It’s been a great tournament and a great Top 8. Some of the best players and biggest names in the game were playing on Sunday, and the two players left are Adam Prosak and Ryan Jones. If you play Vs. you probably know these players already. Ryan Jones has already won one Pro Circuit (and made Top 8 in another) and is looking to become the first player to win a second title. Adam Prosak is a player that truly loves Vs. and has had a lot of success since the game’s beginning. This is Adam’s second PC Top 8, and he has an astounding eight $10K Top 8s (with two wins).

They wished each other luck and drew their hands. Turn 1 Ryan started with a Boris, Personal Servant of Dr. Doom, and Adam started with Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Optimistic Youth with her alternate recruit cost, pitching Mr. Mxyzptlk, Troublesome Trickster. He drew two cards when he discarded The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero.

Turn 2 Adam played The Ring Has Chosen to find Haywire, Suicidal Lover and recruited Poison Ivy. He then returned Phantom Stranger, KO’d Frankie to Poison Ivy to find Avalon Space Station, activated Avalon to get Frankie back, and alternate recruited Frankie. Ryan played San to find Doomstadt.

“So you mulled a Doomstadt, and you only play three,” noted Adam. “Tsk tsk tsk.”

Poison Ivy attacked Boris, and San attacked Haywire, bringing Adam to 48 and Ryan to 45.

On turn 3 Ryan flipped up Doomstadt and played Faces of Evil from his hand. He found and recruited Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival, and with the ability on the chain he used Boris to get a Reign of Terror. Doom’s ability then found Mystical Paralysis, which was put on top of Ryan’s deck.

Adam started off by bringing back Mr. Mxy from his KO’d pile, then exhausted Frankie and Haywire to return The Phantom Stranger. He KO’d Frankie to Poison Ivy to find a Slaughter Swamp, replacing a Political Pressure. “This card’s good against you,” Adam said sarcastically. Ryan said, “It was actually annoying one game.” Adam played another Frankie Raye, discarding Mxy and The Phantom Stranger to draw two more cards. He then recruited Dr. Light, Master of Holograms and activated him to return Deadshot, Floyd Lawton to play. Adam terraformed Soul World and played Enemy of My Enemy, discarding Haywire to find Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. Deadshot and Frankie were exhausted to return Phantom Stranger again, and Frankie Raye was recruited by discarding yet again.

Adam was ready for combat. He activated Avalon Space Station targeting Frankie Raye (discarding Mutant of the Year) and responded by activating Deadshot, targeting Dr. Doom. Ryan KO’d it to itself in response, and the ability had no target.

Ryan started off turn 4 by playing Political Pressure. Adam wasn’t too happy, pouting with a trademark “Must be nice.” He then recruited Dr. Doom and was reminded to return Mr. Mxy back to his hand. Ryan also recruited Dr. Doom and chained his ability, then played Enemy of My Enemy for Garth ◊ Tempest, Atlantean Sorcerer, pitching a Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways. Adam exhausted Haywire and Frankie to return Phantom Stranger before attacking Dr. Doom with his own. The attack resolved, and Adam flipped Devil’s Due. He KO’d Frankie and Haywire to add two +1 ATK / +1 DEF counters to Dr. Doom and passed. Ryan took 9 and turned Dr. Doom face down. Boris was returned with Dr. Light, and there were some more Avalon Space Station, Slaughter Swamp, and Phantom Stranger shenanigans to end the turn.

On turn 5 Garth hit the board on Ryan’s side and was put in front of Doom. Ryan passed, and Adam played Robot Destroyer and Haywire to start his recruit step. Frankie Raye was free-recruited again and exhausted along with Haywire to return Phantom Stranger with her ability on the chain. Adam discarded Phantom Stranger to Frankie to draw two. Prosak used Straight to the Grave to fetch Mephisto and activated Poison Ivy, KO’ing Haywire to find Secret Sanctuary. Haywire came back to Adam’s hand, and Adam recruited him again before using Soul World to retrieve Frankie. He recruited Frankie and then exhausted her along with Haywire to get back Stranger. Haywire put a counter on Robot Destroyer, and then Adam played another Haywire. Adam used another Straight to the Grave to bury Deadshot and used Dr. Light to bring him back. Frankie put a counter on Dr. Doom, and Adam played yet another Straight to the Grave, this time for Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. Prosak next used Slaughter Swamp to get Scarlet back, then discarded her to Avalon Space Station, getting Frankie and Haywire. He recruited these and exhausted them to return the Stranger. After the dust cleared, Doom had three counters, Robot Destroyer had two counters, and Adam had a total of eight characters in play!

