Waiting Month: Preparing for Nationals 2012

Hello everyone, and let me just apologize for lack of posts recently. Finals are coming up and I have had slim time to write anything, and barely enough time to make a weekly YouTube video. It is also difficult to write about topics since I am unsure of what people want  to know and what people already know. I do not want to write about stuff that people are already aware of, since you guys may get bored and just stop reading. So this post is to discuss the North American World Championship Qualifier 2012. The date is the weekend of June 29th, which is only one month away. Preparation is crucial, and time is running thin. These are some things to consider when preparing for such an event:

Invitation

This is one of the two steps required for those who live near the event. For most of you, you probably already have this. To play at the event, you would need to Top 32 a regional or YCS. I received 16th at a regional a month or so ago, and I am relieved that I did not need to drive to Connecticut again for another Regional. If you do not have this, your chances are running out. Limited national qualifiers remain around the USA, and you may have to resort to the LCQ (Last Chance Qualifier). This is at the National Championship and is equivalent to a regional before the event actually begins. This is a risk though since you would have to travel all the way to Columbus, Ohio for a chance to even play.

Financial Preparation

Before I begin to speak about the individual requirements, you need to be aware that these may be a costly expense for some. Many people will have to travel across the country and get a hotel room. Not to mention that many top tier decks are going to cost at least a few hundred dollars (but you should already have some sort of deck). You will probably need to buy food and drinks as well, and having some spending money is not a bad thing.

Transportation

The first problem that I am still trying to figure out is how to get down there. I would prefer not to fly, and no one is really sure on how to get there at the moment. Personally, I have missed opportunities due to this factor. This requires a lot of planning, a person willing to drive over a long distance over a long time period, and gas money. If you live  near the event, then you are lucky…

Sleeping Arrangements

Now once you arrive  at the event, the next problem you’ll normally face is where are you going to stay? Getting a hotel/motel room ahead of time is a smart idea, but can be costly. You want a group of people (probably between 3-6) to split the cost of a room. Normally people will be required to share beds or sleep on the floor, but it is more cost efficient, and traveling expenses are dreadful for most players. Depending on your flexibility with money, you may not need to sacrifice comfort for price. Just like transportation, people who live near the event are lucky…

Deck Building

One of the more important factors is making your deck suitable for an event. You do not want to go to all of this trouble to end up scrubbing out of a large event. Unless you are going more for the profit aspect, you are going to want to win. By the time the event comes around, you should probably have a good understanding of the meta, and how to beat it. Prepare yourself for things like Dino-Rabbit and Chaos Dragons, since a large portion of players will be playing these and Inzektors. Constructing the skeleton of your deck (which is normally one of these decks, or rogue) is vital in surviving the harsh terrain of players. Pros from all around the country will be there, and there are not many easy wins coming around. Tech choices can help your match ups, making your deck different and more difficult to play around. I have scrubbed out of 2009 Nationals and 2011 Nationals, and I blame the fact that I played such plain “net-decked” versions of the decks that I used (Blackwings and Six-Samurais). Everyone was prepared to combat these match ups efficiently, and I had no real interesting factor that made my deck strive over others. Being comfortable with your deck is crucial, since if it is some net-decked meta call with limited testing, it could cause issues at the event, leading to a series of losses.

Testing

Once you have finished tweaking your build, test it with friends. Play against the various top tier decks to see which match ups are good and  which ones are bad. This enables more tweaking to your deck, seeing what works for you and what doesn’t. With no testing, you could misplay a lot and realize that you may have mad a bad choice in the deck building process. Testing is the cornerstone of perfection, it builds strong ideas of how certain decks are played, and how to survive in the deadliest of situations. Criticism from friends is also a helpful tool in fixing your deck, since other people could have unique ideas for certain decks, and can help mold the perfect build.

Ready, Set, GO!

You have prepared yourself, you have reached the event, and you are ready to go. Wait for pairings, and I hope to see you all at Nationals!

If I missed any steps, please let me know and I will be sure to add it in.

YCS Chicago Descends Upon Us!

