After the unconventional draft, Alex was paired up with Simon O’Keefe in round 13. Simon won the die roll and took the odd initiative. Simon kept his hand, and Alex chose to mulligan after drawing Echo, Hannibal King, Blown to Pieces, and Hand Dojo. His new hand consisted of Moon Knight, Bullseye, Deadly Marksman, Mephisto, Soulstealer, and Moving Target.
On turn 1, Alex drew into Hounds of Ahab and 3-drop Daredevil, Protector of Hell’s Kitchen. Both players played resources and passed through the rest of the turn.
Turn 2 began with a draw of Battering Ram and Iron Fist, Living Weapon for Alex. He was forced to place Mephisto in his resource row before hiding his Hounds on the side of his field. Simon, impressed by the Hounds, recruited Steel Wind to his support row. Neither player had an attack, and much to Simon’s chagrin, he activated his character to put the top card of his deck, Black Magic, into his discard pile. Alex cheered, and the players moved to turn 3.
Alex drew into another Moving Target and Iron Fist. Simon thought about his play for a while before playing behind the curve and placing Zodiak in front of Steel Wind. Alex placed Battering Ram in the row, saving his sole plot twist to discard for Bullseye’s recruit cost next turn. Then, he recruited Daredevil to his front row. Simon team attacked Daredevil, and Alex played Moving Target for +1 DEF. Simon whistled in appreciation and thought about his move for a while. If he couldn’t hit Daredevil, Alex would be able to attack back with him and stun two of Simon’s characters without losing one of his. Finally, Simon played nothing, and Alex chose to stun Steel Wind. For Alex’s attacks that turn, he sent Daredevil after Zodiak, and the Hounds attacked Simon directly, choosing to cause 2 damage. At the end of the turn Alex was leading with 50 to Simon’s 42.
On turn 4, Alex drew Reaper and Uprising. He put Moving Target in the row and then brought Bullseye into the fray. Bullseye threw an Uprising into the KO pile to fulfill his cost, and then he hid behind Daredevil. Simon laughed as he played his own Bullseye, discarding Dracula’s Castle and putting the character in front of Zodiak. He said that he was expecting to gain back some momentum with his turn-4 play, but apparently that didn’t happen. The two Bullseyes collided in battle, causing mutual stuns. Daredevil then took out Zodiak one more time. This time, Daredevil spent 2 endurance to cause 2 more, and after the Hounds chewed up Simon’s Bullseye to send him to the KO pile, the endurance totals were at 44 - 31 in Alex’s favor heading into turn 5.
Alex drew Punisher’s Armory and Punisher, Jury. Simon was on the ropes, and after saying, “I don’t think this is the best play against your deck,” he returned Zodiak to hand to pay the cost of recruiting Zarathos. Alex put the Armory in the resource row and considered his play. He wanted to KO Zarathos, so he was considering how best to do that. He stared at his Reaper and Armory, trying to figure out the best play. Reaper would seem good, unless he could pull him out of the hidden zone and avoid a stun (it was revealed later that Simon did indeed have Mist Form). If worst came to worst, Daredevil would have to use Armory and his ability, paying 14 endurance to get to 11 ATK. Alex finally decided on Reaper, and Simon picked the card up to read it. Simon declared an attack of Zarathos on Bullseye, and Alex quickly declared it legal, presumably ecstatic that his Reaper would get to swing into Zarathos. Alex took 6 endurance loss from the attack, and the endurance totals changed to 38 - 31 in his favor still. Alex declared an attack by Reaper on Zarathos, and Simon considered his options, finally taking 6 endurance loss. The Hounds then ate Zarathos, apparently enjoying criminals and undead as much as mutants. Alex sent a 7-ATK Daredevil borrowing from Punisher’s Armory directly at Simon. At the end of the turn, Alex recovered his Bullseye while losing Reaper, and Simon had no board as well as a 32 - 18 deficit in endurance totals.
On turn 6, Alex drew into Cloak and War Wagon. He put the Cloak in his resource row and recruited a boosted Moon Knight to his front row. He equipped Daredevil with a War Wagon and passed on to Simon. With no board, Simon played a 6-drop Dracula, Lord of the Damned with concealed and then offered his hand in concession to Alex.
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