“90 minutes?” James asked quizzically.
“That’s half an hour,” Alex said.
“Let the beats begin. It’s all about the mind games,” James said, showing a photo of Alex’s balding head on his digital camera.
“That’s rattled him,” Kong said. Laughter ensued. It was obvious that these guys from Sydney were friends as well as teammates.
Game 1
Alex won the coin toss and chose the odd initiative, an important development for the Teen Titans mirror match—and this was a true mirror match, with only one card differing in their lists. Alex mulliganed, while “Kongy” kept his first four cards.
Both players flipped and searched with Optitron on turn 1, Alex getting Terra (discarding Garth ◊ Tempest) and Kongy searching out Terra, discarding Red Star. Turn 2 was another Optitron-fest, with James fetching Garth ◊ Tempest and discarding Red Star, and Alex getting Terra, discarding another Terra to thin his deck.
On turn 3, Brown used Optitron to get Tim Drake ◊ Robin, Young Detective and recruited him. Meanwhile James boosted out Dawn Granger ◊ Dove to get Hank Hall ◊ Hawk out as well. Alex flipped and used USS Argus and passed on combat.
Kong sent Hawk into Robin, who was then powered-up by Tamaran. Endurance totals were 48 to 50 for Kong. Dove then performed a Finishing Move to KO the boy detective. Kongy flipped and activated his own Argus before recruiting and then played Terra on turn 4.
Alex hit choppy water, again having to use Optitron and under-dropping because of loyalty problems. He recruited Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal. James activated Terra to stun Arsenal, replacing USS Argus with . . . USS Argus.
“Dudes are soooo lucky,” he said. The endurance totals went to 45 to 50 for Kongy. Dove had another Finishing Move for Roy and Hawk attacked directly, making them 41 to 50.
Still without a character, Alex could not recruit the loyal Garth ◊ Tempest on turn 5. He used Optitron again, getting Red Star. Meanwhile, Kongy played his own copy of Roy.
Alex scooped. “It didn’t look like I was coming back,” he said.
Game 2
Alex chose the odd initiative again. Both players kept their hand, but Kongy thought about it long and hard. Brown had Optitron on turn 1 again, searching out Terra at the expense of the Arsenal in his hand.
Turn 2 saw James recruit Tim Drake and Alex used Optitron, discarding Terra for Roy Harper ◊ Speedy, who he played. Both of them passed on combat.
On turn 3, Alex boosted out Dove to get Hawk. “Oh, noes,” Kong said.
He flipped and used USS Argus, and immediately adopted a pained look. He was forced to choose between Hawk and Terra, both of which would have been appreciated. He opted for Terra and recruited Beast Boy, who protected Robin.
Hawk and Dove tag-teamed Beast Boy and Hawk took the return stun, leaving the endurance totals at 48 to 47 in Alex’s favor.
A Finishing Move KO’d Beast Boy, so Kongy replied with a Finishing Move from his hand to take care of Hawk.
Both players used USS Argus on turn 4 and then played Terra. James’ Tim Drake wanted to attack Brown’s Dove, but Alex’s Terra intervened with a stun effect, bringing the endurance totals to 48 to 45. Kong’s Terra then activated to stun Dove instead, leaving the endurance totals at 47 to 45 in Alex’s favor.
Alex’s Speedy then attacked Terra with two Savage Beatdown from hand, bringing Kongy to 37 endurance. Brown, who had eaten far too much at Sizzler the night before, then emitted a foul smell that could have been considered “unsporting conduct.” Alex lost Speedy in this exchange, while Kongy, with eyes watering, lost Tim Drake.
Both players recruited Garth on turn 5, but Alex had the initiative. Kongy’s Terra stunned Dove out of combat. Then, Alex’s Garth attacked James’s Terra, which the defending player powered-up with Tamaran and reinforced.
Brown’s Terra then swung up into Garth, recurring Savage Beatdown with his own copy of the powerful Titan and then played it to secure the stun, bringing the endurance totals down to 38 to 23 in Alex’s favor.
Kongy played Red Star on turn 6, but failed to burn with his power. Tim Drake and Arsenal on Alex’s side quickly brought the game to an end, as Kongy scooped.
“It’s so good knowing there are no Overloads,” Alex said.
Game 3
“If I want to go first, if that’s odd or even,” Kongy asked with a smile. He mulliganed, while Brown kept his opening hand.
Alex played Optitron and searched out Tim Drake on turn 1. Both players recruited Robin on turn 2 and Alex attacked, powering-up with Tamaran. James played Arsenal on turn 3, while Alex played out Hawk and Dove with boost. Both players also had copies of USS Argus and used them.
“Do you even need Teen Titans Go! in this match-up?” James asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Alex quipped.
“He wouldn’t even playtest with me last night,” Kongy said.
Dove and Robin attacked Arsenal for Alex, redirecting the stun to the 1-drop and bringing the endurance totals to 45 to 49 for Alex. Hawk then attacked Tim Drake. Kongy played Finishing Move on Dove to shrink Hawk, but Tamaran ensured a one-way stun for Alex. Alex lost Tim from his board.
Alex played Terra on turn 4, but Kongy didn’t have her in hand. He called on USS Argus to help him out. “Come on, Terra. I’ll play Reign of Terra if you turn up,” James said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Alex said, but a frown from Kongy showed that she didn’t appear. He flipped and used Optitron to get her instead, playing Arsenal.
Alex’s Roy attacked his mirror image, and then Terra stunned Tim Drake. The endurance totals were 40 to 43 in favor of Alex. Turn 5 saw Terra belatedly hit the table for Kongy, while Alex recruited Garth ◊ Tempest.
Alex’s Terra activated to stun Roy, but Kongy exhausted Hawk to pump Roy and then activated Roy to stun Roy. This didn’t turn out too well, as Alex exhausted his Roy to pump himself and foil Kongy’s effect.
This all happened in the build phase, so James was still able to use Optitron to get another Roy, which he obviously expected to lose this turn. James then used his Terra to stun Roy. Alex’s Garth attacked Terra, and Alex paid 3 endurance to get an Argus back from the KO’d pile.
The start of turn 6 was the beginning of the end. Alex recruited Beast Boy, then used Roy to stun Kongy’s Hawk and then replaced the hot shot with a fresh and ready copy. Kongy then played Garth. Alex pumped Roy three times to stun Tempest.
“Have you got Press the Attack?” Kongy asked.
Alex showed it to him and Kongy extended his hand.
Winner: Alex Brown with Teen Titans.