A weekend packed with success for Fantastic Fun and Evil Medical School boiled down to this—the classic matchup of Curve Sentinels versus Teen Titans.

“Let’s see if I can replicate that god draw from the third game,” remarked Sundholm, shuffling his deck with incredible thoroughness. Both competitors exchanged some respectful comments, and play began swiftly.

Sundholm won the flip and opted to take odds. Both players mulliganed and neither had a 1-drop. “No little guy—dang. No little guy for you?” Sundholm was pleased at first, but when neither player hit a 2-drop, he was a touch annoyed. “Doggies, where are you?” he grinned.

Yapjoco would miss a drop on turn 3, as well, taking a direct beating from Sentinel Mark II. He finally recruited on turn 4, getting Red Star after a long drought. Sundholm recruited a Mark V and passed after protecting his Mark II. The Mark V went down in a double-stun, and the Mark II swung back unopposed. The endurance totals stood at 46 to 38, with Sundholm in the lead.

Sundholm hit his 5-drop in a big way, getting out Nimrod and using him in an L formation to protect the Mark II. The game was textbook for Sundholm at this point. Yapjoco flipped USS Argus, recruited Garth, and left both characters in the back row. He’d forgotten to set a resource. Sundholm was fine with him placing it, but it was obvious that Yapjoco’s mind was a bit occupied.

Nimrod set his sights on Red Star, and Yapjoco responded with Titans Tower, sacrificing Terra to remove Nimrod’s counter. Red Star went down. Sentinel Mark V then attacked Garth with the Mark IIs aid, and both Garth and the Mark V stunned. Yapjoco lost Red Star.

Next turn, he recruited another Red Star and a Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective. It didn’t seem to faze Sundholm in the slightest; he had his curve in his hand and recruited Bastion. Forming up with Bastion behind the Mark V and Nimrod behind the Mark II, he passed.

All three Titans attacked the Mark V, and Garth brought back last turn’s Red Star to power up the in-play one. This prevented stun-back. Teen Titans Go! then readied all three of Yapjoco’s characters. They all went after Bastion, and Sundholm promptly Cover Fired twice. Titans Tower was added to the chain, discarding Garth. The endurance count was Yapjoco’s 23 to Sundholm’s 20. Sundholm started stacking on pumps with Bastion’s effect—three in total, making Bastion 15 ATK/23 DEF. He then played Reconstruction Program, took back three Sentinels from his KO’d pile, and gave one more pump. Yapjoco added a Savage Beatdown to the chain, and Sundholm had to pause to consider his next move. He let it go and Bastion stunned.

Teen Titans Go! readied all three attackers again, and Red Star pounded the Mark II. Yapjoco then passed combat to Sundholm. Nimrod attacked Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective, and Finishing Move took out Bastion in response. Sundholm Nasty Surprised Robin and then Overloaded him, readying his attacker . . . the Titans aren’t the only ones who can attack multiple times in a turn. Nimrod then took down Red Star. By the end of the turn, it was Garth and Red Star against a Mark V and Nimrod.

“One card in hand?” asked Sundholm. He was right, and Yapjoco confirmed it.

Turn 7 saw Sundholm go off, recruiting Magneto and popping a single Genosha immediately. He passed to Yapjoco, who activated USS Argus to draw a card. Knowing it was over this turn, he activated a second, KO’ing the first. He needed Roy Harper Arsenal in a big way.

Yapjoco made his first play, recruiting Dawn Granger ◊ Dove with boost to bring out Hawk. He then recruited Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal. He formed up with Hawk and Roy protecting Red Star and Garth respectively; Dove was left in the back row next to Red Star. It was 24 to 20 for Sundholm. “You’re up,” said Yapjoco.

