Johvet won the die roll in this decisive match. One of these two would qualify for the PC on Friday, and the other would be forced to watch from the bleachers.

 

When he recruited Boliver Trask on turn 1 fetching a Sentinel Mark V, it elicited a “here we go again” from Roosevelt. He also had Boliver and fetched shiny copy of Hounds of Ahab. This would be a close-fought battle.

 

Both had their Hounds of Ahab on turn 2, and the Hounds ate opposing Bolivers. The literally identical mirror match continued on turn 3 with a Sentinel Mark II for both sides. The first Nasty Surprise and Overload of the game came on this turn, though, allowing Johvet to get his Hounds active and keep his 3-drop around. All of a sudden, even though it seemed pretty likely that both players would have identical recruits throughout the game, Johvet had the edge.

 

On turn 4, both had a Sentinel Mark V. Roosevelt tried his luck with an attack by his Hounds into the Sentinel Mark V with the aid of Savage Beatdown. Cover Fire ended that dream, though, and Sentinel Mark V then went for Mark II. Johvet's return attacks stunned Roosevelt's Mark V, and then the Hounds of Ahab had a chance to continue their meal.

 

Johvet had Nimrod on turn 5 and it got its repair counter.

 

“This is really bad for me,” remarked Roosevelt. He played Reconstruction Program, getting the Mark V back, and played it with boost. Nimrod attacked the fresh robot, and with a power-up, he didn't even lose his counter. The remaining attacks, even the one from Hounds of Ahab, went right to the face for damage.

 

On turn 6, both players had Bastion, signaling the move of Sentinels into the later game where big drops start to outshine Hounds of Ahab and the effect they can have on the board. Roosevelt's Bastion attacked Nimrod without any initial pumps. Johvet was fine with just taking 3 breakthrough.

 

The Mark Vs clashed next, and each player pumped three times with their copies of Bastion.

 

“It's a good old slapping match,” remarked Roosevelt as he found the fourth character to make his Mark V big enough to survive. Johvet flipped Micro-Sentinels and moved onto the next turn.

 

“This is not good for me,” said Johvet as he played Reconstruction Program on turn 7, fetching a Sentinel Mark V to boost rather than recruiting Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Roosevelt showed him how it's done, though, putting the powerful mutant front and center.

 

Johvet's Nimrod attacked Roosevelt's boosted Sentinel Mark V. Roosevelt showed an Acrobatic Dodge. Johvet responded to this by using his Bastion to pump his opponent's robot. He then played Nasty Surprise and Overload to elicit the stun. Next up, Nimrod went in on Bastion for Johvet with the help of a boosted Mark V. Roosevelt used a Reconstruction Program to get back three guys, pumped his bearded menace three times, did it again, and then played a Cover Fire, making him a whopping 20 DEF (and a rather threatening 18 ATK if he were able to attack back). When Johvet passed and Roosevelt chose to stun his opponent's Sentinel Mark V, that threat came a little closer to being real. Johvet team attacked Magneto, Master of Magnetism with the rest of his guys, successfully stunning him at the expense of Bastion's life.

 

Roosevelt's colossal Bastion attacked back for lots, and it was on to the next turn.

 

Going into turn 8, Roosevelt was on 11 endurance to his opponent's 8. He had no recruit for the turn (and presumably, it was unlikely that he would have any Bastion pumps, either).

 

“This is very, very bad.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Seriously.”

 

Sentinel Mark II was all that came out for Johvet. This reporter feels that he had probably appraised the situation just right.

 

Roosevelt's Bastion attacked into Sentinel Mark V and successfully stunned him. Magneto, Master of Magnetism then attacked Bastion, who was reinforced, but ultimately it wasn't enough as he was clearly being beaten in for the rest that turn.

 

Roosevelt 1 - Johvet 0

 

 

Johvet took the odd initiative once more, and before the game kicked off, Roosevelt chose to mulligan. He had Boliver on turn 1 and fetched a Sentinel Mark II. Roosevelt had nothing and took his beats. This was not a good sign for him, as it suggested that he would be prone to a Hounds Lock.

 

On turn 2, Boliver decided to show his face for Roosevelt. He fetched a Sentinel Mark II but wouldn't be around for long, as he got taken down in a fight with himself (how embarrassing) and then eaten by dogs.

 

Naturally, both players hit their 3 drop, and Johvet continued to press his Hounds advantage. On turn 4, both had Sentinel Mark V, and Roosevelt's copy attacked into Sentinel Mark II. A Nasty Surprise and an Overload later, it was looking like there might be potential to break the Hounds lock. He attacked Johvet's Mark V and powered up. A Nasty Surprise from Johvet ensured that Roosevelt wouldn't escape so easily from the dogs as the mutual stun cleared the way.

 

On turn 5, Johvet's Nimrod came out to say hello. Roosevelt played Reconstruction Program and fetched back a Sentinel Mark V to boost out again. As his only character, though, it looked a little shaky. Nimrod attacked into him and suddenly found himself losing his fight when Roosevelt powered up. The repair counter was gone, and Johvet's strong board suddenly looked a little less strong. The rest of his team (Sentinel Mark V, Boliver Trask, and Hounds of Ahab) all came in to deal with the bothersome machine, and Roosevelt pumped the fist as he successfully maneuvered out of his awkward Hounds of Ahab situation.

