Card ruling updates – Are there any noteworthy changes in Astral Pack 3?

It took several days, but all new cards from Astral Pack 3 have been scanned and updated on the Yugi wiki. Time to take a closer look at them and see if there are noteworthy changes in card rulings.

But honestly, there aren't that many changes in here. I can put the cards in a few categories:

• New cards in TCG: Curtain of the Dark Ones & Kamionwizard.
• Foil reprints of wanted cards: Atlantean Marksman, Fire Formation Tenki, Mermail Abyssgunde, Spellbook Star Hall and Library of the Crescent.
• Reprint, just for the sake of Problem-solving Card text (PSCT): Pollinosis, Wall of Thorns, Jowgen the Spiritualist, Des Lacooda, Vampire Dragon, Gladiator Beast's Battle Archfiend Shield, Deck Lockdown (sadly enough) and Heavy Slump.
• Cards that did not stated they targeted, now officially target in their PSCT: Falling Down, Swarm of Scarabs, Swarm of Locusts and Archfiend’s Roar.

But there are a few other cards in the set, with a specific reason for reprint.

Superfluous “face-up” is removed

In the first version of Problem-Solving Card Text, there was an often-used “face-up” in the card texts, even if it was not necessary. If you compare the card texts of the cards where these two words were removed, you’ll notice that the words were superfluous. There were already a few updates in the previous Astral pack. This pack, this change involves the following cards:

• Maestroke the Symphony Djinn: It’s impossible to protect face-down Djinn monsters anyway, so “face-up” is removed from his protection effect.
• Noble Arms Gallatin & Arfeudutyr: These two cards are equip spells, so they obviously can’t be equipped to face-down Noble Knights, but the original cards stated it anyway.
• An extra part on Gallatin was that the original text of the re-equip stated that its effect could only be used once per turn… like once for both players together (which was not true). The text has now been updated that both players can use it once per turn (important ruling for mirror matches).

"I used my sword this turn, you can't use yours... right?"
"Obviously NOT right!"

Cards need to remain in the grave in order to resolve their effect

Due to the difference between cards that resolve in the grave and effects that keep lingering after they’re sent to the grave, a few extra words have been placed on the following cards:

• Serene Psychic Witch: She has to remain in the grave in order to special summon the banished target. Was already like that in the rulings, but now this is stated on the card text.
• Imprisoned Queen Archfiend: The boost only happens when she remains in the grave while Pandemonium remains on the field (until after her effect resolves). Her effect is now also updated that she’s destroyed if you cannot pay her maintenance cost (was already in rule).

"Talk about a Gold Digger. She eats your money/lifepoints away.
And if you don't have enough left, she's gone."

Super Solar Nutrient

The last card in this set is Super Solar Nutrient, which is a different kind of update.

This card now states that the level that matters is the level the tributed monster had on the field. For example, if you tribute a Lv. 2 Spore (special summoned by its own effect), the special summoned monster can be of Lv. 5 or less; not 4 or less (if you would consider Spore’s level when it hits the grave).

This is an interesting text update that Konami might consider putting on Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation as well, because the level of the special summoned monster often causes many (unnecessary) discussions.

Afterword

Mostly, the updates in this pack is clarifications on already existing rules, or foil reprints to make it a wanted pack in general.

And yes, this pack is turning out to be quite wanted due to its foil reprints and those new cards. I personally liked the addition of Kamionwizard (it's an Instant Fusion target) and I'm not the only one (this common is about 20$).

However, I disliked the fact that Deck Lockdown's update is so... insignificant. Tewart mentioned the card text was horrible, but I didn't realize he meant the usage of proper English instead of the ruling issues (*facepalm*). There's still no clarification on the card whether or not it syncs with Master Key Beetle (on a side-note, the answer on that is: "no, it doesn't"). Come on, Konami. Please put a differentiation between conditions and card effects on your cards already!

And a last thing... Certain reprints are easy to get. Archfiends is due to the Archfiend support in JOTL; Zombies is due to the support in Shadow Specters; The Flip effect trio (Locusts/Lacooda/Scarabs) is due to their sync-potential with the Ghosttricks. But the Plant support reprints? Will there be more plant support in Shadow Specters? Or is that for the Shinra's already (in Legacy of the Valiant)? I guess we'll see when Shadow Specters is released in November.

Until next time, V out.

Lo(l)cals report - Testing Maiden Prophecy

Last week, the Blue-Eyes Structure deck was released and last weekend was a locals in one of the places I attend. So instead of continuing to fine-tune my current Prophecy build, I re-arranged the deck to fit in the Maiden engine (3 Maiden, 1 Blue-Eyes, 2 Azure-Eyes & 1 Star Eater) and see what it would give (no, I don't have that much time to test it on online platforms).

It’s been a while since the Destelbergen location organized a (decent) tournament, but this is the first in quite a while. To my surprise there were 18 people (yeah, that’s a lot in my eyes). 5 rounds of locals here we go.

Round 1: VS Stijn (Evilswarm)

• Game 1: I start and versus Evilswarm player's that's a blessing. I quickly overpower him with World and High Priestess. I can keep Ophion of the field with Book of Fate and the game is quickly ended.
• Game 2: The tables are turned. He opens Ophion and I’m stuck trying to get rid of Ophion after Ophion. The High priestes and World in my opening hand DID NOT help. Again, I did not see any Maiden or Blue-Eyes. I use a Compulsory Evac device and a Phoenix Wing to prevent him from searching another Pandemic, but he already had the other two in his hand/field (ah, f**k). I had trouble coming back and he finishes it off with a Crazy Box + EEV. Yeah, that’s game.
• Game 3: I open up horrible, but I do have a Veiler, a Breaker and Vanity’s Emptiness. Those three cards help me survive and pick his deck apart (since he doesn’t have MST). When I thought I had enough materials in my hand, I get rid of Emptiness, get Priestess on the field but I’m unable to make game. That was my mistake. He turns the duel around quickly and when I needed a good topdeck, my deck returns me a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Yeah, that’s the only card of my Maiden “engine” I saw in this round.
• End result: OXX

Analysis: In this game I made the mistake to keep the Blue-Eyes engine in (even if I didn’t saw a damn’ card of it), since it wouldn’t do much good against Ophion. I did notice that my deck has a weakness to Evilswarms, but they have trouble handling Vanity’s Emptiness in return. I lost the game however, because I was too impatient and got rid of my Emptiness too soon.

