DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 12/31/2021    Duedate: 01/13/2022

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 599

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

AZALEA
SHRUBS (1829)
(93-10708) [6-1-0,54]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              AZALEA
                               SHRUBS (1829)
                               (93-10708) [6-1-0,54]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

MAGGEPHAH PRIEST               24-7 SUPPORT
MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)        BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)
(93-10727) [3-2-0,28]          (93-10700) [4-4-0,47]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. FALLEN WORLDS (1831)          35 
2. FINAL FANTASY (1819)          32    THE LEGACIES (1826)
3. BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)        25    Unchartered Team
4. SHRUBS (1829)                 8  
5. ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)         5     SHRUBS (1829)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*SHRUBS (1829)             24  11  1 68.6   1/ 3*BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    9  6 0
 2/ 3*BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    22  18  0 55.0   2/ 2*SHRUBS (1829)             8  7 0
 3/ 6*FALLEN WORLDS (1831)       8   7  1 53.3   3/ 5*ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     7  5 0
 4/ 4*ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     20  21  0 48.8   4/ 7*MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   7  8 1
 5- 5*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    18  21  2 46.2   5/ 4*FINAL FANTASY (1819)      5  4 0
 6/ 7*FINAL FANTASY (1819)      17  23  0 42.5   6/10*FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      4  2 0
 7/ 8*MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)    8  17  1 32.0   7/ 0 THE LEGACIES (1826)       3  6 0
 8/ 0 THE LEGACIES (1826)        8  22  0 26.7   8- 6*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    3  7 0

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

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

LETTER FROM LAPUR T-931

We arrived in Lapur with just enough time to settle into our quaint accommodations 
with just enough time to train for a couple of days, before our first fights in the DM 
29 arena!

It was obvious from the start that all of us had a lot of rust to knock off of 
ourselves, because four of us lost our first fight in Lapur and only one of us managed 
a win!

Yours Truly lost a match to a Consortium Total Parry and I am not talking out of class 
here, because Uninterested of the Avoid Me! stable managed by The Bloke of the 
Consortium persuasion is listed both in the DM 29 T-931 list of the Top Warrior 
Styles, plus is listed in the Lapur newsletter on the www.terrablood.com website!

Unfortunately for me, I am a Lunger and Total Parries usually outlast Lungers in the 
Basic Arena, which was the case for me, after only two minutes of fighting!

At least I was able to learn a couple of useful skills for my loss!

Jack Of Diamonds got the luck of the draw with a match against The Userous Merchant, 
an ugly NPC that was dispatched in minute two!

There were six active stables in Lapur for T-931, so the Dm 29 Arena is slowly 
growing!

New Players are welcome to either transfer their current stable from DM 93 after their 
10 Turns of Training are completed, or if their Dueling Budget allows, order a New 
Team Roll Up from RSI and start a new stable over here in Lapur!

Come join in on the fun over here at the DM 29 Lapur Arena!

"Until Next Time!"

                    -- One Eyed Jack of 5 Card Draw and former two-time DM in Arena 93

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

                      The Parry Strike Style According to Assur

     A request was made to fill out our style articles.  After my Tournament Champion 
run with a parry striker, I'm as qualified as anyone to talk about the parry striking 
style.  First, this style is almost unquestionably the worst style in the game.  Their 
initial skills are on the low side.  Their favorites are typically bad.  Their natural 
learning is not quite the worst of all styles.  They are easily the hardest style to 
win with in tournaments.
     So why should you make a parry strike warrior?  First, people like to try and 
experience everything this game has to offer.  Second, they are one of the most 
flexible styles in the game.  Their ability to change things up is unparalleled.  
Thirdly, they seem to fight better than their skills would suggest. Fourth there is a 
greater chance for them to be bonused or cursed in skills than other styles.  So they 
are not without advantages.  But they are still the worst style, overall, in the game.      
They naturally learn decise and parry, both powerful skills in the basic game.  That 
would suggest making pikers that take advantage of one of these skills.  They conserve 
endurance very well, so that suggests that they can skimp on will in design.
     I'm going to base my comments from here forward on what I've succeeded with in 
tournaments.  I know for a fact that you can win outside of these suggestions, but 
winning in tournaments is the pinnacle of this game, so I'm only going to share what 
has worked for me in touranments. 

