Round 3 Feature Match: Benjamin Leverett versus Salvador Pulido
By winning a VIP Qualifier tournament at his local store, Benjamin Leverett has won a ton of perks including his own private table and two byes for this YCS. He is looking to take advantage of that last perk the most, as he is using a super cool 45 card Nekroz Deck utilizing Wonder Wand to combo with Performages. His opponent, Salvador Pulido, has come out from San Antonio this weekend. He has chosen to bring a Qliphort Turbo variant to the Feature Match Area, utilizing a lot of draw cards and Wavering Eyes to speed out Apoqliphort Towers.
Pulido won the roll and chose for Leverett to go first.
Duel One:
Leverett opened with a hand Senju of the Thousand Hands, Nekroz of Trishula, Nekroz of Unicore, Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, and Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz. He Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands to try to use its effect, and after some hesitation Pulido allowed it to resolve. Leverett added Nekroz of Brionac to his hand and ended his turn.
Pulido started off fast with Chicken Game! He used its effect, paying 1000 Life Points, to draw a card. He then placed Qliphort Monolith and Qliphort Stealth on Pendulum Scales and then used Wavering Eyes to blow both away, dealing 500 points of damage to Leverett while allowing him to add Qliphort Scout to his hand. He placed the Qliphort Scout on scale, using its effect by paying 800 Life Points, to add Qliphort Monolith to his hand. He placed the Qliphort Monolith on the opposite end of the Pendulum Scale, then declared a Pendulum Summon bringing back both of the Pendulums he had destroyed to send to the Extra Deck. He then tributed both for Qliphort Disk, using its effect to Special Summon Qliphort Helix and Qliphort Carrier. He declared attacks with all three, destroying Senju of the Thousand Hands, and putting Leverett down to 4300 Life Points. Pulido Set two to his back row and ended.
Leverett drew Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands for turn and slammed it down, using its effect to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope to his hand. He thought for a moment, used Nekroz of Brionac to add Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, and then activated the Nekroz Kaleidoscope to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore by sending Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard. Pulido had Lose 1 Turn but Leverett still got the effect of Herald of the Arc Light which let him add Nekroz of Valkyrus. He paid 1000 Life Points for Chicke Game, drawing Performage Damage Juggler, and ended his turn.
Pulido drew to three cards and then paid 1000 Life Points to Chicken Game to go to four. He paid another 800 Life Points for Qliphort Scout, using its effect to add Qliphort Helix. Pulido Pendulum Summoned four Qliphorts and tributed three away, leaving behind a Qliphort Carrier to Normal Summon Apoqliphort Towers! He used the effect of one of the Qliphort Helix he tributed to destroy the Chicken Game, then went to Battle Phase and declared an attack with Apoqliphort Towers over Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands but when he tried to attack with Qliphort Disk over Nekroz of Unicore, Leverett chose to use Nekroz of Valkyrus. In Main Phase 2, Pulido used Apoqliphort Towers’ effect prompting Leverett to send Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz to the Graveyard. Pulido pressed forward with a Summoner’s Art to add Qliphort Scout, then an Upstart Goblin, and finally drew three cards during the End Phase thanks to Qliphort Monolith.
Leverett drew Reinforcement of the Army for turn and looked at this hand for a minute. He chose to Normal Summon Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz which prompted Pulido to activate Maxx “C”.
Pulido manages to pull super far ahead and stifle Leverett thanks to Lose 1 Turn. Can Leverett manage to take the back two?
Leverett chose to go first.
Duel Two:
Leverett opened with a hand of Mystical Space Typhoon, Senju of the Thousand Hands, Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, Nekroz of Trishula, and Nekroz of Clausolas. He Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands and used its effect to add Nekroz of Brionac, which he then ditched to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand. He used Nekroz of Unicore to add back Nekroz of Brionac before he ended.
Pulido drew and placed Qliphort Scout on his Pendulum Scale, using its effect to add Saqlifice. He activated Chicken Game next and paid 1000 to draw a card. He placed Qliphort Monolith on scale, then Pendulum Summoned Qliphort Helix from his hand. He equipped it with Saqlifice before tributing it for Qliphort Shell, using the effect of Saqlifice to add Qliphort Scout. He declared two attacks, one over Senju of the Thousand Hands, to put Leverett down to 3800 Life Points before he Set a back row and drew a card during the End Phase.
Leverett drew Performage Hat Tricker for turn, then used his Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away Pulido’s Set Skill Drain. He then ditched Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Cycle; he used the Ritual Spell to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore by tributing Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, and got to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand thanks to the Great Sorcerer. He Special Summoned Performage Hat Tricker and then overlayed both for Diamond Dire Wolf to blow itself and Chicken Game off the Field. He banished Nekroz of Clausolas along with Nekroz Cycle to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope, and then used the Ritual Spell to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore by sending Herald of the Arc Light. The Herald of the Arc Light triggered next, which he used to add Nekroz Mirror, before he discarded Nekroz of Catastor to Special Summon Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz. He played Nekroz Mirror next, using it to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula but lost out to Effect Veiler. He then used Nekroz of Brionac to add Nekroz of Decisive Armor, which allowed him to Set up a win through Qliphort Shell. How you ask? Well the trick young Leverett pulled out of his sleeve was overlaying his Nekroz of Unicore and Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz for Performage Trapeze Magician to make Nekroz of Trishula attack twice pumped up by Nekroz of Decisive Armor!
A well planned line of play allows Leverett to play around an Effect Veiler while stile getting enough damage through to win the game that turn. Can he manage a repeat next game?
Pulido chose to go first in the last game.
Duel Three
Pulido started things off with quick as he used Summoner’s Art to add Qliphort Scout, and then placed the Qliphort Scout on his Pendulum Scale to use its effect to add Qliphort Carrier. He activated Upstart Goblin next, and then a second Summoner’s Art let him add Qliphort Monolith. He Pendulum Summoned Qliphort Carrier and equipped it with Saqlifice, then tributed it away for Qliphort Stealth which he used to bounce Qliphort Scout. The Saqlifice triggered which let him grab another copy of Qliphort Scout, and he played one down and used it to search Qliphort Cephalopod. He Set a back row before drawing a card thanks to Qliphort Monolith during the End Phase.
Leverett had a hand of Nekroz of Trishula, Nekroz of Clausolas, Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, and two copies of Nekroz Kaleidoscope before he drew Reinforcement of the Army for turn. He activated Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Cycle and then Reinforcement of the Army to add Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz. He activated Nekroz Cycle, tributing Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula, but when he tried to activate its effect Pulido had Imperial Iron Wall to stop it. Leverett still got to search though thanks to Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, adding Nekroz of Brionac to his hand. He used the effect of Nekroz of Brionac to add Nekroz of Unicore, which he then Ritual Summoned via Nekroz Kaleidoscope sending Herald of the Arc Light from his Extra Deck to the Graveyard. The Herald of the Arc Light triggered which let him add Nekroz of Decisive Armor before he Normal Summoned Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz and overlayed both for Performage Trapeze Magician. Things were looking like déjà vu as he used the effect of the Performage on his Nekroz of Trishula and pumped it up with Nekroz of Decisive Armor to attack for game through Qliphort Shell!
Showing off some impressive Nekroz mastery, Benjamin Leverett pulls off some awesome plays to leave him with a 3-0 record!
