Round 10 Feature Match: Satoshi Kato vs. Yahya Omar
Satoshi Kato and Yahya Omar are both 7-2 headed into this round. Both competitors are playing Zombie variants, but while Omar is playing a more traditional Zombie build, Kato is running a new version of the Zombie Lightsworn Deck he played at SHONEN JUMP Championship Orlando. Both Duelists were holding out hopes that a win here might vault them into Day 2.
Kato opened the match with a hand of “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Tragoedia,” “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” “Charge of the Light Brigade,” and “Bottomless Trap Hole.” He activated Charge, sending “Solar Recharge,” another Lyla, and “Allure of Darkness” to his Graveyard to get “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior.” He Normal Summoned Lumina, discarded Garoth, Special Summoned it, and Set “Bottomless Trap Hole” to finish. He sent “Brain Control,” “Judgment Dragon,” “Lightning Vortex,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” and finally “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” to his Graveyard, Summoning Wulf and drawing “Burial From a Different Dimension” with Garoth’s effect! A huge start.
Omar activated “Allure of Darkness,” drew 2, and removed “Mystic Tomato” to complete Allure’s effect. He activated “Lightning Vortex,” discarded “Destiny Hero – Malicious,” and wiped Kato’s field. Omar summoned “Pyramid Turtle,” attacked for 1200 damage, Set a Spell or Trap and ended.
Kato drew “Heavy Storm.” He Summoned Lyla, activated her effect, and destroyed Omar’s Set “Torrential Tribute.” He removed “Judgment Dragon” and “Dark Armed Dragon,” Special Summoned “Chaos Sorcerer,” and removed “Pyramid Turtle” from the field! He sent “Goblin Zombie,” “Necro Gardna,” and “Zombie Master” to his Graveyard for Lyla in the End Phase.
Omar Summoned “Mezuki,” but Kato removed it with “Bottomless Trap Hole,” stopping it from going to the Graveyard where its effect would become useful. “Burial From a Different Dimension” sent Turtle and “Mezuki” back to the Graveyard next turn though, and Omar removed “Mezuki” to Special Summon Turtle back to the field. Turtle attacked Lyla, Kato removed “Necro Gardna” to block the attack, and Omar Set “Skill Drain.” Kato destroyed it next turn with “Heavy Storm,” then removed “Pyramid Turtle” with Sorcerer again! Omar reeled at the loss – he’d been counting on that “Skill Drain” to keep his Turtle safe. Kato Set another Spell or Trap, then sent 3 more cards to his Graveyard – including another “Necro Gardna.”
Omar Set a monster – his last card. Kato drew to three cards in hand, tributed Lyla to Summon “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” and destroyed Omar’s face-down “Mezuki.” Celestia and “Chaos Sorcerer” each attacked, and Omar was down to 3400 Life Points with Kato in control of the Duel.
Omar drew “Book of Life,” activated it, and targeted Kato’s “Necro Gardna” – he Chained Gardna’s effect, and Omar brought back his “Mezuki.” Kato Summoned a “Mezuki” of his own next turn and Omar conceded in the face of three attackers!
Satoshi Kato scores a huge opening with Lumina, Garoth, and Wulf on Garoth’s effect, playing aggressively to build on his momentum and capture the first Duel! Kato immediately dove for his Side Deck, thumbing through cards like “Needle Ceiling” and “Fiend Comedian” – cards that aren’t exactly common choices for most Duelists.
Omar got the second Duel started with “Mezuki,” and a Set Spell or Trap Card. Kato had “Burial From a Different Dimension,” “Honest,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” “Lightning Vortex,” “Necro Gardna,” and “Charge of the Light Brigade.” He activated Charge, sending “Torrential Tribute,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Zombie Master” to his Graveyard to get “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.” He Set it, Set “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and ended.
Omar attacked with “Mezuki,” hit Ryko, and Ryko destroyed Omar’s face-down “Bottomless Trap Hole” while sending “Tragoedia,” “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and “Goblin Zombie” to the Graveyard. Omar Set another Spell or Trap.
