Game One

This one started with Jacob exclaiming, “You’re a champion!” when Kyle produced the crucial Roy Harper ◊ Speedy on turn 1. The big deal here was that Speedy could really stall Michael’s deck, constantly taking Longshot out of the picture. When Kyle produced Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective on turn 2, Jacob knew he was in trouble.

Michael’s turn 2 play was Pyro, which he followed with Wolverine, Logan. Kyle missed his 3-drop, and Wolverine’s resulting attack left the endurance totals at 44-42 in Dembinski’s favor.

Kyle then played Terra, another method with which to deal with many of Michael’s mutants, and Jacob answered with Rogue, Power Absorption. This left the field virtually even, save for Kyle’s newly flipped Tamaran. Rogue attacked Robin, Terra shot Wolverine, and Pyro shot Kyle, leaving the endurance totals at 39-36 in Jacob’s favor.

On turn 5, Quicksilver, Speed Demon and Garth ◊ Tempest joined the fray. The prince of Atlantis and the Boy Wonder team attacked Quicksilver, stunning Tim in the process. After Kyle passed, Rogue attacked Terra. Global Domination negated Tamaran’s power-up attempt, but Kyle had a second Terra in hand to win the battle. He then played Finishing Move on Quicksilver, and Jacob’s demeanor became less and less confident with each passing event.

“Do you just have a horrible, horrible hand?” Kyle asked with a small smile on his face. Jacob could only respond with a dejected nod. On turn 6, Michael played Longshot and another Quicksilver, to which Kyle responded with Optitron for Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal. After playing Roy, Kyle activated it with Garth, Terra and Tim Drake, stunning Quicksilver. He then played Press the Attack, targeting the 10 ATK/3 DEF Roy. Harper then attacked, Garth fetched Teen Titans Go! and Jacob could only scoop up his cards, choosing to not get the Vs. System equivalent of repeated punches to the face. He revealed six characters in his resource row as he scooped.

Dembinski 1, Jacob 0


Game Two

Michael started things off a little better with a first-turn Longshot, though he missed on the call of Wolverine and Rogue. Kyle, with the even initiative, played a second turn Tim Drake after Longshot missed again. Jacob was showing signs of a full tilt, shuffling his hand in disgust at his draw. He flipped Cerebro and activated it, saying “probably a resource,” but managed to hit Rogue before playing Wolverine, Logan. Kyle replied with Hawk and Dove, thanks to a little boost action. Jacob had Mikado and Mosha for Dove, and Wolverine attacked Hawk, taking the endurance totals to 48-46 in Jacob’s favor

On turn 4, Rogue and Roy came out on either side, with Rogue taking Longshot’s power. A team attack on Rogue followed by Teen Titans Go! led to Wolverine stunning as well, and Terra was sacrificed in the attack.

“How many cards in hand?” Michael asked.
“Three,” Kyle replied.
“That’s all?”
“I don’t have Longshot.”
“Probably wish you did,” Michael smirked.

Michael’s confidence was growing, staying competitive on the table as his hand grew larger. Avalon Space Station, then Cerebro, then Lost City made appearances in his resource row as Michael leaned forward and started talking fast and furious, pounding upon his opponent’s psyche. Kyle, at this point, started looking like a man waiting for death. After recovering, Garth was the last Titan standing, but he wouldn’t have to be for much longer. The score stood at 40-30 in Michael’s favor.

The rest of the game can be summed up by Michael’s attitude during the turn 6 formation. He picked up Rogue, looked around the table, then threw it down randomly, saying “Who cares?” A lopsided affair, this one was all over but the crying. As any good tournament should, this one would come down to one final game.

Jacob 1, Dembinski 1

Game Three

After nothing on turn 1, Jacob started the action by flipping Cerebro on turn 2 before Kyle played Tim Drake, taking Jacob to 48 endurance. Readying, Kyle then played Dove with boost, suddenly outnumbering Jacob’s characters 3-0. Wolverine, Logan was ready to play, though, coming to his mentor’s defense. A team attack on Wolverine was disastrous, as Mikado and Mosha took out Dove and a power-up kept Wolverine around, and Kyle’s initially good-looking draw rapidly turned ugly.

Keeping Tim Drake around, Kyle played Terra after Jacob played Jean Grey, Marvel Girl—but Kyle had nothing to play on turn 5, a very bad sign. Michael played Quicksilver, Speed Demon. Terra and Tim attacked the Speed demon, but Jacob had Lost City waiting, pumping up Quicksilver to 11/11. Kyle played Savage Beatdown and tried to use Tamaran, but Michael flipped Avalon Space Station and powered up again, and then used Global Domination. Kyle made one more attempt, flipping and activating Titan’s Tower, but Jacob had a second Global Domination. “I can’t win,” Kyle admitted, and conceded. Michael Jacob is the $10K Chicago champion!