     Design: 
           ST: 6-17 (recommend 9-17 for weapons & damage)
           CN: 5-12
           SZ: 3-11
           WT: 17-21 (recommend 21)
           WL: 7-21 (prefer 15, 17, or 21)
           SP: 4-16
           DF: 11-17

As you will see, the most important feature on these pikers is wit!  Second is 
deftness.  Most of my success stories have 11 deftness, but higher doesn't prevent 
success.  All but one of my TV pikers had good damage, one had great damage.  But I've 
been close twice with normal damage.  Endurance does not seem to be important (the 
range on my successful pikers is poor to good)

Great stats do NOT ensure success with pikers
My TC was a DYO type at 12-7-7-21-21-5-11
But I have a near perfect natural stat 15-5-10-21-17-5-11 that learns attack that has 
been completely mediocre in tournaments.
This is consistent with my experience.  You can make perfect versions of pikers and 
see them roll well and fail.  Or you can make less perfect versions of pikers and see 
them succeed.  17-12-4-21-7-12-11 doesn't look like anything super special, yet this 
TV'd for me.

One thing I will absolutely say.  Do not make average numbers into pikers.
Making an average set of numbers into the worst style in the game will normally lead 
to lots of losses.  10-10-10-17-17-9-11 types?  I have yet to see something like this 
lead to success.  And even that is above average for numbers.

Do not expect those perfect sets of numbers to succeed.  For every success story I can 
give 2-3 failure stories.

     Weapons: I stick with LO and SC.  It is lazy, but these two weapons are great.
     Armor: I generally tend to wear armor based on my strength.  ALE/L or none for 
faster pikers with less con (like my TC).  The 17-12-4 guy wore APA/F in his TV run.
     Strategy: 9-10 or 10-10.  Add tactics as desired.  Feel free to slow down for 
scum, but this is my 'magic' strategy for Pikers.  These are the numbers that have 
worked for me.
     Learning: Attack is the best favorite learn.  More importantly, you want to learn 
a LOT of skills.  That is what 21 wit is for.

If you do undertake making Pikers, I wish you the best.  There are no numbers that 
ensure success, but they are definitely an interesting experience and winning with 
them is very satisfying, knowing you're winning with the worst style in the game.

Addendum: The Scum Piker
I have run between 6-12 scum pikers.  They do NOT do as well as total parry scum.
I haven't gotten one to the Freshman class yet, where they can certainly do things.
But my one success story has a feature that is related to my successes above... WIT!  
11 wit.
My design: 15-16-5-11-21-5-11 PS
TV'd rookies and is now graduating at 19-3.
The 3-7 wit versions have all been average at best.  I've stopped making them. You may 
see more success than I have, but at this point, I'm sticking with 11 wit on my scum 
pikers.

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

HAMMER COMMENTS ON THE CONSORTIUM INFORMATION COLLECTION

I finally got around to contacting Lee at RSI to enquire about the CIC [Consortium 
Information Collection] that my Dueling Friend the Consortium has mentioned in the DM 
93 Newsletter from time to time over the past few months.

After asking lee about what exactly the CIC is and if a copy was available for me as a 
Duel 2 Sponsor, she graciously informed me that a copy would be sent to me in the mail 
right away!

I highly recommend that every New Player request their own copy for reference 
purposes!

There are 4.5 pages of extremely important information to assist you in your future 
managerial career!

Page One of this Consortium Confidential has a Damage Chart that is worth the price of 
admission! When creating a new warrior from either a New Team Roll Up Sheet or from a 
Warrior Replacement Sheet, you can look at the Size of your warrior and then determine 
the possibilities of its potential Damage Rating by the number of points on its 
starting Strength, compared to the Damage Rating after adding from zero to six of your 
total 14 Creative Points to the original number of Strength Points!

Page One also includes charts for Endurance, Hit Points [the amount of damage your 
warrior can possibly endure], Encumbrance [how much weight in Weapons and Armor your 
warrior can possibly carry], Coordination and a Height Chart [revealing the Size of 
your warrior in feet and inches].

The Height Chart comes in handy for those managers who are curious as to the Size of 
an opponent their warriors face on the battle-arena sands! For Example: when you read 
your fight sheet and your warrior is listed as being 7' and your opponent is listed as 
being 5'10" that means your warrior is a Size 20 and your opponent is a Size 12.

