Valentine's Duel - February 7, 2026

Death Star

What a night of firsts!  We saw the "official" league debut of the Death Star board, a 70-tile 3-D printout of Death Star-themed pieces that are randomly placed each time we play on it, meaning we'll never see the same configuration twice.  IG-88 and Commander Cody made their first character appearances, while Tatum and Kevin K. made played in their first career Duels too!  But it was also a night of 35ths...more on that below!

11 hearts breaking on Valentine's Day...

The evening got off to a late start thanks to I2E parking issues and having to set up the Death Star board, but once the dice started rolling, it was on!  Ian/Dr. Evazan recognized Justin/Captain Rex was fairly exposed to distance attacks from Ian's side of the action.  They immediately started attacking Rex!  Justin eventually Secured the Perimeter to escape, but it was short lived when Jillian's Jod Na Nawood sent him home in last!!!  Poor Justin - that's two 12th place finishes in a row.  :(

Hard start for Rex and IG-88

Meanwhile, on an isolated corner of the board, David/IG-88 and rookie Dueler Tatum/Saesee Tiin started mixing it up.  Even though this was just Tatum's first Duel, she caught the blood lust for attacking!  David was getting peppered by the other side of the board too.  In a final act of defiance, he blew up IG-88 and hit surrounding characters with his Security Protocols.  It wasn't the night David wanted and it was a rough start to league play for IG-88, but they'll both surely be back again soon...

Kevin wonders what he got himself into...

The self-destruct move from IG-88 left Tatum in really rough shape.  She tried to join forces with Ian and James/Beckett's alliance.  They were all for it but Kevin/Kylo Ren and Rob/Kit Fisto did not appreciate the perceived defection.  Kevin went in for some big hits, but he accidently left himself exposed to laser fire from the opposite alliance.  Nayshaun's Storm Trooper (Grand Inquisitor) sent Kevin home in tenth.  Welcome to the league though, Kevin!

Tatum's Saesee Tiin couldn't hold out much longer after that.  The board was too clogged for her to run to safety.  Riley used Commander Cody to blast her into ninth place.  Playing in a Duel was on Tatum's Baylor bucket list.  Let's hope playing a second match is on there too!

Kicking the bucket.

Ian/Evazan, Nayshaun/Grand Inquisitor, Jillian/Jod Na, and James/Beckett were running things at that point, especially after convincing Junior/Luminara not to defect.  But with such a strong pack of shooters, Rob/Kit Fisto made overtures to Nayshaun and Junior to flip sides and stick to a melee alliance.  James and Ian were pretty annoyed when they eventually did!  Kit Fisto and Grand Inquisitor managed to damage and Push Tobias Beckett With A Smile to the opposite corner, where Michael's Baze was ready with some Staccato Lightning.  James survived the first round of attacks and hit a Double Blasters, but Baze shot him with the Lightning again and James bowed out in eighth.

The script was flipped.

The majority alliance became the minority, but Jillian and Ian were fairly well protected on the Death Star map and the only way to get to them was through a bottleneck.  Riley, piloting the new Commander Cody, finally played the most anticipated card of the evening:  AT-RT!  That's right, Cody removed his minor characters to climb into the first vehicle in league history.  The excitement was short lived, however, when Dr. Evazan wisely destroyed it before it could destroy him.  Riley retreated and tried to heal for a couple of rounds, but Ponda Boba hit a cross-map shot to send the 2025 Champion home in seventh place.

The AT-RT towers over the board!

Ian and Jillian were now running out of options.  Jod Na Nawood pulled off a well-timed Pirate Charm, but Junior/Luminara and then Rob/Kit Fisto charged in.  Junior got the elimination with a 3-point attack.  Jillian/Jod Na was gone in sixth.

Rob/Kit Fisto and Michael/Chirrut & Baze both assumed Ian's Dr. Evazan was the next target.  But after Jillian was gone, Junior and Nayshaun stood up and had a whispering sidebar, without including Rob or Michael.  It was painfully obvious those two were plotting how to make the final two.  Rob and Michael didn't appreciate that at all, and Ian was more than happy to join forces with them!  Kit Fisto and Dr. Evazan went from game-long enemies to alliance partners, attacking Junior's Luminara Unduli.  Meanwhile, Michael started taking potshots on Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor, who had been carding up for several rounds.  Everyone was beyond nervous with the number of 5/1 base cards he had already discarded.

Congrats to Nayshaun for turning pro!

