Both of these players came into the round needing a win to stay in contention for Top 8. With only one final round to go after this, it’s a critical match. This is the first high-profile tournament for Calabrese and Dunn has only had minimal experience at this level of competition. Calabrese put it best, pointing out, “I won a local tournament, got $250 and now I’m guaranteed at least a few thousand dollars.”

Game 1

Calabrese played Harley Quinn on turn one and had GCPD on turn two. A second Officer hit play on turn three and Dunn had Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder. Dunn played Catwoman on turn four and Calabrese played Cassandra Cain ◊ Batgirl. Calabrese also had Clocktower and Wayne Manor, giving him some more options. Kidnapping dealt with Catwoman and Calabrese followed up with Killer Croc. This set Dunn extremely behind on tempo and he used Bat Signal to find Lady Shiva, looking to regain some ground. Still, he was outnumbered and his Brother Blood was matched by Mr. Freeze. World’s Finest let Calabrese search out The Joker, The Clown Prince of Crime with Bat Signal and this put him in a position that Dunn couldn’t overcome.

Dunn - 0 Calabrese - 1

Game 2

Calabrese played Harley Quinn on the first turn and had no play on turns two or three. Dunn had Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder, along with Huntress. Clocktower promised to provide Calabrese with plenty of card filtering. He played Joker, Laughing Lunatic and when Huntress attacked him, Killer Croc was picked from the hand, The Croc himself came into play on turn five and Dunn played Lady Shiva. He tried to charge through Joker, but two power-ups made the attack lopsided. Dunn went grabbing for a random card and begged “I hope I don’t hit the good Doctor.” Calabrese tried to wipe the smile of his face, as he presented his two-card hand that had two copies of Mr. Freeze. Dunn played Brother Blood on turn six and of course Calabrese played Mr. Freeze.  Dunn still had strength in numbers and his attack left Calabrese with just Mr. Freeze, while he had Huntress, Lady Shiva, and Brother Blood.

Calabrese looked to make a comeback, playing Bane with boost. Dunn had another large character, recruiting Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Defender of Bludhaven. Dunn’s Shape Change helped halt the attack and his side became even more intimidating thanks to Bane, Ubu. This was followed by World’s Finest and there were enough recruit points left to bring out Batman, World’s Greatest Detective. Calabrese looked over the situation and decided to concede.

Dunn - 1 Calabrese - 1

Game 3

Calabrese had a tremendous start, staring at three GCPD Officers in play on turn two, in addition to a Clocktower. Dunn played Batman, World’s Greatest Detective and Calabrese added Charaxes to his side. It attacked and stunned Batman, clearing the way for the GCPD Officers. Calabrese played Joker, Laughing Lunatic on turn four and Dunn recruited Catwoman. Both players had Lady Shiva on turn five and Dunn’s attacked The Joker. Harley Quinn was discarded for a power-up. Joker’s ability triggered and The Joker, The Crown Prince of Crime was revealed, causing plenty of endurance loss to Dunn. The GCPD Officers got to work around the Clocktower and Calabrese played Bane on turn six. Dunn matched him with Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Defender of Bludhaven. World’s Finest allowed the GCPD to reinforce Calabrese’s larger characters from the support row and also meant that Joker and Lady Shiva could team attack and stun Nightwing. When Kidnapping was played, the tempo lost was too great and Dunn wasn’t able to recover.

Dunn - 1 Calabrese - 2