Episode: 7.9

--- Trish ---

She sat on the floor across from the couch shuffling her deck, not really minding her seating position so long as it made Ozzy just a little more comfortable with the situation.

“So, you remember how to play right?”

The teenager across from her gave an exasperated sigh as he sat three cards face down on the table between them. “Yeah, three character-cards, then draw five.”

She nodded, before setting her own team face down on the table and doing just that.

(Iron Guardian front and center, Console on back middle, and Shock-Rat on center left.)

“So, which of us is going first?” Ozzy asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at his starting hand.

She stuck a fist out towards him as way of answering.

Ozzy watched her for a moment before rolling his eyes and sticking out his own fist.

“Once, twice, shoot!” She called, before throwing out a set of scissors that were promptly crushed by Ozzy’s rock. “You go first.”

“Right…” Ozzy told her with about as much enthusiasm as you’d expect from a corpse.

(Damn it, bad thought!)

She shook her head a bit, as Ozzy flipped his team over revealing a smiling man in a black suit with a half-skull mask as his front and center, a skeletal Deadman in the direct middle, and a red haired woman in the back left of his grid.

(Okay, skeleton guy looks familiar, but I don’t recognize the man or the woman… that said the guys seem to be speed over durability, though the woman is a bit of a tank.)

She started to flip over her own cards before a thought occurred to her and she felt a smile starting to make its way onto her face.

(Since he’s got two Deadmen on his team, at least he isn’t shying away from what he is.)

She heard Ozzy snort at something and gave him a questioning look.

He gave her a slight grin before explaining, “You really do have a crush on him, don’t you?”

“Wha- that’s not-…” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she realized what it looked like. “Let’s just… what’s your fastest character?” She finally asked, figuring it was best to just move on rather than explain why she was actually smiling.

“Killjoy at sixty-five, Papa Bones at sixty, and Mama Brigette at forty-five.” Ozzy listed, double-checking his cards.

“Mine are Network at sixty, Iron Guardian at fifty-five and Shock-Rat at fifty… So that means, you, me, you, two for me, and the last turn for you.” She told him, figuring out their base turn order, before catching one of the names he gave. “Also, Killjoy? I thought you said something about playing heroes?” (If you’re thinking being a Deadman makes you a bad guy we’re going to have to have a talk…)

“He was an anti-villain.” Ozzy shrugged before elaborating. “A uh, a former gangster who turned on his gang when they started crossing lines… ended up joining a, um, team that was dedicated to wiping out the gangs of the time. Figured he couldn’t be all bad if he was trying to go legit, right?”

(Okay, so not a bad guy team, just the whole ‘anti-’ loophole.) While anti-heroes and anti-villains still counted as heroes or villains for the most part, they were also the heroes most known for getting their hands ‘dirty’ or for the villains with the most prominent ‘codes’. Making them the exception, (in both fiction and reality) to the rule that heroes and villains couldn’t work together.

(After all the world is just different shades of grey…)

She shook her head at that (bad) thought, before focusing on Ozzy once more.

“Yeah, nothing wrong with giving people second chances.” Her eyes drifted to a few of the mementos her… not-quite-good-guy friends had left her over the years. (After all, they may just surprise you…)

“Anyway, uh,” Ozzy looked at his hand once more before turning back to the cards on the table. “It’s Killjoy’s turn, so I’ll use his Maddening Frenzy ability to turn the madness point he generates into a stack of frenzy as a quick action.”

She nodded along, seeing no reason to stop him.

“Then I’ll have him attack Iron Guardian, which because he has a stack of frenzy hits twice before dropping the stack.”

A part of her wanted to play the counter card in her hand that would cancel that attack, but a larger part figured the runaway could use a win, even if it was a small one.

“Alright, and how much damage does he do?” She asked, grabbing her pencil to change guardian’s health on the paper she was using for scoring.

“Uh, five points.”

“And since it hits twice, that brings guardian from thirty-five to twenty-five HP…” She told him writing the numbers out, “And with that, first blood is yours.”

Ozzy rolled his eyes again, though this time his lips did twitch a little. -(Progress!)- “And it’s your turn.”

“Okay,” She smiled, already knowing what she’d do. “In that case, I’ll spend Network’s Tech point to play the Op card surveillance.” She told him laying the card next to her character grid. “And thanks to her ability Quick Work, I get to use it immediately after playing it, for no cost.”

“Okay, um,” Ozzy’s face scrunched up a bit in thought. “Surveillance is the one that lets you see one card in my hand, right?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded.

“Alright, then pick one.” He told her spreading his hand out face down.

“Mm, this one.” She grabbed the card second to the left before reading it. (“Intangible,” a Deadman Counter card, “Negate the damage and effects of any non-ectoplasmic skill card or attack.”) She glanced down at his character cards. (Meaning, he can cancel any attack to Mama Brigette or Papa Bones… Great.)

There was a reason everyone hated that card when playing against a Deadman inclusive deck.

“Which means, it’s Papa Bones turn now.” Ozzy told her before making a face. “That… sounds wrong out loud.”

“Little bit.” She agreed, amused by the teenager’s discomfort.

“Whatever, um,” Ozzy shook his head before looking at his hand. “Alright, I’ll have Bones attack your Iron Guardian dropping him down to twenty HP, but since Bones has the ‘Dead Beat’ ability I can spend a point of Ectoplasm to give him an extra turn.”

She couldn’t help but Grimace at that ability. (That’s going to be a pain if he builds his resources…)

“Okay, and from there I’ll use my last point of Ectoplasm to play the card ‘Bone Eruption’ which either pushes your guardian back a space leaving a bone construct with five HP or deals another five damage, your call.” Ozzy told her while playing a card depicting a series of bones shooting out of the ground while a blurred figure dodged.

(Well, Iron Guardian is already down to twenty HP and since he’s an M.A.D. I need to keep him in play for a little longer to build him up…) “I’ll fall back.” She decided, sliding her Iron Guardian card back one space, leaving it next to her Shock-Rat card. (This position works better for me anyway.)

She glanced at the cards on the table before remembering the other thing. “And for the wall we can use,” she reached into her pocket and put a coin between her Iron Guardian and his Killjoy. “a nickel, because five HP.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Ozzy admitted with the standard amount of snark for someone his age. (Which is a good thing!)

With the coin in place Ozzy shook his head with just a touch of amusement before asking her, “Okay, so now that your crush is running, what are you going to do now?”

She glared at him. (You’re lucky all of the pillows are on your side of the table…)

Shaking her head, and turning her attention back to her cards, she took one of the equipment cards in her hand and placed it on her Iron Guardian card. “I’ll use Iron Guardian’s Tech point to play ‘Shield Matrix’ which grants the ability to once per turn, use a Tech point to grant it’s wearer a barrier.”

Ozzy looked at the cards on the table for a moment before turning to her. “You do know Killjoy’s ‘Frenzy’ and Bones’ ‘Dead Beat’ lets me get around that, since barriers only block one attack, right?”