Junior tried to retreat to the Grand Inquisitor's side of the board, but Chirrut pulled off the Blind Lightbow attack to eradicate Luminara!  Junior went from visions of top two to a fifth place finish.  That good finish helped him hold onto #1 in the amateur rankings.

It was now three characters against Nayshaun's Grand Inquisitor.  Rob and Ian were set up well to lure Nayshaun into a kill zone, but Michael - who was down to just Chirrut - got caught away from his teammates.  Though he fought valiantly, there was just no way to withstand the Inquisitor's onslaught.  Michael was out in fourth place, but that's an outstanding effort for having double minor characters.

Enemies to Besties: the Rob and Ian Story.

The layout of the Death Star board meant Nayshaun could only access Rob and Ian through one pathway.  Ian began shooting him with Dr. Evazan at long distances while Rob's Kit Fisto moved forward to entice the Grand Inquisitor to fall for their trap.  Ian weakened Nayshaun's defenses, which allowed Rob's Kit Fisto to move in for the attack.  They were able to put the Grand Inquisitor on ice in third place with a Push With A Smile.  A big congrats is owed to Nayshaun, though!  He turned professional in this match and is now ranked fourth in the professional Dueler standings!

Ian had told Rob earlier he probably couldn't defeat him in the final two, but he kept his word anyway to stick with him to the final two.  It was a funny turn of events as they had locked horns for most of the night.  Ian's prediction ran true, Dr. Evazan couldn't muster attacks big enough to damage Kit Fisto.  Rob used a final Push With A Smile to win his 35th career Duel!  That is obnoxious.  This also marked Kit Fisto's first career win in just his third game played.  

Pushing with a smile!

Final order of finish:

12.  Justin/Captain Rex

11.  David/IG-88

10.  Kevin/Kylo Ren

9.  Tatum/Saesee Tiin

8.  James/Tobias Beckett

7.  Riley/Commander Cody

6.  Jillian/Jod Na Nawood

5.  Junior/Luminara Unduli

4.  Michael/Chirrut & Baze

3.  Nashaun/Grand Inquisitor

2.  Ian/Dr. Evazan

1.  Rob/Kit Fisto

Thanks again to everyone who came out to play!  And thanks to the random strangers who gave us leftover Shorty's Pizza.  Next month's Imperial March will have to wait until after Spring Break.  March 20th is the likely date, so that pencil that in until it's confirmed.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.  PEW PEW!

The Fall Brawl - September 13, 2025

Narkina-5 Imperial Prison

We had an interesting rule adjustment for the dreaded Narkina prison board!  One of the characters playing was the Viper Probe Droid, the minor for the Wampa.  If you've ever watched Empire Strikes Back you realize...they don't walk - they hover!  And the scariest part of Narkina is the floor turning into an electric shock if the Duelers aren't on program.  So it was declared by the Jedi Council...the Viper Droid would be immune to the prison floor!  Would that prove to be important in this Duel???  Read on to find out!  #foreshadowing 

Smile if you love being "on program"!

It was fun to be back in the North Village Fine Arts Studio, our first Duel there since May.  The Fall Brawl had five characters that debuted this summer, and everyone scrambled to look at their decks before the game began.  It didn't take long for the fireworks to launch.  Josiah/Jod Na Nawood and Curtis/Krennic encouraged folks to concentrate on the table of Eric/Ahsoka, Rob/Mace, and Ian/Rey.  And that's what folks started to do!  But then Ian's Finn landed some cross-prison shots on Jod Na Nawood and the tides shifted.  The coup d'état was when Junior/Wampa turned on his own table, mauling Josiah/Jod in last place!!!  LET THE BIG WAMPA EAT!

Meanwhile, poor Michael, Dueling for the first time in months after welcoming a new padawan into the world, got stuck with Fennec Shand for the 147th time.  He played her aggressively, though, including using Black Krrsantan to rip off Finn's arm and kill him!  He thought they were putting Ahoska in a kill box, but the neighboring table decided to go after Fennec instead.  Nayshaun's KX Security Droid used an Arakyd Attack and Fennec was sacrificed to the Imperial Prison Complex in eleventh place.

Why are the Narkina tables so small???

Fennec dying was but a brief reprieve for poor Ahsoka.  Nayshaun was more than happy to explore all of the factory settings of his KX unit, including Crowd Control, which knocked Eric clear out of the game in tenth.  Ouch!!!  But the tables turned (literally?) after that, because Rob/Mace and others went off program while the KX droid was on the ground, and then Mace began attacking it.  Others followed suit, and it would be David's Galactic Marine who landed the final blow.  Nayshaun got short-circuited in ninth.

