Brian Rayos is from Los Angeles, California and is the only Trickstar Duelist left in the tournament. In fact, he’s the only non-SPYRAL player left, and this is his first appearance in a YCS playoff. Kevin Ward is from Kansas City, Missouri and his last YCS Top was at YCS Columbus in 2011. Kevin is running SPYRALs along with 14 other Duelists left in the tournament. If Ward can defeat Rayos here, SPYRAL will be guaranteed to win the tournament. Can the Trickstars survive?  Let’s find out! It’s time to Duel!

Duel 1

Rayos won the roll and elected to go first. He started off with 2 copies of Trickstar Reincarnation, Trickstar Light Stage, Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries and Terraforming. He started with Trickstar Light Stage and Ward picked up the card to read it (this was his first Trickstar matchup of the weekend). Ward chained Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring to stop the search effect, but Rayos followed up with Terraforming for another Trickstar Light Stage, and Ward activated Droll & Lock Bird to stop any more Deck-to-hand searching for the turn. Rayos Set both Trickstar Reincarnations and passed.

Ward started off with Set Rotation, giving himself SPYRAL Resort and Rayos Gateway to Chaos. Ward then activated SPYRAL Resort and used its effect to add SPYRAL Quik-Fix from Deck to hand. Rayos then activated one of his Trickstar Reincarnations to banish SPYRAL Sleeper, Machine Duplication, Set Rotation and SPYRAL Quik-Fix to draw 4 new cards. Ward then Normal Summoned SPYRAL GEAR – Drone and used its effect to rearrange the top 3 cards of Rayos’s Deck. He then activated Machine Duplication to Special Summon 2 more copies of SPYRAL GEAR – Drone in Defense Position. Rayos activated Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries revealing SPYRAL Double Helix to banish the 2 SPYRAL Double Helix from Ward’s Extra Deck! Ward then used 2 Drones to Xyz Summon Sylvan Princessprite! Its effect was used to excavate SPYRAL Resort which was added to hand. Princessprite and SPYRAL GEAR – Drone attacked directly, then Ward Set 2 cards to the back row and passed, and in the End Phase Ward used SPYRAL Resort to send Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from his Graveyard back to the Deck.

Rayos drew Droll & Lock Bird for turn and passed.

Ward drew, then activated SPYRAL Resort to add SPYRAL Super Agent from Deck to hand. After the Chain resolved, Rayos activated the Set Trickstar Reincarnation then Chained Droll & Lock Bird to have Ward banish Dragon Ravine, SPYRAL Resort, and SPYRAL Super Agent and because of Droll & Lock Bird’s effect, Ward drew zero cards to replace them! Ward then activated his Set SPYRAL MISSION – Rescue to add SPYRAL GEAR – Drone from the Graveyard back to his hand, which was Normal Summoned and its effect was used to rearrange the top 3 cards of Rayos’s Deck. Ward attacked with 2 Drones and a Princessspite to send Rayos down to 4100 LP. In the End Phase, Ward sent Droll & Lock Bird from the Graveyard back to the Deck to keep SPYRAL Resort on the field.

Rayos drew Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit for turn. Ward noted “you have the Field Spell and the Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit.”  Rayos passed.

Ward attempted to use SPYRAL Resort’s effect to search but it was destroyed by Ward’s Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit. Ward then used Princessprite’s effect, excavating SPYRAL MISSION – Rescue and adding it to his hand. Then SPYRAL MISSION – Rescue’s effect was used to add the detached SPYRAL GEAR – Drone in the Graveyard back to Ward’s hand. Ward Normal Summoned the third SPYRAL GEAR – Drone and used the effect to rearrange once again. Ward then sent Princessprite and 2 Drones to the Graveyard to Link Summon Decode Talker. Both Decode Talker and SPYRAL GEAR – Drone attacked, and with Rayos having Droll & Lock Bird on top of his deck, there was nothing that Rayos could do, so he scooped his cards and started siding for Duel 2.

Duel 2

Rayos elected to go first. He started off with a hand of Trickstar Light Stage, Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow, Trickstar Lycoris, Trickstar Candina and Solemn Strike. He Special Summoned Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow in Defense Position and Special Summoned 2 Vague Shadow Tokens in Defense Position. He then Normal Summoned Trickstar Candina and her effect to add Trickstar Reincarnation to his hand. Then Rayos activated Trickstar Light Stage to add Trickstar Lycoris to his hand. He used a Token to Link Summon a Link Spider, then used another Token for a second Link Spider, then used both Link Spiders to Link Summon Missus Radiant. He then activated 2 copies of Trickstar Lycoris targeting the same Trickstar Candina. When the chain resolved, the first Trickstar Lycoris was Summoned, Trickstar Candina was returned to the hand, then the second Trickstar Lycoris was Special Summoned. He then sent Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow and and Lycoris to the Graveyard to Synchro Summon PSY-Framelord Omega! He Set Trickstar Reincarnation and Solemn Strike and passed.

