Quarterfinals: Jerry Wang vs. Rhymus Lizo

This quarterfinal match pitted two Overdose teammates against each other. One would definitely be going to Japan, but one would not. Neither player seemed happy having to play each other—the usually jubilant Rhymus Lizo just stared at the wall while he shuffled his deck, then methodically placed his Fusion and side deck on the table while Wang did the same.Lizo and Wang rolled off, then clasped hands almost wordlessly across the table. They sat in silence, decks shuffled, waiting for the signal to begin play. The opening was Rhymus Lizo’s, and each player drew their hands slowly. “Draw” said Lizo, before doing so. He summoned Sangan, set a spell or trap, and passed.

Wang drew and then immediately played Pot of Greed. He considered his move carefully and then set D. D. Warrior Lady and a card to his spell or trap zone. In his end phase the mystery card he set, Creature Swap, was nailed by Lizo’s Mystical Space Typhoon.Sangan attacked the D. D. Warrior Lady, crashing into it and bringing Lizo down to 7400 life points. Wang opted to remove the monsters from play with the Lady’s effect—not a decision he made easily, but seemingly a wise one. Lizo then set a card to each of his zones and play progressed.He was matched, as Wang made the same play of a set card to each zone. Lizo flip summoned his set monster, his own D. D. Warrior Lady, and then attacked Wang’s set monster, revealing Magician of Faith. Wang returned Pot of Greed to his hand and his Magician took a well-earned nap.Pot of Greed came down on Wang’s side yet again. He now had substantial card advantage. Lizo would be hard-pressed to dig a win out of this first duel, but if anyone in the building could do so, it would be him. Wang scored another blow by using Graceful Charity, discarding Sinister Serpent and Jinzo, and then setting another monster. He activated Messenger of Peace, but opted to not activate an in-hand Delinquent Duo.Nobleman of Crossout hit the table from Lizo’s hand next turn, removing Wang’s Sangan from the field. Lizo’s Warrior Lady turned to defense position and he passed. “How many cards in hand?” asked Wang.“Four.”Wang drew and then opted to pay for the Messenger. He set another monster and again did not use the Delinquent Duo. Lizo drew his card and then passed. Wang did not pay for the Messenger next turn and it went to the graveyard. He played Metamorphosis, tributed Sinister Serpent, brought out Thousand-Eyes Restrict, sucked up D. D. Warrior Lady, and then attacked Lizo directly. He set a card to his spell and trap zone and then activated Delinquent Duo.“Go.” Lizo drew and again passed. Wang again attacked for 1500 with Thousand-Eyes Restrict. The score was 6900 to 4400 in Wang’s favor.Lizo drew and this time opted to set a second card. When Thousand-Eyes Restrict swung next turn, he flipped Scapegoat. It appeared to be the card he had down for the past few turns. Thousand-Eyes attacked a Sheep token and Wang set a monster, then passed.Finally, Lizo caught some luck. He activated Pot of Greed and then used Giant Trunade, getting back his D. D. Warrior Lady! Wang chained Waboku. Lizo had plans though, using Snatch Steal to take the Thousand-Eyes and then sucking up Wang’s face down monster. He set a monster, set a card to his spell and trap zone, and pondered.“Cards in your hand?” he asked.“Seven” Wang replied. Lizo passed.Wang needed to do something big and he did, activating Heavy Storm. Lizo had a retort though, and used Book of Moon to turn Thousand-Eyes Restrict face down—it was his now! The face down monster attached to Thousand-Eyes Restrict had been Sinister Serpent.Nobleman of Crossout was Wang’s next play, and Lizo wasn’t happy as he watched his Magician of Faith get removed from the game. He stripped his others from his deck while Wang explained that his other copy was in the graveyard.Wang summoned Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and attacked the TER, sending it to the graveyard. He set a card in his spell and trap zone and finally passed. This game was heating up!Graceful Charity began the next turn for Lizo, and he discarded Enraged Battle Ox and the D. D. Warrior Lady he’d rescued last turn. He set another spell or trap and passed play. Wang set one himself, and play passed again. The card counts were now almost