In round 4, the trend of non-Sentinels doing well continued. The top tables contained a variety that is representative of the field as a whole—that is to say, diverse. Teen Titans was one of the decks that many Vs. pundits were pushing as potential victors this weekend, and Jonas Bodmann, the local boy in this matchup (despite being from Berlin), had put his faith in them. The visitor? Edoardo Dalla Via, a native of Padua, Italy, who is taking the opportunity to rattle his Vs. sabre now that he no longer works for UDE customer service and is allowed to play in tournaments.
The first recruit of the game came from Edoardo, who recruited Talia, Beloved Daughter to fetch Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis. Who says that starter decks are underpowered? Bodmann had Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective. Flying Fortress from the Italian ensured that his girl could successfully beat in, though Tamaran did stem a small amount of damage for the German.
On turn 3, Jonas was out of luck with his characters in spite of some help from USS Argus. Edoardo had a Mountain Stronghold to help him out, and he fetched Hook with it. While Tim Drake successfully attacked into Talia, Hook had his revenge on the boy wonder, leaving Bodmann with an empty board—the ultimate goal of the new League of Assassins build.
This board advantage seemed set to continue when Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis joined Edoardo’s side. Without characters, Jonas couldn’t recruit Terra, instead having to go with Red Star. Ra’s happily bashed into Red Star who—even with the Tamaran—was not up to the Flying Fortress on the other side of the board. A Ka-Boom! came too late to save the Russian teen, and again Bodmann’s board was laid bare.
On turn 5, which felt like a repeated turn 4, Red Star was again the recruit for Bodmann, while Edoardo had no recruits whatsoever. Red Star avenged his twin by beating up Ra’s for a turn, and play moved on to turn 6. Without ever having had the opportunity to play Terra, the USS Argus was clearly hurting for Bodmann.
Turn 6 saw no recruits from Dalla Via, while Bodmann had Garth ◊ Tempest. Hook and Talia both went for the freshly recruited Garth with a little help from Savage Beatdown. Garth returned Ka-Boom!, and a Heroic Sacrifice from Red Star kept the boy with a glint in his eye around.
Turn 7 saw Terra and Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective from Bodmann, while a foil Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar was the recruit from Dalla Via. With no flight on Bodmann’s team, the 6-drop could prove a dangerous threat. Red Star’s unstunnability would not save him from Sinestro’s wrath, as his ability triggers after a combat, which led to a little bit of consternation on the German side of the board.
“That’s ugly.”
“I disagree.”
Red Star attacked into Ra’s Al Ghul regardless, trying to clear a path to the Green Lantern. A power-up from Edoardo was met with a Tamaran activation from Jonas, which in turn saw another power-up from Edoardo, forcing a Savage Beatdown for the mutual stun. Ra’s had one last trick, though, as he exhausted to The Demon’s Head to fetch Lazarus Pit. With the path cleared, Sinestro’s smiling face stared down the remaining Titans, daring them to attack him. When they tried, Lazarus Pit KO’d to let Ra’s Al Ghul stand in the way. A Finishing Move stopped that plan, though, at the expense of an exhaustion from Tim Drake. Sinestro had definitely caused a lot of bother in this turn for Jonas, who even at best was losing more characters than he would have liked. Latverian Embassy was flipped by Edoardo, who also stopped a team-attack on his 6-drop with the aid of Tower of Babel. Garth returned Savage Beatdown and went in alone on Sinestro. A Ka-Boom! took down Latverian Embassy, and Terra took out Hook with her ability. The Savage Beatdown then came down, and Sinestro looked like a goner. A triple power-up on Sinestro was enough to bring it home for the Italian.
Edoardo Dalla Via wins.