Grant Kelly finished 7-1 in yesterday’s Swiss Rounds, claiming victory in our Round 8 Feature Match over Carolyn Colajezzi’s X-Sabers. He was the only Duelist seated at the top tables piloting a Synchro Cat variant, so it’s a great opportunity to look at the innovative build he played. Kelly decided to run Caliber Cat – Synchro Cat with Doomcaliber Knight.

Monsters:

1 Dark Armed Dragon

1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

3 Caius the Shadow Monarch

2 Cyber Dragon

2 Doomcaliber Knight

3 X-Saber Airbellum

1 XX-Saber Darksoul

1 Rescue Cat

3 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

3 Gravekeeper’s Spy

1 Sangan

Spells:

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Brain Control

2 Smashing Ground

3 Book of Moon

2 Pot of Avarice

Trap Cards:

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

3 Dimensional Prison

2 Dust Tornado

Kelly is only playing 2 copies of the Deck’s namesake, Doomcaliber Knight, in his Main Deck. He’s got the third copy in his Side Deck. He’s playing Gravekeeper’s Spy instead of Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, too, making it easier for him to block attacks from monsters like XX-Saber Boggart Knight, which can’t get through Spy’s 2000 DEF. Spy also lets him Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician, which requires a Spellcaster-Type monster as Synchro Material.

Why the extra emphasis on Gravekeeper’s Spy and Arcanite? Kelly has decided to Main Deck XX-Saber Darksoul in addition to his 3 X-Saber Airbellums, giving him a way to search out Airbellum a bit more consistently. If Darksoul’s sent to the Graveyard, Kelly can get Airbellum from his deck. Those are the only X-Sabers he’s running, but in combination with Rescue Cat, Darksoul brings a whole new dimension to the Caliber Cat strategy. “It’s so good,” commented Kelly. “I can bring Darksoul and Airbellum out with Rescue Cat and go straight into Goyo Guardian.” Doing so will get Kelly another Airbellum from his Deck in the End Phase, which can give him another Synchro Summon next turn.

Arcanite Magician and its destruction effect is the center of a very removal-heavy strategy. He runs 2 Bottomless Trap Holes, a full 3 Dimensional Prisons, and 2 Dust Tornadoes, as well as 2 Smashing Grounds. The result is a Deck that can keep a stranglehold over the field, stop opposing OTK’s, then clear away the opponent’s cards when the time is right to take a shot at victory.

His 3 Caius the Shadow Monarchs also benefit from Gravekeeper’s Spy, a Flip Summoned Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, or the Deck’s general ability to keep monsters on the field after establishing a slow pace. Caius’ effect damage and its 2400 ATK allow Kelly to make quick, easy stabs for a few thousand points of damage early on, giving him an early lead in Life Points and making a win quicker later on. The lower Kelly can get his opponent’s Life Points early in the Duel, the fewer attackers he needs to Special Summon later.

The use of XX-Saber Darksoul and extra monster removal cards made Kelly the most successful Synchro Cat / Doomcaliber Cat Duelist in Day 1. His future in the Top 32 is up in the air, but he could make it, and he may very well be the only Cat Duelist to do so. His tech choices are insightful, his Deck is effective, and there are some key lessons to be learned from his performance this weekend.