equal. Lizo had four cards in hand and two set spells or traps, while Wang also had two set spells or traps but had Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and five cards in hand. Lizo was about to change that.He activated Brain Control from his hand, took Kycoo, and tributed it for Jinzo. He attacked, but Wang had a Scapegoat to flip in response. Next turn, one of his fuzzy sheep became a Thousand-Eyes Restrict thanks to the game’s second Metamorphosis, and Thousand-Eyes Restrict sucked up Jinzo. It smacked a Sheep token and play moved to Lizo.Lizo set a third spell or trap, now knowing Wang was out of Heavy Storms and Magician of Faiths. He passed, Thousand-Eyes Restrict smacked the last Sheep clean off the field, and it was again Lizo’s turn.“Remove a Light and a Dark,” he said, summoning Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. He used priority to immediately remove Thousand-Eyes Restrict from play. He then tributed Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning for Airknight Parshath! What aggression! Lizo needed to gain some card advantage and was going for it.Wang flipped Torrential Tribute, but Lizo chained Call of the Haunted to take a defining level of control over the game! Airknight pierced through a sheep, Jinzo hit the last one, and Lizo drew as the life point totals became 6000 to 3600. Though he was incredibly committed to the field and had over-extended from his hand, Lizo was back in the duel!Wang wasn’t going to let go so easily, and he used Tsukuyomi to flip Jinzo face down. He then used Nobleman of Crossout to get rid of it, and Lizo had no response. Swords of Revealing Light hit the field and Wang went to take back his Tsuku.“End phase” said Lizo, hitting Tsukuyomi with Book of Moon.Lizo used Heavy Storm, but Wang chained Ring of Destruction to blow away Airknight Parshath and chained Ceasefire. He flipped Tsukuyomi face up as the chain resolved, flipped it back down, and Airknight exploded in a blast of fire. Lizo was now dangerously low on cards. He set the last one from his hand, a monster, and passed. It was now his single face down to Wang’s face down and two cards in hand.Wang drew, summoned Asura Priest, and attacked—Lizo’s set was a Sinister Serpent. Wang passed and Lizo returned the Serpent to his hand, shuffling his pair of cards. He set one monster and again passed.His teammate had it, though. Wang tributed Tsukuyomi for Airknight Parshath, attacked, and that was the end of the duel.Jerry Wang wins game one!Game TwoAfter both competitors spent a fair amount of time side decking, Lizo opened game two. It was his turn to do so with a bang, and his first play was Delinquent Duo. He discarded Magician of Faith randomly and then Wang selected Cannon Soldier. He set a card to his spell or trap zone and that was the turn.Wang attempted to summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and briefly succeeded, but then Lizo blew it up with Ring of Destruction. Wang played Messenger of Peace and Lizo was up yet again.He hit the second part of his trinity, activating Graceful Charity and opting to discard Torrential Tribute and Lightning Vortex. Discarding two pieces of mass-removal seemed risky, so he must have had a plan. He set two spells or traps and gave control of the game to Wang.Messenger of Peace was paid for and Wang then set Nobleman of Crossout. He ended his turn. Lizo set a monster and did the same. Wang summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior, broke Lizo’s set Waboku, and saw it chain. The Nobleman of Crossout flipped, took out Lizo’s set Cyber Jar, and he passed. Lizo passed his next turn, Wang again paid for Messenger, and then set another spell or trap. Lizo drew and set another of the same.A turn later, the score was 5200 to 5700 in Wang’s favor, and the pain kept coming from Breaker while Lizo’s hand built up. Lizo continued setting spells and traps but seemed either unwilling to commit or was fresh out of monsters. Another turn later, he played Pot of Greed and seemed to be ready to make a move. He used Nobleman of Crossout on Wang’s lone face down monster, Kinetic Soldier, successfully removing it from the game. He again did not follow up, perhaps because the Messenger had him locked down. He set another monster, passed, and Wang again paid for the Messenger. He