This match started off with a lot of confusion, as Rob Dougherty was nowhere to be found. Mark was already entertaining hopes of a free win after the three minute limit expired, but with this match being a Feature Match and all, Rob wasn’t in danger quite yet. A team of judges was dispatched to get Mr. Dougherty, but he still proved elusive. Finally, a minute or two later he showed up by himself.

“The weirdest thing just happened. I sat down for my match and this dude showed up and his name sounded just like Mark. So we play and then after five minutes we realize we’re not playing the right opponent. Obviously it then took me another two minutes to find out I’m actually a feature match.”

That’s a lesson for all you kids at home. Communicate! Of course, Rob then tried to sit opposite me and went as far as to set up his deck before he realized I was behind a laptop. That guy sure knows who’s who.

After all the confusion, the match kicked off with Mark winning the die roll and choosing the even initiative.

Both players actually had one drops, with an Orb for Rob and a Dagger, Child of Light for Mark. Orb just sat there, and Dagger got in for first blood. Turn 2 saw Mark flip Midnight Sons and play Roscoe Sweeny to get Lacuna, allowing him to get all the team ups he wanted as soon as he’d need them. Rob went the less flashy route, playing Wild Ride to get Iron Fist. Iron Fist bashed Roscoe, but that was the only combat on turn 2. Mark still had an effect, though, as he flipped Sold Out to steal Rob’s Orb.

Rob’s turn 3 was spent recruiting Brother Voodoo. Mark countered with a Stick fetched by Roscoe, who then stepped in front of Stick to provide cannon fodder. Brother Voodoo crushed poor little Roscoe, and Iron Fist got a little help from Evil Awakens to stun Stick as well. Rob finished his turn by offing his stolen Orb with Mikado and Mosha, leaving Mark with three stunned characters. He saved Roscoe.

Bullseye and Centurious were the next two plays for Mark and Rob. Mark wasted no time attacking Brother Voodoo with Bullseye, but that didn’t give him any other options but to say pass. Roscoe took another beating, as Centurious was the next in line to stomp the little man into the ground, causing a lot of endurance loss for Mark.

Turn 5 kickstarted the match into a higher gear as the big boys finally came out to play. Rob had Blade, The Daywalker, and Mark had Deathwatch. It was Rob’s initiative, and after some thinking, he figured out a way to leave Mark almost helpless. First, Iron Fist got Roscoe out of the equation. Centurious then swung into the exposed Deathwatch and got powered-up twice with a little help from Evil Awakens, and Voodoo finished it off with Crime and Punishment to stun Bullseye, leaving Mark’s entire team stunned. That left Blade free to attack Mark directly, leaving him with just Deathwatch and 5 endurance to Rob’s Blade, Centurious, Iron Fist, and a healthy 30 endurance to back those up.

Turn 6 was do-or-die time for Mark. He played Mephisto, Soulstealer and another Roscoe Sweeney and crossed his fingers. Rob’s Luke Cage, Power Man left his fingers with a lot of work to do if he was going to survive this turn. In the end, despite Mark’s best efforts, Mark lacked the necessary plot twists to punch through all Rob’s defenses, and just the stun endurance loss from the combat was enough to put him at a negative endurance score.

Rob 1 – Mark 0