Infernities proved to be extremely popular here in Toronto this past Summer: so much so that while X-Sabers were dominating in the United States, Infernities were winning the Canadian World Championship Qualifier.  Aaron Noel took home the Canadian Championship, but it was fellow Canadians like Lazaro and Dale Bellido that first pioneered the Deck when it debuted at YCS Virginia.  They, and many more Canadians like them, continued to play the Deck for the bulk of the March 1^st Advanced Format.

Some of them, like Bellido, are still playing it here today!  With Infernity Launcher Limited to 1-per-Deck the familiar Infernity play patterns are no more: while the Deck was once all about activating Infernity Launcher to bring back Infernity Archfiend and get another Launcher  (and then a third) to flood the field with Synchro Summons, that’s no longer an option.

Instead, Archfiend is now the center of a toolbox of extremely strong individual cards, searching out Tuners, effect negation, and a wider base of Special Summon cards like Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Mirage to outplay the opposition.  We saw Bellido take a 2-0 victory in his Round 2 Feature Match just moments ago.  Now, let’s take a look at his Deck:

Monsters:

3 Infernity Archfiend

3 Infernity Necromancer

2 Infernity Mirage

2 Infernity Avenger

2 Stygian Street Patrol

1 Dark Grepher

1 Armageddon Knight

1 Plaguespreader Zombie

Spells:

2 Book of Moon

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Monster Reborn

1 Giant Trunade

1 One for One

1 Infernity Launcher

2 Pot of Duality

Traps:

3 Infernity Inferno

3 Infernity Barrier

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Solemn Judgment

1 Solemn Warning

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Trap Stun

1 Infernity Break

1 Dust Tornado

Like many Duelists here this weekend, Bellido is bolstering the consistency of his Deck with Pot of Duality.  He’s also running Solemn Warning and Infernity Break, two of the many different control cards he’s hoping to outplay his opponents with.  But it seemed like his favorite new addition was actually Stygian Street Patrol (from Duelist Revolution), which Bellido runs 2 copies of.

With Street Patrol in the Graveyard, he can remove it to Special Summon Infernity Archfiend (or Infernity Mirage!) from his hand.  That doesn’t just give Bellido more ways to trigger Archfiend’s effect: it also helps him play around his opponent’s defenses.  “If my opponent has a Set card that could cause problems for me, like Torrential Tribute, I can draw it out by Summoning something like Infernity Necromancer.”

Most players aren’t ready for Street Patrol, so Bellido can make them waste cards by playing less important monsters first, then use his Street Patrol to Special Summon Archfiend when his opponents don’t expect it.  “It’s really good against Effect Veiler.”  Veiler’s effect can be Chained to Archfiend’s ability, negating Bellido’s most important moves, but if the Veiler is activated first to stop a less important monster then Bellido is free to resolve Archfiend’s search.

Most Duelists have very firm ideas about what to expect from an Infernity Deck.  Since Street Patrol allows for Special Summons in positions where they weren’t formerly possible, it lets Bellido exceed the range of options his opponents anticipate.  Dark Grepher and Armageddon Knight can load his Graveyard with Street Patrol as needed, and their 1600 ATK is nothing to sneeze at.

Of course, there are certainly instances in which Bellido can make explosive plays, thanks to his one remaining Infernity Launcher and his multiple copies of Infernity Mirage.  Street Patrol can combo with Mirage as well as Archfiend, unlocking even more explosive plays than Archfiend is often capable of.  When Bellido does go for a big sequence of Summons, he can protect his aggressive efforts with Infernity Barrier and one of the afternoon’s top tech picks: Trap Stun.

Trap Stun is quickly becoming a defining card of this tournament, locking down the huge back rows we’re seeing from most Duelists.  It also comes in handy in control-oriented matchups that feature big opposing Trap Cards: as we saw in Bellido’s Feature Match, Icarus Attack and Delta Crow – Anti Reverse can cause major problems, and Trap Stun doubles as a defensive answer to both cards.

Right now, Bellido is undefeated with a 3-0 record.  With six Rounds left in Day 1, we may see Infernities make the top tables tomorrow, possibly becoming the defining control Deck of this format.