DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 11/04/2016    Duedate: 12/01/2016

XOCHITHLAN ARENA

DM-39    TURN-356

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

SUPERSLICE
ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
(39-4074) [12-6-1,98]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

SUPERSLICE                     POSITION IS EMPTY
ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)           
(39-4074) [12-6-1,98]          

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

PARRY-SLICE                    PARRY-SLICE
ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)           ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
(39-4078) [17-11-1,95]         (39-4078) [17-11-1,95]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)        15
2. BOOK OF THOMAS (479)        11      DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)
3. DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)        5      Unchartered Team
4. BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)        0
5. NEW ORIGINALS (478)          0      B-BODYS (92)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)    249 164 14 60.3   1/ 1 ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)      8  5 0
 2- 2*BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)      5   4  0 55.6   2/ 2 BOOK OF THOMAS (479)      8  7 0
 3/ 4 ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)     107  97  7 52.5   3/ 3 BASH BROS BABY (461)      4  8 0
 4/ 3 BASH BROS BABY (461)      55  51  5 51.9   4- 6 NEW ORIGINALS (478)       2  0 0
 5- 5 NEW ORIGINALS (478)       16  15  0 51.6   5/ 5 DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)     2  2 0
 6/ 6 BOOK OF THOMAS (479)      25  30  1 45.5   6- 4*BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)     2  2 0
 7- 8*PYXIS (485)                0   2  0  0.0   7- 8*PYXIS (485)               0  1 0

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                      SPY REPORT

     Well, what are you looking at, XOCHITHLAN?  Ain't you never seen Snide Clemens 
before?  Ah, shaddup and listen to my news.  Of course, we're all terribly impressed 
to see SUPERSLICE win a fight and gain 9 points, terribly.  Tsk, tsk, DAISY DUCK beat 
DOESN'T SLEEP and DOESN'T SLEEP lost 4 points.  You're breakin' my heart.  Due to 
absence, and inability to defend the throne, PEKING DUCK has lost the Title of 
Duelmaster.  Start setting that alarm earlier!  And it's out with the old, in with 
the new, as SUPERSLICE takes the Title and last week's bar tab from the old 
Duelmaster.  Heh, heh.  I'm not in a very good mood today, but why am I telling you 
this?  You want to know what's new, don't you, XOCHITHLAN?   
     My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start 
talking.' I loved that woman.  BOOK OF THOMAS, I suppose you'll be glad to know you 
were this turn's most avoided team.  Care to know who is the most afraid of you?  And 
who led the way in this mass act of cowardice?  Let's see, well, whatcha know?  It 
was ANYWAYUSLICEIT.  Ha ha ha ha!   
     Death and Taxes.  The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience.  Let's 
see if anyone's dead or dying.  Now hey, I like to see a death as much as the next 
guy, but hey BOOK OF THOMAS, whyja send TAILWIND to the Dark Arena, look at his 
record, huh?  Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave team is 
developing these kinds of weapons?   
     I was about to buy a new quill pen the other day, but some fighter took it for 
an epee.  Forgive me for writing with a dagger.  Phlllt!  Just had to do that before 
I leave the fine city of XOCHITHLAN.  I feel much better now.  Paste this one in your 
scrapbooks, you'll need the kindling come this winter-- Snide Clemens  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 SUPERSLICE 4074              12   6  1    98       ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-PEKING DUCK 3632             33  11  0   150       DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)
 PARRY-SLICE 4078             17  11  1    95       ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 EUNUCH 4097                   9   3  0    74       ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
 BOTTLE ROCKET 4157            7   1  1    70       BOOK OF THOMAS (479)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-POOPS THROUGH DIAPER 3891     9   3  0    61       BASH BROS BABY (461)
 LOUD TOYS 4069               13  11  0    59       BASH BROS BABY (461)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-BIG BEN 4119                  6   6  0    53       NEW ORIGINALS (478)
 COLLYWOBBLES 4170             7   1  0    51       BOOK OF THOMAS (479)
 DANGEROUS TOYS 4100           9   7  1    49       BASH BROS BABY (461)
 NOT THE MOM CRY 3888         10  16  1    47       BASH BROS BABY (461)
 DAISY DUCK 4150               6   5  0    34       DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-BRAYD HULT 4154               2   0  0    30       BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)
-PLUTO 4121                    5   7  0    29       NEW ORIGINALS (478)
-JEHTRO DAVICK 4155            2   0  0    27       BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-DUCK DYNASTY 4168             3   1  0    20       DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)
 DOESN'T SLEEP 4182            2   1  0    20       BASH BROS BABY (461)
-SUMP 4117                     1   0  0    11       NEW ORIGINALS (478)
-KGNT CHAMBARD 4151            1   1  0     8       BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)
-MAWRIE RAWSH 4153             0   1  0     7       BIG LAKE LUMBER (483)
-EPSILON PYXIDIS 4177          0   2  0     6       PYXIS (485)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
HE DIES 4194            0  1 0 BOOK OF THOMAS 479   SHAGORNAN HERMIT      356  NONE
SHE DIES 4193           0  1 0 BOOK OF THOMAS 479   SHAGORNAN HERMIT      356  NONE
TAILWIND 4125           7  4 0 BOOK OF THOMAS 479   DARK ELF CHAMPIO      356  NONE

