Top 32 Feature Match: Esala Wathuthantrige Versus Ryan Yu
Ryan Yu finished in 2nd Place after the Swiss Rounds, taking a clean 9-1 record with a Deck almost nobody was predicting for this weekend: Exosister. We saw Exosister builds top a handful of Regional Qualifiers in August, in venues like Conway Arkansas and Edison New Jersey, but the Deck’s largely flying under the radar. Now two Exosister players were in the Top 32 here at YCS Niagara.
The scoop? Exosisters Magnifica packs a powerful banishing effect that can troubleshoot problem cards, as well as a responsive ability that brings a smaller Exosister Xyz back to the field. Several of those Xyz have graveyard-hating effects that happen to work really well against Sprights and Tearlaments. Combined with strong Special Summon tricks and great card economy, the Exosisters might emerge as a sleeper hit this weekend.
Or if Ryan Yu has his way, the latest YCS-winning upset.
But if he’s going to get there, Yu’s going to have go through one of the most respected competitors in Dueling today, Esala Wathuthantrige! Wathuthantrige competed in the 2017 World Championship, and scored at least 10 YCS Top Cut appearances plus a UDS top in the time between 2016 and 2019. He technically won in the Finals of YCS Atlanta too, but since that was a 3-versus-3 team tournament, it didn’t win him a YCS trophy. Now he’s back, just five wins away from the Championship.
Both Duelists shook hands and Wathuthantrige got it started. He moved to his Main Phase, activated Primeval Planet Perlereino, and used it to search Tearlaments Scheiren. He Special Summoned her, dropped Tearlaments Reinoheart, and sent Super Polymerization, Nibiru, the Primal Being, and Gizmek Orochi, the Serpentron Sky Slasher to his Graveyard. He Special Summoned Reinoheart, pitched Merrli and used Reinoheart to send Tearlaments Havnis to his Graveyard.
Wathuthantrige used Havnis’s effect to Fusion Summon, fusing her with the Scheiren on the field to Summon Tearlaments Kitkallos. He activated Kitkallos’s effect as Chain Link 1, considered his options, and used Primeval Planet as Chain Link 2. Kitkallos hit the Graveyard with Primeval Planet Perlereino’s effect, and Wathuthantrige got Merrli with Kitkallos’s search. He came up empty when he sent his five cards to the Graveyard for Kitkallos, but Merrli hit Reinoheart and Fairy Tail – Snow.
Wathuthantrige Link Summoned Spright Elf with his two Tearlaments on the field, Special Summoned Merrli, Linked it to Elf and Link Summoned Gigantic Spright. When he went to detach Yu Chained Infinite Impermanence! Wathuthantrige banished eight cards off the top of his Deck to Special Summon Gizmek Orochi, Linked that with Gigantic Spright to Link Summon another Spright Elf, and then Set one of his last two cards in hand to his Spell and Trap Card Zone.
Yu had a hand of Exosister Martha, Exosister Elis, Exosister Pax, Exosister Returnia, and Dimension Shifter. He Special Summoned Martha, Wathuthantrige used Elf to bring back Merrli, and Yu Special Summoned Elis. Wathuthantrige sent three cards to his Graveyard, hit Tearlaments Sulliek and used its effect to get Tearlaments Scheiren to his hand.
Yu played on: he used the effect of another Elis from his hand to Special Summon it, then overlaid both copies of Elis to Xyz Summon Exosister Mikailis. Wathuthantrige took a moment to read it, then flipped Spright Smashers. Yu Chained Mikailis’s effect, targeting the Gizmek Orochi in Wathuthantrige’s Graveyard, trying to banish it. Wathuthantrige Chained Gizmek Orochi’s effect, banishing eight more cards and leaving himself with just nine cards left in his Deck.
