After taking some time off from traveling for Championship events, former YCS winner and Toronto landmark Duelist Dale Bellido is back in Championship action, holding a 6-0-2 record of six wins and two draws with Dragunities!  His opponent is Montreal’s Sehabi Kheireddine, piloting Blackwings with Number 66: Master Key Beetle.

It’s an interesting match-up because both Decks have clear-cut goals: Kheireddine can win just by grinding Dale down if he can use Mystical Space Typhoon and Icarus Attack to keep Dale off balance, breaking up his combos.  To counter that, Dale wants to rush to create set-ups with Stardust Dragon protecting Dragon Ravine.  If he can do that, he can protect both his Ravine-driven combos and his backrow, keeping his opponent from building momentum.  This Match is a blast from the past in more ways than one, so let’s see how it goes!  The winner here would have a very good shot at making the Top 32 cut.

Dale opened Day 2 with a handshake and a hand of Sacred Sword of Seven Stars; Mystical Space Typhoon; Upstart Goblin; Dragunity Dux; Dragunity Phalanx; and Return from the Different Dimension.  He activated Upstart Goblin to draw Vanity’s Emptiness, giving Kheireddine a thousand Life Points.  He Set Phalanx, Set Typhoon, and Set Emptiness.

Kheireddine activated Black Whirlwind and Summoned Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn. Dale blasted Whirlwind with Mystical Space Typhoon to keep Kheireddine from getting his search, but Kheireddine still attacked Phalanx with Sirrocoo, Set two.

Dale drew Cards of Consonance and Set Return.

Her attacked for 2000 Battle Damage with Sirocco.

Dale drew Dragon Ravine.  He Summoned Dux, targeting and then Special Summoning Dragunity Phalanx – Kheireddine responded with Maxx “C”, drawing a card.  Dale thought a moment, then ended his turn, not wanting to give Kheireddine anymore free cards.

Kheireddine activated Pot of Duality, revealing Whirlwind, Bora, and Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor from his Deck.  He took Whirlwind.  He activated it, then Normal Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame to search out Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind from his Deck.  He Turned Sirocco to Defense Position, attacked with Shura into Dux, and powered over it with Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow.

Dale drew Bottomless Trap Hole and shuffled his hand: Cards of Consonance; Dragon Ravine; Sacred Sword of Seven Stars; and now Bottomless.  He activated the Ravine, pitched Consance for it, and Kheireddine flipped Icarus Attack on the chain.  He Tributed Shura to destroy Ravine and Return, robbing Dale of his search with Ravine.  He Set Bottomless.

Kheireddine Summoned another Shura into the Bottomless next turn, then shifted Sirocco to attack and destroy Phalanx.

Dale drew another useless Sacred Sword of Seven Stars!  He Set it as a bluff.

Kheireddine Normal Summoned Blackwing – Bora The Spear to trigger his Black Whirlwind again, this time getting Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North.  Dale flipped Vanity’s Emptiness to try and control the beating.  Kheireddine turned Sirocco to Defense Position again, pumped up Bora with Sirocco’s effect, and attacked with Bora to drop Dale to 1000 Life Points.  He Set another Spell or Trap.

Dale drew Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms.  He banished it for his Set Sacred Sword, drawing Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos, Dragunity Dux, and searching Dragunity Arma Mystletainn with Tempest’s effect.  He Summoned Dux, but Kheireddine had Bottomless Trap Hole to banish it.  Dale banished Phalanx from his Graveyard and Mystletainn from his hand to Special Summoned Blaster, and ran over Sirocco with it.  He Set his last card – the other Sacred Sword.

Kheireddine had him dead to rights next turn, dropping Dark Armed Dragon, clearing the field with its effect, then Summoning Blizzard, Shura, and Gale for a full-field win!

Sehabi Kheireddine dominates Dale Bellido in the first Duel, as a terrible opening hand and a clutch Maxx “C” keep Dale out of the Duel from the very beginning.  Both of these competitors had prepared for this matchup the night before, since each knew what the other was playing: “Did you practice siding against me last night?” asked Dale.

“Oh yeah,” confirmed Kheireddine.

“Me too,” laughed Dale.  Side Decking was quick and mechanical on both sides.

Dale opened the second Duel with a much stronger hand than last time: three Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos; Dragon Ravine; Mystical Space Typhoon; and Flamvell Guard.  He activated Ravine, pitching a Blaster to search out Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms and sending it to his Graveyard.  He banished both to Special Summon a Blaster from his hand, searching Dragunity Phalanx with Tempest’s effect.  Dale then Normal Summoned Guard to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon, and Set Typhoon.  If that Stardust could survive he’d be in great shape, protecting his future Ravine plays from Mystical Space Typhoon and warding off Icarus Attacks.

But Kheireddine activated Black Whirlwind, then Normal Summoned Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!  This put Dale in a tough situation.  If he Typhoon’d the Whirlwind and Kheireddine had a Kalut in hand, Kheireddine would know that he could safely press over the Stardust and shatter Dale’s set-up. But if he didn’t have the Kalut in hand, the Whirlwind would let him search it out, in which case he might just try to attack over Stardust anyways.  “You open Kalut?” asked Dale, eventually Typhooning the Whirlwind.  “Maybe.”  Kheireddine activated Pot of Duality, revealing Dark Armed Dragon; Blackwing – Bora the Spear; and Book of Moon.  He took Dark Armed.  Kheireddine Set one backrow card, fingered his Shura a moment… and ended!  No Kalut in sight!

