It’s been a breakout tournament for Tim Batow. Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Batow has given solid performances on the PCQ circuit and placed 47th at PC Columbus, but he’s seen a success like this weekend. Much of the credit has to go to his unusual deck choice, My Beloved.
Cesar de Leon, meanwhile, just survived the Curve Sentinels mirror match against seasoned pro Vidi Wijaya. Cesar and Tim are playing for a spot in the coveted Finals and the opportunity to call themselves champion. Tim won the initiative and chose to play first.
Game 1
Tim started things off the right way, with Alfred Pennyworth coming to play. Spoiler ◊ Robin and Utility Belt joined him on turn 2. Cesar answered with Sentinel Mark III, and quickly did away with Alfred.
Turn 3 saw Jason Todd ◊ Robin join his namesake and Sentinel Mark II enter the fray, but when Spoiler attacked the Mark III, Cesar had three pumps waiting to upset Tim’s plans. Turn 4 saw the expected Sentinel Mark V come out for de Leon, opposed by Cassandra Cain Batgirl on Tim’s side. The ensuing attacks went well for Cesar, with South American Sentinel Base and two Savage Beatdowns winning him some tough battles.
When the dust settled at he end of turn 4, Cassandra Cain and Spoiler were facing a Mark V and a Mark III, and the score was 39-25 in Cesar’s favor. Tim played Lady Shiva and Cesar played a Mark V with boost. Cassandra Cain attacked the un-boosted 4-drop. Spoiler then attacked the Mark III, with the big Sentinel and Shiva stunning one another and leaving Cesar with only the 9 ATK/9 DEF Mark V.
Cesar tried to turn things around by playing Bastion with two cards in hand, but Tim kept up the pace with Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing. The Sentinel attacked Spoiler, taking Tim to 15, and the Bastion attacked Grayson with a pump. Batow was ready with an Acrobatic Dodge. Retaliation came when the 14 ATK/9 DEF Shiva attacked Bastion. Grayson then beat up on the Mark V, leaving the score 15 to 13 with Cesar in the lead.
Turn 7 saw Bane Ubu enter the fray, but Tim was a victim of timing—Cesar drew Magneto Master of Magnetism after starting the turn with one card in hand. South American Sentinel Base was working hard to keep de Leon in the style to which he’d become accustomed, making Bastion a powerhouse . . . but it wasn’t enough. Cesar was one card short of the necessary firepower to take Tim down, and knowing that he’d be facing two nasty attacks, he congratulated Batow on a good game.
Batow 1 – de Leon 0
Game 2
Cesar chose to play first in game 2, and both players mulliganed. This time, it was Cesar who had the good start, with Boliver Trask finding a Sentinel Mark III. The first three turns flew by for Cesar, with the appropriate curve Sentinels coming out on turns 2 and 3, while Batow played Alfred Pennyworth on turn 2 and the Huntress on turn 3. The Mark II attacked the Huntress, with both getting stunned, but Cesar’s Finishing Move got Fizzled.
Cassandra Cain and a Mark V came out on turn 4, but when Huntress tried to attack, she was sought and destroyed. The next turn saw another Mark V and Bane getting into things before the greatest comic book villain of all time, Ra’s Al Ghul Master Swordsman (who will be played by Ken Watanabe of Last Samurai Fame in Batman Begins), and Bastion came to play.
Fists and bodies were colliding all over the table, with Tim’s third Savage Beatdown of the game helping the Utility Belted Cassandra take on Bastion. Things didn’t get any prettier the next turn when Magneto made his inevitable appearance, but Bane KO’d Bastion, taking the score to 23 to 7 in Tim’s favor. After Cesar summoned a Mark V, his attacks took the score to 18 to 7, and Tim couldn’t attack into Magneto.
As big as Magneto looked, he was nothing compared to Ra’s Al Ghul, The Demon’s Head. At this point, Josh Wiitanen had lost his match, ensuring that the loser of this match would finish third. Cesar played Nimrod, to which Tim calmly said, “You don’t control a Sentinel character.” He was right, and Cesar was definitely caught unaware. This left Nimrod without a repair counter.
Ra’s attacked de Leon’s Mark V, taking the endurance totals to 18 and -7. Things looked grim for Cesar. A team attack took the scores to -12 to 15. Magneto attacked Cassandra Cain, with a power up and a Savage Beatdown to help him out, but it was only good for 22 ATK and left the final score at -7 to -15 in Tim’s favor.
Batow 2 – de leon 0
Batow now advances to the finals against Adam Prosak.