Rotom Cards and Zombie Synchro

I bought five Rotom cards today! I bought four of them for a deck, and one just because it looks awesome.

So yeah. I also tried out Zombie Synchro.

It worked well enough, but I don't think that I've played it enough to get the hang of it. I'm usually able to play any deck, but Zombie Synchro is kind of weird, to me, anyways.

I suppose that the deck is too different from my usual play style. I like to control the game and gain advantage. Zombie Synchro just sits there and waits, and waits, and waits, until it draws into its OTK.

There's nothing wrong with Zombie Synchro, I just don't like it. Fortunately, it's also not as fast as I thought it was. I won't have to worry as much when I play against it, now.

It gives me an idea for two decks. The first is a Zombie deck that uses a bunch of 1-for-1 cards to gain advantage, while gaining free cards from Mezuki and Goblin Zombie. The second is a Junk and Debris deck that stops OTK's with Gorz/Tragoedia, then punishes the overextension with Black Rose Dragon. It seems like it could work against Zombie Synchro...

Random note: Aki and I are going to the Stardust Overdrive Sneak Preview tomorrow. Riku and one of his friends are also going. I'm planning on taking videos after we get back, so expect to see new videos starting Monday.

5D's Episode 82 + New Decks

Yusei beat the Duel Robot. What a surprise.

The card he used to win (Panic Wave) was pretty cool, though. The cost is kind of steep, but it's like a one-sided Skill Drain, Imperial Order, and Royal Decree, all in one. It would be very interesting and might see play if it came out.

So, for the new meta that will arise after Stardust Overdrive and Hidden Arsenal are released, I was thinking about making a new deck.

First, I wanted to just remake my Dark Reverse Junk and Debris deck. In trying to change it, I realized that it's so fine-tuned that I wouldn't be able to change it without completely overhauling the deck. Can't do much with that. I could still play it after the new Synchro Monsters come out, though.

Next, I was thinking about using an Imperial Iron Wall deck to counter the meta. It could stop Vayu Turbo and Zombie Synchro, and to a certain extent Lightsworn and Gladiator Beasts. Sounds cool, right? Well, it seems to be too inconsistent, since it's based around such a fragile Continuous Trap. So that idea was scrapped.

Then, I thought about a deck abusing Hidden Armory and Supervise. If you watch Neuxcharge's videos, you'll know what I'm getting at. *cough* Power Tool Plant *cough* I want to make a faster build, though. I'm still in the process of making the deck, so we'll see what happens.

Most recently, I thought about some sort of burn deck that keeps card advantage. Volcanics come to mind. I was thinking about some sort of Volcanic Junk and Debris (I know that it's been done before), but I decided that the themes conflict too much (the way I would play it, anyways).

So, I'm still trying to come up with new ideas. I'll probably just stick to Dark Reverse Junk and Debris until I can come up with a working Power Tool Plant variant.

New Lightsworn Support and Open Dueling

The new Lightsworn Monsters aren't that great. That's good or bad, depending on how you see it.

Neither Shire nor Rinyan have a place in current Lightsworn builds. Rinyan doesn't even mill, it provides theme-specific flip draw. Maybe in a more controlling Lightsworn build Rinyan could work, but I don't see Shire being used outside of some sort of Lightsworn Junk and Debris deck, *cough*.

As for Open Dueling, what's the point? No one gets extra packs for dueling, and prizes are all random. I'd probably just go, get my packs, hope for the mat, and duel people for fun with a real deck. If I get my Dragunity Knights, then I could surprise people with my Vayunity deck...

Tournament Report 10/25/09

This was the last tournament for me before the Warrior's Strike Structure Deck and Stardust Overdrive are released, so it may be the last time I use my Dark Reverse Junk and Debris deck in a tournament.

I was able to get a Turbo Rocket before the tournament, not that I ever drew it. Again, no Swallow Flips. However, after scoping out the types of decks in the tournament, and seeing a bunch of people playing Zombie Synchro (no doubt waiting for the arrival of Brionac), I switched two cards in my Side Deck. I took out my Pulling the Rugs for Black Horn of Heavens, since I saw no Monarchs or Gadgets.

Round 1: vs Newbie RFP

-Duel 1: Seeing Dimensional Fissure scared me a bit, but Black Rose Dragon took care of his field.
-Duel 2: I won.

Round 2: vs Blackwings

I was playing against the annoying guy who barely knows the rules, but has enough money and luck to do somewhat well. Aki and I mentioned him in a video a while ago.

-Duel 1: I drew brokenly, setting up everything on turn 1. I stole his Bora and Shura with Brain Control and Mind Control, dropped Dark Armed Dragon, and Synchro Summoned with his monsters. He couldn't do anything.
-Duel 2: I won.

Round 3: vs Blackwings

This guy actually knew what Junk and Debris was, no doubt from Shonen Jump Orlando.