 

On turn 6, he recruited Bastion, who stood out front. Johvet did the same, and it was into combat. Who would win the slapping game this time? Bastion attacked into Bastion and the slapping started. Roosevelt's Bastion became a 15 ATK/15 DEF, which was enough to elicit a Cover Fire from Johvet. Roosevelt had the Savage Beatdown, though, which forced Johvet to pump once more and then Reconstruction Program for the final pump to become safe again. When Roosevelt showed another Reconstruction Program, he was looking quite confident. After more slapping it became clear why, as he played another Reconstruction Program to get more pumps. Johvet had one too, though, so the fight escalated further. Roosevelt pumped once more, and Johvet Overloaded the 6-drop. That was a slap in the face.

 

Going into his attacks, Johvet led the endurance race 33 to 22. After his attacks, Roosevelt was down to 7 and had lost his Bastion to Hounds of Ahab. On turn 7, Roosevelt did have Magneto, Master of Magnetism and a Genosha, and Johvet had a Sentinel Mark V. It was still enough for Johvet, and it was on to game 3.

 

Roosevelt took the initiative for the decider.

 

“One little, two little, three little . . . mulligan” sang Roosevelt, remaining cheery. He had no recruits on turn 1, while Johvet had a Boliver Trask again. Roosevelt went for the unfashionably late Boliver Trask again on turn 2, while Johvet felt that Hounds of Ahab were the new black. Johvet pressed his advantage.

 

While Roosevelt made a Sentinel Mark II on turn 3, Johvet's best option was to replace his Boliver Trask to fetch Sentinel Mark V. There would be no Hounds lock this game. Sentinel Mark II attacked Boliver, who tried a Nasty Surprise on the robot. There was an Overload, though, so the attacks continued.

 

Each player had a Sentinel Mark V on turn 4, and Johvet's Boliver Trask decided to stand out front for a bit of a barney. Johvet's new machine went for a successful fight with his doppelganger with the help of Mojoverse. Hounds of Ahab and Boliver then tried to make it a sweep by team attacking into Sentinel Mark II. A power-up ended those plans, though, and the Mark II stunned Johvet's Hounds of Ahab before swinging back into Boliver Trask with a little bit of help from Mojoverse.

 

On turn 5, Nimrod was not forthcoming from either player's deck, but they each made a nice save with a Sentinel Mark V. Roosevelt's unboosted Sentinel Mark V attacked its twin, and with Mojoverse's help, it looked likely to win its fight. A Cover Fire from Johvet forced a Savage Beatdown from Roosevelt, though the extra potential breakthrough it represented was stopped by the ability of Sentinel Mark V. The fight between the boosted Mark Vs was slightly less eventful, as each character stunned the other and there was again no breakthrough.

 

On turn 6, Bastion came out to lead each player's team, and Johvet had the initiative for the attack step. Normally curve sentinels is quite happy taking the odds, as on the first turn that Bastion comes to play, it is often stronger to let opponents waste resources trying to stun him and then attack back with a still-pumped character. Sooner or later, Bastion's ability would have to be used by one player or the other. It was just a question of who was “chicken.”

 

Johvet's Bastion attacked a boosted Sentinel Mark V and held off on effects. Without effects from Johvet, it stunned. His boosted Sentinel Mark V then attacked its unboosted cousin. This family infighting wasn't broken up by Big Daddy Bastion. At the end of this attack, Johvet was leading the endurance totals 32 to 25. He then attacked with a pumped Hounds of Ahab into Sentinel Mark II before passing to his opponent. Roosevelt attempted to redress this balance a little with an uncontested Bastion attack on a Sentinel Mark V. As it was exhausted, this meant a little more damage—not enough to get things even, but there was definitely still play in the game.

 

It wouldn't be a mirror match if both players didn't recruit Magneto, Master of Magnetism on turn 7. For the first time in the match, each had the platinum blonde (that's what he tells the girls when they suggest he has gray hair) powerhouse. Roosevelt immediately flipped a Genosha in the attempt to gain a strategic advantage before setting up. Or maybe he was just really eager to draw lots of cards.

 

For his first attack, he sent Big Mags in for a bit of a fight with Johvet's Bastion. Johvet then decided to start drawing cards with a Genosha of his own. He pumped his Bastion 3 times, then played Reconstruction Program and pumped a bit more. Bastion pumps went back and forth until both characters reached ATK/DEF values of 19. At this point, Johvet exploded into action. He popped a second Genosha and smiled evilly.

 

“This is going to be funny,” he remarked to himself.

 

He shared the joke in short order by pumping his opponent's Magneto, Master of Magnetism up to having 23 ATK with his Bastion and then playing two copies of Savage Beatdown on him, facilitating a massive Overload. From there, there was little more to say. Roosevelt had some further attacks, but nothing to stop a 19 ATK/19 DEF Bastion coming right back at his team for the final decisive points.

 

Johvet Lopez won 2-1 and earned his place at the Pro Circuit here in New York.