Several players in the pit were looking to be featured this round, but few people can beat the combination of Niles and TJ in the entertainment department. With a roll of the dice, TJ won the choice and elected to go second.
Niles missed on turns 1 and 2, while TJ played out Connie Webb and Weather Wizard. Niles leaned over after he drew on turn 3 to show me the Surveillance Pawns he had drawn that turn, complaining how it always happened that way. TJ didn’t let up with his tempo when he matched Niles’s Ahmed Samsarra. Niles passed attacks, while TJ used Connie Webb to find a Fatality, Flawless Victory, and both players searched out Checkmate Safe House with their Ahmeds.
TJ played Fatality on 4, hoping to threaten Niles’s Ahmed. Niles played Adrian Chase ◊ Vigilante and opted not to use his backup ability since he didn’t have any visible characters to stop the oncoming rush. TJ searched out a Satellite HQ with Ahmed and sent Fatality into Ahmed. Niles flipped a Threat Neutralized to keep the game going, and after some Knightmare Scenarios from both players, TJ pushed over the top with a Target Acquired, forcing Niles to let his Ahmed go. With no Ahmed for Niles, the game now looked to be in TJ’s favor more than the 38-36 endurance totals let on.
On turn 5, Niles dropped Thunderbolt, who was matched with a Talia, Daughter of Madness from TJ. Niles teamed-up JSA and Checkmate with Checkmate Safe House, used Adrian’s ability, and searched out The Phantom Stranger, Wandering Hero with Thunderbolt. He then flipped The Rock of Eternity, allowing him to ready his team. TJ brought back a Sarge Steel with Talia, placing him in front of Fatality, forcing Thunderbolt to stun the 2-drop instead. Adrian was sent into Talia with a Brother Eye pump, earning a mutual stun. Before the end of the turn, TJ searched out a Brother I Satellite and used it to find an Alexander Luthor, Diabolical Double.
Going into turn 6 down 32-30, TJ recruited the Alexander he had searched out along with an Amulet of Nabu to equip him. Niles brought down Huntress, Reluctant Queen, which Adrian Chase backed up. Niles passed back to TJ after setting up with his Thunderbolt protecting Huntress. Fatality went after Thunderbolt with the help of a Brother Eye, and Niles discarded Phantom Stranger to try to power-up out of the attack. TJ discarded a Threat Neutralized, forcing Niles to search out an Advance Warning—which was answered by TJ’s second backbreaking Target Acquired of the game. Luthor went after Thunderbolt, and with his hand spent, Niles wasn’t able to slow down the rest of TJ’s team from running in for the win. TJ teasingly told Niles, “See, it would have just saved us a lot of time if you hadn’t flipped Threat Neutralized on turn 4.” Both players also agreed that it probably would have been a completely different game if Niles hadn’t missed Atom Smasher and his Surveillance Pawns on the first two turns.