A New Hope - January 26, 2026

Eravana Cargo Hold

Welcome to 2026!!!  After a restful holiday break, we're back at it!  And for the new year, we brought along four new characters - Jabba the Hutt, Dr. Evazan, Captain Rex, and Luminara Unduli!

Smile if you plan on releasing the rathtars!

As is often the case with the Eravana Cargo Hold board, things went...slowly.  There were a lot of attacks flying but not a lot of characters dying.  For every Homing Missile Rob/Luminara sent to the dark side, Jordyn/AG Pryde healed her team with The Old Wars.  

But the first opportunity for a flip happened when Rob closed a door that trapped Justin's Jabba the Hutt on the light side.  Rather than join a new alliance, he tried to go it alone against Riley/Yord and other light side friends.  Though he lasted several hours, Justin did end up in last with a recently restored Jar Jar trophy (thanks Caden!!!).

Meanwhile, Michael/Anakin and Ian/Luthen were holding the center four squares of the board.  Both of Ian's characters were banged up, though.  Seemingly out of nowhere the dark side decided to eat one of their own:  Jordyn/Allegiant General Pryde!  That was RUTHLESS considering Jordyn had healed her team twice, keeping them strong.  Poor Jordyn!!!  James' Darth Maul made the kill shot.

Ian and Michael hold center court...

Though the dark side was now down two characters, Alex's Orson Krennic had kinda joined them.  That was enough for Michael to make a bold decision - he Wrathed over to Eric's Chirrut & Baze!  David/Rex, Rob/Luminara, and Eric didn't appreciate that.  They took the next six actions to attack Michael, and Eric finished him off with a little Staccato Lightning!

Mark/Dr. Evazan were running around the board all night, in constant danger but also hard to finish off.  Rob/Luminara became obsessed with eliminating them, spending wayyyy too many cards to do so.  "Oatmeal Face," as Rob rudely began referring to the doctor, finally ran out of cards and Riley/Yord sent him back to Brooks in ninth.

Whose side will they take in Ian vs. Rob???

Rob was bothered all night that Michael and Ian had moved so quickly into the center squares, releasing the rathtars but safe from their damaging pathways.  The top two ranked Duelers in the league officially locked horns, and they threw everything they had at each other, all while trying to convince everyone else to help them.  They both got down to their last few health points, thanks in large part to Luthen's Exit Strategy exploding on Luminara.  The Andor spy won the day, sending the newly created Jedi Luminara and Rob to the showers in eighth.

Ian won the battle but lost the war.  David's 501st Clone Trooper Made His Own Decision by shooting Ian into seventh place.  David was bopping around everywhere, trying to find a new port in the storm.

Cold Storage!!!

That left us with six Duelers to go...and well past midnight.  Rough!  It looked like Alex/Krennic, Grant/Wampa, and James/Maul were going to stick together.  Riley made one final attack run on Maul, and surprisingly for the ill-fated Acolyte Jedi, she did some real damage.  But James looked like a killing machine, determined to spend all of his attacks before reshuffling his deck.  Two Athletic Surges later, Yord had his proverbial neck snapped in sixth.

Somehow Eric and his double-minor duo of Chirrut and Baze were still in the game.  Credit Eric for deftly moving a less-than-desirable deck into the top five.  But as his last character was nearly dead, he chose death by rathtar instead of a fellow Dueler, crawling in front of a closed gate until CJ gobbled him up in fifth.

The alliance that stuck together.

The last remaining new character in the game was David's Captain Rex.  David was doing well, especially considering this was only his third career Duel.  But no matter how many For The Republics he played, it wasn't enough to save Rex from Maul.  It was good night early morning for David.

We should take a moment of pause and admire Grant, who was playing the Wampa for the second time of the Wampa's three career games.  Though he was bummed to pick him, the experience was clearly paying off.  And it was his Viper Droid who shot Maul at third place.  James had a great night, though!

The last few beings left in the Eravana...

