Tourney Report...sorta

Ok it's been a few days, but our first constructed VS System event for 2010 has come and gone. I was really happy to see an increase in our attendance to a total of eight players!

Round 1 put me up against Jordan's Avengers deck. He had a great start with 2-cost Captain America in the hidden area complete with Captain America's Shield. I was playing my JSA-Lobo deck. When the 4-cost Iron Man arrived to bolster Cap and Black Widow things weren't looking too hot for my lonely visible Atom Smasher. I did have the Mr. Terrifics hiding and making him mean, but things weren't looking good...but the shield's exhausting effects were starting to help more than hurt at that point.

On turn five I was able to bring out the 5-cost Carter Hall. I got some choice stuns and was able to avoid triggering Iron Man's effect, only to have my Hawkman stolen by a timely-played Switching Sides! Drawing into another 5-cost Hawkman actually proved to be the game-breaker, and Jordan unhappily dropping no character. Initiative was mine and I'd saved up a couple of Press The Attacks, allowing me to swing three time with Hawkman. He was able to stun all three visible opposing characters on his own! Black Panther wasn't able to get through the wall that Atom Smasher had become and victory was mine.

Round 2 was short and painful. My deck was up against Scott's Inhuman/Skrull deck that abuses the Skrull version of Captain America and Franklin Richards. I knew I was done by turn two, as I had no way to get into the hidden area with this deck. I missed both my 1-cost and 3-cost Mr. Terrifics but was somehow able to survive until turn six and play a Lobo, and trigger his effect twice. However, never being able to stun back an attacking character on Scott's initiative that game really was over before it started.

Round 3 put me up against Dan's X-Force deck. X-23 was able to do big damage to me several times through the game, but Carter Hall came up big again. I under-dropped Jakeem several times to keep the costs of my characters lower than his, and was able to pull out the Hawkman / Lobo set-up on turn seven. Even with the massive Warpath on the other side of the table things were looking grim for Dan. The game lasted to turn eight, but on my initiative I drew into my Black Adam. The small boost to attack he gave to all my characters tied things up and we were done. I think if Dan had drawn one or two different defensive plot twists the game would have been his.

I ended up placing third behind William and Scott. After the third round was finished everyone drafted out their prize choices for the night and we headed off for a beer. Next week: Bring Your Own Two Teams, and more new prize goodness. Don't miss out!