Top 8 Feature Match: Jonathan Aguero Versus Nicholas Blandin
Jonathan Aguero is now just three wins away from matching his brother, Hansel Aguero’s Championship win. Coming off a 2-0 blowout in his Top 16 Feature Match, could he keep that momentum? His opponent this Round was Nicholas Blandin, and spoiler: this Feature Match involves a whole ‘lotta Horn of the Unicorn!
Blandin got us started with a Set monster and a Set Spell or Trap Card.
Aguero had Flame Tiger; Overworked; Chow Len the Prophet; Shard of Greed; Different Dimension Gate; and Wattlemur. He activated Shard, Summoned Chow Len, and activated its effect calling traps: he revealed Blandin’s Set card to be Horn of the Unicorn. Chow Len attacked into D.D. Warrior Lady, banishing both monsters, and Aguero Set Overworked and Gate.
Blandin Summoned Dark Valkyria and equipped it with Horn of the Unicorn – Aguero blasted him with Overworked, effectively destroying both cards! Horn was placed on top of Blandin’s deck. Would that be a help, or a hindrance moving forward? He Set a card to his backrow.
Aguero drew Herald of Creation, placed a counter on Shard of Greed, and Summoned Flame Tiger to attack for 1800 Battle Damage.
Blandin Summoned Hypnocorn, activating its effect to destroy Different Dimension Gate. He equipped it with Horn of the Unicorn to boost it to 2100 ATK and ran over Flame Tiger.
Aguero drew Cyber Dragon! He cashed in Shard of Greed to draw Shrink and Des Mosquito.
Aguero Special Summoned Cyber Dragon and Normal Summoned Herald of Creation. He attacked Hypnocorn with Cyber Dragon, entered the Damage Step, and halved the Hypnocorn’s ATK with Shrink! That stuck Horn of the Unicorn back on top of Blandin’s Deck again. Aguero made a direct attack with Herald of Creation and Blandin was down to 3700 Life Points.
Blandin Summoned Blizzard Dragon, using its effect to lock down Herald. He equipped Herald with Horn and ran over Cyber Dragon.
Aguero drew Metalmorph, holding Wattlemur and Des Mosquito. He Set Wattlemur.
Blandin Summoned Cyber Valley and activated Blizzard Dragon’s effect, freezing Herald of Creation yet again. He activated Full Force Strike to target Cyber Valley, then attacked with Blizzard Dragon to destroy Wattlemur. Cyber Valley then attacked to destroy the Herald, thanks to Full Force.
Aguero drew Power Breaker. He Summoned Des Mosquito, placed its counters and attacked over Blizzard Dragon with Metalmorph! Horn of the Unicorn went to the top of Blandin’s deck yet again.
Blandin drew to two cards in hand with Cyber Valley on the field. Aguero had Des Mosquito equipped with Metalmorph, plus one card in hand. The Duel stood at 3450 Life Points to 7300, with Aguero leading. Blandin passed.
Aguero drew Overworked! Now if Blandin tried to use Horn of the Unicorn again he’d have a guaranteed answer…albeit perhaps an awkward one when his own monster was boosted by Metalmorph and its own ability. Aguero attacked Cyber Valley with Des Mosquito, letting Blandin draw Horn of the Unicorn again, and Set Overworked.
Blandin drew to four in hand and Summoned Vylon Soldier, equipping it with Horn of the Unicorn. He attacked, using its effect to turn Des Mosquito to Defense Position, knocking a counter off the Mosquito.
Aguero drew Embodiment of Apophis. He Summoned Power Breaker, attacked Vylon Soldier with Des Mosquito, and in the Damage Step Blandin flipped Miniaturize to win the battle! Des Mosquito lost its second counter and Aguero took 900 Battle Damage. Aguero flipped Overworked, destroying Des Mosquito and Vylon Soldier: Blandin had one monster left in hand, and the unhappy expression on his face suggested it wasn’t a monster – that Horn of the Unicorn.Aguero made a direct attack with Power Breaker, dropping Blandin to 1550 Life Points.
