Doubleheader #2 - August 31, 2025

Naboo Reactor Pit

Blessings to all Duelers who get to play twice in one day!  Let's recap game #2, which took place in the Naboo Reactor Pit and its glowing red laser walls...

Let's roll 2's and 5's!

We had some new blood at the table for game 2, and that included first-timer David.  Welcome to the league, David!  Unfortunately, the Duelers were not kind to him or his Captain Phasma.  He got stuck in the dreaded front chamber starting spot, which historically is awful on the Naboo board.  His night was short and not particularly sweet.  James' Grand Inquisitor finished him off in last to award him the Golden Jar Jar!  I'm so sorry David - play with us again next time!!!

Things didn't go much better for our other reinforcement, Caden.  He was playing The Armorer for the second game in a row, and thought the was secure with a good spot on the board.  However, Grant's Mandalorian played Rising Phoenix to attack him twice and knock the Armorer to near death!  When the red laser walls went up, his alliance on the reactor pit side of the board turned against him.  Rob's Royal Guard sent him packing in eleventh.

Jordyn holding court.

Justin's Princess Leia was stuck in the same starting chamber as David, and he too was taking hits and didn't appreciate it when Rob's Emperor Palpatine played You Will Die on him!  There was no recovery after that.  Nayshaun, all hopped up on Yoda Soda, charged forward with bloodlust in his eyes.  Justin was gone in tenth.  Ouch!

Before Caden was killed off, he got his revenge on Grant by playing A Mandalorian No More.  That dumped Grant's whole hand!!!  His chamber-mate James couldn't resist the easy target.  The Grand Inquisitor struck him down in ninth.  Thanks for subbing in game two though, Grant!

Alex begging for shooting lanes...

Rob's Emperor grew weary of Ally's Ahsoka at the other end of the board, so he started sending Force Lightning her way.  Eric decided to jump on board that bandwagon, and suddenly poor Ally was the target.  A Purge Trooper managed the final blow.  Ally was gone in eighth after a long day of Dueling.

Eric's Reva, who had just helped out against Ahsoka, was the implied next target, but the laser walls went up again.  Fully carded, Rob suggested to Riley/Anakin and Jordyn/Lando they take down Alex's Tobias Beckett.  They agreed and soon discovered most of Alex's good cards were still buried in his draw pile.  It was a frustrating match for Alex, who was often blocked from shooting and then betrayed by the laser walls.  He was out in seventh.

James trying to plot the rise of Darth Vader.

James' Grand Inquisitor got caught between Eric's Reva and an aura-farming Moff Gideon (Nayshaun), and had trouble defending the two-front attacks.  He almost pulled off the defense card that would enable him to play with Darth Vader should the Grand Inquisitor fall in battle.  Alas, he couldn't make it work, and Moff Gideon claimed another trophy.  James fell in sixth.

Everyone agreed Eric's Reva was the next target, and Eric's impassioned pleas and threats were as entertaining as they were logical, but the alliance held strong.  Riley's Anakin Wrathed to that end of the board and delivered the deathblow with a 5-point attack.  This was Eric's second game in a row getting into the top five with Reva!  

And then there were four!  Rob dropped a Force Lightning on Jordyn's Lando, declaring his belief Lando was the best defensive character left on the board.  Jordyn proved that with her valiant deflections and parries.  She tried to convince Nayshaun/Moff Gideon to partner with her against Riley/Anakin and Rob/Emperor, but the longer it took to take her down the stronger the other three became to eliminate her.  Jordyn played a heck of a game but Lando was a goner in fourth.

That Emperor-Anakin bond!

At the final three Emperor and Anakin did indeed go after Moff Gideon, but Nayshaun had a pretty big trick up his sleeves.  Anakin was about half health and Gideon was taking on damage, but he used It Means More To Me against the fully healthy Rob/Emperor!  That special card basically dumped Rob's entire hand, minus his Meditations!!  All three characters were now in mortal danger, but Riley's Anakin was fully loaded and seemed to be in the driver's seat.  But Rob got blessed with major deck luck when he pulled YOU WILL DIE!  He immediately played it on Riley/Anakin as he ran away from the other two!!

The laser walls went up, protecting Rob from the other two but trapping Nayshaun with Riley.  Though both were empty handed, Riley got to draw first.  She pulled an Anakin attack and Nayshaun bit the farm (that's really funny if you were at the table) in third.  What a game, Nayshaun!  Third place in his third career Duel.  The kid is a natural!

