Round 12 Feature Match: John Rynex Saligao San Roque vs. Matthew Michael Clapis
We’re almost there! It’s the final Swiss round here at the NAWCQ, where Duelists have already played 11 rounds of Yu-Gi-Oh! and only one more round separates them from the Top 64. John Rynex Saligao San Roque and Matthew Michael Clapis each have an 8-3 record thus far. The chances may be slim, but they each could potentially make the Top 64 cut if they win this round, so the pressure is definitely on! Who will win and keep their hopes alive? Let’s find out! It’s time to Duel!
Duel One
San Roque won the dice roll but chose to go second! His opening hand consisted of Infinite Impermanence, Tenpai Dragon Paidra, Sangen Kaimen, Pot of Prosperity, and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring.

Clapis started the Duel by activating Ostinato! San Roque activated Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, but Clapis negated it with the effect of Herald of Orange Light, discarding it and Sonata the Melodious Diva. Clapis sent Refrain the Melodious Songstress and Couplet the Melodious Songstress from his Deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon Bacha the Melodious Maestra. He activated the effect of Bacha, but San Roque responded with Infinite Impermanence, negating Bacha’s effect. He used Bacha to Link Summon Gravity Controller, then activated Bacha’s effect in the Graveyard to Special Summon Refrain the Melodious Songstress from the Graveyard. He activated Refrain’s effect, adding a Couplet to his hand, then activated Couplet’s effect, Special Summoning Sonata out of the Graveyard. He activated Couplet in the Pendulum Zone, then activated Pot of Desires, drawing 2 cards! He Set 1 card to his backrow and ended his turn.
San Roque drew Sangen Summoning for turn. He began by activating Pot of Prosperity, adding another Sangen Summoning to his hand. He then activated Summoning, and then Normal Summoned Tenpai Dragon Paidra, activating its effect to add Sangen Kaimen to his hand. He activated the effect of Summoning, adding Tenpai Dragon Chundra to his hand and discarding his extra Summoning. He activated the effect of Chundra, Special Summoning it, and used Chundra and Paidra to Synchro Summon Sangenpai Bident Dragion. He activated Bident’s effect to Special Summon back Paidra, then used Paidra and Bident to Synchro Summon Sangenpai Transcendent Dragion. He activated Transcendent’s effect, turning Refrain and Sonata to Attack Position, and then proceeded to the Battle Phase.
At the start of the Battle Phase, San Roque activated Sangen Kaimen, Special Summoning Tenpai Dragon Fadra. He activated its effect to Special Summon Chundra from the Graveyard. He attacked Gravity Controller with Chundra, and activated Chundra’s effect to Special Paidra. He attacked with Paidra, then activated Chundra’s effect to use it and Paidra to Synchro Summon Kuibelt the Blade Dragon, and activated its effect to destroy Sonata. San Roque used Kuibelt to attack Refrain, then activated the effect of Bident in the Graveyard to Special Summon it back and destroy Clapis’ Set Impermanence. San Roque attacked Gravity Controller with Bident and Fadra, then activated Fadra’s effect to Synchro Summon Trident Dragion in the Extra Monster Zone! He activated Trident’s effect, destroying Summoning and Kuibelt, and activated Summoning to double the Attack Points of Trident Dragion. San Roque attacked Gravity Controller with Trident Dragion, then attacked directly to win the first Duel!

Duel Two
Clapis started by activating Pot of Desires, banishing the top 10 cards of his Deck to draw 2 cards. He then activated 1st Movement Solo, Special Summoning Aria the Melodious Diva from his hand, and preventing all of his Melodious monsters from being destroyed by battle or card effects. He then Normal Summoned Refrain the Melodious Songstress, and activated its effect to search for Couplet the Melodious Songstress. He placed Couplet in the Pendulum Zone, and activated its effect to search for Melodious Concerto. He activated Concerto, fusing Refrain and Couplet to Fusion Summon Bacha the Melodious Maestra. He activated Bacha’s effect, Special Summoning Shopina the Melodious Maestra from the Deck, as well as activated the effects of Couplet and Refrain to place them in Clapis’ Pendulum Zones. He used Bacha and Shopina to Link Summon Bloom Harmonist the Melodious Composer, discarding Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring to Special Summon Soprano the Melodious Songstress and Sonata the Melodious Diva. He also activated Bacha’s effect to Special Summon Shopina from the Graveyard, and Concerto’s effect to return it to the bottom of the Deck and draw a card. Next, Clapis activated the effect of Soprano, using Harmonist, Shopina, and Soprano to Fusion Summon Flowering Etoile the Melodious Magnificat! He Set 1 card to his backrow and ended his turn.

