Sunday, Aug 19: 10:13 a.m. - Round 10: Michael Ayars vs. Ian Stickland
 | Ian Stickland prepares for battle. |
Ian starts out by telling Michael he loves his Octorilla costume, but that since he needs to win he calls dibs on the match. One of them had to call dibs, since they're playing virtually the same warband. In fact, a lot of the top players are playing a variant on Chaos Wells, so I told them both to prepare for a day of the mirror.
It is truly a mirror as they both play and shift the same on turns one and two. They both know the next initiative is important and they scream and holler as they roll it. Both players are sad to be playing the mirror, but excited at the prospect of almost guaranteeing a Top 8 appearance with a win. It's Ian that wins the key initiative, however, and Michael cries as the Well comes down and swallows his Crypt Worm. Hey, at least he got a turn out of it, right? Michael plops out a Cannibal Pariah and Chaos Puppeteer in the center, at least giving him back some of the spawn he just lost. Ian shifts and strikes, putting his Infernal Screamer in his 4-cell to block the Puppet and his buddy, and striking to send the Pariah in the center to the graveyard. Ian comments that at least Michael is playing double Crypt Worm, important for exactly that reason, and why Ian can still lose this game. He's got his Screamer in his 3-cell, which ties the turn. Michael 1-0 A no-spawn next turn sees Michael take a double strike, disrupting Ian's Screamer back to its portal. A double shift later, Ian is in position and winning the turn with a Crypt Worm in the 1-cell that's not occupied by a Well. Tied 1-1  | The monkey's off and the game is on! |
A 6 spawn plus a dead Cannibal gives Michael his second Crypt Worm of the game, position to double shift and hopefully pay Ian back during the next spawn phase with a lucky win. The players have been telling me that while there's still luck involved with the initiative, they're playing Wells to reduce the amount of luck they need in any given game. Chaos Wells seems to be the true control warband that people have been seeking since the beginning of the game. Ian thinks for a while before using his 6 spawn to bring a Jack of Blades in behind the 3-cell. The Jack is back this tournament, and Expel seems to be the tech of choice for almost all of the top players that are running Fear. Michael double shifts into position, as I suspected he would. He doesn't have much hope of winnign the turn, but Ian could always roll well. And…he does, rolling 12 damage with his Crypt Worm against Michael's Crypt Worm and throwing it back to the portal. Disrupting the Infernal Screamer opposite Michael's portal puts it out of play, but he missed a Jack blade and so can't tie up the turn. Michael 2-1 Michael celebrates his roll of 5 for initiative, before Ian's cry of "gotcha!" rings out as his die reads a 6. Not only does this give him initiative, it gives him enough spawn to bring out the Voodoo Manipulator to toss Michael's Puppet down the Well. Ekkyon Wayfarer and Jack of Blades come out to try to help, but with his Crypt Worm a double-shift away from even threatening a scoring cell, Michael sums up his position as "hideous" and gambles once again on initiative. Tied 2-2  | Ian prepares to jack the Jack. |
A 9 spawn won by Michael gives him an Infernal Gothic and Cyclopean Sprite, thanks to the Screamer that's still alive and kicking. He says, "that's one short of amazing for me." Ian tries to figure out how to best use his spawn to keep Michael from having a decent turn for a change. I'll wager it's going to have something to do with Scaring Michael's Crypt Worm yet again. The first thing he does, however, is Gambit everything out of the 1-cell, putting Michael's Jack of Blades in mortal danger and moving the Ekkyon out of contention. Then he pulls off the Scare and brings out both of his Chaos Puppeteers in the center column. Michael casts a curse on Ian as the latter notes how awful the game would have been if he had lost that key initiative. Michael double shifts to cover the row adjacent to his spawn row, hoping for a break on initiative next turn. Ian shifts once instead of getting his Puppets into the center cell, where Michael's Sprite threatens them. His strike is enough to destroy Michael's Jack of Blades, and Ian takes the turn. Tied 3-3 Michael wins initiative with enough to bring out the Infernal Preacher, one of the key differences between the two warbands, but a 1 on the Frightwave surprises nobody that's been watching the match so far. No Gambit or Scare is "suspicious," says Michael, as Ian merely brings out the Ekkyon and lets Michael take a strike. His dice didn't fail him this time, with 14 damage and a Hell's Fury letting him destroy the Crypt Worm and disrupt the Pariah. Ian thinks he might have messed that up. Ian shifts forwards for a murderous strike of his own, destroying Michael's Crypt Worm and Expelling the Ekkyon back to his 5-cell. A pair of toys in the center cell locks up the turn for Ian. Ian 4-3 Double 6s are fairly bad for Michael as Ian Scares and then double Vortexes to force Michael to drop either the Screamer or Sprite down his Well and giving Ian dominant position adjacent to Michael's spawn row. Out comes a second Crypt Worm and another Pariah for Ian, and he passes to Michael who sacs his Sprite since he's not likely to use Whisper at this stage in the game. Michael thinks for a bit before summoning an undead horde consisting of Voodoo and Horrid Poltergeist.  | Michael makes yet another tough decision. |
