DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 06/10/2022    Duedate: 07/07/2022

SNOWBOUND ARENA

DM-50    TURN-430

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

TWO HEADED MONSTER
OPEN SESAME (199)
(50-3993) [14-12-2,124]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

TWO HEADED MONSTER             POSITION IS EMPTY
OPEN SESAME (199)              
(50-3993) [14-12-2,124]        

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

VIOLA WING                     OFF SEASON
MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)             BASH BROS SPORTS (405)
(50-4037) [9-27-0,54]          (50-3962) [6-3-0,95]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

DARQUE THEORY (348)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)          22
2. OPEN SESAME (199)           18      OPEN SESAME (199)
3. BASH BROS SPORTS (405)       0      Unchartered Team
4. BOOK OF THOMAS (421)         0
5. DARQUE THEORY (348)        -15       (-1)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1 OPEN SESAME (199)        548 342 44 61.6   1/ 1 DARQUE THEORY (348)      10  5 1
 2/ 2 DARQUE THEORY (348)      186 130 14 58.9   2/ 2 OPEN SESAME (199)         6  0 1
 3/ 3 BASH BROS SPORTS (405)    91  90  3 50.3   3/ 3 BASH BROS SPORTS (405)    2  1 0
 4- 4 BOOK OF THOMAS (421)     115 120  6 48.9   4/ 4 MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)        2 10 0
 5/ 5 MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)       407 632 10 39.2   5- 5 BOOK OF THOMAS (421)      1  3 0

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

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

The Frothingslosh Syndicate is proud to announce 99 Bottles of Beer III!!! (+ 100): 
Sponsored by ALFREDOVISION(TM): for a Better Tomorrow, and a Better Today.

The contest will be in honor and celebration of turn 199 of SEAM DM 20.

Your objective is simple: be the first team to accumulate 199 Bottles of Beer!

The first part of the contest will be a 15 turn "warm-up" starting on turn 184, due 
7/4/22, but you are encouraged to start your team as early as possible. During this 
casual "meet and greet" stage, all teams will earn one bottle per turn simply by 
fielding a full team of 5 warriors and writing at least one personal ad. BTW guys, for 
the sake of simplicity, your Host and Cruise director asks that you PLEASE do not sign 
your ad expecting me to know who you are. If you are not 100% certain, then please 
state very clearly EVERY TURN what team you are associated with so i do not have to go 
through past newsletters to try to figure out who you are. Also do not forget to write 
a personal ad for the turn 184 newsletter! Simply stating who you are would be great. 
Something like, "Hi Seam. I'm John, the manager of John's team" is certainly 
sufficient.

The real fireworks will start on turn 199, due on 1/30/23. That is when the teams will 
start to earn Bottles for Arena Performance, which will be earned/awarded as follows:

  * Bottles awarded for being active and writing a personal ad are discontinued.
  * 5 Bottles for each invite to ADM, AWARDED UPON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF INVITE IN THE 
    NEWSLETTER with the opportunity to earn 1 extra bottle ON THE FOLLOWING TURN for 
    achieving a kill in the Dark Arena on their last fight. Note that this Bottle is a 
    "bonus;" you will also earn a Bottle for the win; bottles awarded for wins are 
    outlined below.
  * 3 Bottles for each turn as Duelmaster, with the opportunity to earn 1 extra bottle 
    for writing a Duelmaster's column COLLECTED ON THE FOLLOWING TURN when the column 
    is actually published. It does not have to be fancy but has to be "something": 99 
    words minimum.
  * 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 Bottles for Team on the Move and Current Top Team. In the case 
    of ties, partial bottles will be awarded and will count towards your total.
  * 2 Bottles for Chartered Recognition Leader
  * 2 Bottles for This Week's Favorite
  * 2 Bottles for TOP CAREER HONORS Chartered Team
  * 0 Bottles for each turn as Overall Popularity Leader. Additionally, you will pay a 
    1 BOTTLE PENALTY on the following turn if you fail to post a personal ad 
    apologizing for your ostentatious behavior! OR...you can choose to brag further 
    about how astonishingly wonderful you actually are, and are more than worthy of 
    all the accolades you get from your adoring fans.
  * 1 Bottle for a successful Bloodfeud: limit two bottles per incident.
  * 2 Bottles for each Stylemaster as listed in the newsletter. In other words, the 
    rules for being awarded bottles for Stylemaster are the same as they are in the 
    arena: winning record, adept or above.
  * 1 bottle for each win, or two bottles for each kill in the regular arena. Warriors 
    that manage to return from the Dark Arena earn one bottle for the win only.

