Top 64 Feature Match: Chris Arantes vs. Ryan Newburn
Ryan Newburn is the last remaining competitor who competed in the 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship. He took 3rd place last year in the U.S. National Championship with his Lightsworn Deck, earning his invitation to the World Championship in Tokyo. Now, he’s competing for another chance to compete in the most prestigious Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament of the year.
Newburn is playing X-Sabers today and will be facing Chris Arantes’s X-Saber Deck in this Feature Match. The winner of this Duel will advance to the Top 32 and be awarded a Dark End Dragon prize card, along with the potential to advance even further. The other Duelist, however, will be eliminated.
Arantes won the dice roll and chose to go first. He Set a monster and a back row before ending his turn.
Newburn opened up with Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, Book of Moon, Royal Oppression, XX-Saber Darksoul, and XX-Saber Faultroll in his hand. Newburn activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Arantes’s Set Gottoms’ Emergency Call and then Set XX-Saber Darksoul. Next, he Set Royal Oppression to his back row and passed.
Arantes Set a back row and ended his turn.
Newburn drew and Set Trap Stun next turn before passing back to Arantes.
Arantes activated Giant Trunade next turn to return all Spell and Trap cards on the field to their owners’ hands. Then he Normal Summoned XX-Saber Boggart Knight and activated its effect to Special Summon X-Saber Airbellum from his hand. He flipped XX-Saber Emmersblade into Attack Position next. Then he attacked Newburn’s Set Darksoul with Boggart Knight and attacked directly with X-Saber Airbellum and XX-Saber Emmersblade. Airbellum nailed Heavy Storm from Newburn’s hand. Arantes Set a back row in Main Phase 2 and entered his End Phase. In his End Phase, Newburn searched his Deck for X-Saber Pashuul with the effect of Darksoul and added it to his hand.
Newburn drew Gottoms’ Emergency Call next turn. He Set Pashuul and then Set Trap Stun and Royal Oppression to his back row before ending his turn. Arantes activated Mystical Space Typhoon in his End Phase to destroy Newburn’s newly Set Trap Stun.
Arantes switched XX-Saber Emmersblade to Defense Position next turn. Then he attacked Newburn’s Set Pashuul with Boggart Knight and ended his turn, unable to destroy it.
Newburn drew another Gottoms’ Emergency Call next turn – it wasn’t the X-Saber he needed to draw in order to Special Summon Faultroll. He Set Gottoms’ Emergency Call and a Book of Moon before ending his turn.
Arantes began his turn and Newburn lost 1000 Life Points in his Standby Phase due to the effect of Pashuul. Then Arantes activated Brain Control to try to take control of Pashuul, but Newburn flipped Book of Moon to turn it face-down. Boggart Knight attacked Pashuul and it flipped face-up. He ended his turn.
Newburn drew Gold Sarcophagus next turn. He activated it and removed Cold Wave from his Deck to reclaim it in 2 turns. Then he Set another copy of Gottoms’ Emergency Call and ended his turn.
Arantes began his turn and Newburn lost another 1000 Life Points in his Standby Phase, dropping to 3100 Life Points. Arantes stood strong with 7200 Life Points. Arantes passed.
Newburn drew Bottomless Trap Hole next turn. He Set it and ended his turn.
Arantes drew a card and Newburn dropped down to 2100 Life Points in his Standby Phase due to the effect of Pashuul. Arantes Set a monster and a back row before passing.
Newburn drew Rescue Cat next turn! In his Standby Phase, he reclaimed the Cold Wave he searched out with Gold Sarcophagus. He Summoned Rescue Cat next and Tributed it to Special Summon X-Saber Airbellum and XX-Saber Darksoul from his Deck. Then he Special Summoned XX-Saber Faultroll from his hand and activated its effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Darksoul from his Graveyard. He Tuned Airbellum to Darksoul and Synchro Summoned XX-Saber Hyunlei to destroy Arantes’s back row Gottoms’ Emergency Call. Arantes couldn’t chain it since he already had 4 monsters on the field. Then he Tuned XX-Saber Darksoul with X-Saber Pashuul to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Catastor. He activated Gottoms’ Emergency Call next, and Special Summoned X-Saber Airbellum and XX-Saber Darksoul from his Graveyard. Then he Tuned Airbellum with Faultroll to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. He activated the effect of Gottoms and Tributed Darksoul to discard X-Saber Airbellum from Arantes’s hand. Then Newburn activated another copy of Gottoms’ Emergency Call, this time to Special Summon 2 more copies of XX-Saber Darksoul. He Tributed both of them, forcing Arantes to discard his hand of XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and Thunder King Rai-Oh. Newburn attacked Emmersblade with Catastor, Airbellum with Hyunlei, and Boggart Knight with Gottoms. Arantes dropped down to 5300 Life Points. In his End Phase, Newburn searched his Deck for XX-Saber Boggart Knight, XX-Saber Emmersblade, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, and 2 copies of XX-Saber Faultroll and added them to his hand with the effects of Darksoul. That’s a lot of Darksoul searches!
Arantes conceded next turn, completely overwhelmed by Newburn’s hand and field. He’ll be going first in Duel 2!
