Valentine's Duel - February 9, 2024

Kamino Platform

Before we jump into the recap...Elliot, one of our seasoned Duelers, is doing something truly sacrificial at the end of the month.  He's donating one of his kidneys to his uncle!  We said a prayer for him last night, but we'd ask you be thinking about him as he does this incredibly daunting thing.  We already know Elliot is an incredible person, so here's to a speedy recovery!!!  We're sending lots of Wookie Healing his way.

February has proven to be a busy time of year.  Many of our Dueling regulars found themselves stuck with other obligations, so we had FIVE newbies join our ranks to get the Valentine's Duel off the ground.  We want to offer a big thanks to everyone who made their debut last night!  It sure looks like they enjoyed themselves...let's get into it!

Not pictured:  the table of sweet treats!

Kamino historically plays as a tricky map at the start of the game.  Do the light and dark sides stay true to each other?  Do smaller fights break out?  Julia/Jyn Erso made the first move in this regard.  She quietly slid over to the dark side, since her starting spot was essentially on their end of the board.  Elliot/Bo-Katan was cranky when she shot at one of his Night Owls...so he decided to join her!  He used an Ariel Assault to rocket deep into dark side territory.  Rob's Armorer became the target for that, especially after his Paz had shredded Sam L.'s Super Battle Droids.  The light side was in complete disarray, capped off by Jordan's Obi-Wan Kenobi finishing off Rob in last place!  That did allow Rob to use Instagram Live for our first official live broadcast of a Duel, though!  #littlevictories

Hunter itching to reach the Emperor.

With Rob gone and Julia/Elliot defecting, the negative attention was focused on Samuel/Han and Jackson/Lando.  However, Hunter's Reva was buried deep on the back line.  When he casually asked about being able to shoot the Emperor - his own alliance mate! - others in the back of the dark side put the target on the rookie Dueler.  While Reva has an impressive offensive skillset, her defense is lacking.  Caleb, also playing his first Duel, used Kylo Ren's Laserguard to make the kill!  The bonus damage put Reva on tilt, and Hunter was gone in eleventh.

Samuel M. learned the hard way Han is hard to protect in a 12-way.  Despite some nice attacks from Chewbacca, the onslaught was too much.  Michael maneuvered a Royal Guard to put the final hit on everyone's favorite smuggler.  No worries Samuel - there's nothing you can do in that situation!

Deflecting attention away from the power couple.

There were nine Duelers left, and eight of them wanted poor Jackson's Lando Calrissian off the board.  Everyone knows Lando is a tenacious defender.  Jackson proved it by lasting several rounds, pinned down on the far side of the board.  He eventually succumbed to his injuries after trading spots with Count Dooku.  But congrats to Jackson - by playing his sixth 12-way, he's turned professional in the rankings!

A big swing came after Lando's ouster.  Ian/Captain Phasma and Michael/Emperor Palpatine declared war against each other, and tried to rally everyone else to their respective sides.  The tide turned when Michael played You Will Die on Phasma.  The other Duelers couldn't resist the unblocked attacks.  Caleb finished him off with a Kylo Force Choke.  Last month's big winner was gone in eighth.

A post-Phasma world...

The next stretch of game reallllllllyyyyyyyyy dragged on.  I mean close to two hours, it was silly.  There was a ton of debate on how to proceed, alliances formed and disappeared like the swirling Kamino seas.  By the end of it Sam L.'s Count Dooku was in trouble.  Up to that point he had implemented a brilliant floating Switzerland strategy, never staying one place too long and always malleable to what was happening around him.  But he got caught in the middle of a loose alliance, led largely by Elliot/Bo-Katan and Julia/Jyn.  Cassian delivered the kill shot and Sam was gone in seventh.  It was a heck of a debut, Sam!

Obi-Wan emerging as a force on the board.

