Announcing: The Ultimate Tournament of All Times

Ever wondered which deck was the most powerful? Can the power of Tele-DAD stand up to Plant Synchro deck?

Soon you won't have to wonder, because I'm going to take 16 historical decks, and battle it out.
Match type: best out of 5. Two without side deck, and a standard match best out of three with side deck.
The decks MUST have been played in a tournament, should not contain strong metagaming in the main deck, and should be considered 'good'.

These are the decks I probably will include;

Cat Synchro (OCG with 3 Cat, TCG with Allure?)
Blackwing (Either Rodrigo Togores list, or an older list when Dark Strike was still allowed)
Frog FTK (World Championship 1st place list?)
Six Samurai
Zombie
Lightsworn
Plant (Before or after the limiting of Lonefire Blossom?)
Gravekeeper
Monarch
Gadget
Perfect Circle
DAD Turbo
Empty Jar
Gladiator Beast
Tele-DAD
and a Spot I haven't decided on.

Give me your thoughts about which decks to include and who's decklist to include.

Tour Bus from the Underworld

http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tour_Bus_From_the_Underworld


Well, that makes the card kind of okay. The effect isn't devastating, but it is playable. And it doesn't directly support Tour Guide, even if they have some very obvious synergy.

This card is also very playable in decks such as Lightsworn, to recycle power cards when it is milled during the End Phase.

YCS Brighton...

Also, when Trap Dustshoot reveals a hand, the cards are said to be 3 copies of Watthopper, a Pot of Duality and a monster card. The picture shows 3 Watthopper and Effect Veiler, but if you count cards you'll notice he is supposed to have another card. It is likely he has it in his hand, since it can't be Dustshooted away. But why say "a monster card" instead of Effect Veiler?


https://tcg.konami-europe.net/coverage/5966/round-2-pete-ward-vs-lee-brook/

Brook played Heavy Storm to try and simplify the game, but Ward responded with Starlight Road! Storm was negated and Ward Summoned Stardust Dragon from his Extra Deck. Brook activated Gozen Match (before instantly realising he played it too late; he could have stopped Stardust Dragon from hitting the field) and Ward sent Warwolf to the Graveyard. Brook Special Summoned Cyber Dragon. Ward tried to destroy it with Bottomless Trap Hole, but Brook used Compulsory Evacuation Device to send Cyber Dragon back to his hand. He Summoned Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, declared an attack, and Ward flipped Skill Drain!

You summon Cyber Dragon once, and after you return it to your hand you refuse to summon it again?


https://tcg.konami-europe.net/coverage/6014/round-4-matt-bennett-reficule-burn-vs-kevin-semlali-plant-synchro/

How did Spore get into the grave?
During Game 2, Bennet's hand is shown to be The Paths of Destiny, Bad Reaction to Simochi, Secret Barrel, Pot of Duality and Nurse Reficule the Fallen One.
The coverage says he used Duality to find a Reficule, activated Dimensional Fissure, and set 4 cards. More likely is he drew another trap card (later revealed to be Gift Card) and used Duality to find Dimensional Fissure.

https://tcg.konami-europe.net/coverage/6056/round-5-jordan-ruff-gadget-xyz-vs-marvin-weber-dino-rabbit/

Good play to just randomly use Book of Moon on a Gachi Gachi Gantetsu. Either attack it or save the Book until he attacks you.


https://tcg.konami-europe.net/coverage/6286/round-10-jake-quinsee-dino-rabbit-vs-kevin-gloor-dino-rabbit/

It's supposed to be "Forbidden Chalice", not "Wiseman's Chalice".


There were more mistakes, but I am getting annoyed enough by just these. Creature Swap became Swap Frog THRICE, but this was fixed so I can't bitch about it.

SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!

http://manjyomethunder.twoday.net/stories/49612911/

The effect is still unconfirmed... hope they don't kill it as they did with Ra.
They effects are good, but I would still run Obelisk in 99% of the cases since he can't be negated, be destroyed upon summon, or targeted, basically making Mirror Force and Trishula the only outs to him.

Also, the Gladiator Beast deck has had promising results. Problem is, most people on Dueling Network have no idea on how to play against the deck, so I'll probably postpone the Gladiator Evolution until I have physical copies of the cards.

Fuck Konami.

http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/products/bp-orcs.html

Yes, they make a specific card to support Tour Guide from the Underworld.

Gladiator Beast Adoption

The first competitive deck I ever created was Gladiator Beast. Not because it was the best deck, but the cheapest top tier deck.
If you ask a player which their worst matchup is, or which deck the'd like to not face, Gladiator Beast always come out on top.
Yet Gladiator Beast rarely manages to top. So why do people fear a deck which they can beat?
I recently haven't had the time for a lot of Dueling Network, but I feel this issue needs to be solved.
I'm going to post a Gladiator Beast list, and if you feel I'm doing anything wrong. correct me.
I'll start testing tomorrow, and will continue until I reach a conclusion.

2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Gladiator Beast Laquari
2 Gladiator Beast Equeste
2 Gladiator Beast Hoplomus
2 Legendary Jujitsu Master
1 Gladiator Beast Darius
1 Gladiator Beast Bestiari
1 Gladiator Beast Murmillo
1 Gladiator Beast Retiari
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

2 Gladiator Proving Ground
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Mind Control
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon
1 Dark Hole

3 Gladiator Beast War Chariot
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Judgment
3 Dimensional Prison
2 Starlight Road

Hating on Rabbits?

Are you one of those who don't have enough cash to play Rabbit Laggia and want an easy way to beat it?

I sure am. However, I don't need to search for a counter to Laggia anymore.
Fear;

Also, the first thing you notice is probably that it can steal a Machine or Dragon. Laggia isn't a Dinosaur, it is a Dragon. Yes, it is. Look at the card.

This card can also steal opposing Scrap Dragons, Stardust Dragons, Machina Fortresses (but they still get to discard from your hand, sadly), Karakuri Synchros, and so on.

This is the new Puppet Plant, isn't it?
But unlike Shi En, Laggia is a bit harder to get rid of. Shi En had a level, meaning you could Synchro him away. The only way to get rid of Laggia is to tribute him, which is a bit harder but not impossible. In case you play Dragons you can banish him to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.

Skill

When I say this word, what springs up in your mind?
A picture of Bobby Fischer, or Jeff Jones? Something else entirely?

I, for one, am tired of Magic players looking down on Yu-Gi-Oh! players. They believe that every game needs a resource system to work, and that Yu-Gi-Oh! is to fast and luck based. On a forum I am currently a member of, this discussion culminated quite miserably. It did however bring some valid points, and a whole lot of invalid points.
I do not claim every Magic player believe so, or that Magic is a skilless game. This is just to show were some inspiration came from. And no, this is not a Yu-Gi-Oh!-Magic comparison.


Many people see chess as the ultimate skill test, because all the factors are even. All moves are visible, and both players have exactly the same starting pieces.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! terms, this means that we both have the same starting hand, as well as knowledge of the opponents hand. In addition, both decks are identical. And you will draw the exact same cards. Does this sound skill based to you?

Chess has six different pieces. Yu-Gi-Oh! has over 5000 cards. Clearly the diversity is bigger. I'm not trying to make chess look random or luck based, but are the standard prejudices really correct?