Page Two has charts for High Wit Statements, Intelligence, Style Suitability 
[Weapons], Weapon Requirements Primary-Hand and Armor & Helm weights! [Weapon weights 
are listed in the Weapons Requirements Primary-Hand Chart].

Page Three includes the Bagman2 Skill Chart, Accuracy Percentage Chart and Style 
Modifier Chart.

The Bagman2 Skill Chart reveals how many Skills your warrior receives in relation to 
the points you used for Strength, Wit, Will, Speed, Deftness and Size when you created 
your warrior!

What the Bagman2 Skill Chart in the CIC does not mention is that when you create an 
Aimed Blow warrior, you are to double the number of Attack Skills listed for Deftness 
Skills! Example: a Lunger with a 21 Deftness gets 10 Attack Skills, but an Aimer with 
21 Deftness gets 20 Attack Skills at creation!

The Style Modifier Chart is used to subtract the number of Skills from Initiative, 
Riposte, Attack, Parry, Defense and Decise; which varies according to what Fighting 
Style you chose to make your warrior!

Page Four and 4.5 provide brief written explanations of how you can use the 
information on these charts; plus, an examination of the entire CIC in detail to help 
you to decipher the meaning and usage of all the charts on the previous pages!

Do Yourself a Favor and Request Your Copy Today!

"May Your Blades Be Sharp and Your Wits Sharper!"

                                    -- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Milchamah Return

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

     I am Duelmistress, or is it Duelmaster. Sometimes I forget which I am. It is that 
kind of world, isn't it?
     As you know from previous spots, where my manager, Rose Of Sharon, tells it all, 
I am a pretty solid (not godling) designed basher at 15-8-10-17-9-14-11. What you 
don't know (yet) is that I rolled quite bonused when The Commission poofed me out of 
the chamber.
     I am +4 parry, +3 attack, and +1 to 3 initiative. And, I seem to love learning 
decise skills. In my first five fights I am averaging 3.40 skills per fight. That, 
too, seems like a bonus.
     So, what the heck, give me a challenge. Anything can happen in Duelmasters, 
especially at the lower levels. Don't make me fight an Assur warrior or a Hammer 
warrior or a Jorja warrior, as those guys are too easy. Bring on a REAL warrior.

                                          -- Azalea, DMI

                                      SPY REPORT

     You elder fighters surely remember me.  The younger ones may call me Olaf 
Modeen.  I return to NOBLISH ISLAND once again!  Bein' on top is great while it 
lasts, PHARMANOMICON.  But how many friends do you have now?  Ya gotta be quick on 
yer feet!  Keep your elbow off the table!  Thrust!  Block out the pain!  FALLEN 
WORLDS is now ranked 6th with a 3-0-0 turn.  It seems so recently people were saying 
BB BIG PROJECTS was washed up, finished.  But 4-1-0 moved them up 2.  I guess they're 
washed no more...  What's with 24-7 SUPPORT?  He actually beat SHRUBS' YUCCA, and 
walked away with 21 more points from the fight.  Laughs were big at BB BIG PROJECTS 
while they watched 24-7 SUPPORT clobber YUCCA.  It lost 17 points and got bruised 
from objects thrown from the stands.  Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to VETERAN 
MERCENARY, BUT AZALEA is still the Duelmaster because it has the most recognition 
points!  Advice to fighters with a 1 will--give up fighting!   
     No matter the time or place, men will always duel.  How well I know the feeling 
of being in the most avoided team!  Don't fall out of practive, SHRUBS!  In my day, 
no team with a 22-8-1 would scare me off!  What's the problem, BB BIG PROJECTS?  How 
well I know the feeling of being the most challenged warrior, RAW RED ONION!  Don't 
make idle boasts, they may come back to haunt you.   
     A fighter's lot is filled with strife, revenge, and killing.  Some fighters 
don't accept this.  The best do.  Many a warrior has met his fate in a hungover 
stupor.  You young rapscallions, take note!   
     Well, I'm pretty much through.  You guys need to get back practicing.  NOBLISH 
ISLAND is a nice place to live, but I don't like to live in nice places.  I don't 
want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 AZALEA 10708                  6   1  0  54         SHRUBS (1829)             

