Michael Munoz was representing Team Onestop Hobbyshop. “We’ve got about ten members playing here today,” he said. Munoz got a peck on the cheek from his girlfriend for luck, and the game began!

Lee won the die roll and opted to open the game. He wished Munoz good luck, drew, and set a monster before passing. In true Tony Lee fashion, he was playing blazingly fast, shuffling his hand between moves and making play decisions quickly and decisively.

Munoz set a card to each zone and passed back. Lee set a back row card, passed, and Munoz flip summoned his Mystic Tomato. He sent it into Lee’s face down, Skelengel, Lee drew, and Munoz passed. Lee played Exiled Force, used it to blow away the Tomato, and passed. Munoz set a card to each zone and Lee did the same before passing play back. Munoz flipped Dust Tornado, destroying one of Lee’s face down spell or traps, choosing the one that was Heavy Storm. He summoned D. D. Warrior Lady and sent her to attack, but lee played Sakuretsu Armor in response. Munoz ended, Lee set another monster, and play passed back to his opponent.

Gravekeeper’s Spy flipped on Munoz’s side of the field, and he brought out a second in attack position. He attacked both of Lee’s face down monsters, destroying Magician of Faith and crashing into Strike Ninja, which remained on the field. Lee flipped Mystical Space Typhoon in Munoz’s end phase, destroying Enemy Controller, and on the following turn he attacked with Strike Ninja and summoned Zombyra the Dark. Zombyra did not attack. Lee set a back row card and passed.

In Munoz’s draw phase, Lee tributed Zombyra for Deck Devastation Virus! Munoz had no applicable monsters in his hand, but the Virus did destroy the one Spy remaining.

Munoz drew and used Reinforcement of the Army to fetch D. D. Assailant. Snatch Steal took Lee’s Strike Ninja, and Munoz attacked with both. It was 7500 to 5600 in Munoz’s favor, and play passed to Lee.

Lee used the Heavy Storm that his Magician of Faith had brought back for him. Reinforcement grabbed him Don Zaloog, and he summoned it. Strike Ninja suicided into D. D. Assailant, both were removed from play, and Don hit directly for 1400, costing Munoz his Torrential Tribute

Munoz drew, revealing Waboku for Deck Devastation Virus’s effect. Smashing Ground destroyed Don, and he set one back row card. Play passed to Lee, who set a card to each zone and passed back. Munoz played Premature Burial, targeting Exiled Force, and brought it back to destroy Lee’s set Spy. Next turn Lee played Call of the Haunted, brought back Don Zaloog, and attacked to discard Spirit Reaper from Munoz’s hand. Munoz set both of his remaining cards to his back row and passed. Lee hit with Zaloog again and called top two, a weird move. But he discarded Sangan, making it worthwhile. Lee laughed, “Oh, I’ll admit that was lucky!” He set a back row card and passed.

Still, Munoz wasn’t done yet! He played Dark Hole, clearing the field, and then special summoned Chaos Sorcerer! Chaos Sorcerer attacked directly, and Lee could do nothing to block the damage. Munoz then flipped Return from the Different Dimension, brought back his D. D. Assailant that had been removed from play during the clash with Strike Ninja, and the attack from Assailant finished the duel!

Michael Munoz wins a duel that his opponent had appeared to control completely, thanks to Return from the Different Dimension!

“Wow . . . wowsers . . . ” Lee was impressed and a bit surprised. He immediately set to the task of side decking.

Lee opted to go first again, and opened with a set monster. Munoz summoned Blade Knight, and ran over Lee’s set Don Zaloog. Munoz set one spell or trap, passed to Lee who set a card to each zone, and drew for his next turn.

Blade Knight pressed again, smacking right into Gravekeeper’s Spy. Munoz took some damage back, and because the Spy was not destroyed, Lee got to claim the Spy’s flip effect. Another spy came to the field kin defense, Munoz set a monster, and Lee was up.

He summoned Exarion Universe and ran over Blade Knight before passing. Munoz set another monster and passed again. Exarion attacked Munoz’s face down monster, he declared that he wanted to give it pierce damage, and it hit right into Spirit Reaper! He summoned Exiled Force and used its effect to destroy Munoz’s other set, D. D. Assailant!

Munoz took the Exarion with Snatch Steal, and tributed it for Cyber Dragon. He ran the Dragon into a Spy, which was successfully destroyed. Lee drew for his turn, played Smashing Ground to destroy the Dragon, and passed after flipping Swords of Revealing Light and setting a monster.

With no way to attack, Munoz set a monster. Lee flipped Magical Merchant, set a spell or trap, and ended his turn. Munoz, hands shaking, set a third monster. A turn cycle later, Lee’s Swords of Revealing Light was destroyed.

It was Lee’s one set back row card, five cards in hand and Merchant and Spy to his opponent’s two set monsters, Reaper, and one set back row card. Munoz had four cards in hand. Lee set a spell or trap, Munoz set one too, and Lee passed back.

Bazoo the Soul-Eater hit the field on Munoz’s side and removed D. D. Assailant, Blade Knight, and Cyber Dragon from play to make itself a 2500 ATK behemoth. Munoz fliopped Sangan, pressed to attack, but was repelled by Waboku. He ended his turn.