To begin combat, Ryan’s Garth attacked Poison Ivy. Adam then declared Doom on Garth, but Ryan had the Mystical Paralysis to thwart the attack. Robot Destroyer attacked Garth in Doom’s stead, dealing 7 to Ryan and stunning Garth. Both players then moved to recovery.

To start turn 6, Adam played a resource, got Mxy back, and went into the tank. He activated Robot Destroyer, stunning Ryan’s Dr. Doom. He then used Slaughter Swamp to get Scarlet Witch, Straight to the Grave to get Asmodeus, and Avalon Space Station to retrieve Asmodeus and Mephisto, Soulstealer. Next, he exhausted Haywire and Frankie to retrieve Phantom Stranger. Both were KO’d to add counters to Dr. Doom, putting him up to four counters. Adam recruited Frankie for free (discarding Reign of Terror) and used Secret Sanctuary to bring back Haywire. Adam then recruited Haywire, Mephisto, and Mr. Mxy.

Ryan thought for a bit and decided to start off with a Boris, who was immediately activated to get Enemy of My Enemy. He played the Enemy, pitching San to get Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival. Dr. Doom hit play, and Ryan found a Cover Fire to put on top of his deck. Ryan then finished up with Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways.

Adam exhausted Deadshot and Haywire to get Phantom Stranger and used Deadshot to KO Ryan’s 3-drop Doom. Ryan responded with Mystical Paralysis on Mephisto. Adam’s Poison Ivy attacked Silver Surfer and powered-up, so Ryan played Cover Fire to save some endurance. Dr. Doom attacked Garth, and Adam thought for a bit.

“How masterful are you?” he asked.

Jones said nothing.

“The most masterful possible, really?” came the next (possibly) rhetorical question.

Adam KO’d Poison Ivy, Robot Destroyer, and Haywire and powered-up twice. Ryan added it all up and conceded.

Adam 1, Ryan 0

Game 2

Ryan said, “I’m going to try evens this game.” Adam answered back with a grin, “Okay, I’ll kill you on 3, then.”

Adam didn’t recruit anything on the first turn, but Ryan had Boris again. “Man!” said Prosak as he marked his endurance total.

On turn 2, Ryan had San and found a Doomstadt. “My play is so embarrassing,” said Prosak as he played The Ring Has Chosen and flipped Secret Sanctuary to search for Haywire and get him into play.

“You scared?” asked Prosak.

Ryan apparently was not. He simply attacked, and Adam took 3.

On turn 3, Adam recruited Dr. Light, then used The Ring Has Chosen to search for and discard Poison Ivy, whom he then returned with Light. Ryan played Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival to find Crisis on Infinite Earths and put it on top of his deck. Ryan set up with Boris behind Doom, and Adam passed on his attacks. Ryan’s Dr. Doom attacked Dr. Light, and his San attacked Haywire. Adam used Poison Ivy to search up Avalon Space Station and Straight to the Grave to find Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. He finished the turn by using Sanctuary to return Haywire and Avalon to return Doom.

On turn 4, Ryan played Crisis and a Diabolic Genius, who turned down Political Pressure. Ryan then activated Boris to fetch Reign of Terror, which he played targeting Adam’s Dr. Light. In response, Adam used Ivy to KO Dr. Light, fetching Slaughter Swamp. Adam then played his own copy of the Diabolic Genius.

