Sunday, Dec 3: 5:30 p.m. - Round 8: Ben Stoll vs. David Scott
 | | Ben Stoll |
Sitting at the top of the standings right now, Ben Stoll is almost guaranteed to add another top 8 to his resume. Even so, a win here would make it a sure thing, so he’s definitely looking to get one last win with his Kitsune Beats warband to seal the deal. David Scott is in the opposite position, he’s sitting in 8th currently, so he will need at least one win today to give him a chance at making his first top 8. Will David be able to pull out the game with his psych-out inducing Unsated Ragedrake triplets?With sound effects (think “KAPOW!”) Ben brought down two Kitsune and a Zungar Blademaster to start the game. Bloodthirsty Redcap, Clawclan Scout, Rainforest Shaman, and Knight of Tomorrow tried to hold down the fort for David. A missed spawn phase on the third turn gave Ben the chance to use the initiative to kill Rainforest Shaman with a very above average roll of 6 damage from a lone Kitsune. David tied the turn by bringing Knight of Tomorrow and the Redcap face-to-face with Ben’s other Kitsune in the center cell and getting a good roll to even things up. The Third Kitsune came down for Ben the next turn, and David brought down Heartsblood Temple in the center cell and a Scarab Warcharm as backup. Ben missed an attack in the center cell with his two Kitsune, completely whiffing with eight dice. David then fired back with a bad roll of his own, only being able to disrupt one of the Kitsunes, meaning that the Redcap he had involved in the attack bit the dust. It was another push turn in what was shaping up to be a really close game. David used his initiative the next turn to play a second Heartsblood Temple to the left of the one already in play in the center cell, and second copies of Scarab Warcharm and Bloodthirsty Redcap. Ben thought about bringing out one of his Brighthammer Avenger, but eventually settled on Twilight Scout and Clawclan Scout. David was unable to do anything with his initiative, shifting twice before falling victim to a series of attacks that left him without his Clawclan Scout and Redcap. Ben finally took a turn after almost twenty minutes of play. Ben 1 – 0 David  | | David Scott |
Naga Broodqueen came down for David, and Whirlwind Dervish appeared in the center cell to hopefully help him gain a little of the ground he had been losing. Pearlthorn Castle helped the Kitsunes retreat from the center cell, and Virtuous Maiden was spawned behind the team to come to the rescue a little later. Whirlwind Dervish, Scarab Warcharm, and Knight of Tomorrow easily took down Zungar Blademaster, but Ben struck back quickly, killing the Knight and disrupting a Warcharm back to the opposing portal with his attacks. This gave ben another turn notched on the scoreboard, and a low spawn roll the next turn kept David away from one of the Ragedrakes sitting in his reserves. Hawk-Eyed Instigator and Scarab Warcharm were hopefully going to be enough to help David, but things were looking grim. Ben brought out a lone Scarab Warcharm before passing it off to David. A double-blade attack from the lone Warcharm against the Virtuous Maiden allowed David to move Whirlwind Dervish and one of the other Warcharms into a position to take down Twilight Scout. Ben consolidated his forces though, placing two Kitsunes and two Clawclan Scouts in the center cell, which then attacked and killed both the Whirlwind Dervish and Scarab Warcharm. Ben once again took a turn, giving him a 3-0 lead, and good board position to take the game.Ben 3 – 0 David What David called the worst possible scenario happened when a skipped spawn phase gave Ben the initiative. Ben decided to try and turn off the Heartsblood Temple, and wandered to the opposite side of the board. It probably wasn’t the best strategy when you consider the fact that after he killed another Warcharm that was hanging out along that side of the board, Unsated Ragedrake was coming out to help David regardless of what Ben wanted. David shifted his pieces to positions across the middle row, and finally gave David a turn. Ben 3 – 1 David  | | Ben confers with his warband |
Brighthammer Avenger walked onto the board moments before the first Unsated Ragedrake appeared in David’s Spawn Row. Two solid strikes from Ben took down David’s last remaining Warcharm and the Hawk-Eyed Instigator, leaving David with only Naga Broodqueen and Unsated Ragedrake. A second Brighthammer joined Ben, and a second Ragedrake joined David the very next turn, but being behind 4-1, things didn’t look good for David. Both Brighthammers charged and took down one of the Ragedrakes, and even a deathblow to kill a Brighthammer Avenger wasn’t enough, and David conceded the game to Ben, locking Stoll in another top 8.
