Both of these Duelists had 6-2 records headed into this round, and needed to score two Match wins back-to-back to stay alive in this tournament. It was an interesting matchup. Chris Hernandez is playing Vayu Turbo, while his opponent Thomas Sharp is running straight Blackwings. Which Blackwing Deck would reign supreme?!

Hernandez started off with a hand of Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, Card Trooper, Torrential Tribute, Dark Armed Dragon, Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn, and Solemn Warning. He Summoned Trooper, then sent Armageddon Knight, Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor, and Bottomless Trap Hole to his Graveyard to boost its ATK. He Set Warning.

Sharp Set a monster and a card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.

Hernandez drew Plaguespreader Zombie. He sent Mystical Space Typhoon, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Pot of Duality to his Graveyard for Trooper, then Set Torrential. Card Trooper attacked into Dimensional Prison, and was banished.

Sharp Flip Summoned Spirit Reaper and attacked, forcing Hernandez to discard Gale. Sharp Set a Spell or Trap.

Hernandez drew Giant Trunade, and Normal Summoned Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn to attack Spirit Reaper.

Sharp activated Allure of Darkness, drew 2 cards, and banished Blackwing – Blizzard the far North. He turned Reaper to Defense Position and Set a Spell or Trap.

Hernandez drew Dark Grepher and activated Giant Trunade! He Special Summoned Dark Armed Dragon, removed Armageddon Knight to try and destroy Reaper with the Dragon’s effect, and lost out to Sharp’s Effect Veiler! Hernandez Summoned Dark Grepher, discarding Plaguespreader Zombie to send Destiny Hero – Malicious from his Deck to his Graveyard. He banished Malicious to Special Summon another from his Deck in Attack Position, then placed Torrential Tribute on top of his Deck to Special Summon Plaguespreader Zombie and Tune it to Malicious. He Synchro Summoned Scrap Dragon, destroyed his Sirocco and Sharp’s Spirit Reaper, then banished the Sirocco and Vayu for Blackwing Armed Wing! “You got it,” announced Sharp, conceding.

A slow early game gives Chris Hernandez the time he needs to put together an explosive sequence of plays, ending with the signature “Sirocco plus Vayu” finisher! It was Turbo Vayu at its finest, and Hernandez was one win away from a possible Top 32 finish.

Sharp opened the second Duel with Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame and a Set card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.

Hernandez had Torrential Tribute, Book of Moon, Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor, Pot of Duality, Deck Devastation Virus, and Bottomless Trap Hole. He activated Pot of Duality, revealing 2 Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn and Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite from the top of his Deck. he took a Sirocco, shuffling the rest back. He Normal Summoned it, boosted it with its effect, and Sharp flipped it face-down with Book of Moon! Hernandez Set Deck Devastation Virus, Book of Moon, and Bottomless Trap Hole.

Sharp drew for his turn, and Hernandez activated Deck Devastation Virus, tributing Sirocco to reveal Sharp’s hand of Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, Blackwing – Blizzard the far North, Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn, Blackwing – Bora the Spear, and another Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame. He lost Gale and Blizzard to the Virus, and Hernandez was visibly pleased to see an all-monster hand. Sharp Special Summoned Bora, and Hernandez banished it with Bottomless, leaving Sharp to attack for 1800 Battle Damage with Shura.

Hernandez drew Debunk next turn, Setting it and his remaining 2 cards: 1 monster, and 1 card to his back row.

Sharp drew Genex Ally Crusher and lost it to the effects of Deck Devastation Virus. He attacked Hernandez’s Set Vayu with Shura, then brought out his own Vayu with Shura’s effect. It attacked, but Hernandez flipped it down with Book of Moon.

Hernandez drew Dark Grepher. He removed Vayu and Sirocco from his Graveyard to Special Summon Blackwing Armed Wing, then Normal Summoned Grepher. Grepher took out Vayu, and Armed Wing attacked to destroy Shura. Hernandez still had Torrential and Debunk Set.

Sharp drew and revealed Torrential Tribute, and Summoned Sirocco. He boosted its ATK, and attacked over Armed Wing. He Set a Spell or Trap to his back row.

Hernandez drew Solemn Warning and Set it, turning Grepher to Defense Position.

Sharp activated Black Whirlwind, and when he Summoned Shura, he lost his field to Torrential Tribute.

Hernandez drew Sirocco and passed.

Sharp passed.

Hernandez drew Allure of Darkness, and used it to draw Dark Armed Dragon and Plaguespreader Zombie. he banished Sirocco, then Set Plaguespreader.

Sharp tried to remove his Vayu and Sirocco, but lost Vayu to Debunk! He Set a Spell or Trap.

Hernandez drew another Dark Grepher and Summoned it, attacking for 1700 Battle Damage. Sharp dropped to 5800 Life Points, while Hernandez had 4200 remaining.