Ian double shifts, covering the center and 1-cell, as well as his 5-cell, meaning that Michael can't even win the turn with a double shift, and no matter where he goes he'll be in danger of losing one or more pieces to a Well on the next turn, sealing his doom. Michael's single Puppet build seems inferior right now to Ian's double toy since he could have had another one out here had he put one in his back pocket. A double shift gamble pays off for Michael by tying the turn, either losing the game on a spawn or having a slim chance on a no spawn. The no-spawn hits and the players watching the game all laugh and cheer. Michael shifts and strikes, getting 10 and a blade in the 5-cell, a key combat. That's a decent roll for Michael, but he should be able to do something with it. He lures the Voodoo into the center cell, which is the real key cell, and he gets 16 and 3 blades to play with. That's enough to destroy the Voodoo and Jack, which he does, praying for a deathblow miss. It doesn't come, however, as 8 damage falls and destroys the Horrid Poltergeist in reply.  | The Italian BOTA and tournament surprise Jeffrey
Wong watch the competition. |
Ian double shifts into his 3-cell to win the turn, also positioning his Crypt Worm in the center along with both Puppets and a Screamer. Ian 5-3 Ian wins the next spawn as well, giving him a chance to Haunt one of the two cells that Michael has built up with strong creatures. He drops a Well in his 3-cell and then double Vortexes again, which will force Michael to sac a Cannibal Pariah. He's got 6 spawn left, and can still Haunt if he wants, but he's got to think carefully before giving up a fourth turn. He Haunts the center cell, dropping the Preacher down the Well, putting Gothic into his own center spawn cell and shoving the Ekkyon away. Shifting and striking, Ian takes out the Screamer, noting that a disrupt would have given Michael a chance, so he should have struck first. But Michael misses the deathblow, and he's locked out, and Ian Stickland starts out Day Two by going 9-1!
Sunday, Aug 19: 11:36 a.m. - Teamblade
There are many teams here at the Dream Series Championship, and they're all vying to be known as the most dominant team of the weekend. Of course we've all heard of Dream Elysium, Dreaming Dragons, and the Redcap Council, but several other teams are here. Team Carta from Montreal, Canada is well-represented, while the heretofore unknown Dream Masons (making a clever pun, since Masons are a secret society) have revealed themselves to be incredibly potent. In my Orlando 10K coverage I had a battle between two of the teams in attendance, so I was really interested in how the teams were faring after playing Round 10.  | Dream Elysium |
Dream Elysium
Carl Reddish 5-5* (92)
Corey Ivy 6-4 (42)
Shawn Riggin 6-4 (40)
Brad Shugg dropped
Sean Hew Wing dropped
Robert Efseroff 6-4 (60)
Brayden Efseroff 4-6* (116)
Gordon Kane 6-4 (50)
 | Dreaming Dragons |
Dreaming Dragons
Robert Hatch 6-4 (44)
Patrick Hanberry 5-5 (70)
Jesse Dean 6-4 (35)
David Scott 5-5 (75)
John Fanjoy 7-3 (27)
John Siadak 6-4 (61, John has the worst tiebreaks of all 6-4s)
 | Redcap Council |
Redcap Council
Sam Black 6-4 (36)
Justin Cohen 7-3 (24)
Ian Stickland 9-1 (1)
Ben Stoll 8-2 (5)
Trey Gibson 8-2* (11)
Marcus Spicer 6-4 (48)
Dave Heineman 6-4 (32, Dave has the best tiebreak of the 6-4s)
Jenna Nardone dropped
 | Team Carta |
Team Carta
Marc Fellahi 8-2 (8)
Anh Dung Tran 7-3 (20)
Jean-Sebastien Pruneau dropped
Maxime Charron Carrier 6-4 (41)
Nicolas Plouffe 6-4 (45)
Jean-Phillipe Theriault 5-5 (84)
 | Dream Masons |
Dream Masons
Matthew Hoffmann 8-2 (7)
Michael Ayars 8-2 (4)
Meaghan Hoffmann 7-3 (29)
Robert Ansell 6-4* (62)
 | Infinite Monkeys |
Infinite Monkeys
Joe Maiville 7-3 (19)
Tim Sullivan 5-5 (76)
Greg Pippert 6-4 (39)
Two players dropped
 | 31st Century |
31st Century
Matt Callicoat dropped
Tom Newcomb dropped
Lancelot Hemenway 7-3 (16)
Joe Suber 8-2 (3, top of the 8-2s)
Jason Scarborough 8-2 (9, bottom of the 8-2s) *Players with an asterisk next to their record have a match point penalty, which drops them to the bottom of their group, severely impacting where they can place regardless of tiebreakers.
 | Robert Hatch hoists one last 10K trophy |
After 10 rounds of play today, the Redcap Council and Dream Masons have two players each in the Top 8, while 31st Century has come out of nowhere to grab three of the Top 16 slots. The Dreaming Dragons are posting a disappointing performance, from their perspective, and it's going to be a fight just to be represented in the Top 8. Earlier in the day, Robert Hatch finally received his trophy from the Hartford 10K, and it just wouldn't be tournament coverage without a shot of Robert hoisting a trophy. We're on the cusp of determining the eight players who will vie for the title of Dream Series Champion, so stay tuned for all the coverage to come!