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 YUFFIE KISARAGI 10653         6   3  0  47         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 24-7 SUPPORT 10700            4   4  0  47         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
 RAW RED ONION 10680           6   3  0  45         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 BLADDERWRACK 10681            7   2  0  41         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 CELERIS SSVALEN 10721         3   2  1  37         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      
 PRESSURE 10697                6   2  0  36         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 BONSAI 10709                  4   3  1  33         SHRUBS (1829)             
-DALT 10686                    3   5  0  32         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 YUCCA 10710                   5   2  0  31         SHRUBS (1829)             
 DELAYS 10718                  4   3  0  31         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
-SLATER 10688                  5   1  0  29         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
 MAGGEPHAH PRIEST 10727        3   2  0  28         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 CREPE MYRTLE 10756            2   1  0  26         SHRUBS (1829)             
 BRADDOCK GRIMMS 10722         4   1  0  25         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-BLEYS 10684                   4   4  0  23         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 INTERRUPTIONS 10698           4   4  0  23         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
 DOGWOOD 10707                 4   3  0  23         SHRUBS (1829)             

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-DIERDRE 10685                 4   4  1  21         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
-OSRIC 10682                   4   4  1  21         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 KIMAHRI 10731                 2   1  0  21         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 RIKKU 10732                   3   0  0  20         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 NOOJ 10780                    1   0  0  20         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 STRESS 10696                  4   4  0  18         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
-JULIAN 10683                  3   4  0  18         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 LADY SNUSNA 10725             1   4  0  18         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      
 MAHATSAWD REBORN 10729        2   3  1  16         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 MEGINNAW FLAMING 10728        2   3  0  14         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 LEMON J 10677                 2   7  0  13         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 SISSON 10691                  1   5  0  12         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
 ISHAM 10689                   1   5  0  12         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-ZAIUS 10687                   1   5  0  12         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
 SAVVI 10690                   0   6  0  10         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-AERITH G. 10719               1   1  0   8         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 MADKAWRAW ARISES 10755        1   2  0   5         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 MAKKEH DIFFERENT 10726        0   5  0   5         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 CAMU-CAMU 10757               1   1  0   4         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 ICY PINK MUKTUK 10773         0   1  0   1         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
LIMEY LIME LIME 10678   0  5 0 ANITSCARBUTICS 1824  OSRIC 10682           595  NOT REVENGED
SCURVICIOUS 10679       4  2 0 ANITSCARBUTICS 1824  BONSAI 10709          596  JUST REVENGED

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Hey, y'all, if you want to have a good time, move your graduated team (Or start 
another team) in Lapur, DM29. Hammer and Assur and probably Jorja, and a Consortium 
rep. (The Bloke) will all be there. Show us mentors just how good you are. It is said 
that "We are easy." -- Rose Of Sharon (Who knows that The Bloke is easy.)

Interruptions, well I challenged and got my comeuppence. I salute you and your fine 
manager. -- Dogwood (Bleeding red on her pink flowers)

Managers Wolff and Palinc, good luck in your new arenas. May you have both fun and 
success. -- Rose Of Sharon

Valmes Mortalis, what a humorous post! I laughed out loud. A two-handed halbard in 
each hand? Ha ha. You made my day. -- Rose Of Sharon

Lind Pringle, great spots. Very nice! -- Rose of Sharon

Yuffie Kasaragi, now you know, and I hope you are not too disappointed. -- Lady Azalea
P.S. And your figure looked quite nice to me. I, too, am constantly working on mine.

Daniel Craig, I think I was the Crepe and you were the myrtle. (tee hee) -- Crepe 
Myrtle

Dalt, thanks for the challenge. I needed that win. -- Yucca
P.S. And I should be Duelmaster, not Azalea.

Bleys, it was one of my lucky days. -- Bonzai

Shrubs, shrubs, everywhere, and what a beautiful sight. -- Rose Of Sharon

Assur, Hammer, Jorja, what wonderful spots you all contributed. SALUTE. -- Rose Of 
Sharon

Azalea -- I am very disappointed in my performance. I have never had so much nerves, 
except when I'm at a tournament. You bashed me so badly... OUCH!  I have made a few 
changes and hopefully worked out the kinks. Rematch for the throne? -- Yuffie Kisaragi
P.S. BTW out of my friends that are playing, I was the first to have a DUELMASTER 
TITLE fight!  Oooo the milestones are exciting. And the friendly competition among 
friends is cool too. :)

Novgorodny Vir -- Thank you for the drink, granted it was a full keg. I'm surprised 
the ale isn't leaking out the many holes STRESS poked in me. -- Kimahri *as he drinks 
in respect toward STRESS*