-Duel 1: I got my Gold Sarcophagus for Ouroboros/Allure of Darkness combo for lots of drawing. I took control with Black Rose and won.
-Duel 2: I blasted the field with Black Rose Dragon, but we had the same amount of cards in hand (freakin' Black Whirlwind). He was able to make a comeback.
-Duel 3: I desperately went for Goyo to steal his Gale. He stole Goyo Guardian with Brain Control in an attempt to steal back his Gale, but forgot about my Necro Gardna. He Synchro Summons for Colossal Fighter with my Goyo after summoning his Blizzard. I drew Allure of Darkness, with my only Dark in hand being Dark Armed Dragon. I took a risk and played it, drawing into Armageddon Knight and Necro Gardna. Remove Gardna, summon Armageddon Knight, dumping Necro Gardna. Tune Gale to Armageddon Knight and I've got three Darks in the Graveyard. He scooped after seeing his next draw.

Before Round 4, there were four undefeated people, including me. We agreed to split the box of Ancient Prophecy Special Editions, with the two finalists getting three each and the two who lost this round getting two each.

Round 4: vs Blackwings

-Duel 1: He goes first and sets Trap Dustshoot. My hand was Debris Dragon, Dark Armed Dragon, Burial from a Different Dimension, D.D.R., Mystical Space Typhoon, and Heavy Storm. He sent back Debris Dragon after a lot of thought, explaining that it would take me a while to set up for Dark Armed. He regretted his choice when I OTK'd him a few turns later with Dark Armed Dragon.
-Duel 2: He annoyed me with Kycoo. I dumped Cyber Ouroboros with Armageddon Knight, forcing him to make a tough choice with Kycoo's effect. He decided to remove the Ouroboros, allowing me to set up by sending Dandylion to the Graveyard. He was able to win, though, since I wasted so many cards getting rid of Kycoo.
-Duel 3: I stole his Sirocco (Brain Control) with Armageddon Knight on the field. Summoned Junk Synchron to Special Summon Plaguespreader Zombie. Tuned my Zombie to his Sirocco for X-Saber Urbellum. His field was empty with 4 cards in hand. I attacked with everything and Synchro Summoned Ancient Fairy Dragon in DEF in Main Phase 2. He dropped Dark Creator, Special Summoned two Armor Masters with Vayu and Burial from a Different Dimension. Then he used The Dark Creator to remove one Sirocco to Special Summon another Sirocco. He boosted an Armor Master with Sirocco, attacked over Urbellum with that Armor Master and dropped Kalut. He didn't need the Kalut for game, but he wanted revenge from our first duel.

Round 5: vs Gladiator Beasts

My first duel against Gladiator Beasts with Dark Reverse Junk and Debris. I side somewhat heavily for this match-up, and it payed off.

-Duel 1: I used Gold Sarcophagus to remove Cyber Ouroboros to drop the second Ouroboros from my hand to draw. MST'd his set War Chariot, which was great. Junk Synchron into Magical Android to kill his Laquari. He double Test Tiger'd next turn, but I just summoned another Junk Synchron to beat up his Gladiators.
-Duel 2: In this duel, I drew every card I sided in. And, because of that, I won, even though I just blew up one Mirror of Oaths and one Swallow Flip with Black Rose Dragon. I ended up going for exactly game with Armory Arm, Spirit Reaper, his Hoplomus that I stole with Brain Control, and a Necro Gardna I revived with D.D.R.

So, I went 4-1, which was good. I got two Ancient Prophecy Special Editions, thanks to the split I agreed to before Round 4. I pulled two Red-Eyes Wyverns and a XX-Saber Faultroll, which is good (the Faultroll, not the Wyverns). I also got a Hobby League Call of the Haunted, since there wasn't much else to get.

All in all, it was a pretty good tournament.

Trident Dragion in Lightsworn

It could work, right?

Drop Judgment Dragon and (brokenly) destroy the field. Then, revive your Plaguespreader Zombie, set that Solar Recharge/Foolish Burial/whatever. Summon Magna Drago, tune it to Judgment Dragon, Synchro Summon Trident Dragion, destroy two cards, and attack three times for game.

Sounds great, right? What? It doesn't? Lightsworn decks don't need Trident Dragion to OTK? They can just Special Summon two Judgment Dragons?

Yeah, Lightsworn decks have enough broken Dragons to OTK with.

At least they've finally won a big tournament in the US. That along with the release of the formerly-TCG exclusive Lightsworn cards to the OCG may cause Lightsworn decks to get hit by the ban lists. And they're getting new TCG exclusive Monsters in a week, so hopefully that won't give them too much power.

Or maybe we want the new exclusives to overpower the theme even further. It could force an emergency ban...

Anti-Spell Fragrance in J&D and the PokeWalker

It seemed like a good idea, in theory. So far, it doesn't seem to be going that well.

I just threw three Anti-Spell Fragrances, three Breakers, and three Dust Tornadoes into my Dark Reverse Junk and Debris build, and it hasn't done that well, so far.

I like the Dust Tornadoes, since I like Dust Tornado, but the Anti-Spell Fragrances aren't very useful and Breaker is only somewhat useful. I suppose that using Breaker gives access to Arcanite Magician, but it hasn't been that helpful.

