Yugioh Championship Series - Duel Academy
Season 4
FEATURED MATCH #1
Evil_Bakura vs Edward
Hello everyone and welcome to coverage of our 1st Featured Match of this YCS! It's going to be Swiss Round 2 match between 2 Abandoned Dorm Duelists - Evil_Bakura and Edward! Bakura is playing a Chaos Dragon build, while Edward is playing with Zombies! It's been awhile since we've seen two unique, non-meta competitive decks clash in this kind of setting, and with some true experts in the game behind these builds, it's anybody's guess who could be the favorite to win!
If you want to follow the match in video form, it can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmyCYmJ2McY
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GAME 1
Edward won the RPS and went first starting out with a set monster and a set backrow card. This is a common and good first play if your opponent doesn't know what deck you're running, since it provides you with decent defense without giving up any of your strategy. Bakura opened with a hand of: Mystical Space Typhoon, 2x Tragoedia, Dark Hole, Darkflare Dragon, and Chaos Sorcerer. One could call this a good defensive hand due to the 2 copies of Tragoedia along with cards to both destroy traps and monsters, but that Darkflare Dragon and Chaos Sorcerer are currently dead in hand. Bakura made the only move he could, and set Mystical Space Typhoon before ending. Note that unless you're clearing the field to attempt an OTK it is typically better to set the Typhoon, because if your opponent tries to destroy you can then chain it, making them waste an effect.
Edward drew and passed his turn, not willing to make the 1st play. Bakura drew into another dead copy of Darkflare Dragon and could only pass his turn.
On Edward's turn, he flip summoned his face-down Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and had it target Bakura's Typhoon, which was chained to the effect to take out Edward's face-down Solemn Warning (see? see?)! Ryko milled Effect Veiler, Solemn Judgment, and Goblin Zombie - not particularly bad mills since it left him with both a LIGHT and DARK monster in the graveyard. Next, Edward started getting aggressive by normal summoning a 2nd Ryko and throwing cautious plays to the wind ... wind being the key word because he used both Rykos to Xyz summon Daigusto Phoenix. He detached a material from Phoenix to allow it to attack twice and then attacked into a Tragoedia. Bakura took the 1500 LP hit and Edward ended his turn. On Bakura's turn he drew Gorz the Emissary of Darkness - yet another great defensive card, but still not seeing anything to help him summon his CS or Dragons. Bakura turned his 3600 ATK Tragoedia to attack position and attacked to destroy Phoenix while dealing 2100 damage! With Gorz and another Tragoedia still in-hand, Bakura ended his turn.
Edward drew, then set a monster and passed. Bakura drew into Maxx "C", then attacked with Tragoedia into Edward's face-down Spirit Reaper! Other than using Dark Hole, Bakura had no way around the Reaper. He set his Dark Hole as a bluff card then ended his turn.
Edward drew, and then used Heavy Storm to blow away Dark Hole. He tributed Spirit Reaper for Caius the Shadow Monarch (another very aggressive move), and used Caius to banish Tragoedia while dealing 1000 damage. He continued by attack with Caius into Gorz, dealing 2400 damage. Then, in Main Phase 2, he used his own copy of Dark Hole to clear the field before ending his turn. The duel stood at 5900 for Edward who had 3 in-hand cards and nothing on the field versus 3100 for Bakura who had 5 in-hand cards and an equal field. Bakura's luck looked to be improving, however, when he drew into Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress on his next turn! Finally, a LIGHT monster, and furthermore 1 who might mill more LIGHT monsters into the graveyard to make way for the real stars of the show! Bakura summoned Lyla and ended his turn, not wanting to chance attacking into Gorz yet. During the End Phase, Lyla milled Solar Recharge and 2 Effect Veilers, finally giving Bakura the LIGHT monsters in his graveyard that he so desperately needed. He could feel free to attack into a Gorz next turn since Chaos Sorcerer could always come out to banish it in Main Phase 2.
