Round 5 Feature Match: Christopher LeBlanc Versus John Roman
17-year-old Christopher LeBlanc from Boston is Dueling against John Roman from Puerto Rico in this Round 5 Feature Match! Christopher LeBlanc piloted his Nekroz Deck to a perfect 4-0 record up until this point. LeBlanc is more heavily invested in Djinn Releaser of Rituals than most Nekroz Deck; in addition to using Armageddon Knight to kick Djinn Releaser of Rituals to the Graveyard so that he can use it in a Ritual Summon, he’s using three copies of Solemn Scolding to protect whichever monster he Ritual Summons using the Djinn. By protecting that monster, LeBlanc aims to lock his opponent off from Special Summons for the entire Duel. LeBlanc’s opponent, John Roman, is using a Burning Abyss Deck. Roman’s Burning Abyss Deck – like most Burning Abyss Decks – has difficulty making plays while it’s unable to Special Summon monsters; however due to the presence of Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, it’s more capable of breaking free of the Djinn lock than most Decks.
We’re about to find out which of these 2 Duelists will advance with a perfect 5-0 record. It’s time to Duel!
Duel One
LeBlanc opened up Duel 1 with Nekroz of Valkyrus, Solemn Scolding, Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, Upstart Goblin, and Reinforcement of the Army.
He activated Upstart Goblin to draw another Upstart Goblin from his Deck and give Roman 1000 Life Points. Then, he activated his next Upstart Goblin to draw Nekroz Cycle from his Deck and boost Roman to 10,000 Life Points. He activated Reinforcement of the Army next, adding Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz to his hand, and then activated Nekroz Cycle, Tributing Shurit from his hand to Special Summon Nekroz of Valkyrus. He added Nekroz of Brionac to his hand with Shurit’s effect and then activated his Valkyrus’s effect to Tribute it along with the Farfa in his hand and draw Reinforcement of the Army and Nekroz of Valkyrus. He banished Nekroz of Valkyrus and Nekroz Cycle from his Graveyard to add Nekroz Mirror from his Deck to his hand with his Nekroz Cycle’s effect and then activated Reinforcement of the Army to add Armageddon Knight to his hand. He Summoned it and then activated its effect to send Djinn Releaser of Rituals from his Deck to his Graveyard. He discarded Nekroz of Brionac next, and added Nekroz of Trishula to his hand. He activated Nekroz Mirror next, and banished his Djinn and Brionac from his Graveyard to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula. He Set Solemn Scolding before ending his turn.
Roman Set a monster and Set 2 cards to his back row.
LeBlanc drew Nekroz Cycle and then attacked Roman’s face-down Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss with Armageddon Knight, flipping it face-up and costing himself 500 Life Points.
Roman drew a card and passed his turn.
LeBlanc drew Senju of the Thousand Hands and Summoned it to the field! He activated its effect to add Nekroz of Brionac to his hand and then Roman flipped Mind Crush, naming Nekroz of Brionac, to force LeBlanc to discard it. Next, LeBlanc combined Armageddon Knight with Senju to Xyz Summon Abyss Dweller. He detached Armageddon Knight from Abyss Dweller to activate its effect and then attacked Farfa with Nekroz of Trishula to destroy it. Abyss Dweller attacked directly next, dropping Roman down to 8300 Life Points.
LeBlanc drew Solemn Scolding and then attacked with Nekroz of Trishula; but Roman flipped Karma Cut! He discarded Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss to try to banish Nekroz of Trishula, and LeBlanc flipped Solemn Scolding to give up 3000 Life Points and negate Karma Cut. Farfa’s effect banished Abyss Dweller and then Trishula attacked directly, dropping Roman down to 5600 Life Points. LeBlanc Set Solemn Scolding before ending his turn.
Roman Set a monster and passed his turn.
LeBlanc drew Nekroz of Unicore and then discarded it to add Shurit from his Graveyard to his hand. He activated Nekroz Cycle next, and Roman Chained Mind Crush, naming Shurit and rendering LeBlanc unable to Special Summon a monster with Nekroz Cycle. Nekroz of Trishula attacked and destroyed Roman’s face-down Libic and then Abyss Dweller attacked directly.
Roman Set Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss and passed.
LeBlanc drew Solemn Scolding. He attacked and destroyed Cir with Trishula and then Abyss Dweller attacked directly, dropping Roman down to 2200 Life Points.
Roman Set a monster and then passed.
LeBlanc Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands and activated its effect to add Nekroz of Clausolas to his hand. He discarded Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror to his hand and then activated it to banish Shurit from his Graveyard and Special Summon Nekroz of Valkyrus. Nekroz of Trishula attacked and destroyed Roman’s face-down Cir, and then direct attacks from LeBlanc’s other 3 monsters wiped out the rest of Roman’s Life Points!
Christopher LeBlanc Summoned Nekroz of Trishula on his first turn by using Djinn Releaser of Rituals as Tribute and protects it for the entire Duel to secure his victory!
John Roman will be going first in Duel 2!
