Pete Navarro arrived on the scene today as one of many players wielding a low-utility, high-power Lightsworn deck. His build, while running a multitude of potentially dead draws in the form of Celestia, Beckoning Light, and My Body as a Shield, doesn’t rely on Card of Safe Return as a crutch to allow for reckless play, and he’s also playing an interesting tech choice in Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid. For these reasons, Pete is one of the few Lightsworn players left in contention today. He finished 11-2 at Costa Mesa, while his opponent Jeremy Aronen also had an X-2 finish: 6-2 at one of the Jumps in Minneapolis. Jeremy was playing Dark Armed Dragon with the popular main deck choice of Bottomless Trap Hole. Those traps could be a problem if they hit the right cards, and Jeremy would have the chance to get one down on the first turn as he won the roll and opted to begin.
Jeremy started with a set spell or trap and passed over to Pete, who set a card (likely Ryko) and passed. Jeremy’s set card was Destiny Draw and he flipped it, dropping Destiny Hero - Plasma to draw two. He set another card—Solemn Judgment—and passed. Pete drew, summoned Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior, and then flipped Ryko to destroy the Solemn Judgment. He sent three cards to the graveyard—including a Wulf—but whiffed on Garoth’s effect. Pete swung for 4150 damage, then set a spell or trap and passed. Snipe Hunter came down for Jeremy, and he claimed priority to pitch Dark Magician of Chaos targeting Wulf. He rolled a 1, and then shot again, pitching D.D. Crow this time. The die fell on 6! It was another miss, but it gave Jeremy three Darks in the graveyard and Dark Armed Dragon hit the table! He removed Dark Magician of Chaos to target Wulf, but My Body as a Shield chained to negate and destroy the Dragon! Snipe Hunter attacked into Ryko, but during the damage step, Honest swooped down to save it! Jeremy set one more card, but Pete sent all his guys on a direct attack to take the game! Pete Navarro obliterates Jeremy Aronen in game 1 after a few quick turns!
Both players side decked, and I got a chance to see more of Pete’s deck as he fanned it out looking for cards to remove. It looked very much like the deck from UK Nationals minus the really questionable reliance on Card of Safe Return. Jeremy would start the next game, and he opened up with a monster and two set spell or trap cards. Trap Dustshoot revealed Pete’s hand of Ehren, Honest, Threatening Roar, My Body as a Shield, and two copies of Wulf. Jeremy sent Ehren back to the deck, and Pete set a card before passing. The double Wulf draw was extremely painful, and things got worse when Jeremy pitched Disk Commander to Destiny Draw. He drew two and threw down Reinforcement of the Army to fetch out Elemental Hero Stratos and the Hero fetched Destiny Hero - Malicious in turn. Spirit Reaper flipped up, but Threatening Roar prevented Jeremy from declaring any attacks. Pete set two spells or traps and a monster, and Crush Card Virus rid Pete of his in-hand Wulfs on the end phase. Pete’s set Honest was revealed, and play was back to Jeremy.
Jeremy had a full hand and was seemingly in complete control of the game. He couldn’t beat a defensive Honest though, and had to pass to Pete, who revealed his topdecked Solar Recharge. Pete passed with no play, as did Jeremy, and Pete revealed the My Body as a Shield he drew for the turn before passing and becoming free of the Virus’s influence. Once again, no play came from the Lightsworn side, but Jeremy drew into an Allure of Darkness and played it immediately. Dark Grepher was removed to resolve the effect, and Jeremy set a monster before passing. Pete flipped his Honest and tried to return it to its hand, but Jeremy chained with Light-Imprisoning Mirror! He chained to the Mirror with his set Book of Moon to try and force Honest’s effect through, and after much conference between the judges and an appeal, it was decided that this doesn’t work. Honest was stuck on the ground, and Pete set a spell or trap before passing. Jeremy was back up, and activated Heavy Storm! The Mirror was gone, and Pete lost a My Body and a Royal Decree. Jeremy swung on the Honest to flip it up and then activated Brain Control to steal Honest! He tributed it for a face-down monster then set a spell or trap and passed.
Pete drew into Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid and dropped it to play a Solar Exchange! He drew two cards and lost Threatening Roar and Ryko to the graveyard, and Jeremy flipped another Mirror! Stratos swung for 1800, and the new Mirror was joined by two spell or trap cards. Jeremy set a monster and passed over to Pete, who activated Monster Reincarnation, pitching a useless My Body to try and bring Honest to his hand. D.D. Crow ensured that it was unsuccessful, and Premature Burial was similarly unsuccessful thanks to the interference of Bottomless Trap Hole. Navarro passed, and Jeremy flipped his Jujitsu Master and Malicious before summoning Card Trooper and dumping three cards off the top of the deck. Card Trooper swung, and Navarro took it. Book of Moon was flipped to block the Stratos attack, but Solemn Judgment from Jeremy ensured it was game.
An early Crush Card Virus and double Light-Imprisoning Mirror sealed game 2 in favor of Jeremy Aronen!
All eyes were on this match as the players side decked and shuffled up for game 3. Phantom of Chaos was coming in from the side deck for Pete, as copying a Judgment Dragon with it would allow it to bypass Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror and wipe the board, a potentially crucial play in this last game. Pete would be opening for the first time in the match, and he started off with double Wulf once again, quite possibly the roughest beat available. He summoned Ehren, set a spell or trap, and lost Torrential, Honest, and Lyla to the graveyard in the end phase. Card Trooper came down and pumped, but Threatening Roar blocked its attack, and Jeremy set a spell or trap. Monster Reincarnation let Pete pitch a Wulf to pull back Honest, but his Lightsworn Druid was met by Torrential Tribute! Card Trooper allowed Jeremy a bonus draw, and Pete passed with three in hand and four Lightsworn in the graveyard.
Monster Reborn pulled back Card Trooper for Jeremy and dropped three cards into the graveyard before swinging for 1900 and setting a spell or trap. Solar Recharge came off the top of the deck, allowing Pete to pitch his other dead Wulf! He lost Book of Moon and Phantom of Chaos to the graveyard, but gained a Foolish Burial which he used to send Wulf to the yard. Light-Imprisoning Mirror flipped up on the chain, and Wulf didn’t come up. Pete set a monster and passed over to Jeremy who milled three more cards, losing his Crush Card Virus this time. Trooper bumped with Pete’s set Honest, and Pete was back up. He drew into Judgment Dragon and checked to see that he could summon it before ending his turn with no play. Jeremy didn’t have the Dark monsters required to summon Dark Armed Dragon, but a lucky hit with Card Trooper’s effect gave him the exact count required to unleash two Dark Armed Dragon cards for the game!
Pete Navarro is plagued by double-Wulf starting hands for apparently the first time in the tournament, losing to Jeremy Aronen, 2-1.