If chess was simply 100% skill during play, a "better" player would always beat "worse" player. The only other additional factor is who goes first. And that isn't such an easy issue either.
You can read the complete story here.
For those of you who won't bother reading a really long and somewhat boring article, I will explain it here. The are basically two camps, one claiming that White has the advantage because Black has to keep up with it. The other camp claims that since Black has seen White's first move, Black can play around it easier since the plan is more easily predicted. The official statistics for White are somewhat over 52%, clearly a sign that chess is NOT only skill.
Also, if a "better" player always won when facing a "worse" player, how are "better" and "worse" defined? By your ranking? Recent success? Overall success?

Let's say I win 9 out of 10 games on in every chess tournament I participate in. You only win 7/10. This clearly establishes me as the better player. If I get my desirable start (White or Black) and you still win, what does this mean?

The point is, frankly, quite simple.

Match-ups and playing style.

And with this we jump back to Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Picture yourself with an Agent Angel deck. You are a fairly good player and understand the metagame. If you are paired against the mirror, Synchro Summon, Karakuri, Monarch or other common decks I'd guess you'd battle it out to several wins.

But what if you faced ten decks with main-decked 3 Light-Imprisoning Mirror each? Or if you face a deck you are totally unprepared to face, such as a rogue Dimensional Gladiator deck?

I won my first ever local with a Zombie deck. That deck sucked. It was the day before Mezuki went to semi-limited, and everyone played Cat Synchro, Blackwing, or Gladiator Beast. My deck basically centered around summoning Stardust Dragon or other powerful level 8 synchro monsters, and then controlling my opponent through Stardust, Bottomless Trap Hole, or Solemn Judgment, all played in triplicates. When I made my deck I forgot to add in Mezuki, and I owned no Plaguespreader Zombie. In fact, the only Zombies was 3 Zombie Master and 2 Goblin Zombie.
So how could I, facing experienced players using completed decks, even have a chance?

The surprise factor. No one expected to face some kid with a Zombie deck utilizing Rose, Warrior of Revenge into Stardust Dragon for control. All the other builds had an easy time making Dark Strike Fighter, but I didn't even own any!
When I think about it, I guess I'll throw up the deck lists of the finals.

3 Rose, Warrior of Revenge
2 Summoner Monk
1 Mystic Tomato
2 Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
3 Zombie Master
2 Goblin Zombie
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Card Trooper
1 Sangan
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

1 Allure of Darkness
3 Book of Life
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Brain Control
2 Mind Control
2 Forbidden Chalice
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Monster Reborn
1 Card of Safe Return

3 Bottomless Trap Hole
3 Solemn Judgment
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Trap Dustshoot


3 Stardust Dragon
1 Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Thought Ruler Archfiend
2 Black Rose Dragon
1 Arcanite Magician
1 Goyo Guardian
1 X-Saber Urbellum
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

versus

3 X-Saber Airbellum
2 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
1 Sangan
1 Mystic Tomato
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
2 Rescue Cat
2 Summoner Monk
3 Gravekeeper's Spy
1 Neo-Spacian Dark Panther
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind

2 Allure of Darkness
1 Heavy Storm
1 Giant Trunade
1 Brain Control
2 Mind Control
2 Cold Wave
2 Book of Moon
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Monster Reborn
1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Crush Card Virus
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
2 Threatening Road


1 Stardust Dragon
1 Blackwing Armor Master
2 Dark Strike Fighter
1 X-Saber Urbellum
1 Magical Android
1 Colossal Fighter
2 Arcanite Magician
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth
1 Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Thought Ruler Archfiend
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon


You'd think the winner was given. And yet his ignorance in how to approach my deck caused me to win.


I have had Zombies as my main deck since that day. Since then I've won several tournaments, topping Nationals, and other smaller tournaments. Why?
Because I know how to play my deck, and my opponent does not know how to play against it.
When a deck is meta, it is extremely important that you can maneuver your own deck to perfection, since all good players know how to play against it. When your deck is rogue, that doesn't matter as much because your opponent will not know what to do, so making the exact correct play might not even matter.

This is also stated in Sun Tzu's Art of War (freely translated).

The one who knows himself and his enemy will pass through a hundred battles unscathed, while the one who only knows himself will lose one battle for every battle won, and the one who neither knows himself nor his enemy will forever be damned to lose every battle he fights.

The meaning here applies just so well to Yu-Gi-Oh!. How many times have I seen a player make an obvious mistake because he didn't know that Gateway of the Six can increase the attack of a Six Samurai? Because Black Rose Dragon has 2 separate effects? Because you chain MST on TT to deprive Starlight Road of its summon?

Knowing the rules are vital. But knowing you own cards seems to be a dying art.
Did you know that Ancient Fairy Dragon can destroy face-down Field Spell Cards?
Did you know that if I attack with Gyzarus, I can bring out Equeste and Murmillo, putting them in a chain and destroying your Stardust Dragon with Murmillo without you being able to respond?
Did you know that I can prioritize MST in my Draw Phase to make my Hand Size 3 cards, evading Trap Dustshoot?
Did you know that Number 39: Utopia's effect is Spell Speed 1?
Did you know that you can Tribute Set a non-Zombie Monster under Zombie World?

These are the kind of things that can win you a game, and for me it has. I am a rules maniac, and I know almost all the obscure rules that other people forget. I also have wide card knowledge, meaning I know exactly which cards exist, and which to play around.
However, I tend to think to little about which cards I can and could play, and I almost never calculate damage before I attack. I am also prone to taking damage, and never wall against a Rai-Oh with Sangan unless I certainly lose if I don't.
This is what defines me as a player.

But is skill truly only knowing what to do, and when to do it?

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, there is an element not found in chess. And that is deck building.

You could technically use up to the maximum 60 cards, but that carries the risk of more randomization. And you want to eliminate that as much as possible. This is actually the sole reason cards like Snipe Hunter doesn't see major play.

So in your 40 cards, you basically have to include win condition, disruption, staples, aggression, defense, counters, and techs. Note that many of these categories overlap into one another.
As an example, let's take a deck well known to almost all players: Blackwings.

3 Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame
3 Blackwing - Bora the Spear
1 Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow
1 Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
3 Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn
2 Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honour
2 Blacwking - Blizzard the Far North
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Effect Veiler

1 Black Whirlwind
3 Pot of Duality
1 Allure of Darkness
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Mind Control
1 Monster Reborn
1 Heavy Storm
1 Book of Moon

2 Bottomless Trap Hole
3 Icarus Attack
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Trap Dustshoot
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Solemn Warning

This is a fairly standard Blackwing list, with only an Effect Veiler as a tech.
Is this list optimized? I dare say no, because I'm not very knowledgeable about them.
The Blackwing archetype contains over 20 different monster cards, but yet we only play 7 different of them? I know that not all of them are superb, but at least 3 more of them are at least playable.
Do the deck need 3 Bora? What about 3 Icarus Attack? Adding in Rai-Oh and Black Luster Soldier? The 3rd Blizzard? A tech Starlight Road for the mirror?

A lot of players won't even think outside the boundaries. 2010, when Blackwing was a very popular deck, one player dared. He chose to play several cards other players would not have dared to think of.
He main decked Delta Crow - Anti Reverse, D.D. Crow, Dark Eruption and Gold Sarcophagus. Main decking D.D. Crow gave him a far better match-up against decks based around Dandylion, and since the meta generally were slower at that time, Gold Sarcophagus was great for searching out Dark Armed Dragon or Brain Control, which won games. Dark Eruption were used to recycle Blizzard, Gale, Kalut of D.D. Crow. This seems simple enough, but this wasn't standard.
He thought, tested, and came to conclusions. And it worked, placing him in fifth place, losing to the eventual winner.