Sunday, Dec 3: 6:00 p.m. - Round 9: Stuart Benson vs. Thomas Kiene
 | | Stuart Benson |
This is a battle of titans. Stuart is a Pokemon World Champion, and Thomas is the Washington State Champion for Magic the Gathering. Both players have different goals coming into this match: Stuart needs a win here to place in the top 16, and Thomas needs a win to have a shot at top 8. Players led off with a barrage of creatures, with Stuart playing two Cannibal Pariah and a Scarab Warcharm, and Thomas playing two Cannibal Pariahs, Barbstrider, and a Hive Pincer. No spawn the next turn gave Thomas a chance to easily shift to an early turn win, but the next turn looked good for Stuart when he played Heartsblood Temple in the center cell and Clawclan Scout. Two more Hive Pincers and a Cannibal Pariah came out for Thomas. While Stuart was able to kill a Pariah and Barbstrider, deathblows took down the newly spawned Clawclan Scout and disrupted Cannibal Pariah back to Stuart’s central spawn cell. A shift was enough to tie the turn for Thomas. Voodoo Manipulator joined Thomas’s side, but Bad Kitty and Lunar Handmaiden looked like they would be enough to help Stuart before Thomas took out Scarab Warcharm and disrupted a Cannibal Pariah in the center cell, allowing him to then shift his squad across the scoring cells to take the turn. Stuart 0 – 2 Thomas Dreadmorph Ogre beefed up Stuart’s side of the board, and Pearlthorn Castle looked like it might help move things around a little. Thunder Sultan came trodding onto the board, and without being able to move his pieces far enough into the scoring cells, Stuart dropped another turn, but with Handmaiden and Dreadmorph Ogre, he looked to be in a solid position. Dreadmorph Ogre was scared to Stuarts Spawn Row, and a Cannibal Pariah was expelled in front of Stuart’s Castle, locking him out of spawning in two of the key columns. Thomas spawned a Jack of Blades before passing it off to Stuart, who used Handmaiden and Castle to pull the spawn phase victims forward again, and a Thunder Sultan of his own came pounding onto the board. Two Cannibal Pariahs died on Stuart, but their deathblows took down one of Thomas’s Pariahs and disrupted a Hive Pincer. Stuart used his strikes to disrupt another Cannibal Pariah, and Dreadmorph Ogre and Lunar Handmaiden put a hurting on Thunder Sultan. Even after that, Voodoo Manipulator in the center cell sealed the turn for Thomas. Stuart 0 – 4 Thomas  | | Thomas Kiene |
Down in points, Stuart was still gaining ground on the board. Voodoo Manipulator furthered his board advantage, even with Dreadmorph Ogre coming out to help him. Stuart easily got rid of Voodoo Manipulator and Jack of Blades to take the turn, and a missed Spawn phase the next turn allowed Stuart to flex his advantage even more by killing Dreadmorph Ogre and Cannibal Pariah. Thomas was left with only one Hive Pincer on the board when they went to the next turn. Baxar the Soulstitcher stalked onto the dreamscape with Stuart’s team before Thomas hoped to rebuild his team by spawning Barbstrider, Carrion Spiker, and Voodoo Manipulator. Stuart was able to close the gap, and looked to be gaining a lot of steam.Stuart 3 – 4 Thomas With such a small board presence, Thomas was sinking deeper and deeper into a hole. The hole sunk a little more when the players had a low spawn roll of 5, which Thomas couldn’t even use because the lowest piece in his reserves cost 6. Stuart brought out another Scarab Warcharm, and sent his team forward with the initiative in his hands. Thomas lost a Hive Pincer and Carrion Spiker, but managed to take down Baxar with his deathblows. Stuart 4 – 4 Thomas Thomas recruited the last bit of his reserves, but with such a big board presence across from him, there was nothing he could do except sit back and watch Stuart take the game from him. Stuart gets the win that puts him into the top 16, and the $250 check that goes along with it!
