These players have been featured previously in the Top 8, so you should certainly be familiar with who they are and what they’re playing. A lot of people expected Teen Titans or High Voltage where Nicolas is sitting right now, but apparently, Good Guys has plenty of ability to compete with the more popular decks in the format. Yu-Ming won the die roll and selected the odd initiatives for the first game.
Game 1
Yu-Ming had Electric Eve for turn 1, while Nicolas missed. Yu-Ming used a Flying Kick and double-evaded to hit Nicolas for 7. On turn 2, Nicolas recruited Maxwell Lord, Financier, discarding War of Attrition to search for World’s Greatest Heroes. Yu-Ming had Micro-Chip and Mikado and Mosha. Nicolas sent Maxwell into Electric Eve, and Yu-Ming allowed the stun. He chose not to attack back, and the score was 46-42 in Yu-Ming’s favor at the end of the turn.
For turn 3, Yu-Ming hit his Black Panther, King of Wakanda with Advanced Hardware. Nicolas under-dropped with Sue Dibny, searching up a Connor Hawke ◊ Green Arrow that he recruited. Nicolas set up with Sue protecting Connor, flipped World’s Greatest Heroes, and passed. Yu-Ming traded Mikado for Sue, then sent Electric Eve into Connor. Nicolas powered-up with Magnificent Seven, and Yu-Ming responded by using Micro-Chip to flip down Flying Kick. Yu-Ming replayed the Kick, and Nicolas had Mikado and Mosha to stun the 1-drop, which evaded. Yu-Ming next sent Black Panther into Maxwell, and Nicolas simply reinforced. Sue was lost in recovery. Yu-Ming had the lead, 44-38.
Turn 4 was Nicolas’s initiative, and he recruited Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Thanagarian Enforcer. Yu-Ming recruited Fiero in the hidden area and set up with Black Panther protecting Mikado. Nicolas team attacked his 2-drops into Black Panther, and Yu-Ming burned him. The attack resolved, and Black Panther traded stuns with Maxwell Lord. Next, Nicolas played No Man Escapes the Manhunters to move Fiero to the visible area. In response, Yu-Ming burned Nicolas for 6. Katar Hol attacked the newly-visible 4-drop, and it was stunned without a problem. Left with no ready characters, Nicolas passed to Yu-Ming, who traded Electric Eve for Connor. Before recovery, Nicolas flipped a JLI Embassy to recover Maxwell, so he lost no characters. Yu-Ming lost Eve and Black Panther but maintained a lead of 35-25.
Yu-Ming under-dropped on turn 5 with an Ape X that searched out a Flamethrower. He equipped the Flamethrower to Ape, then recruited another Black Panther. This Panther also picked up an Advanced Hardware. Yu-Ming protected Fiero with Black Panther and passed. Nicolas recruited John Henry Irons ◊ Steel, Steel-Drivin’ Man without any equipment. He set up with Maxwell protecting Steel and Connor protecting Katar before passing back. Yu-Ming sent Fiero into Connor; Nicolas allowed it. The 2-drop was stunned. Black Panther ran over Maxwell Lord, and again, Nicolas simply allowed the stun. Yu-Ming declined to make any further attacks, and Nicolas struck back by sending Steel after Black Panther. The 3-drop went down. Next, Katar Hol attacked Ape X. Yu-Ming burned, and Ape was KO’d. Before recovery, Nicolas used a Kooey Kooey Kooey to get another copy of itself, then made use of the Embassy to keep all of his characters. Yu-Ming kept his remaining characters as well and retained a lead of 21-11.
Turn 6 was Nicolas’s initiative. He played Enemy of My Enemy for Kang, Kang Cobra and discarded the 3-drop to fuel another Enemy for Fire. Fire was recruited, and Nicolas pushed all five of his characters to the front. Yu-Ming burned Nicolas for 3 with his Black Panther, then recruited Jester. He paid 3 endurance to move the Hardware to Mikado and Mosha, then gave Jester a Flamethrower. He set up with Fiero protecting Jester and Black Panther protecting Mikado, and then passed. Nicolas sent Steel into Mikado, and Yu-Ming burned before allowing the stun. Next, Fire attacked Fiero, and Yu-Ming burned again, letting his 4-drop be stunned. Katar Hol took down Black Panther without issue, and finally, Maxwell Lord went after Jester. Nicolas used Kooey Kooey Kooey, and in response, played Magnificent Seven. He drew, and then still in response, played another Magnificent Seven. He drew again, and then the Kooey resolved, finding a Light Armor. Jester exhausted to burn Nicolas for 5, and Yu-Ming played Die for Darkseid! to KO the 4-drop. Maxwell Lord attacked directly for 2, and Connor attacked directly for 6 with help from Light Armor. This was more than enough to bridge the endurance gap and seal the first game for Nicolas.
Game 2
Yu-Ming took the odd initiatives and mulliganed his opener. Nicolas kept. Yu-Ming started things off with a first turn Electric Eve, while Nicolas had Sue Dibny to search for Maxwell Lord, Financier. The characters traded stuns. Nicolas recruited Maxwell on turn 2, discarding Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle to search for World’s Greatest Heroes. Nicolas pushed his characters to the front and passed. Yu-Ming had only a Ratcatcher in front of Electric Eve. Sue attacked Ratcatcher, and both characters stunned. Maxwell went after Electric Eve, and Yu-Ming evaded. Maxwell attacked directly to conclude combat. The endurance score stood at 45-43 in Yu-Ming’s favor.