Round 2: Vs Karel (Reptillianne)

• Game 1: Not much to say. He said his deck was a troll deck and troll decks don't do much against my kind of deck. He doesn't get the right cards and I quickly overpower him. This time I open with maiden, so Azure-Eyes quickly goes to the field. One turn later Star Eater appears as well. And one turn later it’s Blue-Eyes, Star Eater and Azure-Eyes. Ouch.
• Game 2: This time he does get the right cards to make him troll me. But I get rid of his key-cards too easily for him to actually stand a chance.
End result: OO

Analysis: First time I actually get the Maiden engine going. It feels really good. Azure-Eyes is hard to get rid of and with another Maiden+Blue Magician + a revived Blue-Eyes, Star Eater is very easy to make in this deck.

Round 3: Vs Worms (forgot this guy's name)

• Game 1: I open quite horrible, but I’m able to survive with my Spellbook Magician and a Gagagashield (no matter what you say, I like this card so I'll keep playing it). He hesitates to turn his defensive combo of Xex & Yagan into an offensive one when I have no good cards in my hand and that allows me to grind it through and make a come-back. But this duel takes time. I think we spent well over 30 minutes on this one duel.
• Game 2: We quickly go into time, but I’m able to give him the most damage in the end.
• End result: OO

Afterword: I recognize a beginning player and give him some tips and point out where he made mistakes, so that he can learn from them. Even though his deck wasn’t all that well-made to win, his plays were solid and well-thought out (the force is strong with this one).

Round 4: Vs Karel (Chain Burn)

• Game 1: A real back-and-forth game. I’m able to quickly get Azure-Eyes, Star Eater and another Blue-Eyes on the field, but when facing Chain Burn, that big field ended up turning against me. A few ruling questions are answered. Like, when Star Eater attacks, does Battle Fader work (yes) and does Swift Scarecrow work (the attack continues, but the battle phase ends after that). I actually win, because he thinks he has no more way out and surrenders… only to realize five minutes later that he could've won (he had Dimension wall). So I guess I lucked out.
• Game 2: I side out the maiden engine (since it only works against me) and side in some hate. But the cards that work the best against him is the constant Book of Fate bouncing his chain cards to his hand and recycling the Fates with Eternity and Tower. The sided Debunks take care of his Fader/Scarecrow and I make game shortly after that.
• End result: OO

Analysis: Yeah, the Maiden engine works against the controller when facing Chain Burn, that much was clear. But Debunk was godlike in this match-up. I said it before; it is one of the best side-deck cards in this format; that is no mistake.

Round 5: Vs Hendrik (Plant Rulers, LS variant)

• Game 1: A game that takes long and goes back-and-forth. I use Magician’s Circle to get Maiden on the field, but quickly notice my opponent played the Lightsworn variant of Dragon Rulers when Lyla hits the field instead of Veiler (Okay, I did NOT expect that). He has trouble attacking my Maiden, because he realizes his Crimson Blader’s effect is bypassed by Maiden during HIS turn. But I’m unable to summon ol’ Blue-Eyes during my turn and I can’t get enough resources to get over his monsters. I end up losing after a very long duel.
• Game 2: We quickly run into time (the first duel took once again well over 30 minutes). A hand-held Tower keeps him from activating Dragon Ravine and my cards are able to stop his combo’s. In the end, most of his dragons are Banished and this time around I still have my combo-cards. I’m able to take the most lifepoints away from him (even though some bystanders told me I could've made game as well if I didn't play so defensive in my last turn) and thus win in time.
• End result: XO (time = tie)

Analysis: We both played well, but made some mistakes. Sometimes I banish the wrong spell card, or return the wrong banished card to the hand, stopping my combo’s in their tracks. He on the other hand often chained Maxx “C” on the wrong moments. First time I didn't make much of it, but the second time (when we were in time) the judge saw it and told him it was too little too late.

End result: 4th place (Hendrik 3rd place). The winner was a Mermail deck.

Afterthought:

The Maiden engine melded really well with the rest of the deck (at least if I see her, lol). I tried Magician’s Circle to get Temperance and Maiden on the field more quickly, but the requirement to set the card and attack the turn afterwards is a let-down. And the moment I did use it, the opponent had a Spellcaster stronger than mine. So I’ll keep experimenting with other ways to get my casters on the field more quickly (One for One maybe?).

Ohter than that, Vanity's Emptiness remains one of the best traps of the format, closely followed by Debunk.

So now I'm testing what other variants would turn out (like using Dark Magician to get Azure-Eyes for the lolz).

The other side September Edition #3: Cyber Dragon Structure Deck and final OCG Gold Series

In this last part of looking at upcoming OCG products, I'm going to be talking about the Cyber Dragon Structure Deck and the final OCG Gold Series.

Cyber Dragon Structure Deck

December will have the next Structure Deck in the OCG. We already knew it was going to be a Cyber Dragon related Structure Deck, but in the latest V-Jump we got a sneak peek at the first reprinted cards, together with the cover monster.

Cover Monster: Cyber Dragon Nova (Rank 5 LIGHT Machine XYZ, requires 2 Lv. 5 machines): “Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 "Cyber Dragon" in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can banish 1 "Cyber Dragon" from your hand or your side of the field; this card gains 2100 ATK until the End Phase. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by your opponent's card effect: You can Special Summon 1 Machine-Type Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck..”

First thing that you should know: While Cyber Twin Dragon and Cyber End Dragon are the intended Fusion monsters to summon after this card is destroyed, you can also summon Barbaroid the Ultimate Battle Machine. If I can give you a hint: stock up on them while they’re cheap (due to the Star Pack reprint). Once this structure deck is out, I think we’re going to see a lot of Barbaroids.

Next to this interesting XYZ, the first reprints also have been announced. They are the following:

• Cyber Dragon (duh, it's a Cyber Dragon SD)
• Cyber Dragon Zwei
• Solar Wind Jammer
• Cyber Twin Dragon
• Super Polymerization (remember, this also works OUTSIDE of HERO decks)
• Transmodify (LOL)

Yes, you read that correctly: Transmodify: The secret rare from Judgment of the Light that went to 40-something dollars just before YCS Toronto (the price dropped a little, but not that much).

