Ryan Newburn finished in third place at the 2009 U.S. National Championship, then went on to represent the United States at the World Championship. His opponent in this match is Sorosh Saberian, fourth place finisher at SHONEN JUMP Championship Toronto.

Saberian opened the match with a hand of “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness,” “Plaguespreader Zombie,” “Book of Moon,” “Dimensional Prison,” and 2 “Krebons.” He Set Book and ended. Newburn activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Plaguespreader Zombie,” “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” and another “Charge of the Light Brigade” to the Graveyard to search his Deck for another Lumina. He Summoned her, attacked, and Saberian turned her face-down with Book.

He Summoned “Mystic Tomato” next turn, attacked Lumina, and destroyed her. He Set Prison, Newburn Set a monster, and Saberian drew “Solemn Judgment.” He Normal Summoned “Krebons,” attacked with Tomato, and hit into “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” – Ryko sent “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior,” “Heavy Storm,” and “Brain Control” to destroy “Dimensional Prison,” and attacked with “Krebons.” Newburn Special Summoned “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness,” and a 1200 ATK “Emissary of Darkness Token.”

Saberian Tuned “Krebons” to Tomato, Synchro Summoned “Goyo Guardian,” and Set Solemn. Newburn attacked Goyo Guardan with the Token, activated “Honest’s” effect to destroy “Goyo Guardian,” then made a direct attack with Gorz. Saberian Summoned “Krebons,” Newburn discarded “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” for “Solar Recharge,” drew 2, and sent “Mezuki” and “Beckoning Light” to the Graveyard. He Summoned another “Mezuki” from his hand, removed the Graveyard copy to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie,” then Tuned it to “Mezuki” for “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.” Saberian responded with “Solemn Judgment” to negate the Summon.

Newburn Special Summoned “Judgment Dragon”! He cleared the field, attacked, and that was game!

Ryan Newburn makes short work of Sorosh Saberian in the first Duel, and the pressure is on! Newburn just had to win one more Duel to score a copy of “Dark End Dragon.” Saberian would now have to win 2 straight.

He opened Duel 2 with “Solemn Judgment,” “Call of the Haunted,” “Creature Swap,” “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” “Torrential Tribute,” and “Burial From a Different Dimension” – nothing of use. He Set 3 cards and ended. “Whatever, I lose to Heavy,” he said.

Newburn indeed activated “Heavy Storm”! Saberian Chained “Solemn Judgment,” clearly unhappy. Newburn Summoned “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin,” lost her to “Torrential Tribute” and play was to Saberian. He drew and Summoned “Zombie Master,” attacked for 1800 damage, and ended.

Newburn Summoned “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” discarded “Necro Gardna” for her effect, and Saberian Chained “Light-Imprisoning Mirror”! Newburn ended, Saberian drew “Goblin Zombie,” and he Summoned it to attack Lumina. Newburn removed “Necro Gardna” to block the attack, Saberian tried to weigh the risk of Newburn having “Honest” in-hand to destroy his “Zombie Master,” and he eventually decided not to attack Lumina.

Newburn activated “Solar Recharge,” discarding Lumina, to draw 2 and send “Honest” and “Mystical Space Typhoon” to his Graveyard. He Normal Summoned “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” attacked “Goblin Zombie,” and Saberian searched his Deck for “Mezuki” with Goblin’s effect. Lumina attacked “Zombie Master,” Newburn activated “Honest,” and Saberian dropped to 2400 Life Points. Newburn Set a Spell or Trap and Saberian activated “Call of the Haunted” to bring back “Zombie Master” in the End Phase.

He pitched “Mezuki” for “Lightning Vortex” next turn, clearing the way for “Zombie Master” to attack. Newburn dropped to 4400 Life Points, and in Main Phase 2 Saberian removed “Mezuki” to Special Summon “Goblin Zombie” in Defense Position. Newburn Set a second Spell or Trap with one card left in hand.

Saberian had “Creature Swap,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” and “Burial From a Different Dimension” in hand, with “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” “Goblin Zombie,” and “Zombie Master” with “Call of the Haunted” attached. He attacked with “Zombie Master” a third time and Newburn was down to 2600 Life Points.

He drew to 2 cards in hand, activated “Dust Tornado” to destroy “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” then activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Dust Tornado,” “Shiny Black “C”,” and “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard to get Lyla from his Deck. He Summoned her, attacked “Goblin Zombie,” and Saberian got another “Mezuki” from his Deck. Newburn destroyed “Call of the Haunted,” and thus “Zombie Master” in Main Phase 2 with Lumina’s effect. Lyla sent 3 cards to the Graveyard.

Saberian drew “Tragoedia” and began talking himself through his situation: “It doesn’t make sense if that’s not a defensive Trap,” he mused, mulling over his opponent’s face-down in the Spell & Trap Card Zone. After a bit of thought, Saberian activated “Burial From a Different Dimension,” sending “Mezuki” back to his Graveyard. He removed it to bring up “Zombie Master,” discarded “Mezuki” to Bring back “Goblin Zombie,” then tributed it for “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” removing Newburn’s face-down “Mirror Force” from play! Saberian had made the right read – Newburn’s Set card had indeed been a defensive Trap. “Zombie Master” attacked Lyla, Caius attacked, and Newburn removed “Necro Gardna” to block the damage. Saberian Set a card to his back row.

Newburn passed with 2 cards in hand. Saberian checked Newburn’s Graveyard for “Shiny Black “C”,” verified that there was just one copy, and discarded “Pyramid Turtle” for “Zombie Master’s” effect to bring up “Goblin Zombie” in Attack Position. He Normal Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie,” Tuned it to Caius to Synchro Summon “Colossal Fighter,” and lost Colossal to Shiny “C”. He then removed “Mezuki,” brought back “Plaguespreader Zombie,” Tuned it to “Zombie Master,” and Synchro Summoned “Goyo Guardian”! Newburn only had 2600 Life Points, and by making just one big attack, Saberian eliminated the possibility of being stopped by Gorz. Newburn conceded.

