DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER Date : 05/07/2024 Duedate: 05/20/2024 SEAM ARENA DM 20 TURN 232 This Week's Top Honors THE DUELMASTER IS EMMA STONE LOCAL GIRLS (88) (20-1370) [13-12-0,119] Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader EMMA STONE PAPA LENNY LOCAL GIRLS (88) BAD PICKLES (92) (20-1370) [13-12-0,119] (20-1513) [3-0-0,40] Popularity Leader This Week's Favorite EMMA STONE SHAKEY JAKE HARRIS LOCAL GIRLS (88) NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) (20-1370) [13-12-0,119] (20-1501) [3-5-0,14] THE CURRENT TOP TEAM THIRSTY THUGS (31) TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team 1. LOCAL GIRLS (88) 49 2. DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) 37 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) 3. PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) 29 Unchartered Team 4. THIRSTY THUGS (31) 15 5. HUCKLE'S CATS (23) 10 BAD PICKLES (92) The Top Teams Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K 1/ 1*BAD PICKLES (92) 9 6 0 60.0 1/ 1 THIRSTY THUGS (31) 10 5 1 2/ 3 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) 193 149 5 56.4 2/ 4 LOCAL GIRLS (88) 10 5 0 3/ 4 LOCAL GIRLS (88) 119 94 5 55.9 3/ 3*BAD PICKLES (92) 9 6 0 4/ 5 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) 105 100 8 51.2 4/ 8 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) 8 7 1 5/ 6 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) 574 555 31 50.8 5/ 2 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) 7 8 0 6/ 7 THIRSTY THUGS (31) 535 552 17 49.2 6/ 7 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) 7 8 0 7/ 8 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) 514 559 26 47.9 7/ 5 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) 6 9 0 8/ 9 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) 108 132 6 45.0 8/ 6 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) 4 11 0 '*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn (###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank DUELMASTER'S COLUMN Notes from the arena champ. Hello! Pardon my pen *gibberish*. Cat fluff! I think it's cleaner now. As it's well known, I'm Scottsdale Blue Blood thru and thru. So I do. -- Emma SPY REPORT Here we go again, my darlings! It is arena day in Seam, and I am so happy to see all of you. From the brave gladiators to the scheming managers, it is always great to have ACTION in the arena. I can surmise the fans enjoyed themselves from the revelry that took place in the stands. Let's take a look and see all that happened in our lovely arena today, and what we can look forward to in a few weeks. Emma Stone remains our Duelmistress. She challenged Mississippi Sheiks from No Tournament Blues, and was successful after a 2-minute bout. Emma has yet to receive an invite to the Isle of the Eye. Looking at the requirements, she may need one more win on her card before the Commission reaches out to her. She has another opportunity coming up in 2 weeks to defend the Seam throne and possibly receive her invitation to immortality. Congrats to Emma on this turn's successful defense! The most avoided team today is Local Girls, and it appears Darque Knights was not interested in any matches with the ladies. This may have been a good strategy on Darque Knight's part since Local Girls looked very active with challenges, issuing three of them successfully. Ironclad Knight is the most challenged warrior for the turn. I wonder if the bull's eye painted on his armor had any part in this distinction? Threads of Pandemic Boredom challenged up 19 recognition points to fight Ironclad. He was able to topple Ironclad Knight in 2 minutes. There were three deaths in the arena. We only witnessed one death in the Dark Arena, and two deaths on the sands during the prime matches. The Imp from Bad Pickles fought his last bout. Like Sunday, in an act of self-defense after being challenged, executed The Imp, ending his career at 1-2. The other death involved a much more experienced warrior in Farmer Fox. The venerable Farmer Fox leaves Seam with a 13-20 record. Hoeb, another veteran warrior, killed poor Farmer Fox. We await to see if anyone will bother to blood feud