Rob and Riley, father and daughter, Sith Master and soon-to-be Sith Apprentice, in the final two!  Both were low carded and Rob was chipping away at Anakin's health with Force Lightnings.  But in a bold move, Riley got a 4-all with the walls up and moved in against Emperor with double Angers - 8 point attacks!  That left Rob at his LAST point of health!  But he had planted his last Force Lightning with a Future Foreseen as his next draw card, and used the draw and play on his turn to win the game in a thrilling ending!!!  This is the fourth time Rob has won with Emperor Palpatine!  Let's hear it for the old, wrinkly guys in the league!!!  Shoutout to Riley too, who once again came THIS CLOSE to her third career win.

Final order of finish:

12.  David/Phasma

11.  Caden/Armorer

10.  Justin/Leia

9.  Grant/Mando

8.  Ally/Ahsoka

7.  Alex/Beckett

6.  James/Grand Inquisitor

5.  Eric/Reva

4.  Jordyn/Lando

3.  Nayshaun/Gideon

2.  Riley/Anakin

1.  Rob/Emperor - just two guys at least 50 years old...

What a great day of Dueling - thanks to everyone who played!!!  Our September Duel, THE FALL BRAWL, will likely be the evening of September 13.  More details to come!!!

PEW PEW!

12x12-Way Weekend Episode XI: Rogue Fun - June 21, 2025 (8PM)

Naboo Reactor Pit

We finally made it to Saturday night and the most anticipated Duel of the weekend - the all-new character Duel!!!  That's right, we introduced 12 new characters into the league, and saved their first Duel for the penultimate Duel of the weekend!  Though we were closing in on midnight before the match even started, everyone insisted we play the Naboo board so we could see as many cards as possible from the new decks.  Here are the new decks!

It's a nice mix of prequels heroes, recent tv shows, and even a character from the original trilogy!  The last team standing, though, which included the insane new card "Order 66," was Elliot with the Clone Commandos!  This triple-minor deck carried the day!!

Fight Night - October 4, 2024

Naboo Reactor Pit

It's hard to even comprehend it's already October, and even harder to realize we're just one more Duel away from the 2024 Championship!  Fight Night is one of the last chances to secure a spot in the biggest Duel of the year.  Would somebody new punch their card for a chair at the December match??  #foreshadowing

Trick or treat!  (Probably tricks...)

Folks settled in at the table inside of the North Village Community Center (fun fact - this was the room we used for 2014-15 Dueling season!) and Rob explained the rules for the opening and closing laser walls of the Naboo Reactor Pit.  Rob/Jyn Erso and James/Boba Fett got stuck in the worst two starting spots, the small chamber between the reactor area and the rest of the hallway.  It took no time at all for Jordann/Ahsoka and Grant/Droidekas to start suggesting Jyn and Boba would be great targets for everyone else playing.  James lost Greedo but managed to Rocket Retreat to the back end of the hallway.  Rob wasn't as fortunate.  His Jyn Erso was the first character down thanks to Grant's Droidekas.  Rob went from first last month to last this month.  It always stings!

The next phase of the game took a LONG time - the Duelers huddled in the hallway trading shots with the other end of the board, navigating walls spontaneously opening and closing.  Alex G., playing Han and Chewy, secured his Bowcaster and popped Eric's Cad Bane.  But when the pit side of the board finally advanced, Han got caught too far forward.  Cate's Reva, who was out for blood in any form she could find it, landed the kill shot.  Alex is a real all-or-nothing Dueler, if he ain't first, he's (nearly) last!

Cate considering which alliance member she'll attack...

God bless Duelers like Cate, who keep the game moving with action.  Her alliance had to redirect her a lot, but she wasn't shy about playing cards.  Unfortunately, getting the hit on Han left her exposed to Han's alliance.  They attacked immediately, and Riley B.'s Orson Krennic played Hero of the Empire to knock her out in tenth.  That was a nice recovery by Riley, who had earlier suffered from an I Will Not Fight You from Mark's Luke Skywalker.

It looked like the hallway crew might actually tip the scales, but they ran into a bad string of untimely laser door closures.  That left Riley B. susceptible to the pit alliance.  Jonah's Sol crept in for the kill, using Noble Intentions.  Riley played great but was stuck with some bad luck.  He hopes to have better luck at the Championship!

The last stand.

Losing Krennic was a big blow for the hallway crew, but they had a glimmer of hope when Jordann/Ahsoka made her way down the hall to confront the remaining trio.  But yet again, the doors closed each time it looked like Jordann might be in danger.  Her alliance wisely concentrated their fire on Riley E.'s Bo-Katan.  She held out as long as she could, but Grant's Droidekas did her in in eighth.

