DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 06/22/2018    Duedate: 07/05/2018

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM-93    TURN-507

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

TRUMP
CARD SHARKS! (1743)
(93-10190) [4-2-0,62]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              TRUMP
                               CARD SHARKS! (1743)
                               (93-10190) [4-2-0,62]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

DUECE                          DUECE
CARD SHARKS! (1743)            CARD SHARKS! (1743)
(93-10191) [3-3-1,33]          (93-10191) [3-3-1,33]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

CARD SHARKS! (1743)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS DL (1744)         32
2. CARD SHARKS! (1743)         14      DARK TOADS (527)
3. CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)        0      Unchartered Team

                                       BASH BROS DL (1744)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*BASH BROS DL (1744)       17  13  1 56.7   1/ 1*CARD SHARKS! (1743)      10  5 1
 2- 2*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)     22  18  4 55.0   2/ 2*BASH BROS DL (1744)       7  8 1
 3/ 3*CARD SHARKS! (1743)       16  14  2 53.3   3- 3*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)     3  2 1

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

                                      SPY REPORT

     It is I, Novgorodny Vir, Spymaster of Spymasters.  Look on my work, ye mighty, 
and despair!  Practice pays for RECOVERY TIME, who pummelled CRAZY 8'S, to pocket 16 
points.  Win some, lose some.  Speaking of which, CRUSHED HOPE was winsome, after 
beating ROOK and seeing it lose 5 points.  Out with the old, in with the new.  Enter 
KUNG-FU MASTER, handily defeating PHANTOM INJURY.  With 62 points, TRUMP of CARD 
SHARKS! takes the position of NOBLISH ISLAND's Duelmaster.  So who's the team that's 
been walking into taverns last week and ordering milk?  Sounds like a PR stunt to me. 
     So much to report, so little time!  Like a horde of jackals fleeing from the 
lion, so did the "warriors" in NOBLISH ISLAND avoid CLOAK WARRIORS.  As a woman of 
good breeding scorns the "warriors" of CARD SHARKS!, so did that sorry team shy from 
CLOAK WARRIORS  
     Like the wind whispering among the pines, do hearest I many disquieting rumors.  
Ask not for whom the sword slashes; it slashes for thee.   
     Leave me now, you base fools!  More important duties call me.  Like a mixed 
metaphor, and an overtaxed simile, I now bid NOBLISH ISLAND farewell-- Novgorodny Vir 

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 TRUMP 10190                   4   2  0    62       CARD SHARKS! (1743)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE 10142     5   3  0    52       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 PHANTOM INJURY 10199          4   2  0    50       BASH BROS DL (1744)
 POKER 10187                   4   2  0    48       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-SOCCER-PANTS 10140            5   3  2    41       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-IGGIE THE SCUM 10141          4   4  1    33       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 DUECE 10191                   3   3  1    33       CARD SHARKS! (1743)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-AQUA-KNOT 10144               6   2  0    21       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 CRUSHED HOPE 10196            4   2  1    21       BASH BROS DL (1744)
 RECOVERY TIME 10206           1   1  0    17       BASH BROS DL (1744)
-HASSAN 10143                  2   6  1    15       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 CAREER ENDING 10207           1   0  0    13       BASH BROS DL (1744)
 ROOK 10188                    3   3  0    12       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-AUTUMNBE 9643                 3   2  0    12       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
 FAVORITE PLAYER 10197         3   3  0    12       BASH BROS DL (1744)
 CRAZY 8'S 10189               2   4  1    11       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-DRAXXUS 9644                  1   4  0     7       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-SEARRUS 9645                  0   4  0     4       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-PERSEPHONE 9642               0   4  0     4       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-AGRISEL 9646                  0   4  0     4       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
FULL ROSTER 10198       3  2 0 BASH BROS DL 1744    DUECE 10191           506   
TOOL 10200              1  3 0 BASH BROS DL 1744    HASSAN 10143          505   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

assur!? What in the world happened here? A Card Shark 5-0-1. (3-0-1 vs baseballitis) 
Amazing! Downright surprising and amazing!

Where have all the flowers gone b&b& me and assur? We are mere thorns in a garden of 
flowers. Get us some more flowers! -- Dealer

Ms. assur, I do completely and fully apologize for decimating your Full Roster.  But I 
know you are so loaded that you will just procure another, so, what the heck. -- Duece 
(glowing with the kill)

Captured Orc, Dangerous Criminal, Recovery Time, Favorite Player -- Thanks. We 
appreciate the workout and you NPCs are so gentle and nice. -- Poker, Trump, Rook and 
Crazy 8's. (Pleased with their easy wins.)

