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Round 9 Feature Match:
Augustin Herrera Versus Gaetan Georges
Gaetan Georges and Augustin Herrera have each taken just one loss today. They are now on the bubble, one win away from a guaranteed spot in Day 2. Gaetan Georges is playing a Salvo Deck, while Herrera is playing his extremely creative Volcanic Cat deck.
Georges won the roll and opened our final match of the day with a Set card to each Zone. He Set another Spell or Trap and ended. Herrera had two copies of “X-Saber Airbellum,” “Mind Control,” “Threatening Roar,” “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and “Monster Reborn.” He summoned one Airbellum, activated “Mind Control,” and Georges flipped “Solemn Judgment”! “You have a Dekoichi” noted Herrera, and sure enough, he attacked straight into it. He Set “Threatening Roar,” Set “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and ended.
Play was back to Georges, who drew two cards with “Allure of Darkness” by removing “Destiny Hero – Malicious” from his hand. He activated “Brain Control” to take Airbellum, attacked, and Herrera flipped “Threatening Roar.” Georges Tributed Airbellum to Set a monster (likely his second Malicious) but lost his “Mirror Force” to “Mystical Space Typhoon” in the End Phase. He had three cards in hand.
Herrera drew to three in hand himself, and Normal Summoned “Rescue Cat” with “Monster Reborn” and Airbellum in his hand. He traded the Cat for Airbellum and Dark Panther, activated “Monster Reborn” to bring back Dekoichi, and attacked for game by swinging on Georges’ face-down “Destiny Hero – Malicious.” Two follow-up attacks and the threat of “Dark Strike Fighter” drew the Duel to a quick finish.
An early “Solemn Judgment” costs Gaetan Georges, turning a controlling opening into a disappointing defeat. Augustin Herrera just needed to win one more Duel to take Volcanic Cat to Day 2!
Georges opened with a Set card to each Zone. Herrera had “Sangan,” “Volcanic Rocket,” “Blaze Accelerator,” “X-Saber Airbellum,” “Threatening Roar,” and “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther.” He Set “Sangan,” Set Roar, and ended. Georges Flip Summoned Dekoichi, drew a card with its effect, and ran over “Sangan” – Herrera searched his Deck for “Mystic Tomato,” aiming to make a quick trade with Dekoichi in battle next turn. Georges Set a second Spell or Trap Card.
Herrera drew “D.D. Crow,” then attacked with “Mystic Tomato”! Dekoichi went down, Tomato was destroyed, and Herrera Special Summoned “Summoner Monk” from his Deck. He discarded “Blaze Accelerator” in Main Phase 2 for the Monk’s effect, got “Rescue Cat,” and sent it to the Graveyard to get two copies of “X-Saber Airbellum”; he lost both to “Bottomless Trap Hole.” Georges flipped “Scapegoat” in the End Phase.
Georges Normal summoned “Cyber Valley,” removing that and a Sheep Token to draw two more cards. He discarded “Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude” for “Destiny Draw,” drew two more, and Set one Spell or Trap.
Herrera drew another Rocket, and summoned it to take back his Accelerator. He turned Monk to Defense Position, attacked with the Rocket, and destroyed a Sheep Token. He discarded Accelerator again in Main Phase 2, got another Rocket, and brought back Accelerator again! Georges activated “Bottomless Trap Hole,” which Herrera had essentially eliminated for free since he got his Accelerator back.
Georges activated “Heavy Storm” next turn, prompting Herrera to chain “Threatening Roar.” He Normal Summoned “Elemental Hero Stratos,” searched his Deck for “Destiny Hero – Malicious,” and added it to his hand (for a total of six cards in hand). He Set one to his Spell and Trap Zone and ended.
Herrera drew to six cards in hand, holding “D.D. Crow,” “Blaze Accelerator,” “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther,” “X-Saber Airbellum,” “Volcanic Rocket,” and now “Wild Fire.” He attacked Stratos with “Volcanic Rocket,” destroying the Elemental Hero, and discarded Accelerator again for another search with Monk! He Special Summoned “Mystic Tomato” this time, and Georges flipped “Torrential Tribute.” Herrera Normal Summoned his third Rocket, took back Accelerator, and ended. How many times was he going to use that thing?!
