After several rounds of play, two unorthodox decks go face to face in the Top 8.  Martin, with his [Rohashu, Zealot of the Sun] solo deck, has buried his opponents underneath a sea of weapons and armors, while Tomii’s [Frizlix of Kezan] control deck has run circles around opposing decks with his tricky plays and a huge octopus pet.  In this classic Paladin vs. Rogue matchup, who will reign supreme?

Martin won the die roll and opted to go first. Both players kept their initial hand. Martin opens by rowing a card in his resource row, then passing the turn. Tomii plays [The Torch of Retribution] and passes his turn. Turn 2 sees Martin row another resource and pass the turn again. Tomii plays a second copy of The Torch of Retribution and passes the turn. So far, both decks have been playing conservatively, as most control decks opt to do.

[^Polished Spaulders of Valor]

Martin plays his first quest, [Counting Out Time], on his third turn and plays [Repurposed Lava Dredger] to start the acceleration process. Tomii reacts by playing [Dismantle] on his turn after rowing a third resource, then passes the turn. Undeterred, Martin plays [Polished Spaulders of Valor] on his turn after rowing his fourth resource. Tomii then decides to go on the offensive by playing [Sava'gin the Reckless] – knowing full well that Martin is playing solo. He then rows another resource and passes the turn.

Martin stashes [Bloodied Arcanite Reaper] to add an heirloom counter on his spaulders. He then plays a cost-reduced [Warmace of Menethil], and attacks Frizlix directly, dealing 5 damage to the hero and netting him a card. A second Dismantle is played, destroying the Warmace, after playing [Warchief's Revenge]. Tomii then attacks with Sava’gin towards Rohashu, with the Spaulders preventing 2 damage to the hero, bringing him to 6 damage. Martin plays a third weapon on his turn – [Troggbane, Axe of the Frostborne King]. With his sixth row-ed resource, he attacks Frizlix for 5, bringing the goblin hero to 10 damage. Tomii will need yet another answer to Martin’s equipment if he wants to remain in the running.

[^Holy Wrath]

Unfortunately, no answer to the Axe is available at this time so Tomii opts to attack with Sava’gin again, with 2 damage being prevented yet again, for a total of 12 damage to the Paladin. He then plays a second Sava’gin, and a [Fungus Face McGillicutty] in order to apply more pressure to Martin. Martin responds with a well-timed [Holy Wrath], wiping Tomii’s board clear of allies, and adding another 4 damage to the goblin hero. Another rowed resource allows Rohashu to attack with Troggbane for 1 damage, bringing the total damage on Tomii’s hero to 15.

Tomii completed The Torch of Retribution on his turn, opting to shuffle his graveyard into his deck. He seriously needs an answer to the Axe right at this moment. However, he rows another card and plays [Jex'ali] instead, healing 4 damage from Frizlix, bringing the damage total to 11.  Knowing his opponent cannot answer Troggbane at this time, Martin leisurely attacks with the Axe for 6 damage, leaving 2 resources open. Frizlix is now sitting at 17 damage, while Rohashu is at 12 damage.

[^Trickster's Gambit]

Tomii attacks with Jex’ali on his turn, with Martin’s Spaulders preventing all of the damage. He then completes the second copy of The Torch of Retribution, still looking for answers. Tomii finishes his turn by playing [Cleansing Witch Hill], and completing it to turn off Martin’s only quest and netting him a card. Martin attacks yet again with his Troggbane for seven damage, leaving 2 resources open again after rowing another resource. Frizlix is now hanging on by a thread with 3 health remaining.

Tomii then plays [Abomination Knuckles] on his turn, destroying Martin’s Spaulders. This allows Jex’ali to attack Rohashu uncontested, and together with Frizlix’s attack with the newly played weapon, adds 3 damage to the Paladin hero for a total of 15 damage. Martin then plays his tenth resource on his turn, and uses it to turn his hero into [Ysera the Dreamer], which then attacks into Tomii’s hero for fatal – or at least it would have had Tomii not had [Trickster's Gambit] ready to redirect the damage to Ysera, bringing the green dragonkin aspect to 18 damage.

Tomii spends his next turn doing nothing. Could this be a sign that the game is over, or does he have a plan? Martin errs on the side of caution by attacking with Ysera on his next turn without striking with Troggbane. However, this proves to be the final nail in the coffin as Tomii has no more answers to Martin’s board.

Martin Jacob Hildawa moves on to the Semi-finals!