If more than one team achieves or surpasses 199 Bottles on the same turn, the team 
with the higher total will be the victor. Partial Bottles having been awarded make the 
event of a tie at the end much less likely; any fraction of a bottle lead that you may 
have *will* count. In the unlikely event that there is an exact tie for any place that 
receives a prize, those teams involved will continue playing until a winner can be 
decided.

The top three places will win one or more "Cream of the Slosh" replacements:

  * 1st Place: 3 CotS replacements
  * 2nd Place: 2 CotS replacements
  * 3rd Place: 1 CotS replacements

A CotS replacement is 10 standard, ordinary Duelmasters teamsheets that are specially 
"marked" and grouped together by the Spy Commision to be used for this single purpose 
only. The winning manager then chooses any one out of the 50 warriors on the 10 
teamsheets they wish to be their "Cream of the Slosh" replacement; the other 49 are 
simply discarded. Note that you are free to use your CotS replacement anytime you have 
an opening on your team in Seam; in other words, you are not required to Dark Arena 
nor do you have to pass on a good naturally occurring replacement.

However, CotS replacements will not be allowed to hide their status: all CotS 
replacements will be required to start its name with these three symbols: O^O (capital 
O, shift-6 [caret symbol], capital O. This surely will cause them to be a "target" of 
challenges, but also will serve as a badge of honor for them to wear proudly. In the 
case of winning multiple CotS replacements, you will be required to wait at least 10 
ACTIVE turns in between using your CotS replacements; you will only receive one CotS 
packet at a time. Just send a note in to the Spy Commission with your 10th turn's 
orders to receive your new CotS packet with your turn's results.

Note that 6 CotS replacements being won in total is the guaranteed minimum. I have 
been informed that if the contest has an unusually large turnout, the Spy Commission 
MAY choose to spice up the prize pool with additional CotS replacements. Understand 
there are no guarantees (other than them 6 as listed), and these Spies were rather 
"vague" and sometimes can be a little sketchy. But, for what it's worth, I figured I 
should pass the information on just in case it does actually have merit.

But that's not all! For those of you that wish to spice up the contest even further, 
we are featuring an additional and completely voluntary "Contest Within a Contest" for 
which there will be a one time fee of 6 RSI Gift Certificates to enter. The prize pool 
for the CWAC will be one "6-pack" of Duelmasters Gift Certificates (no cash value; 
each may be redeemed for one Duelmasters teamsheet) for every manager who chooses to 
participate. The prize pool will divided up among the winning players as follows:

  * 1st place: 1/2 of all the teamsheets
  * 2nd place: 1/3 of all the teamsheets
  * 3rd place: 1/6 of all the teamsheets

I just want to clarify that managers competing for the CWAC teamsheets are only 
competing against each other. So, for example, if you place second in the main contest 
but the main contest winner did not choose to participate in the CWAC, you will then 
be the first place winner of the CWAC (and receive half of all the sheets in the prize 
pool). Additionally, if the CWAC proves to be very popular and gets many entries, I 
may pay out more places. Any such decisions will be discussed and finalized prior to 
turn 199.

I will do my best to write a Contest Update every turn which will obviously be based 
on the totals from the previous turn. I also plan to start an email list that you may 
join if you wish. I will send out the updated contest standings to this list...likely 
very soon after the newsletter is posted; I will actually be so bold to suggest that I 
might get your contest update prior to getting your mail! So everyone can have up-to-
date standings, but also gives you the chance to point out any errors I might have 
made prior to sending in the official update to be printed in the newsletter.