“Maybe,” She admitted, not losing her smile. “but Iron Guardian’s passive makes it, so he gets one point of armor for each equipment card he gets.”

“Which is twice as effective against multi-attackers.” The teenager sighed, seeing where she was going. “Which both of my attackers are…”

“Exactly.” She nodded, pretending to be just little more proud of herself than she really was, to try and keep their banter going, though Ozzy only responded with an eyeroll.

“Okay, next up is your card with that… really bad name,” The teenager pointed out with a grimace. “what’s he doing?”

“That’s Shock-Rat, he got his start in New Haven while I was still in high school by helping take down the Franchetti family’s drug ring.” She explained while looking her hand over.

“Right,” Ozzy grimaced, “before the cult moved in, they were run by the mob.”

And it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“We also have one of the hero guild’s main headquarters now.” She defended her hometown, while pointedly avoiding the fact that the headquarters was built after the mob and before the cult thing.

“Uh-huh, town ‘s still a hellhole.”

She gave him a look. “Doesn’t Amityville literally have a problem with the dead coming back to life?”

She fought very hard not to wince once she registered what she’d said.

(You don’t tell the dead kid that kind of thing!)

Instead of being offended Ozzy merely shrugged. “Yeah, but they don’t run the city. What’s more, even if they did, at least the people aren’t aware of the problem, meaning that can’t be blamed for the situation.”

“That’s, uh,” (a little hard to argue with…)

Coughing into one hand, she put the other on Shock-Rat and pushed him next to Killjoy. “Uh, I move shock rat forward two spaces, which thanks to his ability ‘Momentum’ doesn’t end his turn so long as I use a resource.”

“Yeah, I know how ‘Momentum’ works.” Ozzy admitted with a bit of annoyance. “And I’m guessing you’re attacking Killjoy next?”

“Nope,” She shook her head before holding up two fingers. “Shock-Rat has two range, so he’s hitting Bones instead.”

“Ah.” Ozzy nodded with a wince, before asking, “For how much damage?”

“Five,” She told him, putting her hand on the Shock-Rat card again and moving it next to the nickel. “But I’ll use Momentum again to turn it into a Quick Action, and then move back a space.”

“Wait,” Ozzy stopped her, “but you already spent all of your resources this round.”

“Network has no base attack, she produces two tech points instead,” She explained, holding up Network’s card for him to see, “and since Momentum can use any resource…”

“You still had one left to use.” Ozzy finished for her, before shaking his head with a sigh. “Alright, in that case it’s my turn with Mama Brigette, who I’ll set to charge for this round.”

She put on an exaggerated frown she didn’t really mean.

“That’s how you’re ending the first round?” She knowingly whined, hoping to get a rise out of him.

“I’ve already spent all of my resources this turn.” The teenager reminded her blandly. “Besides Brigette has almost no range, so she can’t really attack from the back row.”

(So, she’s a support unit.) She’d figured as much given the card’s imagery, but semi-confirmation was still nice.

Rather than point that out, she instead released a drawn out, “Fine…” to hide her good mood after all at the very least Ozzy was talking without breaking his sentences anymore.

--- Ozzy ---

“So, I guess it’s your turn again.” Trish told him once she was done with her whining.

“Right.” He nodded, turning his attention back to his hand. “Just give me a second.”

“Take your time.” Trish shrugged, once more jumping between childish and supportive, a habit that (sadly) reminded him of his family.

(Lily and Mom both act like that…)

Shaking his head, he forced his focus back on his cards and since it was his first turn of the round, went ahead and drew a card depicting Killjoy firing a Tommy gun while wearing a vicious smile that stretched just a little too far to be normal.

(“Killjoy, the black briar butcher…”)

On a positive note it was a title card. A type of card that, if you fulfilled a specific condition, let you increase a character’s stats and grant them a new ability.

His eyes drifted to a quote from Killjoy the card had just below its trigger condition.

On a less positive note it was also the card that made him the most uncomfortable with using Killjoy given just what the title quote said about the man.

(“Blue blood, red blood, green blood, who gives a damn so long as they bleed!”)

An unpleasant chill ran down his spine at those words, and he couldn’t help but hide the card behind one of his others.

(It doesn’t matter.)

He shook his head.

(I can’t play it unless I get Killjoy to three stacks of frenzy and he delivers the finishing blow to a unit.)

Admittedly, that second condition wasn’t too hard given how M.A.D. decks Usually had minions, but the first condition was a pain even on its own.

So, instead he played a card depicting a grinning man in a suit and mask standing next to another who was gripping his head with a panicked look as he stared at a board covered in scratched out words and pictures. “I’ll play ‘Maddening Options’ for one point of madness. This one is a quick action card that gives you the choice to discard a card in your hand or to let me draw another card from my deck.”

Trish looked the four cards in her hand over before shaking her head. “Go ahead and draw.”

He went ahead and did just that bringing him back to five cards as he drew the location card, ‘The Last Call’ a place that based on the card’s image was a speakeasy run by the Barons during the prohibition.

(Long-term that’ll help, but I can’t play it just yet thanks to that resource cost.) Which while not obscene was fairly tricky due to three different either-or resources being needed. (Though if I decide not to play ‘Mystic’s Meditation’ on Brigette’s turn, and charge Killjoy with the rest of this one I might be able to-)

He winced as he accidentally bit himself while gnawing on his cheek in consideration. An action that left him with a (disgustingly) coppery taste in his mouth.

(Right, super-strength and biting… should’ve seen that coming…) He sighed rubbing his cheek, before tapping his cards. “Killjoy charges.”

“Again?” Trish whines once more, earning a glare.

The (overgrown child) blinked seemingly taken aback, something that made him grimace. (Damn it, don’t take it out on her because you hurt yourself…)

“Um, right…” Trish blinked once more before turning her attention back to her hand. “Since its Network’s turn I’ll play the minion card ‘Automated Drone’ for one tech point.” Trish continued, placing a card with the picture of a round hovering machine, next to her Network card. “And again, Quick Work triggers, letting my drone act as soon as this turn is over.”

“Which it isn’t, is it?”

“Nope.” Trish admitted with a touch of cheer, though still less than he’d been expecting.

(Damn it…)

“Network’s ‘Multitasking Engineer’ ability lets me once per turn, turn any action where she builds a piece of tech or creates a tech-based minion into a quick action.” Trish explained, before playing a second card over her drone. “Which means I can play ‘Battery Upgrade’ to my Drone for one tech point.”

“I’m guessing that means you’re now producing four tech points each turn?” He noted, figuring she was probably going to play this round the same way he was.

“Yep,” Trish nodded, before tapping her battery-drone. “and since it’s my drone’s turn I’ll set him to charge bringing me back up to three resources.”

“Weren’t you just complaining about me charging my cards?” He asked giving her a less than impressed look.

