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The Sentry™
Card# MTU-017
While his stats aren’t much bigger than those of the average 7-drop, Sentry’s “Pay ATK” power can drastically hinder an opponent’s attacking options in the late game.
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| Quarterfinals: Nik Smith vs. Sam Kwang |
| Enchante Chang |
| April 23, 2005 |
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 Game 1
With only three Kiwis in the Top 8, it is sad that one of these guys will knock the other out. On the bright side, though, we will see a Kiwi in the semifinals.
Sam won the roll and chose even initiative, while Nik mulliganed.
Nothing entered play on turn 2 except The Hand for Nik, and Sam took the attack directly. Nik missed his 3-drop, while Sam beat directly into Nik with Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. The endurance totals were now 45–48 in favor of Sam.
Saracen was a huge drop for Sam on turn 4. If he can somehow reinforce his guys with the Kingpin out, each of his characters will have +2 ATK/+2 DEF while defending. Nik played out a Masked Marauder, possibly the most used card yesterday in Sealed Pack. Saracen attacked into Masked Marauder, and Nik used Drive-by Shooting to give it +2 DEF—but Sam had the Crime and Punishment to finish it off. The joke was on Sam, though, as Nik had a Quick kill for Saracen. The endurance totals were 39–44, in favor of Sam, but Nik had the character advantage.
Mr. Fear was Nik’s 5-drop, while Sam contemplated his drop and eventually laid down Battering Ram. Mr. Fear attacked Battering Ram, but Sam had Moving Target and Mr. Fear hit a brick wall. When Battering Ram attacked Masked Marauder, Nik missed that he could have used The Hand to trade stuns with Battering Ram. The endurance totals were at 25 for Nik and 44 for Sam—it wasn’t looking pretty for Nik.
Missing his 6-drop, Sam instead played Saint Anna and a War Wagon on Kingpin. The most likely situation at this point was that Sam had Spider-Man in his hand, but had no Marvel Knights to fulfill the loyalty requirement. Nik played a Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze. Sam sent Battering Ram and Saint Anna into Ghost Rider; Kingpin and his Wagon finished him off. Masked Marauder attacked Saint Anna. Sam flipped up Hand Dojo and then realized that Saint Anna wasn’t a Crime Lords character. During recovery, Nik used Weapon of Choice to get Jaime Ortiz ◊ Damage and Natasha Romanoff ◊ Black Widow. Sam choose Jaime to go into Nik’s hand.
Nik peeled Natasha Romanoff off the top and boosted her up! Sam only had Kirigi and set it behind Kingpin, who moved to the front alongside Battering Ram. Sam then used Marked for Death on Natasha. Nik moved to 10 endurance by exhausting Kingpin before attack. Natasha attacked Battering Ram with the aid of Head Shot to dole out 20 endurance loss. Masked Marauder made his move on Kingpin, but not before Kirigi reinforced Kingpin—with an Uprising thrown in for good measure—to finish off the game for Sam.
 Game 2
Nik chose odd initiative and laid out turn 1 Doop, Forward Observer. On turn 2, the plays were Cobra for Sam and The Hand for Nik. Cobra attacked Nik directly, then The Hand bashed Cobra and Doop went to the dome.
Both of the players had Kingpin, Wilson Fisk on turn 3. Sam’s formation was Cobra behind Kingpin. Nik’s Kingpin and The Hand had their way with Sam’s Kingpin and the Kingpins traded stuns. The endurance totals stood at 43 for Nik, 41 for Sam.
Again, Saracen hit the board on Sam’s side. Cobra moved in front of Saracen so that it could attack again. Nik had no 4-drop, so he used Weapon of Choice for Masked Marauder and Luke Cage, Street Enforcer. The Marauder went back into his deck, and Luke Cage came out with everyone in the front row. Sam’s Kingpin attacked Nik’s Kingpin, and they again traded stuns. Finally, Cobra and Saracen team-attacked Nik directly. Nik attacked with The Hand onto Cobra to trade stuns, and then used Judge, Jury and Executioner on Kingpin. The endurance totals were 27–36 in favor of Sam.
Nik’s turn 5 play was awesome—Elektra, Agent of the Hand. Sam was below the curve with Echo, Maya Lopez and a War Wagon on Cobra. His formation was a reverse L, with Saracen and Cobra in the back and Echo protecting Cobra. Luke Cage made his move on Echo, and Sam removed her counter to trade stuns.
