JaeLove

• Pojo Home Page
  
• Message Board
  
• Contact Staff
  

JAELOVE's Smooth Journey
Pojo.com Exclusive: Match 1 of the Battle for North America
August 23, 2005

Let me begin with a brief biography on the two combatants.

David Simon, a.k.a F00b, is one of the most recognizable names in all of Yu-Gi-Oh! to the hardcore elite. Pioneer of one of the best cards ever played in North America, metamorphosis, he has become known for combining originality and skill as a member of Team Savage. An expert at Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, VS System, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, he has taken part in top tier competition such as Nationals and Pro Circuits for almost all of the major collectible card games in existence. 

Matt Bishop, a.k.a CardKid, is one of the best duelists in Canada as well. He has placed in the top eight of multiple regionals, qualified for nationals two years running, and plays in one of the most difficult metagames in the entire world. 

This match began with David winning the dice roll. 

Simon Turn 1: Simon opens with a set monster and no backfield. This sort of play suggests durable monsters such as Mystic Tomato, Apprentice Magician, and Spirit Reaper. Of course, an early Nobleman of Crossout will remove all relevancy, but good players tend to hold crucial face down removal. 

Bishop Turn 2: Rejecting the bait, Bishop sets one of each. 

S3: Simon maintains the tempo and sets a spell/trap.  

B4: The monster is revealed to be Magical Merchant. It reveals Pot of Greed. Then,a Nobleman of Crossout takes out Apprentice Magician. A Mystical Space Typhoon from hand reveals Simon’s Scapegoats. Bishop gets away with losing MST by sacrificing for an Airknight. 1900 for the first damage. In main phase 2, he plays Metamorphosis to bring out Dark Balter. This is a borderline misplay, since three goats are left for Airknight to chew.6100 to 8000. 

S5: Simon sets a monster and a spell/trap. 

B6: Balter hits a Spy. This is a classic case of saved Nobleman of Crossouts helping in the long run. David searches out another Gravekeeper’s Spy. Bishop sets a monster and ends his turn. 

S7: With no plays, Simon passes with five cards in hand. 

B8: Bishop sacrifices his face down D.D Warrior Lady for a Jinzo. At this point, all traps and spells are negated. The only outs are Tribe-Infecting Virus and Exiled Force. Premature Burial on Airknight seals the deal. 

Simon takes three direct Airknight hits over the next three turns to end the game. 

Matt Bishop leads 1-0. Game 2 Begins. 

Simon Turn 1: Simon plays a Pot of Greed. He then sets a spell/trap and passes, suggesting a Scapegoat is down. 

Bishop Turn 2: Bishop brings out Slate Warrior. Its attack triggers Scapegoats; he attacks one. He then sets a spell/trap. 

S3: A quick Metamorphosis brings out Restrict, which absorbs Slate Warrior. The attack is met by a Scapegoat. Both duelists have 3 goats left. Simon sets a spell/trap. Bishop draws a card and passes. 

Simon Delinquent Duos into Bishop’s five card hand. The random discard is Scapegoat, followed by Serpent. He hits a goat, leaving two. Bishop draws, retrives Sinister, and passes. 

Simon’s deck is based off three copies of Airknight Parshath. He clearly can’t draw one, so he sets a monster and attacks another goat.  

Bishop crosses out the face down bait, which is Sangan. He then sets a spell/trap. 

Simon hits the last Scapegoat. Without using any of the goat tokens, Bishop achieved his purpose of stalling the game out but incurred a -1. He is now three cards in the hole, since TER hasn’t yet been killed. He sets a monster. Bishop passes with no plays. 

S11: Simon’s hand is getting rather full. He attacks another goat. Bishop passes his turn yet again, a skillful strategy with no real threats on the board to deter it. 

S13: Simon plays Graceful Charity, discarding Scapegoat and Swords. He still has not drawn an Airknight. He hits another goat (leaving two), and sets a spell/trap. Bishop draws a seventh card and sets a spell/trap. 

S15: David plays Breaker the Magical Warrior, sniffing out a Mirror Force. He then leaves Bishop with one goat token left. 

B16: Bishop skillfully pulls off a two for one, summoning Tribe and using Sinister to kill both spellcasters. Tribe attempts to attack Simon’s face-down monster. It is Book of Mooned. 

S17: Simon flips a rather surprising card, Tribe-Infecting Virus! It attacks the face-down Tribe, then he sets another monster. 

B18: Bishop generates massive advantage by retrieving Sinister and playing Graceful Charity. Sinister and Morphing Jar are discarded. Tribe is Snatched, Bishop discards DDWL to call Beasts, then sacrifices for Jinzo. He attempts to summon BLS, which is a misplay considering there are no dark monsters in the graveyard. Jinzo attacks into a f/d Gravekeeper’s Spy, which retrieves another. Matt passes. 

S19: Simon finds a great time to draw his first Airknight. Snatch Steal takes Jinzo, then a sacrified Airknight swings into the sole trap on Bishop’s board, Ring of Destruction. Unfortunately for his opponent, David chains Royal Decree. 1900 smashes through.

7000 to 6100.

