Coming into the final round of the tournament, these players are right on the bubble—the winner has some chance of making Top 8, while the loser has none. There’s a lot riding on this match. They are both 1-1 on the day, so it’s anyone’s guess who will come away with the win. David won the die roll and took the odd initiatives. David mulliganed, and after a bit of consideration, Tillman followed suit.

David had no first turn play, while Tillman had Ra’s Al Ghul ◊ Leland McCauley. On turn 2, Tillman added Parademon Elite to his team, and David again had nothing. David finally made a play on turn 3 in the form of Shrinking Violet ◊ Leviathan. Tillman kept right on curving out, this time with Brainiac 4 in the concealed area. In combat, Violet took down Parademon Elite. Tillman passed. The endurance totals were 46-45 in Tillman’s favor in recovery.

On turn 4, Tillman led off with Darkseid, Apokoliptian Oppressor. David flipped Legion Headquarters in response. Tillman flipped Ancient Throne and passed. David recruited Umbra in the hidden area. Tillman’s first attack brought Darkseid into Violet. David removed her counter, and Tillman played Dark Fury for an additional 4 ATK. The 3-drop, vastly outclassed, went down without a problem. Tillman teamed-up Future Foes and Darkseid’s Elite with 31st Century Metropolis, and his remaining three characters attacked David directly. Tillman passed, and David went after Parademon Elite with Umbra. Tillman allowed it, taking 6. In recovery, Umbra received a cosmic counter, and David moved that counter onto Legion Headquarters. Tillman led 40-20.

Turn 5 was David’s initiative. He recruited Beast Boy ◊ Animal Man and passed. Tillman had Computo, Rogue Program in front of Darkseid. In combat, David sent Umbra and Violet in a team attack into Computo. Tillman chose to stun Umbra. Beast Boy attacked Darkseid, and Tillman played Price of Treason. David allowed it, and Darkseid got +4 ATK. Tillman chose not to reinforce, and both characters stunned. David passed, and Tillman attacked back with Brainiac. David used his Headquarters to pump Violet, but both characters still stunned. Tillman declared a direct team attack with his 1- and 2-drops, but David had Foiled Assassination to recover Beast Boy. Tillman flipped down Dark Fury with Ancient Throne. Tillman had no further attacks. In recovery, Darkseid and Brainiac were lost. Tillman still led, 25-16.

On turn 6, Tillman played Created from Hate, allowing David to flip his Foiled Assassination face-down. Tillman got Dark Champion. Next, Titans of Tomorrow yielded Darkseid, 8th Century. Tillman recruited Dark Champion and substituted in the new Darkseid. David played a Darkseid of his own behind Beast Boy—Darkseid, Evil Reborn. Before combat, Tillman played Curse of Darkness to remove Parademon Elite from play temporarily. When it re-entered play, he gave Beast Boy -1 ATK. In combat, Tillman sent Parademon Elite and Ra’s Al Ghul in a team attack into Beast Boy. Tillman played Dark Fury for +4 ATK, and then passed. David passed as well, and his 5-drop traded stuns with Tillman’s 2-drop. Next, Tillman sent Darkseid into Darkseid. Tillman had Chain Lightning for -2 DEF, and David passed. Both characters were stunned. Tillman took 5, and David took a whopping 12. Dark Champion attacked directly, and that was the game.