Even though there’s some disappointment that Israel Quiroz’s day came to an end last round against Jeremy Tucker, this really is the most appropriate matchup for the finals of this tournament. Tucker is playing Big Brotherhood, the old standby that has been considered the deck that defines the metagame of the past few months. At the other end of the table is Ben Stoll with Fantastic Four, which made its first big impact in a tournament this weekend, making up half of the Top 8 field. The championship and $2,500 are on the line in this match, and all that’s left to be decided is whether the old metagame dominator or the apparent heir to the throne will take home the prize.
Game 1
Tucker had Toad on turn 2, and Stoll had no play until turn 3, when Signal Flare let him search out and play Thing, Ben Grimm. Tucker played Mystique, Raven Darkholme, and Thing attacked Toad. It was bounced back, and Mystique attacked back at Thing, taking two power-ups. Sabretooth, Feral Rage gave Tucker a huge character on turn 3, and Stoll’s She-Hulk took a Personal Force Field. Sabretooth charged into her, and Mystique went after Thing. Thanks to Avalon Space Station, Tucker was able to stun both of Stoll’s characters while his remained safe. Stoll had Mr. Fantastic, Stretch and one Fantasticar to go along with him, and Tucker played Magneto, Eric Lehnsherr. She-Hulk attacked Mystique, and stunned her. Mr. Fantastic attacked Sabretooth, and took a power-up. This stunned Sabretooth, and Magneto counter-attacked She-Hulk to stun her. During recovery, Tucker KO’d Mystique. Avalon Space Station brought back two Mystiques, one of which was Mystique, Shape-Changing Assassin and put her right into play.
Stoll played Hulk, and gave him a Fantasticar. Tech Upgrade got a third, in response to an attack on She-Hulk. Magneto butted heads with Hulk and both were stunned, then an attack on Mr. Fantastic prompted Stoll to use Acrobatic Dodge. Tucker was having trouble putting pressure on Stoll, and the other two Fantasticars to bring the total up to four made things even more difficult. However, Stoll had to settle for playing three drop Thing and Luke Cage on turn seven, while Tucker had Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Hulk attacked Sabretooth, and stunned him. Luke Cage and Thing team attacked Mystique, and Overload slowed things down a bit. Stoll still had Savage Beatdown waiting, but Tucker used Avalon Space Station to power-up Mystique enough to survive the attack without being stunned. The end result was Luke Cage and Thing becoming stunned during the attack, which turned things around a bit for Tucker. Mystique was KO’d in the following attack, and Magneto counterattacked Mr. Fantastic, taking him down with Savage Beatdown. With most of his characters stunned and unable to recover due to Magneto in play, Stoll conceded.
Jeremy Tucker 1 – Ben Stoll 0
Game 2
Tucker once again had a second turn Toad, and Stoll started with a third turn Thing, Ben Grimm. Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff joined Tucker’s side on turn 3, and Toad bounced when it was attacked by Thing. Tucker played Sabretooth, Feral Rage on turn 4, and Quicksilver attacked Thing, taking three power-ups. Stoll responded with Acrobatic Dodge, and Tucker flipped over Avalon Space Station, adding more power-ups to stun Thing. Sabretooth attacked Invisible Woman, Sue Storm for another stun, and Thing was KO’d during recovery. Signal Flare grabbed Wolverine, New Fantastic Four, and Tucker’s Blob earned a groan from Stoll. Wolverine attacked Sabretooth, and Tucker used Acrobatic Dodge. Stoll had Savage Beatdown, and both characters were stunned. Tucker played Toad on turn 5, and everyone went up front. Stoll’s turn 5 Mr. Fantastic, Stretch brought Twin Firearms for Invisible Woman, and Personal Force Field for Wolverine. A pretty good play, but not quite the multiple Fantasticars you hope for.
Toad and Blob team-attacked Wolverine to stun him. Sabretooth attacked and stunned Invisible Woman next, getting stunned in the process. Mr. Fantastic attacked Quicksilver for another stun. Once recovery was over, Stoll had Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic, while Tucker had Blob and Sabretooth. Stoll played She-Thing, and she took a Fantasticar. Invisible Woman attacked and stunned Blob, and Sabretooth reinforced him. Mr. Fantastic attacked and stunned Sabretooth next, clearing the way for She-Hulk to attack Tucker directly. He kept Sabretooth during recovery, losing Blob. The deadly Magneto, Master of Magnetism came out turn seven, but it remained to be seen if it would be enough.
Sabretooth attacked Invisible Woman, who was used for Tech Upgrade to get Fantasticar before becoming stunned and stunning Sabretooth as well. Magneto attacked Mr. Fantastic, and that caused a stun as well. Both of Stoll’s stunned creatures were KO’d on recovery, along with their equipment. This also brought Stoll to one endurance point, while Tucker was at twelve. Stoll played Mr. Fantastic and put all his eggs in one basket, attacking into Magneto and using two copies of It’s Clobberin’ Time. Tucker flipped over Lost City and powered up Magneto, and Stoll tried to respond with Ka-Boom! However, Tucker had a second Lost City waiting, which ensured that Magneto got the bonus. This was enough to give Tucker the match, and the championship.
Jeremy Tucker 2 – Ben Stoll 0
Jeremy Tucker
Characters
4 Magneto, Master Of Magnetism
2 Sabretooth, Victor Creed
4 Mystique, Shape-Changing Assassin
4 Quicksilver, Speed Demon
4 Magneto, Eric Lehnsherr
4 Blob, Fred Dukes
4 Sabretooth, Feral Rage
3 Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff
4 Mystique, Raven Darkholme
4 Toad, Mortimer Toynbee
Plot Twists
4 Acrobatic Dodge
3 Overload
1 Relocation
3 Have A Blast!
4 Savage Beatdown
Locations
4 Avalon Space Station
4 Lost City
Ben Stoll
Characters
4 She-Thing, Sharon Ventura
3 Luke Cage, Hero For Hire
3 She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters
4 Thing, Ben Grimm
4 Invisible Woman, Sue Storm
2 Wolverine, New Fantastic Four
4 Mr. Fantastic, Stretch
3 Hulk, New Fantastic Four
1 Ghost Rider, New Fantastic Four
1 Thing, Heavy Hitter
2 Wolverine, Berserker Rage
1 Thing, The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing
Plot Twists
4 It’s Clobberin’ Time
4 Signal Flare
3 Ka-Boom!
3 Tech Upgrade
2 Overload
2 Savage Beatdown
4 Acrobatic Dodge
Equipment
4 Fantasticar
1 Personal Force Field
1 Twin Firearms