I can understand its presence in the Structure deck (Special summon Cyber Dragon, normal summon Zwei, use Transmodify to turn it into a Lv. 5 Light Machine, overlay into Cyber Dragon Nova); but the question remains if Konami will keep that card in the TCG variant (Please don’t remove it!).

Other cards will probably include all LIGHT Cyber monsters, other Light Machines (like Biofalcon, Blue Thunder T-45, etc) and general LIGHT/Machine support (Shining Angel, Honest, etc).

Will this card be in the TCG variant or not?
All bets are open!

Gold Series 2014

Similar to last year’s Gold Edition of the TCG, the January Gold Edition will be the final OCG-variant of this release (awh, no more gold cards :-( ).

For TCG, this has zero impact, but it’s always fun to look at the other side, no?

This Gold Series will have the three Egyptian Gods. And if I can guess, it will be the Battle Pack 2 variants (you know, the original art with the actual effect).

Other confirmed cards are Tour Guide, Elemental HERO Prisma and Imperial Iron Wall. But the set will also include a few NEW cards. It's a strange place to put some new cards in, but I guess we'll see once they're revealed.

And for this last gold set, the OCG-folks have the ability to choose three of the Gold cards in this set (though from a 15-card cardpool). If you understand Japanese, you can go and vote as well on this link. The choices are the following:

Pick your poison

You can vote from September 20 until October 21st (not 21/09-20/10, like a lot of other sites mention).

Afterword

That's it. No mention of other promo cards as of yet (V-Jump promo's for example), but the end of the year should have more of those.

On a side-note, last weekend was Alter Reality Games first (self-organized) big event in the US(the ARG circuit), which Patrick Hoban won with Dragon Rulers. I'll see if I can get more info on that later this week (I'm kind of busy with work, so I dunno if I'll be able). In the meantime, check the blogs of Lord Invishil and Rudest Awakaning on that topic. Or check the ARG coverage itself.

Until next time, V out.

The other side September Edition #2: Revelations of Legacy of the Valiant, Duelist Sets (Lightsworn & Geargia) and 3DS Game promo's

Next up in our preview of upcoming OCG products, there's the first revelations of Legacy of the Valiant and the two upcoming Duelist Packs.

Legacy of the Valiant

Legacy of the Valiant is the November booster for the OCG (shortly after we receive Shadow Specters). Not much is known about the set, safe the following things:

• There will be more support for Bujins and Ghostricks. Let’s hope for the fans that these archetypes will become competitive.
• The new archetype will be Shinra (OCG name), which are Plants whose core effect is: "reveal top card. If it's a plant, then plusses, otherwise, return it to the bottom of the deck".
• The old archetype that receives support is Gravekeepers. The new GK card revealed is Marik's dad (lol). I wonder if they'll receive an XYZ as well (here's hoping at least)?
• There is yet ANOTHER Utopia version, but this one seems interesting. Number 39: Utopia Roots is a Rank 1 XYZ that requires 2 Lv. 1 monsters and has a similar effect to the original Utopia (safe the self-destruct button). Handy in Piper decks, though I feel Slacker Magician is better than this one.
• There’s now a Rank-Down Magic that pipes down Utopia monsters (to obtain Utopia Roots from Utopia)... read as: very limited and situational version of Rank-changing magic. Worst of the bunch at this moment.
• And an interesting revealed spell is Xyz Shift. This card tributes an XYZ for another in your extra deck with the same rank/type/attribute. This seems handy to turn a material-less XYZ into a harder-to-achieve xyz with interesting effects. Like turning a Fairy Cheer Girl into Madolche Queen Tiaramisu to bounce cards, or turning Utopia/Excalibur into Photon Alexandra Queen and bounce the entire f**king field to their owner's hand. Basically, the more XYZ come out, the more interesting this card becomes.

More information on this set will follow when November comes closer.

"I shall call him... Mini-me!"

Duelist Sets Machine Troopers & Lightsworn Judgment

Next to the next Booster set, the OCG will also receive two new Duelist sets in November. For those who are unfamiliar with Duelist sets, a duelist set is a reprint deck with a few new cards. Last year, the OCG received these kind of sets Constellars and Evilswarms. But those were mostly reprinted due to legal reasons in non-Japanese OCG countries (who weren't allowed to play them until that point). I guess the sets were such a success, Konami decided to give the people some more.

This year the Duelist sets will be centered around Lightsworns and Geargias.

Each of these sets will have a rubber playmat (cool), some archetype sleeves (of low quality, so don’t rage about that), a special code card for the upcoming Yugioh 3DS game (I presume to download the new cards into the game?), a deck-case, a constructed deck with 37 reprinted cards and 3 new ones and a Power-up pack (similar to that from the Starter deck earlier this year).

The revealed new cards for the Lightsworn variant are:

• Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden (a lv. 3 LIGHT spellcaster tuner): She searches a LIGHT dragon when normal summoned with a level depending on the number of different Lightsworns in the grave (NOT interesting in Lightsworns, unless you mix Lightsworns with Blue-Eyes cards...).
• Raiden, Lightsworn Assailant (a Lv. 4 LIGHT warrior tuner): This is now the ideal Lumina target (lol). It has a useful attack and an effect that boosts his own attack, but mostly he's there to sync into Lv. 7/8 synchro's.
• Lightsworn Arch Michael (A Lv. 7 LIGHT warrior synchro): Too bad, but no effect as of yet.

And the rest of this set will probably be the rest of the Lightsworn support cards, wether they're good (Solar Recharge), or bad (like Shire, Lightsworn Spirit).

The new cards for the Geargia variant are:

• Geargiano Mk III (A Lv. 3 EARTH Machine): Another target for Geargiagear! When special summoned by a Geargia Card (monster/trap), you can special summon another Geargia (spam-spam-spam)!
• Geargiattacker (A lv. 4 EARTH Machine): This card works similarly to Geargiarmor, but destroys backrow when flipped face-up. Its 100 defense makes it kind of 'meh' though (unless a card comes out that allows Geargia's to be flipped more frequently).
• Geargiagear X Gigant (A Rank 3 EARTH Machine XYZ): This XYZ gives a purpose for playing the Geargiano’s. But the effect? Nobody knows at the moment.

