This is it—the final showdown. In a field that was about 40% Sentinels, it has boiled down to a finals match that is 50% robots. Adam Bernstein overcame a highly unfavorable matchup against Xavier's Dream in order to face off against another deck that has caused a bit of a stir over the weekend, not least because it has been beating Sentinels at almost every turn. Jason Hager is a Huntington, West Virginia native who has been working on various iterations of the Evil Medical School deck for some time now. He seems to have come up with a deck that's even more consistently powerful than the machines.

 

Jason won the coin flip and chose to take the even initiative. Neither player decided to mulligan, and Bernstein led with Boliver Trask to get a Sentinel Mark V. He now had his curve for the first four turns set, plus he had a critical Apocalypse for turn 8, a card that could potentially be huge in this matchup. Hager meanwhile led with a Wild Ride for Micro-Chip. When the two 1-drops got in a fight, both stunned, and it was on to turn 2.

 

Turn 2 for Hager saw a Robot Sentry, who stood in front of Micro-Chip. Hounds of Ahab was the recruit for Bernstein. Marvel Team-Up allowed Hager to use the Sentry's ability, and he exhausted Hounds of Ahab with it. Without his Hounds to attack with, Bernstein had no play and passed.

 

On turn 3, Sentinel Mark II was the play for Bernstein, which was met with a bevy of responses from Hager. Before the ability-negating machine could see play, he activated Micro-Chip to flip down Wild Ride and used Robot Sentry to exhaust Hounds of Ahab. The robot hid behind its creator, and then Bernstein passed.

 

With an off-curve deck, Hager had a more complicated recruit step to consider. He eventually recruited Dagger, Child of Light, flipped Midnight Sons to team-up with Gotham Knights, brought out Boris, and used Wild Ride for Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred hid behind Dagger, Child of Light, while Boris stood behind the Sentry.

 

Sentinel Mark II attempted to attack Dagger, Child of Light, to which Hager responded with a Bat-Signal. Dagger was exhausted to find Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. The attack resolved, and Dagger, Child of Light was stunned, allowing for a clear attack on Alfred Pennyworth for Boliver Trask. The endurance totals were 42-48 in Bernstein's favor going into turn 4.

 

Hager recruited Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius, using him to flip down Wild Ride and potentially get a third use out of the powerful plot twist. Bernstein meanwhile had his Sentinel Mark V, who stood protecting the fellow who had fetched him way back on turn 1. Bernstein faced an interesting situation at this time. He still hadn't drawn into either of the powerful 6- or 7-drops used so brutally by Sentinels to dominate opponents, but he did have an 8-drop who could be massively influential in the match. He had seriously considered re-recruiting Boliver on turn 4 to fetch another character and make another Sentinel Mark II, as swarming and stunning the entirety of Hager's board would make Dr. Light, Arthur Light less of a threat if his draw went poorly.

 

Hager team attacked with Dr. Doom and Robot Sentry against Sentinel Mark II. Bernstein had a Nasty Surprise to ensure that Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius would get stunned. Hager's two plot twist searchers fetched a pair of copies of Reign of Terror, and he bounced all but Bernstein's Sentinel Mark V, who attacked through Robot Sentry while the opportunity was there.

 

Going into turn 5, each player had just a single 4-drop on the table. In a fight between a man whose face is covered in an iron mask and a robot whose face is an iron mask, it was unclear who would win. Bernstein elected to recruit a multitude of threats on turn 5. He played Boliver Trask to fetch Sentinel Mark V, playing the robot without boost.

 

“I may have out-thought myself this turn”

 

Hager meanwhile played Wild Ride for the third time, fetching Dagger, Child of Light, who was immediately discarded to fetch a copy of Midnight Sons. The devastating power to splash controlling characters was again making itself abundantly clear. Hager played and flipped the ongoing plot twist, teaming up with Darkseid's Elite. A Bat-Signal, exhausting Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius, then fetched Hager the Glorious Godfrey that he needed to disrupt the plan of swarming out. With 7 ATK and 8 DEF, the 5-drop is traditionally considered to be a little bit small, but with only 4-drops on the opposing side of the board, it would not be an issue. Sentinel Mark V number one was exhausted by Godfrey, and the second copy went after Dr. Doom, getting the mutual stun.

