Another Round, another 8 undefeated Duelists. Check out the top Duelists, and see how things are going for them in Round 5!

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First, we have Nehemias Diaz using Infernities, Dueling against Christopher Biswell and his Synchro-heavy Deck.

In Duel 1, Diaz tried to combo off with his Infernity Deck 3 times while Infernity Archfiend, Infernity Necromancer, and Infernity Avenger were in his Graveyard; but each time he tried to cycle through his Infernity cards to Summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier multiple times to grab a bunch of Infernity Barriers from his Deck, he was stopped by Effect Veiler, Enemy Controller, and Torrential Tribute. Infernity combos are strong, but they’re easily stopped by certain Spells, Traps, and Monster Effects. Cards like Heavy Storm and Debunk help to secure big Infernity plays by destroying or stopping the cards that could interfere.

In Duel 2, Diaz transformed his Infernity Deck into a Chaos Deck by using his Side Deck. He took out all of his Infernity Cards except for the Tuners, and added in a bunch of LIGHT, DARK, and Chaos Monsters. But this changed strategy didn’t stop Biswell from defeating him again. When Diaz added Gorz the Emissary of Darkness to his hand with Pot of Duality, Biswell was able to play around the Gorz for the entire Duel. Eventually, Biswell attacked directly with Tengu to allow Diaz to Special Summon Gorz; but only after he was ready to handle it. Biswell used the Gorz against him by activating Enemy Controller to Tribute Reborn Tengu and take control of Gorz. Then he Normal Summoned Effect Veiler and Tuned Effect Veiler with Gorz to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon. Diaz’s Dark Hole and Mystical Space Typhoons were no help against Stardust Dragon, and Biswell was able to use Stardust Dragon to end the Duel and win the Match! It’s important to always keep track of the cards your opponent reveals. Biswell knew that Diaz had Gorz in his hand, and was able to use that information to manipulate his opponent’s plays. This knowledge ultimately led to Biswell’s victory.

Christopher Biswell takes a 2-0 win over Nehemias Diaz!

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Second we have Richard Lam facing off against Jeremy Hale in a Rabbit / Dinosaur Mirror-Match!

In Duel 1, Lam Summoned Rescue Rabbit and turned it into an Evolzar Laggia on the first turn by Special Summoning 2 Kabazauls with his Rabbit’s effect. He protected his monster with back rows, securing his strong opening play. Hale opened up with Rescue Rabbit and Tour Guide From the Underworld, but was preempted by Lam’s first turn – once Laggia hit Lam’s field, Hale knew that his Rescue Rabbit wouldn’t be able to successfully Summon an Evolzar. Lam’s Laggia would stop it. On Lam’s second turn, Lam Summoned a second Rescue Rabbit and turned it into Evolzar Dolkka by Special Summoning 2 copies of Sabersaurus from his Deck. With Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka on the field, Hale knew that he had no chance of victory.

In Duel 2, Hale did to Lam exactly what Lam did to Hale in Duel 1 – He Summoned a Rabbit on his first turn, allowing him to Summon Evolzar Laggia, and protected his play with back rows. On Hale’s next turn, he flipped his face-down Heavy Storm to clear Lam’s back rows, Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld in order to Xyz Summon Leviair the Sea Dragon, Special Summon Rescue Rabbit with Leviair’s effect, and Xyz Summoned Evolzar Dolkka by grabbing 2 Sabersauruses from his Deck. Just as Hale couldn’t defeat Laggia and Dolkka in Duel 1, Lam couldn’t defeat Laggia and Dolkka in Duel 2.

Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka are powerful individually, but they’re even better when they’re working together. Since Laggia negates Spells, Traps, and Summons, and Dolkka negates monster effects, they form an unstoppable team.

In Duel 3, Lam Summoned Evolzar Laggia on his first turn thanks to Rescue Rabbit, and Set Solemn Warning, Dust Tornado, and Book of Moon to protect it. Hale used Pot of Duality to add Dark Hole to his hand, then Set Sabersaurus and Solemn Warning. Lam Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh next turn. He attacked over Sabersaurus with Thunder King Rai-Oh, and attacked directly with Evolzar Laggia. On his next turn, Hale activated Dark Hole, and Lam negated it with the effect of Evolzar Laggia. Hale followed up with Heavy Storm, wiping out all 3 of Lam’s back rows.

