2028 Duelists have been eliminated! That leaves only 32! Manav Dawar is undefeated in the tournament so far, and he’s up against Maxwell Schrack in a Nekroz mirror match. Only one Duelist is moving on from here. It’s time to Duel!

Duel 1

Schrack began with a Set back row card.

Dawar’s hand was 2 Maxx “C”, 2 Nekroz Kaleidoscope, Nekroz of Brionac, and Nekroz of Trishula. He discarded Brionac to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand. He discarded Unicore to return Brionac to his hand, and passed.

Schrack passed.

Dawar drew Nekroz of Clausolas. He discarded Brionac to get Unicore again, then played Kaleidoscope – Schrack Chained Maxx “C”. For Kaleidoscope to Summon Unicore, he sent Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard, which added Nekroz of Valkyrus to his hand. He discarded Clausolas to search out Nekroz Mirror and played it, banishing Brionac and Clausolas to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Trishula! Trishula’s effect banished Maxx “C” from the Graveyard, as well as a Mystical Space Typhoon from the field and hand each. Dawar Set his second Kaleidoscope.

Schrack played Reinforcement of the Army for Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz. He played Nekroz Mirror, and Dawar Chained Maxx “C”! Schrack used Shurit to Summon Valkyrus, and Dawar drew Shared Ride. Schrack used Shurit’s effect to get his own Trishula to his hand. He activated Valkyrus, Tributing itself to give Schrack a new card, then he banished Mirror and Valkyrus from the Graveyard to add Nekroz Cycle to his hand. He played Senju of the Thousand Hands, grabbing Nekroz of Brionac, which then grabbed Shurit. Schrack played Nekroz Cycle, Tributing Shurit for Trishula! Dawar drew Senju with Maxx “C”, and Trishula’s effect kicked in. It banished Maxx “C” from Dawar’s hand, Nekroz Mirror from his Graveyard, and Trishula from his field. Schrack’s Trishula attacked Unicore, and Dawar used Valkyrus to block it.

Dawar drew another Unicore. His hand was now Unicore, Senju, and Shared Ride, while his field was Unicore and a Set Kaleidoscope. Schrack had Trishula and Senju, with three in his hand. Dawar played Senju for Valkyrus. He played Kaleidoscope and Schrack had another Maxx “C”! Kaleidoscope resolved, sending Shooting Quasar Dragon to the Graveyard to Summon Unicore and Valkyrus together! Valkyrus attacked Trishula, and Schrack saved his monster with Nekroz of Gungnir. Unicore destroyed Senju, leaving Schrack with 1900 Life Points to Dawar’s 8000. In Main Phase 2, he stacked his 2 Unicore for Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk. It banished Nekroz Cycle and Gungnir. Then, he used Valkyrus to Tribute Senju and Number 80, drawing Reinforcement of the Army and Nekroz Cycle. He Set Shared Ride, Cycle, and Reinforcement to the field, now with no cards in his hand.

Schrack played Nekroz Kaleidoscope, sending Herald of the Arc Light to Summon Unicore. Dawar Chained to Herald’s effect with Shared Ride! Schrack searched his Deck for Nekroz of Valkyrus, and Dawar drew a Vakyrus of his own. Schrack went to his Battle Phase and used Book of Moon on Dawar’s on-field Valkyrus. Unicore attacked it, and Dawar’s in-hand Valkyrus blocked the attack!

Dawar drew Shurit. He Flip Summoned Vakyrus, then used it to Tribute itself and Shurit so Dawar could draw Brionac and Mystical Space Typhoon. Shurit’s effect added Nekroz of Clausolas to his hand as well. He discarded Clausolas to get Nekroz Mirror, then banished the Kaleidoscope and Valkyrus from his Graveyard to add Nekroz Cycle to his hand. He flipped Reinforcement of the Army to get Shurit, and dropped Cycle! He Tributed Shurit to bring Valkyrus from the Graveyard, then discarded Brionac to put Gungnir in his hand. He played Nekroz Mirror, banishing Shurit to Summon Gungnir. Gungnir took out Schrack’s Unicore, and Valkyrus took out Schrack’s Trishula! Dawar Set Mystical Space Typhoon to finish the turn.