Georges started running numbers – never a good sign. He discarded “Destiny Hero – Malicious” to Special Summon “Dark Grepher,” but didn’t want to call priority – Herrera removed Malicious from the Graveyard with “D.D. Crow.” Georges discarded “Black Salvo” for “Dark Grepher’s” effect, sent “Plaguespreader Zombie” to his Graveyard, and sent a card back to the top of his Deck to Special Summon the Zombie. He Tuned it to Grepher, Synchro Summoned “Goyo Guardian,” and only had two cards left in hand.
Goyo attacked “Volcanic Rocket,” and Georges Special Summoned it in Defense Position. He had Goyo, the Rocket, and two in hand. Herrera drew to five.
He had “Wild Fire,” “Blaze Accereator,” “Pot of Avarice,” “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther,” and “X-Saber Airbellum.” The Duel stood at 7100 Life Points to 7900, with Georges in the lead. Augustin made the play, setting “Wild Fire” and activating “Blaze Accelerator”! Next turn when Georges tried to attack, he lost his field, Herrera paid 500 Life Points, and got a “Wild Fire Token” with 1000 ATK and 1000 DEF. Georges ended. Herrera Normal Summoned “X-Saber Airbellum,” attacked with that and his “Wild Fire Token” (Georges discarded “Destiny Hero – Malicious”), and then Tuned his Airbellum to the Level 3 Token to Synchro Summon “Goyo Guardian”! Truly awesome. He didn’t use the “Pot of Avarice,” ending his turn instead.
Georges Normal Summoned “Black Salvo,” brought back Dekoichi in Defense Position, and Set a Spell or Trap. “You’ve got a Crush Card,” remarked Herrera, not happy to make that read.
“You can scoop!” offered Georges.
“That is an option! Enter Battle Phase!” Herrera attacked Salvo, and Georges Tributed it for “Crush Card Virus.” Herrera lost “Goyo Guardian,” but nothing else. He Set a card to each Zone to end his turn. Georges took Herrera’s “Goyo Guardian” with “Monster Reborn” next turn, attacked to steal his face-down Dark Panther, then attacked with Dekoichi. He Normal Summoned “Cyber Valley,” removed Dark Panther and the Valley, and drew two. He ended his turn setting “Threatening Roar,” but Herrera hit him with “Mystical Space Typhoon” in the End Phase.
Herrera drew another “Pot of Avarice.” He activated it, sending back two Tomato, Airbellum, “Sangan,” and “Volcanic Rocket.” He opted not to send back “Rescue Cat,” “D.D. Crow,” “Volcanic Rocket,” or Monk. He drew “Cold Wave” and “Threatening Roar,” continuing to dance around Crush, and Set the Roar. He took 1400 damage from Dekoichi next turn, and 2800 from “Goyo Guardian.” Georges Set another Spell or Trap.
Herrera drew “Summoner Monk” for his last turn under Crush! He had “Cold Wave,” Monk, “Rescue Cat,” and “Pot of Avarice” in his hand, with Roar Set. He Normal Summoned “Summoner Monk,” turned it to Defense Position, and discarded “Cold Wave” for its effect. That got him “Volcanic Rocket,” and the Rocket brought back “Blaze Accelerator” yet again! He ended his turn.
Georges tried to attack, Herrera flipped “Threatening Roar,” and Georges turned Dekoichi to Defense Position. Herrera drew “Heavy Storm.” He had four monsters in his Graveyard.
He discarded “Blaze Accelerator” again (!), searched his Deck for “Mystic Tomato,” and Special Summoned it in Defense Position. He turned “Volcanic Rocket” to Defense, set “Heavy Storm,” and ended.
Georges drew to three cards in hand, with one Spell or Trap Set, and Dekoichi and “Goyo Guardian” on the field. Goyo attacked “Volcanic Rocket,” Georges summoned it (again), and Herrera was up. He drew “Enemy Controller,” then flipped his Set “Heavy Storm.”