set a card to each of his zones and passed.Lizo hit him with Dust Tornado in the end phase, and it was a blessing—the set card was Delinquent Duo. Lizo’s Tsukuyomi then turned Breaker face down, and Nobleman of Crossout removed it from the game. A second Nobleman then removed Wang’s other face down, Morphing Jar! It was Lizo’s five in-hand cards and three on the field to Wang’s three in hand and two on field, and all that was saving Wang was his Messenger. Wang had nothing to do on his next turn, passed, and Lizo passed right back.Passing continued for another turn, and Lizo had to discard his Jinzo. It was a play that seemed to telegraph possession of Call of the Haunted. Wang took his turn, set another spell or trap after again paying 100 life points, and passed. Lizo set a fourth spell or trap, passed, and when Wang quickly passed back he hit one of Wang’s face down spells or traps with Mystical Space Typhoon, revealing Bottomless Trap Hole. Lizo must have had another answer to Messenger if he was spending his spell and trap removal so readily.Premature Burial brought back Jinzo, which he then tributed for Mobius the Frost Monarch! There it was! Mobius took down Messenger of Peace, but Wang chained his last face down card to turn Mobius face down with Book of Moon.It wasn’t enough. Lizo used Metamorphosis to trade the Mobius in for Ryu Senshi and then swung directly for 2000. The life point totals were now 3000 to 4400, and Lizo was in the lead!Wang drew his card for his draw phase and shook his head. He played Graceful Charity, discarded Airknight Parshath and Ceasefire, and Lizo mentioned, “You should’ve kept it,” seeming to refer to the Parshath. Wang used Brain Control and it was quickly negated. He clutched his forehead, apparently having forgotten about Ryu Senshi’s effect. He used Lightning Vortex to get rid of Ryu Senshi, summoned Asura Priest, and ran it straight into Mirror Force. He set a spell or trap, played Swords of Revealing Light, and passed.Lizo set one monster and passed. Wang continued trying to be aggressive though. He flipped his face down card, Premature Burial, brought up the Parshath, and attacked Lizo’s face down. He had three set cards in his spell and trap zone that could help him, and looked at each individually to consider them. After looking at two repeatedly he opted to not activate either, and when Parshath took out the face down Tsukuyomi Lizo had set the Parshath turned face down. The life point totals were now 1600 to 3900. He set a monster and ended his turn.Swords of Revealing Light appeared on Lizo’s side of the field, and Airknight Parshath flipped face up. Smashing Ground took Airknight out of the equation and Lizo passed, allowing Wang to set another monster. Lizo set one himself on the following turn and Wang’s Swords of Revealing Light hit the graveyard. He had no play on his following turn. Lizo filled his spell and trap zone before losing his Swords, then activated Ceasefire. His opponent was down to just 600 life points! He nabbed Wang’s now face-up D. D. Warrior Lady with Snatch Steal and attempted to attack to win the game.Wang had other plans, though, and activated Call of the Haunted to target Airknight. Lizo was again able to negate the effect though! He flipped a Call of his own, brought up Jinzo, and yet again negated one of Wang’s traps with the combo. D. D. Warrior Lady’s attack went through, Wang went down, and the match moved to game three!Game ThreeWang began game three after another round of side decking. He began the game with the traditional opening of a set card to each of his zones. Lizo began his turn with Delinquent Duo, and boy, did it hurt! He discarded Mirror Force at random, and faced with a hand of Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, Snatch Steal, and Brain Control, Wang was forced to drop Brain Control. Lizo set two spells or traps, one monster, and passed.Wang recovered, though, flipping Magician of Faith and taking back Brain Control. In his end phase, he flipped Ceasefire, dishing out 1000 damage to Lizo and negating the effect of hisMagician of Faith! It stopped Lizo from using Delinquent Duo again, which would have been a match-winning factor.Lizo kept the pressure up though, tributing his Magician for Jinzo and attacking straight through his opponent’s attack position