Top 32 Feature Match: Jovad Cruz vs. Carl Manigat
We’re now in the Top 32! From here on out, it’s single elimination until we have a winner! 5 more wins will make one of these Duelists a YCS Champion! Carl Manigat from Long Island, New York got to the playoff using a Blue-Eyes Deck, while Jovad Cruz from Milwaukee, Wisconsin made it here with a Lightsworn Deck taking advantage of the previous YCS prize card, Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn! Who will advance to top 16? Let’s find out! It’s time to Duel!
Duel One
Manigat won the roll and elected for Cruz to start.
Cruz started with a hand of two Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn, Felis, Lightsworn Archer, Goblindberg, and Fairy Tail – Snow. He Normal Summoned Goblindberg, using the effect to Special Summon Raiden. Raiden used its effect to send the top 2 cards of his Deck to the Graveyard: Performage Trick Clown and Heroic Challenger- Thousand Blades. Performage Trick Clown and Goblindberg were combined to Xyz Summon Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn! Cruz activated Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn’s effect, sending 3 cards to the Graveyard and hitting Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, allowing him to draw a card. Charge of the Light Brigade was activated next, sending 3 Spells from the top of the Deck to the Graveyard to search for Lumina and add it to Cruz’s hand! Raiden and Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades were combined to Xyz Summon Abyss Dweller and Cruz passed.
Manigat drew a card and Cruz activated the effect of Abyss Dweller right away. Manigat activated The Melody of Awakening Dragon, discarding a Pot of Desires to add Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon to hand. Next, Manigat played Pot of Desires! He banished the top 10 cards of his Deck to draw 2 more. He Special Summoned a Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon by revealing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He used Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon’s effect to destroy Abyss Dweller and then Normal Summoned The Fabled Catsith, and used the two monsters to Synchro Summon Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon. He then used Return of the Dragon Lords to Special Summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, and then Tributed Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon to Special Summon Stardust Spark Dragon. He combined the two Dragons to Xyz Summon Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, and used its effect to steal Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn, and change its name to Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon! Finally, he used Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn as an Xyz Material to Summon Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon! Manigat sent Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, and The White Stone of Ancients from his Deck to his Graveyard with its effect, and Cruz banished three monsters from his Deck. Manigat Set one card and passed his turn.
Cruz drew another Felis, Lightsworn Archer. He Normal Summoned Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner but was immediately met with Manigat’s Phoenix Wing Wind Blast! Manigat discarded another Blue-Eyes White Dragon to put Lumina on top of Cruz’s deck. Cruz passed with an empty field.
On the next turn, Manigat simply attacked with all of his monsters and there was nothing Cruz could do to stop it. He scooped up his cards and prepared for game 2.
Duel 2
Cruz elected to go first. He started with a hand of Performage Trick Clown, Goblindberg, Lyla, Lumina and Vanity’s Emptiness. He Normal Summoned Goblindberg and used its effect to Special Summon Performage Trick Clown and they were used to Xyz Summon Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn! He detached Performage Trick Clown and found 2 Felis, Lightsworn Archer and Foolish Burial! He drew 2 cards and both Felis, Lightsworn Archers were Summoned along with the detached Performage Trick Clown!
Next, Pot of Desires was activated. He banished 10 cards from his Deck to draw 2 cards, then Felis, Lightsworn Archer and Performage Trick Clown were tuned together to Synchro Summoned PSY-Framelord Omega! He activated Instant Fusion for Elder Entity Norden, then Elder Entity Norden Special Summoned Felis, Lightsworn Archer. He Synchro Summoned a second Omega and Set Vanity’s Emptiness before passing.
In Manigat’s Standby Phase, Cruz used both Omegas to put a banished Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju and a Raiden banished from Pot of Desires back into the Graveyard. In the Main Phase, Manigat Set a card, and Manigat used both Omegas, banishing both to banish Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and a Return of the Dragon Lords from Cruz’s hand until Manigat’s Standby Phase. Manigat then activated Pot of Desires, banishing the top 10 cards of his Deck to draw 2 cards. But Cruz flipped up Vanity’s Emptiness and Manigat conceded the game right there. We’re quickly moving to a third and final Duel!
