It all comes down to this! Cleveland, Ohio’s Thomas Rowe and Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Erik Christensen have made it to the Finals of the 2016 North American World Championship Qualifier! 2253 players have been reduced to just 2. Thomas Rowe and Erik Christensen now have the honor of Dueling against one another to become the Yu-Gi-Oh! North American Champion. It’s time to Duel!

Duel One

Christensen won the die roll and chose to go first.

He activated Reasoning, and Rowe chose Level 8. Christensen sent The Monarchs Stormforth, Reinforcement of the Army, 2 copies of The Prime Monarch, 3 copies of Return of the Monarchs, 2 copies of Tenacity of the Monarchs, and Thestalos the Mega Monarch from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard with its effect. Next, he banished Return of the Monarchs from his Graveyard to Special Summon The Prime Monarch and activated Domain of the True Monarchs. He reduced the Level of the Erebus in his hand by 2 using Domain’s effect, and Tribute Summoned Erebus by Tributing The Prime Monarch. He sent Pantheism of the Monarchs and The Prime Monarch from his Deck to his Graveyard to activate Erebus’s effect and send a card from Rowe’s hand into his Deck. Next, Christensen banished Pantheism from his Graveyard to add a Tenacity of the Monarchs from his Deck to his hand.

Rowe opened up with Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; and Twin Twisters. He activated Twin Twisters, discarding Farfa, to destroy Domain. Then, he used Farfa’s effect to banish Erebus until the End Phase. He Special Summoned Cir from his hand next, and then Normal Summoned Graff. He combined Cir with Graff to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, and then detached Graff to send Farfa, Silent Boots, and Cir from his Deck to his Graveyard. He activated Graff’s effect to Special Summon Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck in Attack Position and then attacked directly with Dante. Scarm attacked next, and Christensen Special Summoned The Prime Monarch from his Graveyard to block the attack. Rowe discarded Alich from his hand to upgrade Dante into Beatrice, causing Scarm to destroy itself. Then, Rowe banished Silent Boots from his Graveyard to add Fog Blade to his hand. He Set Phantom Knights’ Fog Blade to his back row and then added Tour Guide From the Underworld from his Deck to his hand in his End Phase with his fallen Scarm’s effect.

Christensen activated Tenacity of the Monarchs and revealed Kuraz from his hand to add Domain of the True Monarchs from his Deck to his hand. He activated The Monarchs Stormforth next, and Rowe Chained the effect of Beatrice by detaching Dante. He sent The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves from his Deck to his Graveyard with Beatrice’s effect and used Dante’s effect to add a card to his hand. Next, he attacked Beatrice with Erebus. Erebus gained 800 ATK due to the effect of Domain of the True Monarchs, destroying Beatrice in battle. Rowe Special Summoned Graff from his Graveyard with the fallen Cir’s effect, but was unable to Special Summon Dante from his Extra Deck with Beatrice’s effect due to the effect of Domain. In Main Phase 2, Christensen Tributed Rowe’s Graff to Summon Kuraz, and activated Kuraz’s effect to try to destroy his own Prime Monarchs; but Rowe Chained Fog Blade to negate Kuraz’s effect. Rowe Special Summoned Libic from his Deck in Attack Position with Graff’s effect.

Rowe drew Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss and then banished Ragged Gloves from his Graveyard to activate its effect and send Silent Boots from his Deck to his Graveyard. Next, he banished Silent Boots from his Graveyard to add Fog Blade to his hand. He Normal Summoned Cir, Set Fog Blade, and then ended his turn.

Christensen attacked Libic with Erebus, destroying it and allowing Rowe to Special Summon Scarm from his hand in Defense Position with Libic’s effect. He Set a monster before passing his turn.

Rowe drew Twin Twisters next turn. He switched his Cir into Defense Position and then Set Twin Twisters.

Christensen activated Foolish Burial to send Edea the Heavenly Squire from his Deck to his Graveyard and then used Edea’s effect to add Pantheism of the Monarchs from his Banished Zone to his hand. Next, he attacked Cir with Erebus, and Rowe used Cir’s effect to Special Summon Dante from his Graveyard.

Rowe drew Speedroid Terrortop and then passed his turn.

Christensen drew Upstart Goblin and activated it to draw a card and give Rowe 1000 Life Points. Next, he Tributed his Edea to Summon Kuraz, and used the effects of Edea and Kuraz to return The Monarchs Stormforth to his hand from his Banished Zone and attempt to destroy both Prime Monarchs. Rowe Chained Fog Blade to negate Kuraz’s effect. Next, Christensen discarded Stormforth to activate Pantheism and draw 2 cards. Erebus attacked and destroyed Dante, and Rowe used Dante’s effect to add Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Graveyard to his hand.

In Christensen’s End Phase, Rowe activated Twin Twisters and discarded Graff to destroy Domain of the True Monarchs and one of his own face-up Fog Blades. He used Graff’s effect to Special Summon a Farfa from his Deck.

