DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 05/31/2024    Duedate: 06/13/2024

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 662

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

MANNEQUIN
DM - FOLK (1916)
(93-11215) [8-1-0,86]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              MANNEQUIN
                               DM - FOLK (1916)
                               (93-11215) [8-1-0,86]

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

BROKE NEWSLETTERS              WEE JERRY
BB FACE TO FACE (1915)         RED LEGION (1919)
(93-11210) [4-5-0,24]          (93-11232) [3-5-0,30]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

POSITION IS EMPTY

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)         30 
2. OXY MORONS (1917)             24    BRUTE STRENGTH (491)
3. BB FACE TO FACE (1915)        18    Unchartered Team
4. DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)        16 
5. DM - FOLK (1916)              7     DM - FOLK (1916)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*DM - FOLK (1916)          31  14  1 68.9   1/ 4*IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)    11  4 1
 2/ 3*IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     23  17  1 57.5   2/ 1*DM - FOLK (1916)         11  4 1
 3/ 4*BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    24  21  0 53.3   3/ 2*BB FACE TO FACE (1915)   10  5 0
 4/ 2*LEGIONARII (1927)          5   5  0 50.0   4/ 3*RED LEGION (1919)         7  8 0
 5/ 7*OXY MORONS (1917)         12  15  1 44.4   5/ 5*OXY MORONS (1917)         6  7 0
 6- 5*DRAGON BLOOD (1914)        4   5  0 44.4   6/ 7*LEGIONARII (1927)         5  5 0
 7/ 6*RED LEGION (1919)         15  25  0 37.5   7- 6*DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       3  1 0
 8/ 8*DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)     4  10  0 28.6   8/ 9*DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)    1  4 0
 9/ 9*VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)     1  13  0  7.1   9/ 8*VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    1 13 0

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

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                              Basics of Strategy, part 3

Hybrids, (not including tank offensives):
    Let's assume you've designed a great hybrid warrior, who has skills in all the 
right places and the right mix of physicals for his style. There is not a 'catch all' 
strategy for these warriors.  In fact, one of the things that makes hybrids so hard to 
run (even after you have the right design) is that not all hybrids respond the same to 
the same strategy.
    Offensive Effort is the 'easiest' number to decide on.  Find what works for your 
warrior and stick with it.  Most hybrids operate best on the favorite Offensive 
Effort.  You can find other articles talking about favorites and what is likely for 
your warrior.  While usually avoiding 1-2 is adviseable, I've seen scum and parry 
ripostes do nasty things at 1-2 offensive effort.
    Activity Level is tougher.  Higher is often better and it often won't hurt your 
warrior to run at 10 AL.  It makes your warrior move around, helping dodge and your 
willingness to strike, but 10 AL will burn endurance fast and probably hurts parry.  
For a Lunger with lots and lots of endurance, I highly recommend 10 AL.  For a Parry 
Striker that isn't learning defense skills, maybe not so much.  Once again, if you can 
find a number that works well, go with it.  Assur starts most of his hybrids at 5-10 
AL and works from there.
    All that said, you might opt to run your hybrid differently in different minutes.  
My comments above are assuming you are expecting a short fight (which is usually the 
case).  For a hybrid with high parry, you might go with a parry strategy minute 1 and 
slowly wake up in minutes 2 and 3.  For a lunger hybrid, you might opt for very high 
numbers in minute 1, then go with some endurance conserving strategy in later minutes.  
Work with your warrior and style and his strengths and weaknesses.  And use your 
challenges, avoids, and your alternate strategy to mix it up a bit. 
    Armor: DO NOT OVER ENCUMBER YOUR HYBRID!!!  One popular formula for determining 
your carry ability without penalties is to add your Strength to the lesser of 
Strength/Constitution and subtract 6.  This is the number of points your warrior can 
carry.  After you've determined the max you want to carry, that helps you decide your 
armor/weapons. For higher dodge, Assur recommends ARM or lower, even if you can carry 
more, in most fights.
    Weapons: Feel free to try and find your favorite weapon, but most of Assur's 
warriors use the best weapon they can use given their stats. SC, BS, BA, LO are all 
great choices if you can use them and highly recommended.  For basic strategy, it is 
tough to go wrong with those weapons.