Sunday, Dec 3: 6:30 p.m. - Quarterfinals: Sam Black vs. Chris McCreath
 | | Chris McCreath |
Chris has a lot riding on his shoulders in this match. Not only is he the only player not playing Kitsune Beats in the top 8, he’s also facing off against Sam Black, someone who already has two Dreamblade trophies sitting somewhere in his apartment.The game led off in what was becoming a typical manner for most players, dropping the first Kitsune onto his side of the board. This was met by a Bloodthirsty Redcap and Clawclan Scout from Chris, which were joined the next turn by Infernal Gothic. Chris commented that everything looked pretty bad, but with eight spawn points, Sam disagreed as he played Brighthammer Avenger and pulled it forward with Kitsune to easily take the turn. Sam 1 – 0 Chris Sam began the spawn phase on turn three by attracting the Brighthammer (in his 3 scoring cell) with his Kitsune (in the center cell) into his 4-cell, attempting to take out the Infernal Gothic waiting there. The Charge failed and he played Pearlthorn Castle in the center cell and pulled the Brighthammer back to the center and spawned Lunar Handmaiden in the center column. Chris spawned two Heartsblood Temple, one in the center column, and one to the right of the center cell. A Cannibal Pariah rounded out the team. Sam was unable to take anything out with the Avenger once again, but shifted to easily take another turn before Chris failed an attempt to kill the Brighthammer Avenger. Sam 2 – 0 Chris  | | Sam Black |
A skipped spawn phase the next turn allowed Sam to disrupt the Cannibal Pariah and Bloodthirsty redcap, but the retribution from Chris saw Brighthammer Avenger disrupted to the portal, and Lunar Handmaiden disrupted to the opposite side of Black’s spawn Row. Chris took the turn and pushed Sam back a little ways. The following turn allowed Twilight Scout and Kitsune to meet up in the center cell, and Lunar Handmaiden and Brighthammer Avenger both moved a cell closer to battle with Sam’s initiatives. Chris took down the Twilight Scout with the deathblow he got when his Infernal Gothic bought the farm, but the turn ended once again in a push.Sam 2 – 1 Chris Unsated Ragedrake marched onto the board menacingly with another Cannibal Pariah, but Sam’s second Brighthammer Avenger and a new Twilight Scout looked like they could easily nullify Big Red. Chris carefully maneuvered his pieces the next turn, not wanting his Ragedrake to come within range of the dual Avengers. Sam took the turn after running his Avengers to the center cell, which easily disrupted a Cannibal Pariah to the central cell in Chris’s spawn row. Sam 3 – 1 Chris Sam had the initiative the next turn, allowing him to play another Kitsune and a Scarab Warcharm. The Kitsunes and Pearlthorn Castle took the Brighthammer Avenger for a run through Sam’s 4 scoring cell to kill a Pariah waiting there, and putting Chris up to 18 spawn points between the extra spawn points, the high roll, and the Temples. Thunder Sultan and Voodoo Manipulator came out in the right-hand key column, scaring one of the Avengers back from the center cell. Sam used his actions to regroup his pieces, pulling the other Brighthammer back from the center cell, and after nothing but shifts, Sam took the turn, putting him in a very commanding 4-1 lead. Sam 4 – 1 Chris  | | Sam plots his next move |
