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April 25, 2009
Round 1 Feature Match:
Cesar Gonzalez Versus Vincent Paglia
Cesar Gonzalez is a two-time Shonen Jump Champion, and has topped more events than I can count. His opponent this round is no slouch either – Vincent Paglia made a name for himself when he beat out 1000 other Duelists to claim a seat in Day 2 of SHONEN JUMP Championship Costa Mesa. The twist? Both of these competitors are playing new versions of Teleport “Dark Armed Dragon”! Would CesarDAD hold up in the mirror match?
…Cesar didn’t seem too concerned – he was far too busy ogling the giant copy of the new prize card, “Dark End Dragon”: ‘Oh my god! I so need to win that!’ Cesar was overcome with a covetous cheer, while Paglia remained a bit more collected.
Cesar opened the tournament with “Destiny Hero - Plasma,” “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast,” “Scapegoat,” “Emergency Teleport,” “Cyber Dragon,” and “Destiny Hero – Malicious.” It was an auspicious start to the day, and he set “Scapegoat,” then Wind Blast to end his turn. He was clearly planning to press early with Plasma. Paglia set a card to each zone, and in the End Phase Cesar flipped “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.” He discarded Malicious, sent Paglia’s set Spell or Trap card back to his Deck, and activated “Scapegoat.” Next turn he Special Summoned Plasma, sucked up Paglia’s face-down Summoner Monk, and Summoned “Spirit Reaper”! Reaper made a direct attack to force Paglia to discard “Mind Control,” and Plasma made a direct attack! Paglia drew to four cards in hand, while Cesar was holding two.
“Monster Reborn” let Paglia take “Destiny Hero – Malicious” from his opponent’s Graveyard, and he Normal Summoned “Krebons.” Malicious ran over Cesar’s last Sheep Token, “Krebons” attacked “Spirit Reaper” for a bit of damage, and Paglia set a card to his back row. He ended with one card left in his hand.
Cesar drew to three cards: “Cyber Valley,” “Crush Card Virus,” and the Teleport from earlier. Cesar entered his Battle Phase, Paglia flipped “Crush Card Virus,” Tributed Cesar’s Malicious, and Cesar lost “Destiny Hero - Plasma”! He turned “Spirit Reaper” to defense, set his own Crush, and ended. Paglia passed, Cesar passed back with a fresh “Allure of Darkness” in his hand, and Paglia set his own Spell or Trap. Cesar drew and revealed “Plaguespreader Zombie” and ended, deftly escaping Paglia’s “Crush Card Virus”! Next turn he’d be free to use that Allure.
‘I’ll pass my turn’ stated Paglia flatly, still with that “Krebons” in Attack Position. Cesar drew for his turn, activated “Allure of Darkness,” and removed “Plaguespreader Zombie” for Allure’s effect. He removed one Malicious from his Graveyard to Summon another from his Deck, activated “Brain Control,” and tried to take Paglia’s “Krebons”! Paglia activated “Solemn Judgment,” and the Duel stood at 2900 Life Points to 6300 – Cesar was in the lead, and still hadn’t used his own “Crush Card Virus.”
He Normal Summoned “Cyber Valley,” removed it and “Solemn Judgment” from his hand to send “Brain Control” back to the top of his Deck, then brought back “Cyber Valley” by discarding “Emergency Teleport” for “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation”! That got him back his “Cyber Valley,” which he removed to draw “Card Trooper” and the “Brain Control” he’d sent back to his Deck. He activated “Brain Control” again, took that “Krebons,” and tuned it to “Destiny Hero – Malicious” to Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter! ‘I’ll attack for game’ stated Cesar, swinging into a completely unopposed field.
The combos fly thick and fast from Cesar’s potentially groundbreaking Deck, and a costly “Solemn Judgment” proves to be the beginning of the end for Vincent Paglia! Both Duelists shuffled their Decks, and Cesar made a point not to side for Game 2.
Paglia opened with “Elemental Hero Stratos,” searching his Deck for Malicious. ‘I’m working off no sleep here’ remarked Cesar. ‘Do you have the “Destiny Draw”?’ Paglia nodded, activated “Destiny Draw,” and discarded Malicious to draw two. He removed Malicious to Special Summon another in Defense Position, Paglia set “Crush Card Virus” yet again, and activated it next turn.