San Roque opened with Tenpai Dragon Chundra, Infinite Impermanence, Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill, Tenpai Dragon Paidra, and Pot of Prosperity. He drew Forbidden Droplet for turn! He started by activating Pot of Prosperity, and Chained Forbidden Droplet, sending Prosperity, Ghost Mourner, and Impermanence to the Graveyard to negate the effects of all monsters on Clapis’ field! He resolved Prosperity to add Tenpai Dragon Genroku to his hand, and activated its effect to Special Summon it. Next, he Normal Summoned Tenpai Dragon Paidra, activating its effect to Set Sangen Summoning to his field. He flipped Summoning face-up, then Special Summoned Tenpai Dragon Chundra from his hand. He used Paidra and Chundra to Synchro Summon Sangenpai Bident Dragion, and activated its effect. However, Clapis responded by activating Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit as Chain Link 2, as well as Cosmic Cyclone as Chain Link 3! Summoning and Bident were destroyed, though Paidra was still Special Summoned back to the field. San Roque entered the Battle Phase and declared an attack with Genroku, then activated its effect, Tributing it, but Clapis responded with Ash Blossom to negate its effect. San Roque then attacked Aria with Paidra, destroying it in battle, and then ended his turn.
Clapis started by activating the Pendulum effect of Couplet, adding Melodious Concerto to his hand. He then activated Concerto, using Refrain and Couplet to Fusion Summon another Bacha! He activated Bacha’s effect to Special Summon another Refrain the Melodious Songstress from his Deck, and placed the Refrain and Couplet back to his Pendulum Zones. He activated Refrain’s effect to search for Couplet, then activated Couplet’s effect to Special Summon Soprano from the Graveyard. He activated Soprano’s effect, adding Shopina back to his hand, and then switched Sonata and Etoile to Attack Position. He activated Etoile’s effect, banishing Sonata to return Paidra to San Roque’s hand. He then Pendulum Summoned Shopina, and activated its effect to return Bloom Harmonist to the Extra Deck. He activated Soprano’s effect, using Soprano and Shopina to Fusion Summon Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir, then used Bacha and Shopina to Link Summon Bloom Harmonist! He activated the effect of Bacha in the Graveyard to Special Summon back Shopina, then proceeded to the Battle Phase. There, he attacked twice with Bloom Prima, dealing 7000 damage to San Roque’s Life Points! When Clapis attacked with Etoile, San Roque activated the effect of Bident Dragion in his Graveyard, Special Summoning it to the field and destroying Clapis’ Couplet. Clapis used Etoile to destroy Bident in battle, and then attacked directly with Bloom Harmonist to reduce San Roque’s Life Points to zero. We’re moving on to a third Duel!

Duel Three
San Roque chose to go first this time, and opened with Dimension Shifter, Bystial Druiswurm, Sangen Summoning, Tenpai Dragon Chundra, and Pot of Prosperity. In the Draw Phase, he activated Dimension Shifter! He then activated Prosperity, adding Sangen Kaimen to his hand. Next, he activated Summoning, using its effect to add Tenpai Dragon Paidra to his hand and discarding Druiswurm. He Normal Summoned Paidra and activated its effect to add another Sangen Kaimen to his hand. He activated the effect of Tenpai Dragon Chundra, Special Summoning it, then used Paidra and Chundra to Link Summon Hieratic Seal of the Heavenly Spheres. He Set a card to his backrow and ended his turn.
Clapis began by activating Cosmic Cyclone, targeting San Roque’s Set card, but San Roque responded by activating the Set Kaimen, adding Tenpai Dragon Genroku to his hand. He activated its effect, Special Summoning it to his field. Clapis then Normal Summoned Refrain the Melodious Songstress, and San Roque responded by activating the effect of Spheres, Tributing it to return Refrain to Clapis’ hand. Clapis resolved Refrain, adding Couplet to his hand. In the following Chain, San Roque resolved Spheres to Special Summon Koa’ki Meiru Drago from his Deck, while Clapis activated the effect of Couplet to Special Summon Refrain back to the field. Clapis placed Couplet in the Pendulum Zone, activating its effect to add Melodious Concerto from his Deck to his hand. Clapis entered the Battle Phase, attacking Genroku with Refrain, and San Roque responded by activating the effect of Genroku, Tributing it to Special Summon Tenpai Dragon Chundra from the Deck. Clapis then ended his turn.
San Roque drew Sangen Kaimen for turn. He Normal Summoned Tenpai Dragon Paidra, adding Sangen Summoning from his Deck to his hand. He used Chundra and Paidra to Synchro Summon Sangenpai Bident Dragion, then activated Bident’s effect to Special Summon Paidra back from the Graveyard. He used Bident and Paidra to then Synchro Summon Sangenpai Transcendent Dragion, and proceeded to the Battle Phase.
At the start of the Battle Phase, he activated Kaimen, Special Summoning Fadra, and then activated Fadra’s effect to Special Summon back Chundra. He attacked Refrain with Fadra, and activated Chundra’s effect to Special Summon another Paidra from the Deck. He then declared an attack with Transcendent, Paidra, and Chundra, then activated Bident Dragion’s effect in the Graveyard to Special Summon itself back to the field. Unable to stop any of the incoming attacks, Clapis conceded the Duel.

San Roque takes the win here and ends the Swiss rounds of the NAWCQ with a 9-3 record. Will it be enough to get him into the Top 64? Make sure you stay tuned to find out!