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

OMG YES DO IT @EMPEROR_WINDU. I think a Starfighter Draft might be up next, or something wild from Inty or @Jordan1Kenobi. We'll see.


And well ****, I just re-read the Thrawn Trilogy for this lol. To make that not for nothing, and since this is the Finals, and to give @Wang Chi’s swan song the respect of my full effort, I'll summarize some closing statements from it...

First, Joruus's Battle Meditation isn't gonna be a major factor here. The only reason it was even effective is b/c it was used on simple-minded Spaarti clones.

As Pellaeon ponders in The Last Command, pg. 19:

"Had C'baoth been able to guide the cruisers so well because each of their thousand-man crews were composed of variants on just twenty or so different minds?"​

And the Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook confirms, pg.54:

"Since the majority were from approximately 20 basic genetic templates, C'baoth only needed to learn to control those 20 minds to control all the clones."​

Second, and more importantly...Joruus is severely mentally ill.

Clone madness is obvs a main thrust of the trilogy (the ysalamiri are as much about preventing it in Thrawn's troops as protecting him from a volatile C'baoth). And consistent throughout is whenever Joruus is given a suggestion or an order, he...refuses unless given a promise to steal Leia's kids for him to train.

Literally it's in like...Every...Single...Interaction.

Even after agreeing, he frequently will fly off the handle. At Ukio, he straight up abandons the battle...



Same with Coruscant...



And at Taanab, Dark Force Rising pg. 81...

"You're still upset about Taanab," Thrawn said, turning to gaze out at the battle. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, sir, I am," Pellaeon said stiffly. "I've been over the records again, and there's only one possible conclusion. C'baoth deliberately went beyond the battle plan Captain Aban had laid out-- went beyond it to the point of disobeying a direct order. I don't care who C'baoth is or whether he felt justified or not. What he did constitutes mutiny."​

He simply doesn't give a **** about about objectives or strategy. He can barely even concentrate. In a situation where I'm guessing the play is for him to be support with BM or ranged attacks, that's a critical issue.

And crucially he's not teamed with someone like Thrawn, a calm genius who would delicately massage his ego (and ultimately still couldn't control him). Instead he's teamed with...another psychopath





Vaylin's more likely to get pissed at his behavior and attack him than negotiate, the way she does her own troops at Voss Ka...and at her coronation...and above Nathema.

Even if he doesn't get himself straight up killed, he's gonna exacerbate her lack of patience and long-term thinking-- the kind on display at Odessen, when she abandons sure victory b/c she can't deal with the insults thrown at her. Or in her battles with Senya, where she rushes in for duels despite her skill gap being an undercurrent of her story.

Because if it wasn't already clear, Joruus deeply struggles with those things too. As Thrawn continues in Dark Force Rising, pg. 82...

"What you fail to grasp-- what you've always failed to grasp-- is that a man with C'baoth's mental and emotional instabilities can never be a threat to us."

...

"Concentration, focus, long-term thinking...those are the qualities that separate a warrior from a mere flailing fighter. And they are qualities C'baoth will never possess."​

These peeps are gonna be horrendous teammates. Hell, Joruus thinks he's the damn Emperor by the end of TTT, and that's not gotta vibe well with Vaylin lol

They don't have the cohesion, the mental fortitude, or prep/ability to close the massive skill gap against someone proven capable of busting better trumps in two separate canons.


Speaking of, earlier this draft Vaylin lost to Ahsoka in a rare unanimous 3-judge decision-- where both @Point Given and @Darth_Furio specifically called out Vaylin’s lack of appearances vs. “There is so much Ahsoka out there.”

That disparity is magnified against Combo-Canon Ventress, in the way we were just chatting. I enjoy this trump for how similarly bugnuts they are, and I admire Wang for the prescient strategy of not leaving Joruus alone, but to me Mega-Asajj takes it to them the way she does in peaks against talent like Kenobi & Skywalker.

 

Agree on all counts. New matches incoming tonight.

 

I also agree on all counts.... except for the all important hairstyle category and Joruus takes the cake there. That white as snow flowing mane would surely be the envy of a baldy like Asajj and she'd likely off herself once she realized how weak her hair game is.

Make me a judge and things will get real interesting, real fast

 

LOCATION: Sith Temple Dormund Kaas

Finals - Game 2 - Round 1

Ken leads series (1-0)

@Wang Chi (1) vs. @KenKenobi (2)

3. Vaylin trumped with Joruus C'baoth vs. Asajj Ventress
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 (1) vs. @DarthIntegral (2)

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

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finals - Game 2 - Round 2

Ken leads series (1-0)

@Wang Chi (1) vs. @KenKenobi (2)

1. Aryn Leneer/Ven Zallow *prepared* vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi
6. Ganner Rhysode trumped with Dark Woman and Ben Solo vs. Luminara Unduli/Bariss Offee
8. Celeste Morne trumped with Ferus Olin and Cade Skywalker (FORFEIT) vs. Darth Krayt

3rd place - Game 2 - Round 2

Jordan leads series (1-0)

@Jordan1Kenobi (1) vs. @DarthIntegral (2)

1. Kit Fisto / Aayla Secura vs. Desann/Tavion TRUMP Sion and Shak'Weth
6. Shaak Ti vs. Alema Rar TRUMP Lomi Plo
8. Maris Brood / Saesee Tiin / Adi Gallia (trump) vs. Darth Vader

 

You did send your numbers in as the draft order! I knew it! I had that thought right before I sent in my digits. Always ignoring my instincts...