Riley B./Morgan had long been advocating an anti-shooters alliance, but he was chagrinned to learn some of the blades wanted to join the blasters.  Everyone moved in on Morgan, but Riley activated his zombie Night Troopers, protecting Morgan and frustrating the other Duelers.  Caleb, who had been stalking the board all night with Kylo, finally agreed with Riley and joined with him.  They were crestfallen to learn Michael/Emperor and Jordan/Obi wouldn't join them.  Caleb obliterated Julia's Cassian with an undefended Vader's Bloodline (we think the first time that's worked in league history?), but Kylo was finally caught without defense.  Jyn got revenge and shot Caleb down in sixth.  Caleb looked like a veteran though, and not the rookie he actually was.

Morgan - the alleged least powerful character on the board...

And then there were five!  Unfortunately for Riley B., everyone was sick (and kind of scared) of zombies and Nightsister Magicks.  Riley delivered some masterful taunting, but once the other Duelers finally buckled down with serious attacks, Morgan wasn't long for this world.  The Emperor actually made the deathblow.  Riley expired in fifth.

Cute dog alert.

In a continuing theme of the night, the alliances stayed rather fluid.  Jordan/Obi and Michael/Emperor eventually connected with each other against the shooters, but Michael had caught some damage when the Emperor left the protection of Jango's ship.  He dropped another You Will Die, this time on Elliot's Bo-Katan.  But the shooters rallied.  Julia brilliantly used Kyber Crystal Luck to dump both of the Emperor's Meditation cards!  Jordan sensed this was the time to turn on Emperor too.  But it would be a combo Darksaber - Ariel Attack from Bo-Katan that shockingly eliminated Michael in fourth!

It was nothing short of stunning to see three light side characters as the last ones standing.  That was the side which had imploded at the start of the game, but they managed to oust the entire dark side!  It wasn't surprising when Julia/Jyn and Elliot/Bo-Katan stuck together against Jordan's superior Obi-Wan Kenobi.  This was Jordan's first game, but you never would have known it!  Despite a valiant effort, he couldn't maintain a two-front battle.  The shooters whittled him down to nothing.  But Jordan - third place in your first game!?!  Incredible!

Julia and Elliot - the first two Duelers to attack each other in the game, were the last two!  Elliot had the advantage, as Jyn was without Cassian but undoubtedly burdened with useless Cassian cards in her hand.  Elliot was patient, chose his spots, and with a lightly wounded Jyn he made his move.  He attacked with the Darksaber and Julia...chose not to defend!!!  The eight point attack secured Elliot his first career win!!!  He previously had the league record for most games played without a win, but that is now erased from the history books.  Congrats Elliot!!!  This also marked Bo-Katan Kryze's first victory...in just her fourth Duel!  Big shout-out to Julia too, who stayed one step ahead of trouble all night.

Elliot - our thoughts and prayers are with you this month as you and your uncle head into surgery.  You are amazing - congrats on your first win!!!

Final order of finish:

12.  Rob/The Armorer

11.  Hunter/Reva - Third Sister

10.  Samuel M./Han Solo

9.  Jackson/Lando Calrissian

8.  Ian/Captain Phasma

7.  Sam L./Count Dooku

6.  Caleb/Kylo Ren

5.  Riley B./Morgan Elsbeth

4.  Michael/Emperor Palpatine

3.  Jordan/Obi-Wan Kenobi

2.  Julia/Jyn Erso

1.  Elliot/Bo-Katan Kryze

Next month brings us...THE IMPERIAL MARCH!  We'll need to wait and see where Baylor falls in the NCAA Tournament, but we're looking at either the night of March 22 or 23.  Until then...

PEW PEW!

 

Preview: Valentine's Duel - February 9, 2024

 

Yikes - we barely got this Duel off the ground!  Was this just a bad date?  Are Fridays no good for folks - do we switch back to Saturdays?  Let Rob know!

