Round 5: Frazier Smith Reloaded VS Jeff Jones Reborn
Both of these Duelists have won previous major tournaments, and both were here today competing with Tengu Plant Decks. This new breed of Synchro strategy is taking plenty of wins here in Orlando, combining the Tuning power of Spore, Glow-Up Bulb, and Debris Dragon with the staying power of Reborn Tengu. The result is an aggressive deck that can also weather aggressive opponents, and that can bust out big pushes like never before. While Smith is playing a more predictable version of the strategy, Jones is running Tour Guide From the Underworld and Dark Mimic LV3 in his build.
Jones opened with a hand of Pot of Avarice; Foolish Burial; Dandylion; Solemn Warning; Mystical Space Typhoon; and Super-Nimble Mega Hamster. He Set Hamster, Warning, and Typhoon.
Smith Summoned Reborn Tengu, attacking into Super-Nimble Mega Hamster: Jones used its Flip Effect to Special Summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter in face-down Defense Position. Smith activated Dark Hole, destroying Hamster and Ryko: when he activated his Tengu’s effect, Jones negated it with Solemn Warning. Smith Set Solemn Judgment, losing it in his End Phase to Mystical Space Typhoon.
Jones drew D.D. Crow and Set Dandylion.
Smith activated Pot of Duality, revealing Mystical Space Typhoon, Sangan, and Mirror Force. He added Sangan to his hand, then Summoned it to attack and destroy Dandylion: Jones Summoned 2 Fluff Tokens, and Smith Set a Spell or Trap.
Jones drew Ryko. He activated Foolish Burial to send Glow-Up Bulb to the Graveyard from his Deck, then sent Call of the Haunted from the top of his Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon the Bulb. He Tuned it to a Fluff Token to Synchro Summon Formula Synchron, and drew Lonefire Blossom. He Normal Summoned it, and Tributed it to Special Summon another Lonefire from his Deck: that got him Spore, as Jones Tributed his Fluff Token for the second Lonefire’s effect. He Tuned Spore and Lonefire together to Synchro Summon Armory Arm. He then removed Lonefire from his Graveyard to Special Summon Spore as a Level 4 Tuner, and Smith flipped Torrential Tribute to clear the field! Jones had 3 cards left: Pot of Avarice, Ryko, and D.D. Crow. He activated Avarice, returning Hamster, Ryko, Formula Synchron, Spore, and Glow-Up Bulb to his Deck, letting him draw Monster Reborn and the Bulb. He ended with 5 cards in hand.
Smith drew to 4 cards and Set a monster.
Jones drew another Pot of Avarice, and after a lot of thinking, he Set Ryko.
Smith Normal Summoned Lonefire Blossom, and Tributed it to Special Summon another in Defense Position. He Tributed that to bring out Dandylion in Defense Position, then discarded Ryko to activate One for One. That let him Special Summon Spore, and he Tuned it to Dandylion to Synchro Summon Armory Arm. He Special Sumoned 2 Fluff Tokens, but when he tried to remove Lonefire to Special Summon Spore from his Graveyard, Jeff removed Spore by Chaining D.D. Crow. “That sucks,” remarked Smith, the wind clearly driven from his sails. He attacked with Armory Arm; hit Ryko; and Ryko’s effect destroyed Smith’s face-down Super-Nimble Mega Hamster! Ryko sent Dark Mimic LV3, another Ryko, and Mystical Space Typhoon to Jones’ Graveyard.
Jones drew Solemn Warning and counted 7 monsters now in his Graveyard. He activated his second Pot of Avarice, returning Dandylion, Lonefire Blossom, 2 Ryko, and D.D. Crow to his Deck, drawing Sangan and Solemn Judgment! “That D.D. Crow was so unfair,” laughed Smith. Jones Summoned Sangan to attack a Fluff Token, then Set Warning and Judgment.
Smith drew to 2 cards, now clearly outmatched in terms of play options. He still had a Fluff Token and Armory Arm, but it wasn’t much compared to Jones’ cards. “You’re blatantly telegraphing Chaos Sorcerer,” remarked Smith. “Have to make sure it’s live at all times,” responded Jones, who didn’t have a Chaos Sorcerer but wasn’t going to give anything away to Smith. Smith tried to Normal Summon Debris Dragon, but Jones negated the Summon with Warning. The Duel stood at 4000 Life Points to 7900, with Smith leading in Life but losing on the table. He turned Armory Arm to Defense Position and ended.
Jones drew another Ryko. He attacked Smith’s last Fluff Token and Set Ryko.
Smith Tributed Armory Arm for Caius the Shadow Monarch, and Jones blasted him with Solemn Judgment to negate the Summon!