Sunday, Aug 19: 12:22 p.m. - Round 12: Trey Gibson vs. Joe Suber
Trey and Joe are exuberant to be in this position, both for different reasons. Trey is looking to join three or four of his teammates in the Top 8, while Joe's team has come out of nowhere (Olathe, Kansas, actually) to be knocking on the door. The winner here is definitely in the Top 8, and the loser is probably out. Even though Trey currently stands at 9-2, his match point loss early in the tournament threatens to drop him from the Top 8 even with what otherwise would be a lock record.  | Joe Suber and NFL Showdown |
These two are playing another near mirror match, this time of the Valor/Passion variety. For a metagame that was supposed to be dominated by Chaos Well and Corpsebuilt, these guys are proving that old dogs with old tricks are as deadly as ever. The mirror starts early with a couple of Basts Handmaid coming out, followed by Clawclan and Pariah for Trey and Clawclan and Rainforest Shaman for Joe. Infernal Gothic quickly follows for both, with Trey dropping a Heartsblood Temple and Joe bringing his Handmaid to safety with a Pearlthorn Castle.  | Trey Gibson and Stag Party |
The first meaty turn sees Trey nervously fumble his dice, and his creatures fumble their strikes. Joe hits 11 on 5 in the center cell to destroy the Gothic and disrupt the Clawclan to the center spawn cell, severely affecting the board for both players. Joe 1-0 A 9 spawn with Trey winning brings out a Clawclan in the Portal and a Whirlwind Dervish, which teleports straight into Joe's Gothic in the 4-cell. This is a hyper-aggressive play and I'm interested to see what Trey thinks he can get out of it. Joe brings out a Heartsblood in a 1-cell and the Lunar backs up his Gothic in the center column. He castles the Handmaid back again, hoping it can survive the Dervish.
Trey begins by destroying the Clawclans that Joe had in the center row, but the Dervish whiffs. Joe shifts and strikes at the Dervish with Gothic, Lunar, and Bast's, giving him 8 damage and 2 blades, which is a huge relief for Trey. He Mighty Strides the Gothic forward and destroys Trey's Clawclan. A center cell strike can't even disrupt the Redcap, and he ignores the Lure, so Trey takes the turn. Tie 1-1  | It's win and you're in for these two! |
Trey determines that losing a 7-spawn is acceptable, even though Joe has 13 spawn to play with and a Ragedrake that can jump straight into the action. He thinks it through very carefully and finally decides to bring out Stormwatch Siren and Lure the Handmaid up into Trey's 5-cell, using his remaining spawn to bring out a Warcharm and Castle the Gothic back to the Dervish. I wonder if not playing the Ragedrake is a mistake, because Joe had all the pieces and position to board sweep Trey. Trey has 11, so Ragedrake isn't an option for him. Instead he brings out the Angel of Sunrise and Gambits, bringing all his creatures back from the brink of destruction. Perhaps Joe saw this possibility and decided that more support pieces should come out instead of the big guy at this time. Joe thinks about his turn for quite some time before shifting away from his portal, and putting his Peace Monkey in dire circumstances in the 1-cell with Dervish and Bast's. I'm not sure why he did this, but he passes anyway. Trey says he doesn't know whether or not he wants to continue his hyper-aggression and shift into Joe's big cell with just a Clawclan and Redcap, and Joe replies that he wanted to tempt him. He decides he's not ready for that kind of commitment, so he just strikes at the Monkey, destroys it, and shifts after using Mighty Stride to bring his Angel to the center cell. (On a side note, Trey's girlfriend Jenna walked in at this point in the match, and Trey, contemplating a move in the biggest match of his career, took time out to wish her a happy birthday. Didn't I tell you he was a helluva guy?) Tie 2-2 Joe wins a huge spawn this round, but it's one he didn't want to win as his big cell is completely out of position. This kind of spawn-phase conundrum is just as important to Valor/Passion bands as winning or losing is to Chaos Wells. He's got 15 spawn to spend, and not much to do with it. But wait, Joe has an Angel of his own, and he gives Trey a turn in order to set up the big strike that he's going to live or die by. Everything moves to the center except the Handmaid, which Joe thinks about swapping with the Lunar until Trey tells him he's already committed the Lunar. Frustrated at the mistake, Joe just pulls up the Angel with the Castle and passes. Trey brings out the Ragedrake and threatens the center cell by putting it in his Castle. Joe says, "alright," and shifts up to do some striking. Fifteen dice in the center cell gets him 19 damage and 3 blades, and plenty to do with it. He's got Gothic and Warcharm in there, not a bad couple of blade dumps. Of course, deciding what to do with that is going to burn Joe's brain, and he agonizes over the decision, counting his options. He Lures the Ragedrake, Skirmishes the Gothic to join the Warcharm against Trey's Dervish, and advances the Handmaid to the other 1-cell. Then he destroys the Ragedrake and Handmaid, and gulps as Trey hits 16 damage on the 13-die deathblow. Trey destroys the Warcharm and Lunar in response. Joe's next strike hits two blades to advance the Bast's to his 5-cell and Skirmish the Gothic to "safety" in his 3-cell. Bast's gets him three blades, which he ignores.  | Joe looks for the move |
