Day 2 is getting closer and closer to the finish line, and the players are shaking off the tiredness that comes with two days of playing to put in their best effort to win those last few rounds to make it to the Top 8. Reinhard and Niles have been doing a good job all day wrecking everyone in their way to a perfect record in draft.
“So you went 6-0 in draft? You must be good then.”
“Lucky might be a better adjective.”
“Yeah, same.”
Modesty is all well and good, but these guys showed considerable skill getting to this point, and watching what they made out of this draft should be a good indication of what’s good and what isn’t.
Niles won the die roll and chose the odd initiative.
Encantadora and Shaligo faced off on turn 2 stunning each other for the first endurance loss of the game. Niles then recruited a very angry Big Bear, which was answered with Slig. Slig quickly got eaten by the Bear, and Encantadora and Shaligo had so much fun last turn that they decided to do an encore.
Trok was next in line for Reinhard’s team, while Niles had what is arguably the best 4 drop in Izaya ◊ Highfather. Reinhard took a moment to think about the optimal attacks before sending Trok to battle Izaya. He flashed four(!) more Troks with a grin and powered up twice to take Izaya down. Slig then stunned Encantadora before being judged tasty enough to eat another time by the Big Bear.
Niles was gearing up for a big turn after playing Forager on his initiative. He first sent Izaya to teach Trok a lesson in respecting his elders, and neither player had any effects, so Trok was the only one getting stunned. Forager then charged into Reinhard’s newly recruited Steppenwolf, and a discard later, Forager was the only one left standing. Big Bear, who miraculously still had his cosmic counter, then polished it off by stepping on Slig, leaving all of Reinhard’s characters stunned. He chose to KO Slig and Steppenwolf over Trok because Niles still hadn’t flipped a single card in his resource row.
Big Barda, the best 6-drop common, joined Trok the next turn to try and regain some of the stolen tempo, but Niles had Orion, Big Barda’s foil, and shut Barda’s special ability off. Trok hid behind Big Barda but jumped right over him with Up, Up, and Away and landed on Orion. Niles “wasted” two Play Times and used his own Up, Up, and Away in an effort to shrink Trok down to a more manageable size. Unfortunately for him, Trok felt really Up, Up, and Away this turn and had just enough ATK to stun Orion. Reinhard then used Play Time to move Izaya to a more exposed and less Forager-full area so Barda could take him down in combat.
And then it was time for the pivotal turn 7. With endurance totals tied at 13 each, missing a 7 drop would be disastrous here. Niles drew his two and sighed before considering his options. The best he could come up with was a Metron with boost—not exactly what he wanted. Reinhard trumped him with an Infinity Man that quickly moved to the front row. Orion and Big Bear teamed up to take the big man down before he could do any damage, stunning both Infinity Man and Orion making the endurance scores 7–6 in Niles’s favor. Niles then passed, and Reinhard took out Big Bear with Bigger Barda for a slight lead at 4–6. The game wasn’t over yet!
Except it really was. Reinhard had the initiative on the eighth turn, and with Trok making a reappearance and getting joined by Serifan, Niles was left without enough answers to Reinhard’s horde.
Reinhard 1–Niles 0