The same thing happened in Japan 2009. The top 16 decks were 11 Synchro Cat, 2 Gladiator Beast, 2 Lightsworn variants and a "Dark Synchro Deck". You can view the overall results here (West Representative).

This deck had been finely tuned to crush Synchro Cat, operating under easy principles of stopping them from doing enough damage to him. Cat Synchro had speed, but rarely got any board control. It could however end games real fast using Dark Strike Fighter, and he found a counter for this. He simply built the deck around a simple flaw in his major opponents strategy, and rode it to victory.

However, knowing all cards as well as having a perfect deck isn't everything. You must be able to play your deck.

Reassess the game state. Look through both players' Graveyards. Shuffle your hand.
For example, newer players tend to look through Graveyards only when they have Monster Reborn or Pot of Avarice.
They draw for their turn, then immediately look through your Graveyard. This is basically screaming "I just drew Monster Reborn!" to you.
Remember that with every card that is played, drawn, or destroyed, you learn more about your opponents deck and playing style.

Imagine this.

You draw into a hand of Reborn Tengu, Effect Veiler, One for One, Pot of Avarice and Heavy Storm.
Your opponent starts of by summoning Elemental Hero Stratos. Know, you have instantly narrowed down the possible decks he can or can not play.
You could use Effect Veiler on the effect, but that would leave you without a power play for next turn.

Now, if he searched Burstinatrix, you'd know he was a beginner. If he searched Neos Alius you'd know he played some sort of HERO Beat. If he searched Destiny Hero - Malicious he might run DARK Synchro or even some kind of Exodia deck utilizing Destiny Draw.
Point is, if he then sets 3 cards and searched a Neos Alius, you might want to hold Heavy Storm since HERO Beat is an Anti-Meta deck to some degree, and he might have Starlight Road. If he searched Malicious it is more probable that he was just gambling. A phantom Starlight Road is even more effective than an actual Starlight Road.

You can see the play pattern forming into some kind of over-sized Tree of Wisdom.

The more you see, the more you know. The more you know, the more you can predict.

The most important part about playing is to know what to do. If you know he has Starlight Road, Heavy Storm is suicide. If you know he doesn't have it, he is either forced to use Solemn Judgment (provided he has it) or lose his backrow.

For the sake of demonstration, pretend he searched a Neos Alius. During your turn, you draw Solemn Warning. Now you could technically set Solemn Warning and during your next turn play Heavy Storm and then Solemn Warning his Starlight Road if he has it. You could try to push by using One for One, or you could simply use Heavy Storm and see how it goes.

Let's say he has Super Polymerization, Bottomless Trap Hole and Starlight Road. His hand only conatins the searched Neos Alius, Gemini Spark, and Parallel World Fusion. Here, the correct play is obviously to set Solemn Warning and take the 3700 damage from both attacks, then use Heavy Storm next turn,  chain Solemn Warning against Starlight Road, and go crazy with One for One + Tengu.

It isn't simply planning ahead one turn. It is a difficult walk on a knife's edge between top decks, responses, reads and play style. My play style of taking a lot of damage early for example, is very poorly suited against decks that play many cards that can increase damage done, such as Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow or Honest. But taking damage early is great against deck such as Gladiator Beast who lacks the offensive pushes and have trouble dealing more than 3000 damage in a single turn without god draw.
Formulating a smaller strategy within games also helps win games which are otherwise almost unwinnable.

I was facing a Final Countdown deck, consisting of 3 Final Countdown, some basic draw and the rest 1 turn stall. He opened with Final Countdown. Normally this is impossible to win against, since my deck has no means of negating his spells/traps. However, as the game went on, I realized something. I got out Brionac, Caius, and Call of the Haunted. By continuously recycling Caius and Call of the Haunted, picking up Sangan, I could remove all DARK monsters in my deck from play. Since his deck contained no player interaction, all I had to do was burn him six times with Caius for the win.


There is almost always something you can do. If you play your deck correctly, you will do the right thing.
And that equals a win.

Splashing Shi-En

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have strangely enough had more free time than usual, but still managed to post less? Hard to explain. It's not like I've gotten a life or something.

Well, the newest trend in Yu-Gi-Oh! is splashing an infamous Synchro Monster. It is also the first non-Generic Synchro Monster to hit limited status.

When this wicked guy was released, he had the requirements 1 Warrior-Type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "Six Samurai" monsters.

Some people might have wondered why, and the answer quite simply lies in cards such a Shien's Squire which would be worthless otherwise. The decided to make the Synchro level 5, and since that would make Junk Synchron too good the decided on having the Samurai Tuner as a level 2.
This essentially made Shi En impossible to summon outside of a Six Samurai deck.

With the release of Elder of the Six Samurai, as splashable level 3 non-Tuner Six Samurai was released. And with the release of T.G. Striker, all decks now had access to a good level 2 Warrior-Type Tuner as well. Also, both of them fare well on their own (unlike what a single Yaichi would do) and can be searched by Reinforcement of the Army.

Some of the decks which use this are Agent Angels, and more recently, X-Saber. (It should be noted thought that X-Saber use Pashuul instead of T.G. Striker as means of a tuner).

Barring obscure plays, in a non-Six Samurai deck Shi En is impossible to play t1, and without that possibility you cannot do the effective and disrupting Shi En+Warning on your first turn, leaving your opponent's only chance a Ryko or Snowman-Eater.

Even if you happen not to have Striker + Elder, you can still other stuff such as Elder+Warwolf. In one of the test games I played with T.G. Shi En Angel (funny name eh?) I summoned Venus and my opponent used Bottomless. So I summoned out Elder+Warwolf and made Leviair, brought back Venus and suddenly had a really good field.

Just how good is he?
Against Trap Heavier decks the answer is simply: no.
They will stop his summon too easy, and even if they are forced to use double Dimensional Prison to remove him it's still an even trade.
Shi En shines against deck playing fewer traps but more Spells, such as Agent Angel, X-Saber, Zombies and some HERO variants. The have loads of Spell Cards they want to resolve and will heavily lose advantage even if only one of them are lost every turn. Note that Shi En in no way is an auto-win, but it is a solid t2 play if you happen to have no monsters, and serves as control, beat stick, pressure and also a DARK in the grave when fallen.
I like Shi En as a card, at least somewhat. He is a -1 to play, but requires some careful planning to not simply be killed off.
In one game (back when Shi En was Unlimited), I had a hand of Goblin Zombie, Plaguespreader Zombie, Destiny Hero - Malicious, Dark Armed Dragon and a Reinforcement of the Army, facing down two Shi En and no backrow. I played the Reinforcement and he looked at my impressive other 5 cards and let it pass. I won that turn using Dark Grepher.

So far I do not own any Shi En, testing only of Dueling Network, but I can assert you that that Ultimate Rare Shi En I saw in a store last week is going to get an owner soon.

Alistair Albans is NOT stupid, but Konami's coverage is.

http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=7359
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gorz_the_Emissary_of_Darkness

This page used to be a page stating that Alistar Albans was stupid, since he 'forgot' to use the effect of Gorz the Emissary of Darkness when Armory Arm's effect burned him after killing Spore.

However, Alistar (or someone claiming to be him) said that he had Gorz, and used it, but then Billy Brake used Enemy Controller, tributing Black Rose and then finishing him off with Sangan. (Actually he just flashed Enemy Controller, but both meant game).

So, I can basically chose who to believe, and then of course I chose the player, since Konami isn't exactly my best friend...

What about Agent Angels?

