Raffaele Lo Moro is an Italian TCG pro who just picked up the game a couple of weeks ago and has done remarkably well for someone in that situation. Gabe Walls has been playing the Vs. System since it debuted, and is widely considered one of the favorites to win this weekend. He has yet to disappoint, as he finished 6-1 on Day 1, earning himself a place at table number 1 for the first draft.

“In order to prepare for the draft, I only did one three-man draft with my brother and a friend, so I am learning as I go,” admitted Lo Moro.

“Your friend was your mom, wasn’t it, Raffaele? You can admit it,” jibed Walls.

“No no, my mom does not play.”

“Suuure, she doesn’t. You are so lucky, Raffaele.”

Game 1

Raffaele had no first turn play, while Gabe recruited Ratcatcher and added a Crossbow to him, swinging in for 2. Donna Troy ◊ Wonder Girl joined Walls’s squad for turn 2, as Lo Moro again had no character to recruit, meaning he either had a poor hand or had drafted poorly. Hawk and Dove joined Raffaele’s board for turn 3, a solid combo, as Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal hopped into Walls’s army. Since Lo Moro had the initiative for the odd turns, Walls put Ratcatcher and Arsenal in his front row, with Wonder Girl supporting Arsenal in the back. Dove attacked Wonder Girl, and Lo Moro flipped over Titans Tower, discarding Koriand’r ◊ Starfire. Walls responded by KO’ing a resource to use Arsenal’s ability.

On turn 4, Walls recruited Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective and Pantha, placing his whole team in the front row. Lo Moro chose to recruit Kid Flash on his turn, placing Dove in the front row supported by Kid Flash directly behind, and Hawk to his right. Arsenal and Pantha team attacked Hawk, stunning Hawk and Pantha (Tim Drake is some good). Ratcatcher attacked Dove, stunning both, and then Robin and Wonder Girl teamed up on Kid Flash. Lo Moro used Kid Flash to Home Surgery Hawk, stunning Wonder Girl. Walls then used Teen Titans Go! to ready Arsenal and Robin and team attacked Hawk again, stunning Robin. At the end of the attack endurance totals were Walls 43, Lo Moro 25.

Lo Moro recruited Cassie Sandmark ◊ Wonder Girl on turn 5, while all Walls could play was Donna Troy ◊ Wonder Girl. Gabe’s lack of big drops from the draft was starting to tell a bit, as was the resource he sacrificed to Arsenal way back on turn 3, since he had Superboy and Whisper A’Daire in hand, but it would be another turn or two before he could recruit them. Lo Moro attacked with his team into Walls’s smaller men, dropping Gabe’s endurance to 35.

Whisper made her belated appearance on turn 6 for Walls, as Lo Moro recruited his own Connor Kent ◊ Superboy, staying a turn ahead of Walls. Whisper traded with Lo Moro’s Wonder Girl, and Arsenal plus Robin teamed up to take down Kid Flash, but Connor Kent got a huge swing in on the counter attack from Lo Moro taking Walls to 15 endurance, while Raffaele was left with 16. Lo Moro kept his foot on the gas for turn 6, recruiting Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Defender of Bludhaven and a GCPD Officer, causing Walls to scoop up his cards and head to game 2.

Raffele Lo Moro 1, Gabe Walls 0


Game 2

A first turn Pantha from Walls was matched by Spoiler from Lo Moro. Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder was great for Lo Moro on turn 2, as Walls could only recruit Hank Hall ◊ Hawk. Lo Moro passed his attack (later smacking his head for being stupid), so Walls took the advantage, using Hawk to attack Spoiler, stunning the Gotham Knight, as Pantha traded with Robin.

Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective was Walls’s new recruit on turn 3, while Lo Moro again showed the strength of his deck, recruiting Hawk and Dove to his cause. World’s Finest joined Raffaele’s two team affiliations together, and the subsequent attacks made the endurance totals 47 - 45 in Walls’s favor, as Lo Moro went about actively blunting any tempo Walls could gain. Cassandra Cain ◊ Batgirl, Martial Artist was another huge play from Raffaele on turn 4, as Walls played an unimpressive The Joker, Laughing Lunatic. Hawk and Robin attacked Tim Drake, stunning him, Dove took down Pantha, and Cassandra Cain stunned The Joker, dropping Walls’s endurance total to 37.

“This is a draft deck gone bad,” observed Antonino De Rosa from the spectator’s railing, pointing out the fact that Walls was definitely under the gun. Walls recruited Whisper A’Daire on turn 5 to try and stem the bleeding, and thankfully for him Lo Moro could only recruit Kid Flash as his turn 5 play. Whisper took down Cassandra Cain at no expense to herself with help from From the Shadows and Break You, as Lo Moro had many on-board tricks and spent his hand to try to avoid the stun, but couldn’t overcome Walls’s plot twists. The rest of the attack phase dropped Lo Moro to 33 and Walls to 31.

Raffaele recruited Dick Grayson ◊ Nightwing, Titan Leader, as Walls again trumped him with Connor Kent ◊ Superboy. Lo Moro traded Batgirl with Whisper, and Nightwing stunned The Joker, dropping Walls to 14 endurance, the same total as Lo Moro after Superboy got his beat on.

The squads after the turn 7 recruit step were Superboy, 5-drop Nightwing, Tim Drake ◊ Robin, The Boy Wonder, and Hawk for Lo Moro to Superboy, Whisper, Mr. Freeze, and Ratcatcher for Walls. Since Walls had initiative on the odds, he was able to breakthrough for enough endurance loss to drop Lo Moro to -9 with four minutes left on the clock.

Raffele Lo Moro 1, Gabe Walls 1

Game 3

Turn 1 Pantha from Walls plus a turn 2