Ryan’s San and 4-drop Doom then team attacked Adam’s Doom. Ryan flipped Doomstadt, and Adam’s Doom and Ryan’s San were stunned. Richards’s Rival attacked Poison Ivy, and Adam responded with Reign of Terror on the 3-drop Doom. Ryan responded to this with Enemy of My Enemy—discarding San to find Supermanhunter—then allowed the Reign to resolve. During recovery, Adam used his Sanctuary to retrieve Haywire.

Adam recruited Robot Destroyer on turn 5, while Ryan played Garth. In combat, Adam’s Robot Destroyer and Doom team attacked Garth, stunning Garth and the Destroyer. Ryan then attacked Adam’s Dr. Doom with his own. Adam played Enemy, discarding Mxy to get another Diabolic Genius. He powered-up, then powered-up again thanks to Slaughter Swamp. Ryan simply played Savage Beatdown.

“Nice Beatdown,” said Adam.

The Dooms traded stuns, and the finalists moved to recovery and the KO’d pile shenanigans associated therewith. Adam KO’d Dr. Doom to Devil’s Due to put a counter on Robot Destroyer.

On turn 6, Ryan played Political Pressure, then played Enemy of My Enemy, discarding Human Torch, The Invisible Man to get Dr. Doom, Sorcerous Savant, which he recruited. Adam returned Mr. Mxy, pitched him to Enemy to get Asmodeus, and recruited Asmodeus.

Ryan played Reign on Poison Ivy, so Adam KO’d her to put a counter on Destroyer. Ryan’s Sorcerous Savant attacked Robot Destroyer, and Adam took 8. Garth attacked Asmodeus, and before the attack resolved, Ryan KO’d San to turn down Savage Beatdown and played the Beatdown on Garth. Garth retrieved Enemy of My Enemy, and he and Asmodeus traded stuns. After combat, Adam recovered Asmodeus.

On turn 7, Ryan played Political Pressure, and Adam recruited The Phantom Stranger. Ryan played Boris and activated him to find a Betrayal, prompting Adam to scoop.

Adam 1, Ryan 1

Game 3

Naturally, Adam chose evens.

On turn 1, Ryan had no recruits, but Adam had Boris, Personal Servant of Dr. Doom and Haywire, Suicidal Lover.

On turn 2, Adam played Frankie Raye, pitching The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero and Mr. Mxyzptlk, Troublesome Trickster. Ryan again had no recruits, and Adam attacked for 2.

Ryan played Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival on turn 3 and got a Political Pressure. (This, naturally, prompted Adam to break out into song.) Adam played Straight to the Grave for Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose, Mxy came back to his hand, and Adam recruited Dr. Light. He then activated him to get Ivy and exhausted Frankie and Haywire to get Phantom Stranger back from the bin. Ivy then KO’d Frankie to find Avalon Space Station. Adam used Avalon to get Frankie back, discarding Phantom Stranger. Frankie Raye was played by discarding Mxy, the ability was chained, Ivy and Frankie were exhausted to get Phantom Stranger back again, and the Stranger was immediately discarded to draw two.

In combat, the only attack was Ryan’s Dr. Doom on Adam’s Poison Ivy.

Adam 46, Ryan 47

Ryan played Political Pressure to start turn 4. Adam played Enemy of My Enemy, discarding Mxy to find Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. He recruited Dr. Doom, and Ryan responded by playing an Enemy of his own, discarding Human Torch, The Invisible Man to find Kristoff Von Doom, Pretender to the Throne. Doom’s ability resolved, and Adam flipped down Straight to the Grave. He then activated Boris to get Devil’s Due and played Straight to the Grave to get Boris right back. Dr. Light was activated to put Boris back into play.

Ryan recruited his own Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius. In response, Adam used Ivy and Frankie to get The Phantom Stranger back and used Avalon to get another Frankie Raye (discarding Phantom Stranger). Adam then exhausted Dr. Doom and Haywire to get the Stranger back yet again. Adam had no attacks, but Ryan attacked Poison Ivy with Dr. Doom.

