
Round 10 Feature Match: Siming Yang (Team Normal Summon Aleister) vs. Paulo Goncalves da Silva (Team Fala Galera and The Disciples)
We’re entering the final Swiss round! These teams need a win to lock in their spot in the Top 16. Representing Team Normal Summon Aleister is Siming Yang. He’s here from Cupertino, CA, playing a Branded Despia Deck. He’s also got a spicy inclusion: three copies of Exchange in the Main Deck! He’s facing Paulo Goncalves da Silva, here from Brazil! Representing Team Fala Galera and The Disciples, this YCS Champion and UDS winner is using Snake-Eyes.

Duel 1
Goncalves won the dice roll and chose to play first. He started with Snake-Eye Ash, adding Snake-Eyes Poplar to his hand. He Special Summoned Poplar, which added Divine Temple of the Snake-Eye to his hand. He activated Divine Temple, placing another Snake-Eye Ash in his back row. He used his first Ash’s effect, sending both copies of Ash to Special Summon Snake-Eyes Flamberge Dragon from his Deck. Using Poplar and Flamberge, he Link Summoned I:P Masquerena. Poplar put Ash in the back row, and Flamberge Special Summoned Poplar and the other Ash. He used Poplar to Link Summon Linkuriboh, then used that and I:P Masquerena to Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames. Princess revived Flamberge, and Flamberge placed I:P Masquerena in his back row. He used Princess and Ash to Link Summon Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf. Then he sent his back row Ash to the Graveyard to Special Summon Diabellstar the Black Witch. It Set Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye on the field. He flipped it, sending Diabellstar to the Graveyard to Special Summon Snake-Eye Oak, with Wolf pointing to it. Oak targeted Ash in the Graveyard, and Wolf triggered its effect to return a card to the hand. Goncalves Chained Linkuriboh, bringing it back to the field by Tributing Snake-Eye Oak. Now that Oak was in the Graveyard, Wolf could add it back to the hand. Finally, Oak’s effect brought back Ash. He used Wolf and Linkuriboh to play Decode Talker Heatsoul, using its effect to draw a card. Then he used Heatsoul and Ash to Link Summon Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess.
Yang started with Called by the Grave; Super Polymerization; Gimmick Puppet Nightmare; Aluber the Jester of Despia; and Guiding Quem, the Virtuous. He drew Fusion Deployment. He played Fusion Deployment, revealing Albion the Branded Dragon. He Special Summoned Fallen of Albaz from his Deck, declining to use its effect. Goncalves responded with Flamberge to Special Summon I:P Masquerena from his back row, then used I:P Masquerena to Link Summon S:P Little Knight. Little Knight targeted Albaz and Flamberge activated. Yang Chained Super Polymerization, discarding Gimmick Puppet Nightmare, to fuse Albaz with Apollousa into Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon! Flamberge resolved, and Special Summoned Snake-Eye Ash and Poplar to Goncalves’s field. Goncalves used only Ash’s effect, and also responded with Promethean Princess in the Graveyard, targeting Poplar and Mirrorjade. Yang Chained Called by the Grave on Promethean Princess, banishing it and negating its effect. The Chain resolved with Goncalves adding Snake-Eye Birch to his hand. Yang continued, Normal Summoning Quem to use its effect. Goncalves Chained S:P Little Knight. Little Knight and Quem were temporarily banished, and Quem sent Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous to the Graveyard. Yang moved to the Battle Phase, and Goncalves Tributed Poplar to revive Linkuriboh. Poplar placed Flamberge in the back row. Yang sent Mirrorjade to attack Linkuriboh, which Goncalves Tributed to drop Mirrorjade to 0 ATK this turn. Yang did not redeclare an attack, and passed. In the End Phase, Little Knight and Quem returned to play. Yang then used Mirrorjade, sending Albion the Branded Dragon to the Graveyard to banish Little Knight permanently. Quem triggered and Special Summoned Cartesia. Then, Albion’s effect Set Branded in Red on the field.
Goncalves Normal Summoned Snake-Eye Oak, targeting Ash in the Graveyard. Yang responded with Cartesia, fusing it with Mirrorjade for Granguignol the Dusk Dragon in Defense Position. Goncalves activated Divine Temple, targeting Flamberge, as Chain Link 1; and Ash as Chain Link 2. Yang had Granguignol as Chain Link 3, and Quem as Chain Link 4. Yang then flipped Branded in Red, targeting Fallen of Albaz as Chain Link 5. Finally… Albaz fused with Quem for Albion the Sanctifire Dragon, Granguignol sent Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon to the Graveyard, Quem revived Mirrorjade, Ash added Poplar to Goncalves’s hand, and Temple Special Summoned Flamberge.
Now, a new chain started after everything that happened. Goncalves activated the Poplar he’d just added to his hand. Yang responded with Sanctifire, targeting Gimmick Puppet Nightmare from his Graveyard and Heatsoul from Goncalves’s. He stole the Heatsoul and Goncalves received the Gimmick Puppet Nightmare. Poplar had no space to be Special Summoned after this, and the Gimmick Puppet Nightmare shut down further Special Summons! Yang used Heatsoul to draw Forbidden Droplet. Goncalves continued, using Flamberge targeting Mirrorjade. Yang Chained Mirrorjade, sending Titaniklad the Ash Dragon to the Graveyard to banish Flamberge. Then Mirrorjade was moved to the back row. Goncalves saw the writing on the wall, and conceded this Duel!

