Jason Zhe proved hilarious in his previous feature match. The Yu-Gi-Oh! convert has been an inspiration to many potential players, as the 15-year-old sits at the Top 8 table at his very first $10K.
He must be intimidated with seasoned pro Scott Hunstad sitting directly across from him. The Sydney player has years of experience under his belt, and is always a force to be reckoned with.
Two men enter; one will leave. Who will it be?
GAME 1
Scott won the die roll, and picked odds.
Turn 1
Scott played a resource and recruited Chay-Ara ◊ Hawkgirl, bringing a beaming smile to his face. Jason recruited Terry Sloane ◊ Mr. Terrific in his hidden area.
Chay-Ara attacked in for 2 endurance loss and then Sloane swung back for a trade.
Endurance
Jason: 47
Scott: 49
Turn 2
Jason had no 2-drop, while Scott recruited Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant into his front row. The Gold Medallist attacked into Dr. Psycho and the two characters traded blows. Chay-Ara then snuck in for 2 endurance giving Scott an early lead.
Endurance
Jason: 44
Scott: 47
Turn 3
Scott started the turn off with a front row Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl while Jason had a copy of Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific in the hidden area. Holt didn’t remain there for long, however, when a Watch the Birdie! brought the amazing 3-drop into the visible area.
Dr. Psycho swung into Holt, and, with no option, Jason was forced to accept the mutual stun.
In sharp style, Dr. Psycho's vengeance triggered, Terry Sloane was stunned, and Scott was able to solidify his lead by attacking directly for 7 endurance. Sloane was sent to the KO’d pile and both players moved on to turn 4
Endurance
Jason: 33
Scott: 45
Turn 4
Sand, Sanderson Hawkins came out for Jason, protecting Michael Holt, who then received his trademark T-Spheres. Scott could only a muster a back row Weather Wizard, and had to pass his recruit.
Sand swung into Hawkgirl, and Scott used the opportunity to exhaust her to Living Legacy. He fetched a second copy of Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl from his deck and used it to bring her ally ability online, taking her to the crucial 7 ATK. Jason used Brothers in Arms to try and force through some more damage, but Scott reinforced with his back row Chay-Ara and both characters merely traded stuns.
Scott decided that his readied Dr. Psycho and Weather Wizard didn’t want to attack and both players moved on to the next turn.
Endurance
Jason: 29
Scott: 42
Turn 5
Scott was unable to find a character in any form, so he simply had to move his Psycho, Kendra and Chay-Ara to the front row. Jason recruited Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman and they moved onto combat.
Kendra Saunders declared an attack into Michael Holt, and Scott used, remarkably, a third copy of Kendra Saunders to bring her to 7 ATK. Sand reinforced the 3-drop and Kendra remained unscathed. Rann was flipped and then Scott declared Dr. Psycho, Kendra, and Weather Wizard into the 8 DEF Carter Hall. Jason exhausted the Eternal Champion to a timely deflection for, effectively, two defense, but Scott had a back-up plan in The Phantom Stranger, Fallen Angel. He used it to power-up and then ally for +1 ATK via Kendra Saunders and ran. Holt was KO'd during the recovery phase and play moved on to turn 6.
Endurance
Jason: 21
Scott: 40
Turn 6
Superman, Earth 2 came down on both sides of the board in the support row and, before moving to combat, Scott exhausted Kendra Saunders and Chay-Ara to return The Phantom Stranger to his hand.
Superman started off Jason's attack phase by swinging into Scott's own Superman. Scott took the opportunity to exhaust Superman to a copy of Living Legacy, searching for a copy of Chay-Ara and then both Supermen traded stuns. A 9 ATK/8 DEF Hawkman swung into Psycho and Scott could only reinforce with Weather Wizard as his 2-drop became stunned. Sand then swung into Kendra Saunders. Scott realized that Sand would recover for free anyway, but considered it an important opportunity to cause some damage regardless. He used his fourth copy of Kendra to, once again, bring her to 7 ATK and the two characters traded stuns.
During recovery, Dr. Psycho and Kendra were sent to the KO’d pile and Jason's Sand and Superman recovered — retaining his entire board.