And then there were two!  It looked like Grant/Wampa had the health advantage over Alex/Krennic, but Krennic was able to start healing since both of his minors were destroyed.  Grant still had his Viper Droid.  It took nearly an hour of slow but intentional chess play, but turn by turn Alex made Krennic stronger while whittling down the Wampa.  Grant made one last charge with his snow beast, but Alex won the day (seriously, it was almost daytime...) with Hero of the Empire!!!

Congrats to Alex, who won his third career Duel and his first since September of 2024.  But this victory was even crazier for Orson Krennic.  Krennic now has five total victories...tying him with Luke Skywalker for twelfth all-time.  This is a big deal because the first few years of the league we only played with the original 12 characters.  Now one of the new decks has caught up to a veteran character!!!

Happy New Year!

Final order of finish:

12.  Justin/Jabba the Hutt

11.  Jordyn/Allegiant General Pryde

10.  Michael/Anakin Skywalker

9.  Mark/Dr. Evazan

8.  Rob/Luminara Unduli

7.  Ian/Luthen Rael

6.  Riley/Yord Fandar

5.  Eric/Chirrut & Baze

4.  David/Captain Rex

3.  James/Darth Maul

2.  Grant/Wampa

1.  Alex/Orson Krennic

Next month is the Valentine's Duel!  We'll be debuting the newest board in the league - the Death Star!  This thing is GORGOUS!  You won't want to miss it.  It looks like we'll throw down on Friday, February 6th for that one.  Stay tuned for the official invite.

Congrats again, Alex!  That's more hardware for the Teal trophy case!

PEW PEW!

12x12-Way Weekend Episode IX: Rise of Trash Talkers - June 21, 2025 (12PM)

Death Star (NEW BOARD!!!)

We waited all weekend for this Duel - it was the debut of our newest board:  THE DEATH STAR!!!  Ryan came through in a HUGE way with this one.  It's all 3D printed pieces that fit into a grid, and you place the pieces randomly so you'll never play the same configuration twice!!!  There are raised terrain, open terrain, starting spots marked by mouse droids...this thing is SICK!!!  And it looks absolutely gorgeous! 

The mood at the table was tense for this one, as people were stressed by a brand new layout and residual animosity from the previous eight Duels.  At the end of the day - and how fitting! - it was the mastermind of the Death Star himself, Orson Krennic (Jonah), who won the day!!!  This also marked Jonah's second career win.  He deserved this one too!  He randomly got five 12th place finishes on the weekend, but that was much more indicative of bad luck than Jonah's awesome talent as a Dueler.

Episode 9 - the last randomized characters/starting spots of the weekend.

May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2024

Arvala-7

I hope you don't have a sweet tooth, because this game was SALTY!  So much fear which led to anger, anger which led to hate, hate which led to...YOU KNOW THE REST!  Let's recap the shooter's Duel, PEW PEW!

May the 4th Be With Them

This post is a couple of days late, so apologies if not all of the details are remembered.  The author of this post was on a lot of cold medicine, which his fellow Duelers learned means he can't keep his inside thoughts from becoming outside thoughts!

The front of this Duel was tediously slow as the dark and light wanted to remain united, and just as the action was picking up, Ian/Krennic played Peace and Security, dumping everyone's hands and leading to even more card drawing.  The first blood in the water was Isaiah's Jango Fett.  He was roughed up when Josh S.'s Lobot and Riley B.'s Jyn Erso came barging in.  Rob's Boba Fett chose to defect to the light side with a Rocket Retreat, though he refused to use it on Isaiah, since it was his last Duel.  That didn't stop Riley B., though!  Jyn took down Jango, and poor Isaiah was gone in last!!!  The league will miss him for sure - it's hard to think of a Dueler more well-loved than Isaiah.

Riley B./Jyn's bloodlust led him into the dark side territory, but he was woefully unprepared to defend himself once Jango was dead.  Ian/Krennic, Riley E./Moff Gideon, and Grant D./Cad Bane concentrated their efforts on the Rogue One hero.  A brutal There's No Shame In It 7-point attack from Cad Bane smoked Riley B./Jyn into eleventh.  Riley graduates this week too, but he took a job locally so I'm sure we'll see him at the table again in the future.

Mando and Lando in trouble.

