Monday, March 7, 2011

Random Stuff #26

Apparently, Phantom Skyblaster is being used in some sort of Nordic deck. This is apparently the reason why it cost so much at the flea market last Saturday. It makes absolutely no sense, but I was still able to find reasonable prices. If Tokens can be used in Exceed Summons, then it definitely will be worth what I paid. If not, then I can find another use for it.

I've been thinking about some sort of Chaos Hero variant. Prisma is a pretty convenient Light that can dump Dark Fusion Materials, like Destiny Hero - Plasma, Neo-Spacian Dark Panther, or Spirit Reaper. Using E-Heroes also gives access to the awesome control card in Super Polymerization. At the moment, it's just a vague idea, so I'll have to see where it goes.

Well, this format isn't as X-Saber/Trap Stun-heavy as I thought, at least not yet. I'm still going to assume that X-Sabers will be defined as a top deck in the TCG once again at the next YCS. If not, then good; less Trap Stuns to deal with. Actually, it does seem as though X-Sabers might still have a problem with Gravekeeper's, since Trap Stun doesn't shut off Necrovalley. There's also the fact that Royal Tribute kills them, no matter what hand they draw.

It is my opinion that that Karakuri OTK deck ("Karakuri Machina Plants" or whatever) is being hyped, at least in the TCG. Unfortunately, when Karakuri Komachi/Beauty/whatever mdl 224 "Ninishi" comes out in Extreme Victory, the deck may begin to pose something of a threat. Same with Junk Doppel when Tech Genus Hyper Librarian is released.

Speaking of Tech Genus, I saw some videos of a Tech Genus deck against a Six Samurai deck and an Agent Fairies deck on cardacademy's channel. It actually won matches against both decks. Notably, the Tech Genus player was only using the three better Tech Genus Monsters in his deck, Striker, Werewolf, and Rush Rhino. If he draws one but needs another, he could just let it die to search the one he wants. Amazing. I might consider looking into a Tech Genus deck when Extreme Victory is released.

Also, I probably won't be uploading videos regularly this week, and maybe not next week either. Aki was busy last weekend, and I might be busy this weekend, so I could run out of videos soon. Anyways, I'm sure that you can survive for a couple weeks...

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Tournament Report 3/5/11

So, I went to the first tournament of the format with my Scrap Worms deck. All I had to do was drop Book of Moon and Goyo Guardian, but I made a few more changes, finding room for two Forbidden Chalice.

But, before that, I went with Katana and Sick Penguin to go buy some cards at a flea market. I got an Ultimate Rare Black Rose Dragon and three Phantom Skyblasters (Exceed hype!). I also got a second Scrap Twin Dragon for my deck, since XX-Saber Gottoms hasn't been doing anything lately. Afterwards, we all went to locals.

Round 1: vs Newbie Gravekeeper's

-Duel 1: I lost to Royal Tribute, again.
-Duel 2: I controlled him with Cyber Dragon and stuff.
-Duel 3: I opened with five Monsters, so if he had Royal Tribute, I would have lost. Thankfully, it didn't happen, and I double Scrap Dragon'd him.

Round 2: vs Six Samurai

This was my Round 3 opponent from this tournament.

-Duel 1: I start with Scrap Beast, and Set Scrapstorm and Solemn Warning. He Set three cards, then summoned Kagemusha and Kizan. I let it go, since I had Dark Hole in hand. He attacked, and I didn't use Scrapstorm, then he Synchro Summoned Gaia Knight. I dropped Dark Hole, then summoned another Scrap Beast. He activated Bottomless Trap Hole, and that's when I used the Scrapstorm. I ended up reviving Scrap Beast with Scrap Chimera (he Chained Torrential Tribute to Chimera's effect...) and summoning another Scrap Beast over the next two turns to beat him down.
-Duel 2: He started out with Gaia Knight again. I Set Worm Yagan and some back rows. On his turn, he activated Double-Edged Sword Technique, reviving Kagemusha and Kizan. He attacked with Kizan, letting me keep Worm Yagan alive, while bouncing the Gaia Knight. He Synchro Summoned it in Main Phase 2, and I ended up Setting another Worm Yagan. He summoned Kagemusha and Synchro Summoned Scrap Dragon, destroying my Set Worm Yagan and attacking the face-up one. I Set Scrap Goblin, and he attacked, then opted to destroy it, since I had no Scraps in the Graveyard. I summoned Chimera, reviving Goblin, and Set Scapegoat. He attacked Chimera and Set his only card other than Scrap Dragon to his back row. I flipped Scapegoat in his End Phase, then Synchro Summoned Catastor. I summoned another Chimera, reviving Goblin to Synchro Summon Naturia Beast with the last two Tokens. The play may have seemed reckless, but I was sitting on a Solemn Judgment that I had since the beginning of the duel. I killed his Scrap Dragon with Catastor, and he scooped next turn after drawing Shien's Smoke Signal.

