What a match! Christopher Ivan Flores of Team Rampage was up against Windsor’s Andrew Hayton, former Team X-Treme member and recent signee of the new Xtreme / Superfriends alliance! 

“It’s my first feature match,” said Hayton. “I heard this guy’s good at the game,” he quipped with a smile.

“I hear you were good too!” said Flores. He opened with a set spell or trap card and ended.

Hayton set a card to each zone and passed back quickly. Flores special summoned Cyber Dragon, summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, used its token to break Hayton’s set Nobleman of Crossout, and then activated one of his own to rob Hayton of Des Koala! Hayton pulled one more from his deck, and Flores took the opportunity to give Hayton’s a quick look through. Hayton did not opt to search Flores’, and was attacked by both Cyber Dragon and Breaker once Flores was finished with a quick look through. Flores ended and play passed to Hayton.

He special summoned Cyber Dragon to start off his first main phase. It attacked Breaker, but was turned to defense by Enemy Controller. Hayton set a monster, left his spell and trap zone empty, and ended.

Flores activated Graceful Charity, and discarded Return from the Different Dimension and Smashing Ground with its effect. He normal summoned D. D. Warrior Lady, attacked with his Cyber Dragon to wipe out Hayton’s, and then hit his face down with the Lady: she destroyed Hayton’s set Magician of Faith. Breaker attacked directly, Flores set a spell or trap and that concluded his turn. It was 8000 to 2700, with Flores leading.

“This game did not start for me very well,” confessed Hayton.

“I understand,” said Flores. “I brought out the Cyber Dragon, Breaker broke . . .” His sentiments were genuine.

Hayton activated Snatch Steal, but lost it to Flores’ Mystical Space Typhoon. He summoned Asura Priest, attacked Breaker the Magical Warrior, and then attacked D. D. Warrior Lady, removing both D. D. Warrior Lady and Asura from play. Hayton set a back row card and passed.

Flores played Heavy Storm, revealing Nobleman of Crossout in Hayton’s back row. Cyber Dragon attacked, Flores set a spell or trap, and play passed to Hayton. Hayton set a card to each zone and passed. Next turn Flores attacked with Cyber Dragon into Morphing Jar, and both players got new hands. Flores got Confiscation with the Jar’s effect, and activated it to reveal Creature Swap, Ceasefire, Nobleman of Crossout, Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, and Spirit Reaper. He discarded the Reaper, then activated Metamorphosis to tribute his Cyber Dragon and special summon Dark Balter the Terrible. Hayton flipped Torrential Tribute!  Balter was destroyed, and Flores passed with just one card set in his back row. Hayton had his chance.

He had no way to capitalize on it though. He activated Heavy Storm, set a card to each zone and ended after destroying Flores’s set Mirror Force. Flores drew for his turn, special summoned Cyber Dragon, special summoned Chaos Sorcerer, and Hayton scooped. “You know everything I have,” he said, resignedly.

Hayton watched as Flores side decked, not doing any side decking himself. “I’m gonna hope the second game doesn’t go as well as the first one did,” he said with a smile. Flores continued side decking.

“I’m going to go first,” announced Hayton. No shocking decision there. He set a monster, set a spell or trap, and passed. Flores summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, broke Hayton’s set Mirror Force, set two back row cards, and attacked into Spirit Reaper. He activated his set Confiscation, revealing Nobleman of Crossout, Cyber Dragon, Sorcerer, and Graceful Charity. “That’s no hard decision, is it?” he asked, discarding the Graceful. “I pass to you.”

“I’ve got so many options,” remarked Hayton. He summoned Tsukuyomi, turned Breaker face down, turned Reaper to attack, and swung with Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi destroyed Breaker in battle, but when Reaper attacked Flores flipped Scapegoat. Reaper hit a Sheep token, Flores was left with three, Hayton had no back field, and he passed.

Flores set a spell or trap and ended. Hayton poked another Sheep with Spirit Reaper, set a spell or trap, and passed. Flores set a monster, Hayton summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, and he used its token to destroy Flores’ Mirror Force. Nobleman of Crossout removed Legendary Jujitsu Master from the game on Flores’s side of the field, and Breaker and Reaper each hit a Sheep token. Flores was up.

He activated Snatch Steal, targeting Breaker the Magical Warrior, but Hayton flipped Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it and ensure that he’d keep his monster. Flores set a spell or trap and passed.

Hayton attacked with Breaker the Magical Warrior, and Flores took the beats. Reaper attacked next, and Flores lost one of his two in-hand cards: Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. Hayton set a spell or trap and passed.