                                     PERSONAL ADS

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

TAILWIND was butchered by DARK ELF CHAMPION in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
SHE DIES was butchered by SHAGORNAN HERMIT in a 1 minute Dark Arena duel.
HE DIES was murdered by SHAGORNAN HERMIT in a 1 minute Dark Arena melee.
PARRY-SLICE subdued ELITE ASSASSIN in a 2 minute fight.
SUPERSLICE vanquished COLLABORATOR in a 1 minute mismatched Title brawl.
EUNUCH defeated LOUD TOYS in a 1 minute fight.
BOTTLE ROCKET demolished DANGEROUS TOYS in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
NOT THE MOM CRY lost to COLLYWOBBLES in a 2 minute fight.
DOESN'T SLEEP was bested by DAISY DUCK in a 2 minute amateur vs. master match.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   4         TOTAL PARRY       19 -  11 -  0      63  |
|AIMED BLOW                       2         AIMED BLOW        19 -  12 -  2      61  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   2         LUNGING ATTACK    23 -  15 -  1      61  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  2         PARRY-STRIKE      11 -   8 -  0      58  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         BASHING ATTACK    19 -  18 -  1      51  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      9 -  11 -  0      45  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  1         STRIKING ATTACK   21 -  26 -  2      45  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-LUNGE        3 -   6 -  0      33  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      0         WALL OF STEEL      2 -   5 -  0      29  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    0         SLASHING ATTACK    4 -  10 -  0      29  |

Turn 356 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:

PARRY-STRIKE       1 -  0     BASHING ATTACK     1 -  3         3  LUNGING ATTACK 
PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         3  BASHING ATTACK 
STRIKING ATTACK    1 -  0     SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  2         2  AIMED BLOW     
AIMED BLOW         1 -  1     TOTAL PARRY        0 -  0         1  STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK     1 -  1     WALL OF STEEL      0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    
                                                                1  PARRY-STRIKE   

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  SUPERSLICE 4074            12   6  1   98 ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
PARRY-STRIKE     PARRY-SLICE 4078           17  11  1   95 ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
LUNGING ATTACK   EUNUCH 4097                 9   3  0   74 ANYWAYUSLICEIT (475)
BASHING ATTACK   BOTTLE ROCKET 4157          7   1  1   70 BOOK OF THOMAS (479)
AIMED BLOW       COLLYWOBBLES 4170           7   1  0   51 BOOK OF THOMAS (479)
PARRY-RIPOSTE    DAISY DUCK 4150             6   5  0   34 DUCKS UNLIMITED (143)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is PARRY-SLICE 4078.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was PARRY-SLICE 4078.  The ten other most popular fighters were COLLYWOBBLES 
4170, SUPERSLICE 4074, EUNUCH 4097, BOTTLE ROCKET 4157, NOT THE MOM CRY 3888, DAISY 
DUCK 4150, DOESN'T SLEEP 4182, TAILWIND 4125, SHE DIES 4193, and HE DIES 4194.

The least popular fighter this week was DANGEROUS TOYS 4100.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were LOUD TOYS 4069, HE DIES 4194, SHE DIES 4193, TAILWIND 4125, 
DOESN'T SLEEP 4182, DAISY DUCK 4150, NOT THE MOM CRY 3888, BOTTLE ROCKET 4157, EUNUCH 
4097, and SUPERSLICE 4074.

