Feature Match: Saturday’s Dragon Duel Final
Dragon Duels are for Duelists age 12 & under only, and are usually held on Saturdays and Sundays at Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournaments.
Duelists who place near the top of a Dragon Duel event can get cool prizes like Regional Qualifier Game Mats, special card binders, and Dragon Duel T-Shirts. Here are our Top 4 finalists from Saturday’s event:
Among the top 2 players, Justin Penamante, 12 years old, was undefeated with X-Sabers in the final round of the Dragon Duel Tournament. His opponent, 11-year-old Brian Ahle, was pitting his Infernity Deck against Penamante’s X-Sabers. This was sure to be a great Match.
Ahle won the dice roll and chose to go first. He Summoned Dark Grepher to the field and Set 2 cards to his back row before ending his turn.
Penamante opened up with My Body as a Shield, D.D. Crow, X-Saber Airbellum, Solemn Judgment, XX-Saber Faultroll, and XX-Saber Emmersblade. He Set XX-Saber Emmersblade and My Body as a Shield before passing to Ahle.
Ahle Set a third card to his back row next turn. Then he flipped his face-down Infernity Inferno. He discarded Infernity Beetle from his hand to send Infernity Archfiend from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he Summoned Infernity Mirage to the field! He Tributed Infernity Mirage and Special Summoned Infernity Beetle and Infernity Archfiend from his Graveyard. Ahle activated the effect of his Infernity Archfiend to search his Deck for Infernity Launcher and add it to his hand. Then he activated Infernity Launcher. Next, he Tributed Infernity Beetle to Special Summon 2 more copies from his Deck. Then he Tuned Infernity Beetle with Dark Grepher to Synchro Summon Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth. He followed up by Tuning his other Infernity Beetle with Gaia Knight to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon. Then he sent his Infernity Launcher to the Graveyard to Special Summon 2 more Beetles. He Tuned one of them with Infernity Archfiend to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, and then Tuned the other Beetle with Brionac to Synchro Summon Infernity Doom Dragon. Stardust Dragon attacked Penamante’s face-down XX-Saber Emmersblade and Penamante used its effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Darksoul from his Deck in Defense Position. Infernity Doom Dragon attacked XX-Saber Darksoul next. In Ahle’s End Phase, Penamante searched his Deck for XX-Saber Boggart Knight and added it to his hand thanks to Darksoul’s effect.
Penamante drew Giant Trunade next turn. In his Draw Phase, Ahle activated his face-down Dust Tornado to destroy Penamante’s Set My Body as a Shield. Then Penamante activated Giant Trunade to send both cards in Ahle’s back row back to his hand. He Normal Summoned Boggart Knight next, and activated its effect to Special Summon X-Saber Airbellum from his hand. Then he Special Summoned XX-Saber Faultroll, and activated its effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Darksoul from his Graveyard. He Tuned XX-Saber Darksoul with X-Saber Airbellum to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian. Goyo Guardian attacked and stole Ahle’s Stardust Dragon. Penamante Set Solemn Judgment in Main Phase 2 and then ended his turn, searching his Deck for XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and adding it to his hand in the End Phase due to the effect of Darksoul.
Ahle activated Book of Moon next turn, targeting Stardust Dragon, but Penamante flipped Solemn Judgment and gave up 4000 Life Points to negate it! Next, Penamante Set a card to his back row and activated Infernity Launcher. He sent the Launcher to the Graveyard to try to Special Summon Infernity Archfiend and Infernity Beetle, but Penamante chained D.D. Crow to remove Infernity Archfiend from the game! He Special Summoned Infernity Beetle in Defense Position and then attacked and destroyed Goyo with Infernity Doom Dragon, ending his turn.
Penamante drew Mirror Force next turn. Then he Normal Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and attacked and destroyed Ahle’s Defense Position Infernity Beetle with Fulhelmknight. He Special Summoned XX-Saber Darksoul from his Graveyard with Fulhelmknight’s effect. Then he Special Summoned XX-Saber Faultroll from his hand. He Tuned Fulhelmknight with Darksoul in Main Phase 2 to Synchro Summon Hyunlei, targeting Ahle’s Set Torrential Tribute with its effect. Ahle chained Torrential Tribute, but Ahle negated it by Tributing Stardust Dragon. Next, Penamante brought back a monster with Faultroll’s effect and Tuned it to Faultroll to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. In the End Phase, Ahle Special Summoned Stardust Dragon to his field.
Ahle drew and Summoned Infernity Necromancer next turn. He used its effect to Special Summon Beetle from his Graveyard, and Tuned the Beetle with Necromancer to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Catastor. Ahle used the effect of Infernity Doom Dragon to destroy Gottoms next. Then Catastor attacked and destroyed Faultroll, and Stardust Dragon attacked and destroyed XX-Saber Boggart Knight.
Penamante drew Cold Wave next turn and Set it.
When Ahle attacked for the finishing damage next turn with Infernity Doom Dragon, Penamante activated Mirror Force to try to stop the attack. But Ahle Tributed Stardust Dragon and pushed through the damage he needed to win.
Brian Ahle’s Infernities win out over Justin Penamante’s X-Saber Deck in the first Duel! Penamante chose to go first in Duel 2.
He opened up with Mind Control, Heavy Storm, Consecrated Light, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, XX-Saber Faultroll, and Solemn Judgment. He Summoned Consecrated Light, Set Solemn Judgment, and ended his turn.
Ahle ended his first turn without playing any cards.