Other Rules:

  * Once the first team equals or surpasses the required 199 Bottles total, THE 
    CONTEST IS OVER unless there are any ties to work out, and in that case the 
    contest will continue to the following turn ONLY for those teams involved. Your 
    official contest ranking will be based on whatever position you are holding at the 
    time that the first team(s) surpasses 199 bottles, even in the unlikely event of a 
    tie for first place and the winner has not yet been determined.
  * NO AVOIDS: This will be STRICTLY ENFORCED starting on Turn 199. Any team caught 
    avoiding will be REMOVED from the contest and their entry fee (if any) WILL NOT be 
    refunded! And trust me, with the number of nosy spy reporters out there, YOU WILL 
    get caught.
  * Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will be grounds for 
    disqualification. Coordinating challenges is allowed; non-aggression pacts are 
    allowed. "Taking a dive" (ie: throwing fights) is definitely NOT allowed. Any 
    allegations of cheating will be investigated seriously; any decision made by the 
    spy commission regarding said allegations will be final. Ladies and gentlemen: 
    let's keep this clean, okay? None of us are kids anymore!
  * Seam is a "non-tourney" arena, and as such you are required to field a full team 
    of 5 warriors every turn! Any warrior that has 1 FE or more missing the turn will 
    incur a 3-Bottle penalty for their team. You are highly encouraged to put your 
    entire team on maintenance, to guard against any mistakes. If you have a warrior 
    "accidentally' sit out the turn, you will "accidentally" incur a 3-bottle penalty 
    ;>. Any rookie warrior missing a turn will only incur a 1-Bottle penalty for 
    their team. I am aware that those poor noobs often get lost temporarily.
  * There will be no penalty for your *entire team* missing a turn. It is certainly 
    not recommended, however!
  * No tournament experience or "enhanced" warriors will be allowed.
  * If you wish to participate in the optional "contest within a contest," you must 
    announce your intention to participate prior to turn 190 being processed (due 
    9/26). The one-time entry fee of 6 RSI Gift Certificates will be charged to your 
    account at that time. 

YOU are invited; you are encouraged to start early if you like! The Frothingslosh 
Syndicate invites you to Bottle! Er...ah...battle!

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

BOTTLES OF BEER III!!! (+100) CONTEST: NEWS FROM THE GLADITORIAL COMMISSION: ALL 
PARTICIPANTS WIN A PRIZE! Plus contest clarifications:

You heard right my friends: ALL 99 Bottles participants who do not miss more than 1 
turn during the entire contest (including the warm-up phase) will receive a "Pick of 
the Litter" replacement. A PotL replacement will be 10 ordinary random replacements: 
you pick the one you wish to keep, and the other 9 are discarded. Naturally, this 
replacement must be placed in DM 20.

What's new:

Your CotS "status symbol": O^O (capital O, shift-6, capital O) must appear somewhere 
in it's name. However, it may appear anywhere. It need not be in the beginning as was 
originally stated. So names such as MO^ONSHOT or THRU THE O^O will be quite 
acceptable.. 

Some clarifications:

* Do not forget to write a personal ad for the Turn 184 newsletter. In other words, 
  assuming you do start on turn 184, you need to send in a personal ad with your very 
  first turn.

  The requirement to write a personal ad is discontinued once the Arena Achievement 
  stage starts on turn 199.

* This should not be an issue, but Bottles for Arena Awards will be awarded for 
  chartered teams only.

* If you win one or more of the CotS replacements, they/it MUST be used in DM 20.

* Note that the NO AVOIDS policy will be STRICLY ENFORCED!! If you are caught 
  avoiding, you will be disqualified from the contest! HOWEVER--this does not start 
  until turn 199; no one including myself or the Gladitorial Commission will give a 
  hoot about avoids until turn 199. But be sure you get it out of your system prior: 
  if you are caught avoiding on turn 199 (or after), you WILL be disqualified!!

