Jack “Jakattack” Gifford had to navigate a cyclone on his way to Sydney from New Zealand. But after a huge reverse sweep in round one, there’s no doubt that he’s happy to have made the trip. Jakattack’s huge Kiwi grin made the match a pleasure to watch as he fought back from an apparently impossible position.
After losing the first two games in the best of five, Jakattack tied the series with big wins in games three and four. Game five looked like a difficult proposition, however, as his Exodia Paladin matched up poorly against his opponent “Kin0531’s” Spiteful Priest.
You don’t usually see much Exodia Paladin in tournament play. Exodia Paladin is somewhat of a misnomer too, as the majority of the time it wins by simply playing the control role. The winning combo requires multiple turns to set up, and your opponent needs to cast spells while your Burgly Bully is on board. This is incredibly difficult against Spiteful Priest, which runs only three spells.
Kin got off to a strong start in game five with a great opening hand. He had what looked like an almost certain win at one point with a huge board threatening lethal damage next turn. Jakattack didn’t give up though, and was lucky enough to top-deck the only card that could save him—Sunkeeper Tarim.
Jakattack continued to fight hard, eventually getting in position to pull off the win with the Uther of the Ebon Blade. Then, Jakattack got all four Horsemen on board, giving him an instant win.