HISTORY OF THE VALENTINE'S DUEL

2023 - Miguel won with Boba Fett in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2022 - Rob won with Rey in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2021 - Curtis won with Orson Krennic in the Eravana Cargo Hold

2020 - Rob won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2019 - Ben won with Darth Vader in the Emperor's Throne Room
2018 - Ryan won with Darth Vader in the Emperor's Throne Room
2017 - Ian won with Darth Maul on the Kamino Platform
2016 - Grant won with Han Solo in the Carbon Freezing Chamber
2015 - Rob won with Darth Vader on the Kamino Platform

MEET THE DUELERS

Our longstanding tradition for the Valentine's Duel is to show the Valentine's card each of the participating Duelers will be handing out this year.  Without further adieu...

Caleb:

Elliot:

Hunter:

Ian:

Jackson:

Jordan:

Julia:

Michael:

Riley B:

Rob:

Sam:

Samuel:

We've got several new faces at the table tonight - should be exciting!!!  We throw down at 7PM in the North Village classroom.  See you all then!!!

A New Hope - January 12, 2024

 

Trash Compactor

Remember how the Trash Compactor is supposed to be a fast Duel...?  Well, we broke it.  We broke the compactor.  The Duelers were too good.  The dianoga was too bad at his job of sucking characters into dirty garbage water.  It was three hours before the walls started closing!

Happy New Year!

We're getting ahead of ourselves!  Let's start with the good news.  It's 2024 and the league is still alive and thriving.  We had several younger Duelers at the table, including Spencer, who was making his Dueling debut.  What a way to start the year!

Once we got the characters assigned and the Dueler order established, we were off and running.  Two very funny and unique things happened at the start of the game.  First, Alex A.'s Wicket was the target of early attacks from the dark side shooters.  With just two health points left on his Ewok, Alex decided to use Whirling Rocks against Ian's Darth Maul...except Alex rolled a "2-all", killing Wicket!!!  I'd like to say we didn't laugh and instead silently mourned our forest friend...but we were definitely laughing.

Second, Jackson pulled off a rare flip/reflip maneuver.  The light side was taking damage and Jackson/Mace thought that would be a good time to join the dark side in the middle of the board.  But a Spencer/Vader - Jordann/Dooku - Bekah/Morgan alliance repelled the advance and the light side took Jackson back!

Is Spencer having fun or is he completely terrified?

A whole lot of Dueling happened before our first death of the night, easily two and a half hours.  But Jordann used Dooku's Force Push to send poor Alex's Leia into a dark side kill box!  Alex did nothing wrong, but still died in last thanks to an Athletic Surge from Ian's Maul.  Alex has had some rough luck at the start of his Dueling career - please come back, Alex!  It gets better!!!

With the dark side having a numbers advantage, they got a bit overconfident.  Spencer was feeling it with Darth Vader, and he plunged forward to attack the light side.  Unfortunately, he left himself a bit exposed and with very little defense in his hand.  A combination of light side hits culminated in Isaiah's Rey using a 4-point attack to oust Spencer in his rookie debut.  11th doesn't sound exciting, but he did great at the table!

Jordann's Dooku moved forward too, determined to damage Isaiah/Rey.  But she got a little too cute with her attack order, using a 1-point attack in her first action only to have her Taunt completely blocked with the second action.  The light side pounced and Jordann was done in tenth after Riley B.'s Cassian shot her.  The walls finally activated too, but nobody was caught underneath them.

Surprise surprise!

Rob/General Grievous slowly realized the Grant D./Lando - Isaiah/Rey combo on the light side was going to be awfully powerful in the end game.  He convinced his remaining dark side allies to focus their hits on Rey.  Rob managed 11 points of damage on Isaiah, including an unblocked A Fine Addition.  Morgan (#witchlady), piloted by Bekah, delivered the final blow and Isaiah was parked in ninth.

Up to this point Riley B./Jyn were having an under the radar game, and Riley had made some pretty sweet moves to set up chaos for the dark side.  But his luck ran out when his damaged Jyn couldn't switch her main character status over to a fully healthy Cassian.  Once again the #Witchlady took out the trash with an enhanced 4-point attack.

I survived Order 66 and all I got was this lousy hat.

