Two of the three remaining undefeated players are fighting it out this round. David Leader needs no introduction, and De Michele has a $10K Top 8 and a PC money finish to his name. I have been told by the players that this is a mirror match. That, in and of itself, is not a surprise. What is surprising, though, is that they are playing independently designed MK-KO decks. Needless to say, these decks don’t have much in the way of defense . . . I was told that there was a possibility the game would end on turn 4.
Leader won the die roll and opted to take odds. He mulliganed and De Michele kept. Leader missed his 1-drop, while De Michele had the Wild Ride for Micro-Chip. De Michele’s turn 2 initiative yielded Hounds of Ahab, a play that was mirrored on Leader’s side of the board. De Michele flipped a Punisher’s Armory to get in another point as both players attacked directly, and play moved on. De Michele took a slight lead in endurance totals, which stood at 47–45.
Leader led off turn 3 with a Death-Stalker, while De Michele played Elektra, Elektra Natchios. Death-Stalker tried to take down Micro-Chip, but he was used to flip down Wild Ride before the stun. A series of direct attacks occurred and De Michele widened the endurance gap a bit to 41–36.
De Michele dropped a Moon Knight on turn 4, while Leader had Luke Cage, Street Enforcer. De Michele attacked directly with each of his characters in succession. He pumped his Hounds with a power-up. Moon Knight was the recipient of two Savage Beatdowns, one Crime and Punishment, and a few Armory activations. This was enough to knock Leader down to exactly 0. Leader came back with an attack of his Hounds into Moon Knight, achieving the stun with the help of a Savage Beatdown. He played Quick Kill on Moon Knight to draw a card, but did not have enough pump of his own to overcome the endurance deficit.
After the match, Leader noted that he had likely made a mistake in choosing odd initiatives because both the Luke Cage and Moon Knight in his deck are far more relevant when he has initiative on turn 4.
David De Michele wins!