Round 10 Feature Match: Josh Coleman vs. Calvin Yu
A lot of competitors are taking inspiration this weekend from Vincent Ralambomiadana’s “French Twilight,” the Deck that won SHONEN JUMP Championship Columbus. Josh Coleman is one of them, but he’s putting a ton of new spins on the theme, adding cards like “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” “Pot of Avarice,” and a card so startling I took it upon myself to name the Deck after it. The name? “Treacherous Twilight.” The card? “Treacherous Trap Hole”! It makes perfect sense in a Deck too packed with Spells and monsters to run any other Traps.
His opponent is Calvin Yu. Hailing from Oakland, California, Yu is running Zombies with “Tragoedia” and “Krebons.” He’s packing some uncommon choices himself, including “Return from the Different Dimension” – a card that’s seen little play this weekend.
Coleman opened the Match with a hand of “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Necro Gardna,” “Tragoedia,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” and “Honest.” He activated Charge, sent “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Honest,” and “Tragoedia” to his Graveyard, and got “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid” from his Deck. He Summoned Aurkus, ended, and sent “Pot of Avarice” and “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” to his Graveyard with Aurkus’ effect.
Yu Summoned “Mystic Tomato,” attacked, and suddenly Coleman was under the gun – activating “Honest” here would destroy Tomato, but the Tomato’s effect would just Summon another monster for Yu. Coleman had to choose between losing his Honest or losing Aurkus, and he chose not to waste the “Honest” – Aurkus was destroyed. Yu Set a card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone to finish out. A nice opening from Yu!
Coleman drew “Pot of Avarice,” Summoned Lumina, discarded “Necro Gardna,” and Special Summoned Aurkus in Attack Position with Lumina’s effect. He then sent 5 cards to his Graveyard in his End Phase – “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Card Trooper,” “Monster Reincarnation,” “Tragoedia,” and “Pot of Avarice.” Play was to Yu.
Yu Summoned “Goblin Zombie,” attacked Lumina, and Coleman took another loss. “Goblin Zombie’s” effect sent “Necro Gardna” to Coleman’s Graveyard! He removed it to keep Aurkus safe from “Mystic Tomato.” Yu ended, and Coleman activated “Pot of Avarice,” sending 5 monsters back to his Deck (including “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Card Trooper,” and “Tragoedia”). He removed his other “Tragoedia” and Lumina for “Chaos Sorcerer,” but lost out to “Torrential Tribute”! Yu wiped the field and got to search out “Mezuki” with his “Goblin Zombie.” Coleman ended with nothing on the table.
Yu Summoned “Mezuki,” attacked, and Coleman Special Summoned “Tragoedia.” Yu Set 2 cards to his Spell & Trap Card Zone. Coleman activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Allure of Darkness” to his Graveyard, searching his Deck for “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior” and adding it to his hand of “Tragoedia,” “Honest,” “Solar Recharge,” and “Heavy Storm.” He discarded Garoth for “Solar Recharge,” drew another Recharge and Lyla, sent 2 carsd to his Graveyard, and discarded Lyla for his other Recharge. That got him Lumina and “D.D. Crow.”
He activated “Heavy Storm,” and Yu Chained “Call of the Haunted”! He targeted “Goblin Zombie,” but Coleman Chained “D.D. Crow” to remove it before it could be Summoned. Yu’s “Bottomless Trap Hole” was destroyed by the Storm. Coleman Summoned Lumina, discarded another “Tragoedia” to Special Summon Garoth, and ran over “Mezuki” with it. Lumina and “Tragoedia” then attacked for a combined 1600 damage, dropping Yu to 6250 Life Points. Coleman had 6000 Life Points. In the End Phase he sent 2 Wulfs and a “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard, drawing a card with Garoth!
But Yu had “Lightning Vortex”! He discarded “Book of Moon” for it to clear the field, then ended with 2 cards in hand. He had nothing on the field. Coleman drew to 3 cards in hand, Summoned “Honest,” attacked, and returned it to his hand. Yu Summoned “Spirit Reaper,” attacked, and Coleman fended it off with “Necro Gardna.” Coleman drew and was left holding “Solar Recharge,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” and 2 “Honests.” He Summoned an “Honest,” attacked “Spirit Reaper,” and ended.
“Can I see your Grave?” Yu spent a little time perusing Coleman’s Graveyard before turning his “Spirit Reaper” to Defense Position. He Set a Spell or Trap and ended. That was just what Coleman wanted: he tributed “Honest” for Caius, removed “Spirit Reaper” for 1000 damage, then dealt 2400 more with an attack. Yu was down to 950 Life Points.
Yu Summoned “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” halved Caius’ ATK and DEF, attacked, and Coleman removed his third “Necro Gardna.” Coleman drew another Caius off the top next turn, Tributed the previous Caius for it, and burned Yu into defeat by removing Gale from the game!
Calvin Yu takes control of the Duel very early on, but a timely “Pot of Avarice” followed by some luck with the Graveyard and a double Caius play let Josh Coleman battle back to take the first Duel. Both competitors made lengthy use of their Side Decks.
Yu got Duel 2 started with a Set Spell or Trap and a Set monster. Coleman had “Necro Gardna,” “Pot of Avarice,” “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” and “Royal Decree.” He Set “Necro Gardna,” Set Decree, and ended. Yu Set another card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone, Summoned Kycoo, and attacked “Necro Gardna” to destroy it. Ouch.
