DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 10/23/2020    Duedate: 11/05/2020

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 568

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

GREGORY GOYLE
HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794)
(93-10486) [8-1-0,80]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              GREGORY GOYLE
                               HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794)
                               (93-10486) [8-1-0,80]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

COLOSSO                        MAZIKEEN
CHAOS II (1796)                PRAE DELORE SINCERAM (1800)
(93-10499) [2-4-1,33]          (93-10525) [1-2-0,11]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

CHAOS II (1796)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. THE CONDEMNED (1798)          47 
2. BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797)     45    RAGE (388)
3. BRAVO SIX (1799)              32    Unchartered Team
4. D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)       24 
5. HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794)     10    THE CONDEMNED (1798)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1- 1*FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)     4   1  0 80.0   1/ 1*CHAOS II (1796)          10  5 3
 2/ 4*THE CONDEMNED (1798)      19  11  2 63.3   2/ 2*HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 9  6 1
 3/ 2*HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 28  17  3 62.2   3/ 3*THE CONDEMNED (1798)      7  3 1
 4/ 3*CHAOS II (1796)           17  13  3 56.7   4/ 5*D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   7  8 0
 5/ 6*D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   19  16  0 54.3   5/ 6*BRAVO SIX (1799)          7  8 0
 6/ 5*PRAE DELORE SINCER (1800)  8   7  0 53.3   6/ 4*PRAE DELORE SINCER (1800) 5  5 0
 7- 7*THE HAIRY BUNCH (1789)    20  24  1 45.5   7- 7*FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    4  1 0
 8/ 8*BRAVO SIX (1799)          14  21  0 40.0   8/ 9*BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 4  6 0
 9/ 9*BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 12  18  0 40.0   9- 8*THE HAIRY BUNCH (1789)    2  3 0
10-10*THE REFORMERS (1801)       1   3  0 25.0  10-10*THE REFORMERS (1801)      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 5 DF Basher
                              by One Armed Bandit (OAB)

Let's face it: Bashers aren't very good.  They are the last guy to get picked for the 
King of Primus team, their most popular opponent in basic is the Dark Arena, and 
people make jokes about their weapons.  So why run them?  Two reasons, really.  The 
first is because it is fun to try to master all ten styles.  The second is because 
there is a tiny subset of roll-ups that make better Bashers than anything else.

In "The 7 DF Slasher", I mentioned how it is important not to cannibalize good roll-
ups of better styles in order to try and make your Slashers win.  The 11 DF set-ups 
make better Strikers and Lungers, but there is a sweet spot at 7 DF that allows for 
great weapon selection and better performance by SLs than those other styles.  For a 
Basher, it is even harder to find the right set-ups.

Maybe you are making a high ST, high CN, high WL sponge Basher.  If the set-up has 7+ 
DF, you are better off making it a Total Parry, which is a much better style and can 
use ME/ME with that Deftness without penalty.

Perhaps you want to make a high WT speed Basher?  If the set-up has an 11+ DF, it is 
almost certainly better off as a Striker or Lunger.  If the set-up has 7+ DF, it is 
very likely better off as a Slasher.  Even on 9 WL/7 DF set-ups, there is a very good 
argument that Strikers are superior to Bashers, as Khorvinus' TC Lady Vashj (9-9-17-
21-9-12-7 ST) can attest, not to mention the once famous Doc LeGrand Striker.

The sweet spot for Bashers turns out to be 5 DF.  A very small group of set-ups 
naturally lend themselves to 5 DF.  You want to get to 21 WT or 21 WL and other 
important breakpoints, and you just don't have any points left over at the end for 
Deftness.  That's okay, because there is a style that can work with that.  There are 
only six weapons that are well suited at 5 DF, and one is the clear winner.

     Fist -- It is only really good for Aimed Blows, and ABs need more DF. 

     Shortsword -- It is a fine utility weapon for 3 DF warriors, but it is 
     terrible against armor.

     Small and Medium Shields -- Any warrior who wants to use one of these, wants 
     to use one in the off-hand and that requires more DF.

     War Flail -- This is the weapon that everyone jokes about.

That leaves just one weapon: The Mace.

The Mace is not a popular weapon.  It suffers from the same problem as the Broadsword 
and the Longspear.  The Broadsword is slower than the fast slashing weapons like the 
Hatchet and less damaging than the big damage slashing weapons like the Scimitar and 
the Battle Axe.  So in most cases, it is correct to use something else.  The 
Longspear, similarly, is slower than the Short Spear and less damaging than the Long 
Sword.  In a vacuum, both the Broadsword and the Longspear are pretty good, but you 
need a specific set of circumstances to make them the best choice. The Mace has a 
similar problem.  It is a bit slower than the War Hammer and Quarterstaff, and it does 
less damage than the heavy bashing weapons like the Maul and the Halberd, so it rarely 
gets used.