Magician. Snatch Steal stole Jinzo next turn, and Jinzo attacked alongside a freshly summoned Sangan. Both monsters looked to rip into Lizo’s hide, but Scapegoat kept him safe.He set a card and then passed. Wang drew, set a second card to his spell and trap zone, summoned D. D. Warrior Lady, and ran it right into Lizo’s face down monster, revealing another Warrior Lady. Both were removed at the behest of Wang, the last two sheep fell to Sangan and Jinzo, and play moved to Lizo.He set one monster and passed. Wang drew, played Tsukuyomi, turned the Jinzo face down to free it of Snatch Steal, flipped it back up, and then attacked with it. Jinzo slammed into Morphing Jar, both players lost one card, and both then drew five. Sangan and Tsuku attacked and the life point totals were suddenly 5800 to 5900, Lizo still clinging to his lead.Lizo played Lightning Vortex and paid for it with Sinister Serpent. Destroying Sangan hurt, but with D. D. Warrior Lady gone, it was almost inevitable. Sangan needed to be punted out of the way and Lizo needed to protect himself, so it was a good move. Lizo set a monster and passed after activating Swords of Revealing Light.Wang harassed the fresh set with Nobleman of Crossout, but Lizo chained Ceasefire to save it. It was again Cyber Jar. Wang then made the odd move of activating Lightning Vortex to get it out of the way before setting another monster.It was Lizo’s turn to attack with Sangan, and Wang had little choice but to destroy it. He flipped Sakuretsu Armor. Lizo took Cannon Soldier with its effect and passed.Wang flipped Magician of Faith, claiming its effect. He then summoned Breaker the Magical Warrior and Lizo chained Torrential Tribute. Attacking into an open field, Lizo started pressing with a Sinister Serpent, lowering Wang to 5000 life points. Wang set a monster on the following turn and Lizo end phased a set Scapegoat with Mystical Space Typhoon. Scapegoat was chained, they came up, and Wang felt safe.For a moment. Lizo tributed Sinister Serpent for Airknight Parshath and attacked a sheep, dishing out 1900 pierce damage. He drew a card and passed.“Turn one of my Sheep to attack,” announced Wang. The next move was obvious, and Creature Swap stole Lizo’s Airknight while sticking him with an attack position Sheep token. The Airknight swung and Lizo flipped Waboku. Wang set a monster and passed.Lizo turned his Sheep token to defense position, set a monster of his own, and Wang again had control of the game. He tributed his face down monster, Enraged Battle Ox, for Jinzo. The Airknight attacked the face down monster, but was prevented from succeeding by Book of Moon. Though Lizo was leading, with 5900 life points to Wang’s 3100, he needed to play very carefully against Wang’s substantial field.Wang controlled two Sheep tokens, a face down Airknight Parshath, Jinzo, and two set spells or traps. Lizo had one face down card in each zone and a hand of three cards to Wang’s four.Lizo used Premature Burial to bring up Jinzo. The lie point totals were 5100 to 3100. He labored, seeming to wonder if he should flip his face down. He then summoned Cannon Soldier and attacked with it into Airknight Parshath—had he forgotten that Parshath had a DEF of 1400, equal to Cannon Soldier’s?“Ohhh, that was so stupid. Why’d you do that, Rhymus?” he asked himself. “Aww hell. I thought it was 1200!” He actually didn’t. He’d intended to flip up the Airknight with Cannon Soldier and then hit it with Ring of Destruction. If he attacked Jinzo to Jinzo, then launched with Cannon Soldier, it would have been game. It wasn’t a mistake.He attempted to attack the other Jinzo with his Jinzo, but Wang prevented him from doing so with Book of Moon. Lizo groaned, now unable to make possibly the most brilliant play that would never be.Wang drew, played Brain Control and targeted Cannon Soldier. Without a moment’s doubt, Lizo scooped his cards. There was no way he could stop the onslaught that would’ve followed.Jerry Wang continues on to the semifinals, and qualifies for Worlds 2005!

Metagame.com (2005)

This article was originally written by Metagame.com, what was formerly the official website for large Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament coverage.  It has been preserved by GoatFormat.com so that players can learn from this historical tournament coverage.