Round 8 Feature Match: Derek Freeman vs. Austin Kulman
Austin Kulman was the 2006 U.S. National Champion, and has made the top cut of multiple YCS tournaments in his Dueling career. His opponent is Derek Freeman, who just started playing competitively this year, and is now 6-1 here in San Jose. With this being the last Swiss Round of Day 1, and 2 more Rounds tomorrow, a win here would be a strong push towards a Top 32 qualification. Both Duelists are playing X-Sabers.
Kulman started things off with Giant Trunade, XX-Saber Darksoul, Dark Hole, 2 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, and XX-Saber Faultroll. He Set Darksoul.
Freeman Set a monster, then Set a card to his back row.
Kulman drew X-Saber Airbellum. He Set Giant Trunade and ended.
Freeman Set another monster.
Kulman drew Book of Moon and activated Dark Hole, destroying his Darksoul, as well as Freeman’s Darksoul and Debris Dragon! Kulman Summoned Airbellum, attacked into Mirror Force, and Set Book. He got XX-Saber Boggart Knight with Darksoul’s effect in his End Phase, and Freeman got Faultroll.
Freeman activated Giant Trunade! He followed up with Boggart Knight, Special Summoned X-Saber Pashuul, and Special Summoned 2 copies of Faultroll! He Tuned Pashuul to Boggart Knight for XX-Saber Hyunlei, Special Summoned back Boggart Knight with 1 Faultroll, and Kulman knew it was over. He conceded and immediately went for his Side Deck.
Derek Freeman takes the first Duel in just 3 turns, exploding with Giant Trunade, Boggart Knight, and double Faultroll! Duel 2 began moments later.
Kulman’s hand was Solemn Warning, Book of Moon, Monster Reborn, Banisher of the Radiance, and 2 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight. He Summoned Banisher, and Set Warning and Book.
Freeman activated Mind Control to take Banisher, then Summoned Fulhelmknight, but Kulman’s Book of Moon turned Fulhelmknight face-down to stop the imminent Synchro Summon, forcing Freeman to Set a Spell or Trap and end his turn, handing back the Banisher.
Kulman drew Doomcaliber Knight. He attacked Fulhelmknight with Banisher to remove it.
Freeman activated Dark Hole to get rid of Banisher, then Set a monster.
Kulman drew Royal Oppression. He activated Monster Reborn, Special Summoned Banisher, and attacked to destroy and remove Freeman’s XX-Saber Darksoul!
Freeman passed.
Kulman drew Cold Wave and attacked for 1600 Battle Damage with Banisher.
Freeman had 4 cards in hand with 1 card Set to his back row. He Summoned Fulhelmknight and Set another card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Kulman drew Gottoms‘ Emergency Call. He Summoned Doomcaliber Knight, attacked with it, and Freeman turned it face-down with Book of Moon. Banisher attacked, and Freeman negated the attack with Fulhelmknight’s effect.
Freeman attacked Banisher with Fulhelmknight, and turned Banisher face-down with Book of Moon so Fulhelmknight could destroy it. His Graveyard was empty, so he had nothing to Special Summon with Fulhelmknight’s effect.
Kulman Flip Summoned Doomcaliber, attacked, and destroyed Fulhelmknight. He Set a third Spell or Trap.
Freeman Set a second Spell or Trap.
Kulman attacked for 1900 Battle Damage with Doomcaliber, and now had Doomcaliber, 3 Set cards in his back row, and 5 cards in hand.
Freeman drew to 3 cards in hand with 2 more Set in his back row. He Set a monster.
Kulman drew Thunder King Rai-Oh. He Flip Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, attacked with Doomcaliber, and ran into Legendary Jujitsu Master. Both monsters hit the Graveyard due to Doomcaliber Knight’s effect. Fulhelmknight made a direct attack and Freeman was down to 2600 Life Points. Kulman was still sitting pretty at 8000, and he Set a monster to finish his turn.
Freeman Set a third Spell or Trap.
Kulman activated Cold Wave! He Normal Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh and Freeman conceded.
Austin Kulman battles back, taking commanding control of the second Duel to take us to Duel 3! One of these competitors would head into the remaining Swiss Rounds tomorrow with a 7-1 record, and a hugely strong shot at making the Top 32. We’d know which Duelist that would be in mere moments.
Freeman Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight to start, and Set 2 Spell or Trap Cards.
Kulman had XX-Saber Emmersblade, 2 Books of Moon, Chivalry, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Gottoms‘ Emergency Call. He Summoned Emmersblade, attacked Fulhelmknight, and Freeman negated the attack with Fulhelmknight’s effect. Kulman then Set both Books plus Bottomless.
Freeman Set a third Spell or Trap and turned Fulhelmknight to Defense Position.
Kulman drew Doomcaliber Knight and attacked to destroy Fulhelmknight with Emmersblade. He Set Chivalry.
Freeman passed.
Kulman drew X-Saber Pashuul and attacked with Emmersblade to score the first hit of the Duel. Freeman dropped to 6700 Life Points.
Freeman Summoned another Fulhelmknight and ended.
