Waiting is usually the hardest part of any activity, and today was no exception. Snatches of nervous conversation could be heard from amongst the players as the judges began the round of deck checks. As I sat tapping away at my computer, I idly wondered how many of them were really aware of their environment; and how many simply had their stomachs tied up in knots thinking about the money they were going to play for.

 

I decided then that I would follow Ong Tze Hong for as far as he would manage to go. He, more than anyone else, would be nervous—a one-man army in a foreign land.

 

The players had already shuffled up as I approached the feature match table. They were raring to go and just waiting for the judge's permission to begin.

 

Game 1

 

Charlman won the die roll and opted to take the odd initiative. However, it was Tze Hong who recruited the first character, as both players had nothing to play on turn 1. Tze Hong's Electro swung directly into Charlman as his Werewolf by Night was too insubstantial to threaten Electro.

 

Charlman managed Brother Voodoo on turn 3, while Tze Hong had Orphan, Guy Smith. Brother Voodoo swung across the curve with Crime and Punishment to take out Orphan and clear the path for Werewolf. Before resolution of combat, Tze Hong flipped X-Statix HQ to KO Electro, and then allowed Orphan to stun.

 

Tze Hong under-dropped on turn 4, recruiting only Mendel Stromm and Plazm. Charlman activated Brother Voodoo's ability, exchanging three cards for two. He then recruited Luke Cage, Street Enforcer.

 

Plazm swung into Brother Voodoo for a double stun, followed by an interesting play. Mendel Stromm attacked Charlman, but when it was Orphan's turn to attack, Tze Hong sacrificed Mendel Stromm to give Orphan a counter, flipped Mind Over Matter to return Plazm to his hand, and flipped X-Statix Cafe, pumping Orphan to 13 ATK.

 

However, Charlman refused to be shut out of the race, and swung Luke Cage into Orphan with Hell's Fury for a double stun. Werewolf by Night took a final nip at the Malaysian once the path cleared, and Charlman played Mist Form on his character for some card advantage.

 

On turn 5, Charlman opened by discarding Dagger to search for Midnight Sons, and proceeded to recruit Mephisto, Soulstealer. Tze Hong had Battering Ram.

 

Mephisto assaulted Battering Ram with Black Magic, but Tze Hong merely used X-Statix HQ to KO Orphan and played Dead Weight. Charlman was forced to use Mephisto's ability and had to remove six character cards from the KO'd pile to achieve the desired double stun.

 

Werewolf by Night and Luke Cage were able to hit Tze Hong directly once Battering Ram was cleared out of the way. Charlman also played Crime and Punishment to push through some endurance loss, and flipped Mist Form in a bid to draw into the cards he needed. The turn ended with both players at 15 endurance each.

 

Tze Hong had Zeitgeist on turn 6, while Charlman was required to Wild Ride for Asmodeus. Tze Hong activated Battering Ram's ability in combat, to which Charlman responded to by activating Asmodeus. Once assured that there could be no reinforcement, Zeitgeist swung into Asmodeus. Strength of the Grave empowered Asmodeus to pull out from that attack, and the turn passed.

 

Both players were ready to replay a turn with only 6 resources, and having the initiative, Charlman recruited Blackheart. Tze Hong had the perfect answer in the form of Plazm with boost.

 

Asmodeus flew into Zeitgeist with Hell's Fury, but that merely caused Zeitgeist to activate to stun Asmodeus. Next, Charlman tried proposing a team attack of Luke Cage and Werewolf by Night on Zeitgeist, but Tze Hong foiled that plan with Glory Hound.

 

Having taken 18 points of endurance loss through non-combat means, Charlman was at -3 with no means of getting by Zeitgeist. He scooped.

 

Game 2

 

Having lost game 1, Charlman once again decided to take the odd initiative. Like game 1, the first character that saw the light of play was Tze Hong's Electro, but Charlman's reply this time was Iron Fist, Danny Rand. They mutually stunned when Iron Fist retaliated against Electro.

 

Tze Hong got off to a rather shaky foundation as he only managed Mendel Stromm to Charlman's Brother Voodoo on turn 3. When Iron Fist swung into Electro, Mendel Stromm reinforced his larger brethren and sacrificed himself to give Electro a +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter.

 

Tze Hong had Venom on turn 4, while Charlman had the familiar sequence of Wild Ride for Dagger, then discarding for Midnight Sons. He recruited Centurious.

 

In combat, Tze Hong activated Electro to stun Iron Fist, while Venom took on Brother Voodoo. Charlman powered-up Brother Voodoo twice and flipped Strength of the Grave to bring about a mutual stun. Centurious then went after Electro.

 

Charlman looked to be in a good position coming into turn 5 as he had Blade, The Daywalker to Tze Hong's Battering Ram. When Blade ran into Venom, Tze Hong merely flipped Marvel Team-Up and reinforced with Battering Ram before allowing Venom to stun. When Centurious swung into Battering Ram, Tze Hong returned Venom to his hand with Mind Over Matter. He then flips X-Statix Cafe.

 

Centurious responded to the threat by letting loose a Flying Kick, but Tze Hong had Dead Weight for that. Charlman was forced to power-up Centurious twice for a double stun. Meanwhile, Brother Voodoo's path to the dome was cleared.

 

Tze Hong had Zeitgeist while Charlman played Wild Ride for Asmodeus on turn 6. In combat, Asmodeus's ability was activated to KO one resource on each side. Zeitgeist attacked Blade, who was promptly reinforced, and the same happened when Battering Ram attacked Centurious. Charlman chose to keep Centurious over Blade.

 

The game once again reached a repeated turn with 6 resources.
Chulman's rationale for keeping Centurious over Blade was revealed as he played a boosted Blade. Tze Hong declined to recruit a character. Asmodeus swung into Battering Ram, but Tze Hong played Mind Over Matter to return Battering Ram and the demon lord readied. The demon lord went after Zeitgeist the second time, and they were both stunned when Charlman played Hell's Fury.

 

Brother Voodoo tried to team up with Centurious to go for the dome, though Tze Hong played Spin Doctoring to make that illegal. They try going for Zeitgeist instead, and let rip with Flying Kick and Mist Form.

 

Charlman might still have had a chance had Tze Hong not drawn that second copy of Spin Doctoring.

 

Tze Hong wins, 2-0.