Curtis/Krennic could only look on in horror as his early rally to kill Ahoska/Rey/Mace had gradually turned everyone against him.  Without an alliance partner to count on, he played Peace and Security, just as Ian's Rey approached his work table.  Though everyone's hands got dumped, it wasn't long after that Rey got her sweet revenge, playing The Last Jedi to thwart Curtis in eighth place.

They call Mark's basketball shooting technique "off program."

David was giddy he had survived being first out, as this was just his second career Duel and that was his experience in his first.  His Ki-Adi-Mundi was unafraid to move attacks from one Dueler to the next, including James' Kit Fisto.  Ian's Rey migrated to David's table, though, and that's when the cone-headed Jedi was in trouble.  He couldn't withstand the multi-front attack, including a Flamethrower from Justin's Jango Fett.  Rey rang the final bell, and David was out in seventh.  That's much better than his first Duel, though!

A first-time Dueler finding his groove...

Rob's Mace was finally reloaded from that pesky Krennic Peace and Security, so he hopped over to the table with Mark's two Droidekas.  Mark didn't want to tangle with Mace, but Rob knew those two droids are super-hard to take down late in games.  An unblocked Battlemind/Whirlwind combo destroyed his full-health robot.  The second one moved over to the table hitting Ki-Adi-Mundi.  In a surprise move, motivated largely by rankings (!), Mark used his final volley of attacks against his teammate Justin/Jango!  That seriously crippled the senior Fett.  But Ian was on mop-up duty at that point, and Rey collected another trophy.  Congrats to Mark, who turned pro at the Fall Brawl and debuts in fourth place in the rankings!

Half of the final four!

Justin/Jango was on life support, so James/Kit Fisto put him out of his misery in fifth place with Form One.  That left four Duelers in the prison:  Ian/Rey, James/Kit, Rob/Mace, and Junior/Wampa.

It was Rob's turn, and he suggested Ian's Rey was the most powerful character left in the game.  He assumed the others would feel the same way, but Ian made his own arguments that Mace and his Battleminds and Whirlwinds were to be feared as well.  Junior had been playing Switzerland for most of the game, and decided to Viper shoot Kit Fisto.  Rob got the feeling James wouldn't turn against his table buddy Ian, so he launched an attack against Kit Fisto.  A Battlemind ended James' night in fourth as a result.  It was a nice rebound Duel for Kit Fisto, who debuted in last this past summer, and James continues his nice string of Duels of late.

How many times will you attack Rey on this turn?

Junior finally, begrudgingly, agreed to help dispatch Rey next.  The tension levels rose when both Junior and Rob realized Ian hadn't redrawn Rise of Skywalker, the 12 defense/8-point heal card yet.  It became a race - could they knock out Rey before she found it in her deck???  It helped that Rob used both Whirlwinds on Ian in the process.  When it was all said and done, Ian suffered bad deck luck and Mace struck Rey down in third!

Have we mentioned this was Junior's first official Duel yet!?!?!  And here he was, guaranteed a top-two finish!  Rob's Mace was banged up, especially getting caught on the electric floor a couple of times in the final four, but the Wampa couldn't heal since the floor-immune Viper Droid was still in the game.  Rob also knew the range of attacks the Wampa was capable of, so he played a tedious and patient game to slowly heal, chip away at the Wampa, and wait for the Whirlwinds to finally get back in his hands.  And that's just what happened - Junior/Wampa received the auto-4 damage for second place!  What a sensational first Duel though!!!  Congrats Junior - you played the Wampa like you grew up on the ice planet Hoth.

A lot of Mace up in your face!

This was career win #34 for Rob (obnoxious), his second win a row (gross), and he defended the Fall Brawl trophy to boot!  It also marked the tenth win for Mace Windu, who hadn't won since The Centurion, back in the Covid days of 2021.  

Final order of finish:

12.  Josiah/Jod Na Nawood

11.  Michael/Fennec Shand

10.  Eric/Ahsoka Tano

9.  Nayshaun/KX Security Droid

8.  Curtis/Orson Krennic

7.  David/Ki-Adi-Mundi

6,  Mark/Droidekas

5.  Justin/Jango Fett

4.  James/Kit Fisto

3.  Ian/Rey

2.  Junior/Wampa

1.  Rob/Mace Windu

Next month is the October Duel - FIGHT NIGHT - and we have 12 new treats with plenty of tricks in store for you!  The word on the street?  Twelve.  New.  Characters!  Have we lost our minds?!?!  YES.  And if you think we've already mined all of the possible characters in the Star Wars universe...I promise you, there will be some EPIC new combatants, drawing from the original trilogy, prequels, sequels, and beyond!!!  You won't want to miss it!  The tentative date is Friday, October 3, but Rob will send out more info on that as the date draws near...