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

PHANTOM INJURY was devastated by KUNG-FU MASTER in a 1 minute mismatched fight.
TRUMP vanquished DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a exciting 1 minute gory uneven Title battle.
POKER won victory over THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 2 minute bloody brawl.
DUECE defeated FAVORITE PLAYER in a exciting 3 minute bloody fight.
CRUSHED HOPE bested ROOK in a 3 minute duel.
CRAZY 8'S was savagely defeated by RECOVERY TIME in a exciting 3 minute struggle.
CAREER ENDING handily defeated CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute uneven fight.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   4         AIMED BLOW        17 -   9 -  1      65  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  2         WALL OF STEEL      7 -   5 -  1      58  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    2         LUNGING ATTACK     8 -   6 -  0      57  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         STRIKING ATTACK   19 -  16 -  5      54  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      1         PARRY-LUNGE        4 -   4 -  1      50  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         BASHING ATTACK    20 -  21 -  1      49  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         TOTAL PARRY        6 -   7 -  1      46  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         PARRY-STRIKE       1 -   2 -  0      33  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   0         PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -   2 -  0      33  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  0         SLASHING ATTACK    0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 507 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:

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

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
STRIKING ATTACK  TRUMP 10190                 4   2  0   62 CARD SHARKS! (1743)
BASHING ATTACK   PHANTOM INJURY 10199        4   2  0   50 BASH BROS DL (1744)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is DUECE 10191.  The most popular warrior this turn was 
DUECE 10191.  The ten other most popular fighters were RECOVERY TIME 10206, POKER 
10187, ROOK 10188, TRUMP 10190, FAVORITE PLAYER 10197, CRUSHED HOPE 10196, CRAZY 8'S 
10189, CAREER ENDING 10207, PHANTOM INJURY 10199, and  0.

The least popular fighter this week was PHANTOM INJURY 10199.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were CAREER ENDING 10207, CRAZY 8'S 10189, CRUSHED HOPE 10196, 
FAVORITE PLAYER 10197, TRUMP 10190, ROOK 10188, POKER 10187, RECOVERY TIME 10206, 
DUECE 10191, and  0.

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                                  A NOTE ON MAILMEN

     In response to the articles on new fighting styles, those were good, but how can 
you forget our most favorite warrior who has a style all his own?  The Mailman!  To 
Duelmasters he is our most sacred person.  I mean, how many of you managers out their 
have sat down and calculated what day your Duelmasters will arrive and have sat 
waiting for it to arrive, while unknown to you, your mailman is fighting away to get 
your Duelmasters delivered.  Let's review him...
     ST - should be around 19.  He needs to heft two medium bags, cloth mail armor and 
a ton of rubber bands.
     CN - 13, give or take a few.  He does get bitten by dogs often.
     SZ - Any.
     WT - At least 10.  He often likes to read the mail.
     WL - Try about 20.  He must endure all kinds of weather.
     SP - 16 is good.  He needs to run across streets in traffic.
     DF - 10 is good.  Sometimes he has to carry packages.
     This setup should get you a good mailman but they are hard to come by.  If you 
can come up with any better, diplo me.  I am:

                                   Staple Gun
                                   mgr. of Technet (3)
                                   The New Deal (23)

     I am currently working on the U.P.S. and Federal Express warriors.

                                   "Strikers R Us"

     Greetings, everyone.  It is I, Talon, again.  I am very glad to see everyone 
participating in the arena and sharing their thoughts on styles and strategies.  This 
turn I will take on the striking attack style, which is certainly one of my favorites.
     I believe the striker is one of the easiest styles to run, and one in which no 
team should be without.  A high-powered striker can diversify and empower your team.  
A well run striker can beat any other style, period, at any level in regular 
Duelmasters.  In arenas where scum TPs are rampant, strikers are just the answer as 
they can attack for up to 12 minutes or more.  Strikers are versatile.  They can do 
exceptionally well with a dagger as a weapon or with a halberd.  They can do well with 
no armor or with plate armor.

