Dan Quach is running a card in his Deck that I’m willing to bet no other World Championship Qualifier competitor this weekend even considered playing. Yet, it is a card so powerful, it rivals the Egyptian God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon. That’s right – Dan Quach is using the Sacred Beast, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames in his Deck. But will the power of his Sacred Beast allow him to advance undefeated in the tournament, against Nathan Raabe’s Infernity Deck?

Quach won the dice roll and opened up with Nightmare Wheel, Lava Golem, Imperial Custom, 2 copies of Grave of the Superancient Organism, and Metal Reflect Slime. He Set 4 back rows and ended his turn. “Ah, Final Countdown,” Raabe said. It would be a while before he found out how wrong he was.

Raabe activated Giant Trunade to return all of Quach’s cards back to his hand, then Summoned Infernity Archfiend and Set 4 cards to his back row. He attacked directly and ended with the Archfiend and ended his turn.

Quach Set 5 cards to his back row and passed next turn.

In Raabe’s Main Phase, Quach activated Metal Reflect Slime. Raabe flipped Torrential Tribute, but Quach Chained Imperial Custom to protect his Slime! Raabe Chained Mystical Space Typhoon to try to destroy Imperial Custom, but Quach Chained Fake Trap! End result: Metal Reflect Slime was safe and Infernity Archfiend was destroyed. Raabe ended his turn.

Quach drew Magic Planter next turn. He flipped Grave of the Superancient Organism and then activated Magic Planter to get rid of his Grave and draw 2 cards. He Set some Trap Cards, including Dark Bribe and Grave of the Superancient Organism before ending his turn.

Raabe Summoned Infernity Necromancer next turn. He switched it to Defense Position with its effect and then activated its ability to Special Summon Infernity Archfiend from his Graveyard. He thought for a while about what to take with its effect. “I have no idea what you’re doing dude,” he said. That made picking a card difficult. He finally settled on Infernity Inferno and Set it to his back row before ending his turn.

“It’s time to give you a gift, my friend,” Quach said, starting his turn. Quach Tributed Raabe’s Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend to Summon Lava Golem to Raabe’s field. Raabe flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove it, but Quach flipped Dark Bribe to negate it and Raabe drew a card. Raabe flipped Book of Moon to turn the Lava Golem face-down so he wouldn’t lose any Life Points.

Raabe activated Infernity Launcher next turn. He sent it to the Graveyard to Special Summon Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend from his Graveyard and searched his Deck for Infernity Beetle. He Summoned the Beetle and then Tributed it to Special Summon 2 more copies from his Deck. Quach flipped Graveyard of the Super Ancient Organism and Raabe ended his turn.

Raabe activated Dust Tornado on a Set Nightmare Wheel during Quach’s next turn and Quach chained it to attach it to Infernity Archfiend. Nightmare Wheel was protected against the Dust Tornado by Imperial Custom. Quach ended his turn with Metal Reflect Slime, Grave of the Superancient Organism, Imperial Custom, and Nightmare Wheel face-up on the field.

Raabe activated Infernity Inferno next turn and discarded Dust Tornado to send Infernity Avenger from his Deck to his Graveyard. Then he Tuned Infernity Beetle with Infernity Necromancer to Synchro Summon Magical Android. He ended his turn and gained 600 Life Points in his End Phase.

In Quach’s next Draw Phase, he drew Battle Fader. Raabe lost 500 Life Points due to the effect of Nightmare Wheel in Quach’s Standby Phase. Quach ended his turn.

Raabe was up again. He passed, gaining 600 Life Points before losing 500 on Raabe’s turn.

Quach drew Magic Planter next turn. He activated it to send Nightmare Wheel to the Graveyard and draw Fiendish Chain and Morphing Jar. He Set Fiendish Chain and Morphing Jar before ending his turn.

Raabe Set 2 back rows and ended his turn. Quach flipped Fiendish Chain in Raabe’s End Phase to negate the effect of Magical Android so he wouldn’t gain any Life Points.

On Quach’s next turn, he drew Magic Planter. He Set it face-down and flipped Morphing Jar. Both players discarded their hands and drew 5 new cards. Quach drew 2 copies of Lava Golem, Dark Bribe, and 2 copies of Fiendish Chain. Then he flipped Magic Planter to get rid of Fiendish Chain and draw Battle Fader and Scrubbed Raid instead. He Tributed Magical Android and Infernity Archfiend next, Special Summoning Lava Golem to his opponent’s field. Raabe flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove it from play. Quach Special Summoned another Lava Golem next, this time by Tributing Infernity Beetle and Raabe’s Set Lava Golem. Quach Set Dark Bribe and Fiendish Chain before ending his turn.

