It’s round 5, and a ton of different Decks are still undefeated in the main event!  Here’s what happened at four of the top tables, where 5-0 records were at stake.

William Pedigo won 2-1 with Geargia VS Michael Dwyer with HEROes:
Duel 1 saw Pedigo use Geargiarmor’s effect three or four times in the early game, allowing him to create a field of Stardust Dragon, Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei”, and Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” to take the first Duel in short order.

But Dwyer fought back!  In Duel 2, he was able to grind through a back-and-forth Duel, forcing Pedigo to activate both of his Solemn Warnings and his Solemn Judgment.  When Pedigo had exactly 1000 Life Points with Bottomless Trap Hole Set, Dwyer was able to sneak Honest under Bottomless’ 1500 ATK range and poke Pedigo for game.

Pedigo took the third Duel in a very different way, bringing out a bunch of Karakuri Synchros without actually using Geargiarmor.  When Pedigo went off with a field of Burei and Bureido, he attacked to cleave away more than half of Dwyer’s Life Points.  Next turn he finally drew Geargiarmor; Set it; and then flipped it with the effect of Karakuri Strategist mdl 248 “Nishipachi” to trigger its effect.  It was all over moments later as Pedigo’s Machines swarmed the field!

Peter Tran won with Wind-Ups VS Aaron Noel with Geargia:
Noel got out Geargiarmor really early, and spent three turns Setting and flipping it to search out his Geargia monsters.  “I just couldn’t do anything,” remarked Tran.  Noel wound up making a field of two Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei” and a Number 16: Shock Master, attacking over Sangan and ending the first Duel in short order.

In Duel 2, Noel had nothing out in the mid-game but a Thunder King, and a flood of Wind-Up Rabbits, Wind-Up Magicians, and Wind-Up Sharks let Tran make a massive field of Xyz Monsters.  He unleashed Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, Wind-Up Zenmaines, and Wind-Up Arsenal Zenmaioh to clinch the win!

Duel 3 went into time, and on Noel’s fourth turn he pressed for damage.  Aaron’s Prohibition was keeping Heavy Storm off the field, securing his back row with a single set card.  He controlled Karakuri Watchdog mdl 313 “Saizan”, while Tran had Wind-Up Rat and a Set Torrential Tribute.  Next turn Noel used Compulsory Evacuation Device to get Rat off the field and make some direct attacks, but a topdecked Dark Hole and Wind-Up Rabbit stole the Match for Tran!

Matthew Laslo Won 2-1 with Rocks VS Calvin Taha wiith Dark World:
Laslo took the first Duel, controlling things from the beginning of the Duel.  Tahan had a Set Sangan as his first play, and Laslo Summoned Koa’ki Meiru Guardian to keep Sangan’s effect from resolving.  Call of the Haunted brought it back to the field, and from there Laslo kept building his field of card negating 1900 ATK monsters.  “Things just snowballed, “ explained Tahan, who couldn’t get his Dark World strategy off the ground.  Laslo blocked Tahan from using his all-important discard spells, Summoning and reviving Koa’ki Meiru Wall multiple times to take Duel 1.

“It was a really big grind-fest,” commented Taha, describing the second Duel.  “We just kept Setting cards.”  Eventually Tahan made a push with Dark Armed Dragon, losing it to Solemn Warning.  Tahan drew out Laslo’s Torrential Tribute, then used Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World to peck away at Laslo’s back row and finish the Duel.

The last Duel was faster-paced than the previous one, but quickly went into time as the Round ended.  Laslo was behind early, but fought back with Dark Hole to wipe the field.  Laslo Summoned Koa’ki Meiru Sandman to lock down any possible comeback from Tahan, then Special Summoned Grapha with Monster Reborn.  When Tahan tried to fight back with Reckless Greed, Laslo negated it, and kept him locked down with other Rock-Types to take the win.  

Andrew Sicard Won 2-1 with Final Piper VS Scott Williamson with Gravekeepers:
Sicard is playing a Final Countdown Deck that runs Mystic Piper to draw extra cards, and won his first duel against Scott Williamson.  Sicard drew Mystic Piper by his third turn, and drew Kinka-byo with the first activation of Piper’s effect!  With the ability to keep using Mystic Piper every turn to draw more stall cards like Waboku, Threatening Roar, and Thunder of Ruler, Williamson conceded when Final Countdown got halfway through it’s count.  By turn ten he knew he couldn’t get through Sicard’s insane amount of defensive cards.

Williamson played a hard-fought second Duel!  Sicard took him all the way to turn nineteen with Final Countdown, but when he went to activate One Day of Peace to clinch the Match, Williamson battled back with a surprising tech card: Magic Drain!  He Mains one copy and Sides another, and it was just enough to let him finish the game with his last turn, taking the Match to a third and final Duel.

Duel 3 went into time, and despite a first-turn Royal Tribute that cost Sicard three cards from his hand, Sicard drew things out and used Golden Ladybug over and over, ending the Duel with 9000 Life Points by the time the Match clock ran down!  That was enough to get Sicard the victory, and a 5-0 record!

Andrew Sicard, Matthew Laslo, Peter Tran, and William Pedigo take Mystic Piper Countdown, Rock Stun, Wind-Ups, and Geargia to 5-0 records respectively!  We’ll follow up with Peter Tran and Matthew Laslo next Round, in our Round 6 Feature Match.