In an all-star dogfight, Vidi Wijaya (current leader in the standings) faces off against the indomitable Tim Batow. Both players are in contention for a Top 8 berth, and both players have pieced together killer Draft decks at the head table. This match was amazing and had all the twists and turns of an action-packed thriller. It held battles and betrayals, surprises and defeat. It was one of the most amazing Draft matches I have ever seen.

Tim won the roll and selected even initiatives. On turn 1, Vidi dropped Lockheed, Saurian Sidekick, while Tim passed with no recruits. The little dragon smacked face for 2 endurance loss.

Tim 48, Vidi 50

Turn 2 saw Tim recruit the impressive Friedrich Von Roehm, Black Rook. Vidi dropped Leech, Inhibitor behind Lockheed. Friedrich declared into Lockheed, and Vidi flipped The Forsaken to team X-Men and Morlocks. Quick reinforcement led to turn 3.

Tim 48, Vidi 49

Turn 3 brought a Caliban, Mutant Bloodhound to the field for Vidi, whereas Tim dropped Annalee, Mother Hen into his hidden area. Vidi team attacked into Friedrich with Leech and Lockheed for the stun, allowing Callaban direct access to Tim’s endurance total. Tim declared an attack into Leech. Vidi evaded, and Tim used Mutant Massacre to seal the Morlock’s fate.

On turn 4, Tim dropped Bishop, XSE Commando on his side of the board, while Vidi recruited the ever-popular Sentinel Mark VI, Army. While Bishop offered the burn, the Sentinel had the stat advantage against Tim’s Mutant board. Tim declared attacks into the Sentinel with the aid of Psionic Storm. Vidi responded with a replacement of The Forsaken, adding an additional 1 DEF to the robot’s stats, then flipped Immovable for another 1 DEF. Tim slapped on a Retribution after teaming-up the X-Men and Morlocks with Brave New World, Team-Up. In the end, Bishop was 11 ATK into the Sentinel’s 10 DEF. Bishop burned upon stunning. Friedrich attacked into Caliban, inspiring Vidi to replace a second copy of The Forsaken for additional defense. Tim responded by adding a Kidney Punch, and Caliban evaded. Fred swung into Lockheed, and Annalee attacked to the dome. Before recovery, Vidi flipped The Alley and burned for his recovering evaders and Morlocks.

Tim 37, Vidi 25

Vidi grumbled, then proceeded to drop Artie, Arthur Maddicks, Tar Baby, Adhesive Ally, and Plague, Deathwalker. Tim recruited Professor X, Headmaster with an equipped Mindtap Mechanism. With each player holding only two cards, Vidi declared Tar Baby into Friedrich for the stun before Caliban and Plague teamed to take down Professor X. The Sentinel flew into a powered-up Bishop, but Artie evaded, giving Bishop -1 ATK. The Sentinel did not stun back, but Vidi took the burn endurance loss.

Annalee hid out during Vidi’s attacks, and Tim swung her back into Tar Baby during his attack step. Vidi evaded, and Tim rerouted his aggression into Plague. Upon recovery, The Alley provided burn.

Tim 20, Vidi 10

Turn 6 held many surprises. Sunder, Callisto’s Enforcer and Jubilee joined Tim’s board. Vidi stunned Artie, taking Jubilee’s ATK to 0, and netted a free recruit for Tommy, Runaway. Callisto, Morlock Queen made her way into the front row surrounded by Morlock evaders. Tim declared Professor X into the Sentinel for mutual stuns, Jubilee stunned into an attacker, and Sunder began his attack into Callisto. On a thematic side note, it may never be wise for the enforcer, a mere servant, to attempt to usurp the throne. Time and again the attempts to overthrow powerful royalty have failed in the most awful ways. This time would be no different. Tim threw a surprise Kill or Be Killed onto his Sunder and hurled him into the Morlock queen. Vidi shocked Tim and all onlookers as he stunned two of his low-cost Morlock characters and revealed a copy of Backs Against the Wall. “I have never walked into one of those before!” Tim exclaimed, realizing that his Sunder was removed from the attack. Vidi put some attack modifiers onto Callisto as she stung back the insubordinate Sunder. Tim flipped a last minute Morlock Justice for a bit of burn, but after The Alley resolved, Tim had lost the match!

Tim -5, Vidi -3

Vidi Wijaya is one step closer to becoming a VS legend!