B20: Now Bishop can summon BLS, so he does and removes the Airknight from play. He then sets a monster and ends with three cards in hand. 

S21: Incredibly, Simon is in trouble despite having massive advantage because three of his cards are traps! He moves Spy to attack and hits Magician of Faith, which gets back Graceful Charity. He then Books Soldier and Crosses it out. He sets a monster and ends with three cards in hand. 

B22: Bishop plays Graceful Charity, discarding Serpent and Night Assailant, which retrieves Slate Warrior. Heavy Storm clears out Simon’s Call and active Decree. The attack position Spy is too good to pass up, so Slate attacks for 700. He then activates Wave Motion Cannon.

6300 to 6100

S23: Simon flips Cyber Jar! MOF and Sin are set, with Heavy, Book, and Morph going to his hand. Bishop gets a f/d Magician and an Airknight, Morph, Bottomless, and Crossout. David morphs his Sinister to take the Magician and then sets a monster and two more spell/traps.

B24: Bishop draws, with WMC at one. He crosses out the face-down Magician, then sets a monster and a spell/trap.  

S25: Simon ups the ante by dropping a Heavy Storm. He chains his own Book to his TER, destroying Bishop’s WMC and Torrential and his own Ring. TER takes Bishop’s f/d Sangan, then is sacrificed for Airknight. Bishop searches Tsukuyomi. He then sets another s/t and flip summons a Morphing Jar! They swing for 2600. He sets 4 s/t and ends with 2 CIH.

6300 to 3500

B26: Bishop plays Premature Burial, targeting Airknight, but David responds with MST. Bishop summons Tsukuyomi, flipping Jar face down. It attacks into a Mirror Force. Vortex+Sinister clears the Airknight. He then sets a s/t.

6300 to 2700. 

S27: Simon has very few cards left in deck, and realizes the push must be made. A flipped Morphing Jar would lead to his deckout, so he plays Premature Burial and sacrifices Morphing Jar for another Airknight. One hits, the other is Booked.

5500 to 800. 

B28: Bishop has zero cards on the board. He plays Pot, then sets 2 S/T and ends his turn with 2 cards in hand. He is forced to concede when Simon swarms the board with a Tsukuyomi and two Airknights on the next turn. 

David Simon evens the score, 1-1. The third game begins. 

Bishop Turn 1: Bishop sets a s/t, suggesting yet again a Scapegoat. 

Simon Turn 2: Simon summons Breaker and attacks into a Sakuretsu Armor. He did not remove the counter because Scapegoat was the expected play. Great read by Bishop. Simon then sets a s/t. 

B3: DDWL is summoned. It hits for 1500. A set Torrential is taken out at the end phase by MST.

8000 to 6500 

S4: A Graceful Charity discards Sinister and Airknight. He sets a s/t and ends. 

B5: Bishop hits a fortunate Delinquent Duo (with Simon’s Snake in the GY). Tsukuyomi and Decree are discarded. He sacs DDWL for Airknight, which runs into a Mirror Force.

7000 to 6500 

S6: Simon sets one of each. Bishop breaks the bluffed Heavy Storm and hits a face down Sinister Serpent. 

S8: Simon again sets one of each. Bishop’s Tsukuyomi turns Breaker down then up. Tsuku breaks through snake, then Breaker for 1600. 

7000 to 4900 

S10: Simon again sets one of each.  

B11: This time Bishop summons Sangan. As it declares, it is Booked and Breaker is Ring of Destructioned. Bishop does not see that Simon is setting up for a tribute though, and ends.

5400 to 3300 

S12: Serpent is sacrified for Airknight Parshath, which attacks for 1300 into Sangan, which in turn retrieves Sinister Serpent. Simon sets a s/t and plays Swords. The Airknight is taken next turn by a morphed Sinister. It is destroyed by Simon’s Exiled Force.  

B15: Bishop plays Pot of Greed with 2 turns left on Swords. He plays Heavy Storm, hitting Scapegoat and Swords, then sets a monster. David is forced to set another monster. Bishop then flips Magician for another Pot, crosses out Apprentice Magician, summons Tribe, pitches Sinister for Beasts, and hits for 1900. He then morphs the face up Magician into Restrict.

5400 to 1400 

S18: Simon summons a Tribe of his own, declaring priority on spellcasters by pitching Snake. He then does not attack, hoping Bishop does not have a tribute. His set s/t does no good next turn when Bishop sacs for Jinzo. Jinzo hits the Tribe for 800, and David has to resort to setting all his options. 

S20: Simon sets one of each. Bishop sets a monster and attacks the Sinister with Jinzo. David again tries to set a monster; this time when it’s Crossed out, he chains with Enemy Controller to take control of Bishop’s Jinzo. Bishop ends. 

S24: Simon sets one of each. 

B25: Bishop generates a Night Assailant/Tsukuyomi lock to take out David’s face down Sinister each turn, while attacking into sheep tokens every turn.  

B27: After a few turns of this, believing he has face-down Call of the Haunted set, he chooses to Morph his Jinzo into a Ryu Senshi. Unfortunately, when he attempts to activate the Call for Airknight, it turns out to be a Scapegoat! This misplay does not appear to cost him the match, however. He sets a s/t and ends. 

