When it was time to choose a match to cover, I picked the quarterfinal with Hans Höh, who is probably the most famous German player. I would really like to write something about Hans's "comeback," but I guess that would be wrong. Hans was never gone, and he dominated the first day of the tournament!

Both players were introduced to each other and I did my best to get write Vasilis's name right, but unfortunately, without the help of Hans showing me a decklist with the correctly spelled name, I would have failed. After showing off some shuffling skills, both players were ready to start the game.

Vasilis won the die roll and decided to go first. Hans had four characters on his opening hand, so it was not all too surprising that both players took the mulligan. Nobody wanted to recruit on turn one, so play advanced to the second turn, where Hans failed to recruit a character again.

Vasilis recruited Dane Whitman from the resource row, dealing 3 endurance loss, after Hans gave him five with Surprise Attack.

On turn 3, Vasilis hit his curve with some help from Quicksilver. Hans thought about his choices for some time—with four plot twists, one equipment, Shape and Lady Lark on his hand, he had some options.

After some consideration, he put a plot twist in the resource row, recruited another Lady Lark from the Resource Row (power-up, here he comes) and put Shape down. A Thunder Jet equipped the Lady, so Hans was able to deal some more damage.

Vasilis advanced to the attack step and sent his Quicksilver after Lady Lark. Hans powered up, but a Heroes in Reserve (showing Wonder Man, Hercules and Rick Jones) from Vasilis ensured the stun and 8 endurance loss.

On turn four, the German recruited Golden Archer from the resource Row, putting down his last character from his hand.

The Archer was equipped with a Thunder Jet and was put in front of Lady Lark, protecting her. Vasilis recruited Rick Jones, sending Hercules to the KO'd pile and then there came his "normal recruit" of Hawkeye.

After Vasilis's formation step, Dane Whitman protected Quicksilver, who was standing right next to Hawkeye in the support row. Hans advanced to his attack step, sending Golden Archer after Quicksilver. Vasilis considered his choices and then played another Heroes in Reserve, showing four reservists, and then he reinforced with Hawkeye] to save some endurance loss.

Vasilis had one card left in his hand. The attack succeeded, so Vasilis lost 3 endurance and Hans lost 4. Lady Lark was sent after Hawkeye, Hans activated Mega-Blast and Vasilis activated Rick Jones, proving once more that he's a true hero's best friend.

With some help of Answer the Call and Panacea Potion, Hans recovered Golden Archer and searched for Whizzer. Vasilis kept Hawkeye, and in turn five, She-Hulk showed up in the front row, right by the side of Dane Whitman and protecting Hawkeye.

Vasilis concentrated hard and considered his choices carefully. he took a look around the beautiful location, but came back just in time to watch Hans's recruits. The German recruited Whizzer and after his formation step, the Speedster protected Lady Lark, standing right by Golden Archer's site in the support row.

A Flying Kick showed Dane Whitman how to fly, then Vasilis annouced an attack on Lady Lark to break Hans's formation. The Black Knight hit the good lady for 6 endurance loss, leaving Hans at 22 endurance. She-Hulk attacked  Whizzer who got knocked down,and Vasilis replaced Wonder Man to save some endurance. Vasilis' last attack was Hawkeye on Golden Archer, Hans showed Panacea Potion, recovered Whizzer, and activated the Archer's effect for 6 endurance loss. After the double-stun, Hans sent Whizzer after Vasilis, much to the dislike of the Greek. Hans took some time to think about his possible pumps. Vasilis was at 23 endurance, so it might be crucial to not use every pump available.

It was almost silent at this moment. We only heard the waterfall in the back . . . and then Hans decided to not further increase the stats of his Whizzer, hitting Vasilis for 10 endurance.

We entered the last turn of this match with both players being very close to each other. Hans was at 9 endurance, while Vasilis was sitting at a not-too-comfortable lead with 13 endurance.

Hans did some math, set an Ape X in the resource row, played Answer the Call and searched out Albert Gaines, recruited the Atomic Powerhouse and then did some tricks in the formation step.

First Hans moved Whizzer to the support row, then played Mega-Blast on the Speedster. After that tricky move, Hans sent him back to the front row.

Maybe you aren't quite as impressed at this as I was. Vasilis didn't look to be impressed either, so he asked a judge to confirm that the move was legal. Simone, one of our judges, assured him that there's no problem and Hans said that he could leave Whizzer in the support row, if that would make Vasilis happier.

After Hans's formation step, Albert Gaines protected Golden Archer standing right to Whizzer's side in the support row.

Vasilis recruited Wonder Man and showed five reservists. He stunned the Archer, but not after Hans dealt 6 endurance loss via the Archer's effect.She-Hulk protected Wonder Man in the support row, and Hans asked about the Reservists, just to make sure that actually every character revealed was a reservist, but the move was fine. The game could not be closer as Hans was sitting at 5 endurance and Vasilis kept his short lead with only 7 endurance.

