Both of these Alexes faced off in the Draft portion of the Top 24. In that round, Bykov took down Gellerman to hand out the latter’s first loss of the tournament. Clearly, Gellerman would be looking for revenge here, but with two decks of obscene power, it would be an amazing match to determine who would go home with the trophy.
Game 1
Gellerman won the roll and took the dreaded even initiatives that his Kree deck wants so badly. Neither player had any plays until turn 2, when Gellerman dropped Captain Att-Lass. Bykov matched it with the oversized Destroyer, Soulless Juggernaut. Unable to do anything, Gellerman passed to Bykov, who walked Destroyer right into Alien Insurrection and a stun. Kindred Spirits before the draw on turn 3 found Air-Walker, Gabriel Lan and Human Torch, The Invisible Man. Air-Walker made the obvious appearance for Bykov, and Gellerman played Ruul Warrior. Air-Walker attacked Att-Lass but was stunned with Starforce Strike and Alien Insurrection, taking the precious cosmic counter with it. Destroyer was run over by Ruul Warrior before the players moved on to turn 4.
Gellerman led off with Lieutenant Kona Lor, Luna Maximoff, and a Nega-Bands for Ruul Warrior. Bykov played Human Torch and flipped up Pacification to give Air-Walker a fresh counter. Ruul Warrior took down the 3-drop herald, who exhausted to force an exhaustion of Kona Lor. Gellerman passed, and when Human Torch attacked Att-Lass, the Captain exhausted to play Improper Burial on Air-Walker, permanently ridding himself of the nuisance of a painful exhaustion every turn. Human Torch successfully stunned Att-Lass, and Luna was returned to Gellerman’s hand to recover Ruul Warrior and move it to the hidden area.
Turn 5 began with Bykov, in the lead 38- 43, playing Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector. Mar-Vell ◊ Captain Marvel, Soldier of the Empire; Luna Maximoff; and Nega-Bands (on Marvel) bulked up Gellerman’s team. Human Torch traded with Marvel, and Surfer went into the hidden area after Ruul Warrior with the help of The Uni-Power. Bykov removed Surfer’s counter to bounce the 3-drop. Things were looking bad for Gellerman, down 24-39 and having a hard time getting anything done.
Turn 6 was going to be crucial for Gellerman, who played Supremor, Nega-Bands on Marvel, and Power Gem on Lieutenant Kona Lor. Bykov played Destroyer, Harbinger of Devastation, a monster that Gellerman had to send everyone but his 6-drop at to take down. Supremor dealt with Silver Surfer, and Remnant Fleet returned the Lieutenant and Att-Lass to Gellerman’s hand, leaving Human Torch without a good trade.
Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Harbinger of Death and Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways were Bykov’s plays of choice for turn 7, and Gellerman decided to answer with a chain of press characters. Kona Lor, Att-Lass, Admiral Galen Kor, and Lunatic Legionnaires jumped into play. Destroyer once again received a cosmic counter from Pacification, giving Bykov a quasi-7-drop for the second turn in a row. Silver Surfer traded with Marvel to begin the turn. Att-Lass was run over by Human Torch but reinforced by Kona Lor. Destroyer handily took out Supremor, allowing Frankie Raye to go after the meek-looking Kona Lor. Gellerman bounced her back to his hand with Penal Colony, allowing him to live another turn after Frankie was only able to attack Admiral Galen Kor.
Turn 8 looked bleak for Gellerman, but with the initiative, he was able to KO one of Bykov’s resources with Kona Lor’s come-into-play effect. Elemental Converters had helped Bykov to draw his entire deck over the course of the game, and he was unable to replace the resource that Kona Lor demanded. Even with the resource gone, Gellerman scooped when Bykov played Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc; he was unable to deal with the insurmountable gap in endurance.
Bykov 1 – 0 Gellerman
Game 2
Gellerman took the even initiatives again for the second game, hoping to cash in on it this time. Destroyer, Soulless Juggernaut once again stole his second turn initiative after he played Captain Att-Lass, especially devastating when he was unable to stun Bykov’s 2-drop when it attacked his. Firelord, Pyreus Kril came down for Bykov, and Commander Dylon Cir came out to help Gellerman. Bykov was easily able to stun the Kree characters and walk away unscathed, but Penal Colony saved Att-Lass from being KO’d.
Gellerman led off turn 4 with Dr. Minerva netting him a Korath the Pursuer, then and pressed Commander Dylon Cir and Ruul Warrior into play. Bykov once again played the ominous Human Torch, Invisible Man. Dylon Cir finally stunned Destroyer, and Att-Lass team attacked Human Torch with Ruul Warrior, successfully getting the stun. Minerva exhausted for Improper Burial on Human Torch. Remnant Fleet returned Minerva and Dylon Cir to Gellerman’s hand, saving them for use in another big press chain later on.
