This round has some truly excellent matchups to cover. Adam Prosak is playing Jason Hager, Mark Slack is playing Heath Baker, and Michael Jacob is playing Sammy Gilly. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to cover those players later in the day, though, so for this round, I’m featuring a Battle of the Barns. Dan Clark is a RIW Hobbies member and barn of Michael Jacob. Ed Colleran is a barn of Billy Postlethwait, who is a legendary barn in his own right. Ed has a recent PC Top 8 to his name, but other than that, these players are largely unknown. That’s not to say they’re not good — I’ve seen both of these guys in action before, and they certainly know what they’re doing.

Dan won the die roll and selected the even initiatives. Ed mulliganed, while Dan kept his opener. Ed missed on the first turn, while Dan recruited Illusionary Warriors. He immediately exhausted it for Criminal Mastermind, and recruited another Illusionary Warriors for turn 2. Ed had Talia, Beloved Betrayer and attacked directly. On turn 3, Ed led off with Brother I Satellite, discarding Hester to pick up Ahmed Samsarra. He recruited the 3-drop in the hidden area and passed. Dan also had his deck’s signature 3-drop, Lex Luthor, Nefarious Philanthropist. In combat, Lex stunned Talia, and the hidden 1-drops attacked Ed directly. Ed chose not to attack back, instead using Ahmed to search out a UN Building.

At the start of the fourth turn’s build phase, Ed drew an extra two cards, locking in Lex’s ability. Dan played Secret Files from his resource row, searching for Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose. Ed searched out Huntress, Reluctant Queen. A second Secret Files yielded Captain Boomerang, George Harkness for Dan and Terrax, Harbinger of Ruin for Ed. Dan recruited both of his 2-drops, and passed. Ed played a resource and recruited Merlyn, Deadly Archer behind Talia, leaving him with 12 cards in hand. In combat, Dan used Boomerang on Talia, returning both characters to their owner’s hands. Ed teamed up with UN Building in response. Dan declared an attack of Poison Ivy into Merlyn. In response, Ed used Ahmed to get Rook Control. He used the location to hide Merlyn, moving Ahmed to his visible area. Dan declared Illusionary Warriors into Ahmed. Dan played All Too Easy, but was met by Mikado and Mosha. Poison Ivy was sent into Ahmed with another copy of the plot twist, and both characters stunned. Interestingly, Dan chose not to use the 2-drop’s ability. Lex and Dan’s remaining Warrior attacked directly, and Dan passed. Ed flipped The Science Spire and Brother Eye and then used Merlyn to KO Lex. Dan attempted to use Injustice Gang Satellite to KO Ahmed. Ed had the Science Spire, though, as well as another Mikado for Ed’s remaining Illusionary Warriors. In recovery, Poison Ivy stared down Merlyn. Dan led, 44-28.

On turn 5, Ed recruited Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard with Cloak of Nabu. Dan played Glorious Godfrey and teamed up with Gang-Up. In combat, Godfrey locked down Merlyn before Mr. Freeze stunned the 5-drop. No characters were lost, and Dan still led 38-24.

Dan had a boosted Scarecrow, Psycho Psychologist for turn 6. Ed had Terrax. At the start of combat, Dan paid 3 to Scarecrow. In response, Ed used Slaughter Swamp to return one of Dan’s Illusionary Warriors to his hand. He also played Enemy of My Enemy for nothing. Despite this, Scarecrow still hit him for 14. Dan sent Scarecrow into Terrax, and a third All Too Easy gave the 5-drop 26 ATK. Ed teamed up with Checkmate Safe House, used Terrax to stun Poison Ivy, and reinforced. Godfrey attacked Mr. Freeze, and Dan had the fourth All Too Easy. Ed used The Science Spire in an effort to find some answers. He didn’t have enough, though, and scooped up his cards.