Finals Feature Match: Chris LeBlanc vs. Mason Mattila
It all comes down to this!
Chris LeBlanc is a two-time YCS winner and has come to be one of the most respected Duelists in North America. Countless Top Cuts have brought him to this point: the cusp of his third Championship win. But his opponent is Mason Mattila, who has spent the last year and a half topping a crazy number of Regional Qualifiers, now looking to make a bigger impact with his first Championship.
Mattila started Duel 1 with a hand of Dragonic Diagram; Zoodiac Ratpier; Disciples of the True Dracophoenix; and two Zoodiac Barrage. He Normal Summoned Ratpier, used its effect to load his Graveyard with Zoodiac Thoroughblade, then overlaid Ratpier with Zoodiac Boarbow. He detached Ratpier to Summon another Ratpier from his Deck, overlaid Boarbow with Zoodiac Broadbull, and detached Boarbow to search for Zoodiac Ramram. He overlaid Broadbull with Zoodiac Drident, then Zoodiac Chakanine, and detached Drident to revive the Drident.
He activated Dragonic Diagram, used its effect to destroy Zoodiac Ramram from his hand, and searched his Deck for Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter. He revived Thoroughblade with Ramram’s effect, then used its effect to pitch Zoodiac Barrage and draw Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. He overlaid into Zoodiac Tigermortar, then detached and attached Ramram to Drident. Mattila then activated Disciples of the True Dracophoenix, using its effect for an extra Summon, Tributing Tigermortar for his Dinomight Knight. He overlaid Thoroughblade and Ratpier to Xyz Summon Abyss Dweller, and with a hand of Ghost Ogre and Barrage, ended his turn.
LeBlanc drew and Mattila detached Thoroughblade to activate Abyss Dweller’s effect. LeBlanc activated Terraforming, Mattila responded with Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter’s effect, and he activated True Draco Apocalypse from his Deck while LeBlanc fished out a Dragonic Diagram. LeBlanc activated Pot of Desires next, banishing ten cards to draw two, and activated Disciples of the True Dracophoenix. He activated its Summon effect with six cards in hand, and Mattila blasted it with Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit on the Chain.
LeBlanc Set a card to his back row and activated Dragonic Diagram. He activated its effect and destroyed his Set True Draco Apocalypse to search for True Draco Heritage. He activated Zoodiac Barrage, destroyed it for its own effect, Special Summoned Zoodiac Thoroughblade from his Deck, and passed on its effect. Mattila used True Draco Apocalypse’s effect to destroy his Disciples, destroying his Apocalypse and destroying LeBlanc’s Thoroughblade!
LeBlanc used the effect of his True Draco Heritage for an extra Summon, and Mattila destroyed it with Drident. LeBlanc Summoned Zoodiac Ramram and transformed it into Boarbow and then Broadbull, searching his Deck for Zoodiac Whiptail with Broadbull’s effect. He overlaid for Zoodiac Chakanine next, detaching Broadbull to revive it, then activated another Dragonic Diagram. He activated its effect to destroy his Broadbull, searching for True Draco Heritage. LeBlanc overlaid Chakanine with Zoodiac Tigermortar, attaching a Thoroughblade to it, and overlaid it with Zoodiac Drident. LeBlanc popped Mattila’s Dinomight Knight with Drident and drew three cards with True Draco Heritage! He went to five cards in hand and attacked Mattila’s Drident to destroy it, dropping Mattila to 6000 LP.
Mattila drew Maxx “C” for his turn, holding nothing but Zoodiac Barrage. He shook his head, knowing he was pinned down. He Set the Barrage. LeBlanc considered a response, and let it go. Mattila then flipped Zoodiac Barrage, used its effect, LeBlanc chained Drident to destroy Barrage, and now Mattila had nothing but his Maxx “C” and Abyss Dweller. LeBlanc flopped his hand to the table while Mattila was still looking through his Graveyard.
“Can you do that?” asked Mattila.
LeBlanc nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’m just showing you I have game. I want to save time.”
“Got a Whiptail?” asked Mattila.
He did. And he showed it to Mattila for a second time.
Play was to LeBlanc. He Tributed True Draco Heritage for Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior; activated another True Draco Heritage to draw a card; and got a UC-Minor penalty for revealing his entire hand. (A Warning. Because no, you cannot do that.) He destroyed Abyss Dweller with Drident, overlaid Drident with Zoodiac Chakanine, brought back Zoodiac Thoroughblade with Chakanine’s effect, then Tributed for Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King. Mattila was scooping moments later.