Hello to all of my avid readers out there in the YuGiOh World! I am back to write more posts, and to help everyone become better players. As Long Beach and Dallas pass us by, and the meta changes constantly, Chicago will be the last event in the US before Galactic Overlord’s release. This will be the final chance to see the game without cards such as Cardcar D and Night Beam.

This past week, a shocking change was made by Konami, possibly strengthening the game (or weakening it). On-summon ignition effect timing (what we call “priority”) has been changed, so that when you summon a card like Rescue Rabbit, Effect Veiler will stop the effect, leaving a defenseless bunny on the field to be stomped on. Other cards like Chaos Sorcerer and Dark Armed Dragon cannot use their effects if they are Bottomless Trap Holed or destroyed under Torrential Tribute. This makes Dino-Rabbit a much lesser threat at Chicago, and Wind-Ups are in a worse position then they were (Zenmaity and Hunter are now crippled).

With Inzektors remaining basically untouched by this alteration, the question stands: Will Inzektors finally win in the United States? This is a golden opportunity for them to take Chicago. But a new deck has risen out of nowhere. Dragons has made quite the impact on YCS Dallas and YCS Toulouse, making them a strong option at Chicago, and is a major threat to Inzektors. Requiring very little commitment to field, with Lightpulsar Dragon grabbing more dragons upon destruction, makes this a force to be reckoned with. These two decks seem like they will be battling it out for the 1st place spot. But what about other possible decks that can make it.

Some decks that I feel could make it far besides the ones mentioned above are:\

Dino-Rabbit (People will try to keep it alive!)

HEROs (Strong deck, counters Inzektors very well, but struggles against Dragons)

Dark Worlds (One of the stronger choices, but is shut down by intelligent side-deck choices)

Gravekeepers (Although it is heavily ignored, Necrovally shuts down Dragons and Inzektors can only equip from hand. Royal Tribute is also extremely strong when most decks have high monster counts, but loses to the few Dark World decks)

Six Samurai (It is Six Samurai, with their strong ability to swarm, and having strong negation of spells, traps, and destruction effects, they are definitely a strong choice)

 

This seems like a standard look of what the competition will be, with several other rogue decks roaming around.

With GAOV around the corner, the meta will change drastically. Inzektor Ladybug may boost the deck to the sure-fire top of the meta. Hieratics will be extremely explosive, and may have the effect Wind-Ups did, forcing people to play the possibly dead Maxx “C”. Then cards like Night Beam and Cardcar D could become strong staple choices in any deck. Night Beam is a blind MST with no chance of them being able to respond with that card, and Cardcar D is a Pot of Greed that uses your Normal Summon. The state of the game will dramatically change, but I doubt it will be bad changes.

More diversity means a better format. I am sad that I am once again unable to go to the YCS, but I am cheering on my friends, Paul Clarke and Joseph Giorlando. Good luck to them and any of you going, and I hope this gives you an idea of what you might see this weekend. As for me, I hope I can pick up some Cardcar Ds and Night Beams. Adios everyone!

A Change in the Design – A Creative Touch on a Depressing Lifestyle

Hello everyone, and welcome to this new topic I thought would be a good idea to discuss to everyone. YuGiOh is constantly changing with new cards and combos being created everyday. The idea of consistency with destructive combinations of plays and maintaining card advantage is a dilemma many players face, unless you seem to be one of those players who copy and paste the best deck lists from online, thinking you are able to go far in an event, while playing against the hundreds of other players with an identical mindset as yourself.

Being able to change your deck builds to stir the thoughts of your opponent is a strong advantage when entering any event. Players are used to doing similar plays against standard Tier 0/1/2 decks, but if certain cards are entered into this equation, it can throw players off guard, and create a situation that is unknown to the player across from you.

A good friend of mine named Joseph Giorlando played an interesting build of HEROs, that ran several tech choices that many people were confused by and had difficulty managing against. He ended up placing in Top 4 of the largest trading card game event (at least for YuGiOh) ever. This is quite a feat, and many people were shocked that HEROs could make such a showing. Cards such as Skill Drain and Beast King Barbaros gave it more of an Anti-Meta field, making players struggle with dealing with a 3000 beater with such an easy summoning condition (which is probably why Dark Worlds won considering that they also have an easy-to-summon 2700 or 3000 attack monster.

