Harvey is a 23-year-old student of piano at Westminster Park College. He’s running Syndicate/Crime Lords.

De Rosa is also 23 years old and is also running Syndicate/CL. The resident of Florida, when asked what he does, replied, “Not a whole lot. I’ve graduated from college, so I’m being a bum!” With a big grin, he began the match.

Both players kept their opening hands, and after a minimal exchange of formalities, Harvey took the initiative and began. Mendel Stromm hit the field, and after De Rosa passed his build, Stromm took a shot at him for 2 endurance.

De Rosa would start fighting back on turn 2, recruiting Cobra and searching his deck for a Mr. Hyde—a strong opening. He’d need it, as Hammerhead joined the fray on Harvey’s side. Cobra swatted him, and play moved to turn 3.

Harvey recruited Rhino, giving De Rosa cause for some pause and consideration of his resource. Settling on one after a minute of thought, he then labored a bit over his recruit before settling on a Hammerhead and Mendel Stromm of his own! He formed up into an L, protecting Hammerhead with Mendel, and braced for Harvey’s attack.

Harvey was placed in a difficult position. He had a distinct advantage in the form of Rhino over Cobra but didn’t seem to know how best to exploit it—De Rosa’s Stromm in particular seemed to make it a hard call, as Stromm’s effect could change the field at a moment’s notice. Harvey finally settled on sending Hammerhead after Cobra, and each took a stun, leaving the endurance totals at 46 to 41 in favor of Harvey. The Stromms collided, and finally Rhino charged at Hammerhead—but Blown to Pieces guaranteed the double stun! With both players’ boards completely stunned, we finally got our answer as to why De Rosa didn’t activate Stromm’s effect earlier—he needed to prevent a team attack in order to equalize the boards. Harvey kept Rhino, while De Rosa kept Hammerhead.

De Rosa recruited a Rhino of his own on turn 4, but Harvey came down hard with another Mendel Stromm, Stilt-Man, and Chameleon. “Dear God . . .” muttered De Rosa. He sent Hammerhead after Rhino with a No Fear, putting the score at 33 to 31 (Harvey couldn’t reinforce, as he had all his characters up front). “Rhino attacks . . .” De Rosa thought long and hard, setting his chin on his hand and his elbow on the table, “ . . . Stilt-Man.” He flipped Crime and Punishment and passed. In response, Harvey flipped Honor Among Thieves, putting Harvey at 22 and De Rosa back in the lead at 28. Stromm and Chameleon attacked, though, reducing De Rosa to 23. By the end of the turn, it was Hammerhead versus Rhino, Stromm, and Chameleon.

Next turn, Harvey recruited Carnage, opting to lower himself to 18 endurance for Rhino’s maintenance—he definitely seemed set to get the better end of both deals. However De Rosa threw him a bit of a curve, recruiting Owl with boost to take Chameleon. He spent some time debating how best to form up, hovering between an L position or a back row defensive. He eventually opted for the former, with Owl protecting Chameleon. Rhino charged at Owl, who was promptly reinforced by Chamelon, resulting in a double-stun. De Rosa thought that he had overcome Harvey’s biggest threat, but Stromm then swung at Hammerhead. Two No Fears, an Uprising, and a second Honor Among Thieves later, De Rosa scooped.

Match Win – Eugene Harvey