Brush Your Teeth seemed less than optimistic as they sat down, claiming that it was going to be a short match. When I asked them if it was in their favor or against, they said it was against them, citing the fact that Kings Games had been using signals the entire draft and probably ended up with better decks. I assured them that they still had a chance, pointing out that the favored team featured in the quarterfinal match was beaten by an underdog. I decided to cover the match of seat C players Jason Goldberg and Mike Olivson, who were both new to the feature match area.
Mike and Jason rolled the die, giving Jason the choice. He took evens. The only action on turn 1 came in the form of Jason’s Madame Xanadu. Turn 2 saw Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter come out for Jason and Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant come out for Mike, only to be run over by Xanadu.
Mike’s Catman on turn 3 was impressive compared to Jason’s whiff. Jason used Madame Xanadu to find Magical Conduit and was sent to 40 after an attack from both Dr. Psycho and Catman. This didn’t seem to be a problem, however, when he played Dr. Occult with the initiative on turn 4. Before laying his resource, Mike removed a Scandal from the game to search out Thanagarian Invasion. He then played Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon, who was stunned by Kate with the help of Magical Conduit for +3 ATK. Dr. Occult attacked and stunned Dr. Psycho, who was promptly returned to Mike’s hand with a No Mercy to KO Kate. The score was 29-31 in Jason’s favor going into the next turn.
Turn 5 began with Mike flipping House of Secrets and discarding Mr. Mxyzptlk, Troublesome Trickster to gain 4 endurance. He recruited Weather Wizard and the same Dr. Psycho, flipped Thanagarian Invasion, and used the last point to give Deathstroke +3 ATK. Jason added a Ragman, Redeemer of Souls, which was promptly stunned by Weather Wizard and Dr. Psycho, while Deathstroke attacked and took down Dr. Occult. An attack from Catman took Jason to 10 with Mike still at 35. A Zatanna, Showstopper on turn 6 from Jason was nothing compared to the Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double equipped with Amulet of Nabu and Helm of Nabu that forced Jason to move on to the next game.
A Count Vertigo from Jason was the first play of the second game. It was followed closely by a miss on his second turn, while Mike played Dr. Psycho, Mental Giant. It was Mike who missed on turn 3; he played Helm of Nabu on Dr. Psycho to draw a card, looking for his 3-drop but finding none. Jason played Rose Psychic before having Count Vertigo stunned in an attack by Dr. Psycho.
Turn 4 saw an Amanda Waller come out to help Jason before Mike answered with a Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon. Count Vertigo stunned Deathstroke with the help of Blinding Rage and Magical Lobotomy, allowing Amanda Waller to run over Dr. Psycho with ease. An attack from Rose sent Mike to 20 compared to Jason’s 45 going into turn 5.
A Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard on turn 5 was matched by a Nightshade, Shadow Siren and Detective Chimp, Bobo T. Chimpanzee. Mr. Freeze attacked Jason’s lone visible character (Count Vertigo), and Mike proceeded to send Jason to 22 with unopposed attacks. Deathstroke was moved to the hidden area at the beginning of Jason’s attack step with Nightshade. Amanda Waller then attacked and stunned Mr. Freeze with the help of Target Acquired. Mike chose to lock down Amanda with Freeze’s vengeance trigger. The rest of Jason’s team went in unopposed, as well, sending Mike to 3. Jason went back to 24 when Rose’s ability triggered at the beginning of the recovery phase.
Jason played Arthur Kendrick and Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker, which was followed by a Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double from Mike for the second game in a row. But he wasn’t a problem like he was the last game. Jason moved Mr. Freeze to the hidden area with Nightshade and sent his entire team, minus Nightshade, into Alexander. The easy stun and a direct attack from Nightshade brought Mike to -1 and sent the match to a third game.
Jason led the deciding game off with a Count Vertigo again, but he missed his 2-drop again on the following turn. Mike played Manitou Dawn and stunned the Count with ease. Christopher Smith ◊ Peacemaker came down for Mike on turn 3, and it was answered by Arthur Kendrick in the visible area. Peacemaker backed up Manitou, and a Thanagarian Invasion sent Manitou into Count Vertigo, stunning both of Jason’s characters and putting him to 42.
Jason used his initiative on turn 4 to play Dr. Occult, and Mike played Help Wanted to find a Mr. Freeze. He then played out Deathstroke the Terminator, Lethal Weapon, who was attacked by Arthur Kendrick with a Blinding Rage. Dr. Occult stunned Christopher Smith, who was reinforced by Manitou Dawn to even up the scores at 35.
Mike brought out his Mr. Freeze, Brutal Blizzard on turn 5, while Jason played a Ragman, Redeemer of Souls, which looked strong with two character cards in Mike’s KO’d pile. Deathstroke attacked Ragman with the help of two more Thanagarian Invasions. When Deathstroke stunned, Mike put a Parademon, Apokoliptian Ally from his hand into his front row. Mr. Freeze went into Dr. Occult, who received a Magical Conduit to stun Mr. Freeze back, who locked down Ragman. This caused Jason to keep Dr. Occult during the recovery phase instead.
On turn 6, a boosted Amanda Waller brought out a Nightshade, Shadow Siren. Mike played Alexander once again, and just like in game 1, suited him up with Helm of Nabu and Amulet of Nabu. With the score at 23-17 in Mike’s favor, Jason moved Mr. Freeze to the hidden area with Nightshade, then thought about what would almost certainly be his last initiative of the match. His first attack was Arthur Kendrick against Manitou Dawn, easily stunning her. A team attack from Nightshade and Amanda Waller then took down Alexander. A direct attack from Dr. Occult left Mike at 5 and Jason at 13. After passing the option to attack with Mr. Freeze, Mike opted to try his luck on the next turn.
Deathstroke the Terminator, Ultimate Assassin came out with the initiative in Mike’s hands on turn 7, and Jason could only answer with a Madame Xanadu and Zatanna, Showstopper. Mr. Freeze attacked and stunned a reinforced Arthur Kendrick. This was followed by an attack of Alexander on Xanadu, prompting Mike to return her to find a Magical Lobotomy. After readying, Alexander was instead sent after Dr. Occult. Zatanna fell to Deathstroke’s blade with the next attack, forcing Jason to drop his match. This was followed in close succession by his teammate Marko Casarie dropping a match to Freddie Crespo, which placed Team Kings Games in the finals.