Merlin Schumacher from Munich, Germany is Dueling against Los Angeles’s Xue Hao Hu in this final Match of the tournament! Hu and Schumacher are both using Dragon Ruler Decks capable of Summoning big monsters and performing big attacks; but only one of these Decks, and one of these Duelists, will have what it takes to take home the trophy. Who will be the winner of YCS San Mateo? It’s time to Duel!

Duel One

Hu opened up Duel 1 with Card Trooper, 2 Debris Dragons, Return from the Different Dimension, Dragon Ravine, and Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos. He Summoned Card Trooper and sent Dragon Ravine, Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders, and Cards of Consonance from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard with Card Trooper. Next, he activated Dragon Ravine and discarded Blaster to send Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he activated Redox’s effect to Special Summon it by banishing Blaster and Tidal. He added Blaster and Tidal from his Deck to his hand with the effects of his banished Blaster and Tidal. He Set Return from the Different Dimension before ending his turn.

Schumacher Normal Summoned Card Trooper and then used its effect by sending Tidal, Redox, and Blaster from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He attacked Hu’s Card Trooper with his own to destroy Hu’s, and Hu drew Cards of Consonance off of Trooper’s effect. Hu returned Redox to his hand in the End Phase.

Hu activated Cards of Consonance to discard Debris Dragon and draw 2 cards from his Deck. Next, he discarded Redox with Dragon Ravine and sent Tempest from his Deck to his Graveyard with the effect of his Ravine. He Special Summoned Redox by banishing Tempest and Card Trooper, and Schumacher Chained Maxx “C” to draw a card. Hu added Dragunity Corsesca from his Deck to his hand with the effect of his banished Tempest. Next, Hu Normal Summoned Corsesca and Tuned it with Redox to Synchro Summon Crimson Blader. Schumacher drew another card due to the effect of Maxx “C”, and then Crimson Blader attacked and destroyed Card Trooper. Hu activated Return from the Different Dimension next by paying 3250 Life Points. He Special Summoned Tidal, Tempest, Blaster, and Card Trooper back to the field, and Schumacher drew another card off of Maxx “C”. Hu tried attacking, but Schumacher discarded Swift Scarecrow to stop the attacks and end the Battle Phase! In his End Phase, Hu banished all of his monsters that were Special Summoned by Return from the Different Dimension, and added another Tidal and Blaster to his hand with the effects of his banished Tidal and Blaster. Hu discarded 2 Tidals in his End Phase due to having 8 cards in his hand.

Schumacher activated Sacred Sword of Seven Stars to banish Redox from his hand and draw 2 cards. He chose not to use Redox’s effect. Next, he activated Dragon Ravine to replace Hu’s Ravine. He discarded Fog King to send Tempest from his Deck to his Graveyard with Dragon Ravine and then Set a card to his back row.

Hu used his Blaster’s effect to discard it along with another Blaster from his hand and destroy Schumacher’s face-down Torrential Tribute. Next, Hu activated Dragon Ravine to replace Schumacher’s Ravine. He discarded Corsesca from his hand to send Tempest from his Deck to his Graveyard with Ravine, and then discarded 2 Redoxes to use Redox’s effect and Special Summon Blaster from his Graveyard. Next, Hu banished Corsesca and Debris Dragon from his Graveyard to Special Summon Tidal from his Graveyard. He attacked with Tidal; but Schumacher discarded another Swift Scarecrow to end the Battle Phase! Hu combined Blaster with Tidal to Xyz Summon Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack in Main Phase 2 and then detached Blaster to Special Summon 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens to the field in Defense Position.

Schumacher Summoned Debris Dragon and used its effect to Special Summon Card Trooper from his Graveyard. He used the effect of Card Trooper to send Corsesca, Cards of Consonance, and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he Tuned Card Trooper with Debris Dragon to Synchro Summon Ancient Fairy Dragon in Attack Position. He used his Dragon’s effect to destroy Yu’s Dragon Ravine, gain 1000 Life Points, and get his own Dragon Ravine from his Deck. Next, he banished Swift Scarecrow and Maxx “C” from his Graveyard to Special Summon Redox from his Graveyard in Defense Position. He combined Redox with Ancient Fairy Dragon to Xyz Summon Number 11: Big Eye, and detached an Xyz Material from it to take control of Crimson Blader. Next, he banished Debris Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon to Special Summon Tempest from his Graveyard, and banished Fog King and Dragunity Corsesca to Special Summon Tidal. He activated Dragon Ravine next, and used its effect to discard Tidal and send Flamvell Guard from his Deck to his Graveyard. Schumacher banished Flamvell Guard and Tidal to Special Summon Blaster from his Graveyard. He attacked 2 Tokens with Tempest and Tidal, and then attacked Dracossack with Crimson Blader to destroy it. A direct attack from Blaster dropped Hu down to 250 Life Points. In Main Phase 2, Schumacher activated Sacred Sword of Seven Stars to banish Tempest from his field and draw 2 cards. He combined Blaster with Tidal to Xyz Summon Dracossack next, and detached and Xyz Material from it to Special Summon 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens.

