It all comes down to this! Today’s Dragon Duel winner is Connor Rosenstein, playing a Branded Despia Deck. He’s facing off against yesterday’s winner, Aiden Moneke, with a Kashtira Deck. These Duelists are both from Oregon, and are already friends before this Duel. They’re also both Dragon Duel Champions from past events – in fact, they’ve literally played in a Dragon Duel Championship against each other at past events! Two friends, two champions, but only one can become the new TEAM YCS Las Vegas Dragon Duel Champion!

The winner of this Match will take home the trophy, and a set of the Super Rare Darklord Prize Cards!

Duel 1

Rosenstein had Albion the Shrouded Dragon, Branded Fusion, Branded Opening, Branded Retribution, and Branded in Red. He started with Opening, and Moneke responded with Dimension Shifter! Rosenstein banished Branded in Red from his hand to Special Summon Aluber the Jester of Despia. Aluber’s effect put Branded Lost in his hand. Now he had to decide if he wanted to play into Dimension Shifter. He played Branded Lost, then played Branded Fusion. He banished Fallen of Albaz and Tri-Brigade Mercourier from his Deck to Fusion Summon Rindbrumm the Striking Dragon! Mercourier’s effect added Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous to his hand, and Branded Lost added another Mercourier. He Set Retribution and passed, with Aluber and Rindbrumm in Defense Position.

Moneke activated Scareclaw Kashtira, banishing Kashtiratheosis from his hand to Special Summon it. He played another Kashtiratheosis from his hand, and Rosenstein flipped Branded Retribution to negate it. Both cards were banished thanks to the lingering effect of Dimension Shifter. Moneke played Necrovalley and passed.

Rosenstein drew Fallen of Albaz. He activated Albion the Shrouded Dragon, sending Branded in White to the Graveyard. Albion went to the bottom of the Deck, and he drew Branded Fusion! He played it, sending Fallen of Albaz and Despian Tragedy from his Deck to Fusion Summon Lubellion the Searing Dragon. Lubellion fused itself with Fallen of Albaz from his hand for Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon, then Tragedy and Lost searched for Ad Libitum of Despia and another Fallen of Albaz. He Special Summoned Cartesia, using its effect to fuse it with Ad Libitum, for Granguignol the Dusk Dragon. Ad Libitum Special Summoned Aluber, and Granguignol sent Garura, Wings of Resonant Life to the Graveyard. Garura let him draw Branded Regain, and Aluber searched for Branded Beast. He played Regained. He then used Mirrorjade’s effect to send Albion the Branded Dragon, banishing Scareclaw Kashtira. Finally, he Normal Summoned Fallen of Albaz. Moneke was wide open, and Rosenstein’s monsters wiped out his life points in one Battle Phase!

Duel 2

Moneke started first. He led with Pot of Prosperity, banishing 6 cards, and Chained Dimension Shifter! Prosperity revealed Necrovalley and 5 Kashtira cards. He pondered his options and ended up with Kashtira Riseheart. He Normal Summoned Riseheart, banishing Kashtira Unicorn, then banishing 3 cards from Rosenstein’s Deck. He played Kashtira Birth, then Special Summoned Kashtira Unicorn, which searched for Kashtiratheosis. He played that to bring Kashtira Fenrir to the field. Fenrir searched for another Riseheart. He stacked Unicorn with Riseheart for Kashtira Shangri-Ira. He Set one card and passed with both his monsters in Defense Position.

Rosenstein had a hand of Despian Tragedy, Book of Eclipse, Branded Fusion, Super Polymerization, and Cartesia. He drew Branded Lost. He started with Book of Eclipse in the Draw Phase, and Moneke flipped Solemn Judgment! In the Standby Phase, Shangri-Ira Special Summoned Unicorn from the Deck. Rosenstein played Branded Lost. He followed that with Branded Fusion, and thanks to the effect of Dimension Shifter he banished the Fusion Materials. He banished Fallen of Albaz and Tri-Brigade Mercourier to play Rimbrumm. Mercourier’s effect added Fallen of Albaz to his hand, and Branded Lost added Albion the Shrouded Dragon. Since Rosenstein used a monster effect, Moneke used Fenrir to banish Rimbrumm, and Unicorn banished Granguignol from the Extra Deck. Shangri-Ira then locked down the center Main Monster Zone. Rosenstein Normal Summoned Fallen of Albaz, pitching Despian Tragedy and fusing with Shangri-Ira for Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon! Mirrorjade attacked and destroyed Unicorn. He Set Super Polymerization.

Moneke activated Kashtira Birth to Special Summon Unicorn, and its effect added Kashtiratheosis to his hand. Then he used Fenrir’s effect to search for Scareclaw Kashtira. He moved Fenrir to Attack Position and entered his Battle Phase. Rosenstein used Mirrorjade, sending Albion the Branded Dragon to banish Fenrir. Unicorn then banished Rosenstein’s last Mirrorjade from the Extra Deck. Moneke used Kashtiratheosis to Special Summon Riseheart from the Deck. Riseheart banished Kashtira Birth from the Deck, banishing 3 cards from Rosenstein’s Deck. Moneke then Special Summoned Scareclaw Kashtira by banishing Kashtiratheosis from his Graveyard. Kashtiratheosis added Fenrir back to his hand. He activated Triple Tactics Thrust, searching for Terraforming. He activated it to get Pressured Planet Wraitsoth, and then that to get Tearlaments Kashtira. He stacked Riseheart with Scareclaw Kashtira for Shangri-Ira. He Normal Summoned Fenrir thanks to Kashtira Birth and stacked it with Unicorn for Number 89: Diablosis the Mind Hacker. Rosenstein flipped Super Polymerization! By discarding Blazing Cartesia, he fused Mirrorjade with Diablosis for Predaplant Dragostapelia! Branded Lost searched out a Fallen of Albaz. Moneke Special Summoned Tearlaments Kashtira, and it sent 3 cards from his Deck to the Graveyard. He passed. In the End Phase, Cartesia returned from the Graveyard to his hand, and Albion’s effect in the Graveyard Set Branded Fusion.