Duel 3
Manigat elected for Cruz to start. Cruz started off with 2 copies of Photon Thrasher, Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, Performage Trick Clown, and Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. He Special Summon Photon Thrasher, then Normal Summoned Raiden, and used its effect to send Performage Trick Clown and Wulf, Lightsworn Beast to the Graveyard. Both effects activated, Special Summoning both! Photon Thrasher and Performage Trick Clown were combined for Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn! Her effect was used to send the top 3 cards of the Deck to the Graveyard, but they were all Spells and none of them were Lightsworn cards. He then used Wulf and Raiden to Xyz Summon Bujintei Tsukuyomi, detaching an Xyz Material to discard the one card in his hand and draw Charge of the Light Brigade and Fairy Tail – Snow. He activated Charge, sending Solar Recharge, Raigeki and Maxx “C” to his Graveyard to add Lumina to hand. He passed with 2 cards in hand.
Manigat drew a card and immediately activated Pot of Desires, banishing 10 cards from his deck to draw 2. He then activated Trade-In, discarding Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon to draw 2 more. He set 2 cards and passed.
Cruz drew, but Manigat immediately activated Phoenix Wing Wind Blast discarding The Fabled Catsith to spin Minerva, the Exalted Lightsworn back to the Extra Deck. Catsith destroyed Bujintei Tsukuyomi and Cruz used Performage Trick Clown to have it Special Summon itself. Cruz Normal Summoned Lumina but it was spun with a second Phoenix Wing Wind Blast discarding The White Stone of Ancients. Cruz had to pass, allowing Manigat to use Ancients to Special Summon Dragon Spirit of White in the End Phase.
Manigat attacked into Performage Trick Clown and Cruz brought it back to the field by giving up another 1000 Life Points, going down to 5000 Life Points. He passed his turn with 4 cards in his hand.
Cruz drew Lumina and Normal Summoned it, activated its effect by ditching Fairy Tail – Snow, targeting Lumina, and Manigat chained Maxx “C”. Raiden came down and Manigat drew a card. Raiden was activated but Manigat Chained Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit to destroy it. Raiden’s effect sent Vanity’s Emptiness and another Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. In the End Phase, Lumina sent another Snow alongside Felis, Lightsworn Archer and Charge of the Light Brigade to the Graveyard.
Manigat used The White Stone of Ancients to get back Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and then sent it back to the Graveyard for Trade-In to draw 2 more cards. He Normal Summoned Ancients, and Cruz activated Snow from the Graveyard, banishing 7 cards to Special Summon it. When Snow was Special Summoned, it turned Ancients face-down, preventing a Synchro Summon from happening for now. Manigat pressed on by activating Soul Charge! He targeted Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit and The Fabled Catsith. Manigat continued by using Catsith and Dragon Spirit of White to Synchro Summon Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon and then activated Return of the Dragon Lords to Special Summon Dragon Spirit of White again. He Set 2 cards to the back and passed.
Cruz drew Foolish Burial for turn. He activated it, sending Wulf to the Graveyard. The effect was activated and Manigat allowed it to resolve. Snow and Performage Trick Clown were overlaid for Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer! The effect was activated targeting Dragon Spirit of White which was shuffled back into the Deck. Performage Trick Clown was activated, with Cruz paying 1000 LP to Special Summon it back to the field. Wulf and Trick Clown were used as Material to Xyz Summon Daigusto Emeral! Its effect was used, sending 2 Wulfs and a Raiden back into the Deck to draw Thousand Blades. Lumina’s effect was activated, discarding Thousand Blades to Special Summon Lyla, whose effect was used to target the right-most Spell/Trap card; but Manigat Chained the on-field Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit, destroying Lyla and preventing Lyla from switching positions, saving the target from destruction. Felis, Lightsworn Archer and Lumina were Tuned to Synchro Summon Michael the Arch-Lightsworn whose effect was used to banish the face-down Ancients, Raiden was Normal Summoned, and the effect was used to send Upstart Goblin and Wulf to the Graveyard! Wulf activated but was negated by Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon’s effect. Cruz continued by using Fairy Tail – Snow, banishing another 7 cards to Special Summon it. After Snow was Special Summoned, Manigat activated Vanity’s Emptiness with Cruz having a field full of monsters. He was forced to pass. The End Phase effects of Michael and Raiden hit a Felis, Lightsworn Archer and a Wulf, both of which couldn’t be Special Summoned.
Manigat switched Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon to Attack Position and attacked into Daigusto Emeral.
Cruz used Michael to banish Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon and with Vanity’s Emptiness out, he couldn’t chain Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon’s effect. Cruz then attacked with each of his monsters to end the Match!
(It was revealed later that the one Pot of Desires that Cruz activated in Duel 3 banished all 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons. A rough beat to be sure.)
Cruz moves on to top 16!
