Both of these players are in their first Shonen Jump Championship Day 2 appearance and are very pleased with the results of the last round. T was bounced out of his 8th Day 2 last round by Nick Langella, meaning that the only high profile player left in the competition is Lazaro Bellido. The winner of this match would guarantee himself a Crush Card Virus while the loser would have to take his chances in a consolation match. Both players were running Destiny Hero powered Monarch decks, so this match could very well come down to whoever can pull of his combos first.
Karim won the roll and started off with a set to each zone. Jessy did likewise, and play returned to Karim, who tributed Treeborn Frog for Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch. Jessy lost Mirror Force from his hand, and the Monarch smashed Jessy’s set Sangan in battle. Sangan fetched out Card Trooper and passed back to Jessy who summoned his Trooper and activated its effect, knocking a Malicious into the graveyard among other things. He immediately brought out the second Malicious, and Torrential Tribute blew the field wide open. Jessy got to draw for his Trooper, and he summoned his third Malicious to the field before using Premature Burial on Card Trooper.
Card Trooper knocked Stratos, Brain Control, and Destiny Draw off Jessy’s deck, and Jessy attacked directly for 2700 before ending with four in hand. Karim brought back his Frog and activated Heavy Storm to wipe Jessy’s backfield. Card Trooper gave him a free card before it went to the graveyard, and Reinforcement of the Army brought Elemental Hero Stratos to Karim’s hand. Stratos was summoned, and he fetched Destiny Hero — Malicious for Karim, who was summarily pitched to Destiny Draw! Out came the second Malicious in defense mode, and Card Destruction hurled Jessy’s great hand into the graveyard while allowing Karim to drop a duplicate Malicious, Disk Commander, and Creature Swap! Elemental Hero Stratos bashed Jessy’s Malicious, and Karim set a spell or trap before passing. Jessy fought back with Cyber Dragon and Snatch Steal on Elemental Hero Stratos. He tried an attack, but all his monsters were lost to Mirror Force! Jessy set a spell or trap and play returned to Karim.
Karim switched his Malicious to attack mode and swung for 800 before setting a spell or trap and passing. Jessy drew into his Treeborn Frog and set it, prompting Karim to switch his Malicious back to defense mode. Frog was tributed for Thestalos, and Karim lost another Destiny Hero — Disk Commander from his hand. Thestalos beat down Malicious, and Jessy ended his turn. Karim was really hoping not to draw Destiny Draw at this point, and he tributed his Frog for Zaborg! Thestalos was destroyed, but so was Zaborg when he attacked into Sakuretsu Armor! Jessy got his Frog back next turn and traded it in for another Thestalos that stole Soul Exchange from Karim. The Monarch fell to Sakuretsu Armor, and Karim got his Frog back. His only follow-up was a set spell or trap, and Jessy returned his Frog before activating Destiny Draw by pitching Fear Monger. He drew into Thestalos and summoned him, relieving Karim of his last card in hand: Brain Control. Thestalos beat the Frog and Karim passed his next turn. Thestalos was blocked next turn by Scapegoat, and the Monarch destroyed a Sheep before Jessy tributed for Zaborg in main phase two to destroy another.
Karim got his Frog back and tributed it for Thestalos to rob Jessy of a Brain Control. He rammed Thestalos into Zaborg and passed back to Jessy who brought back his Frog and attacked both Sheep. Karim brought his Frog back and passed, and Jessy brought down another Zaborg to clear the way for 4800 points of damage! Karim couldn’t put anything together though, and he scooped up his cards in the next turn. Jessy takes game 1 with a constant stream of Monarchs!
Both players side decked carefully between games, and Karim once again had the option to start. He opened up with a bit of a scream as he dropped Malicious to activate Destiny Draw. The second Malicious came down and was tributed for a first-turn Thestalos! Thestalos robbed Jessy of his Destiny Draw, and the third Malicious came out to play. Karim followed up with a second Destiny Draw pitching Destiny Hero — Disk Commander before setting a spell or trap and passing. Jessy topped into a new Destiny Draw and pitched Destiny Hero — Fear Monger to play it. Cyber Dragon came down on his side of the field and Smashing Ground rid Karim of his Monarch. Sangan came down next and cleared the way of Malicious for Cyber Dragon to attack directly! He finished things up with a set spell or trap and passed back to Karim. Karim blew away the set Pulling the Rug with Mystical Space Typhoon before summoning Elemental Hero Stratos to fetch Destiny Hero — Fear Monger. Stratos swung into Sangan, and Jessy searched out Card Trooper. Smashing Ground cleared the Cyber Dragon in main phase two, and play was back to Jessy.
Jessy dropped Card Trooper and knocked Disk Commander, Malicious, and Pot of Avarice off his deck before summoning his second Malicious in defense. Card Trooper dropped Stratos and Jessy passed with no backfield. Fear Monger came down for Karim and attacked Malicious, but Jessy fired right back with Premature Burial on Disk Commander! He drew 2 cards for the effect and then brought out his third Malicious in defense mode. Brain Control stole away Fear Monger, and Jessy swung in for 3200 damage and, in main phase two, the Fear Monger was tributed for Thestalos. Pulling the Rug blew him away, Jessy set a spell or trap, and play was back to Karim. After his stellar start, Karim was running out of gas, and he set a card to each zone. Trooper pumped again for Jessy and attacked into a set Destiny Hero — Fear Monger! Jessy moved his monsters to defense and set a new monster before passing back to Karim. Karim got back his Disk Commander in the standby phase to draw 2 cards, and he tributed him for Mobius the Frost Monarch to clear out Premature Burial and Mirror Force on Jessy’s side of the field. This sent Disk Commander back to the graveyard, and Jessy’s Card Trooper was looking pretty exposed.
Premature Burial brought Disk Commander back allowing Karim to draw 2 more cards, and Mobius smashed through the Card Trooper for 2000 damage. Jessy drew for the effect, and Creature Swap traded Malicious for Disk Commander in main phase two. It was 2600 to 1400 in Jessy’s favor, and Karim really didn’t want to see a Ring of Destruction right now. He set a spell or trap and passed over to Jessy who set a spell or trap card before switching Disk Commander to defense and passing. Karim was safe for now, but he needed to get through Jessy’s wall of monsters to stay in the tournament. He shook his head looking thoughtfully at the graveyards before tributing the stolen Malicious for Jinzo! The threat of Ring was gone for now, and Heavy Storm was up next, blasting away Premature Burial and Call of the Haunted along with Karim’s set cards. Karim attacked both of Jessy’s set monsters, but was disappointed to learn they were Fear Monger and Treeborn Frog! Jessy set a spell or trap, and Disk Commander returned to the field along with Treeborn Frog. Zaborg came down, destroying Mobius, and was rammed into Jinzo before the turn was up. Karim drew and dropped both cards in his hand, Destiny Draw and Disk Commander, to draw two cards. He set them both and passed to Jessy who tributed his Frog for Cyber Dragon and tried to attack for game. Karim looked through his graveyard for a moment before flipping Call of the Haunted to bring back his Jinzo. Jessy had drawn a Brain Control, and it would likely be game in a turn if Karim couldn’t put something together. He drew and attacked into Cyber Dragon before setting his only card to the back row. Treeborn Frog returned to his field, Jessy revealed the Snatch Steal he had just drawn, aptly labeled “Top Deck,” and Karim conceded the match. Jessy Samek takes a come from behind game 2 to guarantee himself a Crush Card Virus and a shot at Lazaro Bellido for the title of Shonen Jump Philadelphia Champion!