Shunping Xu from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Juan Sebastian Andrade Castro from Ecuador are both UDS Champions. Now they’re facing off in Round 1 of the Undisputed UDS Championship with their Snake-Eye Decks! Strategies based around FIRE monsters are popular in this weekend’s championship, so proficiency in the mirror-match will be critical to the success of many Duelists in the room this weekend. It’s time to Duel!

Duel One

Xu opened up Duel 1 with Snake-Eye Oak, WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils, Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye, and 2 copies of Forbidden Droplet.

He activated WANTED in his Draw Phase and added Diabellstar the Black Witch to his hand. In his Main Phase, he Special Summoned it by sending a Forbidden Droplet from his hand to his Graveyard and used its effect to Set an Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye from his Deck. He activated it by sending Diabellstar from his field to his Graveyard and Special Summoned Snake-Eye Ash. He used Ash’s effect to add Snake-Eye Poplar to his hand and then activated Poplar’s effect to Special Summon it. Then he used Poplar’s other effect to add Divine Temple of the Snake-Eye from his Deck to his hand. He activated the Divine Temple and used it to put Snake-Eyes Flamberge Dragon from his Deck into his Spell & Trap Card Zone. Next, he banished WANTED from his Graveyard and returned Original Sinful Spoils to his Deck to draw a card. He sent Poplar to his Graveyard to Link Summon Linkuriboh and sent Poplar to his Spell & Trap Card Zone with its effect. He used Ash’s effect to send the Ash and the Poplar to his Graveyard and Special Summon a Snake-Eyes Flamberge Dragon from his Deck. He Normal Summoned Snake-Eye Oak next and used its effect to Special Summon Poplar. He sent all 4 of his monsters to the Graveyard to Link Summon Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess with 3200 ATK and then used Flamberge Dragon’s effect to Special Summon Ash and Poplar from his Graveyard to his field. He sent his two Level 1 monsters to the Graveyard to Link Summon I:P Masquerena and then Set 2 cards face-down to his back row before ending his turn.

Andrade activated his own copy of WANTED in the Draw Phase and added Diabellstar to his hand.

In his Main Phase, he Special Summoned Diabellstar by sending Original Sinful Spoils from his hand to the Graveyard. He activated the effect of Diabellstar and Xu Chained the effect of his Divine Temple. Andrade Chained Enemy Controller and Tributed Diabellstar to try to take control of Apollousa! Xu was forced to Chain his I:P Masquerena’s effect! He sent Masquerena and Apollousa to the Graveyard as the Chain resolved, and Special Summoned S:P Little Knight from his Extra Deck. Enemy Controller no longer had a target to gain control of, Xu Special Summoned Flamberge Dragon with his Divine Temple, and Andrade Set another copy of WANTED from his Deck with his Diabellstar’s effect. In a new Chain, S:P Little Knight’s effect banished Original Sinful Spoils from Andrade’s Graveyard. Andrade followed up by Normal Summoning Snake-Eye Ash and activating its effect. Xu Chained his Little Knight’s effect to banish the Little Knight and the Ash, and Andrade added a Poplar from his Deck to his hand. He activated its effect to Special Summon it and then used its on-field effect to add a Divine Temple to his hand. Next, Andrade banished WANTED from his Graveyard and returned his banished Original Sinful Spoils to his Deck in order to draw a card. He Sent Poplar to the Graveyard to Link Summon Linkuriboh and then used Poplar’s effect to put it in the Spell & Trap Card Zone. Next, he activated Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye and sent Poplar to his Graveyard to Special Summon Snake-Eye Oak. He activated Oak’s effect to Special Summon his banished Snake-Eye Ash and then activated his Divine Temple. He used its effect to place Flamberge Dragon from his Deck to his Spell & Trap Card Zone and then used Ash’s effect to send the Ash and Flamberge Dragon to his Graveyard and Special Summon a Flamberge Dragon from his Deck. He used the effect of the Flamberge Dragon he sent to his Graveyard to Special Summon Ash and Poplar back to his field. He used his Flamberge Dragon’s effect to put Xu’s Flamberge Dragon into his Spell & Trap Card Zone and then entered his Battle Phase. He attacked directly with Linkuriboh first, followed by Poplar. Xu activated Forbidden Droplet in the Damage Step and sent Flamberge Dragon to his Graveyard to halve the ATK of Andrade’s Flamberge Dragon and negate its effect. Xu used his Flamerge Dragon’s effect to Special Summon Oak and Ash from his Graveyard. He used Oak’s effect to Special Summon Poplar and Ash’s effect to add another Snake-Eye Ash to his hand. He used Poplar’s effect to add Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye from his Deck to his hand. Ash attacked and destroyed Poplar. Poplar’s effect sent a Flamberge Dragon to his back row, and then Xu Special Summoned Linkuriboh by Tributing his on-field Ash. Andrade Special Summoned Xu’s Flamberge Dragon with his Field Spell Card and then attacked into Linkuriboh forcing the activation of its effect. Attacks from Andrade’s remaining monsters destroyed all of the monsters on his field and dropped Xu down to 2800 Life Points. In Main Phase 2, Andrade sent Flamberge Dragon and Linkuriboh to the Graveyard to Link Summon Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy and used its effect to Special Summon I:P Masquerena. He sent I:P and Dharc to the Graveyard to Link Summon Apollousa and then Special Summoned Magicians’ Souls from his hand by sending Diabellstar from his Deck to his Graveyard. He used its effect to send 2 cards to the Graveyard and draw 2 cards, and then Link Summoned Knightmare Phoenix by sending Magicians’ Souls and Poplar to the Graveyard. He used his Knightmare Phoenix’s effect by discarding Monster Reborn, destroying Xu’s face-down Original Sinful Spoils. He also drew a card, since his Phoenix was co-Linked with Apollousa. Next, he sent his Knightmare Phoenix and Ash to the Graveyard to Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames, and used his Princess’s effect to Special Summon Knightmare Phoenix. He sent his Princess and Oak to the Graveyard to Link Summon Amphibious Swarmship Amblowhale and then sent Amblowhale to the Graveyard to Link Summon Worldsea Dragon Zealantis. He Set a card to his back row, and then S:P Little Knight returned to Xu’s field in the End Phase.