Adam 40, Ryan 47

Turn 5 started with Ryan recruiting Kristoff Von Doom, Pretender to the Throne. Adam responded with Enemy of My Enemy, discarding The Phantom Stranger to get Robot Destroyer. He played another Enemy, discarding yet another Phantom Stranger, to get Asmodeus. He then played Straight to the Grave to put Mephisto in his KO’d pile. Kristoff entered play, and it was Adam’s turn to recruit. He returned Mxy, exhausted Frankie and Haywire to return The Phantom Stranger, KO’d Frankie to Poison Ivy to get Slaughter Swamp, and recruited Robot Destroyer, Army. Dr. Light brought Frankie back, Phantom Stranger hit the bin again, and Adam peeled two. Ivy and Frankie were exhausted to get Phantom Stranger back yet again.

Ryan sent Dr. Doom after Poison Ivy. Adam thought for a second before activating Robot Destroyer to stun Dr. Doom. Kristoff attacked Poison Ivy, and Adam took 9. Adam KO’d Haywire, Frankie, and Ivy to put three +1 ATK / +1 DEF counters on Dr. Doom using Devil’s Due. Then he played Straight to the Grave for another Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius and sent the Doctor at Kristoff. When the attack became legal, he activated Slaughter Swamp to return Dr. Doom to his hand and used it to power-up. He used his Avalon Space Station to do the same, making Dr. Doom 12 ATK / 11 DEF.

Adam 26, Ryan 31

Adam recruited Asmodeus as he was still under Political Pressure. Dr. Light got Poison Ivy back this time. Ryan played Dr. Doom, Sorcerous Savant and put him in front of Kristoff.

Robot Destroyer and Diabolic Genius team attacked Ryan’s Sorcerous Savant. In the attack, Ryan exhausted his Dr. Doom to Mystical Paralysis Asmodeus. In response, Adam used Slaughter Swamp on Mephisto and activated Asmodeus. Doom stunned Robot Destroyer, and Adam was done with his attacks. Kristoff attacked Boris, who was activated to find Political Pressure. Kristoff readied and attacked Poison Ivy, who was KO’d to put a counter on Doom. Kristoff readied again, and it was the same thing when he attacked Dr. Light. Adam’s Dr. Doom was now 12 ATK / 11 DEF, and Ryan thought about whether he should attack with Kristoff. He decided to pass, and both players headed to recovery. Avalon got back Mephisto for Adam, and Ryan played Enemy of My Enemy, discarding San to get Supermanhunter. Ryan recovered Dr. Doom, and Adam recovered Robot Destroyer.

Adam 21, Ryan 21

Ryan recruited Supermanhunter. Adam apologized to Mr. Mxy for not choosing to bring him back. He recruited Mephisto and passed.

Supermanhunter attacked Dr. Doom, and Ryan paid 3 endurance to activate him, removing five counters from the defending character. Adam reinforced with Robot Destroyer and took 4. Dr. Doom, Sorcerous Savant attacked Asmodeus and was powered-up; Adam took 9. Kristoff attacked Robot Destroyer, and Adam KO’d Dr. Doom and Asmodeus to put two counters on the Destroyer in an attempt to stun Kristoff. It was successful, and both characters became stunned, leaving Adam at 3 and Ryan at 13.

“I think I lose if we go to the next turn,” Adam decided, “so I’m moving in even though I didn’t do the math. We have a sequence of chains.” He played Flame Trap (discarding two characters), activated Avalon Space Station and Slaughter Swamp (targeting Mr. Mxy), and responded by activating Mephisto. He attacked Supermanhunter and crossed his fingers. Jones conceded, realizing he would go to -7 and Adam would end up at -2. What a game!

Adam 2, Ryan 1

(NOTE: After grinding his way through a brutal Day 3—which featured eight stall/combo decks—the legendary John Fiorillo tagged out for the last part of the finals. The rest of this match will be covered by Billy Zonos.)

Game 4

Turn 1:

Adam missed. Ryan recruited a Boris and swung for 1.