Agent Angels... 3 structure decks melded into a top-tier deck. Everyone asked for it for years, and when it finally came, everyone became angry?

I read somewhere on another blog that Tengu-driven Synchro and Agent Angel are opposites, because Tengu wins by doing any move that currently is good and having a good number of moves to chose from, and that Agent Angel only can do Earth into Venus, Venus into Gachi, and then drop boss monsters till they win.
Of course the variants playing T.G. monsters also have the options to do minor Synchro plays, but that is mostly irrelevant.

I used to believe that as well, until the last tournament I played in.


This guy played an insanely teched Agent Angel.

He played these cards in his deck:

These cards offer so much for the deck. Agent Angel has space, he chose to fill that space by thinking smartly, breaking new ground. The only other tech choices I've seen are Debris Dragon, Card Trooper, Genex Ally Birdman and the not-so-techish Tour Guide.

These cards have synergy, which is the first thing to note. A drop of Exodius followed by Eatos is powerful. Also, Exodius recylces Mystical Shine Balls, which few other cards can do effectively (barring Pot of Avarice, but that counteracts against Hyperion and Venus more). He is also always playable, makes for some great surprise plays.

Keep in mind that you can overlay Daigusto Phoenix, giving you an instant Shine Ball for giving Exodius 1000 ATK, then you attack and send down the third Shine Ball for 2000 ATK.

1600+2000+1500+1500 = 7600. That is quite a lot for a combo requiring two unrestricted cards and any 1 monster in your Graveyard. Of course this result won't be achieved everytime, but I hope you get the point.

Debris Dragon is played to give greater Synchro options, mainly for the Shine Ball+Debris+Venus=Trishula play, but also in some extent for Trident Dragion. Yes, Trident Dragion.

This is another underrated card, which should see more play. Debris+Iron Chain is this fabolous card which will, ALWAYS, come as a surprise. Surprise is a great moment. It is however not as fun when your opponent drops Herald on your Trident Dragion. Makes me want to scream.

If you control Venus and Earth, you pay out for 3 Shine Balls, synchro Iron Chain or Orient Dragon, then summon Debris Dragon, resurrect the Shine Ball and synchro Triden Dragion. Boom the Shine Balls, drop Kristya (3 Shine Balls, 1 Earth).

Good game next please.

Yes, it is a bit situational, but I assure you that plays like that are possible, and even if they weren't, Debris Dragon is still a good tech.

[Deck]D.D. Unicorn Knight Synchro

3 D.D. Unicorn Knight
3 T.G. Striker
3 T.G. Warwolf
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
2 Chaos Sorcerer
2 Effect Veiler
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Sangan
2 Armageddon Knight
2 Necro Gardna


3 Gold Sarcophagus
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Book of Moon
1 Mind Control
1 Monster Reborn
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm


2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Call of the Haunted
2 Solemn Warning
1 Mirror Force
1 Solemn Judgment

1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Armory Arm
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Orient Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 T.G. Wonder Magician
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 X-Saber Urbellum
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines


Finally here! D.D. Unicorn Knight Synchro.
The obvious goal of this deck is to make powerful synchros in short time by Special Summoning tuner monsters, then following them up with D.D. Unicorn Knight (DDUK), using his effect to fetch a banished monster and then make a Synchro. The inclusion of 3 Gold Sarcophaguses are for banishing Sangan, giving you a 'free' Trishula using Striker+DDUK+Sangan.

The Armageddon Knights give you a bit more control by sending down either Plaguespreader for DDUK summoning next turn, or a Necro Gardna for banishing (remember, you can banish it anytime you want during your opponent's turn before their battle phase, and it will negate the next attack) giving you setup for DDUK.

I encourage you to try this idea out if you like the concept, as my testing haven't been too much. The deck fares generally well, but unless you open with something to banish you own monster you will find yourself in a position were DDUK has no targets for his effect. I can't say it's common, but it hardly is a rare situation either.

The one card I want to play but can't fit into the deck is Genex Ally Birdman. This card has some great synergy with the deck. Bounce your own monsters for a Tuner, or bounce DDUK and play him again to summon another banished target. Do note that there are no LIGHT monster cards in this deck that can be summoned through his effect, so your best bet is Necro Gardna or Sangan.

I used to play Tour Guides, but decided to cut them since right about every deck plays counters to it and I don't feel like paying for them since I want to build this deck outside of Dueling Network, so I removed them and the 1 Esper Girl/1 Dark Resonator I used to play for 2 Armageddon Knight and 2 Necro Gardna. This somewhat reduced consistency since you no longer has 4 Sangan, but made D.D. Unicorn plays easier, which I value over a card that has poor synergy overall with the deck.

Overall, the deck performs well. It is also surprising to see how bad people on Dueling Network play. I Special Summon Striker. I Special Summon DDUK, bringing back Sangan. Now a comment usually appears, either "Cool", "Nice idea", "Wow", or "You're just lucky" based on whom I am facing. Then, I synchro Trishula. Now my opponent drops Effect Veiler. This gives me a 2700 body and a search with Sangan as well as a DARK and LIGHT in the Graveyard.
If they had Veilered DDUK instead, I wouldn't have gotten any search, no DARK in the Graveyard and a level 6 instead of a level 9.

I will try a version with Plants and Hidden Armory, then possibly a version with Bazoo the Soul-Eater, Dark Desertapir, Card Trooper and so on. It will be like a Bazoo Return OTK!
...or maybe not.

Future Fusion is broken pt. 2

Wow, just realized you can OTK simply by having Future Fusion and a level 2 Tuner.
Future Fusion dumps 3 Quillbolt Hedgehog, then you summon them, overlay Daigusto Phoenix, detach, summon it back, overlay Daigusto Phoenix, detach, summon the Quillbolt back, overlay your third Daigusto Phoenix and game. 9000 damage.

Or you could Synchro Summon Armory Arm if your opponent has Tengu. You won't win, but you will deal a lot of damage.

As a side note, Daigusto Phoenix is a lot better than it seems. The effect is any WIND attribute monster, meaning you could technically use it on another card such as Stardust Dragon, Orient Dragon or Reborn Tengu.

And the D.D. Unicorn deck is coming along. Just need to test it a bit more before I release a deck list.

YCS Toronto Deck Lists + Death Aspect

http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=7125

In case you haven't seen, I've had Billy Brake's main deck for quite some time. I can let a heavy sigh go as the deck list I provided was correct...

What won?

"Synchro Summon"
Seriously, that deck name is stupid. But so is Tengu Plants, considering the Plants compromise 4 cards and the Tengus compromise 3 cards. The japanese deck is more rightly called Junk Doppel, based of the main focus of the deck. But since these decks have like nothing in common anymore it is a bit off to even compare them as the same deck.
Have a good idea what to actually call that deck?

This deck is basically a cookie-cutter, actually. All the cards (except Spore) are strong on their own, splashable, and new (meaning affected by the power creep) which is pretty much the definition of cookie-cutter.
Well, I am not one to criticize. I feel the game is at least borderline balanced with all the outs we are handed. Also, an aggressive meta is just SO much more fun than a control-based.

Looking at the first place deck list, what is a suprise?
The Spirit Reaper, 2 main-decked Rai-Oh, the Scapegoat and only 1 Call of the Haunted seems strange. Else the deck is perfectly as you would think. What is the reasoning behind those cards?
Card Trooper, Rai-Oh's worst enemy, didn't see much play. That makes him a strong call. Spirit Reaper is probably chosen over other Debris targets such as Snowman Eater due to the fact that Agent Angels (dubbed "Master Hyperion" by Konami) can't get rid of it except with Hyperion, and you want them to drop him early when you have both resources and life points left to deal with him.
Scapegoat is an overall good card, making Formula Synchron with ease, and I guess that in the end he just didn't have enough space for a second Call.

