Both of these players are natives of Southern California, and both have previous $10K Top 8 finishes. Patrick is a former member of the now-defunct Team Realmworx. Both Patrick and Brandon are undefeated as they enter the fourth round. Patrick won the die roll, and chose to take the odd initiatives. Brandon kept his hand, and after a moment of thought, Patrick kept his as well.
Patrick kicked off turn 1 with Salakk,
while Brandon had no play. On turn 2, Brandon recruited Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective, while Patrick could only muster Sonar behind Salakk. Brandon flipped Tamaran in combat, allowing him to hit Patrick for an extra point.
On turn 3, Patrick led off with the optimal Dr. Light, Master of Holograms. Brandon had Beast Boy. Rain of Acorns and a Sonar activation from Patrick shut down Brandon’s team, and it was on to the next turn. Brandon led, 49-48.
Brandon had the initiative on turn 4, and recruited Red Star behind Tim Drake. Beast Boy was left next to Tim in the front row. Patrick had Malvolio in front of Salakk, and set Sonar in front of Dr. Light in the next column. Before moving to combat, Patrick flipped and used a Birthing Chamber. In combat, Brandon went into the tank to consider his options. His first attack brought everyone into Malvolio, and a Tamaran activation on Red Star meant that none of his characters stunned back. A predictable Teen Titans Go! from the hand, readied all of his characters. Beast Boy went after Salakk, and the little cucumber went down. Next, Tim Drake took out Sonar, and finally, Red Star stunned Dr. Light. Before recovery, Brandon used another Teen Titans Go! to power a Finishing Move on Malvolio. Patrick was left with only Dr. Light. At the end of the turn, the endurance totals were 49-39 in Brandon’s favor.
Turn 5 was Patrick’s initiative, and he
played
Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern, fetching
Lanterns in Love. Next, he recruited
G’nort, and used Dr. Light to return
Sonar to play. He used Birthing Chamber to draw a card, and passed to Brandon with two resource points unspent. Brandon’s first play was Roy Harper ◊ Speedy, which he immediately used to KO G’nort. Next, he recruited Hank Hall ◊ Hawk, fetching Dawn Granger ◊ Dove and shuffling Speedy away. He used his final resource point to hit Patrick for 5 with Red Star. “This is bad,” said Patrick. In his attacks, he simply used Rain of Acorns to exhaust Hawk and Beast Boy. Dove, Tim Drake, and Red Star were free to attack, and attack they did. Dove took down Sonar with no resistance. Tim Drake then stuned Kyle, and Red Star completed the sweep by stunning Dr. Light. At the end of another devastating turn, Brandon’s lead had widened to 49-25.
It looked like turn 6 might be the last turn of the game. Brandon flipped and used USS Argus before recruiting Terra, hitting Patrick with Red Star, and quickly passing. Patrick brought back Kyle Rayner with Dr. Light, and fetched a Helping Hand. He replayed the good doctor, who he immediately activated to return G’nort. Birthing Chamber netted a card, and Patrick recruited Tomar Re before passing. His position seemed futile at best. Brandon’s first attack brought Red Star into Tomar Re. Helping Hand was effectively nullified by an activation of Terra, and Red Star readied. Patrick simply conceded. “That was a beating!”
Brandon Ruiz wins!