As side deck choices like Forbidden Chalice and Gellenduo has come into play, more players are starting to discover potential in forgotten assets. Soon, new tech choices and more deck variants could possibly make a showing at any event. The idea of throwing your opponent off guard is a deciding factor in bring that match slip up after the match. Although many people may say that the decks that do the best at large events is the best deck and requires no changes to be made. Although this is a valid argument considering that they go so far at any given event, it does get stale, and most players prepare for the obvious combos and plays of any deck in a given format.

Now I must come to a close considering my friends are wanting me to play some League of Legends, but I will close on one last note. Although it may seem difficult at times to find a new idea for your deck, whether it be Dino-Rabbit or Gladiator Beasts, it is always something to consider, always looking up new (and old) cards to see the potential in the modern meta. Personally, I have never played at a YCS, but from my overlook of the game, and the statements my friends have made in the past, being creative is never a bad thing. It is Innovative, and changes any match to put it further in your favor. I will post more this week or next week. Adios!

Bugs Can Be Scary…

Hello to all of my valued readers! I hope you have all made a strong adjustment to the new format, since its update 16 days ago. Though YCS Long Beach is in a couple of weeks, we still have a strong idea of what decks will make an impact on the next few months. But one deck seems to be extremely over-hyped, and is probably the third strongest choice at this moment. I am talking about Inzektors.

Though this deck seems like a weak choice at first, it does have a few strong benefits that need to be considered. With Wind-Ups being a deck that is seen at any events, from local to YCS, creates a difficult situation when playing against any deck: committing to the field or maintaining hand advantage. Inzektors make players afraid to commit to the field since they revolve around Inzektor Hornet destroying multiple cards per turn.

By using Inzektor Centipede and Inzektor Dragonfly, it is extremely easy to maintain card advantage, while destroying multiple cards. These three Inzektors (sometimes combined with Inzektor Hopper) can cripple any deck, and makes this a strong contender. But there is a major flaw with the deck that remind me of Dark Worlds when they were considered Tier 1. Many people are aware of the strong side deck choices for this match up, making games 2 and 3 slightly more challenging.

Cards like Shadow Imprisoning Mirror and Macro Cosmos cripple Dark Worlds and Inzektors, but stunning Inzektor Hornet which is the major win condition of the deck. Players also sometimes consider Chain Disappearance and Trap Hole for stopping Dragonfly.

It is possible to overcome these cards but siding stuff such as Dust Tornado and Twister, so the deck can strive even against the most treacherous of plays, with the proper counter to the meta, and the side choices. At many of my locals, this deck seems to devastate the competition, but still have a troublesome time against the occasional Dino-Rabbit deck.

I apologize since I am having difficult time managing time with school, tournaments, and League of Legends (I have been loving this game). So this post was extremely rushed, and there may be some gaps on the topic. If you have any insight, please comment with your opinions and choices.

It’s That Time Again…

Hello everyone, and I am back with the new additions to the ban list! Some may be happy, or others may cry and rage. Myself, I am disappointed by Konami’s decisions on this rotation. With little alterations to the current decks that control the meta, the next six months are going to be filled with Toys, Bugs, and Samurais (with fur)! This is what the list consists of (for those who have not seen it yet):

 

Banned:

Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Spore

Glow-Up Bulb

Trap Dustshoot

Limited:

The Agent of Mystery – Earth

T.G. Striker

Semi-limited:

Level Limit – Area B

Torrential Tribute

Marshmallon

Reborn Tengu

Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner

Shien’s Smoke Signal

Emergency Teleport

Ultimate Offering

No Longer Limited:

Call of the Haunted

 

This list is a little different from most. The first thing that pops into my head when looking at this is that a TCG exclusive (Reborn Tengu) was hit. Really? Not only was a TCG exclusive on this list, but it was not the major problem. Tour Guide from the Underworld needed to be hit more than Reborn Tengu, which confuses me as to why it wasn’t. Plants have been completely destroyed with the banning of Spore and Glow-Up Bulb. No longer can they spam Synchro Monsters since what tuner are they going to use? Naturia Cherries? Unknown Synchron? Those are no where near as viable as the common two. With Tengu also semi-limited, the deck cannot have a large number of non-tuner resources.

