Another round, another Dave Spears feature match. After an interesting draft, he ended up with what is essentially a Darkseid’s Elite deck, with a little splash on certain drops. The Team Realms stalwart figured he’ll need a 7-2 record today to move on, banking that 15 wins will get him into the Top 8.

His opponent, local player Vidianto Wijaya, agreed. Also sitting on an 8-2 record, he said he’ll need seven more wins to make Day 3. He's not satisfied with merely making Day 2, itself an impressive feat for someone who only started playing in August. He's got his eyes firmly on the prize. With three Sealed PCQ titles under his belt, he's gotten used to winning. Vidianto made Day 2 with the same deck that Andrew Yip won his final PCQ with—although he forgot to replace one of the cards he had meant to! Vidianto drafted a solid Team Superman/Revenge Squad deck.

Vidianto won the coin toss and chose to go first. Neither player opened with a 1-drop. Dave dropped Shaligo on turn 2, and Vidianto followed suit with Encantadora. Dave attacked, getting the double-stun and tying the game at 48.

Turn 3 was where the pain began. Vidianto played Superman, Red, while Dave missed his 3-drop altogether. Vidianto sent Encantadora into Shaligo. Dave countered with Narrow Escape, but Vidianto flipped I Hate Magic!, and Shaligo was toast. Then, a straight attack from Superman, beefed up by his cosmic counter, and it was Vidianto 46, Dave 37.

On turn 4, Dave tried to stage a comeback by dropping Bernadeth. Vidianto responded with Metallo, and ironically used him to protect Superman. He placed Encantadora in support, then flipped Metropolis to team up Team Superman and Revenge Squad. Dave rose to the challenge. He sent Shaligo into Superman, causing the double stun, and making Superman lose his Cosmic counter. He then sent Bernadeth at Encantadora and wrecked her. It was Vidianto 36, Dave 35.

Vidianto was not one to stand idly by and watch his squad get decimated. He sent Metallo forward to eliminate Bernadeth, causing the double stun, and forcing Dave to lose at least one character. Still, the net result was that Dave regained a little advantage, forcing Vidianto to lose two characters to his one. Vidianto recovered Metallo and Dave saved Bernadeth. After four turns, it was Vidianto 32, Dave 29.

On turn 5, Vidianto looked to regain his advantage. He recruited Brainiac 2.5, whose ability to weaken most opponents is invaluable. Both Brainiac and Metallo stood in the front row, ready for battle. Dave responded with Steppenwolf, recruiting him behind Bernadeth, waiting for the inevitable. Brainiac hit first, plowing into Bernadeth. Because of Brainiac’s ability, only Bernadeth stunned, dropping Dave to 22 endurance and forcing another character deficit. Metallo was next, targeting Steppenwolf. Dave powered-up Steppenwolf, but Vidianto flipped Super Strength ensuring a double-stun. Dave chose to recover Steppenwolf, and the totals were Vidianto 28, Dave 16.

Dave's back was against the wall on turn 6. He brought out Kanto, arming him with a Beta Club and placing him in the front row, protecting Steppenwolf. Vidianto played Kara Zor-El ◊ Supergirl and placed her in front of Metallo, with Brainiac in support. Dave strategized, then Steppenwolf stepped up and launched an attack at Metallo. Vidianto elected to reinforce with Brainiac, accepting a double-stun with no breakthrough. With a 13-endurance deficit on his hands, Dave attacked Kara with Kanto. Dave, figuring that a double-stun would cause Steppenwolf’s demise anyhow, flipped Armagetto and KO’d Steppenwolf to give Kanto a +5 ATK/+5 DEF boost. Kanto survived. Even though Kara was invulnerable, he still scored 5 breakthrough and then 6 extra endurance loss on top of that due to the Beta Club. Dave had eliminated the character advantage once again. Vidianto recovered Kara. The game was close, Vidianto at 13, Dave at 11.

It was a valiant effort, but turn 7 was the kicker. Vidianto hit his 7-drop, recruiting Eradicator, Soul of Krypton. He placed all of his characters in the front row, ready to swarm. Dave recruited Kalibak, placing him in support behind Kanto. Dave said, “I can even tell you how to attack. Actually, I guess you could not attack—that would be good,” the ever present grin on his face widening. “How would you arrange them? To make the minus on my life as small as possible . . . ” Dave didn’t wait for an answer, and just scooped, knowing it would be impossible to win this one.