With the heavy American presence at most PCs, it’s easy to forget the large number of successful foreign players at the top tables. Christian Sarra-Bournet is from Quebec and is a member of the AttaQc, for whom this PC has been a bit of a coming-out party. While their success has, as of this tournament, been confined mostly to $10Ks, numerous AttaQc beanies have been spotted at the top draft tables today. Christian’s opponent for this round is Thomas Scheer, another in the long list of high-quality German players. With both sitting at 10-5, a Top 8 berth is an outside shot if either player wins out.

Thomas won the roll and took evens, a popular choice in this format. Both players sent their first four cards back. Christian passed on turn 1, while Thomas had Kree Soldiers and an Arsenal of Doom to start burning through his deck. Turn 2 featured Lancer from the German and Mole Man, Moloid Master from the Canadian. Lancer stunned Mole Man, and the Soldier got in along with Battleworld for 2 more points. Christian had Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival, fetching Barbaric Brawl, while Thomas added Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Soldier of the Empire. Mole Man stunned Lancer with the help of Interstellar Offensive, and Doom bounced the Kree Soldier back to Thomas’s hand.

Thomas had Admiral Galen Kor on the fourth turn along with a free Nenora, while Christian played a Mar-Vell of his own along with Warskrull and set up with his smaller characters in front of his 3-drops. Thomas flipped Act of Defiance, teaming-up Skrulls with Heroes of Earth (spicy), and attacked Warskrull with Nenora. Lancer then picked off Mole Man, and Thomas’s Mar-Vell traded with Doom. Thomas then sent the Admiral after Doom, but fittingly enough Christian had Doom Needs Only Doom to force the stunback. Christian kept the Doctor around, while Thomas kept the 4-drop.

Christian had Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector—a play that would look more appealing if Thomas’s 4-drop didn’t have press—and suited up Doom with a Power Gem. Thomas recruited Paibok and set up with him in front of the Admiral. Doom took out Paibok after Thomas flipped For the Glory of Doom!, and Christian was left with the decision of attacking Lancer or Admiral. Perhaps fearing a Nasty Surprise that would leave him too low, he made the safe attack, stunning Lancer after Thomas reinforced. Thomas used For the Glory of Doom! to hit Christian with Lancer on his way out.

Thomas had numerous recruiting options on the sixth turn, with the choice between Doom and Technarx; Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans; or Ethan Edwards. He went for the latter and flipped Intergalactic Summit, teaming-up Spider Friends with Skrulls, and luckily drawing Lieutenant Kona Lor to fill in his remaining resource points. Christian had Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc and an alternate Valeria Von Doom, and he set up with his big guys up front. The Admiral traded with Surfer (with the help of Paibok), and Christian elected not to reinforce, hoping to save his one shot on a larger attack. The Lieutenant then stunned Valeria, which induced a reinforcement from Christian. Ethan Edwards then went after Doom with a total ATK of 13, with Christian’s endurance also at 13. While Christian could KO Doom to negate the attack, it wouldn’t really get him anywhere. He basically had to bank that Paibok wouldn’t be able to take down Firelord, but Sworn Enemies was able to make up the difference, securing the match for Thomas.

Thomas wins 1-0.