Jones drew Tour Guide From The Underworld. He Flipped Ryko, just to send 3 cards to his Graveyard without destroying anything, sending Effect Veiler, Spore, and Debris Dragon. Monster Reborn got him Smith’s Debris Dragon, and he Tuned everything together for Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! Smith conceded.
A clutch D.D. Crow plus an incredible negation lineup tilt the first Duel solidly in Jones’ favor, giving him the first victory. Smith would have to win 2 straight to battle back.
Smith started Duel 2 with a Set monster and 2 cards Set to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Jones had Giant Trunade; Glow-Up Bulb; Solemn Warning; Dust Tornado; Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter; and Tour Guide From the Underworld. Smith flipped Trap Dustshoot, and sent Jones’ Tour Guide back to his Deck. Jones Set Warning and Dust.
Smith Set another Spell or Trap.
Jones drew and Set Mystical Space Typhoon.
Smith passed.
Jones drew Effect Veiler and passed.
Smith Normal Summoned Lonefire Blossom, Tributing it to Special Summon another from his Deck. He Tributed that for Dandylion in Defense Position, then tried to Flip Summon Sangan: Jones negated the Summon with Warning.
Jones drew Book of Moon and Set it.
Smith Normal Summoned Spore, and Tuned it to Dandylion to Synchro Summon Armory Arm and Special Summon 2 Fluff Tokens. He removed Lonefire to Special Summon Spore as a Level 4 Tuner, and Jones turned it face-down with Book of Moon to stop it from being used for a Synchro Summon. Smith attacked with Armory Arm to drop Jones to 4200 Life Points.
Jones drew and Set a card to his back row, then Set a monster.
Smith Flip Summoned Spore, Tuning it to a Fluff Token for Formula Synchron and a draw. He Tuned Synchron to Armory Arm; Synchro Summoned Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier; and passed his first opportunity to activate Brionac’s effect. He activated Pot of Avarice, sending Sangan; Lonefire; Formula Synchron; Dandylion; and Armory Arm back to his Deck to draw 2 cards. He discarded Dandylion for One for One. Jones asked how much time was left, and when he found out just 6 minutes remained in the Round, he immediately conceded to try and not drive the Match into time.
Frazier Smith plays a dominant second Duel, evening the Match score and putting us into a third and final Duel with just minutes remaining.
Jones opened with 2 Tour Guide From the Underworld; Torrential Tribute; Nobleman of Crossout; One for One; and Lonefire Blossom. He Summoned Tour Guide and used her effect to Special Summon Sangan from his Deck in Defense Position. He Set Torrential.
Smith Sumoned Reborn Tengu, attacking over Tour Guide and activating Pot of Duality, revealing Monster Reborn, Lonefire, and Pot of Avarice from the top of his Deck. He added Lonefire to his hand, then Set 2 cards to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Jones dew Pot of Avarice. Less than 2 minutes remained in the Round. He turned Sangan to Attack Position, ramming it into Reborn Tengu to go get Dandylion from his Deck: Smith had Trap Dustshoot again! Dandylion was returned to Jones’ Deck. He Normal Summoned Lonefire; Tributed it for another; then Tributed that for Dandylion in Defense Position.
Smith drew for his turn, and time was called. After this turn, 3 more turns would remain. Jones would have the final turn, and the Duel stood at 6600 Life Points to 8000. Smith was in the lead. He Summoned Lonefire, Tributing it for another Lonefire and Tributing that to Special Summon Dandylion in Defense Position. “I’m going to be so sad if that’s Torrential,” remarked Smith. He activated his Set One for One, discarding Spore to Special Summon Glow-Up Bulb. Smith Tuned it to Tengu and Dandylion to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon, Special Summoning 2 Fluff Tokens and another Tengu. Then he removed Lonefire to Special Summon Spore, Tuning it to Tengu and a Fluff Token for Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! With his Torrential pinned down under Stardust Dragon, Jones couldn’t stop the Trishula: it removed his Dandylion from the field; his Sangan from his Graveyard; and his Tour Guide from his hand. Smith Special Summoned his third Tengu: Jones flipped Torrential Tribute, but Smith negated it with Stardust Dragon’s effect, then made direct attacks with Tengu and Trishula, dropping Jones to 2200 Life Points. Smith brought back Glow-Up Bulb, Tuning it to his Fluff Token to bring out Formula Synchron. He Set 2 cards, then brought back his Stardust.
Jones had One for One; Nobleman of Crossout; Pot of Avarice; and drew Chaos Sorcerer – no help. He offered the handshake and conceded the Match!
Frazier Smith scores 2 Trap Dustshoots, and it’s just too much for Jeff Jones to overcome. Smith moves on undefeated!
