Chase Simpson finished the Swiss rounds with a 9-1 record using his Blackwings Deck. His opponent, Christian Lewis, finished with an 8-2 record, also using Blackwings. Both Duelists lost a mirror-Match in the Swiss rounds, so they’re both are looking to redeem themselves from their earlier loss by advancing to the Top 16.

Lewis opened up with Blackwing – Bora the Spear, Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North, Dark Armed Dragon, Dark Hole, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn. He Set Bottomless Trap Hole and ended his turn.

Simpson Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame, but lost it to Lewis’s Bottomless Trap Hole. He Set 2 cards to his back row and passed.

Lewis drew Seven Tools of the Bandit. He Set it and ended his turn.

Simpson Summoned another copy of Shura next turn and attacked directly, dropping Lewis down to 6200 Life Points.

Lewis drew Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow next turn. He Normal Summoned Sirocco from his hand and Special Summoned Bora. He activated Sirocco’s effect to boost it to 5500 ATK. Sirocco attacked Simpson’s Shura, and Simpson dropped down to 4300 Life Points.

Simpson Summoned his own Sirocco next turn! He activated its effect to boost it to 5700 ATK, then attacked over Lewis’s Sirocco. Lewis took 3700 points of damage and dropped down to 2500 Life Points.

Lewis drew Effect Veiler next turn – a turn too late to negate Sirocco’s effect. He activated Dark Hole, destroying his own Bora and Simpson’s Sirocco. Then he Normal Summoned Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North from his hand, and used its effect to Special Summon Bora from his Graveyard. He Tuned Bora with Blizzard to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. Simpson flipped Bottomless Trap Hole, and when Lewis Chained Seven Tools of the Bandit to try to negate it, Simpson flipped Solemn Judgment and paid 2150 Life Points to negate Seven Tools! Lewis Special Summoned Dark Armed Dragon next, and removed Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North from his Graveyard to destroy Simpson’s Book of Moon. But Simpson Chained it to put Dark Armed Dragon face-down and survive the turn.

Simpson activated Dark Hole next turn to destroy Dark Armed Dragon. Then he Normal Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame and attacked directly. Since Lewis only had 1500 Life Points, the direct attack from Shura finished him off!

Domination by Siroccos in Duel 1 lead to a fast victory for Chase Simpson. Christian Lewis will be going first in Duel 2!

Lewis opened up with 2 copies of Icarus Attack, Trap Hole, Book of Moon, Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North, and Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn. He Set Trap Hole and Icarus Attack before ending his turn.

Simpson Set 3 cards to his back row and ended his turn.

Lewis drew Pot of Duality next turn. He activated it, revealing Sirocco, Bora, and Monster Reborn from the top of his Deck. He added Sirocco to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck.

Simpson Set 2 more cards to his back row, for a total of 5, and ended his turn.

Lewis drew Trap Hole and passed.

Simpson passed his turn without making a play.

Lewis drew Book of Moon. He Summoned Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North and attacked directly, dropping Simpson down to 6700 Life Points.

Simpson Summoned Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn next turn. Lewis flipped Trap Hole to destroy it, but Simpson Chained Icarus Attack to Tribute Sirocco and destroy Lewis’s Blizzard and face-down Icarus Attack. Lewis thought for a while before activating his own Icarus Attack, Tributing Blizzard to target 2 of Simpson’s cards. Simpson Chained Starlight Road to negate it, then Special Summoned Stardust Dragon and attacked directly with it! He activated Allure of Darkness in Main Phase 2, drawing 2 cards and removing Kalut from his hand. He Set another back row and passed.

Lewis Set 3 back rows and a monster. He lost a face-down Trap Hole to Simpson’s Mystical Space Typhoon in the End Phase.

Simpson attacked with Stardust Dragon next turn, but it was put face-down by Lewis’s Book of Moon. He Set a back row and ended his turn.

Lewis drew Pot of Duality next turn. He activated it, revealing Monster Reborn, Starlight Road, and Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame from the top of his Deck. He added Monster Reborn to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. Lewis flipped his face-down Sirocco face-up, then attacked Simpson’s face-down Stardust Dragon. Simpson flipped Mirror Force, and Lewis Chained Icarus Attack by Tributing Sirocco. Simpson negated the Icarus Attack by paying 3350 Life Points with Solemn Judgment. Lewis Set Book of Moon in Main Phase 2 and ended his turn.

Simpson flipped Stardust Dragon and activated Black Whirlwind next turn. He Summoned Kalut and Lewis used Book of Moon to put Kalut face-down so that Simpson wouldn’t get to search his Deck with Whirlwind. Stardust Dragon attacked directly, dropping Lewis to 3000 Life Points.

Lewis drew Blackwing – Bora the Spear next turn. He Normal Summoned Sirocco, but Simpson flipped Trap Hole to destroy it. He had Monster Reborn, Kalut, and Bora left in his hand, with no cards on the field. Simpson had Stardust Dragon in Attack Position, a face-down Kalut, a face-up Black Whirlwind, a face-down back row, and a card in his hand. Simpson activated Monster Reborn and Special Summoned Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn from his Graveyard. Then he Special Summoned Blackwing – Bora the Spear. He pumped Bora up to 3700 ATK with Sirocco’s effect, but when it attacked Kalut, Simpson put Bora face-down with Book of Moon.

Simpson Summoned Shura next turn and searched his Deck for Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind with the effect of his Whirlwind. He Special Summoned Gale then halved the ATK of Sirocco. He flipped Kalut face-up next. Then he attacked Lewis’s face-down Bora with Shura and used Shura’s effect to Special Summon Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor from his Deck. Stardust Dragon attacked Lewis’s 1000 ATK Stardust Dragon and Lewis knew it was over. Kalut, Gale, and Vayu finished him off!

Chase Simpson wins 2-0 to advance to the Top 16 with Blackwings!