Trey's set for a doublestrike, the first of which destroys Bast's and the Infernal Gothic, freeing him up to shift as his second action instead. This game is going just how you'd expect it, with massive damage and destruction in every phase. Trey 4-2 The next spawn phase showcases Trey's bit of tech. In an amazing play after he wins initiative with 16, he drops a Stormwatch Siren, Castles his Angel back (freeing Joe's Angel to be Lured), then Lures it over into his Redcap and drops an Unwishing Well for a full eight spawn (it's his only Fear piece). Joe's position is utterly annihilated and he's down 4-2, but he's got a lot of Passion beef to go for the amazing comeback. Neither player does much with their strikes, so Trey takes the turn. Trey 5-2 Winning another initiative, Trey is starting to get excited, as he can feel the end is near. He brings out double Warcharm and Lures the World Eater into the Well. Joe shakes his head, drops his Ragedrake, and can't figure out how he's going to salvage this game with only a few creatures in play.  | Trey takes his time on a crucial turn |
Trey takes his time thinking about this round, it's sometimes very difficult to close out a game with initiative, but if any warband can do it it's this Valor/Passion/Well/Zealot bit of gypsy insanity. He shifts up into a position that could win him the turn, and Joe would have to roll well and put himself out of position in order to take the turn. He passes. Joe grabs his dice, thinks about his limited options, and shifts up to strike. The Ragedrake hits only 10 damage against the Angel of Sunrise, which is very bad. He can only put 5 on what Trey calls the "Whirlwind Wall," and then misses his blade so Trey Gibson is in the Top 8 with a few of his teammates and another Stag Zealot!!!
Sunday, Aug 19: 1:19 p.m. - Top 8 Breakdown
After two days, three drafts, and 12 matches, eight players stand ready to do battle for the Dream Series Championship and the $10,000 first prize. Let's take a look at the warbands that helped to get them here, and that they'll be relying on from here on out.
There are some interesting lists here, including Trey's usual Stag Zealot of course, but also what I believe to be the first Spellbound Scissors and Barbstrider to ever make a major tournament Top 8. Even cooler, word on the street is that Jason Scarborough grinded his way into the tournament in the final Last Chance Qualifier of the convention, and now he stands at the cusp of a huge payday and legendary status. I'm looking forward to bringing you these Top 8 matches, so stay tuned to see how the best of the best play the game.
Sunday, Aug 19: 2:45 p.m. - Quarterfinals: Ben Stoll vs. Jeffrey Wong
Here we are with our first Top 8 matchup, and it's a good one. Jeffrey Wong has come out of nowhere to storm this tournament, front-running most of Day One and hanging on in Day Two. Everyone knows Ben Stoll from previous coverages, and he's one of three Redcap Council members to be playing for the big trophy. Jeffrey's warband is an unconventional choice, and the first couple of rounds see him bring out Blind Envoy, Barbstrider (is this the first one to ever make Top 8?), and double Clawclan Scout. Ben counters with a Pariah, Puppeteer, and Cyclopean Sprite, which could spell major trouble for Jeffrey's early game weenies. The players trade shifts, and Jeffrey is able to tie the turn without engaging Ben's Puppeteer in the center cell, a major advantage against Ben's Well band. This smart choice could be on reason Jeffrey went on a tear through the largely Well band metagame. Jeffrey wins a turn 4 initiative and brings out Scarab Warcharm and Zungar Blademaster, still feeding weenies to Ben's Sprite. Ben thinks hard before bringing out the Jack of Blades and Vortexing. Jeffrey shifts into the center with a Scout, and comes forward with his back-row pieces. He strikes in the 1-cell first, getting 3 and a blade to skirmish the Envoy to the middle and disrupt the Cannibal Pariah. Three dice in the center isn't enough to disrupt the Puppeteer, which could spell trouble in the next round. Ben tells me to note that he's a bad player. He shifts toward the middle row and strikes with the Puppeteer, missing the Scout, but then he gets the blade with his Cyclopean Sprite and Whispers off the Blind Envoy and Clawclan Scout in the center cell to take the turn. Tie 1-1 Jeffrey wins the next initiative with 8 spawn and reaches for a pair of Warcharms, bringing his total on the board up to three. Ben brings out the Infernal Screamer, hoping to get his Crypt Worm online. After shifting, Jeffrey hits a huge roll in the center cell with Warcharm and Scout, destroying the Puppet and getting two blades to set up a big strike against the Sprite. He gets the 4 damage as well as another blade, which he uses to put a Blademaster into the middle, protecting that cell from an Expel from the Jack of Blades. A bit of comedy ensues as when he goes to disrupt the Sprite it falls apart, causing the judge to quip that he must disrupt both pieces of the miniature to the same cell. Ben's completely out of the center row now, so he double shifts into the 1-cell and hangs back, giving Jeffrey the round. Jeffrey 2-1 Jeffrey continues to win initiative, but Ben gets the 8 he was looking for to scream out a Crypt Worm. Jeffrey brings Lunar Handmaiden to the center column, and Ben puts a worm behind his opponent's 3-cell. Jeffrey surveys the board and decides to strike first so he can vacate the cell before suffering a big strike from Ben. He again hits a flurry of blades, and gets 4 damage as well against Ben's Pariah. He Skirmishes the Barbstrider forward to his 3-cell to block Ben's double shift, Advances his Lunar Handmaiden, and Skirmishes his Clawclan to the center before destroying Ben's Pariah, who whiffs the deathblow. Jeffrey shifts to cover the entire row and passes to Ben, daring him to hit another 2-die Whisper and put him up 4-1. Instead, Ben strikes first and sends the Bladestrider packing to the portal, then consolidates toward the center column and leaving Jeffrey firmly in control of the middle. Jeffrey 3-1 Ben finally wins an initiative and has 9 spawn to spend, screaming out a Gothic with a Puppeteer friend. Jeffrey has already grabbed the minis he's going to spawn, his two remaining Valor pieces…Clawclan and Blind Envoy. He then uses the Lunar Handmaiden to Advance his central Warcharm to safety and sets himself for a brutal set of strikes from Ben. Crypt Worm comes first, and puts three on the Warcharm. In the center, the Jack, Screamer, and Sprite combine for 9 damage but no blades. Still, it's enough to destroy the Handmaiden, who hits five on the deathblow to disrupt the Cyclopean Sprite (rather than the Jack of Blades, who seems more dangerous at this point). Jeffrey then shifts up himself, striking with an army of Warcharms (a Warcharmy?) and Clawclan Scouts. He whiffs on the Crypt Worm with a lone Warcharm, and then hits 3 and a blade in the center. All he can do is advance the Blind Envoy to the 1-cell and take the round. Jeffrey 4-1 Jeffrey's back to winning initiatives, but without a Castle or his Handmaiden he can't get any beef to the center fast. He grabs Eater of Hope and tosses his Bladestrider to the graveyard, hoping to get some of his Valor to safety on a double strike so he can set up for later mayhem. Ben studies the board and figures out what to do with his 9 spawn, finally deciding to get his Voodoo online to help keep the Eater back. Of course, if Jeffrey keeps hitting blades it isn't going to matter. Jeffrey shifts first rather than striking, and then strikes in the center for seven diamonds. Two more diamonds beside it and Jeffrey's in a bad place. I have to wonder why he didn't strike first, to maybe get the Eater in place for a second phase strike as well. Ben's luck is opposite, destroying the Warcharm with the Crypt Worm and then rolling all damage in the center cell, 18 damage and a blade with Expel and Lure to use it on. He boos loudly when he realizes Jeffrey already has four creatures in the cell, so the Eater is safe. So he "settles" for Expelling a Scout to his Voodoo and destroying the other two Warcharms. Ben takes the round and a huge advantage on the board. Jeffrey 4-2 Jeffrey's got to hate what happens next, a super-low spawn that makes his triple Warcharms only worth 10 spawn total. He vacillates between Boogeyman and Equitaur, finally bringing out the horseman at the cost of a couple of Omen Locusts. Ben scares the Eater back with his beefy buddy and brings out a Cannibal Pariah to really lock down the center row. Jeffrey double shifts defensively, putting two of his creatures out of the key cells altogether in order to keep them out of Ben's way. Valor indeed. Ben has a silly strike set up on Jeffrey's trapped Scout, but he can't get enough blades to Lure anything to its death with all the damage he gets. He lures the Equitaur up to the 1-cell and then destroys the Clawclan. Jeffrey 4-3 Guess who wins initiative? If you guessed Jeffrey, you win nothing! You were right, though. He has 9 spawn, and decides against bringing out the Toxic Sludger to help shut down future wells, instead bringing out his lone Carrion Hulk who's sporting a mild Grave Crit 9 at the moment. As Jeffrey is shifting, however, I note that he spawned the Hulk in the center column illegally. After a conference, the judges hand out a bunch of warnings, but the creature must stay where it is. Jeffrey finishes his shifts by moving the Equitaur "off board" with the Valor weenies and then passing the turn. Ben has to do nothing to win the turn, and Jeffrey is reduced to hoping initiative goes his way in the next couple of turns as Ben builds his board position as well as his spawn advantage. Ben shifts the Puppet over to lock up the Equitaur's cell, and puts a passel of creatures behind it to set something big up. Tied 4-4 Jeffrey wins initiative and spawns his 9-power Carrion Spiker to Ben's second "angry" Crypt Worm. He strikes to destroy the Puppeteer and then decides how best to menace Ben with a shift. He finally decides to bring everything adjacent to his spawn row and loads up the center column with raw doom. Ben really wants to shift in to take out the Grave Crit while he can, and he does it! He's winning the turn no matter what, and a good roll here really helps him seal it. He's also got Jeffrey locked near his spawn row, meaning that if he can lose initiative as he has most of the game, he can likely lock things up on a double shift. Ben 5-4 He wins initiative instead, dropping a Well in his 4-cell to dump the Eater down. He also Scares the Carrion Spiker back to the spawn row. He considers Haunting Jeffrey to 5 turns, but doesn't, and Jeffrey lobs his Eater to the grave and cannot spawn because of the low spawn total on the turn. Ben then shifts for the win! The other semi-finalists are Jon Tschida (over Ian Stickland), Jason Scarborough (over Trey Gibson), and Matthew Hoffmann (over Michael Ayars).
Sunday, Aug 19: 3:39 p.m. - Semifinals: Jason Scarborough vs. Matthew Hoffman
Jason is a member of Team 31st Century, while Matthew is the final representative of the Dream Masons left in the tournament. Let's see who will take their team to the finals of the biggest Dreamblade tournament ever! Jason's got a very unorthodox warband, as he's running triple Spellbound Scissors in a Valor/Madness weenie rush with a large Passion top end. In the early turns he brings out two of the Scissors, two Clawclan Scouts, a Puppeteer, and a Cyclopean Sprite. Matthew has countered with a first-turn Clawclan/double Pariah and then gets out a Crypt Worm on turn two. Standard shifting ties the turn, but puts the Crypt Worm in position to wreak havoc. A no-spawn that Matthew wins denies him the Haunt, but may allow him to clear a lto of the center row anyway since he can strike multiple times by Skirmishing the Worm. He shifts and clears the center cell first, Skirmishing over and destroying the Puppeteer in the 1-cell. Jason shifts in and strikes in the 1-cell, getting the 3 damage and blade he needed to disrupt the Pariah and trigger Whisper if he wants to. Of course he does, taking everything out of the center cell to win the turn. The Pariah is disrupted straight back, putting Matthew in his portal during the next turn, which is a must-spawn. Jason 1-1 Matthew wins initiative, but it's a low one, so he just puts out Heartsblood Temple and a Bloodthirsty Redcap. Jason comes out with double Scissors and a Virtuous Maiden, which enrages. Matthew squashes the Sprite on a great roll and shifts the Crypt Worm to the center cell. Jason double shifts to take the turn. Jason 2-1 Matthew wins another no-spawn and strikes first to destroy the Clawclan Scout. He then shifts his Crypt Worm over, letting Jason take the turn easily but looking to destroy the last movement blade he's got in play. Jason shifts around, covering the center and 1-cell with Scissors to take the turn. Jason 3-1 Jason wins this initiative with a big roll, giving him 13 spawn to work with. He Castles up a Barag to threaten the center cell and then Enrages to give his weenies a slight chance at disrupting the Crypt Worm. Matthew follows with a Castle of his own, to which he moves a newly spawned Warcharm repaint. Jason shifts the Barag and Maiden to the center cell and rolls 9 against the Crypt Worm, missing on damage and not using his Skirmish blade. Matt finally gets to sink his teeth into his opponents miniatures again, striking first with the Crypt Worm and Redcap barelygetting enough to destroy the Clawclan Scout and avoid sacking the Redcap. Five damage in the center cell is enough to move the Barag back to Jason's portal and tie the round. A big spawn gives Jason 13 to play with, and he reaches for Infernal Gothic and Scarab Warcharm, then Enrages after Castling up the Gothic. Matthew says, "well, I only have one thing to spawn for 13," and flies his Ragedrake to his Castle. He then Haunt Gambits Jason up to four turns in order to take the Gothic out of range…a nasty Lure could have ended the Ragedrake's existence really fast, so it was a good play. Jason shifts forward and rolls six dice against the Worm and Redcap, destroying the fey creature and suffering a 10-damage deathblow as a result. It's enough to Banish both Scissors, and Matt makes the play. Five damage in the center destroys a Pariah, which can't match the mojo of its red companion. Matthew can't wait to shift his Ragedrake toward his Scarab in the middle, and he rolls a huge 15 damage and 4 blades. This lets Matt banish the Scissors and destroy the Maiden and Warcharm. A strike in his 3-cell destroys Jason's Gothic, leaving him only one creature on the board…a severely out of position Bloodhawk Barag. Jason 4-2 Jason wins initiative as well, which is really bad for him. He brings World Eater up with the Castle, in range of the Drake and its Valor companions. Matthew denies him the pleasure of a strike, however, by spawning Stormwatch Siren and luring the World Eater off to his 5-cell. Jason double shifts as well as he can at this point, letting Matthew define the battlefield for what could be a crucial turn next time around. With free reign on the board, Matthew threatens the World Eater with a durable Crypt Worm, keeps his Siren safe, and leaves the Drake and Warcharm to dominate the center. Jason 4-3 With another initiative win, Jason castles up a Warcharm and tosses a Scissors behind it. Matthew thinks about Blademiller, but decides it's time for his Gothic to join the party for a little fun. Jason knows he needs big luck, so he shifts up with everything and goes for a strike. He gets 15 damage and a blade with his Barag! Unfortunately, it was against a lone Cannibal Pariah outside the key cells entirely. A blade with the Warcharm sees him do nothing with it, but the World Eater is able to destroy the Crypt Worm. Matthew considers passing his deathblow, but then takes it anyway, and gets the result he actually didn't want, which was a disruption. He'd much rather have destroyed it with his big strike in the center, and I think the right play would have been to pass until his actions. It doesn't look lik eit's going to matter much, however, as he destroys the Warcharm in the center and banishes the Scissors behind it to once again clear Jason out of the key cells. Tie 4-4 Matthew wins initiative this turn and Lures the Barag in range of his Ragedrake, which shifts over and only gets 6 damage, disrupting the Barag. Jason double shifts to tie the turn and keep his hopes alive for yet another turn. Jason wins the next initiative and brings out a Lunar Handmaiden, while Matthew brings the Hunter-Killer online. Winning initiative was great for Jason, who's able to combine the Barag and World Eater for a big strike that could trample Matthew's hopes. Missing with the Ragedrake could be an incredible swing in a match that's looked all Matthew for the last few turns. Jason is able to destroy the Warcharm and Trample the Ragedrake back to Matthew's spawn row. Jason puts it next to the Siren rather than way out of range in the portal, however, and I wonder if that's going to cost him next turn. In the center cell he's able to disrupt the Gothic, which has left him in an incredible position to take the turn and possibly motor on to the match win. Jason 5-4 Jason wins initiative again and has to use 12 spawn to play a Bloodthirsty Redcap, his final reserve miniature. He uses the Lunar Handmaiden to Advance the World Eater up into the Ragedrake, meaning he can strike it no matter what and it can't be targeted by a Missile. Matthew has 16 spawn, which he uses to spawn Voodoo Manipulator after Swapping the Hunter-Killer back and offering up his Siren as a sacrifice. He then gets off a huge Missile to destroy the Barag. Finally, he Scares the Lunar Handmaiden back into the waiting arms of the Redcap. Jason surveys the board, hoping to solve the puzzle that will take him to the Dream Series Championship finals. He decides to strike first, hitting 13 and Trample against the big dragon. He actually has a lot of options with that damage, and decides to disrupt the Ragedrake and destroy the Stormwatch Siren. He shifts defensively, forcing Matthew to make several choices about his move. Regardless, it's going to come down to Gothic blades and above average damage. Matthew knows it, too, as he says "I need a kill and a blade," before shifting to decide the future. He rolls enough to disrupt the World Eater, but that doesn't bode well for him. The Gothic needs a big roll and he hits 12 damage and 2 blades with the Pariah he's with! He uses that to Lure twice, destroy the Lunar Handmaiden, and disrupt the Scissors. Even with that, all he can manage is to tie the turn. Jason wins initiative but has nothing to spawn and doesn't want to use his Castle, so he passes helplessly. Matthew Swaps his Hunter-Killer and Voodoo and decides what to do with his 9 spawn. He brings in the Blademiller and Spark-Scares the Redcap. With only 7 spawn points on the board, Jason extends his hand and Matthew Hoffmann will face Ben Stoll in the finals!
