Brian Deters is from Topeka, Kansas and is playing in his first $10K. Not bad for his first major tournament! Phimus Pan is also playing in his first $10K Top 8, although he has some solid Pro Circuit finishes, most notably 20th at Pro Circuit: Indianapolis ‘05 and 15th at Pro Circuit: Los Angeles ‘05.

Game 1

Brian won the roll and chose evens, different from the normal odd initiatives that Good Guys players usually choose to take, but Brian would certainly be able to finish Phimus on turn 6 with a reasonable board. Brian mulliganed, while Phimus kept and led off with a Connie Webb that Brian matched with Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle.

Turn 1: Phimus 49 - Brian 49

Brian didn’t have his 2-drop, so he used Ted Kord to fetch a Booster Gold, then equipped Nth Metal to him and passed to Phimus, who used his 1-drop to find his 2-drop as well, this time in the form of Sarge Steel. One attack from Booster later, and Brian took the early lead.

Turn 2: Phimus 46 - Brian 49

Phimus played Ahmed Samsarra visible to kick off turn 3, while Brian played nothing. Phimus quickly sent Ahmed into Booster, which Brian reinforced. He took two. Sarge Steel brought it to Ted Kord with a boost from Brother Eye, and that was the turn.

Turn 3: Phimus 46 - Brian 43

Turn 4 was Brian’s initiative, and he made a quite peculiar play in the form of dropping his entire hand on the table, revealing nothing but plot twists and equipment. Without a play for the second turn in a row, he conceded to Phimus, and it was on to game 2.

Phimus wins game 1.

Game 2

Brian stayed with the even initiatives for game 2 and mulliganed for the second straight game. Phimus kept his hand, and turn 1 passed without any recruits.

On turn 2, Brian quickly played Booster Gold and passed, while Phimus flipped Brother I Satellite, discarding a Black Adam. “This was a good choice for this tournament,” commented Phimus, lamenting the surprising lack of Secret Society decks. Nonetheless, he fetched Sarge Steel with his Satellite and played him in the support row. When Brian did not attack with his Booster Gold, Phimus exhausted his Sarge Steel to remove Jaime Reyes ◊ Blue Beetle from the game, fetching an Amulet of Nabu.

Phimus kicked off turn 3 by playing Ahmed Samsarra visible once again, activating him (replacing his Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype) and getting Dr. Fate’s Tower, finding Cloak of Nabu, and equipping Sarge Steel with the Amulet of Nabu and the Cloak of Nabu. Brian spent his recruit step playing Shayera Thal ◊ Hawkwoman, Thanagarian Enforcer, and placed both of his characters in the support row. Phimus attacked Booster Gold with his Sarge Steel with the Cloak and Amulet, then passed. Brian played two copies of Magnificent Seven, triggering ally abilities both time. “This is going to bite me in the long run,” Brian said as he discarded a Kooey Kooey Kooey and a Fire to fetch an Amulet of Nabu and Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Thanagarian Enforcer. Regardless, Phimus’s attack of Sarge Steel on Booster Gold passed without stuns, and they moved to Brian’s attack step. Brian sent his Shayera Thal into Ahmed with a Trial by Fire for help, earning the stun, and Booster Gold was exhausted to play a potentially devastating Removed from Continuity on Ahmed. “We did it!” exclaimed Phimus as he discarded his Huntress, Reluctant Queen, negating the Removed from Continuity and foiling Brian’s seemingly excellent turn 3.

End of turn 3: Phimus 45 - Brian 47

Brian kicked off turn 4 by playing his Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Thanagarian Enforcer and equipping it with both an Amulet of Nabu and a Cloak of Nabu. Phimus responded with the #1 stunna, Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1. After moving his fate artifacts to Bizarro, he formed up with Sarge Steel protecting Ahmed and Bizarro next to Ahmed in the support row. Brian’s attack sent Booster Gold into Sarge Steel, and Phimus played Knightmare Scenario on his Sarge, brickwalling Brian’s Booster Gold. He was seemingly out of ATK pumps.

Brian then sent his Katar Hol into Ahmed. Phimus sent his Sarge Steel to take the brunt of the attack and took 6. Brian then played out the rest of his hand by sending Shayera Thal into Bizarro #1, playing Hero’s Welcome from his row (discarding Mr. Mxyzptlk, Troublesome Trickster) and fetching 2 power-ups, bringing his Shayera to 11 ATK. Phimus flipped a Checkmate Safe House, teaming-up Checkmate and Villains United, then used his Ahmed to fetch another Checkmate Safe House, bouncing the second attack in a row. Phimus took this opportunity to send Bizarro back into Katar Hol for the trade.

End of turn 4: Phimus 35 - Brian 40

“Do you have your 5-drop?” asked Brian, thinking this game might be slipping away. Phimus pressed his advantage by playing Maxwell Lord, Black King. Brian opted not to set a resource and merely played Maxwell Lord, fetching World’s Greatest Heroes. Phimus sent his Bizarro with the Cloak and Amulet into Katar Hol for the mutual stun.

“Let’s get some hot Maxwell Lord on Maxwell Lord action,” said Phimus as he declared the attack. Ahmed found another Brother Eye, dealing a whopping 14 to Brian.

End of turn 5 Phimus 31 - Brian 24

Brian set a resource, played Maxwell Lord, teamed-up with World’s Greatest Heroes, and sacrificed a Kooey Kooey Kooey to find his last Shayera Thal. Flustered, Brian passed. Phimus used Brother Eye to return a previously discarded Elimination Protocol and then boosted it, finding his other copy of the card. After moving his Amulet and Cloak to Maxwell Lord, Phimus formed with both of his robots in the front row, protecting Maxwell Lord and Ahmed. Bizarro was next to Ahmed in the back row.

Brian sent his first attack of Katar Hol into Maxwell Lord, cracking a Kooey Kooey Kooey and powering-up three times with Katar Hol, bringing Katar to a whopping 19 ATK / 14 DEF. Phimus did some quick math, then removed Shayera’s team affiliations. Without team attack options, Brian passed. Phimus attacked with Bizarro on Shayera, then sent Elimination Protocol into Maxwell Lord.

End of turn 6 Phimus 26 - Brian 8

For what seemed like the final turn of the game, Ahmed activated to find Slaughter Swamp, got back his Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype, and then passed with an imposing six-character board. For his part, Brian played Booster Gold and Ted Kord, but it didn’t take long for Phimus to declare some attacks and earn a concession from Brian.

Phimus wins the match 2-0 and moves on to the semifinals!