 

On turn 6, Bernstein still hadn't seen either Bastion or Magneto, Master of Magnetism, but he did have a fair grip of other characters thanks in no small part to Reign of Terror. Swarming on this turn seemed not to be a massive issue, as getting stuns on Hager's board to reduce the power of Dr. Light, Arthur Light again became an issue with the recruits of Micro-Chip, Boris, and Alfred. Hager also played a Wild Ride to fetch Robot Sentry, and then he played it. With one resource point left, Hager activated Micro-Chip, removing him from the game to turn Wild Ride face down. He then brought out his third copy of the powerful 1-drop.

 

Bernstein's first recruit was Sentinel Mark II, which was responded to with a Glorious Godfrey activation on Sentinel Mark V. A second Mark II was recruited with the remaining resource points, and that one came into play unhindered.

 

Robot Sentry attacked Boliver Trask, who had a power-up that brought out a mutual stun from nowhere, dropping Hager to 21 endurance and Bernstein to 32. A Sentinel Mark V declared an attack on Dr. Doom, but its efforts were thwarted by Mystical Paralysis. Sentinel Mark II then declared an attack on Boris. This met a Wild Ride for Dagger, Child of Light from Hager. Micro-Chip was then removed from the game to turn Wild Ride face down. When Hager attempted to activate Boris, returning him to the bottom of his deck, the second Sentinel Mark II (not confusing at all, is it?) countered the ability. After all that, there was nobody left for the first Sentinel Mark II to attack, so it tried again on Alfred Pennyworth. Mojoverse helped the robot out a bit.

 

On turn 7, Bernstein topdecked Magneto. A little luck is a nice thing to have, but really, with four in his deck, he had odds to see it, so it did not provoke any sort of blink that gave his opponent a read. The character saw play almost immediately, standing front and center, ready to attack. Hager had a board of only Alfred, Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius, and Glorious Godfrey, while his opponent had a rather busier one. Plus, Hager had only six cards in hand to his opponent's seven. There was still some work to do. Glorious Godfrey exhausted a Sentinel Mark V, and then Jason looked into doing a little recruiting. He used Wild Ride to get Boris right off the bottom of his deck, and then he played him. He put Boris back where he had come from, but the effect was negated by Sentinel Mark II. An Alfred activation was similarly stopped.

 

In the face of an overwhelming board position, Hager was forced to scoop.

 

Adam Bernstein wins game 1.

 

Jason chose to take the even initiative on game 2, and he had a risky keep. Bernstein was much happier with his hand, which included Hounds of Ahab, Sentinel Mark V, and a copy of Magneto, Master of Magnetism.

 

Turn 1 saw a Micro-Chip from Hager, who got to attack unopposed, as his opponent had no recruits. On turn 2, Jason discarded Dagger, Child of Light to fetch Midnight Sons, and then he played “a resource.” It turned out to be exactly what he had just fetched, and he teamed up with Gotham Knights. This allowed him to Wild Ride for Alfred. Truly, Hager was off to a magnificent start in this game.

 

Hounds of Ahab was the only recruit for Bernstein, and after Micro-Chip forgot to attack, Bernstein smashed back with the dark doggies.

 

“This is bad,” exclaimed Bernstein going into turn 3, as he had no recruits whatsoever.

 

Hager meanwhile had Robot Sentry and a Marvel Team-Up. The robot exhausted Hounds of Ahab, and Alfred scurried off to find a Bat-Signal before being re-committed to the board. Ever the pacifist, Micro-Chip again did not attack, instead exhausting to Bat-Signal during his opponent's recovery to fetch Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius.

 

As diabolic geniuses are wont to do, Dr. Doom did not stay in hiding for long. He soon sprung out to hit New York with his nefarious schemes. These schemes involved flipping a Wild Ride face down. Playing against type, it would appear that Dr. Doom is an evil genius who likes to surround himself with his friends.

