Matt Boccio has lost two rounds in a row after starting out the day with a 6-0 record, and now he finds himself facing off against Tim Batow for a possible spot in the Top 8 of this year’s GenCon Indy Pro Circuit.
Matt started off play by recruiting Count Vertigo, and Tim followed closely with Surveillance Pawn. Matt sent the Count in directly, and Tim attacked back for the double stun. The score sat with Matt ahead 49 to 48.
Tim recruited Sarge Steel in the support row on turn 2, and Matt followed up by recruiting Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant and forming up with both characters in the support row. Tim declared Surveillance Pawn into Dr. Psycho, which went through unhindered, and then announced Sarge into Count Vertigo, and once again, neither player had any effects. Now, the score sat with Tim up 48 to 43.
On turn 3, Matt recruited Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive in the hidden area, and Tim followed suit by recruiting a hidden Ahmed Samsarra and placing him behind Surveillance Pawn. Tim used the Pawn’s backup power before heading into Matt’s attacks. Matt declared Dr. Psycho into Sarge Steel for the double stun, and used Psycho’s vengeance power to stun the Pawn as well. Next, Matt sent Zazzala straight to Tim’s face for 5. Tim activated Ahmed Samsarra, searching out a copy of Checkmate Safe House and placing it in his resource row. Moving into turn 4, Matt was leading 41 to 37.
Tim recruited Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman from his resource row and Sasha Bordeaux, Knight from his hand. He then exhausted Checkmate Safe House to play Tricked-Out Sports Car for free on Sasha, and formed with Sarge protecting Sasha and Wesley adjacent to Sarge Steel in the front row. Matt countered with Fatality, Flawless Victory in his support row behind Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant. “Wow, what a good drop,” Tim said, as he announced the start of the combat phase. The Sandman’s effect exhausted Dr. Psycho, and Tim announced The Sandman into the Doctor, resulting in a mutual stun. Fatality’s power triggered and KO’d Dr. Psycho, and Zazzala’s power burned Tim for 2 more points in the process. Tim sent a team attack of Sarge Steel and Sasha against Fatality, and when Sarge Steel was stunned during combat resolution, Fatality KO’d him as well. Tim finished off the combat phase by playing Relentless Pursuit to move Zazzala into the visible area and then attacking her with Ahmed Samsarra for the stun. Matt kept Fatality around during the recovery phase, and the score had Tim behind by only 1 endurance, with a score of 27 to 28.
For his turn 5 recruit, Matt had Sinestro, Villain Reborn and a T-Spheres to go on him. Tim recruited Mordru, naming JSA and the identity Amanda Waller. He formed with Sasha Bordeaux, Knight and Mordru in the support row and then passed to Matt’s attacks. Matt played a Relentless Pursuit of his own, targeting Ahmed Samsarra, and then sent Sinestro after him. Tim quickly played Threat Neutralized in his resource row, targeting Sasha Bordeaux, and activated Ahmed to search out Secret Checkmate HQ. Tim flipped Allied Against the Dark, teaming up Checkmate and JSA, which let him use Checkmate Safe House to absorb a point of breakthrough, meaning that he took 5 endurance loss from the attack instead of 6. Matt finished his attacks by sending Fatality into Sasha Bordeaux for a double stun, with Sasha being KO’d by Fatality removed from the game by Threat Neutralized. Tim then got in a direct attack with the 9 ATK Mordru, bringing the endurance totals to 19 to 11 in Tim’s favor.
On the last turn of the game, Tim recruited Superman, Earth 2 in the front row protecting Mordru, and Matt followed up with Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double, drawing two cards. Matt then formed with Luthor protecting Sinestro, Villain Reborn and passed. Tim took his time to think over his attacks, and seemed a bit frustrated about losing his Sasha Bordeaux the turn prior. He eventually settled on a team attack with Superman and Mordru against Alexander Luthor, for a total of 22 ATK. Matt responded with two copies of Return Fire!, targeting Superman, to burn Tim for 12 endurance. Matt teamed-up with Coercion, revealing Parademon, and then used Parademon’s power so that when the attack resolved, Parademon ended up in his front row. Matt then exhausted Parademon to play Systematic Torture, KO’ing Mordru, burning Tim for another 3, and prompting Tim to extend the hand.
Winner: Matt Boccio