11 "Synchro Monsters"
2 "Synchro Monsters" without Reborn Tengu
11 Agent Angel
2 Tech Genus
2 Karakuri
1 Anti-meta
1 Monarch
1 X-Saber
1 Nordic

The all-important question: Is Agent Angels better than random Synchro?
Obviously Angels are a cheaper deck, but a lot of the top decks played 3 Tour Guide from the Underworld, including the Angels.
HOWEVER, a lot of decks like Agent Angel made top cut without it, including some of the playing BLS.
Neiber Lopez played BLS and 1 Chaos Sorcerer, but no Tour Guide, instead choosing to play Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and Junk Synchron.

Even in the top 8 some players opted not to use it, which by extension means:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PLAY IT TO WIN.

I have always been a strong believer of this, but 'other' people have written in their blogs that "Tour Guide decks will always beat non-Tour Guide decks", which wasn't, isn't, and never will be true. Unless they reverse the XYZ detatchment ruling again.

One of the interesting things is that many Agent players opted to play Effect Veiler. And not just one copy, but 3 full copies. And that they chose it over playing Herald of Orange Light.
I can't say I'm 100% liking this choice, but let's go over the basics.
Both are -1.
Both are Tuners.
Both have worthless stats.
Both are LIGHT.

Herald obviously has higher synergy with the deck due to being a Fairy, but seems to lose out to Veiler in terms of playability. There aren't a lot of cards Herald can stop that Veiler can't, and most likely, you don't want to. Negating a Sangan or Dandylion by discarding two cards is a bit steep to say so. However, beyond the initial turns your hand will be clogged with excess copies of Venus, Miracles and Earth which make great targets for the Herald.

T.G. wasn't just a suprise deck. In fact, it is consistent. That's why it wins.

The random appearances of Monarch, Karakuri, Nordics, X-Saber and Anti-Meta are much welcomed. I will go into more detail about that later.

Black Luster Solider was key pick for this tournament. Nearly every deck, except Karakuri, X-Saber and T.G., played it. A lot of the decks also played supporting copies of Chaos Sorcerer.

12 of the players chose to play Ally of Justice Decisive Armor.
The 4th place T.G. was the only player choosing not to play Heavy Storm.
Strangely enough, 2 decks decided not to play Monster Reborn. Upon closer inspection, it turned out Konami misspelled Monster Reborn as Mosnter Reborn in one case, but the Frog Monarch actually chose not to play it.
Thunder King Rai-Oh and Effect Veiler were all over decks.

The Nordic deck was splendid in my opinion, but I would probably have played an additional Effect Veiler if I could fit it. Setting Gleipnir and holding Veiler is a strong move, since your opponent, if holding S/T removal, will most probably think the way is free after you chain Gleipnir.
I'm not sure on how good the Nordic Engine actually is, but other than Dave Trepanier, Sorosh Saberian also played Nordics, and he is in my book a skilled enough player to make Nordics a recognized deck.
He also side decked Legendary Jujitsu Master, a smart move against those people thinking there is a Hamster set. He only side-decked one copy, as the Jujitsu Master actually isn't too good of a card right now, but good enough when your opponent pushes with a Librarian or something along those lines, expecting to hit a Hamster.


It is hard to build an unique X-Saber. Simon Phoenix's X-Saber is no exception, playing the standard monster line-up with the addition of 2 Effect Veiler, although only playing 2 Fulhelmknight and 2 Faultroll. It is possible he wanted to reduce dead draws, but I still think the 3rd Fulhelmknight is to important.
The rest of the deck was standard.

Logan Djuricin played Monarchs. That is a really old deck, which is officially considered "dead" with the banning of Fishborg Blaster. Yet he managed to top with it.
The monster line-up contains no hidden surprises, playing 3 Caius, Raiza, LaDD, Fader, Swap Frog, Treeborn Frog and Thestalos. Yes, Thestalos. After these Monarch Staples, he also played 2 Tragoedia, Gorz and 2 Effect Veiler. I believe a Monarch deck, due to its low player interaction, should play 3 Effect Veiler. He also skipped out on Ronintoadin, but that issue is not such a large issue considering he played 3 Soul Exchange.
Where the deck really shined was the Side Deck, a blast from the past of Monarch Toolbox. He sided 3 Zaborg, 3 Vanity's Fiend, and a BLS!
Another card worth considering in Monarch is Plaguespreader Zombie. A monarch, it and a Treeborn makes Trishula.

It seems that this format is a lot about preventing plays indirectly rather than playing hard counters. A Mask of Restrict stops Monarchs dead in their tracks but does nothing against Venus or Earth. A Light-Imprisoning Mirror stops renders Angels useless but has no effect on Monarchs. A Veiler makes both of them less good but is a minus in terms of card advantage.
Even though there are superior answers to both, a single 'soft counter' is better since it has more uses and is simply better against a diverse format. The same goes for a lot of others cards, such as Bottomless over Warning. This majorly applies to the OCG since the TCG has Tengu which needs to be Warninged.



Finally, Michael Bonaccini from Death Aspect has decided to retire from blogging. I am relatively new to the whole blogging thing, so I won't be lying when I say I haven't followed any blogs much.
He was a great player, and I respect that.
But I think he had a little bit high thoughts about himself. He once stated that he "at one point in the time was responsible for 15% of the meta". This is a ridiculous claim as far as I am concerned. Also, unlike other bloggers like [name redacted] who NEVER states their own worth but simply brings good and new thinking ideas, he instead spent his time talking about how good he was and why it was the formats fault that he didn't top.

From his farewell post:
He claims Konami has given him some things they actually have, including "horrible prize support",  "horrible card design", "corrupted rulings", and "rarity bumps". Konami are no angels and I won't ever defend them, but then he follows up by saying:
"So why the fuck does Konami deserve my time and effort?"
They don't. They don't deserve mine either, or your.
But that shouldn't stop you from playing the game. You are over 10 years old, GET OVER IT. Seriously. If you think the game sucks so much, why did you even bother to begin with? The game is healthy now. Anything can win and skilled play is awarded.


So goodbye, you were a good player, but you think too highly of yourself and are generally plain stupid. Sorry for the rude words.

D.D. Unicorn Knight

When you see this card, I guess your first thought to be either "WTF" or "What does that card do?".

I can answer both (although 'WTF' technically isn't a question), this is D.D. Unicorn Knight, and I am going to continue trying to make a good deck using him. The card has, in my opinion, some serious potential.

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned if your opponent controls a monster(s) and you control a face-up Tuner monster(s). When this card is Special Summoned this way, you can select 1 of your removed from play Level 3 or lower non-Tuner monsters and Special Summon it. Its effect(s) are negated. You cannot Normal Summon or Set the turn you Special Summon this card.

Control a tuner; easy.
Haven't Normal Summoned yet; easy
Have a level 3 or lower banished non-Tuner: average

Using Plaguespreader you can drop out a Trishula. The same goes for Krebons (nobody plays this anymore, I know). Other useful tuners are Unknown Synchron, Glow-Up, Spore etc. Spore is especially efficient since it banishes that Dandylion to get a level 7 or 8 Synchro, plus Dandylion. It is also a LIGHT monster, meaning we have additional Chaos targets. It is also searchable by Reinforcement of the Army and the Warrior Returning Alive.