 

Bernstein only had Sentinel Mark V for a recruit, and then he passed. Alfred Pennyworth went off to fetch Reign of Terror, which was promptly played by Hager to return Hounds of Ahab to Adam's hand. Hager had no attacks. The Sentinel Mark V went after Dr. Doom, who was reinforced by Micro-Chip.

 

Turn 5 brought out Nimrod with a repair counter for Adam. He needed to get his beat on if he were going to take control of this match. Hager meanwhile led off by discarding Dagger, Child of Light to fetch Midnight Sons.

 

“Where do you get these amazing extended art Midnight Sons cards?” Adam asked.

 

“It's all about the Hobby League,” confessed Hager, clearly proud of his ongoing plot twists.

 

A Bat-Signal went off to fetch the “very much tech” Glorious Godfrey, and Hager decided to stay on curve in his recruits. Godfrey immediately exhausted to do the same to Sentinel Mark V.

 

“You are actually ahead in the damage race. That is disgusting.”

 

Bernstein wasn't especially happy with the situation. He attacked into Doom with Nimrod to bring the advantage back to him. Turn 6 saw Jason recruit Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man. Bernstein meanwhile decided that he would be the off-curve deck, using Boliver Trask to fetch Sentinel Mark II and then recruiting the robot along with Hounds of Ahab. Glorious Godfrey tried to exhaust the new Sentinel Mark II, but he couldn't do it fast enough, because the robot was activated to counter his ability. Spider-Man then exhausted everyone else, and it was on to turn 7.

 

Bernstein drew Apocalypse, and all of a sudden, it looked like his late game might be good enough. He played Magneto, Master of Magnetism and set up a box formation, leaving Boliver Trask alone in the front row on one side.

 

For Hager, the first play was to exhaust Hounds of Ahab with Robot Sentry. Then, there was yet another Wild Ride to find Dagger, Child of Light. She was immediately discarded to find a third copy of Midnight Sons, which was played in the resource row.

 

“It is so hard to play against Apocalypse,” remarked Hager, feeling that something was probably up.

 

He recruited Boris and then used Glorious Godfrey to exhaust Sentinel Mark II. Boris went and found his master a Mystical Paralysis, which was used to exhaust Magneto. Micro-Chip turned Wild Ride face down, and the plot twist fetched Boris back from wherever he had been. A new Micro-Chip and Boris came out to play, and it was frankly ridiculous that Hager had not even used half of his resource points yet for the turn. Boris fetched Press the Attack, and the fourth resource point was spent on Alfred Pennyworth.

 

Press the Attack was used to ready Glorious Godfrey, who then exhausted Sentinel Mark V. Shimmer then came down, making it six resource points used thus far. For the final point, it was another Boris.

 

Even Fantastic Fun is hard-pressed to have a more complex recruit step.

 

For Bernstein's first attack, it was Boliver Trask against Boris. The servant scurried away to fetch a copy of Entangle, and all of a sudden, it appeared unlikely that there would be any more attacks for the turn. Entangle didn't come out though when Adam attacked Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius with Nimrod. The doctor was stunned, and Hager dropped to 29 endurance compared with his opponent's 34. Sentinel Mark V tried to attack, but Spider-Man managed to Entangle it—probably with some web, though I like to think that he improvised with Aunt May's tights or something. I'm naughty like that.

 

“It's much easier this turn,” remarked Hager. “Last turn was the super-complicated one.”

 

His Glorious Godfrey exhausted Sentinel Mark II, and then Boris went off to fetch a Wild Ride. That card grabbed the beautiful extended art Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria, which was the player prize for competitors in PC New York. He turned Bat-Signal and two copies of Wild Ride face down, and then Hager passed.

 

Bernstein's Apocalypse was the recruit on turn 8, but there was potential for Dr. Doom to attack a large number of times with the aid of Press the Attack. At the start of combat, Apocalypse did his thing, taking out a Marvel Team-Up and a Midnight Sons to leave Marvel Knights only teamed up with Darkseid's Elite. A new copy of each ensured that the Marvel Knights were teamed up with everyone on the board (including the Fearsome Five) apart from Doom. And Sentinels, I suppose. Hager's characters don't like them.

