With everyone starting to wind down, the seventh round of Swiss competition was to be the final round of Day 1! Sunday will hold five more rounds of Swiss, followed by six playoff rounds, but for now, we were about to see some very cool Decks throw down.

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Table 1: Adrian Shakir Claimed Victory With Wind-Ups, Defeating Denny Yu’s Dino Rabbits

Shakir opened with an iteration of the Wind-Up Hunter loop: Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark. He Summoned Magician and activated Shark’s ability, and Yu responded by Chaining Maxx “C”. Not wanting to give Yu additional draws, Shakir didn’t use the Magician’s effect, and after the Match he remarked that he should’ve probably Special Summoned Wind-Up Rabbit. “Wind-Up Rabbit’s so impossible to deal with,” Yu noted, glad that Shakir hadn’t Summoned it when he’d had the chance. Yu Summoned Rescue Rabbit next turn, attacked with Kabazauls to wreck Shakir’s field, and then Xyz Summoned Evolzar Dolkka. Shakir was left with Rabbit, Tour Guide from the Underworld, and Mystical Space Typhoon. He drew into Effect Veiler and Set Typhoon, losing it to Yu’s own Typhoon in the End Phase. Yu played another Rescue Rabbit, and it was all over a turn later as Shakir conceded on his next draw: Wind-Up Factory.

Duel 2 started for Shakir by Setting Mystical Space Typhoon, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Sangan. Yu Summoned Sabersaurus, Set three cards to his back row, and ended – he had another Sabersaurus in hand and was going for an Evolzar. Shakir kept up his defenses, and while Yu drew a third Sabersaurus, Shakir continued building his field and his combos. He went off a couple turns later to take Duel 2 with a pair of Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity and Number 39: Utopia.

Yu started the third game with six monsters in his hand. He Summoned Rabbit; ate a Maxx “C”; and Xyz Summoned Laggia. Shakir cleared away Laggia’s negation with Smashing Ground, and thanks to a pair of Wind-Up Sharks, attacked over Laggia with Tiras, the Keeper of Genesis. Yu had Tour Guide and Sangan in hand, and drew another Tour Guide. He Set Sangan, Solemn Warning, and Starlight Road. Shakir drew and attempted to Summon Sangan; Yu negated the attempt with Solemn Warning. Tiras attacked again, destroying Yu’s Set Starlight Road. Tiras stuck around a while, as Yu drew his third Tour Guide; he eventually forced Shakir to flip Torrential Tribute, destroying Tiras. Shakir drew and Set Snowman Eater; Yu Set Kabazauls; and Shakir tried to go off with a Zenmaity play again, one more losing out to Maxx “C”. Yu swung into a key Mirror Force; Shakir started leaning on him; and despite a Mirror Force, another Torrential Tribute and a Wind-Up Rat brought the momentum of the Duel into Shakir’s favor. Several turns and several removal cards later, Shakir managed to grind out the victory.

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Table 2: Angel Ascencio Triumphed In A Dino Rabbit Mirror Match, Over Alejandro Jimenez

Jimenez had a solid opening with an early Evolzar Laggia to open the Match, Setting Torrential Tribute and Mirror Force. Ascencio Summoned his own Rabbit, making his own Laggia which Jimenez negated. Maxx “C” gave him a draw off the initial Rabbit effect. Jimenez attacked with Laggia and Set Sangan. Ascencio tried to Summon Tour Guide, but Solemn Warning shut him down, and it was over moments later.

Ascencio opened the second Duel with a Set Snowman Eater and a back row Set. Jimenez Summoned Kabazauls; swung into Snowman Eater to lose the Dinosaur; and Set two back rows. Ascencio drew and Summoned Sabersaurus, attacking into Dimensional Prison. Jimenez wound up eliminating the Snowman Eater, and from there it was all downhill: two turns later he was making direct attacks with Normal Monsters to pick up the ‘W’.

The match ended entirely just moments later, when Jimenez opened with a sub-par hand of double Kabazauls, Sabersaurus, Mystical Space Typhoon, Gorz, and Starlight Road. He Set Mystical Space Typhoon and Starlight, Summoned Sabersaurus, and passed. Mind Control and another Sabersaurs let Ascencio bring out Laggia. When Laggia attacked, Jimenez had to Mystical Space Typhoon his own Starlight Road to clear the field and drop Gorz, but his hopes were dashed when Ascencio blew Gorz away with Smashing Ground in Main Phase 2. There was no coming back from that: a key Forbidden Chalice sealed the deal for Ascencio, keeping his Laggia safe from Jimenez’s Emissary of Darkness Token. Laggia swung for game!

