By sheer chance, we have another New Jersey amateur this round. Tom Veevers is from Cherry Hill, and this is his second $10K. Adam Fears, member of TDC, flew all the way from Alabama to compete in this event. Both of these players are undefeated heading into the fifth round. Adam won the die roll and selected the odd initiatives. Both players kept their opening hands.
Adam had a first turn Nenora.Tom played Lockjaw, Inhuman’s Best Friend to get Franklin Richards, Creator of Counter-Earth. Nenora got in for 2. On turn 2, Tom played Franklin in the hidden area. Adam recruited Black Bolt, Illuminati behind Nenora in the hidden area. He used the Bolt’s ability to replace a resource, and passed. Tom attacked directly for 5, and Adam swung back with his team.
On turn 3, Adam played Crystal, Elementelle in his hidden area. He got For the Glory of Doom and passed. Tom had Firelord, Pyreus Kril in front of Lockjaw, and passed. Adam sent Nenora and Crystal into Firelord, and Tom flipped Worldeater Apparatus to gain 3 endurance. The 3-drops traded stuns, and Adam passed. Franklin, now sporting a cosmic counter, attacked directly. Tom led, 43-39.
Turn 4 was Tom’s initiative, and he wasted no time in recruiting Thing, Rockhead in front of Lockjaw. Adam played Nahrees into his hidden area and passed. Tom attacked directly for 14 and passed it back to Adam. He sent his 1-, 2-, and 3-drops into Thing. The 4-drop went down and took Crystal with him. Nahrees attacked Lockjaw for a good amount of breakthrough, and Adam had no further attacks. In recovery, Nahrees got a counter and Lockjaw was KO’d. Tom still led, 31-22.
Adam’s turn 5 recruit was Paibok—his first visible character of the game. Tom recruited Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector in his support row and set up with Thing protecting Firelord. In combat, before declaring any attacks, Adam flipped Intergalactic Summit to team-up Skrull and Inhumans for the turn. He declared a team attack of Crystal and Black Bolt into Silver Surfer. Tom removed the Surfer’s counter and got Crystal off the board when the Surfer stunned. Paibok attacked Thing, and Tom flipped Extended Family to put a cosmic counter on Thing. He flipped Elemental Battle in a bid to brickwall, but Adam had a power-up. Tom used Worldeater Apparatus, and Thing was stunned and bounced. Adam paid 2 for Nahrees, ensuring that Silver Surfer would not ready this turn. Nahrees went after Firelord, and Tom discarded to force the stunback. Both characters bounced. Nenora attacked directly to conclude the turn. Tom still led, 21-13.
On turn 6, Tom recruited a Mind Gem onto Silver Surfer. He followed it up with Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival (fetching It’s Slobberin’ Time!) and his Firelord. He passed to Adam, who terraformed The Kyln into play to begin his recruit. Adam played Dr. Doom, Sorcerous Savant, and followed that up with an alternate cost Valeria Von Doom. He set up with Doom protecting Valeria, Paibok in the support row, and both of his hidden characters in the support row. In combat, Tom went into the tank. He finally came out with the plan of sending Firelord into Dr. Doom. He played Interstellar Offensive, flipped Blue Area of the Moon, and then played It’s Slobberin’ Time! Blue Area of the Moon was activated, and Tom pitched Tyrant for another +4 ATK. When the dust cleared, the unassuming 3-drop was 13 ATK / 14 DEF. Adam reinforced with Valeria, then KO’d her with Doom to flip Intergalactic Summit face down. He played it again, then flipped For the Glory of Doom! Tom KO’d Franklin to Doom to get the Slobberin’ Time on top of his deck, and then played it to stop the stunback. Black Bolt took down Doom, and Paibok took down Firestar. In recovery, Adam played Cosmic Order. He flipped The Kyln to lock down Tom’s remaining 3-drop, and that was the turn. Silver Surfer faced down Doom, Paibok, and Nenora. Tom still lead, 8-5.
On turn 7, Adam had Invisible Woman, Flame On! He set all of his characters in the support row with Doom in the middle. Tom under-dropped again with Korath the Pursuer. He kept both of his characters in the front row, and it was abundantly clear that his two 5-drops wouldn’t be able to contend with his opponent’s 5-, 6-, and 7-drops.