“Warpstone Open 2014 Main Draw: Round Two

A clock without a craftsman. It's too late. Always has been, always will be. Too late." -Dr. Manhattan

This was always a matchup that was going to be tough. The Watchmen needed to injure some key stars early on, while the Cookies needed to ensure that they didn't find the dreaded 1s.

Electing to kick from the outset, the Watchmen were up against a tough squad. Trey Clumsysnake made things difficult throughout the first half, scoring KOs on several key Watchmen, as well as injuring one of the linefodder beastmen.

Unable to match the hitting power of the elves in the first half, the Watchmen chose to lay low and save their reserves for the second half. This led to an easy score for Waffle III at the end of the first half.

Watchmen Philosophy 0, Royal Cookie Crumble 1.

Mothman was able to land a casualty on Vanilla Sandwich IV at long last during the waning moments of the first half, but the Cookies still had a full squad to field for the second half.

The Watchmen pursued a slow grind, knowing full well that their only shot at victory stood in eliminating players from the pitch. Ozymandias slow walked the ball up the pitch in a formidable cage, but Trey Clumsysnake continued to work his magic, sending more and more players to the KO box. Sally Jupiter did manage to match his KO when Whole Grain II was left unattended near Ozymandias.

A few turns later and the Watchmen had reversed field and handed the ball off to Dr. Manhattan, leaving only Cookie Monster in range of the ball. He managed to make it with two go-for-its, but the Watchmen still had a trick up their sleeves. Lightning rained down from the sky in turn 7 and Cookie Monster was sent to the ground. Though the other blocks and blitzes that turn proved futile, the Watchmen were finally able to score their first touchdown.

Watchmen Philosophy 1, Royal Cookie Crumble 1.

The coin flip in overtime was bound to determine the winner, and the Cookies chose to receive. They managed to advance receivers and put them out of range of the Watchmen blitzers, ensuring that Icing would be in the clear for the score. The final turn before Icing walked across the goal line, however, Hollis Mason tattooed his name across Almond chip's forehead, leaving him limping into the next round.

Watchmen Philosophy 1, Royal Cookie Crumble 2.

The Watchmen set off into the sunset, looking to regroup in time for the next major endeavor. Though they didn't manage to walk away with a win today, they did trim some TV from the Cookies and set up their opponents for the following rounds. And they had a decent shot at things right up until the coin toss in overtime. Not a bad effort, all things considered.

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