James' Boba Fett had retreated to the back line hours ago, and was finally in position to unload with his stockpiled attack cards.  But Mark played ANOTHER I Will Not Fight You, which was brutal for James.  He held out a bit longer, but Jordann, totally vibing with her previous least favorite character Ahsoka, landed a five point attack to send James into the great big sarlacc in the sky.  

"You're third-partying, bro!"

With six to go it was clearly Sam S.'s Captain Phasma against everyone else.  Earlier in the game Sam scored a major coup when he used New Recruit against one of Grant's Droidekas!  Sam went on a thirty minute monologue, trying to talk and joke his way out of being the next target, and played an uncanny amount of well-timed defense cards, but it ultimately wasn't enough.  Jordann once again collected a trophy, and Sam was done in sixth.  It was no riz-factor ten.

Just before Sam went down, the alliance of five splintered when Eric, playing his first Duel (and playing very well!) and piloting Cad Bane, started shooting Grant's last Droideka.  That put the target on Eric, even though Jordann proposed a Brooks College final three at one point.  Eric proved the usefulness of Rocket Boots more than once, but he finally succumbed to his wounds, fittingly, from a Droideka attack.  That was a heck of a first Duel, Eric!  Come play again.  

The Three Amigos

With Cad Bane gone, there were four to go.  Jordann waffled a bit and wouldn't commit to a target, even though Mark had made an offer to work together.  That essentially left Mark/Luke Skywalker without an ally.  Everyone feared his fully healthy Luke and Leia, but those health points quickly evaporated.  Grant's Droideka blasted him off the board in fourth.  Not bad for a Dueler who had his appendix out just seven days earlier!

Jordann could feel her chance at victory slip through her fingers when Jonah/Sol decided to stay loyal to the damaged Droideka belonging to Grant.  Grant pulled a surprising volley of attacks on her, and it proved fatal.  The Droideka eventually got her out in third.  Jordann is playing so well right now!!  When will she finally ring the winner's bell??

It looked like Jonah was going to cruise to victory, especially with Grant's Droideka on his last row of health.  But the unrealized advantage of the double minor character Droidekas is that every card they draw can be used, and out of nowhere, Grant was blocking shots and whittling down Sol to his last few points of health!  Jonah got down to his last attack card while Grant was on his last point of health.  In a fateful decision, Grant used a three defense instead of his four, but Sol's attack was four points!  Jonah won his first Duel in just his fourth career game!!!  Congrats to Jonah!  This was only the second game for Sol - that's a great start for the character.  But also...way to go Grant!  My goodness, he was deft at rolling those Droidekas around the board and causing damage.

Put respect on Jonah's name!

The final order of finish:

12.  Rob/Jyn

11.  Alex G./Han

10.  Cate/Reva

9.  Riley B./Krennic

8.  Riley E./Bo-Katan

7.  James/Boba

6.  Sam S./Phasma

5.  Eric/Cad

4.  Mark/Luke

3.  Jordann/Ahsoka

2.  Grant D./Droidekas

1.  Jonah/Sol

Congrats again Jonah and Sol!!  Our November Duel - Thanksdueling! - is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 9, at 7PM.  Pencil it in now, Rob will send out the official invite in a few weeks.

October is crazy - enjoy the month of activities and mentally prepare for the November Duel.  Until then...PEW PEW!

Thanksdueling! - November 11, 2023

Naboo Reactor Pit

This was our 10th annual Thanksdueling! Duel, and our 137th match in league history.  Let's take a moment to give thanks for these past ten years!  If you had told me ten years ago we'd be going stronger than ever in the year of our Lord 2023, and there were 12 boards, 12 trophies, and 32 characters...I wouldn't have believed you.  OK, maybe I would have believed you a little because this game is so awesome, but still!!!  Look at all we've done!  Way to go, Duelers!  If you're snacking on deviled eggs or candy corn this Thanksgiving, feel free to consume it in honor of Star Wars Epic Duels.  

Rob's in the picture!?!

Thanksdueling! 2023 was special right out of the gate because it was the debut Duel for Michaela and Joe!  We're so excited to have them on campus, and hopefully their first Duel wasn't too scarring.  We played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, which is our cool color-changing board.  Unfortunately, the battery to the remote was shot, so Grant had to keep plugging/unplugging the chord to produce the desired effect.  Did they have to deal with that kind of tech on the Deathstar!?

It was obvious at the start the characters in the reactor pit side of the board were going to try and stay united against the players in the hallway side of the board.  Riley E./Moff Gideon and Elliot/Anakin were stuck on the front line of that battlefront, so they both tried to flip sides.  Elliot got their first and minor characters started taking damage.  