Round 3: vs Twilight

This was my Round 5 "opponent" from this tournament.

-Duel 1: I dropped Scrap Dragon early and controlled him with it. He removed it with Chaos Sorcerer, then Synchro Summoned Stardust Dragon using the Plaguespreader Zombie in his Graveyard. I was forced to use Solemn Judgment on that (if I used it on the Chaos Sorcerer, he would have Synchro Summoned Brionac, putting me in a worse position). I Set Scrap Goblin. He attacked to flip it, but didn't want me to get Chimera back. It was okay, though, since I had Scrapstorm to destroy it and take control again.
-Duel 2: My hand was all Monsters, not that it mattered. He started with two Solar Recharges, then drew into the third one shortly after. He removed Judgment Dragon from his Graveyard as the Light for Chaos Sorcerer, then got it back with Light of Redemption. I would've been okay against one Judgment Dragon, but he had both to OTK me.
-Duel 3: My hand was really good. Something like Scrap Chimeras, Scrapyard, a D.D. Crow, Ryko, a Scrapstorm, and some other card. I Set the Ryko, and decided to Set the Scrapstorm as a bluff. He used Mystical Space Typhoon on it, causing him to think that my Set Monster was a Scrap Goblin. He Set a Ryko, which I destroyed with my own, milling Scrap Golem. I then searched Scrap Beast with Scrapyard and Synchro Summoned Brionac after considering whether or not to attack first. I asked if he had Gorz. "Yeah... maybe in a few turns." I Set MST and ended my turn. He used Nobleman of Extermination on it, then summoned Lyla to mill. He milled Necro Gardna, but I used D.D. Crow to remove it that End Phase. I summoned Scrap Chimera to revive Scrap Beast. Sadly, I was 100 damage short of finishing him, so I just attacked with everything, then Synchro Summoned Scrap Dragon and Set Solemn Warning. The game was pretty much mine from there.

Round 4: vs Machina Salvo OTK

I was playing against Yusei JB, whom I hadn't seen in over a month. I saw him playing in the previous round, so I knew his deck fairly well. By the way, we agreed to a split.

-Duel 1: He could have OTK'd me with the Overload Fusion he pulled off of Pot of Duality, combining it with Giant Trunade and Future Fusion. However, in the previous round, he almost lost because he recklessly removed all of his Machines for Overload Fusion, then got hit with an Effect Veiler. Fearing such an event, he only removed three for Chimeratech Overdragon, attacking over my Worm Xex and face-down Worm Yagan, which bounced the Overdragon. On his next turn, I let him Synchro Summoned Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei", not wanting to waste Solemn Warning on it. I just dropped Cyber Dragon and Scrap Chimera on my turn, and he scooped (he was at 3100 LP, or something like that).
-Duel 2: He opened with Future Fusion, dumping most of his Machines to thin his deck and set up Overload Fusion. I had Mystical Space Typhoon, Forbidden Chalice, and Solemn Warning in hand, but it was useless, since he had Giant Trunade and Overload Fusion again.
-Duel 3: I poked him a bunch of times with Scrap Beast. I was safe behind a bunch of Traps and Effect Veiler, so I wasn't worried at all.

Round 5: vs Blackwings

This was my Round 1 opponent from this tournament. He was running Whirlwind Blackwings with a bunch of tech. We were the last two undefeated players, so this was the finals, by the way...