In fact, the Mace is never going to be the best weapon.  Lunging weapons knock people 
down.  Slashing weapons have big damage criticals.  It is not even the best Bashing 
weapon.  But unlike most other weapons, the Mace is balanced and versatile enough to 
be used in every situation.  It is fast enough to get the jump on a naked Striker, and 
it is damaging enough to batter a plate clad Total Parry. And it has one more perk: as 
the classic Bashing weapon, it is twice as likely to be your Basher's favorite weapon. 
If I had to pick only a single weapon to give to my basic Basher, this is the one.

I didn't even set out to prove that 5 DF Bashers were good, but it happened 
nonetheless.  I have two Basher TCs with two different types of Bashers, and both 
happen to be 5 DF designs.

SURLY DECKHAND of SEA DOGS, started out as a 15-16-12-5-21-10-5 sponge BA.  He earned 
his first Freshmen runner-up in October 2013, his second Freshmen runner-up in April 
2014, and finally a Freshmen TC in January 2015.  He now competes in the ADM class, 
where his highest finish so far is a TV.

UPSILON CETI of CETUS, a 14-7-6-21-20-11-5 speed BA, earned an Adepts TC in October 
2019 with her trusty Mace.  She is now in Home Guard prepping for a Freshmen bust-out, 
and is still using that same Mace. 

Two TCs isn't ironclad proof, but that is two more Basher TCs than most managers have. 
And because of the success I've had, I'm going to keep examining new set-ups to see if 
a 5 DF Basher is the best choice, and continue trying them as they present themselves. 
And while I hope to find additional success with 5 DF Bashers, they are already my 6th 
most successful tourney style.

If you are struggling to find success with Bashers, I wouldn't waste your money making 
an excellent Striker into an okay speed Basher, or a good Total Parry into an adequate 
sponge Basher.  I would keep my eye out for set-ups that don't make good Strikers, or 
Lungers, or Slashers, or Total Parries, but make solid 5 DF Bashers. You won't end up 
with a lot of them, but you could end up with a few good ones and the opportunity cost 
will be zero.

                    I am Namedropper, and I approve this message.
               Note: This is a guest spotlight from a top-tier manager.

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

Hello, My name is Gregory Goyle

Colosso, you killed my teammate, prepare to die ......   Or just to get bored.....   
To DEATH!

                                          -- Gregory Goyle
                                             Hogwart's Students
                                             4 time Duelmaster of Noblish Island

                                      SPY REPORT

     Greetings, Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND.  Allow this humble servant Novgorodny Vir 
to give you a respite from the fights in the form of this Spyreport.  Say what you 
will about blind luck and dirty fighting, but THE CONDEMNED will tell you 19-11-2 is 
nothing to laugh at...  Practice pays for BAIT, who pummelled THE USEROUS MERCHANT, 
to pocket 15 points.  Win some, lose some.  Speaking of which, CLOSED SPACES was 
winsome, after beating ERIC and seeing him lose 10 points.  Well, Duelmaster GREGORY 
GOYLE Bloodfeuded CHAOS II's COLOSSO.  Is a 7-1-0 good enough?  GREGORY GOYLE 
successfully staved off a grab for the roses by COLOSSO of CHAOS II.  Does NOBLISH 
ISLAND have no one talented enough to dethrone him?  Word has it one team in NOBLISH 
ISLAND is taking speech lessons to try to bore their opponent to death.  I'll bet it 
works.   
     And how sociable are NOBLISH ISLAND's warriors?  Come, let us see.  Like the 
noble eagle soaring amongst the mountaintops, so stand the warriors of D2 NAMES TO 
KNOW, alone and unchallenged.  The warriors of D2 NAMES TO KNOW found their efforts 
at combat frustrated as BB SOCIAL DISTANCE apparently had more important things to do 
than fight.  Is it charming personality?  Conversational abilities?  Good oral 
hygiene?  Whatever it is, COLOSSO is the most challenged warrior.   
     The moving sword slashes, and having slashed, moves on...  Death in the arena!  
In a cheap quest for a cheap victory, HARRY POTTER faced EZWIND in an uneven fight.  
CHAOS II, we expect bloody revenge!  Charity is unknown in NOBLISH ISLAND, and 
rightly so.  HOGWART'S STUDENTS exacted their revenge against CHAOS II.  Justice was 
served as MIDDLE OF PATH fought HERMIONE GRANGER in bloodfeud.  Well done, BB SOCIAL 
DISTANCE!  Ask not for whom the sword slashes; it slashes for thee.   
     Do not think spyreporting in NOBLISH ISLAND is the highlight of my life.  As the 
seasons change, and the creatures of the wild change also, so do I feel a yearning to 
leave this place.  Can anything compare to the pleasure of writing Spyreports for 
NOBLISH ISLAND?  On that giddy note I take my leave-- Novgorodny Vir  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 GREGORY GOYLE 10486           8   1  0  80         HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 HARRY POTTER 10483            8   1  1  73         HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 