Michael/Obi-Wan took bold action when he used a Force Control to pull Riley/Moff and Jordann/Ahsoka forward into kill boxes!  Riley managed to stay behind a laser wall while Jordann was trapped with no escape.  It didn't take long to whittle her down, and she received the Golden Jar Jar when Joe's Night Trooper shot her off the board.  That was a rough finish for Jordann, who finished third in both of her previous Duels.

General Kat rallies the troops.

Kat was piloting Reva - the Third Sister in the hallway, and tried to coordinate a charge with her remaining alliance.  But Riley/Moff Gideon was finally given an invitation to join the power alliance.  Kat was in trouble after that, especially because Isaiah/Vader was hesitant to move forward, and Bekah/Qui-Gon were stuck in the back chamber, which affectionately became known as the VIP Room.  Joe, playing in his first ever Duel, came down with a common symptom during a Duel:  trophy blood lust!  After knocking off Ahsoka he wanted more kills.  In a bold move, he charged in with Morgan Elsbeth and used the Blade of Talzin to eliminate Kat/Reva in eleventh.  Kat maintained a great attitude throughout.

Isaiah, who has won twice this year and isn't even a professional Dueler yet, was in deep trouble.  His Vader was all alone.  As the big alliance depleted his health indicator card, Grant/Boba used Greedo's Desperate Shot for a dramatic end to Vader's night.  Isaiah was out in tenth.

Clone Wars vibes with Obi, Sky-Guy, and Snips.

Bekah/Qui-Gon was the presumed next target, but she was still chilling in the VIP room, and Elliot made a coded suggestion to other Duelers at the table that Joe's Morgan was a scary threat to deal with.  After Joe had taken down Reva he was vulnerable to attacks from multiple angles.  Bekah used the opportunity to bargain for advancement by joining in on the attacks.  Qui-Gon played a Prophecy, and Joe was suddenly out in ninth!  He had quite the trophy collection for his first Duel, well done Joe!

While Michaela didn't object to Joe (her husband's) death, she hadn't used her minor character to shoot him either.  Rob/Jyn Erso and Julia/The Mandalorian both noticed, so they started attacking Michaela's Cad Bane.  She used Rocket Boots twice to try and escape, but she was surrounded without help.  It was a fast death when Julia played Disintegration!  Michaela was smoked in eighth place.  We sure hope she and Joe had fun - they were a great addition to Thanksdueling!

Guess who's holding a thermal detonator...

Riley/Moff, Julia/Mando, and Grant/Boba hatched a plan to go after Elliot's Anakin next.  Elliot played an aggressive game all night, but the remaining shooters weren't crazy about leaving the melee characters on the board.  The biggest moment of the night was when Michael/Obi, Elliot/Ani, and Bekah/Qui-Gon sniffed out what was going on, and decided to align against the four shooters still in the game.  They also concentrated their attacks on Riley's Moff Gideon.  If Riley was killed, it would be 3 vs. 3, and the shooters would be in big trouble.

It all came down to whether Elliot could move his Anakin out of the Reactor Room and into the hallway where Obi and Qui-Gon were.  Unfortunately for Elliot, his roll activated the laser walls!  He was trapped!!!  He went down to one card after playing an Anger, and Grant assassinated him in seventh with a Kyber Dart.  Elliot played a heck of a game for sure.

The Qui-Gon/Obi/Anakin family tree!

Riley's Moff Gideon was still trapped with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and she was no match for that combination.  Riley was gone in sixth, but considering her starting position, that was a major accomplishment.  She stayed in the crucible of that first chamber almost the entire game.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon retreated to the VIP room, and Rob sent his Cassian Andor back there too after Michael played Force Balance, dumping everyone's hand.  Qui-Gon was taking a lot of hits when the walls were down, but Bekah was hanging tough.  She eventually fell when Boba Fett used Deadly Aim.  This was just Bekah's third game and she pulled a fifth place finish.  Bravo!

Michael's Obi-Wan had nobody left to work with, and he was still stuck in a room with Cassian.  Rob finally drew Looks Like A Killer, and used it to park Obi/Michael in fourth.  Michael played Obi-Wan beautifully...had Elliot escaped, Michael would have been a good bet to win it all.

Mandalorian Armor fans.

