Both competitors in this Feature Match are undefeated and sitting at Table 1. But only 1 of them can stay undefeated. Da Lee is 25 years old and came here from Georgia. Danny Rose is 20 years old and from Rhode Island. He drove 33 hours to get here and got a ticket during his travels. Will his journey pay off with a Day 2 finish? Both Duelists are using Twilight Decks in this Match.

Rose won the dice roll and chose to go first. He Set a monster and ended his turn.

Lee opened up with “Solar Recharge,” 2 copies of “Honest,” “Necro Gardna,” “Pot of Avarice,” and “Charge of the Light Brigade.” He activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” by sending “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter,” “Torrential Tribute,” and “Threatening Roar” from the Top of his Deck to his Graveyard in order to search his Deck for “Ehren, Lightsworn Monk” and add it to his hand. He Summoned Ehren to the field and then attacked Rose’s face-down “Necro Gardna.” “Necro Gardna” was sent back to Rose’s Deck and then Lee ended his turn, sending “Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer,” “Plaguespreader Zombie,” and “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard.

Rose drew a card and then ended his turn without making a play. Things weren’t looking good for him.

Lee drew “Beckoning Light” and Set it before attacking with Ehren. Rose took the damage and dropped to 6400 Life Points. Lee Set a “Necro Gardna” in Main Phase 2 and then ended his turn, sending Lumina, “Judgment Dragon,” and another card to his Graveyard from the top of his Deck.

Rose Summoned “Honest” next turn and attacked Lee’s face-down “Necro Gardna.” He took 200 points of damage, Set a back row, and ended his turn.

Lee drew “Charge of the Light Brigade” next turn and activated it. He sent “Judgment Dragon,” “Honest,” and “Necro Gardna” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard to add Aurkus from his Deck to his hand. He activated “Pot of Avarice” next to send 2 copies of “Judgment Dragon,” Kycoo, Lumina, and “Honest” back to his Deck and draw 2 cards. He drew “Charge of the Light Brigade” and Lumina with the effect of “Pot of Avarice.” Then he Summoned Aurkus to the field and activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” and sent “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” and “Pot of Avarice” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Lee searched for Garoth with the effect of Charge and added it to his hand. Then he activated “Solar Recharge” by discarding a Lightsworn to draw 2 cards and send the top 2 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard.

Lee attacked Rose’s “Honest” with Aurkus and discarded an “Honest” from his hand before Damage Calculation. But Rose discarded an “Honest” during Damage Calculation to make sure he’d win the battle. Then Ehren attacked Honest and Lee sent “Honest” from his hand to the Graveyard during damage calculation. In his End Phase, Lee sent 3 more cards from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard.

Rose drew “Charge of the Light Brigade” next turn and activated it, sending “Mystical Space Typhoon,” “Necro Gardna,” and “Heavy Storm” to his Graveyard. He searched his Deck for “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” and Summoned it to the field. Then he attacked “Ehren” with Lyla and Lee flipped “Beckoning Light.” But Rose chained “Royal Decree”! Ehren was destroyed and Lee lost 100 Life Points. Rose ended his turn and sent the top 3 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard.

Lee Summoned Kycoo next turn and attacked Lyla with it. Rose lost 100 Life Points and 2 copies of “Necro Gardna” from his Graveyard to Kycoo’s effect. Rose Summoned Ehren next turn and attacked Lee’s Defense Position “Necro Gardna,” sending it back to his Deck. In the End Phase, Rose sent “Archlord Kristya,” “Monster Reincarnation,” and “Chaos Sorcerer” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard.

Lee drew “Gold Sarcophagus” next turn and activated it to remove “Judgment Dragon” from his Deck. Then he Summoned a second copy of Kycoo to the field. One Kycoo attacked over Ehren and the other attacked Rose directly. Rose lost 4 monsters from his Graveyard and conceded after seeing his next draw. He revealed 2 copies of Wulf and 2 copies of Celestia from his hand, both of which were in his opening. Considering how poorly he drew, he put up quite a fight!

