Games The 26th Jedi Draft - Congratulations to our victor, KenKenobi!

Alright this is part of why I changed my avatar LET'S DO THIS


I've been saying variations of this as a judge for awhile-- Asajj Ventress has the most First Round cred out of anyone not named Luke, Kenobi, or AnaVader.

It's true even if you limit to one of Legends or NuCanon-- it's MythBusters Confirmed™ when we combine both into the Mega-Ventress of the Draft. So without further ado, her combat list...

(Well, one quick ado: Keep in mind these all vary in context, so there are times where she wins, times where she completes or fails an objective and flees, and times where she's overmatched)

(Bonus ado: I've listed them by location instead of publication, but can happily provide sources + images/quotes/etc. wherev anyone desires added color)


Individually Ventress has...

--Kenobi x 10 (Rattatak, Teth, Ohma-D'un [where she reanimates dead Gungans], Ord Cestus [partially underwater], Valahari, Queyta, Bogoa, Asteroid field near Mirial [in zero gravity], Boz Pity, Taris-bound dreadnought)

--Skywalker x 7 (Yavin IV, Coruscant industrial sector [where she gives him the scar], Kamino, Rattatak, Teth, Zygerria, Coruscant underbelly [while unarmed])

--Dooku x 5 (Rattatak x2, Serenno, Toydaria, Raxus)

--Mace x 2 (Ruul, Coruscant satellite)

--Yoda x 1.25 (Vassek, Rugosa [only giving her .25 for this b/c it's barely a "duel," but they technically use the Force against each other and Ventress mentions it at their Vassek meeting])

--Grievous x 4 (Rogue's Gallery station, Unknown location, Dathomir, Raxus)

--Quinlan x 2 (Dathomir [during his training so it likely happened many more times, but there's one big depiction in particular], Serenno)

--Ahsoka x 2 (Mon Gazza, Tranquility)


And these dope Round 1-2 trumps...

--Kenobi & Anakin x 6 (Christophsis, Ohma-D'un, Asuin, Ziro's Palace, Sullust flagship [betrayed by Dooku in NuCanon], Boz Pity [betrayed by Dooku in Legends])

--Anakin & Ahsoka trump x 2 (Teth [in a pit with a rancor], Taronda)

--Kenobi & Quinlan x 1 (Before Rendili [turning a rancor to her side])


That's already bonkers. Facing Anakin Skywalker over a dozen times is like multiple careers for some dudes-- especially given she consistently impresses against him, often at angry Vader levels. The kind Kylo wishes on a shooting star he could've witnessed.


Then there's a second tier of trumps...

--Maul & Savage (Turtle Tanker above Raydonia [w/ Kenobi])
--Savage & Nightbrothers (Dathomir)
--Ahsoka & Plo Koon (The Devastation)
--Ahsoka & Luminara (The Tranquility)
--Luminara & Aayla Secura (Alzoc III)
--K'Kruhk & Sian Jeisel & Rhad Tarn (Ruul)
--Kit Fisto & Plo Koon (Khorm)
--Kenobi & Zule Xiss (Ohma-D'un)
--Kenobi & Nico Diath (Queyta [w/ Durge])

And some more draft peeps individually...

--Luminara (Tranquility)
--Kit Fisto (Ord Cestus)
--Plo Koon (Khorm)
--Ki-Adi-Mundi (Mon Gazza)

And of course her famous kill list from @heels1785's favorite novel Dark Rendezvous, which gets blown out across other media as 17 kills inclusive of...

--Fay
--Maks Leem (while trumped)
--Jai Maruk (while trumped)
--Jang Li-Li
--Master Tauht
--Glaive
--Ruati
--Mira (not the KotOR II one @Point Given)
--At least 10 others


That's a resume only an elite few can approach. When you see how staggering it is all together, it's extra clear why Sidious of all people explicitly ordered her murder in fear of being overthrown:

They even wrote a TCW Infinities story where Sids doesn't make that call in time...so she kills Dooku and plots against Palps as his new apprentice-- Darth Vindicaa. (Sidenote: it actually might be interesting, as we're dealing w/ multiple canons now, to test including Infinities-- imagine a full Yoda-trained Leia Skywalker @Yodaminch!). Interesting they saw her threat as such a crucial plot point to flesh out the alternative.

Ultimately that flirtation sums up Ventress's abilities nicely-- she's right on the cusp of being the most elite. She might not take out a top guy like Yoda at his absolute peak, but at her OWN peak she's basically one of the boys.

And I use that "boys" language purposefully, b/c being at that level as a woman character is no joke. She's arguably the top female competitor in the entire Draft (your mileage vs. Jaina may vary-- to me, it could come down to Asajj having more high-end showings w/o help). Thankfully DisnEU is doing work here.


Now, if we compare to Kylo Ren:

--Rey x 2 (gets owned by her untrained self [while injured], owns her trained self right back [while she's injured])
--Finn x 1 (he's like barely Force-sensitive here lol but we'll count)
--Voe & Tai & Hennix trump (comics)
--Snoke's Guards (w/ Rey)
--Knights of Ren (w/ Rey)

That's the list, unless maybe you count Crait against Doppel-Luke...though I don't think it does him any favors to have been so blinded by idiot rage to not realize Luke wasn't there and just juking all his attacks lol.

So his best opponent tops out at TROS Rey while she's not-100%-- a battle where he gets distracted by Leia and is actually killed.

His best overall showing is prob his 3 Padawan Pals, where he displays solid power, but dominating them is something Ventress does in her sleep against much better talent (like K'Kruhk). They're sub-DR Kill List to her.


With all that considered, there's just not a galaxy where I see Kylo, who tends to succeed by bludgeoning lesser foes, overcoming a peak Asajj Ventress who has crucially already taken it to a much better, pissed-off version of him (Anakin) multiple times. 24 hours of prep isn't gonna elevate him to her level of skill/technical Jar'Kai mastery (an entire other line of arg in her favor). And her experience (w/ those foes but also tons of fight styles & locations & traps) prepares her for anything anyway.

For example, on Florrum she gets captured...and then promptly wipes out Hondo & the Ohnaka Gang while she's still handcuffed lol:

Spoiler: Also she has HAIR here!

Ventress is like Peak Iverson-- someone who may never be considered the GOAT but who dueled the likes of Jordan and Shaq and LeBron regularly and famously. They're also similar stylistically-- blurring speed, threading needles, not afraid of going at opposing bigs. There's a reason she's the star of heels' Star Wars Soccer Squad.

Kylo's current career is more like a Lonzo Ball/Westbrook mix-- wild but with flashes of angry promise, though any attempt to put his xp on par with Ventress's sounds like Lavar talking lol.

