Southern California’s Steven De Lara and Northern California’s Denny Yu both already have YCS Titles under each of their belts, but are now facing off at 3-0 in order to continue their climb to become the Ultimate Duelist. De Lara has brought Monarchs here this weekend, without an Extra Deck trying to win games via Domain of the True Monarchs and Majesty’s Fiend on the back of the most powerful Monarch cards. Yu has chosen to use a Draco Performapal Deck that seems to be quite popular this weekend, using Painful Decision along with Unexpected Dai to accelerate his combos.

South faces off against North as these two YCS Champions Duel to remain undefeated in their quest to become the Ultimate Duelist; who will take it down?

De Lara won the roll and chose to go first.

Duel One:

De Lara started with a hand of Upstart Goblin, Domain of the True Monarchs, Eidos the Underworld Squire, Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, and Thestalos, the Mega Monarch. He activated Upstart Goblin and drew The Prime Monarch, then Normal Summoned Eidos the Underworld Squire and activate Domain of the True Monarchs. He used the effect of his Field Spell to reduce the Level of the Ehther the Heavenly Monarch in his hand, then Tribute Summoned it using his Eidos the Underworld Squire. He sent The Prime Monarch and Pantheism of the Monarchs to his Graveyard with Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, and then Special Summoned a second copy of Ehther the Heavenly Monarch to the Field. He banished Pantheism of the Monarchs and revealed three copies of Tenacity of the Monarchs, and the one he added to his hand immediately hit the Graveyard so he could search The Monarchs Erupt. He Set it along with The Prime Monarch before he ended.

Yu started with Upstart Goblin. He activated Performapal Guitartle and Guiding Ariadne on his Pendulum Zones, and then used Wavering Eyes to destroy so he could add Archfiend Eccentrick to his hand. The Guiding Ariadne then triggered which let him add Solemn Strike. When he activated Archfiend Eccentrick, De Lare responded by tributing his Ehther the Heavenly Monarch for a second copy! This Ehther the Heavenly Monarch sent Pantheism of the Monarchs and The Prime Monarch to the Graveyard to Special Summon Kuraz, the Light Monarch from his Deck! He used its effect to destroy the Archfiend Eccentrick and his own Kuraz, the Light Monarch, letting him and Yu draw new cards. That was enough for Yu as he saw the writing on the wall and he conceded!

With a strong opening, De Lara crushes Yu in the first Duel. Can the YCS Las Vegas Champion Denny Yu fight back? Or will YCS Chicago Champion Steven De Lara continue his onslaught?

Yu chose to go first in the second Duel.

Duel Two:

Yu activated Upstart Goblin, and then placed Performapal Guitartle and Performapal Lizardraw in his Pendulum Zones. He drew a card from Performapal Guitartle, and then he Performapal Lizardraw destroy itself so he could draw another card. He then activate Draco Face-Off and hit Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord, which he chose to place in his Pendulum Scale. He then activated Wavering Eyes and destroyed both of his Pendulums to add Performapal Skullcrobat Joker. He Normal Summoned it to add Performapal Monkeyboard, and which he then activated as a Pendulum Spell and used its effect to add Performapal Silver Claw. Silver Claw completed the Scale, and Yu Pendulum Summoned Performapal Lizardraw, Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord, and Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his Extra Deck and Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his hand. He then Synchro Summoned Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer and used its effect to Special Summon Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his Deck. He overlayed Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer and Performapal Skullcrobat Joker for Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer, then activated the effect of Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer to Special Summon Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his Extra Deck. He then Synchro Summoned Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer with Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer for a second copy of Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer , which he then used to bring out a third Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer. He Fusion Summoned Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer with Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer and Performapal Lizardraw, then used the effect of Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer to Special Summon Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his Graveyard. He overlayed both Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer and Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer for Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand and Set two to his back row. During the End Phase he added Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer to his hand thanks to Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer.

De Lara started with a hand of Majesty’s Fiend, Domain of the True Monarchs, The Monarchs Stormforth, and two copies of Tenacity of the Monarchs before he drew Upstart Goblin. He activated Upstart Goblin and drew Twin Twister, then activated Tenacity of the Monarchs revealing his Majesty’s Fiend to add Pantheism of the Monarchs. He thought long and hard, but ultimately chose to activate Twin Twister, discarding Pantheism of the Monarchs, to blow away both of Yu’s Set cards: Solemn Strike and Mask of Restrict. De Lara then banished his Pantheism of the Monarchs and revealed two more copies along with Return of the Monarchs. Yu chose to give him the Return of the Monarchs, and De Lara pressed on with the activation of The Monarchs Stormforth. Yu responded with Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand’s effect on his Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer , then De Lara activated Return of the Monarchs before he tributed Yu’s Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand for Majesty’s Fiend. The Return of the Monarchs triggered and De Lara added Ehther the Heavenly Monarch to his hand. He activated Domain of the True Monarchs next and declared an attack with his Majesty’s Fiend on Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer , and with its boosted ATK thanks to Domain of the True Monarchs it won the battle.