I am going to skip the counter strategy section against hybrids.
1) Different hybrids fight differently
2) It is pretty rare to find yourself against an unbeatable hybrid
3) Most of the time, it is combination of skills and luck that will determine the 
   outcome of these fights.

If you do find yourself sharing an arena with one of the few hybrids that appears to 
wipe the arena sands with anyone they face, I recommend avoiding that warrior.  These 
warriors are special and often look really mediocre until they get on the sands.

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

I have spent three-quarters of my life on Noblish as a Duelmaster. Wow! Am I THAT 
good. Some say "not really." Me? I say "you betcha!". So, if you want to challenge me, 
watch out! I am a firm believer in the death penalty. You betcha! And I have a bone to 
pick. I have only two more fights on Noblish Island, then I have  to go hasta la 
vista? Come on! I want to fight here forever. It is exhilarating and awesome being 
Duelmaster. If you really want to be a Duelmaster, go some place else. This spot is 
mine.

                                          -- Doc Steele, DMVI

                                      SPY REPORT

     You elder fighters surely remember me.  The younger ones may call me Olaf 
Modeen.  I return to NOBLISH ISLAND once again!  Ya gotta be quick on yer feet!  Keep 
your elbow off the table!  Thrust!  Block out the pain!  IMPERIAL CABAL is now ranked 
1st with a 5-0-1 turn.  It seems so recently people were saying BB FACE TO FACE was 
washed up, finished.  But 4-1-0 moved them up 1.  I guess they're washed no more...  
What's with ALYSSE TUREN?  She actually beat LEGIONARII's QUINTUS TURRIS, and walked 
away with 16 more points from the fight.  Laughs were big at OXY MORONS while they 
watched SLEEPY JOE clobber TOMBSTONE FEATURE.  He lost 8 points and got bruised from 
objects thrown from the stands.  NOBLISH ISLAND, set your sights on KUNG-FU MASTER.  
He'll be happy to entertain all requests after defeating DOC STEELE.  MANNEQUIN 
looked pretty Duelmasterlike as he took NOBLISH ISLAND's top spot with 86 points.  
Now, what will DOC STEELE do?  Advice to fighters with a 1 will--give up fighting!   
     No matter the time or place, men will always duel.  NOBLISH ISLAND thinks DM - 
FOLK and their 31-14-1 is too much!  If at first you don't succeed, give up...  The 
bums at BB FACE TO FACE couldn't face the challenges from DM - FOLK!  No excuse for 
that!  How well I know the feeling of being the most challenged warrior, MINOR 
CATASTROPHE!  Don't make idle boasts, they may come back to haunt you.   
     There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit.  Do you want the fighters 
to walk away, or not?  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.  The end 
of another Spyreport!  That's cause for celebration in my book!  Remember--a good 
fighter needs both good skills and good luck.  Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MANNEQUIN 11215               8   1  0  86         DM - FOLK (1916)          

CHAMPIONS                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 DOC STEELE 11217              5   4  0  72         DM - FOLK (1916)          

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 OZLETC 11237                  7   1  0  50         IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     
 ONE-ARM BANDIT 11216          4   5  1  41         DM - FOLK (1916)          
 BAD MATCH UPS 11211           6   3  0  38         BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    
 SANDY CALL OUT 11212          5   4  0  37         BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    
 BUBBA 11214                   8   1  0  36         DM - FOLK (1916)          