Similar to Lonzo though, that's not to say he won't round more into form. Ben Solo deserved better, but maybe we'll get him fleshed out in more DisnEU with the Sequels wrapped-- hell if they brought Palps back, why not him. But even with more material, he's got a huge mountain to climb to meet the major campaigns Ventress has headlined.

For now, she's hitting him with that sweet cross for the W.



(I love you Ty Lue)

 

Also cc @DarthIntegral to do a Star Wars fútbol lineup, there has never been a more perfect question for you ever

Sorry for the double post but you can't tell me what to do you're not my real dad

 

The Finals Round 3

@Wang Chi (2) vs. @KenKenobi (4)

2. Ganner Rhysode trumped with Aryn Leneer/Ven Zallow (FORFEIT) vs. Luminara Unduli/Barriss Offee
4. Jacen Solo vs. X2 (PREP)
6. Ben Solo (PREP) vs. Asajj Ventress - This is a tough one for Ben. Ventress just has too many battles against high quality opponents. She's enough for Ben.
9. Celeste Morne trumped with Cade Skywalker (FORFEIT) vs. Anakin Skywalker

3rd place Round 3

@Jordan1Kenobi (3) vs. @DarthIntegral (3)

2. Kit Fisto / Aayla Secura vs. Lomi Plo TRUMP Alema Rar (FORFEIT)
4. Shaak Ti vs. Darth Vader
6. Galen Marek vs. Lumiya (Prepared) - For the record, Starkiller is full of crap and I use Force Unleashed 1 and 2 novelizations for him. Still, he can take Lumiya.
9. Agen Kolar / Eeth Koth vs. Darth Maul TRUMP Savage Oppress (FORFEIT)

@Point Given

 

'fraid I don't have any time for a legit counter-arg, so I'll just leave it at this:

Ben prepped with Han's DL-44? C'mon. C'mooooonnn...

Also this:

Request belatedly granted.

Check and mate.

 

X2 is so good (no not the character)

 

@Point Given

We just need an answer on Ben Solo (PREP) vs. Asajj Ventress please.

 

lol but you know Ben's gonna chuck that DL-44 first chance

Ben: "Dad stop telling me what to do!"

Han: "Can you just take the blaster please"

Ben:

 

The Finals Round 3 - Final Results

Ken leads series (1-0)

@Wang Chi (4) vs. @KenKenobi (6)

2. Ganner Rhysode trumped with Aryn Leneer/Ven Zallow (FORFEIT) vs. Luminara Unduli/Barriss Offee
4. Jacen Solo vs. X2 (PREP)
6. Ben Solo (PREP) vs. Asajj Ventress
9. Celeste Morne trumped with Cade Skywalker (FORFEIT) vs. Anakin Skywalker

3rd place Round 3 - Final Results

Jordan leads series (1-0)

@Jordan1Kenobi (6) vs. @DarthIntegral (4)

2. Kit Fisto / Aayla Secura vs. Lomi Plo TRUMP Alema Rar (FORFEIT)
4. Shaak Ti vs. Darth Vader
6. Galen Marek vs. Lumiya (Prepared)
9. Agen Kolar / Eeth Koth vs. Darth Maul TRUMP Savage Oppress (FORFEIT)

Okay. Numbers for Game 2 please.

 

Alright, Pointy! And KotOR II IS better...

 

Numeros in. Ready for round 2.

 

@KenKenobi

Need numbers please.

 

Great post but side note: .... where might one find this...

 

Clone Wars magazine 5 idk where to actually find that, maybe dig around online for scans

 

I have it! I'll hit your PMs @BookExogorth

 

The Finals - Game 2 - Round 1

LOCATION: Sith Temple Dormund Kaas

Ken leads series (1-0)

@Wang Chi vs. @KenKenobi

3. Vaylin trumped with Joruus C'baoth vs. Asajj Ventress (Niiiiice.)
9. Ferus Olin trumped with Cade Skywalker and Celeste Morne vs. Darth Jadus/Darth Nyriss
10. Jacen Solo vs. Depa Billaba/Thon

3rd place - Game 2 - Round 1

Jordan leads series (1-0)

@Jordan1Kenobi vs. @DarthIntegral

3. Ki-Adi-Mundi / Plo Koon vs. Darth Maul TRUMP Savage Opress
9. Galen Marek vs. Lumiya (prep)
10. Agen Kolar / Eeth Koth vs. Darth Tyranus

 

*points up at Ventress combat list*

She's taken it to way better/more mentally stable trumps (<---not a phrase I expected to write around election time), and Joruus is literally as much a hindrance to his own partner. Most of all though, Vaylin's biggest weakness has always notably been her disinterest in refining skill-- which is where Ventress excels.


Nyriss hammered a Textile/Scourge trump clean, and has the ultimate home field advantage on the world she ruled from. With Jadus in support, and unprepped Celeste just a body, that's a great match. I'll likely post more once I realize it's Friday night and there's still a pandemic and I'm still a giant nerd.


BUT DAMNIT THON I FAILED YOU, that one's gonna get gory

I guess in the end, you have no control
Who lives, who dies
Who tells your story

 

I'll try my very best to have something before Monday.

 

This is what happens on a basketball-less, Trashtros-playing (and losing lol), pandemic night

But the other matches are more cut-and-dry, and this could be one of the last chances to flesh these guys out. Jadus in particular is one of the more interesting Sith characters I think ever written.

Breaking 'em down individually, starting with...


NYRISS

Again, the turbolift pitch is: she handles a Textile/Lord Scourge trump.

Given Textile's likely in the zip code of Cade (I'd prob take Cade, but am aware of DIFFERING opinions on KotOR II ) and Scourge is above Ferus/Celeste...that already puts Nyriss in the ballpark of doing work here.

But her deets: she had mad status in the TOR Sith Empire, ruling from Dromund Kaas. And as Scourge explains in the Revan novel, her leadership isn't from pure politicking:

And this sorcery manifests itself in some dope feats.

First she shoots lightning so powerful it immediately vapes a pair of Sith guards:

That's not normal Force lightning. It's more a Sids-level showing of it, or OP Video Game Starkiller.

Speaking of Sids, before Lucas decided to make Mace a face-melter, there was tons of material (dating back to even the OT) about his appearance being a result of his intense channeling of the Dark Side.

Karpyshyn taps into this when describing Nyriss:

But let's get to her peak accomplishment-- whooping that trump when they try to release Revan from her. Here's the full fight (with some emphasis):

That's about as dominant a performance as you can imagine against that caliber of opponent.

Consider that Nyriss...

A) Is objectively stated as better than both of them: Textile is "clearly overmatched" and Scourge is "powerless to stop" her.

B) Outskills them: She forces Textile-- a legit master of several Forms-- to her knees with a blade, and would've easily ended her had Scourge not intervened to make her narrowly miss. And despite them presenting a united front, she's able to bust them up and put the fight on her terms immediately.