Yu drew and activated Upstart Goblin. He Set a card to his back row before he ended.

De Lara drew Erebus the Underworld Monarch for turn and Yu Flipped his Set Mask of Restrict during De Lara’s Draw Phase! Unphased, De Lara activated Tenacity of the Monarchs to add The Prime Monarch to his hand before he declared an attack over Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer with his Majesty’s Fiend. He ended his turn after he Set The Prime Monarch.

Yu drew and was forced to pass, but during his End Phase De Lara activated his The Prime Monarch and drew Tenacity of the Monarchs after shuffling back two cards.

De Lara drew another copy of Tenacity of the Monarchs. He activated it, but revealed Erebus the Underworld Monarch accidentally giving Yu additional information. He added Pantheism of the Monarchs to his hand, then used the effect of The Prime Monarch to shuffle back a couple more cards so he could draw Eidos the Underworld Squire. He activated Pantheism of the Monarchs next, ditching Tenacity of the Monarchs to draw another copy of Pantheism of the Monarchs along with Eidos the Underworld Squire. He banished Pantheism of the Monarchs revealed two copies of The Prime Monarch along with Domain of the True Monarchs; Yu chose to let him keep the Domain of the True Monarchs. He activated the second Pantheism of the Monarchs discarding Domain of the True Monarchs to draw Edea the Heavenly Squire and a second Erebus the Underworld Monarch. He Normal Summoned Eidos the Underworld Squire and declared an attack with Majesty’s Fiend over Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer and directly with Eidos the Underworld Squire before he ended.

Yu drew and Normal Summoned Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer and declared an attack over Eidos the Underworld Squire, then ended. During the End Phase, De Lara activated the effect of The Prime Monarch but drew the Eidos the Underworld Squire he shuffled back.

De Lara drew Kuraz, the Light Monarch for turn then considered his lines. He was still locked under Mask of Restrict, so he needed to find an out if he wanted to continue Summoning Monarchs. He activated Tenacity of the Monarchs revealing Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, then added The Monarchs Stormforth to his hand. He Normal Summoned Edea the Heavenly Squire and moved to Battle Phase, destroying the Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer and leaving Yu with 6650 Life Points. He Set The Monarchs Stormforth along with The Prime Monarch before he ended

Yu drew and declared an attack with Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer over Edea the Heavenly Squire before he ended.

De Lara drew Tenacity of the Monarchs for turn and used it revealing his in hand Ehther the Heavenly Monarch to add Domain of the True Monarchs to his hand. He activated the second copy to destroy his first, just to fill his Graveyard with cards to shuffle back with The Prime Monarch to draw another card. He found Reinforcement of the Army on top which was of no help, and he Normal Summoned Eidos the Underworld Squire before declaring attacks and leaving Yu with 4450 Life Points.

Yu drew for turn and Normal Summoned Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer before he declared an attack over Eidos the Underworld Squire. He Set a back row and ended his turn.

De Lara drew Upstart Goblin for turn and activated it, drawing another copy of The Prime Monarch. He Normal Summoned Edea the Heavenly Squire and declared an attack with Majesty’s Fiend over Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer and Edea the Heavenly Squire directly, leaving Yu with 3250.

Yu drew Mystical Space Typhoon and used it to destroy Domain of the True Monarchs! He then Pendulum Summoned two copies of Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer, Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, and Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer. He Synchro Summoned Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer using Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer and Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer before he Normal Summoned Performapal Silver Claw to end the Duel!

After some incredible turns, Yu manages to take the second Duel. A crowd gathered, filled with excitement, as both Duelists presented their Decks for the final game.

De Lara chose to go first.

Duel Three:

De Lara chose to go first and started with a hand of Upstart Goblin, Pantheism of the Monarchs, Anti-Spell Fragrance, Thestalos, the Mega Monarch, and The Prime Monarch. He activated Upstart Goblin and found a second copy of Pantheism of the Monarchs, then used one of them to discard The Prime Monarch and drew Erebus the Underworld Monarch along with The Monarchs Erupt. He banished Pantheism of the Monarchs to reveal three copies of Tenacity of the Monarchs, one of which found its way to his hand. He activated it to add Domain of the True Monarchs to his hand, then activated it. He banished Tenacity of the Monarchs from his Graveyard to Special Summon The Prime Monarch, then tributed The Prime Monarch to Summon Thestalos the Mega Monarch! He used its effect to rip Unexpected Dai from Yu’s hand and ended his turn after Setting Anti-Spell Fragrance, The Monarchs Erupt, and Pantheism of the Monarchs.

