Leader is playing X-Statix / Villains, while De Michele is playing Mexican Hardware Store. After the players shuffled for several minutes, Leader won the die roll and selected the odd initiatives.
Game 1
Leader mulliganed, and De Michele quickly followed suit. Unsurprisingly, Leader missed his 1-drop. Also unsurprisingly, De Michele hit his in the form of Ape X. The Ape got Cloak of Nabu and attacked for a point. De Michele under-dropped with Electric Eve on turn 2, and then used Dr. Fate’s Tower to search for Amulet of Nabu. Electric Eve got suited up with all three Fate Artifacts, and Leader missed his drop again. Eve and Ape beat down into an empty board. The score at this point was 50-42 in De Michele’s favor.
Leader had Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature for turn 3. De Michele played Enemy of My Enemy for Black Panther, King of Wakanda. The Panther got suited up with Fate’s Tower, then found another Helm of Nabu to let De Michele dig a little deeper into his deck. Leader declared Polaris into Electric Eve, and De Michele evaded. Polaris took down Ape X, and De Michele attacked back with Panther. Leader flipped up Mutant of the Year before allowing the stun. Ape X was lost in recovery, and De Michele led 45-35.
For turn 4, De Michele had yet another Helm for his Black Panther. He recruited Luke Cage, Street Enforcer to his hidden area, then equipped an Image Inducer onto Black Panther. He moved Panther’s Artifacts onto Luke, then passed. Leader flipped and used The Science Spire, returning Polaris to his hand. He played Enemy of My Enemy, discarding Orphan, Guy Smith to search for The Calculator, Noah Kuttler. He discarded the Calculator to get Coercion, and then replayed Dr. Polaris. In combat, De Michele sent Luke into Polaris. Leader flipped Coercion, revealing an X-Statix character, then flipped X-Statix Cafè to prevent some breakthrough. Polaris was stunned, and Ape X was exhausted to his vengeance effect. De Michele declared a direct team attack with his remaining Electric Eve and Black Panther, and Leader played Spin Doctoring on Polaris to stop him. The team attack was declared on Polaris instead, and the 3-drops traded stuns. The endurance totals were now 42-23 in De Michele’s favor.
Leader had the initiative on the fifth turn, and he played Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard behind Polaris. De Michele recruited another Ape X, searching out a new Amulet of Nabu. He set up with Ape protecting Eve, and then passed. Polaris attacked Ape, and De Michele reinforced. Freeze went after Electric Eve, and De Michele evaded. Leader returned Polaris to his hand with The Science Spire, then flipped up Kang Kross-roads. He attacked directly for 12 before passing back. De Michele went into the tank, and eventually decided to declare a team attack of Luke and Panther into Freeze. Luke traded stuns with Freeze, and the 5-drop targeted Luke for lockdown. De Michele still led, 24-18.
On turn 6, De Michele played Enemy of My Enemy for Moon Knight, which he played with boost. Fate’s Tower suited up Moon Knight, and De Michele passed. Leader recruited Zeitgeist in front of Freeze, then passed right back. De Michele declared Moon Knight into Zeitgeist, and Leader allowed it. He reinforced Zeitgest, then returned Mr. Freeze to his hand with The Science Spire. He played Dead Weight to stun Moon Knight without stunning back. De Michele had Blinding Rage, but Leader simply used Meltdown to KO Moon Knight’s Cloak, and shot him with Zeitgeist. Neither player could declare further attacks, and De Michele led 20-18 in recovery.
Leader had the initiative on turn 7, and he played Vivisector with boost, targeting Luke Cage. With the 5-drop’s effect on the chain, he used The Science Spire to bounce it and draw some cards. Leader passed to De Michele, who could only muster Wild Ride for Iron Fist, Danny Rand, which he recruited in the hidden area. Leader smashed Zeitgeist into Moon Knight, and De Michele reinforced. De Michele had no attacks, and the turn ended with endurance 18-14 in Leader’s favor. Leader showed Enemy of My Enemy and a character with which to get Ghost Rider, and De Michele conceded the first game.
Game 2
De Michele took the odd initiatives for the second game. David had Electric Eve for the first turn, while Leader had The Calculator, Noah Kuttler. Leader missed on turn 2, while De Michele recruited Iron Fist, Danny Rand. The 1-drops traded, and Iron Fist got to attack directly. Leader flipped Mutant of the Year to stop Electric Eve’s recovery ability, and the endurance score stood at 48-43 in De Michele’s favor.
On turn 3, De Michele played Wild Ride to get Black Panther, King of Wakanda. The Panther was recruited in the hidden area, and it searched out Amulet of Nabu. De Michele played Helm of Nabu on the 3-drop, then passed. Leader flipped and used The Science Spire to draw and discard one, then recruited Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature. He ditched two copies of The Calculator to get two copies of Coercion, then passed back. De Michele declared Black Panther into Polaris. The attack was legal, and Leader played Meltdown on Amulet of Nabu. Both characters stunned. Iron Fist and Electric Eve attacked directly, and that was the turn. De Michele led, 42-36.
Turn 4 was Leader’s initiative, and he recruited Fatality, Flawless Victory behind Polaris. De Michele played Enemy of My Enemy for Moon Knight. He recruited the 4-drop in front of Electric Eve, then flipped Dr. Fate’s Tower. The Tower got an Amulet of Nabu, which was equipped to Black Panther. Leader declared Polaris into Electric Eve, and the 1-drop was KO’d. Fatality went after Moon Knight with a power-up, and De Michele could do nothing as his 4-drop was stunned. Leader used The Science Spire to return Polaris to his hand, then passed. De Michele was forced to pass on his attacks. Leader led, 36-32.
De Michele had the initiative on 5, and he recruited Image Inducer onto Moon Knight—unimpressive, to say the least. Leader had Battering Ram in front of Fatality. De Michele played Flying Kick on Moon Knight and attacked Fatality. Both characters stunned. De Michele declared Black Panther into Battering Ram and played Blinding Rage to attempt to force the stun. Leader flipped Coercion, revealing Zeitgeist to team-up with X-Statix. He used The Science Spire to return Battering Ram to his hand, then played Spin Doctoring on Fatality. De Michele sent Black Panther into Fatality, and Leader flipped The Hill. De Michele had another Blinding Rage to force the mutual stun. Black Panther was KO’d, and Iron Fist attacked directly. De Michele still led, 29-14.
Leader had Zeitgeist in front of Fatality for turn 6. De Michele had Luke Cage, Street Enforcer in the hidden area. He recruited Ape X to get a new Helm of Nabu, and then equipped it to Luke Cage. In combat, Fatality attacked Ape X, and De Michele played Die for Darkseid! to hit Leader for 4. Leader ran over Moon Knight with Zeitgeist, then attacked directly with Fatality. De Michele passed. Leader returned Fatality with The Science Spire in recovery. De Michele still led, 12-10.
Turn 7 was De Michele’s initiative, and he recruited Cloak of Nabu onto Luke Cage. Leader played Coercion to team-up Spider-Friends, then recruited Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man. The 7-drop exhausted Moon Knight and Iron Fist, and De Michele conceded.
David Leader wins.