* On the other hand, fielding a partial team is a no-no RIGHT FROM THE START on turn 
  184. You will receive a 3-bottle penalty for any inactive warrior, or 1-bottle 
  penalty for any inactive rookie. And your Bottle total can and will go negative if 
  necessary.

  It is highly recommended that you place your team "on maintenance" to avoid any 
  complications caused due to slow mail or any other unforeseen catastrophy. In case 
  you are not familiar with the term: a team on maintenance will automatically run 
  again with its previous turn's strategies (without the challenges) even if none are 
  sent in or are not received in time, Just send your request to be put on maintenance 
  to CSR@reality.com.

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

Greetings and Salutations!

Always nice to come back to Snowbound and see someone has kept the throne warm for us. 
Many thanks.  

The more political points the better in my book as Mr. Noodle and I really want to 
move on from this place to a nice relaxing retirement

                                          -- Two-Headed Monster 
                                             Open Sesame
                                             Duelmaster of Snowbound

                                      SPY REPORT

     It's me, The Unknown Spymaster, back to give you this week's Spy Report.  Sit 
back in your seats and we'll have more fun than a barrel of Zontanis.  Hey everybody, 
watch out for JANICE KOLE, who flew up 18 points in the rankings after mashing OUTTA 
TUNE like a melon.  Keep your eye on this gal.  Ya know, some days it doesn't pay to 
walk out on the sands.  OUTTA TUNE was beat by JANICE KOLE and drops 13 points.  Well 
here's a duelmaster that doesn't sit back and say 'Challenge me'!  TWO HEADED MONSTER 
made a challenge against OFF SEASON this week.  Our battling duelmaster TWO HEADED 
MONSTER has managed to hold the title, fending off OFF SEASON's none too subtle 
advances.  Better luck next time, BASH BROS SPORTS.  4 out of 5 gladiators surveyed 
protect the body, so try and avoid aiming at that location.   
     But enough of that bunch, let's get on to the wimps who like to avoid battle!  
And hey, kiddies, those of you who didn't avoid DARQUE THEORY, please raise you hand. 
Wow.  Does SNOWBOUND really have that many liars?  And you guys like to boo me?  
Well, unsling your rasberries, cause OPEN SESAME beats feet every time DARQUE THEORY 
smiles at them.  Try farming, eh?  Well dang howdy, but if challenges were votes, MR. 
NOODLE would be president.  Although it may be a contest he doesn't want to win.   
     Being a spy is great--other people die and you spend the rest of the day 
drinking to their memory.  Better tanked than dead!  Ask not the elves for counsel, 
for they will say both yes and no.  Silly buggers, eh?   
     I think I had better cut this one short.  It's been nice chatting to those of 
you whom I have not offended yet.  Okay, so I may not be the world's best comedian, 
but then you guys aren't the world's best warriors.  Hasta la bye-bye.  (Loud 
choruses of 'Beat it, ya bum!')-- The Unknown Spymaster  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 TWO HEADED MONSTER 3993      14  12  2   124       OPEN SESAME (199)

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONS           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-FROZEN GHOST 3992            14   2  0   122       BOOK OF THOMAS (421)
 MR. NOODLE 4016              13   9  3   105       OPEN SESAME (199)
 RHAPSODY 4050                14   6  1    99       DARQUE THEORY (348)
 OFF SEASON 3962               6   3  0    95       BASH BROS SPORTS (405)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 HELGA ICELAND 4020           18  26  0    84       MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-UNIQUE 4033                  10   4  0    71       BOOK OF THOMAS (421)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 WORD ON THE STREET 4068       8   2  0    58       OPEN SESAME (199)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 VIOLA WING 4037               9  27  0    54       MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)
 TRILL 4084                    6   3  1    54       DARQUE THEORY (348)
-PREDATOR 4034                 4   1  1    54       BOOK OF THOMAS (421)
 JANICE KOLE 4087              3   6  0    51       MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)
 OUTTA TUNE 4083               7   2  0    37       DARQUE THEORY (348)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 FERMATA 4096                  5   0  1    32       DARQUE THEORY (348)
-MRS. NOODLE 4081              2   0  0    28       OPEN SESAME (199)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-RANGER 4082                   2   0  0    18       BOOK OF THOMAS (421)
-MRS. SPARKLENOSE 4063         1   1  0    17       OPEN SESAME (199)
 OSTINATO 4095                 3   2  0    11       DARQUE THEORY (348)
 PERRY REESE 4094              1   6  0    11       MIDDLE WAY 6 (368)

