Both duelists were supported by their teammates from the sidelines. St. Clair’s new team, Immortal Technique, now consists of Peter Parson, Jose Barreros, Shawn Debrew, Leonard Hamilton, Brian Long, and Barry Russel. Team Scoop’s current roster includes Paul Levitin, Carlos Santiago, Brent Yetter, Quincy Gordon, and a handful of other duelists who have distinguished themselves in high-level play.

St. Clair was running a tricky mix of often-conflicting cards. Strike Ninja and Pot of Avarice are complemented by a pair of Des Lacooda, and a Deck Devastation Virus engine supported by Zombyra the Dark and a pair of Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World. It’s exactly what one would expect from St. Clair—the unexpected.

Scurry was playing a more focused strategy, intensely focused on Chaos Sorcerer and Return from the Different Dimension. Mirage Dragon and Jinzo give him an edge in the momentum department, and a plethora of monster-based removal effects allow him to run a diverse spread of traps. If St. Clair gives him an opening, Scurry will punish him for it.

Both duelists shuffled their decks. Scurry had arrived late, and administrative issues kept the match from beginning when the other quarterfinals did. St. Clair, who counts Scurry as a friend, joked around a bit. “My slippers pwn you,” he said to Scurry, wiggling his feet. The tournament was being held on campus at the University of Maryland, and St. Clair’s dorm room was just a short walk away—he’d arrived in his pajamas this morning.

Shonen Jump Durham Champ Ivan Flores commented from the sidelines. “Scurry, you’ve got so many dead cards in this matchup.”

“Yeah, but what happens when we start topdecking?” Scurry grinned.

“Then you win,” replied Flores. “You’ve got the Sorcerers.” He also has Return from the Different Dimension, another auto-win in the late game. “And once that Jinzo hits the field, it’s over,” Flores added. Jinzo would be a lynchpin card in this matchup: St. Clair had nothing big enough to match Jinzo’s raw size, though he did have three Smashing Ground and a Sorcerer of his own.

He won the die roll, and opened with a set card to each zone. Scurry fired off Graceful Charity, discarded Brain Control, and then discarded Night Assailant. He special summoned Cyber Dragon, lost it to Bottomless Trap Hole, brought out another, and normal summoned Asura Priest! He played Nobleman of Crossout to rob St. Clair of his set D. D. Warrior Lady, and then attacked directly for 3800 damage! An amazing first turn to open up the match.

He set two back row cards and passed. St. Clair played Smashing Ground, set a monster, and ended his turn. Scurry summoned Sangan and slammed it into St. Clair’s set monster, Spirit Reaper, and passed. St. Clair tributed his Reaper for Mobius the Frost Monarch, hitting Dust Tornado and Mirror Force. Mobius swung on Sangan, Scurry pulled Tsukuyomi with its effect, and Roy set one spell or trap card. The life point totals were 6600 to 4200 for Scurry.

Tsukuyomi came down, turned Mobius to defense position, and hit it to destroy it. Scurry passed with an open field. St. Clair was looking at a hand of Premature Burial, Chaos Sorcerer, and Des Lacooda. After some thought, he settled on using Premature to bring back Mobius and attacked with it directly. He set the Lacooda, and life points were 3400 to 4200. Play passed to Scurry.

He used his own Premature Burial, brought back Cyber Dragon, summoned Tsukuyomi, hit Mobius, and wiped Des Lacooda off the field. Roy played Smashing Ground to destroy Cyber Dragon and passed with nothing but a set spell or trap and a dead Chaos Sorcerer in his hand.

Asura Priest hit the field yet again, attacked for 1700, and Scurry passed. St. Clair drew, set a second spell or trap, and ended his turn. Scurry brought out Chaos Sorcerer, summoned Mirage Dragon, and that was it! St. Clair scooped immediately, and each player began side decking.

“One Sakuretsu, one trap, anything, would’ve won the game for me,” maligned St. Clair. “It hurt me that you used both of those Cybers.” He finished shuffling, and play began for game 2.

He set two spell or trap cards, a monster, and passed to Scurry. Scurry hit him again with the Nobleman of Crossout, but St. Clair chained Ceasefire! His set Zombyra flipped face up, saved from Nobleman of Crossout’s removal, but now revealed. Scurry didn’t take the bait. He set a monster and ended his turn.

Zombyra the Dark turned to attack, and Roy contemplated the field. He played Nobleman of Crossout, hitting Scurry’s Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, and ended his turn—Zombyra can’t attack directly. “My draws are so bad” stated Clair. “It’s ridiculous.”

Scurry played Brain Control, took the Zombyra, and tributed it for Jinzo! Jinzo attacked directly for 2400. The life point totals were 6700 to 5600. St. Clair set another back row card, passed, and Scurry hit him with Jinzo. He set one monster and play passed back to St. Clair.

Premature Burial fetched Zombyra back to St. Clair’s field. He tributed for his own Jinzo, and debated where to attack. He settled on sending his Jinzo into Scurry’s, and both were destroyed. Still, he had no follow-up and was forced to pass. Scurry used Premature Burial to bring back Jinzo, Roy chained Call of the Haunted to bring back his own, but Scurry had Snatch Steal! He activated it, taking control of a second Jinzo. Completely out of control of the game, St. Clair’s last set card was Heavy Storm, and he was again forced to concede.

St. Clair had sided out his Deck Devastation Viruses and a handful of other cards for Waboku, Mobius, and other cards to beat Return from the Different Dimension. Scurry had sided out Mirage Dragon and all of his traps aside from Mirror Force, Call of the Haunted, and Torrential Tribute! He’d changed in Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, Metamorphosis, Brain Control, Enemy Controller, Scapegoat, and the kicker, a pair of Royal Decrees. St. Clair drew poorly, but even if luck had treated him better, he still side decked for a completely incorrect matchup, as Scurry wasn’t running a single Return in game 2.

Shane Scurry of Team Scoop moves on to the semifinals!