CHALLENGER ADEPTS              W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 AMITHIUS 10502                6   0  1  57         CHAOS II (1796)           

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BAIT 10520                    4   0  1  43         THE CONDEMNED (1798)      
 6 FEET 10504                  4   2  0  43         BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 
 SWALE 10509                   4   2  0  34         THE CONDEMNED (1798)      

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 CLOSED SPACES 10508           3   3  0  33         BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 
 COLOSSO 10499                 2   4  1  33         CHAOS II (1796)           
 ECHO 10539                    3   0  0  32         BRAVO SIX (1799)          
 SONYA 10531                   4   0  1  31         CHAOS II (1796)           
 HOWLIN WOLF 10497             4   3  0  31         D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   
 WOLF 10517                    5   2  0  30         BRAVO SIX (1799)          
 HERMIONE GRANGER 10484        5   4  1  28         HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 
-B BETTY 10453                 5   4  0  27         THE HAIRY BUNCH (1789)    
 MIDDLE OF PATH 10532          1   2  0  27         BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 
-ANT MAN 10456                 6   3  1  26         THE HAIRY BUNCH (1789)    
 DOMINIXX 10511                4   2  0  26         THE CONDEMNED (1798)      
 VINCENT CRABBE 10482          4   5  0  25         HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 TDO 10496                     5   2  0  22         D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   
-TIN MAN 10489                 4   2  0  21         THE HAIRY BUNCH (1789)    
 TMM 10493                     3   4  0  21         D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   
 PYKE 10523                    2   1  0  21         PRAE DELORE SINCERA (1800)
 BADGER 10512                  2   4  0  20         THE CONDEMNED (1798)      
 TEMPEST 10500                 2   4  0  18         CHAOS II (1796)           
 THE BLIGHT 10522              2   1  0  18         PRAE DELORE SINCERA (1800)
-LICHEN THROPE 10533           1   0  0  16         FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    
 HONED 10510                   4   2  1  15         THE CONDEMNED (1798)      
 MORNING STAR 10524            1   2  0  15         PRAE DELORE SINCERA (1800)
 CODY 10516                    3   4  0  13         BRAVO SIX (1799)          
 ERIC 10521                    2   1  0  13         PRAE DELORE SINCERA (1800)
-MARTIN LUTHER 10529           1   0  0  13         THE REFORMERS (1801)      
 CRIP 10546                    1   0  0  13         D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   
-SPORETICUS 10534              1   0  0  13         FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    
 DOC STEELE 10495              2   5  0  11         D2 NAMES TO KNOW (1795)   
 REX 10515                     2   5  0  11         BRAVO SIX (1799)          
 MAZIKEEN 10525                1   2  0  11         PRAE DELORE SINCERA (1800)
-IMA FUN GUY 10536             1   0  0  11         FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    
 GHOST 10538                   1   2  0  11         BRAVO SIX (1799)          
 HUGS 10505                    1   5  0   8         BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 
 MASKS 10506                   1   5  0   8         BB SOCIAL DISTANCE (1797) 
-OH SHITAKE 10535              1   0  0   3         FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    
-CHARLES SPURGEN 10530         0   1  0   1         THE REFORMERS (1801)      

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-JOHN WESLEY 10527             0   1  0   1         THE REFORMERS (1801)      
-THOMAS CRANMER 10528          0   1  0   1         THE REFORMERS (1801)      
-PSYCHOCYBIN 10537             0   1  0   1         FUNGUS AMONG US (1802)    
 OLIVER WOOD 10547             0   1  0   1         HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794) 

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
SHAKE HANDS 10507       2  1 0 BB SOCIAL DISTA 1797 HERMIONE GRANGE 10484 564  JUST REVENGED
EZWIND 10501            3  3 0 CHAOS II 1796        HARRY POTTER 10483    568   
MANNEQUIN 10519         3  1 0 D2 NAMES TO KNO 1795 AMITHIUS 10502        567   
NEVILLE LONGBOT 10498   3  4 1 HOGWART'S STUDE 1794 COLOSSO 10499         567  JUST REVENGED
CUTIE PIE 10490         2  4 0 THE HAIRY BUNCH 1789 SONYA 10531           567   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Shucks, Hogwart's Students, I will miss you when you go. -- Namedropper

Amithius, Mannequin challenged you and now he is dead? The dummy! 
-- Namedropper

