Canada’s Jesse Kotton Dueled his way to the finals of the World Qualifying Points Playoff to qualify for this year’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship in Berlin, Germany. Like Vargas, he Dueled in tournaments all year to earn his spot in the Playoff, and it paid off on Friday night when he turned it into a trip to Germany and an invitation to the most prestigious tournament of the year. Kotton is one of the most accomplished Duelists in the room this weekend, with two YCS victories from London and Knoxville, and attendance in two prior World Championships by qualifying for that most prestigious tournament twice before. Now, thanks to his success with his Sky Striker Deck on Friday, he qualified for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship for a third time. Check out how Jesse Kotton did it!

Jesse Kotton used a Sky Striker Deck in the World Qualifying Points Playoff. Here’s the list:

Deck Total: 43 Cards

Monsters (3)
3 Sky Striker Ace – Raye

Spells (31)
3 Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!
3 Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole
3 Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor
2 Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero
2 Sky Striker Mecha – Shark Cannon
1 Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones
1 Sky Striker Mecha – Eagle Booster
1 Sky Striker Maneuver – Jamming Waves!
1 Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners!
2 Terraforming
3 Mystic Mine
2 Foolish Burial Goods
1 Metalfoes Fusion
1 Upstart Goblin
1 Reinforcement of the Army
3 Cosmic Cyclone
1 Double or Nothing!

Traps (9)
3 Trap Trick
3 Infinite Impermanence
3 Metaverse

Side Deck (15)
2 Typhoon
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
3 Artifact Sanctum
1 Artifact Scythe
1 Artifact Lancea
2 Full House
2 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
2 Dinowrestler Pankratops

Extra Deck (15)
3 Sky Striker Ace – Shizuku
1 Sky Striker Ace – Kaina
1 Sky Striker Ace – Kagari
2 Sky Striker Ace – Hayate
1 Topologic Bomber Dragon
1 Ningirsu the World Chalice Warrior
1 Security Dragon
1 Knightmare Phoenix
1 Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number 39: Utopia Double
1 Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star

Kotton’s Deck uses many of the standard tricks available to Sky Striker Duelists; but a couple of unique Deck design decisions made the difference between victory and defeat last night. Although Kotton uses 3 copies of Mystic Mine, as many Sky Striker Duelists do, as well as 3 copies of Metaverse to put it on the field during the opponent’s turn, Kotton made the decision to include 3 copies of Trap Trick in his Deck. Those 3 copies of Trap Trick allow him to Set Metaverse from his Deck, increasing his range of access to Mystic Mine.

You might also notice another card in Kotton’s Deck that is an unconventional addition for Sky Strikers: Double or Nothing!! Kotton used this card to win his last round on Friday, earning him the invitation to the World Championship. This play made the spectators go wild! Kotton included a copy of Number 39: Utopia Double and Number 39: Utopia in his Extra Deck to take advantage of Double or Nothing!. By combining 2 copies of the Level 4 Sky Striker Ace – Raye, he can Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia Double. Then, by activating its effect, he’s allowed to add Double or Nothing! from his Deck to his hand and Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia by using Utopia Double as an Xyz Material. Number 39: Utopia’s Attack Points are then doubled to 5000. By attacking with Utopia and using its effect to negate its own attack, Kotton is able to use Double or Nothing! to double Utopia’s ATK to 10,000 and attack again. With this simple combo, Kotton can come from behind to take a quick victory just like the Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal protagonist.

Kotton’s Deck is packed with the wide variety of Sky Striker cards that make Sky Striker Decks so consistent, but the addition of cards that allow him to consistently play Mystic Mine on his opponent’s turn or wipe out an opponent with a monster that has 10,000 ATK in the blink of an eye made a big difference on Friday in allowing him to triumph.

Good luck to Jesse Kotton at the World Championship!