The German considered his attacks and announced Whizzer on Wonder Man after a Flying Kick to ensure the legality of the attack. The stun succeeded and Rick Jones reinforced with his effect, then Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke took She-Hulk down for 6 endurance loss, after Vasilis used the effect of the Gamma Bombshell to save some endurance. That was still not enough to keep the lead, so the first game ended with Hans on 0 endurance and Vasilis down on -5 endurance.

Hans Joachim Hoh 1, Vasilis Giannoglou 0

Game Two

The players talked about the first game and Hans asked Vasilis if he would have guessed that the German missed his first two drops.

It looked like the pressure on Hans's gone for good (at least as long as he was leading), because he was keeping up the conversation and entertaining the audience.

Vasilis showed some special shuffling moves and then he started off this second game. He kept his opening hand and Hans thought about his. With two Other-Earth, he decided to mulligan in order to get four new cards.

Vasilis started the recruits with Beast and Hans missed his first drop again. On turn two, the German presented Shape. If he put down his Melissa Gold ◊ Songbird, Sonic Carapace, he could drop all his cards in hand, but Melissa couldn't provide much help this game.

Hans kept Melissa on his hand, recruited Shape and equipped him (or it?) with Thunder Jet, and passed. Vasilis recruited Natasha Romanoff ◊ Black Widow  and moved both of his characters to his support row. Hans attacked with Shape and went for the Black Widow. A power-up dealt some extra-damage and only Natasha got stunned, while Beast reinforced the Super Spy.

The game advanced to turn  three with both players at 48 endurance, Vasilis recruited Black Panther and revealed three reservists, making T'Challa a huge 3-drop with 7 ATK and 6 DEF. Hans recruited Melissa Gold and equipped her with Jetpack, then he moved Melissa in his support row and protected her with Shape.

Vasilis announced a team attack with Beast and Natasha Romanoff ◊ Black Widow, stunning Shape and Melissa Gold with Natasha's effect. Black Panther hit Hans hard for an additional 7 endurance loss.  After Hans wasted a Flying Kick on the defense, he was able to use Panacea Potion on Shape, then in another chain, he played Answer the Call got him another Golden Archer.

On turn four, Hans considered his choices again, then he recruited Golden Archer, after he put another Golden Archer down in his Support Row, leaving him with a Shape on his hand. Shape protected his new friend Golden Archer, who was standing next to Melissa Gold in the support sow. Vasilis recruited Hawkeye, again hitting his curve. The Archer stood right to Natasha Romanoff in the support row, and the spy was protected by Beast.

Hans thought about his attacks for a bit. Shape should be able to take down Beast, but with a little help from Hawkeye, Vasilis was strong on his defense. Shape got stunned, then Hans gave Golden Archer range with Flying Kick and sent him after Natasha Romanoff. Vasilis activated Heroes in Reserve revealing four reservists, so he ensured the double stun. The German was down on 31 endurance, compared to 36 endurance for Vasilis. Melissa Gold went after Beast and Vasilis could pull off another Heroes in Reserve for the next double-stun, so the field looked bloody and there were only Black Panther and Hawkeye left. T'Challa hit Hans for 7 again before the game advanced to turn five.

Vasilis had the advantage on the board with three characters, compared to only the Golden Archer on Hans's side of the field, the Greek thought about his recruits for some time and eventually played Rick Jones, discarding another Hero's best friend from his hand. She-Hulk from his hand protected Hawkeye, standing right next to Natasha Romanoff in the support row. Hans recruited Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke and formed up. The Archer was battling on the front, protecting the Atomic Powerhouse in the support row, I guess you wouldn't see that on a real battlefield.

Black Panther attacked Golden Archer, Hans played Mega-Blast on Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke from his hand, before the Archer dealt 6 endurance loss. Then he reinforced and waited for another attack. Vasilis was back on the endurance lead with 19, but Hans was close behind with 18.

After Vasilis took some time to consider his next attack, Hans asked, "My combat?"

The Greek replied, "No, no, no!" She-Hulk went for Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke, but Vasilis passed. Hans did too, and so both characters got stunned. Hawkeye, Natasha Romanoff and Rick Jones hit Hans for another 12 endurance loss, leaving him with only 4.

The game will probably end on turn 6 again, with Hans controlling the initiative. The German recruited Golden Archer from the resource row and his math skills had to work for him again. With Hawkeye on his side, Vasilis had a really good position to win this game, because Hans's little characters wouldn't be much of a threat—but this game wasn't over yet.

Hans equipped the Archer with a Thunder Jet, Vasilis recruited Wonder Man, used his effect and revealed five reservists. Hans chained for some burn and then Vasilis formed up. Wonder Man protected Natasha Romanoff and they were standing right next to She-Hulk in front of Hawkeye].

With Rick Jones being able to give reinforcement where it's needed, Vasilis should have won this game outright. Hans wasn't so sure about that, because he thought about his possible attacks for some time. Maybe an Other-Earth could be his Secret Path to the Treasure. Instead, Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke took down Hawkeye and Rick Jones made sure Vasilis only lost 4 endurance.

Wonder Man went after Albert Gaines ◊ Nuke and that was the game for Vasilis, because there was no way for Hans to deal some more endurance loss.