All -- I am so proud of my team in the last duels (T-598). The Spymaster mentioned us 
so much. Are we the cowards... using our avoids? Are we brave, challenging the strong? 
Or are we the underdog that every man, woman, and child wants to succeed? Timothy 
Dalton killed Vincent V., but no worries, we will meet him again in Aljafir (DM 17) 
and get our revenge. Palinc Kalverus, mgr. of FINAL FANTASY

Palinc -- I couldn't have said it any better. -- Mistress Miaka, Final Fantasy's 
herald *she says as she massages his shoulders*

ALL -- On my fight report it said my fighter "steps back, and then rushes forward in a 
counterstrike!" 3 times. He didn't attack after the statement... What does/could this 
mean? He wants to attack but his OE wasn't high enough? That is my best guess. -- 
Palinc

Julian / Lords of Chaos -- I personally would love to know if Julian had an attack 
rating in the fight between Delays and Julian (and what rating).  That was an amazing 
show of what a PR can do. My takeaways:
    Julian's favorite weapon is LO.  You should use this in every fight, probably 
      against every armor.
    Julian has lost two fights in Minute 1, one in Minute 2.  Suggests you want to try 
      and extend fights.
So...  Wear a bit more armor if you can carry it.  LO is 3 weight.  You might replace 
the off hand HA with an off hand DA (for 1 extra point of carry).  Backup SH is great, 
but if you want another point of weight to put into armor, change that to DA, too.
Now...  Up your armor close to your carry ability (ST + (Lesser of ST/CN) -- 6) You 
might consider adding a parry tactic in Minute 1 as well.
Anyways, you need to get past offensives that are beating you, but keep beating the 
defensives and hybrids.
Finally, watch your KD and AL.  Too high and your parry skills will be impacted 
negatively. 
Regards -- Assur

Valmes Mortalis -- Bwahahahaha! -- signed Lind Pringle, Captain, Navigator, 
Naturalist, Gladiatorial Stablekeeper

Bonzai -- Apologies for the Scurvy Knave.  How do you feel about Scurvy Miscreant? -- 
Capt. Pringle

Meginnaw Flaming -- Not sure Capt. Pringle feels the same about my surviving the 
infirmary. -- Lemon J

Rose Of Sharon -- As I close in on the end of my time on Noblish Island I want to 
thank you for all the great advice and help youbve offered the rookies here. And want 
to ask you ... where do you think I should sail to next? -- Capt. Pringle

Azalea -- You finally sprouted enough recognition points to take the DM 93 Throne! 
Enjoy Your View from the Top! -- Hammer and his Milchamah Return stable

Crepe Myrtle -- You may indeed be better! Circle-K is better than Consortium Rival 
over in the Kaltos Kaos contest in DM 5, but as you know, Consortium Rival finally was 
victorious on a Circle-K challenge! -- Mahatsawd Reborn

Rose of Sharon -- Indeed my stable seems to show shines of being truly Reborn! 
Scrubbed Your Shrub! -- Hammer
P.S. Thanks for the Holiday Cheer!

Valmes Mortalis -- You need to get your copy of the Consortium Information Collection 
and study the info for Weapons and Armor! -- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Milchamah 
Return
P.S. Hopefully your P-ad about the Halberds, Plate and Steel Cap was a bit of 
sarcastic Holiday Humor! If not, then you truly need a copy of the Consortium 
Information Collection!

Manager Wolf -- Enjoy the competition over at the DM 20 Seam Arena! If your Dueling 
Budget allows, you might consider rolling up another stable to run in the DM 29 Lapur 
Arena! They run on alternate weeks! -- Hammer

Palinc -- Persevere! -- Hammer
P.S. Assur wrote about Pikers for this T-599 Newsletter, so that should help you! 
Maybe Jorja or Consortium will share some insights on Wastes and Plungers!
P.P.S. The Tripwire Plunger was revealed in the T-598 Newsletter with additional 
commentary from Assur, so the Waste information you desire may or may not be written 
in your graduation newsletter!

Jorja -- Thank You for supplying valuable information for the New Players! -- Hammer

Consortium -- Thanks for the commentary on Bashing Bashers! New Players should take 
note! -- Hammer

Barry Nelson -- Rest In Peace! Every location where you were hit during my Blood Feud 
was not where I was directed by my manager to aim for! Salute Fallen One! -- Mahatsawd 
Reborn
P.S. I await the Blood Feud from one or more of your Shakn-Not-Stird stable mates!

