rancor gone, the infighting really took off.  Kevin couldn't shake the blood-in-the-water stink from losing his Death Trooper early.  He started taking shots from everyone, and Parker's Obi-Wan eventually ended Krennic in last.  Brutal.

Atticus' Tobias Beckett wasn't fairing much better.  After he took a crack at Jordann's Luke Skywalker, others responded by putting the target back on Beckett.  Atticus couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack, and Jordann's Princess Leia got revenge for her brother by outing Atticus in eleventh.  That was not how Atticus wanted to break his ninth place streak...

Riley B.'s The Armorer, meanwhile, decided to play The Forge, adding +2 to all attacks and defenses until his next turn.  He lined up Paz Vizsla against Evan's Fennec Shand and used multiple Blaster Cannons to eviscerate poor Evan in tenth.  Evan didn't have a shred of luck in this one.

Bella talking trash to Parker.

Rico wasn't doing much better than Evan.  Both of them lost their awesome minor characters to the Rancor (*burp*) and Rico found himself in a kill box courtesy of Bella/Kylo and Parker/Obi-Wan.  Grant H.'s Moff Gideon wasn't sure what to take of that unsteady alliance, so he Kidnapped Rico's Jyn Erso to the other end of the dungeon, placing Jyn in a new kill box.  That group complied with the fresh meat, and Riley E.'s Vader stabbed Rico for the last time.  Jyn was out in ninth.

Most people assumed Parker's Obi-Wan would be next, especially with the public knowledge he held Force Balance.  But in one of the early surprises of the night, Curtis' Mandalorian put the target on Grant's Gideon instead.  It was just like a real episode on Disney+!  Grant had little room to negotiate, and he was frustrated when Parker - granted amnesty for a round by the other Duelers - put him down in eighth.

Kylo's last stand.

Moff Gideon was gone, and Bella found herself the next target, especially after tangling with Jordann's Luke.  But Kylo is a tough customer, and Bella swung I Know What I Have To Do - a 12 point attack! - on a stunned Skywalker.  Kylo and Luke really need counselling.  Bella could exit knowing she left an impact, and that's just what Isaiah's Cad Bane arranged, using Faster Than You to fell the sequel Sith in seventh.

Somehow Parker's Obi-Wan was still alive, despite being the preferred target for most of the game.  Riley E. played a Your Skills Are Not Complete to neutralize the Force Balance, and Parker was in scramble mode after that.  He started taking multiple attacks and Isaiah once again eliminated a Dueler, this time with There's No Shame In It.

Best Side-Eye in Duels History

The final five was tense because Riley B. (mistakenly?) accused Jordann of putting the target on Isaiah, and Riley B. ratted it out to Isaiah.  Jordann was emphatic in saying that wasn't what happened.  When the dust settled, Curtis once again named the target, and put it on Riley B.'s Armorer.  No sooner had he done that when Riley B. pulled A Mandalorian No More, dumping Curtis' entire Mandalorian hand!!!  Jordann was also weak because she had just played double I Will Not Fight You's.  In the end it would be Riley B.'s turn to bow out.  Isaiah's Cad Bane once again got the kill shot.

Final Four Machinations

The final four took a looooooooong time to play out, and alliances switched several times.  It started with Curtis' Mandalorian surprisingly naming his alliance-mate Riley E./Vader as the target.  Jordann initially agreed but flipped to join Riley.  Isaiah tried to play Switzerland throughout.  Eventually everyone was taking shots on Riley and, despite a late re-alliance with Curtis, Riley's Vader was blown away by Leia's Latent Force Abilities in fourth.  Daddy issues for sure!

Curtis popped Jordann's Luke with a Disintegration, mortally wounding the Skywalker twins.  He used a Rising Phoenix to get two 4-point shots on Luke, which Jordann couldn't successfully defend.  Jordann was done in third.  This new Dueler has played twice and finished third twice!!!  Well done, Jordann!

It was more or less a miracle Curtis made it to the final two considering all the great cards he had to drop along the way, be it Rancor or The Armorer.  Meanwhile, Isaiah's Cad Bane had been stockpiling his best attacks, and another No Shame In It killed Curtis in second!  Isaiah won his second Duel in just his fourth game played!!!  Only Kaleb has done the same thing in the history of this league!!!  It also marked Cad Bane's second career win.

The final order of finish:

(13.  Rob/Rancor)

12.  Kevin/Krennic

11.  Atticus/Beckett

10.  Evan/Fennec

9.  Rico/Jyn

8.  Grant H./Gideon

7.  Bella/Kylo

6.  Parker/Obi-Wan

5.  Riley B./Armorer

4.  Riley E./Vader

3.  Jordann/Luke

2.  Curtis/Mandalorian

1.  Isaiah/Cad freakin' Bane!

Well played, everyone!  And congrats to Isaiah's truly historic night.  The October's Duel, FIGHT NIGHT, will be played on Saturday, Oct. 21st, at 7PM.  Mark your calendars now.  The official invite will go out in a couple of weeks.

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!!!