C) Outpowers them: She ragdolls both, seamlessly switching from using her saber to using power. And would've "incinerated" them had Revan not intervened.​

Re: Revan's intervention-- he redirects her lightning back onto her, a la what we've been talking about with Sids lol. It's also further proof of the insane power she's throwing around, as it indeed literally disintigrates her similar to the guards.


And...that's it for Nyriss. Brief but insane quality. I know we just had this prompt in the Arena, but it matches up well AND allows me to bribe cubby: she's like a Mark Prior of the Jedi Draft. Enough resume for a Hall of Fame career? No. But a dominant as hell peak, even while some competitors were juicing (Gagne w/ 'roids, Celeste w/ talismen lol).

So she's absolutely capable of throwing down with the talent of her enemies here, and proved she can do it while pummeling another quality dude too.

But she is emphatically not on her own, b/c she's got...


JADUS

Turbolift pitch: "His power is second to the Emperor's" according to your TOR companion who worked for him in Imperial Intelligence. And the Emperor she's referring to is indeed...Valkorian aka Vitiate aka Sithperor.

So we're talking two monsters of power between him & Nyriss-- which is absolutely needed against Cade, but they've got it.

He's pretty damn interesting too, but throwing that under a spoiler tag if anyone plans on playing the Agent class on TOR. If you're not worried about it, dive on in...

Spoiler: Spoilery storyline deets

A Dark Councilor overseeing Sith Imperial Intelligence, what makes Jadus unique as a Sith is his pragmatism. Where the Dark Side tradition is rooted in betrayal ("treachery is the way of the Sith"), his arc is about being tired of that backstabbing-- he sees the constant civil wars from Council power plays as weakening the overall Empire.

Instead he wants a strong, united Empire where Sith secrets aren't hoarded by a few Dark Lords, but instead are "democratized" and accessible to everyone. And he means *everyone*-- he's very against the Empire's institutionalized racism, frequently employing aliens (like your Agent character) much to the distrust of his fellow bigoted Councilors.

So he puts together a plan...

Jadus fakes his own death aboard his flagship (above his homeworld Dromund Kaas), making it look like terrorists blew it up. But to "fake" his death he used actual explosives...

And uses his power in the Force to hold together a whole-ass capital ship:

Given his flagship is roughly the size of a Venator Star Destroyer, it's a dope power display which supports that statement about him and Sithperor.

Spoiler: More storyline deets

But...why fake his own death?

First, it triggered the Dark Council to begin their expected infighting to claim his resources, weakening them against each other. Second, it sends your Agent character hunting down the terrorist groups (in that traditional, multi-planet BioWare way). This causes the groups to unite out of self-preservation and begin building satellite weapons which Jadus had previously given them plans for.

His intent for these weapons? To orbitally bomb the worlds of the other Dark Lords. With an already weakened Council reeling from the attacks, he planned to return from "death" and force them to step down so he could rebuild the Empire according to his vision.

(The bombings would also "democratize" fear by instilling it in the general populaces of these worlds, the first step in that vision of bringing the Sith Code to everyone. Which is like...super messed up, but also pretty damn interesting!)

HOWEVER...your Agent is a big monkey-lizard wrench in it all. While chasing down the terrorist groups, YOU obtained the launch codes to these weapons and are now in sole possession of them. So you have a choice to either:

A) Join Jadus and fire the weapons
B) Try to fight Jadus...which is when your bud is like "Um don't he's second to the Emperor"
C) Distract Jadus while that buddy alerts the Dark Council to arrive with their fleets
D) Talk Jadus down and get him to peace out. Yes, he's a video game boss you can literally reason with lol...told you he's intriguing

It's in option B, while fighting, that...

Jadus shows off his combat skills against both you and your kickass companion Jack from Mass Effect Kaliyo, including unique powers like:

Teleporting-- Already posted but...



(In fact this famously resulted in a bug-- b/c Jadus has the ability to dodge blasterfire even outside cutscenes, occasionally players would get a "Cannot See Target" error and be unable to hit him. Like ever. They literally had to patch the game b/c they made him too good )

Death Field-- Introduced in KotOR II, it's the reverse of Rey's Baby Yoda's Force Heal, instead depleting an enemy. This is paired with a power called "Channel the Dark Side" that allows him to recover from injuries with the sapped power.

Dark Barrier-- Basically the Sith version of Baby Yoda's fire shield to protect Mando & Cara & Greef

Affliction-- Acts like poison on an opponent, dealing internal damage and slowing them down like a toxin. It's another port from KotOR II, and gets worse over the course of a fight.

This also shows up in cutscenes, where Jadus's mere presence can cause those around him to "suffer."

Lightning-- Jadus can do more than simply shoot bolts. He combines it with TK to send charged blastwaves, and uses those Force Whirlind things we see Revan/Textile do in KotOR and TOR.


And it's all magnified by...

THE LOCATION

Dromund Kaas is where both Nyriss and Jadus ruled from, and where Jadus grew up.

It's a monster homefield advantage-- they'll know exactly where the key points are to best boost themselves.

Scourge describes feeling "sizzling heat" across the powerful planet, but he also notes "exclusive halls" within the Temple ripe with "raw, crackling energy"...

Luke mentions it in Ascension too, partially from Natua Wen's research. And Natua later elaborates on another unique locale...

In addition to the power there, the pheromones she mentions are from "Dream Singers" that can fill those caves with hallucinogens. Which we know could really wreck a guy like Cade.

Suffice to say that Nyriss/Jadus know these secrets, and their ability to access them-- not even just from prep time, but from literally helping build the place and perform the rituals-- is a massive swing.


TL;DR— We've got a sorcery master who dominated Textile + Scourge...and a dude who is runner-up to Sithperor in his day equipped with an array of unique abilities.

Abilities that are perfect for facing another trump. He can induce affliction and organ damage to slow them and prevent coordinated movement. He can use ranged attacks to dictate their movement and keep them off Nyriss (who herself is proven against multiple enemies at once). He can protect her blindside by throwing up barriers. He can drain health and use it to replenish. He can kriffing teleport to attack multiple peeps in a blink.

And it's all magnified by their intimate knowledge of Dromund Kaas, unrivaled by pretty much anyone on the draft board.

There may be sticker shock in Cade's name w/ two other peeps, but when you break it down, Nyriss/Jadus here are capable of stepping right to the task...and should never be a Pick Two again lol.


One final note: Look at Jadus's powers:

--Dark Side version of Baby Yoda's Heal

--Dark Side version of Baby Yoda's Barrier

--Likes shiny round things (look at his helmet)

Which means...