Another initiative for Mr. Black allowed him to start running his Avengers through characters again, taking out a Cannibal Pariah and Scarab Warcharm. His third Kitsune hit the board and made life miserable for Chris, who dropped Eater of Hope and Scarab Warcharm. Before moving his pieces, Chris agreed to allow Sam to mark where his pieces were with paper markers and move them around before declaring his moves. Then the waiting began. While Sam thought, Chris was able to go to the restroom and get a cup of water. By the time he got back, Sam had decided on his moves, and the Avengers retreated away from the Eater and Ragedrake. The turn ended in a push after Chris’s shift. Brighthammer Avenger took down the last remaining Pariah in his left-hand 1 scoring cell, and a pair of Steelborn Lions joined Kitsune and Twilight Scout in the center cell before Chris spawned Noble Dragon. The pieces of paper came out once again for Black to map out his moves, allowing the process to go faster than it would have if he had taken the time to mentally map it out. Once again running away from the Ragedrake, but this time giving Chris the turn.Sam 4 – 2 Chris Brighthammer Avenger opened Sam’s initiative in a rather underwhelming manner, getting a roll of 7 on two Charge attempts on the Thunder Sultan, disrupting it both times, finally dropping it in his own spawn row, where he then spawned a Pearlthorn Castle and two Clawclan Scouts that were joined by Kitsune and Twilight Scout to deal with the resilient elephant. Crypt Worm came out to bolster Chris’s team a little more. Eater of Hope was disrupted to Chris’s portal, but the Thunder Sultan was destroyed, only managing to make a deathblow of one. Sam then jumped away from the multiple Dragons huddled on Chris’s left-hand side. Chris decided to go all in, and moved Ragedrake, Noble Dragon, Scarab Warcharm, and Clawclan Scout into his 5-cell, giving Sam the turn, but putting him into a good position if he received the initiative the next turn. Sam 5 – 2 Chris The gambit paid off for Chris when he rolled higher than Sam, and while he was unable to spawn anything with an empty reserve, this would mean that he would have the first actions for his Ragedrake to do some damage. He used Voodoo Manipulator to put another Kitsune in combat with his Dragons. Sam was able to send a Brighthammer Avenger into the Crypt Worm and deal 9, but also proceeded to move a Clawclan Scout and Twilight Scout into the cell (which started the turn with Lunar Handmaiden), forgetting that he would then be unable to move the second Brighthammer into the cell (as it would be the fifth creature). This mistake was one that probably cost Sam the game. The dragons dealt 26 damage, killing two Kitsune and Scarab Warcharm. The deathblow took out his own Warcharm before an attack from Eater and Voodoo Manipulator took out one of the Brighthammer Avengers. Crypt Worm ate Lunar Handmaiden, and it was on to the second action phase. The dragons attacked and with blades, Chris skirmished the Unsated Ragedrake to his 4-cell, allowing him to trample into the center cell and kill the other Brighthammer and disrupt Clawclan Scout. The last remaining Kitsune went down, and Chris got the turn, killing eight pieces to do so. Sam 5 – 3 Chris  | | The dead speak for themselves |
Sam had gone from an almost guaranteed win to an almost guaranteed loss with the one mistake he made the previous turn. He played his Noble Dragon, the only piece remaining in either player’s reserves. Sam shifted first, bringing his Noble Dragon and Steelborn Lion face-to-face with Chris’s, and disrupted it, also killing Chris’s Clawclan in the process. Twilight Scout attacked in a different cell to advance the Noble Dragon into combat with the Ragedrake. The Ragedrake succumbed to a 10-point payback blade, and the deathblow took out the Clawclan Scout that was attacking alongside the Dragon. Chris took the turn again, putting him closer and in good position to get the game. A failed series of attacks the next turn left Sam without any way to get victory points, dropping the turn and losing his Noble Dragon in the process. With such a small board presence, the next turn was inevitable, and Chris McCreath took down the seasoned pro to advance to the semi-finals after a two and a half hour marathon game.
