The danger in coming to these events with a family member is that if you both do well you’ll eventually have to play each other, which is exactly the situation the Bellido brothers are now faced with. These two have been playtesting against each other for quite a while now, so they know each other’s decks pretty well. Both players are running the same Monarch deck with few variations, so this matchup is going to have a heavy social element as well as actual elements of game play.

Dale won the roll and opted to go first, setting a monster and passing. Lazaro started with the more traditional set to each zone, and play was back to Dale who flipped Gravekeeper’s Spy to fetch a second in defense before attacking into his brother’s set Spy! Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch came down in main phase two to steal Call of the Haunted away from Lazaro, and Dale passed his turn.

Lazaro set a monster and passed back to Dale, who attacked headlong into Sakuretsu Armor before setting a card to each zone and passing. The younger brother was back up, and he activated Heavy Storm to nail Sakuretsu Armor before tributing for Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch to rid Dale of a Cyber Dragon. A Spirit Reaper flipped and everything attacked. Dale lost his Spy. Reaper wasn’t able to get through though as Gravekeeper’s Spy crashed into Legendary Jujitsu Master and bounced it. Lazaro set a spell or trap, but lost it to Heavy Storm next turn and Dale took his brother’s Monarch with Brain Control to tribute him for Zaborg. Spirit Reaper went away, and Zaborg attacked directly. Lazaro set his redrawn Spy, and Dale attacked her before tributing for Thestalos. “Should have done that before,” he remarked. Dale set a card, and Lazaro activated Pot of Avarice to shuffle in some monsters and draw two. He activated Brain Control on Thestalos and Snatch Steal on Zaborg. Lazaro attacked with both, and Sakuretsu Armor took out the stolen Zaborg. The stolen Thestalos was then tributed for a new one to rob Dale of Sakuretsu Armor. Dale set his draw, and Thestalos was traded out for another Thestalos to discard a Cyber Dragon and deal damage.

Lazaro didn’t attack though despite all of Dale’s Sakuretsu Armors being gone. He did next turn though, but Book of Moon stopped the attack. Lazaro set a monster and passed over to Dale who summoned Card Trooper and activated its effect. Trooper took down the set Monarch, and Dale set a card. Lazaro flipped up his Spy to fetch another and noticed that Mirror Force had been milled by Card Trooper. He attacked for a total of 2000 and passed over to Dale, who activated Premature Burial on Thestalos. He fell into Bottomless Trap Hole, however, and Dale set a card to each zone. Lazaro tributed for Mobius, and Dale cleared the field with Torrential Tribute! It didn’t matter though, as Lazaro slammed down Premature Burial on a Monarch to end the game! Lazaro Bellido takes a well-played game 1 as the brothers moved into their side decks. “That had to be the best Avarice ever,” remarked Dale regarding the Pot of Avarice that had gotten Lazaro both Brain Control and Snatch Steal.

Dale was up first for game 2, and he opened with a set to each zone. Lazaro dropped Cyber Dragon, but it fell into Bottomless Trap Hole! Lazaro set a card to each zone and passed to Dale who simply set a monster. Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive flipped on Lazaro’s side of the field and attacked into a set Card Trooper before passing back. Dale flipped his other monster, also a Card Trooper, and activated it, losing Sangan, Heavy Storm, and Mirror Force, before attacking the Locomotive. Lazaro added another set monster to his field, and Dale switched his Trooper to defense. Mystical Space Typhoon came down to take out Dale’s set Pulling the Rug, and Lazaro flipped Gravekeeper’s Spy before tributing his set Frog for Thestalos and discarding Dale’s Snatch Steal. Brain Control was activated by Dale, but Book of Moon turned the targeted Spy face down to block it. Another Brain Control stole Thestalos and Dale tributed him for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. However, Pulling the Rug obliterated the Monarch, and Lazaro flipped Gravekeeper’s Spy and summoned Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive for the game! Bellido the younger smashes through Bellido the elder to move on, 6-0!