Ever looked at Proto-Cyber Dragon and given a bit of a laugh? “Hey, I can make a Cyber Dragon deck that fuses monsters! Yay!” Yeah, I have too. It doesn’t seem like a very good idea, does it?
Well, Shawn Kelly of Team GG has officially shut me up, going 2-0 thus far with a Cyber Dragon Fusion deck. To make things even more interesting, his opponent in this match is playing an Armed Dragon deck that packs Wind monsters like Sasuke Samurai #4. Travis Haws is also 2-0 with an astoundingly unconventional strategy.
Kelly opened the first duel with a set card to each zone. His opponent summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, but when Haws used its effect its target was chained: Enemy Controller turned Breaker to defense position, cutting short any hopes for an attack that Haws held. Haws passed play back to Kelly.
He flipped Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, attacked Breaker the Magical Warrior with it, and set a card to each zone. Haws played Lightning Vortex, discarding Armed Dragon LV3, and then attacked Kelly’s set monster with Flying Kamikiri #1. The attack destroyed another Dekoichi, and Haws set a spell or trap card before passing.
Kelly borrowed the Kamakiri for a moment to read it, and then set a spell or trap card. Kelly summoned Cannon Soldier, rammed it into the Kamikiri, and Haws special summoned Armed Dragon LV3. Kelly passed, ending a very odd turn.
Haws brought out Armed Dragon LV5 from his deck in the standby phase, trading his Armed Dragon LV3 for it. He attempted to attack directly, but Kelly flipped Scapegoat: Armed Dragon LV5 attacked a Sheep, Haws set a second spell or trap card, and play was passed to Kelly.
And then it was over.
Kelly summoned Proto-Cyber Dragon and activated Power Bond! He fused a Cyber Dragon in his hand with the Proto-Cyber Dragon on the field, and brought out a 5600 ATK Cyber Twin Dragon. Cyber Twin Dragon attacked Armed Dragon LV5, and all Haws could do was play Rush Recklessly to bump up his Armed Dragon’s ATK and reduce the damage. He was still down to 5500 once Armed Dragon hit the dirt. Cyber Twin then attacked directly for 5600, and that was the game!
“I misplayed Flying Kamikiri,” Kelly immediately admitted, laughing at himself.
“Most do,” replied Haws with a sly grin.
“It’s just one of those cards that you don’t see very often,” continued Kelly as both duelist side decked. Both seemed to have found a lot of respect for each other in a very short amount of time.
Haws opted to let Kelly go first for game 2. Kelly opened with Graceful Charity, discarding Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive and Giant Trunade. He summoned Sangan, set a spell or trap, and passed. Haws summoned Armed Dragon LV 3 and attacked Sangan. “I lose 200,” noted Kelly, who pulled Cyber Phoenix with Sangan’s effect. Haws set two cards to his back row and ended his turn.
Kelly summoned the Cyber Phoenix and attacked, but Haws tried to use Book of Moon to stop the attack, forgetting about Phoenix’s effect! Both monsters were destroyed, and Kelly got to draw for Cyber Phoenix’s other effect. Negating Book of Moon and destroying a monster at not cost to himself, he felt confident passing with nothing on the field but one set spell or trap.
Spirit Reaper dropped from Haws’s hand immediately, but when it attacked, Kelly had Scapegoat to shield himself. Reaper hit a Sheep and Haws ended, seeming to be slightly frustrated. Next turn Kelly summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, but Haws flipped Torrential Tribute to wipe the field and clear away all the Sheep. Kelly set a spell or trap, Haws set a monster, and Kelly removed it from the game with Nobleman of Crossout on the next turn—it was Treeborn Frog.
Kelly set a monster and passed. Haws summoned Sasuke Samurai #4, and attacked to use its effect. He called the flip right, and Kelly lost his set monster, The Light - Hex-Sealed Fusion. Play passed to Kelly.
“I like a bold move” he announced as he summoned Cyber-Stein. He used its effect to special summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Thousand-Eyes absorbed Haws’s Sasuke Samurai, swung for 1200 damage, and Kelly set a back row card. Haws summoned Hand of Nephthys and set a spell or trap, but in the end phase he lost it to Mystical Space Typhoon. The card he had set was Rush Recklessly, and now Hand of Nephthys was totally vulnerable.
Kelly took advantage of that fact, attacking with Thousand-Eyes Restrict again. He set a monster and ended. Haws summoned another Sasuke Samurai #4 and passed back.
Giant Trunade bounced all of Kelly’s cards next turn, leaving Thousand-Eyes Restrict free to absorb another monster. It sucked up Hand of Nephthys with Thousand-Eyes Restrict, Kelly tributed the bloated Thousand-Eyes for Jinzo, flip summoned Proto-Cyber Dragon, played Limiter Removal, and attacked for game! Haws was once again a bit stunned.
“Man, you’ll notice I barely did any actual damage to you,” remarked Haws with a smile and a handshake. Kelly just seemed relieved to have not embarrassed himself in his feature match.
“Woo! I was so nervous!” A thrilled Shawn Kelly moves on undefeated, with one of the most innovative decks I’ve ever seen!