Raabe lost 1000 Life Points due to the effect of Lava Golem next turn. Then he activated Foolish Burial and sent Infernity Necromancer from his Deck to his Graveyard. He Set 2 back rows and activated Infernity Launcher next, but still had 2 cards in his hand. Raabe used its effect to discard Infernity Archfiend and then Normal Summoned Infernity Mirage. He Tributed the Mirage to Special Summon Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend from his Graveyard. He used the Archfiend’s effect to grab Infernity Launcher from his Deck and add it to his hand once the Archfiend hit the field. Then he activated Infernity Inferno since his Spell and Trap Card Zone was full and he couldn’t send his Launcher to the Graveyard to activate its effect while he had a hand. Quach flipped Dark Bribe to negate the Infernity Inferno and Raabe drew a card. Then he activated Infernity Launcher, discarded a card with the Launcher, and sent one of his 2 Launchers to the Graveyard. Moments later, he Special Summoned Mist Wurm, before realizing that Quach’s Grave of the Super Ancient Organism negates its effect. Raabe managed to Summon Stygian Sergeants that same turn, and used it to attack Morphing Jar. Quach lost 1500 Life Points, dropping to 4700 Life Points. Raabe ended his turn.

Quach drew another Metal Reflect Slime next turn. He Set Scrubbed Raid and passed.

Raabe lost another 1000 Life Points on his next turn, due to the effect of Lava Golem. “Against anyone else, and this would’ve been an amazing field,” he said, with Lava Golem, Mist Wurm, Sergeants, and Infernity Archfiend in Attack Position, plus 5 cards in his back row including a face-up Infernity Launcher. “I’ll flip Scrubbed Raid while you’re thinking,” Quach said. “What’s it do?” Raabe asked. Quach explained its effect and Raabe ended his turn.

Quach drew a card and ended his turn.

Raabe lost another 1000 Life Points due to the effect of Lava Golem on his next turn and passed to Quach.

At last, Quach drew Uria, Lord of Searing Flames on his next turn! The Duelists watching were in awe, and their shock could be heard all over. But Raabe still had no idea what was going on. Quach made the safe play and ended his turn.

Raabe drew a card and ended his next turn after losing 1000 Life Points due to Lava Golem.

Quach drew Card Destruction and passed.

Raabe lost 1000 Life Points again next turn before ending.

Quach drew Fake Trap and considered making his big play. He had a complete lock on the Duel and decided against it, discarding Card Destruction in his End Phase instead, since he had 7 cards in his hand.

Raabe drew a card, lost another 1000 Life Points, and then activated One for One to discard Dark Grepher and Special Summon Infernity Mirage from his Deck. Then he ended his turn.

Quach drew Imperial Custom next turn, and once again thought about Summoning Uria. Instead, he discarded Fake Trap in his End Phase and Raabe used Compulsory Evacuation Device to send Metal Reflect Slime back to Quach’s hand.

Raabe attacked with Infernity Archfiend next turn, and Quach flipped Fiendish Chain to stop the attack. Then Sergeants attacked, and Quach Special Summoned Battle Fader from his hand to block the attack! Raabe ended his turn.

Quach drew Cold Wave at last! With Cold Wave and Uria in his hand, it finally looked like he would be able to win the Duel! But Raabe flipped Trap Dustshoot to send Uria back to Quach’s Deck! Instead, Quach ended his turn. Moments later, Raabe’s final Life Points were taken by Lava Golem.

Raabe uses Trap Dustshoot to avoid being defeated by Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, but can’t handle the heat from Lava Golem and loses the first Duel. Nathan Raabe will be going first in Duel 2, with just 2 minutes left in the round!

Raabe activated Reinforcement of the Army, searched his Deck for Dark Grepher, and added it to his hand. Then he Set a back row, Summoned Dark Grepher, and pitched another Dark Grepher to send Infernity Archfiend from his Deck to his Graveyard with Grepher’s effect. Raabe ended his turn.

Quach opened up with Solemn Judgment, Dark Bribe, Metal Reflect Slime, Card Destruction, Fake Trap, and Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. He Set Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Fake Trap, Metal Reflect Slime, Dark Bribe, and ended his turn. Raabe activated Infernity Inferno to discard Infernity Necromancer and Torrential Tribute, sending Infernity Beetle and Infernity Avenger from his Deck to his Graveyard.

Raabe drew for his turn and then time in the round was called. The Duel went into end-of-Match procedure. Raabe activated Infernity Launcher and then Set his last in-hand card to his back row. Then he sent his Launcher to the Graveyard to Special Summon Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend from his Graveyard, but lost their effects to Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. He flipped his Set Launcher next, but Quach flipped Dark Bribe to negate it. Raabe drew a card and Summoned Infernity Mirage before realizing its effect wouldn’t work. Quach flipped Metal Reflect Slime and Raabe couldn’t get over it. Raabe passed his turn.

