Unfortunately, due to some miscommunications this round, games got underway before I was able to grab a pair of duelists for a feature match. What you might have been reading here was Fili Luna versus Justin Trias, which I’m sure would have pleased a certain Texan out there. Unfortunately that coverage is now impossible. Instead, I want to look at the decks in my second pick for would-be featured match content.
Rising star Billy Ho made his name here earlier today by beating out Dale Bellido in a feature match, and now he’s up against former American Champion Theeresak Poonsombat. Both of these competitors are playing offbeat decks that were virtually nonexistent in this format before today, and both have a 7-1 record heading into the round. While one duelist will win here and move on with a great shot at Day 2, one wouldn’t normally get their deck list publicized at all. That’s a shame, because I think they both deserve coverage. The fact that there’s a chance that neither might ever see the light of day in our coverage is a travesty.
So I’m setting that straight and doing a quick write-up of both deck lists. First, here’s the one that Billy Ho has taken all the way to the top tables this weekend.
Monsters: 24
3 Cyber Dragon
2 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
1 Jinzo
2 Strike Ninja
1 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Sangan
2 Mystic Tomato
2 D.D. Scout Plane
1 Apprentice Magician
1 Old Vindictive Magician
1 Magician of Faith
2 Exiled Force
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Asura Priest
1 Treeborn Frog
Spells: 11
1 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Premature Burial
1 Smashing Ground
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Scapegoat
1 Heavy Storm
1 Book of Moon
1 Enemy Controller
1 Graceful Charity
Traps: 7
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Ring of Destruction
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
2 Sakuretsu Armor
Ho’s deck is an aggressive Warrior Toolbox variant that packs a spread of Dark monsters in order to support two Strike Ninja cards. (Check out the Tech Update to see what makes Strike Ninja so good in this format.) The deck features eleven main-decked Dark monsters (thirteen if you include the two Ninjas themselves), giving Ho a reliable source of dodging material in the mid- and late game. The deck’s recruiters, Apprentice Magician and Mystic Tomato, are all Dark, so the graveyard can fill up really fast without Ho losing much actual field presence. The pair of Scout Plane cards are particularly cool. They can be searched out via the Tomatoes, and while most people are aware of the possible combo between Planes and Ninjas, it’s rare to see it actually work. Here, it’s taken Ho all the way to a 7-1 record. Oh, and it’s running a whopping 24 monsters. Wow.
Here’s the deck he’s facing as I write this, piloted by Theeresak Poonsombat:
Monsters: 19
3 Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
2 Sillva, Warlord of Dark World
1 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Magician of Faith
1 Mystic Tomato
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Night Assailant
1 Treeborn Frog
1 Sangan
1 Morphing Jar
1 Giant Orc
Spells: 13
1 Card Destruction
2 Smashing Ground
2 Dark World Lightning
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Scapegoat
1 Graceful Charity
1 Premature Burial
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Heavy Storm
1 Confiscation
Traps: 8
1 Mirror Force
2 Deck Devastation Virus
1 Call of the Haunted
2 Sakuretsu Armor
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Ring of Destruction
The deck looks almost like a twisted tribute to King Hang Shum’s second place Dark World/Deck Devastation Virus build from the World Championships. It’s just another one of the successful Dark World builds here today, but its use of Deck Devastation Virus sets it apart. The Virus has taken a beating in popularity lately, but the increased use of Apprentice engines lately has catapulted it back into a state of high viability. T’s got six monsters that he can tribute to activate it, many of which are special summoned through effects and won’t count against his one normal summon per turn. In fact, quite frequently it won’t even cost him a card beyond the Virus itself, since Morphing Jar, Card Destruction, and Graceful Charity turn Goldd and Sillva into free beatsticks.
The deck only uses two Dark World Lightning cards, but keeps its options open with a wide variety of spell cards. Scapegoat protects overextensions that don’t go as planned, and a pair of Smashing Ground cards both simplify the duel and blow away big Monarchs that could otherwise block rushes of Dark World monsters.
The matchup is a tough call, since both of these decks have a lot of merit in the format. If T can get out Deck Devastation Virus early enough to discard a bunch of Ho’s smaller monsters, he could be in good shape, but at the same time that could just make Ho’s Strike Ninja cards even deadlier. It’ll be interesting to see who manages to pull out the win!