Coleman drew “Solar Recharge,” and immediately activated it by discarding Wulf. He drew “Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid,” sending “Honest” and “Tragoedia” to the Graveyard. Charge sent “Necro Gardna,” “Solar Recharge,” and “Card Trooper” to the Graveyard, getting him “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior.” He Summoned it, attacked Kycoo, and Kycoo went down! Those two “Necro Gardnas” were now back online, assuming Yu didn’t have a second Kycoo for next turn.
If he had it, he wasn’t Summoning it. Yu Set another monster, Coleman drew “Allure of Darkness,” and he searched his Graveyard for Sorcerer fodder – with “Tragoedia” and multiple LIGHT monsters to remove, the Sorcerer was definitely playable. He Summoned Aurkus, ended, Yu activated “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” and Coleman Chained “Royal Decree”! He sent “Judgment Dragon,” Decree, and 2 “Charge of the Light Brigade” to his Graveyard.
Yu Flip Summoned “Pyramid Turtle,” attacked Aurkus, and Coleman stopped the attack with “Necro Gardna.” Coleman Special Summoned “Chaos Sorcerer,” removed “Pyramid Turtle” from the game, and Tributed Sorcerer for “Caius the Shadow Monarch”! That removed Yu’s face-down “Mezuki,” and left Caius free to attack. Caius struck for 2400 damage, but Yu Special Summoned “Tragoedia” in Defense Position. Garoth destroyed it in battle and Aurkus scored a direct attack. In the End Phase Coleman sent Kycoo, Wulf, Allure, and “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter” to his Graveyard, Summoning Wulf and drawing a card with Garoth! Yu was in huge trouble.
He Summoned “Krebons” and ended. Coleman had Wulf, Caius, Garoth, Aurkus, and Decree out on the field, with “Judgment Dragon,” “Pot of Avarice,” Lumina, Allure, and “Honest” in-hand. He activated “Pot of Avarice,” sending “Judgment Dragon,” “Honest,” “Card Trooper,” Ryko, and “Chaos Sorcerer” back to his Deck. He drew another “Judgment Dragon” and another “Pot of Avarice.” The Yu had just 4350 Life Points remaining. Coleman attacked with all 4 of his monsters, getting Yu to pay 3200 Life Points to keep “Krebons” on the field, drawing another card with Garoth in his End Phase. He had to discard Lumina to get his hand down to 6 cards.
Yu Tributed “Krebons” for Caius, removed “Royal Decree” from the field, and Set another card to his Spell & Trap Card Zone. Coleman drew Ryko, then turned Garoth and Aurkus to Defense Position. He attacked with Wulf, revealed double “Honest” and it was all over!
Josh Coleman takes 2 back-to-back wins with Treacherous Twilight, and moves on with a 9-1 record! One more win would place him in the Top 16.
.
See what our panel of experts had to say about this Duel after the event was over.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Not only can Coleman’s Deck benefit from “Treacherous Trap Hole” by playing so few Traps, but it can also Side Deck “Royal Decree” more effectively than most Decks. It’s easy for Coleman to remove “Treacherous Trap Hole” from his Deck after Duel 1 to help make room for “Royal Decree,” and since there aren’t any other Traps in his Deck, a face-up Decree will never interfere with Coleman’s play. “Royal Decree” was invaluable to Coleman in this match. It negated “Light-Imprisoning Mirror” and allowed Coleman to remain on the offensive throughout Duel 3, eventually leading him to win the match.
.
Matt Peddle (2009 Canadian National Championship Runner-Up; Five-Time Top 8 National Finalist)
A Lightsworn player’s worst fear is a first turn “Mystic Tomato” from the opponent. Tomato attacking into either “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” or “Arkus, Lightsworn Duid” puts the Lightsworn player in a position to lose either that monster or an “Honest” from their hand. That happens to Coleman in this Match but he makes the right decision. Because he has Lumina and a “Necro Gardna” in hand, Coleman knows he can bring the Arkus back and protect his monsters with “Necro Gardna” next turn. He also has “Chaos Sorcerer,” giving him way to get rid of the Tomato. Eventually the Tomato is destroyed by Yu’s own “Torrential Tribute,” and because Coleman played it correctly Yu is unable to get a search out of his Tomato.
.
Michael McTavish (Top 8 Finalist – 2009 Canadian National Championship)
During game 1, Coleman was able to get a lucky “Necro Gardna” off the “Goblin Zombie” effect that left his “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid” alive. This, followed by a very timely “Pot of Avarice” and more great situational cards such as “D.D. Crow” gave Coleman a great advantage. The heart of the cards was truly with him in this match as Yu simply could not catch a break.
.
P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
In Duel 2, Coleman flipped “Royal Decree” as soon as he saw “Light-Imprisoning Mirror.” Light-Mirror prevents the effects of any LIGHT monster on the field or in the Graveyard from activating, and can cause a lot of trouble for Lightsworn and Twilight Decks. Because of this it’s what most Lightsworn/Twilight players expect to see Side-Decked against them, and they replace their own Traps with “Royal Decree” to counter this and keep their LIGHT monsters safe.