 

Spider-Man exhausted Bernstein's team, and then Dr. Doom attacked Nimrod and returned Press the Attack. In response, Bernstein used Genosha, drawing into two copies of Savage Beatdown, among other things. The second attack on Nimrod with a Press the Attack on Doom actually stunned it. When Hager attacked into Sentinel Mark V, Bernstein had had enough. He flipped a Savage Beatdown on his opponent's Doom. Then another. And another.

 

There were noticeable beads of sweat on Hager's head at this point. An Overload on his Doom would be horrible. Bernstein extended his hand though, and the crowd had a good laugh as it became clear that Adam was just having a little fun with his opponent.

 

Jason Hager wins game 2, making the score 1-1.

 

For game 3, Adam elected to take the even initiative. He had a bit of thinking to do when he saw an opening four of Boliver Trask, Genosha, Mojoverse, and Reconstruction Program. He chose to keep, but it was a little risky. A draw of Nimrod and Sentinel Mark II made it a lot sharper.

 

Alfred Pennyworth came out for Hager on turn 1, and Bernstein trumped with his Boliver Trask, who grabbed Hounds of Ahab. When he attacked with the help of Mojoverse, he got nicely ahead on damage.

 

Bernstein drew Sentinel Mark V on turn 2, looking really good all of a sudden, and recruited Hounds of Ahab.

 

For Hager, it was a Wild Ride for Dagger, Child of Light, followed by a discard to find Midnight Sons. A second Dagger, Child of Light came into play, and Midnight Sons teamed up Hager's characters. Alfred went to fetch Reign of Terror and thought better of coming back, perhaps because he feared the Hounds. Boliver came over and tried to beat up Dagger, Child of Light, but she jumped out of the way, allowing Bernstein's team to go for the face.

 

On turn 3, Dagger, Child of Light was discarded by Hager for a second copy of Midnight Sons, and he spent his first two resource points on Alfred Pennyworth and Boris. Bernstein just had Sentinel Mark II. There was carnage as Bernstein pressed his advantage with attacks, and Hager's face looked no brighter when he saw his draw for turn 4.

 

Bernstein brought out Sentinel Mark V and passed. The recruits for Hager were uncharacteristically uncomplicated, with a straightforward recruit of Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. Doom promptly flipped down Wild Ride. Reign of Terror returned Hounds of Ahab to Bernstein's hand at the start of combat, and Sentinel Mark V (with Mojoverse) beat up on Doom. Hager still had the power to use Reign of Terror again though, ensuring that this would be the only beating for the turn.

 

On turn 5, Hager started out with a Boris activation to find Marvel Team-Up. He recruited Glorious Godfrey and passed. Nimrod was Bernstein's recruit. Godfrey dealt with Sentinel Mark V, and Nimrod got a little bit of revenge on Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius.

 

Bernstein's 6-drop was Bastion for the first time in the match. Hager started by exhausting Sentinel Mark V once more. A Mystical Paralysis on Bastion soon followed. With two big beaters out of the way, it was safe to recruit Boris and Alfred Pennyworth. A Wild Ride brought Dagger, Child of Light. Commissioner Gordon made it five resource points spent, and he made his presence useful by exhausting to Bat-Signal. That fetched Micro-Chip. With six resource points spent, all of a sudden, Jason had a much fuller board.

 

Nimrod attacked Glorious Godfrey. Mojoverse's activation was for nought, as Boris exhausted to reinforce. While this looked like the end of the turn, Bernstein had more. He boosted Alfred twice with Bastion, making him a prime target for Overload. From nowhere, Hager would be losing an important character at the end of the turn. At the start of recovery, Hager flipped Midnight Sons to team up with Fearsome Five. He then used Bat-Signal to find Dr. Light, Arthur Light. He elected to let his butler die.

 

“Godfrey's just more important,” he explained.

