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Top 4 Feature Match:
Charles Easton versus Curtis Bowles
Curtis Bowles was one of two Lightsworn players to make the Top 8 – both of whom also made the cut to the Top 4. The 21 year-old Duelist from Ottawa was playing a strategically sound Deck with just 40 cards, maximizing his chances of opening with “Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Solar Recharge.” With only eight Spell Cards and six Trap Cards, Bowles’ Deck was exceedingly fast. He also had two copies of “Threatening Roar” and one copy of “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness” Main Decked after expecting to see a lot of this matchup: Synchro Cat.
Charles Easton from Toronto, Ontario was one of two competitors to make Top 8 with Synchro Cat. Like Traian Hasu, the other Synchro Cat player who made the Top 8 cut, Easton wasn’t playing “Gravekeeper's Spy” – a card that was noted as a potential liability in the face of “Mind Control.”
Easton opened the match with a pretty solid hand: “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther,” “Mystic Tomato,” “Sangan,” “Book of Moon,” “Mirror Force,” and “Torrential Tribute.” Easton Set “Sangan” and “Torrential Tribute.”
Bowles fired back with “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast,” and another Charge to the Graveyard. He Special Summoned Wulf and searched his Deck for “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner.” 
He Normal Summoned “Jain, Lightsworn Paladin,” and Easton activated “Torrential Tribute” in response! Jain, Wulf, and “Sangan” were all destroyed, and “Sangan” let Easton search his Deck for “Summoner Monk.” “I’ll pass” announced Bowles, clearly not relishing the opportunity he was giving Easton by not Setting a Spell or Trap Card.
Easton drew “Gold Sarcophagus” next turn, and activated it to remove “Crush Card Virus” from the game – a great pick in conjunction with his in-hand Dark Panther. He Normal Summoned “Summoner Monk,” discarded “Book of Moon” to Special Summon “Rescue Cat,” and used the Cat to Special Summon two copies of “X-Saber Airbellum.” One attacked to make Bowles discard “Crush Card Virus,” but Bowles Special Summoned “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness” in response! Gorz and its Defense Position Token stopped the rest of Easton’s potential attacks.
In Main Phase 2 Easton Synchro Summoned “Dark Strike Fighter” by tuning Airbellum to “Summoner Monk,” then Tributed his remaining “X-Saber Airbellum” for 600 damage. He Set one card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone and ended. Next turn Bowles switched his Token to Attack Position and slammed his monsters straight into “Mirror Force.” In Main Phase 2 he Summoned “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner,” discarded Wulf to Special Summon Jain, Set a Spell or Trap Card, and managed to Special Summon another Wulf in his End Phase. He was definitely still in this Duel, but the threat of “Crush Card Virus” loomed all too near.
To make matters worse, Easton top-decked another “Rescue Cat”! He had the Cat, “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther,” and “Mystic Tomato” in hand. He Summoned the Tomato, attempted to send it after Lumina, and lost out to Bowles’ “Mirror Force.” Easton ended his turn. Bowles started calculating numbers, trying to finish the first Duel right here and now before he’d have to face “Crush Card Virus.”
He discarded “Heavy Storm” to Special Summon “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress,” then attacked with all four of his monsters – it wasn’t quite game, but Easton was down to 1400 Life Points. Bowles Set one card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone, then sent eight cards total to his Graveyard – including “Plaguespreader Zombie.”
Easton drew “Giant Trunade,” then claimed his “Crush Card Virus” from “Gold Sarcophagus.” He Set Dark Panther, Set “Crush Card Virus,” and ended. Bowles tried to destroy the Crush Card next turn with “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress’s” effect, but Easton Chained it. Still, Bowles revealed his last in-hand card: “Monster Reborn” for “Dark Strike Fighter.” It was over, and Easton immediately started Side Decking! 