Agents have not been making a strong mark on this format, yet they took quite a dive alongside the plants. With only one Earth left in the deck, it is much more difficult to have Venus ready to spam Shine Balls, and it is less monsters to remove for Master Hyperion. It has come up many times that TG Agents were at one point the best deck in the OCG, but was completely obliterated by Inzektors.

Although this list seems to cripple many decks, it has released some small benefits to old decks. Six Samurais will have their third Reinforcements of the Army (The second Smoke Signal) and Lightsworns have two Luminas at their disposal. Psychics also have another Emergency Teleport (and no, TeleDAD is not coming back!) possibly to make up for the banning of their best card, Mind Master.

I am delighted to see Trap Dustshoot banned since it was the biggest game-changer. If first player opened with Dustshoot, it strongly improved their odds of victory, have such an immense amount of knowledge, and getting rid of any key monsters. Trishula I was happy and sad about. It is a great level 9 Synchro, with a strong effect, but it is quite a devastating card. Better pick up some Mist Wurms guys!

The rest of this list is nothing too major. Torrential to two is interesting, giving players an opportunity to punish the aggressive players. But besides that, cards like Call of the Haunted and Marshmallon will not affect the current state of the meta. Konami does not seem to understand the ramifications of their decisions. By not touching the problem decks, the next six months might be to overwhelming, with key factors like going first or second, and if second, do you have Maxx “C”? NO? THEN YOU COULD GET LOOPED BY WIND-UPS! Should I commit to the field? Or should I set everything at hopes that I don’t get looped? This format is extremely difficult to survive in, with all of the decks that dominate contain extremely powerful plays, where going second could be the determining factor on whether you win or lose.

Response: Possible Meta Update? Six Samurai Stikes!

Hello everyone, and welcome to a shorter post on the METAGAME WATCH. As many of you know, YCS Guadalajara just occurred last week where most of the top was expected, but the winning deck was… Six Samurai? To the general YuGiOh public, this posed as a shock to competitive play. Samurais, the dominant deck for about a month in the TCG, just won a YCS, and questions have been rising everywhere. Is the guy a cheater? With triple Maxx C in most decks, how does it survive? With one Shi En, it can really still pop off? My Facebook was flooded with these kinds of questions, and I to believe there must be some reasoning behind its recent victory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNIV7juaIyI

Monsters (18)
2 Elder of the Six Samurai
2 Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki
3 Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan
2 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai
1 Hand of the Six Samurai
1 Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi
3 Maxx “C”

1 Effect Veiler

Spells (15)
3 Six Samurai United
3 Shien’s Dojo
1 Gateway of the Six
3 Asceticism of the Six Samurai
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Shien’s Smoke Signal
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon

Traps (7)
1 Double-Edged Sword Technique
1 Trap Dustshoot
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Fiendish Chain

Extra Deck
1 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Naturia Landoise
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Orient Dragon
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines

Side Deck
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror
2 Puppet Plant
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Dimensional Prison
3 Rivalry of Warlords

The video is in Spanish, but the cards are easy to decipher from pictures. Running three copies of Asceticism of the Six Samurai and Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi seem like weird meta choices. I personally like two Asceticism, but three seems excessive. Surprising enough, the deck did not run cards like Blade Armor Ninja or Driven Daredevil in the Extra Deck (New cards in ORCS). I have also never felt that Shien’s Dojo was vital to the deck’s success, especially at three.