these losses! My sweets, I hope you have a wonderful afternoon. It has been a long day in the arena. It was an enjoyable day, but it was a long day, and now I need to rest. Come back to see me in a few weeks. We can wait together for news of the Duelmaster. I haven't done all the math, but I'm convinced that Emma Stone will be gone if she wins next turn. I can't say the same for other warriors, but I have a strong feeling about Emma. Okay, time for me to go! -- Sidara Brightbell DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME EMMA STONE 1370 13 12 0 119 LOCAL GIRLS (88) CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ENFEEBLEMENT RAY 1428 15 7 0 114 THIRSTY THUGS (31) HOEB 1184 22 28 2 107 THIRSTY THUGS (31) FERAL DIVA 1393 15 11 0 102 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) MOZELLE ALDERSON 1406 15 10 0 91 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME GRANDMA CAT 1451 10 9 1 87 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) MISSISSIPPI SHEIKS 1378 12 15 0 85 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) SALLY CAT 1415 12 12 2 84 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) BULLY BOBCAT 1467 11 4 1 77 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) FAZ EBONSTEEL 1487 7 5 1 76 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) CHAMPIONS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DEMOLITION DOG 1390 20 7 0 67 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME LOLA DOOMFIST 1494 7 3 0 62 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME ORA ALEXANDER 1410 10 14 1 56 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) COHERENCE 1445 10 11 1 56 THIRSTY THUGS (31) STEVIE NICKS 1483 7 3 0 56 LOCAL GIRLS (88) HILDA HIPPO 1446 13 8 0 54 HUCKLE'S CATS (23) THREADS 1442 8 12 0 52 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) CHAIN GANGSTER 1392 12 14 0 50 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) IRONCLAD KNIGHT 1423 12 11 1 48 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) MARY JO WEST 1492 4 4 0 40 LOCAL GIRLS (88) PAPA LENNY 1513 3 0 0 40 BAD PICKLES (92) GRUMPY CAT 1457 7 6 0 36 LOCAL GIRLS (88) HELLER 1485 5 8 0 36 THIRSTY THUGS (31) CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME PROTOTYPO 1490 8 4 1 29 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) EXYL ROTT 1515 3 1 0 27 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) LIZ MONTGOMERY 1505 2 3 0 26 LOCAL GIRLS (88) HODJA 1517 2 1 0 25 THIRSTY THUGS (31) INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME DOOMSROLLING 1473 4 9 0 21 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) LIKE SUNDAY 1503 3 3 1 19 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) SWIPE LEFT 1520 2 0 0 19 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) OH MORRISSEY 1504 3 3 0 16 PANDEMIC BOREDOM (78) EDITH NORTH JOHNSON 1500 3 5 1 15 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) SHAKEY JAKE HARRIS 1501 3 5 0 14 NO TOURNAMENT BLUES (89) BAMIEN 1511 2 1 0 10 BAD PICKLES (92) RICHIE H. 1510 2 1 0 7 BAD PICKLES (92) LEXXEE LIONEYE 1516 1 3 0 6 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) CHADLY CAT 1514 1 2 0 5 BAD PICKLES (92) '-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn. THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge? THE IMP 1512 1 2 0 BAD PICKLES 92 LIKE SUNDAY 1503 232 DEAD 1522 0 1 0 DARQUE KNIGHTS 22 SHEWISH BOUNCER 232 NONE FARMER FOX 1341 13 20 0 HUCKLE'S CATS 23 HOEB 1184 232 PERSONAL ADS Gentle readers, I'm sure you remember the personal ads of this arena for the 204th turn, almost exactly 1 year ago today. I was discussing the acting skills of Christian Slater and how he was going to appear in a movie called (strangely enough) "Pussy Island". Well, the movie is coming out in August but will actually be called "Blink Twice", a boring but safer title. The trailer just came out today, check it out. Also, I had written that I did NOT have strep but now, strangely enough, I do have it. In fact, everyone in my family has it! Both of these items make me feel like I should go back and reread all of my personal ads! -- Pappy, a combo of Lady Whistledown and Nostradamus Pappy -- I only looked at the