Ryan Jones is a computer programmer from Long Beach, California who got to this point in the tournament by running over everyone who got in his way. He entered the elimination rounds as the first seed in the tournament, and his quarterfinals opponent posed little problem—Jones brushed him aside 2-0, earning thousands more dollars and putting him one step closer to the finals.
His opponent is Indonesian Vidi Wijaya. Wijaya, who has tried to suggest that he's bad at the Constructed side of the game, rode some strong draws to beat down Eugene Harvey in the quarterfinals and head to this semifinal matchup of old and new beatdown.
“Keeper? Bummer?” asked Wijaya. “Yeah, I'm going to mulligan,” admitted Jones, pulling four new cards from his deck.
Wijaya got the fast start he was looking for, playing Lorelei and Pyro on the first two turns to go along with The New Brotherhood and Savage Land. Jones, on the other hand, was heavily frustrated by his mulligan, as the new hand still lacked anything more than 3- and 4-drops. Unus and Mastermind squared off against Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal for turn 4 as Wijaya continued his relentless assault, raining down blows on Jones’s helpless little army. Roy stunned and was then KO'd by A Death in the Family, again giving Jones zero characters to Wijaya's teeming mass of undersized, overpowered men.
Vidi got cheeky on turn 5, flashing Jones both the Magneto in his hand and a buried Genosha on the board. Jones, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what direction to take with his build step. Jones played another Red Star to replace the one that got lost to bereavement the turn before, while Vidi did exactly what he showed Jones earlier by recruiting Magneto to his cause. Red Star attacked Mastermind, but Magneto ended things, stunning the Star. The rest of the Brotherhood swarmed over the still-warm corpse of the Titan to apply their beatings directly to Jones's dome.
Wijaya 1 - Jones 0
“What did you keep?” asked Jones.
“A 1-drop, Pyro, A Death in the Family, TNB.”
Jones again mulliganed to start game 2, and was again disappointed when his deck refused to provide him a 1- or 2-drop. Wijaya's start was slightly slower than last game—he had no Pyro to go along with his Lorelei, TNB and Savage Land—but he got in some good swings on the first two turns, regardless. Things suddenly looked much better for Jones when Roy Harper's recruitment went unmatched by Wijaya, particularly since Jones had just found an Overload to go along with the heavy hitters that would follow Roy into play.
“My hand is the nut low,” declared Wijaya, and he was right. Blob stepped up to put his bulky body to work, swinging into a fresh Terra during the attack. Jones decided the time was right to use Savage Beatdown and Overload, keeping the tubby wall from being useful for at least another turn. Garth ◊ Tempest meant Overload would be coming back each turn, creating real problems for Wijaya's whole deck.
I'd continue this sordid tale of Indonesian abuse, but the faint of heart wouldn't be around to hear the story of game 3.
Wijaya 1 - Jones 1
It was Wijaya's turn to mulligan, while Jones finally found an opening hand with both a 2- and 3-drop on the first try. He played a 1-drop and The New Brotherhood, and bashed for 3, just like the other two games. Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective and a boosted Hank Hall ◊ Hawk sent forth burly beatings on turns 2 and 3, while Wijaya's deck flipped him the bird a second time, delivering much less than the daily recommended allowance of weenies to go along with his two TNBs. Blob tried to staunch the flow of blood, but team attacks is what Titans do best, and he was taken down with a minimum of fuss. The score now was Jones at 46, Wijaya at 29.
Garth and Magneto showed up at the proper time, entering the fray on turn 5 for their respective players. Wijaya looked like he might even out the endurance race, but Savage Beatdowns, plus Overload on Magneto, meant the final turn was a mere formality.
“Do you have a Go?” asked Wijaya. Jones flashed two from his resource row, and Wijaya just shook his head, extending his hand in congratulations to the new PC Los Angeles finalist. “Damn it,” said Wijaya. “If I had just had a 3-drop in game 2, I think I wreck you there. Oh well . . . best of luck in the finals.”
Jones 2 - Wijaya 1