...DARTH JADUS COULD BE AN OLD REPUBLIC BABY YODA UNDER THAT MASK

 

Those are incredibly straightforward. We had Marek/Lumiya last time, and the other two are going my way. Mundi and Koon (who sucks) couldn't take out Maul, let alone with his brother there to help. And Dooku is way better than those two and has taken out much better duos.

 

So I have been doing some work on this today. Part 1 of my arg is actually dissecting that Ventress resume, which is a hell of an undertaking. Hopefully I can get some more slack on the time, since it is the finals here and... since this'll be my official last go-around as a GM of a draft that isn't sports-based. I'll still volunteer to judge from time to time, but this is gonna be it for me on the GM front. And if I'm going down here, I'm going down swinging. And I can't think of a better opponent to do it against than Ken.

I've compiled most of my stuff for this first part of the project, but I do need some details/scans/whatever on a number of the duels you brought up @KenKenobi, if you would be so kind. My memory is either hazy/non-existent for the following:

Vs. Yoda on Vassek (Yeah, I don't recall this at all. The only appearance that the Wook has for Vassek is for the episode "Lair of Grievous" and I don't recall either Ventress or Yoda in that episode....)
Vs. Vos on Dathomir (Haven't read Dark Disciple. Was able to gather some info for the other duels from that book. Not so much for this.)
Vs. Anakin and Ahsoka on Taronda (Yeah, these comics are pretty obscure)
Vs. Kenobi and Zule (Memory's too hazy. This'll be a theme with a lot of those Republic comics.)
Vs. Grievous at Unkown
Vs. Kenobi on Ohma-D'un
on Valahari
on Bogoa
on Mirial
on Boz Pity
on Taris Dreadnaught (Like I kinda remember the Obsession fights and a couple others, but again, hazy, and I'm surprised how many of these fights I had zero knowledge of)
Vs. Anakin on Rattatak
on Tygerria
Vs. Anakin and Kenobi on Ohma-D'un
on Asuin
at Ziro's Palace (In the movie? This one is really escaping me.)
on Boz Pity

If you have time by tomorrow night, great. If not, also cool. I'll just go ahead with the arg using what I've got in the chamber already.

 

So wait, you wanna "dissect" Ventress's resume to say she'd lose...and want me to post like 20 of her fights to help you nitpick?

lol for real I'm happy to give deets, I love this stuff-- and also her resume is just too solid to try to sink. Saying "Look she runs away in this one! Look she has droids here!" isn't a dealbreaker given her peaks that don't have qualifiers, and especially facing a mismash trump with like...4 duels between them haha.

In fact, to be clear, her experience is so insane you could *literally remove all of the below* and Ventress still has the cred to beat unprepped Vaylin/Joruus C'baoth.

I think your Jedi trio vs. Nyriss/Jadus on their homeworld is the far better matchup, and hope you have something there...A BABY YODA MIGHT BE INVOLVED



I'll focus a little more on ones where you ask questions.

b/c it's technically the Third Moon of Vassek, the way we say "Endor" but mean the Forest Moon not the gas giant. In the "Path of the Jedi" game early in TCW:



You defeat her here as the player character, flipping around the platforms if you need health. Just another example of her solid standing-- she's not beating Yoda (she'd be like mid-first if she did) but she's consistently depicted as competing with those peeps.

Dark Disciple is awesome, you should've taken me up on a copy like @Jordan1Kenobi did!

Anyway, she trains Vos on Dathomir, and it culminates in a duel where she's trying to make him give in to the dark side. It also makes him realize just how damn good she is:

Dark Disciple, pg. 67:

Not only did Ventress fight dirty and ruthlessly, but she fought extraordinarily well. He’d seen a lot of it in their first hunt together, but that had only been the tip of the iceberg...He had wondered how it was that both Kenobi, a superb fighter, and Anakin, who was also excellent though a bit reckless, had been unable to take her down. Now he understood.​

She presses the attack and his buttons until he grabs & slams her by the throat in anger.

It's what she wanted, but a victory for Vos...who immediately goes on to bust a Grievous/Dooku trump, and then obliterate Dooku like DE posted. Dark Disciple makes Quin a monster.

Also from Dark Disciple. Kenobi/Skywalker/Ventress are rescuing Quin as Dooku's prisoner, but Asajj (correctly) sniffs him out as having completely turned. She goes to execute him, but Kenobi intervenes, and they fight until Dooku's forces attack them all.

There's also a callout to her escape artist ways, and how when she's instead "single-minded" she becomes an angel of death (echoed in her rampage in Republic #60):

Dark Disciple, pg. 249:

Ventress didn’t pause. She was a righteous angel, intent on destroying the thing she believed Vos to have become, and for a fleeting instant Kenobi wondered if he ever appeared that way to those he was forced to slay. Then all thought needed to be focused on preventing Ventress from murdering the very man they had come to rescue.

By this point Obi-Wan was not just alarmed by Ventress’s single-minded and inexplicable distrust of Vos, but growing profoundly exasperated.

In their many previous encounters, Kenobi had taunted Ventress by reminding her how good she was at running away. But this time, for one terrible moment, Kenobi was afraid Ventress was willing to sacrifice them all if it would ensure Vos’s destruction.​

This is basically RotS Kenobi btw, the one with perfected Soresu who puts the fear of Yun-Yuuzhan into Dooku.

Republic #52, it's also the "Vs. Kenobi on Ohma-D'un."

In her first time meeting Kenobi, she defeats him:

Spoiler: With power too

He's saved when Zule interrupts Durge's shot there. Ventress makes Durge leave, then reanimates dead Gungans to attack with-- the kind of sorcery perfect on a world like Dromund Kaas:

Spoiler: Nightsister necromancy

They all fight, but eventually Ventress takes Zule's arm off, and by then swamp gas has drained them. That's when Skywalker & Alpha-17 arrive, and Ventress wisely leaves:

Spoiler: The cavalry arrives

Obscure is the best! One of my fave things this draft is tracking down that comic where she beats Anakin/Obi-Wan but it's ALL IN SPANISH

Anakin is under a shield in this one, and he fights Ventress with the Force for control of the "shield switch" (yes, they apparently just...built a big switch for it lol) while Ahsoka runs around outside dodging attacks. Also features this hilariously odd frame:

Spoiler: Talk to the hand

It ends with a Republic Venator arriving and she decides to save her assault force from the incoming reinforcements.

Nintendo DS game, takes place before the movie. Even weathers Skywalker Force blasting her with a battle droid in a cutscene interlude:



Again, they are constantly considered peers in battle.


And the rest...

Vs. Grievous at Unknown-- Only fight w/ no depiction. In Wii Duels she says "I hope, for your sake, you received an upgrade since we last crossed swords" which means they had to have fought (and it sounds like she won) before TCW 4.14 Massacre. It's mega-nerd stuff, her real feat is beating him down on Dathomir.

