Steven De Lara and Jonathon Castillo Gomez are longtime friends from Southern California. De Lara managed to take down Barrett Keys in the finals of YCS Chicago to claim the championship, while Gomez defeated Patrick Hoban in the finals of YCS Charleston to earn his own. Both Duelists have chosen to use Nekroz, the default for many well-known Duelists for this tournament. Who will come out on top in this clash of titans and move on with the flawless 7-0 record?

De Lara won the roll and chose to go second.

Duel One:

Gomez opened with Senju of the Thousand Hands and two copies of Reinforcement of the Army; he used the Senju of the Thousand Hands to add Nekroz of Valkyrus, the first copy of Reinforcement of the Army to add Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz and the second copy to add Nekroz of Clausolas. He used the effect of Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Cycle, then activated the Nekroz Cycle which prompted De Lara to activate Maxx “C”. The Nekroz Cycle resolved and Gomez Special Summoned Nekroz of Valkyrus using Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, adding Nekroz of Brionac to his hand and letting De Lara draw a card. Gomez then activated the Nekroz of Brionac to add Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz to his hand, then activated the effect of Nekroz of Valkyrus to tribute both Senju of the Thousand Hands and Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz to draw two cards. The Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz triggered to let him add Nekroz of Valkyrus, and then he activated Nekroz of Unicore to add back Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz before he ended.

De Lara opened with a hand Nekroz of Valkyrus, Nekroz of Brionac, Nekroz of Unicore, Nekroz Cycle, Senju of the Thousand Hands, and drew Preparation of Rites for turn. He Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands to add Nekroz of Clausolas and then used Nekroz of Brionac to find Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz. He ditched the Nekroz of Clausolas next to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope to his hand, then activated it to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore by sending Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard. The effect of Herald of the Arc Light triggered which let De Lara add Nekroz of Trishula. De Lara pressed forward and activated Nekroz Cycle, tributing Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula. The Nekroz of Trishula banished the on Field Nekroz of Valkyrus, Gomez’s in Graveyard Nekroz Cycle, and his in hand Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands before De Lara added Nekroz of Brionac to his hand with Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz. He went to Battle Phase next to try to declare an attack, but Gomez used Nekroz of Valkyrus to block the attack and banish Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz. The Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz triggered which let Gomez send Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz to his Graveyard, Setting up for a power play later on. De Lara pressed forward and moved to Main Phase 2 where he overlayed his two Level 4s for Daigusto Emeral. He shuffled back Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, Nekroz of Brionac, and Nekroz of Unicore before he drew Senju of the Thousand Hands. He activated Preparation of Rites next to add Nekroz of Unicore from his Deck and Nekroz Kaleidoscope back from his Graveyard. After giving his hand a last look over, he ended his turn.

Gomez drew to four cards and furiously shuffled his hand while he considered his possible lines of play. He Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and used it to add Nekroz Cycle to his hand, then used the Ritual Spell to Special Summon Nekroz of Valkyrus from his Graveyard by tributing Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz. The Shurit triggered which let Gomez add Nekroz of Trishula to his hand and then he moved to Battle Phase. He declared an attack with Nekroz of Valkyrus on Nekroz of Trishula but lost out to De Lara’s own copy of Nekroz of Valkyrus to block the attack. Gomez activated the effect of his Nekroz of Valkyrus in Main Phase 2, tributing itself and Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands from his Field to draw two cards and put himself to five in his hand. Gomez banished Nekroz Cycle and Nekroz of Unicore from his Graveyard next which let him add Nekroz Mirror to his hand and he immediately activated it. He banished Nekroz of Brionac and Nekroz of Clausolas from his Graveyard to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula; Gomez banished De Lara’s on Field Nekroz of Trishula, Nekroz of Unicore from De Lara’s hand, and Nekroz of Valkyrus from De Lara’s Graveyard. Gomez did not stop there, he followed it up with Instant Fusion to Special Summon Elder Entity Norden which triggered to Special Summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. He overlayed both for Daigusto Emeral, then activated its effect to shuffle back Nekroz of Valkyrus, Nekroz of Trishula, and Elder Entity Norden to draw a card. After considering another move, Gomez ended.

