Round 7 saw eight Chaos variants square off on the top four tables.

Table One – Ari Kathein vs. John Jansen

Ari Kathein was playing a heavily teched Anti-Chaos deck that was reminiscent, in theory, of Evan Vargas’s 2004 Nationals deck. His opponent, John Jansen, was playing a similar Chaos variant with a heavy dose of control. 

Opening game 1 with a few tricks that let him quickly summon an unblocked Mobius the Frost Monarch, Jansen played fast. Armed with a killer hand against a very poor draw on Kathein’s part, the match was over after a couple more attacks. 

Game 2 was interesting. Working his opponent to a slight card disadvantage in the mid-game, Kathein managed to get a Magical Scientist and a Creature Swap into his hand. Jansen had nothing but a face-down spell or trap and a D. D. Warrior Lady, so he was in a very vulnerable position. Seeing his chance, Kathein summoned the Magical Scientist, used its effect as many times as he could to special summon some high-ATK fusion monsters and a Reaper on the Nightmare, and Creature Swapped the attack position Reaper to Jansen. Jansen paled a moment, and Kathein started totaling the damage he could do. He pushed an attacker casually and asked, “How much damage is that?”

“None now,” said Jansen with a smile. He flipped his one set card, an Enemy Controller, tributed away the Reaper, and took control of a Dark Blade the Dragon Knight. Kathein was astounded. He attacked one Dark Blade into the other, shrugged at the rest of his fusions, and swung with Scientist for a paltry 300. The match went down hill from there, and John Jansen took the win.

Table Two – Austin Ambra vs. Daniel Savage

Both players were using Chaos Warrior decks. Game 1 was fast, with a series of monster exchanges whittling down each of their life point totals. As the battle cooled down, Savage took the win with a Change of Heart on Ambra’s D.D. Assailant and Ring of Destruction.

Game 2 could have been short, but Ambra made things difficult for himself by letting ambition get the best of him—he had a chance to gain a clean shot through the use of Fiber Jar in the early game, but instead decided to hang onto it. It was a mistake that would cost him, as he was reduced to only Fiber Jar at one point. The kicker was when he used The Forceful Sentry and saw that Savage had a hand of Black Luster Soldier and Nobleman of Crossout. He got rid of the Soldier, but Fiber got Crossout’d on the next turn. Still, he turned game 2 around and claimed victory after some clever defense.

Game 3 was exceptionally close, with each player attempting to whittle down the other and both players succeeding. Turn by turn, the exchanges ground on, with each player rarely having more than a pair of monsters at his disposal. In the end, though, it was Savage who managed to eek into an advantaged position, and he narrowly stole the victory.

Table Three – Maurice Brantley vs. Matthew Zaabadick

Zaabadick was playing a conventional Warrior Chaos deck, but Brantley was playing an exceptionally original Warrior Chaos variant. Things like Blowback Dragon made their way into his deck, and seeing as he was seated at table three, they’d obviously been doing well for him! He took game 1 very quickly, ending the duel in the mid-game with an attack that consisted of two copies of D. D. Warrior Lady and a monster that he took with Change of Heart.

Zaabadick would turn the tables, though, drawing Brantley into a very long second game. Establishing a massive defense for himself, Zaabadick managed to expand his options faster than Brantley could, and in the end, he overwhelmed his opponent with a massive attack backed by Tribe-Infecting Virus, Jinzo, Magical Scientist, and more.

Zaabadick’s luck would continue as he cut off most of Brantley’s important moves in game 3. The final nail in Brantley’s coffin was a lone Blade Knight that destroyed and negated the effect of his Fiber Jar in the mid-game. With few options left for the rest of the duel, Brantley was forced onto defense, and Zaabadick showed his skill by keeping Brantley off balance until he could claim his victory.

Table Four – Rob Leander vs. Nate Mayo

The golden boy of Vs. System went up against a seasoned Yu-Gi-Oh! veteran, with both players running Chaos Warrior decks. Game 1 looked bad for Rob Leander, as he was faced with a Black Luster Soldier and a Jinzo within a few turns. With a diminished hand, he managed to get out his own Black Luster Soldier, used it to remove Mayo’s, and then exploited it as a wall. A few turns later, it was Leander who had a Jinzo and a Black Luster Soldier under his control, and he quickly took game 1.

Game 2 quickly went to Mayo. Leander spent a great deal of the duel frowning at his hand and making defensive desperation plays, while Mayo made excellent use of his luck. While the game was not entirely won by topdecking, Mayo made all the right moves with the cards he was dealt to capitalize on Leander’s poor position.

Game 3 started off strong for Leander. Both players ran themselves low on cards, and Leander took the advantage by activating Snatch Steal. His target? Mayo’s Sinister Serpent. The reason? It was instantly tributed for a Jinzo. Unfortunately, Mayo drew into D. D. Warrior Lady on the next turn and set it, and Leander walked into the trap. His Jinzo gone, he was forced into a topdecking situation. He held out for ages against Mayo’s onslaught, but was eventually overwhelmed. Mayo took the third win.

There was some really interesting tech in this round. Seeing Brantley summon Blowback Dragon was pretty great, but other, more subtle tech was more universal. Several players this round were running Return from the Different Dimension, and it seemed to be a favorite pick for many players at the event.

The day is almost over and our Top 8 is almost locked, so keep reading as we prepare for the cut to elimination!