Side Event Play-Off Feature Match: Dustin Bennett vs. Lamar Curtis
At the end of every SHONEN JUMP Championship, 2 extra prize cards are given out, in 2 special 4-player competitions. The 4 players in the first competition are determined based on how many side events they’ve played in over the weekend. The players in the second competition are chosen by a raffle, so everybody here has an equal chance to be chosen!
This Feature Match is from the raffle competition, so both Dustin Bennett and Lamar Curtis were randomly selected to participate in this single elimination tournament for a “Dark End Dragon.” Despite the stakes, Dustin Bennett was brave enough to enter with a brand new “Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode” Deck using 3 copies of “Eccentric Boy” and 2 copies of “Dark Simorgh.” This is his first time ever playing the Deck. Will his gamble pay off against Curtis’ Lightsworn Deck?
Curtis won the dice roll and chose to go first. He activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” to send another “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Mirror Force,” and “My Body as a Shield” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard and add “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid” from his Deck to his hand. Then he discarded “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” with “Solar Recharge” to draw 2 cards and send 2 copies of “Honest” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He Summoned “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” next and discarded Aurkus to Special Summon it to the field in Attack Position. Then he sent “Necro Gardna,” “Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter,” “Monster Reincarnation,” “Judgment Dragon,” and “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard in his End Phase. Wulf was Special Summoned to the field in Attack Position.
Bennett opened up with “Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn,” “Mystical Space Typhoon,” “Mirror Force,” “Dark Simorgh,” “Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode,” and “Assault Beast” in his hand. He Summoned Sirocco to the field and attacked Curtis’s Lumina. Curtis let Lumina get destroyed and lost 1000 Life Points. Bennett Set “Mystical Space Typhoon” and “Mirror Force” in Main Phase 2 and then ended his turn.
Curtis switched Aurkus into Defense Position and then attacked with Wulf. Bennett activated “Mirror Force” to destroy it. In Main Phase 2, he Summoned Lyla and destroyed Bennett’s Set “Mystical Space Typhoon” by switching her to Defense Position. In his End Phase, he sent “Honest,” “Beckoning Light,” “Archlord Kristya,” “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” and “Solar Recharge” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard with the effects of Aurkus and Lyla.
Bennett drew “Icarus Attack” next turn and attacked Lyla with Sirocco. Lyla was destroyed.
Curtis used “Charge of the Light Brigade” next turn to send “Ehren, Lightsworn Monk,” “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior,” and “Beckoning Light” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard and add Garoth from his Deck to his hand. Curtis Summoned Garoth and ended his turn. Aurkus sent 2 cards to the Graveyard and then Garoth sent “Archlord Kristya” and Celestia from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Curtis drew a card from Garoth’s effect.
Bennett drew “Gold Sarcophagus” next turn. He activated it to remove “Allure of Darkness” from his Deck so he could reclaim it in 2 turns. Then he attacked Aurkus with Sirocco and destroyed it. He ended his turn.
Curtis began his next turn by counting the number of cards in his Deck. There weren’t many left. Then he activated “Heavy Storm” to destroy Bennett’s “Icarus Attack.” Curtis Summoned “Plaguespreader Zombie” next and Tuned it to Garoth to Special Summon Brionac. Then he discarded “Necro Gardna” to bounce Sirocco and attacked Bennett directly.
Bennett drew “Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird” next turn and activated its effect to gain 1500 Life Points! Then he discarded “Assault Beast” to search his Deck for “Assault Mode Activate” and add it to his hand. He ended his turn.
Curtis was up and he decided to attack with Brionac. Hummingbird was destroyed and Bennett lost 1500 Life Points. Then Curtis Set a card to his back row and ended his turn.
Bennett drew “Book of Moon” next turn and then claimed the “Allure of Darkness” that he had removed from play 2 turns earlier. He activated it to draw another Hummingbird and a second “Dark Simorgh.” Bennett removed “Dark Simorgh” from his hand with the effect of “Allure of Darkness” and then Summoned another Hummingbird. He gained another 1500 Life Points with Hummingbird’s effect, boosting himself to 6200 Life Points. He ended his turn after setting the “Book of Moon.”
Curtis was up and he decided to discard “Solar Recharge” for Brionac’s effect to bounce “Book of Moon” to Bennett’s hand. Then he discarded “Necro Gardna” to return the Hummingbird, too. Next, he put a card from his hand on top of his Deck to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie” from the Graveyard. After putting that card on top of his Deck, there were 3 cards left in his Deck. He Tuned the “Plaguespreader Zombie” with Brionac in order to Synchro Summon “Colossal Fighter.” “Colossal Fighter” had 3400 ATK because Curtis had 6 Warriors in his Graveyard. Curtis Special Summoned “Judgment Dragon” next and attacked with both of his monsters to finish Bennett off!
Bennett will be going first in Duel 2!
Both Duelists Side Decked and they began to Duel shortly after.
Bennett opened up with “Gold Sarcophagus,” “Thunder King Rai-Oh,” “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” “Book of Moon,” “Assault Beast,” and “Twister.” He Summoned “Thunder King Rai-Oh” and then Set “Book of Moon.” Next, he activated “Gold Sarcophagus” to search his Deck for “Soul Release” and remove it from play, to reclaim in 2 turns. Bennett ended his turn.
Curtis started his turn by activating “Solar Recharge,” discarding Ehren. He sent Celestia and “Heavy Storm” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard after drawing 2 cards. Then he Summoned Lyla to the field and activated her effect to destroy Bennett’s Set “Book of Moon.” Bennett didn’t Chain it. Curtis Set a “Mirror Force” and sent Wulf, Garoth, and “Judgment Dragon” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard in the End Phase. He Special Summoned Wulf in Attack Position.
Bennett drew Sangan next turn. Then he Summoned Gale and cut the ATK and DEF of Wulf in half with its effect. Next, he attacked Wulf with “Thunder King Rai-Oh” and Curtis flipped his Set “Mirror Force” to clear Bennett’s field. Bennett Set “Twister” and ended his turn.
Next turn, Curtis Tributed Wulf to Summon Celestia, and sent the top 4 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard to destroy Bennett’s Set “Twister.” Then Curtis attacked directly with Celestia and Set a back row before ending his turn.
Bennett was up. He drew “Soul Release,” and then added his other “Soul Release” to his hand from the effect of “Gold Sarcophagus.” He activated one “Soul Release” and Bennett chained “Necro Gardna.” Bennett removed “Archlord Kristya,” Ehren, Garoth, and 2 copies of “Judgment Dragon” from Curtis’s Graveyard. Then Bennett Set his other copy of “Soul Release” as a bluff, along with a “Sangan,” before ending his turn.
Curtis activated “Charge of the Light Brigade” next turn to send Lumina, “Beckoning Light” and “Honest” from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He searched his Deck for another Lumina and added it to his hand. Then he switched Lyla to Attack Position and Summoned Lumina to the field. He discarded “Plaguespreader Zombie” with Lumina to Special Summon Wulf from his Graveyard. Then he put a card on top of his Deck to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie” and Tuned it to Lyla to Synchro Summon Brionac. Bennett promptly conceded, knowing Brionac would return his “Sangan” to his hand so Curtis’s monsters could attack for the win.
Dustin Bennett’s gamble doesn’t pay off, as Lamar Curtis beats his “Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode” Deck 2-0 with Lightsworn!
See what our panel of experts had to say after the Duel.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
In Duel 1, Bennett used “Gold Sarcophagus” to search his Deck for “Allure of Darkness” and add it to his hand in 2 turns. He would have been better off searching for the card he hoped to draw off of “Allure of Darkness” instead.