De Lara drew a second copy of Senju of the Thousand Hands for turn and then activated Nekroz of Brionac to add Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to his hand. He activated Daigusto Emeral next and shuffled back a few Monsters to draw Nekroz Cycle. He Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands next which let him add Nekroz of Valkyrus, then he activated Nekroz Cycle and tributed Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to Special Summon Nekroz of Brionac from his Graveyard. The Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz triggered next and De Lara added Nekroz of Clausolas to his hand. He activated the effect of his on Field Nekroz of Brionac next to bounce away Gomez’s Daigusto Emeral, and then followed it up with Nekroz Kaleidoscope to send Star Eater from his Extra Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon both Nekroz of Valkyrus and Nekroz of Clausolas. He activated the effect of Nekroz of Valkyrus and tributed both his Daigusto Emeral and Nekroz of Clausolas but drew two copies of Mystical Space Typhoon, pretty unlucky. He Set a single copy before he ended.

Gomez drew to four and activated Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away the one De Lara had Set the previous turn. He then banished Nekroz Mirror and Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz from his Graveyard to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope which let him trigger Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz to Special Summon Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz. Gomez Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands next and used its effect to add Nekroz of Unicore; he followed it up by using Nekroz of Brionac to add Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz and Preparation of Rites to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand. He activated Nekroz of Unicore to add back Nekroz of Trishula, and then tributed Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz with Nekroz Kaleidoscope to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula! He activated its effect and banished De Lara’s Nekroz of Valkyrus from his hand, Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz from De Lara’s Graveyard, and Senju of the Thousand Hands from De Lara’s Field. Gomez activated Instant Fusion next to Special Summon Elder Entity Norden to bring back Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and overlay for Abyss Dweller. The writing was on the wall as now without a Nekroz of Valkyrus De Lara was staring down enough damage to deplete his Life Points!

Gomez manages to defeat De Lara in game one after some intense back and forth. Both Duelists shuffled up and agreed to side out Vanity’s Emptiness before they finished quietly Side Decking.

De Lara chose for Gomez to start.

Duel Two:

Gomez Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and used its effect to add Nekroz of Valkyrus to his hand. He activated Reinforcement of the Army next to find Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, then activated Reinforcement of the Army to grab Nekroz of Clausolas. He immediately ditched the Nekroz of Clausolas for Nekroz Mirror, then activated it by tributing the Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz and Special Summon Nekroz of Valkyrus, but De Lara responded with Maxx “C”. The Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz triggered and Gomez added Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz to his hand, then he activated the effect of Nekroz of Valkyrus to tribute Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz to draw two cards. The Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz triggered next and Gomez added Nekroz of Valkyrus before he ended.

De Lara opened with Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, Nekroz of Unicore, Nekroz of Brionac, two copies of Nekroz of Unicore, and drew Retaliating “C” for turn which was definitely a bit too late. He Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and activated its effect to add Nekroz of Valkyrus, before he used Nekroz of Clausolas to find Nekroz Kaleidoscope. He activated Nekroz Kaleidoscope and Special Summoned Nekroz of Unicore by sending Herald of the Arc Light to his Graveyard. De Lara triggered the Herald of the Arc Light and added Nekroz Mirror to his hand. He activated Nekroz of Brionac next to find Nekroz of Trishula, and then Special Summoned it by activating Nekroz Mirror and banishing the Nekroz of Clausolas and Nekroz of Brionac from his Graveyard. He banished the Nekroz Mirror from Gomez’s Graveyard, the Nekroz of Decisive Armor from Gomez’s hand, and the Nekroz of Valkyrus from the Field. De Lara swung with all of his Monsters and put Gomez down to 1600 Life Points before he moved to Main Phase 2. He overlayed both of his Level 4s for Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk, then banished Gomez’s Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz and Nekroz of Clausolas from his Graveyard before he ended.

Gomez activated Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror, but when he tried to activate it De Lara responded with Retaliating “C”! Gomez was forced to resolve his Ritual Spell as he banished Nekroz of Clausolas from his Graveyard and Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz from his hand, which then triggered the Exa, Enforcer of the Nekroz to let him Special Summon back Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz! Gomez moved to Battle Phase and declared an attack with Nekroz of Valkyrus which prompted De Lara to use his Nekroz of Valkyrus to block the attack with his own Nekroz of Valkyrus and banish his Nekroz Mirror. Gomez had Raigeki to clear De Lara’s board next! It wasn’t the worst because De Lara got to add Maxx “C” to his hand thanks to Retaliating “C”, but things were looking much worse than they were a second ago. Gomez activated the effect of Nekroz of Valkyrus in Main Phase 2 and used its effect to tribute Nekroz of Valkyrus and Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to draw two cards. He triggered Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to add Nekroz of Brionac, and then used Nekroz of Brionac to add Nekroz of Valkyrus. He Set two to his back row and ended.

