Home > 2024 North America WCQ, Championships > Round 10 Feature Match: Lyric Bruner vs. Joshua McDonald

Round 10 Feature Match: Lyric Bruner vs. Joshua McDonald

July 21st, 2024

We’re back with more Dueling action here at the NAWCQ, with the first of three more Swiss rounds before we cut to the Top 64. We have Lyric Bruner, here from Virginia Beach, Virginia, playing Fiendsmith Yubel! He’s up against Joshua McDonald, from East Selkirk, Manitoba, with Ritual Beasts!

Joshua McDonald

Duel 1

Bruner won the dice roll and played first. In the Draw Phase, McDonald activated Dimension Shifter. Bruner played Opening of the Spirit Gates and added Dark Beckoning Beast to his hand. He Normal Summoned the Beast and added another copy of Spirit Gates to his hand. He activated Nightmare Pain, using it to destroy Yubel in his hand and add Spirit of Yubel to his hand. The destroyed Yubel Special Summoned Yubel – Terror Incarnate. He used Terror and Dark Beckoning Beast to Special Summon Phantom of Yubel in Defense Position.

McDonald had Triple Tactics Talent, Spiritual Beast Rampengu, Ritual Beast Steeds, and Nemeses Flag. He drew Ritual Beast Inheritance and played it, using its effect to reveal Rampengu. That let him add Ritual Beast Tamer Elder to his hand and discard Steeds. He Normal Summoned Elder, which let him also Normal Summon Rampengu. He used both monsters to Special Summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk. He used both of Ulti-Cannahawk’s effects, returning it to the Extra Deck to Special Summon Rampengu and Elder, then return Steeds to the Graveyard to put Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara in his hand. He used his two monsters to play Ulti-Cannahawk a second time. He tried using its effect on the banished Rampengu and Elder, and Bruner Chained Phantom of Yubel’s effect. Ulti-Cannahawk’s effect changed to destroy a Spirit of Yubel from Bruner’s Deck, and Spirit’s effect Special Summoned Yubel. “My ace monster!” Bruner quipped.

Lyric Bruner

McDonald used Triple Tactics Talent to steal Yubel! “No, my ace monster…” Bruner said, as McDonald used both his monsters to Link Summon S:P Little Knight, banishing Nightmare Pain. He Special Summoned Nemeses Flag by returning his banished Ulti-Cannahawk to the Extra Deck, then used Flag to find Nemeses Corridor. He Special Summoned Corridor by putting Elder back in his Deck, and used Corridor to Special Summon Thunder Dragon Colossus! He could not attack directly due to S:P’s effect, so he passed here.

Bruner simply passed the turn.

McDonald drew a second Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara. He used Inheritance, revealing Lara to add Spiritual Beast Cannahawk to his hand, discarding Lara. Bruner used Droll & Lock Bird. McDonald Normal Summoned Cannahawk and activated its effect, banishing Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda from his Deck. He banished Lara and Cannahawk to Special Summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Nochiudrago, and Bruner had seen enough!

Duel 2

Bruner played first again, and once more McDonald had Dimension Shifter! Bruner Normal Summoned Samsara D Lotus, using it to Special Summon Spirit of Yubel, using it to find Nightmare Pain. He played it and destroyed Yubel from his hand, adding a new Spirit of Yubel to his hand. The destroyed Yubel Special Summoned Terror Incarnate. He returned his monsters to the Deck to Special Summon Phantom of Yubel.

McDonald had a hand of Steeds, Elder, Cannahawk, and Rampengu. He drew a second Rampengu. He Normal Summoned Elder, then Normal Summoned Rampengu. He used them to Special Summon Ulti-Cannahawk, and had it put his banished monsters into the Graveyard to add Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara to his hand. He banished the Ritual Beasts from his Graveyard to Special Summon Ulti-Nochiudrago. He used Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara’s effect to get an additional Normal Summon, and played Cannahawk. Lara’s effect when banished (due to Dimension Shifter) let him Special Summon Ritual Beast Tamer Lara. He activated its effect, and Bruner Chained Phantom of Yubel, then Chained Nibiru, the Primal Being! McDonald Chained both his Fusion Monsters’ effects, letting him Special Summon Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara and Elder. Nibiru hit the field, replacing McDonald’s monsters with a 1800/5600 Primal Being Token in Defense Position. Phantom of Yubel resolved, destroying Spirit of Yubel from Bruner’s Deck. Spirit Special Summoned the banished Yubel.

Bruner played One for One, discarding Effect Veiler to Special Summon Samsara D Lotus. He Special Summoned Phantom, using Lotus from the field and Spirit from the hand. He attacked with Yubel and Phantom into the 5600 DEF Primal Being Token, reflecting all the damage with Nightmare Pain to end the Duel!

Duel 3

McDonald had Ritual Beast Tamer Zeframpilica, Cannahawk, Rampengu, Elder, and… Dimension Shifter! He opted not to use Shifter this time, since he could get more mileage out of his Graveyard. He Normal Summoned Elder, which brought along Rampengu. He used Rampengu’s effect, banishing Ritual Beast Ulti-Reirautari from the Extra Deck to send Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara to the Graveyard. He fused his monsters into Ulti-Cannahawk. He used both its effects, letting him Special Summon Elder and Rampengu, put Reirautari in his Graveyard, and add Steeds to his hand. Bruner used Droll & Lock Bird. McDonald activated Rampengu again, banishing Ulti-Cannahawk from his Extra Deck to send Cannahawk to the Graveyard. He Link Summoned Ritual Beast Ulti-Kimunfalcos. He used its effect to banish Cannahawk from his Graveyard and Normal Summon Zeframpilica. It Special Summoned Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara. He then used all his monsters to Link Summon Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess. He banished Lara and Rampengu to Special Summon Ulti-Nochiudrago. Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara’s effect let him Special Summon Spiritual Beast Apelio. He used Apelio’s effect, banishing Ulti-Kimunfalcos from the Graveyard. He set Steeds and passed the turn.

In Bruner’s Draw Phase, Apelio’s effect banished Ulti-Reirautari to boost his Ritual Beast monsters. Bruner played Opening of the Spirit Gates to add Dark Beckoning Beast to his hand. He Normal Summoned it to put Chaos Summoning Beast in his hand. He activated Nightmare Throne, destroying Spirit of Yubel from his Deck. McDonald used Apollousa to negate Spirit. Bruner used Chaos Summoning Beast from his hand and Spirit of Yubel from his Graveyard to Special Summon Phantom of Yubel. He used the extra Normal Summon from Dark Beckoning Beast to bring Samsara D Lotus to the field. McDonald activated Ulti-Nochiudrago, returning it to the Extra Deck to Special Summon Ulti-Kimunfalcos. Then he used Ulti-Kimunfalcos, targeting Spiritual Beast Tamer Lara and Cannahawk. Bruner Chained Phantom of Yubel, and McDonald negated that with Apollousa. McDonald’s monsters hit the field, and then he flipped Ritual Beast Steeds to destroy Bruner’s monsters! Bruner used the effect of Spirit Gates, discarding another Spirit Gates to Special Summon Samsara D Lotus. He tried using Lotus’s effect, and it was negated by Apollousa – Bruner offered the handshake!

Joshua McDonald takes the Match with Ritual Beasts!