Jeffrey Torres from New Jersey and Joshua Coones from Ohio both have 5-1-1 records in the tournament, and are each using a Deck that includes Rescue Rabbit. But both Duelists have vastly different strategies. Joshua Coones is taking the traditional approach of focusing his strategy around Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka, while Jeffrey Torres diversified his strategy with the inclusion of the new Evilswarm monsters in Hidden Arsenal 7: Knight of Stars! Which strategy will prevail!?

Duel One

Coones started off Duel 1 by Summoning Thunder King Rai-Oh and Setting 2 cards to his back row.

Torres opened up Duel 1 with Cardcar D, Sabersaurus, Tour Guide From the Underworld, Starlight Road, Forbidden Lance, and Infestation Pandemic.

He Summoned Cardcar D and then Set Starlight Road, Forbidden Lance, and Infestation Pandemic. He Tributed Cardcar D to draw Mirror Force and Evilswarm Castor and then ended his turn.

Coones Summoned Sabersaurus and attacked directly with it. Torres lost 1900 Life Points, dropping down to 6100 Life Points. Coones Set a card to his back row before ending his turn.

Torres drew Sabersaurus and then tried to Summon it; but Coones paid 2000 Life Points to negate its Summon with Solemn Warning! Torres Set Mirror Force before ending his turn.

Coones activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Torres’s face-down Mirror Force and then Summoned Kabazauls. He combined Kabazauls with Sabersaurus to Xyz Summon Evolzar Laggia and then attacked directly with Laggia to drop Torres down to 3700 Life Points.

Torres drew Rescue Rabbit next turn! He tried to Summon Sabersaurus, and Coones negated its Summon by detaching both Xyz Materials from Laggia.

Coones activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Torres’s face-down Starlight Road and then Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld. He activated her effect to Special Summon another Tour Guide from his Deck and then combined both Tour Guides to Xyz Summon Wind-Up Zenmaines in Attack Position. Coones attacked directly with Zenmaines, dropping Torres down to 2200 Life Points. Laggia attacked next, and Torres activated Forbidden Lance to reduce its ATK by 800 and stay in the Duel. Once again, Torres chose not to attack with Rai-Oh, giving Coones another turn to retaliate.

Torres Summoned Rescue Rabbit next turn and banished it to Special Summon 2 copies of Evilswarm Heliotrope from his Deck. He attacked Rai-Oh with a Heliotrope to destroy it in battle. In Main Phase 2, Torres combined both Heliotropes to Xyz Summon Evilswarm Ophion, and activated Ophion’s effect by detaching an Xyz Material to add Infestation Pandemic from his Deck to his hand. He Set the Infestation Pandemic before ending his turn.

Coones switched his Laggia into Defense Position and then attacked Ophion with Zenmaines. Zenmaines lost an Xyz Material and Coones lost 1050 Life Points. Coones Set a card in Main Phase 2 and then in his End Phase Coones used Zenmaines’s effect to destroy Evilswarm Ophion.

Torres Summoned Evilswarm Castor and used its effect to Normal Summon Evilswarm Heliotrope from his hand. He attacked Zenmaines with Castor to rid it of an Xyz Material and then attacked Zenmaines again with Heliotrope, this time destroying it. In Main Phase 2, Torres combined his Evilswarm monsters to Xyz Summon another copy of Evilswarm Ophion. He Set Torrential Tribute before ending his turn.

Coones Set a card to his back row and passed.

Torres drew Evilswarm Thunderbird next turn. He Normal Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld and activated her effect to Special Summon another copy from his Deck. He attacked Laggia with Ophion to destroy it and then attacked directly with both Tour Guides to drop Coones down to 3200 Life Points.

In Main Phase 2, Torres combined both Tour Guides to Xyz Summon Wind-Up Zenmaines in Defense Position.

Coones Set a monster and passed.

Torres Summoned Evilswarm Castor next turn and used its effect to Normal Summon Evilswarm Thunderbird.

Coones instantly conceded!

Joshua Coones has several opportunities to win the Duel by attacking with Thunder King Rai-Oh, but opts not to attack each time, costing him the first Duel! Joshua Coones will be going first in Duel 2!

Duel Two

Coones started off Duel 2 by Setting 2 cards to his back row and Summoning Cardcar D. He Tributed Cardcar D to draw 2 cards and then ended his turn.

Torres opened up with Mirror Force, Eradicator Epidemic Virus, Infestation Pandemic, Mystical Space Typhoon, Torrential Tribute, and Dark Hole.

He Set Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, and Mystical Space Typhoon before ending his turn.

Coones Summoned Kabazauls and attacked directly with it. Torres flipped Mirror Force to try to destroy it; but Coones Chained Forbidden Lance to protect his Kabazauls. Torres lost 900 Life Points from the attack.

Torres drew Evilswarm Castor and then activated his face-down Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Coones’s face-down Solemn Judgment. Next, he Normal Summoned Evilswarm Castor. He attacked Kabazauls, and when Coones activated Fiendish Chain, Torres Chained Infestation Pandemic to immunize his Castor. Castor destroyed Kabazauls in battle, and Torres Set Eradicator Epidemic Virus before ending his turn.

