Edoardo won the die roll, which can be very important in this matchup, but had to mulligan his initial four cards, which he wasn’t overly happy with. He had no characters on turn 1 and was forced to watch as Blech played Boliver Trask, fetching the deadly Hounds of Ahab. On turn 2, the Hounds came on board for Blech, while for Della Via the recruit was Talia, Beloved Daughter, who fetched Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis. Any favorable board position Reinhardt might have had was quickly eliminated, though, as Talia survived a dog attack with a power-up and attacked back through Boliver Trask.

On turn 3, Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard was the recruit for Edoardo, while Reinhardt was forced to miss a drop. Ubu and Talia got the chance to attack across an empty field and do a little bit of extra damage with Flying Fortress.

“Why aren’t you playing four of those things?” enquired Blech as he took his beats from the Fortress.

“In Italian they aren’t as good,” quipped Della Via, referring to a slight problem with the translation on the card.

Turn 4 saw Sentinel Mark V from Reinhardt, but when Ra’s Al Ghul was recruited and Talia hid behind Ubu, the German was forced to suggest that the game didn’t look good for him. His new 4-drop was forced to attack Ra’s, and Reinhardt lamented that he would have to attack that way or effectively lose the game to the powerful ability of the new Ra’s. When he attempted to use Finishing Move on Ra’s, Edoardo had the counter in the form of The Demon’s Head fetching Lazarus Pit so that his 4-drop could not be KO’d.

On turn 5, Edoardo had a Mountain Stronghold to fetch Bane, Ubu, curving out perfectly. With everyone up front, he was very much in beatdown. From another match, Blech heard a choice quote from Andrea Santin which described his situation aptly: “This draw is more than awful.”

He recruited a boosted Sentinel Mark V, whose saving grace was that it could likely prevent Ra’s Al Ghul’s ability from ever being active in a way that Nimrod could not. Edoardo team attacked with Talia, Ubu, and Ra’s Al Ghul into the boosted robot and passed. There were no effects from Blech except placing a large sigh on the chain. It resolved without incident and each player had his 4-drop stunned.

Bane then smashed the unboosted Sentinel Mark V and then KO’d it in the recovery phase.

“You know you have wasted your good draws for the next two games,” quipped Blech, not feeling confident about his chances.

He had Bastion on turn 6, but with his opponent recruiting Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar and flipping Coast City to make Sinestro safe from attack, it signaled quite the uphill struggle for Blech. With the endurance totals at 41 to 18 in Della Via’s favour, Reinhardt felt that if he could get his opponent down to 25 or so, he would at least achieve some sort of moral victory. Unfortunately, the prize money for those is not great.

Sentinel Mark V traded with Ra’s Al Ghul4 before Lazarus Pit returned the dangerous 4-drop to life to protect Sinestro a little more. Hounds of Ahab attacked into Bane with a Savage Beatdown and two Bastion pumps, hoping for a safe trade. An Acrobatic Dodge stopped that plan, though, and things looked dire for Blech. A double Savage Beatdown elicited the scoop.

Edoardo Della Via won game 1 with what was possibly the sickest draw in the history of Vs. System.

Turn 2 saw Assassin Initiate from Edoardo to a Hounds of Ahab from Blech. Boliver Trask got to stun the assassin with a power-up, but Blech’s little victory stayed little as Lazarus Pit stopped Hounds of Ahab from pressing any advantage. It was lucky for Della Via that it did, as he recruited Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard after his opponent placed Sentinel Mark II into play. The bodyguard with loyalty forced a team-attack from Blech’s entire team to stun him, limiting the power of the German’s team.

The new Ra’s Al Ghul was the chosen recruit for Della Via on his initiative on turn 4. He wouldn’t be of optimal efficiency this turn, as Blech had a Sentinel Mark V, but his presence remained a threatening one. Assassin Initiate beat up on Boliver Trask, and Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard attempted to dish out similar beatings to Sentinel Mark II. Three power-ups from Blech ended the plan of a rout, but Flying Fortress ensured a mutual stun. Ra’s Al Ghul then attacked into Sentinel Mark V with some help from a power-up. Blech cursed his luck as he looked at a resource row that simply wasn’t any help against the Italian Assassins.