Flores removed Zaborg and Breaker from his graveyard, and used it to remove Hayton’s Reaper from the field. He ended, and Hayton set a monster, turning Breaker to defense. Sorcerer removed the Breaker from play, Flores set a monster, and repeated the remaining cards he knew in Hayton’s hand “Cyber Dragon, Sorcerer, Cyber Dragon, Sorcerer. . .” 

Hayton set a spell or trap and passed, leaving himself with two set spell or trap cards and one set monster, plus three cards in hand. Flores drew, had two cards in hand, one card set in his spell and trap zone, a set monster, and Chaos Sorcerer. He passed without doing anything.

Hayton checked his face down cards before proceeding into his turn. After a moment’s thought he summoned Tsukuyomi, targeting Flores’ Chaos Sorcerer to turn face down. He then removed it from the game with Nobleman of Crossout. He bounced the Tsukuyomi back to his hand to conclude his turn.

He regained control of the game immediately, as Flores passed. Hayton passed back, and Flores summoned Asura Priest. He activated Creature Swap, trying to take Hayton’s set monster, but Hayton chained Scapegoat! Flores gave a sharp intake of breath, like a reverse sigh, and took his Sheep token. Hayton had outplayed him, and he passed, taking back his Asura Priest. His sheep tokens were little card-sized pictures of himself. Stylish stuff.

He flip summoned Sangan and attacked the Sheep token Flores had mistakenly pilfered, adding insult to injury. He ended, and Flores summoned Asura Priest. The Priest attacked, targeting a Sheep, then a second, then a third. When he went for Sangan, Hayton responded with Ceasefire to dish out 1500 damage and flipping Flores’ set Spirit Reaper. Hayton pulled Cyber-Stein with his Sangan’s effect; Flores was down to 3600 LP. Hayton’s Ceasefire had put Flores right in the kill zone for an attack with Cyber End Dragon on Spirit Reaper.

Sure enough, next turn he activated Heavy Storm. He summoned Cyber-Stein, paid 5000 LP to bring out Cyber End Dragon, and pierced through Spirit Reaper’s bony hide for game.

“He’s tough,” remarked Hayton to the gathered crowd.

“You’re pretty tough yourself” said Flores, returning the compliment. He was no doubt a bit frustrated. He’d been riding an in-hand Limiter Removal for most of the duel, but Hayton had beaten him to the punch.

The match moved to a third and final duel! 

Flores opened with a set card to each zone, and it was Hayton’s turn to summon Breaker the Magical Warrior! He broke Flores’s Torrential Tribute, which Flores had decided not to chain, and then used Nobleman of Crossout to remove Flores’ set monster from the field: Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. One more was stripped from Flores’ deck, and Hayton took the chance to verify Flores’s deck contents this time around. Breaker hit directly, Hayton set a spell or trap, and passed.

Cyber Dragon came down on Flores’s side of the field, wiping out Breaker and hammering home 500 damage. Flores set a spell or trap to conclude his turn, and play passed to the bald Canadian.

He set a monster and passed back to Flores. Flores summoned D. D. Warrior Lady, examined Hayton’s graveyard briefly, and attacked with the Lady. Hayton checked his set card . . . “Still not Mirror Force,” he said with joking disappointment, losing his Dekoichi to D. D. Warrior Lady. He took a direct hit from Cyber Dragon and Flores made him the turn player.

Hayton flipped Dust Tornado, destroying Flores’ set Mirror Force! He special summoned Cyber Dragon, rammed it into Flores’, and he removed his, and his Breaker, in main phase 2 to special summon Chaos Sorcerer. Sorcerer removed Flores’ D. D. Warrior Lady from play. Hayton set a monster, and play passed to Flores.

Flores topdecked Graceful Charity! He activated it, discarded Creature Swap and Chaos Sorcerer, and special summoned Cyber Dragon. He set a monster, set a spell or trap, his last in-hand card and attacked Hayton’s set monster: Morphing Jar! Both duelists got new hands. In main phase 2 Flores activated Smashing Ground to destroy Hayton’s Chaos Sorcerer.

Flores considered the field a bit. “I have to. . .” he muttered, activating Metamorphosis. He traded his Cyber Dragon for Dark Balter the Terrible and ended his turn.

Hayton played into it. He activated Heavy Storm, which Flores let through, losing his set Scapegoat. Hayton stole the Balter with Snatch Steal, summoned Cyber-Stein, used its effect to special summon Cyber Twin Dragon, and thought out his move carefully. He attacked Flores’ set monster with Cyber-Stein and that was all Flores needed to see: he scooped, and offered Hayton the handshake.

Andrew Hayton of the new team Superfriends moves on with a 3-0 record, while Christopher Flores’ day becomes a lot tougher!