Gabe Walls is a hometown favorite here in Indianapolis. This former TCG National Team Member is well-known for his loud antics at the feature match table, as well as for placing in the Top 8 at the Origins Vs. System $10K event. He is considered by many to be one of the front-runners to win this tournament and take home the $40,000 in first place prize money. Across from his sits another heavyweight (both literally and figuratively) in the form of Eric Froelich. “Efro” as he is called by his friends, as also won a great deal of money as a professional TCG player. When Eric isn’t playing cards at various stops around the world, he moonlights as a college student at the University of Virginia.

Both players are playing identical Common Enemy decks, and since they are teammates, they each know exactly what is in the other player’s deck.

Game 1

Efro won the die roll and chose to go second. She-Thing was the turn 2 play for both players, while Efro followed up with Darkoth on turn 3. Turn 4 brought matching Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius for both players, while Walls used Faces of Doom to search out a second 4-drop Doom and the titanic Dr. Doom, Lord of Latveria. Common Enemy let Efro team attack Walls’s Doom, but Walls responded by using Have a Blast! to get rid of Common Enemy, only to have Eric put a second Enemy right into play. How lucky! A second Have a Blast! solved that problem, but not before Walls had to discard two Dooms. After the resolved attacks Walls was at 34 to Efro’s 44.

Ghost Rider was placed in the front row for Walls, supported by Doom. Froelich played Invisible Woman, Sue Storm, giving him a front row of Sue Storm and She-Thing, and a support row of Darkoth and Dr. Doom. Ghost Rider whacked Sue Storm, and Doom KO’d Darkoth, evening the life totals a bit. Dueling Hulk, New Fantastic Four was the play for both players on turn 6, as both were hitting their drops very hard now. It’s Clobberin’ Time! helped Efro’s Hulk stun Wall’s Hulk with no ill effects. A team attack between Sue Storm and She-Thing took down Walls’s Ghost Rider, but Doomsdadt saved Doom from himself until Have a Blast! KO’d the location, giving Efro a huge turn and dropping Walls’s life to 10. Thing, The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing was the play from Walls, as he hoped to stabilize his board, but Efro answered with Sub-Mariner, causing Walls to scoop it up, as his situation was now hopeless.

Froehlich 1, Walls 0

Game 2

Walls: “I’ll take evens.”
Froelich: “Good choice.”
Walls: “You learned from me. Or maybe you learned from [Brian] Kibler, [Efro’s teammate].”
Froelich: “He told me to go odds. Honestly. I told him that doesn’t make sense, so he told me to do whatever you did. Heh.”

Walls had first turn Boris, and neither player had a 2-drop, and then they both played She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters on turn 3. Walls flipped up Doomstadt on turn 4, used Boris to search out Faces of Doom, then used Signal Flare to go fetch the Hulk out of his deck. Dueling 4-drop Dr. Dooms was the play for both players. Acrobatic Dodge saved Efro’s She-Hulk from Dr. Doom, and then Reign of Terror returned Walls’s She-Hulk to his hand before It’s Clobberin’ Time! helped Efro’s She-Hulk thump Wall’s Dr. Doom. Got all that? That, my friends, is the glory of the mirror match.

Efro played Thing, Heavy Hitter on turn 5, while Walls played Robot Destroyer. Thing tried to attack, but Walls used Mystical Paralysis to nullify the big guy, while Robot Destroyer smacked down She-Hulk. Life totals: Walls 38, Efro 39. Hulk was the new play for both men, as they continued to match each other’s character drops for 90 percent of the turns. A Hulk on Hulk attack worked out well for Walls with the help of It’s Clobberin’ Time!, smashing Efro for 13. Next, Walls team attacked Froelich’s Doom with his own Doom and Robot Destroyer.

Frohlich had to play Thing, ELBET on his turn, KO’ing his 5-drop Thing in the process, which Walls knew ahead of time, explaining his concentrated attacks on Hulk and Dr. Doom. Walls showed Efro his own 7-drop Thing, and it was on to game 3.

Froelich 1, Walls 1

Game 3

Both players mulliganed for game 3, with Walls placing a hand of 5-, 6-, and 7-drops on the bottom of his deck and drawing a much faster fresh four. Turn 1 saw both players cast Boris. Walls’s Darkoth went unanswered on turn 3, however, giving him a small advantage in the life war, especially when Froelich cast an underwhelming Darkoth of his own on turn 4. Signal Flare from Walls searched out Ghost Rider, and Dr. Doom Diabolic Genius plus Reign of Terror returning Froelich’s Darkoth kept Gabe well ahead in tempo. Both players played Ghost Riders on turn 5, since neither player controlled a Fantastic Four character, thus leaving the 5-drop Thing stuck in their hands. Riders traded, and Dr. Doom thwacked Froehlich’s Boris, leaving the life totals at Walls 43, Froelich 16.

Both players cast Hulks for turn 6, but when Walls flipped over Mystical Paralysis, Froelich knew there was no way he was coming back.

Froehlich: “Vs. creature-drop screw is pretty harsh. I didn’t play much of anything in my first four turns this game after my mulligan.”

Walls: “Yeah, I was screwed in the first game. We basically played one real game out of the three. Good thing I won that one.”

Final Result: Gabe Walls defeats Eric Froelich, 2-1