32 of the best players in the world battled it out in 111 matches to crown the first ever Hero League Champion! Each match shown on stream was a potent reminder of why these players are the best. The innovation across the tournament was incredible. The reliance on a symbol’s toolbox over character-based interactions was inspiring. And the fireworks throughout the weekend were reminiscent of an Ali v. Foreman fight! At the end of it all, Kevin Broberg (Midnight, Chaos) was able to outlast the field and hold the $125,000 check high as the Year 1 Champion of My Hero Academia!
Broberg’s path to the title was much more than just a herculean climb to the top of a juggernaut-guarded mountain. There were tons of lessons displayed throughout the way. In the Top 32, we saw him take on Christopher Bromley (Eraser Head, Death) in a match that demanded a more control-style game. Bromley was forced to build a wide stage to outlast Eraser’s speed buffs, mitigate his stage control and absorb Death’s card pool bloat in order to break through that defensive puzzle and deliver a decisive blow. He really showed off Chaos’s ability to slow down, drive deep into deadlock against symbols ill-equipped to punish deadlocks and drown an opponent once the game reaches that deep water.
When you don’t have many Foundations ready, that usually means you should take your foot off the gas and put up your guard, like a depleted stamina meter in a boxing game. However, you have to know your situations. If you’re newer to MHA, calculating exactly how much damage you can do with what’s available can be difficult, but after you play the same deck for a while, it comes quite naturally. Kevin played the 1.3M Volts and saw an opening to play another card. Then he drew the Dark Shadow Ruin and saw another opening to attack again, all the while recalculating if he could continue this onslaught after each card. Each answer kept coming up “yes, continue” until the answer became “game.”
Midnight isn’t the only one that can decimate a game with little to no Foundations. Plenty of Characters, including Tokoyami I, Jiro I and Asui I are also known for their ability to ball out on a budget. With several symbols catching up to the rest of the class with Set 4, this next format is going to be packed to the brim with Characters that can wipe you from soup to nuts with the slightest of openings. The skill to sculpt your hand while pressuring your opponent at the right times to force them to block with cards they need for back swings is going to continue to become more and more crucial.