Dale breathed a small sigh of relief and drew Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders.  He pitched Phalanx for Ravine to get Dragunity Dux, then Normal Summoned it to bring back Phalanx: Kheireddine had Maxx “C” again when Dale Special Summoned the Phalanx.  Dale sent Dux to attack over Shura; Kheireddine checked his face-down and thought a moment before sending his Shura to the Graveyard.  Phalanx made a direct attack and Dale considered a moment before deciding to not attack with Stardust.

Kheireddine snapped the top card off his deck.

“You get what you’re hoping for?” asked Dale.  “You’ve gotta be looking for something the way you flipped that card up.”

Kheireddine mused: “Maybe.”  He Summoned Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite and attacked to destroy Phalanx, then Set a second Spell or Trap.

Dale drew Bottomless Trap Hole and discarded another Blaster for Ravine’s effect: “I lucked out,” he confessed to Kheireddine.  “I opened triple Blaster, I was like, ‘is this real life?’”  Dale and Kheireddine both laughed, and Dale got another Dux.  Kheireddine flipped Imperial Iron Wall, getting a bit of a doubletake from Dale.  “Does that mean that backrow’s not real, that other one?  Hmm.  I mean if I leave Iron Wall up, you can’t Dark Armed me.”

“Zephyros is a card,” remarked Kheireddine.  By bringing back Zephyros from the Graveyard he could turn off his own Iron Wall as needed.

“Oh… right!  You shouldn’t have reminded me!”  Dale laughed, and Summoned Dux to bring back Phalanx.  There was no Maxx “C” this time, and Dale went into Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana, and Kheireddine stunned it with Fiendish Chain to stop Dale from bringing the Phalanx back again.  Dux swung over Zephyros and Stardust made a direct attack.  Dale Set the Bottomless, in a great position.

Kheireddine Normal Summoned Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North to Special Summon back Shura in Defense Position, then bounced his Iron Wall to bring back Zephyros.  He overlaid Shura and Zephyros for Diamond Dire Wolf – Dale took it for a moment, giving it a careful read before deciding not to Bottomless it.  Kheireddine had that Dark Armed with no Darks in the Graveyard, but three on-field: Blizzard, plus the two Xyz Materials.  Sure enough, he used Dire Wolf’s effect to try and destroy the Dale’s backrow face-down, which was Bottomless.  Dale Tributed Stardust to negate and destroy the Dire Wolf; Kheireddine slammed his Blizzard into Dux to get a third Dark in the Graveyard; and when he Special Summoned Dark Armed in Main Phase 2 Dale flipped Bottomless!  Kheireddine conceded the second Duel.

A triple Blaster opening with Dragon Ravine lets Dale Bellido set up early with Ravine and Stardust Dragon, and a tough Typhoon gambit that saw him bet against Kheireddine’s chances of having Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow pays off, letting Bellido guide Game 2 from the start!

Kheireddine opened Duel 3 with two backrow sets… then a third.

Dale had Sacred Sword of Seven Stars; Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos; Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders; Dark Hole; Solemn Warning; and Dragon Ravine.  Kheireddine flipped Imperial Iron Wall, and Dale played Ravine, then pitched Blaster for it – Kheireddine shut it down on the chain with Mystical Space Typhoon.  Dale Set two cards to his backrow.

Kheireddine flipped Black Whirlwind and tried to Summon Blizzard, but lost it to Dale’s Warning.  He another backrow.

Dale drew and activated another Ravine, but when he pitched Redox Kheireddine had another Mystical Space Typhoon!

Kheireddine passed.

Dale passed back.

Kheireddine Normal Summoned Blackwing – Bora the Spear, and used Whirlwind to search out Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite!  Bora made a direct attack.

Dale drew Dragunity Phalanx, now holding that, Dark Hole, and Blaster with a Set Sacred Sword.  He Set Phalanx.

Kheireddine Normal Summoned Zephyros to trigger Whirlwind again, this time getting Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind.  He Xyz Summoned Number 66: Master Key Beetle, using its effect to protect Iron Wall.  He then bounced back his Whirlwind to Special Summon Zephyros, and Special Summoned Gale to Tune it to Zephyros for Blackwing Armor Master.  Armor Master attacked to destroy Phalanx, and Key Beetle made a direct attack to drop Dale to 1800 Life Points!

Dale drew yet another Phalanx.  He activated Dark Hole; Kheireddine Chained Deck Devastation Virus Tributing Armor Master; Dale lost his Phalanx from his hand, and Key Beetle was destroyed.

Kheireddine activated Pot of Duality revealing Mystical Space Typhoon, Shura, and another Duality.  He took the Shura, activated Whirlwind, and Dale offered the handshake!  Shura alone would be enough to seal the deal, but Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow off of Whirlwind would’ve just been overkill.

Sehabi Kheireddine takes a hardfought 2-1 victory over Dale Bellido, moving on with a strong shot at the Top 32!