The players wasted no time shuffling up and beginning the first game. This match pits Niles Rowland’s Squadron Supreme deck against Dorian Cuellar’s unorthodox Sentinels build.

Game 1

Dorian won the roll and chose to take the odd initiatives. Both player kept their hands without hesitation. Dorian had no first turn play, while Niles played Ape X, fetching Dual Sidearms. He chose not to equip it and attacked Dorian for 1. He had the initiative on the next turn and recruited Tom Thumb in the visible area. Tom got the Sidearms, becoming much bigger in the process, and he joined Ape X in the front row. Dorian had Hounds of Ahab in the hidden area. Niles team attacked for 6, and Dorian beat back into Ape X with his Hounds. 48–43 Niles.

Dorian passed with no recruit on turn 3—things weren’t looking good for him. Niles considered his play for a moment and eventually decided to play AIDA from his hand before recruiting a character. He then played Lady Lark, setting her in the front row next to Tom Thumb. Ape X hid behind Tom, so Dorian had no attacks. Niles attacked directly for 12, and that was the turn. Niles maintained an endurance lead of 48–31.

Niles had the initiative on the fourth turn and had both Joystick and a Thunder Jet for Lady Lark. All of his characters were set in the front row. Dorian played Null Time Zone naming Panacea Potion and then recruited Sentinel Mark V. Before Niles had a chance to attack, Dorian played Flame Trap, stunning most of Niles’s board. Niles attacked his remaining Lady Lark into Dorian’s Mark V, and as all characters in play were stunned, the turn was over. Niles still led 39–25.

Dorian kicked off the fifth turn with Reconstruction Program on Hounds of Ahab. He re-recruited the Hounds, as well as a Sentinel Mark II. The Mark II went behind the Mark V, and he passed his recruit. Niles played Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke from his resource row and set him behind Lady Lark. Dorian’s first attack brought the Mark II into Lady Lark; Niles took 3 stun damage and an additional 2 for the cards in his hand. Dorian’s next attack brought his Mark V into Albert with help from No Man Escapes the Manhunters. After the attack was legal, Niles discarded Airskimmer, targeting Albert. He then used Panacea Potion to recover Lady Lark. The Mark V was brick-walled, which was bad news for Dorian. Niles flipped Rocket Central and attacked Dorian back directly for 17. Niles almost had the game at this point; he led 34–1.

On turn 6, Niles had the initiative but made no play. He simply moved his characters to the front row and passed the recruit. Dorian had Bastion, which he set behind the Mark V. Niles quickly declared a team-attack of both of his characters into Bastion, representing 29 points of ATK. Bastion went down, and Dorian had no way to overcome the huge endurance deficit. After re-checking his hand and resource row, Dorian conceded and Niles took the first game.

Game 2

Dorian once again had his choice of initiatives and took odds. Dorian kept his hand, while Niles mulliganed. Dorian had the Boliver Trask this time and searched out Sentinel Mark II when he came into play. Niles matched him with Ape X, fetching a Jetpack. Niles elected to keep the equipment in his hand. The characters stunned each other, and each player took 1 point of endurance loss.

Niles had the initiative on the second turn and recruited Shape. Jetpack was recruited to Shape, and both of Niles’s characters were pushed to the front. Dorian had no turn 2 play, and he lost 5 endurance to Niles’s attacks. Neither player had anything else to do, so that was the turn.

On turn 3, Dorian had the Mark II that he had searched for on turn 1. The Mark hid behind Boliver, and he passed the recruit. Niles had another Ape X, KO’ing the copy he already had in play. This one searched out Dual Sidearms. Niles then played Tom Thumb and gave him a Thunder Jet. Ape X got the Sidearms and hid behind Shape, while Tom stayed next to Shape in the front. Dorian’s first attack was Boliver into Tom. No Man Escapes the Manhunters assured the double stun. Another No Man Escapes the Manhunters allowed Dorian’s Mark II to take down Shape. Ape X attacked directly into Dorian’s empty board, and the turn closed with Niles still leading 42–37. Dorian lost his Boliver in recovery, while Niles lost Tom Thumb.

Turn 4 was Niles’s initiative. He quickly recruited Golden Archer, pushed all of his characters to the front, and passed. Dorian kicked off his recruit with a Null Time Zone on Panacea Potion, signaling the Flame Trap. He next played Reconstruction Program on Boliver Trask. Boliver was replayed, fetching a Sentinel Mark V, and Dorian closed out his recruit step by playing another Mark II from his hand. The Mark IIs were set in the back row, while Boliver stayed up front. To start off his attacks, Niles attacked Ape X into Boliver. Dorian had nothing, and both characters stunned. Niles then played Other-Earth and took down both of Dorian’s remaining characters. The turn ended with Niles in possession of a commanding 41–19 lead.

Dorian led off turn 5 with Nimrod in front of his lone remaining Mark II. Dorian recruited Whizzer, maintaining his hand size of one. In response to the recruit, Dorian had another Null Time Zone, once again naming Panacea Potion. Niles was free to build, and he arranged his characters in such a way that Whizzer protected Ape X while Shape protected Golden Archer. Dorian’s first attack sent Mark II into Ape X with no resistance. His second attack brought Nimrod into Golden Archer. Niles activated the Archer to burn Dorian for 5, but had no attacks of his own. He maintained an endurance lead of 30–11.

Niles’s turn 6 play was an Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke from his resource row. All of his characters went to the front row, and then he passed. Dorian flipped and used Genosha before his recruit and found nothing better than a boosted Mark V to play. Dorian passed to combat, and Niles played Other-Earth. His first attack was Whizzer into the Mark II. Dorian had Nasty Surprise to stun back, but he still went to 0 from the attack. Niles then sent Albert into the Mark V—a few power-ups mitigated a few points of damage, and both characters stunned. A team-attack from Niles into Dorian’s remaining character was overkill as he claimed the game and match.

Niles Rowland wins and advances to the semifinals!