Gizmek hit the field, and Wathuthantrige banished his Spright Elf to banish Martha with Smashers. A moment later he banished seven cards from his Graveyard to Special Summon Fairy Tail – Snow. Yu took a moment to think, then let Mikailis go face-down. He activated Exosister Pax, searched Exosister Vadis, and Yu Tributed Mikailis to Summon Dimension Shifter. He attacked Snow to destroy his own Shifter, clearing his field, then Set both of his Trap Cards.
Play was to Wathuthantrige, who pitched Havnis to Special Summon Tearlaments Scheiren. He triggered two Fusion Summoning effects total in the process, and Yu Chained Exosister Vadis to Special Summon Exosister Irene and Exosister Sophia. Wathuthantrige Fusion Summoned Predaplant Dragostapelia and Tearlaments Kitkallos.
He activated the effects of Kitkallos and Primeval Planet, and Yu responded resulting in a chain of: Chain Link 1 Kitkallos, Chain Link 2 Primeval Planet, Chain Link 3 Irene, Chain Link 4 Sophia, Chain Link 5 Irene, and Chain Link 6 Returnia. The Chain resolved: Yu banished Predaplant Dragostapelia, then upgraded Irene to Exosister Mikailis, and Sophia to Exosister Kaspitell. Kitkallos searched Reinoheart for Wathuthantrige.
Yu used Kaspitell’s effect and Wathuthantrige chained Gizmek’s ability, targeting Mikailis. Yu banished banished Snow with Mikailis’s effect and lost Mikailis to Gizmek Orochi. His Kaspitell effect resolved, but he knew what was coming and he knew he couldn’t stop it.
“Just show me the Zeroboros and I’ll concede,” offered Yu, friendly.
Wathuthantrige nodded and revealed Topologic Zeroboros in his Extra Deck, and both competitors swept up their cards.
Esala Wathuthantrige keeps Ryan Yu on the backfoot, running the remaining cards in his Deck and Graveyard to the absolute limit to support Gizmek Orochi, the Serpentron Sky Slasher and Fairy Tail – Snow! The combined pressure of those two cards plus a string of Fusion Summons prove to be too much for Ryan Yu, who now has to win two Duels back-to-back to survive in this tournament.
Yu opened the second Duel with a hand of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Exosister Sophia, Exosister Returnia, Solemn Judgment, and D.D. Crow. He Summoned Sophia, Set Returnia and Judgment, and laughingly declared, “My deck sucks!” as he ended his turn.
Wathuthantrige activated Instant Fusion and Yu let it pass. Wathuthantrige brought out Tearlaments Kitkallos to search Tearlaments Merrli, then Special Summoned her to send three cards to the Graveyard: two spells and Snow. Wathuthantrige attacked with Merrli and Yu banished it with Returnia. Wathuthantrige activated Cosmic Cyclone to banish Yu’s Solemn Judgment, and used Kitkallos to destroy itself. Wathuthantrige once again hit no Tearlaments, but did land Gizmek Orochi in the graveyard. A Reinoheart let him send another Merrli to the Graveyard and he activated her effect; Yu Chained D.D. Crow to target Tearlaments Kitkallos, banishing it. Wathuthantrige used the Merrli and another card from hand to bring out Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart. Yu used the effect of Sophia, intending to upgrade her into Exsosister Mikailis, and Wathuthantrige banished to Special Summon Fairy Tail – Snow on the Chain. Yu got Mikailis, Wathuthantrige used the effect of Snow targeting Mikailis, and Yu banished Kaleido-Heart on the Chain with Mikailis’s effect. Wathuthantrige Set one card to his backrow to end.
Yu drew Dimension Shifter, Flip Summoned Mikailis and detached to search Exosister Pax. He used it to search his Deck for Martha, Summoned her, and used her to Special Summon Elis. Yu overlaid for Exosister Kaspitell, activated the effect to lock both players out of Graveyard Special Summons for the rest of the turn, and Wathuthantrige banished eight more cards to bring back Gizmek Orochi. Kaspitell’s effect resolved and locked the Graveyard. Yu then detached for Kaspitell’s next effect to search another Martha. He ran Gizmek over with Mikailis, then took out Snow with Kaspitell. He overlaid them to Xyz Summon Exosisters Magnifica in Main Phase 2, then banished Wathuthantrige’s last face-down card in the End Phase. Wathuthantrige responded, Yu chained the effect to tag out, and Wathuthantrige scooped!
