For our Round 2 Feature Match, we’ve got veteran Duelist Max Reynolds! He’s made the top cut of multiple YCS and WCQ events, and he’s here with a Bystial Tearlaments Deck, using engines from both archetypes to form a cohesive strategy. His opponent is Cameron Kramer, using the same strategy! Let’s see which player comes out ahead!

Duel 1

Max won the die roll and chose to play first. He opened with a hand of Branded Fusion, Despian Tragedy, Branded Beast, and two Triple Tactics Talent. He played Branded Fusion, sending The Bystial Lubellion and Fallen of Albaz to the Graveyard, to play Albion the Branded Dragon. He used Albion’s effect, and Kramer responded with Bystial Magnamhut to banish Fallen of Albaz. Reynolds continued resolving Albion, banishing Tragedy from his hand and Lubellion from the Graveyard, to play Masquerade the Blazing Dragon. He added Aluber the Jester of Despia to his hand. Kramer used his Magnamhut’s effect, taking 600 from Masquerade. Reynolds used Triple Tactics Talent to draw Bystial Druiswurm and another Triple Tactics Talent. He played Aluber and added Branded Retribution to his hand. He set his two Trap Cards and passed. Kramer resolved his Magnamhut effect, adding Druiswurm to his hand.

Kramer started with Super Polymerization! He discarded Tearlaments Reinoheart, and took 600 from Masquerade. He fused Reynolds’s Masquerade and Albion into Mudragon of the Swamp, then, still in the Draw Phase he played Branded in High Spirits, sending Tearlaments Rulkallos and Tearlaments Merrli to add Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous. Reynolds used Druiswurm, banishing Merrli. Kramer moved to his Main Phase and played Primeval Planet Perlereino. Reynolds flipped Branded Beast, using Druiswurm as a cost, wiping out Perlereino and Magnamhut from Kramer’s field. Kramer Normal Summoned Blazing Cartesia, then used Mudragon’s effect on DARK. He Link Summoned Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy, and Special Summoned Druiswurm from Reynolds’s Graveyard, then used his own Druiswurm to banish Reynolds’s Albion. Using both Druiswurm, he Xyz Summoned Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal! He detached for Beatrice’s effect, sending Tearlaments Havnis to the Graveyard, then using Havnis’s effect to Fusion Summon Tearlaments Kitkallos. It added Tearlaments Sulliek to Kramer’s hand. Kitkallos then used its effect on itself, bringing Reinoheart back to the field. He milled several cards, including more Tearlaments like Tearlaments Scheiren, which he used to Fusion Summon Tearlaments Rulkallos. He moved to his Battle Phase, with Dharc destroying Aluber in battle. Reinoheart attacked, and Reynolds returned Masquerade to the field to block the attack. Rulkallos destroyed Masquerade, then Aluber tried to negate it, but Rulkallos negated Aluber, then Beatrice attacked directly. Kramer set one back row card.

Reynolds drew The Bystial Lubellion, using it to add Bystial Magnamhut. He activated Magnamhut, and Kramer used Rulkallos to negate, sending Reinoheart to the Graveyard. Reynolds played Tactics, drawing Branded in High Spirits and Tearlaments Scheiren. He played Branded in High Spirits, sending Scheiren and Rulkallos to the Graveyard to add Albion the Shrouded Dragon. Scheiren’s effect then let him Fusion Summon Tearlaments Kitkallos. Kramer flipped Tearlaments Sulliek, sending Rulkallos to negate Reynolds’s Kitkallos. Reynolds used Albion the Shrouded Dragon’s effect, sending Branded Regained and drawing Primeval Planet Perlereino. He activated the Field Spell, adding Reinoheart to his hand. He Normal Summoned it, and Kramer responded with Beatrice’s effect to send Scheiren to the Graveyard, while Reynolds’s monster sent Merrli. Both players used their Tearlaments to Fusion Summon – Kramer played Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart using monsters in his Graveyard, and Reynolds also played Kaleido-Heart using his whole field. Reynolds’s Kaleido-Heart shuffled away Kramer’s, while Kramer’s shuffled away Perlereino. Finally, Reynolds sent Kaleido-Heart to destroy Dharc in battle, Kramer used Dharc’s effect to add Scheiren to his hand. Reynolds went to the End Phase, using Branded Beast to get Branded Regained on the field, while Kramer used Branded in High Spirits’s effect to add itself to his hand.