Rosenstein drew The Bystial Lubellion. In the Standby Phase, Moneke used Shangri-Ira, and Dragostapelia negated it. Rosenstein used Lubellion to search for Bystial Magnamhut, then used Albion the Shrouded Dragon to send Opening to the Graveyard. Albion returned to the Deck, and Rosenstein drew another Opening. He flipped Branded Fusion, combining Fallen of Albaz from his hand with Albion the Shrouded Dragon from his Deck, for Lubellion the Searing Dragon. Lubellion discarded Magnamhut, fusing Fallen of Albaz with Despian Tragedy from his banished monsters, into Despian Quaeritis! Branded Lost added Fallen of Albaz to his hand. He Special Summoned Cartesia and used its effect to fuse it with Lubellion and Fallen of Albaz for Guardian Chimera. He drew Branded in Red, then destroyed Shangri-Ira and Kashtira Birth. Shangri-Ira used its effect to stay on the field (this is not an activated effect and thus not negated by Dragostapelia). Rosenstein tried to attack but forgot about the boost from Wraitsoth, and Shangri-Ira survived. Still, he destroyed Tearlaments Kashtira in battle. He Set the last two cards in his hand, and returned Cartesia to his hand.

Moneke played Pot of Prosperity, banishing 3 and adding Kashtira Birth to his hand. He played it and used its effect to Special Summon Fenrir. He sent it to attack Dragostapelia, and had its effect target Dragostapelia. Dragostapelia gave it a Predator Counter to negate its effect, but Fenrir still won the battle thanks to Wraitsoth’s ATK boost. In Main Phase 2, Moneke Special Summoned Riseheart. Rosenstein flipped Branded in Red, returning Fallen of Albaz to his hand, and declined to Fusion Summon. Riseheart banished Kashtira Big Bang from the Deck, banishing 3 cards from Rosenstein’s Deck. Shangri-Ira locked down a Spell/Trap Zone, then Big Bang let him Special Summon the Riseheart that was under Shangri-Ira. He stacked Riseheart with Fenrir for Number 11: Big Eye, stealing Guardian Chimera! In the End Phase, Rosenstein used Opening, discarding Cartesia to Special Summon Ad Libitum. Kashtira Birth then banished Cartesia, The Bystial Lubellion, and Opening. Shangri-Ira locked down a Main Monster Zone.

Rosenstein drew Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. He switched Quaeritis to Defense Position. He used Albion the Shrouded Dragon, sending Branded Fusion to the Graveyard and returning it from the Graveyard to the Deck.

Moneke used Big Eye to steal Quaeritis. Rosenstein responded with its effect to weaken Moneke’s monsters. Moneke then used Triple Tactics Talent! Rosenstein knew it was over and conceded, with just a couple minutes remaining on the clock.

Duel 3

After using their Side Decks, the final Duel started with less than a minute on the clock. Rosenstein played first, with a hand of 2 Super Polymerization, The Bystial Lubellion, and 2 Aluber. He used Lubellion, and Moneke Chained Dimension Shifter. Lubellion got Bystial Saronir, and the round timer ended. Aluber came down to get Branded Fusion. He played Branded Fusion, and thanks to Dimension Shifter he banished the materials. He fused Fallen of Albaz with Despian Tragedy for Lubellion the Searing Dragon, and Tragedy added Ad Libitum to his hand. Then Lubellion brought Masquerade the Blazing Dragon to the field! He Set both copies of Super Polymerization.

With the round timer ended, the Duel comes down to who has the most life points at the end of the turn. Masquerade the Blazing Dragon will make this very dangerous for Moneke.

Moneke paid 600 life points to activate Harpie’s Feather Duster! He Special Summoned Kashtira Unicorn, paying 600 more life points to search for Kashtiratheosis. He paid 600 again to activate Kashtiratheosis, bringing Kashtira Fenrir to the field. Another 600 life points let him use Fenrir, adding Riseheart to his hand. He stacked both his monsters for Big Eye, and paid 600 yet again to steal Masquerade! The detached Fenrir was banished due to Dimension Shifter. He activated Kashtira Birth to Special Summon Fenrir, then played Terraforming to get Pressured Planet Wraitsoth, and then that to get a Unicorn. He Normal Summoned Unicorn thanks to Kashtira Birth. He Special Summoned Riseheart. Riseheart banished Scareclaw Kashtira from his Deck, and Rosenstein lost 3 cards from his Deck. Fenrir attacked and banished Lubellion with its effect. Since the attack target was removed, a replay happened and Fenrir attacked directly! Moneke attacked with everything else, taking the life point lead, and winning the Match!

Aiden Moneke is your TEAM YCS Las Vegas Dragon Duel Champion!