Tim Batow has had a great deal of Vs. System success, with a $10K Las Vegas championship trophy on his mantle and numerous Top 8 finishes on the circuit. Mike Dove has a $10K Top 8 of his own, and is on his way to revisiting Sunday. Batow is playing Cosmic Cops, while Dove has Green Lantern.

Batow had odds, and opened with Alfred Pennyworth. Dove played Tomar Tu, and Batow used Alfred to search up A Child Named Valeria after playing Spoiler, Stephanie Brown. Alfred came back out, and Tomar Tu attacked Spoiler to push through a little endurance loss. Alfred was activated again on turn 3, getting another copy of A Child Named Valeria, as Batow began to set up his game. Bat-Signal searched up Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, and she was recruited, followed by Alfred once again.

Dove flipped over Book of Oa, looking to get some pressure on the board. He played Olapet, followed by G’Nort. Tomar Tu went in front of G’Nort, while Olapet was in the back of the formation next to the Lantern dog. Dove’s attack on that turn stunned all of Batow’s characters, and after recovery, he was left with just Alfred. This happened on turn 3, meaning that Dove would follow up a strong turn by having the initiative. Still, up against Batow’s combo deck, he didn’t have much time. He played Ch’p, while Batow started to get the lock in place. He played Invisible Woman, The Invisible Girl, teamed up Gotham Knights and Fantastic Four, then played Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards. Alfred got A Child Named Valeria, and a copy of the plot twist was flipped over. Dove sent an attack to push a little endurance loss through, bringing Batow down to 35 endurance points.

Batow played Spoiler, and got a Catcher’s Mitt with Mr. Fantastic. It went on Reed, and Alfred found Cosmic Radiation. Alfred went back into play, along with a GCPD Officer. Dove played Kyle Rayner, Last Green Lantern, searching up Breaking Ground. He played Tomar Re, and went for another attack. Batow had another copy of A Child Named Valeria waiting, and this combined with the Mitt meant that Dove’s offense was rendered useless. He played Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, and Batow responded with Alfred, getting Cosmic Radiation. He added a Reed Richards activation to the chain, which produced nothing. Wanda came into play, and Dove’s attack was once again halted by A Child. Batman came into play on turn 7, along with a Utility Belt. Batow started exhausting characters to draw cards off Batman, and gain endurance with Spoiler. Have a Blast! took out Book of Oa, and time was running out for Dove. He played Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar, and put him behind Tomar Tu. This was significant, as Batow had exhausted all his characters except for Batman, and could not get through Tomar Tu to get to Sinestro.

Batow played Cosmic Radiation, and Dove chained Breaking Ground on Millennium. Dove got another Breaking Ground, and used it to take out Marvel Team-Up. In response, Batow put another Radiation onto the chain. This Radiation resolved, and Batow exhausted Spoiler to flip up another Millennium. He then exhausted all his characters to gain endurance and draw cards, before letting the Breaking Ground on the chain resolve on Marvel Team-Up. The second Radiation now resolved, and Batow continued to get far ahead with Batman and Spoiler. He was now at 57, with 21 cards in hand. Two more Radiations brought him up to 69 endurance, with 31 cards in hand.

Dove began turn 8 with the initiative, and his attempt to play The Ring Has Chosen was Fizzled. Emerald Dawn met the same fate, and when Batow had initiative, it was time for Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria. Batow turned all of his non-Team Up plot twists face down, signaling the final nail in the coffin.

Tim Batow wins.