The champ is here!

Dale Bellido has gone from the unfortunate runner-up in Canada’s 2004 National Championship to being a certified, verified, celebrity duelist. The holder of last year’s Shonen Jump Chicago title, he’s been vocal over the past few weeks about his intent here today, which is winning another Chi-Town championship.

Check out his new build.

2 Cyber Dragon

1 Jinzo

2 Magician of Faith

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

2 Mystic Tomato

2 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive

2 Spirit Reaper

2 Chaos Sorcerer

1 Newdoria

1 Night Assailant

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Sangan

1 Tsukuyomi

2 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Enemy Controller

1 Smashing Ground

1 Graceful Charity

1 Book of Moon

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Heavy Storm

1 Scapegoat

1 Snatch Steal

1 Premature Burial

2 Dust Tornado

2 Sakuretsu Armor

1 Torrential

1 Mirror Force

1 Return from the Different Dimension

1 Call of the Haunted

Tomato Control is all about maintaining field presence, while also maintaining a wide range of options. Mystic Tomato serves as the basis for both of these goals, keeping monsters on the field with its effect while searching out Newdoria for monster destruction and Spirit Reaper for hand disruption. Certain decisions in the monster lineup are of note. While a pair of Newdoria is usually considered standard, Bellido’s dropped down to just one, and isn’t running any Don Zaloog either. Popular choices for the format have taken precedence instead, as the deck includes cards like Night Assailant and Morphing Jar. The latter continues to gain steam in high-level play. “I don’t even like this card,” Bellido said, fingering the Jar. “But every time I play it, I wind up using it and winning.”

Morphing Jar buries cards in the graveyard for use with Chaos Sorcerer, and digs for the all-important Tomatoes. It also acts as a handy reset button if the game gets out of control: just pop Morphing Jar, drop a Tomato, and you’ve got a second chance at controlling the duel through the Tomato Toolbox.

Bellido had more tech up his sleeve, too. Or, should I say, in his pants.

“Look at these pants? Don’t they just scream ‘golf’?” He got up from his chair and put down his deck to strike a teeing-off pose and gave a grin. Stylish, Dale. Stylish.

Back to the deck, the spell selections are of particular interest, as Dale is one of the many duelists who is foregoing a second or third copy of Smashing Ground for other cards. Multiple Smashing Grounds are going to be most useful in a deck that tries to simplify the field through an increased tempo, and this deck plays better to a neutral tempo that can capitalize on consistent control of the field without forcing itself into topdecking. Specifically, Dale’s using Enemy Controller over Smashing Ground: two of them. They help him punch through Spirit Reaper during the battle phase, let him steal opposing monsters for unexpected attacks, and provide Monarch tech.

That’s an important factor, because the deck isn’t using any Bottomless Trap Hole. After a Top 8 at Columbus that was jam packed with Chaos Sorcerer, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Cyber Dragon, and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, Bellido isn’t main decking a single copy. Instead, he’s relying on the Enemy Controllers for chainability in the face of Mobius, and he’s running two Dust Tornado.

The Dust Tornados are really a big issue for Bellido, and contributed heavily to the decision to forego Bottomless Trap Hole. “I’m running Jinzo,” Bellido explained, “so I’m trying to stay as light on traps as possible.” The Tornados are very high in utility for any deck, but are especially precious here, as they knock away the opponent’s Sakuretsu Armors and Mirror Force. That ensures that Mystic Tomato stays on the field, protecting it from two of the three primary threats that can work around its effect (the third being Smashing Ground). In addition, Dust Tornado can protect his single copy of Return from the Different Dimension: he can set Dust Tornado, activate it in the end phase of his opponent’s turn, and use its secondary effect to set Return. That keeps Return protected from Breaker the Magical Warrior and Heavy Storm, letting Bellido make the most of his single copy.

Dale Bellido has been training and preparing for this event for weeks on end, and he’s definitely one of the smart money bets for today. With his pair of Enemy Controller and focus on field presence, he’s tapped into what appears to be two of the big trends here today. Time will tell as to his performance today, but for now, he’s a top pick for a Day 2 qualification!