Each player flashed their draw to me at the start of turn 5, and the two Mountain Strongholds that had come to Edoardo (who was previously missing his drop) seemed infinitely better than the Total Anarchy and Finishing Move that Blech’s hand sported. The German was forced to Reconstruction Program for a Boliver Trask for Sentinel Mark V without boost, while Della Via found himself a Bane, Ubu and had a Coast City to stop his opponent from trying to get at anyone in his back row. Tower of Babel stopped team-attacks, so Blech just went in where he could, sending Sentinel Mark V into Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard, who was reinforced, and then sending his second Mark V into Assassin Initiate, who was also reinforced.  

The attacks back from Della Via weren’t flashy, but they certainly did the job. Bane smashed through Boliver Trask for plenty of damage, and it was on to turn 6. The second Mountain Stronghold fetched Sensei, Martial Arts Master, while Blech had Bastion. Ubu and Ra’s team attacked Blech’s Sentinel Mark V, who was protecting Bastion, successfully clearing a path to the leader of Operation Zero Tolerance. Sensei then made a daring attack on Bastion, hoping that the presence of only two cards in Blech’s hand (and his complaining about his draw) meant that he could get a cheap stun.  

A Reconstruction Program returned three army characters for Blech, and suddenly he had ammo. On its own, it wouldn’t be enough to keep Bastion around, given the Flying Fortress on the board for Della Via, so he pumped into Sentinel Mark V instead.  

“I think you might have won this turn,” remarked Blech dryly.  

While the endurance totals were pretty close, if Bane’s ability kicked in (which it seemed very likely to do), then Bastion would be going the way of the dodo, making life very tough for Blech. Bane attacked into Sentinel Mark V with some help from Flying Fortress to get over the Bastion pumps.

Della Via used Lazarus Pit to stop his Bane from being KO’d, to which Blech responded with Finishing Move on Sensei. Lazarus Pit was doing double duty, though, and it revived the martial arts master in response. Bane didn’t get the chance to work his mojo, and Blech went into turn 7 with Bastion and a Hounds of Ahab in play.  

Turn 7 was a little tricky for Della Via, who was repeating his turn 6. His opponent had topdecked Magneto, Master of Magnetism and played him, making for a very threatening board. The Demon’s Head fetched Edoardo’s third Mountain Stronghold, which in turn found Ra’s Al Ghul, Immortal Villain. When the 4-drop hit play, it became clear that Reinhardt hadn’t drawn any Genoshas, as there were no responses from the German.  

With each player at 19 endurance, Blech had an opening to go for a kill, but Coast City and Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard again showed their worth, ensuring that Della Via would have reinforcement if he wished it. Magneto’s attack on Sensei was met with reinforcement, as was Bastion’s attack on Bane. While Della Via lost two characters, he was still alive.

Lady Shiva, Master Assassin was the recruit for turn 8, and Blech was visibly displeased. Having drawn into a Genosha, this was possibly a little over the top, but when his only recruit was Nimrod, it didn’t seem entirely unreasonable. Edoardo’s very first play in combat was to KO Magneto, Master of Magnetism. From there, though, there were some difficult decisions to be made. Ra’s Al Ghul attacked into Bastion in a daring assault. A Savage Beatdown made a game of it, forcing pumps from Blech if he wanted his 6-drop to live. Even without his 6-drop, Blech now seemed favored to win the game with his Nimrod able to attack through Ubu for the necessary damage. Bastion pumped Nimrod twice before falling to Della Via’s 4-drop. Ubu then attacked Nimrod with the help of Flying Fortress and a second Savage Beatdown. One pump short, Blech activated Genosha looking for a trick. He didn’t find one, though, and Nimrod lost his repair counter and (crucially) became exhausted. By a scant single endurance point, Edoardo was alive.  