Challenge Report. I could have avoided the error from Turn 230's spy report if I had simply glanced at the "Last Week's Fights." The golems are sometimes fickle, but I will try to be more thorough in the future. -- Sidara Brightbell All -- For those interested in such things, I finally got Dakia out of the arena! It was a long road, but maybe it will be worth the wait a few years down the road. How many years? I wish I knew! Dakia Wildrose (AB) -- 10-9-8-7-17-12-21 N/G. The Commission says she likes LO/LO, Fist, the Riposte tactic, and learns Decise. I've moved her to 101 for further training. The way she is learning, it will be a while longer before she makes a tourney debut. -- Darque LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS DEAD was butchered by SHEWISH BOUNCER in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight. EMMA STONE vanquished MISSISSIPPI SHEIKS in a 2 minute uneven Challenge Title battle. MARY JO WEST was outlasted by DEMOLITION DOG in a unpopular 12 minute Challenge duel. STEVIE NICKS devastated HELLER in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge fight. THREADS subdued IRONCLAD KNIGHT in a crowd pleasing 2 minute Challenge competition. PAPA LENNY overpowered OH MORRISSEY in a 1 minute bloody one-sided Challenge struggle. DOOMSROLLING slimly lost to GRUMPY CAT in a 4 minute Challenge fight. THE IMP was easily killed by LIKE SUNDAY in a 1 minute uneven Challenge melee. CHADLY CAT was vanquished by EXYL ROTT in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel. RICHIE H. was vanquished by LIZ MONTGOMERY in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel. HOEB assassinated FARMER FOX in a popular 1 minute uneven match. ENFEEBLEMENT RAY defeated SALLY CAT in a 2 minute veteran's match. ORA ALEXANDER was devastated by FAZ EBONSTEEL in a 1 minute mismatched conflict. MOZELLE ALDERSON demolished COHERENCE in a 1 minute mismatched match. FERAL DIVA overpowered BULLY BOBCAT in a 1 minute mismatched conflict. GRANDMA CAT overpowered VIRGINAL CONCUBINE in a 1 minute one-sided duel. LOLA DOOMFIST devastated PROTOTYPO in a 2 minute brutal uneven duel. HILDA HIPPO outwaited CHAIN GANGSTER in a 7 minute gory master's brawl. SHAKEY JAKE HARRIS was outlasted by SWIPE LEFT in a exciting 7 minute match. EDITH NORTH JOHNSON was savagely defeated by HODJA in a 3 minute gory match. BAMIEN unbelievably bested LEXXEE LIONEYE in a popular 1 minute amateur's competition. BATTLE REPORT MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS |FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT| |SLASHING ATTACK 8 TOTAL PARRY 41 - 16 - 1 72 | |BASHING ATTACK 6 LUNGING ATTACK 22 - 16 - 3 58 | |TOTAL PARRY 4 PARRY-RIPOSTE 13 - 10 - 0 57 | |STRIKING ATTACK 4 WALL OF STEEL 18 - 16 - 1 53 | |PARRY-LUNGE 4 PARRY-LUNGE 20 - 21 - 0 49 | |PARRY-STRIKE 4 PARRY-STRIKE 18 - 20 - 0 47 | |LUNGING ATTACK 3 AIMED BLOW 26 - 30 - 1 46 | |WALL OF STEEL 3 SLASHING ATTACK 37 - 46 - 1 45 | |AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 14 - 19 - 0 42 | |PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 BASHING ATTACK 19 - 26 - 2 42 | Turn 232 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are: TOTAL PARRY 3 - 1 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 2 4 SLASHING ATTACK LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 3 2 STRIKING ATTACK BASHING ATTACK 4 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 3 2 PARRY-STRIKE AIMED BLOW 1 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK SLASHING ATTACK 4 - 4 1 TOTAL PARRY STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 2 TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME STRIKING ATTACK EMMA STONE 1370 13 12 0 119 LOCAL GIRLS (88) PARRY-RIPOSTE ENFEEBLEMENT RAY 1428 15 7 0 114 THIRSTY THUGS (31) SLASHING ATTACK FERAL DIVA 1393 15 11 0 102 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) PARRY-STRIKE FAZ EBONSTEEL 1487 7 5 1 76 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME TOTAL PARRY DEMOLITION DOG 1390 20 7 0 67 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) AIMED BLOW LOLA DOOMFIST 1494 7 3 0 62 DARQUE KNIGHTS (22) WALL OF STEEL IRONCLAD KNIGHT 1423 12 11 1 48 UNLIKELY HEROES (4) LUNGING ATTACK