Austin Kulman and Pete Navarro have both made it to the Top 8 of the YCS. Kulman got here with X-sabers, but his opponent, Pete Navarro made it here with a teched out Quickdraw Deck running Volcanic Shell in his Main Deck. Will creativity win out over tradition?

Kulman won the dice roll and chose to go first. He opened up with XX-Saber Darksoul, Book of Moon, Solemn Judgment, X-Saber Airbellum, Monster Reborn, and Mind Control. He Set Darksoul, Book of Moon, and Solemn Judgment, ending his turn.

Navarro Set a card to each zone and passed.

Kulman drew Cold Wave next turn. He Summoned X-Saber Airbellum to the field, then activated Mind Control to take control of Navarro’s face-down Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter. Kulman flipped Ryko and destroyed Navarro’s Royal Decree, sending Book of Moon, Trap Stun, and Fulhelmknight from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Kulman attacked directly with Airbellum and discarded Dandylion from Navarro’s hand. Navarro Special Summoned 2 Fluff Tokens. Kulman ended his turn and gained 600 Life Points in with the effect of Magical Android.

Navarro tried to Summon Lonefire Blossom next turn, but Kulman negated the Summon with Solemn Judgment! Navarro passed.

Kulman activated Monster Reborn next turn! He Special Summoned Fulhelmknight from his Graveyard in Attack Position. Then he flipped his Darksoul into Attack Position and Normal Summoned XX-Saber Emmersblade to the field. Fulhelmknight attacked a Fluff Token, allowing Kulman to Special Summon X-Saber Airbellum from his Graveyard in Attack Position. Then Darksoul destroyed the other Fluff Token. Airbellum scored a direct hit, discarding Spore from Navarro’s hand. Kulman followed up with attacks from Magical Android and XX-Saber Emmersblade, dropping Navarro to 1100 Life Points. Kulman Tuned Fulhelmknight, Emmersblade, and Darksoul together to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms, then Tributed Airbellum and Gottoms to make Navarro discard his hand. In the End Phase, Kulman gained 600 Life Points with Magical Android and searched his Deck for Fulhelmknight to add to his hand with the effect of Darksoul.

Navarro drew his next card and conceded, unable to survive another turn.

Kulman leads a strong start into a dominating victory! Navarro will be going first in Duel 2!

Naverro started things off by Setting 2 cards in his back row and a monster face-down.

Kulman opened up with XX-Saber Darksoul, Giant Trunade, Mystical Space Typhoon, Torrential Tribute, Pot of Duality, and Book of Moon. He activated Pot of Duality, revealing X-Saber Pashuul, Trap Stun, and Solemn Warning from the top of the Deck. He took the Solemn Warning and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. Kulman Set Torrential Tribute and Mystical Space Typhoon, then ended his turn.

Navarro Set a monster and passed.

Kulman drew My Body as a Shield and passed.

Navarro passed without making a play.

Kulman drew Solemn Judgment and passed.

Navarro passed again without making a play.

Kulman drew Cold Wave and passed back to Navarro.

Navarro passed his turn.

Kulman drew Doomcaliber Knight next turn. He Summoned it to the field and then attacked Navarro’s face-down Snowman Eater. Doomcaliber Knight Tributed itself to negate the effect and destroy Snowman Eater. Kulman Set My Body as a Shield and then ended his turn with 5 cards in his hand.

Navarro activated Foolish Burial next turn! He searched his Deck for Dandylion and sent it to the Graveyard to Special Summon 2 Fluff Tokens in Defense Position. Then he ended his turn with 6 cards in his hand.

Kulman drew X-Saber Airbellum next turn. He Set Solemn Judgment and passed.

Navarro Set a monster and ended his turn.

Kulman drew XX-Saber Faultroll and passed.

Navarro activated Cold Wave next turn, but Kulman used Solemn Judgment to negate it by paying 4000 Life Points! Navarro ended his turn.

Kulman drew Banisher of the Radiance next turn! He flipped XX-Saber Darksoul and Navarro activated Chain Disappearance to try to remove it from the game. But Kulman chained Torrential Tribute to clear the field, wiping out Navarro’s 2 Fluff Tokens, face-down Debris Dragon, and face-down Snowman Eater, as well as Kulman’s Darksoul. Kulman Summoned Banisher of the Radiance next, and attacked directly to drop Navarro down to 6400 Life Points. Kulman searched his Deck for XX-Saber Boggart Knight to add to his hand in the End Phase thanks to Darksoul’s effect.

Navarro activated Dark Hole next turn to destroy Kulman’s Banisher of the Radiance. Then, Navarro tried to Normal Summon Lonefire Blossom, but Kulman activated Solemn Warning to negate the Summon by paying 2000 Life Points. Naverro ended his turn.

Kulman drew Doomcaliber Knight next turn. Then he activated Cold Wave! He Summoned Boggart Knight, expecting to win the game by Special Summoning Airbellum and Faultroll from his hand. But when he activated Boggart Knight’s effect, Navarro negated it by sending Effect Veiler from his hand to his Graveyard! Kulman disappointedly ended his turn.

