Hutts Revenge

To bring things a little more up to date, last night's battle royale pitted Darth Horak against a wily Deputy Rebel Leader LaBan and a cunning Kent the Hutt.

Game #1.  Right off the bat, the Hutts were in trouble.  The Death Star orbited an occupied Gamorr and LaBan took down two outposts with combined garrisons of six Hutt legions.  Somehow the scrappy Hutts pulled it back together, aided by a see-saw battle as the Rebels and Empire traded Sluis Van and the Wild Spaces back and forth.  The Hutts eventually knocked out a couple inconvenient star bases and started to gain a useful number of resource planets.  When the Rebels exhausted themselves in a fruitless and ill-fated series of attacks on the gradually strengthening Empire, it began to look like it might be a Hutt win. 

Unfortunately, several large tranches of reinforcements let the Storm Troopers sweep away both the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim, an unheard of event.  The Emperor was safely hidden away on Gamorr, protected by dozens of legions and the Death Star as well.  Faced with immanent destruction, Hutts and Rebels sued for peace.

Game #2.  In what could have been a replay of the first game, the Rebels quickly punished the Hutts with another initial loss of six legions.  Once again the strong Rebel play slowly fizzled, leaving a strong Imperial presence.  Perhaps the movement of the Death Star off of Gamorr to destroy Mon Calamari was a strategic error.  That let the Hutts into the Wild Space and, ultimately, the El Rood Sector with its two resource planets.

Kent the Hutt very nearly threw in the towel when a huge assault on Rebel-held Duro was beaten back.  The Storm Troopers responded with a bloody counterattack, but a second set of seven reinforcements allowed the Hutts to prevail.  Finally, a KPW victory.

The Revenge of Duro

All I can do is shake my head in disbelief.  Last week the Evil Empire led by Sith Wood walloped the Rebels and kept the Hutts crippled.  After seven rounds, the Hutts were gaining some light traction, edging towards a monopoly of resource planets.  But meanwhile the Storm Troopers hammered the Rebels down to their last stronghold, Duro.

Twice Generalissimo LaBan fended off overwhelming odds, but it looked like eventually his luck would run out.  Instead, he cashed in three faction cards for 7 troops.  This motley force struck out from Duro towards the Midrim in a desperate bid to take out star bases.  Indeed he did, including at the very last, the star base protected by the Death Star.  Taking a "One in a Million" shot, the Death Star was destroyed and shortly afterwards, its single garrison surrendered.  To everyone's surprise the Emperor was revealed.  Victory:  Rebels.

Needless-to-say, Sith Wood was beside himself having come so close to winning control of the galaxy.  He has disavowed playing the Empire for a long, long time.  The era of Sith Wood, Horak the Hutt, and Generalissimo LaBan is at an end.  This week it will be Kent the Hutt, Darth Horak, and Deputy Rebel Leader LaBan. 

Another One of Those Nights

In what seemed like a horrible repeat of last week's games, Sith Wood came up empty once again.  Victory was twice snatched from his grasp by the narrowest of margins.

Game #1.  The Hutts quickly succumbed to bad dice and the combined attention of Rebel and Imperial forces.  They were never able to mount a serious offensive.

Rebel spies informed Generalissimo LaBan of the location of the Emperor at Sullust, so that star base was heavily fortified.    The Rebels were able to use "One in a Million" and brought down the Death Star, but couldn't close the deal as the Imperial garrison held firm. 

Much to the Rebel's dismay, the wily Emperor with his Sith overlord responded by rebuilding yet another fully operational Death Star.  But to Sith Wood's consternation, the Rebels assaulted it once more and took it out a second time.  The stormtrooper garrison was overrun and the Empire defeated. 

Game #2.  The Empire began with a very strong position and the Rebel's incredibly good luck failed them repeatedly.  But as the Rebels faltered, the Hutts came in behind them and picked up lightly garrisoned resource planets.  The Hutts repeatedly gained 8 or 9 resource planets and huge numbers of faction cards to boot. 

Sith Wood overran the El Rood and Wild Space Sectors, which meant certain victory.  Only a desperate drive by the Hutts captured Dagobah and prevented a rout.  Even so, the Rebels were chopped into small, isolated pockets of weak forces.  A faction card straight gave Sith Wood nearly overwhelming superiority in numbers and in the end reduced the Rebels to a lonely outpost on Mimban. 

Before the Empire could seal the Rebels' fate, the Hutts amassed a huge force that was able to take two lightly garrisoned resource planets in the Mid and Outer Rims.  All that remained were the resources at Sluis Van.  A huge and costly melee at Derilyn went in the Hutt's favor.  The weak garrison at Sluis Van succumbed to overwhelming forces and the Hutts secured their victory.

Happy Birthday, Sith Wood

It was another one of those nights:  Costco za, plenty of Modelo Especial, a bit of Caol Ila, and lots of intergalactic mayhem.  It was also one of those nights:  Imperial victory slipped through Sith Wood's hands... on his birthday eve. 

Sure there were insanely improbable dice rolls (3 sixes twice in a row; 6 ones in a row, that sort of thing).  Odd how that stuff happens only during important battles.  The Rebels were hard pressed throughout the game and the Empire seemed to have an edge.  But then Hutts were able to completely stymie the Storm Troopers when they attempted to invade Kessel.  With there troops bottled up on Mon Calamari, there was no way to stop the Hutt fleet from taking its last three resource planets. 

In the second game (Sith Wood's dander was up), things looked bleak for both Hutt and Rebel.  Still, repeated Hutt advances needed immediate responses and kept the Empire from finishing off the rebellion, especially a tiny outpost at Endor. 

Repeated Revel attacks against the Death Star and starbase on Dagobah had failed, although the Death Star was taken out early on.  Then in a stroke of desperation, Rebel Leader LaBan attacked through the asteroid field at Bespin and captured the starbase at Hoth.  Amazingly, it was the garrison protecting the Emperor.  Dagobah had been a near-perfect ruse.  Victory went to the exhausted and nearly beaten Rebels. 

Pictured above, Darth Sith and Horak the Hutt show their frustration at the dastardly surprise attack that bypassed the heavily protected starbase at Dagobah and captured the lightly garrisoned Emperor on Hoth. 

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened. 

Obi Wan Kenobi

Better Late than Never

In the single struggle for galactic domination last week, Sith Wood was unable to gain traction against either the Hutts or the Rebelion.  In fact the Hutts were gathering pace as they claimed significant numbers of resource planets and copious faction cards.

As luck would have it, Rebel Leader LaBan was able to carry his final assault to fruition and take out several starbases, including Elom, where the Emperor was hidden.  Good timing, since the Hutts had 8 resource planets and openings to two more, plus 3 faction cards worth 7 additional troops.  Had the Rebels not carried the day, the Hutts surely would have.

Tonight's grudge match features Sith Wood attempting to reclaim his honor the day before his birthday.  Just remember, Siths always come in pairs.

Above, Sith Wood contemplates a small, helpless Hutt.