Stats:

               Biff     Primal         Solid         Perfect
     
ST             5-21      9-17           13             15
CN              3+        3+             6              3
SZ             9-21      3-17            9              5
WT             3-17      17 +           17             21
WL             9-17      13 +           17             15
SP              5+       5-13            9              8
DF              9+       9-17           13             17

     With the way I design strikers, there are essentially two strikers that evolve.  
The BIFF and the PRIMAL.  The Biff striker is typically one that is not looking long-
term, but one which I want to run and have fun with.  With this striker, I try to have 
one stat (wit, will, or deftness) which is extraordinary, one which is average, and 
the other ends up being at some non-normal level.  Some examples of the Biff are: 10-
10-11-4-17-17-15, 7-11-17-17-11-6-15, 9-5-14-17-11-13-15, 4-8-17-15-13-10-17, and 21-
3-15-21-5-8-11.  With these warriors, the emphasis is on having fun and learning more 
about the style.
     The Primal is essentially a Primus-quality warrior.  In this category, the 
striker will be designed with stats that most other managers will gasp, "OH MY, WHY 
DID YOU MAKE HIM A STRIKER?"  It is also the warrior that will be Duelmaster for 8 
straight turns and will go to ADM with a 16-4-2 record, with 4 Masters and an Ad Ex.  
The key here is to create a warrior with AT LEAST a 17 wit and 15 deftness, along with 
a 13+ will and who will do normal damage or better.  The goal with the Primal is a 21 
wit and 17 deftness, because this will ensure a great warrior.
     Weapons and Armor:  As for weapons, the best striking weapons that I have found 
and used are the dagger, epee, scimitar, broadsword, quarterstaff, greatsword, 
longsword, war hammer, and sometimes the short spear.  I don't run my strikers with 
shields or off-hand weapons, as it takes away from their attack.  The heaviest armor I 
will use is padded leather.  Always wear a steel cap or a helm.

Strategy (general):

Min.           1    2    3    4    5    6+   Desp
OE             10   8    6    6    6    5    5
AL             10   5    4    2    2    1    8
KD             6    8    6    6    6    5    5
attack         arms/legs/head -- take your pick
protect        arms/legs/head -- take your pick
off tactic     decise, slash, bash,  depending on weapon
def tactic     response is best; try dodge though.

     With this strategy, a striker with a normal endurance should fight for eight 
minutes as a scum TP and come out on top, outrageously victorious.  Just match your 
weapon with your tactic and only use the tactics in minute one or desperation.
     If you have any further questions on this or any other style, feel free to diplo 
me.

                                                  Talon, mgr. Eagle's Claw

                    HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS


                                          OR
                              a new look for Aimed Blows

     Greetings and salutations, all.  Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen 
before....one that works, at least for me!  Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my 
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
     ST: 17     (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
     CN: 13     (gonna need every hit point he can get)
     SZ: 4      (smaller the better!)
     WT: 4      (overrated for aimed blows!)
     WL: 21     (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
     SP: 4      (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
     DF: 21     (better max this one out too, at least a 19)

     You laugh at me?  I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky, 
I didn't expect either one of em.)  But both are in reach with a little luck.  Hey, if 
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit 
more CON would be nice.
     But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask?  Why, I'm glad you inquired!  
LOTS of armor.  The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character 
a lot of fights.  But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not 
really what this character does best.
     I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand.  With an offhand 
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating.  So: 
FI-SH, APM-H.
     And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level.  He can 
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a 
good waste.  And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this 
warrior!
     I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7 
generally.  Now, how to become Duelmaster?
     Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON.  Step two, now 
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the 
Duelmaster's team... and kill them.  (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member 
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear 
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
     Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to 
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him.  Badly.  Once 
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet 
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight 
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
     There are drawbacks, of course.  Once you get to that level, odds are you're 
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this 
trick... Oo!  I love mixed metaphors...)  But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills 
against gladiators with 50 fights!
     Rex is now 7-3-1.  All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In 
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned 
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack.  And boy, is it fun 
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
     What else can one do with this warrior?  Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to 
an off-hand epee!  He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
     Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner?  Who knows?  He's probably 
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and 
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD! 
     Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke.  We entered a similar warrior 
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON).  That warrior, Jalon, is 
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
     Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now... 
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's 
another story...

                                             --Khyron
                                             mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
                                             Jayhawks        (70)
                                             Silent Storm    (65,74,75)
                                             and numerous others....