Blandin did have a monster! He Summoned Jurrac Gallim, equipped it with Horn of the Unicorn, attacked, and Blandin lost the Horn to Power Breaker’s effect. That needlessly put the Horn back on top of Blandin’s Deck – that might cost him.
Aguero drew Earthquake and activated Embodiment of Apophis, Summoning it to run over Jurrac Gallim. Aguero discarded to keep Apophis on the field through Gallim’s effect, Blandin knew he would topdeck Horn against next turn, and he promptly conceded!
Nicholas Blandin carefully manages his plays all Match, keeping that Horn of the Unicorn from becoming a problem, but misplays at the last moment to cost himself the Duel! “That just cost me the whole game,” remarked Blandin, clearly frustrated with himself. He’d need a cool head to take two wins back to back now; it was his only chance to make it to the Top 4.
Blandin started Duel 2 with Cyber Valley and a Set Spell or Trap Card.
Aguero had Miracle’s Wake; Metalmorph; two Evilswarm Ketos; Wattlemur; and Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress. He Summoned a Ketos, attacked to trigger Cyber Valley’s effect, and Blandin drew a card. Aguero Set Wake and Metalmorph.
Blandin Summoned Hypnocorn, forcing Aguero to activate Metalmorph to boost up his Ketos. Blandin attacked Ketos with Hypnocorn, boosted it with Strike Slash and destroyed Ketos, eliminating Metalmorph in the process. Aguero brought it back with Miracle’s Wake. Blandin Set one card to his backrow.
Aguero drew Butterspy Protection. He Tributed Ketos to destroy Blandin’s Set Miniaturize, played another Ketos, and ran over Hypnocorn. Aguero set Butterspy Protection.
Blandin revived the other Ketos with Monster Reborn! He used its effect to destroy Butterspy Protection, then Normal Summoned Blizzard Dragon to run over the on-field Ketos.
Aguero drew Reptilianne Rage. He Summoned Lyla, Raged her up to 2500 ATK and attacked to destroy Blizzard Dragon. Aguero sent Truckroid, Evilswarm Mandragora, and… Bacon Saver!… to his Graveyard with Lyla’s effect. Nice.
Blandin drew to four cards in hand, while Aguero had just one in hand, plus Lyla and Rage on the field. Blandin labored over his plays for a while, before deciding to Set a monster and a card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Aguero drew Botanical Lion and Summoned it, attacking to destroy Blandin’s Jurrac Gallim: Aguero pitched his Wattlemur to keep Botanical Lion on the field, then swung direct for 2500 damage with Lyla. He sent two Different Dimension Gates plus Back To Square One to the Graveyard in his End Phase. Blandin had 4450 Life Points left. Aguero had 7900.
Blandin drew to three cards in hand with one card Set. Aguero had the Raged Lyla, Botanical Lion, and nothing else. Blandin revived Blizzard Dragon with Premature Burial; froze Lyla in place; and Normal Summoned Heroic Champion – Night Watchman. “Your turn.”
Aguero drew Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke – the beatsticks just kept coming. He Summoned Grandmaster Sasuke, attacked Night Watchman with it, and Blandin shook his head; he put it straight to the Graveyard, his one Set card clearly no help. Aguero attacked Blizzard Dragon with Botanical Lion, but Blandin had Shrink! Lion was destroyed and Aguero took 700 Battle Damage. Blandin was still in it. Lyla sent Shard of Greed, Chow Len, and Magical Arm Shield from Aguero’s Deck to his Graveyard.
Blandin froze Lyla with Blizzard Dragon yet again, then Normal Summoned Meklord Army of Granel! It attacked Grandmaster Sasuke, destroying it.
Aguero drew Des Mosquito and passed, sending Overworked, Vylon Tetra, and Frostosaurus to the Graveyard with Lyla.
Blandin Summoned Otohime, turning Lyla to Defense Position! Granel attacked it to destroy her, Aguero shrunk Blizzard Dragon with Reptilianne Rage’s effect, and Blizzard Dragon made a direct attack. Blandin took back Otohime.