Quach activated Card Destruction next turn to trade his hand for 2 new cards – Battle Fader and Fake Trap. He passed.

Raabe drew a card and Set a back row before passing.

Quach drew another Metal Reflect Slime and ended his turn. Since the Life Points were tied after 4 turns, the first Duelist to lose life would lose the Duel, or the first Duelist to gain life would win the Duel.

Raabe drew a card on his next turn, Set a back row, and passed.

Quach drew Gravity Bind next turn and ended.

Raabe Summoned Infernity Beetle on his next turn. He Tuned it to Dark Grepher and Infernity Necromancer to Synchro Summon Mist Wurm, bouncing Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Metal Reflect Slime, and another back row card to Quach’s hand. Then he Tributed the Mirage and Special Summoned 2 more Infernities from his Graveyard. He Tuned them together to Synchro Suummon Magical Android and ended his turn to gain 600 Life Points and win the Duel!

Quach will be going first in Duel 3, still in overtime. He Set 4 back rows and ended his turn.

Raabe activated Heavy Storm, but Quach flipped Fake Trap, revealing Nightmare Wheel, Fiendish Chain, and Imperial Custom to protect them. Raabe used Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Nightmare Wheel and then activated Reinforcement of the Army. He searched his Deck for Dark Grepher, Summoned it, and Quach flipped Fiendish Chain to stop it from attacking.

 

Quach drew Magic Planter next turn. He flipped Imperial Custom and Raabe chained Book of Moon to put his Dark Grepher face-down. Then Quach activated Magic Planter to get rid of Fiendish Chain and draw 2 new cards. He Set some Traps and ended his turn.

On Raabe’s next turn, Quach activated Metal Reflect Slime to Special Summon a 3000 DEF monster to the field. Raabe flipped Torrential Tribute, not realizing it would only result in him losing his Grepher and the Reflect Slime going unharmed due to Imperial Custom. Raabe Set a monster and ended. Since 4 turns had passed, the first player to dip below 8000 Life Points will lose the Duel and the Match!

Quach passed his next turn, hiding safely behind his Metal Reflect Slime.

Raabe Set a monster and ended his next turn.

Quach activated Cold Wave next turn. Then he Tributed both of Raabe’s monsters for Lava Golem and won the Duel when Raabe lost 1000 Life Points on his next turn!

Dan Quach takes a 2-1 victory over Nathan Raabe in overtime, without even Summoning his key card, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames! If Dan Quach keeps it up, we may see a Sacred Beast make it to Day 2 of the World Championship Qualifier!

 

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)
We got to see some cards in Quach’s unique Deck that can work in other Decks, too. Take Fiendish Chain. It’s a Continuous Trap that can stop attacks, and you can Chain it to the activation of a monster’s effect to negate that effect. Fiendish Chain protects you and shuts down the abilities of powerful monsters like XX-Saber Hyunlei, Infernity Archfiend, and Dark Armed Dragon.

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Quach’s Deck is full of cards that most Duelists have never seen put to use, and that caused quite a bit of trouble for Raabe. Raabe was unfamiliar with most of Quach’s cards, and that caused him to make a lot of plays he would later regret, like flipping Torrential Tribute to try to destroy Metal Reflect Slime while Quach had Imperial Custom face-up on the field. If you encounter a bunch of cards you’ve never seen before while Dueling, it’s important to take the time to read each card and understand what it can do. It’s also important to be extra careful when considering each play, since most of the cards you’re encountering for the first time may not cross your mind while you’re developing your strategy.

 P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
Quach’s Uria Deck is one of the most unique Decks you’ll ever see at a tournament, and like all unexpected Decks, it gives its owner a significant advantage. Most Duelists will be using established Decks like X-Sabers, Infernities and Gladiator Beasts, and everybody knows how to play against those Decks as a result. When a Duelist like Quach brings something new to the table, he can catch his opponents off-guard, forcing them to slow their own game down until they can fully understand what they’re up against. By the time Raabe knew what Quach’s main goal was (to Summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames with as much ATK as possible) he was already about to lose Duel 1 from the effects of Lava Golem and Quach’s Trap Cards. When facing off against such an unusual deck, a Duelist is bound to make some mistakes along the way as well. In Duel 2 Quach had Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror on the field and Raabe Summoned Infernity Mirage. By the time he realized that he couldn’t use Mirage’s effect thanks to Shadow Mirror, it was too late as he had already Summoned his monster, which could have easily been destroyed or Tributed later on for Lava Golem.

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