Vs. Kenobi on Valahari-- Clone Wars Comic #11 "A New Hero." Kenobi finds a holorecording of her killing a viscount which was framed on the Jedi. They duel over the recording, and he pushes her in order to run away with the evidence (a funny role-reversal).

Also just love this artwork style:



Vs. Kenobi on Bogoa-- Clone Wars Comic UK #26, "The Only Good Clanker." Dooku experiments w/ a droid betraying its primary protocols (to prove Order 66 would work w/ the clones)...and it does, joining the Republic. Ventress duels Kenobi to recover it, but during the battle the droid commits suicide, so it ends there.

Vs. Kenobi on Mirial-- Clone Wars Comic UK #14, "In the Air." Ventress sabotages a Tibanna mining outpost in part by wrecking its gravity. Yoda & Kenobi respond. As Yoda runs around to fix the station, Ventress duels Kenobi to a standstill...in zero gravity. When the gravity is restored and Yoda arrives to help Obi-Wan, she understandably dips.

Vs. Anakin on Tygerria-- Clone Wars Comic #5. Trying to frame Anakin for the murder of the Queen, Ventress and Skywalker duel to a standstill. When Dooku arrives to help, he understandably dips.

Vs. Kenobi on Boz Pity
Vs. Kenobi & Anakin on Boz Pity-- Obsession #5. Kenobi finally finds Ventress in the CIS medical center, where she busts out of her bacta tank and attacks. She blasts him through the building, then engages the trump on the plains before Dooku betrays her.

Vs. Anakin on Rattatak-- This should say Boz Pity. Outside, Kenobi initially refuses to fight her (this is Obsession, where he's basically in love) so she engages Anakin until Obi-Wan reluctantly joins in.

Vs. Kenobi & Anakin on Asuin-- lol this is the one I've posted already, where she Force hammers them together. Clone Wars Comic UK #16, "Hunted":

Spoiler: en español

Again, even in just that selection of her resume, it's a quality mix against the best in the game. Her skill is consistently on the level of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, both from the mouths of in-universe characters and from out-of-universe descriptions.

Against a trump with almost no major showings of lightsaber prowess (again it's Vaylin's main weakness)...that's quite the gap. It's like asking a high school kid who can throw 101 to outpitch Greg Maddux. Am I going to keep using blatant Cubs references to play to @cubman987 when he reads this? Yes yes and yes.

That's a bummer to hear, maybe time will open up in the future. I certainly didn't think I'd be Jedi Drafting in 2020 lol, among all the other weird things this year. But a pleasure to go at it in your swan song man. <---hat tip

 

Okey-dokey. I'm hyped for this. Let's dive in to the resume of one Asajj Ventress, shall we?

The reason I'm doing this is because, even though Ken did preface his list of her experience by saying that there are wins, losses and, for lack of a better word, flee-ings in there, I think when we break it all down in detail, she doesn't come across as anywhere near as impressive as was suggested. IMO, of course.

Let me add a preface of my own. I think Ventress is really good. I don't think she's that good... as in, knocking on the door to the first round just because her experience list is a mile long, but definitely very good. I'm going to be as fair as I possibly can be here, and when we talk about her high points (of which there are quite a few), I won't gloss over them. I'll give props where they're due.

But, spoiler alert. There's a lot here that ain't so impressive.

As we go through the list, I'm going to keep a win/loss tally, with "inconclusive" thrown in as a third outcome. There's going to be a lot of those. The win/loss criteria is going to be a little subjective, but again, I'm going to be as fair as I possibly can be. For example, if Ventress runs away from a duel after clearly stating that she's outmatched, I'm counting it as a loss. On the other hand, if she runs away because she has some other objective to complete, that's an inconclusive.

Also, just for funsies, we're keeping a tally of every time Ventress runs away from a fight. Let's get started.

Vs. Yoda on Vassek - Well... this is an embarrassing start. I still can't find anything on this encounter. Does anyone else know what this pertains to? No score on this until details emerge.

Vs. Yoda on Rugosa - I mean, yeah, maybe it's not much of a duel, but it's an absolute owning no matter how you slice it. Total humiliation. I grant that it was early on in her career, but still. Yoda could've squished her like a grape had he had the slightest inkling to do so. I don't see how I don't count this as an L.

Win - 0
Loss - 1
Inconclusive - 0

Ventress Runs Count (VRC) - 1

Vs. Mace on Ruul - Ummm... the duel is short, and I have no reason to believe that she presented any kind of challenge for Mace, even if he acknowledged that she is skilled (because she is). After saying she's skilled, he immediately warns her not to assume that they're equals, and that even though he'd prefer her alive for interrogation, he would kill her if he had to. To which Ventress replies, and I quote, "Oh, I have no doubt." And then she promptly... you guessed it. She Flock of Seagulls the hell outta there. This is an L because of the reason she's running.

Vs. Mace on the Coruscant Satellite - If this is the fight I think it is, then... yeesh. It's so hard to take this fight remotely seriously due to the chibi art style. It looks so silly, but I guess it's canon, so... yeah. Uh, this fight is a total nothing-burger. I don't know what's going on in the story, but they lock blades for like a second. There's like two panels of nothing very exciting, and then, yep. She runs away. I have to give this an inconclusive, I guess, but at no point during either fight does she present herself as anything close to a challenge for Mace.

W - 0
L - 2
I - 1
VRC - 3

So we're gonna get into Dooku next. But before we do, gotta say, it does her no favors bringing up these fights. Were I in your position, I would've been super content to not draw any attention to these next few bouts. Except maybe for the one on Raxus, if only because I haven't read it and don't have the details. Maybe she showed really well. The brief summary I found doesn't make it seem so, but I dunno. Anyways.

Vs. Dooku on Rattatak Round 1 - Well, I guess I can link the fight for both round 1 and 2 right here:



So yeah, round 1 is her talking tough to Dooku and getting promptly zapped into oblivion. I mean, the fight she had previous to this in that arena was damn good. No doubts there. [/Watto] But this is just another owning. Also, keep in mind her getting overpowered by Force lightning. It has some bearing on the match currently at hand. Total L.

Round 2 on Rattatak - Okay, I grant this is total rookie Ventress. She gets better, but again Dooku just toys with her here. It's just with a lightsaber this time. He could've killed her at any point. I get what Ken's going for here in that this is a stepping stone for her. It adds to her experience pool. But it's just total domination. These are both two hardcore Ls. At least we aren't adding to the VRC.

Vs. Dooku on Serenno -

Yeah, no. Not only is she trumped with two nightsisters against him here, but they even poisoned him before the fight, weakening his eyesight and who knows what else. And still, AND STILL, he defends against all three of them for a significant chunk of time. Then Ventress does seem to get the upper hand finally (but remember, poisoned), until... more extreme Force Lightning ownage. This fight is a showcase for Dooku more than anything. Nasty, ugly L for Ventress (and the sisters) here. But again, at least she was thrown out of the window instead of jumping out and adding to the VRC.