                          THE WALL OF STEEL AS A BERSERKER

     This article is for newer players; more experienced managers will, I'm sure, have 
much more sophisticated ideas about warrior design and strategy.  This will enable a 
newbie to design a competent warrior who should be able to achieve a better than 50/50 
record.
     The wall of steel, or "waste," is often considered the second scummiest style in 
Duelmasters.  I love the style, but I don't run mine that way; I prefer to think of 
the waste as a fierce dervish ripping into his opponent like an airplane propeller.  
In accordance with this view, most walls of steel that I design couldn't scum if they 
wanted to (well all right, sometimes it happens by accident if the opposing warrior is 
going all-out and can't last very long).  It's fun to run them fast; they get the jump 
on people who don't expect it of them, and their fights are exciting.  Mind you, they 
don't win as much as if they ran more defensively, but the ones with good stats still 
do okay (I'll make practically anything a waste and run it, but this article isn't 
about the ones that a sane manager would DA).
     So, here is a design for a competent wall of steel:

ST   13+  Needed for endurance, damage doing, and weapon selection.
CN    9+  You need a passably good con for endurance.
SZ    7+  Teeny weenie wastes don't hit hard enough or take enough damage.  Real big 
          (15+) is bad because it hurts endurance.
WT   13+  Preferably 17.  Like any other style, the smarter they are, the better.
WL   17+  Needed for endurance, damage-taking, and sheer grit.  21 is recommended.
SP    3+  Whatever.
DF    7+  Higher deftness is better, but you can get by without it.

     As you can see, these are fairly easy requirements.  Of course, the more wit, 
will, and deftness, the better your waste will be (same as any other style).  If you 
don't end up with at least good endurance on the overview, the warrior probably isn't 
going to do very well.  With that high will, though, you can bump con a couple of 
times and you might get good endurance, so there's still a chance.
     Choose your weapons based on deftness, and your opponent's armor weight.  I 
normally use something like 0-8 SC, 9-12 BS, 13+ GA, backup SC or BS.  No shield.  
Some other good weapons for the waste are QS (only takes 11 ST, and can hit heavy 
armor), MS, and BA.  The war flail isn't a very good weapon, but you can play with it 
against leather armor.  For armor, I usually choose something middling like ARM & H, 
but will go with APL & H if he has a lot of con.
     For strategy--I heard a rumor (NOT confirmed) that a wall of steel gets a bonus 
if his OE equals his KD.  Since I don't like to use a kill desire above 6, I don't go 
by that in the first couple of minutes.  Keep the activity level moderate to low; the 
waste doesn't need to jump around a lot and the way he keeps his weapon moving, he's 
burning a lot of endurance without that added drain.  Attack and defend the arms, like 
a slasher; a waste is a sort of parry-slasher.  A typical strategy for my wastes might 
look like this:

Minute    1    2    3    4    5    6    Desp
Offensive 9    8    7    6    5    5    2
Activity  6    5    4    3    2    1    6
Kill des. 6    6    6    6    5    5    2
Att. loc. RA   LA   RA   LA   RA   LA   RA
Pro. loc. AM   AM   AM   AM   AM   AM   HE
Off tac.  none --   --   --   --   --   --
Def tac.  --   --   --   --   --   --   P

     I play with the numbers a lot, depending on what the warrior seems to like.  For 
example, if he doesn't parry too well, I'll give him a more offensive desperation 
strategy, like 8-4-8-slash.  (If I really like a warrior I sometimes use a 7+ KD to 
try and save his life.)  If he never manages to get the jump on anybody, I'll try 
running him more defensively, like with a first minute of 3-6-3.  It's not as much fun 
as going all out, but it's more fun than losing all the time.
     You can challenge pretty much any style (lungers aren't recommended).  When 
fighting a warrior you know to be very defensive (a TP, or a scummy variety of PS, PR, 
PL, or WS), slow down or you will be scummed.  For the most part, though, an offensive 
waste is very versatile and can beat any style.  The better his important qualities 
are (WT, WL, DF, endurance), the better the quality of warriors he can defeat.  In 
other words, if you have a so-so rollup that barely made the minimum requirements, 
challenge so-so opponents.  If you have a good rollup, go for the gold.  Challenge 
warriors with a few more fights than you, so you'll learn plenty of skills--but don't 
challenge way way up in experience, because it's no fun to lose a good warrior.
     For the most part, train skills--especially on your challenge strategy, when 
you're going after someone with more fights!  And for sure on the first fight, because 
you'll likely be matched against someone who can teach you a lot.  It's okay to train 
con once in a while if you need more endurance and damage-taking; and if you have bad 
luck on the rollup and get "does little damage" or something, you might have to train 
strength once or twice (no more!).  But it's best not to train any other stats until 
way, way down the road.
     Ask your DM sponsor or any experienced manager in your arena for more advice (if 
they tell you I'm full of hot air, they're probably right).  A little bit of good 
advice from a more advanced player can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the 
game!
     If you have any questions or suggestions, you can diplo:  the She-Puppy, mgr. 
Mordant Prison DM-1, and others.