Xenograg Division: Ulath ni'Fici(7) vs. Chris Graziano(10)

Moderator: Cassius Gaius Maximius

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Xenograg Division First Round: Ulath ni'Fici vs. Chris Graziano

Poll ended at Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:17 am

Ulath ni'Fici
3
30%
Chris Graziano
7
70%
 
Total votes: 10
Cassius Gaius Maximius
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Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 5:03 pm

Xenograg Division: Ulath ni'Fici(7) vs. Chris Graziano(10)

Post by Cassius Gaius Maximius »

Ulath ni'Fici

Gender: Male

Race: Unknown. You're going to have to excuse the meager information in this matchup: Ulath is one of the few duelists from the past who I have never, ever even met, much less dueled, and I know almost nothing about him. If you do have info, please give. I do know that the character is deceased, having died around 1997.

Point of Origin: Unknown

Occupation: Unknown. I do know that in the duels, he was affiliated to Questrion: He was one of two Loyal Barons to Dalamar Ar'Daumon who realigned Renegade in late 1997 when fellow Question duelist Huma Dragonbane won the Fourth Ring and aligned Renegade(the other was Moralitor the Black).

Preferred Weapon: A Lochaber axe. This is a distinctively Scottish polearm, with a wedge-like blade protruding from the side of the upper end of a stout, wooden half. First developed in the Scottish Highlands around the year 1300, the weapon is specifically designed to deal with armored cavalry such as knights: It had a spike protruding from the upper end of the axe blade so that it could serve as a makeshift short pike, and the axe blade itself was specifically designed for delivering heavy blows that could breach chain mail or even some plate armor. Given the date of it's origin and some of it's specifics(plate armor was rare amongst the medieval Highland clans at the time, as were warhorses), it's fairly obvious whom the inventor of the Lochaber axe had in mind. Some Lochaber axes also had a hook on the other side of the axe blade, for scaling wooden ramparts(the English set up a lot of easy-to-build wooden forts around occupied Scottish territory at this time).

Traditionally, there haven't been a whole lot of mounted, armed warriors in the duels...but the Lochaber axe possesses many of the advantages that Jeff Oakenshield's Chaos would have possessed: Reach, versaility, and powerful, demoralizing blows.

TDL History: 18-8, over two seasons with Questrion Black. Former TDL MVP, in Season 514. Best season was 9-0 in Season 514...which means that my earlier statement about Avery Shiv Blade having the first undefeated TDL season in history was wrong. Oops. Either way...while Ulath may seem ancient even to the veterans of today's Arena, his TDL record is one instance where his skill really echoes over the years.

DoS Titles Held: Former Overlord, former Baron of the 3rd(2 defenses), former Baron of the 7th(1 defense), former Baron of the 8th.

Challenge Victories: The Doctor(OL Challenge), Heath MacCormick(Baronial Challenge-3rd), Zhenge Quan Fei(Baronial Defense-3rd), Leo Caius Cassius Pride(Baronial Defense-3rd), Juan Sanchez Villabolos Ramirez(Baronial Defense-7th). Zhenge Quan Fei and Leo Caius Cassius Pride were defeated in succession, in a que of two.

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: Fall 1997 WLT finalist; this was a source of controversy when ni'Fici, having won the undefeated bracket, was defeated by Baphelocutis est Lathodascia in the finals. Baphe refused a tie-breaker duel(see Kalamere vs. Percival for a similar situation from earlier in 1997); the issue was compounded by the fact that Ulath had defeated Baphe in the undefeated bracket earlier. Fall 1996 WLT 3rd place(won the vacant 8th Ring as a prize), Winter 1996 WLT 3rd place, placed in the Tournament of the Original Nine Baronies, where he won the newly minted 7th Ring as a prize.

DoS Madness History: N/A.


vs.


Chris Graziano

Gender: Male

Race: Human. Chris is the eldest son and second sibling of the famous Graziano clan: His sister is currently reigning Baroness of Old Market and 2-time former TDL MVP Maria Graziano, his younger siblings are Tony and Myria Graziano, his wife is DoF and TDL competitor Alexandria Wells-Graziano. His cousin R.J. Graziano briefly dueled; even his mother got into the act as an official for the Outback! It all began with Chris, who was the first Graziano to enter Rhydin.

Point of Origin: Queens, New York. Reportedly entered Rhydin via a wormhole behind a neighborhood bar in Queens.

Occupation: During the prime of his career, Chris mostly earned money from a highly lucrative TDL contract: When this was combined with the earnings of his wife(who, in addition to her own ridiculously lucrative TDL contract, was an official for DoF), he achieved a very high level of financial comfort...perhaps more than would have been likely had he remained on Earth. Later, he became Supervisor of the Duel of Swords, serving in that capacity until the spring of 2008. This led to an awkward moment in his dueling career: After winning the Fall 2007 Warlord's Tournament, Graziano won the ToW-free Overlord Challenge against Cletus Ganderfald. However, this was vetoed by the Arena staff of officials, who felt uncomfortable with the concept of one person being Overlord as a duelist and Supervisor as an official.

Preferred Weapon: For years, Graziano dueled with a wooden baseball bat. A major fan of New York baseball, his general approach to armed dueling had much in common with the motions of a baseball player swinging a bat...in other words, powerful, demoralizing hits with a stout bludgeon. However, the type of wood that is utilized in the construction of baseball bats is...ill-suited to withstand combat with iron and steel weaponry, to say the least. He finally addressed the problem of splintered bats in 2003 before a defense of the Overlordship against Jaycynda Ashleana, when he had a bat constructed with magic bindings by Tiwlight Isle competitor Tim Enralyte. He named this weapon the
"Pizza Bat" after professional baseball player Mike Piazza(it should be remembered that Graziano came to Rhydin some years ago), and used it for the remainder of his dueling career.

TDL History: 54-28 over eight seasons. Graziano's TDL career began with the Phantom Scots in Seasons 518 and 519, but in Season 520, he signed with the Wrecking Crew, almong with family and friends...his name has been synonymous with that dueling faction and TDL franchise ever since. Former TDL Champion, in Season 523 with WRC. Best season was Season 518 with the Phantom Scots, at 9-1; however, Chris never had a losing season(although he did have two .500 seasons).

DoS Titles Held: Former Overlord(1 defense), former Baron of the 11th.

Challenge Victories: Tarl Cabot(OL Challenge, 2-0 B03), Verceterix Gavin Favre(Baronial Challenge-11th, 2-0 B03), Jaycynda Ashleana(OL Defense), Cory Havoick(Challenger in Intercession).

Notable Tournament Wins/Pairings: Fall 2007 WLT Winner(def. undef. bracket champion Max Quinlan Blue in two duels in the finals).

DoS Madness History: 2007: Seeded 2nd in the Athlstan Division; def. Druid in the first round, lost to Horatio Benvolio MacBeth in the second round.


Head to Head: Chris Graziano, I know very well in the duels....Ulath ni'Fici, not so much, Ulath's one of the very few people who I've never dueled before...and is one of those that I wish I could duel. I have no clue who would win, but this would be one of the most interesting matchups of the first round, from my point of view.
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