Finally, the new format is here. I was kind of anticipating this format to be filled with Blackwing and Gladiator Beast decks, but that wasn't the case at my locals...
With that false expectation, I brought my new Anti-Meta Insect deck to the tournament to see how it would do. I had to buy a couple Neo Bugs (yeah, Neo Bug) and a couple Magical Merchants, but luckily they were inexpensive.
Round 1: vs Newbie Deck
I won.
Round 2: vs Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode
-Duel 1: I kept wrecking his plans with Raigeki Break and such. Cross-Sword Beetle's piercing and double Verdant Sanctuary basically won me the game.
-Duel 2: I used my Nobleman of Extermination on his Trap Hole, and all three of his were removed. I lost the one that was in my deck from that, and I lost the one that I set to his Nobleman of Extermination. He was able to get out a Stardust Dragon, and I couldn't do anything about it.
-Duel 3: I couldn't do anything about his Stardust Dragon, again...
Round 3: vs Newbie Deck
I won.
Round 4: vs X-Sabers
-Duel 1: He had control of the game in the beginning, but he ran out of cards, and I triumphed in the top-decking war, since he had already wasted his Heavy Storm.
-Duel 2: I sided Skill Drains, one of which I drew in my starting hand. It didn't help much, as it only negated his Regigura's effect. He Synchro Summoned Colossal Fighter and got me down to 4000 (Skill Drain cost and Regigura included). I topped Lair Wire to destroy his Colossal Fighter, and I forced him into top-decking mode again. I preceded to win from there.
Round 5: vs Zombies
-Duel 1: He kept summoning Monsters under my Bottomless Trap Holes, and he was able to beat me.
-Duel 2: He had the same Instant Fusion (for Reaper on the Nightmare), Tuner, and Book of Life combo he started with in the first game. With only Monsters in my hand, I couldn't do much about it.
So, I went 3-2. My deck was designed to kill Blackwings and Gladiator Beasts, so it was annoying that I didn't face any, even though half of the little kids there were playing Blackwings and a good amount of people were playing Gladiator Beasts.
Well, after being able to test the Insect deck, now I know what to change. Or, maybe I shouldn't play it until Blackwings and Gladiator Beasts define themselves as the top decks. I'll have to see what happens.
There weren't as many remove from play decks as I thought there would be, so maybe it's safe to run a Graveyard-reliant deck, for now...
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
5D's Episode 99
A good episode. It was actually good. Usually I just make fun of the ridiculousness of the show, but it was actually a good episode.
So, apparently when one player loses, the next player goes in for them. During the gap between the switch, the player still in the race/duel can keep driving around the track for free Speed Counters. Then, when they max out, they can continue to reduce the opposing team's Speed Counters, since apparently the Speed Counters and cards on the field remain unchanged when a player loses.
So, Jack had to get up, push his broken D-Wheel to the pit, and make the switch with Aki. That part was kind of lame.
So, Aki resumed the race/duel against Andore, and summoned her Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis on the first turn, which killed Andore's Monster, died, did 800 points of burn damage, and was revived. Andore conveniently drew Dash Pilfer, which is a terrible Speed Spell, but was perfect for this situation. Andore also had a Monster in his hand that he could remove from play, along with another Monster on his field, to revive a Synchro Monster with a lower level.
Andore's teammates noted that Andore could have used Speed World 2's burn effect 3 times with 2 Speed Spells in his hand to deal 4800 damage to kill Aki in that turn. They also figure out that Andore didn't want to waste all of their Speed Counters, since otherwise they would have started off against Yusei with none.
Either way, Andore attacked with his Thunder Unicorn, which he loves so much. Aki took a bunch of damage (2200), and then it was her turn. She Synchro Summoned Black Rose Dragon, then Stardust Dragon! What an insane plot twist!
She attacked Thunder Unicorn with Black Rose Dragon, but after Thunder Unicorn died, Andore played this really messed up Trap. If he lost a Monster in battle, he could remove the Monster that killed it (Black Rose Dragon), revive the Monster that died (Thunder Unicorn), and end the Battle Phase. Andore probably bribes whoever is in charge of making cards in the show to make him "cheaty" cards to complement his stacking powers.
Then Andore happened to draw Speed Energy, which gives a Monster additional ATK equal to 200 times the amount of Speed Counters he has. Of course, he started the duel with 12. So his Thunder Unicorn ran over Stardust Dragon, but Aki used the Trap Half Counter to give Stardust Dragon an ATK boost equal to half of Thunder Unicorn's original ATK. Obviously, Stardust Dragon still died, but it left Aki with 800 LP.
Andore decided to activate the burn effect of Speed World 2, revealing The End of Storm, which he still had from the beginning of the race/duel. Aki chained Wicked Rebirth, paying all of her LP (which is impossible) to revive Stardust Dragon so that it could be passed on to Yusei.
And that's the episode. I can't wait to see whether Yusei will defeat all three of Team Unicorn or he will just lose, but still advance to the elimination rounds. The latter is more likely, which cheaty Andore on Team Unicorn...
So, apparently when one player loses, the next player goes in for them. During the gap between the switch, the player still in the race/duel can keep driving around the track for free Speed Counters. Then, when they max out, they can continue to reduce the opposing team's Speed Counters, since apparently the Speed Counters and cards on the field remain unchanged when a player loses.
So, Jack had to get up, push his broken D-Wheel to the pit, and make the switch with Aki. That part was kind of lame.
So, Aki resumed the race/duel against Andore, and summoned her Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis on the first turn, which killed Andore's Monster, died, did 800 points of burn damage, and was revived. Andore conveniently drew Dash Pilfer, which is a terrible Speed Spell, but was perfect for this situation. Andore also had a Monster in his hand that he could remove from play, along with another Monster on his field, to revive a Synchro Monster with a lower level.