Dierdre -- Your Challenge! Glad you did not die in the Infirmary! Salute! -- Maggephah 
Priest

Furious Inhaler -- Painful loss for me! Salute! -- Meginnaw Flaming

Bennakyl -- Rough Dance! My loss! Thanks for the valuable skill learn! Salute! -- 
Madkawraw Arises

Camu-Camu -- Rougher Dance! Lost again! Salute! -- Makkeh Different

New Players -- Bring a stable over to DM 29 Lapur Arena if your budget allows! I had 
the good fortune of matching with and defeating an NPC my first time fighting there! 
-- Jack Of Diamonds of 5 Card Draw in DM 29 Lapur Arena

All -- My stable went 2-3-1 last cycle, so I have no real complaints! -- Hammer, mgr 
of Milchamah Return

New Players -- Looking forward to the New Year! Consider a transfer to DM 29 after 
your 10 turns of training are complete, or if your Dueling Budget allows, roll up a 
new team to send to the DM 29 Lapur Arena! Lapur will be growing over the course of 
this New Year! -- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Milchamah Return

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

BONSAI was bested by RAW RED ONION in a 2 minute Challenge fight.
CELERIS SSVALEN devastated MAHATSAWD REBORN in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
LEMON J was handily defeated by DOGWOOD in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge match.
KIMAHRI was viciously subdued by PRESSURE in a 2 minute gory Challenge fight.
CREPE MYRTLE demolished SISSON in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge competition.
CAMU-CAMU was defeated by MEGINNAW FLAMING in a 4 minute novice's Challenge struggle.
AZALEA was bested by VETERAN MERCENARY in a popular 1 minute Title competition.
YUFFIE KISARAGI handily defeated INTERRUPTIONS in a 1 minute uneven melee.
YUCCA was viciously subdued by 24-7 SUPPORT in a popular 6 minute gruesome duel.
BLADDERWRACK won victory over MAGGEPHAH PRIEST in a 5 minute fight.
DELAYS defeated ISHAM in a 3 minute match.
STRESS viciously subdued MAKKEH DIFFERENT in a 2 minute gory bout.
SAVVI was demolished by LADY SNUSNA in a 2 minute bloody mismatched match.
BRADDOCK GRIMMS devastated MADKAWRAW ARISES in a 3 minute one-sided battle.
RIKKU devastated ICY PINK MUKTUK in a 1 minute bloody mismatched bout.
NOOJ overpowered EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   7         PARRY-STRIKE       7 -   4 -  0      64  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      5         TOTAL PARRY       33 -  19 -  0      63  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  4         AIMED BLOW        26 -  16 -  1      62  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   3         SLASHING ATTACK   19 -  13 -  1      59  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    3         PARRY-LUNGE       15 -  12 -  1      56  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    3         LUNGING ATTACK    27 -  24 -  1      53  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      2         STRIKING ATTACK   24 -  29 -  3      45  |
|AIMED BLOW                       2         BASHING ATTACK    38 -  47 -  4      45  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         WALL OF STEEL     18 -  25 -  1      42  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  0         PARRY-RIPOSTE     11 -  26 -  0      30  |

Turn 599 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     3 -  4         3  STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK     2 -  1     PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  2         3  TOTAL PARRY    
WALL OF STEEL      2 -  1     AIMED BLOW         0 -  2         2  BASHING ATTACK 
TOTAL PARRY        3 -  2     SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  0         1  PARRY-RIPOSTE  
PARRY-LUNGE        1 -  1                                       1  WALL OF STEEL  
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  2                                       1  PARRY-LUNGE    

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
BASHING ATTACK   AZALEA 10708                6   1  0   54 SHRUBS (1829)
PARRY-RIPOSTE    YUFFIE KISARAGI 10653       6   3  0   47 FINAL FANTASY (1819)
STRIKING ATTACK  RAW RED ONION 10680         6   3  0   45 ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)
TOTAL PARRY      BLADDERWRACK 10681          7   2  0   41 ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)
WALL OF STEEL    CELERIS SSVALEN 10721       3   2  1   37 FALLEN WORLDS (1831)
PARRY-LUNGE      PRESSURE 10697              6   2  0   36 BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is MAGGEPHAH PRIEST 10727.  The most popular warrior 
this turn was 24-7 SUPPORT 10700.  The ten other most popular fighters were PRESSURE 
10697, STRESS 10696, DOGWOOD 10707, CREPE MYRTLE 10756, MAGGEPHAH PRIEST 10727, ISHAM 
10689, LADY SNUSNA 10725, BONSAI 10709, RAW RED ONION 10680, and CELERIS SSVALEN 
10721.