The light side still had the numbers advantage, thanks in part to Bekah/Beckett defecting to their side after Ian/Krennic's opening Grenade earlier, but Rob/Boba decided to go for the rare double-defection.  Hopped up on Benadryl, he told the rest of the board they should focus on the three strongest characters in the game:  Elliot/Princess Leia, Jordann/The Mandalorian, and Josh/Land Calrissian.  He put his money where his mouth is when he used a combo Deadly Aim and Rocket Retreat to end Jordann's night early in tenth!

You could see the smoke coming out of Elliot's ears after the momentum shifted.  He made many compelling arguments but folks weren't eager to see Leia go deep.  Spencer/Bo-Katan used Aerial Assault to make the finishing shot - Elliot was out in ninth.  There were early rumblings about a chaplain alliance, but they ended up being the first four gone!!!

Alex A. lending a hand?

Josh, playing in his first Duel, found himself as the last standing shooter Rob had called out earlier.  He made some nifty moves, but couldn't withstand the coalition working against him.  Riley E.'s Moff Gideon was near death, and was twice about to be eliminated by Spencer's Bo-Katan before pledging to weaken others on the board if her life was spared.  Instead, Spencer's Night Owl offed Lando.  Not a bad first Duel, Josh!

Sweet 16 Eve

There were only six Duelers left, and Alex had been staying under the radar quite nicely with Han and Chewy.  He used the It's Not Wise Wookie toss to finally put Riley E. out of her misery in seventh.  The birthday girl was gone (Cinco de Riley!), and that's when Ian put the target on Han.  Krennic finished what he started with a 4-point shot.  It was the end of the road for Alex, but that sixth place finish marked a personal best!

With only five to go, Rob's Boba Fett was loaded, and spent an attack on Grant's Cad Bane.  He thought Grant and Ian/Krennic were a solid alliance, so he proposed a trio of himself, Spencer/Bo-Katan, and Bekah/Beckett work together.  But Bekah wouldn't even look Rob in the eye and Spencer kept trying to court Ian instead, who steadfastly refused to commit to anything past Boba biting the dust.  Rob kinda lost his mind since the Benadryl was wearing off, and the rest of the Duelers zapped him in fifth.

"I think Rob might have been right..."

Spencer's Quixotic attempt to court Ian came to a crashing thud once Boba was gone.  The three remaining Duelers all turned against his Bo-Katan.  Grant's Cad Bane got the last shot.  Spencer drowned his sorrows in Cane's, which is a tasty way to die.

The final three saw Bekah/Beckett and Grant/Cad Bane join forces against Ian's Orson Krennic.  Ian played his movements masterfully, though, running around the large rock structure in the center of the board.  That, combined with Bekah's atrocious dice luck, left Grant dueling Ian by himself.  Ian used another Peace and Security to weaken them both and used a deadly Hero of the Empire to stop Grant in third.  He was so close to being the first Dueler to ever win three Duels in a row!!!

This board is so pretty!!!

Bekah's Tobias Beckett was fully loaded, but Ian was in a beautiful rhythm with Krennic.  They danced around the board but Bekah was quickly on the ropes.  After a short chase Krennic fired off a winning shot - Ian won the game!!!  This is his second win of 2024.  Amazingly, Krennic defended his May the 4th Be With You title too, as he won last year!  I can't remember the last time a character repeated...

"Oh, it's beautiful!"

Final order of finish:

12.  Isaiah/Jango Fett

11.  Riley B./Jyn Erso

10.  Jordann/The Mandalorian

9.  Elliot/Princess Leia

8.  Josh S./Lando Calrissian

7.  Riley E./Moff Gideon

6.  Alex A./Han Solo

5.  Rob/Boba Fett

4.  Spencer/Bo-Katan Kryze

3.  Grant D/Cad Bane

2.  Bekah/Tobias Beckett

1.  Ian/Orson Krennic

Congrats again to Ian.  That concludes our 23-24 season of Epic Dueling!!!  Rob will host the Twin Sun Slam doubleheader sometime in June, he'll pick a date once the fog of sickness has cleared his head.  Isaiah and Riley B. - we love you!  Thanks for all the memories!!!

