Joseph Maddalena is 7-1 here in the last Round of Day 1, packing a unique strategy with cards like Ghost Ship, Machina Fortress, and Cyber Eltanin.  Curious?  We were too!  His opponent is Octavio Santiago, a HERO Duelist.  Santiago’s wealth of simple removal effects may allow him to pick apart Maddalena’s big, sweeping combos, but a little momentum could go a long way.  Santiago either has to have answers to everything Maddalena attempts in this Match, or take two Duels as fast as possible before Maddalena’s combos come together. That won’t be easy.

Santiago searched his Deck for Elemental HERO Stratos with E – Emergency Call, then Summoned it to get Elemental HERO Neos Alius from his Deck.  He Set a card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.

Maddalena had a hand of twp Genex Ally Birdman; Heavy Storm; Cyber Eltanin; Cyber Valley; and Gallis the Star Beast.  He Summoned Valley.

Santiago Normal Summoned Alius, then Tributed it for Gemini Spark to destroy Valley and draw a card.  Pot of Duality revealed his Neos Alius, Torrential Tribute, and Miracle Fusion: he added Miracle to his hand, then attacked with Stratos.  He Set a second Spell or Trap.

Maddalena drew Machina Fortress and activated Heavy Storm, destroying Santiago’s Mirror Force and Solemn Warning.  He banished Cyber Valley to Special Summon Cyber Eltanin, sending Stratos to the Graveyard.  Maddalena then sent Tragoedia from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard, Special Summoning Gallis to deal 2000 damage!  He returned Gallis to his hand to Special Summon Birdman, then sent Genex Neutron off the top of his Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon Gallis again.  He Tuned Gallis to Birdman to Synchro Summon Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth, then discarded Machina Fortress and his second Birdman to Special Summon Fortress.  Maddalena entered his Battle Phase, attacking for 500 Battle Damage with Eltanin, then 2500 more with Machina Fortress.  Santiago Special Summoned Tragoedia, and Gaia Knight destroyed it in battle.

Santiago drew to four cards in hand and used Reinforcement of the Army to search a Neos Alius.  He Normal Summoned it and Tributed it for Gemini Spark, destroying Fortress.  He then banished Alius and Stratos to Special Summon Elemental HERO The Shining with Miracle Fusion, attacking over Gaia Knight to destroy it.  He Set two cards to his back row.

Maddalena drew a Machina Fortress and turned Cyber Eltanin to Defense Position.  Santiago Summoned Neos Alius and attacked the Eltanin, then made a direct attack with The Shining.  Maddalena discarded his freshly-drawn Genex Neutron to Special Summon Fortress next turn, but Santiago secured the win with Compulsory Evacuation Device!

Octavio Santiago takes the first Duel, successfully evading a huge push from Maddalena thanks to a well-timed Tragoedia!  Could Maddalena pull this one out?

Maddalena had Chaos Sorcerer; Honest; Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter; Heavy Storm; Genex Neutron; and Cyber Eltanin.  He Set Ryko. 

Santiago Summoned Elemental HERO Stratos to get Elemental HERO Neos Alius from his Deck, then Set a card to his back row without attacking.

Maddalena drew Machina Fortress.  He Flip Summoned Ryko to destroy Santiago’s Stratos, sending Gallis the Star Beast, Ghost Ship, and Lightray Sorcerer to his Graveyard.  He Normal Summoned Machina Gearframe to get Machina Fortress from his Deck, then attacked for a combined total of 2000 Battle Damage.  It was a strong early game poke that could make victory far easier for Maddalena later on.

Santiago Normal Summoned Neos Alius, then Set four cards to his back row so he could Special Summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman.  He stacked Bubbleman with Neos Alius to Xyz Summon Blade Armor Ninja, then detached Neos Alius to let the Ninja attack twice.  The Ninja swung on Gearframe to destroy it, then Ryko, but Maddalena responded with Honest to destroy the Ninja and dish out 200 damage! 

Maddalena drew Cyber Eltanin and fearlessly activated Heavy Storm!  Sure enough, Santiago didn’t have Starlight Road: just a Solemn Judgment to keep his four cards on the field.  He dropped to 2900 Life Points.  Maddalena discarded Eltanin to Special Summon Machina Fortress, and Santiago responded with Torrential Tribute.  Maddalena had another Eltanin, Genex Neutron, and Chaos Sorcerer.  He discarded the Eltanin to Special Summon back his Fortress, then attacked for 2500 Battle Damage.  He Normal Summoned Genex Neutron in Main Phase 2, and Santiago wrecked it with Hero Blast, getting back his Neos Alius.

Santiago was down to 400 Life Points, and Summoned Elemental HERO Neos Alius.  He discarded Emergency Call to flip Super Polymerization!  He sent Machina Fortress to the Graveyard and Special Summoned Elemental HERO Gaia.  Santiago made a direct attack.

Maddalena drew Tragoedia and passed.

Santiago attacked next turn, and Maddalena Special Summoned the Tragoedia with 600 ATK and DEF.  Santiago Set a Spell or Trap.

Maddalena drew Cyber Dragon, and discarded Chaos Sorcerer to take control of Gaia with Tragoedia’s effect!  He turned Tragoedia to Attack Position and attacked with it, swinging through Santiago’s two Set cards to steal the win!

Joseph Maddalena plays a strong early game; briefly loses control in the face of Elemental HERO Gaia; and then tops the out in Tragoedia to make a daring win!  One more Duel remained in Day 1 competition.  The winner here would have a strong shot at the Top 32 tomorrow.

Both Duelists shook hands and wished eachother luck!  Santiago Set two cards to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.

Maddalena had Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning; Genex Neutron; Monster Reborn; Machina Fortress; Black Rose Witch; and Ghost Ship.  He Summoned the Witch, then activated her effect to add Cyber Valley to his hand.  He ran some numbers for a bit, figuring out what he could do off a Machina Fortress play, but eventually decided just to make a direct attack with the Witch.  It connected; Santiago dropped to 6300 Life Points.

E – Emergency Call got Santiago Elemental HERO Stratos, which got him Elemental HERO Neos Alius.  Stratos attacked over Black Rose Witch. 

Maddalena drew Genex Ally Birdman.  He discarded Cyber Valley and Machina Fortress to Summon the Fortress, but lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole.  He banished Cyber Valley to Special Summon Ghost Ship, then Normal Summoned Neutron.  He returned Neutron to his hand to Special Summon Birdman, then Tuned it to Ghost Ship to Synchro Summon Scrap Dragon!  That left him with Black Rose Witch and Ghost Ship in the Graveyard – one LIGHT and one DARK.  He Set Monster Reborn, and Santiago immediately destroyed it with Mystical Space Typhoon.  That made things even easier for Maddalena, who had planned to destroy his own Monster Reborn to take out Santiago’s back row and now no longer had to fear Gorz the Emissary of Darkness.  He immediately Special Summoned Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning for two attacks, followed by a direct attack for game with Scrap Dragon! 

Joseph Maddalena moves on to Day 2 with an 8-1 record, with… Whatever you call that.