The other cards in this set will probably be the other Geargia's (duh) and Gadgets (guess that fits, yeah). More info will follow when November comes closer by.

Teasers all over, but no effects for these as of yet.

3DS Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Carnival game promo's

More practical information on the (belated) 3DS game has been released. The cards included will be up to and including Duelist Pack 15 (Shark & Rio Duelist Pack) in October; although the game cards in the Duelist sets give the impression you can download those new cards as well via code (unconfirmed).

So the latest booster set included will be Shadow Specters. For the TCG, that means there are no TCG exclusives from JOTL (like XYZ Encore) nor Shadow Specters (way less Noble Knights).

As stated before, the game will be released in the OCG in Winter 2013. IF (and only if) this game gets a release in the TCG, you should expect it in the spring of 2014.

The promo cards included with the game (and playable in the game) will be the following:

• Snow Plow Hustle Rustle (Lv. 10 EARTH Machine | 2500/3000): "When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack while you control a card in your Spell & Trap Card Zone: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then destroy all cards in your Spell & Trap Card Zone, and if you do, inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each. You cannot Special Summon any monsters, except Machine-Type monsters."
• Night Express Knight (Lv. 10 EARTH Machine | 3000/3000): "Cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. You can Normal Summon this card without Tributing, but its original ATK becomes 0".
• Special Schedule (normal spell): "Target 1 Machine-Type monster with 3000 or more ATK in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in face-up Defense Position. You can only activate 1 "Special Schedule" per turn. If this Set card is sent to the Graveyard: You can target 1 Level 10 Machine-Type monster in your Graveyard; add it to your hand."

These three cards were all used by Anna Kaboom in the anime and are thus created to make it easier to XYZ summon Rank 10 monsters (Gustav Max, Gangaridai & Super Robo Galaxy Destroyer).

"Call Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again is Mr. Plow."

Afterword

I wonder what TCG-Konami is going to do about these Duelist sets. I could understand they didn't like the previous ones (Releasing a set of Constellars and Evilswarm just after/before they release Hidden Arsenal 7? Would be kind of silly), but these two? Even if they don't like Duelist sets as an item, the sets themselves give possibilities to new Structure Decks, don't you think? I think many people would be interested in a Geargia and/or Lightsworn Structure deck with these new cards, right? I'm curious to how our Konami is going to handle this opportunity.

And the game? Well, cross you fingers that we'll receive it. I REALLY want that game to have an International release. I stated it before: it's thanks to the YGO-videogames that I eventually got into the real card game. They give opportunity to lure in new players. They give possibilities to test random decks without the need of being online, and they allow ruling tests (hint: you can use the duel Puzzles in the (existing) DS games as tests for ruling questions on older cards).

A clearly hopeful V out.

Note: Part 3 will cover Gold Series '14 and the Cyber Dragon Structure Deck.

The Other side September Edition #1 - 2 Duelist Packs and V-Jump Edition 10

And V is back with another edition of "what's planned in the OCG right now?".

The TCG has been saturated at the moment with Tins, a Structure Deck and Astral Packs. And not counting the lame overstock products (no, I'm NOT interested in Value Boxes or Duelist Pack Special Editions) and the Deluxe Edition of Judgment of the Light; it will be until half of October (Joey's World) and the beginning of November (Shadow Specters) until there's another rush of new stuff in our shelves.

And since the last few days showed us a lot of info on the upcoming OCG YGO products (yeah, stuff happens when new V-Jumps are in stores), I thought it would be the best if I listed it all, part by part. This part: The two upcoming Duelist packs:

Duelist Pack Yuma 2

First off, Duelist Pack Yuma 2 will be released this week in the OCG. This pack has 30 cards and has some very interesting reprints... oh, who am I lying to? Yuma only plays crappy cards. The only interesting reprint is Cardcar D, which the OCG didn’t have a reprint of as of yet (and maybe Excalibur, but that is technically not even a Yuma-card). There's still a few card spots unconfirmed, so Konami can still add some amazing reprints in there, but it's doubtful that interestig reprints like Big Eye would be in here.

The new cards in this Duelist Pack aren't that impressive either. The only cards worth mentioning are Swordsman of the Sealing Swords & Toy Knight.

Swordsman’s effect is as follows:

The man wielding the
Swords of Revealing light

“When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then destroy that attacking monster if this card's DEF is higher than that monster's ATK. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card as Xyz Material gains this effect: *Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed by battle.”

This swordsman is a Lv. 8 Light Warrior with 0 attack and 2400 defense. If you play other Lv. 8 monsters, this card will easily help you create rank 8 XYZ (like Felgrand or Tachyon Dragon). And in a favorite deck of mine (Photon Lightray), this card has a great sync with Lightray Gearfried.

On the other hand, Toy Knight’s effect is as follows: “Cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. If your opponent controls more monsters than you do, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Toy Knight" from your hand.”

The first clause is to prevent abuse with Machine Duplication (it’s only 200 attack). It’s a mini Cyber Dragon that will mesh well with Gadget decks, due to it being a lv. 4 machine.

Other new cards are:

• Gogogo Golem Golden form: a Gogogo version of Great Maju Garzett (lame).
• Dododo Witch: A good support monster for an archetype with only a few (mediocre) cards.
• Dododo Gasser: A card which is only useful when combined with the previous mentioned Witch.
• Bakudan: A hand-trap beast that blows up XYZ without XYZ materials (anime effect, unknown if it's going to be changed or not).
• Trouble Diver: A special summon card that’s so situational it’s not funny (read as: won't be used).
• Gogogo Gofu: A Gogogo support spell that is okay, but not that great either.
• Level Meister: A level manipulation spell... because Level manipulation spells are overly used, right?[/sarcasm]
• Soul Strike: A trap whose effect reminded me somewhat of that effect of the Winged Dragon of Ra, but is so limited in use it's not going to be used.
• Half Unbreak: A watered-down version of Waboku; which was necessary ever since Waboku got hit by the banlist, right?[sorry, I couldn't leave the sarcasm after all].

