Takeover of Mandalore/Legends

"Listen, Duchess. Do you hear the people? They cry out for change. Your weak-minded rule of Mandalore is at an end. The resurrection of our warrior past is about to begin."

- Pre Vizsla

Around 20 BBY, Darth Maul led his Shadow Collective in a takeover of the New Mandalorian capital city on the planet Mandalore, Sundari, with the aid of the Death Watch. In this takeover, the New Mandalorian government was overthrown and Maul would assume control of the Death Watch after the demise of Pre Vizsla.

Prelude
"Your vision lacks clarity. Without us, you have no army and no reason to replace the Duchess."

- Darth Maul stresses the point to ally with Pre Vizsla and the Death Watch

The Sith Lords Darth Maul and Savage Opress had formed an alliance with Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla and began to formulate plans for an army, which would assist the Death Watch take control of Mandalore. Vizsla and the Sith successfully recruited the Black Sun, the Pyke Syndicate and the Hutt Cartel.

Both sides were planning to betray the other as part of their separate ideas to take control for themselves. Maul suggested to Vizsla that he send an advanced guard to Sundari to find places vital to the security of the planet, in order to make Duchess Satine Kryze look weak. The hologram of the city targets would eventually be reviewed, and the Shadow Collective would act as the gangsters that would attack Mandalore, while the Death Watch would step in to defend the people.

Defeat of the New Mandalorians
"This war will cause the end of Mandalore as we know it."

- Duchess Satine Kryze

As part of Darth Maul's plot, the Shadow Collective forces were smuggled into the Sundari shipping docks and attacked police forces throughout Sundari, showing the citizen populace that the New Mandalorians were weak and unable to defend themselves. Several teams were dispatched to attack several locations, such as a bank where Lom Pyke and Savage Opress led a small team which attacked the guards stationed there. Also, Ziton Moj led a small team of Black Sun soldiers in another area of the city.

Duchess Satine attempted to calm her people, but Pre Vizsla then stepped in with the Death Watch, promising to do what the New Mandalorian forces could not—defeat the crime syndicates. Bo-Katan then "defeated" Moj's team while Vizsla "defeated" Opress's team after engaging Opress in a brief duel. Vizsla then contacted Maul, who stated that the time was right to usurp the Duchess. Vizsla did so, and threw the Duchess into prison. Once the Duchess had been neutralized, Vizsla addressed the crowds, presented Opress, Pyke and Moj to them as prisoners, and declared himself Prime Minister.

Vizsla then betrayed Maul and Opress, because he did not want to participate in the brothers' plans for expanding their empire and he wanted to solidify the Death Watch's grip on the New Mandalorian populace. He summoned Maul to the throne room, revealed his plot to betray him, and arrested him. Maul and Opress were then thrown into the Sundari prison.

Maul vs. Vizsla
"Like you said, only the strongest shall rule."

- Pre Vizsla, before being decapitated by Darth Maul

Following Vizsla's victory, Maul and Opress broke out of their prison and wandered the facility stopping shortly to speak with the former Duchess. Maul then approached former Prime Minister Almec in the next cell, and stated he wanted him as the Prime Minister once he challenged and disposed of Vizsla.

With Almec in tow, Maul and Opress headed for the palace where Maul challenged Vizsla to single combat in the throne room. In the resulting lightsaber duel, Maul and Vizsla both gained the upper hand at some stage, only be to be pushed back by the other. Maul received two slashes across his left cheek when Vizsla deployed razor disks against him. Maul soon disarmed Vizsla after damaging his jet pack and punched him several times. After exchanging his last words with Maul, acknowledging his defeat, the Sith Lord decapitated him with the darksaber, killing Vizsla immediately.

The majority of the Death Watch accepted Maul as their new leader after he proclaimed himself the Mandalore, but Vizsla's lieutenant, Bo-Katan, refused to recognize the rule of an outsider branding her former comrades traitors, and took several loyal Death Watch soldiers, including ones from her Nite Owls, to rebel against Maul's leadership. Maul re-installed the former Prime Minister, Almec, in that role, remaining the true leader of Mandalore while allowing Almec to govern in public.

Aftermath
"I claim this sword&mdash;and my rightful place as ruler of the Death Watch."

- Darth Maul declares himself Mandalore

Darth Maul would absorb the Death Watch into his Shadow Collective and would wage war against Bo-Katan and her renegade soldiers. However, the battle that would soon unfold would attract the attention of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious.

In addition Maul warned Almec that if his administration failed him, he would blame Almec and hold him responsible.

Behind the scenes
The Shadow Collective's takeover on Mandalore first appeared in Star Wars canon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy, a young-reader novel published by Scholastic on January 1, 2013. The novel adapts the events of four episodes from the fifth season of the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, including "Revival," "Eminence," "Shades of Reason," and "The Lawless." The later three episodes of this four-part story arc depict the planning and execution of the takeover.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy