Return to the Top – My Origins Experience (Finale) – Patrick Yapjoco

Origins

Patrick Yapjoco (1)by Patrick Yapjoco

We have about 50 players for the Main Event, but plenty of notable players are absent from the Main Event.  The Qualifying portion for Worlds has proven to be one of the toughest in recent memory, in my opinion.  Aside from having to go undefeated in Sealed, you had to be in the Top 14 of Nationals to get in, and in order to get into Nationals you had to either place high in the Sealed portion of the WKOs or win the Constructed portion of the WKOs.  So, these guys all had to go through tough measures to make it this far.  I am of course running my same Quinjet team that has won me a WKO and got me to 2nd Place at US Nationals.  I would be hard-pressed to change now.  Anyway, it will be 3 Rounds of Swiss and a cut to the Top 8.  After some other announcements, the pairings go up.

Round 1 – Stephen PlascoKrang

Krang 170
FF Jean Grey 50
Juston Seyfert 40
Ultron-18.2 Drone 30
SHIELD Level 7 ID Card 5 (SR Nick Fury 120)
Zatanna ID Card 5 (SR Zatanna 120)

As I sit down to greet Stephen, I immediately stand up and declare to the people near me: “This is the first ever Heroclix World Champion, from 2003. You all need to know your Heroclix history!”  For the few people who were paying attention (the rest are too busy finding their seats and getting the stuff out), they were genuinely surprised and did acknowledge that fact.  Stephen is a pioneer (anyone remember Firelord?) and has been on the circuit for a while now, but he has not been able to play as much as of late.  He should be recognized in these circles because coverage/results/exposure back then was almost non-existent, but he is an important part in Heroclix competitive play.  Ok, so as I step off my soapbox, we roll for map, and I win.

We go to Manhattan Bridge where there is no hiding Krang from my team.  I move up behind the blocking terrain, carrying everyone but 18.2 Drone.  The Atom Sidesteps to the corner.  He takes a second to decide and says, “well, I’m either going to win in 10 minutes, or I’m going to lose in 10 minutes.”  He free TKs Krang up.  Then regular TKs Juston Seyfert next to Krang.  He Sidesteps with the Drone up.  He chooses Super Strength with Krang and uses Juston’s power to move Krang to base my jet (carrying an ultra-heavy object, mind you), and punch it for 5-damage.  He ponders moving back to Juston, but we are in an open map and I am too close for a counterattack on him, so he just hits the another 5-damage and passes.

My turn comes and I think I can KO Krang, especially since he did not choose to boost up any stats.  I Sidestep with 18.2 Drone and I Call In Nick next to HENRY and Atomica.  I roll for the Resource Dial and I get to 60.  I bring in Iron Man for free and I Perplex down Krang’s Defense.  I power action with HENRY to use the SHIELD team ability to pump up Nick’s damage.  Between Nick’s trait, the SHIELD team ability, and Enhancement from HENRY, as well as Iron Man’s Perplex, Nick is at a 13-Attack/6-penetrating damage with 2 PCs at my disposal. I also use Watcher’s Eye to turn off Krang’s PC.  I roll the 5 needed to hit and Krang takes a massive 6 damage.  My last play for the turn is to Colossal Retaliation with The Atom, needing a 5 again to KO him.  I hit, and Krang goes down. I clear the jet.

At this point, Stephen is looking for points and moves up with Ultron Drone and Calls In his own Nick to KO The Atom.  He clears with Juston and it’s back to me.  I bring in another Atom for free and Colossal Retaliate on his Nick. I hit, KO’ing the Drone in the process, and Nick disappears.  I Call In Winter Soldier, then use his RCE/Outwit on Juston and blast him for 4 damage, KO’ing him.  Stephen extends his hand as Jean Grey cannot do enough.  Win; 1-0.

Round 2 – Kyle RobinsonMidnight Sons ATA

(Midnight Sons Theme)
Monthly LE Dr. Strange 150
-Eclipso 25
-Full Rock of Eternity 28
-Midnight Sons ATA 4
The Question chase 60
-Brainiac 25
Nova ID Card 5 (Nova 60)

Kyle is a member of Critical Misters, the Team World Champions!  He must have been on a natural high on their amazing feat earlier in the day.  He is playing a crazy John Cena team (U Can’t See Me!), where he abuses the Midnight Sons ATA and prevent anyone from attacking him from range, while he waits patiently, collecting the Sins and rolling that 9 to get to Godhood.  If you try and get close, he has insane defensive values, with no less than 20-Defense, and various defensive powers like Impervious, Super Senses, and Shape Change, not to mention ESD or CR he can use from the various Sins.  I didn’t know what to expect, but I did win the map again, and I decide an open map would serve me best (Manhattan Bridge we go!).

After the first couple of turns, I realize he isn’t going to move from his starting area so I slowly Sidestep my way up there.  I was fortunate enough to roll to 50 after I bring in The Atom via the Resource Dial, and I am able to bring in Iron Man for free so I can Sidestep close to him without giving my guys action tokens so he doesn’t tick his Dial any higher than I need to.  I get to within striking distance, but he pre-empts me by Calling In Nova with Question.  Nova attempts to Pulse Wave my team (but can’t hit my Drones!), but misses everyone.  I counter with a Nightwing Call In and Flurry his Nova to death, while leaving behind a Tony Zucco.

All of this creeping up and being patient has taken a lot of time and I am trying to figure out how to crack his fortified position.  I finally corner him on his side of the map and I Call In Red Tornado.  I use the double-Force Blast to hit The Question off of his top click, and thus exposing him.  On his next turn, he is full powered and he rolls a 10 with Dr. Strange.  He is now on that crazy click, but the silver lining is that it was a Double-Power Action, which means he would be out of commission for another turn, while I set up my next line of attacks.  After a blunder on my end where I mistakenly Call In Winter Soldier instead of Nick Fury (almost cost me the match as Winter Soldier does not ignore elevated on his shots!), I am able to regroup and use Winter Soldier’s Outwit to counter The Question’s Super Senses instead.  I then Sidestep with Ultron-6 (carrying HENRY), use the Perplexes from the Quinjet’s pilot and Tony Zucco to pump up Ultron’s Attack to 12 and hit The Question for 4-damage, with 2 getting through his Invulnerability and KO’ing him.  I now have 150pts and he has to actually KO my Quinjet to win.

With time running out, he clears his Strange, and I bring in Nick Fury for free and aim to take a shot at Dr. Strange.  As last action is called, Nick smacks Strange for 6-damage, but not KO’ing him, but putting him on his last click.  Win; 2-0.

Round 3 – Dustin Hall

Krang 170
Juston Seyfert 40
Baxter Stockman 30
Ultron-6 Drone 30
Pandora’s Box 20 (Wrath and Sloth Relics)
Batman ID Card 5 (TW Batman 85)
SHIELD Level 7 ID Card (SR Hulk 100)

Dustin is one of the top dogs from Team Vegas, and he is 2-0 at this point.  He is playing slightly different version of the Krang team.  This is Roland Wellington’s version, which won the ROC States in Vegas.  I kind of have an idea of what this team can do as this will be the 3rd Krang variant I will have played this weekend.  In our testing, Krang just cannot deal with the massive force that is the Quinjet.  However, this is Dustin, and he is an expert with Krang.

He wins the map roll and we go to the indoor premium map with all the rooms.  He inches up while Krang puts on Relic.  He uses Juston to move Krang farther up, along with Baxter and Ultron-6.  I do my usual thing and move straight up the middle, flanked by walls on either side, to make it tough for Krang to bust through.  Remembering how I lost an Atom early in a previous game, I fully move The Atom as far away as I can from Krang’s reach.  He clears, and puts on a Relic on Baxter.  I clear.

On his next turn, he decides to go for a strike on my jet.  He Calls in Hulk with Ultron-6 and plans an all-out attack on the Quinjet. He goes Colossal Size and runs all the way up and smashes the Quinjet for 4-damage (from Juston’s power).  He then moves Baxter up and Outwits the jet’s Defensive power and takes another shot for 5 with Krang.  He tries to Charge with Hulk, but doesn’t realize that the Charge range will be farther than the 5-square limit.  He decides against and just Sidesteps Krang behind a wall.

I feel like I can do the same thing I did to Stephen Plasco, but to Dustin this time.  I set up my attack.  I bring in The Atom from the Resource, then Sidestep with Ultron-6 and break a wall and Call In Nick Fury.  I also bring over HENRY with the other Ultron.  I use the SHIELD team ability that Nick inspires and pump Nick’s damage to 6.  I use Watcher’s Eye on Krang’s PC, and Nick is ready to do a 12-Attack/6-penetrating damage with two PCs on Krang and his 19-Defense.  I go for the kill (needing a 7+), but miss. PC from Nick; miss. PC from Atomica; miss. Well, that didn’t turn out how I expected it.  So, before I pass I just Colossal Retaliate with The Atom and I Crit Hit!  Ok, not quite the game-ender, but I’ll take it!

He tries to Sidestep away from The Atom, but rolls a 1!  He just clears with the rest of his team, while Baxter heals Krang of 1-damage.  I see that I need to deal with Baxter right away, so after some Sidesteps with the Drones and bringing in Iron Man for free to pilot the jet, I Call In Winter Soldier.  I shoot Baxter with him and KO him.  He retreats Krang to Juston and they all huddle around.  I clear but inch closer.  He Calls In Batman with Ultron-6.  He makes Krang a Giant and uses Juston to send Krang out and KO one of my Atoms.  He then pushes to run back to Juston.  He then chooses Smoke Cloud with Batman and puts Smoke Cloud markers to keep everyone in Stealth. Krang takes 1-damage.

I see this as the chance to close out the game, so I Call In Nova. I position to have Atomica see everyone and I Perplex up Nova’s Attack to 11.  I send him into the room with a Running Shot, lock his damage at 2 and Pulse Wave the whole team.  I hit, and Ultron Drone goes down, and Batman leaves.  Juston and Krang also take 2-damage each, and Krang is on his last legs.  I then use the other Atom to Colossal Retaliate Krang and hit, KO’ing the last two figures. Win; 3-0.

The Swiss Rounds are done, and I have my spot reserved in the Top 8.  The Top 8 looks like this:

3 Zombie Team Bases
1 Super Skrull tentpole team
1 Iceman lockdown team
1 Proteus tentpole team
1 Superman/Batman Robot & Juston Seyfert team
1 Quinjet team (me!)

Top 8 – Kenji Kaneshiro
Zombies Team Base 300

I am matched up against the current Canadian National Champion, Kenji Kaneshiro.  He is playing the dreaded Zombies team base (the team that utterly annihilated me the day before).  He wins the map and off we go to Attilan again (ugh).  I am all too familiar with what is about to happen.  I set up slightly different this time, making sure that all of my pieces are next to the Quinjet so they can get the 18-Defend from it.  In comes the team base and out comes Super Skrull and Magneto.  Here we go.  He Perplexes Magneto’s Attack to 11.  He chooses Sidestep, Penetrating Blast, PC, and Invincible with Super Skrull.  Magneto attacks my Atom and Ultron-18.2.  He needs a 7.  He rolls a 6.  PC from the team base. He rolls another 6.  PC from Super Skrull. He rolls a lot lower than that. I survive one round.  Now comes Super Skrull.  He attacks the same Drone. Crit Miss… Wow.  I cannot believe that. Talk about luck! He Sidesteps back next to the team base.  He also takes damage from Super Skrull’s trait on top of the Crit Miss.

I am so relieved because not only did I live, but none of his Zombies have Hunger tokens.  I immediately Call In Nick Fury with an Ultron Drone.  I also roll a 5 for my Resource and I bring out Iron Man as well.  I Perplex up Nick’s Attack and set up a kill shot on Super Skrull.  I turn off his Invincible with Nick and take a shot.  I miss.  I PC with Nick, Crit Hit!  Down goes Super Skrull.  I send The Atom over to Colossal Retaliate Magneto, but miss. I clear my jet, but not before jumping Iron Man into pilot it.

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Zombie match Round 2!

He still has a shot if he can KO The Atom and retaliate on Nick, but Magneto misses.  He PCs and hits, but I PC and he misses.  The team base uses Team Reunited to put Magneto back on, and takes another shot at The Atom. Another miss… I’m starting to see a pattern here.  Like I said, talk about luck! He Sidesteps back away.  My turn consists of bringing in an Atom for free and Calling In Winter Soldier.  Between the Outwit that the Quinjet grants to an adjacent character (in this case, The Atom) and Winter Soldier’s own Outwit, I counter the team base’s Invulnerability and Shapechange.  I then take a shot with Winter Soldier, who has 12-Attack/5-Damage (RCE, Perplex, and HENRY).  I miss, then use Atomica’s PC. Crit Hit! Wow.  The team base takes 6 more damage straight through and I Sidestep closer with one of my Atoms.

He has to clear and Perplexes up the Defense to 18.  I am at 100 on my Resource Dial and I bring in Nightawing for free.  In comes Tony Zucco as well and I am ready to try and end this game this turn.  I use the Quinjet’s power to grant Atom Outwit again and counter the Combat Reflexes on the team base.  I Perplex up Nightwing’s Speed so I can Charge 7 squares.  I move Atomica into position. Nightwing comes in with a Charge/Flurry attack, with HENRY in tow.  He attacks with The Atom also next to him and it’s an 11-Attack/5-Damage attack with Flurry on the team base’s 18-Defense.  I hit, the first attack, but he uses PC on me, and I roll… Crit Hit! Geez. When it rains it pours.  The team base takes another 6-damage, and the second attack from the Flurry is just the icing and the team base goes down.  Win.

I fear that I have used up all of my luck in that game, and I feel for Kenji because that was BS.  Of course, I will take it, but that game was not indicative of the matchup, and Kenji is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in this game. I take a deep breath as I cannot believe that game just happened and I see that Luke Grace is about to win (he had 2 Super Skrulls!).

Luke Grace

Luke Grace

Top 4 – Luke Grace

Super Skrull 170
-Eclipso 25
Nighthawk Prime 65
The Atom 15
The Atom 15
Lex Luthor ID Card 5 (BvS Starter Lex Luthor 50)
SHIELD Level 7 ID Card 5 (SR Nick Fury 120)


Luke defeated me last year in Worlds in the Top 16 and I am hoping to avenge that loss. He is back again and this time he is packing Zombie Super Skrull.  I win the map and off we go to the Manhattan Bridge.  I do my usual move by hiding behind the blocking terrain.  He Sidesteps with his whole team, Calls In Lex Luthor with Nighthawk, and TKs Super Skrull as far as possible.  Super Skrull picks HSS/Super Strength/Invincible/PC and zooms to my Ultron Drone.  He needs a 7 to hit, and does and down goes the Drone.  He fails the trait roll and takes 1-damage.  He brings back the Drone and it’s back to me.  I anticipated that he would go after the Drone, that’s why I left one back, so he can’t get both.  I Call In The Atom with Atomica.  I roll a 6 and I immediately bring in Iron Man for free. Iron Man jumps in the jet, Perplexes up Atom’s Attack to 11 and I’m set for a Colossal Retaliation attack.  I hit everytone, KO’ing the Drone and hitting Super Skrull for 1-damage.  The Quinjet’s trait reduces Atom’s damage to 0.  I then Sidestep The Atom outside of 5 squares and he disappears.  I did this so his Atoms can’t come over here and bother my team just yet.  I finish by Sidestepping the Quinjet away from Super Skrull.

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Time to avenge last year’s loss to Luke!

He thinks for a bit before picking +1 to his Speed from Eclipso and Impervious.  He picks, Flurry/Steal Enery/Invincible/PC with Super Skrull.  He Perplexes up his Damage to 4.  He tries to Charge 18.2 Drone, but he doesn’t realize that we are on different elevations, despite the fact that they are next to each other.  I let him take back his Charge and he decides to go after my other Atom instead.  He KO’s him and heals 1-click.  But he takes that click again since he pushes.  Super Skrull also fails his trait roll and he takes another click of damage.

I quickly Sidestep my Qunjet closer to him and Call In Nova with the jet.  I Perplex his attack to 11 and send him to Pulse Wave Atom and Super Skrull for 2-damage each. I hit and Atom is down and Super Skrull is on click 6.  He retaliates with The Atom and Nova takes 2-damage.  He Sidesteps with Nighthawk and the other Atom and he clears Super Skrull.

I Sidestep 18.2 closer to Super Skrull and Call In Red Tornado.  I then bring in Nick Fury for free via the Resource Dial.  I set up another shot, where I turn off Super Skrull’s Invincible and take a shot.  I hit for 3, and he revives 2 clicks up due to his Zombie Hunger tokens.  I Sidestep with Red Tornado and Force Blast Super Skrull for free.  He has Charge, so he takes 1-penetrating damage.  He is on his last click.  I just regular attack with Red Tornado on Super Skrull.  He fails the Skrull team ability roll and I hit, KO’ing Super Skrull for good.

At this point, it’s just Atom and Nighthawk against my entire team, with Nick Fury “permanently” on the map.  I take out Atom and after a Nightwing Call In, and a Flurry attack for 5-Damage each, the game is over. Win.

I am relieved as Nighthawk teams give me all kinds of problems, as I rely on cannon shots on figures.  Nighthawk prevents that.  Derek Thompson wins his match pretty handily and It’s his Iceman lockdown against my Quinjet swarm.  I am happy that it’s Derek as we have known each other for a few years now and it is always an epic game when we play.  We are pretty loose and this is more like a casual game between friends as we are joking with each other and ribbing each other.  He is part of the 3v3 World Championship team of last year, Team Fail Boat, and their Devil Dinosaur figure will be coming out in Superior Foes of Spider-Man! But now we are in the Feature Match area and the Twitch stream is in full action.  We shake hands and we are off.

Derek Thompson prizing

Derek Thompson

Finals – Derek Thompson

Iceman 110
-Eclipso 25
Nighthawk Prime 65
Ant-Man 50
Atomica 25
Pandora’s Box 20 (Wrath and Sloth Relics)
Manifold ID Card 5 (Manifold 58)

I win the map and away we go to Manhattan Bridge (how is this bridge still intact?  So much fighting and destruction going on there!).  He also has it as one of his maps so I don’t know if it is a real advantage on my part.  I do my usual move of moving behind the blocking terrain.  He puts the Wrath Relic on Iceman and also moves behind the blocking terrain, carrying Ant-Man and Atomica.  I clear.

He puts the Sloth Relic on Nighthawk, Sidesteps closer to the blocking terrain and clears.  I bring in The Atom for free then roll a 6 on the Resource Dial.  I move the Quinjet out from the behind the blocking terrain and into clear view. Derek takes this opportunity to go for first strike.  He moves Atomica into position, then Iceman Sidesteps closer, and moves through the Quinjet, triggering his trait.  He hits for 5-damage, and my jet is locked for a turn due to Iceman’s ice marker. He Sidesteps with Nighthawk, then passes.

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Final Round, Fight!

I have to counter attack, and the first move is to bring in one of my Atoms to the fray and Colossal Retaliate,  I connect (after going through Iceman’s PC), and Ant-Man and Iceman each take 2-damage.  The Quinjet has Invulnerability and the trait reduces the damage to 0. Next, I Sidetep wth Atom, carrying Atomica for better positioning.  Ultron-18.2 Sidesteps to the side of the jet.  I then Call In Nova with it and get ready for a Pulse Wave attack.  I go for it and hit Atomica, Iceman, and KO Ant-Man.  I pass and just clear the jet, removing the Ice Marker.

Nighthawk moves closer, carrying Atomica. Iceman does his Sidestep lockdown move, but misses.  He uses Atomica’s CSA PC to re-roll, but misses.  This is important as I can now do things with the jet, as you will see the following turn.  Nighthawk takes a push from the team ability.  Derek opts to roll for Regeneration and rolls a 6, undoing the damage I dealt to him last turn.  It’s a push, but he has Willpower from the Wrath Relic.

