DM 093 Newsletter

Total warriors from this arena = 1899

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DM 093 Newsletter

DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date : 02/06/2026 Duedate: 02/19/2026

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93 TURN 706

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

DARRIAN NUV
MERCENARIES INC. (1963)
(93-11511) [6-0-1,53]

Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY DARRIAN NUV
MERCENARIES INC. (1963)
(93-11511) [6-0-1,53]

Popularity Leader This Week's Favorite

CHAIM ANG FIRE MOTH
MERCENARIES INC. (1963) GHOST BEARS! (1970)
(93-11509) [2-4-0,11] (93-11547) [1-0-0,11]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

BRASS BAND (1968)

TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. GHOST BEARS! (1970) 36
2. BRASS BAND (1968) 21 S.O.N. (28)
3. MERCENARIES INC. (1963) 10 Unchartered Team

BRASS BAND (1968)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BRASS BAND (1968) 13 2 0 86.7 1/ 2*BRASS BAND (1968) 13 2 0
2- 2*BASH BROS STAMPS (1964) 26 14 1 65.0 2- 1*BASH BROS STAMPS (1964) 8 2 0
3/ 0*GHOST BEARS! (1970) 3 2 0 60.0 3/ 3*MERCENARIES INC. (1963) 4 6 0
4/ 3*MERCENARIES INC. (1963) 17 13 2 56.7 4/ 0*GHOST BEARS! (1970) 3 2 0
5- 4*JJKIER (1935) 9 21 0 30.0 5- 4*JJKIER (1935) 1 2 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 BASHER
A Worthless style, or merely worthless Managers?

Are Bashers misunderstood? Well, The Consortium Family certainly thinks so; therefore,
let's examine some facts and a few opinions. (Note: so does Hammer, so you may wish to
go back to Noblish Isle DM93 newsletter, turn 581 -"Another Look At Bashers"-, and
reread his comments.)

First, what, typically, is said about bashers? Sadly, I have heard these statements
all within the past month. "Don't make bashers." "Bashers are the worst style."
"Bashers are a no no, since they have a lousy weapon selection," "Anyone who makes a
basher ought to be shot!" "Bashers are worthless; they can't TC." "Bashers don't win
much." Enough of those discriminatory words, I say! Let's get to some facts.

Can bashers TC? Well, certainly; and they do. Bashers have TC'd 26+ times. (Yes, 26,
and not zero, as some imply.)

Once in the 1980's.
Fourteen times in the 1990's.
Four times in the 2000's.
Six times in the 2010's.
Once already in the 2020's.

Only two bashers (Piledriver and Baffle) have TC'd twice, hence twenty-four different
bashers have TC'd. Six of those TC's were as immortal warriors (One in Primus) and
twenty were as mortals in classes Rookie through Champions.

The Consortium knows first-hand that bashers can TC, as:

Daniel Webster -- October 1998 Mailer
Skulk -- October 2003 Mailer
Bismuth Bender -- July 2011 Face-To-Face (Milwaukee)

have all done it. The Consortium is believed to be the first and only three-time
basher TCer. What did those three particular Consortium warriors have in common? None
were significantly blessed; all were godlingish designs; all had 17 Will (WT/WL =
21/17, 17/17, 21/17); and all were run by The Consortium Conglomerate.

Well, then, sure, those three TCs were sort-of godlings, but "normal" bashers cannot
win, can they?. Do they? Listen to this! The Consortium is running 18 non-sandbagger
bashers in current arenas and their overall arena record is 92-48-10, w/l = .657.
(They also have an overall tournament record of 53-37-4 = .589, with 2 TVs.)

Let's randomly select ten of those and examine the facts. (note: data as of Dec 15,
2024.)

The roll of the die selected the following 10, which had a total arena record of 51-
29-4 = .638. These are the designs:

13-4-11-15-9-21-11
13-5-8-17-17-13-11
15-11-13-17-9-12-7
15-5-14-17-10-10-13
17-10-15-17-9-9-7
13-10-10-17-9-14-11
13-9-13-15-9-18-7
15-5-12-7-20-18-7
17-3-16-17-17-9-5
17-7-10-15-9-15-11

What do these arena warriors have in common? All have high ST. (12+) Most have average
WL. (9 works!) None are small. (All but one are 9+ SZ. But The Consortium does run
some small bashers quite successfully also.) Most have low CN. (ranging from 4 to
10.)Almost all have 15 or 17 Wit. (Note: The 7-wit warrior was a final four at an FTF
earning a TV!) Speed was above average. The "average" of these warriors would make an
approximate 15-7-12-16-11-14-9 fighter.) So, bashers CAN fight and bashers CAN win!

