Fortune has smiled on these two Duelists this weekend, as both of them were chosen out of all the players who played in a Public Event this weekend to compete in a 4-player, single elimination tournament. The prize? A set of the Darklords, the YCS Prize Cards!

Manahan won the roll and went first. He had Book of Moon, Bottomless Trap Hole, Test Tiger, Gladiator Beast Darius, and Gladiator Beast War Chariot in his hand. He Normal Summoned Darius and Set 3 Spell or Trap Cards before ending his turn.

Brantley Set three Spell or Trap Cards and a Monster to end his turn.

Manahan drew Elemental Hero Prisma for his turn and attacked with Darius, but Brantley responded with Waboku. His Gladiator Beast Bestiari flipped face up and when Manahan ended his Battle Phase, neither player wished to activate their effects. Manahan Set one more Spell or Trap and ended his turn.

Brantley activated Trap Stun at the start of his turn. He Set a Gladiator Beast Laquari and contact fused for Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, destroying Manahan’s Darius and Chariot. He declared an attack but Manahan activated Book of Moon.

Manahan drew a Bestiari of his own and Summoned Prisma, he revealed Heraklinos to send Laquari to the Graveyard. He attacked the now face-down Gyzarus and ended his turn.

Brantley Set one Spell or Trap Card and ended his turn.

Manahan drew Gladiator Beast Murmillo on his turn and summoned it to the field. He declared an attack with Murmillo but Brantley activated Mirror Force destroying both of Manahan’s monsters.

Brantley Normal Summoned Elemental Hero Prisma and activated its effect to send Gladiator Beast Laquari to the Graveyard, but Manahan Chained Bottomless Trap Hole to destroy Prisma and remove it from play.

Manahan drew Dimensional Prison and Summoned Gladiator Beast Bestiari, he attacked for 1500 damage and at the end of the Battle Phase sent it back to the Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Equeste which added Gladiator Beast War Chariot back to his hand from his Graveyard. He Set two Spell or Trap Cards and ended.

Brantley drew and passed with no play.

Manahan drew Smashing Ground on his turn, adding it to his hand of Test Tiger. He attacked directly with Equeste and swapped it back to his Deck for Gladiator Beast Retiari, removing Gladiator Beast Gyzarus from Brantley’s Graveyard.

Brantley drew to 3 cards in hand and activated Gladiator Beast Respite, sending Gladiator Beast Secutor and Indomitable Gladiator Beast back to his Deck to draw 3 new cards. He then activated Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Manahan’s Bottomless Trap Hole. He Normal Summoned Bestiari and declared an attack but Manahan chained Dimensional Prison, Brantley responded with Trap Stun and the attack was successful. He sent Bestiari back to his Deck and Special Summoned Equeste to add Gladiator Beast Laquari back to his hand.

Manahan drew and Summoned Elemental Hero Prisma. Activating its effect, he sent Bestiari to his Graveyard and activated Smashing Ground to destroy Equeste. He then Special Summoned Test Tiger, sending Prisma back to the Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Darius, it revived Bestiari and Manahan sent both back to the Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, destroying Brantley’s Set Indomitable Gladiator Beast. He then attacked for 2400 damage and swapped Gyzarus for Darius and Equeste, which Special Summoned Gladiator Beast Laquari and added Gladiator Beast Retiari to his hand, respectively. He then returned all 3 Gladiator Beasts to his Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos and ended his turn.

Brantley drew and sent Respite and Equeste back to his Deck to add Indomitable Gladiator Beast back to his hand. He considered his options for a moment before Summoning Gladiator Beast Laquari. He Special Summoned Test Tiger and activated its effect, sending Laquari back to the Deck to Special Summon Gladiator Beast Murmillo. Manahan chained War Chariot to Murmillo’s effect, however and Brantley immediately conceded.

Manahan wins Duel 1 thanks to Heraklinos and Gladiator Beast War Chariot!

Brantley decided to take the first turn during Duel 2. He started off with Gladiator Beast Respite, sending Hoplomus and Darius back to his Deck to draw 3 new cards. He Set a monster and 2 Spell or Trap Cards.

Manahan’s hand was Elemental Hero Stratos, My Body as a Shield, Gladiator Beast Bestiari, Cyber Dragon, and two Gladiator Beast War Chariots. He Special Summoned Cyber Dragon and Brantley responded with Bottomless Trap Hole. He then Normal Summoned Elemental Hero Stratos and used its effect to add Elemental Hero Prisma to his hand from his Deck. He Set two Spell or Trap Cards and ended.

Brantley summoned Elemental Hero Prisma and activated its effect, sending Gladiator Beast Laquari to his Graveyard. He attacked Stratos with Prisma and during the damage step, activated Indomitable Gladiator Beast. He Set one more Spell or Trap Card and ended his turn.