The true benefits I see to this deck in the current meta is Naturia Landoise. By being able to negate strong effects like Inzektor monsters and Wind-Ups makes him a strong opening. By easily swarming these strong Synchro Monsters that negate almost anything happening on the field, the deck can stand against the metagame of today. It is questionable with cards like Maxx C running around, that Oscar Armeria Zavala must have been in a lot of positions where the smart play was to allow his opponent to gain significant card advantage.

There is also the “rogue” aspect that I am quite fond of when it comes to deck-building that I feel could have given Samurais a substantial boost when entering the event. What I mean by this is, when entering a large event such as a YCS, what decks are people prepared to go up against? Currently, people are trying to counter things like Rabbit, WInd-Ups and Inzektors. Most people do not think, “Oh, I should consider siding cards to combat the Samurai match up or Gravekeeper match up (For those who do not know, they also topped).” That is commonly not considered anymore, when the main decks have priority for preparation, since there is a far larger chance of going up against the obvious tier decks than a out-of-the-norm deck like Samurais.

Now ask yourselves, could this happen again? For those going to YCS Atlanta in the next week, are you afraid of facing off against these powerful warriors? Or are do you believe this was all a hoax, and you will thrash those foolish enough to play the fallen archetype? Only time will tell, for this next event, will be interesting indeed..

Reviving a Failing Archetype: Blackwings

Hello everyone and welcome to an insightful discussion on one of my favorite archetypes in all of YuGiOh history: Blackwings. They were first released in Crimson Crisis, and almost instantly made an impact on the meta at the time. With cards like Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind and Black Whirlwind being untouched by the ban list, Blackwings had the perfect equilibrium of control and swarm.

Over the past couple year, Blackwings have managed to stay relevant to the meta, but more and more they began to die out. I do not even remember the last event they even did good at since the September list. The most recent changes of Icarus Attack returning to three, but Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow going to one has been the final seal on the fate of Blackwings. With decks like Dino-Rabbit and Plants still rampaging through the format, the question stands: “Are Blackwings strong enough to be a competitive choice at an event?” Arguably, I think it has the potential to still fight through the standings at a YCS.

I played Blackwings at my local last week, splitting in finals with a friend of mine, where i went 3-1 in swiss, then beating my only loss in Top 8. The deck can be modified to the user’s liking, but there were some techs of my own choice that seemed to have put in the effort I desired.

Shard of Greed

This card was debated by many players upon the release of Photon Shockwave. Being able to allow you to draw 2 cards is great in theory, but waiting two turns for it could be too long of a wait. I played this card in almost every game as a one of (since I only had one) and I was always able to get its effect, and gain massive advantage. Utilizing key defense cards like Starlight Road and Icarus Attack was able to keep it from being destroyed by most possible threats.

Genex Ally Crusher

This card was possibly my MVP of the day. With a large 2000 defense, setting this card was almost guaranteed to survive the turn. With strong openings like Thunder King Rai-oh, many people were unable to destroy it on their first turn, allowing me to capitalize off of its effect when I was able to summon a Blackwing monster or a Tour Guide from the Underworld.

Most of the deck beyond this is standard, with one difference is only two Blackwing – Blizzard of the Far North. This is because I do not like losing to cards like Maxx C/Effect Veiler which are so common this format, and will be more common after Wind-Ups are legal everywhere. Blizzard is only 1300, and is dead once Veiler has been played, only used for Icarus Attack fodder. If Maxx C is played, controlling an attack mode Blizzard and a defense position level 4 or lower Blackwing does not seem very helpful, and could lose to cards like Jurrac Guaiba and Gladiator Beasts.

Icarus Attack is the trump card though, as you can see from all my references to that card above. Being able to tribute dead Blackwings like Vayu and Zephyros can create a lot of advantage. It also can get around some corrosive side decks cards like Shadow Imprisoning Mirror and Consecrated Light (If people still choose to side it).

The Vayu Turbo variant also has a lot of potential since its large array of graveyard effects can survive the outrageous Wind-Up loop by having cards like Vayu and Sirocco in grave to spam Blackwing synchros!

Blackwings may be down for now, but I think that they can make an uprising once again. I will attempt to continue testing different builds to see how perfected it can get.