The final three was Julia/Mando, Grant/Boba, and Rob/Jyn Erso.  The three of them were happy they managed to stick together and finish off the blades, but now it was a new game.  They immediately pledged to work together to eliminate Rob, which shocked nobody.  However, Rob pointed out to Grant that Julia's Mandalorian was certainly stronger than Boba Fett, and by this point, Jyn Erso was banged up and Cassian had been eliminated too.  Grant reluctantly but eventually agreed to work with Rob to try and kill Julia/The Mandalorian.  

When Rob was finally healed all the way again, he snuck into the reactor room with Mando.  Julia used a combo of Grappling Line and Amban Shock to drop three of Jyn's cards, though!  Grant's eyes got wide as saucers once the two of them were adjacent.  He quickly chucked double Thermal Detonators, doing 8 points of damage each to Mando and Jyn!  Rob and Julia's only hope was to align and attack.  Rob played two attacks on Grant and then Julia lowered the boom with her second Disintegration of the night!!!  Grant was so close to ending his winless streak, but nobody could blame him for the Double Thermals.  Good job, Grant!

Rob and Julia were both hurting, so Rob attacked with his first action on his next turn.  It damaged Mando.  Rob had to decided between using his last attack card and go for the win - which would leave him with only one defense card - or drawing and hoping to survive to a second turn.  Since Julia/Mando only had five cards left he went for it...and The Mandalorian deflected it!  Julia attacked twice on her turn, killing Rob in second.  Julia won her first career Duel!!!

Julia deserves a special shout-out.  Way back in 2013 we played the first-ever 12-Way Duel in Waco.  This was a game that predated the league.  She was a CL at the time and was one of the first 12 who sat at the table.  All these years later she's back and has her first win!!!  Kudos to Julia!!!  This also marks The Mandalorian's second career win.

The final order of finish:

12.  Jordann/Ahsoka

11.  Kat/Reva

10.  Isaiah/Vader

9.  Joe/Morgan

8.  Michaela/Cad

7.  Elliot/Anakin

6.  Riley E./Gideon

5.  Bekah/Qui-Gon

4.  Michael/Obi

3.  Grant D./Boba

2.  Rob/Jyn

1.  Julia/The Mandalorian!!!

What a crazy night!  Next month is the biggest Duel of the year...the 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP!!!  Anyone who won during the calendar year is invited to play, and the remaining spots will go to the topped ranked Duelers.  More info is coming on that one...

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, pew pew!!

Doubleheader #2 - August 27, 2022

The Naboo Reactor Pit

Thank goodness the Trash Compactor held to its reputation as a fast board, because we actually started the second Duel of the night on time!  Some folks don't realize the Doubleheader, which we play in late August every year, is actually a top secret birthday party for Rob.  Rob doesn't like people to know that, but his wife Jessica made sure it was BURNED into our memories this year:

They should have put a toy Darth Vader on top...

The league would like to formally recognize Jess for all her support over the years, and not just for cooking us all those Padawans in a Blanket.  She does a lot of things behind the scenes to let us nerd out once a month.  And she's a great Dueler too, if you can get her to sit down and play...

Elliot looks like a little centaur.

Round two was played in the Naboo Reactor Pit, and though it was designed to force mini-confrontations all over the board, many of the games have turned into a prolonged battle between those stuck in the hallway and those in the reactor pit area.  That's kind of how things started in this game too.

The open area of the board aligned together quickly, led by the real life alliance of Michael (Fennec) and Julia (Rey).  Curtis/Mandalorian talked his way into joining their team by getting out of the hallway.  Andrew/Krennec and Elliot/Beckett even made way for Riley E.'s Darth Vader to move to the back corner to commence distance attack.  TEAMWORK!

From resident-CL, to peers, to mortal enemies.

Duncan's Kylo Ren found himself stuck in the middle of the hallway, so he started to rally his end of the board by going on the offensive.  Riley B., playing in his second career game and second game of the night, made the eyebrow-raising move of charging his Yoda to the front lines too.  His strong defense and the frequent protection of the laser walls turning on guarded him well.

The reactor pit side of the board focused their attacks on the hallway, and soon the hallway was starting to in-fight with each other as they had no one else to attack but the person next to them.  Kevin tried to flip on Duncan's Kylo, and eventually retreated into a killbox of his own making when he didn't heed the warnings offered by said killbox.  Julia/Rey, Michael/Fennec, Elliot/Beckett, and Rob/Luke chopped him up quickly.  Poor Kevin was done in 12th!