Duelist Pack Kastle/Kamishiro siblings

A month after Yuma's Duelist Pack is sold out (lol, as if), the OCG gets a duelist Pack that focuses on Shark & his sister Rio. Read between the lines: Sharks and WATER Winged Beasts.

Only half of this set has been revealed, but it already includes a few interesting cards.

The Number collectors will like that there are 2 new Number cards in here (No. 73 Abyss Splash & No. 94: Crystal Zero), whose main effect is raising/lowering attack. But other than Number collectors, nobody is going to want these two, because there are so many better Rank 5’s out there.

MORE interesting, is that continuous Spell card “Amulet of the Water Deity”. That card reads as follows:

“WATER monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. Send this card to the Graveyard during your opponent's 3rd End Phase after activation.”

Sounds kind of broken in Mermails and Fish decks, or am I overestimating this card? Activate this card, loop with Mermails to get bossy monsters on the field without worries and go for the win? No Torrential Tribute, Mirror Force or Dark Hole to stop you?

Other new (revealed) cards are:

• Double-Fin Shark: Upon its normal summon, you can special summon a Lv. 3 or 4 fish from your grave. Lv. 4 means easy Bahamut Shark, while the only Lv. 3 you want is Fishborg Archer (to get into Gungnir). Not a bad card, but quite limited in its use.
• Silent Angler: A card that (at first sight) seems interesting in Fish OTK decks, because it special summons itself from the hand when you control a water monster.
• Guard Penguin: A non-Aqua Penguin with a mediocre effect? Shame on you, Konami!
• Depth Shark: One of the many attempts to make decent Lv. 5 Water monsters, while failing in the end.
• Saber Shark: A car whose effect is totally different from the anime (in a good way). Its effect has been changed to level manipulation. This card makes it easy to vary between Rank 3's to 5's in Fish decks (yeah, those last two words make this card extremely limited in its usage, though).
• Full Armored Black Ray Lancer: Interesting upgrade for Rank 3 WATER XYZ, though I can't see much use for it at the moment, since the original Lancer is hardly used. The only target used is AbyssTrite and you don't want to overlay her for an "upgrade".

On the reprint department, the only interesting reprint (at the moment) that catches my eye is Bahamut Shark (a promo reprint in OCG). For the rest Shark's cards ARE just as crappy as Yuma's. So I'm not expecting a lot of the "leftover spots".

"This king requires better servants!"

V-Jump Edition 10

Wow, another Jump pack, two months after the previous one? Similarly to last year, the end of the year is like shoving promo's through everybody's throat. But while previous Jump pack included original cards (as in non-manga/anime); the pack with next month's V-Jump is once again focused on Yuma-cards (oh god WHY?), and includes ANOTHER version of Utiopia (seriously, WHY?).

The new cards will be:

• Number S39: Utopia One
• SZW – Fenrir Sword
• Gogogo Gorham
• Dododo Driver (which apparently is a Dododo XYZ)
• Xyz Change Tactics

These don't seem familiar cards, other that they're Dododo/Gogogo/Zexal Weapon. That's because they're manga cards and haven't appeared yet (they'll probably be used in this & next month's issue, together with this pack).

Afterword

For the TCG, we’ll probably see the Duelist Pack cards next spring in another Premium tin (TCG-Konami hates Duelist Packs, since they hardly ever have good sales (ref: the Duelist Pack Overstock Edition)).

Note: The names of these cards are "fan" interpretations of the OCG names. They are bound to change if they appear in the TCG.

Next up: The new Duelist sets and the game promo's for the 3DS game. Until then, V out.

YCS Toronto Analaysis Pt. 3 - Tech cards and cards that saw an increase in play

Didn't really have time to place this part last weekend, but here it is.

Techs used in the top decks

Aqua Spirit (Mermails): 3 of the 4 Mermail players that topped main decked THREE Aqua Spirit, instantly hyping the card. Anyone who still has this old card (hasn't been reprinted in EIGHT years), can now make a profit of it, because a playset of this card will fetch you 10$ (if not, more).

Archfiend’s Roar (Infernity): Its effect is similar to that of Call of the Haunted, but it comes at a (small) cost. Positive side is that, unlike Call, this card is a normal trap so the revived monster is unaffected by random MST’s.

Chain Whirlwind: This card was always considered subpar to Storm & MST, but since we’re in a format without either Heavy Storm nor Giant Trunade, this suddenly became interesting. When a card on either side of the field (either monster or backrow) is destroyed by card effect, you can target 2 spells or traps and destroy them. In this format, with lots of backrow play, this card became good stuff!

Debunk: Probably the most hyped card of the new format, and with good reason. It’s a counter trap that stops hand traps and stops monster effects that activate in the hand/grave. It stops your opponent from plussing from Maxx “C”; it stops your opponent’s Veiler if you want to continue looping; it stops those Atlantean effects in the grave; it stops the summon effect of Abyssmegalo and High Priestess (yes, those are effects) and it stops the special summon of a Dragon Ruler (either hand or grave). It IS thé best counter trap at the moment.

Deep Dark Trap Hole: A weaker version of Bottomless Trap hole, that only works for Lv. 5 and higher monsters. Seems a nice tech to counter Return from the different Dimension (lol) and to counter Mermail/Dragon players in general. Other than that, Bottomless Trap Hole remains way better.

Orient Dragon: Synchro's are seeing a massive increase in play, so guess it’s time for this guy to finally shine.

Retort (Prophecy): It was already well known that in certain decks, this card could be very lethal when having a mirror match. Best use for this card today is in the Prophecy mirror match. Your opponent activates a Book of Secrets/Fate? This card says “screw you” if you have one in your grave. AND then you can add that Spellbook back to your hand.

Spiritualism: This card caught my eye, as the description that came along with it was 100% correct. This is THE perfect card when facing Infernities. This bounces a spell/trap of the opponent back to the hand, and your opponent can NOT counter it. It’s a mini-Giant Trunade, but the opponent cannot react, which renders Infernity Barrier, Void Ogre Dragon and Dark Bribe useless. And with a card in the hand, those Infernity barriers are not going to do much if you’re trying to kill your opponent.

