Round 7 Feature Match: Steffon Bizzel vs. Paul Squires
Both Duelists in this Feature Match have perfect 6-0 records and a great shot at making Day 2. Steffon Bizzell is running a Zombie Deck, and Paul Squires is using Blackwings. This should be a great Match.
Bizzell won the die roll and chose to go first. His opening hand consisted of “Allure of Darkness,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” “Armageddon Knight,” and “Morphing Jar.” He drew “Destiny Hero – Malicious” as his first draw. He Summoned “Armageddon Knight” for his opening play and dumped “Necro Gardna” to his Graveyard with its effect. He Set “Bottomless Trap Hole” and ended his turn.
Squires Summoned Bora on his first turn, and lost it to Bizzell’s “Bottomless Trap Hole.” Squires then Set 1 card and ended his turn.
Bizzell top Decked “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind” and activated “Allure of Darkness.” He drew “Goblin Zombie” and “Mystical Space Typhoon.” He removed Malicious from play with “Allure of Darkness’s” effect. Next, Bizzell Normal Summoned “Goblin Zombie” and attacked with both of his monsters. “Goblin Zombie” sent “D.D. Crow” from the top of the Deck to Squire’s Graveyard. Squires had 5500 Life Points left. Bizzell Set “Mysical Space Typhoon” and ended his turn.
On his next turn, Squires Summoned “Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame” and declared an attack on “Armageddon Knight.” The attack was successful! Bizzell lost 400 Life Points and Shura recruited “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” from his Deck. In his second Main Phase, Squires Synchro Summoned “Magical Android” by Tuning Vayu with Shura and Set one more card to his back row. During Squires’s End Phase, Bizzell flipped “Mystical Space Typhoon” to destroy the “Book of Moon” Squires just Set.
On Bizzell’s turn he drew “Mezuki.” He Summoned “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind” and used its effect to halve the ATK of “Magical Android.” Gale attacked Android and “Goblin Zombie” attacked directly. Shura was sent to the Graveyard from the top of Squires’ Deck and Squires dropped to 4900 Life Points. Bizzell ended his turn.
Squires drew for his turn and then Summoned “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North.” He targeted Shura with its effect. He had 3 cards in his hand, 1 card in his back row, and 2 monsters on his field. Bizzell had 3 cards in his hand with a “Goblin Zombie” and Gale on the field. Squire declared a Synchro Summon by Tuning Blizzard with Shura and Synchro Summoned “Blackwing Armed Wing.” He attacked Gale, but the attack was blocked by “Necro Gardna.”
On Bizzell’s next turn he drew a “Book of Life.” First, he used Gale’s effect to halve “Blackwing Armed Wing’s” ATK. Then he Tuned Gale to “Goblin Zombie” to Summon “Black Rose Dragon” and activated its effect. Squires’s Armed Wing and a Set Icarus Attack were destroyed. Bizzell searched his Deck for “Zombie Master” with the effect of “Goblin Zombie,” then Summoned it along with “Dark Armed Dragon.” Squires scooped up his cards, knowing he wouldn’t survive the turn.
Both players Side Decked and Squires chose to begin Duel 2. He activated 2 copies of “Black Whirlwind” and Summoned “Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow.” He searched his deck for “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North” and “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind” with his two copies of Whirlwind. Then, he Set “Icarus Attack” and ended his turn.
Bizzell opened up with “Book of Life,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Soul Exchange,” “Mezuki,” and “Mystical Space Typhoon.” He drew “Torrential Tribute” on his first turn. Bizzell thought for a little while and then activated “Mystical Space Typhoon” on “Icarus Attack.” He then Summoned Mezuki and attacked Kalut. Kalut was destroyed and Squires dropped to 7700 Life Points. Bizzell Set 2 cards and ended his turn.
On Squires’s next turn, he Summoned Blizzard and targeted Kalut. He made Blizzard’s effect Chain Link 1, and the effects of Black Whirlwind Chain Links 2 and 3. Bizzell flipped Torrential. “Mezuki” and Blizzard were destroyed, then Kalut was special Summoned to the field. Squires Set one more card to his back row and ended his turn.
On his next turn, Bizzell drew “Bottomless Trap Hole.” He then flipped his face-down “Book of Life” and Special Summoned “Mezuki” from his Graveyard by removing Blizzard from his opponent’s Graveyard. “Mezuki” attacked and Kalut was destroyed.
Squires Summoned another Kalut on his next turn, searching for Blizzard and Vayu with the effects of his two “Black Whirlwinds.” He then Special Summoned Gale and halved the ATK of “Mezuki.” Kalut attacked “Mezuki” and Gale attacked directly to drop Bizzell down to 6150 Life Points. It was a rough turn for Bizzell, who was stuck with a “Bottomless Trap Hole” face-down against Squires’s two low attackers.
On his next turn, Bizzell drew Necro Gardna. He Set it and ended his turn. Play passed to Squires who activated a third “Black Whirlwind”! He Tributed Kalut for “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn.” Bizzell flipped “Bottomless Trap Hole” to remove Sirocco from play. Gale attacked “Necro Gardna” and the attack bounced off of it. He halved Gardna’s stats in Main Phase 2 by using Gale’s effect. Squires ended his turn, Bizzell drew Burial, he Set it, and then he ended his turn too.
On Squires’ next turn, he used Gale to attack the “Necro Gardna” with its stats halved, and destroyed it. He ended his turn. He had 3 “Black Whirlwinds” but no Blackwings to Summon.
Bizzell drew “My Body as a Shield” next turn and ended his turn immediately.
On Squires’ next turn, he drew and Summoned “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.” Kycoo and Gale attacked, dropping Bizzell to 3050 Life Points and removing all of his monsters from the Graveyard.
