Just nine undefeated players remained heading into round 5, meaning that all eyes were focused on tables 1 through 4. Here’s what happened.

Table 1: Martin Mathis vs. Kenneth Choi

Choi advanced to 5-0 with Curve Sentinels taking down Common Enemy. In the end, it was Spiderman ◊ The Amazing Spiderman who did the trick for Choi, ending the game on turn 8.
 
Table 2: TJ Holman vs. Irving Diaz

Holman moved to 5-0, with his “Bats and the Bold” deck taking down Diaz and the Teen Titans. The match was decided on turn 8, the key being Vic Stone ◊ Cyborg and Utility Belt combining to stop Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal.

Table 3: Jacob Hershberger vs. Emmanuel Divens

Hershburger won this on a frustrating technicality for Divens. Earlier in the tournament, Divens had been led to believe that transferable equipment could be moved from a stunned character. This misinformation cost Emmanuel in his formation, with Magneto, Master of Magnetism finishing him off for Hershberger.

Table 4: Ed Colleran vs. Mike Gemme

Gemme’s X-Charge beat down old school Doom in this match. Gemme credits his eighth turn Archangel, despite not finding a use for the rest of his resource points.

As an interesting additional note, judging staff team leader John Rich mentioned that during each round, he and his team had been checking between four and six decklists a round from the top ten tables. As of the halfway point, they had not had a flawless round, handing out multiple losses in some of their checks. That has to be frustrating to watch for a pro-level player like “Bam Bam.”