Yesterday we saw an impressive showing from up-and-coming Duelist Courtney Waller, as he narrowly lost to Ryan Spicer in Round 7. We didn’t actually get to see most of the cards that got Waller selected for his Feature Match. The Duel was fast and intense, and only lasted a matter of minutes. But Waller is one of a handful of Blackwing Duelists who made Top 64, and his success was clearly due to some of the creative tech choices he made in building his Deck. Check it out!

Monsters:

3 Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn

3 Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame

3 Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow

2 Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor

2 Blackwing – Blizzard the far North

2 Blackwing – Bora the Spear

1 Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind

2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

2 D.D. Crow

1 Dark Armed Dragon

Spells:

1 Heavy Storm

2 Black Whirlwind

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Allure of Darkness

1 Cards for Black Feathers

1 Brain Control

2 Book of Moon

1 Burial from a Different Dimension

1 My Body As A Shield

1 Giant Trunade

1 Mind Control

Traps:

1 Mirror Force

2 Icarus Attack

1 Delta Crow – Anti Reverse

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Starlight Raod

1 Royal Oppression

1 Trap Dustshoot

Extra Deck:

2 Cyber Dragon

2 Thunder King Rai-Oh

2 D.D. Warrior Lady

1 System Down

2 Trap Hole

2 Gottoms’ Emergency Call

2 Hero’s Rule 2

1 Infernity Doom Dragon

1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

Extra Deck:

2 Stardust Dragon

1 Thought Ruler Archfiend

1 Blackwing – Silverwind the Ascendant

1 Black Rose Dragon

1 Arcanite Magician

2 Blackwing Armor Master

3 Blackwing Armed Wing

1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

1 Goyo Guardian

1 Magical Android

1 Ally of Justice Catastor

Waller runs all the Blackwing monsters you’d expect to see: Sirocco, Shura, Kalut, Vayu, Blizzard, Gale, and Bora all made the cut, as did Dark Armed Dragon. But from there things get more interesting. D.D. Crow served Bobby Chambers well in his Top 8 Blackwing Deck at YCS Chicago, and Waller is playing a pair of them as well. They give him an edge in Game 1 against X-Sabers and Infernities, and while Crow is still a much more popular Side Deck choice than Main Deck choice, it’s especially strong as a Main Deck card in this tournament.

Lots of Duelists are Siding copies of Hero’s Rule 2 in both X-Sabers and Infernities, partly to defeat the D.D. Crows and Crevices from the Different Dimension that are brought in against those Decks in Duel 2 and 3. By Main Decking D.D. Crow instead of Siding it in, Waller can outplay in Game 1, since Hero’s Rule 2 usually isn’t in his opponent’s Main Deck yet. Waller can also rotate out his Crows for Duel 2 or 3, so if his opponent brings in Hero’s Rule against him, they could be Siding the wrong cards. Naturally, D.D. Crow being a DARK Winged-Beast-Type also helps in a Deck packing Allure of Darkness and Icarus Attack.

What else is Waller doing? For one, he’s Main Decking Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, a card that’s seen very little play over the past few months but is a great counter against the most popular Decks. Attacks from Kycoo that result in damage let its controller strip 2 monster cards from the opponent’s Graveyard, so it’s great against Gottoms’ Emergency Call and Infernity Launcher. Waller can clear the way for a direct attack with Icarus Attack and then capitalize with a hit from Kycoo. It’s even good in the Blackwing mirror Match, since Kycoo’s Continuous Effect will keep opposing Duelists from making use of Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor’s effect. “If I have Kycoo out and I see that I’ve already stripped most of my opponent’s Graveyard, I can Summon Gale and Tune them together for Arcanite Magician, too,” explained Waller.

Waller takes a page out of the playbook of the old Turbo Vayu Deck by running Burial from a Different Dimension. That lets him make the most of his Vayus. It also lets him replenish his Graveyard in the case of an opposing Crow or Crevice, and counters Gold Sarcophagus by sending the card removed to the Graveyard. Sarcophagus is a tremendously popular choice here today in X-Sabers.

Finally, Waller runs a single copy of Delta Crow – Anti Reverse, another card that can make a big impact in some of the most common matchups of this tournament. Delta Crow gives Waller another way to fend off Infernity Launcher. He can Chain it to the initial activation of Infernity Launcher to stop its Special Summoning effect from going off. It can also destroy Set Trap cards like Gottoms’ Emergency Call or Mind Crush the turn they’re set, detroying them before they can be activated.

Waller plays extremely aggressively. Delta Crow gives him another way to wipe the field, a really good fit for his playstyle. “I look at it as a Harpie’s Feather Duster,” he said. “There are a lot of Machina Gadget players in my area, and if I open with a Vayu or a Bora and Set Delta Crow to bluff Icarus Attack, those Decks tend to Set 4 cards to their back row sometimes to try and draw out the Icarus. From there they lose their entire field to Delta Crow. I usually knock out at least 2 cards with it, so it always helps out.”

Blackwings have seen a lot more success this weekend than they have in other recent tournaments, and Courtney Waller’s willingness to innovate, combined with his tight, aggressive playstyle, gave him a solid chance of winning.