Hu Summoned Debris Dragon and attacked a Token to destroy it. He Set Sacred Sword of Seven Stars to his back row and then passed his turn.

Schumacher Tributed his Mecha Phantom Beast Token with Dracossack’s effect to destroy Hu’s face-down Sacred Sword of Seven Stars, and then attacked Debris Dragon with Crimson Blader to wipe out the rest of Hu’s Life Points!

Merlin Schumacher takes a dominating win over Xue Hao Hu in Duel 1! Hu will be going first in Duel 2!

Duel Two

Hu opened up Duel 2 with 2 copies of Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls, Swift Scarecrow, Debunk, Debris Dragon, and Dragunity Corsesca.

He used Tidal’s effect to discard 2 Tidals from his hand and send Blaster from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he Set Debunk and ended his turn.

Schumacher activated Dragon Ravine and activated its effect by discarding Redox. He sent Blaster from his Deck to his Graveyard with the effect of his Ravine. He Set 2 cards to his back row before passing his turn.

Hu drew another copy of Tidal next turn. He activated the effect of the Tidal in his Graveyard by banishing another Tidal and Blaster from his Graveyard, and Schumacher flipped Debunk to negate it. Hu added Blaster from his Deck to his hand with the effect of his banished Blaster.

Schumacher discarded Redox to send Tempest from his Deck to his Graveyard with the effect of his Ravine. Next, he attempted to Special Summon Blaster from his Graveyard by banishing Redox and Tempest from his Graveyard, and Hu flipped Debunk. Schumacher added Tempest and Redox from his Deck to his hand with the effects of his banished Tempest and Redox.

Hu Set a card to his back row and passed.

Schumacher Summoned Card Trooper and activated its effect by sending Debris Dragon, Blaster, and Tidal from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He discarded Tempest from his hand next, in order to send Tidal from his Deck to his Graveyard with the effect of Dragon Ravine. Schumacher banished Tempest and Tidal from his Graveyard to Special Summon Blaster from his Graveyard next, and used the effects of Tempest and Tidal to add Tempest and Tidal from his Deck to his hand. Schumacher banished Debris Dragon and Tidal from his Graveyard next, in order to Special Summon Redox from his Graveyard. He attacked directly with Redox, Card Trooper, and Blaster to drop Hu down to 1700 Life Points. In Main Phase 2, Schumacher combined Redox and Blaster to Xyz Summon Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack; but Hu flipped Raigeki Break and discarded Tidal to destroy Dracossack before it could use its effect.

Hu drew Book of Moon next turn. He tried to Special Summon Tidal from his Graveyard by banishing Corsesca and Blaster from his hand. He added Blaster from his Deck to his hand with the effect of his banished Blaster. Hu Set Book of Moon before ending his turn.

Schumacher discarded Tidal to activate the effect of his Dragon Ravine and send Blaster from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he banished Dracossack and Redox from his Graveyard to Special Summon Tempest from his hand. He Normal Summoned Corsesca next, and Tuned it with Card Trooper and Tempest to Synchro Summon Star Eater!  Next, he banished Trooper and Corsesca from his Graveyard to Special Summon Redox from his hand. Hu flipped Book of Moon to put Star Eater face-down in Main Phase 1, and then Schumacher banished Tidal and Blaster from his Graveyard to Special Summon Blaster from his Graveyard. He attacked with Blaster to try to end the Duel, but Hu stopped the attack with Swift Scarecrow. In Main Phase 2, Schumacher combined Blaster with Redox to Xyz Summon Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack. He detached an Xyz Material to Summon 2 Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens and then ended his turn.

Hu drew Vanity’s Emptiness next turn and conceded.

Merlin Schumacher is the 2013 YCS San Mateo Champion!