Bykov dropped the threatening Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector on turn 5 while he was leading 41-31. Dr. Minerva found Gellerman another Minerva, but Penal Colony bounced the played Doctor back to his hand to be replayed, this time finding Lieutenant Kona Lor. Commander Dylon Cir came back out, followed in short order by Admiral Galen Kor. Destroyer received a new cosmic counter from The Power Cosmic Unleashed and used it to stun Dr. Minerva. Firelord traded with Galen Kor, leaving Att-Lass alone in the back row to be run over by Silver Surfer. Another Remnant Fleet brought Att-Lass and Minerva back to Gellerman’s grip for the next turn.
Kindred Spirits found Destroyer, Harbinger of Devastation and Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc before the draws on turn 6. Gellerman played Minerva, Att-Lass, Lieutenant Kona Lor, Captain Marvel, and Korath the Pursuer, hoping to deal with whichever 6-drop Bykov went with. Bykov opted for the newer, shinier Destroyer he had found with Kindred Spirits. Att-Lass and Minerva team attacked Firelord, getting the stun, and Korath took down Silver Surfer with the help of a Hala. Dylon Cir, Kona Lor, and Captain Marvel dealt with Destroyer. A team attack from Gellerman’s remaining crew could only bring the totals down to 5-7 in Bykov’s favor.
Firelord, Harbinger of Havoc joined Bykov’s other 6-drop on turn 7, and Gellerman thought out how he was going to try to push the match to the next game. Penal Colony bounced Dr. Minerva, who was replayed to find Ultimus, and the doctor was joined by him in a press chain accompanied by Att-Lass, Captain Marvel, and Supremor. Nega-Bands came out on Admiral Galen Kor before Bykov got the green light to send in his attacks. The Uni-Power sent Destroyer into Ultimus, who was reinforced by Captain Marvel. Firelord stunned Korath with a discarded Human Torch for +4 ATK and took Gellerman to -11 endurance, but it wasn’t enough in the face of the oncoming horde of Kree. Gellerman snatched the game away from Bykov to push it to a match-deciding third and final game.
Game 3
The deciding game got off to a bad start for Gellerman, as he didn’t have a play until turn 3, when he dropped Ruul Warrior. Silver Surfer, Skyrider of the Spaceways and Air-Walker, Gabriel Lan were both there waiting for him, though. On turn 3, Surfer searched out Elemental Converters for Bykov, who brought down Human Torch, The Invisible Man on the fourth turn. Admiral Galen Kor was all Gellerman could match it with. The Uni-Power and Taa II allowed Human Torch to stun Galen Kor easily, and a team attack from the rest of his crew brought down the Ruul Warrior. Silver Surfer was stunned, but Gellerman was left with a lonely Admiral going into turn 5.
Lieutenant Kona Lor and Ultimus seemed a less than stellar play on his initiative, but Gellerman had few alternate options. Frankie Raye ◊ Nova, Harbinger of Death joined Bykov’s board, giving him more board presence than the Kree player—a rare occurrence when playing against the deck. Admiral Galen Kor stunned Air-Walker, who exhausted Lieutenant Kona Lor. Ultimus stunned Silver Surfer without incident, and Taa II couldn’t save Frankie from a crucial Hala. Human Torch went after Ultimus, stunning Gellerman’s entire board.
With a 38-30 lead on turn 6, Destroyer, Harbinger of Devastation seemed like a really solid play for Bykov. Lieutenant Kona Lor, who was bounced with Penal Colony the turn before, came back out in front of Korath the Pursuer. Bykov attempted to give Destroyer a cosmic counter with Pacification, but Gellerman bounced Kona Lor back to his hand to prevent the effect from happening. Frankie Raye stunned Ultimus, but a Hala activation earned the mutual stun, and The Power Cosmic Unleashed gave Destroyer the counter he was looking for to stun Korath. Human Torch went in on an empty board to put Gellerman down to 7 with Bykov at 33.
Turn 7 would likely be the last turn of a long and challenging $10K. Gellerman passed the recruit step to his opponent with Commander Dylon Cir, Captain Marvel, Admiral Galen Kor, and Supremor joining his board for the turn. Silver Surfer, Righteous Protector was the only thing Bykov could muster, but it looked as if it might just be enough. Korath attacked Human Torch, but a power-up and a Battleworld activation earned a mutual stun, which was enough to seal the game.
Alex Bykov piloted his powerful Heralds stall deck to his first big win to become the $10K Los Angeles 2006 Champion!