Austin E./Bo-Katan was playing a duck-and-move game, trying to stay out of enemy fire after taking some attacks early in the game.  Rob/Grievous and Ian/Maul had a plan to eliminate Austin and then have the walls crush Grant's Lando, but Grant was playing fantastically with the mayor of Cloud City and switched his spot with Rob's Grievous!  This put Grant in the safety of the four middle squares on the board while Rob was now in danger of being crushed by walls, as was Jackson's Mace Windu!

The second biggest play of the night was Ian whittling down Austin's Bo-Katan to her last seven points of health, with only one card left in his hand.  An undefended Athletic Surge would kill three Duelers...and that's what happened!  Austin was gutted in seventh while Rob and Jackson were run over by the walls in a tie for fifth!!

The diabolical Ian devising his plan...

Just like that we were down to four Duelers:  Grant/Lando, Ian/Maul, Bekah/#witchlady, and Elliot/Jango.  With just one more Dueler needing to die to close the walls for a final time, nobody was willing to move off the center four squares.  This was to Grant's advantage, as the other three were working together against him, but he only had to defend himself against Bekah's heavily damaged Morgan.  Ian was stuck in the back of that row, and though he had the ability to use an Athletic Surge to move back to a safe square before the walls closed a final time, he somehow convinced Bekah and Elliot to move off the center squares so his Maul could advance on Grant's Lando.

And they agreed to the move!!!

The dianoga, asleep for practically the whole game, finally woke up and did two points of damage on Bekah's Morgan.  Elliot was initially devastated, thinking Morgan had died and his Jango would be caught in the moving walls.  Then he was relieved - Morgan was still alive!!!  Then he went back to devastated when he realized what Ian was going to do...attack Bekah to kill her, causing the walls to crush his fully healthy Jango!!!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

And that's what happened.  The biggest move of the game, executed perfectly.  Emphasis on EXECUTED.

There's no mercy in Ian's dojo.

I can't say enough about how well both Grant and Ian were playing.  As they were down to the final two Maul had a bit of an advantage, but the dianoga started snacking on Maul, levelling the playing field.  Despite Grant's best efforts, he was losing health points.  Ian was still holding a Blinding Surge, but playing it might mean they both died, leaving no winner for the Duel!  The dianoga then hit Lando twice, leaving him down to his last health point.  Ian used one last attack and won the game!!!

This was career victor #14 for Ian, and it also moved Darth Maul into sole possession of second most career wins among the game characters.  Who knew we could go five hours in the trash compactor???

Final order of finish:

12.  Alex A./Princess Leia

11.  Spencer/Darth Vader

10.  Jordann/Count Dooku

9.  Isaiah/Rey

8.  Riley B./Jyn Erso

7.  Austin E./Bo-Katan Kryze

T5.  Rob/General Grievous

T5.  Jackson/Mace Windu

4.  Bekah/Morgan Elsbeth #witchlady

3.  Elliot/Jango Fett

2.  Grant D./Lando Calrissian

1.  Ian/Darth Maul

Is there a more terrifying player/character combo than Ian and Maul???

We got some good feedback on playing Friday nights, so we'll try that again for our February match, the Valentine's Duel!  Pencil in February 9th, 7PM, until Rob sends out the official invite in a couple of weeks.

Thanks to all who played - what a fun way to kickoff 2024!!!

Preview: A New Hope - January 12, 2024

It's hard to believe, but we are now in the year 2024!  AND THE DUELING MUST CONTINUE.  After the hoopla of the December Championship, we could really use a palate cleanser.  How about a nice, fast Duel?  Well, the best way to guarantee a quick game is to crush Duelers with the closing walls of the TRASH COMPACTOR.  There's no time to mess around in 2024!

HISTORY OF THE A NEW HOPE DUEL

2023 - Michael won with General Grievous in Ewok Village

2022 - Duncan won with Emperor Palpatine in the Geonosis Arena

2021 - Rob won with Lando Calrissian on Arvala-7

2020 - Curtis won with Darth Maul in the Emperor's Throne Room

2019 - Joel won with Darth Maul in the Geonosis Arena

2018 - Ethan won with Anakin Skywalker on the Kamino Platform

2017 - Nathan won with Mace Windu in the Carbon Freezing Chamber

2016 - JD won with Anakin Skywalker in the Geonosis Arena

2015 - Rob won with Mace Windu in the Emperor's Throne Room

MEET THE DUELERS

We've got a good mix of veterans and newer Duelers for this one!  We love to see it!!!  We'll highlight each Dueler's "New Year's Resolution" below...

