Five Lightsworn Decks made it to the Top 16 here today, and this Feature Match is a Lightsworn vs. Lightsworn mirror match. Brian Hines is wielding some new tech from Stardust Overdrive: “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit” and “Archlord Kristya.” If Hines can get Kristya into play he may have a big advantage over Ivan Anamaria’s Lightsworn. In theory, Kristya could give Hines the edge in reusing his “Honests” and could lock Anamaria out of his Special Summons. But with just 1 copy of Kristya in his Deck, would Hines even see the card in time to use it effectively? We were about to find out!

The Duelists wished each other good luck, and Hines opened the match with 2 “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoners,” “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Honest.” He activated Charge, sending “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter,” “Necro Gardna,” then a second “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard! A huge start for Hines as he fetched “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior” from his Deck.

He Normal Summoned Lumina, discarded Garoth, Special Summoned it, and ended, sending “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “My Body As A Shield,” “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit,” “Monster Reincarnation,” and “Beckoning Light” to the Graveyard. No draw with Garoth but Hines got to Special Summon that Wulf. “It’s your move” stated Hines, seeming confident.

Anamaria took a moment to read Shire’s effect, then Set one Spell or Trap Card. He Summoned Lumina, activated “Card Destruction,” and each Duelist got new hands: 3 cards for Anamaria and 4 for Hines. Anamaria activated “Gold Sarcophagus,” removing “Brain Control” from his Deck to claim it in 2 turns. With “Royal Decree,” “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin,” and “Honest” in his Graveyard, Anamaria discarded “Necro Gardna” to Special Summon Jain, then eyed the field.

He sent Jain to attack Lumina, and Hines removed one of his 2 “Necro Gardnas” to keep Lumina safe. Anamaria ended, sending “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” “Ehren, Lightsworn Monk,” “Plaguespreader Zombie,” “Necro Gardna,” and “Monster Reincarnation” to his Graveyard. Hines was up.

He discarded his third “Necro Gardna” for Lumina’s effect, bringing up Lyla. He activated her effect, destroyed Anamaria’s bluffed “Monster Reincarnation,” and entered his Battle Phase. Wulf attacked Lumina, and Anamaria repelled it with “Necro Gardna.” Garoth attacked next, and Anamaria removed another Gardna. Lumina attacked Anamaria’s Lumina and both monsters were destroyed. Hines Set two cards to his back row and ended. He sent “Waboku,” “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” “Archlord Kristya,” “Solar Recharge,” and “Charge of the Light Brigade” to his Graveyard. Again, no draw with Garoth.

Anamaria activated “Heavy Storm,” destroying Hines’ “My Body As A Shield” and “Mirror Force.” That left Anamaria with Jain on the field and one card in hand. Hines had Lyla in Defense Position, Garoth and Wulf in attack, and 2 cards in hand. Anamaria would get his “Brain Control” next turn, but it was unclear whether or not he’d survive that long. He sent Jain to attack Garoth and Hines blocked again with “Necro Gardna.” In the End Phase Anamaria lost Lumina and “Judgment Dragon” to the Graveyard – bad news. That Dragon was one of Anamaria’s few hopes in this Duel.

Hines attacked Jain with Garoth next turn, destroying it. Wulf attacked for 2100 Battle Damage, and Hines Set a card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone. In the End Phase Hines sent “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” to the Graveyard with Garoth’s effect, Special Summoning it and scoring another free draw.

Anamaria drew for his turn, then claimed his “Brain Control” from his ‘removed zone.’ He activated “Solar Recharge,” discarding “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid” to draw 2 cards and send Ryko and Garoth to the Graveyard. He activated “Brain Control,” took control of Lyla, and turned her to Attack Position. He activated her effect and Hines Chained the target – “Waboku”! Anamaria Tributed Lyla for Celestia, targeted Hines two copies of Wulf, and sent “Honest,” Lyla, “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast,” and his second “Judgment Dragon” to the Graveyard.