 

On turn 7, Midnight Sons teamed-up Marvel Knights and Doom, such that Hager's board was entirely on the same side. He then played Bat-Signal, exhausting Commissioner Gordon to find a new Alfred Pennyworth. The remaining six resource points paid for Dr. Light, Arthur Light.

 

“I've made Magneto less appealing,” he pointed out sagely.

 

Bernstein attempted to recruit Sentinel Mark II, and Dr. Light activated in response to try to stun Bastion. Bernstein put two pumps into his Nimrod and a further one into Sentinel Mark V before his 6-drop succumbed to his opponent's. Glorious Godfrey then exhausted Sentinel Mark V before its little brother could come into play. That wasn't all though. A Press the Attack on Dr. Light meant that he could grab Nimrod's repair counter and hurl it across the room like so many grenades. Sentinel Mark II then made it into play, and a second one followed it. With just two cards left in hand, the robots weren't overly effective, but they were there. Each attacked a 1-drop, first Dagger, Child of Light, and then Micro-Chip. At the end of the turn, Hager was at a precarious 11 endurance.

 

The turn 8 play of Apocalypse was less strong than it might have been. Hager's board was full enough that it was likely that Dr. Light, Arthur Light would be able to stun him before the attack step if Hager could deal with the two Sentinel Mark IIs. Glorious Godfrey exhausted one, and then Dr. Light went to the throat, activating to try to stun the second. That was countered by the robot's ability. Now there was a little work for Hager to do to find a Press the Attack and exhaust enough characters to be able to play it. Finding it was easy, as Alfred zipped off with alacrity to do so. The extra exhaust came from a Bat-Signal, exhausting Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius to fetch another. Dagger, Child of Light activated, and in response, Hager played the Press to stun Sentinel Mark V. He then recruited Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria, who flipped Press the Attack, Bat-Signal, Wild Ride, and Mystical Paralysis face down. Dr. Doom used the Mystical Paralysis on Apocalypse, and then Hager exhausted Commissioner Gordon to Bat-Signal. He did all this so he would be able to Press the Attack on Dr. Doom to ready him.

 

The combat step began, and Apocalypse destroyed two team-ups, stopping the team-ups between Marvel Knights and both Gotham Knights and Fearsome Five. Bernstein popped a Genosha and attacked Commissioner Gordon with Bastion. That was enough to win game 3.

 

Adam Bernstein leads 2-1.

 

Having chosen the even initiative initially, this time, Hager chose the odd.

 

With the initiative, Hager brought out Alfred Pennyworth. Bernstein had Boliver Trask and fetched Hounds of Ahab with him.

 

“Have you got another Mojoverse, or am I just taking one?” asked Hager jokingly.

 

Bernstein smiled as he flipped his location.

 

Turn 2 saw Hounds of Ahab from Bernstein, while Hager played Wild Ride for Dagger, Child of Light. He discarded her to find Midnight Sons, and then he played a second Dagger, Child of Light. After he teamed-up with Gotham Knights, he sent Alfred to get Reign of Terror.

 

I started to wonder if I was in the movie Groundhog Day.

 

When Boliver attacked Dagger, Child of Light, she bounced back to Hager's hand, and Adam got to attack directly to the face.

 

On turn 3, another Midnight Sons came to Hager with a little help from Dagger, Child of Light. Micro-Chip was his first and only recruit. Bernstein just made a “your turn” gesture to Hager, indicating that there were no recruits from him.

 

Midnight Sons number two teamed-up MK with Doom, and then Micro-Chip turned Wild Ride face down. More beatings ensued.

 

For turn 4, normal service was resumed for Bernstein, as Sentinel Mark V came into play. Hager discarded a third Dagger, Child of Light and fetched another Midnight Sons. He recruited Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius, turned Wild Ride face down, and bounced every member of Bernstein's team but his latest recruit with Reign of Terror. Not to be deterred, Sentinel Mark V got revenge by attacking back with the help of Mojoverse.