Though most of the reactor pit alliance thought Riley B/Yoda and Duncan/Kylo were the next targets, Andrew made a stunning play by trapping The Mandalorian with Krennec's Death Troopers.  This was just Andrew's second game, but both times he's played, he's piloted Krennec.  That's why we shouldn't have been surprised when he played Peace and Security, gutting our hands and helping him against Mando.  But on the redraw Curtis secured Disintegration!  He mortally wounded Krennec, and Riley E. finished him off with a Throw Debris.  Andrew was a real trooper, though, and hung around to operate the lights for the board the rest of the night.  Thanks Andrew!!!

Krennec was gone, and now the attention turned back in full to Riley B.'s Yoda.  The Doubleheader was Riley's first two games in our league, but he's already bought a copy of the board for himself so it's clear he's all in.  And I'm glad, because it was a rough night for him!  Though he held his own for a good chunk of time, the hits from everywhere took their toll, and Cara Dune used a 2-point attack to but the lil' green Jedi to bed in tenth.

The feel-good alliance on the open end of the board couldn't last long.  Elliot/Beckett whispered to Rob/Luke what he thought about Rey or Fennec.  Rob shared he was down for Michael's Fennec, and that's the direction it went.  Michael implored his wife to fight with him, but Rob played an I Will Not Fight You on both Rey and Fennec.  Rob assured Julia she wasn't the target, and that play was to protect himself as others hounded Fennec.  That's exactly what happened.  Michael had little time for recovery, and yet another Throw Debris from Riley E. parked Fennec in ninth.

It was around this point in the night something truly loopy happened.  Corona/Anakin and Duncan/Kylo were high-carded at the end of the hallway with nobody to attack but each other.  That's when they mutually agreed to a Kylo vs. Anakin battle to the death.  So much teen angst!  Meanwhile Grant, playing with Boba in the hallway but never able to do anything because the laser walls were up EVERY...TIME...HE...ROLLED, could only look on and watch, confused by the shenanigans around him.

Duncan feeling the effects of all that Yoda Soda

Though Duncan and Corona definitely traded punches, they eventually got sucked into playing against the rest of the board too.  Anakin's wounded state enabled Rob's Princess Leia to use a Latent Force Abilities attack to eliminate Corona in eight.  Meanwhile, the laser walls were finally down and Grant was making himself known.  He launched a vicious Thermal Detonator and was landing other hits too.  That's when Elliot took a play from the department of redundancy department handbook and used double Double Blasters to smoke Boba in seventh.  It was a long strange night for Grant.

Duncan had no allies at that point, so he fell not long after, with the kill shot once again delivered by Elliot.  That left a final five of Curtis/Mando, Rob/Luke, Julia/Rey, Riley E./Vader, and Elliot/Beckett.  Curtis finally vocalized what everyone else was thinking:  Rey was the most powerful character left on the board, by a longshot.  Everyone agreed to go after Rey, but everyone was scared she was lulling us into a false sense of security, waiting patiently to deploy the healing powers of Rise of Skywalker.  Alas, it ended up that Julia had lost it on the Peace and Security, and had yet to re-draw it.  Curtis offed her in fifth with This Is The Way.

Things got interesting as Curtis advocated going for Rob while Rob advocated for going for Curtis.  Elliot was on the fence.  Riley said she had NO interest in two shooters being on the board in the final three.  Rob proposed they work together to kill Curtis, and then the other two could take down Luke in third place.  Elliot finally decided he would stick with Riley, and that's what they did.  The Mandalorian could only defend so long before Beckett hit him with a 4-point knockout.  Fourth place was a nice rebound for Curtis, after finishing eleventh earlier in the night.

The Three Amigos

Rob assumed Riley and Elliot would go after him next, but unbeknownst to Elliot...Riley gave her father a secret wink!  Rob decided to go whole-hog after Elliot, who had been his table bestie all night.  He stayed aggressive, using multiple I Will Not Fight You's on him to keep him unbalanced.  Then the game got stuck because there were multiple turns without the walls coming down.  When Rob/Luke finally reached Beckett, he used a Justice to knock Elliot within two of dying.  It was Riley's turn next, and Rob said she better use a distance attack or he'd be cranky.  She Wrathed Elliot, who was out in third.  It was a great night of Dueling for Elliot, who was in the top five for both matches.

