Turn 1
Alex played Mastermind, Jason Wyngarde, while Early passed. Mastermind attacked, putting Early to 49.

Endurance:
Alex: 50
Early: 49


Turn 2
Early played Dane Whitman ◊ Black Knight and Alex recruited Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose. He formed up with Mastermind, Jason Wyngarde behind Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose. Dane attacked Ivy and Early flipped a Total Anarchy and powered up the Black Knight. Alex discarded another copy of Ivy to power up, and KO’d Mastermind to get an Avalon Space Station. Using the Station to get back Ivy and Mastermind, Alex powered up again. Early played a Flying Kick on Dane, ensuring the mutual stun.

Endurance:
Alex: 46
Early: 47


Turn 3
Alex recruited the mighty Mammomax, while Early recruited Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger. Alex attacked Quicksilver with Mammomax, using Straight To The Grave to put another copy of Mammomax into the KO’d pile. Avalon got the power-up, and Early had nothing for the mutual stun, so Quicksilver hit his KO pile. Mammomax trumpeted alone at the end of the turn with Alex still at 46 endurance and Early at 41.

Endurance:
Alex: 46
Early: 41


Turn 4
Early recruite Oliver Queen ◊ Green Arrow, Emerald Archer and Alex recruited Anne-Marie Cortez, leaving both of his characters in the front row. Alex revealed a 1-drop to prevent most of the mighty Avengers plot twists. Oliver Queen went hunting, and with Total Anarchy in play, sent Mammomax to an early deathbed—but not before stunning himself. Anne-Marie swung to the face for 8.

Endurance:
Alex: 38
Early: 29


Turn 5
Alex used Avalon to get a Magneto, Eric Lehnsherr from his KO’d pile and recruited him. He formed with Anne-Marie in front of Magneto. Early recruited Submariner, Namor and formed with Namor in front of Oliver. At the start of combat, Anne-Marie once again turned off 1-cost plot twists. Magneto exhausted Ollie at the start of combat. Anne-Marie swung into Submariner with a power-up for the mutual stun. Magneto then attacked Ollie for another mutual stun. At the end of the turn, Magneto and Submariner were both recovered.

Endurance:
Alex: 29
Early: 17


Turn 6
With only 5-drops in play, Early recruited Hawkeye, Clinton Barton and Natasha Romanoff ◊ Black Widow, Super Spy—there were no targets in play for Wonder Man. Submariner and Hawkeye were in the front, with Natasha behind Submariner. Alex, who had been setting up with Avalon over the last two turns to recruit Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose and another small drop this turn, changed his mind. Total Anarchy and Hawkeye make this earlier plan impossible. Instead, Alex recruited Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff and formed with Wanda behind the Master of Magnetism. Submariner attacked into Scarlet Witch, using Call Down the Lightning (replacing another copy of Natasha Romanoff) to ensure a one-sided contest. Wanda went down. Hawkeye attacked Magneto, and thanks to the attack bonus from Namor and a lack of power-ups from Alex, both stunned. Early replaced Total Anarchy with the triggered ability from Submariner. Natasha swung to the face. The turn ended with both Early and Alex on 13 endurance and Magneto facing off against Submariner, Hawkeye, and Natasha.

Endurance:
Alex: 13
Early: 13

Turn 7
Alex played a resource and then moved to his recruit step. KO’ing Genosha to draw four cards, he recruited Anne-Marie Cortez and Mammomax. They were formed up in front with Magneto in the support row. Early used Enemy of My Enemy to search out and recruit Gorilla Grodd, Simian Mastermind. Submariner and Hawkeye were placed in the front line, with Grodd and Natasha behind them. At the start of combat, Anne-Marie again turned off 1-cost plot twists. Magneto announced Hawkeye’s impending exhaustion, and Hawkeye responded by offing Natasha. This was probably not the way that the Avengers would deal with their weakest links in the pages of the comics, but seemed sensible here. Magneto announced an attack on Submariner, who Grodd decided to dispose of in order to take Anne-Marie. Magneto then turned on the renegade mutant, who was unfortunately hiding in the Avengers Mansion with a couple of new friends. Both characters stunned. This lef only two ready characters on the table—an elephant and a gorilla. The elephant charged at the gorilla, and Alex used Enemy of My Enemy. He pitched Mad Hatter to get another copy of Mammomax and powered up. He then used Avalon Space Station and discarded a Brotherhood character to get two copies of Mammomax, and powered up twice more. By flipping another copy of Avalon Space Station and using Enemy of My Enemy to discard his sole Arkham character to fetch another Brotherhood character, Alex was able to get two more power-ups. This puts Mammomax at 12 ATK, enough for the elephant to trample down the gorilla. Alex won the game without ever discovering where his Lost City was.