PEW PEW!

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 VIII: The Gassed Jedi - June 21, 2025 (8AM)

Kamino Platform

Nothing like waking up to the fresh taste of STAR WARS EPIC DUELS in your cup!  Episode VIII was on the Kamino Platform, our first 3D board in league history and still a fan favorite.  This Duel also featured the first player of the weekend to "crack," meaning they lost their cool!!!  Since the internet is forever we won't name names...but if you were there it got a little tense lol!!!  A person can only stand so many backstabs.  This was a hard fought battle that came down to a daddy-daughter final two - Rob and Riley!  Ahsoka and Sabine managed to outlast Riley's Reva though - this marked Ahsoka's first career win!

Episode 8 - randomized characters and starting spots (and all three Wookies!)

 

A New Hope - January 18, 2025

 

Arvala-7

Hope springs eternal in the hearts of all Duelers!  So what better way to start a new year with...A New Hope!  That's right, our annual January Duel went down in the twisty canyons of Arvala-7.  We had a big wait list for this one - Duelers were trying to complete their New Year's resolutions to win all the 12-Way Duels in 2025!  But only one would pull it off...and who was that?  Read the recap below to find out!

Happy New Year's!

There were a lot of folks at the table who hadn't played the Arvala-7 board before, and they immediately noticed how segregated the light and dark sides were from each other.  That being said, nobody wanted to defect to the other side, so each team began plotting on how to gain the upper hand.  Recent birthday boy Austin, playing for the first time since the last A New Hope, got bold and moved his Han to the side to attack and kill Sam's New Order Trooper.  But his rust showed when he didn't retreat afterwards.  The dark side pounced, and by the time Austin could escape he was down to four points of health.  That so happens to be the exact damage a DarthVader Throw Debris delivers...and Rob killed Austin in last!    Woof!

The light side stayed strong, though Han and Chewie were some of the precious few shooters their team had.  The dark side continued picking off other minors.  This next portion of the game took a looooooong time to play.  Like, several hours, but there was a lot of action.  The dark side was determined to kill James' Torbin before he used Barash Vow to plug a main passageway.  It turned comical as Torbin stayed alive while desperately searching for the card.  The dark side finally got him, though, and Indara fell soon after thanks to Curtis' General Grievous making a bold attack.  If there was a silver lining it was James turning pro - congrats James!

A Teal divided cannot stand...

Alex G. had pulled off a couple of slick attacks with Ahsoka, but Rob made sure the rest of his team knew it appeared Alex was hurting for defense cards.  The dark side smelled the blood in the water and combined their efforts on him.  A Vader Wrath was the last blow as the unofficial rookie of the year in 2024 was gone in tenth place.

The light side was collapsing and that's when the defections commenced.  Jordyn/Luke turned first, attacking Elliot's Qui-Gon, who got messed over by Curtis' General Grievous earlier in the game.  But Elliot and Josiah/Sol had tangled with Mark/Dooku and Eric/Boba to positive effect.  It looked like one of those dark side characters would be next, but a shocking Force Push of Sol from Dooku put Josiah in a kill box and he was cooked after that.  It was ninth place for Josiah, but it was fun having him back for the first time since CL Training!

The Torbin Terminators

The 2024 Champion Elliot was bobbing and weaving throughout the night with his Qui-Gon and Jar Jar.  His main arch nemesis was Mark/Dooku.  Mark was on the ropes when Sam, using Captain Phasma, relieved Mark of his last Super Battle Droid with a New Recruit special.  Mark was crestfallen and finally fell to a Prophecy from Elliot.  Mark finished in eighth, but his shiny BRC water bottle was a welcome upgrade at the table!

Sam used Phasma's brand new Super Battle Droid to lay a one point death shot on Qui-Gon, which is always a little frustrating when you go out like that.  But Elliot took it in stride...a sign of a recent champion for sure!  

The end of the light side alliance.

