Billy Ho is from Fremont in Northern California, and at 18 years of age he’s managed to secure a top spot here in round 6. His Warrior Toolbox variant is highly representative of the deck many people are running here today, focusing on Warriors with Dark monsters splashed to support Strike Ninja.
But his opponent was Dale Bellido, who had also gone undefeated up until this round! Bellido’s deck was one of the most feared and admired here today, and it was also an evolved Warrior Toolbox variant. Bellido’s deck is packing Return from the Different Dimension and focuses on the Lighter side of Toolbox with a pair of Freed the Brave Wanderer. This one was going to be interesting.
Ho won the opening roll and began the first duel with a set card to each zone. Bellido fired back the same, Ho set a second spell or trap and a second monster, and Bellido flip summoned Magical Merchant! It grinded through Exiled Force, Freed, Bazoo the Soul-Eater, Banisher of the Radiance, and finally drew him Sakuretsu Armor. Bellido cleared the field with Heavy Storm, Premature Burial brought back the Banisher Merchant had discarded and Bellido summoned Mystic Swordsman LV2! The Swordsman destroyed Ho’s set D. D. Warrior Lady, Banisher hit and removed Magician of Faith (which got back Mystical Space Typhoon for Ho) and Merchant hit directly. Bellido set a spell or trap to end his turn.
Mystical Space Typhoon destroyed Bellido’s set Sakuretsu Armor as soon as Ho began his turn, and Cyber Dragon was special summoned to attack and destroy the Swordsman. It was 7800 to 6000 with Ho leading, and he set a spell or trap to end.
Bellido turned his Merchant and Banisher to defense, and then set a third spell or trap. Cyber Dragon nailed the Banisher, a set card hit each zone on Ho’s side of the field, and Bellido was up. He flipped Call of the Haunted, brought back Exiled Force and tributed it with priority to destroy Ho’s set Mystic Tomato. Bellido set a third spell or trap once more, Ho destroyed the Merchant with Cyber Dragon and set a monster, and play was back to Bellido. He used Reinforcement of the Army to search his deck for another Freed the Brave Wanderer, summoned it, and used its effect to target Cyber Dragon (Bellido removed Magical Merchant and the other Freed). Ho chained Book of Moon to try and turn his Dragon face down, but Bellido answered back with Ring of Destruction to ensure that it would be destroyed. Freed then attacked Ho’s set Old Vindictive Magician and both monsters were lost.
Reinforcement of the Army got Ho access to Strike Ninja, which was then summoned for an attack. Bellido summoned Bazoo the Soul-Eater and removed three monsters to pump it to a 2500 ATK total. But he only had 2200 life points remaining! His opponent flipped Ring of Destruction, Bazoo went up in flames, and the resulting damage knocked Bellido out of the duel.
Billy Ho takes a game 1 win over fan favorite Dale Bellido!
Both duelists quickly side decked and started the next game. Bellido opened with a single set spell or trap, and when Mystic Tomato attacked him, it was lost to Sakuretsu Armor. Ho set a card to his back row, Dale did the same and play was to Ho.
He activated Graceful Charity and discarded Exiled Force and Strike Ninja: the Ninja just wouldn’t be useful this early. He summoned Sangan, poked Bellido for 1000 damage and ended. Mystical Space Typhoon dropped from Bellido’s hand on the following turn, and Ho opted not to chain the card Typhoon targeted: Book of Moon. Bellido special summoned Cyber Dragon to attack through Sangan for 1100 damage as a result of the move, which was presumably made in order to ensure that Sangan wasn’t removed from play with Nobleman of Crossout.
It was 7000 to 6900 as Ho searched his deck for Treeborn Frog. “I wish I had this Treeborn, when I Graceful’d,” sang Ho cheerily. Bellido passed, Ho activated Premature Burial to bring up Sangan, and he tributed it for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. Zaborg’s effect destroyed Cyber Dragon and Ho searched his deck for Exiled with Sangan’s effect. Zaborg swung into Sakuretsu Armor, Ho set a spell or trap, and play was to Bellido.
He set a spell or trap card yet again, and passed without a monster. Ho used Reinforcement of the Army to bring out Strike Ninja and attacked with it. Bellido took the 1700 damage, and life point totals were 5300 to 6100.
Bellido dipped a bit lower as he special summoned Cyber Dragon with Premature Burial. The Dragon attacked, but Ho dodged with Strike Ninja and took the full 2100 damage. Bellido looked a bit surprised. “You’re at 4000?”
“Yup, 4000 after the attack.”
Bellido set a second spell or trap. “You got Mobius?” Ho didn’t, but summoned Exiled Force instead. Bellido flipped Torrential Tribute and Ho ended after the field was wiped. Bellido took advantage of the situation and summoned Banisher of the Radiance, attacking for 1600 and setting a spell or trap to finish up. Ho special summoned Cyber Dragon, summoned D. D. Assailant, and quipped “Let’s go right into that Mirror Force.” He attacked, and sure enough Bellido flipped Mirror Force! Ho lost his monsters and next turn he ate another 1600 from Banisher. Bellido set another card to his back row and ended. Ho summoned Exarion Universe and lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole, but he activated Smashing Ground to destroy the Banisher in his second main phase.
“800, right?” asked Dale, referring to Ho’s life points. Ho nodded, Dale summoned Mirage Dragon and attacked for the win!
