Round 2 Round-Up: Cosplay Edition!
Three Duelists came to the YCS in full cosplay this weekend, so we thought, hey! Know what might be fun? Featuring them all together in a Round-Up.
…And then we threw Jeff Jones in there because he was supposed to be in our Round 1 Round-Up, but his opponent never showed.
So yeah! Three cosplayers and Jeff Jones! Let’s see how it turned out.
Daniel Laube As Yugi Versus Long Dao
Daniel Laube joined us this weekend as none other than Yugi Muto! He’s been cosplaying for four years, and he came here this weekend with another of our featured cosplayers. What drew him to YCS San Diego? “I haven’t been to a YCS in years,” Laube explained, “but I heard it was a Battle Pack event, and it looked fun, so we decided to come and play!”
Once the Round started, the early game of Duel 1 came together pretty quickly for Laube, seeing him establish a field of Card Guard and Dark Ruler Ha Des. His opponent, Long Dao Special Summoned Alector, Sovereign of Birds, Normal Summoned Level Eater, and then attacked to clear the field of everything but Dark Ruler. A clutch Creature Swap let Dao trade his Level Eater to take control of Laube’s Dark Ruler, and after a series of attacks it was just too much pressure.
Dao had seen Laube play Scapegoat in Duel 1, so in a flash of inspiration he Side Decked in Twin-Sword Marauder for Duel 2. When Laube activated Scapegoat early on, Dao took advantage with the Marauder and scored 3200 Battle Damage by taking down two Sheep Tokens! Laube lost another Token a turn later, but managed to Summon Jinzo. The turn after Jinzo hit the field, Dao Summoned Greenkappa. He used it to attack Laube’s last Sheep Token, and then played a back-breaking Creature Swap yet again! It was all downhill from there, as Dao used Jinzo to control the rest of the game.
Long Dao Defeats Daniel Laube 2-0
Christina Krivenkoff as Lady Kaiba Versus Charlie Jones
Traveling here to the YCS with Daniel Laube, Christina Krivenkoff joined us today as Lady Kaiba, gender-bending the classic character! Why Kaiba? “The character fits my attitude,” explained Krivenkoff. “The personality is a good fit for me; I like sassing around! I was debating doing a Little Yugi cosplay, but no. Lady Kaiba!”
In the first Duel of their Match, Jones played an early Mobius the Frost Monarch off a Change of Heart, Tributing Krivenkoff’s monster to knock out two cards from her back row. It was a hefty move that shaped the rest of the game: Krivenkoff fought back with Needle Ceiling, costing Jones a few cards, but a play with Goblindbergh and Dark Valkyria let him reassert control. A series of back-and-forth exchanges made for a pretty even Duel, but in the end Jones had the last monster standing and took Game 1.
Duel 2 saw Jones Summon Pitch-Black Warwolf with Fighting Spirit, and Krivenkoff took it a turn later with Creature Swap. Jones tried to keep up the pressure with Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, but Krivenkoff fended him off with Nightmare Wheel. Gem-Knight Pearl seemed to almost lock the Duel for Krivenkoff for a few turns, but Jones had an answer: a Gorz the Emissary of Darkness that he’d been holding since Turn 1! Gorz let him regain his footing, and when Krivenkoff couldn’t find an answer it was game over.
Charlie Jones Defeats Christina Krivenkoff 2-0
Wendy Diaz as Effect Veiler versus Oscar Salceda
Wendy Diaz hails from Bell, California, and she’s a longtime cosplayer who cosplays every Yu-Gi-Oh! event she goes to! Why did she choose to attend this weekend as Effect Veiler? “Usually I dress up as other characters,” Diaz explained. “But since this is a really competitive tournament, I wanted to go as a really good card!”
Diaz described her Match as “a total blowout.” Salceda won Duel 1 largely by controlling the early game with Gene-Warped Warwolf equipped with Horn of the Unicorn. The Horn turned Warwolf into a problem-solving beater, and after securing his position with Big Shield Gardna, Salceda was able to secure the field and make attacks over and over for the win. It was a quick victory.
Diaz opened Game 2 with a pretty good hand, but she just couldn’t overcome Salceda’s back row. “Every time there was a battle, I was just able to get over her monsters,” commented Salceda. While Horn of the Unicorn had worked wonders for Salceda in Game 1, Diaz’s own copy backfired on her in Game 2: she relied on it to attempt a couple key attacks, but lost out to stuff like a clutch Skill Successor that saw the Horn returned to the top of her deck repeatedly. With Horn of the Unicorn blocking her draws, Diaz couldn’t get a monster to discard for her Tragoedia’s effect, and the game just fell apart.
Oscar Salceda Defeats Wendy Diaz 2-0
Jeff Jones Versus Dominic Babauta
Easing out of the world of Cosplay, two-time YCS winner Jeff Jones took on Dominic Babauta to see who would move on with a 2-0 record for the day.
Jones took Game 1 quickly by Summoning two copies of Power Giant and Goblin Elite Attack Force! It was just too much too fast for Babauta, who couldn’t fight off Jones’ surprising early game swarm of monsters.
Game 2 Babauta played Harpie’s Feather Duster in the early game, leading Jones to Set three cards to his Spell and Trap Card Zone, believing his cards would be safe. That proved to be a mistake, as Babauta Tributed two monsters a little while later to Summon Dark Magician of Chaos! He used the Magician’s ability to get back his Feather Duster, and devastated Jones’ back row, making victory academic! Very cool.
In the final Duel, Jones dropped Gorz on his opponent’s first turn. “That almost always wins you the game, ” remarked Jones post-Match. Dao fought back with Guardian Sphinx, but Jones had the Drillroid to trump it, and applied more pressure with Power Giant to take a decisive win. “I think Power Giant might be the MVP of my Deck, aside from Gorz,” commented Jones. “With Power Giants and Goblin Attack Force, it’s alot of pressure.” That sentiment would become a running theme for the day, so keep an eye on Power Giant, Goblin Elite Attack Force, and Goblin Attack Force in the upcoming Feature Matches.
Jeff Jones moves on with a 2-0 record, and our cosplayers put forth a valiant – and stylish – effort!
