Matt Boccio has found himself in a very good position to make the Top 8 after going 6-0 in his first two draft pods. But the other players sitting at his table are no slouches—Matt’s joined by the cream of the crop here at this year’s Pro Circuit, including such names as Anthony Justice, Tim Batow, and up-and coming-pro Mike Sewell. The players all made small talk about who was likely to make the Top 8.

Matt’s first pack didn’t look all too impressive, as he stared down the hole at what looked to be mostly generic Villains United cards and a few other team-stamped cards. There was no obvious first pick, just archetypal cards that could end up being wasted picks later in the draft. Matt’s first pick was one that he would eventually admit to loving: Systematic Torture.

Matt seemed even more eager as he chose a copy of Black Adam, Teth-Adam over a Tricked-Out Sports Car that also inhabited the second pack. He followed that pick with Cheshire, Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive, and Sasha Bordeaux, Autonomous Prototype. At this point, it seemed like Matt wanted to go with Villains United, but there were many more picks to come.

Matt took a seventh-pick Deadshot, Dead Aim over Return Fire!, which he thought long and hard about. A ninth pick Sinestro, Villain Reborn over Join Us or Die seemed almost as painful.

During the second set of packs, Matt’s plan started coming together, with a first pick Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double over Bizarro, ME AM BIZARRO #1 and Laser Watch, and a second pick The Science Spire, which would be a great fit in the Villains United deck he was putting together.

Matt grabbed a fourth pick Grand Gesture after deliberating for a bit longer than usual—the Cheetah in the pack also held some appeal. A seventh pick Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant was a no-brainer, however, as Matt added it to his pile without looking at the rest of the cards in the pack. He rounded out his second pack picks for Villains United by choosing Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac over a much-contemplated Magical Lobotomy.

Pack three would make or break Matt’s draft . . . and luckily for him, it didn’t break anything at all. Matt grabbed a first pick T-Spheres out of a fairly weak pack, after considering taking Tricked-Out Sports Car.

The hardest decision that Matt faced the entire draft had to be his choice between Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature, Baddest of the Bad, and Justice United. He took the 3-drop his deck needed, but he didn’t look happy about having to pass the two powerful plot twists to get it. He was forced to make another tough pick later in the third set of packs when he was passed both No Mercy and Fatality, Flawless Victory; again, he took the character over the plot twist.

Matt rounded out his draft by taking Weather Wizard over Black Adam, Ruthless Hero and picking up a surprisingly late tenth-pick Count Vertigo. His last few selections were Mourn for the Lost (over Barbara Gordon ◊ Oracle, Data Broker) and Fiddler.

“I played Checkmate/Villains United on Day 1 and took it to a 7-3 record, so I knew I had to at least 7-2 my drafts today to have a chance at the Top 8,” Matt said, as he looked over his cards for synergies that he could exploit in the next three rounds.

“I started the draft off with Systematic Torture as my first pick, and I love Villains United—it’s definitely the strongest draft team in my opinion. That’s what I’ve been doing all day, just drafting Villains United,” Matt said, while looking over his character card pool and making his final cuts. “You can never really go wrong with Villains, even if you miss certain cards. When I saw The Science Spire I thought I was going to get a much stronger pack two, but I never really saw it.”

“I’ve drafted some sort of Villains United deck in all three drafts. In the first, one I drafted a lot of concealed guys, and later, not so much,” Matt commented, as he registered his deck, “but I’m 6-0 after the first two draft pods, so Villains United is treating me well. Checkmate seemed under-drafted in the second draft pod, in which I got more of a half-and-half Villains/Checkmate deck. This guy (Sinestro, Villain Reborn) in particular has been good to me.”

Matt Boccio

Pro Circuit: Indy 2006

Draft 3

Characters

2 Count Vertigo

1 Cheetah

2 Deadshot, Dead Aim

1 Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant

1 Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac

1 Parademon

1 Dr. Polaris, Force of Nature

2 Zazzala ◊ Queen Bee, Mistress of the Hive

1 Fatality, Flawless Victory

1 Sinestro, Villain Reborn

Plot Twists

1 Grand Gesture

1 Relentless Pursuit

1 Systematic Torture

1 Thanagarian Invasion

2 Return Fire!

1 Coercion

Locations

1 The Science Spire

1 House of Secrets

Equipment

1 T-Spheres