Sunday, Aug 19: 5:03 p.m. - Finals: Matthew Hoffmann vs. Ben Stoll
 | Ben studies the many options available to Matthew |
Ben represents the Redcap Council; Matthew represents the Dream Masons; and both of them represent the state of New York. Both are great players who have dedicated the better part of the year to practicing, playing, and winning Dreamblade. This is Ben's second 10K finals appearance, after being "murdered by Robert Hatch in the Chicago finals." Matthew, by contrast, has never even made a 10K Top 8! It's also not a mirror match, with Matthew playing Valor/Passion and Ben playing his Chaos Wells variant. This should be an exciting match between the two best players of this weekend. The first turn sees Matthew spawn a pair of Pariahs and Ben bring out his Cyclopean Sprite. A second-turn no-spawn is very poor for Ben, who has to shift his Sprite to Matthew's 4-cell and watch Matthew safely take the turn with a Pariah in the 1-cell and another in Ben's 4-cell. Matthew 1-0 Matthew then wins initiative and wastes two spawn to put out the Heartsblood Temple, while Ben makes up some ground by putting out all three of his Cannibal Pariahs. They're going to spread out and look for Well targets to steal back some momentum.  | Matthew knows he can deal with any situation |
Matthew shifts his Pariah into the center cell, inviting Ben to shift-strike with his Sprite. It worked for Ben in the quarterfinal match, but Matthew wouldn't know that. Ben elects to double shift instead, putting his Sprite in with the Temple and tying up the center with a bronze-pantsed Pariah. Matthew wins initiative and brings out an Infernal Gothic and a Bloodthirsty Redcap. Ben has the perfect amount to bring out his Infernal Screamer, which will even up the spawn advantage of the Temple without a loss of board position. Matthew strikes first and whiffs in both cells, allowing Ben to shift in and strike with a pair of Cannibals to back up the Sprite. The bronze pants are key in letting Ben disrupt the Cannibal, while the Sprite and its buddies are able to disrupt the Pariah and then Whisper Gambit to get rid of a Redcap and a Pariah. Ben wins the turn and is now dominating the center row. Matthew 2-1  | Boom, baby! |
A no-spawn really puts Matthew behind, as does his complete whiff on the Gothic's strike in the 1-cell. Now it's Ben's turn to bring the pain as he rolls 8 damage and a blade against the Gothic. If he Whispers, he can completely wipe Matthew off the board at the cost of being down 3-2. He does so, and he'll be playing solitaire for a couple of turns now. Matthew 3-2 Ben wins initiative with the 6 he needs to Scream out an Infernal Gothic. Matthew gets 10 spawn and has to start from scratch…five victory points into the game, and he's spawning next to his portal like it was turn two. Thankfully he has the Temple in play or he'd be back in his portal. Out comes a pair of Cannibal Pariahs to escort a Scarab Warcharm onto the dreamscape, and he passes to Ben. Ben double-shifts of course, putting the Screamer in his 3-cell and bringing his good pieces back to Matthew's 4-cell to await the coming weenie rush. Tied 3-3  | Matthew trying to regain some board presence |
Matthew wins initiative and brings his Bloodhawk Barag into the center column, while Ben screams out the angry Crypt Worm. Matthew strikes fruitlessly with his Warcharm after shifting, but he's left the center cell free for the Crypt Worm to double shift in. The Sprite and Gothic take a Pariah over to menace Matthew's Pariah in the Temple cell. Ben 4-3 Ben wins the next initiative, which means bad things for Matthew as the Unwishing Well is almost definitely coming out. It doesn't even take a Haunt Gambit to dump a Warcharm down a Well in Ben's 3-cell, and he still has enough to Scream out an Ekkyon Wayfarer. Matthew retaliates with a Crypt Worm of his own in the central column, though it doesn't look as angry, and a Clawclan Scout to escort it around the dreamscape. Ben shifts back with his Screamer and up with his Wayfarer and takes a strike in the 1-cell, Luring the Barag into the center cell with Crypt Worm, which has the benefits of Hell's Fury at the moment, giving it odds to destroy. He also disrupts the Pariah back to the portal. In the center cell, he rolls 8 damage without the Crit blade, destroying the Barag and narrowly escaping the deathblow. He gets plenty in the last center row cell to destroy the Pariah, who whiffs the deathblow. Matthew says he likely needs a Castle, a Ragedrake, and a lot of luck to even contend since Ben will be up to 5 and have completely dominating position.  | Ben's teammates have assembled to cheer him on |
Ben 5-3 Matthew only gets 15 spawn, one short of making his dream play. He says, "I have no chance here, but I'll play it out for fun." He thinks for a few moments and Castles a Redcap into Ben's 5-cell, drops a Well in the center cell, and a Siren behind it on the spawn row. Ben offers Matthew a Haunt Gambit, but Matthew denies with a smile. Ben talks his way through the turn and finally drops his Voodoo Manipulator, even though it won't be able to Scare. Matthew says he has a theoretical chance…where's Robert Hatch when you need the odds? He shifts and strikes, getting 8 damage to destroy the Pariah and disrupt the Sprite. The Crypt Worm hits 9 damage, so he's rolling well, and he kills both Pariahs. The deathblow whiffs and Matthew passes the turn. Ben realizes that striking in the center will only tie the turn, so Matthew has indeed kept himself alive through really good play and really good dice. If he strikes with the Sprite and gets a blade, he wins the tournament, and that's what he elects to do. He rolls his dice, but the blade doesn't turn up… Wait… One die is cocked, so it has to be rerolled. So he rerolls it and it goes off the table, but Ben stops it with his hand…it's a 1!  | Matthew Hoffman (left) congratulates Ben Stoll
on his victory |
Wait… The judge tells him to reroll it, he can't catch a die like that. So he rerolls it, and hits the blade for the Dream Series Championship! Ben Stoll is our 2007 Dream Series Champion!
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