Vs. Dooku over Toydaria - Key detail left out again, as she's trumped with Savage for most of this fight. In fact, it's Savage that has the biggest moment of the fight against him when he briefly overpowers him with a strike and disarms the Count. Ventress has no such moment. Aside from being knocked down multiple times, she's just left flailing at the unarmed Count while he casually dodges all her attacks, ala Kylo against Rey at the start of the duel on the Death Star ruins. Anyways, here that one is:



And then when it's just the two of them, the fight is over in seconds. Again note how she's overpowered and blasted by lightning. She does use a nice tricky move to blast some steam into Dook's eyes to barely escape with her life, but I'm calling this an L. Some might be inclined to give it an I, but I think it's extremely clear that she was utterly outclassed and was lucky to escape. YMMV, I suppose.

Vs. Dooku on Raxus - So all I have to go off of here is the Wook page for the Mission to Raxus. Another key detail seemingly left out is that Ventress is trumped with Quin against Dooks here. And even then, what details are given on the page don't make it seem like she fared very well. She got knocked unconscious. Had Vos not been there to continue to fight Dooks, would that not have meant death for her? She was knocked out cold. A Dooks with no one else to fight could've ended it pretty quick and clean, no?

I hate giving another L when I haven't actually read it, and I'm happy to change it to an I if more details emerge, but as it stands, I don't see how this doesn't go in the loss column.

W - 0
L - 7
I - 1
VRC - 3

Let's go Grievous now.

Vs. Grievous on the Rogue's Gallery Station - Grievous CRUSHED both Ventress and Durge in this little story. I can't recall if it was both at once or in succession, but I dunno why you'd wanna bring this one up. It's been a while, but I don't think there was any running here. Definitely an L, though. Big one.

Vs. Grievous on Raxus - Another duel from Dark Disciple. I can't tell from the description in the Wook article what exactly happened here. Some parts make it sound like she was overmatches, while others make it seem like she fought him off well and he called for droid reinforcements (as ol' GG is fond of doing). I have to go with an I on this until informed otherwise. But it does say that she ran, so...

Vs. Grievous on Dathomir - I'm calling this a W for Ventress. She potentially had him dead to rights before outside interference. Solid duel, but I think she had it. Good on her. Finally. But even though it's a W, she still ran (well, limped) away. Shot by a droid. Nothing to do with Big G.

Vs. Grievous at Unknown - Unknown location is unknown. No score.

W - 1
L - 8
I - 2
VRC - 5

Let's give her a couple more Ws. Ahsoka now.

Vs. Ahsoka on Mon Gazza - Safe to call this one a conclusive victory for Ventress. Plot makes it so Ahsoka doesn't die, of course, but Ventress was better.

That said... this was one of Ahsoka's earliest adventures. Season 1 Ahsoka, if you will. This ain't Rebels Ahsoka or Season 7 Ahsoka. Not even close. Season 1 Ahsoka maaaaaybe has enough going for her to sneak onto someone's team here as a 10th round pick. I... I... I'm not remotely impressed that Ventress has a conclusive win over S1 Ahsoka. It goes in the W column, but it's a lowercase w.

Vs. Ahsoka on Tranquility - Again, another W, I guess. But also again, for someone who at this point has gone toe-to-toe with Anakin and Kenobi multiple times, having this much trouble with S1 Snips doesn't say a whole helluva lot. Still, she outmaneuvers her and knocks her into a cell and takes her out of the fight. Yeah, it's a W, but... c'mon.

Vs. Luminara on Tranquility - Calling it another W for Ventress. Granted, Lumi was handicapped when Ventress used some steam to blind her in one eye temporarily, but I'd say that's just using the environment to her advantage. You play to win the game, afterall. Lumi would've died had Ahsoka not disobeyed and intervened in the fight. Somewhat cheap win, with the steam and all, but definitely a W nonetheless.

Vs. Ahsoka/Luminara on Tranquility - I'm calling this an I. Ventress had a mission to complete here, and even though it definitely seemed like Snips and Lumi probably would've taken her down together eventually, it's not certain. Although we get not one, but TWO ticks in the VRC box in this fight.

W - 4
L - 8
I - 3
VRC -7

Better record now, but none of those W's exactly knocked my socks off.

Vs. Vos on Dathomir - Dunno the context or anything else here. No score. But this is training? I mean, hey, training can be pretty intense, but it's training. I could be wrong, though. Yeah. No comment, I guess.

Vs. Vos on Serenno - More Dark Disciple stuff. Me know no details. Seems she was trying to rescue Vos here, but he wasn't having it. Seems like a textbook I for the tally and another VRC. I'd happy to correct the tally if I'm wrong.

Vs. Mundi on Mon Gazza - Another textbook inconclusive. Incredibly short and she had a mission to complete. But for what was there, Mundi didn't look bad. You know, for a dude that doesn't have a helluva lot else going for him. Annnnnnd... she ****ing runs again.

W - 4
L - 8
I - 5
VRC - 9

Do you kinda see where I'm going with this at this point? Yes, her experience list may be a mile and a half long, but a lot of it is just ****. There's going to be some great stuff yet to come, but there's also going to be more ****. More vague handheld videogame stuff, more short inconclusives and more running than Steve Prefontaine.

Let's keep going.

Vs. Lumi and Aayla on Alzoc III - Pure videogame fight, but with absolutely nothing in the cutscenes that tells us how the fight ACTUALLY played out. In the end, Lumi and Aayla trap Ventress behind some rocks. This is... well, it's there. It gets an I. A whole lot of nothing.

Vs. Plo Koon and Kit Fisto on Khorm - This... I dunno. During the actual duel itself, it in no way whatsoever seemed like she could defeat them. They're trying to get her to surrender, but instead she causes an avalanche to cover Plo and Kit, which takes them out of the fight for a while. I'm actually going to be generous and call this a W for Ventress. A person could easily label this an I if they were so inclined, but they were incapacitated for long enough that I'll be nice here and say it's a win.

Vs. Plo Koon on Khorm - But then this happens. We all know Plo Koon, right? Dude... well, dude sucks. He sucks so bad that he's got a draft rule that revolves entirely around him. So He Who Sucks now has a broken arm due to the avalanche that temporarily took him and Kit out of the fight. And then Ventress ambushes him. And then, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS A BROKEN ARM, Ventress cannot cleanly defeat He Who Sucks. Not only can she not defeat him, but HE ACTUALLY DISARMS HER OF ONE OF HER BLADES whilst battling her with a broken arm. And then she runs away. Also, it's another I.