Lee played Heavy Storm, Munoz chained Waboku, and summoned Goldd by tributing Magical Merchant. He special summoned Chaos Soldier and debated his play – he removed Sangan from the field after a brief moment of thought. Goldd swung into the one last set monster, Gravekeeper’s Spy. Lee had forgotten about Munoz’s chained Waboku. Lee set one back row card and ended his turn.

Munoz summoned one last monster, another D. D. Assailant, and sent it to attack Chaos Sorcerer. Lee shook his head, barely believing it. His Sorcerer was removed from play, and the life point totals were 5600 to 8000. Munoz set one back row card and passed, but before the turn ended, Lee use Dust Tornado to destroy Munoz’s one set spell or trap: Return from the Different Dimension! Lee attacked next turn, hitting the defense position Bazoo with Spy and clearing out one of Munoz’s Spies with Goldd. He set one card to his spell and trap zone and passed.

A spell or trap was Munoz’s only reply on the next turn, and again, Lee hit it in Munoz’s end phase with Dust Tornado, destroying the Nobleman of Crossout that Munoz had tried to bluff with. Lee drew for his turn and announced that, “this one is going to take a minute.” He activated Premature Burial, brought back Exarion, sent Goldd into the remaining Spy, and hit the Reaper with Exarion for some more damage.  Lee’s last monster, Gravekeeper’s Spy, went to defense.

Munoz set another monster, giving him two set monsters and one defense position Spy. He had nothing to set in the back row, save a Dark Hole he had just topdecked, but his reluctance to use it left the Spirit Reaper wide open. Sure enough, Lee sent the Exarion into Reaper on the following turn: it was basically just a free swing for 1200, and Munoz’s expression showed that he felt it. He set one back row card and passed back to Lee.

Lee sent Exarion into the Reaper again, and Munoz had no answer. Munoz drew, set another spell or trap, and ended his turn. Lee then tributed his Spy for Jinzo, and Exarion bashed Spirit Reaper yet again! Munoz had only 800 life points remaining!

Munoz had no choice, and had to play Dark Hole. Dust Tornado destroyed Lee’s last back row card, Reinforcement of the Army, and Munoz had one set card. “If that’s Return, that’s game,” said Lee. Munoz started counting his removed from play cards. He didn’t have Return though, and just flipped Call of the Haunted to summon Bazoo and remove a few more monsters. He attacked for 2500, set one monster, and passed.

Lee was relieved. “I gotta calm down,” he said. At one point he’d gotten up and left the table, watching from afar, thinking that he’d lost. He drew for his turn, played Pot of Avarice, and took his two. He just needed to dish out one tiny attack to win the game and stay live in the match. He played Snatch Steal to take Bazoo, summoned Gravekeeper’s Spy, and sent the Spy to attack Munoz’s face down! It was Mystic Tomato, and thought it blocked the Spy’s attack, all it could do was pull another Tomato in attack position. At 2500 ATK, the Bazoo Lee had taken with Snatch Steal was more than enough to dish out the final 800 damage he needed to win!

Tony Lee comes back from what he thought was certain defeat, and forces the match to go to a third duel!

Munoz began the duel, setting a single monster and passing. Lee set a monster as well, and passed back. Munoz played Exiled Force, tributed it to destroy Skelengel, and flip summoned Mystic Tomato, pecking Lee for 1400. He set a spell or trap and ended his turn.

Eight minutes remained in the match, so the first blood was priceless. Lee set a monster, Munoz set another spell or trap card, and Lee set a second monster. Munoz flipped Call of the Haunted, but Lee chained Dust Tornado and set a card with the Tornado’s effect. Munoz set another monster, turned Tomato to defense, and ended. Lee passed back, Munoz tributed his set Spirit Reaper for Cyber Dragon, and attacked into Magical Merchant. The Merchant got Lee a Torrential Tribute, and Munoz ended his turn.

Lee flipped his set Heavy Storm, destroying Munoz’s Torrential Tribute. Reinforcement of the Army got Lee Don Zaloog, and he played Dark Hole. He attacked with the Don, evened the score to 6600 all, and discarded Smashing Ground from Munoz’s hand. Lee set two spells or traps and passed.

Munoz was on the defensive, setting a card to each zone. Lee end-phased him again,t his using Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Return from the Different Dimension. Lee summoned Exarion, attacked the face down, and did not use Exarion’s effect. It was the wrong read, as the set monster was Spirit Reaper. Munoz summoned Bazoo the Soul-Eater, removed three monsters, and attacked Don. Sakuretsu Armor was Lee’s response, but Munoz used Enemy Controller from his hand to tribute Bazoo and take Exarion. Exarion hit Zaloog and Munoz passed. Lee started poking for 1200 damage with Exarion.

The poking continued for two turns, until Munoz hit his one face down, Torrential Tribute, with Nobleman of Extermination. He summoned another Bazoo, removed three monsters to make it 2500, and turned Reaper to attack position. Lee started subtly flashing one of his two in-hand cards to the crowd. Bazoo hit Lee directly, and then Reaper attacked as well, but when Munoz had to pick which card to discard from Lee’s hand, he picked the wrong one! Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World emerged from Lee’s hand, and Munoz lost Bazoo and Reaper as it hit the field!

“Woo!” Lee was enthused and the crowd behind him erupted!

A turn later Lee flipped Call of the Haunted, brought back Exarion, and played Nobleman of Crossout to remove Munoz’s one set monster. Lee attacked with Goldd and Exarion to win the final duel!

Tony Lee comes back from a game 1 loss to win the match and move on undefeated!