Trish waved him off. “Yeah, but I’m charging a minion not wasting a hero’s time.”

“Uh-huh…”

He eventually decided it wasn’t worth fighting about, and instead grabbed the Last Call from his hand before setting it next to his grid. “For Bones’ turn I’ll use my newly charged point of Madness and two points of Ectoplasm to play the location card ‘The Last Call.’ Which generates a point of any resource at the start of each round.”

“Huh…” Trish frowned looking at the location card. “Three resources is a bit expensive for a single point increase, even with variety.”

He shrugged before admitting, “It does something else if the conditions are met.”

Trish gave him a look, before leaning forward to try and peek at the card. “And those conditions are?”

“You’ll find out.” He told her, waving a hand between her and the card.

He saw the corner of her mouth twitch as she reached for one of the remaining two cards in her hand. “Guardian makes and equips a monomolecular blade for two tech points, allowing him to ignore armor while increasing his attack by five. And thanks to his passive it also grants him another point of armor.”

He couldn’t help but eye the two cards overlaying the M.A.D. hero. (Yeah, I definitely want to get him off the board if he’s going to keep growing like that.)

“And since Shock Rat is next,” Trish continued, tapping the (poorly named) hero. “I’ll have him use momentum and my last resource to hit Killjoy twice.”

“Bringing him down to fifteen.” He confirmed, making the change to his score sheet before giving the cards in his hand a once over.

(Alright, since I played ‘The Last Call’ I can’t play ‘Mystics Meditation’ which, could’ve given me something to deal with Iron Guardian next turn, so I guess instead I’ll have to…)

“Alright, for Brigette’s turn I’ll play ‘Maddening Magics,’” he told Trish, showing her a picture of a woman in a magic circle surrounded by writing on the walls, and butterflies in the air, “this lets me convert any amount of Magic into Madness as a quick action.”

Trish blinked, giving him a confused look. “But you don’t have any points of Magic, at least not until next turn.”

“Brigette,” He started with a tap to the heroine’s card, “has the ‘Dead Arcanist’ ability, letting her use Ectoplasm in place of Magic, and letting her count as an Arcane as far as cards are concerned. Meaning in this case, she can turn Ectoplasm into Magic and then into Madness.”

“Ah, I got you.” Trish nodded, with a look towards Brigette’s card, likely revising the heroine’s threat given her wider than expected skill range.

“Uh-huh, and from there, I’ll move her right one space.” He continued as he slid Brigette’s card behind her husband’s. “And that ends the second round.”

--- Ozzy ---

“Okay, first we draw.” Trish told him as they both did. “And then it’s your turn.”

“Right.” He nodded, staring at his new card ‘Stacked Deck’ which showed a man with a too-wide smile in a torn up black suit, shuffling a deck of cards.

(Strategy says I shouldn’t, especially since Trish only has two cards and I have four, but…)

“I’ll play Shuffle the Deck for two points of Madness.” He told her showing the card. “Which means we both discard our hands, before shuffling our decks and drawing three new cards.”

Trish’s face scrunched up a bit in confusion, likely citing the same reasons he was against playing the card in the first place, but… (I’m just not comfortable playing that butcher card.) Which was the play he’d spent last round setting up.

He wasn’t entirely sure why but playing something as out right villainous as the Black Briar Butcher, left a bad taste in his mouth and a feeling in his chest that was just (wrong.)

So instead he threw away what was left of his hand, shuffled the deck he was borrowing, and drew three new cards.

“Alright, was that a quick action or…?” Trish trailed off questioningly.

“It was a, uh, a standard action,” He nodded looking over his new cards, as some odd tension began to leave his shoulders. (This’ll do.) “Anyways, yeah, it’s… it’s Network’s turn again.”

Trish gave him a concerned look. “You alright.”

He blinked before turning away from his hand and nodding. “Yeah, just uh, just planning out my round.”

Trish watched him for a moment before going back to her hand. “If you say so…”

After looking through her hand, Trish eventually grabbed a card and that showed a factory working on a bunch of machines down an assembly line. “Since it’s Network’s turn, I’ll play the Op card, ‘Drone Production Line,’ which lets me create Drone minion for one Tech-Point, and since it was Network that played the card she can go ahead and use it now.”

“Does that trigger, her Passives?” He asked, already remembering the tedium that began once a M.A.D. character started fielding too many minion cards.

“It triggers quick work, but not multi-tasking.” Trish told him, as she placed a quarter on the opposite side of Network from her other drone. “So, the drone gets a turn, but Network’s turn is over.”

He nodded a bit passively.

“Okay, so what does your drone do then?” He paused, giving the Battery/Drone cards a look as another thought occurred to him. “Actually, what is the Speed on your drones again?”

“My drone ‘ll pass, since I can’t really do much with it this round,” She admitted “but they both have forty speed, so they’ll go after Brigette once they’re in play.”

“Right, so Bones turn then which means I can play a ‘Watch Skull’ Minion card for one point of Ectoplasm.” He told her, showing the image of a floating skull with two glowing green eyes, gazing over a graveyard. “And…” He thought about it. “I’ll hold off on using his ability for now.”

“You can’t use his ‘Dead Beat’ thing, outside of his turn can you?” Trish asked giving him a look, since she likely thought he was hoarding his last two points for something with Brigette. (Which isn’t completely wrong.)

“Nope, only gives turns after his own.” He confirmed with a touch of amusement.

“Alright,” Trish nodded with narrow eyes. “In that case, I’ll have Iron Guardian attack the bone construct you made a couple turns ago, and since it just has five HP that means it’s destroyed.” She told him as she picked up the nickel, she’d set on the table earlier.

“That’s fine.” He couldn’t do anything with the thing right now anyway. “And it’s Shock Rat’s turn now, right?”

“Right…” She agreed slowly, before turning to the grid. “For Shock Rat’s turn, I’ll use Momentum to move forward a space.”

“Which triggers Watch Skull’s Passive.” He nodded, once she’d pushed the card forward.

Trish blinked before looking at him, her hand still on the card. “What?”

“Watch Skull’s Passive, Sentry. It makes so that it attacks any enemy unit that steps on an adjacent space.” He explained, “Which drops Shock Rat’s HP to fifteen.”

Trish looked at the cards with a frown.

“That’s… fair.” She told him, though her tone said that she didn’t really think so.

Trish shook her head a little, before gaining a determined look. “Either way, I’ll use Momentum on my last two points Resources to attack Bones twice, which’ll knock him down to five HP.”

“Unless I play the counter card, Spectral Step for one Ectoplasm.” He argued, holding up a card depicting a figure in a torn up suit transparent in one place and flickering in another.

Trish’s frown became a little more pronounced. “And what does that do?”

“It,” He moved Bones a space to the left and outside of Shock Rat’s range. “does that.”

Trish gave him a dry look, that made him laugh a bit.

“It makes it so a Deadman can move before an attack hits.” He explained a little more clearly.