On his turn, Edward summoned Card Trooper! This was getting to be a match of who could get the mills they needed and set up their big plays the most quickly! Card Trooper powered up by milling Torrential Tribute, Call of the Haunted, and Plaguespreader Zombie to the grave! That PSZ was where it needed to be! After thinking a moment (probably about doing a Catastor play), Edward decided to simply attack over Lyla for 200 damage. Surprisingly, Bakura decided not to summon Tragoedia to punish him. Edward ended with just Card Trooper on his field. Bakura drew into Allure of Darkness. That got him Lightpulsar Dragon and his own Card Trooper, and he banished a Darkflare Dragon to as payment for the draws. Next, Bakura banished Gorz and an Effect Veiler from his graveyard to summon Chaos Sorcerer, who promptly banished Edward's Card Trooper, and Bakura passed his turn with that.
Edward summoned Tour Guide from the Underworld, whose effect was met with Bakura's Maxx "C" (making it at least a +1 if Edward decided to Xyz). TGU brought out Sangan and Bakura drew a MST. After thinking for a good amount of time, Edward decided to go all out and played Monster Reborn, bringing back Caius and letting Bakura draw into Lyla. Next, Edward sent his last in-hand card to the top of his deck to summon PSZ from his graveyard, and Bakura drew Heavy Storm ... Edward needed to make these 4 cards into an OTK or else this was going to be game on Bakura's next turn due to all the card advantage generated by Maxx "C". Edward synced PSZ with Caius to bring out Scrap Dragon and Bakura drew another Lyla. Scrap Dragon destroyed Sangan and Chaos Sorcerer, and Sangan searched out Effect Veiler ... almost as if he knew he might be up against another Tragoedia... TGU attacked for 1000 damage, dropping Bakura down to 1900, and sure enough the Tragoedia came out to play with a whopping 4200 ATK/DEF! Note: Edward should have attacked with the Dragon 1st since Gorz had already been played and that would have dropped Bakura down to just 100 LP. Bakura drew Solar Recharge on his turn and used it to discard a Lyla. He drew Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and Eclipse Wyvern. That BLS just sealed the deal for the duel. He milled another Solar Recharge and a Ryko. Bakura banished Chaos Sorcerer and Lyla from his graveyard to bring out Darkflare Dragon. Darkflare Dragon's effect sent the Wyvern in his hand and a Darkflare Dragon from his deck to the graveyard. Wyvern banished Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from his deck. He then banished Darkflare Dragon and Wyvern from his graveyard to summon Black Luster Soldier, and Wyvern added Red-Eyes to his hand. Bakura banished the Darkflare Dragon on his field to bring out Red-Eyes, then used Red-Eyes' effect to summon the Lightpulsar Dragon in his hand. With that much overkill, Edward finally gave a handshake.
A clutch Maxx "C" nets Bakura 4 cards for an overwhelming +3, and Tragoedia saves him from an OTK allowing him to open up his Chaos Dragons with basically every combo they are known for. Will Dragons munch Zombies in a 2-0 performance, or can Edward turn the tide and make a comeback? Let's find out!
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GAME 2
Edward started things off with a Tour Guide, and received the same treatment as last time, as Bakura chained with a Maxx "C". Tour Guide brought out Sangan in defense position and Bakura drew a card. Not wanting a repeat performance of last time, Edward set a backrow card and ended his turn, not allowed Maxx "C" to garner any card advantage. Bakura started his turn with a hand of: Lightpulsar Dragon, Darkflare Dragon, Solar Recharge, Effect Veiler, and Pot of Avarice. He drew into a 2nd Veiler. With nothing to summon he passed his turn with an empty field, hoping to be able to bluff a Gorz.
Edward started his turn and turned Sangan to attack position, then moved into beatdown mode and attacked with TGU and Sangan for a free 2000 damage (and I'm sure he was happy to not see a Gorz, but this was a good play for if Bakura did have Gorz, since it would mean the summoned token would only be 1000/1000 giving Edward only 1 threat instead of 2). Edward set another backrow card in Main Phase 2 before ending his turn. Bakura drew into Eclipse Wyvern and summoned it. Wyvern attacked TGU and destroyed it, dealing 600 damage before Bakura ended his turn.
