Narkina 5 Imperial Prison
Duelers carried all of their feels into the last game of the academic year. After a robust celebration at the Golden Bears, they hurried across campus to the Fine Arts Studio to try and win the Golden Obi. But before the battle could commence, we needed to honor a retiring Dueler:
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| Welcome to the Hall, Duncan! |
That's right - our newest member of the Dueling Hall of Fame is Duncan! Duncan packed a lot of action into his three years in the league, winning three times. That included two of his first four career Duels. Those, interestingly enough, took place online during the COVID season. He ranks in the top five all-time in Duels and wins for a student. Congrats Duncan!
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| May the 4th was with one of these Duelers... |
Duncan wasn't done being the center of attention, though! In honor of our new board - Narkina 5 Imperial Prison - which was featured in the new show Andor, Duncan delivered an impassioned speech slightly adjusted from what Andy Serkis spoke on the show:
My name is Duncan Crosby and I'm the day shift manager on Level One of Heritage. I'm speaking to you from the community center in North Village. We are, at this moment, in control of the facility. How long we hang on, how far we get, how many of us make it out, all of that is now up to us. We have deactivated every floor in the facility. All floors are cold. Wherever you are right now, get up, stop drawing cards. Get out of your cells, take charge and start attacking Rob. He doesn’t have enough defense cards and he knows it. If we wait until he stock piles cards, it'll be too late. We will never have a better chance than this and "I would rather die trying to take Rob down than giving him another win. We know he’s won the last two duels. We know he made these two new characters so that only he knows the mechanics. We know that no one really knows how this board works except Rob. And now we know, that when he says that we’ve played a good duel, he’s tricking us into trusting him for the next game and that ends today! There is one way out. Right now, the building is ours. You need to move, shoot, attack! You need to help each other. You see someone who's getting attacked, someone who is getting cards dropped, you get them help and you keep them alive until we put Rob in 12th place. There are 11 of us. If we can fight half as hard as we've been working, we will be home in no time. One way out! One way out!
What!?!?! This rivals the "Kill Rob First" cupcakes at the first Twin Sun Slam a few years ago in outright contempt for our humble league commissioner! And Duncan backed up those words by rallying the board to join him in his attacks on Rob! The Knights of Ren fell first, and then Duncan went in for the kill against Kylo, using Darth Maul's Athletic Surge for the overkill and escape back to the safety of his table. The only real damage Rob managed was to be the first Dueler to not be "on program" for the night! Rob's death also meant he got to be the prison warden for the rest of the night. Yay.
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| Everyone scurrying for the tables. |
There was no denying there was frenetic energy in the air, either from the excitement of the last Duel or the electricity coursing through the floor of the board. The layout of the new board also meant there were no clear alliances. Do you partner with the folks near your table, or kill them to get all of your characters to safety? Curtis' Emperor had started Force Lightning-ing Elliot's Yoda, while others were shooting diagonally at Riley B.'s Han Solo. Curtis moved his Imperial Guard into position to shoot Han twice more. Riley wasn't having it, though! He rolled Chewbacca behind the Emperor and combo-ed a Bowcaster and 5 point attack to kill Curtis in eleventh!!! That's the second time in recent Dueling history Curtis was on the wrong end of Riley's Bowcaster.
Riley couldn't enjoy his revenge for long, however. In his weakened state he was vulnerable, and his tablemate Evan/Anakin took advantage. A big 5-point swing ended Riley's night in tenth.
The confusion and constantly changing alliances continued after the first three deaths. More Duelers were starting to stay off program, which caused anyone not standing on a table to take damage. For some reason Miguel, playing Captain Phasma's first ever Duel, became a target. It was confusing because Ian/Jyn was the only opponent he had really tussled with. Both Miguel/Phasma and Ian/Jyn eventually each hopped off their respective tables to have a shootout like an old movie Western. Phasma had one more Backup Pistol to put back on Jyn when Ian attacked. In a bold move, though, Miguel didn't retreat on his turn - he returned fire on Ian! That left Jyn near death, and Julia/The Armorer - our other brand new character on the board - took advantage with a hammer blow to the noggin. Ian was capped in ninth.