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 HUNG OVER 11213               5   4  0  33         BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    
 WEE JERRY 11232               3   5  0  30         RED LEGION (1919)         
 VLAD 11218                    6   3  0  29         DM - FOLK (1916)          
 ZIPPY THE SLUG 11247          4   1  0  29         OXY MORONS (1917)         
 SLEEPY JOE 11220              3   4  1  26         OXY MORONS (1917)         
 NIRUUL 11235                  5   3  0  24         IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     
 BROKE NEWSLETTERS 11210       4   5  0  24         BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 TAZAROC 11236                 5   3  1  22         IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     
 TEICHOS 11271                 3   1  0  20         RED LEGION (1919)         
-RED ROGUE 11207               2   0  0  20         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 ARACHNOL 11229                4   4  0  19         RED LEGION (1919)         
 CUTTER 11230                  3   5  0  18         RED LEGION (1919)         
 VALUS MAU'UAL 11272           3   0  0  18         IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     
 TOMBSTONE FEATURE 11209       4   5  0  17         BB FACE TO FACE (1915)    
 ALYSSE TUREN 11249            1   1  0  17         DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)    
 CHONK II 11270                2   2  0  15         RED LEGION (1919)         
 DECIMUS PUGIO 11282           1   1  0  13         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 MILITANT PACIFIST 11245       2   2  0  12         OXY MORONS (1917)         
 CAIUS NAVARCHUS 11280         2   0  0  12         LEGIONARII (1927)         
-BLUE BARBARIAN 11206          1   1  0  12         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 MINOR CATASTROPHE 11246       2   2  0  10         OXY MORONS (1917)         
-ENRIQUE SUAVE 11196           2   2  0   8         DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)    

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-WHITE WARLOCK 11205           1   1  0   7         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 DOMINUS GHAUL 11284           1   0  0   7         IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)     
 UNCLE LEO 11254               1   2  0   5         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
-JOSE SUMMERS 11193            1   2  0   5         DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)    
 MARCUS LORICA 11281           1   1  0   4         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 QUINTUS TURRIS 11283          1   1  0   4         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 SAINT SIMEON 11251            0   3  0   3         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
 ALYSSA THE FOX 11253          0   3  0   3         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
-NATALIA MARAKOVA 11197        0   3  0   3         DIVIDED NATIONS (1912)    
-BLACK BARD 11208              0   2  0   2         DRAGON BLOOD (1914)       
 MORGIUS 11252                 0   2  0   2         VAMPIRE POSSUMS (1922)    
 PUBLIUS SICA 11279            0   2  0   2         LEGIONARII (1927)         
 CONTROLLED CHAOS 11278        0   1  0   1         OXY MORONS (1917)         

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
CLOTILDA 11250          0  3 0 VAMPIRE POSSUMS 1922 TAZAROC 11236          662  

                                     PERSONAL ADS

How nice of my friend, Assur, to point out my warrior, Vlad, and his escapades. The 9-
5-16-15-10-12-17 AB, with very little endurance, and not yet an attack expert, is, 
indeed a tough, but fun, one to run. Aimers can be one of the most difficult to run 
early in their careers, especially if they are a somewhat inadequate design. -- T.C.
P.S. Ozletec learned this turn that Vlad is not so often formidable.

Hey! Look at all the teams here in Noblish. Welcome. I salute you all. -- T.C.
P.S. My favorite team name here remains "OXY MORONS".

I didn't really mean to kill anyone. Yikes! Thankfully it was an immortal N.P.C. -- 
One-Arm Bandit

Health. Humility. Honor. (The Consortium motto.) -- T.C.

Sleepy Joe -- Yikes...hope you are ok! -- Cutter

Niruul -- Tee hee! I skewered you like a tasty kabob! -- Wee Jerry

Uncle Leo -- Thank you for the fight! Come at me again, the odds might be in your 
favor! -- Arachnol

Tombstone Feature -- Goodness, I brought my best and thought I had you! Smashed a 
shield and wore you down, but you took the win. It was fantastic and glorious!  -- 
Chonk I

IBroke Newsletters -- I almost needed a pee break in that marathon!  -- Teichos

Wee Jerry -- You had best watch your back, a knife in the dark is in store for you! -- 
Niruul

Cutter -- Outch!  Horrible way to wake up! -- Sloppy Joe

Clotilda -- Bad matchup for you but I think you will do well. -- Zippy

Chonk II -- I look forward to our next fight, and maybe I won't be a laughing
stock of the arena next time! -- Alyssa the Fox

For those who desire a comprehensive account of the development of Rome's present 
supremacy, it is vitally important, I believe, to trace this earlier phase of her 
history. In other words, they must acquaint themselves with the period and the process 
whereby the Romans began to advance towards better fortunes after the defeats they had 

suffered on their own soil, and with the details of how and when, after becoming the 
masters of Italy, they applied themselves to the conquest of countries further afield. 
-- Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire

A question for you, T.C. the wise: should a fighter always seek his favorite weapon in 
harmony with his style and personal attributes? Long time ago, I remember a parry 
lunge coming back from the dark arena. Questor was his name and he fought in Arkers. 
He was known for his deadly handling of the halberd. -- Flamma

