Nick Little has done well at all three of the past PC events. He's piloting a well-teched Common Enemy build. His opponent is Toronto's Jeff Gerstl, who is running the mono-GK deck that the city loves so much.

 

Little opted to begin with the initiative after cleverly guessing the secret number that Gerstl had written on a piece of crumpled paper—there were 309 pro Vs. players and not a single die among them. No one hit a drop on turn 1, but on turn 2, She-Thing smashed face on Gerstl's Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle. Little followed up with a Signal Flare for Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.

 

“What the—?”

 

“It's Luke Cage.”

 

“I know what it is. I'm just trying to figure out what you're doing.”

 

“He might have a friend with him.”

 

“Is it Boris?”

 

“It might be.”

 

It was, and once he hit the field, Gerstl recruited Spoiler ◊ Robin, who swung in against She-Thing. Luke Cage mauled Barbara Gordon, who quickly Bat-Signalled for Lady Shiva, Sandra Woosan. Oracle went down and stayed down.

 

Next turn, Little recruited Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius, while Gerstl recruited Cassandra Cain ◊ Batgirl. Spoiler attacked Boris, but Reign of Terror cut the attack short.

 

“Well, I didn't see that one coming,” commented Gerstl sarcastically.

 

“Wow, you sure are stupid,” replied Little, not skipping a beat.

 

Cassandra then hit Boris, who was quickly reinforced. Little did not attack back.

 

On turn 5, Little recruited Thing, Heavy Hitter before pressing everyone but Doom into the front row. Pushing Boris to the front might have come in handy for attacking Lady Shiva. Indeed, that's what Little attempted until a Flame Trap in response to his attack forced him to use Boris to grab Mystical Paralysis. She-Thing and Luke Cage got pounded by the merciless flames, leaving Thing and Dr. Doom on Little's side. Thing wrecked Batgirl, Little flipped Doom's Throne Room and hit nothing, and combat concluded for the turn.

 

Next turn, Gerstl recruited Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Defender of Bludhaven.

 

“What is wrong with you people today playing Common Enemy?” Little grinned.

 

“Well, I'm just stupid. That's my excuse.”

 

Little finally flipped his deck's namesake team-up card and attempted to Signal Flare, but Fizzle robbed him of his turn-drop. Mystical Paralysis then nailed Nightwing, and Little recruited Dr. Doom, Victor Von Doom. In response to Doom coming into play, Gerstl gave Shiva a Flying Kick. Shiva leapt over Thing to nail Victor Von Doom, and though Little had a power-up, Gerstl had yet another Flying Kick. Little couldn't prevent the inevitable, but he did make the most of it by using Tech Upgrade with the ill-fated Doom in order to grab Kevlar Body Armor. Cassandra Cain then took off after Thing and scored the double-stun thanks to her effect. Cassie and Thing were lost by the end of the turn.

 

Little recruited Ghost Rider and gave him Kevlar Body Armor. Gerstl came closer to hitting his curve and recruited Azrael, Jean Paul Valley with boost. Little's Dr. Doom attacked Nightwing, and Doomstadt kept him up. She-Thing and Ghost Rider then team attacked Lady Shiva, leaving Azrael to attack Ghost Rider.

 

Next turn, Gerstl recruited Apocalypse and quickly passed. Little had very little to say, and he recruited Robot Destroyer. Apocalypse shattered a pair of resources (including the team-up), and combat began.

 

After a long, long period of thought, Gerstl announced an attack of Apocalypse against Dr. Doom. Mystical Paralysis prevented the attack. Shiva traded with Doom, but Robot Destroyer with Savage Beatdown took down Nightwing. That was just barely enough for game.

 

Nick Little wins and goes 2-0 for feature matches today!