Minutes later Easton had “Gold Sarcophagus,” “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Dust Tornado,” “Brain Control,” “X-Saber Airbellum,” and “Summoner Monk” to start the second Duel. He activated “Gold Sarcophagus” immediately, removing “Crush Card Virus” from his Deck. He Set “Dust Tornado” and ended.
Bowles activated “Charge of the Light Brigade,” sending Jain, “Heavy Storm,” and “Threatening Roar” to the Graveyard to search out “Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid.” He Summoned it: “And I’ll proceed to give you an annoying poke!” Aurkus attacked for 1200 damage and Easton accepted it. Bowles Set one card to his back row, Aurkus’s effect activated, and Easton Chained “Dust Tornado”! Bowles lost his “Threatening Roar,” sent “Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner” and “Beckoning Light” to his Graveyard with Aurkus’s effect, and Easton drew another “Gold Sarcophagus.”
He activated it and searched his Deck for “Gorz the Emissary of Darkness.” His opponent looked to take advantage of Easton’s temporary lack of cards. “I guess I’m in a better position than I thought,” remarked Bowles. Easton Summoned “X-Saber Airbellum,” attacked over Aurkus, and ended his turn without committing any more cards to the field. Next turn, Airbellum got run over by “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress.”
Bowles Set a single Spell or Trap Card, Easton drew, and “Crush Card Virus” was added to his hand by the effect of his first “Gold Sarcophagus.” He Set “Summoner Monk,” Set Crush Card, and ended. Bowles Tributed his Lyla for “Goldd, Wu-Lord of Darkworld,” and attacked. When Easton sent Goldd to attack “Summoner Monk,” Easton Tributed it for “Crush Card Virus,” and Bowles Chained “Beckoning Light.” He pitched his hand which happened to include another copy of Goldd!
This was interesting, because a Chain was formed with “Crush Card Virus” as Chain Link 1, and “Beckoning Light” as Chain Link 2. Because “Beckoning Light’s” discard is part of its effect (and not a cost) Bowles would get to Special Summon his discarded Goldd. Goldd’s effect would form a second Chain after the complete resolution of the first one. That meant he’d Special Summon his Goldd after “Crush Card Virus” wiped the field. Bowles took back Aurkus, Lumina, and Lyla with “Beckoning Light’s” effect, lost Lyla and his on-field copy of Goldd to “Crush Card Virus,” and then Special Summoned his second copy of Goldd. He attacked with it for 2300 damage and Bowles ended with two cards in hand!
Easton drew to four cards in hand, then claimed his Gorz from the second “Gold Sarcophagus.” He Normal Summoned a second “Summoner Monk,” discarded “Brain Control” for its effect, and Special Summoned “Rescue Cat.” He Tributed it to Special Summon two copies of “X-Saber Airbellum,” tuned one to “Summoner Monk” to Synchro Summon “Dark Strike Fighter,” then sent it to attack and destroy Goldd. He made a direct attack with Airbellum next – Bowles was forced to discard Aurkus, and Easton Tributed his Airbellum for 600 damage in Main Phase 2. He Set one card to his Spell and Trap Card Zone and still had two more cards left in-hand.
Bowles had nothing but Lumina left, and he revealed his draw for the turn: “Solar Recharge.” Knowing the slim odds of a successful Recharge he Summoned Lumina instead, ended, and sent three cards to his Graveyard, hoping for a “Necro Gardna”: he sent “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel,” “Monster Reborn,” and “Solar Recharge” to his Graveyard instead. No help there.
Easton attacked Lumina with “Dark Strike Fighter,” dropping Bowles to 3500 Life Points. Bowles topdecked “Judgment Dragon” next turn but lost it to Crush Card’s effect! That was enough for Bowles, who politely conceded as soon as he revealed the Dragon he couldn’t keep.
Charles Easton pressed the match to one more Duel! The winner here would go on to compete for a copy of “Dark End Dragon,” a trip to Tokyo, and the right to call himself Canada’s National Champion!
“Maybe Aurkus with no backing wasn’t such a great idea” laughed Bowles as he sided and shuffled.