 

On turn 5, the third Midnight Sons was flipped up to team-up Marvel Knights and Fearsome Five. Jason then played his Wild Ride for Shimmer. She joined Doom's new “super team” (taking the best bits from all the other teams and adding them together) along with Micro-Chip, Boris, and Alfred.

 

Bernstein had a little thinking to do in the face of such a large force. He elected to play Boliver Trask and fetch Sentinel Mark II rather than stay on curve, despite having the cards in hand to do so. Being able to counter activated abilities is too important in this matchup to stick to the Sentinels' typical “A” plan.

 

At the start of the attack step, Hager attempted to use Shimmer, but Sentinel Mark II had other ideas. With that line of defense ruled out, Hager instead went on the attack, sending Dr. Doom into Boliver Trask. He had no further attacks though, and his formation had left him open to unnecessary amounts of breakthrough, as his back row consisted of Shimmer and Alfred. That was capitalized on by Bernstein, who sent Sentinel Mark V into Shimmer with a Savage Beatdown. All Hager had was a Bat-Signal for Dr. Doom, forcing a Press the Attack to reinforce. He used Boris to find a Mystical Paralysis and passed the turn.

 

At the start of turn 6, the endurance totals were 43 to 28 in Bernstein's favor. Bernstein had Bastion, but Hager had him beat. He played Mystical Paralysis on Bastion and recruited a new Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius to turn the plot twist face down, using it again on Sentinel Mark V. All the pumps in the world wouldn't be big enough to make Boliver kill Hager on his own. Alfred fetched a Power Compressor for Hager, and it was put on Doom. Jason spent his last resource point on Alfred.

 

Three Bastion pumps were enough to make Shimmer a juicy target for Overload, and they gave Boliver Trask a hot target in the form of Dr. Doom. A Savage Beatdown made Trask more than capable of mixing it up with the masked menace, and Mojoverse added insult to injury.

 

“That was a pretty good draw,” remarked Hager at the start of turn 7.

 

Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man joined the party, and Alfred went to fetch the drinks. Or a Fizzle. Hager chose a Fizzle. Clearly something is up with his priorities. For the final point, Alfred came right back out, exhausted by his trip. Bernstein had Magneto, Master of Magnetism. When Spider-Man worked his mojo, it was on to turn 8.

 

“You got the big one?” asked Hager

 

Bernstein generated resource points and activated Genosha. It turns out that the dangerous super-mutant was just playing around with Adam, sitting right on top.

 

When Apocalypse hit play, Hager complimented Bernstein's choice to play him, both in this PC and at that moment in particular. The 8-drop can give his deck real problems, especially when the initiative is against him. Hager, meanwhile, played Wild Ride for Lacuna, who is rather hot against Apocalypse as she can effectively negate one of his targets by replacing it in response to his ability. Dr. Doom exhausted to Mystical ParalysisApocalypse. Robot Sentry also joined in the fun, and Alfred Pennyworth came in exhausted, telegraphing that there might be some fun Press the Attack action this turn, as it seemed unlikely that he was a great choice if not. Dagger, Child of Light and Micro-Chip also came in, though Micro-Chip magically changed into an old man with a beard when he activated to turn down a Wild Ride, which was almost immediately used to fetch Chip's replacement. He didn't turn into Santa himself, but Boris has brought Hager so many presents already in this tournament that it might have felt that way to him.

 

At the beginning of the combat step, Apocalypse targeted two Midnight Sons (the Gotham Knights and Doom ones). Lacuna replaced the Gotham Knights Midnight Sons, then Robot Sentry exhausted Boliver Trask, facilitating a Press the Attack on Lacuna to replace the other targeted Midnight Sons before Apocalypse's ability resolved. Magically, Hager had escaped Apocalypse's wrath. Bernstein had tried to disrupt with a few pumps and an Overload on Lacuna, but Fizzle stopped that short.

 

In the attack step, the first action was Sentinel Mark V on Boris. He was reinforced, but this left Alfred wide open for a big attack. Magneto swung into Alfred Pennyworth for a boatload, and Adam Bernstein became the PC: New York Champion!

 

Adam Bernstein wins 3-1.