And then there were two!  Father and Daughter.  Father (Vader) and Son (Luke).  While Rob had been chasing down Elliot, Riley had been slowly healing and stocking up on distance attacks.  Rob had no idea she had gathered so many, but soon his health indicator card was down ten points.  He reached Vader with a Justice to help even the odds.  He intended to use an attack-I Will Not Fight You on his next turn, but Riley sensed the ploy and used Your Skills Are Not Complete!  Rob had to drop both his I Will Not Fight You and his Children of the Force!  Rob's stomach sunk as Riley came in for the attack.  He didn't have enough defense...and he fell to his daughter!!!  What a huge win for Riley!!!  She bounced back from a last place finish in game one and took down game two!!!  This marks her second career victory, and she's only 14 years old!  #prodigee  This win also pushed Vader's career best win total up to 15, giving him a little more cushion from Darth Maul's 13 trophies.  Vader winning was also Plush Poe's pick!  As for Rob...thank goodness that jerk didn't win twice in the same night.  He's the worst!

Winner Winner, Tie-Fighter Ties Dinner!

The final order of finish:

12.  Kevin/Grievous

11.  Andrew/Krennec

10.  Riley B/Yoda

9.  Michael/Fennec

8.  Corona/Anakin

7.  Grant D./Boba

6.  Duncan/Kylo

5.  Julia/Rey

4.  Curtis/Mando

3.  Elliot/Beckett

2.  Rob/Luke

1.  Riley E./Vader

  

This coming Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of the very first 12-Way Duel, which was played up in Muncie, Indiana.  I can't believe it's still going, and going stronger than ever.  To all current and past Duelers...thank you for making this a part of your life!  PEW PEW!!!

Dates aren't final yet, but it looks like the September Duel (THE FALL BRAWL) will be played on Saturday, the 24th.  More info to come on that, but guard your calendars now!  And we'll need THIRTEEN Duelers because we're playing in...THE RANCOR DUNGEON!

Twin Suns Slam #1 - June 4, 2022

 

Naboo Reactor Pit

It sure was exciting to play in person again at Rob's house.  This was the first Duel at the Godfather's abode since COVID started, and the Twin Sun Slam also marked the one year anniversary of playing in person again.  These moments we used to take for granted feel so much sweeter now!

It was also exciting to be playing a doubleheader for the Twin Sun Slam too.  It was the first time since 2019 we managed to acknowledge both balls of fire which Tatooine orbits.  How exactly does that work, anyway?  Any astrophysicists in the house?

And maybe the most exciting component of the first Twin Sun Slam of the day was, for the first time in Duels history...we played an all-light side Duel!  With the new characters (13 light, 13 dark), we have more than enough to do it.  We also picked characters via draft for the first time, with the caveat being the person with the first pick got the last board placement, etc.  Here's how the draft went:

1. Lawson - Fennec Shand

2.  Ian - Rey

3.  Kat - Anakin Skywalker

4.  Rob - Yoda

5.  Miles - Mace Windu

6.  Karson - Princess Leia

7.  Duncan - Qui-Gon Jinn

8.  Jillian - Obi-Wan Kenobi

9.  Elliot - Lando Calrissian

10.  Grant D. - Jyn Erso

11.  JD M. - Luke Skywalker

12.  Riley - The Mandalorian

Not Picked - Han Solo (Grant...how could you???)

Duncan is already thinking about the burgers.

Once the characters were picked, the spots on the board were filled and we were off and running!  The afternoon Duel was short on Duelers, so Grant stepped up by bringing three of his kids.  Don't think these three were mere cannon fodder, as all of them have played in the Singles Tournament.  They came to play!  Unfortunately for Lawson, though, his starting position was brutal after his first overall pick of Fennec Shand.  As enticing as it is to play the new character, he wasn't set up to defend himself well, and he was quickly taking hits from behind and the main reactor room.  It would be Karson's Princess Leia that landed the final shot, and poor Lawson got stuck posing with the Golden Jar Jar in his first Duel.

No worries, Lawson.  The Loser's
Lounge recently upgraded to 
Disney+.  Enjoy Star Wars cinema!

Historically the main reactor room Duelers try to shoot down the hallway with the laser shields on the Naboo board.  This game, however, saw each side move to the sides like an awkward 8th grade school dance.  The infighting started up, and though it looked like Karson's Princess Leia might be an early target, especially after Riley's Mandalorian blasted him with Disintegration!  But Grant's Jyn didn't like the backstab, and soon it would be Riley, not Karson, bowing out in 11th.  This is NOT the way.

Meanwhile, in the laser wall rooms on the other end of the board, the infighting had begun.  The conflict was especially heavy between siblings Jillian/Obi-Wan and Miles/Mace.  That's when Jillian proposed using a Force Control to put Miles in a kill box right next to Ian's Rey.  Nobody could recall Ian ever smiling with a bigger Cheshire grin than at that moment.  He was practically salivating!  We managed to get a picture of it, as you can see below!  Miles soon found himself surrounded by four Duelers, and it was an ignominious 2-point attack from Duncan's Jar Jar that put him away in 10th.

