Round 8 Feature Match: Juan Antillan vs. Edgar Lopez
Edgar Lopez and Juan Antillan are both California Duelists are that currently 6-1 in the tournament. Antillan is running a standard X-Saber Deck, while Lopez is using a brand new Scrap Deck. Will traditional consistency prevail over rising creativity?
Antillan won the dice roll and started things off by Setting a monster and ending his turn.
Lopez opened up with Cyber Dragon, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Scrap Goblin, Bottomless Trap Hole, and 2 copies of Scrap Golem. He Special Summoned Cyber Dragon, then Normal Summoned Scrap Goblin. He Tuned his two monsters together to Synchro Summon Scrap Dragon and then used it to attack Antillan’s face-down XX-Saber Darksoul, triggering its effect. Lopez Set Bottomless Trap Hole in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn. Antillan searched his Deck for a copy of XX-Saber Faultroll to add to his hand in the End Phase thanks to Darksoul’s effect.
Antillan Set a monster and ended.
Lopez used Scrap Dragon again to attack the Set monster on his next turn: it was another Darksoul. In Main Phase 2, he Set Dimensional Prison and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter. Then he ended his turn, and Antillan searched his Deck for a copy of XX-Saber Boggart Knight to add from his Deck to his hand with Darksoul’s effect.
Antillan activated Giant Trunade next turn! He returned Bottomless Trap Hole and Dimensional Prison to Lopez’s hand. Then he Summoned Boggart Knight and activated its effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Fulhelmknight from his hand. Next, he Special Summoned XX-Saber Faultroll. He used Faultroll’s effect to Special Summon XX-Saber Darksoul from his Graveyard, then Tuned Fulhelmknight and Faultroll together to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. Gottoms attacked and destroyed Scrap Dragon, and Antillan Special Summoned Scrap Goblin from his Graveyard in Defense Position with Scrap Dragon’s effect. Next, Boggart Knight attacked Lopez’s Set Ryko, and Lopez used its effect to destroy Gottoms and send a Dandylion plus 2 other cards from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Lopez Special Summoned 2 Fluff Tokens to his field with Dandylion’s effect. Darksoul attacked Scrap Goblin next, and Antillan lost 400 Life Points. When the Goblin destroyed itself at the end of the Battle Phase, Antillan used Scrap Goblin’s effect to return Scrap Dragon to his Extra Deck. Antillan Set a back row before ending his turn.
Lopez Tributed a Fluff Token to Summon Scrap Golem next turn, and activated its effect to Special Summon Scrap Goblin from his Graveyard in Defense Position. Antillan flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove the Golem from the game and then the Goblin was Special Summoned. Lopez Set Bottomless Trap Hole and Dimensional Prison before ending his turn.
Antillan activated Cold Wave next turn! He Summoned Fulhelmknight and Tuned it to Darksoul to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Hyunlei and destroy Lopez’s face-down Bottomless Trap Hole and Dimensional Prison. Darksoul’s effect triggered, and then Antillan used Boggart Knight to attack and destroy a Fluff Token. Next, Hyunlei attacked Scrap Goblin. It was destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase, but Lopez didn’t have any Scrap monsters to return to his hand with the Goblin’s effect. Antillan searched his Deck for XX-Saber Faultroll in the End Phase, thanks to Darksoul’s effect.
Lopez Set a Scrap Goblin next turn and passed.
Antillan Summoned Faultroll and activated its effect to Special Summon Fulhelmknight from his Graveyard. He used Fulhelmknight to attack Lopez’s face-down Goblin. Next, Antillan Tuned Hyunlei with Fulhelmknight to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. Then he Normal Summoned XX-Saber Emmersblade and Tributed it with the effect of Gottoms to force Lopez to pitch a card from his hand. Next, he Tributed Boggart Knight to force Lopez to discard the last card in his hand.
Lopez drew Scrap Chimera next turn. He Summoned it to the field and Special Summoned another Scrap Goblin from his Graveyard with the Chimera’s effect. Then he Tuned Scrap Chimera with Scrap Goblin to Synchro Summon Scrap Archfiend. Archfiend attacked and destroyed Faultroll, inflicting 300 points of damage to Antillan’s Life Points.
Antillan attacked and destroyed Scrap Archfiend with XX-Saber Gottoms on his next turn.
Lopez drew a monster and Set it on the following turn.
Antillan Set a back row and then ended his turn without attacking.
