Santiago and Cold both shuffled and exchanged a friendly conversation about the rules of shuffling and the side-deck. It looks like this will be a friendly and respectful game.

Cold won the toss and started off with a set monster and spell or trap before passing. Ray drew and copied Cold before passing right back. Both players were looking very serious and neither dared to make a mistakes. Seth set a back row card and passed, and Ray flipped Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. However, when he tried to summon Tsukuyomi, Cold countered it by paying half his life points for Solemn Judgment, and Dekoichi ran into Shining Angel which allowed Cold to fetch another. In the end phase, Ray lost his Scapegoat to Dust Tornado and Cold decided to attack his Angel into Dekoichi. D. D. Warrior Lady came out and poked Ray for 1500, then Cold set a monster with a back row card before passing. Ray took a few moments to think through his move before special summoning Cyber Dragon. He followed up with Snatch Steal on D. D. Warrior Lady and it crashed into Mirror Force! In his second main phase, Ray used Exiled Force to destroy a face-down Magician of Faith, which could have been potentially game-winning, and set a card before passing.

Cold summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, removed its counter to destroy the face-down Mirror Force, and hit Ray for 1600. Ray drew and summoned Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, attacking Breaker and dealing some damage as well as removing two monsters from Cold’s graveyard from play. The life totals were 4900 on Ray with Cold at 3800. Exiled Force came down on Cold’s side of the field and destroyed Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, but a D. D. Warrior Lady later, Cold was down to 2300. After setting a card Ray passed, and Cold bought out Chaos Sorcerer, retaining priority to remove D. D. Warrior Lady from the game.

Ray had the answer, though, with Call of the Haunted to bring back Exiled Force, tributing it for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, destroying Sorcerer and attacking for the 2400 left needed to win the game!

Ray takes game 1, and both players dived into their side decks.

Cold had a silent style of play. He seemed to announce his moves very clearly but didn’t seem up to much chatter. “Sorry, Seth, is it okay if I count your side deck?” Ray asked Cold, and both players counted out the fifteen-card piles to each other before shuffling up for game two.

Cold again chose to start off, and did so with the same start as before with a set to each zone. Ray went on the offensive and special summoned Cyber Dragon, activating Nobleman of Crossout to remove Apprentice Magician before hitting for 2100. Cold considered his options and flipped Mystical Space Typhoon on Ray’s set Sakuretsu Armor before summoning and attacking into Night Assailant with D.D. Warrior Lady. The action moved slowly but methodically, and Cold set a card to his back row before eating another 2100 from Cyber Dragon. Ray had one card in hand to Cold’s four, but the field and life point presence was in Ray’s favour. Cold used Premature Burial to bring back D. D. Warrior Lady, running it into Skelengel before Ray activated Snatch Steal. D. D. Warrior Lady hit in to the face-down Magician of Faith, which got Cold his Typhoon back, but then took another Cyber Dragon hit. Ray set a monster and ended.

Cold attempted to use the Typhoon on Snatch Steal, but ran into Book of Moon! Cold’s own Snatch took Cyber Dragon and attacked into the face-down Treeborn Frog, which Ray bought back next turn after gaining his 1000 life points. Ray flipped D. D. Warrior Lady, and Cold took a minute to think about his face-down card. Ray seemed to think it was a Solemn Judgment (or a bluff), and a Smashing Ground later, Cyber Dragon found its way in to the graveyard. Ray carefully thought before attacking with D. D. Warrior Lady. Cold once again fingered his face-down card, but with only 900 life points left, he conceded the game!

Ray Santiago moves on with four wins and becomes one step closer to making Day Two! Seth Cold, however, will have to be extremely careful if he wants a chance of being invited back for tomorrow’s final rounds!