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Table 3: Chaos Piper Duelist Gabriel Perez Mounted A Big Comeback, Narrowly Eeking Out Inzektor Duelist Rich Silverberg

Silverberg opened the Match with Card Trooper, but sent nothing relevant to the Graveyard. He Set Torrential Tribute and Heavy Storm. Perez Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh, and Silverberg flipped Torrential, drawing with Card Trooper. A couple passes later, Perez blasted Silverberg with Heavy Storm, destroying Silverberg’s Heavy and Mystical Space Typhoon. Perez Summoned Tour Guide from the Underworld to Special Summon Sangan and attack. Silverberg Summoned Inzektor Centipede, using Inzektor Hornet to destroy Tour Guide, then attacked over Sangan: that let Perez get Effect Veiler from his Deck. Silverberg Set a Spell or Trap. Perez Summoned Piper, using its effect to draw Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. Silverberg equipped the Hornet to Inzektor Centipede and attacked for 2100 Battle Damage – Perez dropped Gorz, but lost it to Hornet. Moments later Silverberg was finishing the Duel with Dark Armed Dragon!

Perez started the second Duel with Tour Guide from the Underworld; Mystic Piper; two Effect Veilers; D.D. Crow; and Torrential Tribute. He Summoned Piper to draw Book of Moon, giving him four cards to shut down Inzektor effects. Silverberg never equipped an Inzektor with Inzektor Hornet, and victory was academic for Perez.

In Duel 3, Silverberg started with Effect Veiler, D.D. Crow, Maxx “C”, Card Trooper, Allure of Darkness, and Inzektor Hornet. Allure let him trade Crow for Inzektor Centipede and Book of Moon: Card Trooper sent his Dark Armed Dragon and two Tour Guides to the Graveyard. Silverberg Set Book. Perez Normal Summoned Tour Guide, and when Perez Special Summoned Sangan, Silverberg drew a card with Maxx “C”. Creature Swap let Perez take Card Trooper, trading his Sangan for it, and sent Effect Veiler, Solemn Warning, and Monster Reborn to the Graveyard with Trooper’s effect. Perez sent the pilfered Trooper to attack his Swapped Sangan, but Silverberg blocked it with Book of Moon, keeping it both from attacking and becoming an Xyz Material. That forced Perez to knock Tour Guide into Sangan, getting him Effect Veiler. Next turn, when Silverberg went for Inzektor Centipede’s effect, Perez allowed it: Silverberg destroyed his Card Trooper, currently on Perez’s side of the field, then got Dragonfly. Centipede attacked, Perez Summoned Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, and Silverberg Set Solemn Warning. Gorz and the Token attacked, letting Perez take control of the field. Silverberg tried to power through a Dragonfly, but lost out to Veiler, then D.D. Crow when he tried to Monster Reborn a fallen Inzektor. Perez had so much control over this Duel that there was just no way Silverberg was ever going to find his footing. Victory for Piper Chaos!

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Table 8: Isaiah Barnett And His Fortune Lady Heroes Conquered Merlin Schumacher’s Dino Rabbits

Schumacher opened the first Duel with a hand he described as “terrible,” including triple Tour Guide from the Underworld. He Summoned Tour Guide to get to Sangan, and set Mirror Force. Barnett Summoned Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude and immediately scored a free Gold Sarcophagus with its effect. He proceeded to hit at least two more Spell Cards with Diamond Dudes over the course of the rest of the Duel, including Monster Reborn (which he played to reuse Elemental HERO Stratos – youch) and a free double draw with Fortune’s Future. When Schumacher was able to rid the field of one Diamond Dude, Barnett was able to play another, and a clutch Mind Control let him make what would have been a game-winning Number 39: Utopia, if not for Schumacher’s Fiendish Chain. Dark Armed Dragon finished things off and gave Barnett the first win!

Schumacher Side Decked in Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, and Set it on his first turn. His hand included Jurrac Guaiba, a Sabersaurus, and Gorz the Emissary of Darkness: he Summoned the Sabersaurus. When Barnett used Future Fusion on his first turn to send Destiny Hero – Malicious and Fortune Lady Water to the Graveyard for Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, he Summoned Plaguespreader Zombie in a bid to Special Summon his second Malicious with the effect of the first copy: Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror shut him down. But Barnett had Torrential Tribute, which he Set to protect Plaguespreader, and when Schumacher went for the shot with Jurrac Guaiba he lost both of his monsters. Barnett proceeded to hammer away at Schumacher with Elemental HERO Absolute Zero for several turns, as Schumacher was stuck drawing a Sangan that was pinned under his own Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. Schumacher couldn’t catch a break, and when Barnett started raking in free cards with Diamond Dude it was over. Schumacher was just too locked down under his own Imprisoning Mirror, all game long: “I think the one thing I would have done differently, is not Set the Mirror so early,” noted Schumacher after the Match had ended. “At first I only had the Gorz, but then I drew the Sangan.” There was nothing he could do to fight back at that point.

Isaiah Barnett, Gabriel Perez, Angel Ascencio, and Adrian Shakir all finish Day 1 with immaculate, 7-0 records!