May the Force be with you.  Always.

May the 4th Be With You - May 4, 2023

 

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:

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!

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 12^th 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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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!

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...

Valentine's Duel - February 6th, 2021

 

Eravana Cargo Hold

What a night of history in our beloved league!  On a somber note, it has now officially been a year since we have Dueled face to face.  The 2020 Valentine's Duel was our last time being physically present with each other.  Let's all do our part to wear our masks and be smart so we can get back to our normal Dueling lives!

This was also the first time old and new characters were teeing off against each other.  There were seven new and five old, and I gotta admit, I found myself rooting for the senior characters!  But the biggest part of the night was our brand new board - the Eravana Cargo Hold, complete with TWO indestructible Rathtars!!!  And Ryan made the board in 3-D, let's take a look at it!!!

"Run Chewey!"

CJ bustin' loose

RC feeling blue

The board is stunning, and the light display under the grating is fantastic.  It almost looks like something out of the Alien franchise.  Unfortunately, the lights didn't show up well on camera, so we had them off except for the occasional dance break or when Rob was bored by the alliance chatter.

Be mine, Valentines!

The game started off with a whistle.  Literally!  Rob was the Mandalorian, and he had Whistling Birds in his first four cards and couldn't resist doing 24 points of damage right out of the gate.  He would pay the price, though, as the rest of the board began to punish him for his stingers.  He was taking damage early and often.  But Ryan (Yoda) and Kaleb (Vader) moved into the center four spaces of the board, and before we knew it, the two Rathtars were on the loose!  Because of the Whistling Birds card, four minor characters died as soon as the Rathars passed.  IT WAS AWESOME.

However, Rob wasn't long for the board.  When Elliot/Jyn and Delaney/Lando found themselves full carded, they took down The Child's babysitter in last.  Oof!  Rob won last month but couldn't defend his trophy from last year's Valentine's battle.

Kylo in trouble

Rylie's Anakin and Padme started wandering down to the dark side of the board, more so out of trying to flee the Rathtars than anything else, but when she rounded the corner she decided, what the heck, let's tussle with Duncan's Kylo!  Duncan was surprised and cranky, especially when others joined in on the attack.  He couldn't withstand the barrage, especially after Rylie used an Anger in an unorthodox second action.  Duncan took a big hit on his Dueling average but he's still ranked number one.

Ryan's Yoda kept flip-flopping on whose side he was on, a move he had to make occupying the center spaces, and he ended up Force Pushing Karson's Beckett.  But the dark side alliance really wanted to take out Elliot's Jyn, partially because she was a threat and partially because Ryan's Yoda had been friendly with him.  Just as Jyn was in trouble health points-wise, Elliot pulled of a league first!  He played Trust Goes Both Ways, making his minor character, Cassian Andor, his major!!!  Kaleb seized on the switch too, though, using a Force Choke to finish Jyn.  

CJ chompin' like a chomper

Meanwhile, Riley's Han Solo was all banged up and had lost Chewbacca after having her Bowcaster dropped.  Bummer!  The "tiny titan of terror" was trying to lick boots to stick around, but Curtis' Krennic ordered the hit, and Karson's Beckett obliged by ending her night in tenth.

Delaney's Lando and Elliot's Cassian were soon without any friends on the board.  They tried to hang tough, but the rest of the Duelers were united in taking them down next.  Cassian was first to fall when Curtis' Death Trooper dropped him in ninth.  Delaney's Lando proved a much tougher take down, as she pivoted around the board much to the chagrin of her pursuers.  Alas, she couldn't hold out forever, and Krennic dropped her in eighth place.

Miguel's last stand

With seven to go, the alliance had to turn on itself.  Miguel's Moff Gideon, who had been playing like a mad man and thorn in many opponents' sides, found his loyalty betrayed when his partners turned on him.  Rylie was full carded and made the call, and Kaleb/Vader followed suit though neither were proud of it.  It would be a 5-point attack from Vader that ended Miguel's night, but let's give him a big cheer, because he turned professional with this his sixth Duel.  Congrats Miguel!!!