Arantes started things off by Setting a monster and a back row before ending his turn.
Newburn opened up next game with Torrential Tribute, Giant Trunade, Book of Moon, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, and 2 copies of XX-Saber Faultroll. He Summoned Fulhelmknight to the field and attacked Arantes’s Set XX-Saber Emmersblade. Arantes activated Emmersblade’s effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Darksoul from his Deck in Defense Position. Newburn Set Book of Moon and Torrential Tribute in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.
Arantes Summoned X-Saber Airbellum next turn, but Newburn flipped Book of Moon to put it face-down before Arantes could Synchro Summon.
Newburn drew Bottomless Trap Hole next turn. Then he attacked the face-down Airbellum with Fulhelmknight and destroyed it. He Set Bottomless Trap Hole and ended his turn. In his End Phase, Arantes activated Gottoms’ Emergency Call to revive Emmersblade and Airbellum, and Newburn flipped Torrential Tribute to clear the field. Darksoul’s effect triggered and Arantes searched his Deck for X-Saber Airbellum to add to his hand with Darksoul’s effect.
Arantes Summoned XX-Saber Boggart Knight next turn and activated its effect to Special Summon X-Saber Airbellum from his hand. Newburn flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove X-Saber Airbellum from play. Boggart Knight attacked directly and Arantes ended.
Newburn drew Brain Control next turn and Set Giant Trunade. He ended his turn.
Arantes Summoned Sangan next turn and attacked directly with Sangan and Boggart Knight. Then he Set a back row in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.
Newburn drew XX-Saber Emmersblade next turn. He activated Giant Trunade to clear the Spell and Trap Card Zone and then Normal Summoned XX-Saber Emmersblade. He attacked Boggart Knight with Emmersblade and Special Summoned Fulhelmknight from his Deck with the effect of Emmersblade. Then he attacked Sangan with Fulhelmknight and Arantes searched his Deck for Rescue Cat to add to his hand with Sangan’s effect. In Main Phase 2, Newburn activated Brain Control to take control of Boggart Knight and Special Summoned 2 copies of Faultroll from his hand. He activated the effect of one of his Faultrolls to revive XX-Saber Fulhelmknight from his Graveyard and then he Tuned that Faultroll with the Fulhelmknight to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. Then he used the effect of his other Faultroll to Special Summon another Fulhelmknight from his Graveyard, and Tributed it to discard Heavy Storm from Arantes’s hand. He Tributed Boggart Knight and another Fulhelmknight next, to discard Rescue Cat and Compulsory Evacuation Device from Arantes’s hand. “You’re up,” he said.
Arantes Set a monster next turn. Then he Set both cards in his hand to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Newburn activated the effect of Faultroll next turn, but Arantes negated it by flipping Royal Oppression and paying 800 Life Points. Then XX-Saber Gottoms attacked Arantes’s Set X-Saber Airbellum and destroyed it. In Main Phase 2, Newburn Set a Sangan he just drew and ended his turn.
Arantes Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight next turn and attacked Newburn’s Set Sangan. Newburn searched his Deck for Rescue Cat and added it to his hand with the effect of Sangan, even though Royal Oppression was face-up. Arantes Special Summoned Emmersblade from his Graveyard in Defense Position with the effect of Fulhelmknight.
Newburn drew XX-Saber Darksoul next turn. Then he attacked Fulhelmknight with Gottoms and Arantes negated the attack with the effect of Fulhelmknight.
Arantes Set a back row and switched Fulhelmknight to Defense Position next turn.
Newburn attacked Fulhelmknight with Gottoms again next turn, but Arantes flipped Book of Moon to put Gottoms face-down and block the attack. Newburn ended his turn.
Arantes drew a card and passed.
Newburn Flip Summoned XX-Saber Gottoms next turn and it was removed from play by Bottomless Trap Hole. Then he Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh and attacked Fulhelmknight to destroy it. Next, he Set a back row and ended his turn.
Arantes drew to a second card in hand. Then he switched Emmersblade to Attack Position and attacked into Thunder King Rai-Oh. He lost 600 Life Points and Special Summoned Boggart Knight from his Deck with Emmersblade’s effect. Boggart Knight rammed into Rai-Oh and both monsters were destroyed. He Set a back row and then Summoned XX-Saber Ragigura to the field. Ragigura’s effect activated to return Boggart Knight from his Graveyard to his hand.
Newburn drew and Set Royal Oppression next turn. Then he Set XX-Saber Darksoul and passed.
Arantes Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh next turn and switched Ragigura to Defense Position. Thunder King Rai-Oh attacked Darksoul and Newburn didn’t get to search his Deck in the End Phase due to Rai-Oh’s effect.
Newburn drew another Darksoul next turn and got hit with Mind Crush in his Draw Phase. Arantes called Rescue Cat and Newburn revealed the Rescue Cat and Darksoul in his hand, sending his Rescue Cat to the Graveyard. He Set Darksoul in Defense Position to try to survive, but it wouldn’t be enough!