With no “Necro Gardnas” in his Graveyard and both “Judgment Dragons” gone, Anamaria was in a bad situation. He had one card left in hand that was unknown, and he ended his turn. Hines drew to 4 cards, activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” and sent “Beckoning Light,” Aurkus, and “Giant Trunade” to the Graveyard to get Jain. Hines was running low on cards in his Deck though – he had just 5 cards left. He Normal Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie,” Tuned it to Garoth, and Synchro Summoned “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.”

He discarded “Solar Recharge” to bounce away Celestia, attacked for 2300 damage, and Anamaria was down to 2750 Life Points. Next turn Anamaria activated Charge, sent Ryko, “Beckoning Light,” and another Charge to his Graveyard, and heaved a sigh – he really wanted to hit that last “Necro Gardna,” and Charge hadn’t helped. He took Aurkus from his deck, Summoned it, placed a card back on top of his Deck to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and Synchro Summoned “Ally of Justice Catastor”!

Catastor attacked Brionac, destroying it with its effect. Anamaria Set his last card to his back row and ended. Hines drew, and had “Solar Recharge,” Jain, and “Honest” – Anamaria had a real shot at pulling this out, but Hines still had “Plaguespreader Zombie” in his Graveyard. He Set Jain, Set Recharge, and ended. Catastor destroyed Jain next turn and Hines passed, taking a direct shot from Catastor. Anamaria Set a monster.

Hines drew Ehren and Normal Sumoned her. He attacked Anamaria’s face-down “Necro Gardna” and Ehren kicked it back into the Deck. He placed “Heavy Storm” back on top of his Deck, Tuned it to Ehren, and Synchro Summoned “Goyo Guardian.” Hines shook his head.

Anamaria discarded Celestia for “Solar Recharge,” drawing 2 cards and sending “Honest” and “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard. Catastor attacked and Hines removed “Necro Gardna.” Anamaria Set a second Spell or Trap Card. Hines activated “Heavy Storm,” but Anamaria Chained “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast”! Wind Blast sent Goyo back to the Extra Deck, leaving Hines to Set “Honest.” Anamaria Summoned Garoth, smacked into “Honest,” then destroyed “Honest” with Catastor. Hines drew “Torrential Tribute,” Set it, and ended with one card left in his Deck. Anamaria attacked with Garoth, then Catastor, leaving Hines at 1750 Life Points. Anamaria Set his last card, a monster.

Hines summoned Lyla, flipped “Torrential Tribute” to clear the field as one last act of defiance, and ended his turn with no cards left. Anamaria passed and Hines lost when he couldn’t draw.

A huge opening and early game falls flat, as Brian Hines just can’t finish the job and Decks out! Ivan Anamaria fights back in the mid and late game, coming back from a rough start to take the first Duel! Both competitors went straight for their Side Decks.

Hines opened with “Waboku,” “Beckoning Light,” “Burial From a Different Dimension,” “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” and “Necro Gardna.” He activated Charge, sending “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” “Heavy Storm,” and Kristya to the Graveyard – Beckoning would give him access to that Kristya later, but for now the Charge got him “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner.” Hines might want to get that Celestia going as quickly as possible to start stacking his Graveyard with Fairies, and “Necro Gardna” would let him do that.

He discarded Gardna, Special Summoning Lyla with Lumina’s effect. He ended, sending “Shire, Lightsworn Spirit,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” “My Body As A Shield,” “Monster Reincarnation,” “Honest,” and another “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard. He now had 2 Fairies in addition to Kristya itself in the Graveyard.

Anamaria discarded “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid” for “Solar Recharge,” drawing 2 and sending Recharge and Lyla to the Graveyard. “Charge of the Light Brigade” sent another Charge, Kycoo, and another Lyla to his Graveyard to get him Lumina. He Summoned her, discarded “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast” to Special Summon Lyla, and sent Lyla to attack Lumina. Hines removed “Necro Gardna.” Anamaria was in trouble – Lyla could destroy any 1 card he Set to his back row, while Celestia would destroy his monsters. He Set one card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone, then sent Celestia, “Monster Reincarnation,” “Honest,” “Monster Reincarnation,” “Royal Decree,” and “Plaguespreader Zombie” to his Graveyard in the End Phase.