Cesar had “Return from the Different Dimension,” “Destiny Hero - Plasma,” “Dark Grepher,” “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation,” “Crush Card Virus,” and “Monster Reborn.” He lost “Dark Grepher” and Plasma to the Virus’ effect. ‘Ooh. You know what I’m gonna do? I’ll just end my turn.’ Paglia was up.
He Normal Summoned “Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude,” activated its effect, and missed – “Krebons” was flipped off the top of his Deck and sent to the bottom. Diamond Dude and Stratos both made direct attacks, Paglia set a Spell or Trap, and Cesar drew for his next turn.
The draw was “Mystical Space Typhoon,” thankfully not another loss to “Crush Card Virus.” He activated “Monster Reborn,” took Paglia’s Malicious, Set “Crush Card Virus,” and ended. Paglia fired back, activating Diamond Dude’s effect and scoring a free copy of “Monster Reborn” for next turn! He Normal Summoned “Mystic Tomato,” attacked with Stratos, and Cesar Tributed Malicious for his own “Crush Card Virus.” But it was all lost anyways – Paglia attacked with his remaining monsters, drew “Solemn Judgment” on the turn that followed (losing nothing to the Crush Card), and then scored “Instant Fusion” with Diamond Dude’s effect. That was enough for Cesar, who conceded the second Duel.
Vincent Paglia fights back, taking our first Match of the day to a third Duel! Cesar once again made a point of not siding, and announcing it to the world.
He opened with “Allure of Darkness,” holding “Dark Armed Dragon,” “Dark Grepher,” “Caius the Shadow Monarch,” “Cyber Valley,” and “Phantom of Chaos,” drawing “Destiny Hero - Fear Monger” and “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.” He removed the Fear Monger, set Wind Blast, and Summoned “Cyber Valley” – a strong defensive opening. But Paglia searched out “Elemental Hero Stratos” with “Reinforcement of the Army,” Summoned it, and used its effect to grab “Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude” from his Deck. “Mind Control” let him take Cesar’s “Cyber Valley,” and Cesar had to respond with “Phoenix Wing Wind Blast” – he discarded his “Phantom of Chaos” to send Stratos back to the top of Paglia’s Deck, a huge risk, as it would obviously let Paglia get yet another free card with Stratos. Ouch.
Paglia removed “Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude” from his hand and “Cyber Valley” from the field, sending “Mind Control” back to the top of his Deck. He activated “Allure of Darkness,” drew into his Stratos and “Mind Control,” and removed “Destiny Hero – Malicious” to pay for Allure’s effect. A Set Spell or Trap ended Paglia’s turn.
Cesar drew, and Normal Summoned “Dark Grepher.” He discarded “Caius the Shadow Monarch” for Grepher’s effect, claiming priority, and Paglia chained “Bottomless Trap Hole.” Cesar sent “Destiny Hero – Malicious” to his Graveyard, lost “Dark Grepher,” and ended with two cards remaining in hand: “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation” and “Dark Armed Dragon.”
Paglia Summoned Stratos again, searched his Deck for Fear Monger, and attacked for 1800 damage. He ended with four cards in hand. Cesar had no choice next turn: he had to summon “Dark Armed Dragon,” and had nothing but D.D.R. and “Sangan” in hand. He removed Caius, destroyed Stratos, and Normal Summoned “Sangan.” He attacked for a total of 3800 damage and ended. Paglia drew to five cards, seemingly unbeatable.
‘Did you rip the “Destiny Draw”?’
‘I sure did’ smiled Paglia, activating “Destiny Draw” and discarding Fear Monger for another two cards. This just kept getting worse: he had five cards in-hand to Cesar’s one, and Cesar just had “Sangan” and “Dark Armed Dragon” on the field. Paglia had 4200 life points, while Cesar had 6200. Paglia set one card to each zone and ended.
He flipped them next turn: “Crush Card Virus” and “Plaguespreader Zombie”! Cesar had “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation” and “Krebons” in hand, but lost his “Dark Armed Dragon.” It was over, but not quite in the way it seemed to be just moments before.
Cesar removed “Destiny Hero – Malicious,” Summoned another from his Deck, activated “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation” by discarding “Krebons,” and brought back “Caius the Shadow Monarch” for exactly 4200 ATK – exactly the amount he needed to bring Paglia down to 0 life points. Unbelievable.
Cesar Gonzalez suffers a huge deficit of cards in the third Duel, but somehow fights his way back with “D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation” to just barely take the Match! What a way to start this tournament!
-Jason Grabher-Meyer
