. Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Event Coverage » Round 10: Herman Herrera vs. Dominique Eskridge
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Round 10: Herman Herrera vs. Dominique Eskridge

April 15th, 2012

Herman Herrera and Dominique Eskridge are both Texas locals and both have 8-1 records going into Round 10. Herrera traveled here from Fort Worth to compete with his Gemini HERO Deck (featuring Elemental HERO Bubbleman), and Eskridge came from Austin to battle it out with a teched out Dino Rabbit Deck that Main Decks Macro Cosmos.

Eskridge started things off by Setting Sabersaurus, Macro Cosmos, and Book of Moon (with Gorz in hand) before ending his turn.

[After the Match, I asked Eskridge why he Set Macro Cosmos while he had Gorz in his hand, since that would make Gorz difficult to Summon. He answered, “If Macro sits on the field, I don’t need Gorz, because it breaks my opponent’s plays anyway.” Sometimes, it’s a good idea not to commit cards that you can’t get rid of to your back row when you have Gorz in your hand. But other times, the card you Set may be so crippling to an opponent that it’s worth giving up the chance of Summoning Gorz.]

Herrera opened up with Solemn Judgment, Gemini Spark, Prohibition, Miracle Fusion, Shard of Greed, and Solemn Warning. He Set Solemn Warning and Solemn Judgment and then activated Shard of Greed.

Eskridge Flip Summoned Sabersaurus and attacked directly with it. In Main Phase 2 he Summoned another copy and tried to Xyz Summon Evolzar Laggia; but Herrera negated its Summon with Solemn Warning.

Herrera drew E – Emergency Call and added a Greed Counter to Shard of Greed. Then he activated E – Emergency Call to get an Elemental HERO Neos Alius from his Deck. He Summoned it and attacked directly to drop Eskridge down to 6100 Life Points. Herrera activated Prohibition naming Rescue Rabbit in Main Phase 2 and then Set a Gemini Spark to his back row.

Eskridge Set a monster and passed.

Herrera drew Prohibition, added a Greed Counter to Shard of Greed, and then sent Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw Elemental HERO Stratos and another Miracle Fusion. He attacked Eskridge’s face-down Snowman Eater with Elemental HERO Neos Alius, and Snowman Eater destroyed Alius with its effect. Herrera Normal Summoned Elemental HERO Stratos in Main Phase 2 and used its effect to add an Elemental HERO Neos Alius from his Deck to his hand.

[If Eskridge had flipped Macro Cosmos before Herrera drew 2 cards with Shard of Greed, Herrera wouldn’t have been able to send Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw his 2 cards.]

Eskridge flipped Macro Cosmos and then Set a card to his back row.

Herrera drew Torrential Tribute. He Normal Summoned Elemental HERO Neos Alius and then activated Gemini Spark. He Tributed Neos Alius to destroy Snowman Eater and drew Starlight Road. He attacked directly with Stratos, but was stopped by Fiendish Chain. In Main Phase 2, Herrera activated Prohibition, naming Tour Guide From the Underworld, and Set Starlight Road.

Eskridge Summoned Jurrac Guaiba next turn. He attacked Stratos with Guaiba and Herrera allowed the attack. But he tried to use Book of Moon in the Damage Step and couldn’t, so his Guaiba crashed into Stratos and Book of Moon was returned face-down.

[Quick-Play Spell Cards like Book of Moon can’t be used in the Damage Step unless they modify the ATK or DEF of a monster!]

Herrera drew Mystical Space Typhoon and used it to destroy Macro Cosmos. Then he activated Miracle Fusion and fused his on-field Stratos with his in-Graveyard Neos Alius to Summon Elemental HERO The Shining. The Shining attacked Eskridge directly.

Eskridge used Heavy Storm next turn, but when Herrera flipped Starlight Road to negate it and Summon Stardust Dragon, Eskridge conceded.

Herman Herrera uses some interesting cards including Shard of Greed and Prohibition to win Duel 1! Dominique Eskridge will be going first in Duel 2!

Eskridge opened up Duel 2 by Setting Snowman Eater along with Magic Drain and Macro Cosmos.

Herrera Normal Summoned Elemental HERO Neos Alius and attacked Eskridge’s face-down monster with it. Eskridge flipped Macro Cosmos, and Herrera Chained Mystical Space Typhoon from his hand to try to destroy Macro Cosmos. Eskridge used Magic Drain to try to negate it, but Herrera discarded Book of Moon to make sure Macro Cosmos was destroyed. Alius continued its attack against Eskridge’s face-down Snowman Eater, and Snowman Eater flipped face-up to destroy Alius. In Main Phase 2, Herrera used Prohibition, naming Rescue Rabbit.