The Transmigration Prophecy: If only this card was back at two (or more), it would be even better! This card works wonders against the discard effect of Dragon Rulers and works good against discarded Atlanteans, since all discarded monsters must remain in the graveyard in order to resolve their effects. If they’re sent back to the deck BEFORE they’re allowed to resolve, the effects will be a dud.

May the spirits protect you from those Infernal monsters.

Cards seeing an increased use in play

Black Rose Dragon: Due to the Debris-Dandy engine being massively played again, Black Rose Dragon is seeing a massive return. Many extra decks now have 2 Black Roses.

Dark Armed Dragon: Strange to put this on the list, but last format was all about avoiding Ophion (so DAD was put in the binders). With less Evilswarm players and the ES-players focusing less on Ophion, DAD came back (even IN Evilswarm decks).

D.D.R.: Used as a random tech before, Different Dimension Reincarnation now has become the number 1 staple spell of Dragon Rulers. Discard one (dragon ruler), special summon 1 banished dragon ruler and if the card is destroyed, it’s sent to the grave instead (to abuse its effect again). Yeah, this card just placed a big target on itself for the next F&L list.

Imperial Iron Wall: Best side card this format against both Dragon Rulers and Prophecies. Nuff said.

Malevolent Catastrophe: The obvious Heavy Storm replacement now that this is a format without both Trunade and Storm. Though beware, many players that topped did mention that this card does not always work out the way they wanted it to (read as: it does not fit in/versus every deck you play).

Morphing Jar #2 & Needle Ceiling: The spam punishment cards are back. Jar 2 sends them back to the deck, Needle Ceiling destroys them all.

Raigeki Break & Lightning Vortex: These two are the classic “Discard one to blow stuff up” cards. Since Dragon Ruler don’t care about their hand, these cards have become amazing.

Return from the Different Dimension: Similarly as with D.D.R., this card was a regular tech in the past format, but without Heavy Storm, its true colors are shining as an OTK card (in any deck that banishes a lot, not just Dragon Rulers).

Safe Zone: This card saw an increased use in play, due to Master Key Beetle (the Key Beetle Lockdown).

Scapegoat: Doo-de-maa-maa-maa… (called it).

Skill Drain: The original “drain” card of the Drain Trio; this card saw a return in Dragon Rulers, because they’re massive powerhouses and their “return to hand” effect becomes negated. Yeah, "you can't play yugioh" are still popular.

"You like to spam monsters?
Yeeeessss... I mean, please go ahead."

Afterword

So, that concludes my analysis of YCS Toronto. Next up, I'll take a look at the upcoming OCG products that were revealed in the past week.

Until then, V out.

YCS Toronto Analysis Pt. 2 - New cards in play

YCS Toronto was the first big event of the new format. Safe Bujins (which did nothing at the event), there was not a single "new" deck to be seen at this big event. But while there were no new decks, new cards were being used from both Number Hunters and Judgment of the Light. Some players might not have seen these cards in play yet, so let me point out their uses, one by one!

Number Hunters

Mechquipped Angineer: This fairy XYZ is seeing play in both Mermails and Agent-style decks, but can also be used in Karakuri & Wind-up decks. In the last two mentioned decks, it focuses on battle position manipulation (and plussing because of that). In Agents it can be used (with two Venuses) to keep a boss monster alive (and it's the first Rank 3 fairy, which helps the Agent deck in general).

In mermails, however, it is used to keep Bahamut Shark alive. This combo is basically: Use 2 Lv. 4 monsters to summon Bahamut Shark. Detach 1 to special summon Abysstrite (in defense, obviously); then use 2 Lv. 3's to make Angineer. During your opponent's turn, ensure you detach one material from Angineer to keep Shark alive. Next turn, you can detach the other material to summon another Abysstrite. And Trite is both a wall and allows you to summon another Mermail from the grave when she's gone (a control combo).

Number 74: Master of Blades: Hyped due to it being a cheap rank 7; but it's also considered "less good" than Big Eye and Dracosack (it misses timing). But even with the (dis)hype, it saw a solid place in the extra deck of nearly every Dragon Ruler player, just in case.

"Seek & Destroy? I say NO!"

Judgment of the Light - Effect Monsters

Archfiend Heiress: Used in Infernity decks: Searches out Palabyrinth and Infernity Archfiend. Consistency++!

World of Prophecy: The new boss monster of Prophecy decks: Upon its summon, it recycles 2 Spellbook cards and it can then optionally nuke the field (but no, this effect does NOT bypass Stardust Dragon).

Fencing Fire Ferret: Played in Dragon Rulers. Serves as a Ryko replacement. It destroys a card and deals burn damage. It's also a fire Attribute, which gives it a use in the grave (banish to summon Blaster).

Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Rooster & Coach Soldier Wolfbark: Two of the key cards in current Fire Fist decks. Almost forgot to mention these two (lol). I did notice that Wolfbark is a more popular choice than Chick... Rooster.

The new mascot for the Fire Ferrets!

Judgment of the Light - Extra Deck Monsters

Mist Bird Clausolas: With the great number of Scapegoats running around, and with the easy combo of Effect Veiler + a Lv. 2 monster, this card is a very much welcomed addition to the extra deck. Its effect isn't half bad either.

Armades, Keeper of Boundaries: It’s a Lv. 5 synchro that can move between your opponent’s spells & traps. Sees more play than I initially thought it would.

HTS Psyhemuth: Saw play in Blackwings. It’s a D.D. Warrior lady on steroids and the best Lv. 6 synchro out there (as long as Vulcan the Divine isn't shipped yet).

Star Eater: Easy to summon it with synchro decks; hard to get rid of without the right cards.

Number 66: Master Key Beetle: The single most useful card of JOTL. It was seen in a large number of decks as a key protector.

Herald of Pure Light: Mainly used in both Prophecy decks and Agent-style decks. It's a perfect recycle-card for monsters. It helps dead cards to return to the deck and returns a monster from the grave to the hand.

Angel of Zera: A lv. 8 synchro that’s hard to get rid of (permanently), but has mixed results with the people playing it (Crimson Blader & Stardust Dragon are more preferred Lv. 8 synchro’s).

"I am keymaster of Gozer. Are you the gatekeeper?"