On my next turn, I Sidestep with Ultron-6, and Call In Red Tornado.  I Sidestep with Red Tornado and Force Blast Atomica off the bridge for the KO. I bring in Nightwing for free (I’m at 100!), along with Tony Zucco. I reposition with The Atom, putting Atomica within PC range and LoF, and Sidestep with Ultron-18.2 to bring along HENRY.  I Perplex up Nightwing’s Attack to 12, Outwit Nighthawk’s defense power, and Charge/Flurry in, carrying HENRY with him.  I connect and Nighthawk takes 4, KO’ing him.  I take a pot shot with Red Tornado on Iceman, but miss.  My last move is to move the Quinjet far away from Iceman’s lockdown power.  He just Sidesteps Iceman onto hindering terrain and clears.  He rolls for the Box and gets PC.

Prizing

Prizing is covering me!

I can see the end is near and the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.  I carefully map out my turn. I start by Siestepping my guys to line up a shot (The Atom, Atomica, and Ultron-18.2).  I Call In Nick Fury with Ultron-18.2. I roll for the Resource Dial.  I then bring in Iron Man for free.  I make him pilot the jet.  I use Sidestep to reposition my guys.  I have Perplexes from the Quinjet (via the pilot) and Tony Zucco. I Perplex up Attack and Damage +1 each.  I move HENRY adjacent to Nick for added damage.  Nick is at 13-Attack/6-penetrating damage on Iceman’s 18-Defense.  I have 2 PCs as well.  I stand up and look at Derek and tell him, this could be it (since Iceman has 6 clicks of life).  I roll and get a 5 (whew!).  He PCs me with Iceman. I roll a 9.  He extends his hand for the handshake and I reclaim my title.

It’s a surreal moment, a lot of people coming up to me, congratulating me and shaking my hand, and just the overall positive energy I was getting.  I go to the Twitch booth for an interview and it was just great.  I tell them I would like to make a Dr. Doom if possible, but I also hear that the Team World Champions want to make him, too.  We will wait and see.  We take some pics, one of which was the Twitch staff and some WK staff kneeling at my side and me wearing a Burger King hat (however, that was all cropped out, naturally).  I gather my prizes with the help from Clay and Kevin.  We go across to the street to Hyde Park Steakhouse where Clay treats us to one of the best steak dinners I have ever had.  We meet up with the Gordons and Easton to watch the UFC fight and we just have a good time.  Again, the moments with guys like these are just the best.  We don’t get to see each other too often, but when we do, it’s like no time has passed and we just pick up where we left off.  We call it a night afterwards then we prepare for our flight back home the next day.

Burger King

The Burger King!

The week ended up being a blur, between the various tournaments and meeting many new people.  I got to catch up with some old friends, and got to meet many of our supporters on our Apex Insiders site.  These guys keep us going, and my writers continue to churn out quality articles (they helped me!). I finish Origins with a 1st Place (Worlds Singles), 2nd Place (U.S. Nationals), and 3rd Place (Team Worlds).  The prizing is insane, and WK just seems to up the loot every year.  My hard work has paid off and the hours of practicing and going to all the ROC and WKO events has shown me that it can be done.  Of course, I wouldn’t be where I’m at without my teammates, Justino Jimenez, Kris Flores, Chris Pribanick, and Kevin Afrooz.  They come every week to test out ideas, put up with my tirades, and help put my teams through the gauntlet.  Many other players come to the store to help out like Jim Moraga, Matt Zimardo, Michael Hart and Tony Fucci, and I wanted to recognize them as well as they too have been instrumental in my win.  I think this game has a unique community, unlike other gaming communities.  It’s odd to see such sportsmanship and the genuine “casual” feel you get when you play in the high-level events (to an extent, of course).  Nobody takes it too seriously (unlike other games) and everyone I have encountered and played against has been so nice and always being accommodating.  There are very few (if any) “jerks” when you play and I think that’s a testament to the atmosphere we have all fostered over the years. I for one, am thankful to be playing this game (and not others) and be a part of this community.