In the battle of the rogue decks in the Top 8, there is a little bit of history, as the Lega degli Assassini had beaten Karl Heinz in the Swiss with what was apparently a fairly lucky draw. Bergt’s very aggressive concealed deck looks to have a fair matchup on paper with the League, so Edoardo will have a bit of a job winning in the Top 8’s best of three.

Turn 1 saw a Wild Ride for Micro-Chip from Bergt, while Della Via had no play. Turn 2 saw Talia, Beloved Daughter from Della Via, who elected not to use her ability. For Bergt it was Iron Fist, Danny Rand, who hid out and waited for his chance to strike. Micro-Chip got out of the way when Talia tried to attack him, flipping down Wild Ride, and Bergt instead took the damage to the face. Iron Fist then cracked back through Talia, and it was on to turn 3.

Bergt had Elektra, Elektra Natchios, revealing his 4-drop, while Edoardo played a Mountain Stronghold to fetch Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard. The 3-drops stunned each other in a bit of a fight. Iron Fist then went for Talia, fetching a power-up with Wild Ride to make it a one-sided stun.

“I swear I didn’t expect a deck like yours,” laughed Della Via, looking at the concealed characters sitting in the middle of the board, not having to concern themselves with standing to the side of visible characters.

Edoardo’s Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis effectively had no ability in the face of all the concealed characters, but he was still a fair-sized character. For Bergt, Yelena Belova ◊ Black Widow was the recruit. Assassins were on both sides of the board but it was unclear who was on top, as the concealed deck often pulls out wins from nowhere with its massive amount of attack pumps.

Black Widow attacked Ubu, stunning him but not getting a KO as Lazarus Pit saved Ra’s Al Ghul’s bodyguard. A team-attack from Elektra and Iron Fist on Ra’s Al Ghul himself stunned the 4-drop without incident, and it was on to turn 5. Daredevil, Matt Murdock was the play from Bergt, who still curved out perfectly. When Bane, Ubu was the Italian recruit, it became clear that the game would not be won by a better curve, but by the plot twists, should they ever be forthcoming. Daredevil stunned Bane without incident, and a Swan Dive ensured that Della Via’s board was empty, allowing for clear attacks from Bergt. In spite of all this, the German wasn’t happy, as without any attack pumps he wasn’t able to finish the game on turn 5 (as was his typical plan). He attacked Della Via down to 8 and passed.

Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar was the turn 6 recruit from Edoardo, but it seemed to be too little too late. Bergt recruited a hidden army that included Death-Stalker and Hannibal King. Della Via’s attacks went unopposed, and with the aid of a Savage Beatdown and Bergt’s own use of Daredevil’s ability, he went down to -12. From there, Della Via chose to flip Coast City and pass.

Black Widow was the first to attack into Bane, Ubu and stun him with a Crime and Punishment, though she didn’t manage to KO him thanks to Lazarus Pit. The Pit then worked double duty to bring back Sinestro’s protector, making the decisions very tough for Bergt, who needed to do a lot of damage to pull it back. Daredevil attacked Bane, and a Mountain Stronghold fetched a pump for Edoardo. The endurance totals were -3 to -21 in Edoardo’s favor, and things looked very dicey. A team-attack from Hannibal King, Elektra, and Iron Fist (with a power-up) was enough to stun Sinestro, but Bergt didn’t have quite enough to force through the final damage.

Edoardo Della Via wins game 1.

With the even initiative, Della Via elected to mulligan his opening four. His next set seemed pretty good, though, as he played a Mountain Stronghold on turn 2 to find Hassim, Loyal Retainer, discarding the slow Lady Shiva. For Bergt, it was Hannibal King, who on his return swing had a Punisher’s Armory to help him out.

Again Bergt had his 3-drop Elektra, Elektra Natchios, revealing his 4-drop. When Della Via passed without recruits, Bergt got visibly excited. Against the concealed deck, there is no time to stumble at all, so such a turn did not bode well for the Italian (who received quite the beating). Turn 4 brought Ra’s Al Ghul, Immortal Villain from Edoardo to his opponent’s Luke Cage, Street Enforcer. With a little help from Hassim and Flying Fortress, the 4-drop went in for a total of 12.

This was enough to force Luke Cage to get revenge on the Italian 4-drop, allowing him to flip Punisher’s Armory back up and attack with the rest of his team safely. The German side of the board looked very strong, and with a Wild Ride for Daredevil, Matt Murdock, that didn’t seem set to change. A Mountain Stronghold fetched Bane, Ubu, but things already looked a little dicey—turn 5 is often the kill turn for the concealed deck, and with the initiative, Bergt’s board looked very scary. Daredevil’s pump ability took down Bane, and Swan Dive was enough to stun Ra’s Al Ghul, the only other character on Della Via’s side of the board.

Tower of Babel stopped the Punisher’s Armory from working, but it was irrelevant, as Bergt easily had enough damage on the board to finish the job.

Karl-Heinz Bergt won game 2, making the score 1–1.

Both players kept their opening four, and Bergt led with a Wild Ride for Micro-Chip, who got his beat on. At the start of turn 2, Micro-Chip decided to remove himself from the game to flip Wild Ride face down, allowing it to fetch Iron Fist, Danny Rand. When Della Via had no recruits, Danny got to attack to the face for a total of 4 with the help of Punisher’s Armory.

Turn 3 saw Hook from Della Via, to his opponent’s Elektra, Elektra Natchios. The League of Assassins 3-drop attacked to the face, but then faced the might of Elektra, who easily bested her opponent with a Crushing Blow.

On turn 4, Luke Cage, Street Enforcer was the recruit for Bergt, while Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard came from Edoardo. With the Italian underdropping, it seemed unlikely that the game would be a long one. Iron Fist then went in for a massive strike. With Savage Beatdown, two Flying Kicks, and a whole mess of Punisher’s Armory pumps, it was all over on turn 4! It’s just as well that I can touch-type, as game four was fast.

Karl-Heinz Bergt wins 2-1 and advances to the finals.