Duel 2
Goncalves began with Poplar, adding Divine Temple to his hand. Then he played WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils to find Diabellstar. He played Divine Temple, placing Snake-Eye Ash in his back row. Then he Special Summoned Diabellstar by pitching a second WANTED. Diabellstar’s effect placed Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye on the field. He flipped it, sending Ash to Special Summon Snake-Eye Oak. Oak revived Ash, and Ash added Snake-Eye Birch to his hand. He used Ash’s effect, sending itself and Poplar to the Graveyard to Special Summon Snake-Eyes Flamberge Dragon from his Deck. Poplar’s effect let it place itself in the back row. Then he used Flamberge and Oak to Link Summon I:P Masquerena. Flamberge revived Ash and Oak. He used Diabellstar and I:P Masquerena to play Promethean Princess, reviving Flamberge. Flamberge put I:P Masquerena in the back row. He used WANTED’s Graveyard effect, returning Original Sinful Spoils to the Deck to draw a card. He used Oak and Promethean Princess to play Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf. He Special Summoned Birch, and used it to play Linkuriboh. Wolf returned Birch to the hand. Then he used Wolf and Linkuriboh to play Heatsoul and draw a card. He used Heatsoul and Ash to play Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess.

Yang had Called by the Grave, Branded Lost, Performapal Five-Rainbow Magician, Fallen of Albaz, and Triple Tactics Talent. He drew Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous. He started with Branded Lost, and Goncalves responded with Flamberge to Special Summon I:P Masquerena. He then used I:P Masquerena and Flamberge to Link Summon S:P Little Knight. Little Knight banished Branded Lost, and Flamberge returned Ash and Oak. Goncalves declined to use his new Snake-Eyes’ effects. Yang used Triple Tactics Talent to steal a monster. Goncalves thought about how to respond, and used S:P Little Knight to banish itself and Apollousa to prevent Yang from having them. Talents stole Snake-Eye Oak. He Normal Summoned Fallen of Albaz without using its effect. Goncalves used Divine Temple to Special Summon Poplar, which added Original Sinful Spoils to his hand. Yang Special Summoned Cartesia from his hand. He tried using Cartesia’s effect, and Goncalves flipped Infinite Impermanence. Yang Set Called by the Grave, then sent Oak to attack and lose in battle with Poplar. He passed. Goncalves used Linkuriboh to Tribute Poplar, which placed Flamberge in the back row. In the End Phase, Little Knight and Apollousa returned to play.
Goncalves used Linkuriboh and Ash to Link Summon Knightmare Phoenix, co-linked to Little Knight. He discarded a Flamberge for the cost. Yang flipped the targeted Called by the Grave, banishing that Flamberge. Yang then Chained Cartesia to try and Fusion Summon, and Goncalves responded with S:P Little Knight to banish itself and Albaz. Yang was now forced to fuse Cartesia with the Five-Rainbow Magician in his hand. Time was running low, he was behind on the field, and he didn’t want to reveal that card here. He decided to concede now, to have more time going first in the final Duel.

Duel 3
Yang began the final Duel with Exchange, two copies of Deck Lockdown, Albion the Shrouded Dragon, and Cartesia. He activated Albion the Shrouded Dragon, sending Albaz to the Graveyard to draw another Cartesia. He Special Summoned Cartesia and activated it, fusing with the other Cartesia for Granguignol. Goncalves had Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill to negate it. Yang played Deck Lockdown, then activated Exchange! Goncalves and the rest of his team laughed in shock. He revealed his hand of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion, Bonfire, and Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye. Yang exchanged his spare copy of Deck Lockdown for Goncalves’s Ash Blossom.
And then, unfortunately for our readers, the rest of Team Fala Galera and The Disciples defeated Team Normal Summon Aleister! With the overall team Match concluded, this Feature Match was also finished. There’s no way to know exactly how things would have finished with time running low, but we got two great Duels out of it, and we even got to see Exchange resolve! Congratulations to Fala Galera and The Disciples – they are moving on to the Top 16!