Xu drew Droll & Lock Bird and then Normal Summoned Snake-Eye Ash. He activated its effect and Andrade Chained the effect of his Apollousa to try to negate it. Xu Chained the effect of his Little Knight, targeting the Little Knight and Apollousa to banish from the Duel. Little Knight’s effect resolved, and with Apollousa removed from the field, Ash’s effect resolved to add Poplar to Xu’s hand. He activated its effect to Special Summon it and then added Dramatic Snake-Eye Chase to his hand with its effect. Next, he activated Triple Tactics Talent to take control of one of Andrade’s monsters. Xu Chained Chase from his hand to put Diabellstar in his Spell & Trap Card Zone first. He took control of Andrade’s Flamberge Dragon and then sent Poplar and Flamberge Dragon to the Graveyard to Special Summon Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze. Xu activated the effect of Poplar targeting Flamberge Dragon, and Andrade activated the effect of his Flamberge Dragon. Andrade Special Summoned Ash and Oak to his field, and Xu put a Flamberge Dragon in his back row. Next, Xu activated his Divine Temple’s effect to Special Summon Flamberge Dragon from his Spell & Trap Card Zone, and Andrade Chained the effects of his Snake-Eye Ash and Snake-Eye Oak. He Special Summoned Poplar with Oak’s effect and then added Ash to his hand. Next, he Special Summoned Poplar and used its effect to add an Original Sinful Spoils to his hand. Xu activated Flamberge Dragon’s effect targeting the Princess in Andrade’s Graveyard, and Andrade Chained Forbidden Chalice to negate the effect of the Flamberge Dragon. Next, Xu activated the effect of his Hiita to Special Summon Amblowhale from Andrade’s Graveyard. He sent Amblowhale and Flamberge Dragon to the Graveyard to Link Summon S:P Little Knight and then activated the effects of the Flamberge Dragon and Little Knight. He targeted Promethean Princess to banish it from Andrade’s Graveyard and then used Flamberge Dragon’s effect to Special Summon Oak and Ash from his Graveyard. He used Oak’s effect to Special Summon Poplar. Next, he sent Ash to the Graveyard to Special Summon Linkuriboh. He sent Hiita and Ash to the Graveyard to Link Summon Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians next. He used Selene’s effect to Special Summon Diabellstar from his Graveyard and used Diabellstar’s effect to Set a WANTED from his Deck to his field. Xu sent Selene, Diabellstar, and Poplar to his Graveyard next to Link Summon Borrelend Dragon. He sent Linkuriboh and Oak to the Graveyard to Link Summon Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy and used Dharc’s effect to Special Summon Magicians’ Souls. After all of those plays, Andrade activated the effect of Nibiru, the Primal Being! He cleared the field of all monsters, Special Summoned Nibiru, and gave Xu a Primal Being Token in Defense Position with enormous stats to replace all of his monsters! Andrade then used his Poplar’s effect to put Flamberge Dragon into his Spell & Trap Card Zone. Xu activated an Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye next by sending his Diabellstar from his back row to the Graveyard as a cost. He lost out to Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, and with virtually no cards left, Xu conceded.

A well-timed effect from Nibiru, the Primal Being wipes the field clear and knocks Shunping Xu out of the Duel! The Duelists began Side Decking for Duel 2 with just 3 minutes left in the round!

Duel Two

Xu opened up Duel 2 with Monster Reborn, Flamberge Dragon, Diabellstar, Original Sinful Spoils, and Droll & Lock Bird. Xu Special Summoned Diabellstar by sending a Flamberge Dragon to his Graveyard and Set an Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye from his Deck to his field with its effect. At that point, time in the round was called! Xu was tasked with either increasing his Life Points or inflicting damage to Andrade’s Life Points before the end of the Main Phase! If he couldn’t do so, the Duel would be declared a Draw, and Andrade would win the Match since he had won the first Duel! Xu Normal Summoned Droll & Lock Bird and Andrade activated the effect of Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood! Its effect made it so that Andrade would gain Life Points if Xu Special Summoned monsters with any Attack Points! Xu activated Monster Reborn to Special Summon Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood since it had 0 ATK, but with no other plays to make that would increase Xu’s Life Points above Andrade’s Life Points, Xu offered the handshake and conceded.

Juan Andrade wins a long back-and-forth first Duel thanks to Nibiru, the Primal Being and takes the Match victory after forcing a Draw in the second Duel! He’s moving on with a 1-0 record with his Snake-Eye Deck!