The Centurion - March 27, 2021

 

Carbon Freezing Chamber

We did it.

We played a 100 Duels.

100!!!

In honor of the 100th Duel in league history, we gathered a dozen of the all-time greats to ring in the era of triple-digits.  We even had three Duelers from the first Duel - CL Training back in 2014 - playing in the game!  That's enough exposition, though...let's hear how it went down!

Look at that gallery of all-stars!

We were fittingly stuck in the Carbon Freezing Chamber for this bad boy, and as veterans know, Carbon comes down to what happens to Vader (Ian) and Luke (Ben H.) at the start of the game.  Grant's Count Dooku went first, though, and he wasted no time by laying an attack on Luke with his Super Battle Droid!

The game split dead even at the start, with the six light and six dark side characters staying loyal to each other.  Joel's minor character, Greedo, was the first character to bite the dust.  Soon after, Curtis' Mace Windu charged in with a Whirlwind and then a Wisdom to retreat backwards.  Just as it looked like Joel's Boba would be the first to die, he struck a deal with the light side, promising to flip!  Rob was next, and he and Ian tried to convince Joel to stay.  Rob was low-carded after Ben's banged-up Luke Skywalker played I Will Not Fight You on him, but his Emperor still had You Will Die.  Instead of using it on Joel, he dropped it on Kaleb's Han Solo, who had Chewbacca leading the light side charge with a possible Bowcaster in his hand.  In the end, it didn't matter...Joel betrayed his alliance!  He threw a Thermal and attacked Emperor with a Kyber Dart.  With Rob bleeding out, JD's Obi-Wan clone finished the league founder off in last place.

Rob played in 100 Duels and all 
he has to show for it is this lousy
Palpatine t-shirt.

The crazy thing about Joel attacking his own side was that he didn't use a Rocket Retreat to peace out.  Vengeance was dished cold when Ian's Vader and Stephen's Darth Maul eliminated him in eleventh place.

With ten Duelers left and only four dark side characters, it was open season for the light side.  Their minors started peppering the remaining bad guys with distance shots.  Stephen got tempted by the light side to betray his alliance to further himself in the game, so he reluctantly dropped hits on an understanding Grant/Dooku.  But it would be JD who made a really big splash.  His Obi-Wan pulled off a feat that hadn't been seen in quite a few Duels.  He killed two main characters in one turn!  First he used a Jedi Attack to kill Ian's boxed-in Vader, and the movement from that allowed him to rush Grant's Dooku, who succumbed to a four point death in ninth place!

Ian with nowhere to run.

There were just eight Duelers left, and Ryan's Jango, who had been flirting with Alex R.'s Anakin all game, made good on his promise to shake things up.  He used a Rocket Retreat to stand next to Ben's Luke, and then fired a Missile Launch at point-blank range.  That was more than Ben could handle, and he was dead in eighth.  Considering how badly he was hounded by the dark side at the start of the game, that was actually a great finish.

With seven to go, something happened that hadn't occurred since 2016.  I am speaking, of course, of Alex R. shaking things up in crazy and radical ways!  (And now that we mention it, I'm pretty sure Alex set a record for longest time between Duels, at just under five years!)  Alex R.'s Anakin called out Alex C.'s Yoda for being silent and hanging back, and tried to cause a lot of chaos while doing so.  What was even crazier was that it was Alex C.'s turn!  He hoped to rally folks against Yoda, but Alex R. was stunned when Curtis' Mace Windu attacked him instead of Yoda!  Alex R. was highly annoyed when others joined in, cursing the formulaic play.  Kaleb's Han got the final shot on Alex R., and the Dueling legend bowed out in seventh.

That left six folks vying for the title of the Centurion, and the board almost unanimously decided Ryan's Jango's services were no longer needed.  He was cranky, but Stephen chopped him up for a sixth place finish.  

You could cut the tension with a knife.

