Our third round match pits former German champion Vittorio Wiktor against long-time Shonen Jump mainstay Mike Pianka. Everyone has received their Doomcaliber Knight playmats and will shortly begin play. Waiting for the round to start gives us time to . . . meditate . . . or stare at each other.

This round pitted Vittorio’s Six Samurai uplift party plan against Mike’s “my other graveyard is a removed zone” Dark monster deck. The Samurai are known to move in fast and hit pretty hard, but the Dark monsters are versatile and quite capable of dramatic shifts in momentum. Who would get there first remained to be seen.

Samurai Spirits

Vittorio took a moment to examine his opening hand. He set 1 spell or trap card and ended his turn. Mike opened with Armageddon Knight and used its effect to put Destiny Hero – Disk Commander into his graveyard. He then used Monster Reborn to special summon him into defense position and draw 2 cards, a sweet opening indeed. He attacked Vittorio directly with Armageddon Knight, then set 2 spell or trap cards in his main phase 2 and ended his turn.

Vittorio fired up Six Samurai United. He activated Reasoning. Mike called “Level 4.” Cards were pulled off the deck until Grandmaster of the Six Samurai was revealed and special summoned. Six Samurai United gained a Bushido Counter. Vittorio followed Grandmaster with The Six Samurai – Kamon, adding a second Bushido Counter to Six Samurai United. Vittorio then sent it to the graveyard to draw 2 cards. With his hand bolstered, he special summoned Great Shogun Shien into defense position, planning against the appearance of Mirror Force. He attacked Armageddon Knight with Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, destroying it. He then attacked Destiny Hero – Disk Commander with The Six Samurai – Kamon and destroyed him as well. He set 1 spell or trap card in his main phase 2 and ended his turn.

Mike normal summoned another copy of Armageddon Knight, placing Darklord Zerato into his graveyard. He had the magic number of Dark monsters in his graveyard, allowing him to special summon the infamous Dark Armed Dragon. Vittorio was prepared, and responded with Solemn Judgment to negate the Dragon’s summon. Having lost the Dragon, Mike activated Smashing Ground. Great Shogun Shien should have been destroyed, but he used his buddy Kamon as a shield. (Kamon knew his days were numbered) He ended his turn.

Vittorio normal summoned Spirit of the Six Samurai and used its effect to equip onto Grandmaster of the Six Samurai. He switched Great Shogun Shien into attack position, then proceeded to attack. Grandmaster took out Armageddon Knight and destroyed it, allowing Vittorio to draw 1 card. Great Shogun Shien took a direct shot at Mike to end the battle phase. Vittorio set 1 spell or trap card and ended his turn.

Mike was in a tight spot and could only set 1 monster card. Vittorio added The Six Samurai – Irou to the ranks and special summoned another Great Shogun Shien. Mike activated Enemy Controller, but Vittorio’s Solemn Judgment made short work of it. Unable to stop the oncoming attacks, with just his set monster standing in the way, he conceded the duel.

Vittorio takes the lead, 1 – 0.

Blink and You Miss It

Mike chose to go first. He set 1 monster card and 2 spell or trap cards, ending his turn. Vittorio set 3 spell or trap cards and then normal summoned The Six Samurai – Irou. He attacked with Irou, destroying Mike’s Mystic Tomato in battle. Mike special summoned Armageddon Knight and used its effect to place Dark Magician of Chaos into his graveyard. Vittorio ended his turn.

Mike normal summoned Snipe Hunter. He targeted one of Vittorio’s spell and trap cards, with no response from Mike. Mike rolled a 4, destroying the set Premature Burial. He targeted another set spell or trap card, this time rolling a 3 and taking out Torrential Tribute! Vittorio could have used it, and losing it soon proved devastating.

With 3 Dark monsters in his graveyard, Mike special summoned Dark Armed Dragon. He used its effect to destroy Vittorio’s set Dark Bribe and his The Six Samurai – Irou. He then activated Return from the Different Dimension, special summoning Jinzo and Dark Magician of Chaos. With nothing standing in his way, he said, “I attack for over 9000 damage.” Vittorio could do nothing but concede the duel.

Mike ties it up, 1 – 1.

No Escape from the Dark Dimension

Vittorio opted to go first. He set 1 monster card and 3 spell or trap cards, ending his turn. Mike began his turn, but during his draw phase Vittorio activated Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror! The bane of Dark monsters was in effect, and Mike’s actions pressing forward would be affected.

Mike activated Allure of Darkness, drawing 2 cards and removing Jinzo from play. Next, he activated Reinforcement of the Army to add Strike Ninja to his hand. He normal summoned Strike Ninja and attacked, but Vittorio responded with Mirror Force. Mike couldn’t use Strike Ninja’s effect to save him, so the Ninja was lost to the graveyard. He moved on to his main phase 2 and activated Heavy Storm, to which Vittorio chained Dark Bribe. Heavy Storm was shut-down and Mike drew his bonus card. He set 1 spell or trap card and ended his turn.

Vittorio activated Reasoning. Mike called “Level 7,” and from the deck The Six Samurai – Yaichi was special summoned. Vittorio normal summoned The Six Samurai – Zanji and then activated Yaichi’s effect, targeting Mike’s face-down card. Mike chose not to activate his set card, an Escape from the Dark Dimension! It could have gotten him Jinzo, but now it would do nothing. Vittorio took advantage of this gain to special summon Great Shogun Shien and then attack directly with Shien and Zanji. He set 1 spell or trap card and ended his turn.

Mike normal summoned Strike Ninja and then activated Lightning Vortex, discarding Armageddon Knight. He destroyed every monster on Vittorio’s side of the field and then attacked directly with Strike Ninja. Vittorio used his next turn to set 1 spell or trap card, but nothing more.

Mike had a chance to press on from his earlier mistake. He normal summoned Armageddon Knight, but its effect was negated by the Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. Vittorio’s Torrential Tribute made short work of both Strike Ninja and Armageddon Knight. Were it not for the Mirror, Strike Ninja could have saved himself, but now Mike could do nothing.

Vittorio activated Six Samurai United. He normal summoned The Six Samurai – Zanji and placed a Bushido Counter onto Six Samurai United. He sent it to his graveyard to draw 1 card, then moved on to his battle phase and attacked directly with The Six Samurai – Zanji. Mike used his next turn to set 1 monster card and 1 spell or trap card, ending his turn.

Vittorio moved quickly into his battle phase, using Zanji to take out Mike’s set Armageddon Knight. Vittorio passed to Mike, who used Allure of Darkness to draw 2 cards and remove Darklord Zerato from play. He set 1 spell or trap card and ended his turn.

Vittorio began his turn with Grandmaster of the Six Samurai. He checked the graveyard and then special summoned Great Shogun Shien. Mike considered his set spell or trap cards, and then extended his hand to Vittorio, conceding the match.

Vittorio wins with the Six Samurai, 2 – 1.