Ryan Yu claws his way back into the Match, one Exosister effect at a time, unleashing a stream of Xyz Summons to build a field and reach Exosisters Magnifica! A couple near-blank mills for Wathuthantrige were just too much to overcome, so we are heading to one more Duel.
Twelve minutes remained in the round.
Wathuthantrige revealed Danger! Bigfoot! to start Game 3, and Yu picked Tearlaments Merrli from Wathuthantrige’s hand; he summoned the Bigfoot, drew, and opted not to use Merrli’s effect. He summoned Tearlaments Reinoheart instead, sent Tearlaments Havnis to the Graveyard, and made Tearlaments Kitkallos with Reinoheart. He got Tearlaments Sulliek with Kitkallos’s search, blew up his own Kitkallos, milled two Tearlaments in the process, and sent back his Kitkallos to Fusion Summon Garura, Wings of Resonant Life.
Primeval Planet came down to get Wathuthantrige Tearlaments Scheiren, he used itm and threw Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite iton the Graveyard to send three more cards. Merrli and Scheiren got him Spright Elf, Wathuthantrige brought back Merrli with the Elf’s effect, and he used the rest of his monsters to Link Summon Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion. He drew with Garura, then used Curious to send Eradicator Epidemic Virus to the Graveyard. He milled with Curious, and used Merrli to Fusion Summon Mudragon of the Swamp. Wathuthantrige was moving with exceptional speed, neither Duelist wanting the Match to go to time.
Wathuthantrige Linked Curuous and Mudragon of the Swamp for Knightmare Gryphon, then ditched Fairy Tail – Snow to use Gryphon to get back the Eradicator Epidemic Virus he’d set up moments before. He Set the Virus, Set two more cards, and ended.
Yu activated Harpie’s Feather Duster! Wathuthantrige Chained nothing, losing Super Polymerization,Tearlaments Sulliek, the Eradicator Epidemic Virus and Primeval Planet Perlereino. He got Havnis with Tearlaments Sulliek’s effect. Wathuthantrige Special Summoned Tearlaments Merrli, and he used her with Mudragon of the Swamp to Fusion Summon Predaplant Dragostapelia.
Yu played Pot of Prosperity, banishing six cards to reveal Exosister Returnia, PSY-Frame Driver, Exosister Elis, Exosister Stella, and two copies of Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring from the top of his Deck. He added Elis to his hand. Then Yu played Exosister Pax to search his Deck for Exosister Martha, using her effect to Special Summon herself and Elis. He Special Summoned the other Elis, overlaid both for Mikailis, and Normal Summoned Sophia.
Yu moved to battle, attacked Spright Elf with Martha, and Wathuthantrige let it go. Mikailis attacked Gryphon, and Wathuthantrige banished to revive Fairy Tail – Snow in response. Yu made Sophia’s effect Chain Link 1, Snow became Chain Link 2, and Wathuthantrige Chained Predaplant Dragostapelia as Chain Link 3. Mikailis went face-down, Yu moved to Main Phase 2 and Set his last card to his backrow.
Wathuthantrige Linked Snow and Merrli for another Spright Elf, Fusion Summoned Kitkallos, and searched Reinoheart. He popped Kitkallos to Special Summon Reinoheart, sending five cards to his Graveyard and opting to send Scheiren to the Graveyard with Reinoheart. When he Fusion Summoned Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart Yu offered the handshake immediately. “I have literally zero outs,” he explained.
Wathuthantrige captures the third win of the Duel, and moves on to the Top 16!