[After the Match, Eskridge explained that Magic Drain is good against HERO Decks, especially for Gemini Spark. He also said it’s a great card in general, for stopping other important and popular Spell Cards like Forbidden Lance.]

Eskridge Normal Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld next turn and used its effect to Special Summon Sangan from his Deck. Then he combined Tour Guide with Snowman Eater to Summon Number 17: Leviathan Dragon. He detached Tour Guide from Leviathan Dragon to give it 500 ATK and then attacked directly with Sangan and Leviathan Dragon.

Herrera drew Elemental HERO Neos Alius next turn. He Set Monster Reborn, Normal Summoned Alius, and then Special Summoned Elemental HERO Bubbleman. Next, he combined Bubbleman and Neos Alius to make Number 39: Utopia, and attacked Number 17: Leviathan Dragon with Number 39: Utopia. Both Number monsters were destroyed in the battle.

Eskridge activated Monster Reborn to Special Summon Elemental HERO Neos Alius and then attacked directly with Neos Alius and Sangan to drop Herrera down to 1600 Life Points.

Herrera drew Torrential Tribute next turn. He activated his face-down Monster Reborn to Special Summon Elemental HERO Neos Alius and then attacked and destroyed Sangan with it. Eskridge added a Tour Guide From the Underworld to his hand with the effect of Sangan. Herrera Set Torrential Tribute before ending his turn.

Eskridge activated Mind Control to take control of Elemental HERO Neos Alius and then Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia. With only 1600 Life Points remaining, Utopia wiped out Herrera with 1 attack!

[Choosing not to use Torrential Tribute on this last turn was a great play for Herrera. He knew that if he used Torrential Tribute to destroy Utopia, Eskridge would Summon Tour Guide From the Underworld and defeat him. But by not using Torrential Tribute, there was a chance that Eskridge would Summon again and Herrera would be able to use his Torrential Tribute to stay in the Duel.]

Dominique Eskridge wins Duel 2 with his Dino Rabbit Deck! Herman Herrera is going first in Duel 3!

Herrera opened up Duel 3 by Normal Summoning Elemental HERO Neos Alius and then activated Prohibition, naming Rescue Rabbit. He Set Hero Blast, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell, and Gemini Spark before ending his turn.

Eskridge Set a card to each zone and proceeded to his End Phase. In his End Phase, Herrera used Gemini Spark to Tribute Neos Alius, destroy Eskridge’s face-down Snowman Eater, and draw Reinforcement of the Army.

Herrera drew another Cursed Seal next turn. He activated Reinforcement of the Army to add Elemental HERO Stratos from his Deck to his hand and then Summoned it and used its effect to add Elemental HERO Bubbleman to his hand. He Set his Cursed Seal and Miracle Fusion, and then Special Summoned Bubbleman. He combined Bubbleman and Stratos to Xyz Summon Blade Armor Ninja and then detached Stratos from Blade Armor Ninja to let it attack twice. Blade Armor Ninja attacked for 4400 points of damage and Herrera ended his turn.

Eskridge activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Herrera’s Hero Blast. Then he activated Heavy Storm to destroy Prohibition, 2 copies of Cursed Seal, and Miracle Fusion! Next, he Normal Summoned Rescue Rabbit and banished it to Special Summon 2 copies of Kabazauls from his Deck. He combined both Kabazauls to Summon Evolzar Laggia and then attacked over Blade Armor Ninja to destroy it with Laggia.

[After the Match, Herrera said that he wishes he had used Miracle Fusion on his previous turn to Summon Elemental HERO The Shining so that he’d be less vulnerable to Heavy Storm. He also thought it may have been a bad idea to commit to Blade Armor Ninja, since it forced him to Set the Spell Card in his hand that could’ve been discarded to activate Cursed Seal.]

Herrera drew Miracle Fusion next turn and passed.

Eskridge Summoned Kabazauls and then attacked with Kabazauls and Laggia to drop Herrera down to 3700 Life Points.

Herrera drew Dimensional Prison. He activated Miracle Fusion and Eskridge negated it by detaching both Xyz Material from Laggia. Herrera Set his Dimensional Prison before ending his turn.

Eskridge attacked with Kabazauls and Herrera lost 1700 Life Points. Then Laggia attacked, and Herrera used Dimensional Prison to banish it. In Main Phase 2, Eskridge Summoned Sabersaurus and combined it with Kabazauls to Xyz Summon Evolzar Laggia.

Herrera drew Elemental HERO Neos Alius next turn and Set it.

Eskridge Summoned Jurrac Guaiba and used it to attack the face-down Elemental HERO Neos Alius. With only 2000 Life Points remaining, a direct attack from Evolzar Laggia finished Herrera off!

Dominique Eskridge is moving on to Round 11 with a 9-1 record!