Top 4 Feature Match: Jake Quinsee Versus Dirk Wagner
Four different Decks are currently left in the tournament: Goukis, Paleozoic Frogs, Dark World Danger! FTK, and Thunder Dragons. In a moment, Thunder Dragons or Dark World Danger! will no longer be in the running. Illinois’ Dirk Wagner is facing off against Britain’s Jake Quinsee, and only one of these stellar Duelists will make it to the Finals.
Wagner had The Beginning of the End; Snoww, Unlight of Dark World; Danger! Dogman!; Danger! Bigfoot!; and Danger!? Jackalope?. He Set The Beginning and revealed Dogman! for its effect – Quinsee chose the Dogman. Wagner activated Bigfoot!’s effect, discarding Snoww to let Wagner Special Summon Bigfoot! and search his Deck for Broww, Huntsman of Dark World.
He activated Allure of Darkness and Quinsee took a moment, before deciding to shut it down with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Wagner revealed Jackalope, it was discarded, and Wagner Special Summoned another Danger! Dogman! from his Deck. He Summoned Broww, used everything to Link Summon Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion, and sent Grapha, Dragon Lordof Dark World to his Graveyard. That sent Bigfoot, Beginning, and Danger!? Tsuchinoko? to his Graveyard, which let Wagner activate his Set copy of The Beginning!
Wagner banished five cards and drew three: Jackalope, Chupacabra, and another copy of The Beginning of the End. He revealed Jackalope for its effect, Chupacabra was discarded, and he Special Summoned Jackalope and Dogman. He drew Danger! Mothman! resolving Jackalope. He used Dogman and Jackalope to Link Summon Space Insulator, receiving his first Slow Play Warning of the tournament in the process. A time extension of three minutes was given to compensate. Mothman’s effect drew him Allure of Darkness, he discarded it, and Quinsee discarded Thunder Dragon.
Wagner played his second The Beginning of the End for the turn, drawing Card Destruction, Broww, and Thunderbird. He activated Card Destruction to draw two, then drew another card with Broww, landing on a hand of Bigfoot, Nessie, and Allure of Darkness. Allure got him another Thunderbird and another Tsuchinoko, banishing Thunderbird. He activated Nessie’s effect, discarded Bigfoot, Summoned Nessie, and drew a Dogman for his efforts. He revealed the Dogman, discarded it, and was left with nothing in hand but Danger!? Tsuchinoko?. He ended his turn.
Quinsee was up. He banished his Thunder Dragondark and Thunder Dragonmatrix, discarded by Card Destruction, to Special Summon Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. That got him Dragonmatrix and Thunder Dragonhawk from his Deck, and he pitched Dragonhawk to bring back his Dragondark. He Tributed that for Thunder Dragon Colossus, he banished Curious with BLS’ ability, and he Normal Summoned Dragonmatrix to Link Summon Knightmare Unicorn with Thunder Dragon Colossus. He pitched Dragondark to send Tsuchinoko back to Wagner’s Deck with Unicorn, searched Dragonhawk, and activated Soul Charge. He brought back Thunder Dragondark and Thunder Dragonhawk, removed Nessie, and Tributed Dragonhawk for ThunderDragon Colossus. He combined Dragondark and Unicorn for Topologic BomberDragon to end.
Wagner drew Upstart Goblin, and when Quinsee stopped it with Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring Wagner packed it in!
Things just don’t quite come together for Dirk Wagner, and Danger! effect after Danger! effect after Danger! effect just fail to deliver anything resembling a win condition. Jake Quinsee bats cleanup in mere heartbeats, now one win away from a seat in the Finals.
Wagner had a hand of Allure of Darkness; Cannon Soldier; Shaddoll Beast; Broww, Huntsman of Dark World; and Danger! Bigfoot!. He activated Allure to Draw Dogman and Tsuchinoko, banished Bigfoot to complete Allure’s effect, then revealed Dogman for its effect. He discarded Shaddoll Beast, Special Summoning Dogman and drawing Danger! Chupacabra! and CardDestruction. He activated it, discarding his hand and drawing a new hand of Allure of Darkness, Broww, Danger! Thunderbird! and Danger! Mothman!.
He made Broww Chain Link 1 and Tsuchinoko Chain Link 2, reviving the Snek and drawing another Broww. He Set Allure, revealed Thunderbird for its effect, and lost it. Wagner pressed, revealing Mothman. Quinsee hit Broww, so Mothman was Special Summoned, Wagner drew The Beginning of the End, and his next draw got him another Bigfoot. He flipped his Allure, drew another Allure and Soul Charge, and banished the Bigfoot.