Georges chained his face-down “Mind Crush,” and called “Rescue Cat,” forcing Herrera to discard it. Herrera turned Tomato to attack position, used “Enemy Controller” to turn Dekoichi to Attack, and smacked Tomato into it to Special Summon “Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind.” He Synchro Summoned “Arcanite Magician,” blew away Rocket and “Goyo Guardian,” and then activated “Pot of Avarice” to send “Volcanic Rocket,” Gale, “Mystic Tomato,” another Rocket, and “D.D. Crow” back to his Deck. He shuffled up and drew two cards: the Crow, and Airbellum. Definitely less than amazing.
Georges Normal Summoned “Cyber Valley,” took Arcanite with “Mind Control,” and removed both for two Draws. He ended without doing anything! Herrera Normal Summoned “Volcanic Rocket,” took back “Blaze Accelerator,” and attacked for 1900 damage. Georges Summoned Gorz and it was all over a turn later!
Augustin Herrera uses “Blaze Accelerator” more times than I can count, but Gaetan Georges powers out and manages to take the second Duel! Game 3 started moments later.
Herrera opened the final Duel with “Mystical Space Typhoon,” “Monster Reborn,” “Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind,” “Summoner Monk,” and two copies of “Threatening Roar.” He Set Roar, Set “Mystical Space Typhoon,” and ended. Georges discarded “Destiny Hero – Malicious” for “Destiny Draw,” drawing two. He Set one monster.
Herrera drew “D.D. Crow” and passed. Georges Flip Summoned Dekoichi, drew, and attacked for 1400 damage. He Normal Summoned Salvo in Main Phase 2, Synchro Summoned “Black Rose Dragon,” and cleared the field, destroying Roar and “Mystical Space Typhoon.” Georges Set a Spell or Trap Card and ended with five cards in hand.
Herrera drew “Giant Trunade,” Set Roar, and attacked with Blackwing – Gale for 1300 damage. “Monster Reborn” fell from Georges’ hand, targeting “Destiny Hero – Malicious,” but Herrera removed it with “D.D. Crow.” Georges set a monster, ended, and Herrera tried to go for “Giant Trunade” - Georges chained “Threatening Roar,” and Herrera Set his Roar again. He’d drawn “Rescue Cat” that turn, with Reborn still in hand.
Georges Set another monster. Herrera drew “X-Saber Airbellum” and started calculating numbers. He had “Summoner Monk” and a Spell to get to a second Cat, so he could Synchro Summon “Arcanite Magician” this turn, but he wouldn’t have much followup. He didn’t want to discard that Reborn for Monk’s effect, he wanted to use it to activate Cat’s effect twice in one turn. Towards that end he sort of compromised. He Normal Summoned Monk, Synchro Summoned Arcanite without suing the Monk’s effect, and destroyed Georges’ two monsters: “Sangan” and “Plaguespreader Zombie.” Time was called on Herrera’s turn. The Duel stood at 6600 to 6700 Life Points, with Georges barely winning.
He sent a card back to the top of his Deck to Special Summon “Plaguespreader Zombie.” He then Special Summoned “Dark Armed Dragon,” blew away “Arcanite Magician,” and tried to destroy the last card Herrera had, but Herrera chained it – Roar. Georges Set another Spell or Trap and ended.
Herrera Normal Summoned “Rescue Cat.” He activated its effect, brought out “X-Saber Airbellum,” and “Neo-Spacian Dark Panther.” He copied “Dark Armed Dragon’s” effect with Panther and removed Gale to target the back row card, but Georges chained it – Roar! Herrera removed “D.D. Crow” to destroy “Dark Armed Dragon,” but he’d lose here and now if he couldn’t deal 100 damage. He had Reborn, and he’d have to use it to get to “Dark Strike Fighter.”
He removed “Summoner Monk” to destroy “Plaguespreader Zombie,” then took Dekoichi with Reborn. He Synchro Summoned for “Dark Strike Fighter,” launched Panther, and Set “Solemn Judgment.” Georges had “Black Salvo” next turn! He was able to use his own “Dark Strike Fighter,” and launched it off to claim the match!
Gaetan Georges narrowly ekes out a victory in time! He’s a shoe-in for the Top 16, one of at least two Duelists taking a “Black Salvo” Deck to Day 2!
reported by
Jason Grabher-Meyer