On his turn, Edward summoned Mezuki, and then used Mind Control to take Bakura's Wyvern (note that Wyvern DOES still receive its effect if detached to the graveyard as a Xyz material). Edward brought out Maestroke the Symphony Djinn, and then attacked with Sangan and Maestroke for another 2800 damage, knocking Bakura down to 3200 LP. He set a 3rd backrow card in Main Phase 2 before passing play back to Bakura. Bakura was getting into major trouble here and needed something to turn this duel around! He drew for his turn and got a Compulsory Evacuation Device ... not bad, but would it be enough? He set CED and a Veiler before ending his turn.
Edward wasted no time on his turn and attacked Bakura's face-down with Maestroke. Bakura responded with CED, sending Maestroke back to the Extra Deck. Wyvern banished a Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from Bakura's deck, but also note that Mezuki was now in Edward's graveyard. Edward decided not to attack Bakura's face-down monster with Sangan, and instead set a monster before ending his turn. Bakura drew Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning on his turn, but had no way to summon it. He tributed Effect Veiler to summoned Darkflare Dragon, but Edward responded with his own Compulsory Evacuation Device, sending Darkflare Dragon back to Bakura's hand! Bakura set Pot of Avarice in a desperate attempt at a bluff before ending his turn.
Edward flip summoned Ryko, destroying the Pot of Avarice, then milling Tsukuyomi, Call of the Haunted, and Goblin Zombie - good mills! He made what may become his signature play, by normal summoning a 2nd Ryko and Xyz summoning Daigusto Phoenix. He detached a Ryko for Phoenix's effect, but was denied by Effect Veiler. Undeterred, he summoned Dark Armed Dragon! That was enough for Bakura to call the game!
A couple dead cards in-hand for Bakura along with some solid play by Edward spelled doom for the Dragons this time, and brought us to an ace match!
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GAME 3
Bakura started the final game of the match with a much more comfortable hand of Tour Guide, Sangan, Dark Armed Dragon, Chaos Sorcerer, Compulsoryt Evacuation Device, and Darkflare Dragon. He had all the tools necessary to make some big play and bring out his Daddy. He decided to go very conservative by simply setting Sangan and ending. While this is a perfectly acceptable play, it could arguably also have been worthwhile to set the CED for some extra defense. Edward drew for his 1st turn and brought out a Card Trooper, who milled 2 Rykos and a Tour Guide ... talk about fantastic mills - 2 LIGHT's and a DARK to set up early for a BLS or CS play! Card Trooper attacked the face-down Sangan, and Sangan searched out Ryko. Edward set a backrow card before ending his turn.
Bakura drew for his turn and got a Lyla. He summoned her and had her attack Card Trooper but was denied by Edward's Book of Moon! He set CED in Main Phase 2 before ending. Edward started off his turn with Card Trooper's effect, milling Goblin Zombie, Spirit Reaper, and Allure of Darkness. He had the Trooper attack and destroy Lyla, then set a backrow before ending his turn.
Bakura drew into his own copy of Card Trooper on his turn. He banished Lyla and Sangan from his graveyard to bring out Chaos Sorcerer, who attempted to banished Card Trooper but was denied by Effect Veiler! Being as sneaky as possible, Bakura flipped his CED in a chain to Effect Veiler to return Chaos Sorcerer to his hand, which allowed his effect to go through! This is a really awesome play, and let's go over it a bit for those who don't quite get it:
1. Chaos Sorcerer activates his effect.
2. Effect Veiler chained to CS effect.
3. CED chained to Effect Veiler effect targeting CS.
4. Chain resolves backwards, so CED returns CS to the hand.
5. Effect Veiler's target is not on the field so its effect fizzles.
6. Chaos Sorcerer's effect resolves since he doesn't need to be on the field to resolve his effect.
Now, Edward could have prevented this if he had played Effect Veiler in response to the successful summon of Chaos Sorcerer, instead of waiting for CS to activate its effect. Okay, good lesson, back to the game!
