Josh won the coin flip and chose to go second, taking the even initiative. William and Josh were both happy with their first four cards, and Josh showed us why by flipping up a turn 1 Optitron.

“Josh Wiitanen,” he said, talking to himself. “You are so broken.” He played Tim Drake and swung him into Williams’s Sentinel Mark III. On turn 3, Josh boosted Hawk and Dove onto the table, and William played a Mark II.

“47-44, my lead,” Josh noted after William attacked with his Mark II. The Mark III swung into Dawn, who boosted to make the trade. Josh then attacked William with Tim Drake.

Mark V and Terra hit the table for the two players the following turns, and when Red Star and Tim Drake team-attacked the Mark V, a flurry of power-ups hit the table. William made his Mark V an 8 ATK/14 DEF, and he lived through the first attack.

It didn’t slow Josh’s mouth down at all though, as he flipped Teen Titans Go! And swung into the Mark V a second time. “I am such a champ,” he stated plainly as he swung towards William’s team again.

Garth took his turn on the table for Josh on turn 5, and William answered with Nimrod. Nimrod can be a difficult character to deal with, as the repair counter frequently makes it hard to handle him.

William attacked Nimrod into Garth, and passed priority over to Josh. Josh used Tamaran to make Garth a 10 ATK/10 DEF, and the priority went back to William. He had Savage Beatdown in hand and added it to the chain, making it difficult for Josh to save Garth.

“28-30,” Josh asked after Mark V swung into Hank. His numbers were confirmed and he passed his attack step. Hank left the table as Josh chose to save Garth, which was not much of choice.

Josh played his sixth resource, and used his first three resource points to put Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal into play. “Exhaust Dawn for Roy,” he said. He followed it up by replacing the in play Dawn with a new one, paying Boost to get Hank back into play.

William went to his recruit phase and started to lay a character on the table. “I have a response,” Josh announced, expecting Bastion to be making his way onto the table. He was wrong though, as all William could manage for turn 6 was a boosted Mark V. That’s not the turn 6 that Sentinels need if they’re going to beat Titans.

“Red Star and Hank Hall to Sentinel Mark V,” Josh declared. He clarified that it would be the boosted one, and then used Tamaran on Red Star. William turned over a Cover Fire to save his Mark V, but Josh was able to use Roy Harper to destroy the unboosted Mark V.

Thee turn was a disaster for William, as Josh’s board was left completely unstunned, with Teen Titans Go!, and Red Star being responsible for the damage. William was left with just a boosted Sentinel Mark V on the table, and Josh appeared to have won game one.

“Seven resource points,” William announced. He then turned over Genosha to draw two cards. It didn’t help, as the best thing he could put on the table was another copy of Nimrod. Josh seemed unconcerned as he surveyed the table. It was turn seven, and William’s inititative, but with a 25-6 lead it seemed that William couldn’t win.

“Shoot you with Red Star,” Josh announced. He followed that up by playing a second Red Star and shooting William again, sending him to negative one. Roy Harper destroyed the Mark V and Josh had won the first game.

Josh Wiitanen 1, William Hou 0

“It’s hard to mess up when you have all seven Teen Titans on the table and Teen Titans Go!” Josh mused.

William shipped back Nimrod, Boliver Trask and Magneto to start game two, and drew into only one character¾Nimrod. His first draw included Bastion, but it was going to be a long few turns if he didn’t draw another character.

Josh cut him a break by not playing a one drop, and then used Optitron on turn 2 to go and get Garth, so he didn’t apply any early pressure to take advantage of William’s slow start.

Turn 3 saw the first characters from both players, as William played a Mark II and Josh answered with the lovers’ duo. Hank and Dove are a little better than a Mark II in most cases, but William did get to pound Dove with his Mark II.

“No attacks,” Josh said, not wanting to lose either member of his favorite couple.

Josh had a turn 4 Red Star, who is good in any matchup, and William answered with a Mark V. Red Star and Hank attacked the Mark V, stunning Red Star who didn’t have a power-up available. The Mark II hit Dawn Granger again, and the lovers were broken up during recovery.

William had a turn 5 Nimrod, prepping his board for the arrival of Bastion next turn. Josh had Garth, who he has used Optitron to get earlier in the game. Nimrod swung at Garth, as we had seen in game one, and Josh turned over Tamaran. It didn’t help Garth this time either, as William again had the Savage Beatdown.

Josh had a Heroic Sacrifice this time, and Hank took one for the team. Mark II hit Garth, and William had a second Savage Beatdown, making his Mark II big. It didn’t matter though, as Josh powered up Garth with the second copy in his hand.

