In this, the second-to-last round, I couldn’t resist covering a match between both of the players I did sealed deck profiles on. Bulk won the die roll and opted to take odds.
Bulk led off with a Surveillance Pawn in the hidden area. Dave had no recruit and passed. Surveillance Pawn attacked for 2 ATK, and Dave took the brunt of it.
On turn 2, Dave recruited Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac in the front row, and Bulk followed with Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman. Dave attacked with Ishmael into Wesley and then Bulk attacked with Surveillance Pawn directly.
Turn 3 came around, and Bulk recruited Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter in the front row. Dave set a resource and recruited Arthur Kendrick, equipping him with Laser Watch. Dave also flipped Brother Eye before passing to Bulk’s attack. Bulk attacked with Wesley Dodds into Ishmael Gregor ◊ Sabbac, and Dave flipped and activated Thanagar to give Ishmael an extra +1 DEF. Bulk then attacked with Surveillance Pawn into Ishmael, and then with Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter directly for 3 ATK. Dave attacked with Arthur Kendrick into Kate Spencer, and Bulk responded with Defend Yourself! for +6 ATK. Both players recovered and went on to turn 4.
Dave led off play with a resource and recruited Ahmed Samsarra in the hidden area behind Arthur Kendrick. Dave then equipped Ahmed with Cloak of Nabu and passed to Bulk’s build. Bulk recruited Amanda Waller in the hidden area and passed to Dave’s attack step. Dave attacked with Arthur Kendrick into Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter, and Bulk flipped Checkmate Safe House and reinforced with Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman. Dave attacked with Ahmed Samsarra, activating Brother Eye to give him an additional +2 ATK. Bulk concluded the turn’s action with a direct attack against Dave with Amanda Waller for a total of 8 ATK.
On turn 5, Bulk recruited Wonder Woman, Earth 2 in his front row and passed to Dave. Dave recruited Cheshire, Jade to his support row and equipped her with Amulet of Nabu. At the start of the combat phase, Bulk targeted Cheshire with Wesley Dodd ◊ The Sandman’s effect, exhausting her. He then declared Wonder Woman, Earth 2 into Cheshire causing both characters to stun. Finally, Bulk declared Wesley Dodds directly against Dave. In Dave’s attack step, he attacked with Arthur Kendrick into Wesley Dodds for 6 ATK total, stunning Dodds. Dave then announced Ahmed Samsarra directly for a total of 8 ATK, bringing Bulk down to 7 endurance to Dave’s 25 endurance.
On turn 6, Dave played Superman, Earth 2 in the front row protecting Cheshire, Jade. Bulk recruited Power Girl, Earth 2 and equipped her with Amulet of Nabu. He formed with both his characters in the support row and passed to Dave’s attack step. Dave let out a sigh as he carefully thought over his possible attacks. It was obvious that he wanted to have Cheshire ready so he could attack with her, but that just wouldn’t be the case thanks to Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman. “I don’t know if you can gain endurance,” Dave said as he continued to think through his options. Dave announced Arthur Kendrick into Wonder Woman, Earth 2 and then activated Brother Eye to give him +2 ATK. He then used Grand Gesture to return Cheshire, Jade to his hand and give Bulk’s Wonder Woman, Earth 2 -3 ATK / -3 DEF. The attack resolved putting Bulk down to 2 endurance to Dave’s 17 endurance. Dave then announced Superman into Power Girl, Earth 2, flipping a Burning Gaze to gain +2 ATK and activating Thanagar to give +1 DEF. Bulk looked at his hand for a short while and then promptly conceded. Dave Spears is well on his way to a Top 8 here at $10K San Francisco!
Winner: Dave Spears