“Meaning my attack misses…” Trish pouted.

He shrugged. “Look at the bright side, at least you only lost the first attack.”

“Right…” Trish agreed in a tone that said she didn’t really consider that a bright side. “In that case I’ll redirect the second attack towards your Watch Skull, I’m guessing since it’s got an ability at one resource it probably doesn’t have much in the way of health?”

“Just five points,” He answered indifferently. “So yeah, it’s dead, and I’m guessing you’re going to pull your hit and run thing again.”

“Yep.” Trish admitted sliding her Shock Rat card back a space. “Your turn again.”

“Then for Brigette… I’ll play the Saint’s Grave construct card.” He decided, placing a card with the image of a grave with an angel statue standing over it, between Killjoy, Bones, and Brigette on the grid.

“Huh,” Trish blinked at the card that was oddly (beautiful) in a (sad) kind of way. “Haven’t seen that one before, what does it do?”

“It increases the power of healing effects.” He told her easily enough, something in the back of his mind easing as he stared at the grave.

“Meaning Brigette’s a heroic Deadman healer?” Trish asked, watching him with an odd look.

“Yeah,” He nodded. “She ended up saving a bunch of people back during the prohibition gang wars and is considered one of the first known female heroes.”

“I, uh, didn’t know that…” Trish told him with a strangely soft tone.

“Yeah, I didn’t know she protected so many people back then either,” He admitted, picking up Brigette’s card and showing her the back, “her card has a bunch of information about it.”

“Is that right…” Trish smiled at him taking the card, though there was something sad about it.

“What’s wrong?”

Trish looked at him for a moment before shaking her head and handing him back the card with a soft smile. “Nothing’s wrong, except it’s your turn again.”

“Oh,” He blinked before placing Brigette back where she belonged on the grid. “right, right…”

--- Trish ---

Alright, she was fully willing to admit she may’ve stepped into a minefield for a second there.

That wasn’t to say she knew the exact nature of the walked into, but at the very least the fact that Ozzy’s eyes had flashed green several times over the last few minutes was probably not good. (At least they’re not flashing red…)

She still shuddered whenever she remembered the night, she saw Jack’s silver eyes bleed blood red.

Still, the fact that his eyes were glowing on and off meant there was some emotional thing going on inside of Ozzy’s head, the exact kind of thing she’d started this game to take his(/my) mind off of.

What’s worse, she wasn’t even sure if she could really intervene without messing things up worse. So much so, that she’d skipped her own turn to keep him from leaving whatever calm place that card with the angel statue had sent him to.

(Or is it because it’s a pretty grave? I mean he’s a Deadman so maybe…?)

She frowned at herself. She wasn’t sure if that was racist or logical given how she’d only ever interacted with one other Deadman, and that was only for the few days it took her to confirm her spouse had moved away from the falls.

(Damn it… maybe I should have read those Deviant Psychology books Jake left me…)

Thinking about it, given the way he used words and cold reading, that was probably his attempt at protecting her after he left, given his lack of more physical defenses.

(Not that it’s doing me much good right now…)

“Killjoy, um, he’ll play…” Ozzy began, finally shaking off whatever had left him in a stupor for the last five or so minutes, only to realize he had no cards in his hand.

“Don’t forget to draw.” She reminded him.

Ozzy blinked a feint green blush growing n his cheeks. “Oh, right…”

Shaking his head once the young runaway drew a card from his deck before nodding to himself. “Alright, I’ll have Killjoy charge for this round. So, it’s your turn now, I guess.”

“Okay,” She nodded, drawing a third card into her hand, before reaching into her pocket and placing a coin next to Iron Guardian. “I’ll have Network use the drone assembly line to create a third drone.”

“Then it’s the, uh, drone’s turn now, right?”

She shook her head. “Yes and no.”

Ozzy frowned, giving her a questioning look.

“Yes, it’s the drone’s turn but before that…” She grabbed a card from her hand, “Since I now have three Drones active, I can play Network’s Title card, The Drone Queen.”

On top of her base Network card, she placed the card depicting Network standing on a city street in a lab coat and surrounded by a dozen floating drones of various shapes, sizes, and modifications.

“Okay…” Ozzy’s eyes looked over her half of the card grid. “Given how many drones you have, I’m guessing I’m not going to like what that title does…”

“Probably not.” She admitted, trying to be sympathetic after his little episode, even if she still enjoyed crushing him underfoot. “It gives her two new abilities, letting her create a new drone each turn, and increasing the stats of all my drones based on the number of drones I have.”

Ozzy grimaced a bit. “And how much of a, uh, boost are we talking about?”

“One attack and three speed,” She told him, before adding, “per drone.”

Ozzy grimaced a bit more. “Yeah, I’m going to have to get rid of those…”

“Anyway, it’s my drone’s turn so I’ll have it use Surveillance to see that card in your hand.” She gave him a finger-gun as she shot the card, throwing a ‘pew’ in to see if she could get a positive reaction.

Which it did if Ozzy’s eyeroll and amused scoff was any indication. “Papa Bone’s Bootlegged Brew,” He told her showing a card with a shot glass next to a brown bottle with a label with depicting a one-eyed skull beneath a bowler hat. “It restores five HP to a unit as a quick action, for two of any resource.”

(Meaning he’ll probably use it on Papa Bones…) which was surprisingly fitting. (Well, at least I don’t have to worry about any counter cards this round.)

“I’m guessing you’re using that this turn?” She asked, since it was Bones turn and he was the only one of Ozzy’s characters missing any health.

“Yeah, I’ll use it to bring Bones back to twenty,” Ozzy nodded, before tapping the Last Call, “But because I have Last Call and this is a ‘Brew’ card I only have to pay one resource instead of two, what’s more so long as I have Last Call in play,” He set the Brew card where his Op cards went, “any Brew I play becomes an Op card after being used.”

She grimaced at those effects. “Okay, yeah, that’s worth three resources.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ozzy hummed, “After that, I’ll use two of my resources to give Bones two more turns so he can move forward a space and destroy your drone.”

(Alright, I already played Network’s Title card so it’s not a big loss…)

“Okay, I can’t really do anything about that.” She admitted taking the drone’s coin off the grid.

“That said, since it’s my turn, I’ll have Iron Guardian use Charging Strike for one tech point.” She showed him a skill card depicting a figure rushing forward ready to strike. “Which lets him move and then attack in the same turn.” She slid him forward a space, “Meaning he can move and attack Killjoy for ten points of damage, knocking him down to fifteen HP.”

Ozzy winced. “And I’m guessing Shock-Rat is going to follow up with Momentum, knocking him down to five, right?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “Except I put a battery on one of my drones a couple turns ago, so I can actually attack three times, thus knocking Killjoy out.”