W - 5
L - 8
I - 6
VRC - 10

What am I trying to prove with all this? I guess I'm trying to prove that Ken is vastly overselling her when he compares her to Jaina and tries to convince us that Ventress is like on the cusp of being a first round pick just because she has all these fights under her belt. A lot of them are just NOTHINGS.

Don't worry, I'm not going to undersell her, either. There's great stuff still coming. She's the same perfectly-respectable third-rounder she's been for a long damn time. Nothing wrong with that.

Vs. Kit Fisto on Ord Cestus - Yep. Here's a clean, solid win over a very good opponent. She beat him. Good on her. And Cestus Deception remains underrated, IMO.

Vs. K'krukh, Sian and Tarn on Ruul - Yep. She handled these three very nicely. This is a definite notch on her belt. That said, two of them were Red Shirts and, while this may be an unpopular opinion... I think The Hat is OBSCENELY overrated.

Vs. Plo Koon and Ahsoka on the Devestation - What is this nonsense DS game stuff? Okay, so technically she dueled these two, but again, no cutscene combat whatsoever. No way for us to tell how the duel actually went down. Another nothing-burger.

W - 7
L - 8
I - 7
VRC - 10

Vs. Savage and the Nightbrothers on Dathomir - What?! Okay. I guess. Technically it's against Savage, but it's Muggle Savage. This isn't the guy that overpowered (however briefly) Dooku, Kenobi and Anakin and killed Adi and all that other stuff. He was still just a powerless whelp. And his Nightbrother, uh, brothers, were even bigger whelps. And yet, AND YET, despite not being the powered up Savage we all know, he still got some licks in on Ventress during their fight. Good on him, but it don't look so good for her. She gets the W, but... so what?

Vs. Savage and Maul w/ Kenobi on the Tanker - Really? You wanna bring up THIS fight?! Aight.



Ventress and Kenobi get their asses waxed in this fight. Ventress spends almost the entire time getting physically HANDLED by Savage (you know, the Savage that actually matters in this draft), while peppering in some blows of her own that he barely registers. I'll let Kenobi and Ventress explain the situation.

"We're outmatched."

"You want to run?"

"I learned from watching you."

"Funny..."

Yeah, Ventress. It is funny how high this count is getting.

W - 8
L - 9
I - 7
VRC -11

Okay, we're gonna get into the Kenobi stuff now. And here's the thing with almost ALL of her duels that involve Kenobi. Their hearts are just not in it for most of them. You know, I know it. Dunno if that was the original plan with the Republic material, but it was super clear by Obsession that they were kind of (but not really) a thing, and it seems pretty clear to me that Filoni picked up on that and carried it into the Clone Wars stuff right from jump.

Maybe it's just me, but if you watch a Ventress/Kenobi duel during the Filoni Clone Wars series and then watch one of the Ventress/Anakin duels, you can FEEL the difference (and look, the Anakin stuff we'll get into has some of Ventress' best stuff, hands down). When she's fighting Anakin, it feels like they're truly going at each other. But when she fights Kenobi (even when it's alongside Anakin), it almost always feels like a dance. Like they're not really trying.

Not all the time. But most of the time. Is it just me?

Just watch their respective duels from the Clone Wars movie and judge for yourself. I dunno. Maybe I'm crazy.

Anyways, moving on.

Vs. Kenobi and Vis on Titavian IV - Good stuff, but the rancor kinda stole the show. Gotta give this an I and move on.

Vs. Kenobi and Zule and Vs. Kenobi alone on Ohma-D'un - ??? I remember nothing about this arc. Wook articles are too vague. No score, moving on,

Vs. Kenobi and Nico Death on Queyta - OMG, this issue was such a scrum (and I mean that in a good way). Everything was so short and chaotic, but didn't Durge take down Diath? It's hard to give Ventress credit for much in this issue. And don't worry. We'll get into the Fay stuff later. Possibly last. Inconclusive.

W - 8
L - 9
I - 9
VRC - 11

Vs. Kenobi on Teth - Great duel. Classic. She disarms Kenobi at one point, but he was clearly in control for most of it. And also, this was very early on in the war. Essentially AotC Kenobi. While great, obviously nowhere near RotS Kenobi. I can't call this a win in either direction, but she does run again.

Vs. Kenobi on Ord Cestus - Fantastic fight. Kenobi scores a hit and force her to retreat. That's an L for her, even if it was a good fight. And she runs.

Vs. Kenobi on Rattatak - So brief and totally inconclusive. Although this time it's Kenobi who runs. Just to spice it up.

Vs. Kenobi on Boz Pity - Yeah, found some scans to refresh my memory. Dude, he's trying to redeem her the entire time. If ANY of their duels could be considered going through the motions, it's these duels. I'm not even gonna count when Anakin joins the fight, because it's pure plot. Kenobi is actively preventing Anakin from killing her. This is pure inconclusive. And she runs again. Jesus....

W - 8
L - 10
I - 12
VRC - 14

Have no idea on the following:

Vs. Kenobi on Valahari
Vs. Kenobi on Bogoa
Vs. Kenobi on Mirial
Vs. Kenobi on Taris Dreadnaught.
????

Onto Anakin. And these are really some of her best fights. And that's not nothing. But none of these make her first round/high-second round material.

Vs. Anakin of Yavin IV - I mean, yeah. ****ing great duel. One of the best ever. This was Anakin's arrival party. But she lost. Clean and clear. She pushed him, he went beast mode. She lost. And let's not forget that this is essentially AotC Anakin. Is AotC Anakin very good? Yes. Is he a first-rounder yet? No. Not even close. Is he even a second-rounder? Back in 2003? Sure. In 2020, with all of these newcomers crowding that field? HIGHLY debatable.

I'd go so far as to say... nope. Don't think he is. YMMV.

For example: Is peak-Cade better than AotC-era Anakin? Ulic? Malgus? Krayt? Kun w/ amulets? Xesh? I'd say yes. How bout you?

Vs. Anakin in Coruscant Industrial - Another great fight where she does give him the scar, but she's again soundly beaten. I don't remember if she runs or not.

Vs. Anakin on Kamino - She seems overmatched to me. Again. She lands some kicks, but that's about all. I guess I can't call this an L, but it's certainly an I. And she runs off again.

Vs. Anakin on Teth - Great duel again (I'm combining this Ahsoka's involvement, because she was barely involved at all.). It's a loss (again to AotC-era Anakin), but still fantastic. Another loss, but still really good. I mean, I guess I could call it an I, what with the rancor sitting on her being the deciding factor. Sure... we'll call it I.

Vs. Anakin in the Coruscant Underbelly - Ugh. I'm so tired. Why are you bothering to mention this? Why am I addressing it? This is such a non-fight. She hits him with one ****ing kick as he chases up after her and then he dominates her. Total loss. If she didn't have info he wanted he would've killed her then and there.