Rose would be going first in Duel 2! Both players Side Decked and shuffled their Decks. Play began shortly after. Rose Set a monster and ended his turn. It was the same opening he made in the last Duel.

Lee opened up with “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior,” “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” “Charge of the Light Brigade,” and “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.” He activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” by sending “Honest,” Wulf and “Solar Recharge” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He searched for Ehren and added it to his hand with the effect of Charge. Then he Special Summoned Wulf to the field. Ehren attacked Rose’s face-down monster. It was a “Necro Gardna” that was returned to Rose’s Deck. Next, Wulf attacked directly. Rose Special Summoned Gorz from his hand and brought out a 2100 ATK “Emissary of Darkness Token” along with it. In his End Phase, Lee sent 3 cards from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard due to Ehren’s effect.

Rose Summoned Lumina next turn and then attacked Ehren with his Token. Gorz attacked over Wulf next, and Lumina attacked Lee directly. Lee dropped down to 5900 Life Points. Rose sent a “Mirror Force,” “Royal Decree” and “Tragoedia” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard in his End Phase.

Lee drew Aurkus and Special Summoned “Chaos Sorcerer” next turn. He activated the effect of “Chaos Sorcerer” to remove Gorz from play. Then he Set Ryko and ended his turn.

Rose activated “Solar Recharge” by discarding Celestia and sent “Dark Armed Dragon” and “Monster Reincarnation” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard after drawing 2 cards. Then he activated “Monster Reincarnation” by discarding Aurkus from his hand to bring back the Celestia he had discarded. Rose activated the effect of Lumina by discarding “Necro Gardna” and Special Summoned Aurkus from the Graveyard. Then he Tributed Lumina for Celestia and sent 2 Lightsworn monsters, a “Judgment Dragon,” and a “Necro Gardna” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard to destroy Lee’s “Chaos Sorcerer” and face-down Ryko. Aurkus, the Token, and Celestia all attacked directly, dropping Lee to 300 Life Points.

Lee drew Lumina next turn and conceded, revealing his all-monster hand.

Lee will be going first in this final Duel of the Match! He opened up with “Plaguespreader Zombie,” “Chaos Sorcerer,” “Judgment Dragon,” “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” “Brain Control,” and “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel.” He Summoned Lumina and sent “Threatening Roar,” Garoth, and Waboku from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard in the End Phase.

Rose Summoned Lyla next turn and attacked Lumina. Lee let it get destroyed and lost 700 Life Points. Rose Set 1 card to his back row and then ended his turn, sending “Brain Control,” “Thunder King Rai-Oh,” and Wulf to the Graveyard in the End Phase. Wulf was Special Summoned in Attack Position.

Lee activated “Brain Control” next turn to take control of Lyla! He switched it to Defense Position to destroy Rose’s Set Decree, and then Tributed Lyla for Celestia to destroy Wulf by sending the Top 4 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard. The 4 cards were “Honest,” Garoth, Lyla, and “Necro Gardna.” Next, Lee removed “Honest” and “Necro Gardna” from his Graveyard to Special Summon “Chaos Sorcerer” and attacked directly with Celestia. Rose dropped to 5700 Life Points. Lee chose not to attack with “Chaos Sorcerer.”

Rose Set a Ryko and “Torrential Tribute” next turn before passing back to Lee.

Lee Tributed Celestia for another copy of Celestia and sent the top 4 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard to target both of Rose’s cards. Rose chained “Torrential Tribute” to clear the field! Then Lee Special Summoned “Judgment Dragon” and attacked directly, dropping Rose to 2700 Life Points. Rose Special Summoned Gorz from his hand, but Lee paid 1000 Life Points with “Judgment Dragon” to destroy Gorz and the Token that came with it. In his End Phase, Lee sent 4 cards from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard including 2 copies of “Necro Gardna.”