Coones activated Dark Hole to destroy Evilswarm Castor and then Normal Summoned Jurrac Guaiba. He attacked directly with Guaiba to drop Torres down to 5400 Life Points and then Set a card to his back row.

Torres drew Solemn Judgment and then activated Dark Hole to destroy Jurrac Guaiba. He Set the Solemn Judgment before ending his turn.

Coones Normal Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld and activated her effect to Special Summon another copy from her Deck. Torres flipped Torrential Tribute, and when Coones activated Starlight Road, Torres Chained Solemn Judgment to negate it by giving up 2700 Life Points!

Coones Set a card to his back row before ending his turn.

Torres drew Mirror Force and Set it.

Coones Set a card to each zone.

Torres drew Evilswarm Thunderbird and Summoned it. He attacked Coones’s face-down Snowman Eater with it and lost 250 Life Points along with his Thunderbird due to Snowman Eater’s Flip Effect.

Coones drew a card and Set it to his back row.

Torres drew Forbidden Lance and Set it.

Coones drew a card and passed.

Torres drew another Thunderbird and tried to Summon it; but Coones flipped Solemn Warning and paid 2000 Life Points to negate its Summon.

Coones activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Torres’s face-down Mirror Force and then flipped Dust Tornado to destroy his face-down Eradicator Epidemic Virus. Next, he Normal Summoned Kabazauls and attacked directly to drop Torres down to 750 Life Points.

Torres drew Morphing Jar #2 next turn and Set it.

Coones Normal Summoned Jurrac Guaiba and combined it with Kabazauls to Xyz Summon Gagaga Cowboy in Defense Position. He detached an Xyz Material from his Cowboy and with only 750 Life Points left, Torres couldn’t withstand its blast!

Joshua Coones takes the victory in Duel 2 with Gagaga Cowboy! Jeffrey Torres will be going first in Duel 3!

Duel Three

Torres opened up Duel 3 with Safe Zone, Mirror Force, Evilswarm Heliotrope, Evilswarm Castor, and 2 copies of Rescue Rabbit.

He Summoned Rescue Rabbit and banished it to Special Summon 2 copies of Evilswarm Heliotrope from his Deck. He combined both Heliotropes to Xyz Summon Evilswarm Ophion and detached an Xyz Material from Ophion to add Infestation Pandemic from his Deck to his hand. Torres Set Mirror Force, Safe Zone, and Infestation Pandemic before ending his turn.

Coones activated Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Torres’s Mirror Force and then Summoned Thunder King Rai-Oh. He activated Monster Reborn next, Special Summoning Heliotrope from Torres’s Graveyard. Next, he combined Rai-Oh with Heliotrope to Xyz Summon Maestroke the Symphony Djinn, and Torres activated Safe Zone to protect his Ophion before Coones could use Maestroke’s effect. Coones Set 3 cards to his back row before ending his turn.

Torres detached an Xyz Material from Ophion to add a copy of Infestation Pandemic to his hand and then Normal Summoned Evilswarm Castor. He used its effect to Summon Evilswarm Heliotrope and then attacked Maestroke with his Ophion. Coones activated Dust Tornado to try to destroy Safe Zone and try to take down Ophion with it; but Torres Chained his face-down Infestation Pandemic to make Ophion unaffected by all Spell and Trap Cards, including Safe Zone! Ophion’s attack continued, and Coones lost 750 Life Points and Maestroke gave up an Xyz Material in exchange for staying on the field. Next, Heliotrope attacked Maestroke to take out another of its Xyz Materials. In Main Phase 2, Torres combined his Castor with his Heliotrope to Xyz Summon Evilswarm Ophion. He Set 2 cards to his back row before ending his turn.

Coones Set a card to his back row and passed.

Torres drew Forbidden Lance next turn. He attacked Maestroke with one of his Ophions and Coones activated Forbidden Lance to reduce Ophion’s ATK by 800 so that his Maestroke would prevail in the battle. Torres tried to use his own Forbidden Lance to weaken Maestroke, but Coones Chained Solemn Judgment and gave up 3625 Life Points to negate Torres’s Forbidden Lance. Maestroke took down Ophion in battle. Coones’s other Ophion attacked Maestroke next, destroying it and dealing 750 points of damage to Coones. Torres Set Rescue Rabbit before ending his turn.

Coones Set a back row and passed.

Torres Flip Summoned Rescue Rabbit and then Normal Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld. He activated Tour Guide’s effect, but Coones flipped Fiendish Chain to negate it. Next, Torres attacked directly with Rescue Rabbit and Evilswarm Ophion to drop Coones down to 50 Life Points.

Coones drew a card and Set it to his back row.

Torres switched his Rescue Rabbit and Tour Guide From the Underworld to Defense Position and then attacked directly with Evilswarm Ophion to win the Duel!

Jeffrey Torres is moving on with a 6-1-1 record using Evilswarms!