The final six standing were the dark side alliance, which included Jordyn's Luke by that point.  Though there were several hours of play with no deaths, the dam broke quickly from eleventh place to seventh.  Nobody was sure how to proceed.  Caden excused himself from the table for a moment, and that's when the rest of the group put the target on him.  He's not the first person to fall victim to the call of nature, and he won't be the last!  His Beckett, who was terrorized by Qui-Gon for most of the game, was stuck in an unintentional kill box.  Rob's Vader landed the final two blows.  Caden played well with a short card hand all night, this kid has a future in the league!

Eric's Boba Fett rode shotgun most of the night with Mark's Count Dooku, but as a result, he was fairly banged up.  He was loyal to the alliance through and through, but as the weakest character left he was the next target.  Jordyn/Luke handed him his walking papers in fifth.  Eric has played twice and finished fifth twice.  Those are very good performances!

The ethics sub-committee of the Jedi Council will be 
meeting this week to discuss the new trend of desecrating
destroyed characters...

Rob/Vader and Curtis/Grievous had a secret agreement to eliminate the shooters from the board, and their plan was working with Beckett and Boba gone.  But Curtis was hiding in a corner behind his double-resurrected Magna Guards when Sam/Captain Phasma made mention that he didn't think anybody but Grievous wins if Curtis made it to the top three.  Sam had a point - General Grievous was the most powerful character still in the game and Curtis is an expert Dueler.  Rob made the painful decision to side with Jordyn and Sam against Curtis.  He used Your Skills Are Not Complete and a Choke to expose Grievous and Sam and Jordyn took it from there.  The kill shot was a Justice from Luke Skywalker.  Curtis played outstanding.

And then there were three!  Rob/Vader and Sam/Captain Phasma were both full health and each had a minor character left...until Captain Phasma took Rob's Storm Trooper with another New Recruit!  In an ironic twist of fate, Vader was forced to kill his former Trooper for his own protection.  Curse you, Phasma!

Jordyn committing Dueling blasphemy.

Sam and Rob were both lobbying hard for Jordyn to join them against the other.  She waffled for a couple of rounds before boldly moving in against Rob's Vader.  She was low carded, though, and so Rob countered with two attacks.  The second card was All Too Easy...and Jordyn couldn't defend!  Luke Skywalker was killed instantly!  Still, kudos to Jordyn who is proving to be a formidable amateur. 

That left a Captain Phasma vs. Darth Vader finale.  Arvala is a shooter's board, and Sam was loaded with Phasma's best cards.  Rob, meanwhile, was pulling a lot of Storm Trooper cards after his redeal.  Rob did have the luck advantage with dice rolls, though.  He was able to stay away from Phasma as his rolls were big while Sam's were small.  They kept running in circles and Vader was able to start healing and using Wraths and Throw Debris (deb-riss).  After a few rounds Vader was definitely wounded but found his last two Throw Debris on consecutive turns to pull out the win!!!  The winningest character in league history combined with the winningest Dueler in league history to take down the trophy!  It was nearly ten years (Valentine's Duel, 2015) since Rob last won with Vader, but once a decade is still nice!

Congrats to Sam too, who played a heck of a game and just ran into some bad luck.  Let's hope his second place doesn't negatively impact his relational pursuits...

The final order of finish:

12.  Austin/Han

11.  James/Indara

10.  Alex G./Ahsoka

9.  Josiah/Sol

8.  Mark/Dooku

7.  Elliot/Qui-Gon

6.  Caden/Beckett  

5.  Eric/Boba

4.  Curtis/Grievous

3.  Jordyn/Luke

2.  Sam/Phasma

1.  Rob/Vader

That was a long Duel but expertly played by all!  Folks better bring their "A" game in 2025 - it's tough sledding in the league this year.  Save the date for our February match - Valentine's Duel - which we think we'll play on Friday, February 7th at 7PM.

Until then...PEW PEW!

The Fall Brawl - September 21, 2024

Eravana Cargo Hold

It was supposed to be mentioned in the preview blog, but the 2024 Fall Brawl was a historic 12-way Duel for the league because it was our 150th battle!  You have to love big round numbers like that.  Here we are in season 11, still surpassing milestones.  I'm not crying...you're crying!

Smile if you're thinking about releasing the rathtars...

It was nice to be back in our old Dueling headquarters of the North Village Fine Arts Studio.  The room wasn't available to us last year, but setting up was just like slipping into a comfortable set of Mandalorian armor again.  It was much less comfortable playing the Eravana Cargo Hold board, and for two reasons:  RC and CJ - AKA - the two rathtars locked in storage, just waiting for a Dueler to release them into the wild!

Guess how long that took...

Run!!!