Bakura pushed forward by summoning Card Trooper! Trooper's effect milled Thunder King Rai-Oh, Tragoedia, and Lightpulsar Dragon ... wait what? Now, if you've ever wondered what near-perfect mills look like ... here's your chance to view them! Card Trooper attacked for 1900 damage and Bakura decided not to overextend his hand and simply ended his turn. Edward had a nice long thinking time at the beginning of his turn, before deciding to normal summon Mezuki. Mezuki attacked over Trooper for 1300 damage. Bakura drew for Trooper's effect and got an Effect Veiler, then Edward set 2 cards to his backrow to end his turn with a face-up Mezuki, 3 backrow cards, and 1 in-hand card.
On his turn, Bakura got a Tour Guide, making both his in-hand Tour Guides completely worthless since he had already played Sangan earlier. He decided to banish Rai-Oh and Tragoedia from his graveyard to bring out Chaos Sorcerer (again), but Edward responded to the summon with Compulsory Evacuation Device! Next, Bakura pitched a Ryko and a Tour Guide from his hand to his graveyard to bring out Lightpulsar Dragon from his graveyard! Edward was able to respond with Bottomless Trap Hole, but that move allowed Bakura a 3rd attempt to summon Chaos Sorcerer by banishing Ryko and Tour Guide from his graveyard! Edward had no response to the 3rd summoning and CS banished Mezuki before Bakura ended his turn! Edward set his 2 in-hand cards to his backrow, giving him a total of 3 potential traps before passing his turn.
Bakura drew into Eclipse Wyvern, and then made the conservative move to simply attack with Chaos Sorcerer. He set a Tour Guide before ending, hoping to set up a Darkflare or Dark End Dragon play. With Effect Veiler in-hand, he was unlikely to be in too much trouble. Edward drew for his turn, then set his in-hand card as a 4th backrow card.
Bakura drew Charge of the Light Brigade. He flip summoned Tour Guide, then normal summoned Eclipse Wyvern. Eclipse Wyvern and Tour Guide attacked for 2600 damage, dropping Edward down to 1200 LP. However, when Chaos Sorcerer went to attack for the win, Edward flipped a Compulsory Evacuation Device to return it to the hand YET AGAIN! Bakura ended his turn. Edward started things up on his turn by activating Call of the Haunted to bring back Goblin Zombie. He then summoned the card he'd drawn for his turn - Plaguespreader Zombie! It was time to get going with some solid Zombie fun! Edward tuned PSZ to Goblin Zombie to bring out Revived King Ha Des, and Goblin Zombie searched out a Spirit Reaper. Ha Des attacked and destroyed Eclipse Wyvern, dealing 850 damage and negating the Wyvern's effect! With 2 face-downs to protect his Zombie, Edward ended his turn still holding Spirit Reaper in-hand.
Maxx "C" joined Bakura's hand on his turn (rats, 1 turn too late XD). Bakura activated Charge of the Light Brigade and milled Lyla, Thunder King Rai-Oh, and Pot of Avarice before searching out a Ryko. He then tributed Tour Guide to bring out Darkflare Dragon and setting up ... yes you guessed it - his 4th summoning of the same Chaos Sorcerer!! He banished Tour Guide and Eclipse Wyvern to bring out Chaos Sorcerer for the 4th time this duel! Chaos Sorcerer's effect went through to banish Ha Des and when Darkflare Dragon attacked, Edward showed his 2 face-down copies of Call of the Haunted! With nothing to summon that had enough ATK to save him from Darkflare Dragon, and with only 1200 LP left, that was game!
Evil_Bakura summons Chaos Sorcerer 4 times in a single game to claim victory over Edward's Zombies!
I hope you all enjoyed this Featured Match! If you would like to have your own Featured Match article, just PM me a video of you dueling your YCS opponent and I'll make it happen!