Magneto attacked Garth, and Yapjoco started pumping Roy. Hawk and Dove exhausted and Roy shot to stun the Mark V. Red Star bumped him up to 10 ATK, and a Press the Attack then allowed Roy to snipe off Nimrod. The attack continued, and another Press allowed Red Star to reinforce Garth. He stunned and went to the KO’d pile while Sundholm lost the Mark V. Yapjoco instantly hated himself for forgetting to bounce the Press back before Garth was stunned.

Next turn, Sundholm brought out another copy of Bastion and a Boliver Trask (fetching a Mark V). After staring at the board, Yapjoco conceded game 1.

“Oh man . . . I got slaughtered! I even got Overloaded.” Yapjoco needed a far better opening if he wanted to stay in the match.

Patrick Yapjoco 0, Peter Sundholm 1

Yapjoco took the initiative on even turns.

“Come on doggies, be there!” Sundholm flipped over his opening hand before deciding to mulligan. He recruited Boliver Trask on turn 1, let out an enthusiastic howl, and grabbed himself a Hounds of Ahab! Yapjoco had no rebuttal.

He recruited Tim Drake on turn 2, and Sundholm dropped Hounds of Ahab. Yapjoco refused to attack, though, so Sundholm had to team attack for the double-stun. All characters readied.

Sundholm was curving perfectly, recruiting Sentinel Mark II on turn 3. Yapjoco had what he needed as well, though, recruiting Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal. The Mark II attacked Tim Drake, who stunned back thanks to Tamaran. Boliver then team attacked with the Hounds to stun Arsenal. This was a smart move that broke apart Yapjoco’s synergies but also lost the Hounds. “Hard to give up on that doggy, but it was fun while it lasted.”

Next turn, Yapjoco recruited Tim Drake again, this time with boost. Sundholm recruited a Mark V and formed up with Boliver playing the roll of human shield. Tim Drake stunned him, and Arsenal then attacked the Mark II. Sundholm fingered a face-down Cover Fire for a while, thinking of his next move, but opted not to use it. The Mark V then attacked into Arsenal—it was a risk, but one well worth taking, as Yapjoco had no answer. It was Arsenal and Tim Drake against a Mark V and a Mark II.

Sundholm had control of the initiative for turn 5, and he again managed to recruit Nimrod. Yapjoco was ready, though, and recruited Garth ◊ Tempest. Both players opted for L formations, with Nimrod protecting Sentinel Mark II and Tim Drake protecting Garth.

Nimrod attacked Garth, who was powered up by Tamaran. Sundholm powered up his Nimrod with an in-hand copy, forcing Yapjoco to flip a second Tamaran in desperation. In response, Sundholm used a Savage Beatdown, and Garth exhausted to give Roy +2 ATK. “That’s big,” mused Yapjoco. He attempted to Overload/Beatdown Nimrod, and Roy Harper shot the Mark II, but the Mark II was powered up to keep it out of Harper’s range. Yapjoco was now down to just three resources. Nimrod stunned. Finally, the Mark V slammed into Tim Drake.

Yapjoco had only 4 resource points for turn 6, so he recruited Red Star. With the initiative on his side, the turn looked like it might be promising for him. Sundholm had no Bastion, though he did have a Magneto and a Genosha for the next turn . . . as well as a row of Cover Fires and a Reconstruction Program. He opted to recruit a Mark V with boost, stuck it behind the Mark II, shielded the other Mark V with Nimrod, and passed.

All four Titans attacked Nimrod, and Sundholm had no response. Garth brought back a Teen Titans Go! from the KO’d pile, and all four Titans readied. Red Star stunned the Mark II, and the other three Titans attacked the boosted Mark V. It stunned and took Tim Drake down with it. Press the Attack readied Garth before the stun occurred, and Garth attacked the last Sentinel. A Nasty Surprise ensured the double-stun.