Yu-Ming began turn 3 with three 5-point Surprise Attacks. He recruited Black Panther, King of Wakanda, equipping him with Advanced Hardware. Nicolas had Shayera Thal ◊ Hawkwoman behind Sue and equipped her with an Nth Metal. Yu-Ming sent Black Panther into Maxwell, and Nicolas used Meltdown on Panther’s Hardware before allowing the stun. Next, Electric Eve evaded, and Ratcatcher traded stuns with Sue. Nicolas attacked back with Shayera, taking down Black Panther and searching out a copy of Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Thanagarian Enforcer in the process. Before recovery, Nicolas flipped JLI Embassy to keep all of his characters around. Only Ratcatcher was lost in recovery. The score was 38-19 in Yu-Ming’s favor.
Nicolas had the initiative on turn 4, and he recruited his Katar Hol. Yu-Ming played Enemy of My Enemy for Jester, which he recruited behind Black Panther. Nicolas sent Sue into Electric Eve, and Yu-Ming played Wild Ride to get Mikado and Mosha to stun the 1-drop. Shayera went after Electric Eve, and Yu-Ming evaded. Shayera tried again, this time going after Jester. Yu-Ming paid 3 endurance to steal Shayera’s Nth Metal, and Nicolas powered-up from hand to force the mutual stun. Shayera’s ability yielded Nicolas another Nth Metal. Katar Hol took down Black Panther, and Maxwell was free to attack directly. In recovery, Sue and Black Panther were lost. Yu-Ming led, 20-14.
On turn 5, Yu-Ming played another Enemy of My Enemy to get John Henry Irons ◊ Steel, Steel-Drivin’ Man. The 5-drop picked up an Advanced Hardware from Yu-Ming’s KO’d pile, and Yu-Ming passed. Nicolas recruited a Steel of his own from his resource row without replacement. He set up with Maxwell protecting Katar Hol and Shayera protecting Steel, and then passed back. Yu-Ming went into the tank at the start of combat, eventually deciding to attack Katar Hol with Steel. Nicolas powered-up with Magnificent Seven and used Shayera’s ability to pick up another copy of Katar Hol. He powered-up from hand and used Shayera’s ability once again to pick up yet another copy of Katar Hol. He powered-up a third time, this time getting a Light Armor. The characters traded stuns. Jester attacked into Maxwell Lord, and Nicolas allowed it—the 2-drop went down without trouble. Yu-Ming passed, and Nicolas sent Shayera into Electric Eve. Both characters stunned. Finally, Nicolas sent Steel into Jester. He played Magnificent Seven to power-up from hand, then discarded Light Armor to pump again. The endurance totals were now 2-1 in Nicolas’s favor, but Yu-Ming had the Die for Darkseid! to push through the final endurance loss he needed to win.
Game 3
Nicolas took the odd initiatives for the final game of the tournament. Yu-Ming mulliganed and Nicolas kept. Nicolas led off with Sue Dibny, and Yu-Ming responded with two copies of Surprise Attack. Sue picked up Maxwell Lord, Financier. Yu-Ming recruited Electric Eve, and the 1-drops traded stuns. On turn 2, Yu-Ming had Ape X to get Advanced Hardware, which he equipped to Electric Eve. Nicolas played a new Sue Dibny, searching out Adam Strange, Champion of Rann. He also recruited Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle in front of Sue. Nicolas used Ted to get an Nth Metal and passed. Yu-Ming traded Ape for Ted, then sent Electric Eve into Sue with a Mega-Blast. Yu-Ming led, 47-27.
Turn 3 was Nicolas’s initiative. He played Shayera Thal ◊ Hawkwoman, then immediately teamed-up with World’s Greatest Heroes. Shayera received an Nth Metal, and Nicolas passed. Yu-Ming had a Hardware-equipped King Snake in front of Eve, and passed back. Ted attacked King Snake, and Yu-Ming activated the 1-drop to burn Nicolas for 3. Shayera went after Eve, and Nicolas used her ability to search out a copy of Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman. Yu-Ming burned Nicolas with Eve, and the characters traded stuns. In recovery, Nicolas used Adam Strange to KO Electric Eve. King Snake and Shayera recovered, and Sue was KO’d. The score was now 39-18 in Yu-Ming’s favor.
On turn 4, Yu-Ming had nothing to recruit but a new Electric Eve behind his King Snake. Nicolas recruited an Nth Metal–equipped Katar Hol in front of Shayera. Yu-Ming attempted to play Flying Kick on King Snake, but it was negated by BWA HA HA HA HA!. Yu-Ming evaded Eve and passed his attacks. King Snake burned before he was stunned by Katar Hol. Shayera attacked directly, and her ability grabbed Nicolas a Flamethrower. In recovery, Yu-Ming led 23-10.
For turn 5, Nicolas quickly recruited a Flamethrower-equipped John Henry Irons ◊ Steel. Yu-Ming had a less-than-impressive Jetpack on Electric Eve. Katar Hol smashed into Eve, and Shayera’s ability netted Nicolas another copy of Katar Hol. He powered-up from hand, and Shayera’s ability got a Light Armor. Eve evaded, and Katar Hol readied. Katar Hol went after King Snake, and Nicolas used Kooey Kooey Kooey to get a Magnificent Seven. He played it, and then another, finally passing when Katar Hol was 11 ATK / 11 DEF. Yu-Ming could only power-up to prevent a point. Nicolas team attacked directly, KO’ing his Nth Metals to power-up two additional times. He also discarded a Light Armor and cracked two more Kooeys for a Magnificent Seven and a Meltdown. He powered-up again, then gained 2 endurance with the Meltdown. Yu-Ming had a Surprise Attack and a Die for Darkseid!, but it wasn’t enough. The final score was -1 to -12 in Nicolas’s favor.
Congratulations to Nicolas Cuenca, winner of $10K Boston!