Three very distinct emotions happening right here!

 Not long after that Ian's Rey decided to go bold into the reactor room to take on Kat's Anakin Skywalker.  At the same time, JD's Luke Skywalker moved in the opposite direction, dropping two I Will Not Fight You's on Kat and Grant/Jyn.  It was a stunning turn of events, as the reactor room side of the board was in total collapse.  Elliot/Lando and Karson/Leia agreed to turn on their own alliance.  The walls turning on and off with great regularity (especially when Rob's Yoda ever tried to move out of the back compartment) merely delayed the inevitable.  Rob's Yoda gave a somewhat friendly Force Push to Duncan's Qui-Gon to join the fray since he was fully carded and couldn't get there himself.  Duncan would indeed take down Kat with a 7-point Prophecy.  Grant didn't last too much longer, though he proved how tricky Jyn Erso is to pin down.  Ian's Finn finally shot him into 8th.  Grant and his sons had a rough go, but his daughter was still in the thick of it!

Walls up!

It was down to the final seven Duelers, and the walls were going up and down so frequently it was hard to maintain long term strategies.  Karson's Leia had been loyal since the flip, but the searing effects of the Disintegration had kept him low health, and at the encouragement from others, Jillian's Obi moved in for the kill.  Karson used I Know to defend with auto-damage, but Ian generously used Jedi Healing to negate Obi's lost health points.  Ironically, it was JD's minor Leia who shot major Leia off the board in 7th.

Rob's Yoda was still stuck in the laser rooms, and he had taken half-hearted attacks at Elliot's Lando and JD's Luke, mostly because he was fully carded.  But JD and Elliot ultimately decided to lock horns against each other, and really started laying the hits on each other.  Around the same time, Ian made a declaration that he thought the board should go after Rob's Yoda.  But Duncan's Qui-Gon was playing very conservatively, so Rob kept giving Ian the "are you really going to let him get away with that?" eyes, and Ian finally relented, switching the target to Qui-Gon.  Elliot's Lando headed in to help on that, leaving a low-health JD next to Rob.  Rob dispatched Luke in 6th to make it five Duelers to go.

The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat!

Duncan's Qui-Gon went on a Quixotic quest to redraw There's Always a Bigger Fish, but it was to no avail.  After a tough final stand, Ian's Rey chopped him down in 5th place.  From there Ian suggested the half-damaged Obi-Wan (Jillian) and mostly healthy Lando (Elliot) join him against Rob's Yoda.  Rob was peeved, thinking he and Ian/Rey should partner to eliminate the other two.  Jillian knew, however, that Rob's Yoda had yet to play Force Rebound, and she couldn't yet risk auto-damage coming back to her, especially with her Clone Trooper still alive.  When Ian wouldn't partner with Rob, Rob talked Jillian into helping him go against Ian.  Elliot basically went along with that, assuming Jillian would join him against Rob/Yoda after that.  Ian was chagrinned by the turn of events, but went out in 4th place all the same.

Obi at the end in Reactor Room...feels familiar...

Elliot/Lando and Jillian/Obi did indeed pair together to go after Rob, while Ian and Grant started grilling the burgers on the back porch.  Rob tried his best to sustain a two-front defense, but eventually died when Lando hit him with a 3-point attack.  Rob loves Yoda, and always will.

And then there were two!  And two who had never won before!  NEW WINNER ALERT!!!  Jillian was holding on despite all the damage, but Lando is hard to beat one on one.  Jillian evened the odds with a Force Balance.  Despite that, Elliot stayed aggressive and had Obi down to one point of health.  But Jillian pulled through with a Force Attack to win...in her very first 12-Way Duel!!!  That hadn't been done since the second game in league history (Curtis)!!!  That's a span of 113 Duels!!!  CONGRATS JILLIAN!!!  She became the second youngest Dueler to ever win.  She also played Obi-Wan into the final four at the last Singles Tournament.  What a pair!

Historic performance!

Let's give a shoutout to Elliot, too!  He was SO CLOSE to his first win, tying a career-best finish in second place.  The final order of finish:

12.  Lawson/Fennec

11.  Riley/Mando

10.  Miles/Mace

9.  Kat/Ani

8.  Grant/Jyn

7.  Karson/Leia

6.  JD/Luke

5.  Duncan/Qui-Gon

4.  Ian/Rey

3.  Rob/Yoda

2.  Elliot/Lando

1.  Jillian/Obi-Wan

Ok, time for a dinner break...we'll be back for game 2 in the next post!