Yu drew and Set a Monster along with a back row before he ended.

De Lara drew a second copy of Erebus the Underworld Monarch and declared an attack over the Set Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer.

Yu drew and Set a Monster before he ended.

De Lara drew and activated Pantheism of the Monarchs by discarding The Prime Monarch and drew Tenacity of the Monarchs along with Return of the Monarchs. He Set both to his back row, then declared an attack over Yu’s Set Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord with Thestalos the Mega Monarch.

Yu drew and Set another card to his back row. He Normal Summoned Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer and declared an attack over The Prime Monarch before he ended.

De Lara drew Edea the Heavenly Squire and activated his Set Pantheism of the Monarchs which let him draw Majesty’s Fiend and The Monarchs Stormforth. He Normal Summoned the Edea the Heavenly Squire and used its effect to Special Summon Eidos the Underworld Squire from his Deck. He then declared an attack with Thestalos the Mega Monarch over the Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer. During the End Phase, De Lara used the effect.

Yu drew and activated his Set Mystical Space Typhoon on De Lara’s Anti-Spell Fragrance. He then followed it up with Dark Hole, but De Lara responded with The Monarchs Erupt! De Lara triggered Edea the Heavenly Squire and added back Tenacity of the Monarchs to his hand. Yu followed it up with Performapal Monkeyboard to add Performapal Skullcrobat Joker to his hand, but when he Normal Summoned it De Lara reminded him it was negated by his The Monarchs Erupt! He declared a direct attack but De Lara blocked its path with The Prime Monarch, Special Summoning it from the Graveyard. Flustered with such a huge novice error, Yu was forced to end. Time was called.

De Lara drew and banished his Eidos the Underworld Squire to Special Summon his Edea the Heavenly Squire. He activated Pantheism of the Monarchs and found Tenacity of the Monarchs, then used it to add Ehther the Heavenly Monarch to his hand. He activated Domain of the True Monarchs Set a copy of The Prime Monarch before he ended.

Yu drew and Flipped his Set Draco Face-Off and hit Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord while adding Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer to his Extra Deck. He overlayed the Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord with Performapal Skullcrobat Joker for King of the Feral Imps, and then used its effect to add Performapal Lizardraw to his hand. He activated it in his Pendulum Zone and then Pendulum Summoned Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord, and two copies of Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer from his Extra Deck. He activated the effect of Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer to destroy his Pendulum Scales and add Performapal Lizardraw along with Performapal Guitartle to his hand. He activated the Performapal Guitartle and then Performapal Lizardraw, drawing a card before he had Performapal Lizardraw destroy itself so he could draw another. He overlayed Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer and Vector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord next for Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer, using its effect to spin away De Lara’s The Prime Monarch. He overlayed Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer and Master Pendulum, the Dracoslayer for Abyss Dweller and moved to Battle Phase. He activated the effect of Abyss Dweller and declared attacks with it and his two other Xyz, leaving De Lara with 2850 Life Points.

De Lara drew Kuraz, the Light Monarch and Yu chose not to activate Abyss Dweller during his Draw Phase. De Lara drew and activated the effect of his The Prime Monarch to give himself a Defense Position Monster and ended his turn.

Yu drew and Set a card to his back row before he switched all of his Monsters to Defense Position.

De Lara drew Twin Twister! If there was any way to climb back into this game, it starts with destroying Mask of Restrict and De Lara found the answer. He activated it discarding Erebus the Underworld Monarch, destroying not only Yu’s face up but also his face down copies of Mask of Restrict. He activated the effect of Domain of the True Monarchs to reduce the Level of his Ehther the Heavenly Monarch. He tributed his The Prime Monarch for Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, and triggered Return of the Monarchs to add Erebus the Underworld Monarch. Ehther the Heavenly Monarch triggered and De Lara sent The Monarchs Stormforth along with The Prime Monarch to Special Summon Kuraz, the Light Monarch, but even with its effect to clear away a couple Monsters, De Lara could not finish Yu off in time!

And that was it. After an incredible error, Yu manages to pick it all back up and stay course to win the Duel! Denny Yu moves on with a 4-0 record over Steven De Lara!