Top 8 Feature Match: Marquis Johnson vs. George Murray
George Murray, 23 years old, came here from Missouri and made it to Top 8 with his Blackwing Deck. Marquis Johnson, age 16, came from Maryland and his here today with his Destiny Hero Zombie Deck.
Murray won the dice roll and chose to first. He started off with “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor,” “Blackwing – Bora the Spear,” “D.D. Crow,” “Royal Oppression,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and “Black Whirlwind.” He activated “Black Whirlwind,” Summoned Bora, and searched his Deck for “Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow” with Whirlwind’s effect. He Set “Bottomless Trap Hole” before ending his turn.
Johnson Set one card to his back row and ended his turn without playing a monster. He seemed to have a weak hand.
Murray drew a second Kalut next turn, attacked Directly with Bora to drop Johnson to 6300 Life Points, and then Set his “Royal Oppression” before ending his turn.
Johnson opened up his next turn by activating “Allure of Darkness” to draw 2 cards and remove “Dark Armed Dragon” from play! He followed up by setting 2 more cards to his back row and ending his turn.
Murray top decked “Waboku” next turn. He declared his Battle Phase and then attacked directly with Bora to bring Johnson down to 4600 Life Points. He Set “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” and “Waboku” before ending his turn.
Johnson Summoned “Goblin Zombie” next turn. Finally, a monster! Then he activated “Emergency Teleport,” but Murray tried to negate it with “Royal Oppression.” Johnson then chained his face-down “Solemn Judgment,” paying half of his life to negate the Oppression. Johnson pulled Krebons out of his Deck and then Tuned it with his “Goblin Zombie” to Summon “Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier” from his Extra Deck! Murray flipped “Bottomless Trap Hole” and Johnson didn’t use Brionac’s effect. He searched his Deck for “Mezuki” with “Goblin Zombie’s” effect. Next, Johnson activated “Lightning Vortex,” discarding “Mezuki” to destroy Murray’s Bora, and Murray chained “D.D. Crow” to remove from the game the “Mezuki” that was discarded. Johnson passed his turn.
Murray activated “Mystical Space Typhoon” on “Bottomless Trap Hole” next turn and Flip Summoned his Vayu. He declared an attack with Vayu, and then dropped 2 Kaluts from his hand during the Damage Step to seal the game!
Johnson started Duel 2 by activating “Reinforcement of the Army” and searching his Deck for “Elemental Hero Stratos.” He Summoned Stratos and used its effect to search his Deck for “Destiny Hero – Doom Lord” and add it to his hand. He Set 2 cards to his back row before ending his turn.
Murray opened with “Torrential Tribute,” “Royal Oppression,” “Waboku,” “Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow,” and “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North.” He drew “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” on his first turn, and Murray revealed his hand. Johnson flipped “Trap Dustshoot” in Murray’s Draw Phase and sent Kalut back to his Deck. Murray Set one monster and 2 back rows before ending his turn.
Johnson played “Destiny Draw” next turn by discarding a “Destiny Hero – Malicious.” He then attacked Murray’s Set Vayu with Stratos and Set a monster before ending.
Johnson drew and Summoned Shura next turn. He Summoned it and used it to attack a face-down “Mezuki.” “Mezuki” was destroyed and Murray chose not to activate Shura’s effect. Play passed back to Johnson.
Johnson played “Giant Trunade” next turn and sent all cards back to their owners’ hands. Then he Summoned “Mezuki” and collided Stratos into Shura before attacking directly with “Mezuki.” Murray dropped to 6300 Life Points. Johnson Set one back row before ending his turn.
Murray drew “Bottomless Trap Hole” next turn. He Summoned “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North” and activated its effect to return Shura to the field. He Tuned them both together to Summon “Blackwing Armed Wing,” and then attacked “Mezuki” to drop Johnson down to 7400 Life Points. Murray Set 3 Trap Cards before ending his turn.
Johnson drew a card for his turn, and then Set a monster with no other play. He passed back to Murray, who then drew “Allure of Darkness” while he was holding “Torrential Tribute” in his hand. He declared an attack against a Set “Sangan” with Armed Wing, and the attack went through. Johnson dropped to 5200 Life Points and searched his Deck for “Goblin Zombie” with the effect of “Sangan.” Murray passed.
Johnson drew a card and Set a monster, ending his turn again without making any big plays. Murray drew “Royal Oppression” next turn, and attacked the “Goblin Zombie” that Johnson had just Set with his Armed Wing. Johnson dropped to 3450 life and searched his Deck for “Plaguespreader Zombie” with the effect of “Goblin Zombie.” Murray Set his “Royal Oppression” before ending his turn.
Johnson began his next turn by drawing a card and Summoning “Plaguespreader Zombie” to the field. Then he tried to remove “Mezuki” from his Graveyard to Special Summon a Zombie, but Murray flipped “Royal Oppression” to pay 800 Life Points and negate the effect. Fortunately for Johnson, his face-down card was a “Dust Tornado” that he chained to the “Royal Oppression” so his “Mezuki” could bring back a Zombie. He returned “Goblin Zombie” to play, Tuned it with his face-up “Plaguespreader Zombie” to try to Summon “Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth,” and Murray flipped another “Royal Oppression” to negate the Summon! Murray dropped down to 4700 Life Points, with Johnson at 3450. Johnson searched his Deck for “Goblin Zombie’s” effect, but failed to find any legal cards to take. Things weren’t looking good for Johnson. He ended his turn without a card on his field.
Murray drew Shura next turn and Summoned it to the field. Shura and Armed Wing attacked directly and with only 3450 Life Points left, Johnson was knocked out of the tournament. Johnson revealed his all-monster hand and scooped up his cards.
George Murray moved on to the Top 4!
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)
This Match was very well-played by George Murray. Holding onto the Kaluts in his hand and only attacking with Bora was a great idea in the first Duel. It allowed Murray to finish off his opponent in one turn without committing cards to the field, simply by dropping both Kaluts from his hand in one battle. In Duel 2, I like that Murray Set both copies of “Royal Oppression,” anticipating one may get destroyed. Murray knew that Johnson most likely didn’t have “Heavy Storm” in his hand, since he probably would have used it earlier to get rid of the many cards Murray had Set. He also knew that if Johnson drew it, there was a good chance that Johnson would have been able to finish him off on the turn he activated it, given the flurry of Special Summons that Zombie Decks are capable of. By having two copies of “Royal Oppression” Set, he increased his odds of one of them remaining on the field when Johnson tried to make a big play. It worked out exactly as Murray planned. Johnson tried to make a huge play involving a bunch of Special Summons, and even though he had “Dust Tornado” Set to take care of one of Murray’s Oppressions, Murray had a second copy to stop Johnson.
Matt Peddle (2009 Canadian National Championship Runner-Up; Five-Time Top 8 National Finalist)
In the second game, Murray decides not to search anything with “Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame.” I don’t understand this move, seeing as how he could have searched for “Blackwing – Gale the Hurricane” to make “Blackwing Armor Master” and force through some damage. Even if he didn’t want to make that play he could have searched “Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow” and scored some extra damage as well as allowing himself access to a level three monster to Special Summon with “Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North.” Murray wins the Duel anyways though.
Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
Murray’s aggressive playstyle, in which he Set 3 or more Spell/Trap cards to his field despite the risk of a devastating “Heavy Storm,” could have proved disastrous. While I wouldn’t recommend it in every instance, it definitely served him well in this Match as his multiple answers to Johnson’s plays gave him a convincing win.
