The Six Samurai won the most recent YCS, even though many members of the Dueling world were counting them out at the start of the tournament. Now, Junior Dorcin is hoping for a repeat this weekend. He’s currently 6-1 in the tournament with his Six Samurai Deck, and he’ll be facing off against Deaton Cooke, a YCS first-timer, and his T.G. Deck! A win for one of these Duelists will guarantee that Duelist a spot in Day 2.

Dorcin opened up Duel 1 by Setting Musakani Magatama and Kagemusha of the Six Samurai before ending his turn.

Cooke opened up with Reborn Tengu and used it to attack Dorcin’s face-down Kagemusha. Cooke lost 100 Life Points in the battle. Cooke Set 2 cards to his back row before ending his turn.

Dorcin drew an Elder of the Six Samurai next turn. He Special Summoned Kizan and then Normal Summoned an Elder. Next, he Tuned Kagemusha with Elder to Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En. Cooke flipped Book of Moon to try to put Kizan face-down, and Dorcin negated the Book with Shi En’s effect. Having already used his Shi En’s negation, Dorcin chose to end his turn without attacking, afraid of what Cooke’s back row might be.

Cooke Normal Summoned T.G. Striker next turn and Tuned it with Reborn Tengu to Synchro Summon Orient Dragon. He activated his Dragon’s effect to banish Shi En, and Special Summoned another Tengu from his Deck. Next, Dorcin attacked Kizan with Reborn Tengu and activated Horn of the Phantom Beast in the Damage Step to give his Tengu an extra 800 ATK. Kizan was destroyed in battle and Cooke drew a card thanks to his Horn’s effect.

Dorcin drew Grandmaster of the Six Samurai next turn. He Special Summoned Elder of the Six Samurai and then Normal Summoned Hand of the Six Samurai. He Special Summoned Grandmaster of the Six Samurai next, and then activated his Hand’s effect by Tributing Elder. He tried to destroy Reborn Tengu, but Cooke flipped Skill Drain to negate Hand’s effect.

Cooke attacked Grandmaster of the Six Samurai with Reborn Tengu and then attacked Hand of the Six Samurai with Orient Dragon, destroying both of Dorcin’s monsters in battle. Cooke drew another card from his Deck too, thanks to his Horn of the Phantom Beast. In Main Phase 2, Cooke activated Pot of Duality, revealing Solemn Judgment, T.G. Warwolf, and King Tiger Wangu from the top of his Deck. He added Solemn Judgment to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back. He Set 2 cards to his back row before ending his turn.

Dorcin drew Spirit of the Six Samurai next turn. “Let’s just go to game 2,” he said, conceding.

Deaton Cooke banishes Junior Dorcin’s Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En with Orient Dragon to win the first Duel! Junior Dorcin will be going first in Duel 2!

Dorcin started Duel 2 by Setting 2 Mystical Space Typhoons and a Reckless Greed before ending his turn.

Cooke opened up with TG1-EM1, T.G. Striker, Mirror Force, Pot of Duality, T.G. Warwolf, and Mystical Space Typhoon. He activated Pot of Duality, revealing Monster Reborn, T.G. Rush Rhino, and Smashing Ground from the top of his Deck. He added Monster Reborn to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. Next, he Normal Summoned T.G. Warwolf. He Set 3 cards to his back row and then ended his turn without attacking. In the End Phase, Deaton lost Mystical Space Typhoon and TG1-EM1 to Dorcin’s 2 copies of Mystical Space Typhoon.

Dorcin drew and Set Rivalry of Warlords next turn.

Cooke attacked directly with T.G. Warwolf to drop Dorcin down to 6800 Life Points.

Dorcin drew Asceticism of the Six Samurai next turn and then flipped Reckless Greed to draw Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan and Reinforcement of the Army from his Deck. He activated the Reinforcement of the Army to add Elder of the Six Samurai to his hand and then activated Six Samurai United. He Special Summoned Elder and then activated Asceticism of the Six Samurai, targeting Elder, in order to Special Summon Kagemusha of the Six Samurai from his Deck. The 2 Summons added 2 Bushido Counters to Six Samurai United. Dorcin sent Six Samurai United to the Graveyard to draw Book of Moon and Kagemusha, and then Special Summoned Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan. He Tuned Kagemusha with Elder to Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En and then Normal Summoned Kagemusha. He activated Monster Reborn next, and Special Summoned Elder from his Graveyard. He Tuned Kagemusha, Elder, and Kizan together to Synchro Summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, and used Trishula’s effect to banish T.G. Warwolf from the field, TG1-EM1 from the Graveyard, and T.G. Striker from Cooke’s hand. Shi En and Trishula attacked directly to drop Cooke down to 2800 Life Points.

