It’s the final round of Day 1! We’ve got two Duelists each with just one loss. A win here will give them a solid start into tomorrow’s Dueling, while the loser will need some great tiebreakers for a chance at the Top 32. First up is Jeff Jones, from Michigan, up against Luke Feeney, from Philadelphia. We’ve seen both of these Duelists at the Feature Match table before – this should be good!

Duel 1

Feeney won the dice roll, and opted to have Jones start the Duel. Jones’s hand consisted of El Shaddoll Fusion, Shaddoll Hedgehog, Effect Veiler, Shaddoll Falco, and Peropero Cerperus. He played El Shaddoll Fusion, and Feeney Chained Maxx “C”. Jones fused Peropero Cerperus and Shaddoll Hedgehog for El Shaddoll Shekhinaga in Defense Position. Hedgehog’s effect let him add Shaddoll Beast to his hand. He Tributed Shekhinaga to Set Shaddoll Beast, and Shekhinaga’s effect put El Shaddoll Fusion back into his hand. He Set it and passed.

Feeney discarded Nekroz of Clausolas, putting Nekroz Kaleidoscope in his hand. He played it, sending Herald of the Arc Light from his Extra Deck to the Graveyard, to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Unicore. Herald’s effect gave him Nekroz of Brionac. Feeney Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, adding Nekroz of Valkyrus to his hand. He stacked Unicore and Manju to Xyz Summon Abyss Dweller, and detached Manju from it to activate its effect. Jones considered using his Effect Veiler, but didn’t. Feeney blasted Shaddoll Beast with Raigeki, and attacked directly.

Jones drew Book of Moon. He Set it and Falco.

Feeney discarded Clausolas and Brionac to add Nekroz Cycle and Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz to his hand. He played Cycle, Tributing Shurit, to Ritual Summon Valkyrus. Shurit’s effect put Nekroz of Trishula in his hand. Valkyrus attacked the face-down Falco, and Falco’s Flip Effect revived Shekhinaga face-down! Its 3000 DEF would be too much for Abyss Dweller. Feeney activated Abyss Dweller’s effect, detaching its last Xyz Material. Jones responded with Book of Moon to turn Valkyrus face-down, and Feeney negated that with Trishula from his hand. Valkyrus Tributed itself and Abyss Dweller to give Feeney two new cards. He banished Nekroz Kaleidoscope and Clausolas from his Graveyard so he could add Nekroz Kaleidoscope from his Deck to his hand. Next, he banished Nekroz Cycle and Unicore to add Nekroz Mirror to his hand. Feeney Set a monster with two back row cards to finish.

Jones drew Shaddoll Squamata. He Flip Summoned Shekhinaga and attacked Feeney’s Set monster, and it was D.D. Warrior Lady! Both monsters were banished! Still in the Battle Phase, Jones flipped El Shaddoll Fusion, but Feeney had Vanity’s Emptiness!

Feeney passed.

Jones drew Mistake. He Normal Summoned Squamata and attacked directly, and Set Mistake. He lost it to Mystical Space Typhoon in the End Phase.

Feeney flipped Nekroz Kaleidoscope, sending Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard to bring out Unicore. Herald searched for another Unicore, which returned Trishula from the Graveyard to Feeney’s hand. He played Nekroz Mirror, banishing Brionac and Clausolas from the Graveyard to bring forth Nekroz of Trishula! Jones negated its effect with Effect Veiler. Unicore destroyed Squamata in battle, and Trishula left Jones with 2600. When Jones drew another copy of Mistake, he conceded!

Feeney takes the first Duel! The Duelists quickly used their Side Decks. In order to have made it this far, they had to have a plan for each other’s strategies.

Duel 2

Feeney started by discarding Nekroz of Clausolas, adding Nekroz Cycle to his hand. He played it to bring Clausolas back from the Graveyard, Tributing Djinn Releaser of Rituals from his hand. He Set a back row card.

Jones had a hand of Shaddoll Hedgehog, Shaddoll Falco, Vanity’s Emptiness, Mistake, Mirror of the Ice Barrier, and Dark Hole. He played it to take out Clausolas, then Set Hedgehog and all of his Spell and Trap Cards.

Feeney used Cycle’s effect in the Graveyard, banishing it and Clausolas. Jones flipped Mistake in Feeney’s in response but lost it to Mystical Space Typhoon. Cycle resolved, and Feeney searched for Nekroz Kaleidoscope. He played Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands next, getting Nekroz of Unicore. He activated Nekroz Kaleidoscope, sending Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard to bring out Unicore. Herald’s effect gave him Nekroz of Brionac. Unicore attacked Hedgehog, which put El Shaddoll Fusion in Jones’s hand. Manju attacked directly.

Jones drew Mathematician and Normal Summoned it. Feeney flipped Breakthrough Skill, and Jones Chained El Shaddoll Fusion. He fused Mathematician with Shaddoll Falco for El Shaddoll Shekhinaga, and Mathematician’s effect resolved, sending Shaddoll Squamata to the Graveyard. In a new Chain, Falco revived itself, and Squamata sent Shadoll Core to the Graveyard. Core’s effect gave him El Shaddoll Fusion back from the Graveyard. Shekhinaga destroyed Unicore in battle, and Jones Set El Shaddoll Fusion to finish.

Feeney played Denko Sekka! Next came Reinforcement of the Army, getting Clausolas, which then searched for Nekroz Cycle. He played Cycle, Tributing Shurit and banishing Djinn Releaser of Rituals from the Graveyard, to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Brionac from the Graveyard! Shurit’s effect gave Feeney a Trishula. Feeney used Brionac’s effect to bounce Shekhinaga back to the Extra Deck. He attacked with Denko Sekka, and Shaddoll Falco couldn’t activate due to the effect of Djinn Releaser of Rituals. Brionac and Manju attacked directly.

Jones drew Effect Veiler.

Feeney tried to enter his Battle Phase, and Jones used Effect Veiler on Denko Sekka. Denko Sekka attacked anyways, and Jones’s bluff couldn’t save him!

Luke Feeney takes the Match, thanks to the power of the Nekroz!