Michael Barnes is the force behind the Xavier’s Dream deck that took PC NY by storm, while David De Michele has multiple $10K Top 8 finishes to his credit. Both players were unhappy with the quality of their Sealed Pack pools. As they both had records of 4–2 going into this round, only the winner would have a shot at making Top 24 tomorrow. David won the die roll and chose odds.

David had no play on the first turn, while Michael recruited Ted Kord ◊ Blue Beetle. He attacked for 2, and that was the turn. Michael followed up on turn 2 with Bluejay in front of Ted. David recruited L-Ron. Elementary attacks resolved, and the players quickly moved to the third turn. This was David’s initiative, and he had Zauriel behind L-Ron. Michael thought for a moment before recruiting Rocket Red #4. He set up with Ted behind Red and next to Bluejay. To begin his attacks, David sent L-Ron into Bluejay. Michael allowed it, and both characters stunned. Next, David attacked Ted with Zauriel. Michael again had nothing, and Ted went down. There were no other attacks, so the turn ended. Michael lost Ted, and the endurance totals stood at 41 apiece.

Turn 4 was Michael’s initiative, and he recruited Henry King ◊ Brainwave, Sinister Psionic. He equipped Henry with Nth Metal, and set up with all of his characters in the front row. David went into the tank, and eventually came up with Oliver Queen ◊ Green Arrow, Emerald Archer. He set up with Oliver in front of Zauriel, and L-Ron next to Oliver in the front row. Before Michael declared an attack, he played Glass Jaw on Zauriel. His first attack sent Bluejay after the weakened 3-drop, and David could do  nothing to prevent the stun. Both characters went down. Next, Michael attacked L-Ron with Rocket Red. David flipped JLI Embassy, giving Red +1 ATK and forcing the mutual stun. Before declaring his final attack, Michael flipped Sinister Citadel to KO Bluejay and put a +1 ATK / +1 DEF counter on Henry. He also KO’d Red to Henry’s leader ability. Finally, Henry attacked Oliver Queen for the mutual stun. Before recovery, David used his JLI Embassy to recover L-Ron. At the end of the turn, Michael led the endurance race, 32–22.

On turn 5, David led off with a series of impressive under-drops. A boosted Booster Gold was followed up with a copy of Ted Kord, as well as Joseph Jones ◊ General Glory. He set up with L-Ron in front of Oliver, Joseph in front of Ted, and Booster alone in the support row next to Ted. Michael had Darkseid, Heart of Darkness behind Henry. David wasted no time in declaring his first attack of Oliver into Henry. Michael allowed it, and could not prevent the mutual stun. He reinforced, then used Henry’s leader ability to take 5 points off David’s endurance total. David team attacked directly for 13, and that was the turn. Neither player lost any additional characters, and Michael still led in endurance, 15–13.

Turn 6 was Michael’s initiative, and he went into the tank. After several minutes of deep thought, he under-dropped with Fire and Funky Flashman. The alliterative additions to his team were set in the front row, with Henry between them. David had a somewhat easier play, recruiting Gorilla Grodd. His formation was quite difficult, though, and he took a bit of time to work it out. Eventually, he set up with Grodd in front of Oliver, L-Ron in front of Booster in the next column, and Joseph in front of Ted in the column next to that. Michael declared his first attack of Henry into L-Ron. David allowed it, and Fire’s ally power triggered, hitting David for 2 endurance. The glacial play continued, as David pondered whether he had anything he could do about this. He chose to reinforce with Booster, but didn’t yet let his character stun. Time seemed to stretch out to infinity as David contemplated his decision. The prolonged agony of this particular play ended with a Staged Attack on L-Ron. The character finally went down, and it was on Michael again. He attacked Fire into Ted. “Saw that coming,” said David. Nothing was to be done about the attack, and Ted Kord went down. Michael’s final attack sent Funky into Booster Gold. Michael flipped Gorilla City to give Funky +1 ATK. David allowed the stun, and dropped to 0 endurance. It was now David’s turn to attack, and he sent Grodd into Fire. Michael allowed it, and took 9. David then sent Oliver into Henry. He powered-up and passed. Michael used Sinister Citadel to give Henry another +1 ATK / +1 DEF counter, then used Henry’s leader ability to KO Fire and hit David for 5. Both characters were stunned. Joseph attacked Michael directly, but it wasn’t enough.

Michael Barnes wins!