In my experience, Junk and Debris needs to have a relatively high Monster count (at least half of the deck), and the Anti-Spell Fragrances took away from that. Maybe Anti-Spell Fragrance needs its own deck, but I don't like that idea, either...

In other news, the PokeWalker is awesome! It's so cool how you can get free items with the Dowsing function, and even catch Pokemon in a simplistic battle system. The first (and so far only) Pokemon I caught was a Nidoran (female).

I put a Rotom that I bred but never used into the PokeWalker for two reasons. The first is that Rotom is my favorite Pokemon. The second is that Rotom is an Electric/Ghost that possesses electronics, so I can say that a Rotom infected my PokeWalker, or something to that effect.

I don't quite get how the EXP gain works, as my Rotom only gained one level after one day. Maybe it's based on days as opposed to amount of steps? I mean, how many steps can 8 EXP take?

5D's Episode 81 + Other Stuff

Episode 81 was better than the last one. There was actually some dueling. It wasn't extremely exciting, though. It does show that Bruno is overly compulsive with machinery and the like.

I would find a picture to put here, but it's not really worth it.

In other news, my Totodile evolved to a Croconaw. Yay! That allowed me to teach it Rock Smash so I can... smash rocks. I'm sort of lost on where to go next, but I'll figure something out (freaking Sudowoodo...).

About the Anti-Spell Fragrance deck, I think that it's too dependent on drawing specific combos to work. I'll keep working on it, but I'm going to try incorporating Anti-Spell Fragrance into other decks, like Junk and Debris.

The way I play Junk and Debris is all about gaining advantage, so forcing the opponent to set their Spells so that they're vulnerable is quite helpful.

Anti-Spell Fragrance

So, I saw a Blackwing player using this card at the last tournament I went to. Combining it with Delta Crow - Anti-Reverse is a great idea, slowing down your opponent, then destroying all of their set cards before they can use them. Anti-Spell Fragrance by itself prevents your opponent from using Heavy Storm to destroy your back row on the first turn.

So, I was thinking about making a deck based around it, in a way. It can go well with Monarchs, getting rid of a bunch of your opponent's Spells before they can use them. However, I was thinking about something more consistent, like Breaker and Lyla. Of course, the idea to use Lyla gave me the idea to use a Lightsworn engine.

I always try to throw a Lightsworn engine into everything. It probably wouldn't work too well in this type of deck, although Ryko, Lyla, and maybe Celestia would work in the deck. If you use Lightsworn cards, then Mask of Darkness is something to consider, for obvious reasons.

Now, to protect Anti-Spell Fragrance, maybe Imperial Custom or Fake Trap. Imperial Custom works well with Trap Monsters, since it protects them from being destroyed in any way. Yeah, they're safe from battle AND effects.

Of course I would include a set of Dust Tornadoes in this deck. It can destroy your opponent's set Spells/Traps and allow you to set your Spells during your opponent's End Phase, letting you use them on your turn.

The deck could also use a Magic Planter draw engine if you decide to use a bunch of Continuous Traps. Then Royal Oppression could be main decked, and even Skill Drain if you want.

If you're desperate enough for Spell/Trap destruction, then De-Spell and/or Bait Doll can be used. When's the last time someone told you that you could consider De-Spell for your deck? Probably before Mystical Space Typhoon came out.

Regardless, it seems like the deck could work, in theory. I'm going to try putting something together, so I'll see how it works out.

ポケモン ソウルシルバー

Pokemon SoulSilver

It arrived today! After I start the upload for today's duel, I'm going to start playing it.

I'm going to get Totodile, since it's awesome. I think I'll trade over a Rotom from my Platinum. As for a Fire Pokemon, I've got a Typhlosion in my Platinum that I trained, but am not using, and a bunch of Growlithe that I bred for, which I should not have released, yet. I should also send over a Trapinch with Earthquake, and maybe a Beldum and/or a Turtwig...

Any other Pokemon I should trade over? I want to get an Event Arceus to get a Metal Burst Dialga. Eh, I'll think of more eventually.

Tournament Report 10/17/09

I was running Dark Reverse Junk and Debris, again. I changed it a little bit, though. I took out Vengeful Shinobi and am using Cyber Ouroboros as the Junk/Debris target.

The types of decks being run was much more diverse, though there were quite a few newbs there. Again, no Swallow Flips, but I was able to get a Trident Dragion.

Round 1: vs Newbie Synchro

-Duel 1: I beat him to death with Dark Armed Dragon.
-Duel 2: I won. He complained a lot when I Bottomless Trap Holed his Junk Warrior.

Round 2: vs Zombie Synchro

-Duel 1: He topped Dark Armed Dragon with three Darks in his Graveyard.
-Duel 2: I'm in control, but then he pulls out Stardust Dragon and Dark Armed Dragon. I couldn't do anything against that.

Round 3: vs Exodia

Yes, Exodia. I saw this guy playing earlier and knew how his deck worked.