Game 2


Turn 1
Early chose to go first, laid a resource, and passed. Alex played Mastermind, Jason Wyngarde and beat Early down to 49.

Endurance:
Alex: 50
Early: 49


Turn 2
Alex recruited Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose and Early recruited Natasha Romanoff ◊ Black Widow, Super Spy. Ivy attacked Natasha, and after thinking for a while, Early flipped Total Anarchy. Alex decided to set himself up for later turns. After using Straight to the Grave to put Mammomax in the KO’d pile, he used Ivy to replace it with the Lost City that eluded him last game. Alex flipped Avalon Space Station to get his 3-drop for next turn, and the turn ended.

Endurance:
Alex: 48
Early: 46


Turn 3
Once again, Early recruited the Avenger’s second-best 3-drop, Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger. Alex didn’t surprise anyone by recruiting the elephant man, Mammomax. Quicksilver attacked Mammomax and both stunned. Again, the turn ended with a clear board, with Alex still leading 45 to 43 endurance.

Endurance:
Alex: 45
Early: 43


Turn 4
Both players recruited Anne-Marie Cortez. At the start of combat, Early stopped 2-cost plot twists, while Alex chose to block his standard 1-cost plot twists. Alex attacked for the mutual stun. Both characters were recovered.

Endurance:
Alex: 41
Early: 38


Turn 5
Early recruited Submariner, forming up with both characters in front. Alex recruited Magneto, Eric Lehnsherr, putting Anne-Marie in front of Magneto. At the start of combat, Alex responded to the Anne-Marie triggers and put an additional copy of Anne-Marie into the KO’d pile with Straight To The Grave. Alex turned off 1-cost plot twists and Early turned off 2-cost plot twists. Early attacked with Anne-Marie into Anne-Marie, and Alex used Avalon Space Station and Lost City to beef his Anne-Marie up. Unable to use Heroes in Reserve, Alex’s Anne-Marie stood triumphant at the end of the combat. Submariner attacked Magneto for a mutual stun, then Anne-Marie swungs through Early’s empty board. Alex had a dominant position going into his initiative on turn 6, with both of his characters against a lone Submariner.

Endurance:
Alex: 36
Early: 21


Turn 6
Alex recruited Blob, Fred Dukes and Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose. He formed up with all of his team, with the exception of Magneto, in the front row. Early used Enemy Of My Enemy to find Gorilla Grodd and recruited him behind Submariner. Again, Alex prevented Early from accessing his vital 1-cost plot twists. Alex teamed up Arkham Inmates with Brotherhood and announced Magneto into Submariner. For the second game in a row, Grodd decided that he’d rather be behind the vastly more attractive Anne-Marie Cortez. Alex realized too late that he could have prevented the steal through the use of Poison Ivy, and took a moment to compose himself and plan through his win. Magneto attacked Gorilla Grodd, and both characters stunned when Harley Quinn was discarded to power up Magneto. Avalon Space Station was used to return Harley Quinn to Alex’s hand, then Blob attacked Anne-Marie with a power-up to clear Early’s board. Poison Ivy used Magneto for fertilizer, replacing the exhausted Avalon Space Station with a fresh one. After fetching back Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy swung through and powered up for the win.

Alex Antonios defeats Early Nguyen, 2-0!