                   An Informative Guide to the Parry-Riposte Style

                             composed by Sir Jessie Jest

     Greetings to all.  After many weeks of compiling a database with informationon 
the parry-riposte, I would like to thank the many managers that donated their time and 
effort to make this project work.  We all hope that many managers benefit from these 
efforts to further the interest in this style.
     This article can also be found in the Duel Masters Web page on the internet at:  
http://www.netis.com/johnh/dm.htm 
     Also, for those of you who have e-mail access, I invite you to join in on the DM 
discussions on the Roundtable.  The roundtable is a forum that discusses anything that 
has to do with Duelmasters.  It is made up of many other DM managers like yourself, 
and will answer any question you have about the game.  To join the Round Table send e-
mail to listserv@ambience.com.au with the message "Subscribe Duel-L Your Name".

                          ***            ***            *** 

     Parry-ripostes, or rippers, can be very deadly if trained and managed 
effectively.  Rippers aren't as widely understood as the more common high skill base 
styles are.   They do draw managers who like more of a challenge.  It is not a style 
for quick fix, so to speak.   They start with much less skill and development than 
many other styles.  This means they require a much longer development time before 
reaching that successful stage.  Rippers are not good short-term warriors.  They lack 
what it takes to get many wins early in their career.   When you make a ripper, you're 
in for the long haul.
     When making a ripper, it is good to think about making him survive through Basic.  
Rippers have the second highest death rate, with aimed blows being the first.  The 
main reasons for this, I believe, are poor warrior design and/or poor strategy.  
Rippers, even if designed exactly the same, vary more from one to another than most 
styles in general.  The aimed blow, I believe, is the only other style that varies 
more widely from one to another than the ripper.  Finding your ripper's likes and 
dislikes may be quite a task, indeed.
     The first thing to get a good ripper is warrior design.   His starting stats will 
greatly effect his starting skill bases as well.   Since rippers starting skill base 
is lower than some of the other styles, getting as many bonus skills from initial 
stats is very important.   These bonus skills are given most in the WIT and DEFTNESS 
stats.   Odd numbered stats are where most of the bonus skills are at, such as 13, 15, 
17 and 21.  There are no bonus stats to be gained at 19 in any stat except speed.  
Good rippers will have a minimum of 32 points between wit and deftness.  34 or more 
points is preferred. 17 or 21 WT and 17 or 21 DT makes the best rippers.

Ripper stats:

Strength:      7-11  gives you the range you need for all ripper weapons.

Con:           10-14 helps keep your ripper alive and helps with encumbrance.  A wise 
               manager would put any left over points here, rather than speed.  We'll
               get to that in a minute.

Size:          3-11,  no bigger.  It's a waste of points and kills your defense, which 
               is one thing that will keep your ripper alive.

Wit:           15, 17 or 21 -- No less.  You need the bonus skills and the quick 
               learning to make up for the lower skill base.

Will:          15+  Not necessary, but to be successful quicker in ADM get at least a 
               15.

Speed:         5-9   Speed is the most disputed thing among ripper managers.  It is 
               split 50/50 on its contribution to a rippers success.  I believe any 
               extra points left over after adding to odd number WT, WL, and DF should 
               go to CON, not speed.  It makes no difference whether you get those 
               skills gained from speed now, or later on.  They are still the same 
               number of skills.  Those few skills won't make as much difference 
               now, as CON does in keeping the ripper ALIVE.   A dead ripper's bases 
               don't matter much, now, do they?  ;)

Deftness       15,17, or 21 no less.  This is a MUST.  Deftness gives the most bonus 
               skills out of all the stats.   Unlike other styles, which start out 
               with higher bases, a ripper needs all the bonuses he can get.  Don't 
               skimp here.  Also, many of the rippers weapons require high deftness.

     The average skill bonuses you get for the parry-riposte style are as follows: 
(Taken from the "Ween Chart" that includes decimals)
Skill                                                Bonus
======                                               ======
Attack                                               -1.6
Parry                                                -0.1
Defense                                              -3
Initiative                                           3.1
Decise                                               1.8
Riposte                                              4.6

