One bit of housekeeping to attend to before the match begins. I can never remember how to spell his full name, so Theerasak will henceforth be known as T. He has the single most Day 2 appearances in Shonen Jump Championships ever, and he’s looking for his 8^th today. Phillip Anthony made his first Day 2 back in Columbus with a Monarch build, and he’s looking to build up his reputation with another Day 2 appearance at this Jump.

T won the opening roll and started with a set to each zone, as did Phillip. T passed his next turn while Phillip flipped up Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive and attacked into Destiny Hero — Disk Commander. He set a monster and passed over to T who special summoned Cyber Dragon and activated Reinforcement of the Army to fetch out Elemental Hero Stratos. Stratos was summoned allowing T to pluck Destiny Hero — Fear Monger from his deck, and Stratos proceeded to destroy Dekoichi in battle while Cyber Dragon fell prey to Ring of Destruction. T passed with no further plays, and Phillip merely set a spell or trap before passing right back.

T attacked into Phillip’s face down monster once again and, this time, Treeborn Frog was destroyed. He set a monster and passed back to Phillip who had a Cyber Dragon of his own. Stratos went down in battle against the Dragon, and Phillip ended his turn without setting anything new. Both players were taking quick opportunities to attack, something usually absent from Monarch mirror matches. In general, play has been fast paced today, and T continued the trend by flipping Fear Monger and activating Premature Burial to recover his Stratos. Stratos destroyed Phillip’s set Sakuretsu Armor, and T tributed both of his monsters for Dark Magician of Chaos! The Magician returned Premature Burial to T’s hand, and he used it to bring back Cyber Dragon before activating Brain Control on Phillip’s Cyber Dragon and attacking for game! T takes a quick game 1 with some smart, aggressive play!

Both players smoke-screened between games, and it was Phillip’s choice to start the second game. He decided to go first and started with a pair of spell or traps and a set monster. Trap Dustshoot was flipped in T’s draw phase, revealing Malicious, Card Trooper, Disk Commander, Stratos, Reinforcement of the Army, and Metamorphosis. While T’s deck is Destiny Hero and Monarch powered, Metamorphosis is the real defining characteristic, giving him more options than the average player in the face of a wide variety of situations. Card Trooper was sent back to T’s deck, and he continued his turn with Elemental Hero Stratos to fetch out Destiny Hero — Dasher from his deck. Stratos was destroyed by Sakuretsu Armor when he attacked, and T passed with a totally bare field. Phillip flipped his Dekoichi and attacked with it before setting a card to each zone and passing. Play was back to T, and he special summoned Cyber Dragon to attack Dekoichi. It was lost to Ring of Destruction though, and things weren’t going so hot for the 7-time Day 2 competitor. He set a card to each zone, and Phillip flipped another Dekoichi for a draw before tributing it for Mobius the Frost Monarch to blast T’s bluff Metamorphosis. Dekoichi took down T’s set Disk Commander and Mobius swung directly before Phillip passed. T was out of playable monsters, so he used Reinforcement of the Army to grab Destiny Hero — Fear Monger and set him along with a bluff Nobleman of Crossout before ending.

Play was back to Phillip, and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch was up next, blowing away the set monster. Two Monarch hits later and Phillip took game 2, completely locking T out.

Both players were feeling the pressure of their 7-1 records, realizing that this was the clutch game that would likely decide who makes Top 8 and who hopes to sneak in at 12^th+. T was up first, and he started with Destiny Draw pitching Malicious! He set a monster and passed to Phillip who tributed the set with Soul Exchange to summon Thestalos! The monster was a Sangan, and Thestalos pitched Destiny Hero — Disk Commander before Sangan searched out Snipe Hunter. Forced to skip his battle phase, Phillip set a spell or trap and passed over to T. T brought down Snipe Hunter and pitched Dark Magician of Chaos to target the backfield card. He rolled a 5, destroying Sakuretsu Armor, and Premature Burial was next, reviving the Dark Magician of Chaos. The Magician returned Destiny Draw to T’s hand, but he couldn’t play it yet due to a Destiny Hero deficiency. Instead, he discarded it to Snipe Hunter and rolled a 4 to wipe Phillip’s field. Next, he removed Malicious to summon a new one and attacked with everything for 7200.

Phillip couldn’t use Brain Control or Premature Burial at this point, and after a quick look at his hand, he set a card to each zone and added a second to the backfield before ending. T drew Ring of Destruction. One Card Trooper was pitched to Snipe Hunter to destroy Phillip’s Torrential Tribute, and T’s other Trooper was tossed to target the other backfield card, but he rolled a 1! T switched his Malicious to defense and attacked into Mirror Force. It was totally irrelevant, as Phillip was at 800 life points, just enough for T to destroy his defense mode Malicious for game. He didn’t do it right away though, and Phillip set a monster and T used Ring in the end phase for the win. Regardless, it was a win for T, which locks him in for his 8^th Day 2 appearance, defeating Phillip Anthony, 2-1!