The final five began jockeying for position, and I'll be honest, there was a long boring streak in here I don't have a lot of memory of because I was texting with a lot of dead Duelers, but, here's what I remember.  Alex C.'s Yoda, who survived Alex R.'s uprising, made it known he wasn't too keen on Stephen's Maul sticking around.  In a bit of a surprise, JD agreed.  JD and Stephen had partnered, but that alliance was now at an end.  We should note Stephen was playing with us from ITALY, as in EUROPE, and had to message us most of the night because it was 4 in the morning there and he didn't want to wake up his wife.  But he turned his mic back on and made whisper pleas to no avail.  They ganged up on him and Kaleb reluctantly put him down in fifth with a Never Tell Me The Odds.

At the final four, everyone was still in strong health, but JD thought it was time to go after Alex's Yoda.  Alex responded by double-Force Pushing him for six points of damage!  It loosely turned into a doubles match, as Alex/Yoda and Kaleb/Han loosely worked with each other against Curtis/Mace and JD/Obi.  JD was starting to wrack up the damage, though.  Kaleb begged him to take a step back and see what was happening - three of them were getting weaker while Curtis' Mace was still in great shape.  JD was determined he and Curtis were faithful, and in a bit of a surprise, he ran down to Kaleb's end of the board and dispatched him with a Jedi Attack.  Kaleb was none-too-pleased.

Gotta get those arms loose for the WHIRLWINDS!

JD retreated down to Curtis' Mace, assuming they were still good.  But with only a couple of health points left, Curtis decided he no longer needed his fellow Jedi, and JD was disheartened to learn he would finish in third place instead of second.  Alex C. played nimbly with a banged-up Yoda, but because his Clone was still alive, he couldn't heal.  Curtis played patiently, and after a couple of charges, he finally ended the night by Whirlwinding Alex for the win!!!

For now on, we shall call Curtis by his new name:  THE CENTURION!!!

The Final Order of Finish:

12.  Rob/Emperor

11.  Joel/Boba

10.  Ian/Vader

9.  Grant/Dooku

8.  Ben H./Luke

7.  Alex R./Anakin

6.  Ryan/Jango

5.  Stephen/Maul

4.  Kaleb/Han

3. JD/Obi-Wan

2.  Alex C./Yoda

1.  Curtis/Mace

Just look at that list...84 of the leagues 100 wins are represented!!!  What a night.  We'll do it again at 200...

In April we're back to our normal Dueling schedule - Duel of the Fates will likely be on April 10th - stay tuned for more details!

Preview: The Centurion - March 27, 2021

 

This league has been in action for almost seven years now, and in that span we have played 99 Duels.  In honor of the big one-zero-zero, we're holding a special Duel.  We've invited back 12 of the most legendary Duelers to ever take the battlefield and repeatedly stab eleven of their friends in the back.

We're calling this Duel...THE CENTURION!

There is no doubt this will be the toughest Duel ever played.  And in honor of the roots of the game, we're playing with the original 12 characters.  We randomized the board selection among the 4 original playing surfaces and the five new creations.  It was only fitting that the CARBON FREEZING CHAMBER - the cruelest board there is - was selected.  

MEET THE DUELERS:

It was hard to narrow the field to this dynamic dozen, and one could certainly argue for others to be included.  That being said, we don't think anyone would deny the 12 Duelers below deserve their spot.  Here they are...

Chair #1 - Grant w/ Count Dooku.  5.45 AVG, 66 Duels, 7 Wins, 10.6 WIN%

Grant has been playing since season one, and ranks third all-time in Duels played and tied for third in career wins.  He's one of only two Duelers to win with the same character three times (Han Solo).

Chair #2 - Alex R. w/ Anakin Skywalker.  5.53 AVG, 17 Duels, 4 Wins, 23.5 WIN%

Alex R. won the first 12-Way Duel played in Waco, the year prior to the league starting, and he's the all-time leader in win percentage for Duelers with ten or more Duels played.