...it took no time at all.  Never change, you cutthroat Duelers!!

A lot of positioning for control of the center four squares of the board - the only four squares immune from the path of the rathtars - started just as the rathtars were released.  Connor/Death Trooper #1, Joe/Paz, and Kiera/Mace's Clonetrooper all made it to the middle.  Joe couldn't help it and let out RC, who immediately terrorized the light side of the board...which was Joe's side!  Some Duelers just want to see the world burn.

A secondary door opening by Kiera inadvertently left Alex G.'s Obi-Wan Kenobi open to multiple attacks.  He soon found himself tussling with numerous dark side operatives.  Alex lost a lot of momentum when he attacked James' The Stranger, only to lose an action to Kortosis Armor.  Grant/Tobias Beckett got the kill shot though with a brutal undefended Trust No One.  Alex wanted a third trophy for his collection...but not the Golden Jar Jar!

Duel Arm Rests

Joe's Armorer continued swinging and throwing her hammer and tongs, and there was no rhyme or reason to the violence.  This turned the light side of the board volatile.  It reached a fever pitch when Joe tangled on the board with his real life wife, Michaela/Bo-Katan!  In-fighting had left Bo-Katan weak, but it was quite the shock when Joe knocked out Michaela in eleventh.  We're looking for confirmation Joe spent the night on the couch...

Joe was pretty banged up, but he earned as many admirers as he did enemies with his loosey-goosey style of play.  In the end, though, James retired The Armorer in tenth with The Stranger's Force Blast, which all things considered, is a pretty cool way to go out.

What's behind door number two?

Curtis' Cad Bane was taking shots with his Pyke troopers, but he left the safety of the middle four squares to try and collect his bounty on Jonah's Fennec Shand.  Jonah had already lost Black Krrsantan, but he was able to put some surprise damage back on Curtis.  There was fresh blood in the water and Curtis' alliance started chomping at the bit.  Rob/General Grievous made a pact with James/The Stranger and they worked together on Cad.  Curtis was NOT happy about that betrayal.  James' minor character Mae used Deadly Daggers to send Curtis home in ninth.  Rob will try to make nice with him at lunch on Monday...if Curtis will sit with him.  To be continued...

Give credit to Jonah - he was an early target in the game and ignored his moral compass by betraying his light side alliance to push himself deeper into the night.  But when Grant/Beckett popped some shots, Fennec was damaged.  Kiera, whose Mace Windu had to navigate the light side collapse, exacted sweet revenge with a Whirlwind Attack.  Jonah was dust in the...whirlwind.

Bloody nose incoming...

With seven Duelers to go we were dealing with some chaos above the board.  First, poor Connor got a spontaneous bloody nose that was quite severe - Jillian had swung by to check on her dad Grant and played a couple of rounds for Connor while he went into the bacta tank.  Then, rookie Dueler Noah/Rey nervously broke the base of one of the eliminated MagnaGuards!  

But Rob finally called a pause to the game because something happened that had never been considered before when playing in the Eravana Cargo Hold.  By pure coincidence, Jordann's Darth Maul landed on the starting space of one of the rathtars and then was joined on that square by the CJ rathtar.  It was Rob's turn, and he realized, for his two actions, he could close both doors and trap Jordann/Maul with the rathtar!!!  How would that even work??  Would it be a four point attack on Darth Maul each round until a door was open?  Or two points of auto-damage!?!  We had to break out the Jedi Council on the spot to discuss the implications and render a ruling.  As you could imagine, Jordann was NOT happy that her game might be in jeopardy.  We ended with this decision: Jordann would not have reasonably stayed in that square, with the rathtar approaching, if she knew she could be locked there with a rathtar.  So Rob said he wouldn't close the doors but that, moving forward, if it happens again a character CAN be locked in with a rathtar and the rathtar would attack four on their turn until a door is open again or the character is eliminated!

Connor won his own personal Krennic deck.  Game used.

Once that ruling was administered, it was back to Dueling.  Kiera had done a heck of a job to survive the light side implosion, but despite trying to put the target on Rob/Grievous, she found no allies.  James added to his trophy collection with a Trakata Attack.  Kiera took out her homework to be productive while cheering on fellow BRC-er Jordann.

The lone light side character left at that point was Noah, who was playing his first-ever Duel and flying by the seat of his pants trying to avoid rathtars.  One ended up eating his minor character Finn!  Connor decided to spill somebody else's blood instead of his own and blasted Rey with Hero of the Empire.  Noah - you played great!  A top-six finish in your first Duel, on the most complex board in the league - well done!