V.s Anakin on Rattatak - ????
Vs. Anakin on Tygerria - ????

W - 8
L - 12
I - 14
VRC - 14

Oh my god, we're almost done. Praise Jeebus.

Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan at Asuin
Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan at Ziro's Palace
Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan at Ohma-D'un

What even are these fights? I don't know anything anymore.

Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan on Boz Pity - Oh, god. Kenobi is actively working against Anakin when he's fighting her here. He's on a mission to redeem her. This is Plot Central here. At this point in the story if they'd truly teamed up with intent to kill she'd be dead inside of 5 seconds. What are we even talking about anymore. Inclonclusive, but you know it'd be a loss if they were on the same page... ****!

Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan on Christophsis - Whatever! ****! Ventress and Kenobi practically have their tongues in eachother's ears with their banter. Just get a room! I know a guy who can get you a great deal! Don't mind his mouth sores. ****ing **** ****s! Ventress plays defense for a while and then runs and then they clash for just a bit more and they all go their merry ****ing ways.

Vs. Anakin/Obi-Wan on Sullust Flagship - Okay, Wang, get it together. This one is actually really good. I give her max credit for this one. If not for Dooks' interference, she may have actually had them there with her Force choke...

...

... granted, it's probably because they were shocked she didn't run away and she took 'em by surprise, but this was a good one.

Okay, so we're all done with the known duels. What's our count?

W - 8
L - 12
I - 17
VRC - 15

Am I forgetting something...?

Ah, yes. I am. The vaunted Ventress kill list. How silly of me. Let's go through it. I'm sure it's extremely impressive.

Fay - ... Know what? We're gonna save Fay for last. Let's move on for now.

Jai Maruk and Maks Leem - Yeah, alright. Make Leems was a non-combatant kinda Jedi, and Jai Maruk was an utterly average Jedi Master in every sense of the word. I'm trying to think of anyone decent who was drafted that couldn't take Jai Maruk and Maks Leem... nah. No one comes to mind.

Jang Li-Li - Wait... didn't Ventress kill JLL in starfighter combat? No... yeah, I'm quite sure she did. I mean we can add this to her SFD resume, but I'm sure it means less than nothing in this one. Quite sure, indeed.

Master Tauht - Red Shirt. This guy is a ****ing Red Shirt. So... cool. Good on ya, Ventress. You bagged crewmember #812617. Congrats.

Glaive - When Ventress stabbed him in the back, was he not already poisoned AND in the middle of fighting Durge? Survey says....

yessir.

Ruati - #ERROR UNKOWN QUANTITY

Mira - Holy ****! Ventress not only got crewmember #812617, she also got crewmember #7712229!

Someone get her a medal! We can melt down my cutlery if need be! It's pure stainless steel!


So let's talk about Fay. I think it's important that we do.

See, last draft, I drafted Fay as my 10th round pick and I never really had the time to defend exactly why it was I did so. The woman appeared in exactly one issue of the Republic comic series, died in that same issue and was never seen again. Who was this woman, and what exactly could she have done in the span of one issue to warrant me drafting her?

Well, couple things.

1. She beat Asajj Ventress.
2. She achieved a power that even Darth Sidious could not replicate, even though he was absolutely desperate to do so.

"What?" you say? She beat Ventress? But only the likes of Windu and Skywalker and Kenobi can claim such a feat, right?

Yeah, no. Fay beat Ventress and she beat her clean.

But how could this possibly be? If one were to read this issue, Ventress stabs Fay through the gut with both her lightsabers, thus ending her life, right?

Well, yes. And no. Sort of.

Yeah, in the end, Ventress killed Fay... but Fay beat Ventress first. And without the use of a lightsaber. And actually... Ventress didn't kill Fay. Fay sacrificed herself.

See, I think it was Ken (judging at the time) who said something along the lines of "All Fay did was telekinetically throw some debris at Ventress while she was running away and put her to sleep before Ventress woke up and stabbed her!"

Something along those lines.

Okay...
a. Ventress was running away. Are you as shocked as I am?
b. Putting her to sleep was A ****ING WIN as far as these drafts are concerned.

Lemme give you some non-Jedi Draft context. Professor X. We all know Charles Xavier, right?

Ol' Chuck. Well, he's an unbelievably powerful psychic, but he's no killer, right? Of course not. So how do we judge him in the context of a Comic Draft? Well, he's no murderer, even if he could pop most people's brains like they were balloons. He just doesn't do it. But, barring some psychic resistance (which many characters in the Comic Draft have), he could easily put some peeps to sleep.

Say he was matched up against Nightcrawler. X wouldn't kill him. Of course not. But he's infinitely more powerful and could put him to sleep in no time whatsoever. And if Nightcrawler is conceivably down for a count of ten (and he would be), Charles Xavier would be the winner.

That, my friends, is EXACTLY what happened to Asajj Ventress in Republic #53 "Blast Radius" at the hands of none other than Fay. Ol' undraftable Fay.

See, Fay had a contest of wills with Ventress after plugging Ventress with debris after she tried to flee for the 1,951st time. And. Fay. Won.

Ventress tried to crush Fay's heart and was almost successful. That's a feat. Not gonna lie. But she didn't. Fay won.

And Ventress was lying on the ground. Unconscious. Long enough for both Fay and Kenobi to have a conversation over her prone, helpless, unconscious body.

Had either Kenobi or Fay been the type to be predisposed to cold-blooded murder, they either could've gently put a lightsaber through her throat or lifted her up gently with TK and placed her down into the lava that was flowing just a few feet away from them.

But neither one was. And so they didn't. Asajj Ventress could have been dead right then and there. But neither one was that type of person. And so they didn't.

And then because of their mercy, Ventress lived to wake up and stab Fay through the guts right after that.

Read the issue again and tell me I'm wrong in my interpretation.

You can't, because I'm not.

But did Fay die? Nope. Sure didn't. Not from Ventress' attack.

She survived and used some form of essence transfer to give her life force to Kenobi, imbuing him with her power, allowing him to leap away from the scene with a look on his face like he just achieved Super Saiyan 3 or something, saying afterwards that he'd never felt a power like that before.

And then later Mace confirms that she was basically immortal and sacrificed herself for the sake of Kenobi. I mean...

... Immortality? I'm sure I've heard that some extremely high-level combatants in this draft have sought that... have dedicated their lives in the pursuit of that... and yet... here's this throwaway character who actually achieved it. With no pomp and circumstance, no fanfare. And she willingly gave it up. For the greater good.

Now THAT'S a goddamn Jedi. But your YMMV (you're welcome, Obi-Wan).

But I've gotten off on a tangent. Is Ventress "all that?"

Yes and no. She's really, really good.

Is she THAT good?

Naw.

I ain't even gotten started yet.

Next up: Joruus
After that: Vaylin

Buckle up, please.