Another Genosha was popped by Blech at the start of turn 9, his hand all of a sudden replete with action. None of this action was a character that the German deemed worthy of recruiting, though, and he passed. Edoardo, on the other hand, used Ubu for The Demon’s Head to fetch the final Mountain Stronghold to find Ra’s Al Ghul, The Demon’s Head. It appeared that he had miscalculated somewhere, though, as without a character to discard besides the freshly fetched 8-drop, Della Via was up a creek without a paddle. He extended his hand.

Edoardo chose to keep his opening four in the crucial third game, while Reinhardt showed his opponent some respect, declaring, “For you, I don’t keep this hand.” Neither player had a turn 1 recruit, and the first action was a Hounds of Ahab for Blech squaring off against Della Via’s Assassin Initiate.

Ubu, Ra’s Al Ghul’s Bodyguard seemed optimal on turn 3, easily able to deal with Blech’s Sentinel Mark II. Each player continued to curve, with Sentinel Mark V and Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis being recruited. Blech’s Sentinel Mark V got revenge on Ubu, clearing a path to Assassin Initiate, but Ubu had a little trick in the form of The Demon’s Head fetching Lazarus Pit. When Hounds of Ahab tried to trade with the 2-drop, they used The Demon’s Head, this time to find Pit of Madness, which seemed very strong with Della Via’s board of stunned characters. After a little thought, Blech thought the better of any further attacks and passed, and so did his opponent.

The turn 5 play of Mountain Stronghold for Bane, Ubu had been well established in the match, and Edoardo didn’t disappoint in game 3. For Blech it was Nimrod, who looked slightly suboptimal in the face of Ra’s Al Ghul, Eternal Nemesis’s ability. Ubu attacked Sentinel Mark II, who powered up three times with little help from two Reconstruction Programs to force a trade. Bane then had a clear path to Sentinel Mark V and took it, getting a Nasty Surprise for his trouble. This left only Ra’s Al Ghul with a Savage Beatdown, and he managed to KO the normally unassailable Nimrod. Hounds of Ahab couldn’t get rid of Bane thanks to Lazarus Pit, so they had to make do with a little damage.

Going into turn 6, it was an unboosted Sentinel Mark V and a Hounds of Ahab against Bane, Ubu. Each player improved his board with the ideal recruits of Bastion and Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar. Bane exhausted for The Demon’s Head to fetch Coast City, and the defense was very much set for Della Via.  

Hounds of Ahab tried their luck against Bane with two Savage Beatdowns to help them out. This was more than enough to stun Bane, and Sinestro’s ability was definitely not needed to ensure the stun on the German 2-drop. While Sinestro was smiling, it seemed that he might be living in a dream world, as he was far from looking good for the ensuing fracas. Lazarus Pit saved Bane so that he could go back to work protecting Della Via’s powerful 6-drop, which forced Blech to admit that he had no further attacks.  

Turn 7 saw Sensei, Martial Arts Master from Della Via, who was curving out as best he could. Blech was also trying very hard to curve out perfectly, generating resource points and popping a Genosha in the hope of finding Magneto, Master of Magnetism. He let Hans Joachim Höh have a look at the Genosha cards first in the hope that the Sentinel Master would prove to be a lucky charm for him. It was not to be, though, as Blech’s best recruit was Boliver Trask fetching a Sentinel Mark V to boost out.

Sinestro was the first to the fight for Della Via, attacking into the boosted Sentinel Mark V without incident. Sensei then attacked the other Sentinel Mark V, successfully stunning it. Bane then attacked through Boliver Trask for a full 9 points of breakthrough. The endurance totals were 12 to 20 in Della Via’s favor, and Bastion now had the difficult decision of whether to attack and face the wrath of Sinestro or pass. He thought the better of it and passed to turn 8.

Reinhardt’s face was not a picture of happiness when he saw his draw. With only a Sentinel Mark II as a potential recruit, it was doubtful that he wanted to play a character at all, and Bastion looked somewhat flaccid. By comparison, Della Via’s 7-drop Two-Face, Split Personality was rock hard and enough to elicit the scoop from Blech.

Edoardo Della Via beats Reinhardt Blech 2–1.