Ozzy shook his head. “Nope, I use Bones second ability, ‘Bone Blockade.’ I can spend a point of Ectoplasm to give a character in his range two points of armor for the rest of the round. So, taking two points off your three attacks…”

“Leaves him with six health instead of none.” She finished mildly irritated that he’d blocked that without any cards. (Deadmen really are the most defensive card type…)

“It also means it’s my turn now, and-” Ozzy began.

“Nope.” Only for her to interrupt. “Since my drones get three extra speed per drone, they both now have a speed of six, making them both faster than Brigette now.”

It was Ozzy’s turn to feel irritated, “And what do your Drones do for their turns?”

“The basic drone will move forward a space, and my battery drone will charge for the turn.” She answered moving the last coin on her side forward a space and tapping the drone card and its attachment.

“Right, since I don’t really have anything else, I can play, I guess I’ll just have Brigette move one space to the right.” Ozzy told her, sighing as he did just that.

--- Ozzy ---

He drew another card, fully aware that he was losing the game, but he (can’t give up) so it was what it was.

He idly scratched at his chest where a cool sensation was flowing from.

(Alright, first things first.) He told himself, tapping the brew card. “Killjoy uses Bootlegged Brew for a point of Madness, raising him back to eleven HP.” That was something that had to happen if he wanted Killjoy to last another round.

“From there he’ll play, ‘Enlightenment Can Drive You Mad.’” He continued, showing a card with a mad grin gripping his head as words and images drifted around his head. “This card lets me draw two cards for one point of Madness, but in exchange inflicts Delirium on the character that uses it.”

Trish blinked, trying to read the card from across the table. “Uh, what does Delirium do again?”

“Normally, it’s a mental de-buff that stuns a character for a turn and converts their resource to Madness for that turn.” He explained, before noticing another bit he’d missed when he first read the card. “Though apparently, it also increases the Madness production of Madness users for that turn too.”

“Normally?” Trish asked warily.

He shrugged. “Killjoy’s passive ‘Touched by Madness’ makes him immune to mental debuffs, in fact Maddening Frenzy has a passive effect that gives him a free stack of Frenzy whenever it triggers.”

“So, he has the ‘too crazy to be any crazier’ passive.” Trish nodded with a faint grimace.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Right, uh, if I’m remembering right, ‘Touched by Madness’ is a common passive for Madness users.” Trish began with a furrowed brow. “The thing is most of the people they give the passive to are infamous for being so insane, that they really are immune to anything that influences the mind; be it drugs, spells, or psionics.”

“That’s…” (mildly horrific…)

“Yeah.” Trish agreed. “It’s also one of the reasons there’s so much stigma against Madness users in the real world.”

“Stigma?” He knew most Deviant types had one kind of stigma or another; be it the suicidal curiosity of Arcane and M.A.D.s, the manipulativeness of Psychics, or the cannibalism of Dead- (Not thinking about it!) -but, honestly he’d never heard much about Madness users beyond the fact that Wonderlanders had a tendency to be… air-headed for lack of a better word.

(Actually…) He frowned as something occurred to him.

“Hold up a second.” He stopped her before she could answer his first question. “There are Madness users besides Wonderlanders?”

Trish glanced at Killjoy and then at him with a curious look.

It took him a moment to realize what she was getting at, and when he did, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “It’s a card game, I’m not expecting it to be one hundred percent accurate.”

Trish gave him a noncommittal shrug. “It’s a card game that tries to be historically accurate since it involves real people and places.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Can you just explain please?” He asked her, trying to pushback his annoyance.

“Right.” Trish nodded, before frowning. “Now, first off I’m uh, I’m not a Deviant myself.”

He kind of figured as much.

“But I do have a couple of friends who are Deviants, so this is sort of how it was explained to me… okay?”

(Right, so it’s secondhand information…) The scientist his mother raised him to be didn’t like that. The realist his mom raised him to be however, told that part to shut up for the moment.

“Okay.” He eventually nodded.

“Right, so, uh, Madness is… it’s this sort of half-way thing between magic and psionics, alright?” Trish started explaining, though she sounded less than sure of herself. “It, um, it uses this sort of emotive… thought-energy, to do what it does. Which is… bending rules?”

From what little he’d picked up during his school’s Deviant awareness seminars, that sounded… plausible.

Trish shook her head. “Anyway, while I don’t get all of that, what I do know is that certain people can develop this, sort of, um… presence that lets them manipulate Madness to do whatever it does. The downside though, and I do know this part,” She assured him of that. “is that they’re essentially tapping raw emotion for power, which makes them… less than stable. At least until the point where they’re more, um, Madness than whoever they were… before.”

A chill ran down his spine, the implications of that were… (less than good…)

“Does that answer your uh, question?” Trish asked, a little nervously.

“Yeah, that’s… yeah.” He nodded, his mind not liking any of the things it was extrapolating from that bit of information.

(Damn it, why does every new thing I learn about the world have nightmare inducing implications?)

“Um, I guess it’s my uh, turn?” Trish eventually spoke up.

“What?” He blinked, before looking between Trish and the cards between him as he remembered what they were doing. “Oh, uh, yeah, it’s your turn.” He nodded.

“Right, um…” Trish swallows something with a distracted look on her face as she stared at the two cards in her hand. “I’ll have Network… use her new ability ‘Drone Production’ to create another drone.” Trish placed a coin next to Network before setting a second one between Network and Iron Guardian. “And for that drone’s turn I’ll have them use the assembly line to create another drone.”

He did some math in his head real quick. (Four drones means they each have four attack and fifty-two speed… which almost puts each drone on par with a two point minion. And that’s not including the fact that she can make two more each turn…)

Looking at all of the coins on Trish’s side of the grid he couldn’t help but frown.

(Yeah, I’ve got to do something about Network…) His eyes then drifted to the two cards on top of her Iron Guardian card. (And Iron Guardian too…) Then they drifted to the card who’d done the most damage over the course of the game. (And of course, I can’t forget about Shock-Rat either…)

Shaking his head, he turned back to the cards he’d just drawn.

(Alright, ‘Martyr’s Madness’ which is kind of useless since Killjoy’s almost dead and ‘Juggernaut’s- Oh,) He double checked the board. (That could work, and since she just summoned that… yeah, that can work… but no,) He frowned. (I can’t do that and deal with Shock-Rat…)

He glanced at his score sheet, before blinking. (Where’d that point come from? Wait, did I charge last round?) He couldn’t remember doing that. (I… I only remember Brigette charging the round before that… or was that the round before that?)

Something in his head was a little fuzzy, but eventually he just shook it off. (Whatever, the games probably just blurring because of the whole Madness revelation…)

Having decided on a course of action he slid Bones forward a space. “Okay, I’ll move Bones and then I’ll use three points of Ectoplasm to attack Shock-Rat three times. Unless you have something to defend with?”

(I really hope you don’t have something to defend with.)

Trish looked her hand over before sighing as she removed Shock-Rat from the grid. “No, nothing I can use right now.”

“Look at the bright side, you’ve still got what three turns next?” He told her, really not liking the fact that she had three turns next.