-Duel 1: Trident Dragion! Wasn't an OTK, though. I forced all of his Necro Gardnas, then beat him to death.
-Duel 2: I removed the Left Arm of Exodia with Kycoo, so he was basically trying to deck me out. I was able to beat him before that happened, though.

Round 4: vs Gadgets

This guy was kind of newbish, but his deck was pretty good. He ran Dark Dust Spirit and Ultimate Offering.

-Duel 1: A long stall/advantage war. I was able to force him to topdeck, which is pretty hard against Gadgets. I eventually beat him down with Synchros.
-Duel 2: I was able to finish him with Dark Armed Dragon and Stardust Dragon.

Round 5: vs Dark Gaia

-Duel 1: My draw engine worked very well. I forced him to Solemn my Black Rose Dragon at 8000 LP after he committed to the field, which helped me beat him.
-Duel 2: We both misplayed. I dropped Black Rose when he had Koa'ki Meiru Guardian on the field. He forgot that he had the Guardian. It didn't matter though. In the end, he pulled out two Evil Hero Dark Gaias with 5000 ATK each to finish me off.
-Duel 3: I took control of the game and proceeded to beat him down with Magical Android. When he was at 800 LP, I returned Black Rose Dragon to my Extra Deck with Pot of Avarice, revived Plaguespreader, tuned it to Magical Android, and destroyed the field with Black Rose. Since I hadn't Normal Summoned, I could drop Junk Synchron for game.

I went 4-1 and got 6th place, which I'd say is pretty good. Again, I pulled nothing from the Turbo Pack. Ryko (decent), Armageddon Knight (again), and Bestiari (AGAIN!).

I bought Turbo Cannon, since I'm planning on using it. I also bought the Revived King Ha Des that was there, since I know that Zombie Synchro is going to come into power when Brionac comes out. I also got a set of Miracle Fusion, since I know people will want to get Absolute Zero when it comes out next year.

Fortune Ladies

People think that they have potential to be a top tier deck (certainly more than the new Ritual support, which I'm optimistic about). I have to agree.

They have a good draw engine with TWO themed draw cards (Fortune Lady Water and Fortune Future). In fact, they're both +1's. How is this fair?

They're somewhat situational. For Water, you need another Fortune Lady on the field when it's Special Summoned. Fortune Future needs one of your Fortune Ladies to be removed from play. If you use Future Visions to accomplish that, then it's a 2 for 2.

What I think is that people will mess around with Future Vision builds, but realize that they're too dependent on it, and move to make different builds.

I do think that Future Vision is a great card, setting back most decks by one turn for Normal Summons. I see the potential with Zeta Reticulant, and also its ability to prevent many of the first turn plays that Lightsworn and Gladiator Beast players like to make.

However, making a deck around a Field Spell isn't a good idea, in my opinion. I'm sure that there are ways to do it, but it would be inconsistent, since you'd need the Field Spell out for the deck to work. Running an excessive amount of Terraformings could help, but it would add quite a few dead draws to the deck.

Perhaps someone will figure out some sort of Future Visions deck that actually works. I'm trying to get the cards for a Zeta Reticulant-based Monarch build, myself.

Japanese Cards

So, Aki and I decided to get some Japanese cards off of the Internet.

First, we looked to Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Boundary, seeing its abilities with Debris Dragon (and King of the Swamp).

I looked at the Dragunity Knights, since they're awesome like that. They also have amazing applications with Debris Dragon.

Then, I remembered Ally of Justice Decisive Arms, since it's cool. In the end, I decided not to get it, since it wouldn't be that useful.

Aki and I had looked through the Fiend Roar Dieties earlier, so I looked for some of the better ones. Unfortunately, they didn't have half of the ones I wanted, so I scrapped that.

I turned to Jurak Velhipto, due to its effect and ability to be Special Summoned by Junk Synchron when combined with Jurak Staurico. They didn't have Jurak Staurico, so I gave up on that.

I looked through the Synchro Monsters in the OCG. Aki brought up Naturia Balkion. If it didn't demand an Earth Tuner, I would have gotten it. I looked at Ally of Justice Field Marshall. It's awesome, but they didn't have any.

So, I just got Dragunity Knight - Gaeborg and two Dragunity Knight - Gajearg. Aki decided on Gungnir and a box of Duelist Pack 9: Yusei Fudo 2 (mainly to get Debris Dragons, but some of the other cards in there are decent).

What does this have to do with you? Well, you can expect to see these new cards in my videos within a month, since that's probably when we'll get them.

5D's Episode 80

It was a silly filler episode. Honestly, they could have started with the whole mystery at the end and figured it out by the first commercial break in order to start stalking their target, which will take place in the next episode.

Jack: "Despite the fact that I KNOW that my opponent's set card is Mirror Force, let's equip Axe of Despair to Tragoedia and attack!"

Seriously. Jack is an idiot, not that I needed to say that.

Oh yeah, a new character was introduced. He'll probably be important, eventually. Actually, he might only be as important as he is for a little while, then become a random minor character, like Ushio. At least he could do the duel puzzle... But, on the other hand, Yusei probably could have solved it if Bruno (yes, that's the new character's name...) wasn't there.