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
VENOMOUS CONCUBI        0  0 0                      MR. NOODLE 4016       430  NONE

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Viola Wing -- Do you realize that marks 3 consecutive fights for me against you? I 
know it's not the same the otherway, but the way you've been teaching me skills, I 
have to try and make it 4 in a row -- Word On The Street

Rhapsody -- You are really going to be embarrassed when you find out how bad a foe you 
have lost to (twice?) -- Two Headed Monster

Rhapsody -- You can do it, hang in there. -- we who walk the Middle Way

we salute any relevant stylemasters from the tourney but don't have time to comb 
through the list. -- Middle Way

Mr. Noodle -- I've been lashed with a wet noodle (it's raining here). -- Helga Iceland

Word on the Street -- I could never do your thing.  I have trouble with passwords 
because my hands shake.  I'm sure you've seen the cartoon where Aladdin or somebody 
attempts to get in and is refused because his password is too easy? -- Viola Wing

Fermata -- Not going to look it up today.  It's that kind of day, I can already tell. 
-- Perry Reese

Ostinato -- Good one!  I really like getting the only win. -- Janice Kole
P.S.  It's been that kind of week all along.

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

TWO HEADED MONSTER slimly won victory over OFF SEASON in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
WORD ON THE STREET won victory over VIOLA WING in a 3 minute uneven Challenge battle.
RHAPSODY subdued HELGA ICELAND in a crowd pleasing 1 minute expert's fight.
MR. NOODLE butchered VENOMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
TRILL was demolished by VENOMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
OUTTA TUNE slimly lost to JANICE KOLE in a crowd pleasing 4 minute brutal fight.
FERMATA slimly won victory over PERRY REESE in a 5 minute competition.
OSTINATO was overpowered by KARNHORN DESERTER in a 1 minute uneven melee.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK                   3         TOTAL PARRY        7 -   0 -  1     100  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      2         PARRY-LUNGE        4 -   0 -  1     100  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    2         WALL OF STEEL      3 -   1 -  0      75  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   2         BASHING ATTACK     9 -   3 -  1      75  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  1         PARRY-STRIKE       8 -   3 -  0      73  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    1         SLASHING ATTACK    7 -   8 -  0      47  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         PARRY-RIPOSTE      6 -   8 -  0      43  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         LUNGING ATTACK    11 -  17 -  1      39  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         AIMED BLOW         5 -  12 -  0      29  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  0         STRIKING ATTACK    0 -   3 -  0       0  |

Turn 430 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:

SLASHING ATTACK    1 -  0     AIMED BLOW         0 -  1         4  LUNGING ATTACK 
TOTAL PARRY        2 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         2  AIMED BLOW     
WALL OF STEEL      1 -  0     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  1         1  WALL OF STEEL  
PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  1     LUNGING ATTACK     0 -  3         1  BASHING ATTACK 
BASHING ATTACK     1 -  1     STRIKING ATTACK    0 -  0         1  SLASHING ATTACK
                                                                1  PARRY-STRIKE   
                                                                1  TOTAL PARRY    

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
WALL OF STEEL    TWO HEADED MONSTER 3993    14  12  2  124 OPEN SESAME (199)
BASHING ATTACK   MR. NOODLE 4016            13   9  3  105 OPEN SESAME (199)
SLASHING ATTACK  RHAPSODY 4050              14   6  1   99 DARQUE THEORY (348)
PARRY-STRIKE     OFF SEASON 3962             6   3  0   95 BASH BROS SPORTS (405)
TOTAL PARRY      WORD ON THE STREET 4068     8   2  0   58 OPEN SESAME (199)
LUNGING ATTACK   TRILL 4084                  6   3  1   54 DARQUE THEORY (348)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is VIOLA WING 4037.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was OFF SEASON 3962.  The ten other most popular fighters were VIOLA WING 4037, 
RHAPSODY 4050, OUTTA TUNE 4083, JANICE KOLE 4087, TWO HEADED MONSTER 3993, PERRY 
REESE 4094, MR. NOODLE 4016, WORD ON THE STREET 4068, FERMATA 4096, and HELGA ICELAND 
4020.

