Round 6 Feature Match: Phil Chieng vs. Vincent Ralambomiadana
We looked at Vincent Ralambomiadana’s Deck earlier today in a Deck Profile, when we showed you his internationally-renowned French Twilight build. Now we’d get a chance to see Ralambomiadana’s deck in action, as he Duels Phil Chieng, who is playing Blackwings.
Chieng opened the match with “Allure of Darkness,” drawing 2 cards and removing “Dark Grepher.” He Set 1 card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone and ended. Ralambomiadana had “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin”, “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast”, “Tragoedia”, “Dark Armed Dragon,” and “Solar Recharge.” He activated Recharge, discarded Wulf, and drew another Lumina and “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He sent “Necro Gardna” and “Charge of the Light Brigade” to his Graveyard. He Normal Summoned Jain, lost her to “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and ended, secure with that “Tragoedia” in his hand.
Chieng had no followup though. He Set a Spell or Trap and that was all. Ralambomiadana drew “Judgment Dragon,” Summoned Lumina, and attacked for 1000 damage. Chieng dropped to 7000 Life Points. Lumina sent another Charge and 2 copies of “Honest” to the Graveyard.
Chieng activated two copies of “Black Whirlwind,” then Normal Summoned “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn.” He searched his Deck for “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North” and “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind.” “Brain Control” let him take Lumina, he Special Summoned Gale, and Tuned Gale to Lumina to Synchro Summon “Blackwing Armed Wing.” Sirocco attacked for 2000 damage, Ralambomiadana took it, and Special Summoned “Tragoedia” in Defense Position – it hit the field with 2400 ATK and DEF.
But Chieng had “Book of Moon”! He activated it, turned “Tragoedia” face-down, and attacked with “Blackwing Armed Wing,” forcing Ralambomiadana to activate “Necro Gardna’s” effect to save his monster.
Ralambomiadana Flip Summoned “Tragoedia”, attacked Sirocco, and destroyed it to dish out 1000 damage. He Normal Summoned “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” in Main Phase 2, tried to destroy Chieng’s Set “Icarus Attack,” and lost out as Chieng Chained it to blow away “Tragoedia” and Lyla. He’d Tributed “Blackwing Armed Wing” for the cost, though, and next turn all he did was Set a Spell or Trap.
Play was back to Ralambomiadana, who drew and activated “Charge of the Light Brigade.” He sent “Judgment Dragon,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” and “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” to his Graveyard to fetch another Lyla from his Deck. He Summoned Lumina, discarded “Plaguespreader Zombie,” brought back his previous Lyla, and used her effect to target Chieng’s Set “Book of Moon.” Chieng Chained it, turned Lumina face-down, and Ralambomiadana Special Summoned “Dark Armed Dragon”!
He placed Lyla on top of his Deck, Special Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and Tuned it to Lyla to Special Summon “Goyo Guardian”! Chieng only had 5200 Life Points left, while Ralambomiadana’s Dragon and Guardian had a combined 5600 ATK. Chieng conceded the Duel.
Vincent Ralambomiadana captures the first Duel, fending off early aggression with “Tragoedia” before closing the trap! Both competitors made ample use of their Side Decks before heading into the second Duel.
Chieng started off with a Set card to his back row. Ralambomiadana had 2 “Honests,” a “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “Royal Decree,” “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and “Monster Reincarnation.” He Summoned “Honest,” attacked for 1100 damage, and returned it to his hand. He Set “Mystical Space Typhoon” and ended.
Chieng Set another Spell or Trap, ended, and lost it in his End Phase – “Threatening Roar.” Ralambomiadana drew “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin,” attacked with “Honest” again, and Set “Royal Decree” before returning “Honest” to his hand. Chieng activated “Black Whirlwind,” Normal Summoned “Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame,” and got “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North” from his Deck. Shura attacked for 1800 damage.
Ralambomiadana drew “Judgment Dragon.” He Summoned Jain, Chieng Chained “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and Ralambomiadana Chained “Royal Decree”! Jain remained on the field, attacked Shura, and Chieng either didn’t have “Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow” or knew that Ralambomiadana’s “Honest” would make playing Kalut pointless. Ralambomiadana ended, sending “Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Allure of Darkness” to his Graveyard.
