Once again, Sentinels is in the finals of event, this time in the hands of Frenchman Jerôme Jesus. While the number of robots in the field was greatly diminished at this event, the 20 percent of the field still became 50 percent of the Top eight and indeed 50 percent of the finals. Happily, though, the other half of the Top eight offered more than a glimmer of hope for players looking to oust Sentinels from its status as “best deck.” One such spark is the concealed deck being played by Karl-Heinz Bergt, a Berlin player whose incredibly aggressive deck is probably the biggest winner from Overload’s banning. With eighteen attack pumps, it can happily race virtually any deck without ever needing a defender.

Karl-Heinz won the coin flip and elected to go first. As his deck prefers to kill on turn 5, this would give him ample opportunity to beat down unopposed on his critical turn. Each player led off with a concealed character—a Hounds of Ahab for Jerôme and an Iron Fist, Danny Rand from Karl-Heinz.

Mark II, Number II was Jesus’s turn 3 recruit, while Bergt had nothing. The German had to ask for an English language version of the Sentinel 3-drop to find out what it does, and he remarked that there were many more lines of text on the French version. It turns out that French is just a little wordier. After beating in, the Frenchman flipped Micro-Sentinels to put a counter on his opponent’s Iron Fist.

Turn 4 brought Sentinel Mark V from Jerôme, while Karl-Heinz had Luke Cage, Street Enforcer. The French team attacked to the face, and when Luke Cage attempted to get revenge on the Sentinel Mark V with the help of Crushing Blow, Jesus revealed not one but two Acrobatic Dodges. A Crime and Punishment finally stunned the 4-drop, but it had taken much more work than Karl-Heinz had likely wanted. Iron Fist then attacked into Mark II Number II with a second Crushing Blow. With the irksome robot out of the way, the German was able to Swan DiveHounds of Ahab and Quick Kill the Sentinel Mark V. Carnage.

A second Micro-Sentinels spelled a quick death for Luke Cage, but it didn’t matter too much to Karl-Heinz, as he replaced him on turn 5. The turn 5 recruit from Jerôme Jesus was Nimrod, who with his counter was a big wall for Karl-Heinz to get around. A Flying Kick let Luke stun the Mark II, Number II, and a Quick Kill finished it off. Nimrod remained a clear and present threat.

Turn 6 saw Bastion from Jerôme, while Bergt had only Iron Fist and Micro-Chip. Things looked bleak for the German, who took a bit of a beating without defenders—more than he could ever mete back.

Jerôme Jesus wins game 1.

Karl-Heinz elected to take the odd initiative again, hoping for a more aggressive draw. Jerôme Jesus, in the meantime, had an initial four of Savage Beatdown, Mojoverse, Acrobatic Dodge, and Micro-Sentinels. If he drew characters, he would be in very good shape with this hand, but it was definitely risky. His initial two draws were Magneto and Sentinel Mark V. This would be a tricky game.

Karl-Heinz had his first recruit on turn 2 with Hannibal King, and he followed it up with Elektra, Elektra Natchios. By turn 3, Jerôme had drawn a Sentinel Mark II, but when Hannibal King smashed the Sentinel with a Punisher’s Armory assist, Jerôme was forced to play his Acrobatic Dodge. A Flying Kick soured that plan, though, and the only solace Jesus could take was in his Micro-Sentinels at the end of turn 3. Sentinel Mark V met Yelena Belova ◊ Black Widow on turn 4, and Jerôme Jesus went on the offensive.

With both Mojoverse and a Savage Beatdown, Sentinel Mark II did a full 10 damage. Mark V meanwhile held back, hoping to use his reinforcement ability to stay ahead. A Flying Kick for Elektra meant that this plan would not work, though, as Bergt’s team stunned the bigger robot first, then attacked for fair breakthrough on the smaller 3-drop. Micro-Sentinels dropped Hannibal King, and it was on to turn 5.

For Jerôme Jesus it was a boosted Sentinel Mark V, while Daredevil, Matt Murdock was the recruit from Karl-Heinz. When a Swan Dive allowed the German to clear Jerôme’s board, it was enough for game 2.

Karl-Heinz Bergt wins game 2, making the score 1–1.

With everything on the line now, Jesus chose to play first. His opening four of Boliver Trask, Reconstruction Program, Nimrod, and Genosha seemed very playable, and he kept quickly. The turn 1 recruit of Boliver Trask for Hounds of Ahab allowed him to take the early lead in endurance, as Bergt had no turn 1 recruit.

Turn 2 saw Iron Fist, Danny Rand up against the Hounds of Ahab, a match that kept the endurance totals even at 47 each. This seemed unlikely to continue, though, when Jesus failed to recruit a 3-drop and Elektra, Elektra Natchios came down from Bergt. Only Hounds of Ahab attacked, signaling a possible trick from Jesus—not something that Bergt was afraid of. The French set of swings was not of huge concern to Karl-Heinz, who could attack back for far more. Jerôme Jesus had a Micro-Sentinels, but it wasn’t really blunting Bergt’s attack anywhere near close to enough.

Luke Cage, Street Enforcer was answered by Mark II, Number II from Jesus. Wrong answer. Bergt punished him with Luke Cage, using his ability to attack Hounds of Ahab, and having Elektra beat up the fresh robot. Iron Fist got to attack to the face, and a Quick Kill ensured that only a 2-drop would be left on Jesus’s board going into turn 5.

Of course it only requires a single Sentinel in play for Nimrod to get his counter, so get one he did. Karl-Heinz had a Wild Ride for Daredevil, Matt Murdock. The collective attacks from Jerôme Jesus weren’t enough to take Bergt to negative endurance, despite a Savage Beatdown—that seemed to please Bergt. His Daredevil attacked Nimrod, and a power-up forced the big Marvel Knights 5-drop to stun in return for some breakthrough and a repair counter. Luke Cage then went in to finish the job with a Crime and Punishment. A Reconstruction Program returned Nimrod to save a point of damage, and Jerôme dug for answers with Genosha. They were not forthcoming, though, and when Elektra attacked through an empty board with a couple more pumps, it was all over.

Karl-Heinz Bergt wins 2-1 and is the $10K Munich champion!