The big problem is how to remove the monster. Chaos monsters work, Spore does, Mark of the Rose works, recycling Necro Gardna, Gold Sarcophagus does... but the idea seems to need some card that either removes itself or more readily removes cards. Can you think of anything?


Small unrelated side note: Possessed Dark Soul is awesome! Level 3 Dark Fiend, meaning it can be used with Tour Guide. It can also be used AGAINST Tour Guide by stealing her and the monster she summoned, and then you overlay using their Sangan, which is not such a good thing anymore!

Billy Brake's YCS Toronto 1st Place List

Monsters: 22
3 Reborn Tengu
3 Tour Guide From the Underworld
2 Effect Veiler
2 Maxx "C"
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
1 Caius the Shadow Monarch
1 Dandylion
1 Debris Dragon
1 Glow-Up Bulb
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Lonefire Blossom
1 Sangan
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Spore

Spells: 13
2 Enemy Controller
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Book of Moon
1 Dark Hole
1 Foolish Burial
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mind Control
1 Monster Reborn
1 Pot of Avarice
1 One for One
1 Scapegoat

Traps: 6
2 Solemn Warning
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Trap Dustshoot

Engines...

When the game was young, deck usually consisted of just the best cards, essentially leaving deck building an unused factor.
Ng Yu Leung played 27 single copies of his World Championship 2003 winning deck.
2007 this number was 19. The only kind of combo was Monarch + Treeborn and Card Trooper + Machine Duplication.
2011 this number was 9. The deck was an archetype, consisting of 6 set up cards to play 5 boss monsters.

As the game developed, 'engines' were developed. An engine is essentially a set of cards which work together, meaning less broken splashable single cards needed printing.
Engines had their prime during the TeleDAD era, were the Destiny Draw-Emergency Teleport-Dark Armed Dragon had ridiculously high synergy, and raw power.

The goal of this post is to bring forth some of the engines that still exists, how to play them, and what they accomplish.

Quick Tournament Report

Played Zombie because they are my favorite deck and I got a revelation like 2 o clock in the night telling me they were the play.
I've played Zombie since Mezuki was semi-limited, so I do hold a knowledge about them.
Considering the popularity of Agent Angels and probable Chaos/Lightsworn/Twilight was also a key factor considering how easily Decisive Armor can be summoned.

However, due to the typhoon only four other players showed up.

Round 1 vs Frog Monarch
I manage to pull out Synchros to quickly for him to handle, luckily. Monarchs usually give a hard game 1.
In game two he sided to a more Synchro-oriented build using Birdman, so I lost due to being unprepared.
Game three I start off with both Solemn Warning in hand, basically equaling a win.

Round 2 vs Burn
He got a bye so yeah.
Scrap Dragon demolishes his field for a 2-0 win.

Round 3 vs Macro
Inofficial final considering we are the only people with two wins. The first game I open with Dustshoot and MST against his 6 monster hand, so I win after three turns or so.
Game two I Heavy Storm three cards as well as doing regular Synchro spam which he can't handle.

No LS or Angel, damn it.

Might do a more extensive tournament report when I enter a more interesting tournament.

Happy days!

The TCG Exceed ruling just changed back to OCG rulings.

THIS IS CONFIRMED, SELL YOUR TOUR GUIDES NOW.

Source:
http://www.konami.com/yugioh/articles/?p=3195

No more guesses, the results are in!

http://shriek.twoday.net/stories/38757907/

This tournament had 180 people attending, and the results about the new format are now somewhat clear.
By the way, don't read the comments because they are stupid.

My predictions about the format were mostly correct. Starlight Road saw little play due to Agent Angels being the abundant top deck, totaling in 2 main-decked copies of two different decks, and side decked at 1 copy in three different decks.

29 copies of Bottomless Trap Hole saw play over the top 16 decks, meaning all decks but 1 ran them, and one deck ran 1 copy (lol).

15 copies of Kycoo saw play, a lot of them main decked.

All decks main-decked Heavy Storm, including T.G.

46 copies of Mystical Space Typhoon were played. I believe the most successful way to play them is with 2 mained and 1 sided. A lot of people did exactly this.

This card was in the 1st place side deck:
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gemini_Fiend

Obviously meant as a counter to Dark World Dealings and Card Destruction

12 copies of Chain Disappearance were played, meaning I were correct in pinpointing it as a good card, even if I mainly meant TCG.

6 copies of Puppet Plant, 3 copies of Kinetic Soldier. Six Samurai still seems to be feared...


7 Agent Angel
3 T.G Agent Angel
1 T.G Plant
1 T.G Anti-Meta
1 Dark World
1 Lightsworn
1 Dragunity
1 Vayu-based Blackwing

Not very diverse considering 10 out of 16 played Angels. I do however believe Angels are a very manageable tier 1 deck. I like this format.

25 Thunder King Rai-Oh
22 D.D. Crow
13 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
9 Snowman Eater
6 Cyber Dragon
6 Puppet Plant
4 Ally of Justice Core Destroyer
4 Effect Veiler
4 Gemini Imps
3 Breaker the Magical Warrior
3 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
3 Kinetic Soldier
2 Ally Bomb
2 Card Trooper
2 Greenkappa
2 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
2 Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
2 Spirit Reaper
1 Banisher of the Radiance
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
1 Herald of Orange Light
1 King Tiger Wanghu
1 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

11 Mystical Space Typhoon
5 Forbidden Lance
4 Mind Control
3 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Autonomous Action Unit
1 Dark World Lightning
1 Emergency Provisions
1 Lightning Vortex
1 Soul Release

22 Dimensional Prison
11 Chain Disappearance
7 Chaos Trap Hole
7 Royal Decree
7 The Transmigration Prophecy
4 Mind Crush
4 Trap Stun
3 Black Horn of Heaven
3 Starlight Road
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Dust Tornado
2 Icarus Attack
2 Imperial Iron Wall
2 Pulling the Rug
2 Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror
1 Crevice into the Different Dimension
1 Debunk
1 Gozen Match
1 Malevolent Catastrophe
1 Mirror Force
1 Rivalry of Warlords
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Seven Tools of the Bandit


Thunder King Rai-Oh, D.D. Crow, Mystical Space Typhoon, Dimensional Prison and Chain Disappearance are the cards mostly sided so be prepared.

In my opinion, you should always play a total of 3 MST in side and main deck, and your side deck should contain The Transmigration Prophecy along with 2 Kycoo the Ghost Destoyer. I think D.D. Crow is too easy to counter, even if Debunk didn't see major play. The Transmigration Prophecy essentially  does the same thing as D.D. Crow but not from the hand.
Mind Crush along with Trap Dustshoot are key players this format. Get them while you can.

And as a side note, no, I have absolutely no idea about the 1 Emergency Provisions which was sided...

Side Decking

This is one commonly discussed topic, and also a vast and for some people curious science.
I have always believed side decking to be simple, but on forums and real life I often see side decks being argued over, and many players miss the basic points about side deck.

Many player are also too insecure about their own side deck and end up doing the great mistake of net decking a side deck, which often is a one way trip to a loss.
Side decking is complex, but can easily be broken down. It requires the same kind of knowledge as used when building a main deck, but the skill also lies in exchanging the right cards for the right cards.


1. What do you expect to face?
This one is actually self explanatory but sometimes overlooked. Even if you have a wickedly bad matchup against Gravity Bind based decks, you shouldn't fear them as the aren't numerous enough to have an impact.