Manahan drew Dimensional Prison and Normal Summoned Bestiari, but when Brantley responded with Bottomless Trap Hole, Manahan activated My Body as a Shield. He attacked Brantley’s face down monster and Brantley responded by activating Trap Stun. The attack went through and Jowls of Dark Demise flipped up, taking control of Bestiari. Manahan ended his battle phase and Brantley sent Bestiari back to Manahan’s Deck to Summon his own Equeste, which added Indomitable Gladiator Beast back to his hand. Manahan Set two more Spell or Trap cards and ended his turn.

Brantley started his turn by activating Prisma and sending Bestiari to his Graveyard. He then contact fused for Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, targeting and destroying Manahan’s Set Chariots. He attacked for 2400 Damage and Manahan activated Dimensional Prison, Brantley responded with Trap Stun and when he activated the effect of Gyzarus to swap, Manahan conceded!

Brantley wins Game 2, both players are now one win away from a set of Prize Cards! The pressure is on!

After some brief Side Decking, Manahan started us off. His hand consisted of Monster Reborn, Gladiator Beast War Chariot, Nobleman of Crossout, Gladiator Beast Retiari, Test Tiger, and Mind Control. He Set one Spell or Trap Card and ended.

Brantley summoned Gladiator Beast Laquari, attacked directly for 1800, and Set two Spell or Trap Cards.

Manahan drew another Test Tiger on his turn and activated Mind Control, He summoned Test Tiger and swapped his opponent’s Laquari for his own Gladiator Beast Bestiari, targeting and destroying Brantley’s face-down Trap Stun. He then Set Retiari and returned it and Bestiari to his Deck to Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, destroying Brantley’s Set Indomitable Gladiator Beast. Gyzarus attacked directly and was swapped for two Laquaris. Manahan then ended his turn.

Brantley drew to 4 cards in hand and thought for a moment before Special Summoning Cyber Dragon. He then Normal Summoned Elemental Hero Prisma and activated its effect, sending Gladiator Beast Bestiari to the Graveyard to take its name, however, Manahan chained Gladiator Beast War Chariot to destroy it.

Manahan drew another Test Tiger and Special Summoned it, he then activated Monster Reborn, taking Brantley’s Prisma to send Bestiari to his Graveyard. He then returned it and one of his Laquaris to the Deck to Summon Gyzarus, destroying Brantley’s Cyber Dragon. Next, he activated Test Tiger to swap the remaining Laquari for Gladiator Beast Secutor. He attacked with both of his monsters and then Special Summoned Equeste and Retiari with Secutor’s effect; Removing Bestiari from Brantley’s Graveyard and adding War Chariot to his hand from his Graveyard. He then swapped Gyzarus for two Laquaris and returned Secutor, a Lacquari, and Retiari to his Deck to Summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos.

Brantley drew and, unable to deal with Heraklinos, offered the handshake.

Ralph Manahan wins the Public Event Raffle Playoffs and wins his very own set of YCS Prize Cards!

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)
Jowls of Dark Demise is a classic Side Deck choice in the Gladiator Beast mirror-match, and we got to see it in action in Duel 2!  Jowls’ Flip Effect lets you take control of an opposing monster until the end of the turn. It’s good in the Gladiator mirror because if it’s attacked by a Gladiator Beast, you can take control of that monster, then tag out your opponent’s Gladiator.  Then you can tag in your own Gladiator Beast, eliminating an opposing monster while Summoning another.  If you play Gladiator Beasts, definitely consider Jowls for your Side Deck. 

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
In Duel 2, a well-timed Jowls of Dark Demise allowed Brantley to take control of Manahan’s Gladiator Beast and tag it out for his own. Brantley even used Trap Stun when Manahan declared the attack, to make sure the effect of his Jowls wouldn’t be negated by Manahan’s Gladiator Beast War Chariot. Jowls of Dark Demise is a strong card in the Gladiator Beast mirror-match. Swapping an opponent’s Gladiator Beast for one of your own is the perfect way to turn a Duel around. Some Gladiator Beast Duelists have also been experimenting with Wiseman’s Chalice. Wiseman’s Chalice lets you steal a Gladiator Beast from the opponent’s Graveyard before attacking with it and tagging it out to Special Summon your own Gladiator Beast in its place. 

P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
Cyber Dragon’s a great card to have in a Gladiator Beast mirror-match, as it’s got more ATK than everything in the opponent’s Deck but a tagged-in Laquari. As a result it’s going to get hit with Bottomless Trap Hole and Book of Moon quite often, allowing you to Normal Summon your Gladiators without getting hit by the same cards as your opponent’s already used them on the Cyber Dragon. We saw this in Duel 2 when Manahan was able to keep his Elemental Hero Stratos on the field after his Cyber Dragon was removed from play.

Click here to check out the next feature match.