“Yeah, I know,” Chris laughed back. They hurriedly shuffled in reaction to head judge John William’s declaration that everyone’s decks should be thoroughly shuffled. They presented their decks to each other.

“Okay, guys,” John announced, “you have one hour. You can begin now.”

The players shook hands, and rolled the die. Chris came out on top with a six and decided to go first. He drew, and quickly played Confiscation, paying 1000 life points. “Hey, I’m winning!” Steve declared, and spread out his hand to reveal Bottomless Trap Hole, Sangan, Brain Control, Spirit Reaper and Magician of Faith. Chris deliberated before choosing Sangan. He then set a monster, and ended his turn.

Steve drew, set a monster and one spell or trap, and ended. Chris drew, set another monster and ended. Both players were being very deliberate and conservative. Steve drew, set another monster and ended. Chris drew and ended.

Steve drew, then looked at Chris and flip summoned Magical Merchant. He began turning up the cards in his deck, losing Chaos Sorcerer but gaining Snatch Steal. He then tributed the Merchant for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and used its effect to get rid of Chris’s set Spirit Reaper. He followed that all up by attacking Chris’s set Treeborn Frog with Zaborg and a direct attack with Reaper, nicking Chris’s Spell Shield Type-8.

Chris, now left with a clear field, drew, then returned his Frog to the field. He deliberated over his hand, then played Heavy Storm to sweep away Steve’s Bottomless Trap Hole. “Yeah, you knew what I had,” Steve remarked. Chris then tributed the Frog for Mobius the Frost Monarch. After a brief pause to consider the field, Chris flipped Zaborg face down with Book of Moon and attacked it with Mobius. Steven drew, set a monster, turned Reaper to defense, set a spell or trap and ended his turn—but before he could do so, Chris activated Mystical Space Typhoon to eliminate the newly set spell or trap, ridding the field of another Bottomless Trap Hole.

Chris returned his Frog to the field, then attacked the set monster, which was Night Assailant, with Mobius the Frost Monarch, losing the Monarch to Assailant’s flip effect. Steve set yet another monster, one spell or trap card and ended. Chris looked through Steve’s grave, then flip summoned Skelengel and drew a card. Once again, he tributed the Frog for Zaborg, homing in on Steve’s Spirit Reaper with Zaborg’s effect. Steve considered for a moment, then accepted the move and sent Reaper to the graveyard. Chris then attacked Steve’s set monster with Skelengel, and Steven responded by activating Enemy Controller to turn Zaborg to defense. He lost Magician of Faith to Skelengel’s attack, but looked through his graveyard to return Brain Control to his hand.

Steven drew, then took control of Chris’s Zaborg with Brain Control. He attacked Skelengel with it, then tributed it for Cyber Dragon. Life point totals were now Chris 5200 and Steve 7200.

Chris returned Frog to the field, and tributed it for Mobius. Steve activated Enemy Controller to turn it to defense and spare himself the attack. Chris ended, and Steve used Confiscation to take away his last remaining card, then took control of Mobius with Snatch Steal and attacked.

Chris returned his Frog, set a monster, and ended. Steve used Nobleman of Crossout to take out Chris’s Magical Merchant, and after both players stripped all copies out of their decks, ended. Chris drew, and activated Graceful Charity. “Well, I did just topdeck Nobleman, so I guess that’s fair,” Steve observed. Chris discarded Night Assailant to return Skelengel to his hand, set a monster, and ended his turn.

Steve attacked the set monster with the stolen Mobius to reveal Magician of Faith! Chris selected Heavy Storm. Chris then drew, activated the Storm, and got his Mobius the Frost Monarch back. Steve now had a bare field, so Chris attacked directly, set a monster, and ended with life points at Chris 7200 and Steve 3800.

Steve prepped for a comeback by summoning Chaos Sorcerer. Chris looked at the field and shook his head. He flip summoned Skelengel, muttered “Nope!” then set a monster. After a moment of consideration, he set a spell or trap and ended.

Steve drew, used Chaos Sorcerer to remove Chris’s Treeborn Frog from play, and looked through Chris’s graveyard. He summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and Chris responded with Bottomless Trap Hole.

Chris activated Premature Burial to bring a Mobius the Frost Monarch to the field after looking through his graveyard. He attacked the Chaos Sorcerer with Mobius then hit directly with Skelengel. Steve drew, set a monster and ended. Chris continued his aggressive streak by attacking the set monster with Mobius – revealing a Spirit Reaper. “I don’t have an answer for that,” he said, shaking his head. “Yet!” added Steve with a grin. Chris turned Skelengel to defense position and ended his turn. Steve set another monster and ended.

Chris attacked the set monster with Mobius, triggering Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. Steve again set a monster and ended his turn.

Chris went after the new set monster, revealing Magician of Faith! It was a veritable parade of helpful flip effects, one right after another. Steve looks through his graveyard, thinking carefully about which spell to take back. “He’s just got everything he needs,” Chris observed. “Yeah, like you and your Night Assailant and Graceful!” Steve returned. Chris laughed, as Steve selected Brain Control and added it to his hand.  

Steve activated the Brain Control on his next turn, taking Mobius the Frost Monarch and tributing it for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. He removed Chris’s Magician of Faith, then attacked Skelengel with Zaborg. He wound up his turn with a direct hit from Spirit Reaper, taking away Chris’s Mirror Force.

