Round 8 Feature Match: Stanley Lee vs. Nikolas Konikkos
Welcome to Round 8! While both of these competitors have 16 points and are guaranteed a Day 2 appearance, one of them is 5-1-1 with Buster Blader. This is not a drill. Nikolas Konikkos from Markham, Ontario is our Buster Blader Duelist and once I saw his name and Deck type come up during Top Table Updates, I couldn’t not feature it. His opponent is Stanley Lee, also from Markham, Ontario, running Sky Striker. Duel Links players may know Buster Blader and the Fusion Monster Buster Blader, the Dragon Destruction Swordsman but the strategy has many more tools at its disposal in the TCG and I can’t wait to see it in action. It’s time to Duel!
Duel 1
Konikkos won the roll and elected to go first. He started with a hand of Danger!? Jackelope?, Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman, Destruction Sword Memories, Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman and Defrag Dragon. He Normal Summoned Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman. He activated the effect but Lee chained Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring to negate it. He Set Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman then activated Danger!? Jackelope?’s effect, with Lee hitting Defrag Dragon. Danger!? Jackelope? hit the field and Konikkos drew White Dragon Wyverbuster. He used both monsters to Link Summon PSY-Framelord Lambda. Next, White Dragon Wyverbuster came down by banishing Danger!? Jackelope? from the Graveyard. White Dragon Wyverbuster went to the Graveyard to Link Summon Guardragon Elpy. White Dragon Wyverbuster’s Graveyard effect let Konikkos add Black Dragon Collapserpent from his Deck to his hand. Black Dragon Collapserpent was Special Summoned by banishing White Dragon Wyverbuster from the Graveyard. Black Dragon Collapserpent went to the Graveyard to Link Summon Guardragon Pisty. Guardragon Elpy’s effect Special Summoned Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from the Deck. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon’s effect brought back Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman from the Graveyard. Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman, PSY-Framelord Lambda, Guardragon Elpy and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon were sent to the Graveyard to Link Summon Saryuja Skull Dread. Konikkos drew 4 cards and put 3 on the bottom of his Deck. He then used Guardragon Pisty’s effect to bring back Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon whose effect brought back Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman again. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and Saryuja Skull Dread went to the Graveyard to Link Summon Guardragon Agarpain. Its effect Special Summoned Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss from the Extra Deck. Agarpain and Guardragon Pisty went to the Graveyard to Link Summon Hieratic Seal of Heavenly Spheres. He Set Destruction Sword Memories and passed.
Lee drew for turn and activated Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman, then chained Destruction Sword Memories! Memories let Konikkos discard Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman to Special Summon Buster Blader from the Deck, then Prologue Special Summoned Buster Dragon from the Extra Deck! Konikkos then activated Memories from the Graveyard, banishing Memories, Buster Blader and Black Dragon Collapserpent from the Graveyard to Fusion Summon Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman! Buster Dragon’s effect equipped Dragon Buster Destruction Sword from the Graveyard to the Fusion Monster, locking Lee out of his Extra Deck. In the Main Phase, Lee activated Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero. He Set a card, then used the Field Spell, finding Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole and sending the Set Metalfoes Fusion to the Graveyard. Lee attempted to use Sky Striker Maneuver – Afterburners! on Konikkos’s Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss but Konikkos chained the Dragon’s effect to negate it. Lee activated Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole sending Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero but declined on using the Special Summon effect (Lee noted that Dragon Buster Destruction Sword prevents him from going into his Extra Deck). Lee then activated Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! to add Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor and draw a card. He activated a second Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!, adding a second Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor and drawing another card. Lee then sent the Metalfoes Fusion in his Graveyard back to the Deck to draw another card. He topdecked Upstart Goblin, drawing one more card. Lee activated Cosmic Cyclone to banish Dragon Buster Destruction Sword from the field. Lee activated 3 copies of Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor, targeting Konikkos’s Hieratic Seal of Heavenly Spheres, Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss and Buster Blader!
Buster Blader, the Dragon Destruction Swordsman’s effect forced Buster Blader and Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss into Defense Position. Lee sent all 3 stolen monsters to the Graveyard to Link Summon Topologic Bomber Dragon! Topologic Bomber Dragon attacked and destroyed Konikkos’s Buster Dragon. Lee Set his last card and in the End Phase, used Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole to Set Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor, Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! and Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero back to the field.