It was neat seeing Tragoedia, though. I was not expecting it at all. The whole duel puzzle revolving around (Equip) Spells was interesting, too, although I doubt that a duel puzzle is a practical security lock.

Unfortunately, 5D's is starting to become desperate, like the previous series. It was good in the beginning, when the story line was coherent and there wasn't too much filler, but it's on the way to becoming ridiculous.

Anti-Meta

Anti-meta, it's good on paper right? Designed to beat all of the top decks, so why does no one play it?

Anti-meta decks are designed to be consistent and to beat all of the meta decks. That's just it, they only beat meta decks. If they run into a deck they aren't expecting, maybe one that isn't affected by its specific brand of anti-metaness, then they lose. If they run into another anti-meta deck, then it's a toss up.

Let's say an anti-meta deck makes it to the top. They beat the odds and can consistently top, or even win, at tournaments. Then, it gets netdecked, and it's no longer anti-meta. It's the new meta deck.

Anti-meta, by definition, can't do better than counter the meta. When I see an anti-meta deck, I first think of how great it would do. Then I think, "Wait, anti-meta sucks..." Very sad, I know.

But I suppose that that's what makes the game what it is. It defines the game so that people know what to expect. It'd be interesting to see this game without a meta, though...

XX-Saber Gottoms and Mist Wurm

There's really no reason that I'm posting these two together other than the fact that they're both Level 9 Synchro Monsters.

XX-Saber Gottoms is currently the best Level 9 Synchro Monster in the game. That's not saying much, seeing as how its only competition is Hyper Psychic Blaster. However, it also has one of the most awesome names in the game.

Everyone should be aware of the loop you can pull off with two XX-Saber Faultrolls (awesome name, by the way) and XX-Saber Ragigura (another awesome name). I'm not going to discuss what should be called the LAMN (Loop of Awesome Monster Names). I'm also not going to discuss the fact that Gottoms can by Synchro Summoned with more than one Tuner.

Decks that aren't based on Synchros should have Gottoms in their Extra Deck (since they would have the space for it). There's ways to pull him out randomly if you want to discard a card from the opponent's hand for some reason. He could even act as a 3100 beatstick. Even decks that are based on Synchros could find a place for him. In Junk and Debris, it's as easy as tuning Junk Synchron to Iron Chain Dragon or Goyo Guardian.

As for Mist Wurm, it's actually pretty good. It's going to be in everyone's Extra Deck as soon as it comes out, like AOJ Catastor and Brionac. It may not gain card advantage (actually, the way it's set up, it's almost guaranteed to lose you card advantage), but card advantage doesn't matter if your opponent doesn't get their next turn. It sets up OTK's.

Obviously, Brionac is somewhat better at that, since it's easier to summon and can put Mezuki into the Graveyard. There are advantages to using Mist Wurm in certain decks, the most notable one being that you don't have to discard.

A neat way to summon Mist Wurm that doesn't cost you a Normal Summon would be D-Hero Malicious, Treeborn Frog, and Plaguespreader Zombie. So, if your opponent decides to chain something, like Bottomless Trap Hole, you can still Normal Summon your Stratos or your Junk Synchron. You could even finish the opponent off, in the right situation.

But who would use Malicious, Treeborn Frog, and Plaguespreader Zombie in the same deck? *cough* Monarchs *cough*

Pegasus League - Caste Party

For those of you unfamiliar with the Pegasus League for this month, it's "Caste Party." That basically means that every card in your Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck have to be of the same rarity. By the way, it's Traditional Format.

Seems pretty cool, since it forces people to use innovative deck ideas. Lightsworn cards are of varying rarities, and the same goes for Gladiator Beasts. Blackwings could get away with using Commons, though, as could Gadgets.

Most decks would be in Commons, since Common is the most common rarity (duh...). There are some decks, however, that can get away with using stuff like Super Rares or Ultra Rares. I don't see how people can make decks with Gold Rares or Secret Rares, but I suppose it's possible...

Monarchs would be a viable deck type, seeing as how many of the Monarchs are Common. Maybe even a variant of Empty Jar could be used.

Too bad my locals don't have it (or at least I think they don't)... I would probably run some Super Rare or Ultra Rare Deck...

Destiny Draw Engine

The Destiny Draw Engine. Why do people run it?

My understanding of the Destiny Draw Engine is that people throw Stratos, two Malicious, some Diamond Dudes, and maybe Fear Monger/Plasma into a deck along with three Destiny Draws and Reinforcement of the Army. Many people use it to much success in the TCG, but it just seems just a little inconsistent to me.

People use it in Zombie Synchro, Monarchs (Perfect Circle is the most notable variant), and in Dark-based decks. It doesn't even have a place in some of the decks it's used in, but people use it anyways. They want the (somewhat situational) +2 that can come from Stratos into Malicious for Destiny Draw.