Kato drew “Solar Recharge,” and Set “Necro Gardna” to try and protect himself until he could draw a real hand. “Mezuki” attacked “Necro Gardna,” Kato drew “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” and he discarded her for “Solar Recharge.” That got him another Lyla and another Charge. He Summoned Lyla, activated her effect, destroyed Omar’s bluffed “Heavy Storm,” and then sent another “Necro Gardna,” “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin,” and Burial to the Graveyard.
Omar activated “Allure of Darkness,” drew 2, and removed “Necro Gardna.” He activated “Reinforcement of the Army,” got “Dark Grepher” from his Deck, and Normal Summoned “Dark Grepher.” He discarded “Destiny Hero – Malicious” for Grepher’s effect with priority, sending “Plaguespreader Zombie” to his Graveyard from his Deck. Kato didn’t use the Bottomless on Grepher.
Omar activated “Book of Life,” brought back his “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and targeted “Necro Gardna” – Kato Chained it like before. Omar Tuned Plaguespreader to “Mezuki,” Synchro Summoned “Doomkaiser Dragon,” targeted Kato’s “Zombie Master,” and Special Summoned it. Kato let both monsters be Special Summoned, not using “Bottomless Trap Hole.” He asked Omar if he would discard a card for “Zombie Master’s” effect with priority (in which case he’d Chain the Bottomless), but Omar did not activate the effect at quite that time.
He passed priority instead, then discarded “Mezuki” moments later to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie” again. He Tuned “Plaguespreader Zombie” to “Doomkaiser Dragon,” losing Zombie Master, and Synchro Summoned “Colossal Fighter” – Kato now flipped Bottomless! Colossal Fighter was removed. “Mezuki” attacked Lyla, but was repelled by the first “Necro Gardna.”
Kato activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Brain Control,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and “Mezuki” to the Graveyard to get “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior” from his Deck. He removed “Mezuki,” Special Summoned “Zombie Master,” and discarded Garoth for Zombie Mater’s effect to target one of Omar’s monsters – Omar immediately offered the handshake.
Satoshi Kato takes a 2-0 victory over Yahya Omar, finishing in Day 1 with an 8-2 record! Kato is now left to hope for massive tiebreakers to carry him to Day 2!
Post-Event Analysis!
See what our panel of experts had to say about this Duel after the event was over.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Satoshi Kato’s Deck has a lot of advantages over normal Lightsworn Decks because of how well it benefits from cards being sent to the Graveyard. He likes to get DARK and LIGHT monsters into the Graveyard to Summon “Chaos Sorcerer,” Lightsworn monsters into the Graveyard to Summon “Judgment Dragon,” and “Mezuki” and other Zombies into the Graveyard so he can Special Summon some from there. Plus he wants to get “Necro Gardna” into the Graveyard so he can stop some of the opponent’s attacks. In fact, Satoshi Kato’s Deck is full of cards he’d like to see sent to the Graveyard, which makes the Lightsworn monsters more beneficial to him than they are to the typical Lightsworn player.
Matt Peddle (2009 Canadian National Championship Runner-Up; Five-Time Top 8 National Finalist)
With a “Burial from a Different Dimension” in hand, Omar could have removed “Destiny Hero – Malicious” with his “Allure of Darkness” instead of “Mystic Tomato.” That would have allowed him to Set the Tomato, Special Summon “Sangan” once the Tomato was destroyed, and search “Plaguespreader Zombie” once “Sangan” hit the Graveyard as well. Since Kato had a bunch of monsters out, that would have all happened next turn. Omar would be free to pitch either Plaguespreader or his “Mezuki” next turn, allowing him to maximize the effectiveness of “Burial from a Different Dimension” instead of having to use it for just one “Mezuki.”
Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
That was a fantastic move by Kato, holding on to his face down “Bottomless Trap Hole” for as long as possible before finally using it on the “Colossal Fighter” that would have caused a lot of problems for him.