Wagner Link Summoned Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion, sending Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World to his Graveyard. He sent Thunderbird, Chupacabra, and Snoww to his Graveyard, then activated The Beginning of the End to draw Nessie, Tsuchinoko, and Thunderbird. He Set Soul Charge and Allure of Darkness, then revealed Nessie for its effect: Quinsee discarded his Thunderbird. Wagner revealed Tsuchinoko, it was discarded, and he lost it.
“Well, I guess The Beginning of the End now evens out,” laughed Quinsee, who didn’t have much to do but make quippy one-liners and wait to play Yu-Gi-Oh! some time.
Wagner used Nessie’s effect, Quinsee hit Broww, and Wagner Summoned Nessie, drawing Chupacabra and Dogman. He flipped Allure of Darkness, drew another Dogman and Bigfoot, and banished his second Dogman. He revealed Dogman, Quinsee discarded it, and Wagner revealed Bigfoot: Quinsee hit Chupacabra and Wagner was still in this! He Special Summoned Bigfoot drawing Tsuchinoko, but lost his Chupacabra Summon to Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion.
Wagner Link Summoned Knightmare Cerberus, then Firewall Dragon. He flipped Soul Charge and that was it: he brought back Broww, Curious, and Cannon Soldier, bounced Broww to bring back Grapha, and Tributed it off for Cannon Soldier for 500 damage. He Special Summoned Broww to finish the loop with Grapha and Firewall and Quinsee conceded!
Dirk Wagner evens the score, assembling the Cannon Soldier, Grapha, Firewall Dragon loop to win the second Duel! Twenty-two minutes remained in the Match.
Quinsee started the final Duel with Gold Sarcophagus, banishing Thunder Dragonroar to Special Summon Thunder Dragondark from his Deck. He Normal Summoned Thunder Dragonmatrix, Link Summoned Some Summer Summoner, and used his two Graveyard effects to search Thunder Dragon Fusion and another Dragonmatrix. He activated it, shuffling back his monsters to Fusion Summon Thunder Dragon Titan, then ended.
Wagner had Broww, Huntsman of Dark World; Danger! Nessie!; Danger! Dogman!; Danger! Bigfoot!; Shaddoll Beast; and Card Destruction. He played Card Destruction to pitch everything, drawing The Beginning of the End; Upstart Goblin; Cosmic Cyclone; Danger! Nessie!; and Danger! Chupacabra!. He made Broww Chain Link 1 in his Graveyard, Nessie was Chain Link 2, Beast was Chain Link 3, Bigfoot was Chain Link 4, and Dogman was Chain Link 5. Quinsee added Some Summer Summoner’s effect to the chain too and discarded Thunder Dragonroar, Special Summoning Thunder Dragonhawk in defense mode. Everything lost 1000 ATK, Wagner destroyed Titan, drew with Beast, searched Danger!? Jackalope? with Nessie, and drew Snoww with Broww. Upstart Goblin drew him Cannon Soldier and Wagner continued.
He Set The Beginning of the End, revealed Nessie, and Quinsee picked Chupacabra; Wagner Special Summoned Nessie, drew another Cosmic Cyclone, and revived Danger! Dogman! with Chupacabra. He revaled Jackalope next and lost it to Quinsee’s selection (by random die roll). Wagner Special Summoned Bigfoot in defense mode, then revealed a Jackalope. Quinsee discarded that Jackalope too, to no effect, but Wagner could now flip his Set Beginning of the End. He banished two Jackalopes, ShaddollBeast, a Nessie, and a Bigfoot… and Quinsee Chained Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring! No three draws for Wagner.
Wagner still had four cards in hand: Snoww, Cannon Soldier, and two Cosmic Cyclones. He had Nessie, Bigfoot, and Dogman on the field. He used Dogman and Nessie to Xyz Summon Number42: Galaxy Tomahawk, Special Summoned four Battle Eagle Tokens with Tomahawk’s effect, and used Tomahawk and a Token to Link Summon Reprodocus. He made another Token into Link Spider, used the Spider and Reprodocus to Link Summon Summon Sorceress, and used her effect to Special Summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World to Quinsee’s field. That let him search and Special Summon Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World for himself!
Wagner combined a Battle Eagle Token and Grapha to Link Summon Knightmare Cerberus, Link Summoned Firewall Dragon, and used its effect to get back Broww. He used Knightmare Cerberus to Link Summon Knightmare Mermaid, Special Summoned Cannon Soldier with Firewall, Tributed Mermaid for 500 Damage, Special Summoned Broww, and the loop was in!
Jake Quinsee concedes, and Dirk Wagner is going to the Finals with Dark World Danger! FTK, where he’ll face either Paleozoic Frogs or Goukis!