Rose Special Summoned “Chaos Sorcerer” next turn by removing “Thunder King Rai-Oh” and Gorz from his Graveyard. Then he activated its effect to remove “Judgment Dragon” from the game. He Set one card to his back row and then ended his turn.

Lee drew “Chaos Sorcerer” next turn and Special Summoned it by removing Aurkus and “Chaos Sorcerer” from his Graveyard! Then he activated its effect to remove Rose’s “Chaos Sorcerer” from the game. Next, he Normal Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie” and Tuned it to “Chaos Sorcerer” to Synchro Summon “Stardust Dragon.” He had no other cards on the field and only a Wulf in his hand. He ended his turn.

Rose drew a card and then activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” next turn. He sent Lumina, Celestia, and “D.D. Crow” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard to pay the cost. He searched for Lumina with its effect and added it to his hand. Then he Normal Summoned Lumina to the field and discarded Celestia with its effect to Special Summon Lyla from the Graveyard. In his End Phase, Rose sent 6 cards from the top of his Deck to the Graveyard including 2 copies of “Necro Gardna” and a “Dark Armed Dragon.”

Lee drew Lumina next turn and Summoned her to the field. He discarded Wulf from his hand to Special Summon Garoth from the Graveyard by activating Lumina’s effect. Lee attacked Lumina with Garoth, but Rose negated the attack with “Necro Gardna.” “Stardust Dragon” attacked next, but Rose negated the attack again with another Gardna! Finally, Lee’s Lumina attacked Rose’s, and Rose let both monsters get destroyed.

On Rose’s next turn, he Summoned Garoth to the field and ended his turn. He sent 5 cards from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard in the End Phase, but none of them were Lightsworn monsters so he didn’t get to draw any cards.

Lee drew “Pot of Avarice” next turn and used it to send 2 copies of Celestia, a Lyla, a copy of Lumina, and a “Necro Gardna” from his Graveyard to his Deck. He drew Ryko and Lyla with the effect of “Pot of Avarice.” Lee Summoned Lyla and activated its effect, targeting Rose’s face-down “Burial from a Different Dimension.” Rose chained it to send 2 copies of “Necro Gardna” and a “Thunder King Rai-Oh” back to his Graveyard. When Lee attacked Lyla with Garoth and “Stardust Dragon,” both attacks were negated by Rose’s Gardnas.

On his next turn, Rose attacked “Stardust Dragon” with Lyla and discarded “Honest” from his hand to boost its ATK. Lee dropped down to 3800 Life Points and his “Stardust Dragon” was destroyed. Then Garoth attacked and destroyed Lyla. In the End Phase, Rose sent the top 5 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard. None of them were Lightsworn monsters, but he did send a “Necro Gardna” to the Graveyard.

Next turn, Lee drew Celestia and Tribute Summoned it. He destroyed both Garoth and Lyla by sending the top 4 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard. He attacked directly but “Necro Gardna” negated the attack.

Rose was on total top-deck. He had no cards in his hand or on the field. He drew “Monster Reincarnation” and Set it as a bluff.

Lee Normal Summoned Lumina next turn, discarded Ryko from his hand to Special Summon Lyla, and switched Lyla to Defense Position to destroy Rose’s Set “Monster Reincarnation.” Rose only had 200 Life Points left, so the ATK of Lumina and Celestia were more than enough to finish him off.

In a close 2-1 victory, Lee wins the Match and advances with a perfect 8-0 record!

See what our panel of experts had to say after the Duel.

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
When Lee attacked Rose’s “Honest” with Aurkus, he dropped an “Honest” from his hand before Damage Calculation, which was trumped by the “Honest” Rose used during Damage Calculation. It’s important to understand the way the Damage Step works so you don’t waste an “Honest” like Lee did in that battle. Typically in the Lightsworn mirror-match, you’re best off using “Honest” during Damage Calculation instead of before Damage Calculation. This way, any copies of “Honest” your opponent may be holding won’t be able to help him if he tries to use them after you.

Click here for the next Feature Match!