Congrats, Ken! Just too much beef on that sammich. It was inevitable.

 

Some of y'all judges are on some weird stuff

 

Goodness gracious, now I know how it feels to be hit with a 4 person trump. Vader obviously wins. But I do feel like my Jedi can take the other two trumps. Will try to get arguments up.

 

Bro wait, get this...

...SHE HAS HAIR IS DISN-EU

lol almost, just Krayt wasn’t my 8th-rounder

gg my dude, if that was truly your last go it was a pleasure to be in the ring for it.

I may or may not have put champagne in a Baby Yoda mug upon seeing how forfeits would net out OH HELL YEAH



AND NEW MANDO RIGHT NOW WHAT A NIGHT

 

And to honor the winning top-two:



Now can we all agree that that should never happen again? And also to stop letting Darth Vader slip to the second round?

 

Wow this is still going.

(I poke my head on here, once in a while.)

Though that new system for Disney and EU mixed matches would be fun...eh. Might just need to keep a closer eye on things next time, though in my defense, this year has been a mess. :V

 

Yasssss @Lenea_Sandstrider

Well technically we can only finish 2nd b/c Tunes won this draft back in Feb

 

What is the policy on spoilers for Mandalorian? I feel my fingers twitching to discuss but don't wanna get banned shortly after coming back

Oh and I'm apparently too lazy to look up the policy and the search function was scrap back in 2005 so I can't imagine I'd find anything using that thing.

 

if you spoil me, I ***ing kill you. My toddlers haven't given us a chance to watch yet. that's the policy

 

@Wang Chi @KenKenobi

Have you guys called this? Pennsylvania is in?

 

LMAO

The way Wang trumped makes it a formality. For this round, I think prime Kenobi stomps and will concede Lumi/Barriss though I'd enjoy watching it. Like the Jadus/Nyriss match, DW being able to teleport is very helpful there.

Ironically enough we might get 3 games in the Third Place match, which I'm down to see b/c A) the rap battle is maybe the highlight of this season non-Tunes Division, B) there's a global pandemic wtf else are we doing, C) ...well except the obvious thing, which I'm happy to avoid reading about for a few lol

 

@Jordan1Kenobi You said you were going to argue these. is that still the case?

 

Sorry, I’ll try get something up today before work, if not feel free to move ahead.

 

A small argument, but just covering some key points.

Kit Fisto / Aayla Secura vs. Desann/Tavion TRUMP Sion and Shak'Weth

The only reason why this would be such a tough battle is the numbers. Kit Fisto could easily take Desann and Tavion on his own. He could take Sion on his own. And to be honest, I don't even know who Shak'Weth is, but his Wookiee page is smaller than Yoda's toe.

Kit's impressive speed gives him the advantage over this many many lightsabers, as seen during his duel against Grievous, who was unable to even stagger the Jedi using all four blades. In order for these guys to gain the upper hand on Kit, they'd need to have very impressive fighting skills, which I just don't believe they do. Sion is definitely a big threat because of his Force power, but none of that will be useful if he's locked in a fast paced duel with Kit. Remember, this is someone who could spar with Kenobi for hours on end and still come out as the more impressive opponent, because of his aggressive speed and unbreakable defense.

The one opponent that's ever given Kit a hard time (besides Sidious lol) is Ventress, who he was still able to duel impressively until she eventually overpowered him. I believe Ventress and Grievous are far more impressive than any of these four opponents today.

Now this is where I can confidently call Kit the winner - We've also got Aayla here to back him up. Although less impressive than Kit and probably Sion as well, she's still a solid fighter with incredible cohesion that should even the playing ground. With the addition of Aayla, Kit can now focus on two of these guys at a time, which should make it a walk in the park. Aayla doesn't have to beat anyone, she just has to hold them off while Kit works his way around the team.


Shaak Ti vs. Alema Rar TRUMP Lomi Plo

This one is a lot easier to decide, as it's a simple two on one, with Shaak Ti being far and away the best duelist and Force user. All you need to do is revisit her duel(s) against Starkiller. Whatever these two throw at her should be no problem, considering the destructive Force power from Starkiller that she was able to overcome and even throw right back at him.

 

Really? I've got twin 5 month olds and I've managed to keep up, Inty

 

wtf, and we're, like, nice to him???

 

I'm going to buy a new XBOX just to replay 1 and 2.

Finals - Game 2 - Round 2

Ken leads series (1-0)

@Wang Chi (1) vs. @KenKenobi (2)

1. Aryn Leneer/Ven Zallow *prepared* vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi
6. Ganner Rhysode trumped with Dark Woman and Ben Solo vs. Luminara Unduli/Bariss Offee
8. Celeste Morne trumped with Ferus Olin and Cade Skywalker (FORFEIT) vs. Darth Krayt

3rd place - Game 2 - Round 2

Jordan leads series (1-0)

@Jordan1Kenobi (1) vs. @DarthIntegral (2)

1. Kit Fisto / Aayla Secura vs. Desann/Tavion TRUMP Sion and Shak'Weth - These are the best of the PT Jedi other than the obvious Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace and Yoda, and obviously there is familiarity there and that TRUMP may have the numbers but nah, that's a hot mess.
6. Shaak Ti vs. Alema Rar TRUMP Lomi Plo
8. Maris Brood / Saesee Tiin / Adi Gallia (trump) vs. Darth Vader

@cubman987 @Point Given

 

Hold up, the Jedi Draft has TWO sets of twins?

You realize they all have to duel one day