Aguero Summoned Des Mosquito and ran down Blizzard Dragon.
Blandin activated Horn of the Unicorn, attacked Des Mosquito, and Set a single Spell or Trap.
Aguero drew Herald of Creation. He turned Des Mosquito to Defense Position.
Blandin Summoned Otohime to shift Mosquito to Attack Position, then swung over it with Granel. A Set card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone ended the turn.
Aguero drew Vylon Soldier and with no Equip Spells just decided to Set it. He turned Mosquito to Defense Position again.
Blandin Otohime’d the Mosquito back to attack, ran it over with Granel and finally destroyed it. He Set another Spell or Trap Card.
Aguero drew and Set Flame Tiger.
Blandin Summoned Chow Len the Prophet and attacked both of Aguero’s monsters, destroying them. Aguero drew Forbidden Dress and scooped!
Nicholas Blandin fights his way through a massive boosted Lyla, Lightsworn Sorcerer turn after turn, then takes control of the game and turns that Horn of the Unicorn that was so troublesome in the first Duel to his advantage! We were going to Game 3.
Aguero opened with a hand of Embodiment of Apophis; Shard of Greed; Reptilianne Rage; Card Trooper; Overworked; and Earthquake. He activated Shard, then Set Overworked, Apophis, and Card Trooper. “Go.”
Blandin Summoned Dark Valkyria and attacked, destroying Card Trooper to give Aguero a draw. He got Bacon Saver. Blandin Set two cards to his backrow.
Aguero drew Wattlemur. He Set it.
Blandin Normal Summoned Dark Valkyria again, to give it its effect, and Aguero tried to flip Overworked, thinking Valkyria had a boosted ATK score. It didn’t; Blandin hadn’t used its effect yet, and he certainly wasn’t going to use it for a while. The Overworked was re-Set on Aguero’s field. Blandin attacked to destroy Wattlemur and Set a Spell or Trap Card.
Aguero drew Flame Tiger and drew two more with Shard of Greed: Butterflyoke and Herald of Creation! He Summoned Flame Tiger and Set Butterflyoke.
Blandin flipped Horn of the Unicorn, activated Dark Valkyria’s effect, and Aguero was forced to flip Overworked. It was such a blatant move he knew there had to be some sort of catch. And yet… it resolved. Blandin lost Valkyria and his Horn (which went back to the top of his Deck). He Summoned Toon Gemini Elf and ended.
Aguero drew another Overworked! He activated Earthquake to turn Toon Gemini Elf to Defense Position, and Aguero Normal Summoned Herald of Creation. He attacked Toon Gemini Elf and Blandin flipped Miniaturize to keep the Elf on the field. It forced Aguero to discard his Reptilianne Rage. Aguero flipped Embodiment of Apophis next, wanting to Summon it to attack Toon Gemini Elf, but didn’t realize it can only be activated in the Main Phase. Aguero Set Overworked.
Blandin Summoned Blizzard Dragon! He froze Apophis, turned Toon Gemini Elf to Attack Position and attacked Herald of Creation – Aguero took the damage and lost his Herald, and his in-hand Bacon Saver. Blandin attacked Apophis with Blizzard Dragon next, and Aguero turned it to Defense Position with Butterflyoke.
Aguero drew Evilswarm Mandragora and attacked to destroy Blizzard Dragon.
Blandin revived Dark Valkyria with Premature Burial, used its effect to give it a counter, and Aguero flipped that second Overworked to try and destroy it! Blandin Chained Metalmorph on Apophis, ensuring that it would be destroyed as well! He activated Horn of the Unicorn to attack over Mandragora, leaving Aguero topdecking! Time was called as the Mandragora hit the Graveyard. Three turns would remain after this one, and the Duel stood at 7200 Life Points to 5750, with Blandin leading.
Turn 1: Aguero drew and Set Forbidden Dress. No help there.
Turn 2: Blandin Summoned Mandragora and attacked with Mandragora only.
Turn 3: Aguero drew Shard of Greed – useless in a game that was ending this turn! Aguero gave the handshake!
Nicholas Blandin is headed to the Top 4!