Navarro Summoned Debris Dragon next turn and activated its effect to Special Summon Dandylion to his Graveyard. Then he Tuned Dandylion with Debris Dragon to Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon and destroy all of the cards on the field. Next, he discarded Volcanic Shell from his hand to Special Summon Quickdraw Synchron, and Tuned the Synchron with his 2 Fluff Tokens to Synchro Summon Nitro Warrior. Nitro Warrior ended the Duel with a direct attack!

Pete Navarro steals the Duel 2 victory from Austin Kulman thanks to Effect Veiler! Kulman will be going first in Duel 3.

Kulman opened up with XX-Saber Emmersblade, X-Saber Pashuul, XX-Saber Boggart Knight, XX-Saber Faultroll, Book of Moon, and Trap Stun. He Set Emmersblade, Book of Moon, and Trap Stun, then ended his turn.

Navarro used Pot of Duality next turn, revealing Royal Decree, Book of Moon, and Pot of Avarice. He added Decree to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. He Set a card to each zone and then ended his turn.

Kulman drew Pot of Duality next turn. He flipped up his Emmersblade and then Normal Summoned X-Saber Pashuul. He Special Summoned Faultroll next. Kulman Tuned Pashuul with Faultroll to Synchro Summon Scrap Dragon. He activated its effect, but Navarro discarded Effect Veiler to negate it! Scrap Dragon attacked Navarro’s Set Snowman Eater, and the Snowman Eater destroyed Scrap Dragon with its effect. Next, Emmersblade scored a direct attack.

Navarro flipped Royal Decree next turn. Then he activated Monster Reborn to take control of Kulman’s Scrap Dragon. He Set Sangan and destroyed it along with Kulman’s Emmersblade thanks to Scrap Dragon’s effect. He searched his Deck for Effect Veiler and added it to his hand with the effect of Sangan.

Kulman drew Torrential Tribute next turn. He activated Pot of Duality and revealed Solemn Warning, Boggart Knight, and Monster Reborn from the top of his Deck. He added the Reborn to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. He Set Torrential Tribute to his back row and ended his turn.

Navarro Summoned Card Trooper next turn and activated its effect to send the top 3 cards of his Deck to his Graveyard. Then he attacked directly with Card Trooper, dropping Kulman to 3300 Life Points. When Scrap Dragon attacked, Kulman flipped Book of Moon to put the Scrap Dragon face-down.

Kulman drew Royal Oppression next turn. It was no help while Navarro still had Royal Decree face-up on the field. He activated Monster Reborn and Special Summoned Pashuul to his field. Then he Normal Summoned Boggart Knight and Tuned it with Pashuul to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Hyunlei. Hyunlei tried to destroy Royal Decree, but Navarro discarded Effect Veiler to negate its effect. Hyunlei attacked and destroyed the face-down Scrap Dragon and Kulman ended his turn.

Navarro sent Debris Dragon, Pot of Avarice, and Volcanic Shell from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard with Card Trooper on his  next turn. Then he paid 500 Life Points to activate the effect of Volcanic Shell and add a copy of Volcanic Shell from his Deck to his hand. Then he discarded Volcanic Shell to Special Summon Quickdraw Synchron from his hand. Next, he Normal Summoned Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Tuned it to Quickdraw Synchron to Synchro Summon Nitro Warrior. Nitro Warrior attacked over Hyunlei and then a direct attack from Card Trooper finished the Match!

Pete Navarro makes an incredible comeback in Duel 2 to win the Match and advance to the Top 4!

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)
When Kulman Synchro Summoned for a Level 5 monster in Duel 1, his Synchro Monster of choice was Magical Android.  The Android saw far more play in San Jose than it had in most Championship tournaments this year. While Catastor’s been really popular, the Life Points Android can give its controller are important now, since they can mean the difference between having 2000 Life Points to activate Solemn Warning, or not.  If you play Warning, give a little thought to how a few extra Life Points might help your situation.

Michael Kohanim (2009 World Championship Competitor)
Using Cold Wave in Duel 2 was a risky play for Kulman. He thought he’d be able to pin down Navarro’s back row so that he couldn’t Summon Gorz, but his play ended up backfiring by locking down his own back rows on Navarro’s next turn. Kulman could have cleared Navarro’s back row with Giant Trunade or Mystical Space Typhoon instead, and gone for game that way. Even if Navarro had Gorz in his hand, Kulman would have been able to build an overwhelming field of monsters and discard cards from Navarro’s hand with XX-Saber Gottoms. More importantly, he’d still have the use of all of his Trap Cards if Navarro disrupted his play with Effect Veiler.

P.J. Tierney (Duelist from across The Pond)
Effect Veiler’s been a very popular card among Duelists recently, as the negation of Monster Effects has previously been limited to Skill Drain and Counter Traps like Gladiator Beast War Chariot. Veiler also has another benefit though, as it can be activated while your Spells and Traps are ‘frozen’ by Cold Wave. Kulman was looking to seal Duel 2 (and the Match) with XX-Saber Boggart Knight after he activated Cold Wave, but Navarro’s Effect Veiler prevented Kulman from Summoning that all-important second monster. That gave him enough breathing space to mount a comeback, and take the Match to a final Duel.

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