The least popular fighter this week was BLADDERWRACK 10681.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were YUCCA 10710, SAVVI 10690, MAKKEH DIFFERENT 10726, LEMON J 
10677, MAHATSAWD REBORN 10729, ICY PINK MUKTUK 10773, MADKAWRAW ARISES 10755, DELAYS 
10718, INTERRUPTIONS 10698, and AZALEA 10708.

                              MY TAKE ON THE PARRY SLASH

I'm sure I'm not covering any new ground with my insights on the Wall of Steel. It is 
my best fighting style and a favorite. I have currently 3 in ADM, and about a half 
dozen active in the arenas with one currently undefeated and Duelmaster in DM 41. 

So a bit about my observations.  Like most defensive styles it seems to work best to 
run these guys offensively while they are young so I outfit them and run them like a 
slasher. They favor the initiative, parry and attack skills which sucks a bit in ADM 
because they lack in defense skill and since defense is king in the late game, Walls 
of Steel fall back into the pack quite a bit. It stinks but done right they can hold 
their own vs anyone except end game lungers and aimed blows who seem to be way OP at 
that level. 

Anyway, stats are important of course. Strength should at least be 9+ to get slashing 
weapons. Con can be lower; I have gotten away with a con of 7 because I run them fast 
and furious anyway so if they get out jumped or crit dodged and ripped then they go 
down easy. Most fights are over in minute 1 anyway. Size is a thing; smaller sizes 
would be nice but you have issues with damage if you go low size and strength less 
than 11. I have an upper limit of around 14 size and a lower one of 5 in my current 
crew. Wit is a no brainer: 15+ is almost mandatory but I am running one with a 13 that 
is doing ok but learning slows down to a crawl if you have less than 15. Will is super 
necessary so I try not to go below 15 here with a build. Speed isn't really a 
priority, so I often go as low as 3 here and they still do very well. More speed would 
be nice, but speed is a luxury and not a necessity. Deftness is nice, I won't run a 
WOS with less than a 13 here; my highest is 21 with a current ADM build.

Now how to run them. Well, minute one is offensive so I typically run 10-10-6 and then 
taper off to a high offensive effort and a low or moderate activity level. It seems 
that the majority of my ADM builds prefer a high-low pace. 

So a couple of current warrior builds to show off the style. 

     Midnight, currently in ADM -- 9-11(2)-10-17-15-3-21, about to start stat raises 
     but currently has ad masters in attack and initiative. 

     Ishmail currently in Home Guard -- 12-9-6-15-17-9-15, currently at 93 skills and 
     wont be stat raising for a minute.

     Average Joe in Mordant -- 11-11-14-13-13-9-13, painfully bad at learning and 
     definitely not recommended for the faint of heart.

     Beowulf in Seam -- 11-12-9-15-17-3-17, currently at 54 skills and near the top of 
     the arena. Has fallen on hard times of late because of diminishing returns on 
     skill learns. 

     Broken in Shadowspire -- 9-14-9-17-17-5-13, very new and probably going to be a 
     .500 warrior when it's all said and done because of the low speed and deftness 
     combo.

     Bender in DM 41 -- 9-7-14-17-17-3-17, currently undefeated and duelmaster, won't 
     last long but he started out as a tourney warrior and has gone at best 6-3 and 
     went 4-3 in this past mail-in as an adept.

So for anyone who doesn't know, a speed and deftness of 21 total is needed to get 
normal coordination and a combo of 28 is needed to get the "fights well with either 
hand" tag on your roll up. So not really relevant to the topic but just thought I'd 
throw that out there. I like to keep this total at the very least 18 to get slightly 
uncoordinated on all my builds because coordination is vital to defense and attack. 

Okay, that's my take on this fun style. If I have enlightened anyone then you are 
welcome, I hope I at least entertained everyone. Take it easy.  

                                          -- Eli