Duel Two
Roman Summoned Mathematician and activated its effect to send Libic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he activated Libic’s effect to Special Summon Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his hand. He combined Scarm with Mathematician to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss in Defense Position and then detached Scarm to activate its effect and send Libic, Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss, and Karma Cut from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He Special Summoned Cir from his hand in Attack Position next, and then Set a card to his back row. He added Tour Guide From the Underworld with the effect of Scarm in his End Phase.
LeBlanc opened up with Nekroz of Unicore, Reinforcement of the Army, Preparation of Rites, Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, and 2 copies of Senju of the Thousand Hands. He Summoned Manju and activated its effect to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope to his hand. He activated it to send Herald of the Arc Light from his Extra Deck to his Graveyard and Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore from his hand. Next, he activated the effect of his Herald of the Arc Light to add Nekroz of Brionac from his Deck to his hand. He combined Nekroz of Unicore with Manju to Xyz Summon Abyss Dweller and then detached Manju to activate its effect. Next, he attacked Cir with Abyss Dweller, destroying Cir and dropping Roman down to 7400 Life Points. LeBlanc discarded Nekroz of Brionac from his hand in Main Phase 2 in order to add Nekroz of Trishula to his hand. Next, he activated Reinforcement of the Army to add Nekroz of Clausolas to his hand. He discarded Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror to his hand next, and then activated the Mirror to banish Nekroz of Clausolas and Nekroz of Brionac from his Graveyard and Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula! He activated Nekroz of Trishula’s effect to banish Dante from Roman’s field, Cir from Roman’s Graveyard, and Farfa from Roman’s hand. LeBlanc activated Preparation of Rites next, adding Nekroz of Unicore from his Deck to his hand and adding Nekroz Kaleidoscope from his Graveyard to his hand.
Roman Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld and activated its effect to Special Summon Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck. Next, he combined Tour Guide with Graff and detached Tour Guide to activate Dante’s effect and send Karma Cut, Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, and Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck to his Graveyard. LeBlanc detached an Xyz Material from Abyss Dweller to stop Roman from using his Burning Abyss monsters’ effects. Roman attacked and destroyed Abyss Dweller with Dante in his Battle Phase and then Special Summoned Downerd Magician in Defense Position by upgrading Dante in Main Phase 2.
LeBlanc drew Torrential Tribute and then Summoned Senju and activated its effect to add Nekroz of Brionac to his hand. He activated Nekroz Kaleidoscope and sent Herald of the Arc Light from his Extra Deck to his Graveyard to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore. He added Nekroz Cycle to his hand with the effect of Herald of the Arc Light and then discarded Nekroz of Brionac to add Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz from his Deck to his hand. He activated Nekroz Cycle next, Tributing Shurit from his hand to Special Summon Nekroz of Brionac from his Graveyard. He added Nekroz of Clausolas from his Deck to his hand with Shurit’s effect, and then discarded Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Cycle to his hand. He activated the effect of Nekroz of Brionac to return Downerd Magician to Roman’s Extra Deck, and when Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss and Graff went to the Graveyard as Xyz Materials, Roman added Scarm from his Graveyard to his hand with Dante’s effect and Special Summon Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss with Graff’s effect. Next, LeBlanc combined Senju with Nekroz of Unicore to Xyz Summon Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer and detached both Xyz Materials to shuffle Roman’s Cir back into his Deck. He attacked directly with Nekroz of Brionac, Castel, and Nekroz of Trishula, dropping Roman down to 400 Life Points.
Roman Set a card to each zone and passed.
LeBlanc drew Nekroz of Valkyrus and then Summoned Senju to the field. He activated its effect to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand and then activated Nekroz Cycle. He Tributed Nekroz of Unicore from his hand to Special Summon another Unicore from his Graveyard and then combined Senju with Nekroz of Unicore to Xyz Summon Gagaga Cowboy in Defense Position; but Roman discarded Cir to activate Raigeki Break and destroy the Cowboy before it could finish Roman off! He Special Summoned Graff from his Graveyard with the effect of Cir. Castel attacked Graff to destroy it, allowing Roman to Special Summon Farfa from his Deck with Graff’s effect, and then Nekroz of Brionac attacked and destroyed Roman’s face-down Scarm. Finally, Nekroz of Trishula attacked and destroyed Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. Roman added Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck to his hand with the effect of Scarm in his End Phase.
Roman Set a monster and then ended his turn.
LeBlanc drew Breakthrough Skill. He attacked Roman’s face-down Graff with Castel in order to destroy it, and Roman Special Summoned Cir from his Deck with its effect. Nekroz of Brionac attacked and destroyed Cir next, and Roman used Cir’s effect to Special Summon Libic from his Graveyard. Nekroz of Trishula attacked Libic next, and Roman activated its effect to Special Summon Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his hand in Defense Position. LeBlanc Set Breakthrough Skill before ending his turn.
Roman activated Foolish Burial; but when he realized there was nothing useful left in his Deck to send to the Graveyard, he conceded and offered the handshake.
Christopher LeBlanc is moving on with a perfect 5-0 record!