Konikkos drew Jester Confit. He Special Summoned it, he sent all 3 of his monsters to the Graveyard to Link Summon Black Luster Soldier – Soldier of Chaos.
Lee flipped his Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero face-up, then activated the Set Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!, adding Sky Striker Ace – Raye from his Deck to his hand and drawing a card. In the Battle Phase, Lee had Topologic Bomber Dragon crash into Black Luster Soldier – Soldier of Chaos, both being destroyed. In Main Phase 2, Lee Normal Summoned Sky Striker Ace – Raye then Link Summoned Sky Striker Ace – Kagari which brought back Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! and added Sky Striker Mecha – Shark Cannon with Engage. Sky Striker Ace – Kagari tagged out for Sky Striker Ace – Shizuku. Lee then equipped Sky Striker Mecharmory – Hercules Base to Shizuku then used Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole to send it to the Graveyard, using the Equip Spell’s Graveyard effect to put Sky Striker Ace – Kagari and 2 Spells back into the Deck.
Konikkos drew Danger! Nessie!. he activated its effect and since it was the only card in his hand, he discarded it then use the Graveyard effect to find Danger! Bigfoot!. He used that effect, discarded it and used the Graveyard to destroy Lee’s Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole.
Lee was now in full control. Shizuku swapped out for Sky Striker Ace – Kagari which got back Engage and that was enough for Konikkos. He conceded and we were off to the second Duel. In a roller coaster first Duel, Konikkos puts up a huge field through an Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring but Lee breaks the field with triple Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor!
Duel 2
Konikkos elected to go first. He started with Danger! Mothman!, with Lee hitting Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman. Danger! Mothman! hit the field. Konikkos Set Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman and then activated Danger!? Tsuchinoko? with Lee hitting the snake. Danger!? Tsuchinoko? hit the field from the Graveyard. He activated another Danger!? Tsuchinoko? in hand, with Lee not hitting the 50/50 and getting Buster Blader instead. The second Danger!? Tsuchinoko? hit the field and Konikkos drew a card. Konikkos Normal Summoned Dragon Buster Destruction Sword. He used 3 of the monsters for Black Luster Soldier – Soldier of Chaos. He passed with the Link monster, Danger!? Tsuchinoko? and a face-down Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman.
Lee used Cosmic Cyclone on the Set Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman which was Chained, Konikkos discarding Buster Blader and then chained Destruction Sword Memories from the Graveyard, banishing the Trap, Buster Blader and Dragon Buster Destruction Sword to Fusion Summon Buster Blader, the Dragon Destruction Swordsman, then Special Summoned Buster Dragon with Memories. Lee Set 3 and passed.
Konikkos drew another Dragon Buster Destruction Sword. He Normal Summoned it, then sent it and Buster Dragon to the Graveyard to Synchro Summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss! In the Battle Phase, Danger!? Tsuchinoko? attacked, followed by Black Luster Soldier – Soldier of Chaos, then Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, then Buster Blader, the Dragon Destruction Swordsman to quickly end the second Duel!
Duel 3
Lee elected to go first. He started with 4 sets, then passed.
Konikkos Normal Summoned Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman and activated its effect, adding Destruction Sword Memories from his Deck to his hand. he Set Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman, then Set Eradicator Epidemic Virus, then activated Danger!? Tsuchinoko? with Lee hitting Dragon Buster Destruction Sword. After the Summon, Lee activated Summon Limit! Konikkos Set Destruction Sword Memories then attacked with both monsters to put Lee at 6300 LP.
Lee drew to 2 cards in hand. He passed. In the End Phase, Konikkos activated Destruction Sword Memories, discarding Dragon Buster Destruction Sword, Special Summoning Buster Blader from the Deck. Still in the End Phase, he activated Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman, sending Buster Blader and Dragon Buster Destruction Sword from the Deck to the Graveyard, but Konikkos chained There Can Be Only One so Buster Dragon couldn’t be Summoned.
Konikkos Normal Summoned Denko Sekka and even though its effect wasn’t active since Konikkos had a Set card (Eradicator Epidemic Virus), it was enough damage regardless and all of Lee’s Sets couldn’t stop it. Lee extended the handshake!
Nikolas Konikkos moves onto Day 2 with Buster Blader!