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The Sentry™
Card# MTU-017
While his stats aren’t much bigger than those of the average 7-drop, Sentry’s “Pay ATK” power can drastically hinder an opponent’s attacking options in the late game.
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| Finals: Bill Hodak vs. Carl Perlas |
| Brian-David Marshall |
| June 27, 2004 |
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 It came as a surprise to nobody when the finals of the $10K tournament came down to a Brotherhood mirror match—a funhouse-mirror match is probably more accurate. Bill Hodack was playing what has come to be known as the Big Brotherhood deck. It does not use the powerful New Brotherhood, instead relying on the machine-like power of Avalon Space Station and Lost City. Bill had been playing Wild Sentinels decks in the months leading up to the tournament but switched strategies when the Sentinel deck kept losing to Big Brotherhood in testing.
Carl Perlas was playing a less conventional Brotherhood deck that straddled both strategies and featured many three-ofs to accommodate all the cards from both types of deck. He defeated two of the players pegged to win the tournament along his way through the Top 8. He dispatched Eric Wood—the only player to repeat Top 8 from Philadelphia—and Gabe Walls with Sentinels in the quarters.
Game one
Both players had Toad on turn two. Carl led off the third turn with Mystique and put it up front alongside Toad. Bill played the same character but placed them front to back. Mystique attacked and Bill reinforced. The Toads bounced back to each player’s hands.
Bill had Sabretooth for turn four and broke parity when Carl could only manage a three-drop Quicksilver. Sabretooth mowed down Quicksilver and the Mystiques stunned each other. Carl recovered Mystique. He locked in five resources and used Genosha. He found a Sabretooth of his own and put it up front with Mystique.
Bill considered his options for turn five and decided on the five drop Quicksilver—he left Mystique in the back with the men up front. Sabretooth took a Flying Kick at her and she stunned. Mystique went after Sabretooth and when Carl used Savage Beatdown it was Overloaded. Bill came back across with Sabretooth into Sabretooth and it was 18-22 in favor of Carl. He attacked with Quicksilver twice and the tables turned as Carl fell to six. He saved his Sabretooth while Bill lost only Mystique.
Bill played a six-drop Mystique and with all three guys up front things looked grim for Carl when he played Pyro and three-drop Mystique putting Sabretooth in front. Bill sent in his Sabretooth and Carl used Acrobatic Dodge and then flipped up Lost City and powered up—stunning Bill’s character. Quicksilver attacked Pyro—Carl used the ability and reinforced with Mystique.
Bill flipped up his Lost City and Avalon Space Station and powered up his Mystique. Carl Ka-Boomed but Bill responded with another Space Station and got in a big power up before the Ka-Boom! resolved.
Bill - 1 Carl - 0
Game two
 Carl did not like this matchup and had somehow managed to avoid it all day long, “Thank God I didn’t have to play any Big Brotherhood today. It is my worst matchup.”
Bill had no turn two play and took three from Carl’s Pyro. Carl knocked on his deck before drawing for his third turn and glumly passed. Bill played a three-drop Quicksilver and both players passed. Bill took three more from Pyro.
Both players had Sabretooth on the appropriate turn and Bill put both his guys up front while Carl let Pryo back his up. Sabretooth attacked his doppelganger and Quicksilver attacked Pyro. Carl flipped up Lost City and powered up but Bill had a Relocation. Carl tried to save it with a Dodge and Bill tried to power up his guy. Carl responded with Ka-Boom! but Bill had another Lost City at the ready. Carl flipped up Space Station and powered up again but Bill had another Quicksilver to finish it off. Bill flipped up his own Space Station and returned two Blobs.
Carl played his own Blob and left it up front with Sabretooth. Bill’s Blob came into play as well and was backed up by Quicksilver. The two Sabretooths collided and Bill reinforced with Burn Rubber—they both took four. Carl passed and Bill’s Blob attacked. He powered up and Carl’s Blob was stunned. He recovered his Sabretooth and both players used their Space Stations.
Bill dropped Magneto and put him behind Blob with Quicksilver and Sabretooth flanking on the front. Carl’s Magneto went behind Sabretooth and allowed Carl to draw four cards with Genosha. Bill exhausted the Sabretooth at the beginning of attack and ran his Sabretooth into it. Bill was down to two cards and Carl had a fistful. Carl reinforced the Sabretooth.
Bill pitched a Dodge and picked up a Blob. He attacked into Magneto and powered up. When all the dust settled Carl was at 11 and Bill 24.