Hines activated Lyla’s effect, targeting “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.” Anamaria Chained it, discarding “Bottomless Trap Hole” to send Lumina back to the top of his opponent’s Deck. Lyla was tributed for Celestia, sending Aurkus, “Mirror Force,” Lumina, and Jain to the Graveyard, destroying Lumina and Lyla. Hines still didn’t have his fourth Fairy. He Set two cards to his back row, attacked for 2300 Battle Damage, and ended.

Anamaria Special Summoned “Judgment Dragon”! He activated its effect, but Hines Chained “Beckoning Light” and “Burial From a Different Dimension”! He discarded “Waboku” and “Lightning Vortex,” taking back “Archlord Kristya” and Lumina. He then returned his “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard, and Celestia was destroyed. He still had only 3 Fairies in his Graveyard though – he’d need to draw one and discard it for Lumina’s effect to get Kristya onto the field – no easy task.

Anamaria Normal Summoned “Phantom of Chaos,” removed Lumina from his Graveyard to mimic her effect, then discarded another Phantom to Special Summon Aurkus in Defense Position. “Judgment Dragon” attacked for 3000 damage, Anamaria attacked for no damage with “Phantom of Chaos,” and he moved to his End Phase. He then sent “Honest,” “Lightning Vortex,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” “Solar Recharge,” “Brain Control,” “Necro Gardna,” another Aurkus, “Chaos Sorcerer,” and “Dark Armed Dragon” to his Graveyard.

Hines drew “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He Normal Summoned Lumina, tried to discard “Plaguespreader Zombie” for her effect, but was reminded about Aurkus’s effect. He attacked “Phantom of Chaos,” was denied by “Necro Gardna,” and sent 3 cards to the Graveyard in his End Phase – “Judgment Dragon,” “Honest,” and “Necro Gardna.” He now had his fourth Fairy, but he needed to survive until next turn to get Kristya into action. The Duel stood at 4700 Life Points to Hines’ 5000.

Anamaria drew, holding 1 card in hand with Phantom, “Judgment Dragon,” and Aurkus on the field. Anamaria activated Phantom’s effect, removed “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer,” and Hines confirmed the resolution by mistake before trying to Chain his “Necro Gardnas”. He was not permitted to do so as a result. Anamaria Summoned Garoth, attacked with everything, and the Duel was over!

A forgotten Chaining opportunity ends the match, as Brian Hines simply forgets to make the moves that would have carried him to his next turn. Ivan Anamaria moves on to the Top 8!

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)
Brian Hines chose to use “Waboku” in his Deck over the more popular “Threatening Roar,” and I think he made a good choice. Kalut and “Honest” are popular cards on the tournament scene and “Waboku” is a better card to use against them. If your opponent attacks your monster with a weaker one while planning to activate the effect of “Honest” or Kalut, “Waboku” will force your opponent to activate their ATK pump or lose the monster they attacked with. “Threatening Roar,” on the other hand, would only prevent the attack from happening. Plus, “Waboku” has the added benefit of keeping your monster on the field while your opponent’s monster gets destroyed in a battle between two monsters with the same ATK. With Gladiator Beast Decks slowly fading away from the competitive tournament scene, we may begin to see “Waboku” gain even more popularity in Top 16 Decks other than Hines’s and Murray’s.

Matt Peddle (2009 Canadian National Championship Runner-Up; Five-Time Top 8 National Finalist)
Hines was in total control of game one and he let it slip away because he was too afraid of “Honest.” He brought out “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier” to return his opponent’s “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel” back to his hand, instead of taking it with “Goyo Guardian.” This ended up costing him the game because he was unable to take care of “Ally of Justice Catastor” without Brionac.

Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
A huge misplay by Hines at the end cost him the Match. If he had Chained his “Necro Gardna” when “Phantom of Chaos” copied Kycoo, in order to block an incoming attack, he could have lived one more turn and made a huge push with “Archlord Kristya” in the upcoming turn.

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