“Right!” Trish nodded, once more taking on the overly chipper attitude she’d been putting on throughout the night. “In that case, I’ll have Iron Guardian attack Killjoy, my regular drone attack Bones, and my Battery Drone charge for the turn.”

“Which knocks Bones down to sixteen, and Killjoy down to one HP.” He finished for her, changing their health on his score sheet. “And I guess that makes it, Brigette’s turn?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, in that case, I’ll have her play ‘Juggernaut’s Charge’ with the leftover resources from last turn.” He told her, showing her a card depicting an armored figure rushing forward while surrounded by a wave of force.

“Wait,” Trish stopped him before he could move Brigette’s card. “I thought she was a medic?”

“She has two classes, Bruiser and Medic.” He explained. “It’s why her stats are just a touch lower than everyone else’s.”

“Huh, I hadn’t even noticed.” Trish admitted trying to get a better look at the character card that had yet to fight.

“It’s admittedly not by that much.” He shrugged. “But back on topic, Juggernauts charge let’s her move forward in a straight line until she hits someone or something.”

“And whatever she hits gets knocked back a space after taking damage.” Trish nodded, already knowing one of the signature Bruiser cards.

“Right, and since that means your drone gets knocked into a wall…” He slid Brigette’s card forward until it was right in front of Trish’s Automated Drone. “It takes an extra five damage, destroying it.”

“Eh, without Shock-Rat I have plenty of resources for whatever I need still.” Trish told him as she moved the drone and its upgrade off the grid.

“Yeah…” He nodded, checking his score sheet. “You have what three tech and one magic still?”

“Five tech.” Trish corrected him. “Network’s title increases her production, and my drone charged last round too.”

He couldn’t help but grimace at that. (Yeah, five Tech, plus four more each round… she really doesn’t need any more production right now does she…)

--- Ozzy ---

Now he had the lead. Technically.

Trish was still doing better than him do to having so many resources and minions stocked up, but in the end all that really mattered was who had more Character cards in play. After all the first person to have all three of their characters knocked out was the one to lose.

Meaning even if Trish was in a better position than him, it was still close enough that he could turn it around.

Something in his chest shifted pleasantly as he thought about winning.

He drew another card, one that might give him some more options in a couple of turns.

“Alright,” He started as he slid Killjoy’s card behind Bones’. “I’ll have Killjoy use Bone’s Brew again, and then move left a space.”

At the moment that was the only move that would let him keep Killjoy alive and given how many drones Trish was putting out each turn, (I can’t afford to lose anyone.)

“Which makes it Networks turn.” Trish nodded as she drew another card into her hand.

“And I’m guessing that means two more drones?” He asked, already pretty sure of the answer.

“Yep.” Trish nodded, placing two more coins on the board, boxing in Brigette as she set a coin next to Network and another on the other side next to Iron Guardian.

(That’s five attack, and fifty-five speed… Well, at the very least she can’t make anymore at the moment…) He thought a little wryly, thankful she couldn’t just keep spawning drones on his side of the board.

“Then it’s Bones’ turn.” He told her running a quick inventory in his head.

(Alright, two points of ectoplasm and a point of whatever I need, and two cards in my hand… Not even half of what she’s got… here’s hoping I can even that out some.)

“Okay, I’ll have Bones play ‘Thinker’s Brew,’” He showed her the card in his hand, depicting a man with glasses drinking a mug of coffee while writing complex math equations in a notebook. “This lets me draw another card as a quick action or two cards as a standard action, either way it’ll cost me a single resource since I have Last Call in play.”

“Alright, and which way are you going?” She asked him.

“I’ll draw the two cards.” He told her while drawing the first card. (Gimme something good, gimme something good, gimme something good…)

His first card was Tommy Gun. A gear card that increased the range of whoever equipped it by one, though if equipped by a Marksman, then their attacks would not only hit their target but any unit at its sides as well. An effect that would definitely help him clear out all of Trish’s drones.

Sadly, the only Marksman he had was Killjoy, who wouldn’t be able to equip it for a round or attack until the round after that. A strategy that would leave him vulnerable for longer than he was comfortable with.

(Not bad, but not good either… Here’s hoping the other one is better…)

He drew his second card, and nearly sighed in relief.

(Yes, a Title card!) And he recognized this one. Hell, this card was the only reason he was comfortable putting Killjoy in his deck in the first place.

He read the title’s condition and was thankful it was something he might be able to play this turn, since title cards always changed the game. Network’s Drone Queen title was more than proof of this.

“And that’s Bones’ turn.” He decided

Trish gave him an odd look. “Not going to use his ‘Dead Beat’ thing?”

He shook his head. “Not this time.”

“Mmhmm…”

(And she knows I’m planning something… Honestly, Bones’ ability makes that fairly obvious all things considered.)

“In that case, since I have the next three turns, I’ll have Iron Guardian attack Bones, knocking him down to six HP. Then I’ll have this minion,” she tapped the one that couldn’t attack Bones, “use Gatling Upgrade, and since it’s a minion upgrade it can be applied to the drone that hasn’t attacked yet.”

“I’m guessing that drone is going to attack Bones then?”

“Uh-huh.” Trish nodded. “And thanks to Gatling Upgrade it gets to attack twice, which is just enough to knock Papa Bones off the board.”

“You said it attacks twice right?” He asked her double checking.

“Yep, and since my drones have five attack right now, even with his Bone Blockade he’ll still be knocked out.” Trish confirmed, with just a hint of smug.

“Unless I play Killjoy’s title card.”

Trish blinked. “What?”

“Killjoy’s title card, The Devil Saint.” He repeated and clarified while showing her a card depicting a man in a torn and bloody suit, standing with his back to a crowd of scared civilians while wearing a half-skull mask and a too-wide grin completely uncaring of the blood spilling out of the corner of his mouth.

“And why exactly does that keep Bones alive?” Trish asked, narrowing her eyes.

“This title’s trigger condition is that it can only be played when a unit in Killjoy’s movement range is about to be killed, which also trigger’s it’s effect letting Killjoy switch places with the character and take damage in their place.” He explained switching Killjoy and Bones on the grid. “It also means they both survive your attack with one HP, though Killjoy gains another five thanks to earning his title.”

“Huh.” Trish said after a moment. “Alright, then I guess my last drone ‘ll use Surveillance.”

“Left, or right?” He asked raising the two cards in his hand.

“Mm, right.” Trish decided with a nod.

“Tommy gun.” He flipped the card in his hand so she could see it. “It’s a gear card, so kind of useless at the moment.”

“Yeah, but I can see that biting me later.” Trish admitted. “Either way it’s Brigette’s turn now.”

“Right, in that case I’ll have her attack the drone in front of her for five, bringing it down to… five.” He told her ending the round, before moving onto the next as he drew a card.