Carl played the 5-drop Quicksilver and put in front of Magneto. Bill pitched a Quicksilver to get back Sabretooth and Blob and used them both to replay his feral character. Carl drew four before his attack and exhausted Quicksilver with Magneto’s ability. His five-drop version came after Blob and he made it a 9/9 with a power-up. Bill flipped up an Acrobatic Dodge. “Does someone have an Overload,” Carl wondered aloud.
He pointed a Savage Beatdown at his Quicksilver and boosted it to a fourteen attack. Bill took six. Carl considered the wisdom of another attack and readied his Quicksilver. “Eighteen huh?” He sent Quicksilver into Magneto and Bill waited for effects. He powered it to a 9/9 and ditched Sabretooth to reclaim a pair of Quicksilvers and saved his guy. Now the question was whether or not to attack with Magneto.
Finally he sent Magneto at Quicksilver and used Savage Beatdown. Bill took a bunch and went to -2. He still had his Sabretooth at the ready but he was not going to be able to pull it off and they moved to a final game.
Bill - 1 Carl - 1
Game three
Neither player trusted this crucial game to their opening four and sent them down under. Carl had the Pyro and The New Brotherhood on turn two and attacked for four. Neither player had a three drop and Carl got in for four more. Carl had the fourth turn Sabretooth as did Bill. Bill forgot to play his resource on turn four and went play his Sabretooth. Carl turned to the Head Judge and looked for some sort of penalty. Alex Charsky was emphatic about allowing Bill to play his turn as he intended since there was no good reason for him to not play a resource there although he did receive a warning for a procedural error. Carl attacked into it and flipped up a second New Brotherhood—Bill fell to 32 and then 26 on the Pyro attack.
Bill’s turn five was Magneto while Carl turned off his TNBs and played Quicksilver. Magneto’s ability tapped Sabretooth and Bill sent his Sabretooth to trade with Quicksilver. Magneto smoked Pyro but Bill took three before he left.
Carl played a six-drop Mystique and Bill followed suit. “This is going to be the make or break it turn,” announced Carl. He sent Mystique in to attack Sabretooth and Bill powered it up for +1. Carl revealed Lost City and went to Ka-Boom his own location to turn on his TNBs. Bill responded by Relocating the Lost City and Bill responded to the Ka-Boom on the chain by powering-up the Sabretooth. With Ka-Boom still pending Bill flipped up an Acrobatic Dodge. Sabretooth was a 12/14. Carl used Flying Kick on his Mystique to make it a 15/12.
The Ka-Boom was still pending and Bill flipped up Avalon Space Station and discarded a Magneto to pick up two Sabretooths. “I want to keep this in play as long as possible—you guys understand that?” He pumped it again and Carl responded with Savage Beatdown and Bill let that resolve and pumped one more time. He flipped another Space Station up and threw away Mystique for two Sabretooths and pumped it one more time.
Carl shrugged, “Let’s see if you got it. If you got it, it is yours.” Bill let the Beatdown resolve and then his pump resolved and he pumped one more time—Sabretooth became a 24/26 and both players finally passed and the Ka-Boom resolved and after all that action the Mystique missed and stunned for six. Had Carl not used Savage Beatdown or Flying Kick he could have let the Ka-Boom resolve and Bill would not have had the opportunity to get maximum usage out of the briefly borrowed Lost City.
Sabretooth leaped into the breach next and attacked Mystique. It successfully pumped once and they both stunned. Now it was Bill’s turn to crack back. Magneto went after Quicksilver and Carl flipped up a Dodge. Sabretooth went after Quicksilver next and that one hit. Carl saved his Mystique while Bill saved Mystique as well to accompany his Magneto.
Bill pitched Magneto to get back two Sabretooths and used them both to get one in play. Carl flipped up a Space Station and did the same thing except he pitched a Pyro and left them both up front with Sabretoth in hand. Bill exhausted Sabretooth and sent Mystique into the undercoated rare. Carl flipped up a Dodge but his Sabretooth still stunned and he fell to five. Sabretooth went after Mystique and Carl was beside himself. “It is too late. I messed that up. I was supposed to power up my Sabretooth and stun his Mystique back. Then I would have the Dodge when attacked Mystique and then I could attack back for the win. I knew the right play and then I did something else. It is way too late.”
Final result: Bill Hodack defeats Carl Perlas two games to one and wins the Origins $10,000 Convention Championship. We’re all going to bed and we’ll interview the winner tomorrow. Good night. |
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