Bizzell drew “Brain Control” next turn. He already had “Dark Armed Dragon,” “My Body as a Shield,” and “Soul Exchange,” in his hand. He activated “Brain Control,” dropped to 2250 Life Points, and gained control of Squires’ Gale. He then halved Kycoo’s ATK and declared an ATK against him with Gale. Squires used “Book of Moon” to flip Gale face-down and after Bizzell Set 1 more card in his back row, Squires got his Gale back.
Squires used “Allure of Darkness” next turn to draw 2 cards and remove a Vayu from play. Then he flipped his Gale back face-up and Synchro Summoned “Blackwing Armor Master” by Tuning Gale with Kycoo. “Blackwing Armor Master” tried to attack directly, but with “Necro Gardna” off the field, Bizzell was able to activate “Burial from a Different Dimension” to return “Necro Gardna” to his Graveyard and block the attack. In Main Phase 2, Squires Summoned Shura and searched for 3 copies of Bora with his 3 copies of “Black Whirlwind”!
Bizzell drew a card and Set a “Mystic Tomato” next turn. On Squires’ turn, he attacked “Mystic Tomato” with Bora, inflicting 600 damage to Bizzell’s Life Points. Bizzell dropped down to 1650 Life Points. Squires searched his Deck for another “Mystic Tomato” with the effect of his first one and Special Summoned it in Attack Position. Armor Master Attacked “Mystic Tomato” and Squires dropped Kalut from his hand to seal the game and reduce Bizzell’s Life Points to zero.
Bizzell would be going first in Duel 3. Side Decking was fast and play began quickly.
Bizzell had “Necro Gardna,” “Allure of Darkness,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” “Mystic Tomato,” and “Trap Dustshoot” in his opening hand. He drew “Dark Armed Dragon” on his first turn. He activated “Allure of Darkness” to draw “Soul Exchange” and “Heavy Storm,” removing “Necro Gardna” from play. He Set his Dustshoot along with a Tomato and ended his turn.
On Squires’s Draw Phase, Bizzell activated Dustshoot! Squires revealed his own Dustshoot, “Solemn Judgment,” “Book of Moon,” “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn,” “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North,” and Kycoo. Bizzell chose to send Kycoo back to Squires’ Deck. In Main Phase 1, Squires Summoned Sirocco and attacked Bizzell’s “Mystic Tomato.” Bizzell searched his Deck for “Goblin Zombie” with Tomato’s effect and Special Summoned it in attack mode. Squires Set 2 cards and ended his turn.
During Bizzell’s Draw Phase, he activated “Trap Dustshoot”! Squires revealed a “Heavy Storm,” “Soul Exchange,” “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” and “Dark Armed Dragon.” Caius was sent back to his Deck. Bizzell Set his “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” face-down and ended his turn.
“Man, Heavy and DAD,” Squires said. He sounded a bit disappointed about his current lack of good plays. He thought for a while about his next play and eventually decided to Special Summon Bora to the field. Bora attacked a Defense Position “Goblin Zombie” and inflicted 650 damage to Bizzell’s Life Points. That was the first damage Bizzell had taken. Bizzell searched his Deck for “Zombie Master” with “Goblin Zombie’s” effect. Squires attacked “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” with Siocco next. Bizzell sent “Necro Gardna,” Mezuki, and “My Body as a Shield” to the Graveyard with Ryko’s effect and destroyed Squires’ face-down “Book of Moon.” Squires acknowledged the three DARK monsters in his opponent’s Graveyard, Set a back row card, and ended his turn. He knew what was coming but could do nothing to stop it.
Bizzell drew another Soul Exchange next turn. Then he activated “Heavy Storm” to destroy Squires’s Set “Solemn Judgment,” and then he Summoned “Dark Armed Dragon”! “Dark Armed Dragon” destroyed Sirocco by removing “Mystic Tomato” from the game. Next, he Summoned “Zombie Master” to the field. “Dark Armed Dragon” attacked Bora and “Zombie Master” attacked directly. Bizzell Set 2 cards and ended his turn.
On his next turn, Squires Normal Summoned Blizzard and Special Summoned Bora from his Graveyard. He tuned his two monsters together for “Goyo Guardian” and then declared an attack on “Zombie Master.” Bizzell negated the attack with “Necro Gardna.” In Main Phase 2, Squires removed Bizzell’s “Goblin Zombie” from the Graveyard with “D.D. Crow.” On Bizzell’s turn, he attacked “Dark Armed Dragon” into Goyo, destroying them both, and attacked directly with “Zombie Master.” Squires had no cards on the field or in his hand and activated “Allure of Darkness.” He drew 2 cards, removed Shura from play and Set a “Brain Control.” Bizzell activated “Mystical Space Typhoon” to destroy it in the End Phase. On his next turn, Bizzell drew “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind.” He discarded it with “Zombie Master” and Special Summoned “Mezuki” from his Graveyard. With only 3300 Life Points left, Squires scooped up his cards.
Some awesome plays made by Bizzell give him a 2-1 win with his Zombie Deck. He’s now 7-0 in the tournament, advancing with a perfect record!
Post-Event Analysis!
See what our expert had to say about this Duel after the event was over.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
This Match was extremely well-played by Bizzell. I was especially impressed with the way he played the second Duel. Squires started out with 2 copies of “Black Whirlwind,” which made for a killer opening, but Bizzell managed to hold his own for most of the game. It was a great idea to Set the bluffs that he did throughout the Duel. They could have baited Spell and Trap destruction cards away from the Trap Cards like “Bottomless Trap Hole” and “Torrential Tribute” that he needed to protect as long as Squires had 2 copies of “Black Whirlwind” on the field.