Hans Joachim Hoh 1, Vasilis Giannoglou 1

Game Three

We had a short discussion about the time left in this round, but after realising that we only took one hour and 20 minutes so far, it's pretty obvious that we have some time left. I added that even a New School deck should have a chance to win in the Top 8, and Hans replied that New School players are a judge's best friend.

After shuffling both decks for some time, both players were ready to play. Both of them wished each other good luck, then Hans started and kept his opening hand.

He played his first 1-drop of the game, being Ape X, searching out Dual Sidearms. The monkey got the guns, Hans passed and Vasilis proved again that there's no way to miss his curve, this time with Beast.

Ape X took Beast out with a little help from a power-up and Mega-Blast, Hans had only two cards left on his hand. Vasilis opened turn 2 and only recruited Rick Jones, giving Hans at least a little bit of a chance to feel how it is to be the lucky player who's hitting the drops.

Hans recruited Shape with two cards left in his hand. 3 ATK and DEF are some pretty impressive stats for a 2-drop, but there's still more to come! Rick Jones learned how to fly in a second, after Vasilis taught him the astonishing Flying Kick technique, so the 1-drop stunned Shape after Ape X provided some help, giving reinforcement. Then Beast took out Ape X and Vasilis decided to keep the furry blue scientist, after some consideration in the recovery phase.

Hans also had to think about his characters for a second, then Shape had to go and got in touch with the KO'd pile. Hans put down a Flamethrower on turn 3 in his resource row, then  recruited Shape in front of Ape X and Joystick, both of them being huge due to the single card left in Hans's hand. Vasilis recruited Quicksilver and protected him with Beast, Hans then sent Joystick after Quicksilver and after he activated Flying Kick, there was no stun back. Shape was able to take out Beast and still no Heroes in Reserve from Vasilis (unlike the round before), then Ape X did some extra endurance loss, leaving Vasilis with only 25 endurance after turn 3.

The Greek felt some pressure and wanted to get back the board advantage. He recruited Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird from the resource row and protected her with Quicksilver, then he passed. Hans took another look at the galactic adventurer, then he hit his curve and recruited Golden Archer for 4.

After his formation step, Golden Archer and Shape protected Joystick and Ape X. Vasilis announced a team attack with Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird and Quicksilver on Shape. Bring Down The Lightning made sure that Quicksilver wasn't taken down, but then the Mutant Avenger got another chance to hit Vasilis's opponent and took down Ape X.

Vasilis passed and Hans got the chance to strike back. With one card left on his hand, Joystick ran into Quicksilver. After Hans said 'pass', he had no chance to activate a plot twist to ensure the double-stun, so only Joystick got down. Vasilis was a little bit too fast and stunned his Quicksilver, but Hans corrected him and told him that only Hans's character would be stunned. Golden Archer took down Quicksilver and both players advanced to turn five. Hans kept Golden Archer and Joystick, while Vasilis had some trust in Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird.

Hans set another Shape in his resource row and activated Golden Archer, before he recruited another one from the resource row, emptying his hand in the process. Vasilis was left with 10 endurance with his back against the wall. He under-dropped with Hawkeye, but was able to bring out Rick Jones, who'd already proved his worth in this match-up the previous rounds. Hawkeye protected Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird and Hans was given the chance to attack.

Joystick tried to get some endurance out of Vasilis, but Hawkeye shot her down. Hans passed, without thinking long, as it looked like he made up his mind before. Hans talked to Markus Magera while Vasilis considered his attacks. Hans's error in the previous round was responsible for the current game taking longer than expected.

Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird and Rick Jones team-attacked Golden Archer, Vasilis replaced Natasha Romanoff in the resource row with Call Down the Lightning to make sure his 4-drop wouldn't get stunned. Hans burned for 6 and took down the Hero's Best Friend, and the game advanced to the recovery phase. Hans was left with only Joystick, while Vasilis had Hawkeye, Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird and Rick Jones. Although the Greek had the board advantage, Hans was way ahead in endurance totals, with a lead of 33 compared to 3.

Vasilis recruited Beast and She-Hulk. He formed up with Beast protecting Carol Danvers ◊ Warbird and She-Hulk standing in front of Hawkeye. Hans looked at the field and with Ape X and Golden Archer in his hand. He seemed disappointed, because he had to drop Flamethrower in his resource row earlier this game.

Finally, Ape X was recruited and got Hans a Jetpack. The German dropped Golden Archer, equipped him with that Jetpack, and left him unprotected in his support row, standing right to Ape X and protected by Joystick. Vasilis attacked Joystick with She-Hulk, giving the Gamma Bombshell a little bit of invulnerability. Both characters stunned and Hawkeye took a bit out of Hans' endurance total when Vasilis sent him after Ape X. The monkey got down and Hans dropped to 19 endurance, still in the lead. Rick Jones attacked Golden Archer and with some help of Flying Kick and Heroes in Reserve, the little man shot the Archer down, but not after Hans burned for 6 again.

Vasilis had no chance to steal Hans's last 15 endurance points, so the Greek conceded the game, as well as the match. Hans advances to the Top 4!