That's all it's used for, to get Malicious into the Graveyard for card advantage. However, Malicious can be a good card by itself, it doesn't need the Destiny Draw Engine to be used. People can abuse it with Armageddon Knight, Dark Grepher, and plain discard costs/effects. Not to mention Mystic Tomato.

People did use Dark Grepher to abuse it in the past (when it and Plaguespreader Zombie were at three). Dark Grepher may not be as effective with the current ban lists, but Armageddon Knight, discard costs/effects, and Mystic Tomato are still viable options.

Maybe people could just run Stratos, two Malicious, and another Hero or two if they wanted to abuse Malicious without Destiny Draw?

ポケモン ハートゴルド／ソウルシルバー

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver

Aki was finally able to buy HeartGold (for him) and SoulSilver (for me) on the Internet a few days ago. Yay!

Our choices for which game we wanted was basically over Groudon and Kyogre. I have a Kyogre, so I wanted Groudon from SoulSilver, and Aki has a Groudon, so he'll get the Kyogre from HeartGold.

There's also all of the Move Tutor moves. Gravity, Heal Bell, Magic Coat, and Pain Split are some of the more amazing ones. Gallade with Gravity, Rotom with Pain Split! Awesome!

And the Pokethlon seems cool. I'd probably actually play it, as opposed to Pokemon Contests. And, I found this out while I was typing up this post, Rotom's stats in the Pokethlon depend on its form, which is awesome! It also means that Rotom can be in any of its six forms in HG/SS.

Not to mention the PokeWalkers that we get with them. I could level Pokemon while doing almost anything (as opposed to rubber-banding my DS while the Pokemon is in the Day Care...).

So yeah. A Yu-Gi-Oh-related post may be up later today, I'm not sure.

Ritual Support

Stardust Overdrive is going to bring a bunch of Ritual support cards. No big deal, right? But wait... these cards are actually GOOD?

Ritual Fiend Presider and Ritual Fiend Releaser are a couple of monsters that can act as Ritual Matieral Monsters while in the Graveyard. That's pretty good by itself, since it reduces the amount of cards it "costs" to perform a Ritual Summon. However, both of those monsters also have other effects.

When either is used as a Ritual Material, then the Ritual Monster that was Ritual Summoned gets an extra effect. When Presider is used, you draw a card when the Ritual Monster kills a monster in battle. That's pretty good, seeing as how many Ritual Monsters have decent ATK. When Releaser is used, then the Ritual Monster gains an effect similar to Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo or Vanity's Fiend. That's just... wow.

The Ritual Monster being released in Stardust Overdrive, Norsewemko, also has a pretty good effect. However, when its and Releaser's effects are combined (which is basically what it was designed for...), then it becomes a force to be reckoned with. A Ritual Monster that is tough to destroy, prevents Special Summoning, and can be protected by Honest is one that has the potential to tear apart the meta.

The Ritual Spell used to summon Norsewemko is good by itself, since it was given an additional effect. Not to mention that Rituals will get yet another +1 search card in Preparations for the Ritual.

However, if Norsewemko combined with Ritual Fiend Releaser had the potential to become a new anti-meta deck, then why hasn't it sprung up in the OCG...? Probably because Rituals are inconsistent? I still think it has potential, it would just be a little slow.

By the way, the reason that I didn't post something about Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's yesterday was because it was just a "clip show" where they just have a bunch of flashbacks because the animators are too lazy to animate, but they're desperate enough to make the episode.

Differences between TCG and OCG - Side Decking

This is the first, of what will probably become a series, of my posts that will discuss the differences between the game in the TCG and the OCG.

Side decking. It depends on the meta, right? Since the meta in the TCG differs from the meta in the OCG, people would obviously side deck very differently. Side decking will even differ between people in the same region, since it depends on the deck you're running and what decks you expect. Because of this, I'll just mention the main differences.

D.D. Crow. It's used somewhat in the TCG because it can help against Lightsworn, Vayu Turbo, and Gladiator Beasts (to some extent). However, it's used more widely in the OCG, mainly due to Zombie Synchro. It stops your opponent from continuously using Mezuki for free. They try to revive their Goblin Zombie with Mezuki, you remove Goblin Zombie. Two of their Zombies are removed, and they'll have to waste some cards if they want to set up again.

Divine Wrath. When's the last time you've seen this in someone's side deck in the TCG? Yes, it's extremely versatile; it can help against basically any deck. However, it's usually a -1. Against Monarchs and stuff like that (Dark Grepher, uhh... I can't think of much else), it's an even trade, but you'd use Pulling the Rug on Monarchs for a +1. Divine Wrath is used more in the OCG. Sure, it's a -1, but what's a -1 if you prevent an OTK? If they attempted to use Brionac, you wouldn't even be down in card advantage (the Synchro may cost a card, and the discard).

