Board Thread:Versus Battles/@comment-37173421-20190827001535/@comment-37173421-20190827004452

So, Spike is certainly going to know Akagi’s at a skill disadvantage, but will certainly not underestimate him at first. This is Akagi, after all.

Now, he certainly won’t expect Akagi to show up with an unoptimal deck, meaning Spike’s sideboard might be a little unreliable. Chances are, Spike will play a deck such as Jund, and expect a more combo-oriented plan from Akagi. So, Spike will use a variety of strong, but fair creatures to beat down Akagi while disrupting combos where he can.

Akagi’s seemingly unoptimal plays may confuse Spike, but it’s also a grave weakness. If Akagi gets behind against Spike, he’ll be hard-pressed to come back before losing. Assuming a Best of 3 match, Akagi will certainly need to adapt around the cutthroat Spike.

I, personally, see Akagi losing the first match- the all-around versatility of Jund and ways to view Akagi’s hand with hand discard spells may trip up Akagi’s usual strategy, as Jund is not a deck that’s easy to come back from once you’re losing.

The real question is, how will Akagi be able to adapt to the willpower of Spike along with his incredible path-making plays, especially in the next two rounds? He has the advantage of an unknown deck, and if Akagi does his research, he’d probably know most of Spike’s deck. However, this also means Akagi has a worse deck, overall, which could be a massive hinderance.

I don’t see Spike being able to out-mindgame someone like Akagi, even if he has certainly adapted to strategies such as his opponents purposely viewing their cards in awkward ways to throw him off. But, if Spike sticks to his guts and skill, Akagi may be hard-pressed to throw him off.