Round 10 Roundup
With just three rounds of Swiss competition left in this tournament, it’s a great time to take another look at the top 4 tables! This round saw Dino Rabbit, Inzektors, and Wind-Ups square off with the likes of Gravekeepers and Chain Burn. Check it out!
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Table 1: Robert Vasquez triumphed with Dino Rabbit, overcoming Hendrik Kluitenberg’s Inzektors
Kluitenberg started the Match feeling pretty confident in his hand, which included Tour Guide from the Underworld, Spirit Reaper, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Maxx “C”. He Set Reaper and Mystical Space Typhoon. Vasquez attacked into Reaper with Kabazauls, and Set Solemn Warning and Fiendish Chain. He lost the Warning to Typhoon. Kluitenberg wound up playing Tour Guide from the Underworld for Wind-Up Zenmaines, but did so at the cost of letting Vasquez draw two cards with Maxx “C”. Vasquez had no followup: he Set a card and passed. Kluitenberg tried to press with Inzektor Centipede, but couldn’t activate its effect because Vasquez had Effect Veiler. He attacked with Zenmaines, to attack Kabazauls and destroy it with Zenmaines effect. Vasquez attacked over the Centipede next turn, but he couldn’t get Spirit Reaper off the field. Eventually Kluitenberg managed to get Inzektor Dragonfly’s effect to work, and Kluitenberg finished the Duel with Dark Armed Dragon.
Vasquez started the second Duel by setting one card to his back row. Kluitenberg Summoned Spirit Reaper, forcing Vasquez to flip Torrential Tribute. Kluitenberg Set Fiendish Chain. Vasquez Summoned Kabazauls, scoring a direct attack. Kluitenberg tried to Summon Inzektor Centipede, but Vasquez denied him with Solemn Warning. Vasquez played Sabersaurus into Torrential Tribute, and Kluitenberg set another Reaper. When Kluitenberg drew Tour Guide from the Underworld, it was Vasquez’s turn to have a game-crushing Torrential Tribute. Vasquez tried to follow up with Jurrac Guaiba, but ran into Fiendish Chain. Vasquez Set a clutch Solemn Judgment, which he used to negate the Summon of Inzektor Dragonfly next turn, leaving Kluitenberg to blow away the field with Heavy Storm and attack with Doomdozer. Doomdozer attacked into Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, and Vasquez had game next turn with Smashing Ground and a Rescue Rabbit.
The final Duel started with an all-monster hand for Kluitenberg save Allure of Darkness, which got him a Mystical Space Typhoon. Vasquez blocked Tour Guide from the Underworld with Maxx “C”, and Vasquez attacked into Kluitenberg’s Set Sangan. Kluitenberg spent most of the game pinned down, holding too many monsters and trapped under Effect Veiler. Another Tour Guide, leading to a field of triple Tour Guide!, and eventually a Rescue Rabbit, brought the Match to a close in Vasquez’s favor.
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Table 2: Adrian Shakir won with Wind-Ups, scoring a 2-1 victory over Bai Chen’s Dino Rabbits
In the first Duel, Chen opened really strong. “My hand was broken. I had Sangan, double Rescue Rabbit, Tour Guide, and Dark Hole.” He Set Sangan and ended. Shakir Summoned Wind-Up Rat, and took Sangan with Mind Control. That let him go into Wind-Up Hunter, and with Monster Reborn he discarded several cards from Bai’s hand. Thanks to the Hunter loop, Shakir won relatively quickly.
Chen controlled the second Duel with Thunder King Rai-Oh, Book of Moon, and Solemn Warning. Shakir fought back with Snowman Eater, eliminating the Thunder King, but Chen had Rescue Rabbit to up the stakes. It was a back-and-forth contest that saw Shakir make his Hunter loop once again, but Dark Hole let Chen break open the field, and moments later he was able to make a series of direct attacks to even up the Match score.
In the third Duel, Shakir met a pair of Evolzar Dolkkas with a pair of Number 30: Acid Golems! Shakir managed to simplify the Duel, eliminating cards with Mystical Space Typhoons and a key Torrential Tribute to control the game with Wind-Up Rabbit. The Rabbit eventually let Shakir recycle his Wind-Up Rat, leading to an explosive finish with triple Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity and Number 39: Utopia.
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Table 3: Jake Quinsee and his Wind-Ups took a 2-0 win over Marquis Johnson’s Chain Burn Deck
Quinsee opened the first Duel with Tour Guide from the Underworld, Wind-Up Shark, and Wind-Up Factory: when he looped through his Wind-Up Rats, Johnson had no way to protect his hand, and he ended up losing three cards to Wind-Up Hunter. Since Chain Burn decks rely on virtually every one of their cards to eventually be dealing damage (either dishing it out themselves, or by buying time to draw cards which then deal damage in turn), losing three cards was crippling. Wind-Up Zenmaioh batted cleanup on Johnson’s remaining Set cards moments later, allowing Quinsee to make some quick, brutal attacks.
Luck wasn’t in Johnson’s favor for the second Duel, either – of the seven monsters he runs in his Main Deck, he drew three, creating a slow situation that he couldn’t fight out of. Once again, Wind-Up Zenmaioh devastated the few back row cards Johnson had, rendering victory academic for Quinsee.
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Table 4: Wesley Carter took a hard-fought third Duel victory with Gravekeepers, defeating John Gruchacz’s Dino Rabbits
Carter opened the first Duel with a solid hand, featuring a pretty good back row and a Malefic Cyber End. Carter Set a monster and Set two cards to his back row. Gruchacz was stuck with Sabersaurus, which he lost to Bottomless Trap Hole. Carter got in for 4000 Battle Damage next turn with Malefic Cyber End, but Gruchacz took it down on the following turn with Smashing Ground. He fought back over the next three turns with direct attacks from Kabazauls before Carter could take it down. Carter couldn’t hit a draw to protect himself, and Tour Guide from the Underworld for Wind-Up Zenmaines won the Duel with a little help from Thunder King Rai-Oh.
Duel 2 opened with a lucky Royal Tribute, costing Gruchacz two cards from his hand while Carter set up with Gravekeeper’s Descendant, Necrovalley, and a loaded Spell and Trap Card Zone. After five turns of Descendant beatdown, the second Duel was over.
The final Duel was incredibly lengthy, featuring a ton of monster removal on Carter’s side. Gruchacz fought to hold on, but every time he attempted to Summon, Carter had Bottomless Trap Hole, Dimensional Prison, or Solemn Warning. Carter kept making small attacks whenever he could, and though Gruchacz tried to fend Carter off, he just couldn’t manage to do so. Carter wound up finishing Gruchacz off by Flip Summoning Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter to destroy Gruchacz’s face-down Sangan, and following up with an attack from Gravekeeper’s Assailant to win the Match with three cards left in his Deck!
Robert Vasquez, Adrian Shakir, Jake Quinsee, and Wesley Carter move on with 10-0 records!