CJ headed straight for Darth Maul

With five to go, the melee characters had a softly spoken understanding they weren't too keen on working with the shooters (Grant/Beckett and Connor/Krennic) any longer.  That was tough for Connor, who had worked very closely with James/The Stranger all night.  Before the board could eliminate Krennic, though, Connor managed to play Peace and Security, which dumped everyone's hands.  James stayed aggressive, though, and used a four point attack to finally let Connor go to an urgent care.

Rob/Grievous was moving to engage Grant/Beckett when out of nowhere, his alliance partner Jordann/Maul stabbed him in the back with an attack!  Rob was equally miffed and impressed by the blind side.  That basically turned the table into two teams:  Rob and James vs. Grant and Jordann.  But Grant was well protected by closed doors and the repeating loops of the rathtars, forcing Jordann to fight on two fronts.  She couldn't sustain that and James once again used Trakata Attack for the kill.  Jordann has a nice run of high finishes going right now!

It takes two to make a thing go right.

After many hours of Dueling Rob finally needed a bathroom break, knowing good and well Grant would try and persuade James to team with him against Rob.  Rob did a lot of the heavy lifting against Grant since James had done a lot against Maul.  Grant was on his last points of health, pleading with James to let him weaken Rob, but James stuck to his alliance and delivered the kill shot.  Grant was out in third, and we had a Sith-tacular final two of The Stranger vs. General Grievous!

Rob had agreed to card up a round before attacking James when James agreed to off Grant.  With that stipulation, Grievous retreated to the middle four squares on the board just in time to play Reinforcements!  Grievous' minor characters had been a nuisance for many throughout the night, and now The Stranger was going to have to cut through them to get to Rob.  This cat and mouse game lasted a long time, but Rob was able to slowly weaken The Stranger.  James fought valiantly, and even surprised Rob with a Kortosis Armor, but the prequel villain finally laid down a five point attack to win the night!  James is still just an amateur Dueler, but that second place finish was awesome, as was his kill count on the night.  But in the 150th Duel in league history, it would be Rob's night, marking his 30th career win.  That's gross!

Final order of finish:

12.  Alex G./Obi

11.  Michaela/Bo-Katan

10.  Joe H./The Armorer

9.  Curtis/Cad Bane

8.  Jonah/Fennec

7.  Kiera/Mace

6.  Noah C./Rey

5.  Connor A./Krennic

4.  Jordann/Maul

3.  Grant D./Beckett

2.  James/The Stranger

1.  Rob/General Grievous

Next month is extremely busy, but it looks like we can squeeze in the October Duel - FIGHT NIGHT - on Friday, October 4th, at 7PM.  Rob will send out official invites soon.  Until then...here's to the next 150 12-way Duels!  PEW PEW!

Twin Sun Slam #1 - June 16, 2024

The Carbon Freezing Chamber (Dagobah version)

Remember that time Rob picked the Carbon Freezing Chamber for the first Duel in a doubleheader because he expected it to play fast?  Because there's no raised or open terrain to run around?  Do you remember that?

Do you remember the time the game took almost SEVEN hours anyway???

THIS IS THE WAY...

They're smiling now...

The tradition of the Twin Sun Slam is to do an all-light side Duel for game 1, and an all-dark side for the nightcap.  We also randomize a draft order so Duelers can pick the character they want!  The Duelers picked up their chosen avatars, with new double-minor deck of Chirrut and Baze being a noticeable omission.

Let's state the obvious first - this Duel went six plus hours.  But, BUT!!!  Every Dueler there would tell you it was one of their favorite Duels they can remember.  The first Dueler out played close to three hours before being eliminated!  That's because the board deadlocked into a six vs. six, with no defection, so it became more like two teams instead of 12 loosely affiliated independent contractors.

Guess which Dueler was playing as a favor to her father.

The action started early because CJ, playing The Mandalorian, took immediate shots at Hall of Famer JD's Ahsoka and Sabine.  The reason?  CJ has an illogical dislike for Ahsoka.  That formed the two teams: JD/Ahsoka, Jonathan/Rey, Penny/Leia, Ian/Yoda, Parker/Bo-Katan, and Riley E./Lando against Rob/Armorer, Michaela/Anakin, Kevin/Mace, Sam/Obi-Wan, Riley B./Qui-Gon, and CJ/Mando.  

Swampy.