A lot is said about "lousy basher weapon selection". And, in a way, that might be so.
One reason for that feeling may be that bashers are not suited for the scimitar (SC),
the weapon many (or most) consider the best weapon in the game. After all, bashers
don't slice and dice, they whack! And bashers are suited for the two weapons most feel
are the worst in the game -- the war flail (WF), commonly called the "whiffle", and
the morning star (MS). Here are the basher weapons: GA, GS, HL, MA, ML, MS, QS, WF,
WH, and the 3 shields. Some are hard to "qualify" for, as they require 15+ ST. (GS,
HL, ML) But when they hit, they hit hard! That strength need can be a disadvantage for
many designs, taking away points more desirable elsewhere in design. Two, as mentioned
above, are considered the worst in the game. (WF, MS) That leaves few to choose from,
and all but one "require" 13 ST to use suitably. But, The Consortium is a big user of
the quarterstaff (QS), war hammer (WH), and great axe (GA), and not at all adverse to
the mace (MA). He has also been known to often use, and win with, those three
regularly on styles other than bashers:

QS on strikers (ST)
WH on strikers (ST), total parries (TP) and pikers (PS)
GA on walls-of-steel (WS) and slashers (SL)

So, maybe those weapons are not quite so bad as some managers think.

Which brings us back to the core of this spotlight. Bashers do get bashed and
discriminated against. And perhaps, as was outlined above, that is one large pile of
bashed cow patties. Enjoy bashers -- they get it done.

-- Music Man,
a Consortium affiliated Manager (January 2026)

SPY REPORT

Hail and well met warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Know me for who I am, Zontani
Sharp Eyes, Spymaster extraordinaire of all Alastari. Former top team BASH BROS
STAMPS was unseated this week as BRASS BAND moved up from 2nd ranking to take the top
spot with a 4-1-0 record for the round. The city turned out in welcome to meet the
banners of a new guild, GHOST BEARS!, as they entered the city this week. May victory
find you! MAD CAT caught the eye of many in the gladiatorial commission as he
skillfully bested EMBEZZLING SCRIBE and was awarded 15 points in recognition. In one
of the week's more notable duels, BUGLE put down CHAIM ANG, causing him to lose 2
points of recognition in the process. Due to its absence and inability to defend the
throne, PRICE INCREASE has lost the title of Duelmaster. The city has turned out in
honor of DARRIAN NUV, for with his arena victory he may now lay claim to the highest
position in the city! Informants "close" to the city champion have told me that he
never fights without pantyhose on beneath his armor. Watch out!
Many and various are the arts of battle. In NOBLISH ISLAND "art" is a word that
has long since passed from the language! NOBLISH ISLAND, city of gladiators! Mighty
among the names of thy guilds is BASH BROS STAMPS, a guild shunned and avoided by
many in the weekly duels. Methinks more than a few here could name the guild it was
that spent the better part of last week avoiding BASH BROS STAMPS. Indeed it was
BRASS BAND.
Vendettas. Bloodied blades and broken spears. Indeed the city has seen more
than its fair share of red in recent times. Dark alleys may hide both secrets and
assassins. In the arena there is only the brightness of steel. Keep vigil always!
If it were not for my skills as a spy I would have been mugged three times
already in NOBLISH ISLAND. Nice atmosphere you have here! Sadly warriors, now
longer can I keep thy company nor savor the ale of thy fine city. Depart I must and
soon! Till next we meet remember - the pen is mightier than the sword, but a maul is
a different story!-- Zontani Sharp Eyes

DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DARRIAN NUV 11511 WS 6 0 1 53 MERCENARIES INC. (1963)

CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-PRICE INCREASE 11514 ST 6 2 0 66 BASH BROS STAMPS (1964)

ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-POSTAGE DUE 11518 WS 6 2 0 50 BASH BROS STAMPS (1964)
-EXTRA CHARGES 11517 AB 5 3 0 39 BASH BROS STAMPS (1964)
-SHIELDER 11336 TP 5 4 0 35 JJKIER (1935)
-MAIL ORDER CHARGE 11516 AB 4 4 0 34 BASH BROS STAMPS (1964)

CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
FRENCH HORN 11535 BA 2 1 0 30 BRASS BAND (1968)
CORNET 11538 BA 3 0 0 27 BRASS BAND (1968)
GIGI ASHBLIGHT 11513 4 2 0 25 MERCENARIES INC. (1963) [LU-ST]
BUGLE 11536 SL 3 0 0 25 BRASS BAND (1968)

INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
-RAN OUT 11515 AB 5 3 1 23 BASH BROS STAMPS (1964)
TUBA 11537 TP 3 0 0 21 BRASS BAND (1968)
TROMBONE 11534 ST 2 1 0 19 BRASS BAND (1968)
MAD CAT 11550 1 0 0 15 GHOST BEARS! (1970) [BA-LU-PL-PS-SL-ST-TP]
DIETHEN DUNDAB 11512 PS 4 2 0 14 MERCENARIES INC. (1963)
-BLOWER 11334 AB 2 7 0 13 JJKIER (1935)
CHAIM ANG 11509 LU 2 4 0 11 MERCENARIES INC. (1963) *
FIRE MOTH 11547 1 0 0 11 GHOST BEARS! (1970) [BA-LU-PL-PS-SL-ST-TP]
-RIPOSTER 11335 PR 1 3 0 10 JJKIER (1935) *
KYLER MAR 11510 BA 1 5 1 9 MERCENARIES INC. (1963) *
STORMCROW 11551 1 0 0 8 GHOST BEARS! (1970) [BA-LU-PL-PS-SL-ST-TP]
KIT FOX 11549 ST 0 1 0 1 GHOST BEARS! (1970)
ADDER 11548 SL 0 1 0 1 GHOST BEARS! (1970)

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

THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?

PERSONAL ADS

LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

DARRIAN NUV unbelievably bested FRENCH HORN in a 1 minute bloody Title fight.
DIETHEN DUNDAB won victory over PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a dull 5 minute battle.
GIGI ASHBLIGHT demolished MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute uneven fight.
CHAIM ANG was bested by BUGLE in a popular 1 minute contest.
KYLER MAR was luckily beaten by TUBA in a unpopular 7 minute match.
TROMBONE devastated ADDER in a 1 minute bloody one-sided duel.
CORNET overpowered KIT FOX in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
FIRE MOTH defeated PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 2 minute beginner's melee.
MAD CAT won victory over EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 2 minute beginner's duel.
STORMCROW defeated MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute beginner's duel.

BATTLE REPORT

MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 3 PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 0 - 0 100 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 2 WALL OF STEEL 14 - 2 - 1 88 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 TOTAL PARRY 9 - 3 - 0 75 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 15 - 5 - 0 75 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 SLASHING ATTACK 9 - 3 - 0 75 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 2 PARRY-STRIKE 8 - 4 - 0 67 |
|TOTAL PARRY 1 BASHING ATTACK 11 - 9 - 1 55 |
|WALL OF STEEL 1 AIMED BLOW 14 - 12 - 1 54 |
|AIMED BLOW 0 LUNGING ATTACK 8 - 9 - 1 47 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 2 - 0 33 |

Turn 706 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-LUNGE 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 1 - 2 3 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-STRIKE 2 - 0 AIMED BLOW 0 - 0 2 WALL OF STEEL
TOTAL PARRY 1 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 2 SLASHING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL 1 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 AIMED BLOW
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 1

TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL DARRIAN NUV 11511 6 0 1 53 MERCENARIES INC. (1963)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is CHAIM ANG 11509. The most popular warrior this turn
was FIRE MOTH 11547. The ten other most popular fighters were BUGLE 11536, KYLER MAR
11510, TROMBONE 11534, CORNET 11538, MAD CAT 11550, DARRIAN NUV 11511, FRENCH HORN
11535, GIGI ASHBLIGHT 11513, CHAIM ANG 11509, and STORMCROW 11551.

The least popular fighter this week was TUBA 11537. The other ten least popular
fighters were DIETHEN DUNDAB 11512, KIT FOX 11549, ADDER 11548, STORMCROW 11551,
CHAIM ANG 11509, GIGI ASHBLIGHT 11513, FRENCH HORN 11535, DARRIAN NUV 11511, MAD CAT
11550, and CORNET 11538.