Sunday, Dec 3: 7:00 p.m. - Semifinals: Justin Cohen vs. Ian Stickland
Justin Cohen and Ian Stickland are both staying in the same room this weekend, both playing Kitsune Beats, and both representing the think tanks from Madison and New York respectively. Justin’s warband uses a splash of Passion pieces and Chaos Puppeteer, while Ian is sticking to straight Valor pieces. Justin thought that whether or not he could hit a Temple early, if it worked and they didn’t hit too many missed spawn phases, would be the deciding factors. Both players felt they had the advantage going into the game, so it was anybody’s game.  | | Justin Cohen |
Turn 1 saw a Kitsune come down on both sides of the board. Turn 2 was the exact same. Clearly this was going to be an interesting matchup, as once other characters started to hit the board, everything would be capable of being just about anywhere at any given time. Ian, going second, was able to shift to a turn win, taking the point when he could get it. He won the initiative roll the next turn, giving him the chance to spawn Pearlthorn Castle in the center cell, the most important piece of real estate in a matchup like this. He then followed it up with Twilight Scout, consolidating his two Kitsunes in the center cell and pulling the Scout forward a cell. Justin dropped his own castle in the middle column, retreating his Kitsunes and pulling a newly spawned Clawclan Scout forward. Zungar Blademaster joined the band before Ian spread out his pieces once again, leaving Justin an opening to spread out his pieces as well, taking a turn for himself.Justin 1 – 1 Ian Justin got the initiative with 9 spawn points on deck, which meant that the first Brighthammer Avenger was coming out to play, moving up to his right-hand 1-cell to Charge one of Ian’s Kitsune, but he was only able to disrupt the little fox to her portal, which was probably the best roll Ian could hope for. With his Castle and his Kitsunes, he was able to move the piece to his own right-hand 1-cell. It was off to the races then, as both players attempted to out-shift each other. Justin charged the other Kitsune of Ian’s, once again disrupting it, leaving Ian with both Kitsunes in his Spawn row. Ian shifted, but Justin was still able to take the turn. Justin 2 -1 Ian The Initiative was in Ian’s hands the next turn, allowing him the chance to run his Brighthammer across the middle row. On his first pass, he dealt 6 damage to Justin’s Kitsune in the center cell, the perfect number, because after disrupting the Blademaster in the cell to its left, the Avenger easily killed the fox on the way back through the center. Ian’s Twilight Scout was disrupted by Justin’s Brighthammer, with both players using newly spawned Kitsunes during their reigns of terror. Justin brought down two Clawclan Scouts to help his team. After shifts by both players, Justin once again took the initiative. Justin 3 – 1 Ian Even with the initiative, Stickland was once again unable to kill Justin’s Brighthammer, this time taking two attempts with his Castle and three Kitsunes in play. Ian played a Castle in Justin’s 5-cell, pulling the Kitsune back from an engagement with Justin’s Brighthammer. Two Steelborn Lion jumped into play besides a Kitsune in Justin’s 3-cell before he passed to Cohen. Brighthammer was Attracted by one of Cohen’s remaining two Kitsune, putting 3 on the Kitsune that Ian had retreated earlier. Angel of Sunrise Gambited a turn to Ian in exchange for another swing on both the Kitsune and Brighthammer of Ian’s, only able to disrupt the Kitsune. Cohen sent the fox to Ian’s 5-cell so he could engage it with a Kitsune of his own, Clawclan Scout, and Zungar Blademaster. Justin pulled the Angel into the cell after Ian maneuvered his pieces to little effect, and then struck. He got the 9 damage he needed, taking out Ian’s Kitsune to leave each player with two foxes. Even after only able to disrupt a Twilight Scout with his remaining attacks, Justin still took the turn. Justin 4 – 2 Ian  | | Ian Stickland |
Cohen got a clutch initiative the following turn, using it to retreat his characters out of range so Ian wouldn’t be able to go wild with his Brighthammer Avenger. Cohen then spawned a second Avenger and passed. Ian brought down a second Avenger of his own, and a Zungar Blademaster. When the players moved to their Action Phases, Justin was easily able to kill the pair of Steelborn Lions, but a deathblow from one of them pulled a Clawclan Scout down with it. Ian shifted in to take the turn, and a skipped spawn the next turn with Justin’s initiative presented an interesting situation. A series of abysmal rolls left Justin shaking his head. One of Ian’s Kitsunes was able to take down an opposing Clawclan Scout to give him the turn, making it a tie game and closer than either player would have preferred.Justin 4 – 4 Ian Ian had initiative on a huge spawn roll of 