Chieng Summoned Blizzard, searched “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” from his Deck, and Special Summoned Shura with Blizzard’s effect. He Tuned Blizzard to Shura, Synchro Summoned “Blackwing Armed Wing,” and ran it into Jain – then flipped “Book of Moon” to turn Jain face-down and deal 1600 piercing damage. Ralambomiadana was down to 4600 Life Points and a Set Spell or Trap finished Chieng’s turn.
Ralambomiadana discarded “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” for “Monster Reincarnation,” taking back Jain. He Summoned Jain, attacked Armed Wing, and attacked over it for 2100 damage with “Honest.” Chieng was down to 3400 Life Points, and Jain sent “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” and “Chaos Sorcerer” to the Graveyard.
Another Blizzard got Chieng another Vayu from his Deck with “Black Whirlwind,” and Special Summoned Shura with its effect. He Tuned Blizzard to Shura again, this time Synchro Summoning “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier”! He discarded Vayu to bounce away Jain, removed Vayu and Armed Wing to Special Summon “Blackwing Armor Master” with Vayu’s effect, then attacked with both of his monsters for game!
Phil Chieng pulls ahead with “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier,” evening the score and pressing this match to a third Duel!
Ralambomiadana opened Duel 3 with “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Mystical Space Typhoon,” “Honest,” “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” and “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He Set “Mystical Space Typhoon,” Summoned Lumina, and sent “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Honest” to his Graveyard in the End Phase.
Chieng Set a monster, Set “Trap Dustshoot,” and lost it to “Mystical Space Typhoon” in the End Phase. Ralambomiadana drew “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” Summoned her, and attacked Chieng’s face-down “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” with Lumina. Lyla made a direct attack for 1700 damage, and Ralambomiadana sent 6 cards total to his Graveyard – including a “Necro Gardna.”
Chieng Normal Summoned “Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame,” attacked Lumina, and Ralambomiadana activated “Honest’s” effect to destroy Shura and dish out 1000 damage. Chieng was down to 5300 Life Points. He ended his turn without playing anything else to the field.
Ralambomiadana discarded “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” to Special Summon it with Lumina’s effect. He attacked with Lumina, attacked with Lyla, and attacked with Wulf to drop Chieng to 500 Life Points. He Normal Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie” in Main Phase 2, Tuned it to Lyla, and Synchro Summoned “Tempest Magician”! That was game – the Magician would burn away Chieng’s last few Life Points, and he offered Ralambomiadana the handshake.
2008 French Champion Vincent Ralambomiadana takes the match with French Twilight, sealing the deal with “Tempest Magician”!
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)
It’s important to check your opponent’s Graveyard for cards that can activate there, like “Plaguespreader Zombie” and “Necro Gardna.” In the first Duel, Phil Chieng used “Book of Moon” on “Tragoedia,” only to have his attack negated by “Necro Gardna.” The “Book of Moon” easily could have been put to better use later in the game. It’s also important to know when cards should be saved for later in the Duel. It’s a skill that only comes with practice and experience.
Matt Peddle (2009 Canadian National Championship Runner-Up; Five-Time Top 8 National Finalist)
Both players played an excellent Match here, and the play I want to comment on is a great one by Vincent. With “Royal Decree” and two copies of “Honest” in his hand, Vincent draws into “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin.” Instead of Summoning Jain, however, Vincent summons “Honest” again, attacks and returns “Honest” to his hand. This allows him to set Decree and use it to protect Jain next turn. He knows “Honest” doesn’t need to be defended because it was Summoned the turn before. Sure enough, the face-down turns out to be “Bottomless Trap Hole” and Vincent gets to negate it with “Royal Decree” and keep his monster.
Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
During Game 1, if Chieng had held on to his “Book of Moon” instead of activating it the moment “Tragoedia” hit the field, he could have used it next turn to flip it face-down and attack with both his monsters to ensure it would be destroyed. This way, Ralambomiadana would be unable to save the “Tragoedia” with his “Necro Gardna,” as he did in this Match.