De Lara drew Nekroz of Clausolas for turn and tried to banish Nekroz of Unicore and Nekroz Mirror to add Nekroz Kaleidoscope to his hand but Gomez Chained Shared Ride to slow him down. De Lara activated the Nekroz Kaleidoscope to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore by sending Herald of the Arc Light and used it to add Nekroz of Unicore to his hand which he then used to add back Nekroz of Brionac which searched Nekroz of Trishula. He activated Nekroz of Clausolas to add Nekroz Mirror, but once he activated Nekroz Mirror to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula, Gomez had Breakthrough Skill to stop its effect! De Lara declared an attack with Nekroz of Unicore which Gomez blocked with Nekroz of Valkyrus and then he ended.

Gomez had drawn a bunch off of Shared Ride and now had a total of seven in his hand. He activated Instant Fusion and responded to his own card by banishing Breakthrough Skill from his Graveyard to negate the opposing Nekroz of Unicore, but De Lara responded with Maxx “C” to try to stifle Gomez. He ultimately chose to Special Summon Panzer Dragon as time was called and De Lara drew Nekroz Cycle from the Maxx “C”. Gomez Normal Summoned Senju of the Thousand Hands and used it to add Nekroz of Valkyrus before he ended; the Panzer Dragon was destroyed because of Instant Fusion and it triggered to destroy De Lara’s Nekroz of Unicore.

De Lara drew Senju of the Thousand Hands and with only two cards in hand really needed to make some magic happen. He Normal Summoned the Senju of the Thousand Hands and used it to add Nekroz of Valkyrus. He tried to declare an attack with Nekroz of Trishula next, but Gomez blocked it with his own Nekroz of Valkyrus banishing a second copy from his Graveyard. De Lara ended after giving his Extra Deck a quick look through

Gomez drew to six on the second turn of time. He Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and used it to add Nekroz Cycle. Gomez activated Nekroz Kaleidoscope and sent Herald of the Arc Light to the Graveyard to Special Summon Nekroz of Unicore, and once the Herald of the Arc Light triggered he added another Nekroz of Unicore. He overlayed Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and Nekroz of Unicore to Xyz Summon Daigusto Emeral, and then activated Nekroz of Unicore to add back Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to his hand. He used Daigusto Emeral next to shuffle back Nekroz of Brionac, Nekroz of Valkyrus, and Nekroz of Unicore to his Deck to draw a card and go back up to six. Gomez activated Nekroz Cycle and tributed Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz to Special Summon Nekroz of Trishula. Its effect activated and banished Nekroz of Unicore from De Lara’s Graveyard, Senju of the Thousand Hands from De Lara’s Field, and Nekroz of Valkyrus from De Lara’s hand. The Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz triggered which let him add Nekroz of Brionac, and he used the Nekroz of Brionac to find Nekroz of Valkyrus. He crashed his Nekroz of Trishula into De Lara’s and directly with Senju of the Thousand Hands and Daigusto Emeral to put De Lara down to 3200 Life Points.

De Lara drew into Nekroz of Decisive Armor with only Nekroz Cycle in his hand on the third turn of time. He banished Nekroz Kaleidoscope and Nekroz of Unicore from his Graveyard to add another copy of Nekroz Cycle, but Gomez had Shared Ride to draw a card. He Set both Ritual Spells to his back row and passed.

Gomez drew to five on the fourth turn of time. He activated Daigusto Emeral to shuffle back Shurit, Strategist of Nekroz, Nekroz of Brionac, and Nekroz of Unicore to draw a card. He Normal Summoned Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and with enough damage on the Field, De Lara conceded!

And it’s over! After an intensely long and grueling match, Jonathon Castillo Gomez wins 2-0 over Steven De Lara in the Nekroz mirror match to continue his tournament undefeated!