Red Star hit Nimrod, removing his counter, and making the score 40-31 in William’s favor. Hank went into the discard pile, but Josh had used Garth’s ability last turn to get back Dawn Granger, meaning that turn 6 was looking like it would be Roy Harper and the lovers hitting the table together.

Josh played Tim Drake with boost instead, and then used a resource point to shoot William with Red Star. He used Optitron to go and get Roy Harper, showing that he didn’t have him to play. With his six resource points spent, he passed the turn to William.

William’s turn 6 build was quick. Put Bastion on table, put him in front of everyone else.

Josh turned his entire team sideways, sending Tim Drake, Garth and Red Star at Bastion. William showed off two copies of Cover Fire to save Bastion. Josh said it was all right, and played Teen Titans Go! He turned all of his characters sideways again, and William showed off two more copies of Cover Fire.

“I wouldn’t play another Cover Fire,” the table judge warned William.

Bastion was getting huge as both players fought over the crucial piece on the table. Josh played Savage Beatdown to get over the third and fourth copies of Cover Fire. William played Acrobatic Dodge and discarded a character to bring Bastion back over the top. Josh activated Tamaran, and William powered up Bastion yet again.

Bastion was an 11 ATK/25 DEF character, and it was trouble for Josh yet again. Josh had another Teen Titans Go! face down though, and swung with his army at Bastion yet again. The fight over Bastion finally ended, with him stunning this time.

Mark II attacked the troublesome Tim Drake, getting him off the table. He had served his purpose, letting the Titans attack many, many times without getting stunned. William played out a turn 7, boosted, Mark V. Josh could answer only with another Tim Drake and Roy Harper.

William sent Nimrod to attack Red Star, and Josh could do nothing more with him than pump up Roy Harper a little bit. Josh’s endurance total fell to 11. Bastion was declared as the next attacker, flying towards Garth. Josh looked a little dejected as he investigated his board position. There didn’t appear to be any way he could get out of the world of hurt his Titans were in.

One card in hand, and with all the pressure on him to insure an all-Las Vegas final, Josh had tough decisions ahead of him.

“Pay three,” he said, indicating endurance and Garth’s ability. He got back Heroic Sacrifice, but it wasn’t enough to help Josh at all. He looked at the table a little longer, and then scooped up his cards. William had taken game two, and we were on our way to an exciting game three.

Josh Wiitanen 1, William Hou 1

Game Three

Both players kept their opening hands, but Josh seemed non-plussed by his. He’s quite the actor sometimes, so it’s hard to tell if it was good or bad. On turn 1, William played Boliver Trask and swung at Josh’s noggin, so it was still hard to get a reading.

Turn 2, Josh played Tim Drake and swung him into Boliver Trask. Trask can be a liability with other characters on the table, so William didn’t even recover him. William had a turn 3 Total Anarchy to remove Dawn Granger from the table with his Mark II, and Josh’s early board position was hurting a little.

Josh decided removing the Mark II was more important that keeping his own characters, and sent Tim and Hank both attacking the Mark II. Hank left the table, as did the Mark II.

On turn 4, both players played the characters they were looking for, with Red Star and a Mark V both taking their respective places at the table. William added to the table with a turn 5 Nimrod, and Josh answered Nimrod with Garth. The two players had enjoyed three games in a row with a good fifth turn.

Willaims was more worried about six than five though, and his hand included three copies of Magneto and no copies of Bastion at this point. Mark V traded with Red Star, and Nimrod lost his repair counter to a powered up Garth. The table was still very evenly balanced, and the game would hang on turn 6.

William didn’t draw Bastion, leaving him some interesting choices to make, but they had to wait. Josh had chosen to play evens this game, and wanted to put Connor Kent ◊ Superboy on the table.

“Tactile Telekinetic,” he laughed. “I’ll pay you if you can say that three times fast!”

William played a boosted Mark V, leaving Josh in a good spot on turn 6. A few copies of Teen Titans Go! would give him this game on this turn, and that would give him that match.

19 power attacking the Mark V was way to much for William to handle, and the Mark V was stunned. Connor Kent went after the unboosted one, looking to make this game painful for William quickly. Josh had Teen Titans Go! to stun another character, and then Press the Attack to deal 12 endurance loss to William.

He used Garth to get back the Press the Attack, and swung again, putting William at exactly 0 endurance.

Josh Wiitanen 2, William Hou 1