After two-plus hours of minor characters blasting each other from across the board the first casualty was claimed.  Ian's Yoda had moved a bit deep into enemy territory and CJ's eyes got big.  She was sitting on Mando's 10-point Disintegration card and used it on Yoda...only to be FORCE REBOUNDED into a last place finish!!!

Desperate, the remaining alliance played Force Balance, discarding everyone's hands after Kevin/Mace and Rob/Armorer got jacked up by Penny's reverse damage Eye Know defense cards.  The other alliance laughed, feigning they had the turn order advantage and that the cards they lost weren't too consequential.

An unjust finish.

CJ's alliance's spirits were crushed, they were now short a Dueler and the momentum was going the wrong way.  Furthermore, Rob's Armorer got caught in a kill box.  Just as it looked like all hope was lost, Sam's Obi-Wan swooped in with a Force Control, rescuing Rob and putting Penny in a reverse kill box after she had been doing most of the heavy lifting for her team!  Poor Penny - gone in eleventh.  Sam's Force Control would prove to be the biggest move of the game, as it snatched victory out of the Jawas jaws of defeat.

The next biggest move was Rob playing A Mandalorian No More on Jonathan's Rey.  His alliance had been focusing attacks on the sequel hero, but everyone was afraid Jonathan was about to play Rise of Skywalker, a massive defense card that enables her to recover a ton of health.  As Jonathan showed his hand for all to see, the shock of a Dueling lifetime was had when he showed all Finn minor cards!!!

The difference maker.

The dominoes fell quickly after that.  Parker's Bo-Katan, who had been pursued for a flip all game, felt the wrath first.  Kevin's Mace chopped him down in tenth.  JD's Ahsoka was gone next, as Michaela's Padme gunned him down with the single point attack.  That was rough as JD had spent most of the game appealing to Michaela to switch sides.

The remaining trio of Ian/Yoda, Riley E./Lando, and Jonathan/Rey focused their attacks on Sam's Obi-Wan.  They were successful in finally taking him down.  Sam's teammates are sure to erect a statue in his honor, because he made the ultimate sacrifice for his alliance.

Ian running out of options.

Jonathan's Rey was finally taken down thanks to a Prophecy attack by Riley B.'s Qui-Gon Jinn.  Riley E.'s Lando, who had scrambled for his life from the start of the game in the middle of the board, succumbed to her wounds at the hands of Kevin's Mace.   

Ian's Yoda tried to turn negative attention on Riley B.'s Qui-Gon, and Michaela was more than willing to oblige and start shooting Qui-Gon too.  Riley was flustered by the flip but Michaela was clearly done dealing with Riley as a teammate.  Kevin and Rob, meanwhile, tried to grind out attacks on Ian's Yoda.  There was a lot of tension around the final five, but Michaela finally agree to relent and Ian's Yoda was next to go, with Kevin's Mace getting the kill shot.

Different reactions to smelling hamburgers but not being able to eat them yet...

With four to go there was little discussion on who was next - Riley B.'s Qui-Gon Jinn.  Riley proved what a tank Qui-Gon is, as he weathered multiple attacks while also laying hits on Michaela's Anakin.  He couldn't hang on forever, though, and Kevin picked up yet another kill on the night with a two-point finisher.  Kevin's end of the table looked like a graveyard.

The final three was bittersweet as Kevin/Mace, Rob/Armorer, and Michaela/Anakin had been rock solid in can what only be described as a six hour war.  It was Rob's turn and he painfully shared he would align with Michaela.  Kevin's Mace was in better health and had that as a big advantage.  Kevin spent most of his attacks on Michaela so she was forced to finish him off with a Shot on the Run.  He was gone in third.

Final showdown.

Rob's Armorer had a health advantage after the Mace attacks, and he moved in quickly.  He whittled down Michaela's Anakin to low enough health for Way of the Mandalore to put three points of auto-damage on Anakin.  That was enough to put Michaela, playing in just her second Duel, down in second.  Great job, Michaela!!!  This marked the Armorer's first career win and Rob's 29th.

I couldn't capture all of the nuance and epic-swings of fortune in this recap, but trust me...it was worth the time played!!!

Final order of finish:

12.  CJ/Mando

11.  Penny/Leia

10.  Parker/Bo-Katan

9.  JD N./Ahsoka

8.  Sam S./Obi-Wan

7.  Jonathan/Rey

6.  Riley E./Lando

5.  Ian/Yoda

4.  Riley B./Qui-Gon

3.  Kevin/Mace

2.  Michaela/Anakin

1.  Rob/Armorer