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duelacademynpcs) wrote2016-09-20 01:30 am
duelacademynpcs) wrote2016-09-20 01:30 am
[Dinosaur Ryuzaki vs Kammen Shinshi]
The second to last match of the second round of the Action Duel World Championship was a vicious tug of war between Dinosaur Ryuzaki and 'Kammen Shinshi', the Masked Gentleman, on the Action Field Starlight Courtyard. It was one of high tension that exploded suddenly, ending with a amazingly quick finish that had everyone out of their seats. While the Masked Gentlemen is playing a Monarch Deck and was expected to be relatively controlling on the field, very few expected Ryuzaki - one of the pioneers of old-school beatdown - to be running a soft-lock control loop in Evolzar Solda and Laggia, combined with the Jurrac Archetype.
Shinshi and Ryuzaki both attempted to set up their field control early, countering each other as best they could. Ryuzaki could nearly lock down the entire duel with Evolzar Solda and Laggia's combo, while Shinshi attempted multiple times to make use of Vanity's Fiend and Domain of the True Monarchs, to shut down Ryuzaki's Synchros and Xyz Monsters. First blood came late in the duel when the advantage swung into Ryuzaki's favor, as he managed to fire off Jurrac Meteor's effect and wipe Shinshi's carefully crafted field - a move which clearly set the gentleman on edge as he scrambled to avoid an imminent defeat, having played his hand nearly completely dry by this point in the match. After finally setting up Solda and Laggia, Ryuzaki moved in for the kill, which, through a combination of tricky plays and quick battlefield maneuvering that landed him in an advantageous position, Shinshi survived - though he was nearly a stone's throw away from defeat. Of note is managing to snag the Action Card Damage Draw as he flew back mid-air from Solda's attack, taking advantage of it to restore his depleted hand.
After that, Shinshi went all out, baiting Laggia's effect with Monarchs Storm Forth so that he could freely activate Panthetism of the Monarchs, pulling more resources for his eleventh hour comeback. It worked, as through a Vassal chain loop, the Masked Gentleman managed to brute force his way through the rest of the lock - summoning Ehther the Heavenly Monarch as well as a revived Erebus, using Ehther's effect to summon Kuraz the Light Monarch to clear the path for a One-Turn Kill that set the entire stadium in an uproar. After shaking hands, Shinshi humbly thanked Ryuzaki for the duel and then addressed the crowd, calling for a standing ovation for the old guard of the scene - a duelist who, in his words has "proved that he won't go extinct any time soon."
Audiences' opinion seemed split on Shinshi after the duel. While many felt that he had earned the win with his scrappy play, many were reportedly left feeling either that Ryuzaki had been 'robbed' or that Shinshi's play was incredibly too aggressive for a Monarch deck, to the point of nearly running out of cards in his hand at a crucial moment. Analysts and commentators seemed in consensus that Shinshi's strategy was making as much use of Action Cards available as possible to ensure he kept his field dominance, and overly committed resources to keeping Solda and Laggia out of play for as long as he did.
Shinshi declined further commentary after the duel, but reporters did get him to say he is 'thrilled' to be facing Mexican high-flying duelist Aguila Del Corazon. It's noted by many analysts that Shinshi, should he beat Del Corazon, will likely be facing Yuuki Juudai, the hometown legend and favorite to make the Top 4 of, if not win, the Championship. Nevertheless, Shinshi's aggressive win over Ryuzaki has established him as a "dark horse" runner to potentially go all the way.
One thing's for certain, even though he makes his exit from the Championship here, this will be far from the last time we've heard of Dinosaur Ryuzaki's revival in the pro scene.
Shinshi and Ryuzaki both attempted to set up their field control early, countering each other as best they could. Ryuzaki could nearly lock down the entire duel with Evolzar Solda and Laggia's combo, while Shinshi attempted multiple times to make use of Vanity's Fiend and Domain of the True Monarchs, to shut down Ryuzaki's Synchros and Xyz Monsters. First blood came late in the duel when the advantage swung into Ryuzaki's favor, as he managed to fire off Jurrac Meteor's effect and wipe Shinshi's carefully crafted field - a move which clearly set the gentleman on edge as he scrambled to avoid an imminent defeat, having played his hand nearly completely dry by this point in the match. After finally setting up Solda and Laggia, Ryuzaki moved in for the kill, which, through a combination of tricky plays and quick battlefield maneuvering that landed him in an advantageous position, Shinshi survived - though he was nearly a stone's throw away from defeat. Of note is managing to snag the Action Card Damage Draw as he flew back mid-air from Solda's attack, taking advantage of it to restore his depleted hand.
After that, Shinshi went all out, baiting Laggia's effect with Monarchs Storm Forth so that he could freely activate Panthetism of the Monarchs, pulling more resources for his eleventh hour comeback. It worked, as through a Vassal chain loop, the Masked Gentleman managed to brute force his way through the rest of the lock - summoning Ehther the Heavenly Monarch as well as a revived Erebus, using Ehther's effect to summon Kuraz the Light Monarch to clear the path for a One-Turn Kill that set the entire stadium in an uproar. After shaking hands, Shinshi humbly thanked Ryuzaki for the duel and then addressed the crowd, calling for a standing ovation for the old guard of the scene - a duelist who, in his words has "proved that he won't go extinct any time soon."
Audiences' opinion seemed split on Shinshi after the duel. While many felt that he had earned the win with his scrappy play, many were reportedly left feeling either that Ryuzaki had been 'robbed' or that Shinshi's play was incredibly too aggressive for a Monarch deck, to the point of nearly running out of cards in his hand at a crucial moment. Analysts and commentators seemed in consensus that Shinshi's strategy was making as much use of Action Cards available as possible to ensure he kept his field dominance, and overly committed resources to keeping Solda and Laggia out of play for as long as he did.
Shinshi declined further commentary after the duel, but reporters did get him to say he is 'thrilled' to be facing Mexican high-flying duelist Aguila Del Corazon. It's noted by many analysts that Shinshi, should he beat Del Corazon, will likely be facing Yuuki Juudai, the hometown legend and favorite to make the Top 4 of, if not win, the Championship. Nevertheless, Shinshi's aggressive win over Ryuzaki has established him as a "dark horse" runner to potentially go all the way.
One thing's for certain, even though he makes his exit from the Championship here, this will be far from the last time we've heard of Dinosaur Ryuzaki's revival in the pro scene.