It’s important to remember that Evolzar Laggia can only negate one card, since it must detach both of its materials to negate a Spell, Trap, or Monster Summon. Hale took advantage of this fact – he forced Lam to negate Dark Hole with Laggia’s effect by threatening to destroy Laggia, leaving Lam vulnerable to Heavy Storm while he had 3 cards in his back row.

This almost helped Hale to mount a comeback. Later in the Duel, Hale used Tour Guide From the Underworld to Xyz Summon Leviair the Sea Dragon and steal Lam’s banished Rescue Rabbit. He Xyz Summoned Number 39: Utopia and attacked over the depleted Laggia. Unfortunately for Hale, Lam activated Dark Hole to clear the field and used Monster Reborn and a Normal Summon to seal the Duel on the following turn.

Hale told me that he regretted not using Solemn Warning to negate the Summon of Thunder King Rai-Oh on Lam’s second turn, because Hale ended up losing Solemn Warning to his own Heavy Storm. Since he didn’t stop Rai-Oh before it hit the field, Hale needed to attack his own Rai-Oh into Lam’s, destroying them both.

Richard Lam wins 2-1 in a Rabbit Dinosaur Mirror-Match to advance with a 5-0 record!

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Next up, we have Camden Keener and his Tour Guide Agents Deck, Dueling against Joshua Bequette’s T.G. Deck.

In Duel 1, Bequette’s miscalculated math cost him the Duel. He didn’t realize that Summoning T.G. Striker and adding it to his group of monsters already on the field would give him enough ATK to finish Keener off. So Bequette gave Keener an extra turn to retaliate. Keener took advantage of this miscalculation, and defeated Bequette on that additional turn. It’s always important to know your opponent’s Life Points, and carefully calculate if you can defeat him. A miscalculation can be the different between victory and defeat, just as it was for Bequette’s in Duel 1.

In Duel 2, Bequette had no back rows, and Keener Special Summoned Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. Bequette banished it with Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier by Tuning T.G. Striker, T.G. Warwolf, and Reborn Tengu together, and Keener fought back by reviving Thunder King Rai-Oh with Monster Reborn and using Honest to attack over Trishula. Bequette was forced to Synchro Summon T.G. Hyper Librarian in order to get Keener to send Rai-Oh to the Graveyard, but then Keener attacked directly to end the Duel on his next turn. The results of lots of Duels this weekend have turned on the power of Thunder King Rai-Oh, and Bequette’s second Duel against Keener was just another one of those Duels.

Camden Keener takes a 2-0 victory over Joshua Bequette, maintaining his undefeated record!

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Finally, Samuel Pedigo is using his Synchro-heavy Deck against Trevor Landkammer’s Master Hyperion Deck.

In Duel 1, Landkammer won by Summoning Archlord Kristya backed by Solemn Judgment. Archlord Kristya is tough to beat since it prevents Special Summons, but protecting it with a Counter Trap Card like Solemn Judgment creates a nearly unbreakable position. Landkammer took advantage of this play to win Duel 1.

In Duel 2, Pedigo activated Scapegoat in one of Landkammer’s End Phases while Landkammer had The Agent of Creation – Venus on the field. Then on his next turn, he activated Leeching the Light to give each of his Sheep Tokens Venus’s 1600 ATK. Next, he activated Enemy Controller to Tribute a Sheep Token and take control of Landkammer’s Venus. Attacks from all 4 Pedigo’s monsters ended the Duel. The Scapegoat / Leeching the Light combo that Pedigo used in Duel 2 is frequently lethal. Even the weakest monsters become an incredible threat when they’re boosted by Leeching the Light, and Pedigo took advantage of this combo to earn a quick win.

In Duel 3, Pedigo Summoned Scrap Dragon, T.G. Hyper Librarian, and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning all in one turn! He used Reborn Tengu and One for One (Special Summoning Glow-Up Bulb) to assist him, and was fortunate enough to send Spore from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard when he used Glow-Up Bulb’s effect. Pedigo’s swarm of monsters made short work of Landkammer, allowing him to defeat Landdkammer right after time in the round was called. Using One for One to Special Summon a revivable Tuner (Glow-Up Bulb or Spore) in conjunction with the self-replacing Reborn Tengu is a powerful play. It enables a whole flurry of Synchro Summons, without forcing a Duelist to use too many cards from his hand.

Samuel Pedigo takes a 2-1 victory with his Synchrocentric Deck and continues to maintain his undefeated record!

Biswell, Lam, Keener, and Pedigo are moving on undefeated!