Turn 2:

Adam free recruited a Frankie. He paid 2 resource points for Poison Ivy and KO’d Frankie to put an Avalon in the row. He got the Frankie back and free recruited her again. Finally, after drawing infinite, he passed. Ryan missed his drop and took some beats.

Turn 3:

Adam dropped Dr. Light and brought Deadshot into play with his effect. He then KO’d Frankie to search his deck for a Slaughter Swamp. He got her back and free recruited her for the second time that turn. Ryan missed again. Adam’s team totally dominated Boris.

Turn 4:

Ryan flipped a Political Pressure in the draw. Ryan played Diabolic Genius. He sent Boris into the deck to fetch a Reign of Terror to bounce Dr. Light off the board. Adam played an Enemy to find his Robot Destroyer. Adam recruited a Diabolic Genius of his own and passed.

Ryan attacked his Doom into Ivy. Adam played a bunch of cards (power-ups, character search effects, etc.) and made his Ivy a 6 ATK / 6 DEF to stun Doom back. Facing a clear board, Adam swung for more breakthrough.

Adam 45, Ryan 34

Turn 5:

Adam dropped the bomb: Robot Destroyer. This great equalizer was going to make it difficult for Ryan to win. Ryan flipped a Crisis on Infinite Earths and played his Garth.

Adam sent the Destroyer into Garth, KO’ing his Deadshot and Frankie with Devil’s Due to make Destroyer an 11 ATK / 10 DEF. Ryan blocked with double Cover Fire. Just then, Adam’s phone rang.

Adam: “This should be a fun phone call. Hi Aaron. I’m playing in a PC final. Yeah. Yeah. So, I really can’t talk. Later.”

Returning to the game, Adam KO’d his Ivy to put a counter on Doom. Adam sent Doom into Garth with a double power-up. Both characters stunned. Ryan pressed his advantage and sent his Doom into the Destroyer with a Savage Beatdown. Adam KO’d his Doom to put a counter on the Robot before both characters stunned.

Adam 34, Ryan 21

Turn 6:

Ryan recruited a Boris. He flipped an Enemy and pulled a 3-drop Doom out of his deck and into play, and he put a Savage Beatdown on top of his deck with Doom’s effect. He KO’d his Boris to replace the Savage into his row and then played another Boris, who immediately searched out another copy of Savage. For his final resource point, he played a third Boris and passed. Adam brought Mxyzptlk back and played a 4-drop Doom. Ryan responded by targeting the Destroyer with a Mystical Paralysis. Both players passed with no attacks. In the recovery, Ryan searched his deck for a Betrayal, possibly for next turn. He paid 3 endurance with Garth to get back Supermanhunter and 4 endurance to turn down Pressure.

Adam 34, Ryan 14

Turn 7:

Adam recruited The Phantom Stranger. Ryan played Betrayal, and Adam stunned his Doom. Ryan replayed Doom and flipped/re-flipped Betrayal. Adam responded by activating his Destroyer to stun Doom. Ryan paid 3 to get back a Mystical and exhaust the Stranger before the Doom stunned. Adam KO’d his Doom characters with Devil’s Due to negate the effectiveness of the Betrayal. Ryan recruited another copy of 3-drop Doom. He put an Enemy on top of his deck and replaced it into his row. He flipped it and searched out the 8-drop Ra’s al Ghul, The Demon’s Head. Both players passed into recovery and went to the next turn.

Adam 25, Ryan 7

Turn 8:

Ryan recruited the monstrous 8-drop and passed. Adam passed on his recruit. Holding on at 7 endurance, Ryan couldn’t afford to have his 8-drop get stunned back in an attack. Ryan realized that his only way to win meant sending his 3-drop into The Phantom Stranger with three Savage Beatdowns to clear the way for the game-ending Ra’s. He paused for a second, sighed, and declared the inevitable attack.

Adam played two power-ups, pitched a Scarlet Witch to Avalon, and powered-up twice more. An 18 ATK / 21 DEF Stranger bricked Richards’s Rival and forced a shrug, a smile, and an extended hand from Ryan.

Congratulations Pro Circuit Los Angeles Champion Adam Prosak!