11, giving him the chance to kill off a second Kitsune of Justin’s with one of his Brighthammer Avengers. Noble Dragon and Clawclan Scout also joined the team, which seemed pretty solid when Justin proceeded to drop Unsated Ragedrake and hope for the best. Stickland used his Dragon, Blademaster, Clawclan Scout, and a Kitsune to take down the Angel and skirmish one of his Brighthammers into the Ragedrake. The failed Charge left him in a bad position. Ragedrake inhaled and took a big swing along with Kitsune to kill both the over-eager avenger and one of Ian’s neighboring Kitsune with the powerful trample ability. This was enough to give Justin the turn. Winning the initiative the next turn seemed like the best possible outcome for Justin, and he used it to run one of his Avengers into the center cell, killing a Twilight Scout who seemed threatening in combination with the large contingent of creatures hanging out in Justin’s 3-cell. Justin added a Scarab Warcharm and Chaos Puppeteer to his team, and then passed it off to Ian. He attempted to deal with Justin’s last Kitsune via his remaining Avenger, but was only able to disrupt it. Scarab Warcharm and Virtuous Maiden came down in the central cell of his spawn row before Justin had a shot at attacks. Ragedrake shifted and struck Ian’s Brighthammer Avenger in the center cell, but was only able to earn a disruption, once again sporting some pretty bad rolls. Ian stole the turn and put the score back to an even count at 5-5. Justin 5 – 5 Ian With both players even at five turns apiece, Justin won the initiative and used it to recruit Lunar Handmaiden and pull her forward one cell. Ian was only able to use Virtuous Maiden’s ability and move some of his characters around. Justin led off his actions with an attack from Ragedrake on a lone Clawclan Scout, but even though the Scout was easily incinerated, there was no blade to be found, eliminating the chance for trample. Brighthammer charged into Ian’s Warcharm, and disrupted it out of the way. Justin sent the other Avenger off to the right and took down Zungar Blademaster. The second kill for the turn combined with tying down the rest of Ian’s pieces sealed the game away for Cohen, putting him in his second 10K Finals appearance, and giving him the second shot he’s been waiting for! break/> Sunday, Dec 3: 7:20 p.m. - Finals: Justin Cohen vs. Chris McCreath
 | | Chris McCreath |
Justin is on a quest today. His roommate, Sam Black, has two trophies, so in order for the two of them to duel each other with their 10K Trophies, Justin needs to get one here today. This is his second finals appearance, while this is the first 10K for his opponent, Chris McCreath. Chris is a competitor from nearby Oregon, and is the only player in the Top 8 not playing Kitsune Beats, so his journey here was a hard-fought one. What remained to be seen was whether or not Kitsune would conquer the day or the underdog would take home the win.Justin led off with Brighthammer Avenger, hoping to make a quick swing through the board, which looked like a possibility when Chris spawned a team of two Cannibal Pariahs and a Bloodthirsty Redcap. A missed spawn phase immediately hampered things though, as Justin was stuck with the initiative, meaning that he would be unable to react according to Chris’s shifts. Naturally, Chris took the turn to get off to a quick start. Justin 0 – 1 Chris  | | Justin Cohen |
A second Brighthammer walked onto Justin’s board during the next spawn phase, while Chris brought out two Heartsblood Temples, one in the center cell, and another to the right of it. Justin attempted to get things rolling by sliding his first Brighthammer into the center cell, but was unable to kill the lone Pariah sitting there, bringing his momentum to a crashing halt. Chris took the turn by moving his Redcap to his 3-cell. The initiative on the following turn allowed him to play Voodoo Manipulator, and after Justin played a Heartsblood Temple in the last remaining scoring cell in the middle row, Chris slid his Pariah into Justin’s second Brighthammer, locking it down and giving him another turn. A missed spawn phase the next turn meant that without being able to unlock his Brighthammers, Justin gave Chris two back-to-back turn wins.Justin 0 – 4 Chris Another initiative for Chris saw him spawn Crypt Worm. Justin was able to play Kitsune and Zungar Blademaster, which allowed him to unlock his Brighthammers and put them in the center cell. Even so, he was unable to shift his pieces to the 5-cell and 3-cell, so when Chris shifted a Redcap and Pariah to those cells, and without being able to engage both characters, Justin dropped his fifth consecutive turn. Another missed spawn phase the next turn gave Chris the win in what was easily the shortest game all weekend. Chris McCreath beats the odds to become the 10K Seattle Champion on the back of his Temple Good Stuff warband! |