Lopez flipped his face-down Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter next turn, targeting Antillan’s XX-Saber Gottoms with its effect. Antillan chained Gottoms’ Emergency Call and Special Summoned XX-Saber Darksoul to the field in Defense Position along with XX-Saber Gottoms in Attack Position. Gottoms was destroyed and Lopez sent the top 3 cards from his Deck to his Graveyard. Then he Tuned Ryko with Scrap Goblin to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Catastor! Antillan flipped Torrential Tribute to clear the field, destroying Darksoul, Gottoms, and Catastor. Darksoul’s effect triggered when it hit the Graveyard. Lopez Set 1 card to his back row, and then Antillan searched his Deck for a copy of XX-Saber Boggart Knight to add to his hand with Darksoul’s effect in the End Phase.
Antillan activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Lopez’s face-down Dimensional Prison next turn, then Summoned Boggart Knight and used it to attack Lopez’s Life Points directly. Then he Set a back row and ended his turn.
Lopez Set a back row and passed right back.
Antillan scored another direct attack with Boggart Knight on the following turn.
Lopez drew and Set Dandylion before passing back to Antillan.
Antillan used Boggart Knight to declare an attack against Dandylion during his next turn. Lopez flipped Mirror Force, but Antillan negated it with Solemn Judgment. The attack went through and Lopez Special Summoned 2 Fluff Tokens to the field in Defense Position.
Lopez drew a card and passed.
Antillan Set a card to his back row and attacked one of Lopez’s Fluff Tokens.
Lopez drew Scrapyard next turn and activated it. He searched his Deck for Scrap Beast and Summoned it to the field. Then he Tuned it with the Fluff Token and Synchro Summoned Magical Android! Android attacked and destroyed Boggart Knight, and Antillan gained 600 Life Points in the End Phase.
Antillan activated Dark Hole next turn to destroy the Android, then Summoned XX-Saber Emmersblade and attacked directly to drop Lopez down to 2800 Life Points. He ended his turn.
Lopez drew Dark Hole and used it to destroy Emmersblade on the following turn. Then he Summoned Scrap Beast and attacked directly, dropping Antillan to 1550. Antillan drew his next turn and then conceded, unable to destroy the Scrap Beast.
Edgar Lopez wins the first Duel with Scraps, and Juan Antillan will be going first in Duel 2!
Antillan started off the second Duel by Setting 2 cards to his back row and a monster in Defense Position.
Lopez opened up with Mystical Space Typhoon, Bottomless Trap Hole, Dandylion, Scrap Beast, Scrap Goblin, and Scrap Chimera. He Set Mystical Space Typhoon, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Dandylion before ending his turn.
Antillan activated Giant Trunade next turn, and Lopez chained Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Antillan’s Set Book of Moon. Trunade resolved, and then Antillan flipped his face-down Emmersblade into face-up Attack Position. Next, he Summoned Fulhelmknight to the field. He followed up by Special Summoning Faultroll. Then he Tuned Emmersblade and Fulhelmknight together to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian. Next, he activated Faultroll’s effect to Special Summon Fulhelmknight back from his Graveyard. Fulhelmknight attacked Lopez’s Set Dandylion, and Antillan Special Summoned Emmersblade with Fulhelmknight’s effect. Next, Emmersblade and Faultroll destroyed Lopez’s Fluff Tokens in battle, and then Goyo attacked directly for 2800 points of damage. Antillan Set a back row and ended his turn with a full field of monsters.
Lopez Set a card to each zone and passed.
Antillan Summoned XX-Saber Darksoul next turn and Tuned it with Fulhelmknight to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Hyunlei to the field. He used Hyunlei’s effect to target Lopez’s Set Bottomless Trap Hole. Lopez chained it to remove Hyunlei from the game. Then Antillan used Faultroll’s effect to Special Summon Fulhelmknight back from the Graveyard and used Fulhelmknight to attack and destroy Lopez’s Set Ryko. Ryko destroyed Faultroll with its effect and sent the top 3 cards from Lopez’s Deck to his Graveyard. Then Fulhelmknight Special Summoned Darksoul back from the Graveyard in Attack Position. Darksoul, Goyo, and Emmersblade attacked directly, dropping Lopez to 1000 Life Points. Antillan Tuned Fulhelmknight with Goyo Guardian in Main Phase 2 to Synchro Summon Gottoms. Then he Tributed Emmersblade and Darksoul with the effect of Gottoms, triggering Darksoul’s effect, to force Lopez to discard Scrap Golem and Scrap Chimera from his hand. In his End Phase, Antillan searched his Deck for Fulhelmknight and Boggart Knight with the effects of his Darksouls.
Lopez Set a card in his back row and a Scrap Beast in Defense Position next turn.