Rowe drew Solemn Strike next turn. He combined Farfa with Scarm to Xyz Summon Leviair the Sea Dragon, and Christensen banished a Monarch Spell from his Graveyard and Tributed his two Prime Monarchs to Tribute Summon Ehther the Heavenly Monarch after activating Ehther’s effect in his hand! He used Ehther’s effect on the field to Special Summon Kuraz and used Kuraz’s effect to have it destroy Leviair and the Kuraz itself. Christensen drew a card, and Rowe drew Maxx “C”. Rowe Special Summoned Terrortop from his hand next, and used its effect to add Speedroid Taketomborg from his Deck to his hand. Next, he Special Summoned Taketomborg from his hand and combined it with Terrortop to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss in Attack Position. He Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld and activated its effect to Special Summon Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck next, and then activated Dante’s effect to send Allure of Darkness, Solemn Warning, and Calcab, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. He attacked Kuraz with Dante to destroy it, and then switched Dante into Defense Position with its effect. Next, he combined Tour Guide with Scarm to Xyz Summon another Dante in Defense Position and Set Solemn Strike to his back row. He added Barbar, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his Deck to his hand with the effect of Scarm in the End Phase, and Christensen used the effect of The Prime Monarch to Special Summon it from the Graveyard. Rowe Chained Maxx “C” to draw a card.

Christensen activated Twin Twisters by discarding Eidos the Underworld Squire to destroy both of Rowe’s back rows and then Tributed Kuraz and The Prime Monarch to Summon Erebus the Underworld Monarch. He didn’t have 2 more Monarch Spell or Traps left in his Deck, rendering him unable to use Erebus’s effect. Next, Christensen banished Eidos from his Graveyard to Special Summon Edea, and used Edea’s effect to Special Summon Eidos. He Tributed Eidos and Edea to Summon Ehther and added Domain of the True Monarchs to his hand with Edea’s effect. He attacked one Dante with his first Ehther, and Rowe used Dante’s effect to add Cir from his Graveyard to his hand. Next, Erebus attacked and destroyed Rowe’s other Dante, allowing Rowe to add Libic from his Graveyard to his hand with Dante’s effect. Both remaining monarchs attacked directly, dropping Rowe down to 1100 Life Points.

Rowe activated Reinforcement of the Army to add Silent Boots from his Deck to his hand, and then Special Summoned Barbar, Cir, and Libic from his hand in Defense Position to protect his Life Points. He Set Solemn Strike before ending his turn. In the End Phase, Christensen Special Summoned The Prime Monarch from his Graveyard in Defense Position.

Christensen switched The Prime Monarch into Attack Position and attacked Libic to destroy it with The Prime Monarch. Next, Ehther attacked and destroyed Cir, allowing Rowe to Special Summon Farfa from his Graveyard in Defense Position. Erebus attacked and destroyed Barbar, and Rowe banished 3 Burning Abyss cards from his Graveyard to inflict 900 points of damage. Ehther attacked and destroyed Farfa next, and Farfa’s effect banished Rowe’s last remaining Monarch that hadn’t attacked.

Rowe drew a card and then had The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak and Silent Boots in his hand. He Normal Summoned Silent Boots and attacked The Prime Monarch, simultaneous conceding the Duel.

After a drawn out first Duel, Erik Christensen takes the first win with his Domain Monarch Deck! Christensen is just one win away from becoming the 2016 North American Champion!

Duel Two

Rowe opened up Duel 2 with Solemn Scolding; Reinforcement of the Army; Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss; and Calcab, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss.

He Special Summoned Calcab from his hand and then Special Summoned Farfa to join it. He combined Farfa with Calcab to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss and then detached Calcab to send Anti-Spell Fragrance, Allure of Darkness, and Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from the top of his Deck to his Graveyard. Rowe discarded Scarm from his hand to upgrade Dante into Beatrice and then Set Solemn Scolding. He added Tour Guide From the Underworld from his Deck to his hand with the effect of Scarm in the End Phase.

Christensen activated Pantheism of the Monarchs and discarded Frost Blast of the Monarchs to draw 2 cards from his Deck. He then had an incredible hand, consisting of Erebus the Underworld Monarch, Typhoon, Return of the Monarchs, Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, Tenacity of the Monarchs, and Domain of the True Monarchs.

He activated Tenacity of the Monarchs next, revealing Erebus from his hand; but Rowe flipped Solemn Scolding and paid 3000 Life Points to negate it. Next, Christensen banished Pantheism from his Graveyard to reveal three copies of The Monarchs Stormforth from his Deck and add one to his hand. He activated it, and Rowe Chained the effect of Beatrice to detach Farfa and send Ragged Gloves from his Deck to his Graveyard. He banished Beatrice with the effect of his Farfa, and Dante fell to the Graveyard, allowing Rowe to use its effect to add Scarm from his Graveyard to his hand. Christensen Summoned Edea next, and used its effect to Summon Eidos from his Deck. He activated Domain of the True Monarchs and Return of the Monarchs next, and used Eidos’s effect to gain an additional Summon. He used Domain to reduce the Level of the Erebus in his hand and then Tributed Edea to Summon Erebus. He sent The Prime Monarch and Pantheism from his Deck to his Graveyard to activate Erebus’s effect, and shuffled the Ragged Gloves from Rowe’s Graveyard back into his Deck. Christensen added Pantheism to his hand with the effect of his Tributed Edea.

Rowe drew Ragged Gloves next turn and immediately conceded.

Erik Christensen is the 2016 North American WCQ Champion with Domain Monarchs!