Chair #3 - Ian w/ Darth Vader.  5.18 AVG, 59 Duels, 8 Wins, 13.5 WIN%

Ian debuted at the tail end of season one and now ranks fifth in career Duels played and tied for second in wins.  

Chair #4 - Stephen w/ Darth Maul.  6.56 AVG, 34 Duels, 3 Wins, 8.8 WIN%

Stephen debuted in year two at CL Training.  He is the all-time leader in Duels played by a student and in the top ten for total Duels.  

Chair #5 - Curtis w/ Mace Windu.  5.89 AVG, 62 Duels, 7 Wins, 11 WIN%

Curtis debuted with a win at the first ever Doubleheader, the only Dueler to accomplish that feat, and now ranks fourth all-time in Duels played and is tied for third in wins.

Chair #6 - Ryan w/ Jango Fett.  5.05 AVG, 58 Duels, 6 Wins, 10.3 WIN%

The creator of the three-dimensional boards, Ryan has the best average of any Dueler with ten or more Duels played and ranks sixth all-time in Duels played.

Chair #7 - Alex C. w/ Yoda.  5.07 AVG, 30 Duels, 6 Wins, 20 WIN%

Alex holds the greatest career win percentage for Duelers with 20 or more games played, a staggering 20%.  He's second all-time in average for Duelers with ten or more games played.

Chair #8 - Ben H. w/ Luke Skywalker.  5.22 AVG, 41 Duels, 6 Wins, 14.6 WIN%

He first Dueled in year four.  Ben is the only Dueler in league history to win two championship matches.  He ranks eighth all-time in career Duels played.

Chair #9 - Rob w/ Emperor Palpatine.  5.38 AVG, 99 Duels, 17 Wins, 17.1 WIN%

The Godfather of the 12-Way Duel format has played in every Duel in league history and leads in all-time wins.  

Chair #10 - Joel w/ Boba Fett.  5.31 AVG, 32 Duels, 6 Wins, 18.8 WIN%

Joel is one of the most dominant Duelers in league history.  He has the best career average of any student to play the game.  He debuted in year three.

Chair #11 - Kaleb w/ Han Solo.  5.16 AVG, 50 Duels, 5 Wins, 10 WIN%

Kaleb won his first Duel in just his third game, back in early 2017.  Kaleb ranks in the all-time top ten for average, duels, and wins.

Chair #12 - JD w/ Obi-Wan Kenobi.  6.09 AVG, 68 Duels, 8 Wins, 11.8 WIN%

JD sat at the table for the very first official league Duel, and is now second all-time in Duels played and tied for second in wins.  He's also the creator of the league trophies.

As you can see above, you'd have a hard time finding a more wretched hive of scum an villainy to ring in the hundredth Duel in league history!  This is the biggest Duel in league history, and somebody will have ultimate bragging rights...at least until the 200th!  ;)

It all goes down at 7PM on Saturday, March 27th.    

100 Memories from the first 100 Duels

 

If you had told any of us who played at the CL Training Duel back in August of 2014 that this game would evolve into a league of rabid Duelers with 99 Duels played in just under seven years...with new boards, characters, singles tournaments, trophies, and blogs...we might have considered you a little nutty.

But here we are!    

We have officially played 99 Duels in our league...and that deserves a celebration!  This Saturday we're playing what has been titled The Centurion.  We invited 12 of the most celebrated, famous, ruthless, and best Duelers in league history to officially ring in the 100th Duel played.  Duelers who span the first game all the way through the 99th.  But we'll preview that Duel later in the week!  In the meantime, we thought it was important to commemorate this milestone in league history by looking back at some of our favorite memories from the first seven years.  Presented below are 100 legendary tales, humorous anecdotes, silly stories, random factoids, and other assorted tidbits.  This list is by no means all-encompassing, for we all hold our own personal favorite flashbacks.  Nonetheless, enjoy this trip down memory lane...