Penamante drew Book of Moon next turn. He switched Consecrated Light to Defense Position and then Summoned Fulhelmknight to the field. Fulhelmknight attacked directly. Penamante Set Book of Moon in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.
Ahle Set a card to his back row next turn, passing back to Penamante.
Penamante Summoned X-Saber Airbellum and Ahle activated Infernity Inferno, discarding Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend from his hand to send Infernity Avenger and Infernity Archfiend from his Deck to his Graveyard. Penamante then attacked directly with X-Saber Airbellum, and Ahle lost Dark Grepher from his hand due to Airbellum’s effect. Fulhelmknight attacked next, dropping Ahle down to 3800 Life Points.
Ahle Set one card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone next turn and passed.
Penamante drew Dust Tornado next turn. He attacked directly with Fulhelmknight and Airbellum, getting a D.D. Crow out of Ahle’s hand with Airbellum’s effect.
He passed back to Ahle, who Set a card to each zone and ended his turn. Penamante activated his face-down Dust Tornado in Ahle’s End Phase to destroy his newly Set Dust Tornado.
On his next turn, Penamante Special Summoned XX-Saber Faultroll. Ahle flipped Torrential Tribute, but Penamante chained Solemn Judgment to negate it! Penamante activated Mind Control next, taking control of Dark Grepher and allowing him to win the Duel by attacking with his swarm of X-Sabers.
The Match pushed on to a third Duel! Ahle will be going first this time!
He started things off by Summoning Dark Grepher and discarding an Infernity Beetle to send an Infernity Archfiend from his Deck to his Graveyard. Then he Set 1 card to his back row and activated Infernity Launcher. He used Infernity Launcher’s effect to discard an Infernity Beetle from his hand. Then he Set the last card in his hand and sent the Launcher to the Graveyard to try to Special Summon Beetle and Archfiend. The Archfiend was removed by Penamante’s D.D. Crow and the Beetle was Special Summoned in Attack Position.
Penamante opened up with Brain Control, D.D. Crow, Mirror Force, XX-Saber Faultroll, and 2 copies of XX-Saber Boggart Knight in his hand. Ahle flipped Trap Dustshoot in his Draw Phase to send one copy of Boggart Knight back to the Deck. Penamante Summoned Boggart Knight and then activated Brain Control to take control of Infernity Beetle. He Tuned the Beetle to Boggart Knight in order to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Hyunlei and destroy Ahle’s Set Heavy Storm. Then Hyunlei attacked and destroyed Dark Grepher. He Set Mirror Force in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.
Ahle drew a card and Set a card to his back row.
Penamante attacked directly with Hyunlei and ended his turn.
Ahle Set Dust Tornado next turn and passed back to Penamante, but activated Dust Tornado in Penamante’s Draw Phase to destroy his Set Mirror Force.
Penamante Summoned Consecrated Light, but Ahle flipped Torrential Tribute, wiping the field of both Consecrated Light and Hyunlei.
Ahle drew D.D. Crow next turn and used it to remove Hyunlei from Penamante’s Graveyard.
He passed, and Penamante Set a card to each zone before passing back.
Each player used their next turn to Set one more card in their Spell and Trap Card Zones.
Ahle drew Infernity Archfiend with no cards in his hand when he was up again! He revealed it to Special Summon it, and Penamante flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove it from play. Then Ahle searched his Deck for Infernity Necromancer with the effect of his Archfiend and added it to his hand. He Normal Summoned the Necromancer, and after it switched to Defense Position, activated its effect to try to Special Summon Infernity Beetle from his Graveyard. Penamante activated Crevice into the Different Dimension to try to remove it from play, but Ahle chained Solemn Judgment to negate it by paying half of his Life Points! He Special Summoned the Beetle and Tuned it to his Necromancer, allowing him to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Catastor! Catastor attacked Penamante’s Set Darksoul, sending it to the Graveyard and activating its effect. Penamante searched his Deck for XX-Saber Emmersblade with its effect in the End Phase.
Penamante Set Emmersblade on his next turn.
Ahle attacked the face-down Emmersblade with Ally of Justice Catastor and destroyed it in battle. Penamante Special Summoned X-Saber Airbellum in its place due to Emmersblade’s effect.
Penamante drew XX-Saber Fulhelmknight next turn. He Summoned it, Special Summoned Faultroll from his hand, and then Special Summoned Darksoul from his Graveyard by activating the effect of Faultroll. He Tuned Darksoul, Fulhelmknight, and Airbellum together to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. Then he Tributed Faultroll to strip Gorz from Ahle’s hand, activated Mind Control to take control of Catastor, and attacked directly with Gottoms to win the Duel.
In a narrow 2-1 victory, Justin Penamante is able to defeat Brian Ahle with X-Sabers to become a Dragon Duel Winner!
Post-Event Analysis!
See what our panel of experts had to say about this Duel after the event was over.
Jason Grabher-Meyer (The Old Man of Dueling)
Ahle did a great job of managing his Synchro Monsters to win the first Duel. He knew when to use Infernity Doom Dragon’s effect, and when to attack with it. He also Summoned Ally of Justice Catastor, knowing that X-Sabers have trouble getting through its effect. But his best play was that Torrential Tribute! Activating Torrential Tribute forced Penamante to Tribute the Stardust Dragon he’d taken control of with Goyo Guardian. That let Ahle take Stardust back in the End Phase, and that was what led to his victory.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Both Penamante and Ahle fought each Duel until the end, refusing to concede. This is a great habit to get into. If you stick it out until the end, you may win a couple of Duels that you were considering forfeiting.
