Richard Hoaen is a young yet experienced TCG player who has made a significant amount of money in tournaments over the last few years. His opponent in the first round, Israel Quiroz, may be the most-watched player in the entire tournament today. He absolutely exploded on the competitive Vs. scene last week, making the Top 4 of $10K Chicago Comic Con with a very unique Doom/Fearsome Five deck that abuses Dr. Light and Shimmer with Marvel Team-Up. As exciting as Quiroz’s deck was, he mentioned that he might not play it again, and that he had something even crazier in the works. Still, it’s hard to argue with success, and he’s armed with the same deck this weekend. Hoaen is playing Fantastic Four.

Game 1

Hoaen had Luke Cage on turn 2, and Quiroz played Puppet Master. Tech Upgrade allowed Hoaen to get Fantasticar, and Quiroz told Hoaen to “Feel the wrath of Kristoff!” as mini-Doom came out on turn 3. Hoaen’s Signal Flare got 3-drop Thing, which came right into play. Kristoff was in front of Puppet Master and took an attack from Thing, which caused 5 total endurance loss to Quiroz. Puppet Master was then activated, and Hoaen responded with Tech Upgrade to get Fantasticar. Quiroz played two Faces of Doom to get two Diabolic Geniuses, and Hoaen played the 4-drop Wolverine. Doom came out, and Quiroz used chain tricks to use Mystical Paralysis and flip it face down. This exhausted Wolverine, and Thing went after Kristoff once more. This time, Reign of Terror bounced him back, and Puppet Master was able to exhaust Luke Cage.

The Mystical Paralysis was used again to exhaust Wolverine, and Quiroz played another Doom to flip it over once again. It was now turn 5, so Mr. Fantastic came into play, and Hoaen had three Fantasticars to go along with him.

Quiroz, pointing: “That’s cheating!”

Thanks to a fresh Mystical Paralysis and Doom, Hoaen’s characters were once again held back. Hulk came out on turn 6, and Hoaen put a fourth Fantasticar into play. Quiroz used The Underworld Star to search out Dr. Light, and played another Doom to get Paralysis ready for use again. Reign of Terror bounced Luke Cage, and Paralysis and Puppet Master did their thing, which resulted in only Wolverine getting through for an attack. Quiroz played Dr. Light on the following turn, and when Hoaen played She-Hulk, Quiroz responded with Entangle and a Puppet Master activation. This caused Wolverine and Mr. Fantastic to become exhausted. She-Hulk then came into play, and Hoaen played a 3-drop Thing as well. Quiroz sent Doom after Thing and gave him a power-up. Hoaen had a power-up of his own, and Doom was stunned.

Hoaen now was free to attack with Hulk, She-Hulk, and Thing, and they all flattened Quiroz’s characters, which were far smaller by comparison. It also caused all of Quiroz’s characters to become stunned, and he was barely hanging on at 1 endurance point. A turn later, he conceded.

Hoaen 1, Quiroz 0


Game 2

Quiroz played a first turn Boris, and Hoaen had She-Thing on turn 2. Quiroz’s Puppet Master exhausted it, and Hoaen responded with Tech Upgrade to Fantasticar. She-Hulk came out and attacked Boris to get some endurance loss through, while Puppet Master stopped the other would-be attacker. Hoaen played Invisible Woman on turn 4, and Quiroz had Dr. Doom with chain tricks to get a free Faces of Doom. Invisible Woman attacked Dr. Doom, and Quiroz used a power-up. Hoaen added It’s Clobberin’ Time! to the chain, and Doom was stunned. She-Thing attacked Boris, so he was activated to get Reign of Terror. This bounced She-Thing, and Puppet Master minimized the damage. Quiroz played Robot Destroyer, and Hoaen had Mr. Fantastic with two Fantasticars. Robot Destroyer stunned Invisible Woman, and Dr. Doom attacked She-Thing. Mr. Fantastic was next to her in the support row and was exhausted to reinforce.

Hoaen lamented for lack of a Hulk on turn 6, and only had She-Hulk. Quiroz responded with Entangle and Puppet Master, making She-Hulk the only ready character in play. Hoaen used his remaining resource points to play a 3-drop Thing, and Quiroz had Dr. Light. Thing attacked Robot Destroyer, and It’s Clobberin’ Time! pushed combat in Hoaen’s favor. She-Hulk went after Puppet Master, bringing Quiroz down to 22. It was now his attack, and Dr. Light went after Invisible Woman, causing her to become stunned. Doom attacked She-Hulk, but Hoaen had Acrobatic Dodge to protect her.

Qurioz used Avalon Space Station to get back Kristoff and played him along with another Robot Destroyer. Hoaen played a 5-drop Thing, and Fantasticar was moved to him. A Destroyer and Invisible Woman got into combat, and the Destroyer was activated when she was powered-up. The other Robot Destroyer attacked She-Hulk, and a power-up resulted in both becoming stunned. It was now Hoaen’s turn to attack, and Mr. Fantastic went after and stunned Doom. Thing was exhausted thanks to Entangle, and Hoaen used Have a Blast! to deal with Avalon Space Station. A turn later, with the dominant board, Hoaen was able to force through enough endurance loss to win the match.

Final Result: Hoaen defeats Quiroz, 2-0