Semifinals Match Breakdowns!

Welcome to the Semifinals Match previews! 

Firstly, today we feature a real David and Goliath match-up where on one side, we have a deck toting the largest winning average of the event matches so far, squaring off against the "Better Lucky than Good" titan-slaying Secret Society Hybrid.

Where do we even begin? Lets start!

Match 4AC:
Secret Six Burial Grounds VS  Ultimate Fear

The Favorite:
Averaging 35½ MORE points per game than its opponent, Ultimate Fear has a-lot going for it here. To secure the win, it's going to have to really put a focus into stopping Poison Ivy by getting her off the field with Clint Barton's effect. But even without Clint, playing Blade on 3 will put pressure into the underdog's hidden area in a way it hasn't been exposed to before, while even something as simple as securing odd initiatives can stretch the game to a favorable defensive turn 6 with Dr. Light hopefully securing one or two key stuns before the game can be closed out.

The Underdog :
It really seems, that the more difficult the match-up, the better Burial Grounds seems to do, be it luck, planning, piloting, or divine providence, it always seems to manage to push back just a little harder than its opponent. So what does it have to do to help its chances at making the finals?
-Firstly, Dr. Polaris needs to come out by mid-game. As the only character in the deck with flight he is going to be crucial to Burial Grounds' ability to ignore formations and get to that protected Iron Man.
-Chemo needs to snipe Triskelion. Ultimate Fear secures its late game with Triskelion activations to fish what it wants. Who knows? he might get lucky and bury a clutch drop.
-Lastly, it is going to need luck. Both builds enjoy loading up the hidden area and while Burial Grounds can whip out a repeatable +10 ATK Pump, Ultimate Fear can dig for a substantial DEF pump in cover fire as well.

While much of this game may be dictated largely to initiative results, down is not out in either of these builds. Watch for some clutch plays on turn 5-6 regardless of who's initiative it is.


However the decks aren't the ONLY thing affecting the game outcome! For this round Pilots were asked to choose the deck they wished to play. (with the exception of Aaron and JS who will pilot the final 2 decks in a best of three showdown) For this round, Mark really wanted to pilot Burial Grounds, while Steph had so much fun with Ultimate Fear last round, she wanted to run it again!

Here are your lines for this match!

Secret Six Burial Grounds
Pilot - Mark
VS
Ultimate Fear (Favored to Win by 35½)
Pilot - Steph

Match 4AD:
...and the Horse you Rode in on  VS Thunderworld

With the unexpected defeat of HULK LOVE MAGIC, Thunderworld is striding into the finals as heavy favorites over the deck affectionately referred to as "Horse" for short. Lets take a closer look at:

The Favorite:
 Thunderworlds heavy attrition towards  all characters with a cost of 3 or less leaves it in an extremely favorable position in this matchup. The key will be in Thunderworld's ability to keep its KO pile fueled for Blackheart to keep on ruining Horse's day. If benefitting from a turn 5 initiative Thanos may become the final nail in the coffin for the underdropping competitor.

The Underdog:
Being forced to climb such a steep hill to remain effective, Horse does have an out, in that it has the ability to curve to 6, and that Thunderworld has no resource manipulation it can bring to bear. it absolutely NEEDS odd initiatives while curving out, specifically hitting Lex to finally lockdown Blackheart and Bullseye, and taking full advantage of Brainiac on 6 to KO problematic characters.

Lee had first pick when it came to the 4 available decks and he picked Thunderworld. That is saying quite a bit considering his lackluster win ratios. He certainly wants to prove himself and hammer home a win!

Once again Josh finds himself piloting Horse, and it is just as well as once more, he is playing the underdog. Does he have what it takes?

Here are your Lines for this match!

...and the Horse you Rode in on
Pilot - Josh
VS
Thunderworld (Favored to win by 8½)
Pilot - Lee