Chris LeBlanc, perhaps slightly too eager to get to Game 2, grinds a ton of card advantage in the first Duel and is now just one win away from his third Championship! There were 39 minutes left in the Match.
The second Duel began with a handshake. Mattila had Imperial Order; Zoodiac Ratpier; Dragonic Diagram; Zoodiac Whiptail; and True King’s Return. He Normal Summoned Ratpier, kicked a Zoodiac Thoroughblade to the Graveyard, and he overlaid Ratpier with Zoodiac Hammerkong. He detached Ratpier to Summon another Ratpier from his Deck, overlaid Hammerkong with Zoodiac Broadbull, detached Hammerkong to search for Zoodiac Ramram, and activated Dragonic Diagram. LeBlanc blocked it with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, leaving Mattila to overlay his Broadbull with Zoodiac Chakanine, detaching Broadbull to revive Hammerkong. He overlaid Chakanine with Zoodiac Tigermortar, detached an Xyz Material to put Broadbull onto Hammerkong as an Xyz Material, then overlaid Tigermortar with Zoodiac Drident. Mattila Set Imperial Order and True King’s Return to finish out.
LeBlanc activated Twin Twisters, discarding Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior, and losing out to Mattila’s Chained Imperial Order! Since LeBlanc activated Twin Twisters in his Standby Phase Mattila had to pay 700 LP, but it was well worth t. LeBlanc Set one card to his back row, passed, and Mattila detached a Material from Hammerkong.
Mattila drew Zoodiac Ramram and paid another 700 LP. He Linked Ratpier and Drident to Link Summon Missus Radiant, and LeBlanc flipped Dimensional Barrier, calling Xyz! Mattila Normal Summoned Ramram, attacked with Hammerkong, Ramram, and then Missus Radiant. “Your go.”
LeBlanc drew to three in hand, Mattila paid for Imperial Order, and LeBlanc Normal Summoned Zoodiac Whiptail. He overlaid it with Zoodiac Drident, detached an Xyz Material to pop Imperial Order, and overlaid for Zoodiac Broadbull, detaching Drident to search his Deck for a Ramram. LeBlanc activated Dragonic Diagram and used its effect to destroy the Ramram from his hand, searching out True King’s Return and reviving his Drident with Ramram’s effect. He overlaid Broadbull with Zoodiac Chakanine, detached Broadbull to revive Ramram, and activated Zoodiac Barrage.
He popped Ramram with Diagram’s effect, Special Summoned another Ramram, and used the previous one to revive Zoodiac Whiptail. LeBlanc overlaid Chakanine with Zoodiac Tigermortar, Mattila added Whiptail to his Hammerkong, and LeBlanc added his Whiptail to his Drident. LeBlanc entered his Battle Phase and sent his Drident to attack Mattila’s Ramram, banishing it and dropping Mattila to 5100 Life Points. He detached Whiptail from Drident to destroy Hammerkong, then moved to his Main Phase 2. He activated Tigermortar’s effect to put Whiptail back on Drident, then overlaid Tigermortar with Boarbow, then Hammerkong. He Set his last card to his back row.
Mattila drew Pot of Desires! He banished ten cards to draw True Draco Heritage and Dragonic Diagram. He activated his on-field Diagram’s effect, destroying his Set True King’s Return to search for Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King, then used Return’s Graveyard effect to destroy Hammerkong. He activated Heritage from his hand, used its effect to draw a card – another Master Peace – and Normal Summoned Zoodiac Ramram. Mattila overlaid it with Zoodiac Drident and detached an Xyz Material to target LeBlanc’s Drident. LeBlanc detached an Xyz Material to fire back at Mattila’s Drident, and both were destroyed.
Mattila replaced his on-field Diagram with a fresh one, Tributed for Master Peace, and that triggered Heritage’s destruction effect. When he targeted LeBlanc’s True King’s Return to destroy it, LeBlanc saw the mistake and snapped to life! Mattila had SEEN LeBlanc search the Return, but he destroyed it anyway!
LeBlanc Chained it to revive his own Master Peace, and when the Return hit the Graveyard he blew away Mattila’s Master Peace! Mattila had nothing else! He momentarily considered destroying his other Master Peace from his hand with Dragonic Diagram, but saw that the play would go nowhere and swiftly offered the handshake.
LeBlanc wins the Final Match in a 2-0 blowout, overcoming that Imperial Order in high style and capturing his third YCS title! Chris LeBlanc wins YCS Toronto!