Michael Jacob needs no introduction. With a Top 8 finish in the recent PC: San Francisco under his belt, he’s a Vs. System powerhouse. Devin is a local player from London, Ontario. This is his first $10K, and he’s 3-0 going into this round.
Devin won the die roll and selected the odd initiatives. “This is gonna be awkward,” said Michael. He had just been chatting about the deck that played four copies of Bad Press, and this was apparently it. Michael mulliganed his opener, while Devin kept.
Devin wasted no time in kicking the game off with a first turn Archangel, Angel. He discarded Misappropriation to search for X-Corp: Amsterdam, flipped Bad Press, and passed. Michael played an Archangel to get an Amsterdam of his own, discarding Hope. The 1-drops traded, and that was the turn.
Michael had the initiative on the second turn. “Oh dear,” he said. Michael recruited Beetle, Armorsmith, discarding Hard Sound Construct to search up a copy of Deadshot, Floyd Lawton. Archangel protected Beetle, and Michael passed. Devin played Destiny, Freedom Force and kept both of his characters in the front row. After some elementary attacks, all characters were stunned. Devin flipped Planet X before KO’ing Archangel. Michael KO’d Beetle. Michael led 45-43.
For turn 3, Devin had Sage, Xavier’s Secret Weapon. Michael recruited Dr. Light, Master of Holograms, and immediately activated him to return Beetle to play. Michael discarded the Deadshot he had searched for on the previous turn to find Wesley Dodds ◊ The Sandman. Beetle protected Archangel, and Dr. Light was set next to Archangel in the support row. Devin’s first attack brought Sage into Dr. Light; the Doctor went down. Next, Destiny traded with Beetle. The 2-drop was lost in recovery. Devin had established a 41-38 lead.
Turn 4 was Michael’s initiative, and he went into the tank. Dr. Light returned Beetle to play, and Michael discarded a copy of Archangel to search his deck for Yellowjacket. In response to Michael’s recruit of Yellowjacket, Devin played Sovereign Superior for Anne-Marie Cortez. The boosted Yellowjacket entered play, yielding Michael another Beetle. Michael’s remaining 3 resource points were spent on Cardiac. He set up with Light protecting Cardiac, Yellowjacket protecting Archangel, and Beetle alone in the front row. Devin had Anne-Marie and pushed all of his characters to the front before passing. In combat, Anne-Marie revealed Tarot, making it even less possible for Michael to play 3-cost plot twists. Michael’s first attack was a team attack of a Beetle and Yellowjacket into Sage. Both players passed, and Archangel traded for the 3-drop. Michael activated Cardiac to stun Destiny, and then passed. Devin attacked Archangel with Anne-Marie. In response, Michael flipped and used two copies of Amsterdam in succession. They fetched UN Building and Justice League of Arkham, respectively. A third Amsterdam gave Archangel +1 DEF. Yellowjacket and Destiny were lost at the end of the turn. Devin led 36-30.
On turn 5, Devin had the optimal Emma Frost, Friend or Foe. Michael went into the tank. He finally came out with the plan of playing Beetle. With the discard effect on the chain, Devin flipped another Bad Press. “Must be nice,” said Michael. He discarded another Hard Sound Construct to get Poison Ivy, Deadly Rose, which he recruited. Dr. Light was activated to return Deadshot to play. Michael set up with Deadshot protecting Dr. Light, Ivy protecting Archangel in the next column, and Beetle protecting Cardiac in the column adjacent to that. At the beginning of combat, Tarot was again revealed, shutting off 3-cost plot twists. Michael responded by KO’ing Beetle to Poison Ivy. With that on the chain, he used Amsterdam to search up another Justice League of Arkham. Deadshot was removed form the game to KO Sage. Michael flipped a Slaughter Swamp and discarded Wesley to return Hope to his hand. Ivy’s ability resolved, and Michael KO’d the Swamp for Birthing Chamber. He drew a card and finally passed. Devin attacked Ivy with Anne-Marie. Michael flipped UN Building, teaming-up Spider-Friends, X-Men, and Arkham, and reinforced with Archangel. Emma took down Dr. Light without issue. In recovery, Michael activated Cardiac to recover Ivy. Devin flipped and used Worthington Industries, netting him another copy of Sage. At the end of the turn, Devin led 36-20.
Turn 6 was Michael’s recruit, and he discarded The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero to Enemy of My Enemy to search for Evil Star, which he recruited. He activated Light to return Wesley to play, then exhausted Wesley and Archangel to return the Stranger to his hand. He used Birthing Chamber, drawing two and discarding the Stranger. Ivy and Cardiac were exhausted to recur the Stranger once again. Michael flipped four copies of Justice League of Arkham, leaving Devin with a single card in hand. Devin missed his recruit, and Evil Star and Wesley went to work on Devin’s board. Devin conceded.