The players exchanged brief pleasantries as this first match between Scoopforce and Superfriends began. It was the Bellido brothers versus the members of Scoopforce, with the potential of an all Scoopforce or all Canadian final. Both teams are looking to put both of their members into the finals, so this may be the most important match of Day 2.

Game 1

Lazaro won the toss and opted to go first. He set a card to each zone and passed over to Carlos, who special summoned Cyber Dragon and attacked. Lazaro whacked it with a Sakuretsu Armor, and in main phase 2 Carlos set a card to each zone and passed. Lazaro used a Nobleman of Crossout next turn to remove Goblin Elite Attack Force from play, but his flip-summoned D. D. Assailant was defeated by a Widespread Ruin. Lazaro set a card to each zone and passed over to Carlos. Carlos summoned Exiled Force and destroyed D. D. Warrior Lady with it, then set a card and passed. Lazaro simply passed, and next turn he was hit for 1600 by Bazoo the Soul-Eater. Breaker the Magical Warrior came down next turn and destroyed Carlos’s Sakuretsu Armor before colliding with Bazoo. Carlos set two cards, as did Lazaro, and next turn Carlos summoned Don Zaloog. Don swung but cut nothing but sheep as Lazaro activated Scapegoat.

Next turn, Lazaro took control of the game by tributing a sheep to Enemy Controller to steal the Don and tribute it for Mobius the Frost Monarch. Carlos lost both of his spell and traps, and Mobius attacked directly. Smashing Ground ended the Monarch’s reign next turn, and Carlos set two more monsters. Lazaro flipped Magician of Faith to bring back Enemy Controller and summoned D .D. Assailant to force out Carlos’ Torrential Tribute. Carlos had an Assailant of his own next turn, and Lazaro summoned a D.D. Survivor to do battle with it. He set one more card and passed back to Carlos, who played another Smashing Ground to eliminate the survivor. Don Zaloog from Lazaro next turn tried to take Carlos’ last card, but Dust Tornado allowed him to set it and remove Enemy Controller from Lazaro’s field.

Carlos had a Premature Burial next turn, and he used it to revive the D.D. Survivor that Don had knocked off the top of his deck. It didn’t matter, though, as the combination of Dark Hole and Mystical Space Typhoon cleared Carlos’s field and Lazaro summoned both Exiled Force and Chaos Sorcerer to attack for game.

Lazaro-1 Carlos-0

Game 2

Given the importance of this match, I could hardly blame the players as they side decked in absolute silence. Lazaro only needed one more to make it to the final match, and then the stakes got even higher. It was announced that the second Volstgalph would be given to the winner of a Top 4 playoff rather than the player with the highest point total, meaning that Carlos and Paul needed to win their matches to guarantee a Volstgalph for Scoopforce.

Carlos opted to begin and started with a card to each zone. Lazaro summoned a Mystic Swordsman LV2 and swung on the monster, destroying Sangan. Sangan fetched Kinetic Soldier for Carlos, and Lazaro set a face-down card before ending. Kinetic Soldier tried to do its thing next turn, and succeeded, dealing a massive blow to Lazaro’s life points.

Lazaro had a Reinforcement of the Army, and he played it to get Don Zaloog, despite the presence of Kinetic Soldier on the field. He shuffled his hand up, then set a card to each zone so as to make Carlos question his next move. It didn’t work, though, as Carlos had Exiled Force to destroy the face-down Magician of Faith. Kinetic Soldier then fell to Sakuretsu Armor, and Carlos was forced to set a card and pass. Lazaro flipped Premature Burial to re-summon Mystic Swordsman LV2. It didn’t stay for long, as it was tributed for Mobius the Frost Monarch, destroying both of Carlos’ spell and trap cards. Next turn, Carlos set two more cards and passed back to Lazaro, who summoned Don Zaloog and tried to attack. Widespread Ruin destroyed Mobius, and in the next turn Carlos looked to take a lead with Spirit Reaper and D.D. Survivor. The Reaper dropped Cyber Dragon from Lazaro’s hand, and in the next turn Lazaro played Dark Hole before setting a monster. The monster was Magical Merchant, and it fetched a Scapegoat for Lazaro after being attacked by D. D. Warrior Lady. The Scapegoat helped him hold off the strikes of Carlos’ monsters, but the tokens quickly vanished and Lazaro was on the clock again. Carlos had absolute control of the match with a face-down card, Don Zaloog, Spirit Reaper, and multiple cards in hand. In his final turn, Lazaro topdecked a Dust Tornado, and entered his scoop phase.

Carlos-1 Lazaro-1

Game 3

It was all on the line here, and Lazaro was going first. He set a card to each zone and passed over to Carlos, who simply set a spell or trap before passing. Lazaro flipped Magical Merchant, scoring a Smashing Ground, then summoned a Spirit Reaper. He fell right into Carlos’s trap—a Torrential Tribute. Don came down for Carlos next turn, but Sakuretsu Armor felled it right away. Carlos set a card, and D. D. Assailant next turn from Lazaro fell in a similar way. He set a card and passed back to Carlos, who used Reinforcement of the Army to fetch a D.D. Survivor. He summoned it and attacked for 1800 before setting a card and passing. In the end phase, the set Widespread Ruin was destroyed by a Dust Tornado, and Lazaro moved to take a lead with Smashing Ground and Don Zaloog. Carlos fired right back with Cyber Dragon and a Snatch Steal on Don Zaloog. Things were going downhill fast for Lazaro, and even his Magician of Faith did no good as Don Zaloog quickly removed whatever spell he retrieved. He had a Torrential Tribute but it wasn’t doing him any good. What did do him some good was the Chaos Sorcerer he topdecked on the next turn, allowing him to hang on by a thread. Carlos played Dark Hole, but his Mystic Tomato fell to Torrential Tribute. Both players were going off the top of the deck, and Lazaro grabbed a D. D. Assailant to attack directly. Lazaro hadn’t been paying attention to his life points, though, and in the next turn a ripped Goblin Elite Attack Force from Carlos was just enough to end the game.

Carlos Santiago wins it 2-1 to put his team into the finals! It’s Superfriends versus Scoopforce up next for all the marbles!