“You had the Threatening,” Easton reminded him.
“Oh yeah… just didn’t draw any business.” Bowles finished shuffling. “I will go first.”
He opened with “Charge of the Light Brigade” – bittersweet, as he sent “Heavy Storm,” “Monster Reborn,” and “Monster Reincarnation” to the Graveyard. No “Necro Gardna,” no Lightsworn, and no “Plaguespreader Zombie” in the Graveyard yet. “Let’s try this out…” Bowles searched for Aurkus, paused a moment, and discarded it for “Solar Recharge,” drawing two and sending “Judgment Dragon,” then “Wulf, Lightsworn Beast” to the Graveyard. He Special Summoned Wulf: “You thought I was going to Summon Aurkus, didn’t you?” Bowles grinned. Aurkus was now out of the way for future draws, and locked and loaded for Lumina later. A Set card to each Zone ended Bowles’ turn.
Easton had a hand of “Sea Koala,” “Mystic Tomato,” “Gravekeeper's Spy,” “Light-Imprisoning Mirror,” “Bottomless Trap Hole,” and “Summoner Monk.” He Set Tomato, then Set “Light-Imprisoning Mirror” and Bottomless. Both Duelists were off to a respectable start.
Bowles Set two more cards to his Spell and Trap Card Zone, then Set a second monster – a bizarre change of pace given his aggressive play style up until this point. He was clearly aware of the possibility that Easton’s face-down card could be “Morphing Jar.” He attacked with Wulf, destroyed Easton’s “Mystic Tomato,” and Easton Special Summoned “Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind.” Bowles ended his turn, now clearly in trouble after making the wrong read.
Easton drew “Mirror Force,” and halved Wulf’s ATK and DEF. He Set a Spy, Set a Spell or Trap Card, and ended without attacking. Bowles Tributed his face-down “Necro Gardna” for “Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World” next turn, and attacked into Gale – Easton flipped “Mirror Force” and Bowles had no response!
Easton flipped “Gravekeeper's Spy,” letting him Special Summon another. He tuned it to Gale, Synchro Summoned “Blackwing Armor Master,” and Special Summoned “Dark Armed Dragon.” He immediately removed “Mystic Tomato” to target one of Bowles’ face-down cards but Bowles Chained it: “Threatening Roar”! He removed another DARK monster to blow away Bowles’ second “Threatening Roar” as time was called, then removed one more to force Bowles to Chain “Beckoning Light.” Bowles discarded Gorz and “Judgment Dragon,” then returned “Judgment Dragon” and Aurkus back to his hand. Three turns remained in the Duel after this one. Easton had just two cards in hand, with two cards Set in his Spell and Trap Zone and three monsters on the field.
Bowles was up. He Flip Summoned “Honest” and Easton responded with “Light-Imprisoning Mirror” to keep Bowles from returning “Honest” to his hand. But Bowles Summoned “Phantom of Chaos”! He mimicked “Judgment Dragon’s” effect with the Phantom’s ability, cleared the field, and ended, sending “Honest,” Lumina, Beckoning, and “Plaguespreader Zombie” to the Graveyard in his End Phase. The Duel stood at 7000 Life Points to 8000, with Easton still in the lead. Clearing the field was a huge coup for Bowles, but he’d only have one more turn to win the game.
“Mystic Tomato” attacked “Phantom of Chaos” to destroy it and deal some damage – it was Easton’s only move next turn. Bowles had one turn to even the score, but had to make it through that Tomato. After a few long moment's running numbers he laid down a hand of Aurkus, Goldd, and a “Judgment Dragon” he couldn’t Summon, and offered the handshake. It wasn’t until after the match that Bowles realized he’d forgotten about the “Necro Gardna” he’d Tributed to Summon Goldd.
Charles Easton moved on to the Finals to play for the title of National Champion, and the privilege of representing Canada this August at the World Championships!reported by
Jason Grabher-Meyer