2. What do you struggle against?
For example, let's say I'm playing my Dark World Tour deck. That means I really heavily on Special Summons, need to keep my Field Card alive, thrive on face-down cards, and can handle Skill Drain but not Macro Cosmos.
Try to think along these lines.

3. What do those decks struggle against?
Macro has nothing but a bunch of bad monsters when facing S/T removal, King Tiger Wanghu mutilates an entire Plant deck except for Tengu, Thunder King Rai-Oh makes T.G. and Gadgets next to useless, etc.


Then comes the conclusion;
I should include cards into my side deck, which doesn't hinder me, but hinders my opponent, whom I else would have a hard time beating.

Newer players often makes the mistake of including cards they couldn't fit into their main deck into their side deck, which is very wrong most times. Sure, some cards fit well into both main and side deck, like Effect Veiler, but this rare.


For example, take this 1st place Tengu Plant side deck from YCS Indianapolis;
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Banisher of the Radiance
2 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
2 Forbidden Lance
2 Dimensional Prison
1 Mirror Force
1 Royal Oppression
1 Chain Disappearance
1 Chain Whirlwind
1 Malevolent Catastrophe

At first glance, this side deck seems flawed. The deck itself relies heavily on the Graveyard, searching, and Special Summoning meaning Banisher, Rai-Oh and Fossil Dyna respectively stops you.
In addition, these monsters are almost always used in Anti-Meta, and only rarely used against or in Synchro-based decks.

However, given the fact that these are your cards, and in your hand, means you chose when to use them and when to not. An unprepared opponent will have side decked in copies of Chain Disappearance, D.D. Crow, Effect Veiler and other similar cards to stop you. These cards not only become dead due to the lack of plays to stop, but additionally their deck now lies in pieces due to your beatdown Anti-Meta style plays.
Then we have the more common cards in form of Spell and Trap Destruction. This deck main decks Effect Veiler, meaning it isn't side decked.

The above is an example of more extreme side decking, because this side deck is meant to modify your main deck into another deck, designed to both ruin your opponent's main AND side deck, at the cost of switching strategy.


This strategy is effective due to the fact that Tengu Plant has a very strong game 1, meaning you will mostly win against other decks game 1, then switching to a different approach which not only ruins their side decking, but gives you an edge. The choice of Anti-Meta based monsters were clearly based upon the mirror match, which also was abundant; of the top 16 decks 8 were Tengu Plants.


As a second example, the Tengu Plant 2nd place finishing player;
1 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Kinetic Soldier
2 D.D. Crow
1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
1 Smashing Ground
2 Dust Tornado
1 Mirror Force
1 Chain Disappearance
2 Malevolent Catastrophe


No Banisher or Royal Oppression, but instead more assurance against a normal player.
This deck also contains hints of counter side decking, as Ryko and Smashing Ground obviously are meant to counter opposing Banishers, Fossil Dynas, and Rai-Ohs.
Other than that, it contains the typical side deck elements, S/T removal, anti-Six Samurai, and D.D. Crow.
As a conclusion, this side deck is made to give you an edge, without losing the original consistency or changing playstyle.




Now, re-read the intro points marked 1-3.
Okay, now I know what side deck is supposed to do, but how do I do it?
This is were I give you a list of side deck-eligible cards, including what to use them in and against. This is merely an approximation to get you started and is based on my own experiences, tournament reports, feature matches and theory. Meant primary for the new ban list.

[DECK]TourWorld Update

3 Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World
3 Snow, Mage of Dark World
3 Broww, Huntsman of Dark World
3 Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
3 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Fabled Raven


3 Gate to the Dark World
3 Dark World Lightning
3 Dark World Dealings
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Monster Reborn
1 Mind Control
1 Card Destruction


2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Mirror Force
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Torrential Tribute


1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Orient Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Adreus, Keeper of Genesis
2 Leviair the Sea Dragon
2 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Number 61: Volcosaurus
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Tiras, Keeper of Genesis


Just a quick update to let you know. I lost count of my wins somewhere around 165+, at that time having 13 losses.

10 things which Konami should change

10. Utilize Strcuture Decks
This is already partly done, but I'd like to see it continue. Reprinting high-end cards in Structure decks, and also allowing newer players to get a playable deck faster.
Dimensional Prison, Mirror Force, Dark Bribe and the like, hitting the game again as commons is one of the single greatest moves Konami has ever performed.
Machina, Dark World and Fairy are good decks with a small price tag.

9. Create an Extra Deck Pack
Synchros are not cheap. Neither are Exceeds, and this should maybe not change, but all the older out-of-print Synchros should be reprinted to more easily allow newer players to build complete decks. Brionac, Catastor, Black Rose, Stardust, Colossal, Red Dragon Archfiend, Gaia Knight and the like, cards which everyone needs but not everyone has.

8. Not change the rarity of cards
Battle Fader and Solemn Warning were common in OCG, both Ultra Rare in TCG.
Dark Armed Dragon were Rare in OCG, and Secret Rare in TCG.
This is stupid, and there is no reason that can justify this.

7. Allow "non-local" Promos
Europeans also buy Shonen Jump, and they should also be able to use the promos. Differentiation between America and Europa in terms of TCG are stupid.

6. Not play favorites with Japan
OCG player can use TCG cards if they are released, right?
Wrong, only Japan has this privilege and the other Asian countries may only use them for casual play.

5. Support local card shops
A lot of local card shops aren't supported by Konami because they doesn't care. Get a hold of yourself.

4. Correct the Exceed ruling
This is only partly Konami's fault, and more of problem 1's fault. However they still hold responsibility, and this is stupid. The whole concept behind Exceed is that they are supposed to be non-abusable and flexible. If the monsters get their effect they are basically delayed Synchros, and this is not the point.
Why can't you use tokens for Exceed?
Because they can't leave the Field.
How can Tewart then declare that "xyz materials are on the field. Period. End of story."?

3. Change the priority ruling
This one is obvious. Already enforced in the OCG, it should soon enter the TCG.

2. Allow OCG cards in TCG
This one is big, and logical. WHY NOT?
It doesn't further some evil unjust cause, which Konami seems to think. As long as it is not OCG-exclusive, and has been released in the TCG, it should obviously be allowed.

1. Fire Kevin Tewart
This guy is the reason behind a lot of these stupid happenings, such as the Exceed rulings.
He has fucked the game up more than once.
Calling him a retard is an insult to people who really are.
He is some kind of huge, slimey, abomination, called forth from the Underworld to terrorize people who want a fair game.

Facing the New Frontier

Don't know which cards suddenly became good during the new format?
Well you won't have to wait much longer...

Cards that gain power:


Tour Guide from the Underworld
Oh here we have her, everyone's favourite random +1 and the worst enemy of your wallet. Being at 200$ each this card is expensive, but it IS good, and you have a much better chance at winning if your deck can implement it (which your deck probably can).
I hate this type of card, not because of the general idea but because of Sangan. More specifically because of the stupid Exceed ruling by that retard Kevin Tewart. If Sangan did not get its effect all you would have gained was a bigger monster and a very very slight deck thin.
But as long as the combo is alive, Tour Guide will remain one of the best cards in the coming format.