The match proceeded to a third game, and both duelists began siding intensely with 21 minutes remaining.
“How many times did you search for Sangan?” asked Dale. “Four?” Ho laughed as Bellido counted. “One, two yeah. Twice.” Both competitors watched each other’s decks carefully as they sided, but both had opted to smokescreen, so virtually no information could be observed.
Ho opened by setting Mystic Tomato and Call of the Haunted. He lost Call to Mystical Space Typhoon, lost the Tomato to Banisher of the Radiance, and Bellido set a spell or trap. Ho special summoned Cyber Dragon, attacked the Banisher, and set a monster to end his turn. Bellido took a moment to think after his next draw, then summoned D. D. Warrior Lady, used Call of the Haunted to bring back Banisher, and sent Banisher into the face-down monster: Sangan! D. D. Warrior Lady then crashed into Cyber Dragon to remove it.
Mystical Space Typhoon destroyed Bellido’s set Return from the Different Dimension, and Ho searched out D. D. Assailant with Reinforcement of the Army to run over Banisher in battle. He passed again with nothing in his back row. Bellido kept the pressure on, summoning Bazoo, pumping it twice, and running into the Assailant. Both were removed from the game.
Ho set a spell or trap, Bellido summoned Sangan and attacked for 1000. He set a spell or trap, then Ho special summoned Cyber Dragon and attacked into Widespread Ruin. The loss of the Dragon left him wide open, and Bellido hit him again with Sangan before setting a spell or trap card. Ho special summoned Cyber Dragon with Premature Burial, attacked Bellido’s Sangan, and finally laid it out: it fetched Exiled Force to Bellido’s hand.
Bellido was up. He special summoned Cyber Dragon and then used Exiled Force to destroy his opponent’s. His Cyber Dragon attacked but hit Sakuretsu Armor, leaving Ho to set a card to each zone and pass back. Reinforcement of the Army hit the table on Bellido’s side and he used it to search out Exiled Force, destroying Ho’s set Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. Ho set a spell or trap, Bellido summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and Breaker’s token was wasted on Ho’s set Enemy Controller. Ho summoned Exarion Universe next turn to clear it out, but Bellido summoned Bazoo the Soul-Eater.
He pumped it to 2200 ATK, but was again nailed by Ring of Destruction! He dropped to 3100 life points and passed. Ho didn’t have another monster to add to his Exarion for game, but he still attacked with the Dark horseman for 1800 damage. He set a spell or trap and ended, and Bellido special summoned Cyber Dragon. Ho flipped Torrential Tribute to wipe the field, but Bellido capitalized by summoning Banisher of the Radiance and attacking for a quick 1600. The next turn passed in a flash, and when Ho summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, Dale responded with a Torrential Tribute of his own. Ho passed, Bellido set a spell or trap, and Ho set a monster. Cards flopped at a pace too lightning-quick to record, but moments later, both duelists were feeling the hurt: Bellido was down to 1000 life points, while Ho had only 1200 himself. When Ho tributed for Cyber Dragon and tried to attack for game, Bellido flipped Ring of Destruction to target the Dragon! The damage finished off both duelists, and the game was declared a draw.
Dale Bellido forces the match to a fourth duel!
Ho opened with a set card to each zone. Bellido summoned Mirage Dragon, lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole, and then used Nobleman of Crossout to remove Ho’s set Mystic Tomato from the game. Bellido set a spell or trap, Ho summoned D. D. Warrior Lady to attack for 1500 damage, and the Lady was quickly backed up by another face-down card in Ho’s back row. Bellido flipped his set Reinforcement of the Army to take Exiled Force from his deck and used its effect to destroy D. D. Warrior Lady. Another set spell or trap card ended Bellido’s turn.
Ho summoned D. D. Assailant and attacked, scoring a shot of 1700 damage and bringing Bellido down to 4500. Bellido dropped another Exiled to take out the Assailant and set a second spell or trap, then Ho hit him for 1700 with Asura Priest. Ho set a second spell or trap, Bellido set a monster, and Asura Priest crashed into it—it was D. D. Warrior Lady, and it removed both monsters from the game.
Bellido flipped a second Reinforcement of the Army, searching his deck for a D. D. Assailant of his own. He summoned it and attacked, but Ho had Scapegoat to block. Assailant hit a Sheep token, Ho set a monster and a card to his back row, and another Sheep was lost to Assailant. In main phase 2 Bellido used Call of the Haunted to bring back Exiled Force, destroying Ho’s set monster: Apprentice. Ho set a third spell or trap, Bellido did too, Assailant hit a Sheep, Ho passed, and Assailant destroyed the fourth and final token. Bellido set a monster and ended, leaving Ho to special summon Cyber Dragon. Bellido removed it from the game with Bottomless Trap Hole, but Ho special summoned another and it attacked into Sakuretsu Armor. Still, persistence paid off as he flipped Call of the Haunted brought it back again! The resulting attack into Bellido’s set monster revealed Magical Merchant, and when the Merchant was destroyed, Ho activated Enemy Controller! He tributed his Cyber Dragon to take control of Bellido’s D. D. Assailant, attacked Bellido with it, and then flipped Ring of Destruction to blow it up and finish the game. It was a magnificent series of plays that adapted to some unpredictable answers from Bellido, allowing Ho to take the win.
Billy Ho moves on undefeated, scoring a big win over Dale Bellido to earn a perfect 6-0 record!