Hermione, you are cute and smart, but I will be glad to see you 
get outta here! -- TMM

Mazikeen, you shouldn't have challenged me, eh? -- tDO

Echo, be careful. Be very, very careful. I didn't like that! -- Doc Steele

Wolf, a Howlin Wolf beats a plain old wolf everyday. (Especially 
in noise.) -- Howlin Wolf

Health. Humility. Honor. (The Consortium motto) -- Namedropper

Morning Star -- You should use the weapon according to your name! -- Vincent Crabbe

TMM -- Maybe you should try more armour next time -- Hermione Granger

Colosso -- That was quite a battle of spears -- The Ghost of Neville Longbottom

B. Betty -- Nice D.C., sure takes a lot of hair to go that far.  Sonya give her reguards for Cutie Pie. -- Shadow, mgr Chaos

Hogwars & D2 Names -- Sorry for your losses, I never try to have my warriors kill, but you did challenge my boys... -- Shadow

The Game.

     To the sender of the above personal ad:  Please, in the future, refrain from 
     writing in invisible ink. It hurt my eyes trying to read the rest of what you 
     wrote... but don't tell my boss! -- anonymous commission scribe

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

GREGORY GOYLE unbelievably bested COLOSSO in a 3 minute Bloodfeud Title fight.
MIDDLE OF PATH vanquished HERMIONE GRANGER in a 1 minute uneven Bloodfeud battle.
HOWLIN WOLF was demolished by AMITHIUS in a 1 minute uneven Challenge fight.
VINCENT CRABBE was viciously subdued by SONYA in a 2 minute Challenge contest.
DOC STEELE was devastated by WOLF in a 1 minute uneven Challenge brawl.
TMM overpowered REX in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge struggle.
THE BLIGHT devastated MASKS in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge competition.
ERIC was handily defeated by CLOSED SPACES in a 1 minute uneven Challenge melee.
PYKE overpowered HUGS in a popular 1 minute uneven Challenge duel.
HARRY POTTER assassinated EZWIND in a 1 minute uneven match.
6 FEET overpowered TEMPEST in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
BAIT savagely defeated THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 3 minute bloody competition.
MORNING STAR was devastated by SWALE in a 1 minute one-sided battle.
HONED was devastated by ECHO in a 1 minute mismatched bout.
DOMINIXX handily defeated CULT MEMBER in a 1 minute uneven fight.
BADGER overpowered CODY in a 1 minute uneven struggle.
TDO unbelievably bested MAZIKEEN in a crowd pleasing 6 minute bloody bout.
GHOST devastated OLIVER WOOD in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
CRIP demolished MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided bout.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW                       8         AIMED BLOW        36 -  21 -  3      63  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  7         TOTAL PARRY       24 -  17 -  0      59  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   7         BASHING ATTACK    30 -  28 -  1      52  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   5         STRIKING ATTACK   38 -  38 -  3      50  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  4         WALL OF STEEL      8 -   9 -  1      47  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      3         SLASHING ATTACK   27 -  31 -  2      47  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    1         LUNGING ATTACK    21 -  25 -  3      46  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-RIPOSTE      8 -  12 -  0      40  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         PARRY-STRIKE       2 -   4 -  0      33  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 568 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:

TOTAL PARRY        2 -  1     SLASHING ATTACK    1 -  3         4  BASHING ATTACK 
AIMED BLOW         5 -  3     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         2  STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK     3 -  2     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         2  AIMED BLOW     
STRIKING ATTACK    4 -  3     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  1         2  LUNGING ATTACK 
BASHING ATTACK     4 -  3     WALL OF STEEL      0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
TOTAL PARRY      GREGORY GOYLE 10486         8   1  0   80 HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794)
STRIKING ATTACK  HARRY POTTER 10483          8   1  1   73 HOGWART'S STUDENTS (1794)
AIMED BLOW       AMITHIUS 10502              6   0  1   57 CHAOS II (1796)
BASHING ATTACK   BAIT 10520                  4   0  1   43 THE CONDEMNED (1798)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is COLOSSO 10499.  The most popular warrior this turn 
was MAZIKEEN 10525.  The ten other most popular fighters were COLOSSO 10499, BAIT 
10520, CLOSED SPACES 10508, SONYA 10531, WOLF 10517, TMM 10493, PYKE 10523, 6 FEET 
10504, GREGORY GOYLE 10486, and MIDDLE OF PATH 10532.

The least popular fighter this week was OLIVER WOOD 10547.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were TDO 10496, CODY 10516, HONED 10510, MORNING STAR 10524, TEMPEST 
10500, EZWIND 10501, ERIC 10521, MASKS 10506, REX 10515, and DOC STEELE 10495.