We have two talented Duelists for this Feature Match, each with great placings in some major events. Rodolfo Ramirez, from Tijuana, made the top cut of YCS San Diego as well as the 2017 WCQ. He’s using Sky Strikers today. His opponent is Renato Sarmiento, from Lima, Peru. Sarmiento made it to the top cut of the South American WCQ, and he’s the only Paleozoic Duelist to make it into the Top 64 here at YCS Mexico City.

Duel 1

Ramirez won the roll and played first. He played Sky Striker Ace – Raye and Set a back row card. He used Raye to play Sky Striker Ace – Shizuku and added Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! to his hand.

Sarmiento had Swap Frog, Mistake, Gozen Match, two Rivalry of Warlords, and Paleozoic Dinomischus. He played Swap Frog and sent Ronintoadin to the Graveyard. He bounced Swap to his hand, and Set everything else but one of the Rivalry. In the End Phase, Ramirez used Twin Twisters, discarding Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, to destroy Rivalry and Dinomischus.

Ramirez used Shizuku to play Sky Striker Ace – Hayate and attacked directly, using its effect to put Sky Striker Maneuver – Jamming Waves! in the Graveyard. Sarmiento flipped up Gozen Match, and Ramirez Chained D.D. Crow to banish Ronintoadin (this also prevented Sarmiento from using Dinomischus in the Graveyard, since it must respond directly to a Trap Card). In Main Phase 2, Ramirez used Engage. Sarmiento flipped Mistake, and Special Summoned Dinomischus. Ramirez played Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners!, destroying Dinomischus and Gozen Match! He Link Summoned Sky Striker Ace – Kagari, adding Afterburners back to his hand.

Sarmiento drew Lost Wind. He played Swap Frog to send another Ronintoadin to the Graveyard, then returned Swap to his hand. He Set Lost Wind and the second Rivalry.

Ramirez attacked with Kagari, then Link Summoned Shizuku. He then used that for another Kagari, targeting Jamming Waves, but Sarmiento flipped Lost Wind to negate it. Ramirez Set a card in his back row.

Sarmiento drew Card of Demise! He played Swap Frog to put a Dupe Frog in his Graveyard. Then, Card of Demise gave him Imperial Order, Gozen Match, and Paleozoic Marrella. He Set them all. He left Swap Frog on the field, since he would lost it to Card of Demise.

Ramirez drew his card, and Sarmiento flipped Gozen Match. Ramirez tried to use Afterburners to destroy Swap Frog, but Sarmiento flipped Imperial Order! Kagari attacked, losing the battle (it was still affected by Lost Wind) and Raye hit the field. It attacked and destroyed Swap Frog. Ramirez Set another card in his back row. In the End Phase, Sarmiento flipped Marrella to send Paleozoic Canadia to the Graveyard. He flipped Rivalry next, and Ramirez used Shared Ride to interrupt the Paleozoics.

Sarmiento drew Reckless Greed and Set it. He Special Summoned Ronintoadin from the Graveyard in Defense Position.

Ramirez Set a back row card and passed. Sarmiento flipped Reckless Greed, then Chained Marrella in the Graveyard. He drew Reckless Greed and Paleozoic Olenoides.

Sarmiento skipped his Draw Phase due to Reckless Greed. He stacked Ronintoadin and Marrella for Toadally Awesome, and had it attack Raye. He Set Olenoides. He could have Set Reckless Greed and used it to stack the skipped Draw Phases, reducing the negative impact, but he likely wanted the added disruption and the option to get Olenoides in the Graveyard.

Sarmiento used Toadally Awesome to Special Summon a Dupe Frog. Ramirez Set another back row card.

Sarmiento skipped his Draw Phase, and used Toadally Awesome to bring Swap Frog to the field. It sent his last Dupe Frog to the Graveyard. He then banished the Dupe to bring back Ronintoadin. He returned Swap to his hand and Normal Summoned it, sending another Swap to the Graveyard. He used Dupe and Toadally Awesome to play Mistar Boy, and Toadally Awesome returned Dupe to his hand. Using the extra Normal Summon gained from Swap Frog, he played Dupe. He used Ronintoadin and Dupe for another Mistar Boy, brought back Ronintoadin, and used that with Swap for Toadally Awesome! With the field completely locked down and two Mistars powering up his monsters, Sarmiento takes the first Duel!

Duel 2

Ramirez started off the second Duel with Engage for Raye, and used that to play Kagari. He returned Engage to his hand, using it this time for Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole. He activated it, then used Kagari to play Shizuku. He Set three cards in his back row, and Shizuku searched for Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor.