Chris summoned Chaos Sorcerer and attempted to remove Zaborg, but Steve chained Book of Moon to flip Zaborg face down. Chris then used Smashing Ground to crush Reaper, and ended his turn. Steve flip summoned Zaborg and attacked with it, only to lose it to Sakuretsu Armor. Life points were now at Chris 6100 and Steve 2000. Chris drew, and used Metamorphosis to trade in his Chaos Sorcerer for Ryu Senshi. He attempted to attack for game, and Steve flipped Scapegoat. Chris took out a Sheep token and ended.

Steve drew and ended his turn. Chris attacked another Sheep token. Steve set a monster and ended. Chris attacked the set, which was Dekoichi, and ended. Steve drew and ended. Chris took out another Sheep token, and set a spell or trap. Steve drew and ended. Chris attacked the last Sheep token.

Steve drew, and looked at Chris’s graveyard. He special summoned Cyber Dragon, but allas, Chris had a Bottomless Trap Hole ready for him. Chris drew, looked at Steve, and attacked with Ryu Senshi for game.

Both players sorted through their decks, pondering their side deck choices. Chris checked on the progress of the other table. “Where are those guys at?” “One and one,” John responded. They shuffled. “That was a great game!” said Chris. “We both got all we needed. It was like playing on the TV show.”

Steve decided to go first, setting a monster and a spell or trap. Chris drew, set two spells or traps, and ended. Steve drew and ended.

Chris activated Confiscation, and surveyed Steve’s hand. They were all tempting targets: Breaker the Magical Warrior, Book of Moon, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, and Cyber Dragon. “Wow, what do I kill??” he mused. Finally, he selected Book of Moon. “Again, I’m winning!” Steve announced.

Steve set another monster and ended, then Chris set a monster and ended.

Steve drew, flip summoned Night Assailant, and took out Chris’s Magical Merchant. He tributed Night Assailant for Mobius the Frost Monarch to take out both of Chris’s set spells or traps. “You’re up!” he announced.

Chris’s field was totally cleared, and he drew a card. He looked at his hand and thought carefully. Steve had one set monster and one set spell or trap. Chris decided to use Heavy Storm to wipe out Steve’s Sakuretsu Armor. Then, he used Premature Burial to return Magician of Faith to the field, and Metamorphed it into Thousand-Eyes Restrict. He sucked up Steve’s set monster and ended his turn.

Steve used Graceful Charity, discarding Zaborg and Reaper. He activated Snatch Steal to take away Chris’s Thousand-Eyes Restrict, and tributed it for Cyber Dragon. The facedown monster went to the graveyard (Sangan) and Steve looked out Tsukuyomi with the effect.

Chris used Snatch Steal to take Cyber Dragon and attacked with it, bringing the life points to Chris 4100 and Steve 6100. Steve summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior to break Snatch Steal, took his Dragon back, and attacked with both. Chris summoned his own Breaker, kept the token, and attacked Steve’s Breaker. Chris now had 400 life points remaining, and Steve summoned Tsukuyomi, flipped Breaker face down and attacked it. Chris admitted defeat, and they prepared for game 3.

Both strategized through side decking, and talk about how long it will take them to get home. Chris had a longer drive, but as Steve observed “I’ve got work tomorrow . . . you’ve got class! You can sleep in class, but I can’t sleep at work!”

Chris went first, setting a monster and ending his turn. Steve drew, and went one better, setting a monster and a spell or trap and ending. Chris tributed his Treeborn Frog for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, only to see Steve take it out with Bottomless Trap Hole. Steve set a monster and a spell or trap and ended. Chris brought back Frog, tributed it for Mobius the Frost Monarch, and Steve used Book of Moon to flip it face down.

Steve flip summoned his Magician of Faith, took back Nobleman of Crossout, and attacked for 300 with Magician. He set two more spell or trap cards and ended his turn.

Chris brought back Treeborn Frog, then summoned Sangan and attacked the Magician with it. Steve looked his set spell or trap, then flipped Book of Moon on his Magician of Faith. It flipped face up again from the attack, and he took back another Nobleman of Crossout. Steve drew, set one spell or trap and ended.

Chris summoned Twin-Headed Behemoth, and attacked with it and Sangan. Steve drew, looked through his graveyard and hand, and ended.

Chris attacked again with Sangan and Behemoth, bringing the life points to Chris 7700 and Steve 3000. Steve set one spell or trap and ended. Chris attacked again with Sangan, and Steve activated Scapegoat to fend him off. Chris took out two Sheep tokens, set a spell or trap, and ended.

Steve set a spell or trap and ended. Chris attacked the last two Sheep tokens, set another spell or trap card, and ended. Steve drew, summoned Tsukuyomi, flipped Sangan face down and hit it with Nobleman of Crossout. He then attacked Treeborn Frog, and ran right into Sakuretsu Armor. In his second main phase, he summoned Chaos Sorcerer and removed Twin-Headed Behemoth. He looked at his set cards again, set another spell or trap and ended.

Chris drew, set a spell or trap and used Snatch Steal on Chaos Sorceror. Steve responded with Mystical Space Typhoon to retain control of his mighty monster. Chris then tributed his Frog for Zaborg, but was denied! Steve had a set Bottomless Trap Hole. Life points were now Chris 7700 and Steve 3000. Steve drew, set two spell or trap cards, and ended.  

Chris played Heavy Storm, then summoned Spirit Reaper and attacked directly, taking away Steve’s Chaos Sorcerer. Steve drew, then used Brain Control to kill off Chris’s Reaper. Chris set one monster and one spell or trap card, and ended. Steve set a spell or trap and ended.

Chris flip summoned Magician of Faith, took back Heavy Storm and activated it, then summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and attacked with both monsters for the win. Game and match—Chris moves on to the finals!