Cooke activated Monster Reborn to try to Special Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, but Dorcin negated it with Shi En’s effect. Next, he activated Dark Hole to try to clear the field; but when Dorcin negated it with Musakani Magatama, Cooke conceded.

Junior Dorcin begins with a weak opening hand, but turns the Duel around after activating Reckless Greed! Deaton Cooke will be going first in Duel 3!

Cooke opened with Reborn Tengu in Attack Position and 2 face-down cards.

Dorcin Set a Musakani Magatama and passed.

Cooke Normal Summoned T.G. Warwolf and then attacked directly with Warwolf and Tengu to drop Dorcin down to 5100 Life Points. Cooke Set a third card to his back row before passing.

Dorcin drew Reckless Greed and Set it along with an Asceticism.

Cooke attacked directly with Warwolf and Tengu again next turn.

Dorcin drew his third Asceticism and then activated Reckless Greed to draw Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan and Fiendish Chain from his Deck. He activated Six Samurai United and then Normal Summoned Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, adding a Bushido Counter to his Six Samurai United. Next, he Special Summoned Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and added a second Bushido Counter to his Continuous Spell. Cooke activated Maxx “C” and then Dorcin sent Six Samurai United to the Graveyard to draw Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki and another copy of Grandmaster. Dorcin Set an Asceticism and Fiendish Chain before ending his turn.

Cooke Normal Summoned T.G. Striker and Tuned it with Reborn Tengu and T.G. Warwolf to Synchro Summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier; but when Trishula activated its effect, Dorcin flipped Fiendish Chain to negate it! Cooke Special Summoned another Tengu from his Deck in Attack Position before ending his turn.

Dorcin skipped his Draw Phase due to the effect of Reckless Greed. He activated Monster Reborn to Special Summon T.G. Striker from Cooke’s Graveyard and then Normal Summoned Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki. Next, Dorcin Tuned T.G. Striker with Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki to Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En! Cooke tried to negate its Summon with Solemn Judgment, but Dorcin flipped Musakani Magatama to negate the Solemn Judgment! Grandmaster attacked and destroyed Reborn Tengu, dropping Cooke down to 3600 Life Points, and Cooke Special Summoned another Tengu in Defense Position. Dorcin destroyed it in battle and then ended his turn.

Cooke activated Pot of Duality next turn, revealing Horn of the Phantom Beast, Solemn Warning, and T.G. Rush Rhino from the top off his Deck. He added Horn of the Phantom Beast to his hand and shuffled the other 2 cards back into his Deck. He Set 1 card each zone and passed.

Dorcin skipped his second Draw Phase since the activation of Reckless Greed and then passed his turn.

[After the Match, I asked Dorcin if there were any plays that he regret making. He answered, “I should’ve activated that Reckless Greed a little bit later. I had to sit and wait 2 turns and couldn’t draw. When I finally did draw, I drew Kagemusha.”]

Cooke Flip Summoned T.G. Warwolf and then Normal Summoned T.G. Striker. He Tuned Warwolf with Striker to Synchro Summon T.G. Wonder Magician and used the Magician’s effect to destroy the Fiendish Chain that was affecting Trishula. Next, Dorcin attacked Shi En with Trishula. Dorcin lost 200 Life Points and used his Shi En’s effect to send Kizan to the Graveyard and protect his Shi En.

Dorcin drew Kagemusha of the Six Samurai next turn! He Summoned it and then activated Asceticism of the Six Samurai, targeting Kagemusha, in order to Special Summon Elder of the Six Samurai from his Deck. Next, Dorcin activated another Asceticism of the Six Samurai , this time targeting Elder of the Six Samurai, in order to Special Summon Kagemusha from his Deck. Dorcin Tuned Kagemusha with Elder of the Six Samurai to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Catastor in Attack Position! Dorcin used his last Asceticism of the Six Samurai next, selecting Kagemusha in order to Special Summon Elder of the Six Samurai from his Deck. He Tuned his Elder with Kagemusha in order to Synchro Summon Naturia Beast. Finally, Dorcin entered his Battle Phase. Catastor attacked Trishula and destroyed it with its effect. Then Grandmaster of the Six Samurai attacked and destroyed Wonder Magician. Finally, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En and Naturia Beast attacked directly, wiping out Cooke’s last 3400 Life Points! Cooke revealed his face-down Trap Dustshoot, Skill Drain, Horn of the Phantom Beast, and Starlight Road before offering the handshake.

[After the Match, I asked Cooke if there was anything he wishes he had done differently. He replied, “I wish that I didn’t side out my Dimensional Prisons and that I didn’t side in…”. He paused and added, “I kinda wish I didn’t side at all, actually!” It’s important to have a good Side Deck plan going into each Duel, in order to avoid making regrettable Side Decking mistakes.]

Junior Dorcin is 7-1 with his Six Samurai Deck!