Judgment of the Light - Spells and traps

Transmodify: Thé hyped card of Judgment of the Light after the September F&L list was published. It works in Agent/Herald decks and it works in Infernities. Both people that topped with the Herald and Infernity deck had 3 of these (so yes, it works wonders).

Archfiend Palabyrinth: Used in Infernity Decks. Banish Heiress to get Infernity Necromancer; banish Stygian Street Patrol to get Infernity Archfiend and search a card (if your hand is empty). Like Heiress, it helps the consistency of the deck.

XYZ Encore: After the event, this is one of the card that became (over)hyped. Why? because nearly everybody in the top 32 played it in their side. And they all answered the question "why?" with the same answer: "To get rid of Evilswarm Ophion" (or Evilswarm in general). It's quick-play and your opponent cannot negate its effect (like how Super Polymerization works). I think Evilswarm players will now play Rank 3 XYZ as well, just in case (lol).

This TCG exclusive is good!
We want more! We want more!

YCS Toronto Analysis Pt. 1 - Deck Profiles & General thoughts

What's up, youtube; this is your boy MaJu V... woops, err...

Sorry for that intro, but the deck profile intro's start to stick. In order to do a proper analysis of YCS Toronto 2013, I've been watching ALL available decklists around (thanks to Underworld6667, ProWinston and a few others for doing a great job on that).

But while doing the analysis, I've started to breach the 3-word-pages limit for my blog posts, which means I have to start splitting things up to keep it readable. It resulted in a three-parter. This three-parter will have:

1. All the available decklists on youtube (got 30 of the 32 decks).
2. A general analysis of the event (below).
3. A look at what cards of the latest sets (Number Hunters & Judgment of the Light) that made a change in this event (and in what decks) (part 2).
4. A more in-depth look at certain tech cards that were used (part 3)
5. A more in-depth look to cards that return to the main stage (part 3)

Decklists

Duelist	End result	Deck used	Decklist
Edward Kuang	1st	Dragon Ruler	Available
Sorosh Saberian	2nd	Mermail	Available
Patrick Hoban	3rd	Dragunity Rulers	Available
Sehabi Kheiredine	4th	Blackwing	Available
Bobby Barrone	Top 8	Mermail	(same vid as 2nd place)
James Frazier	Top 8	Plant Ruler (LS variant)	Available
Jordan Winters	Top 8	Plant Ruler (LS variant)	Available
Umar Haq	Top 8	Dragunity	Available
Frazier Smith	Top 16	Prophecy	Available
Galo Orbea	Top 16	Plant Ruler	Available
Harrison Perinpanayagam	Top 16	Fire Fist	Available
James Guerrero	Top 16	Mermail	Available
John Valade	Top 16	Dragon Ruler	N.A.
Loukas Peterson	Top 16	Prophecy	Available
Roger Simpson	Top 16	Infernity	Available
Thomas Mak	Top 16	Plant Ruler	Available
Bo Tang	Top 32	Dragon Ruler	Available
Christopher LeBlanc	Top 32	Karakuri Geargia	Available
Dale Bellido	Top 32	Dragunity	Available
David Wu	Top 32	Madolche	Available
Evan Waxman	Top 32	Herald of Perfection	Available
Igor Bijelic	Top 32	Fire Fist	Available
Jack Ran	Top 32	Mermail	Available
James Kim	Top 32	Dragon Rulers	Available
Jeffrey Cho	Top 32	Dragon Ruler	Available
Kareem O'Brian	Top 32	Prophecy	Available
Leo Chan	Top 32	Constellar	Available
Michael Chung-Salamone	Top 32	Evilswarm	Available
Peter Martino	Top 32	Prophecy	Available
Sean Coovert	Top 32	Evilswarm	Available
Sean McCabe	Top 32	Constellar	N.A.
Yuhang (Victor) Li	Top 32	Evilswarm	Available

Note: From top-8 and onward, the players are listed alphabetically (first name) per rank group, not by their individual position in that top.

Note 2: If I made any typo in names, or if you have the two missing deck profiles, please let me know.

General thoughts on the event

As predicted, YCS Toronto ended up being a very diverse event; with the better players participating and many players testing out "new" techs/decks in real life. This of course resulted in a very diverse top 32.

A thing I noticed is that even though 10 toppers played Dragon Rulers, they used different variations on the deck, making even those deck profiles very interesting to see. The different variants were:

• Dragon Ravine variant (focus on searching Dragunity tuners & dumping lots of Rulers from the hand/deck).
• Skill Drain variant (focus on spamming high attack/defense monsters and beating the opponent by force).
• Plant variant (with the Debris-Dandy "plant" engine).
• Mill variant (the "plant" engine + Lyla/Ryko's & card troopers).

Decks like Fire Fist, Mermails and Prophecies did lose a few key cards in the last F&L list, but did not fail to represent themselves again. Fire Fists gained Rooster & Wolfberk; Prophecies are now using World of Prophecy (using Temperance/Book of Life); and Mermails are now using Aqua Spirit (lol, wut?) and the combo of Bahamut Shark/Abysstrite/Mechquipped Angineer (more on that combo this Friday).

Certain older decks made a come-back, like Blackwings, Infernities and Dragunity. But the main decks of last format remain the main decks of this format. Those are Dragon Rulers, Mermails, Prophecy, Evilswarm, Fire Fist and Constellar.

Certain decks were expected to make a come-back (Chain Burn, Final Countdown, D-Hero control decks, etc.) were nowhere to be seen in the top tables. That means that even though the decks regained power, they're no match for the current top decks.

This top 32 will be the template on what other YCS's will become. They will be less diverse and will focus more on the "winning" decks.

The first YCS now will be YCS San Mateo (California, US), the first weekend of October. The only change then will be the availability of the Blue-Eyes Structure Deck. So I expect to see more Hieratic decks and Prophecy/Maiden decks. Other than that, it will be about the same end result as this YCS.

Afterword

Tomorrow (or Thursday), I'll take a look at the cards from Number Hunters and Judgment of the Light that were actually used (read as: useful).

Until then, V out.

Hold the thief!

I first wanted to put this on my previous post, but I find this a very important topic, so I made a separate post for it. Why? Because too much stuff gets stolen, that's why!

