For the first round, I’ve picked two very recognizable players. Tim Batow is a member of TAWC, and Tillman Bragg represents The Donkey Club. Both are very accomplished pros. They chatted as they shuffled up, and neither seemed to be happy with their decks. “I don’t want to go into details, but mine . . . lacks synergy,” said Tillman. Tim won the die roll and selected the odd initiatives. Both players kept their opening hands.
Tim kicked the game off with a 1-drop Dawn Granger ◊ Dove, Avatar of Order, who attacked into Tillman’s empty board. Tillman hit his 2-drop in the form of a concealed Saturn Queen, and it was Tim’s turn to miss. On turn 3, both players had a drop. Tim played Gillotina next to Dawn in the front row. Tillman recruited Karate Kid. In combat, Tim sent 3-drop into 3-drop for the trade. Before the stun, Tillman flipped 31st Century Metropolis to team-up Legionaires and Future Foes. He also flipped Joining the Darkseid for the same effect to save a point from Gillotina. Dawn attacked directly, and Tillman smashed back to stun Dawn. The 1-drop was lost in recovery. Tim led, 43-42.
Turn 4 was Tillman’s initiative. He recruited Mano next to Karate Kid in his front row. “This is gonna be so bad. My deck is the worst ever,” said Tillman. Tim had a generic 7 ATK / 7DEF (but still much more impressive) copy of The Herald in his support row. Still in the build phase, Tillman used Saturn Queen to lock down Tim’s new 4-drop. In combat, 3-drop traded for 3-drop. Tillman sent his 4-drop into Tim’s, and Tim had Price of Treason to stun back. Unsurprisingly, Tim chose to discard a card for Saturn Queen’s ability. The Herald recovered, so Karate Kid was the only character lost in recovery. Tim still led, 36-35.
Tim’s first play of the fifth turn was a Dark Warrior in the visible area. He substituted a Dark Thanagarian into his concealed area, targeting the Dark Warrior to give it +2 ATK. Tillman further bemoaned the quality of his deck as he recruited Computo ◊ Mr. Venge in the concealed area and a Tharok next to Mano in his support row. Tim sent Dark Warrior into Mana, and the 4-drop was stunned. The Herald went after Tharok, and again, Tillman’s character got the worst of it. Dark Thanagarian attacked directly, and Tim passed. In recovery, Tillman used Foiled Assassination to keep his underwhelming 3-drop in play. Tim’s lead had now widened to 36-22.
Turn 6 was another disaster for Tillman. He recruited Dominators, Ferro Lad, and Titans Communicator on Mano before passing. Tim had a Mordru ◊ The Merciless next to Dark Warrior in his support row, and protected Dark Warrior with The Herald. Tillman spoke more about his deck. “It’s just really bad . . . none of my teams had any guys.” Tim offered him some consolation. “Darkseid’s Elite seems to be the best team for Sealed by far.” Tillman replied with “Yeah, I don’t have much of that.” In combat, Ferro Lad and Dominators went after Mordru. Tillman used Clash of the Titans to give Ferro Lad +3 ATK, representing exactly enough to bring Mordru down. Tim had no tricks, and the 6-drop traded stuns with Tillman’s 3-drop. Next, Mano temporarily stunned The Herald. Tillman passed to Tim, who sent Dark Thanagarian into Tharok with Furious Assault, targeting Dark Warrior for the additional pump. Tillman’s 3-drop was stunned. Dark Warrior plowed through Ferro Lad for 11 points of endurance loss. In recovery, Tillman used Computo to recover Mordru and hit Tim for 6, then flipped Generation Next before KO’ing Ferro Lad and Dominators. Tim led, 16-4.
On turn 7, Tim began by substituting in Beast Boy, Party Animal. Tim also managed a 7-drop in the form of Universo. Tillman finally hit a drop, recruiting Colossal Boy ◊ Leviathan and a Flight Ring on his Tharok. Tillman set up with Colossal Boy protecting Tharok and Mano next to Tharok in the support row. In combat, Tim sent Mordru into Mano. Tillman reinforced, and the 4-drop stunned. Tim declared another attack, and Tillman (now at 0 endurance) conceded.