Raigeki Break. Okay, first of all, people in the TCG don't usually use Raigeki Break. They opt for Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, or even Karma Cut. However, all three of these cards have their pros and cons. The OCG mind set about the whole "Raigeki Break or PWWB?" thing is that Raigeki Break gets rid of the threat while PWWB just stalls it for a turn. I'm not going to go through all of the uses of both (that's a post for another day). Either way, Raigeki Break is used due to its versatility; you can destroy any one card on the field. The discard cost can even be welcoming in some decks (Zombie Synchro, Vayu Turbo, etc.)

Of course, there are other differences beyond the actual cards in the side deck, but that's for another day.

(If you couldn't tell, I couldn't figure out a good way to end this post...)

New YouTube Channel

As most of you know, my YouTube channel has been changed to the new version. It just magically changed, seemingly without reason, though it hasn't happened to others, as far as I know.

While I don't dislike the new channel, I don't particularly like it. Basically, I'm neutral. I would have liked to have a choice in the matter, but, whatever.

Just in case anyone cares, I was planning on talking about Burial from a Different Dimension or Necroface, but there wasn't much interesting on either, and this came up, so yeah...

Mind Crush

Is it worth main decking a Mind Crush or two?

Let's list some of the top decks (in no particular order):
-Lightsworn
-Blackwings
-Gladiator Beasts
-Vayu Turbo
-Zombie Synchro

Now, let's list some of the ways that Mind Crush can help against them:
-Lightsworn: Honest, whatever they search with Charge of the Light Brigade or what they retrieve with Monster Reincarnation or Beckoning Light.
-Blackwings: Kalut, whatever they search with Black Whirlwind.
-Gladiator Beasts: Whatever they search with Gladiator Proving Ground or Samnite or what they retrieve with Equeste.
-Vayu Turbo: Burial from a Different Dimension.
-Zombie Synchro: Burial from a Different Dimension.

Against the first two, Mind Crush is an amazing card. Against Gladiator Beasts, it's somewhat useful. Against the last two, it can't do much.

With Zombie Synchro, you can mess up their planned swarm by Mind Crushing their Burial from a Different Dimension. If you miss, (which is rare, since they normally wouldn't attempt an OTK unless they had it), then you know that you'll live to the next turn (provided you have a decent amount of LP). Either way, you keep it out of their hand.

If you're able to hit a Burial or two, then you're pretty much safe for a little while. Zombie Synchro has some difficulty OTK'ing without it, so you can take advantage of the situation.

Maining Mind Crush can be a little risky, and of course it depends on the metagame in your area, but it can pay off. You can spring a card on your opponent that they wouldn't expect in the Main Deck, and it also frees up space in your Side Deck.

Zombie Synchro and Vayu Turbo

A duel featuring Zombie Synchro, courtesy of Neuxcharge:



Currently known as Synchro Undead in the OCG, Zombie Synchro is an up-and-coming deck type. The reason that it hasn't made much of a showing in the TCG is the lack of Brionac (and to a lesser extent other Duel Terminal Synchro Monsters).

Zombie Synchro has some similarities with Vayu Turbo, such as their reliance on dumping everything in the Graveyard to swarm and such. There's only two advantages Vayu Turbo has that I can think of: Icarus Attack and the immunity to Royal Oppression.

Otherwise, Zombie Synchro is better. Instead of getting improperly Special Summoned beat-sticks of Blackwing Synchro Monsters, Zombie Synchro gets multiple, properly summoned Synchro Monsters that actually have their effects. They also get free cards from using Goblin Zombie as Synchro Material and have easy access to Ally of Justice Decisive Arms, which hates on Lightsworn like no other card.

Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror does almost nothing to Zombie Synchro, just stopping them from using Goblin Zombie's effect, Zombie Master's effect, and Plaguespreader Zombie's effect. They don't even need those monsters' effects half of the time, since they are using Mezuki (an Earth Monster) to Special Summon stuff. Vayu Turbo gets stopped dead by one Shadow Imprisoning Mirror. No Vayu, Dark Grepher, Armageddon Knight, Necro Gardna, Dark Armed Dragon, Dark Creator, etc.

Zombie Synchro also has the advantage of Tragoedia, which prevents them from being OTK'd by their opponent, while also allowing them to steal opposing monsters.

Of course, something like Dimensional Fissure could stop them, but most (if not all) decks have ways around stuff like that.

Tournament Report 10/3/09

Another tournament report for you guys. I'm planning on going to one tournament per week, so expect these weekly.

Again, I was running my Dark Reverse Junk and Debris variant. There's a deck video of it on my YouTube channel, for those who didn't know. I did change two cards, though. I dropped Jinzo and Escape from the Dark Dimension for Gold Sarcophagus and Mind Crush. Yes, I mained Mind Crush. I had to sell some of my cards to get the Gold Sarcophagus, though.

As expected, Blackwings ran rampant, which was good for me. I wasn't able to get any Swallow Flips, again, but I was able to get another Magical Android. They even had a Goyo Guardian from the TCG Duel Terminal, which I wanted to buy, but I decided against it.

Round 1: vs Zombie Synchro

I didn't expect to see any Zombie Synchro decks at the tournament until after Hidden Arsenal. Apparently people want to play it without Brionac.