Pay attention when going to events

Similar to what I noticed at YCS Bochum & Lille, once again lots of cards and money got stolen at YCS Brussels.

One friend got his Prophecy deck stolen (ouch, costly). I overheard of an Antwerp player (a friend of Lithium) who got his wallet stolen; and a Big Eye & Dragosack was taken from the binder from another friend of mine. And that's just from the players I personally know.

Luckily for the last friend, we were able to identify and catch the thieves, and my friend got his two cards back (kudos to Konami and the Security for the intervention here). But at this moment, I didn't hear anything on the wallet or the Prophecy deck (:-/ ).

Some tips

If you go to a big event (genre qualifier, YCS, nationals or similar)...

• Pay attention to everything you own: your deck, playmats and binders, but also your wallet.
• Don't leave your backpack open on the floor and don't leave playmats or decks unattended. Frequently check if you still have everything in your possession. Don't be paranoid about it, just do a regular check.
• Don't trade with multiple people at the same time, so you can keep an eye on the person you're trading with.
• If you can put all your cards-for-trade in 1 binder, do so. It's easier to keep track of 1 big binder, rather than multiple smaller ones.
• Memorize the face of the people you trade with (I'm guilty of not doing this). If certain cards just "disappeared", you should know who the perp is.
• If you sell cards, keep track of the money they give you so that it doesn't "disappear" (more than just stealing, people often misplace money/cards or accidentally throw it/them away with empty booster wrappers or trash).
• Don't keep too much money in your wallet. I know this is not always possible if you just sold a bunch of cards for big bucks.
• Play with unique deck boxes or mark them to make them visibly stand out. If a box "disappears", this makes it easier to identify it afterwards.
• Don't get distracted during trades. It's easy for thieves to swipe cards away if you're not paying attention to what's going on.
• Recognize suspicious behavior. If people are changing seats during trades, talk silently with friends over the content of the binder, act nervous, etc; you should pay attention to what's going on.

Doing things like these should not make you paranoid or enjoy an event less. But if you pay attention, it will help prevent you from running into these situations.

But if your stuff does get stolen...

• Keep yourself and/or your friends calm, call security instead. The worst thing that can happen is that a friend (or you) becomes aggressive after his stuff gets stolen and starts attacking possible thieves. If you're violent, you will be banned from the event, nothing will be resolved and the perps may walk away freely as victims instead.
• Don't be afraid to tell security/staff at the event if you have stuff stolen and if you suspect certain people. If you don't say anything, you will not retrieve anything and the perps will go unpunished.
• Give accurate descriptions of what disappeared. Having cards/boxes/etc that visibly stand out or are unique helps to retrieve the stolen goods. Tell your friends to look for the unique items.

And if you (for some reason) overhear people boasting about stuff they stole; don't turn a blind eye. Try to hear what cards/items they're boasting about and tell the staff/security what you overheard. If the description matches stuff that got stolen earlier, it may return to its rightful owner this way.

Until next time, V out.

YCS Brussels - Day 2

Yesterday was day 2 of YCS Brussels. I went by car and due to malfunctioning GPS I almost arrived too late (just in time, or I would've gotten a penalty).

When seated, we all got new deckboxes again and had to re-assemble a new deck. And while the Saturday deck was quite good, this one was more mediocre. Too many high level monsters, no real game changers, but a good amount of traps to survive (but hardly any spells) and no draw/search power. I lost the first two rounds (Mirage Dragon + Malevolent Nuzzler is annoying) and decided to drop, since there was no more chance of topping.

But because I like Battle Pack tournaments, I wanted to do some more sealed. I participated in a Sealed Regional... and ended up winning (hurrah). They even wanted to cover the final (but decided not to in the last seconds, which was kind of awkward). But in the end I did get interviewed and a picture taken.

So, I'm proud to announce: Me (*yeah, I know I'm bragging, but let me enjoy my little victory here, okay?*). The victory resulted in the Dragosack playmat (cool), a regional deckbox (also nice) and a qualification for next year's European Championship (awesome).

On a side-note, the reporter made a small error. It's Evil HERO Malicious Edge instead of D-HERO Malicious. There are no D-Heroes in this set, so that didn't make any sense.

Favorite combo's

I've enjoyed these two days of sealed play. So let me give you a few of my favorite combo's of the past weekend.

• Equipping the opponent's boss monster with Big Bang Shot and using Blackwing Zephyros' effect to bounce BBS back to the hand, resulting in the banishing of the equipped monster (lol).
• Combinging Truckroid with Shield & Sword (got an opponent's Barbaros this way, which was very funny).
• Setting a Mecha Phantom Beast Hamstrat, protecting it (with No Entry, Windstorm of Etaqua or anything else) and tributing him and the two tokens for Beast King Barbaros' ultimate destruction effect. Was able to pull this of three times during the Qualifier.

End result

We all know that in the end of a BP tournament, the better players win (and had a good deckbox for two days in a row, lol).

The end an exciting final between regular toppers Michel Grüner (Germany) vs. Peter Groß (Austria). The final can be read via this link. Gruner won!

Afterword

This week, I'll be doing an analysis of YCS Toronto (yeah, due to Brussels being sealed, you can't really do an analysis on that one) when all information is available.

See you guys later. V out.

YCS Brussels - Day 1

Short post. Went to YCS Brussels.

Got our deck boxes (picture on konami site is actual size btw). Got a Cardcar D and Abyssmegalo... and that was about it. Got a few good beaters and a few nice tech cards, but nothing to OP (only forbidden card was Monster Reborn).

First round, matched up against Joschua Schmidt of all people (oh come on!). After that obvious loss (the guy had so many traps, I hardly had any), I got five more wins and one loss, resulting in 71st place. Means I'm qualified for day 2 (w00t). Never expected that; Best result at a YCS to date.

Was able to trade a Master Key Beetle, Angel of Zera, ZW Lion Arms & Holo Machine Duplication (Only Star Eater missing now). Got a tin, with another Master Key Beetle (which was immediately sold to a friend of mine).

And best of all. The playmat of the gods. Pic will follow, but I can say... it looks more awesome than the pics that were posted online by Konami. Way more awesome :-P.