Norman is on a roll. With no previous successes in Vs. System, he’s made it all the way to the Top 4 this weekend. Sitting across from him is Alex Gellerman, who has been tearing up the tournament. After going undefeated on Day 1, he walked into the Top 8 with a 1-2 record from this morning’s draft. Once he was there, he found the Kree deck that many have been screaming is the most powerful deck in the Heralds of Galactus Draft format.
Alex led off game 1 by winning the roll and opting for the even initiatives. Norman started things off with Moloids, and Gellerman went with Dr. Minerva on turn 2, which got him Lieutenant Kona Lor from the top of his deck. Norman had no play on turn 2 besides Valeria Von Doom, Heir to Latveria, and he followed it up again with a miss on turn 3 before Gellerman played Ruul Warrior. With Ruul Warrior in front, Norman was unable to attack Alex, instead passing and sitting back as Alex stunned both of his 1-drops with ease.
Turn 4 saw Lunatic Legionnaires join the other Kree characters on Alex’s side of the board, and he targeted himself, giving the 4-drop +4 ATK for the turn. Norman played Thing, Rockhead behind Valeria, but Dr. Minerva went through the 1-drop without any incident. The Lunatics traded with Thing, and Ruul Warrior exhausted for an Improper Burial of Norman’s 4-drop. Norman bit back, though, playing Cosmic Order to KO Valeria and Lunatic Legionnaires.
Down 36-44, Norman recruited Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans, hoping to deal with Alex’s seemingly endless stream of threats. It got worse when Lieutenant Kona Lor and Admiral Galen Kor came out to play. Black Bolt tried to stun Galen Kor without incident, but two copies of Alien Insurrection earned the stun, allowing Gellerman to return fire with a team attack for 12 more endurance, leaving Norman at 19—20 points below his own total of 39.
Turn 6 made things infinitely worse for Norman. He was forced to sit back and watch as Alex pressed Dr. Minerva; Captain Att-Lass; Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Soldier of the Empire; Ultimus; and Korath the Pursuer into play, with a Power Gem finding its way onto the 5-drop. Norman played Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc, but there was no way he could get out of the turn alive with Alex having 25 resource points worth of characters on the board, so he decided to scoop it up and move to game 2.
Alex 1 – 0 Norman
Game 2
Norman led off game 2 by giving Alex the odd initiatives and playing Moloids on turn 1, just like the previous game. On turn 2, though, he followed it up with Valeria Von Doom, Heir to Latveria and Luna Maximoff. Forebodingly, Alex mirrored his game 1 start with Dr. Minerva to find Admiral Galen Kor. Norman teamed-up Doom and Inhumans with For the Glory of Doom, and then sent his team over to stun Minerva. Alex started turn 3 with Ruul Warrior, but Norman’s deck decided to trump it with Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival and a Doomed Earth on top of his deck. Warrior took down Moloids with no problem, and Minerva dealt with Valeria. The Devil We Know stunned the Kree 2-drop back, but before she was KO’d, Penal Colony returned her to Alex’s hand. Norman also chained to the KO by KO’ing her with Doom to put the Doomed Earth from the top of his deck into his row.
Norman led off turn 4 with Thing, Rockhead again, and all Alex could do was play Admiral Galen Kor. The Uni-Power sent Thing into Galen, and Doomed Earth was flipped to stun the 4-drop. The Admiral went down swinging with Hala and Alien Insurrection, stunning the 4-drop and preventing him from getting his cosmic counter. Alex was down 35-41 going into turn 5 and didn’t feel much better when he missed with a new Dr. Minerva. Captain Att-Lass, Commander Dylon Cir, and Lunatic Legionnaires (+2 ATK) gave him a sizable board regardless. Norman had Magneto, Acts of Vengeance to add to his team, and then passed to Alex’s attacks. Gellerman started the party with Dylon Cir and Att-Lass stunning Thing. When Legionnaires went into Dr. Doom, Doom Needs Only Doom KO’d Thing to earn the stunback. Admiral Galen Kor took down Magneto, and Minerva brought Perion down to 21 with Gellerman still at 22.
Dinu moved Galen Kor to Alex’s hidden area, and he matched it by playing Supremor. The 6-drops traded, and Magneto attacking Minerva was only enough to bring Alex to 6. The very next turn resulted in the expected press chain of Dr. Minerva, Att-Lass, Dylon Cir, Ultimus, Korath the Pursuer, and Kree Public Accusers. Norman managed Human Torch, Sparky and Sub-Mariner, Illuminati, and braced himself for the worst. Dylon and Minerva took down Sub-Mariner, and Korath stunned Dinu. Admiral Galen Kor took down Magneto before an attack from Supremor on Human Torch earned a concession from Norman.
Alex Gellerman moves on to the finals on the back of an incredibly strong Kree press deck. Whether or not it will earn him the championship remains to be seen, but with the power it displayed in this match, there’s a good chance he’ll be clutching the trophy when all is said and done.