Moving into turn 7, Sundholm had nothing but his boosted Mark V against Garth, Red Star, and Roy. “To play or not to play . . . ” wondered Sundholm aloud, holding a Magneto but worrying that Yapjoco might Betrayal. He Reconstruction Programmed to get a pair of Mark Vs and a Mark II, recruited one of each, popped Genosha, and passed. Normally, playing Genosha at that point would be a bad decision—doing it before you recruit or not saving it for combat? Not good. But here it got him a Savage Beatdown and an Overload, so it was a gamble that paid off. He formed up in an L with the Mark II protected and passed.

Terra hit the field on Yapjoco’s side and he formed up with Garth behind her. Red Star hid behind Roy Harper, and Yapjoco passed.

One of the Mark Vs attacked, and in response, Terra attempted to stun the Mark II. It activated to negate her effect. Tamaran powered her up, but Sundholm had a power-up of his own at the ready. Garth and Red Star both exhausted to give Roy +4 ATK. Yapjoco spent some time contemplating his next move and then exhausted Roy for his own effect. Press the Attack readied him, and he took a shot at the attacking Mark V, but Sundholm saw just what he was waiting for and Overloaded. The attack resolved, Terra hit the dirt, and Yapjoco was not in a good position. The second Mark V, this one boosted, then attacked into Red Star with a Beatdown. Yapjoco added a Beatdown of his own and used Garth to bring back an Overload, narrowly keeping himself in the game. He lost Roy Harper and play moved to turn 8.

Yapjoco recruited Tim Drake with boost and a Dove. “How many cards in your hand?” asked Sundholm. He only had three, along with one set resource. Sundholm was running odds in his head, trying to figure out if Yapjoco had a Teen Titans Go! or a Betrayal, and if so, how many. With the Mark II on the table, he could perhaps afford one Betrayal depending on how Yapjoco played everything out, but two would be ruinous. He eventually opted to set Magneto and then recruit a copy of Nimrod. It was 13 to 8 in his favor. He stuck Nimrod in front of one Mark V, the other Mark V in front of the Mark II, and passed.

Tim Drake, Terra, and Red Star all team attacked Nimrod for a total of 15 ATK. Sundholm flipped a pair of Cover Fires to take Nimrod to 21 DEF­. He was definitely looking to end it this turn. Garth and Dove then team attacked the Mark V, too, and Sundholm couldn’t save it. The score was 9 to 8.

Teen Titans Go! readied everything for Yapjoco, Garth and Dove attacked Nimrod, and he lost his counter. Red Star and Tim Drake then team attacked Nimrod, and Reconstruction Program brought one back to Sundholm’s hand for a power-up. Tamaran powered up Red Star, but a second Reconstruction Program kept Nimrod out of harm’s way . . . until a power-up hit from Yapjoco’s hand. Nimrod stunned and the score was suddenly 4 to 8 with Sundholm in major trouble.

Press the Attack readied Garth, who team attacked with Terra into the Mark V. If the attack worked, it would be enough to force the match to game 3. It did, and Sundholm scooped.

Patrick Yapjoco 1, Peter Sundholm 1

The match area exploded into conversation, including talk amongst the competitors about the previous game.

Neither player had a 1-drop. Turn 2 saw Tim Drake hit the table, and Sundholm gave one of his signature howls as he dropped a Hound. Tim swung for 2 directly, and play moved to the next turn.

A Mark II appeared on Sundholm’s side, while Yapjoco recruited Hank Hall Hawk with boost, cutting short Sundholm’s hopes for a Hounds lock. The Mark II ploughed a big red fist into Tim Drake’s little face, and that was it for the turn’s combat.

Yapjoco was curving perfectly, recruiting Terra. He stuck her behind Hawk and placed everyone else sat up front with him. Sundholm recruited a Mark V and passed. All four characters team attacked the Mark V. It stunned, and so did Dove. Teen Titans Go! readied the remaining characters, Tim and Hank smacked the Mark II, and Terra’s effect (used on a freshly flipped Optitron) socked the Hounds for a loop. By the end of the turn, it was Terra, Hawk, and Tim Drake against a lone Mark V.