PAPA LENNY 1513 3 0 0 40 BAD PICKLES (92) PARRY-LUNGE GRUMPY CAT 1457 7 6 0 36 LOCAL GIRLS (88) Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above. The overall popularity leader is EMMA STONE 1370. The most popular warrior this turn was SHAKEY JAKE HARRIS 1501. The ten other most popular fighters were EMMA STONE 1370, THREADS 1442, GRUMPY CAT 1457, LOLA DOOMFIST 1494, HODJA 1517, DOOMSROLLING 1473, PAPA LENNY 1513, HOEB 1184, ENFEEBLEMENT RAY 1428, and FERAL DIVA 1393. The least popular fighter this week was DEMOLITION DOG 1390. The other ten least popular fighters were MARY JO WEST 1492, HILDA HIPPO 1446, SWIPE LEFT 1520, BULLY BOBCAT 1467, COHERENCE 1445, ORA ALEXANDER 1410, RICHIE H. 1510, CHADLY CAT 1514, THE IMP 1512, and OH MORRISSEY 1504. MAIL-IN TOURNEY LXXIX PRIMUS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME GYPSY MOTH 704 (168-85-6) 0 5 0 MERCENARY MOTHS FRESHMEN FOOLS TOURNEY W L K TEAM NAME VOX SUNFIRE 773 (42-57-2) 3 3 0 DARQUE KNIGHTS DO IT TOMORROW 1133 (28-17-2) 0 3 0 PANDEMIC BOREDOM GEOPLASTIQUE 70 (50-67-1) 0 3 0 7TH SANCTUM WHAT'S STREAMING 1137 (23-22-1) 0 3 0 PANDEMIC BOREDOM WINTER FACE-TO-FACE IN TEMPE! We hope you will join us at our winter FTF in Tempe, AZ, January 17-19, 2025! It will be held at our usual Embassy Suites Hotel in Tempe, Arizona (480-897-7444). Room rates are $209.00 per night, 1-2 occupancy, which includes full cooked breakfast, complimentary manager's reception, free parking and free high speed internet. There's a fitness center, jacuzzi, and pool. The rooms are blocked--the group code is 929. The official block cutoff is mid-December so make your reservations ASAP! The hotel reservation site is: http://tinyurl.com/FF72inTempe Please note that doubles are limited. As always, if the block is full, please make your reservation the best you can (book a king, and/or book at normal rates) and let us know and we'll work with the sales office to get them to correct your reservation. You can contact the Tempe Embassy (480-897-7444) to be put on the waiting list for a double suite, too. We look forward to seeing you in January! -- RSI SUMMER FACE-TO-FACE IN MINNEAPOLIS! Our summer Face-to-Face is in the midwest again this year, and we're going back to the Twin Cities! We hope you will join us at our summer FTF in Bloomington, MN on July 12- 14, 2024! It will be held at the Embassy Suites Minneapolis Airport (800-317-8143). Room rates are $164/$174 for king and 2 doubles suites respectively, and all have free high speed internet and all the Embassy goodness (free made-to-order breakfast, complimentary manager's reception, airport shuttle, indoor pool, business center and on-site restaurant. The rooms are blocked and the code is "915." The official block cutoff is June 21 so make your reservations ASAP! The hotel reservation site is: https://tinyurl.com/FF71inMinneapolis Please note that doubles are limited. As always, if the block is full, please make your reservation the best you can (book a king, and/or book at normal rates) and let us know and we'll work with the sales office to get them to correct your reservation. We look forward to seeing you in July! -- RSI SUMMER BLOODGAMES 2024 Back by popular demand, we will be hosting a new slow Bloodgames mailed arena beginning in August. We also plan our usual Bloodgames arenas at the summer Face- to-Face. For those of you who always wanted the chance to manage the last warrior standing alive upon the arena sands, your day has come. The Bloodgames are coming! At the end of the ten turns, even though several warriors, bruised and scarred, MAY yet live, only one will be crowned Champion of the Bloodgames. And in this game mere survival counts for little. A great general once said, "The object of battle is not to die for your cause, but to make your enemy die for his." This general would have greatly enjoyed the Duelmasters Bloodgames. Here are the particulars: Face-to-Face style Turn 1 is due Fri July 12 at 9pm at the hotel Bloodgames (DM 98): Turns process with the tournament Strategy changes allowed, bloodfeud challenges only Mail-in style Turn 1 is due Sat July 13 at 9pm at the hotel Bloodgames (DM 99): All turns process overnight, mail-in