John Hakari from Lincoln, Nebraska had 130 UDS points, and entered this weekend’s tournament without a BYE. Avery Foster from San Antonio, Texas had over 200 points and could’ve entered the tournament with a BYE, but he said he decided to enter without the BYE because he REALLY likes Yu-Gi-Oh! and wanted to play Round 1. His desire to Duel also allowed him to save 100 UDS points to use at a future Ultimate Duelist Series Invitational. Foster is using a tried-and-true Gouki Deck that can Extra Link on the very first turn, while Hakari is using a Naturia Deck that hasn’t been seen on the tournament circuit. Making it even more interesting, Hakari isn’t using the most popular Naturia monster – Naturia Beast – and instead uses Domain of the True Monarchs with no Extra Deck. Hakari’s Deck aims to Tribute a Naturia monster to Summon Naturia Bamboo Shoot as quickly as possible, preventing his opponent from using Spell or Trap Cards. He then combines it with Domain of the True Monarchs, preventing his opponent from accessing the Extra Deck and creating a virtual lock on his victory. Hakari’s 3 copies of Card Advance and 3 copies Double Summon help him to maximize his odds of starting the Duel with Naturia Bamboo Shoot and Domain of the True Monarchs on his field. Hakari’s Deck is one of the coolest in the tournament, but does it have what it takes to overcome the power of Goukis? We’re about to find out. It’s time to Duel!

Duel One

Foster started off Duel 1 with Magical Mid-Breaker Field and then activated Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones to Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace Token to the field.

He then Set and activated The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine to Special Summon it to his field, and combined his 2 monsters to Summon Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights. He used its effect to send Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade to his Graveyard and Special Summon Gouki Octostretch and then combined Octostretch with Isolde to Link Summon Sorceress. He then used Octostretch’s effect to add Gouki Twistcobra to his hand and Summoned it Linked to his Sorceress. He then used Summon Sorceress’s effect to Special Summon Gouki Riscorpio from his Deck and combined his 2 Goukis to Link Summon Knightmare Goblin. He then used the effects of his Goukis to add Gouki Re-Match and Gouki Headbatt to his hand. He used Re-Match to Special Summon Twistcobra and Octostretch and then combined Summon Sorceress with Twistcobra to Link Summon Firewall Dragon Linked to Knightmare Goblin. He banished Twistcobra and Isolde from his Graveyard to add his Divine Sword from his Graveyard back to his hand and then used Goblin as a Link Material to Summon Knightmare Mermaid. He discarded the Sword to use Mermaid’s effect, Special Summoned Knightmare Corruptor Iblee from his Deck, and Special Summoned Headbatt from his hand with Firewall’s effect. Next, he combined Iblee with Headbatt to Link Summon another Knightmare Goblin co-Linked with Firewall Dragon, and used the Goblin’s effect as well as Firewall’s effect and Headbatt’s effect. He added Bearhug to his hand, Special Summoned it, and drew a card with his Goblin’s effect. He combined Bearhug with Octostretch next, Link Summoning Underclock Taker. He added Octostretch to his hand with Bearhug’s effect and then used Firewall’s effect to add Octostretch, Iblee, and Headbatt from his Graveyard to his hand. He then Normal Summoned Iblee and used its effect to Special Summon Knightmare Goblin from his Graveyard. Next, he combined Underlock Taker with Iblee to Link Summon Tri-Gate Wizard, and used the effects of Iblee and Firewall to Special Summon Iblee to Hakari’s field and Special Summon Octostretch from his hand. He then used Octostretch to Link Summon Linkuriboh in the open Extra Monster Zone, completing the Extra Link. He then Special Summoned Gouki Suprex from his hand and Linked it with Knightmare Goblin to Summon Knightmare Unicorn. He used Suprex’s effect and Firewall’s effect to add a Twistcobra from his Deck to his hand and Special Summon it to his field. He then combined Linkuriboh with Knightmare Unicorn to Summon Topologic Gumblar Dragon, and it was Extra Linked! He used its effect to force Hakari to discard 2 cards. Hakari had 2 copies of Hand Destruction, 2 Naturia Pineapples, and Double Summon in his hand and promptly chose to concede rather than reveal his Naturia Deck to Foster.

By completing the Extra Link with Topologic Gumblar Dragon on Turn 1, Avery Foster takes an immediate victory in the first Duel!

Duel Two

Hakari opened up Duel 2 with Hand Destruction, Foolish Burial Goods, Monster Reincarnation, and 2 copies of Landoise’s Luminous Moss.

He activated Foolish Burial Goods to send Naturia Sacred Tree to his Graveyard and used its effect to add Naturia Marron from his Deck to his hand. Next, he Normal Summoned Marron and used its effect to send Naturia Bamboo Shoot from his Deck to his Graveyard. He activated Hand Destruction next, discarding 2 copies of Luminous Moss to draw Pot of Duality and Domain of the True Monarchs. Foster discarded Red Reboot and Gouki Re-Match to draw 2 cards with Hand Destruction. Hakari activated Pot of Duality next, revealing Monster Reincarnation, Naturia Sacred Tree, and Naturia Bamboo Shoot from the top of his Deck. He was hoping to reveal a Double Summon or Card Advance, but didn’t get it. He added the Sacred Tree to his hand, and then activated Monster Reincarnation. He discarded Sacred Tree to add Bamboo Shoot to his Graveyard to his hand, and then used his Sacred Tree’s effect to add Naturia Pineapple from his Deck to his hand. Hakari passed his turn, disappointed with how it ended.

Foster activated Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones and then used Instant Fusion to Summon Invoked Raidjin. He combined both to Summon Isolde and then used Isolde’s effect to send Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade from his Deck to his Graveyard and Special Summon Octostretch. He combined Octostretch with Isolde to play Summon Sorceress and then added Twistcobra to his hand. He used Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! next, adding a Hornet Drones to his hand and drawing a card. He then used another Engage to add another Hornet Drones to his hand and draw another card. He activated Hornet Drones and Chained a second copy to Summon 2 Tokens to his field, and then used Summon Sorceress’s effect to Special Summon Gouki Headbatt from his Deck. He combined Headbatt with a Token to Link Summon Knightmare Goblin and used Headbatt’s effect to add Gouki Suprex to his hand. He then combined his Summon Sorceress with a Token to Link Summon Firewall Dragon. He banished 2 Warriors from his Graveyard to return his Divine Sword back to his hand and then, after a series of Link Summons and activations of his Firewall Dragon’s effect, he filled up his field with Link Monsters.

Attacks from Foster’s monsters wiped Hakari’s Life Points down to 0 and ended the Match!

John Hakari struggles to get his Naturia Deck up and running, allowing Avery Foster to take a quick victory in Round 1 of the UDS Invitational – Summer 2018!