In what looked to be one of the best matchups of the day, Dave Spears and Gabe Walls sat across from each other in Round 16 – the last round of the second of three drafts. Neither player needs much of an introduction. Dave Spears is one of the top Team Realms players, a finalist at the Wizard World: Texas $10K Championship. Gabe is one of the fiercest players in just about every game he plays, be it poker, Magic – or Vs. – often finishing in the Top 8, as he did in PC Indy.

This would be a rematch for the two of them. They battled yesterday, and in Dave's words, “[Gabe] crushed me. He just crushed me…”

This time things would be much closer, as Gabe’s Spider-Friends deck faced off against Dave’s Sinister Syndicate deck. Gabe won the toss and chose to have initiative on odd turns. He mulliganed, and then the game was on!

Turn 1 saw a Prowler on Gabe’s side and nothing on Dave’s. A burn and a loot, and Dave hit 49. Turn 2 was much of the same, with no drop on either side and simply another burn and loot by Prowler. Dave was at 48. The action started on turn 3. Gabe dropped a Spider-Man, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man armed with a friendly neighborhood Rapier! Dave responded with the big man himself, Rhino. Spidey decided that a Rhino charge would be a bad thing, and he attacked first, causing a double-stun. Add another Prowler burn and loot, and it was Gabe 47, Dave 44.

On turn 4, Dave paid for his Rhino’s continued services and then played Puma. Gabe recruited Punisher, placing him behind Spidey, with Prowler in the front row. Rhino gathered up steam and charged into Spidey, seeking revenge. They stunned each other, and Dave flipped up Sinister Six just in case Punisher decided to try and punish the Rhino. Dave then sent Puma into the Punisher only to have Gabe flip not one, but two Alley-Oop!'s The 9 ATK/9 DEF Punisher not only stunned Puma but saved himself as well! Another Prowler burn and loot, and Punisher KO’d Puma, leading to totals of Dave at 32, Gabe at 42.

Gabe kicked off turn 5 by recruiting a Human Torch, Friendly Rival. He put Prowler in front of the Torch, and Spidey in front of Punisher. Dave again paid for Rhino, dropping him to 28 endurance, then recruited Post, flipping and activating Mojoverse to his recruit effect to save a stun.

Gabe paused to strategize while Dave offered helpful suggestions. “Punisher into Rhino, maybe?” Gabe raised an eyebrow and responded wryly, “That’s not on the current list of things to do…” He instead sent the Torch into Rhino, and Rhino responded to the streaking flame by going Supernova, exploding with power. Dave reinforced and let the characters stun each other, leaving him at 25 and Gabe at 27. Spidey and Prowler team-attacked Post, taking advantage of Spidey’s latent team-up anti-stun. Only Post stunned, and Dave recovered him. The standings were Gabe 37, Dave 20.

On turn 6 things were starting to heat up – and not just due to the trail of flame Rhino’s exploding body left. Dave played Hobgoblin and hid him behind Post. Gabe responded with Scarlet Spider, maneuvering Prowler in front of Torch, Spidey in front of Punisher, and Scarlet Spider in front. Dave launcher Post into Spidey. Gabe reinforced with Punisher, his endurance dropping to 34. Dave activated Mojoverse, targeting Hobgoblin, who then attacked Scarlet Spider. Gabe flipped Hired Goons to boost Scarlet Spider. Dave got the last word when he powered-up his Hobgoblin. Scarlet Spider stunned, and Gabe passed his attack, instead recovering Scarlet Spider Gabe was down to 25, Dave still at 20.

Gabe started turn 7 with a bang, recruiting Ezekiel and netting five cards. Prowler moved in front of Punisher, Ezekiel got in front of Torch, and Scarlet Spider stayed up front. Dave played his own Ezekiel, but only drew a single card. He also played a Jetpack on Post, placing Ezekiel in front of Hobgoblin, and keeping Post in the front row.

Gabe sent the Torch into Hobgoblin, paying for the ‘Flame On!’ ability. The 14 ATK Torch burnt brightly, and Dave could do nothing. Double-stun, Gabe at 17, Dave at 14. Gabe sent Ezekiel against Ezekiel, and all it took was a single power-up from Gabe’s hand to force the concession.