-Duel 1: I stalled for a long time. There was a ruling dispute about Mind Crush, but the judge who was normally there was gone, so I couldn't do anything about it. He had a chance to kill me somewhat early on, but messed up his attack order. I ended up scooping when I couldn't do anything.
-Duel 2: He was messing around a little bit. He Synchro Summoned Thought Ruler Archfiend against my Goyo Guardian. I was understandably confused, but decided not to use my Torrential on the summon or Necro Gardna when he attacked. He played Book of Eclipse in the Battle Step just because. After a while, the store owner came to call time.
"I'll scoop," I said.
"No, don't scoop, you're on thr-"
I explained that I would've died next turn, regardless of time.

Round 2: vs Spellcasters

I saw a little of this guy's deck before the tournament started and knew that he ran Kycoo and a bunch of protective Spells/Traps.

-Duel 1: The duel literally took over 25 minutes. He won with Magic Cylinder.
-Duel 2: I won pretty quickly (well, quickly for my deck).
-Duel 3: Time was called a few turns in. After the three turns, we were both still at 8000, so it went to sudden death. Gold Sarcophagus for Cyber Ouroboros to discard my last card (Mind Control) to draw. Allure of Darkness. I drew Dark Armed Dragon and D.D.R. and removed the dragon. My set card was Malevolent Catastrophe, so I couldn't do anything when he attacked with Apprentice Magician next turn.

Round 3: vs Blackwings

I had to duel against a newbish child who apparently had access to the Blacking Synchros, as expensive as they were. He probably just pulled them or traded for them or something.

-Duel 1: I OTK'd my opponent. I felt kind of sorry for him.
-Duel 2: I won.

Round 4: vs Blackwings

I watched this guy after my last match, so I knew that he ran Blackwings with Reckless Greed.

-Duel 1: I won, don't remember exactly how, though.
-Duel 2: He attacks my Stardust Dragon with Bora. Mind Crush on Blackwing - Kalut the Moonshadow. He loses TWO of them and his Bora.

Round 5: vs Blackwings

Blackwings, again...

-Duel 1: My opponent tried to use Icarus Attack on my Stardust Dragon, when it was the only card on the field (besides Icarus Attack after he tributed Sirocco). I said that there's not enough cards on the field. He said he's targeting his own Icarus Attack. I said that that's illegal, and he wouldn't believe me. He actually kept bringing it up throughout the whole match. I proceeded to defeat him.
-Duel 2: I won, but he was obviously annoyed with the ruling dispute. He called me on verbally asking to see his Graveyard, though I did motion that I was going to look through it. It didn't matter though, since he was just being stubborn.

The Turbo Pack I got had nothing good in it. Trade-In, Bestiari (AGAIN!), and Ryko. I suppose that a Rare Trade-In is pretty cool, and I ended up trading the Ryko to Aki. I was also able to get a card I needed for a new deck.

Koa'ki Meiru Rooklord

Koa'ki Meiru Rooklord

It's like the Monarch of the Koa'ki Meirus, except that it's a +1 when used as intended or a +2 when used with Mausoleum of the Emperor. As for its side-effect (revealing a Warrior in your End Phase), it's not that bad. Warriors aren't hard to come by.

It could be used in some deck that abuses Mausoleum of the Emperor (Light and Darkness Dragon?), but I'm thinking some sort of Koa'ki Meiru/Monarch hybrid. Koa'ki Meirus have some decent Special Summon support and it could work. Maybe a build with Guardian, Boulder, and Granmarg? What is troubling is somehow being able to get a Koa'ki Meiru to tribute for Rooklord while having a Warrior in your hand. Obviously, when you tribute a Koa'ki Meiru for Rooklord, there'll be one in the Graveyard (the one you tributed), normally.

Still, having a Warrior in your hand when you need it could be difficult. Possibly another Rooklord? I can't think of many Warriors that would work in the deck, besides Kuraz, which is bad. Marauding Captain? Necro Gardna? Vengeful Shinobi? Maybe some sort of Hero? They're searchable and decent. However, they have no real synergy with Koa'ki Meirus or Monarchs.

Why not just tune something to Rooklord after summoning it? Emergency Teleport and One for One provide the Tuner. That would be super situational, though.

Why did they have to make the Koa'ki Meirus so bad? They actually seem cool, but the way they work, they're not a viable deck type. They can barely be splashed into other decks! Rooklord and Guardian are probably the only Koa'ki Meirus that I would play, and I can't play them!

Monarchs

As many people know, one of my favorite archetypes is Monarchs. They're an awesome deck type, and are pretty versatile. Unfortunately, they are somewhat inconsistent, since you need the right Monarch at the right time (with some way to Tribute Summon it) for the deck to work well.

Back in the day, people could run multiple Brain Controls and stuff like that and run over ten Monarchs in their decks to ensure that they would have one. As odd as it may seem, that made the decks more consistent, since you always had a Monarch. Without being able to use multiple Brain Controls and the like, those days are over... or are they?

I'm trying to create a Monarch build like those from the olden days, but I'll have to see how it works out...