     Naturally, rippers get more bonus skills in the riposte area.  To help  
understand that chart, round the numbers up to the nearest whole number.   Example, 
Decise 1.8 = 2 extra decise skills.  There is no way to predict exactly what your 
ripper's starting skills will be.  But you can get a good idea when your get your 
overview back by using the skill chart which is not listed here.  There is the luck 
factor, which is a random number that RSI gives to make sure no two warriors are 
exactly alike.  Some are blessed and get more than average skills, whereas others get 
considerably less.  Rippers in general seem to get LESS more than MORE skill in the 
luck factor part of character generation.
     Listed below are some examples of actual rippers in ADM and Primus.Please take 
note of the + or extra skills these rippers received with thestats they have.  Notice 
the amount of extra skills they received from high WIT and DEFTNESS.  The luck factor 
had some play in these startingbases.  These are also examples of when the luck factor 
gives you MOREstarting base skills.  The one at the bottom, with the -2 skills, is an 
exampleof bad luck.  The average skill base totals is +4.8 or 5 skills rounded up.That 
means that if you get a ripper with more than + 5 skills to his base,he is lucky.  
Less than + 5 he is unlucky, depending on his stats.  If theripper has less than a 32 
total points WIT and DEFTNESS, his chancesof getting less than +5 is MUCH higher.   If 
you get more than +5 skills withless than 32 points in your WIT and DEFTNESS total,  
you a very lucky.One exception is when you have a 30 WIT/DEFTNESS total and a 21 
WILL.Then you should get +5 or better to your skill base.  If not, you are unlucky.

ST-CN-SZ-WT-WL-SP-DF    BASE: ATT    INIT   DEC    DEF    PAR   RIP      (Bonus +/-)
17-13-4-17-9-9-15             60(0)  60(+4) 30(+2) 40(-1) 45(+1) 65(+5);     +11
9-13-8-17-15-5-17             55(-1) 55(+4) 15(0)  30(-4) 55(+3) 70(+6);     +8
11-9-12-15-17-5-17            55(0)  35(+2) 20(+1) 30(-3) 45(-1) 75(+9);     +8
9-12-5-17-15-9-17             45(-3) 50(+1) 40(+3) 45(-2) 40(0)  70(+5);     +4
10-10-9-21-15-4-15            60(-1) 50(+2) 45(+5) 35(-4) 35(0)  65(+5);     +7
8-9-7-17-17-9-17              50(-3) 50(-1) 50(+4) 50(-2) 40(+1) 85(+8);     +5
8-10-12-17-17-3-17            60(-1) 45(0)  25(+2) 30(-5) 40(+1) 55(+4);     +1
8-9-8-15-11-12-21             50(-2) 75(+5) 35(+2) 35(-4) 50(+1) 80(+5);     +7
12-10-8-17-11-9-17            40(-3) 45(0)  40(+4) 30(-4) 15(-4) 70(+5);     -2

     The numbers in the parenthesis are the + or - the projected skill base for that 
set of numbers.  Example:  +5 means that he got 5 more than the average projection.  
Pluses are good and minuses are bad.
     A simple method to see whether or not your ripper was lucky is to add the WIT and 
DEFTNESS together.  If it is above 32 then you should get + 5 as an average, and any 
more than +5 is lucky.  The higher the WIT/DEFTNESS total the higher the average.  
This is a quick guesstimate to see if your ripper was unlucky at getting a good number 
starting skills.  It is not an exact way to tell.  You can tell more accurately by 
using the skill chart that lists the skill bonuses, and the style modifiers.
     Good WIT statements for a good ripper include high order ATTACK, DEFENSE, and 
PARRY.   An initiative statement is nice, but harder to come by for a ripper, unless 
you give up one of those 3 up there.  If you get ATTACK, DEFENSE, PARRY and INITIATIVE 
high order you have a GREAT ripper.   Rippers almost always get some kind of Riposte 
statement.  Riposte isn't really as important as those 4 up there are in the long run.  
Decise skill is meaningless to a ripper. 

ARMOR
-----------
     Rippers should wear heavy armor at the beginning of their career.  It is  better 
to run a ripper defensively or `scum' him for awhile until he gains more skill.  When 
he starts getting his experts in defense and parry, then you can take off some armor.   
Rippers are more like to DIE in their first 10-15 fights than later on when they have 
more skill and experience.
     Some people don't like playing defensively, and run them offensively at the 
beginning.  Rippers are long term projects and are not ready for this.  They lack the 
skill and experience to do this in the beginning.  For this reason, and the fact most 
people don't put much armor on them at the start of their career, is why so many 
rippers DIE.  Putting heavy armor on them and playing them defensively, increases the 
ripper's chance to make it to ADM ALIVE.  I've put rippers in ACM and APA in basic for 
their first 15 fights.  It keeps them alive and gets them learns without affecting 
their performance.

