YCS Anaheim Round 1 Feature Match: Amit Deol vs. Erick Palencia
Welcome to Round 1 of YCS Anaheim! To kick things off, we’re looking at a great strategy that’s come out of a recent Structure Deck. You know it, we’re talking about… Magnet Warriors! Erick Palencia, from nearby Fontana, CA, is using Yugi’s newest Magnet Warriors in his first ever YCS! He’s up against Amit Deol, from New York City, who is playing Metalfoes. The Metalfoes Deck is one of the strongest out there right now, thanks to its ability to search out its own Spell and Trap Cards so easily.
Duel 1
Palencia won the dice roll and chose to play first. He began the tournament with a hand of Beta the Electromagnet Warrior, Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior, Solemn Warning, Raigeki, and Gem-Knight Obsidian. He Set Solemn Warning, then played Beta and used its effect to add Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior to his hand.
Deol tried to Special Summon Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow in Defense Position, but lost it to Solemn Warning. He Normal Summoned Majespecter Raccoon – Bunbuku next, and added Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin to his hand. He played Kirin and Metalfoes Silverd in his Pendulum Zones, and had Silverd destroy Kirin to put Metalfoes Fusion face-down on the field. He played Metalfoes Volflame in his Pendulum Zone, and it destroyed Bunbuku to place Metalfoes Counter on the field. Next, he used Pot of Desires! He banished his top ten cards so he could draw two. Next, he Pendulum Summoned his Bunbuku and Kirin from the Extra Deck, as well as Guiding Ariadne and Metalfoes Silverd from his hand! Silverd attacked Beta, and Palencia used Beta’s effect to Special Summon Gamma The Magnet Warrior in Defense Position. Deol used Kirin’s effect to return SIlverd and Gamma to the hands, then attacked directly with his remaining monsters. Palencia was down to 1100 Life Points on Deol’s first turn! Deol flipped up Metalfoes Fusion in Main Phase 2, combining Silverd in his hand and Bunbuku on the field, for Metalfoes Mithrilium! Mithrilium returned Silverd and Metalfoes Fusion from the Graveyard to the Deck to put Volflame back in Deol’s hand. He played it again, and used its effect to destroy Guiding Ariadne and put Metalfoes Combination on the field. Ariadne’s effect revealed three copies of Solemn Strike, meaning Deol was guaranteed to get one to his hand. He Set the rest of his hand to his back row, now with four cards there, and passed.
Palencia drew another Gem-Knight Obsidian. First, he used Raigeki. Kirin was unaffected, but Mithrilium was destroyed. Deol flipped Metalfoes Counter, getting Metalfoes Goldriver to the field. Palencia played Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior, adding another Berserkion to his hand. He passed with no other plays. In the End Phase, Kirin bounced away Goldriver and Alpha.
Deol played Bunbuku, adding another Bunbuku to his hand. It attacked directly, and Palencia couldn’t stop it!
The Duelists moved to their Side Decks, hoping to get an advantage in the coming Duel. Palencia brought in a pair of Rivalry of Warlords, and a full Set of Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, both of which would help to curtail Deol’s Pendulum Summons.
Duel 2
Palencia chose to play first again. He had a hand of Brilliant Fusion, Trade-In, 2 Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior, and Sentry Soldier of Stone. He led with Brilliant Fusion, combining Beta the Electromagnet Warrior and Gem-Knight Obsidian from his Deck, to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Zirconia in Defense Position. He played Alpha next, adding Berserkion to his hand. He discarded it with Trade-In, and drew… another copy each of Berserkion and Trade-In! He chose not to play the second Trade-In yet, passing his turn.
Deol played Metalfoes Steelen and Guiding Ariadne in his Pendulum Zones, and had Steelen destroy Ariadne with its effect. He Set Metalfoes Fusion on the field, and activated Ariadne’s effect. He revealed 2 Solemn Strike and Solemn Warning, and Palencia chose to give him a copy of Strike. He played Metalfoes Silverd in his Pendulum Zone, and it destroyed Steelen to Set Metalfoes Counter on the field. Now that he was done searching his Deck, he played Pot of Desires! He activated Archfiend Eccentrick in his Pendulum Zone, then Set one card to his back row. He then used Eccentrick to destroy the card he just Set – Metalfoes Combination! He used its effect to add Metalfoes Volflame to his hand, and played it in his Pendulum Zone. He Pendulum Summoned Guiding Ariadne, Eccentrick, and Steelen, then flipped up Metalfoes Fusion! He combined Eccentrick and Steelen to Fusion Summon Metalfoes Mithrilium! It destroyed Zirconia with its effect, then destroyed Alpha in battle. Ariadne attacked as well, and In Main Phase 2, he used Volflame to destroy Ariadne. That let him Set Fullmetalfoes Fusion, but he couldn’t use Ariadne without enough choices in his Deck. He’d likely banished any remaining Counter Traps with Pot of Desires. Deol continued, using Metalfoes Fusion to draw a card, then Set three more cards to his back row.
Palencia drew Magnetic Field, and activated it. He Normal Summoned Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior, and Deol put a stop to it with Solemn Strike. He used Trade-In to discard Berserkion, and drew Call of the Haunted and Brilliant Fusion. He Set Call, then played Brilliant Fusion. He sent Gem-Knight Obsidian and Gamma The Electromagnet Warrior to the Graveyard to play Zirconia in Defense Position.
In the Standby Phase, Deol used Cosmic Cyclone on the Set Call of the Haunted. Palencia Chained it to bring Alpha back to the field – unfortunately, since Call of the Haunted was destroyed, Alpha was also destroyed before its effect could trigger. Deol continued by using Painful Decision, sending Metalfoes Goldriver to the Graveyard and adding a Goldriver to his hand. He had Volflame destroy his Silverd to Set Metalfoes Fusion on the field. Mithrilium returned Goldriver and Metalfoes Combination from his Graveyard to his Deck, and bounced away Zirconia. Next, he used Metalfoes Fusion to draw a card. He played Goldriver in his Pendulum Zone, then Pendulum Summoned Silverd, Steelen, Ariadne, and Eccentrick! He played Fullmetalfoes Fusion to combine Eccentrick and Steelen for another Mithrilium, and moved to the Battle Phase. Palencia had no way to stop Deol’s onslaught of monsters!
Amit Deol is the victor, with Metalfoes!