And then there were six!  The alliance had grown weary of Yoda's fence-sitting in the middle of the board.  Despite Ryan's use of Insights and Force Pushes, the rest no longer wanted the old Jedi on the board.  Ryan took the offensive, though, and Force Lifted Curtis' Krennic, imploring Rylie/Anakin and Kaleb/Vader to help him flip the script on Krennic.  Rylie and Kaleb waffled for a moment, but they soon chose to stick with Curtis and Ryan couldn't withstand the multi-pronged attack.  It would be Karson of all people that took him down with a Trust No One.  That sixth place finish caused Ryan to slide .01 points behind Alex C. for third in the league now.

Brotherly love?

You have to hand it to Karson/Beckett and Ethan/Boba - those two stayed so far below the radar Duelers forgot they were on the board.  But when it hit the final five, the core alliance of Rylie/Kaleb/Curtis grew mighty concerned.  Despite Karson doing his part to take out Yoda, his own brother Kaleb moved into attack position!  Though Beckett fought valiantly and even got some licks in on Vader, it would be a double Wrath that left Karson in fifth place.  That's a career-best finish for Karson, though.  Good job!

Ethan begged Rylie to join him against Kaleb's Vader, but Rylie was very low health (and shout out to her for playing with a carefree attitude - it was a great way to use Anakin!), and couldn't commit.  Ethan no longer had use for her, and a wicked Kyber Dart did major damage on Rylie, ending her night in fourth place.

Q:  What is Curtis' favorite song by No Doubt?
A:  "Trapped in a Box"

With three to go Curtis' Krennic briefly abandoned Kaleb/Vader and joined Boba, but in stunning move, switched back, and that put Boba's game on tilt.  Krennic landed a four point attack and Ethan, our retired Dueler who was joining us all the way from Virginia, was gone.  It was a heck of a game Ethan!

And then there were two!  The two Rathtars had been stuck in a loop at the top of the board, but Vader flipped a couple of door switches and, for the first time that night, they both ended up in the inner circle.  Krennic had trouble going after Vader in the middle of the board.  At one point he stepped into a Rathtar holding bin...and the trap was sprung!  Kaleb quickly raised the other door and Krennic couldn't move!!!  You could hear Curtis's hopes crash to the floor all the way across town, as he assumed Vader could distance attack Krennic to death.  But Curtis kept healing, and it became apparent Kaleb was going to have to do more.  That's when he set up the doors again to move both Rathtars towards Curtis just as he let Curtis out of the box.  And man, RC and CJ (our nicknames for the Rathtars) jacked him up for eight points of damage while blocking his path.  However, Krennic survived and started chasing Vader around the board!  

Both exchanged blow after blow, but Krennic's ability to heal proved too much for Kaleb to overcome, and miracously, Curtis overcame the odds, the box, and the Rathtars to win the game!!!  Congrats to Curtis on his seventh career win!  He also becomes the first person to win with Orson Krennic - bravo!

Let's give it up for Kaleb too, who played great with Lord Vader.  Let's also lift him and Aly up in prayer and praise as they get married later this month!  That's what Dueling is all about folks, the love!!!

Final order of finish:

12.  Rob/Mandalorian

11.  Duncan/Kylo Ren

10.  Riley/Han Solo

9.  Elliot/Jyn Erso Cassian Andor

8.  Delaney/Lando Calrissian

7.  Miguel/Moff Gideon

6.  Ryan/Yoda

5.  Karson/Tobias Beckett

4.  Rylie/Anakin Skywalker

3.  Ethan/Boba Fett

2.  Kaleb/Darth Vader

1.  Curtis/Orson Krennic

The consensus seemed to be the Eravana Cargo Hold was an awesome board!  Big shout outs again to Ryan on the design and build.  It's so cool!  We can't wait to play that one again in person.

Stay tuned for next month, as The Imperial March will be our next battle!  I've already drawn the characters for the Duel, and let's just say...this one is going to be a SLUGFEST!

We'll also be playing on a new board again!  Want a hint?  Here you go...

See you next month!