Game 1

Kibler opened with GCPD Officer and got through for a point of endurance loss. Ratcatcher came out on turn two and Krempels went down to 47. On turn three, Krempels played his third resource and still had no play.

Tony Tsai, in the crowd - “You can’t bluff Flame Trap; it’s not in this set.”

Kibler played Huntress before another attack, then gained the initiative on his next turn to play Man-Bat. Krempels now played his first character of the turn in Catwoman and she traded stuns with Man-Bat while the rest of Kibler’s characters slipped through. Krempels played Cassie Sandsmark ◊ Wonder Girl and Kibler continued his perfect curve with Batman, Caped Crusader. The bigger characters went up front, protecting the little guys.

Krempels - “I think I may be too far behind this game.”

Kibler - “You’re pretty far behind.”

Krempels’s attack got some stuns through, but Kibler was still able to get through significant counter-attacks. Man-Bat ran into a Tamaran-powered Wonder Girl, so Kibler used Break You to at least force both to stun. During recovery, Krempels lost Catwoman, while Kibler lost Man-Bat and Huntress. Kibler played Azrael on turn 6. As far as characters go, the most Krempels could muster was Black Canary, but Titan Towers and Libery Island Base gave him the advantage in combat. In addition, World’s Finest provided some synergy. Dynamic Duo gave Kibler a little more breathing room and Krempels’s board seemed to be getting much better. The only problem was that he was at 12, while Kibler was at 27.

Kibler - “You only have three of the best cards in the game in play. Speaking of coming back. Things were looking so good for me until now, when all those green cards flipped over.”

Hawk brought out Dove for Krempels, improving things even more. Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder, seemed like overkill where character pump was concerned. Kibler played his own Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder, along with Catwoman. Wonder Girl attacked and stunned Azrael, with the help of Robin. The rest of the attacks were just as brutal, thanks to Krempels’s powerful Teen Titans locations making combat horribly lopsided. Kibler struggled to fight back and squeeze through the last few points of endurance loss, but Circle Defense made the save and let Krempels finish it.

Kibler - 0 Krempels - 1

Game 2

Kibler had Ratcatcher on turn one and a pair of GCPD Officers on turn two. Krempels had Hawk and Dove on turn three thanks to boost and Liberty Island Base, which made things even better. Kibler had Huntress, but seemed to be falling behind. Krempels had Bart Allen ◊ Kid Flash on turn four and Kibler played Catwoman. Hawk and Catwoman clashed and after Kibler’s power-up, Kid Flash’s ability and an Island Base pump (along with Tag Team), Kibler added A Death in the Family to the chain, to KO Dove. This made Hawk smaller and he was stunned. Bat Signal allowed Kibler to search out Batman, Caped Crusader and put him into play. Krempels played Commissioner Gordon and Black Canary, then flipped over World’s Finest. Krempels’s attack would have been far worse, if not for Kibler’s Home Surgery.

The offense continued, as Krempels played Azrael on turn six. All Kibler had was Dick Grayson ◊ Robin, Sidekick and Krempels’s stronger characters pushed through to bring Kibler to sixteen. Krempels was at a healthy 31, although Kibler drew and played Azrael with boost. It took the Batplane and Krempels kept the threats coming with Lady Shiva and Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder. Not much could be done and Kibler conceded.

Brian Kibler - 0 Craig Krempels - 2