It would be joined by a second Mark V on the next turn. “Are you going three for three?” asked Sundholm, referring to Yapjoco’s curve hitting. “My guess is yes, or else you wasted an Optitron.” Yapjoco flinched just slightly and recruited Roy Harper and Dove.

Dove and Tim Drake made Roy Harper an 8 ATK little monster, and he snipped off the un-boosted Mark V. The boosted one then attacked Hawk, and Terra reinforced him. Things were going exceptionally well for Yapjoco.

Next turn, he recruited the Garth he’d missed last turn and formed up with his rangers in the back behind a wall of Dove, Hawk, and Tim Drake. Sundholm kept on curving, though, this time sticking Bastion in the corner of an L behind the boosted Mark V. Dove, Hawk, and Garth all team attacked into the Sentinel Mark V. Sundholm Beatdown/Overloaded Hawk, but Tim Drake deflected it to Dove. The double-stun resulted in the Mark V and Hawk going down. Terra, Harper, and Tim Drake then all attacked Bastion and were readied by Teen Titans Go! (courtesy of Garth’s effect). Harper shot the Mark V, but Bastion and a single card pumped him up +1 ATK/+1 DEF. Garth exhausted to try to get Roy over the hump, but two more Bastionings again saved him. Titans Tower and Cassie Sandsmark, however, gave Roy a huge ATK bonus. Sundholm thought for what was easily two minutes, checking his downs before allowing the attack and the Sniper shot. He lost everything but Bastion.

Sundholm had no choice. He had to go for it and recruit Magneto. As he did, Yapjoco smiled. He formed up with Magneto in front of Bastion and passed.

Yapjoco recruited Red Star, burned for 5 to put Sundholm at 16, and passed. “This sucks,” said Yapjoco. “It doesn’t suck if you have Betrayal!” said Sundholm. “Show me a Betrayal and I’ll scoop.”

“I don’t have it.”

Yapjoco formed up with everything in the back row, and Sundholm blew up two copies of Genosha, netting himself multiple copies of Overload.

“Do you have Betrayal?” asked Yapjoco, dead-pan. Sundholm slooowly lowered a single card in his hand, revealing a Betrayal, and both laughed despite the obvious tension.

Armed with a grand total of three Overloads in hand, Sundholm would tear Roy Harper apart if he stepped out of line—that was awful for Yapjoco because his formation looked like this:

Tim Drake – Roy Harper – Red Star – Terra – Garth

If Roy Harper pumped and was then stunned by Overload, Tim Drake would become an instant gateway to a huge amount of breakthrough if Yapjoco couldn’t Heroic Sacrifice.

Magneto swung into Garth, and Garth exhausted to give Roy +2 ATK. Heroic Sacrifice then stunned Tim Drake, making clear why Yapjoco chose the formation he did. Losing his outside character didn’t result in isolating any of his other characters from reinforcement—pretty dang smart.

Bastion attacked into Roy Harper and Red Star reinforced, but three pumps from Bastion set him up for Overloading. Sundholm dropped the Overload and Yapjoco pondered if there was a way out of his predicament. He played Heroic Sacrifice, again shunting the stun to Terra. He was trying to make sure Bastion wouldn’t ready after the attack.

A second Overload came down and stunned Roy before the Sacrifice could work! Yapjoco let loose with one of those words that would be printed as a menagerie of linguistic symbols in a comic book. Bastion readied, and Garth and Red Star were isolated because Terra was stunned for the Sacrifice! Bastion then swung at Garth—it was legal. Sundholm passed priority and there was nothing Yapjoco could do but take it. He lost everything but Red Star, while Sundholm kept Magneto and Bastion.

Yapjoco recruited Red Star and Tim Drake, but Sundholm recruited a boosted Mark V. Yapjoco took a long look at the board and offered Sundholm the handshake.

Peter Sundholm wins $10K Seattle!

Both players started talking about the game, congratulating each other. “You went all-in, man. Congratulations!”