Weapons
-------------

     Your ripper's favorite weapon is VERY important.  Rippers have a very limited 
number of weapons to choose from, but do have some good ones.

     This is a list of ripper weapons.  They are listed in order of which is best to 
which is worst according to a poll of 58 ripper mgrs.

1.  Scimitar -- The best ripper weapon, without question.
2.  Longsword
3.  Epee -- I wouldn't advise using this weapon in Basic.
4.  Shortsword
5.  Shortspear
6.  Longspear
7.  Hatchet

     Using that chart above, you can tell whether or not your ripper got stuck with a 
lousy favorite weapon.  Down below is more info on ripper's favorite weapons.

Out of 44 parry-ripostes, the following is a chart of the favorite weapons they got:  
EP (11), SC (8), LO (8), LS (4), SS (7), SH (6)
     Notice that most got the top 3 ripper weapons.  Just hope your ripper doesn't get 
stuck with a lame weapon.

Off-hand weapon
------------------------
     Rippers do better with 2 weapons than one.  In ADM, a ripper can use either one 
or 2 and still be effective.  Shortswords and hatchets are the most effective.  
Daggers and shields are OK, but not really good in ADM.  If you have a ripper with 
high enough deftness, twin longswords or scimitars can be devastating.  Rippers have 
an unusually high chance of being ambidextrous.

Strategy- Using tactics
-------------------------------
     Rippers in general don't react well to tactics.  This is agreed on by most ripper 
managers.  They can use lunge, dodge, response and parry to some effectiveness.  Out 
of 44 rippers, 3 got Lunge, 6 got Riposte, and 3 got Parry as a favorite tactic.  
Riposte tactic is lame, and should never be used on a ripper.  He ripostes well enough 
without that tactic.  All it will do is penalize him in other important areas.

Strategy- (favorite rhythms)
-------------------------------------
     Unlike other styles, the ripper favorite rhythm is used more closely.  Most 
managers use different strategies in basic than they do in ADM for their rippers.   
They play it more by ear in Basic, and stick mostly to the ripper's favorite rhythms 
in ADM.  Unless, of course, they have very bad rhythms for favorites.  Then they may 
go back to playing it by ear.

Below is a graph of 44 Parry - Riposte's favorite rhythms.

A. L. -- O. E.      VL         LO         MO        HI         VH   TOTALS
VL                   3          1          2         0          0      6
LO                   2          1          2         2          0      7   
MO                   2         19          0         1          0     22
HI                   2          0          5         2          0      9
VH                   0          0          0         0          0      0
TOTALS               9         21          9         5          0

     As you can see, most of the favorites for a Parry Riposte fall in the LOW 
offensive and moderate activity range.
     To give someone an example of a basic strategy, I will give you an example below.

MIN      1         2        3       4        5         6        Desp.

OL       2         2        2       4        4         3           7
AL       2         2        2        4       4         2           7
KD       5         5        5        6       6         5           5
Att     RA----------------------------------------------->
Pro     HE----------------------------------------------->

     You can experiment with other strategies, and might even check out how your 
ripper likes tactics.
     In ADM, I'd stick with the favorite rhythms, unless they aren't working for him.

Best style match-ups for a ripper in basic are: PR, TP, BA, PS, WS.
Worst in Basic are :  SL, LU, AB, PL, ST.

Best style Match-ups in ADM are: TP, PR, BA, ST, PS.
Worst in ADM are : LU, SL, WS, PL, AB.

     Well, that should be enough information to get any manager started with a good 
ripper.   If you need more information about rippers or anything else about DM, 
contact me.   I can be reached via e-mail at 103260.3347@ compuserve.com or you can 
Diplo me at the Joker's Wild 2 in DM 75.  I hope this helped someone.

Cheers,
Sir Jessie Jest

Credits -- Major contributors:

Mitch Nakagawa -AKA- Sensei                          Slowburn
Glenn Uren -AKA- Heretic                             JRK
Jeanette Jerles -AKA- Shark                          Jester
Gary Triplett -AKA- Miles                            The Boss Man
The Lunatic                                          Voo-Doo
Assurnasirbanipal                                    Soultaker
Lord Bosk                                            Buri
C.J Caviness -AKA- The Visionist                     Doctor Scot
Manager(Dwayne)                                      Revenant
Eric Goche                                           Seeker
Rajesh Nanda
Johan Behrenfeldt -AKA- Bartender  

and many others.