Tim Batow won $10K Las Vegas and has two other $10K Top 8 finishes to his name. His acrobatic celebration is now legendary, as is his penchant for doing well with decks that aren't necessarily well known. Donald Noland also has three $10K Top 8 finishes but he has yet to gain the coveted title of “champion.” This weekend that is his goal, but there are an awful lot of people standing in his way.

 

Tim won the die roll and elected to play first. Neither player was particularly happy with his initial draw, so both elected to mulligan.

 

Tim had Alfred Pennyworth on turn 1 but no further recruits.

 

On turn 2, there was nothing for Donald. GCPD Officer came out for Batow, while Alfred Pennyworth fetched Bat-Signal and then was recruited again for the final point.

 

On turn 3, Batow used Alfred Pennyworth to get Fizzle, but he still wasn't sure what his opponent's deck was up to. Tim's GCPD Officer exhausted for Bat-Signal, which fetched Lacuna.

 

“Now I'm really confused,” remarked Noland, as Lacuna and Alfred Pennyworth came into play.

 

Donald had a recruit this turn. His Sentinel Mark II was responded to with a Lacuna activation by Batow, who discarded a copy of GCPD Officer. Sentinel Mark II attacked Lacuna, and it was on to turn 4 after Batow flipped up Total Anarchy.

 

On turn 4, Noland recruited Sentinel Mark V and passed to his opponent. Tim had a slightly more complicated turn. First, he used Alfred Pennyworth to fetch another copy of Fizzle. He then recruited Beast and passed.

 

Donald attacked GCPD Officer with Sentinel Mark II. The Officer was KO'd in short order by Total Anarchy, but he had been reinforced thanks to Marvel Team-Up. Sentinel Mark V attacked Beast, and Batow flipped up Xavier's Dream. The game stopped for a moment as Noland read the ongoing plot twist. He then played Nasty Surprise on Tim's character so that his own character would get stunned. A Death in the Family ensured that one way or another, Xavier's Dream would get its counter.

 

On turn 5, GCPD Officer was the only recruit for Batow, who set his minimal team-up in the back row. Nimrod was Noland's recruit, and the attack phase for Batow was only a Pleasant Distraction on Nimrod. At the start of the recovery step, Noland flipped Micro-Sentinels, and Xavier's Dream got its second counter. Could the dream be about to come true?

 

Turn 6 saw an un-boosted Sentinel Mark V and Hounds of Ahab for Noland and no recruits on an empty board for Batow. Sentinel Mark II went in for an attack with three power-ups as Noland searched for more damage. The endurance totals were 28 to 45 in Noland's favor. A Reconstruction Program led to another three pumps and more damage to Tim. Sentinel Mark V attacked with a power-up, and then Nimrod and Hounds of Ahab did their things as well.

 

All this was for nought though, as Xavier's Dream won the game for Batow before endurance totals were checked. Noland's dream was over.

 

Tim Batow wins!

 

Michael Barnes and a group of Tulsa, Oklahoma players including Batow developed this particular build of Xavier's Dream. They worked on its consistency so that it could reasonably compete in the current Golden Age metagame. Five of these players are in New York, and it would be worthwhile to keep track of their performances.