Alex A. - we're pumped to have Alex back at the table after he played at CL Training and the Doubleheader.  Alex's resolution is to turn professional in 2024!

Austin - he hasn't played since CL Training, but we're excited to see Austin return to the Dueling world.  His resolution for 2024 is to secure a top five finish.

Bekah - she had a personal best finish of fifth place at Thanksdueling! this past November.  Bekah's resolution is to crack the top three in 2024!

Elliot - always the bridesmaid, never the bride...until 2024!  The pundits are calling it now - Elliot will win his first career Duel this year!!!

Grant D. - still one of the all-time win leaders in league history, it has been a few years since Grant landed in the victory circle.  His resolution for '24 is to secure a trophy.

Jackson - the A New Hope Duel will bring Jackson to within a Duel of turning professional (six games played).  His resolution is to land a top-four finish this Spring.

Jordann - shoutout to Jordann, who spent part of her Christmas break repairing the Jar Jar trophy.  Her resolution for 2024 is to never win it again.

Ian - our recently engaged (!!!) Dueler Ian is still Dueling with us despite wedding planning to attend to.  His resolution for 2024?  Let his fiancé play with us!

Isaiah - he turned professional at the '23 Championship, and made an outstanding debut at second place in the rankings.  His 2024 resolution is to take over the top spot!

Riley B. - the league's most dedicated fanatic is still searching for his first win.  His resolution this year is to secure a win before he graduates!

Rob - good governor, Rob won the '23 Championship and hasn't been afraid to remind folks about it.  His 2024 resolution is to try and defend it this December.

Spencer - rookie Dueler alert!!!  We love first time Duelers at the table!!!  Spencer will make his debut at A New Hope.  The league's resolution for 2024 is to make sure he has such a good time he comes back and plays with us again.

There you have it, folks!  The fighting starts at 7PM this Friday in the North Village classroom.  The dianoga is ready to pull unsuspecting characters into the murky depths of the Trash Compactor.  One thing's for sure...we're all going to be a lot thinner!

PEW PEW!

2023 Championship - December 2, 2023

Eravana Cargo Hold

The Championship match should be a hard-fought battle of expert Duelers with surprising moves, tactics, and game play.  This Duel did not disappoint!  Read the pictorial recap of eliminations to find out who the winner was!

12th Place - Isaiah

Character - Supreme Leader Snoke

Card that Killed Him - 4 point Princess Leia attack

The best rookie of 2023 came into the Championship looking to turn professional by winning his first league title.  In-fighting on the dark side and the constant trample of rathtars limited what Isaiah could do.  Princess Leia eliminated him in last...but congrats on turning pro!

11th Place - Riley E.

Character - Jango Fett

Card that Killed Her - Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Attack

Riley tried to flip sides once Julia's Boba Fett Rocket Retreated to the middle of the board.  She attacked her own sister (Darth Vader) before getting pulled into a kill box by Isaiah.  She survived the onslaught...only to be killed moments later by her dad (Obi-Wan)!

10th Place - Penny

Character - Darth Vader

Card that Killed Her - 3 point Princess Leia attack

Penny was left reeling when Julia/Boba Fett used a Rocket Retreat on Vader to move to the control panels in the center of the board.  Isaiah/Snoke nearly turned on her too, but she survived temporarily to keep fighting.  In the end there were too many in the light side alliance and she was done in tenth.

9th Place - Kat

Character - Cad Bane

Card that Killed Her - 4 point The Mandalorian attack

Kat did a great job staying out of the path of the rathtars, and she wisely evacuated the dark side of the board when the alliance crumbled.  However, she couldn't get any inroads with the light side alliance and her Cad Bane soon found himself in a kill box after an Obi-Wan Force Control.  There weren't enough Rocket Boots to survive.