Ward drew for turn and took 400 damage from Trickstar Lycoris and Trickstar Light Stage. Rayos then activated Trickstar Reincarnation to have Ward banish Terraforming, Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow, Set Rotation, SPYRAL Super Agent, SPYRAL Resort and Machine Duplication. He took 1400 damage from Trickstar Lycoris and Trickstar Light Stage, then used the in-Graveyard Trickstar Reincarnation to Special Summon the 2^nd Trickstar Lycoris. Then in the Standby Phase, PSY-Framelord Omega’s effect put the Trickstar Reincarnation back into the Graveyard!

Ward Set 3 cards to the back row then Rayos activated PSY-Framelord Omega’s effect to banish Dragon Ravine from Ward’s hand. He activated the Set Raigeki to clear the field. Missus Radiant’s Graveyard effect sent a Link Spider back to the Extra Deck. Ward then Normal Summoned SPYRAL GEAR – Drone and attempted to use the effect, but Rayos shut it down with Solemn Strike! The Duel now stood at Rayos’s 6500 to Ward’s 6200. Ward then flipped the Set SPYRAL GEAR – Big Red to Special Summon SPYRAL GEAR – Drone back to the field. This time the effect resolved and Ward got to rearrange the top 3 cards of Rayos’s Deck.

Rayos drew Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow and PSY-Framelord Omega returned to the field along with Ward’s Dragon Ravine back to his hand. Rayos used Trickstar Light Stage to freeze Ward’s last Set Spell/Trap then used PSY-Framelord Omega to banish Ward’s in-hand Dragon Ravine once again. Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow came down next to Special Summon 2 Tokens, then one Token was used to Link Summon Link Spider, then Trickstar Candina was Normal Summoned, adding Trickstar Lilybell from Deck to hand, whose effect let Rayos Special Summon her from Rayos’s hand! Next, Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow and Trickstar Candina were used to Synchro Summon Vermillion Dragon Mech! Rayos used Vermillion’s effect, banishing a Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow to destroy SPYRAL GEAR – Big Red. Next, Lilybell attacked directly, and her effect activated to get Trickstar Lycoris in the Graveyard back to the hand, then Link Spider and Vermillion attacked, then Trickstar Lycoris’s in-hand effect activated, Special Summoning herself and returning Lilybell back to the hand, the final attack from Trickstar Lycoris was enough to force game 3!

Duel 3

Ward elected to go first. He Normal Summoned SPYRAL GEAR – Drone and used its effect to rearrange the top 3 cards of Rayos’s Deck. He then activated Machine Duplication to Special Summon 2 more Drones to the field. After the Chain resolved, Rayos activated Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries, revealing SPYRAL Double Helix, banishing both copies from Ward’s Extra Deck! Ward pressed on by using 2 Drones to Xyz Summon Sylvan Princessprite! Her effect was used to excavate Double Summon which was added to Ward’s hand. Ward Set a card to the back and passed.

Rayos drew Lilybell, adding it to his hand of Mystical Space Typhoon, Trickstar Light Stage, Trickstar Reincarnation and Dark Hole. He activated Trickstar Light Stage but Ward chained Twin Twisters discarding Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson to destroy Trickstar Light Stage before it could resolve. Next, Rayos activated Dark Hole to clear the field, then Set Trickstar Reincarnation and Mystical Space Typhoon and passed.

Ward activated Terraforming to add SPYRAL Resort from Deck to hand, then activated SPYRAL Resort, then activated the search effect but was blown away by the chained Mystical Space Typhoon! Ward passed.

Rayos drew Cosmic Cyclone! He Normal Summoned Trickstar Lilybell and attacked to 800. He Set Cosmic Cyclone and passed.

Ward activated SPYRAL GEAR – Big Red targeting SPYRAL GEAR – Drone but Rayos Chained Cosmic Cyclone to banish it before SPYRAL GEAR – Drone could be Summoned.

Rayos drew Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow. Lilybell attacked directly and Rayos passed.

Ward drew for turn and activated Set Rotation, giving himself SPYRAL Resort and giving Rayos Gateway to Chaos. Ward flipped-up SPYRAL Resort and used its effect to add SPYRAL Super Agent from Deck to hand. Ward used SPYRAL Super Agent’s effect declaring Monsters, with Rayos revealing Droll & Lock Bird on top of his Deck. SPYRAL Super Agent was Special Summoned and its effect targeted Trickstar Reincarnation for destruction but Rayos chained it to have Ward banish Double Summon and SPYRAL GEAR – Utility Wire. Next, Ward banished 3 SPYRAL cards for SPYRAL Sleeper, then Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson was Special Summoned from the Graveyard and that was enough to end the Match!

Ward moves on to Top 8!