Both competitors made use of their Side Decks. Duel 3 began swiftly – the winner of this Duel would take home the “Dark End Dragon.”

Newburn opened with “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior” and a Set Spell or Trap. Saberian had two “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” “Call of the Haunted,” “Pyramid Turtle,” “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” and “Zombie Master.” He Set Turtle, Set Mirror, and ended.

Newburn flipped “Heavy Storm,” destroying “Light-Imprisoning Mirror.” “Charge of the Light Brigade” sent 2 copies of “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” and “Plaguespreader Zombie” to his Graveyard, searching out his third Lyla. He Summoned Lumina, discarded Lyla to Special Summon her, then attacked with her to destroy “Pyramid Turtle.” Saberian Special Summoned another Turtle in Defense Position and Newburn didn’t attack again. A Set card to his back row ended his turn, and he sent a total of 10 cards to his Graveyard – including 2 “Shiny Black “C”” and a Lightsworn with Garoth.

Saberian drew “Tragoedia.” He Normal Summoned “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” Tuned it to “Pyramid Turtle,” and Synchro Summoned “Black Rose Dragon.” He activated its effect, Newburn Chained “Beckoning Light,” and took back Lumina, Lyla and “Honest.” The field was cleared – Newburn would get hammered by that second “Light-Imprisoning Mirror” if he tried to use Lumina’s effect.

Saberian knew that and Set “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” feigning weakness. Newburn drew to 4 cards in hand (Saberian had 3), and he Summoned Lyla. He attacked for 1700 damage, tried to use her effect, and Saberian Chained the Mirror. He drew “Plaguespreader Zombie” next turn.

Saberian Summoned “Zombie Master,” discarded “Tragoedia,” Special Summoned “Pyramid Turtle” in Defense Position, and Set “Call of the Haunted.” He sent “Zombie Master” into Lyla, Newburn activated “Honest’s” effect, and “Zombie Master” was destroyed. The Duel stood at 4600 Life Points to Newburn’s 8000. Play was to Newburn.

He activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” to the Graveyard – the Mirror kept Wulf pinned down, and Newburn searched out “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin.” “Nice. For me, anyway,” quipped Saberian. Newburn set a card on top of his Deck, Special Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and Tuned it to Lyla to Synchro Summon Brionac. He discarded Lumina to bounce “Pyramid Turtle,” attacked, and Saberian took the 2300 damage, dropping to 2300. Newburn ended.

Saberian drew “Mezuki”! He flipped “Call of the Haunted,” brought back “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” and halved Brionac’s ATK. He Summoned “Pyramid Turtle,” attacked over Brionac, and made a direct attack with Gale. Newburn was down to 6650 Life Points. Saberian ended.

Newburn Summoned Jain, attacked over Gale, and destroyed it. Newburn ended with one card left in hand. Saberian turned Turtle to Defense Position, Set a monster, Set a Spell or Trap, and ended. Newburn attacked the Set monster – “Mezuki.” He Set a monster, Set a Spell or Trap and ended.

Saberian activated “Allure of Darkness,” drawing “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer” and “Sangan.” He removed “Sangan,” Normal Summoned Kycoo, and removed “Mezuki” to Special Summon “Zombie Master.” “Zombie Master” attacked Jain, Newburn flipped “Mirror Force,” and Kycoo and “Zombie Master” were both destroyed!

Jain attacked “Pyramid Turtle,” getting “Mezuki” in Attack Position. Newburn Set a monster, Saberian drew “Dimensional Prison,” and Set another Spell or Trap card before attacking “Necro Gardna” with “Mezuki.” Jain attacked “Mezuki,” was removed by “Dimensional Prison,” and Newburn had 1 card left in hand with 1 monster Set. Newburn ended.

Saberian drew “Krebons,” Summoned it, attacked with “Mezuki” into another “Shiny Black “C”,” and attacked for 1200 with “Krebons.” Newburn activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sent all of his remaining Lightsworn to his Graveyard, and couldn’t get a card as a result. He still had “Judgment Dragon” in his Deck. He Set one card to his back row, ended, and took 1200 damage from “Krebons.” He removed “Necro Gardna” to negate “Mezuki’s” attack, and Saberian Set another Spell or Trap card. Newburn activated “Solar Recharge” next turn, discarded Celestia for it, drew 2 cards, and sent 2 more to the Graveyard – did he draw “Judgment Dragon”?

He did! He Special Summoned it in defense as time ticked down, but lost it to “Bottomless Trap Hole”! Newburn had one card left in his Deck. Saberian drew, and time was called. Newburn took attacks from “Krebons” and “Mezuki.” Newburn had 1350 Life Points and Saberian at 1800. Newburn conceded next turn!

Sorosh Saberian returns to Toronto with a copy of “Dark End Dragon”!

Post-Event Analysis!
See what our expert had to say about this Duel after the event was over.

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Sometimes you need to Set a bunch of Spell and Trap Cards and risk your opponent activating “Heavy Storm.” In the second Duel, Sorosh Saberian Set three cards, fully aware that he would be at a huge disadvantage if Newburn had “Heavy Storm.” Newburn had it and Saberian was forced to pay 4000 LP to negate it with “Solemn Judgment.” Although Saberian was displeased with that outcome, I still believe he made the right play. Saberian knew there was a high chance that Newburn didn’t have “Heavy Storm,” which would’ve left him in great position with his face-down cards. Saberian also knew that even if Newburn did activate “Heavy Storm,” “Solemn Judgment” would negate it and keep him in the game.