Schrack banished Kaleidoscope and Unicore from the Graveyard to add a new Kaleidoscope to his hand. Next, Senju came down to search for Unicore. Kaleidoscope Summoned Unicore via Herald of the Arc Light, but chose not to search for anything. Dawar knew Schrack must be going for Evilswarm Exciton Knight, so he used his Mystical Space Typhoon on his own Nekroz Cycle! That meant Schrack was no longer behind in cards, so Exciton was no use. He had to go for a different play, so he Xyz Summoned Number 101: Silent Honor ARK in Defense Position, and used its effect to suck up Dawar’s Gungnir.

Dawar drew Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. He played it without searching. Valkyrus attacked Silent Honor ARK, and Schrack used his own in-hand Valkyrus to negate the attack. In Main Phase 2 Dawar used Valkyrus to Tribute Manju, and drew another Manju.

Schrack used Book of Eclipse! Everything went face-down, and he immediately Flip Summoned his Silent Honor ARK to destroy Valkyrus!

Dawar drew Shared Ride and Set it.

Schrack attacked directly with Silent Honor ARK, finally dealing some damage.

Dawar drew Mystical Space Typhoon and Set it.

Silent Honor ARK attacked again, and Schrack Set a monster.

Dawar drew Book of Moon. He Set Manju and Book.

Schrack played Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting Book of Moon, and Dawar conceded!

Schrack makes a huge comeback, slowly fighting his way from defeat all starting with a clutch Book of Eclipse! He just needs one more win to move on to the Top 16. Dawar is going to need to win two in a row to keep his undefeated streak and stay in the tournament.

Duel 2

Dawar decided to have Schrack play first. Schrack began with Senju and Brionac searching for Valkyrus and Clausolas, respectively. Then he discarded Clausolas to get Nekroz Mirror. He played it, Tributing Shurit, to bring down Valkyrus, and searched out Trishula with Shurit’s effect. He Tributed Vakyrus and Senju for Valkyrus’s effect, drawing two new cards. He banished Mirror and Brionac from the Graveyard to get Nekroz Cycle, then used Preparation of Rites to get Nekroz of Gungnir. He played Cycle, Tributing Djinn Releaser of Rituals to bring Clausolas back from the Graveyard in Defense Position!

Dawar’s opening hand was Clausolas, Cycle, Manju, Mystical Space Typhoon, Valkyrus, and Raigeki. He played it, but Schrack’s Gungnir saved Clausolas. Dawar discarded his Clausolas to search for Nekroz Kaleidoscope. He Set Mystical Space Typhoon and Cycle.

Schrack played Manju, getting Unicore. He discarded Brionac to get Clausolas, which in turn got Kaleidoscope. He played it to Ritual Summon Unicore, sending Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard, and he added Nekroz of Valkyrus to his hand. He stacked Manju and Unicore for Number 101: Silent Honor ARK and attacked directly. Schrack The round time ended as Schrack Set a card to his back row. There would be three turns left in this Duel.

Dawar drew Brionac. He played Manju, adding Unicore to his hand, then discarded Brionac for another Unicore. He discarded Unicore to get back Brionac and passed. If he couldn’t get over the Djinn-powered Clausolas next turn, that would be the end of the Match.

Schrack played Senju to search for Unicore, which he discarded to get back Clausolas, and that searched out Nekroz Mirror. He activated it, banishing Djinn Releaser of Rituals and Brionac to Summon Trishula! Its effect hit a Unicore in the Graveyard and the hand, as well as the Manju on the field! Dawar saved himself in the Battle Phase with his Nekroz of Valkyrus, but next turn when he drew Deck Lockdown he knew it was all over! Even if he weren’t in the End of Match procedures, there was no way he would be making it back in this Duel.

Maxwell Schrack is moving on to the Top 8 with Nekroz!