Kulman drew Banisher of the Radiance, and attacked Fulhelmknight with Emmersblade. Freeman activated Fulhelmknight’s effect, Kulman negated it with Chivalry, and Fulhelmknight was destroyed. Emmersblade attacked again, and this time Freeman activated Gottoms‘ Emergency Call to Special Summon 2 Fulhelmknights! Emmersblade attacked again to draw out 1 of their 2 attack negations. Kulman finished his turn by Setting Gottoms‘ Emergency Call.
Freeman Set a third Spell or Trap.
Kulman drew, now holding Doomcaliber Knight, Mind Control, Banisher, and Pashuul with 4 cards Set in his back row. He activated Mind Control, tried to take a Fulhelmknight, and Freeman negated it with Solemn Judgment, dropping to 3350 Life Points. Kulman Summoned Doomcaliber Knight, Freeman removed it with Bottomless Trap Hole, and Kulman attacked with Emmersblade to force the last remaining attack negation.
Freeman activated Giant Trunade, and Kulman had no response. Freeman Special Summoned 2 copies of Faultroll, Tuned a Fulhelmknight to 1 of them, and Synchro Summoned XX-Saber Gottoms! He attacked Emmersblade with Gottoms, Kulman used Emmersblade’s effect to Special Summon another Emmersblade, and Freeman attacked it with XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, turning Emmersblade down with Book of Moon. Then he Special Summoned his second Fulhelmknight back with the effect of the first. Kulman Special Summoned X-Saber Pashuul with Emmersblade’s effect. Freeman then Tributed both Fulhelmknights for Gottoms’ effect, making Kulman discard Bottomless Trap Hole and Gottoms’ Emergency Call, and Set a card to his back row to finish.
Kulman drew Solemn Warning. He had Warning, Banisher, another Pashuul, and 2 Books of Moon. He Summoned Banisher of the Radiance, Tuned it to Pashuul, and Synchro Summoned Ally of Justice Catastor. Catastor attacked Gottoms, and Freeman activated another Gottoms‘ Emergency Call to bring back his 2 Fulhelmknights. The addition of more monsters to the field triggered a replay of the attack, and when Kulman attacked Gottoms again Freeman negated it. Kulman Set everything but his Pashuul to his back row.
Freeman activated Monster Reborn, targeting one of Kulman’s Emmersblades. Kulman let him Special Summon it, and Freeman Tuned Fulhelmknight to Emmersblade for Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, and Kulman negated the Summon with Solemn Warning. Freeman Summoned back his Fulhelmknight with Faultroll’s effect, Set his last card to his back row, and ended.
Kulman drew Gottoms‘ Emergency Call and Set it. He attacked with Catastor to leave Freeman with 1 remaining Fulhelmknight negation.
Freeman Tributed the used Fulhelmknight to Gottoms’ effect, forcing Kulman to discard his Pashuul. He then tried to Special Summon the Fulhelmknight back with Faultroll in a bid to replenish his supply of attack negations, and Kulman let it go. “That’s annoying,” observed Kulman. “You have sort of a loop going.” Freeman Set a Spell or Trap.
Kulman drew Faultroll. He activated Gottoms’ Emergency Call, targeted his 2 Emmersblades, and Freeman had no response. The Emmersblades were Summoned. But Freeman flipped Torrential Tribute! He lost his Fulhelmknights, Faultroll, and Gottoms, while Kulman lost his Emmersblades and Catastor.
Freeman Set a Spell or Trap.
Kulman passed.
Freeman Summoned Boggart Knight, but lost it to Torrential Tribute.
Kulman Set a monster.
Freeman passed with 3300 Life Points left.
Kulman activated Cold Wave! He Flip Summoned XX-Saber Darksoul, Summoned Fulhelmknight, Special Summoned Faultroll, and Freeman conceded!
Austin Kulman moves on to Day 2 with a 7-1 record! Tomorrow he’ll play 2 more Rounds, and if he wins 1 of them he’ll be a shoe-in for 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)
It seemed like Freeman jumped the gun in Duel 2, when he activated Torrential Tribute. Though he was having trouble getting through Catastor, he had a far bigger field than Kulman. He created a comfortable stalemate, Kulman wasn’t going to be able to do much with just his Emmersblades and Catastor. Freeman could’ve waited to see a Faultroll – something that would truly threaten him – and then destroyed more of his opponent’s cards with Torrential. Instead, Kulman kept his Faultroll and played it turns later to win the Match.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Kulman used Banisher of the Radiance and Doomcaliber Knight to dominate Duel 2 without making any of the big pushes that X-Saber Decks are typically known for. Kulman knew that X-Saber Decks are generally weak to Stun Decks and cards that stop the effect of XX-Saber Darksoul, so he Side Decked accordingly and won because of it.
P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
One of the less talked about cards in Duelist Revolution (in comparison to the ‘big-hitters’ of the set) is Chivalry, but it’s actually quite a useful tool to have in your Side Deck. It’s a Counter Trap that negates the effects of monsters that activate in the Battle Phase, so it will stop XX-Saber Darksoul, Gorz the Emissary of Darkness and any Gladiator Beasts. It also works well in the X-Saber mirror-match, stopping not only Darksoul and Emmersblade, but also XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, which Kulman destroyed with Chivalry in Duel 3.