The least popular fighter this week was OSTINATO 4095.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were TRILL 4084, HELGA ICELAND 4020, FERMATA 4096, WORD ON THE STREET 4068, 
MR. NOODLE 4016, PERRY REESE 4094, TWO HEADED MONSTER 3993, JANICE KOLE 4087, OUTTA 
TUNE 4083, and RHAPSODY 4050.

The following warriors will travel to AD after next turn:

RHAPSODY (50-4050) DARQUE THEORY (348)

                       SUMMER FACE-TO-FACE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!

                        (well actually, Alexandria, Virginia)

We hope you will join us at our summer FTF in Washington, D.C., July 22-24, 2022.  It 
will be held at the Embassy Suites Alexandria Old Town near the Potomac River in 
Alexandria, Virginia (703-684-5900).  The hotel looks very nice and we're excited to 
be in the downtown area with so many restaurants and other goodies nearby. Room rates 
are $169.00 for singles and doubles, which includes full cooked breakfast, 
complimentary manager's reception, and free high speed internet.  Underground parking 
is $15/night.  There's a fitness center, jacuzzi, and pool.  The rooms are blocked--
the code is "Duelmasters."

        The official block cutoff is mid June so make your reservations ASAP!
The hotel reservation site is: https://book.passkey.com/event/50341474/owner/1731/home
              Or call to reserve at 800-362-2779 and use group code DUE.

Please note that rooms are limited.  As always, if the block is full, please make your 
reservation the best you can (book a king, and/or book at normal rates) and let us 
know and we'll work with the sales office to get them to correct your reservation. 

The tournament info sheet and minioverviews will be out in June.  We are very looking 
forward to seeing you all and hope that you can make it!

P.S.  The dates are set for the next winter FTF:  January 13-15, 2023, in Tempe.

                            WINTER FACE-TO-FACE IN TEMPE!

We hope you will join us at our winter FTF in Tempe, AZ, January 13-15, 2023! It will 
be held at our usual Embassy Suites Hotel in Tempe, Arizona (480-897-7444).  Room 
rates are $184.00 per night, 1-2 occupancy, which includes full cooked breakfast, 
complimentary manager's reception, free airport shuttle, free parking and free high 
speed internet.  There's a fitness center, jacuzzi, and pool.  The rooms are blocked--
the code is "Duelmasters2023."  

      The official block cutoff is December 12 so make your reservations ASAP!
             The hotel reservation site is:  http://tinyurl.com/FF68inTempe 

Please note that doubles are limited.  As always, if the block is full, please make 
your reservation the best you can (book a king, and/or book at normal rates) and let 
us know and we'll work with the sales office to get them to correct your reservation. 

We look forward to seeing you in January! -- RSI

  This is just a reminder to all who plan to enter the contest in Seam that it is a

no-tourney arena, and is therefore subject to the no-tourney rules.  The pledge all 
participants must take when entering a team in this arena is as follows:

   ********************************************************************************

                               NO-TOURNEY ARENA PLEDGE

    * I pledge that I will not send warriors from this team to a tournament, nor 
      will I use a tournament prize on a warrior from this team.
    * I pledge to run a full team when I run turns in this arena.  If circumstances 
      preclude my running less than a full team, I will notify the Player Committee.
    * I agree to abide by the decisions of the Player Committee.
    * I understand that any warrior that participates in a tournament or receives 
      a tournament prize shall be sent to the Dark Arena until they are dead.

   ********************************************************************************

Please send your agreement with your new team. 

Best of luck in the arena and in the contest!