Seth Hopkins from Woodbury, Minnesota and Kevin Le from Toronto are both currently 1-0 in the 2025 North America Remote Duel YCS. Now, they’re Dueling against one another from home in this Round 2 Feature Match! Hopkins is using a K9 Branded Dracotail Deck. Branded Dracotail Decks have recently become one of the most popular competitive Decks, but the inclusion of K9 cards in Hopkins’s Deck separates it from the more typically used strategies. Le is competing this weekend with a Sky Striker Deck that uses Radiant Typhoon Vision from Doom of Dimensions to help fill the Graveyard with Spell Cards! Sky Striker Decks are a fan-favorite, and Le is hoping that his Deck will be able to win him a YCS trophy this weekend. It’s time to Duel!

Duel One

Hopkins started off the first Duel by activating Branded Fusion! He sent Fallen of Albaz and Dracotail Phryxul from his Deck to his Graveyard to Special Summon Albion the Branded Dragon. He used the effects of Phryxul and Albion as Chain Links 1 and 2. He used Albion’s effect to banish the Albion on his field and the Fallen of Albaz from his Graveyard to Special Summon Lubellion the Searing Dragon and then used Phryxul’s effect to Set Rahu Dracotail from his Deck to his field. Next, he activated Lubellion’s effect in a new Chain by discarding Mulcharmy Fuwalos. He returned Albaz and Albion from banishment to his Deck to Special Summon Mirrorjade the Ice Blade Dragon. He activated Ketu Dracotail next, and added Dracotail Lukias from his Deck to his hand. He Normal Summoned it and then activated its effect to add Dracotail Faimena from his Deck to his hand. He activated Faimena’s effect by discarding it to fuse Lukias and Lubellion on his field and Summon Secreterion Dragon, then used Lukias’s effect to Set Dracotail Flame from his Deck to his field. Next, he activated Secreterion Dragon’s effect. He Special Summoned Phryxul by returning Lubellion to his Extra Deck and used Phryxul’s effect on the field to Special Summon Faimena back from his Graveyard and return Faimena to his hand. Next, he activated Rahu Dracotail. He sent Faimena from his hand and Dracotail Urgula from his Deck to his Graveyard to Special Summon Dracotail Gulamel. He used the effects of Faimena and Urgula to Set Dracotail Sting and Dracotail Horn from his Deck to his back row and then used the effect of the Urgula in his Graveyard. He returned Urgula to his Deck and added Faimena back to his hand from the Graveyard. He ended his turn.

Le activated Radiant Typhoon Vision in the Draw Phase, and when Hopkins Chained Dracotail Flame to try to negate it, Le Chained Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the Vision! It couldn’t be negated by Flame since it wasn’t on the field, and Hopkins resolved the Vision’s effect to draw 2 cards and discard a Radiant Typhoon Vision. In the Standby Phase, Hopkins activated Dracotail Sting to return Mystical Space Typhoon from Le’s Graveyard to his Deck, return Flame from his own Graveyard to his Deck, and draw a card. Le activated Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero next and then activated Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole. Hopkins flipped Horn targeting Phryxul, then Chained Gulamel’s effect to target Multirole for destruction. Le Chained Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor to try to negate Gulamel’s effect, and Hopkins Chained the effect of Faimena in his hand. Next, Le Chained Forbidden Droplet by sending a Mulcharmy Fuwalos from his hand and a Widow Anchor from his field to the Graveyard. Droplet resolved to negate the effects of Gulamel and Mirrorjade and halve their ATK, and when Faimena’s effect resolved, Hopkins fused Secreterion Dragon from his field with Dracotail Mululu from his hand to Summon Khaos Starsource Dragon. Dracotail Horn resolved to return Phryxul to Hopkins’s hand and return a card from his Graveyard to his Deck so that he could draw a card. He used his Khaos Starsource Dragon’s effect to destroy the Multirole in a new Chain. With that, Le conceded.

A powerful opening with Branded Fusion allows Seth Hopkins to take a quick victory over Kevin Le’s Sky Striker Deck in the first Duel of the Match!

Duel Two

Le chose to go first in Duel 2 and started off by activating Radiant Typhoon Vision in the Draw Phase. He drew 2 cards and then discarded a Widow Anchor from his hand. In his Main Phase, he activated Heat Wave! Hopkins Chained the effect of Dracotail Faimena in his hand by discarding it, Le Chained the effect of PSY-Framegear Gamma in his hand, and then Le Chained Sky Striker Mobilize – Linkage! He sent Heat Wave to the Graveyard to Summon Sky Striker Ace = Zero with Linkage and then Special Summoned Gamma from his hand and PSY-Frame Driver from his Deck after negating the activation of Faimena’s effect and destroying Faimena. Le tried to use Zero’s effect in a new Chain, but lost out when Hopkins activated Infinite Impermanence targeting the Zero. In the End Phase, Gamma and Driver were banished by the effect of Gamma.

Hopkins activated Ketu Dracotail to add Dracotail Faimena from his Deck to his hand and then, unable to Summon Effect Monsters due to the effect of Heat Wave, ended his turn with no cards on his field.

Le activated another Heat Wave at the start of his next turn’s Main Phase! Hopkins Chained the effect of Faimena in his hand and resolved its effect to fuse Kashtira Fenrir, K9-ØØ Lupis, and Dracotail Phryxul from his hand and Summon Dracotail Arthalion. He activated Arthalion’s effect targeting Zero on the field and targeting Faimena and Phryxul in his Graveyard to return them to the hand. He Chained Phryxul’s effect, which Set Dracotail Flame from his Deck. Next, Le activating Sky Striker Maneuver – Jamming Waves! to destroy the face-down Flame. Since he had 3 or more Spells in the Graveyard, Arthalion was destroyed by Jamming Waves too. Le ended his turn with no cards on his field.

Hopkins drew a card and passed his turn with no cards on his field, once again set back by Heat Wave’s effect.

Le activated Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero on his next turn and then Set a card to his back row. Hopkins immediately activated the effect of Faimena in his hand by discarding it and fused the Dracotail Mululu in his hand with the Dracotail Phryxul in his hand to Summon Dracotail Gulamel. He activated the effects of the Mululu and Phryxul he sent to the Graveyard as Chain Links 1 and 2, Chained the effect of the Arthalion in his Graveyard to Special Summon it since 2 monsters were sent to the Graveyard at the same time, and then Chained Gulamel’s effect as Chain Link 4, targeting Le’s face-down card. Le’s face-down Hand Destruction was destroyed, Arthalion returned to the field, and then Hopkins Set Rahu Dracotail and Ketu Dracotail from his Deck with the effects of Mululu and Phryxul. Le passed his turn with no cards left in his hand and only an Area Zero on his field.

Hopkins activated Rahu Dracotail on his next turn, sending Mululu from his hand and Urgula from his Deck to the Graveyard. He Summoned another Arthalion to the field and then used Arthalion’s effect to return Faimena from his Graveyard to his hand. He used the effects of Urgula and Mululu to Set Dracotail Horn and Dracotail Sting from his Deck. It was over moments later! Direct attacks from both copies of Arthalion and the Gulamel wiped out the rest of Le’s Life Points!

Le slows down Hopkins with two copies of Heat Wave in the second Duel, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from winning! Hopkins takes the 2-0 victory with his K9 Branded Dracotail Deck!