Sharp tried to Summon Thunder King, losing it to Solemn Warning.

Hernandez discarded Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite for Grepher’s effect, sending Vayu to his Graveyard. He Flip Summoned Plaguespreader Zombie, then attacked for a combined total of 2100 Battle Damage. In Main Phase 2, he Tuned his monsters together to Synchro Summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. Sharp blasted it with Torrential Tribute. Hernandez banished Vayu and Blackwing Armed Wing to Special Summon Blackwing Armor Master. He had 4 DARK monsters in his Graveyard, with Dark Armed Dragon in his hand as his last card.

Sharp destroyed Armor Master with Dark Hole.

Hernandez drew and Set Solemn Warning.

Sharp Summoned Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite! Hernandez knew their was no point in Warning it, and when Sharp used Black Whirlwind to search his Deck for Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow, Hernandez conceded the Duel!

Thomas Sharp plays through a tough Deck Devastation Virus, fighting past a back-and-forth mid-game to take the Duel with Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite! Combined with his face-up Black Whirlwind, he had just the right cards to outplay Hernandez’s Solemn Warning.

Hernandez started the last Duel with a hand of Dark Hole, Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind, Burial From a Different Dimension, Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor, Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn, and Solemn Judgment. He Set Vayu and Judgment.

Sharp Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh, attacking to destroy Vayu. He Set 2 cards to his back row.

Hernandez drew Destiny Hero – Malicious and Summoned Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn. He Special Summoned Gale, and halved Thunder King Rai-Oh’s ATK and DEF. When Gale attacked Thunder King, Sharp flipped Mirror Force, but Hernandez Chained Solemn Judgment to force his attacks through! Thunder King went down, and Sharp dropped to 5550 Life Points. Hernandez Synchro Summoned Thought Ruler Archfiend in Main Phase 2, and Set Burial.

Sharp shuffled his hand a bit, perturbed. “Two cards in hand, right?” Hernandez confirmed his hand count, leaving Sharp to consider his play. he Set a monster.

Hernandez drew Book of Moon, and ran over Sharp’s Set Blackwing – Blizzard the far North with Thought Ruler! He gained 1300 Life Points and Set Book. he was in a strong position now.

Sharp shook his head. “I made a bad move. This is the worst I’ve drawn all weekend.” He Set a monster, then Set a Spell or Trap.

Hernandez drew Torrential Tribute, then ran over his opponent’s Set Genex Ally Crusher.

Sharp activated Allure of Darkness, drawing 2 cards and banishing Vayu from his hand. He Set a monster.

Hernandez drew Dark Armed Dragon! He had 3 DARKs in his yard, and banished Gale to destroy Sharp’s Icarus Attack! He banished Sirocco to target what turned out to be Sharp’s second Icarus Attack, and this time Sharp Chained it, he Tributed his Kalut, and destroyed both of Hernandez’s monsters. Hernandez pressed on. he activated Burial from a Different Dimension, refilled his Graveyard, and banished Vayu and Sirocco to Special Summon Blackwing Armed Wing! Armed Wing attacked, dropping Sharp to 3250 Life Points. Hernandez Set a card to his back row.

Sharp Set a monster.

Hernandez drew Icarus Attack, and attacked to destroy Sharp’s Vayu.

Sharp activated Giant Trunade, bouncing Hernandez’s back row cards back to his hand. He Summoned Blackwing – Blizzard the far North, Special Summoning Kalut from his Graveyard, and Tuned it to Blizzard to Synchro Summon Vortex the Whirlwind. He Set a Spell or Trap.

Hernandez drew Debunk, and Set 2 cards to his back row. He Set a third, then passed.

Sharp passed.

Hernandez drew Pot of Duality, revealing 2 Dark Grephers and Reinforcement of the Army. he took Grepher. He Summoned Grepher, attacked over Vortex, and negated its effect with Debunk! Grepher attacked for 1700 Battle Damage, and Sharp was down to 1350 Life Points. Hernandez had 3000 left.

Sharp Normal Summoned Blackwing – Bora the Spear, Hernandez turned it face down with Book of Moon, and Sharp Chained Delta Crow – Anti Reverse, destroying Hernandez’s Icarus Attack.

Hernandez discarded Malicious for Dark Grepher’s ability, sending Plaguespreader Zombie to his Graveyard. He banished Malicious to Special Summon another, then placed Torrential Tribute back on top of his Deck to Special Summon Plaguespreader. He Tuned it to Malicious for Scrap Dragon, and it was all over in a flash. Hernandez blew away his opponent’s Set Dimensional Prison with Scrap Dragon’s effect, attacked Bora, then made a direct attack for the win!

Chris Hernandez moves on to the last Swiss Round of the tournament with a 7-2 record!