The reputations of two hobby shops faced-off behind the scenes as Rob Dougherty, owner of Your Move Games, battled against Michael Jacob, the face of RIW Hobbies. Rob started the round with a 4-1 record in the draft, while Michael was at 3-2.
This game could very well be the deciding factor for either player in terms of making the Top 8. Rob won the roll and chose odds. He kept his hand, while Michael opted to mulligan.
Turn 1
Rob recruited The Shark, and Michael had no drop. Double pass. Gee, that was simple.
Turn 2
Michael again had no drop, and things were looking bad for him in terms of board advantage. Rob recruited Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern and led two characters to none on the board. He got ¡Olé! with Kyle’s ability and then sent Kyle directly into Michael’s endurance total.
Turn 3
Rob had the initiative, and he recruited Guy Gardner, Warrior. Michael recruited Elasti-Man in his visible area. Rob sent Guy into Elasti-Man, but Michael powered-up to avoid the stun.
On his attack step, Michael sent Elasti-Man into Kyle, and then he flipped and used Qwardian Council Hall. Rob responded with No Evil Shall Escape Our Sight before reinforcing with The Shark. The game was tied at 48 endurance each.
Turn 4
Michael started the turn by recruiting Rot Lop Fan to his hidden area. Rob recruited Virman Vundabar. He put Kyle behind Vundabar and The Shark behind Guy Gardner.
Michael attacked Guy using Rot Lop Fan, resulting in a double stun.
Then came Elasti-Man against The Shark. Rob flipped Hard-Traveling Heroes for a card draw, which pumped The Shark’s ATK by 1 and caused the stun back. He used Kyle to reinforce. One double stun later, and it was Dougherty at 40 endurance and Jacob at 41. Rob recovered Kyle.
Turn 5
Rob recruited Abin Sur and G’Nort. He placed Kyle behind Guy, G’Nort behind Virman Vundabar, and Abin Sur in front.
Michael flipped In Evil Star’s Evil Clutches for the resource switcheroo, targeting Abin Sur to lose flight. He recruited Invisible Destroyer into his hidden area—it’s possible that the character had jumped into his hand from Evil Clutches.
Rob sent Vundabar in for a direct attack, and then he team attacked with the other four characters for a total of 20 endurance loss. Michael would have his work cut out for him to come back.
Michael sent Invisible Destroyer against G’Nort, and then he dispatched Rot Lop Fan into Kyle. When the turn ended, the endurance totals were Dougherty at 29 and Jacob at 16. Rob recovered G’Nort.
Turn 6
Michael recruited Boodikka and Rob recruited Legion. Dougherty put G’Nort behind Legion and Abin Sur behind Virman Vundabar. Michael sent Invisible Destroyer into Guy. He then KO’d the Destroyer after the stun to pump Boodikka by +2 / +2. That was a brilliant move, because it would let him stun Legion without Legion stunning Boodikka.
Michael then sent Rot Lop Fan into G’Nort. (Or Scooby Doo, as Duncan Tang keeps calling him.) Rob reinforced with Abin Sur. Finally, it was Boodikka vs. Legion, and Rob couldn’t flip a plot twist to save Legion due to the character’s ability. Rob passed and recovered Legion. The endurance totals were 18 to 13 in his favor.
Turn 7
Rob had the initiative. Even though the game was much closer now, without the initiative, Michael’s bad draws meant that he would need a miracle to pull out of this one with his head intact. Rob recruited Hal Jordan, Reborn. He set Hal behind Virman Vundabar and Abin behind Legion.
It would be tough for Michael to walk away from this now—would he have a 7-drop?
Michael recruited Hal Reborn as well! Now it would come down to blue and green. He put Boodikka behind Hal and waited to see what Rob would do without the aid of plot twists.
Rob teamed attacked with Abin Sur and Legion against Michael’s Hal Jordan. If Jacob stunned Legion, it would open up the possibility of Rob using plot twists. Michael pondered, counted, considered, and scooped, as he realized he just couldn’t win.
When asked by Josh Wiitanen if he had won, he answered, “Naw, man, I didn’t draw a single Remembrance. It was retarded!”
Rob Dougherty is back at the top table for draft #3, while Michael will be fighting to 3-0 at the next table down.