“You have got to be kidding me.”

 

Those were the first words to escape Mike Dalton's mouth following the pairings for round 1. With over 300 players at the event, he somehow managed to find himself sitting opposite one of the other members of Team FTN (who is staying at his house) as he looks to go one better on his performance at Amsterdam and walk away with the brass ring.

 

A card-for-card mirror against one of your teammates is not exactly ideal, but each player still seemed in pretty good humor at the start of the day.

 

Jason had the initiative but no recruit on turn 1, while Mike managed a Boliver Trask who fetched Hounds of Ahab before attacking unopposed. There has been a great deal of commentary on how important the turn 1 Boliver is in the mirror, and it looked like the PC finalist might have an early edge.

 

Hounds of Ahab came out for both players on turn 2, meaning that Mike had 3 points of attacking to a scant 2 from Jason. While having the odd initiative is typically favored in the mirror match for Sentinels, recruiting Boliver Trask (fetching Sentinel Mark V) as the only play on turn 3 is not the ideal recruit, and Jason made a wry smirk as it hit the board.

 

Dalton continued to curve out beautifully with a Sentinel Mark II that took the cowardly custard approach and stood behind Boliver Trask. Jason's Hounds of Ahab beat up Boliver Trask on Mike's side of the board, and Dalton duly swung back with Sentinel Mark II on his opponent's Boliver Trask. His Hounds then got their breakfast, KO'ing the 1-drop.

 

Sentinel Mark V proved a popular choice for turn 4, with each player bringing one into play. With the initiative, Mike team attacked with Boliver and his new robot into his opponent's only visible character. His Hounds then made short work of the body. After Jason's Hounds of Ahab attacked Boliver, it was onto turn 5.

 

Jason's chosen recruit was Sentinel Mark V, while a foil Nimrod with a repair counter came out for Mike.

 

“Your draw is just better than mine,” remarked Jason with a smirk.

 

Dawson's boosted Sentinel Mark V took on Dalton's Sentinel Mark II, but Dalton had a Nasty Surprise for the machine. Jason cursed the lack of an Overload in his hand or resource row and faced a mutual stun. His Hounds of Ahab sat idle while Mike's just kept on eating. The attacks back from Dalton took Dawson down to 18 endurance, while his opponent remained on 37.

 

When Bastion came out for Dalton on turn 6, Jason Dawson scooped.

 

Michael Dalton wins.