Alex Gellerman has a number of money finishes to his name but is looking to make his breakout finish here today. He hasn’t marked a single loss this weekend and is currently sitting at 9-0. Alex Bykov is another player from the area looking for a Top 8 finish, so it should be an exciting match between two players familiar with each other’s play style.

Bykov won the roll and led off with Luna Maximoff, who easily swung on an empty board before Gellerman brought down Dr. Minerva and found Korath the Pursuer in the top few cards. The other Alex flipped over Battleworld and The Great Refuge to find Quicksilver, Inhuman by Marriage and attack Dr. Minerva before attacking Gellerman directly.

Gellerman was able to play Ruul Warrior after Bykov added Franklin Richards, Creator of Counter-Earth to his side. Luna and Franklin team attacked the Warrior with the help of Battleworld and Interstellar Offensive. A flipped Himalayan Enclave restricted Gellerman to stunning Luna by giving Franklin 4 DEF. At 47-39 after Quicksilver’s attack was stopped, Bykov was starting to get a nice lead.

Turn 4 saw Lunatic Legionnaires come down on Gellerman’s side of the board, matched by Bykov with Dewoz. With all his tricks now running at full steam, Bykov had all three characters moving between his visible and hidden areas, making Himalayan Enclave a nuisance during Gellerman’s attacks. After Gellerman earned a stun on Franklin with his attacks, Dewoz came back at the Legionnaires for a mutual stun. Dr. Minerva nailed Dewoz with an Improper Burial, which looked like it might get Gellerman back in the game; the scores were 33-34 in his favor.

Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans made for a strong turn 5 for Bykov, while the Korath from earlier came down to help Gellerman. Quicksilver and Franklin stunned Ruul Warrior with a little teamwork, and Black Bolt stunned Lunatic Legionnaires without being stunned back, leaving Bykov with an open board for Korath to swing back at. Franklin moved himself out to the visible area to soak up some damage from the attack, though, giving him a 1-point lead of 25-24.

Gellerman decided that he was going to make a statement on turn 6 as he played Dr. Minerva, Ultimus, Talla Ron, and Universal Weapon on Korath. Bykov didn’t seem too happy with his play of Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc, knowing that something painful was on its way. Talla Ron led the charge, stunning little Franklin Richards. Lunatic Legionnaires, Ultimus, and Dr. Minerva took down Firelord, leaving Bykov open once again but with Black Bolt as a possibility to move out with Himalayan Enclave. He did exactly that and responded to Korath’s boost from Conquered Planet by playing two copies of Power Struggle from his row. This brickwall gave him a chance to send some nice return volleys at Gellerman, putting him within a point once again at 9-10.

Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Enemy of the Empire came down for Bykov on turn 7, who was hoping to lock the game away. Gellerman played his third copy of Dr. Minerva during the game to press out Sentry #459, which was immediately attacked by Mar-Vell. The big captain easily stunned the 6-drop. Firelord tried to stun Korath with the help of Battleworld, but a power-up and a quick Hala stunned Firelord without Korath getting a scratch. Even so, Himalayan Enclave moved Black Bolt to the hidden area, giving Gellerman Mar-Vell as the only target to try to attack through, which just wasn’t going to happen.

Alex Bykov moves on to 9-1, finally bringing Gellerman’s streak to an end but leaving both players with a likely chance to advance to the Top 8.