These guys are Vs. System stars. Each of them has a Pro Circuit Top 8 to his name, although neither made the cut to Day 2 of this weekend’s PC. In fact, I was responsible for eliminating Dustin in the sixth round (before being eliminated myself in the seventh).
Dustin won the coin flip and chose the odd initiatives. Both players mulliganed, and both players missed their first turn plays. Nick had the first recruit of the game, Red Tornado, which Dustin followed up with L-Ron. The characters stared each other down as both players declined to attack. “We might go to turn 8!” said Nick. “Wouldn’t that be nice for me?”
On turn 3, Dustin recruited David Clinton ◊ Chronos behind L-Ron. Nick recruited Dr. Sivana in front of Red Tornado, and equipped it with Justice League Signal Device. He hit, netting Dinah Laurel Lance ◊ Pretty Bird. Dustin passed his attacks, and Nick sent Dr. Sivana into L-Ron. UN Recognition forced the stun back, and Death Trap from Dustin returned Sivana to Nick’s hand.
Nick had the initiative on the fourth turn and recruited Dinah in front of Red Tornado. Dustin had John Stewart, Emerald Architect in the support row. David protected L-Ron. Nick’s first attack sent Dinah into L-Ron. Dustin used UN Building to team up all three of his teams and simply reinforced with John. Both players passed again, and the turn ended with Dustin ahead, 48-47.
The slowest game in the history of Vs. System Sealed Pack continued with a Tasmanian Devil from Dustin. He formed with L-Ron in front of John and his other two characters flanking L-Ron in the front row. Nick under-dropped, recruiting Kimiyo Hoshi ◊ Dr. Light in front of Oberon. Dustin sent John into Oberon, and Nick couldn’t do a thing about it. Next, Dustin declared a team attack of L-Ron and David into Dinah. Finally, Tasmanian Devil went after Dr. Light. Nick had nothing to increase Dr. Light’s ATK, and he went down. Nick had a chance to attack back with his Red Tornado, and he took it, attacking L-Ron with help from a power-up. At the end of the turn, Dustin lost L-Ron, while Nick lost both Dinah and Oberon. Dustin had suddenly gained a sizeable endurance lead of 43-29.
Nick kicked off turn 6 with a Membership Drive, fueling a very large Captain Atom. The Captain was set in front of Red Tornado, and Dr. Light was set next to the Captain in the front row. “So I have . . . Injustice Gang, JLA, and JLI teamed up?” asked Dustin. Nick confirmed, and Dustin mulled over his recruit. He finally decided to play Neron. That character’s very tricky ability made formation tough for Dustin, and he spent quite a bit of time considering his options. “I don’t want the Tasmanian Devil anywhere near this guy,” he said. Eventually, Neron was set in front of David Clinton. Tasmanian Devil was set next to David in the support row, and John was left next to the Devil. At the beginning of combat, David got a +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter. Nick’s first attack sent Dr. Light into Tasmanian Devil; both characters stunned. Next, Nick attacked John with Captain Atom. Counterterrorism from Dustin moved the Membership Drive counter from the Captain to Neron, and John went down. Nick’s final attack brought Red Tornado in to KO David with help from Glass Jaw. Dustin attacked back into the Captain with Neron, and that was the turn. At the end of the turn, Nick had a lone Captain Atom, while Dustin had both Neron and Tasmanian Devil. Dustin also had the endurance lead, 26-17.
Dustin began the seventh turn by flipping World’s Greatest Heroes to draw a card. He played a Membership Drive of his own, then recruited Rama Khan behind Neron. The Devil was left next to Neron in the front. Nick had to under-drop for the turn, recruiting Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle. He immediately used it, discarding Shayera Thal ◊ Hawkwoman, to get Booster Gold. Booster was boosted, but Nick wasn’t done. He recruited Joseph Jones ◊ General Glory, as well as Maxwell Lord. Interestingly, he used Maxwell’s ability. He discarded Wonder Woman, Princess Diana to get Justice League Task Force. Nick formed with Maxwell in front of Joseph, Ted in front of Booster, and Captain Atom next to Booster in the back row. At the beginning of combat, Tasmanian Devil and Rama Khan both got counters from Neron. Dustin’s first move in combat brought Tasmanian Devil into Ted. Nick reinforced and took a single point of endurance loss. Next, Neron was sent into Maxwell. Finally, Rama went after Joseph. Nick had no way to reinforce and conceded the game.
Dustin Pidgeon wins!