The match began in quiet, as Kibler shuffled up listening to Paul Van Dyke. There was a little chatter early, but it was very terse. The tension broke with a handshake, as Horowitz remarked, “It begins.”

Both players kept draws with high cost characters, Kibler’s hand including Apocalypse and a Signal Flare and Horowitz with Raven and a Bat-Signal. Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder was joined by a turn 3 Beast Boy, which Brian matched with Darkoth. The opening turns were quiet, with Horowitz using his turn 2 character to Bat-Signal for Alfred Pennyworth and Kibler remarking, “These are the easy turns,” as both players briskly moved through the steps.

Turn 3 ended with Darkoth smashing for 4, Kibler revealing Doomstadt and the single Faces of Doom in his deck. A dispute over pace of play ensued, as Horowitz contended that Kibler was playing too quickly. Horowitz flipped a The Brave and the Bold, which Kibler immediately Have a Blast!ed, giving Horowitz two opportunities to find a Fizzle, which he failed to draw, replacing the team-up with another Bat-Signal. The dispute ended amicably, but the tension grew tighter as Horowitz sunk a little in his seat. Kibler’s game face remained intact as he shuffled his cards rapidly back and forth, to the point of annoying Horowitz a little.

Turn four Dr. Doom, Diabolical Genius reset Have a Blast! and was matched by Alfred and Dove with boost, searching out Hawk. Horowitz set up with Hawk and Alfred in front of Dove and Robin, leaving Beast Boy in the back unprotected, but with reinforcement cover from Dove. The formation was excellent, allowing for a balanced defense against superior attackers.

Then the Reign of Terror began. Kibler first Reigned Beast Boy, causing Horowitz to take a long pause, considering the ramifications before allowing it to resolve. Kibler sent Dr. Doom into Hawk, who was reinforced, leaving Dove ripe for Darkoth. After stunning the two guys, Kibler Reigned again, but a Fizzle stopped it. Horowitz lost Dove, and the scores rested at 50-41, Kibler.

Turn 5 saw Alfred come online, giving Horowitz access to a second The Brave and the Bold, for which Kibler was ready. Horowitz played it as a resource and immediately flipped it. Kibler allowed it, and Horowitz drew a Fizzle.

The Caped Crusader came out—just barely a match for the Doomstadt-pumped Dr. Doom. Horowitz set up defensively, relying exclusively on Batman for damage. Kibler brought out a Robot Destroyer. He hid Doom behind the Destroyer, forcing Horowitz to punch through with his best guy first. Batman charged into the Darkoth, and Horowitz ended his attack. The scores stood at 44-32 Kibler.

The sixth turn was Kibler’s opportunity to put the game in the bag, having the better characters and board position. He Signaled for Hulk and dropped him. Horowitz, Fizzle still in hand, could do nothing, thwarted by the Diabolical Genius. Hulk stood as a 16 ATK/12 DEF, and Horowitz could only muster Garth and Alfred for his team. Horowitz took an extremely defensive posture, realizing that losing guys was inevitable, but losing endurance was not. Strong play could keep him in this game until turn seven, when Raven might be able to turn the tide. Brian tried to Have a Blast! the team-up, but had missed his window—Steve had the Fizzle in play.

Darkoth stunned Alfred with no problem. Doom smashed the lonely Hawk, with reinforcement by Garth. Robot Destroyer hit Robin, who at least Bat-Signaled (for Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal) before he went down. Hulk, with two defenseless targets, utterly destroyed Batman, leaving the scores 44-10 Kibler. A difficult recovery followed as Steve came to terms with his low endurance, board disadvantage, and the fact that, no matter what happened next turn, he would not be able to do 44 points to Kibler in a single turn. In desperation, he kept Alfred.

In a brilliant play, Kibler began turn 7 with Mystical Paralysis on Garth during the draw step, preventing Horowitz from using any fresh Fizzles from his hand. Horowitz brought out the large and lovely Raven, and Kibler teamed up and Signaled out a Sub-Mariner, making an impossible situation even worse. Kibler’s position was so solid that he could blow