Arantes switched XX-Saber Ragigura to Attack Position and attacked Darksoul before scoring a direct hit with Thunder King Rai-Oh to end the Duel! Newburn’s 1800 Life Points weren’t enough to save him.
Ryan Newburn will be going first in Duel 3.
Newburn opened up with Gold Sarcophagus, Heavy Storm, XX-Saber Boggart Knight, XX-Saber Darksoul, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, and Trap Stun. He used Gold Sarcophagus to remove Rescue Cat from his Deck so he could reclaim it in 2 turns. Then he Summoned Boggart Knight and activated its effect to Special Summon Fulhelmknight in Attack Position. He Set Trap Stun and ended his turn.
Arantes Summoned XX-Saber Emmersblade next turn. He activated Book of Moon to put Fulhelmknight face-down, and then declared an attack on it. The attack was successful and Fulhelmknight was destroyed. He Set a back row and passed.
Newburn Normal Summoned Darksoul and Special Summoned Faultroll next turn. Arantes flipped Bottomless Trap Hole, but Newburn negated it with Trap Stun. Newburn revived Fulhelmknight from the Graveyard with Faultroll’s effect and then Tuned Fulhelmknight with Darksoul to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian. Boggart Knight attacked Emmersblade, and Arantes lost 600 Life Points. He Special Summoned XX-Saber Darksoul from his Deck in Defense Position with the effect of Emmersblade. Goyo Guardian attacked and stole Darksoul, and then Faultroll attacked Arantes directly, dropping him down to 5000 Life Points. Newburn ended his turn, and in the End Phase, Arantes searched his Deck for Fulhelmknight and added it to his hand with the effect of Darksoul. Newburn forgot to use the effect of his Darksoul.
Arantes Summoned Fulhelmknight next turn and attacked the Defense Position Darksoul Newburn stole with Goyo. Then he used Fulhelmknight’s effect to Special Summon Darksoul from his Graveyard in Defense Position. He Tuned Darksoul with Fulhelmknight to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier and then discarded two cards to bounce Fulhelmknight and Goyo Guardian. Arantes Set 2 back rows and ended his turn. In his End Phase, he searched his Deck for Fulhelmknight and added it to his handd.
Newburn drew Thunder King Rai-Oh next turn and then retrieved his Rescue Cat from the effect of Gold Sarcophagus, but Arantes flipped Mind Crush to discard it from Newburn’s hand. Time was called, and the player with the highest Life Points in 4 turns will be declared the win. Newburn Set Heavy Storm, Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh, and ended his turn.
Arantes Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight next turn. Then he discarded Royal Oppression to send Thunder King Rai-Oh back to Newburn’s hand. Brionac attacked Boggart Knight and then Fulhelmknight scored a direct hit. Newburn dropped down to 6300 Life Points, 1300 Points above Arantes.
Newburn drew Mystical Space Typhoon next turn and Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh to the field. He used Rai-Oh to attack Fulhelmknight, but Arantes used Fulhelmknight’s effect to negate the attack. Newburn Set Mystical Space Typhoon in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.
Aratnes was up, and this would be the last turn in the Duel. If he could deal more than 1300 damage to Newburn, he would win. He discarded Book of Moon with Brionac’s effect to return Thunder King Rai-Oh to Newburn’s hand. Then he attacked directly with Fulhelmknight and Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, dropping Newburn down to 2700 Life Points! With 2300 Life Points more than Newburn, Chris Arantes was declared the winner of the Match!
In a close 2-1 Match, Chris Arantes defeats the last remaining 2009 World Championship competitor to secure a Dark End Dragon prize card and a seat in the Top 32!
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 saw two Traps a lot in this Match: Royal Oppression and Trap Stun. Stun started to get popular amongst X-Saber Duelists around the time of YCS Chicago. Being able to turn Oppression off when you want to Special Summon is really powerful, and there’s another card that can do it too: Saber Slash. With enough X-Sabers in Attack Position, Saber Slash can destroy your Oppression and opposing monsters all at once.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
In Duel 2, Newburn Set Sangan in Defense Position while holding a dominating position. This allowed Arantes to attack and destroy the Defense Position Sangan with XX-Saber Fulhelmknight and revive XX-Saber Emmersblade with Fulhelmknight’s effect, putting him right back in the game! In Duel 3, Newburn took control of Arantes’s XX-Saber Darksoul in Defense Position with the effect of Goyo Guardian. This allowed Arantes to attack it with Fulhelmknight so he could revive Darksoul and Synchro Summon a game-winning Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. In both of these situations, it looks like Newburn’s defeat could have been avoided. If he Summoned his Sangan in Attack Position instead of Setting it in Defense Position and declined to take control of Darksoul with the effect of his Goyo Guardian, he wouldn’t have left an opening for Arantes to exploit.
P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
Newburn’s first move of the Match was to play Mystical Space Typhoon on Arantes’ Set Gottoms’ Emergency Call, destroying it. He then Set his Royal Oppression along with a monster. While most Duelists would hold on to their Typhoon until they could make a push with a large monster or combo, Newburn wanted to make sure his Royal Oppression was safe, so that he could Set it without having it get destroyed by a possible Dust Tornado or Mystical Space Typhoon that Arantes could have Set.