Whoda thunk it? A row of A5A's four years after it crashed in 2003 ...	Dave Metzger (left) handles Eric Martin in the semis.

Indeed after a three-year absence, the "phoenix" returns with a vengeance. Defyng all dire predictions, Across Five Aprils appealed to a cross section of new and old and racked up 26 contests between 20 players to double it's prior performance.

Expecting a restrained turnout for the mulligan Tuesday evening, the first surprise was having14 participants both eager to test their skills and be able to sleep in and skip the first round the next day. In this first contest, the Battle of Bentonville, the first turn would be played on all boards with identical chit pulls. An early indication that this would be like no previous tournament, started when the dreaded CSA combat chit was the first chit pull of the night. When it was over though, there were two union, one CSA and four Draws!

To accommodate all players for later rounds, draws were allowed to advance to the next round along with winners. All players though were seeded based on their cumulative scores, which would have interesting consequences later. The official Round 1 kicked off with some of the mulligan losers, along with a gaggle of newcomers for an additional 10 participants. Again - fate played a decisive hand with the opposite chit pull from the night before -those CSA players held the advantage of getting a CSA combat chit as the LAST chit drawn. Even with this seeming advantage, the CSA players only managed a single victory. The USA likewise forged a single victory and another three draws were recorded.

Round 2 saw six games of Pea Ridge where the high seed had choice of sides. Although this would seem to have favored the higher seeds, there were still some upsets among the seven games. Results were four USA decisive and two CSA decisive to trim the field to six for the next round.

Round 3 saw the six remaining players' battle across Bull Run. In one of the more bizarre games, Mark Miklos and Jeff Lange saw history changed as the USA took advantage of a constant litany of poor chit pulls and atrocious die rolls by Mark's valiant Rebs and won a nine-turn victory. Teddy Lange upset the higher seeded Eric Martin and hung on to win a Marginal Union. Dave Metzger won a CSA decisive against Brian Conlon to retain the highest point total and seed..

To get to an even number for the semi finals, the player with the best result in round 3 as a loser was advanced to play Metzger in the semi-finals. The other semi saw a father-son contest between Jeff and Teddy Lange. Teddy to this point had advanced by beating the higher seed in every round, and the semi continue that streak.

Metzger had the CSA in Bentonville, and got a CSA combat chit as the first pull. Perhaps luck had finally run out on David? Even with the disadvantage on the first turn, David pulled off a 17-2 CSA substantive victory, by expertly handling the CSA forces along with taking advantage of a couple of overly aggressive moves by his opponent. The other semi- went in a different direction. The USA managed a higher point total, but Teddy held on to draw the contest. So sides were switched and the chit pull repeated for a do or die cumulative point total to decide who would face Metzger in the Final. In the closest match of the week, it came down to the last turn, and the last two chits in the cup. CSA forces occupied a VP hex with a USA move and the CSA combat. If the combat chit came up first , the USA would have no way to win. Even with the move, the USA forces had to roll a 5 or 6 on a 1-2 attack to get the losses needed to push the Rebs away. Both pre-requisites were provided and Teddy was in the Final.

The Final once again had an interesting twist in Lange's first chit pull, as the CSA was the CSA combat - leaving Metzger in the strong defensive position along the road. Although valiant attacks by Lange's CSA forces caused losses along the other front, attritional results made it a matter of time, as Metzger racked up another decisive win and the wood. Fours years away had not ebbed his skills and his winning streak continued, albeit with a bit of a hiatus.