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| We are going to miss the heck out of Miguel! |
It was impressive to see Miguel outlast Ian, but Captain Phasma was on the last row of damage and her cool Special Cards were burried in her deck. It would be Michael, playing with Fennec Shand for the second game in a row, who would lay Miguel down gently with a 2-point attack in eighth place. This was Miguel's last Duel, as he's graduating and heading off to Princeton. I'm not sure any other Dueler in league history had more fun playing Epic Duels, especially when causing chaos to break games wide open. We love you Miguel!!!
What came next proved to be the biggest moment in the game. JD M./Krennic was having a relatively quiet game, minus a couple of Grenades he chucked. But he sensed the final seven was a key juncture, so he played the dreaded Peace and Security, which forces everyone else to discard their hand and draw new cards while Krennic keeps what he has. Julia/The Armorer and Michael/Fennec looked gutted as they laid their cards down. From there Yoda became the new target. Poor Elliot was fighting hard all night but things weren't breaking his way. As he was banged up, Michael's Black Krrsantan took a couple of shots from across the board. Curiously, Elliot didn't defend either attack, but the second one was for 5 points, so Yoda was donezo in seventh.
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| Elliot hoped for more... |
Michael's Fennec was off the table with the understanding everyone would stay on program, but that's when Kat/Boba proved how dangerous noncompliance could be. She kept her hands on the table and Fennec was shocked with three points of damage. He eventually became so week JD's Krennic took him out in sixth with a 3-point attack.
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| Why, Kat, why...? |
At this point it should be noted and commended how low to the ground Evan/Anakin and Duncan/Maul were playing. It was clear nobody on the board wanted them in the game, but they huddled together at a far table and waited and healed. Eventually, though, the remaining shooters turned their attention on Anakin. He had Counterattacked a Hammer Throw from The Armorer, but Kat's Boba spiked him with a Kyber Dart, killing Evan in fifth while drawing three cards for making it a kill shot.
Julia, mistakenly believing Kat was against her Armorer, played one of the sickest cards of the night: A Mandalorian No More. The Armorer can pick an opponent and have them show their hand. If that opponent has a character with Mandalorian armor, they have to discard the hand! Boba wears Mandalorian armor! Kat had to dump her hand!!! That move created a lot of distrust, and JD publicly declared he would not align with Julia. Instead, he committed to partnering with Duncan's Maul! As a result, Maul moved in and whittled down Julia until she was gone in fourth after a Super Sith Speed.
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| Duncan danced? Duncan danced. |
When Duncan/Maul eliminated Julia/Armorer, he still had an action left and was standing next to Kat's Boba. He hit her with an Athletic Surge and retreated to a different table! Kat was badly wounded, and JD had his own share of damage too, so everybody assumed they would partner together to go against Maul. But JD had no interest in it, and instead zapped Boba/Kat out in third place!
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| The final moments... |
JD's Krennic still had a Death Trooper on the board, and together, they started shooting long distance against Maul. Duncan had to choose his movements wisely, as JD had no intention of staying on program. Duncan finally made it to the same table as JD/Krennic, but a Krennic heal card left him depressed as he realized his attack calculus wasn't going to be enough. He tried to escape, but JD played Here of the Empire to win the game!!! In their final league Duels, JD and Duncan finished first and second! Unbelievable!!! The win marked JD and Krennic's second wins. What a storybook ending!
Final order of finish:
12. Rob/Kylo
11. Curtis/Emperor
10. Riley B./Han
9. Ian/Jyn
8. Miguel/Phasma
7. Elliot/Yoda
6. Michael/Fennec
5. Evan/Anakin
4. Julia/The Armorer
3. Kat/Boba
2. Duncan/Maul
1. JD M./Krennic
And...that's the end of our ninth season, the 22-23 academic year. What a fantastic Duel to go out on. To Duncan, JD, Miguel, and others...thanks for making this league special! It was an honor to have you a the round table. May the Force Be With You. Always.
For folks in town this summer, keep an eye on your email as we'll likely play the Twin Sun Slam on the first or second Saturday of June. That's a doubleheader at Rob's house where we grill and drink Yoda Soda between games. Until then...