Andore's teammates noted that Andore could have used Speed World 2's burn effect 3 times with 2 Speed Spells in his hand to deal 4800 damage to kill Aki in that turn. They also figure out that Andore didn't want to waste all of their Speed Counters, since otherwise they would have started off against Yusei with none.
Either way, Andore attacked with his Thunder Unicorn, which he loves so much. Aki took a bunch of damage (2200), and then it was her turn. She Synchro Summoned Black Rose Dragon, then Stardust Dragon! What an insane plot twist!
She attacked Thunder Unicorn with Black Rose Dragon, but after Thunder Unicorn died, Andore played this really messed up Trap. If he lost a Monster in battle, he could remove the Monster that killed it (Black Rose Dragon), revive the Monster that died (Thunder Unicorn), and end the Battle Phase. Andore probably bribes whoever is in charge of making cards in the show to make him "cheaty" cards to complement his stacking powers.
Then Andore happened to draw Speed Energy, which gives a Monster additional ATK equal to 200 times the amount of Speed Counters he has. Of course, he started the duel with 12. So his Thunder Unicorn ran over Stardust Dragon, but Aki used the Trap Half Counter to give Stardust Dragon an ATK boost equal to half of Thunder Unicorn's original ATK. Obviously, Stardust Dragon still died, but it left Aki with 800 LP.
Andore decided to activate the burn effect of Speed World 2, revealing The End of Storm, which he still had from the beginning of the race/duel. Aki chained Wicked Rebirth, paying all of her LP (which is impossible) to revive Stardust Dragon so that it could be passed on to Yusei.
And that's the episode. I can't wait to see whether Yusei will defeat all three of Team Unicorn or he will just lose, but still advance to the elimination rounds. The latter is more likely, which cheaty Andore on Team Unicorn...
Monday, March 1, 2010
Insects
Yeah, Insects. Those Monsters that Weevil used.
Like Psychics, I think that they're overlooked. Unlike Psychics, there are a lot more to use.
We all hate Black Whirlwind, right? It allows unskillful players (like the two I played at Regionals, who didn't know simple rulings for Royal Oppression and Solemn Judgment (although the first Blackwing duelist (Round 5) was skillful in other ways, as we discussed using only one Vayu in the deck, since it is a dead draw) (off-topic...)) to win with a deck with too many annoying support cards.
Well, there's a Black Whirlwind of sorts for Insects. Verdant Sanctuary. It turns all of your Insects (as well as your opponent's, but who plays Insects?) into floaters. When an Insect is destroyed, its controller gets to add an Insect of the same Level from their deck to their hand. In the "Smashing Ground format," I think it would be pretty nice to get pluses off of your opponent's "1-for-1's."
Speaking of 1-for-1's, Insects got an amazing Monster removal card in Liar Wire (Lair Wire in the TCG, which sounds a lot lamer...). Not only is it a Trap, which means that it can mess with your opponent's Black Whirlwind and Test Tiger plays, but it can also destroy face-down Monsters, too! All you have to do is remove an Insect from your Graveyard from play.
(Random note: I just got the Silver Print from the Battle Arcade!)
Insects also have access to a pretty nice Synchro Monster: Underground Arachnid. So the summoning requirements are a little difficult (1 Dark Tuner and exactly 1 Insect non-Tuner), but the effect is well worth it. It has the Ancient Gear/Dark Synchro effect that prevents the activation of Spells/Traps when it declares an attack, as well as a Relinquished-like effect. It can steal an opponent's face-up Monster and equip the Monster to itself. It doesn't gain ATK, but it can protect itself from being destroyed in battle by destroying the equipped Monster, instead.
So yeah, Insects can be good if played correctly. That's why I'm going to try and make an Insect build of some sort, whether it be anti-meta or some other random variant.
Like Psychics, I think that they're overlooked. Unlike Psychics, there are a lot more to use.
We all hate Black Whirlwind, right? It allows unskillful players (like the two I played at Regionals, who didn't know simple rulings for Royal Oppression and Solemn Judgment (although the first Blackwing duelist (Round 5) was skillful in other ways, as we discussed using only one Vayu in the deck, since it is a dead draw) (off-topic...)) to win with a deck with too many annoying support cards.
Well, there's a Black Whirlwind of sorts for Insects. Verdant Sanctuary. It turns all of your Insects (as well as your opponent's, but who plays Insects?) into floaters. When an Insect is destroyed, its controller gets to add an Insect of the same Level from their deck to their hand. In the "Smashing Ground format," I think it would be pretty nice to get pluses off of your opponent's "1-for-1's."
Speaking of 1-for-1's, Insects got an amazing Monster removal card in Liar Wire (Lair Wire in the TCG, which sounds a lot lamer...). Not only is it a Trap, which means that it can mess with your opponent's Black Whirlwind and Test Tiger plays, but it can also destroy face-down Monsters, too! All you have to do is remove an Insect from your Graveyard from play.
(Random note: I just got the Silver Print from the Battle Arcade!)
Insects also have access to a pretty nice Synchro Monster: Underground Arachnid. So the summoning requirements are a little difficult (1 Dark Tuner and exactly 1 Insect non-Tuner), but the effect is well worth it. It has the Ancient Gear/Dark Synchro effect that prevents the activation of Spells/Traps when it declares an attack, as well as a Relinquished-like effect. It can steal an opponent's face-up Monster and equip the Monster to itself. It doesn't gain ATK, but it can protect itself from being destroyed in battle by destroying the equipped Monster, instead.
So yeah, Insects can be good if played correctly. That's why I'm going to try and make an Insect build of some sort, whether it be anti-meta or some other random variant.
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