Antillan attacked Scrap Beast with Fulhelmknight and the attack bounced off of Scrap Beast’s 1300 DEF. Then Gottoms attacked Scrap Beast and Lopez flipped Dimensional Prison to remove Gottoms from the game.
Lopez topdecked Scrap Golem next turn and Tributed Scrap Beast to Summon it. He activated its effect to Special Summon Scrap Goblin in Defense Position, and Antillan flipped Bottomless Trap Hole to remove the Golem from the game.
Antillan Set a monster and then ended his turn without attacking.
Lopez drew Scrap Beast next turn and passed without making a play.
Antillan activated Dark Hole next turn to clear the field, then Summoned Boggart Knight and made a game-ending attack!
The Match pushes on to a final Duel, and Edgar Lopez will be going first!
Lopez opened up with Chivalry, Divine Wrath, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Tragoedia, Scrap Beast, and Scrap Chimera. He Set his 2 Trap Cards, Set Ryko, and ended his turn.
Antillan Set 2 back rows and a monster as well.
Lopez flipped his Ryko and destroyed Antillan’s Set Bottomless Trap Hole, sending Cyber Dragon, Scrap Golem, and Mirror Force from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard with Ryko’s effect. Then he Normal Summoned Scrap Beast and Tuned it with Ryko to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian. Goyo attacked Antillan’s face-down Super-Nimble Mega Hamster and when Antillan tried to activate its effect, Lopez negated the effect and destroyed the Hamster with Chivalry! Lopez ended his turn.
Antillan activated Pot of Duality next turn, revealing Torrential Tribute, Cyber Dragon, and Boggart Knight from the top of his Deck. He added Torrential Tribute to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. Then he Set a back row and ended his turn.
Lopez drew Dark Hole next turn and attacked directly with Goyo Guardian for 2800 damage.
Antillan Summoned XX-Saber Fulhelmknight next turn. Then he used Mind Control to take control of Goyo Guardian and Tuned the two monsters together to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms. Gottoms attacked directly for 3100 points of damage, and Lopez Special Summoned Tragoedia from his hand. Antillan Set a back row and ended his turn.
Lopez copied the Level of Scrap Beast with Tragoedia to turn it into a Level 4 monster on his next turn. Then he Normal Summoned Scrap Chimera and used its effect to Special Summon Scrap Beast from his Graveyard. Antillan used Book of Moon to put Scrap Beast face-down before Lopez could use it in a Synchro Summon.
Antillan was up, and time was called for the round. Lopez attacked the 1800 ATK Tragoedia with Gottoms, destroying it and dropping Lopez down to 3600 Life Points. Antillan still had 5200 Life Points left.
Lopez Tributed Scrap Beast for Scrap Golem on his next turn and activated its effect, but Antillan flipped Royal Oppression and paid 800 Life Points to negate the Golem’s effect and destroy it. Lopez followed up by using Dark Hole to clear the field.
Antillan Set a monster and passed his next turn.
Lopez Set a Ryko and passed right back.
Antillan Set a back row and ended his last turn. Play was to Lopez, who now had 1 turn left to inflict at least 800 points of damage of Antillan.
Lopez flipped Ryko to destroy a Torrential Tribute next turn, but Antillan chained it to clear the field. Antillan’s Darksoul was destroyed, and Lopez used Divine Wrath to negate its effect. Antillan Summoned Scrap Beast and attacked for 1600 points of damage, but Antillan used Book of Moon to block the attack. The Duel was over, and Antillan won the Duel 4400 Life Points to 3600 Life Points in overtime.
Antillan takes a narrow 2-1 victory over Lopez’s Scrap Deck to move on to Day 2 with a 7-1 record using X-Sabers! But Edgar Lopez won’t be far behind, entering Day 2 with a 6-2 record using his Scrap Deck.
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)
Lopez’s Fluff Tokens made all the difference in Duel 1, giving him the Synchro Materials that would lead him down the path to victory. Dandylion’s a powerful defensive card, and it works really well in Scraps because most Scrap Duelists already run cards like Ryko, Card Trooper, and Foolish Burial. The same cards that send “Scrap” monsters to the Graveyard can double as Dandylion support, too.
Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
The key to a successful Scrap Deck is the ease with which it can Synchro Summon Scrap Dragon. Thanks to Cyber Dragon, Lopez was able to Summon Scrap Dragon as early as his first turn in Duel 1! Scrap Dragon is a powerful card in general, since it can destroy anything, but it’s especially strong in Scrap Decks, where it can replace itself with a new monster whenever it’s destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.