Sarmiento had a hand of Dupe, Mistake, Lost Wind, Pot of Desires, Rivalry of Warlords, and Paleozoic Leanchoilia. He played Desires, drawing Swap and Dupe. He sent Dupe to the Graveyard to Special Summon Swap, and Ramirez negated it with Widow Anchor. Sarmiento returned Swap to his hand (returning it is a cost, which won’t be affected by Widow Anchor), but Ramirez had Mind Crush to discard it! Sarmiento Set all his Trap Cards. In the End Phase, Ramirez used Multirole to get back Engage.

Ramirez flipped Engage, Sarmiento used Mistake, and Ramirez flipped Typhoon! Engage searched for Jamming Waves, and he played it to destroy Sarmiento’s Set Rivalry. He used Shizuku to play Sky Striker Ace – Hayate, sending it to attack. Its effect sent Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners! to the Graveyard. Sarmiento flipped up Leanchoilia, returning a Ronintoadin to the Graveyard (banished by Pot of Desires). Ramirez continued, using Hayate to play Shizuku. In the End Phase, Multirole put Widow Anchor on the field. He tried using Shizuku, and Sarmiento flipped Lost Wind to negate it, then Special Summoned Leanchoilia.

Sarmiento drew Card of Demise! He Set Dupe Frog and played Card of Demise to draw Paleozoic Dinomischus, Leanchoilia, and Imperial Order! He Set them all. Leanchoilia was turned to Defense Position. In the End Phase, Ramirez used Widow Anchor (not the one Set by Multirole last turn) to take control of it for a moment. That let him use Multirole to Set Afterburners.

Ramirez played Engage, adding Sky Striker Mecha – Shark Cannon to his hand. He immediately used it to banish Ronintoadin. He used Shizuku to play Kagari, and Sarmiento Set Lost Wind from his Graveyard. Kagari got back Engage, and Ramirez played it – Sarmiento flipped Imperial Order! Ramirez played Raye, then used Kagari to play Hayate. Raye destroyed Leanchoilia in battle, and Hayate attacked directly to send Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero to the Graveyard.

Sarmiento drew Paleozoic Olenoides, and used Leanchoilia to return Ronintoadin to the Graveyard yet again. The round timer was running out, and he was low on Life Points – he needed to get a lot of ATK on the field before the Battle Phase. He Special Summoned Ronintoadin, then Flip Summoned Dupe. He sent them to the Graveyard to Link Summon Mistar Boy, then flipped Lost Wind on Hayate. Ramirez responded with Effect Veiler on Mistar Boy. Sarmiento flipped Dinomischus, discarding Olenoides to banish Hayate, and also Special Summoned Leanchoilia. Since Hayate left the field, Ramirez Special Summoned Raye. Sarmiento revived Ronintoadin again. He Xyz Summoned Paleozoic Opabina, using its effect to get Olenoides. He activated Olenoides to destroy Multirole, and Special Summoned the other Olenoides from the Graveyard. He Special Summoned Ronintoadin once more. Sarmiento used Ronintoadin and Olenoides for another Mistar Boy. He used the two Mistar Boys to play Topologic Bomber Dragon and moved to the Battle Phase. It attacked, just as the round timer ended. Ramirez used Raye to play Shizuku, reducing the total damage he would take. Even Topologic Bomber’s ATK and effect wasn’t enough to put him ahead in Life Points, however – those Imperial Order payments and Hayate direct attacks had taken their toll! Ramirez won the second Duel, but because it was single elimination, this Match couldn’t end in a draw. One final Duel, with four turns, would decide the Match.

Duel 3

Sarmiento won the dice roll and played second. He wanted the potential for an extra Battle Phase and the extra card draw in this sudden death situation. Ramirez played Raye, Multirole, and one card in the back row. He used Raye to play Shizuku, adding Engage to his hand.

Sarmiento had Lost Wind, Olenoides Evenly Matched, Rivalry, and Gozen. He drew Ronintoadin. He went straight to the Battle Phase and activated Evenly Matched – Ramirez chose to keep Shizuku on the field. In Main Phase 2, Sarmiento Set the rest of his hand.

Ramirez played Engage to get Sky Striker Mecha – Eagle Booster. Sarmiento flipped up Gozen Match. Ramirez Set two cards in his back row. In the End Phase, Olenoides destroyed Eagle Booster. He then flipped up Rivalry, and Special Summoned Olenoides.

Sarmiento drew Card of Demise. He flipped up Ronintoadin, and Xyz Summoned Toadally Awesome in his middle Main Monster Zone (thanks to Shizuku). Ramirez used Effect Veiler to negate its effect. Sarmiento continued by attacking Shizuku, using Lost Wind to deal more damage. He ended ahead in Life Points, taking the Match!

Renato Sarmiento is going to the Top 8 with Paleozoics!