8th Place - Curtis

Character - Yoda

Card that Killed Him - 3 point MagnaGuard attack

Curtis was one of the vocal leaders for the light side, giving orders on how to use the walls to move rathtars towards the enemy.  But when Michael/Rey and Miguel/Lando's characters were fully carded with nobody to attack, Curtis unexpectedly found himself the target.  He deployed a nice Force Rebound but nobody came to his side in his time of need.

7th Place - Grant

Character - General Grievous

Card that Killed Him - Cara Dune's Heavy Weapon

Grant was left with few options when his dark side teammates collapsed against each other almost immediately.  He did manage to sneak his General Grievous to the middle squares to help control doors.  But once he retreated when the light side alliance advanced, his only other major success was brining his minor characters back on line.

6th Place - Evan

Character - The Mandalorian

Card that Killed Him - 3 point Rey attack

Last year's 2022 Champion hoped to retain his Vader trophy.  He started off strong, as his Mandalorian character established dominance and chased down opponents like General Grievous.  But he also picked up some damage.  When the dark side alliance was eliminated, he became the target thanks to Rob/Obi-Wan.  

5th Place - Michael

Character - Rey

Card that Killed Him - 4 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack.

After helping take down Curtis' Yoda earlier in the game, he next put a big target on Rob's Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He lost any hope of future partnership when he successfully played Rise of Skywalker twice!  Everyone was terrified of Rey, so the rest of the board united and Rob's Obi-Wan scored the knockout punch.

4th Place - Julia

Character - Boba Fett

Card that Killed Her - 3 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack

The most influential move of the game was Julia shooting Darth Vader to Rocket Retreat to the safety of the inner squares of the cargo hold.  Julia managed to roost there for most of the game.  But when she opened a door to direct the rathtars towards Ian's Princess Leia, she acquired a huge target on her back.  Rob and Ian eliminated her before she could drop her Thermals.

3rd Place - Ian

Character - Princess Leia

Card that Killed Him - Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force Control

Ian played masterfully, ruling a corner of the board in the early going and teaming with Miguel to eliminate Rob in the final three.  But just as Rob was on the cusp of dying, a false promise from Rob prompted Miguel to attack Ian.  Ian and Rob then joined forces, but Miguel's Lando made it hard for Leia and Rob eliminated Ian after he lost both I Know cards.

2nd Place - Miguel

Character - Lando Calrissian

Card that Killed Him - 5 point Obi-Wan Kenobi attack

The retired Dueler, birthday boy, and current Ivy League grad student flew into Waco to play his best personal board - the Eravana Cargo Hold.  Just like the 2022 Valentine's Duel, it got down to Rob, Miguel, and the rathtars.  Rob was just a couple of health points away from dying, but the nimbleness of Obi-Wan allowed him to slowly heal as Miguel's Lando desperately tried to finish off Rob...but he couldn't!

1st Place - Rob

Character - Obi-Wan Kenobi

How He Won - by being a survivor!

Miguel and Ian nearly eliminated Rob, but Rob managed to drop everyone's hands in his most desperate hour.  The redraw saw Rob's Obi get all three Jedi Blocks very early from his new deck.  He slowly healed to stay out of danger of the rathtars, and a late alliance split between Miguel and Ian created the crack Rob needed to win his second-ever Championship!  Rob joins Ben H. as the only Duelers to ever repeat as Championship winners.  Rob also becomes the first Dueler to win a Duel four times with the same character.  The win also moved Obi-Wan Kenobi into a tie for second place for career wins among characters.

What an incredible night of Dueling!!!  Exceptional play from start to (a very late) finish!  You can't ask for much more from a Championship.

We'll kick off 2024 (!!!) with the January Duel - A New Hope - on Friday, January 12th, 7PM, to avoid overlap with a men's basketball game.  Thanks to everyone who sat at a table in 2023!!!  This league continues to thrive because of invested Duelers like you!!!

PEW PEW!