I covered Tze Hong’s matches at $10K Manila, where he finished third, and found him a most courteous and perceptive player. It was therefore a pleasure to work with him once more.

Jason won the die roll and opted to take the odd initiatives.
 
Turn 1:
 
Both players had no plays.
 
Turn 2:

Tze Hong recruited Tomar Tu, while Jason had Hector Hammond. A simple attack from Tomar Tu ended the turn.

(Tze Hong 48 – Jason 47) 

Turn 3:
 
Jason recruited Invisible Destroyer in the front row of the concealed region, and Tze Hong mirrored the character, albeit in the support row. Hector gunned for Tomar Tu for a double stun, after which there was a trade of direct hits on both sides.

(Tze Hong 42 – Jason 41) 
 
Turn 4 :
 
Tze Hong under-dropped with Hector Hammond and passed the recruit. Jason played The Ring Has Chosen from his resource row and looked for Sonar, discarding Fiero. I was pretty puzzled by this until I saw Goldface hit play. Jason discarded Sonar and Dr. Polaris for Goldface.

Things were looking pretty bleak for Tze Hong at this point, and he lapsed into deep thought before deciding to take the plunge. Invisible Destroyer attempted to take Goldface down with support from a flipped Locked in Combat and a Light Armor played from hand. Both characters stunned.

Tze Hong proceeded to KO Invisible Destroyer to give Hector Hammond +2 ATK/+2 DEF, who then went on to pummel his clone on the other side of the table. Hong then passed priority.

Jason weighed the odds and declined the attack. But his gambit was in vain as Tze Hong played Apokoliptian Hospitalityon Goldface to get back in the game.

(Tze Hong 39 – Jason 33)
 
Turn 5:
 
Jason recruited a boosted Gnaxos, while Tze Hong played Power Ring.

Hector Hammond swung into Tomar Tu, and Tze Hong flipped Force Sphere for reinforcement before allowing the double stun. Gnaxos then went for Tze Hong’s Hector, to which he responded by playing Sweeping Up on Goldface. After Tze Hong had chosen his target, Jason flipped Empire of Tears, KO’ing Goldface and Hector Hammond. The concealed characters once again had the final say when they traded direct hits.

Tze Hong lost Tomar Tu.
 
(Tze Hong 24 – Jason 33)

Turn 6:
 
Tze Hong got Supermanhunter, who held the front. Jason likewise had Supermanhunter, but opted to have him in the support row.

Tze Hong proceeded to pay 3 endurance to remove the counters from Gnaxos. Hector Hammond swung into Gnaxos for a mutual stun, and Power RingUppercutted Supermanhunter. Tze Hong’s Supermanhunter then had free reign to bring the pain to Jason. Ouch.

Gnaxos bit the dust.

(Tze Hong 21 – Jason 9)

What a comeback for Tze Hong!
 
Turn 7:
 
Jason dropped Highmaster, which prompted Tze Hong to mutter, “He’s big, fat, and pissed.”

Tze Hong considered options for a long moment, checking all conditions (like hand size) before coming to a decision. Dr. Ebenezer Darrk came into play in the visible area. He opted to have Supermanhunter in front of Hector Hammond and Dr. Ebenezer Darrk standing beside Hector Hammond. He gave a resigned sigh. “Not that it matters much, considering how they’re all of different affiliations.”

Highmaster crushed Supermanhunter beneath his boot, whilst Jason’s own Supermanhunter smashed right through Hector Hammond.

Both players passed, and Hector Hammond was left for dead.

(Tze Hong 2 – Jason 9)

Turn 8:
 
Tze Hong recruited Alan Scott with a deprecating remark about “how janky my deck is.” Jason played St’nlli, who stood in the support row beside Supermanhunter. Highmaster protected Supermanhunter.

Alan Scott took Supermanhunter on, and both players had no effects. Supermanhunter then went for St’nlli. Jason flipped In Remembrance, hoping to replace into a game breaker. He failed to, and St’nlli went down.

Dr. Ebenezer Darrk finished the job by swinging into Highmaster and opening a pathway for Supermanhunter.

(Tze Hong -11 – Jason -25)

Tze Hong takes the game.