David is forced to simply set one of each. Because Senshi can negate traps, Bishop simply activates the real COTH during the next turn’s battle phase to push through enough damage for the win! 

Matt Bishop takes the lead, 2-1. The next game begins. 

Simon Turn 1: He again opens with a set s/t.  

Bishop Turn 2: Bishop plays the two deadliest cards of the game, Pot and Delinquent, in rapid succession. He hits Airknight and Swords randomly. Instead of following up, however, Bishop squanders his advantage by simply setting a s/t.

8000 to 7000 

B4: When Simon simply draws and passes, Bishop summons a Slate Warrior. It attacks into a Scapegoat, then he sets a s/t. Both of these s/ts are wiped out when Simon plays Heavy Storm, revealing Bishop’s own Scapegoat and Sakuretsu Armor. Simon sets a s/t. 

B6: Slate hits a goat, then Wave Motion Cannon is played.  

S7: Simon summons Exiled, Calls Airknight, then attacks two goats. He then uses Exiled Force to destroy Slate Warrior and sets a s/t. 8000 to 5100 

B8: The Airknight is taken next turn by a Morphed Goat. This TER is then taken by David’s morphed goat! 

B12: By this point, the board hasn’t changed but Wave Motion Cannon is at three counters. David is forced to set a monster, and Bishop makes a misplay by sacrificing the Wave Motion Cannon for 4,000 life points during his next turn. He then sets a monster.

4000 to 5100. 

S15: Still locked by his own Restrict, Simon crosses out all Magicians from the game, sets a monster, and ends. At the end of Bishop’s turn, Simon is staring at a board of two face-down s/t and not much else. He sacrifices the TER and a face-down Sin for a Sacred Phoenix! He then flip summons Sangan. Sangan attempts to take out the last goat, but the Phoenix is booked! David sets a second s/t. 

B18: Bishop masterfully reveals Heavy Storm, hitting David’s unplayable Torrential and Scapegoat. The 1900 Breaker attacks the Phoenix, then he sets a s/t. 

S19: Snatch Steal on Breaker, but Bishop responds with MST. Simon has a Sangan on the field, and summons a BLS to do 5400 total damage for game. 

Simon evens the series, 2-2. The final game will be played! 

Bishop Turn One: Another of those one s/t set openings. Simon does the same. Bishop foolishly tries to press with Sinister, dealing 300 damage.

8000 7700 

S4: Simon sarcastically remarks “nice play” before dropping Delinquent Duo. It hits Vortex then Tsukuyomi. He has nothing to remove the Sinister, though, so after one more poke the life points are 8000 to 6400.  

B7: Bishop again attacks with Sinister. Simon chooses to activate Scapegoat. Bishop hits one and ends.  

Simon is holding a hand of Nepththys, but unluckily draws the Sacred Phoenix during his next draw phase. This loss of advantage is huge! Phoenix runs into a Sakuretsu Armor, and Simon prepares for its return by setting one s/t. 

S10: When Phoenix returns to the field, Bishop triggers Scapegoat and Simon triggers Book to turn Sinister face down. For the foreseeable future, Bishop has goat-locked himself. Soon, all Magicians are removed from play. 

B13: Bishop decides to make a push, sacrificing Sinister for Airknight. It hits successfully for 1900, then he decides to inexplicably morph for Balter with a 2400 attack monster on the field. He then sets a second s/t.

8000 to 4500 

S14: Simon draws his sixth card. Phoenix attacks Balter, it is booked. Simon chooses not to set a Mirror Force, an error in judgement that might haunt him. He intends to Premature Burial the Phoenix back and destroy the Balter, but his plans are soon changed. 

B15: Graceful is played, discarding Magician and Night Assailant (a fortuitous break). He plays Wave Motion Cannon, and Balter destroys Phoenix.  

S16: Simon plays Tribe, discarding Scapegoat with priority on Fiend. Bishop responds with a Torrential Tribute, clearing all boards. Simon activates Premature Burial on Phoenix, then attacks. He has one face down s/t that has survived for many turns, and ends.

5600 to 3700 

B17: Bishop launches Wave Motion Cannon, then plays Heavy Storm, destroying Simon’s Premature Burial and face-down Heavy Storm! BLS is summoned for game. 

Matt Bishop wins Match 1 for Team Canada! 

It’s clear that this was a close match, but also fair to say that Bishop received a plethora of powerful setups. The first duel’s Merchant into Pot of Greed led to victory, while later games included Pot/Duo opening hand and multiple Graceful Charity’s into Sinister Serpent. Despite several glaring play mistakes, Matt exhibited plenty of class and skill, such as opening with a set Sakuretsu Armor and bluffing a Heavy Storm to generate advantage. He deserved the win as the underdog against some stiff opposition. 

And so there you have it! Canada opens with a 1-0 lead over Team America. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s match, the Nationals Champion Max Suffridge versus Canada’s Kyle Duncan! Who will win? 

I’ll release the next match result as soon as this poll which you should vote in reaches an optimal number of user votes :D. E-mail me at JAELOVE@gmail.com with any feedback!