Daniel Brown is playing one of the more unusual Decks at the top tables. The Deck list reads like half a Lightsworn Deck and half a Blackwing Deck, stuck together. It’s weird, but it seems to work – Brown is 7-1 going into this round.

His opponent here in Round 8 is Herman Herrera, playing “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” with “Charge of the Light Brigade.” This is a tough match to predict the outcome for, and it’ll be interesting to see how these Decks do against each other. Neither player had knowledge of what his opponent was playing.

Brown opened the match with two “Solar Recharges,” “Burial From a Different Dimension,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn,” and “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor.” He Set Vayu as his only move. Herrera Normal Summoned “Dark Grepher,” discarded “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” for Grepher’s effect, and sent “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn” to his Graveyard. Grepher ran over Brown’s Vayu and in Main Phase 2 Herrera activated “Allure of Darkness,” drawing two cards and removing from play his “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He Set a card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone to finish.

Brown drew “Brain Control.” He activated it, took control of “Dark Grepher,” and discarded Sirocco for Grepher’s effect to search his Deck for “Necro Gardna.” Gardna hit the Graveyard and Brown Special Summoned “Dark Armed Dragon.” He removed “Necro Gardna” for Dark Armed’s effect with priority, but Herrera Chained the targeted card: “Bottomless Trap Hole.” “Dark Armed Dragon” was removed from the game. Brown removed Vayu and Sirocco, Special Summoned “Blackwing Armed Wing,” and attacked with “Dark Grepher.”

“Gorz the Emissary of Darkness” hit the field, Special Summoned from Herrera’s hand! “Blackwing Armed Wing” destroyed Herrera’s “Emissary of Darkness Token,” and Brown Set “Burial From a Different Dimension.”

Herrera was up, taking back his Grepher. He activated “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and Brown Chained Burial to send Vayu, Sirocco, and “Necro Gardna” back to his Graveyard. Moments later though, Herrera was Special Summoning two more “Blackwing Armed Wings,” courtesy of another Grepher discard! “Brain Control” let him take Brown’s Armed Wing, and not even “Necro Gardna” was enough to keep Brown in the Duel!

Herman Herrera makes short work of Duel 1, simply pushing harder and faster (and Special Summoning more “Blackwing Armed Wings”) than Daniel Brown. One more like that and Herrera would have a great chance at making Day 2. Both competitors spent the full amount of time allotted putting their Side Decks to work. Brown was up.

He opened with “Heavy Storm,” “Brain Control,” “Icarus Attack,” “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” “Torrential Tribute,” and “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin.” He Summoned Jain, Set a card to his back row, and sent two copies of “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” to his Graveyard with Jain’s effect!

Herrera Summoned “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” destroyed Brown’s face-down “Heavy Storm” with Lyla’s effect, and sent three cards to his Graveyard – but nothing of immediate use. Brown Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie,” attacked Lyla with it, then made a direct attack with Jain. A Set Spell or Trap finished his turn, and he sent “Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Dark Grepher” to his Graveyard. Herrera Set a monster next turn.

Brown Tributed “Plaguespreader Zombie” for “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn,” but lost his Sirocco to “Bottomless Trap Hole.” Jain attacked into Herrera’s face-down “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter,” and Herrera sent “Dimensional Alchemist,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” and Sirocco to his Graveyard with Ryko’s effect. He drew, Summoned “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer,” and Brown flipped “Torrential Tribute.” Herrera had four cards left in his hand.

Brown drew to four himself, and Summoned “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind” for a direct attack. He Set a card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone, ended, and Herrera Set a monster, then a back row card. Brown activated “Allure of Darkness,” removed “Chaos Sorcerer” for Allure’s effect, and attacked into Herrera’s Vayu. “I’ll pass my turn.”

Herrera removed Vayu and Sirroco next turn, Special Summoning “Blackwing Armed Wing.” But when it attacked, Brown destroyed it and “Mirror Force” with “Icarus Attack.” Herrera Set a monster, then a card to his back row. Brown Set a Spell or Trap, ended, and Herrera Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He Flip Summoned “Necro Gardna,” Tuned it to “Plaguespreader Zombie” for “Magical Android,” and attacked for 2400 damage.

Brown discarded “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” for “Solar Recharge,” sending two more Lightsworn to the Graveyard after drawing two. “Allure of Darkness” got him another two draws, but removed his “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.” Brown activated “Brain Control,” Herrera Chained “Necro Gardna’s” effect, and Brown Summoned “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner.” He discarded “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” to Summon her, turned her to Defense Position to target Herrera’s face-down Burial, and Herrera Chained it, reclaiming his “Necro Gardna,” Vayu, and Sirocco. He attacked with Lumina, “Magical Android,” and “Plaguespreader Zombie,” then Tuned Plaguespreader to Android in Main Phase 2 to bring out “Black Rose Dragon.” He didn’t use its effect, and ended his turn to send six cards to his Graveyard – including two copes of “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn.”

Herrera once again Set a monster, then a Spell or Trap. He had 2100 Life Points remaining, and Brown had 4800. Brown removed Vayu and Sirocco to Special Summon Armed Wing, attacked with Armed Wing to destroy Herrera’s face-down Gardna, and Herrera removed it to block attacks from “Black Rose Dragon” and Lumina. Next turn Herrera removed Vayu and Sirocco for another Armed Wing in Defense Position – Brown was losing six cards a turn from his Deck. Herrera Set a monster, then Special Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie” from his Graveyard in Defense Position. He was out of “Necro Gardnas,” but only had to survive one turn.

Brown turned Lyla to Attack Position, then removed another Vayu and Sirocco to Special Summon Armed Wing. Lumina attacked “Plaguespreader Zombie,” Lyla attacked Armed Wing, and “Black Rose Dragon” attacked Herrera’s face-down “D.D. Crow.” Brown tried to attack for game with Armed Wing, but Herrera flipped “Burial From a Different Dimension”! He returned two “Necro Gardnas” back to his Graveyard and it was over! Brown couldn’t finish off his opponent this turn, and the Lightsworn ladies would make off with what was left of his Deck in the End Phase.

Brown gave his Graveyard a cursory search for some sort of answer, but he was locked with all of his Monster Zones filled. He offered the handshake and conceded.

Herman Herrera sweeps the match, winning the first Duel with a flood of Special Summons, and the second Duel by deck-out! He’s now just one win away from Day 2!