(Alright, let’s see here… ‘Bleeding Cuts,’ Scrapper Skill, applies a stack of bleeding if… Yeah, okay, that can help with all of Iron Guardian’s armor, but… are the drone’s more important right now?) That was probably what was going to decide the game.

“First, I’ll have Killjoy use both of my brew’s as quick actions, bringing him back to eleven HP and letting me draw a card for two resources, both Ectoplasm.” He figured since Bones was out of range for the moment, it was probably better for him to heal Killjoy up.

Drawing the card, he couldn’t help but glance at the board. (Okay, ‘Death Rattle’ one point of ectoplasm to use, but deal five damage to all adjacent enemies… If I hit the other two, that’ll be a triple kill on Brigette’s turn. Which’ll be a big help.)

“Next I’ll have him turn two points of Madness into two stacks of Frenzy, bringing him up to three, before attacking Iron Guardian with ‘Bleeding Cuts.’ Which causes each of Killjoy’s attacks to apply a stack of bleeding so long as the target they hit isn’t a machine.” He continued, deciding that Guardian was too much of a powerhouse to leave standing for much longer. “Meaning even with his armor, he’ll still take twelve points of damage and gain four stacks of Bleeding.”

“Right, then I’ll trigger Iron Guardian’s ‘Shield Matrix’ for two Tech points to block two of your attacks.” Trish countered, picking up the equipment card.

“Wait, but you can only use ‘Shield Matrix’ once per round.” He reminded her, since that was its big limiter back when he’d play an M.A.D. deck.

“Iron Guardian has the ‘Efficient Equipment’ passive, letting him increase the number of uses for any equipment card he uses by one.” Trish explained.

He grimaced a bit at that. “Between that and the armor thing, he really is built around equipment cards, isn’t he?”

Trish shrugged. “In real life, Iron Guardian is pretty famous for repurposing any tech he confiscates from the bad guys before upgrading it with the rest of the gear he uses.”

“Wow…” He considered that for a moment before his genetically inherent smartass kicked in. “I bet his toy line is downright obscene.”

After all, M.A.D. heroes were famous for their toy deals because each new armor, new weapon, and new minion they made was another toy sold. (And more money for the Heroes’ Guild and the various charities it supported of course.)

Trish choked on air before laughing. “Yeah… I think it is…” She shook her head. “Still… uh, two hits go through, dealing six damage and applying two stacks of Bleeding, I guess.”

“Alright, in that case it’s Network’s turn.”

“Right,” Trish nodded as she went over her hand. “So, since I can’t make any more Drones right now, I’ll have her equip a Shield Matrix herself, before using Surveillance.”

“Which one?” He asked raising the three cards in his hand.

“Mm,” Trish tapped her chin in (exaggerated) thought before pointing at, “the middle one.”

“Martyr’s Madness.” He showed her the card depicting an image similar to Killjoy’s Devil Saint title, with a man in a suit wearing a grin as he walked off several bleeding wounds. “It’s a counter card that can be triggered when a Madness user survives an attack.”

Trish glanced at Killjoy, the madness user that she probably intended to attack. “Right… well it’s your turn then.”

“Okay, in that case, I’ll have Bones attack your gatling drone twice for one of the Ectoplasm I have left over from last round; destroying it.” He told her. “You can leave the token since you’re probably going to fill the slot on your next turn.”

“Safe bet.” Trish admitted with a shrug, before asking, “That it?”

He nodded.

“Alright, and since we’re going with the predictable moves I’ll go ahead and have Iron Guardian attack Killjoy, so you can use that counter card of yours.”

“Right,” He went ahead and tossed the card with the rest of his used cards. “Basically, if whoever uses the card survives the attack that hits them, they heal for five HP per point of Madness production. Now normally this would cost two points of Madness to use, but because Killjoy got the ‘Guardian’ class with his title, the cost is reduced to one point instead.”

Trish squinted her eyes a bit. “So, you basically just cancelled my attack, right?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“Okay, anyway it’s my turn, and like you said I’ll use Drone Assembly to make another drone.” She confirmed, tapping the coin she’d left on the table. “And then I’ll have the other three all attack Brigette knocking her down to…”

“Eighteen,” He filled in for her before explaining that “she has a point of armor, and for her turn I’ll have her attack this,” he pointed to the coin next to Iron Guardian, “drone for another five damage.”

“Which starts the next round, meaning Iron Guardian takes two points of Bleed damage, bringing him down to twelve HP.” Trish told him as she changed the token’s health on her score sheet.

“Uh-huh.” He agreed, drawing another card. (“Mama Brigette, The Undead Lovers…” Alright, another title card…) He double checked the trigger condition, before frowning. (One I can’t play unless I get the two of them next to each other…)

He went over the grid as he tried to figure out his next move.

(Alright, let’s see here… for Killjoy taking Iron Guardian off the table is my best move. That said, I need to hit him at least three time to even touch him, and even then, that’ll only deal three damage, six if I spend all of my points on Madness…) Which wasn’t really worth it.

(I need more options…) “Killjoy uses Thinker’s Brew to draw a card for one point of Madness.”

(Something good, something good… “Ecto-Overload, a Deadman skill card, spend X points of Ectoplasm to deal X times five points of damage to a unit within user’s attack range…” Huh,) He glanced at the grid once more. (Okay, if I follow-up with this after doing that…)

“Alright then. After drawing, I’ll have Killjoy use two points of Madness to gain two stacks of Frenzy, which lets him attack Iron Guardian three times.”

“And with my Barrier’s blocking the first two attacks, drops him to nine HP.” Trish finished for him as she went over the cards on the board, “Though it also means it’s my turn with Network, who I’ll have play Mass Production.” She went on for herself, as she showed him a card depicting a factory filled with an assembly line leading to a pile of crates. “A quick action card that makes it so the next Upgrade card I play to a Tech Minion, applies to all of my minions for two Tech points.”

(I don’t like where this is going…)

“And the upgrade card I’ll play, is ‘Armor Reinforcement’ for one Tech point.”

(I really don’t like where this is going…)

“Meaning all of active Drones now gain one point of Armor. What’s more since all of that was a quick action, I’ll have her use Surveillance on… the card third to the right.”

(Yeah, I don’t like any of that…) He couldn’t help but frown as he showed her Mama Brigette’s title card. (And even after all of that, she still has a ton of tech points left…)

“Ah, that’s so sweet!” Trish cried, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” He asked rather intelligently.

“Bones and Brigette have ‘Lovers’ Title cards; I always thought those were a myth.” Trish answered more than a little giddy.

He flipped the card around to give it another look. “Why would they be a myth?”

“Well, since Title cards are meant to represent the deeds a person is famous for, it’s absurdly rare for anyone to get a Lover title.” Trish explained. “Because in order to get that title two people have to be famous for being a longstanding couple, enough so that when people hear one name they automatically think of their partner.”

“Huh,” He blinked. (That actually is kind of sweet.) Especially when he read the Title quote, ‘Till death do we part, and then forever after that.’