RED ROGUE, you stubborn sandbag. -- Pugio

All -- Is there a coach here who would be willing to Proxy at the summer games for me? 
-- The Uniter, mgr Divided Nations

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

CUTTER was bested by VLAD in a 1 minute Challenge fight.
BUBBA unbelievably bested WEE JERRY in a exciting 3 minute gruesome Challenge duel.
ARACHNOL was subdued by SANDY CALL OUT in a action packed 2 minute Challenge fight.
SLEEPY JOE viciously subdued TOMBSTONE FEATURE in a popular 4 minute Challenge fight.
CHONK II was unbelievably bested by ZIPPY THE SLUG in a 4 minute Challenge brawl.
UNCLE LEO was viciously subdued by MINOR CATASTROPHE in a 6 minute Challenge match.
ALYSSA THE FOX was overpowered by DECIMUS PUGIO in a 1 minute uneven Challenge melee.
ALYSSE TUREN vanquished QUINTUS TURRIS in a 1 minute uneven Challenge duel.
DOC STEELE was narrowly defeated by KUNG-FU MASTER in a action packed 2 minute duel.
MANNEQUIN overpowered CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 1 minute one-sided Title fight.
OZLETC overcame ONE-ARM BANDIT in a popular 1 minute bout.
TEICHOS was savagely defeated by HUNG OVER in a 2 minute bloody match.
BAD MATCH UPS handily defeated MILITANT PACIFIST in a 1 minute one-sided contest.
NIRUUL savagely defeated SAINT SIMEON in a 2 minute bloody veteran vs. amateur brawl.
TAZAROC savagely slew CLOTILDA in a 2 minute gory duel.
BROKE NEWSLETTERS devastated PUBLIUS SICA in a 1 minute uneven duel.
MORGIUS was beaten by DOMINUS GHAUL in a 2 minute amateur's brawl.
VALUS MAU'UAL devastated MARCUS LORICA in a 7 minute brutal one-sided fight.
CAIUS NAVARCHUS savagely defeated CONTROLLED CHAOS in a 2 minute gory novice's bout.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   6         TOTAL PARRY       23 -  12 -  0      66  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  5         BASHING ATTACK    28 -  22 -  0      56  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      5         STRIKING ATTACK   24 -  19 -  0      56  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   5         AIMED BLOW        17 -  14 -  1      55  |
|AIMED BLOW                       4         WALL OF STEEL     14 -  17 -  0      45  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    4         LUNGING ATTACK    23 -  28 -  2      45  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    2         SLASHING ATTACK    6 -   8 -  0      43  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     2         PARRY-RIPOSTE     10 -  17 -  1      37  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  2         PARRY-STRIKE       5 -   9 -  0      36  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         PARRY-LUNGE        2 -   6 -  0      25  |

Turn 662 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:

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

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
BASHING ATTACK   MANNEQUIN 11215             8   1  0   86 DM - FOLK (1916)
STRIKING ATTACK  DOC STEELE 11217            5   4  0   72 DM - FOLK (1916)
WALL OF STEEL    OZLETC 11237                7   1  0   50 IMPERIAL CABAL (1920)
TOTAL PARRY      BUBBA 11214                 8   1  0   36 DM - FOLK (1916)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is BROKE NEWSLETTERS 11210.  The most popular warrior 
this turn was WEE JERRY 11232.  The ten other most popular fighters were SLEEPY JOE 
11220, SANDY CALL OUT 11212, CHONK II 11270, DOC STEELE 11217, HUNG OVER 11213, VLAD 
11218, MANNEQUIN 11215, NIRUUL 11235, TAZAROC 11236, and DOMINUS GHAUL 11284.

The least popular fighter this week was VALUS MAU'UAL 11272.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were CONTROLLED CHAOS 11278, MORGIUS 11252, PUBLIUS SICA 11279, 
CLOTILDA 11250, SAINT SIMEON 11251, MILITANT PACIFIST 11245, QUINTUS TURRIS 11283, 
ALYSSA THE FOX 11253, MINOR CATASTROPHE 11246, and UNCLE LEO 11254.