Endurance
Jason: 11
Scott: 26
Turn 7
Scott had his copy of The Phantom Stranger and Black Adam, Ruthless Hero came down for Jason.
Scott started off his attack by sending the Weather Wizard into Sand. He simply let the character stun and triggered the Wizard's vengeance across his entire board. The Phantom Stranger attacked Superman as a 15 ATK/18 DEF and Jason reinforced with Black Adam, bringing Jason down to 5. Superman then attacked into Carter Hall, becoming 15 ATK via Rann, which was more than enough to seal the fate of game 1.
GAME 2
Jason took Odds
Turn 1
Terry Sloane came out for Jason, and Scott mustered a distinct frown as he had to pass his recruit.
Endurance
Jason: 50
Scott: 49
Turn 2
Scott, once again, had the optimal Dr. Psycho while Jason had a back row Stargirl.
Psycho and Stargirl traded stuns and Mr. Terrific was taken down in the process. The 1-drop was KO’d in recovery making Jason's strategy somewhat more problematic.
Endurance
P: 47
P2: 44
Turn 3
Jason brought out the incredible Michael Holt ◊ Mr. Terrific, while Scott recruited one of his four Kendra Saunders into the front row.
Stargirl swung into Saunders and became an impressive 5 ATK/6 DEF via Michael Holt. Scott used Living Legacy to search for another copy of the Hawkgirl to bring his Hawkgirl to 5 DEF, and then flipped Justice United (teaming up JLA and JSA) to recur the pump. It was met by a copy of Rann from Jason, and the characters traded stuns. Jason took the opportunity to force through some endurance loss and Holt attacked Dr. Psycho with the scores becoming tied at 39.
The 3 drops were recovered and both players moved onward.
Endurance
Jason: 39
Scott: 39
Turn 4
Richard Tyler ◊ Hourman, Man of the Hour came out on Scott's side of the board while Jason had a JSA character of his own in the form of Batman, Earth 2.
Hourman attacked and immediately became a 9 ATK/9 DEF, with Scott paying the free cost. Rann brought the Bat to 9 ATK, but Scott had a pump in the form of Hourman III ◊ Hourman, Time Machine (triggering Kendra's Ally in the process) making his 4-cost Hourman 11 ATK/10 DEF. Batman went down sans trading and then Watch the Birdie!, once again, brought Michael Holt into the visible area.
The 5 ATK/7 DEF Hawkgirl remained unstunned as Michael Holt went down and both players moved to recovery. Batman was recovered and it was off to turn 5.
Endurance
Jason: 30
Scott: 39
Turn 5
Jason had a copy of Carter Hall come down behind Batman, while Scott had a second copy of Hourman III ◊ Hourman, Time Machine, who he recruited behind Kendra.
Taking the bait, Batman swung into Kendra, but Scott had an unconventional pump with Return of Donna Troy, which he used to recur a Hawkgirl pump. In what was becoming standard fare, Kendra's ATK was brought to 7, and she was able to trade with the 4 drop. Carter then attacked into Richard Tyler, who promptly became a 9 ATK/9 DEF, and Jason's only option was to accept the stun as both characters became stunned. Scott then attacked directly with Hourman III ◊ Hourman, Time Machine and made sure that the 5-drop became a massive 11 ATK/11 DEF. Moving along to recovery, Scott chose to keep Hourman (deliberating for some about if he could achieve any more Kendra craziness) and Hawkgirl was sent to the KO’d pile. Carter was kept by Jason and it was off to turn 6.
Endurance
Jason: 16
Scott: 29
Turn 6
Scott had a copy of Superman, Earth 2 while Power Girl, Earth 2 came down into Jason's front row.
Scott started off his attack by sending his Hourman III into Jason's support row Carter Hall and passed on priority. Brothers in Arms via Power Girl forced a trade (and bumped Carter by +1 ATK/+1 DEF), but Scott clearly received the upper hand, causing 3 breakthrough endurance loss and bringing Jason's endurance down to dangerous levels. When Scott declared Superman into Powergirl, Jason knew that he was simply out of options. With Scott's 4-drop still ready to attack, Jason started packing up his cards and they started discussing the power of the Hourmen.
Scott Hunstad and Kendra Saunders move on to the semifinals!