“Still,” He started after a moment. “I think it’s Bones’ turn now?”

“Oh, oh right. Go ahead.” Trish nodded for him to make his move.

“Okay, then for Bones… I’ll play the ‘Ecto-Overload’ skill card, letting me spend three points of Ectoplasm to attack Iron Guardian for fifteen points of damage.” He told her showing her a card depicting a Deadman releasing a blast of green energy. “Meaning even with his armor, he still takes thirteen points of damage, taking him out of the fight.”

Trish narrowed her eyes at the cards in her hand before sighing. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing.” She admitted, taking Iron Guardian and his various equipment cards off the grid.

“Well, since that used the rest of my Ectoplasm it’s your turn now.” He let her know, feeling pretty decent now that he only had to deal with Network (and her army of drones…)

“Right, well then I have… five turns so let’s see here…” Trish began exaggerating her need to think by tapping at her chin. “First, I’ll create another drone to fill up this slot.” She put a sixth coin on the table. “Then I’ll have this drone apply a Longshot Upgrade, to this one.” She tapped on the coin in the center of the table before placing a card showing a long-barreled gun underneath the coin in front of Killjoy. “Who I will then have attack Bones, with the extra range that gives it.”

“Which takes Bones out of the game since he only has one HP…” He sighed, sliding Bones off the grid. (And makes my title card worthless…)

“Uh-hu,” Trish nodded, “And then my last two drones will attack Brigette dealing ten damage, after armor, between them, knocking her down to, eight HP”

“Yeah, and the only thing I can really do worth anything is charge this round.” He admitted, before drawing the next card for the turn.

(“Undying Will. Counter card. When a Deadman unit would normally die, spend all available Ectoplasm to keep them alive. Healing for five HP per point spent.” So basically, the Deadman version of Martyr’s Madness…)

At the very least it would let him keep Brigette alive, (maybe even bring her to full HP thanks Saint’s Sanctuary…)

Unfortunately, Brigette also had the weakest offensive of his character cards, meaning even if he kept her alive it wasn’t going to help him much with all of Trish’s drone minions. (All six of them… with almost tier three stats now…)

“Alright, I’ll have Killjoy use ‘Thinker’s Brew’ to draw a card for a point of Madness.” He told her, even as a part of him was already resigning itself to the fact that he was probably going to (!0$#).

“Ozzy, you okay?” Trish asked him seemingly worried.

“Huh?” He blinked as he turned his attention to back to her. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“You’ve uh, you’ve sort of just been sitting there for the last couple of minutes…” She told him in a concerned tone of voice. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, uh, yeah.” He shook his head a bit. “I was just um, I just got lost in thought for a second there…” Though he couldn’t really remember what he was thinking about.

“Um, do you uh, do you want to stop?” Trish asked biting her lip.

“What? No, no, I’m fine.” He waved her off, forcibly turning his attention back to the game and away from the gnawing dread in his stomach. “Now, where was I?”

“You were, you were just about to draw…” Trish told him, though she sounded reluctant to do so.

“Right, right. I knew that.” He drew a card from his deck.

(Okay, “Killjoy’s Death March Brew,”) He couldn’t help but pause at that name, let alone the image of Killjoy drinking a coffee pot as Bones backed away, a mixed look of fear, awe, and disgust on his skeletal face. (Costs one resource of any kind, and “Grants the user an extra turn after this one for five HP as a Quick Action. Madness users can trigger this card multiple times in a single use.”)

(Huh, Killjoy has Eleven HP… Sixteen if I use the Bootlegged Brew… So up to four turns, given how Last Call removes the basic skill cost…) He could do a fair amount with that, the only problem being that Network could easily undo anything he did this round. (Unless I play for next round… Yeah, if I can survive the round that could work.)

He nodded to himself. “First I’ll have Killjoy use Bootlegged Brew to Bring him up to sixteen HP, then I’ll have him charge for this round.” (Giving me two extra Madness next turn.)

“Alright, well it’s Network’s turn, and since she’s my last character in play that means I get the Final Stand bonus. Giving her an extra turn each round and doubling her production from here on out.” Trish reminded him. “So that means I get six tech this round.”

“As if you needed more…” He grumbled.

“More never hurts.” Trish shrugged. “But either way, I’ll then equip Network with ‘Plasma Cannon’ for two tech points giving her five damage and increasing her range to two. And since her passive makes that equip a quick action, I’ll then use my two turns to attack Brigette twice, knocking her out.”

He pinched Undying Will ready to play the card, only to pause as he realized letting Brigette die would give him the Final Stand bonus too. Something that would make his plan for the next round significantly easier, but- (PrOtEcT.)

“I’ll play the counter card ‘Undying Will’ letting me turn all of my remaining Ectoplasm into health for Brigette instead of leaving her to die.” He blinked before shaking his head. “And, uh, and thanks to Saint’s Sanctuary which doubles any healing done by a Deadman, that brings her up to full health in exchange for the three Ectoplasm I had this turn.”

Trish blinked herself before frowning. “Okay, well it’s still my drones turn so I’ll have the three surrounding her attack dropping her back down to fifteen HP. Then I’ll have the two around Killjoy attack him, dropping him down to four HP. After that, I’ll have my last drone use Surveillance on the right most card of your hand.”

“Tommy gun again.” He told her showing her the card again. “And it’s Brigette’s turn again too, so I’ll have her charge.”

“Again.” Trish nodded with a wry grin.

“It’s Killjoy’s turn again too.” He told her cheekily, before drawing.

(‘Bootleg Operation’ One resource to play, and gives two neutral resources each turn afterwards… That would’ve been useful a few rounds ago.) Now playing it might just get in the way of his all or nothing play.

He took a deep breath, always hating it when he had to play so close to a loss, but more than willing to. “Alright, first I’ll have Killjoy use ‘Bootlegged Brew’ for a point of Ectoplasm, bringing him up to nine HP. Then I’ll have him use his ‘Death March’ Brew, dropping him back down to four but giving him a turn after this one, which I’ll use to equip Tommy Gun at the price of my second point of Ectoplasm.”

“Okay.” Trish nodded getting a little wary.

“From there I’ll have him use Maddening Frenzy to convert five points of madness into five stacks of Frenzy, that I’ll then unload by attacking your central drone six times.” He continued tapping the central coin just on the edge of Killjoy’s range.

“But even with its armor you can only attack it three times?” Trish pointed out.

“Uh-huh, except Frenzy doesn’t let him attack again, it copies any attacks he makes.” He explained.

“You still only needed three attacks, so isn’t that a waste?” Trish asked confused.

“Normally,” He admitted. “Except, since Killjoy is a Marksman, he activates the Tommy Gun’s special ability. Letting him attack a unit on either side of his primary target, which in this case means…”

“You can attack Network six times,” Trish finished. “And even with her Barrier and armor…” Trish gave her hand a once over before giving him a resigned sigh. “You win.”