Kramer played Branded in High Spirits, adding Albion the Shrouded Dragon by sending some Tearlaments to the Graveyard, then he Fusion Summoned Kitkallos. Reynolds used Branded Regained to bring Druiswurm back to the field. Kramer used Albion to send Branded in High Spirits, drawing a new card. He used Kitkallos’s effect, targeting itself to play Reinoheart. He sent many Tearlaments to the Graveyard with both monsters’ effects, to Fusion Summon Predaplant Dragostapelia and Kaleido-Heart! Kramer’s Kaleido-Heart effect shuffled away Reynolds’s Kaleido-Heart. Reynolds used Aluber in the Graveyard, to target Dragostapelia, and Kramer responded with Dragostapelia’s effect to put a Predator Counter on Druiswurm. Moving to the Battle Phase, Reynolds used Branded Beast’s effect along with Druiswurm, clearing Dragostapelia and Beatrice from the field. Kramer continued by playing Blazing Cartesia, attacking over the 0 DEF Aluber and attacking directly with Kaleido-Heart. He set one card in his back row.

Reynolds drew Bystial Magnamhut. He activated it to banish Dragostapelia, then used Branded Regain to shuffle Dragostapelia back into the Deck and draw The Bystial Lubellion. He used its effect, adding Bystial Saronir to his hand. He used it, banishing Beatrice from Kramer’s Graveyard, then Xyz Summoned his own Beatrice! Kramer responded with Tearlaments Sulliek, and Reynolds responded with Beatrice to send Branded Fusion. Kramer’s Sulliek resolved, sending Kaleido-Heart, which returned to the field and sent Merrli to the Graveyard. Kramer used Merrli to play Kitkallos, then Kaleido-Heart to send Regain to the Deck. Reynolds knew the round timer was running out, and opted to concede here! He knew things would take a while to play out from here, and Kramer had a lot of advantage for him to try playing through. With just under 11 minutes remaining, Reynolds made the call to try for a fresh game instead.

The Duelists quickly used their Side Decks, and we moved on to the next Duel!

Duel 2

Reynolds chose to start the Duel, and opened with Tearlaments Havnis, Lubellion, Kashtira Fenrir, Reinoheart, and Saronir. He Special Summoned Fenrir, adding another Fenrir to his hand. Then he used Lubellion, adding Magnamhut. He Normal Summoned Reinoheart, which sent Merrli. He fused Merrli with Reinoheart for Tearlaments Kitkallos, which added Merrli to his hand. He used Kitkallos, sending itself to play Merrli. He sent eight total cards from his Deck to the Graveyard, hitting no Tearlaments! He did send Despian Tragedy though, which added Aluber to his hand. He banished two monsters from his Graveyard to play Magnamhut and Saronir, and Xyz Summoned Beatrice. It detached Saronir to send Scheiren, and Saronir sent Branded Retribution. Scheiren’s effect let him Fusion Summon Rulkallos, then Retribution searched for Branded Beast. He set Beast, then in the End Phase added Lubellion thanks to Magnamhut.

Kramer played Primeval Planet Perlereino. He used Scheiren, sending Reinoheart, and also sent Merrli and Reinoheart from his Deck. He tried to Special Summon Reinoheart, and Reynolds used Rulkallos on the effect, sending Merrli. Kramer’s Merrli then resolved, and Kramer played Kitkallos. He used Kitkallos as Chain Link 1, then targeted Beatrice with Perlereino for Chain Link 2. Chain Link 3 was Max’s Merrli, and Reynolds used Fenrir on Kitkallos for Chain Link 4. Reynolds then responded with Beatrice’s effect, and Kramer had Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring as Chain Link 6! In the end, Ash Blossom negated Beatrice, Fenrir banished Kramer’s Kitkallos, Reynolds Fusion Summoned his own Kitkallos, Beatrice was destroyed, and Kramer added Reinoheart to his hand. Kramer continued his turn by playing Havnis, milled several cards, used them with Havnis to play Kaleido-Heart.

And just then, the round timer ended! The Duelists had gone back and forth so much, but the Life Points were still tied – this Duel ends in a draw. Since Kramer took the first Duel, he wins the Match and advances with a 2-0 record!