Kingpin attacked Cobra head-on, but not before Cobra Wagoned away Luke. Saracen reinforced Cobra to trade stuns with Kingpin. Elektra assassinated Saracen, and Doop again went to the dome. Nik had turned it around at this point, and was now leading by 1 endurance. The score stood at 16 to 15.
Things looked grim for Sam Kwang, as he only had Saracen on the board. He played out Natasha Romanoff, and Nik played out Jaime Ortiz protecting Kingpin. Natasha attacked Jaime. With the kingpin’s help, he was now 15 DEF and Sam had to use Crime and Punishment in desperation. Nik then used Psychoville to move his Elektra out of the hidden area. Deposed moved doop into the open behind Elektra. Saracen attacked into Elektra and, with the help of Uprising, traded stuns. The endurance totals were 5 each, and it seemed that the players were heading into the final turn.
Nik’s control of the initiative put him at a slight advantage. His turn 7 play was only a Jigsaw and Roscoe Sweeny, though, and it seemed like this could be his downfall. Sam only had Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man. Normally, this is a good play, but without the initiative and on turn 7, it didn’t look good for Sam even though Nik had only recruited Jigsaw. Kingpin and Jigsaw teamed up to attack Spider-Man, then Psychoville moved Natasha into the open for Elektra to attack . . . and we were on to game 3. The last turn was well-played by Nik—if he had just attacked Sam directly, it would have allowed Sam to attack back with Natasha.
 Game 3
Sam chose odd initiative this time. This seemed like a good call, as both of previous the games went to turn 7, and he would have the initiative if this trend continued.
Turn 1 for Sam was Roscoe Sweeny, making sure Sam won’t miss a drop as long as he’s around.
Turn 2 for Nik is amazing with the doggies, aka Hounds of Ahab. Sam had no play, so had to Roscoe for Cobra. Hounds bumped heads with Cobra and the score became 47-48.
On turn 3, Sam had to Roscoe again, this time for Kingpin. Nik also had Kingpin.
Kingpin attacked into himself and Nik used Dracula’s Castle to help prevent 1 endurance loss. Cobra attacked directly and then Sam passed. Hounds attacked Roscoe, and Nik Quick Killed Kingpin. The endurance totals were now 42–41 in favor of Nik.
Nik had Masked Marauder on turn 4. At this point, we had to count cards to see if Sam had forgotten to draw 2 cards, and he had indeed forgotten. Marauder moved behind Kingpin. Yet again, Roscoe was put into action to get Echo—and discard Echo—which prompted an “interesting” from Nik. Sam played out a Moon Knight which, if left unchecked, could be a beating. Moon Knight hid behind Cobra and Marked for Death was played on the Masked Marauder.
Nik paid 3 endurance to exhaust Moon Knight, and then Kingpin attacked Cobra for an easy beating. Masked Marauder attacked Roscoe for the full 7 endurance, and Nik used Judge, Jury and Executioner to remove the annoying Roscoe. Nik had 39 endurance, while Sam was sitting on an uncomfortable 28.
As I was typing the last sentence, the amazing Elektra, Agent of the Hand came down for Sam. Nik had Jigsaw, but with only a few cards in hand, would he have enough to make him useful? Elektra did what she is meant to do, and that is beatdown. She administered some of that beatdown to Jigsaw. Jigsaw used his ability to give himself +1 ATK/+1 DEF, and Kingpin reinforced. Moon Knight was thinking whether or not he wanted to trade stuns with Marauder, but decided to attack Kingpin instead. Marauder took revenge for his fellow clansmen and attacked Moon Knight, then Hounds attacked Cobra for the mutual stun. During recovery, Sam flipped up Midnight Sons with to team up Marvel Knights with Crime Lords. The score was now 16–17 in favor of Sam.
 Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze pretended he was Luke Cage, Power Man and came into play with 14 ATK/12 DEF protecting Marauder. Sam had Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man. If he survived this turn, he would win on the next turn.
Nik used Marauder exhausted Elektra, Ghost Rider attacked Spider-Man, and with the help of a Head Shot, made him 20 ATK. Before Nik could attack directly, Sam used Deposed on his own Elektra, a smart move to prevent him from losing. Endurance totals stood at 7–3 in favor of Nik.
Bullseye, Master of Murder came down for Sam, and with Spider-Man still around to exhaust everyone, it was game for Nik. Nik, just like the sportsman he always is, congratulated Sam with a double-handed handshake.
Sam Kwang wins 2–1!
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