Effect Veiler
This magician (not an angel as an angel is the OCG name for Fairy) was good and has now turned into a considerable force. With more spell/trap removal, the "lasting" cards will be more effective.
She can stops Tour Guide, she can stop Chaos Sorcerer/Black Luster Soldier, and if they used their first effect they can't attack. She is also Light to help them, AND is a Tuner.
This means Effect Veiler effectively stops your opponent's best cards, makes your best cards easier to play, can be searched through Tour Guide+Sangan+Exceed, and is a Tuner.
It adds variety, while also making the deck overall better. Her bad point is that she doesn't do anything against an already played card, and has the not so superb stats of 0/0.
I think you should play at least 1 copy in every TCG deck, and even up to 3 main-decked copies because stopping that t1 Tour Guide, rendering her a vanilla 1000 beatstick is simply to powerful.
If you can't manage 3 copies 2 copies will be just fine.

Thunder King Rai-Oh
He is back. And he is going to stay. Seems like every card I post has some relation to Tour Guide...
He can stop Overlays, and he can stop the Sangan searches, all while being big and beefy. He is also the grandmaster of stopping Pot of Duality, Charge of the Light Brigade and Six Samurai decks in general.
Also Light, fitting well with Chaos Sorcerer and friends, being a great t1 drop and almost impossible to play around using traditional means except Book of Moon.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
A dark for Chaos Sorcerer and BLS, while simultaneously stopping them from hitting the opponenet's field, while stopping Gate of the Dark World, Spore, Dark Armed Dragon, Necro Gardna, Destiny Hero - Malicious, and making Judgment Dragon, Pot of Avarice, and Grapha nearly useless.
He is like soooo underrated right now, while he in reality is extremely good.

Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Fewer backrows = more direct attacks and therefore more Gorz. This in my opinion quite possibly the best card in the game, even more so now.

Tragoedia
The same as Gorz. Keep in mind though to never set 3+ cards (even if Heavy Storm is gone) as you might draw one of the top of the deck and have it dead. Exceed greatly makes this card stronger.


Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
Here comes the game finisher! This card is often overlooked, but is is simply broken. There is no other word for this card. Sporting 3 powerful effects, including a simple +1, a Harpie's Feather Duster and a game finisher. All of this, placed in the Extra Deck and attached to a 3300 ATK body.
This is the reason Lightsworn struggled to win in Japan during the 3 Charge era. Their main nemesis, Zombies, can easily pull this out using Zombie Master+Goblin Zombie+Plaguespreader, and the effect might end the game right there. Not to mention it is a generic Level 10 Synchro, and with the rule of side-decking Extra decked cards, he doesn't even have to reside in your actual Extra deck.
As an added bonus, he is also good against Gemini beat by killing of their backrows, and against Fabled and Angel (his effect 'sends' the Fabled cards so their effects doesn't activate), but be on the lookout for Effect Veiler and Herald of Orange Light. If possible, declare them for Mind Crush before the effect as you will still lose your hand.
As far as my am concerned, he will be a star in the next format.
A huge, metallic, wicked star, but a star nonetheless.

Spell Calling
Yeah this one is a little trollface, but I think it could actually work. There are quite obviously better options like Dark Coffin, but this effect is probably the best one if you actually get it.

Mind Control
This is one overpowered card. What started out as a really bad card, became a staple in Synchro Cat-like decks, and was then consequently limited.
Now the card has reached epic proportions and can be played in any deck.
Have a Tuner in hand? Synchro time.
Have a monster of the same level? Exceed time.
Gladiator Beast mirror? Fusion time.
Don't have either but almost have game? Control for 1 turn allows for some direct attacks.
Even if you have none of the above, it is still possible to use the effect, for example nuking with Dark Armed, steal a face-down Spy or Ryko, or even a face-up Lyla. It is also a counter to the Chaos Cadre, letting them remove themselves.
The game's mechanics has changed, and this once bad card is now a great contender for being banned, in my opinion.

Enemy Controller
Allows for better Tour Guide shenanigans and has a similar effect to Mind Control, but is chainable. Also goes well with tokens, and is great for suprise Accel Synchro plays.
With so many cards like Ryko essentially being "dead" after using their effects, there is nothing better than stealing something for virtually no cost.

Smashing Ground
Here comes the great return!
It is an instant out to any annoying monster, and kills Exceeds along with the annoying aforementioned Kycoo and Rai-Oh.
Great against decks with either few monsters or decks with small capabilities of creating Stardust Dragon. Early on I can see it coming as a bit of a surprise as well, furthering the impact of its effect.


Starlight Road
This card was released and saw enormous play, then died with the banning of Heavy Storm.
Now is the time for a comeback, killing of Black Rose Dragon, Celestia, Judgment Dragon, Icarus Attack, Heavy Storm, Torrential Tribute, Mirror Force, Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and so on.
While using Rescue Rabbit/Rekindling it can also negate Bottomless Trap Hole. Extra deck space is more limited than ever, but making room for at least 1 Stardust Dragon shouldn't be impossible.

Bottomless Trap Hole
Contrary to popular belief that this card should be bad in a removal-heavy format, this card shines now. Most decks either don't readily have access to their removal or their removal are monster based, like Lyla. Strictly speaking, this card is in reality only really good in the OCG due to the lack of priority and the abundance of Vayu-based decks.

Mind Crush
Up on 2, fresh to kill of your opponent's Beckoning Light or Sangan search (which will be seeing a lot of play now) and it is really good against Agents. They often play multiple Pot of Duality, and their boss monsters are easy to read. In Dark World you can also purposely guess wrong, just to see your opponent's hand and discard a random card from your hand.

Chain Disappearance
This card kills Tour Guide, but there are some problems. First off, if you chose to remove Tour Guide and the other copies of her, your opponent will keep Sangan. If you chose Sangan, your opponent will still have 2 Tour Guides left in order to make Leviair and retrieve him.
Generally, removing Tour Guide is the way to go, but if facing a deck sporting double but not triple Tour Guides, or if holding another removal card to prevent Leviair, you should remove Sangan.

[DECK]Unexpected Hero

Main props for this deck goes to Dreadscythe Harvester, although I will be showing my evolved version of the deck.

This is another deck with Future Fusion. It's also tested around 30 games, using my DS. The bots are stupid but the people online ain't therefore I'd say the testing is around 50% accurate.
On the side note about testing, the previous Tour World deck is now at 103-9.

3 Alien Ammonite
2 Alien Hypno
1 Elemental HERO Stratos
3 Elemental HERO Neos Alius
1 Elemental HERO Ice Edge
2 Card Trooper
1 Glow-Up Bulb
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Sangan
1 Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Featherizer

1 Future Fusion
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mind Control
1 Monster Reborn
1 Pot of Avarice
3 Miracle Fusion
2 Gemini Spark
2 Pot of Duality
2 Swords of Revealing Light

2 Call of the Haunted
2 Solemn Warning
1 Mirror Force

3 Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Elemental HERO Escuridão
2 Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
2 Elemental HERO Great Tornado
1 Elemental HERO Gaia
1 Elemental HERO the Shining



The deck aims to recycle with Gol'gar. Future Fusion, SoRL and Call of the Haunted are great targets.
The deck is a little tight, but you should be able to see the reasoning behind the cards.
Realized I did a lot of decks containing the Future Fusion+Elemental HERO combo. Must try doing something else, but a recycleable Foolish Burial is simply to good, I guess.
Why don't all decks play Future Fusion? All decks CAN splash it, but I guess a lot of decks wouldn't earn anything by dumping, Gravekeeper is an example.

If you have Ammonite and Future Fusion in hand, you can dump Zephyros and a Hero, then play it again for Hypno and a Hero, and finish of by either summoning Trishula or bounce it for the third time with Gol'gar.
Either way, you now have all three Miracle Fusions as live cards, which is good, right?
Try getting more than one Gol'gar out and your opponent will see chaos.