style. No strategy changes; all ten rounds process one after the other and results will be out Sun morning. Slow Bloodgames (DM 95): Turn 1 is due Thurs August 1 Turns process every 28 days Strategy changes allowed, bloodfeud challenges only Gameplay proceeds according to standard DM rules, except for a few notable exceptions: BLOODGAMES ROLLUP -- Your Bloodgames team is ten warriors, one of each fighting style, each warrior designed from scratch! (All are DYOs (design your owns) with 84 points, 3-21, as usual.) To submit your rollup, just write/type them up and send them in. We'll mail or email your overviews and you can write up your strategies. Your warriors must be created and have strategies entered by the first due date. DEATH -- As the name implies, the Bloodgames will leave the arena sands somewhat darker before they're over. It's a dangerous sport intended only for the tough and spirited. The Arenamaster will be less likely to intercede on behalf of a dying warrior. Even at a 1 kill desire, kill attempts will occur. REPLACEMENTS AND ROLLUPS -- There will be no replacement characters. CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES -- In the turn-based bloodgames, there are no regular challenges, only bloodfeuds. There will be no DA challenges in any of the bloodgames arenas. TURN PROCESSING AND DUE DATES -- DM 95 is due August 1 and will process on a 28-day schedule. The other two bloodgames arenas will be processed at the summer Face-to- Face. (Note: there will also be bloodgames at the next winter FTF.) MISSED TURNS -- All warriors fight each round. Only the dead may rest. ERRORS -- If we make an input error, that warrior will be awarded a win and kill. Errors must be reported before the next turn processes. NEWSLETTER -- Warriors are ranked according to their number of kills. Champions of Bloodgames may write a column for the newsletter at the end of the games. FEES -- A Bloodgames rollup costs a $10 set-up fee. Managers may roll up more than one team but may run only one team in each arena. The fee for all ten rounds is $49. AWARDS -- The Bloodgames last ten rounds. Only warriors who survive to the end of Turn 10 will be eligible for an award. However, a consolation award of a Bloodgames T-shirt will be awarded to the dead warrior with the most kills. The living warrior with the greatest number of kills will be the Bloodgames Champion. Bloodgames Victor titles, 2nd and 3rd place will be awarded to those living warriors with the greatest number of kills at the end of Turn 10, with one other important consideration: Each of these three warriors must be of a different fighting style. Win/loss records and, if necessary, recognition points will only be used to determine awards if there is a tie. The Bloodgames Champion fights for free in Advanced Duelmasters, and all Champions and Victors earn Tournament Victor status, which allows them to challenge once per turn with increased priority. These awards last for six months. The manager of the Bloodgames Champion and Victors will receive Bloodgames T-shirts. A Bloodgames T-shirt will be awarded to the manager of the team with the most kills.T- shirts will only happen if someone gives us a nice design. One shirt per person. AFTERMATH -- Warriors from the Bloodgames may not transfer to any other arena. Once the games are over, the arena and teams will be disbanded. The fighters have won their freedom and will never more be seen in the gladiatorial games. A special bonus will, however, be awarded to the 1st through 3rd place warriors. Lady Sheila Greywand, of the Isle of the Eye, has consented to allow the top three gladiators in each Bloodgames admission to the Advanced Duelmasters games. Any special training required to qualify those three warriors for Advanced Duelmasters combat will be conducted before transfer into ADM. Astute managers will note that this means that three warriors that are designed from scratch will survive the Bloodgames, win one of the top three places, and go on to immortal glory! One of those warriors could be yours! The challenge is yours to take. The final plans are yours to make. When the dust settles, remember: To the victor goes the spoils!