-Duel 1: I summoned Worm Xex, Special Summoned Worm Yagan, and Set a back row. He Set a Monster and four back rows. I wanted to force the Icarus Attack, so I summoned Scrap Beast. He ended up using Book of Moon on it. That told me that his Set Monster wasn't a Winged Beast, so I Set my remaining Spells and Traps before attacking. It ended up being a Snowman Eater, instead of the Morphing Jar I was playing around. I lost 100 LP and my Worm Xex. He used Dust Tornado on my Monster Reborn and summoned Blizzard with no targets. He attacked the Set Scrap Beast, not knowing its DEF. On my turn, I flipped Worm Yagan, targeting the Blizzard. I successfully forced out the Icarus Attack, and he opted to destroy my Set Solemn Warning and the Scrap Beast. I cleared his last back row with Mystical Space Typhoon and summoned another Scrap Beast, Synchro Summoning Scrap Dragon to attack Snowman Eater. He drew and passed. I attacked and Set Ryko. He drew and passed. I attacked and Set Dust Tornado. He activated Black Whirlwind and summoned Gale. I didn't know what he was planning on getting, so I let it through. He ended up Special Summoning Breeze and halving Scrap Dragon's ATK. He used Gale to attack Ryko, which destroyed the Gale. He then suicided Breeze into Scrap Dragon, giving him three Darks. He destroyed Scrap Dragon, the Scrap Chimera it revived, and my Set Dust Tornado, which I Chained to destroy Whirlwind. As he had topped Dark Armed Dragon, I topped Scrap Chimera. I Synchro Summoned Scrap Dragon, Set the spare Scrapyard, destroyed his Dark Armed Dragon, and attacked for game.
-Duel 2: He opened with Shura and two back rows. I summoned Worm Xex, Special Summoning Worm Yagan. I attacked with Xex to suicide, daring him to use Icarus Attack. He instead used Enemy Controller. I Set Mirror Force and ended. He attacked Worm Xex, and I flipped the Mirror Force, daring him again to use Icarus Attack. But, he didn't have it, the Shura died, and he ended. I attacked with Worm Yagan, then Set the remainder of my Traps. He used Giant Trunade, then summoned Blizzard, Synchro Summoning Brionac. He chucked a Blackwing to remove Worm Yagan from play, then attacked Worm Xex. I asked it was okay to go to the Damage Step, bluffing Honest. He didn't do anything, so Worm Xex died. Then, he Set two back rows and ended. My hand was full of summon-response Traps, so I had to get rid of the Brionac. I Special Summoned Cyber Dragon, and he let it through. I attacked and asked if we could enter the Damge Step. This time, I had Forbidden Chalice, boosting Cyber Dragon to get over Brionac. I then Set my Traps and ended. He drew and passed. I attacked and passed. He drew and dropped Dark Armed Dragon, whose summon I negated with Solemn Warning. I then used my Dust Tornado blindly on one of his two back rows. Without Warning to prevent an Icarus Attack, I didn't want to waste my Solemn Judgment, and I had to destroy the Icarus Attack before he summoned. I ended up hitting his bluffed Monster Reborn. He Set a card and passed, I attacked with Cyber Dragon again, then Set a second back row. He used Dark Hole, then summoned Kalut. He attacked and I flipped Malevolent Catastrophe. I destroyed his dead Solemn Warning (he was at 1800) LP, his Compulsory Evacuation Device, and my Solemn Judgment. I had Scrap Chimera, but no targets in Graveyard. So I Set Scrap Goblin. He attacked it with the Bora he drew, then the Kalut. I drew Scrap Beast, summoned it, and attacked over the Kalut. I destroyed Bora with Smashing Ground and ended my turn. He topped Skill Drain with exactly 1600 LP left, so Scrap Beast was able to finish the match.

So I went undefeated and got 1st place, yay! I got a Starstrike Blast pack which had nothing notable. Then, I went to watch Sick Penguin dueling against Six Samurai. He lost, but it was a cool duel to watch. He and Katana ended up going 2-3. How sad.

So, because I agreed to a split with Yusei JB, I got a considerably lowered amount of store credit. I don't mind, though. I was able to get three of the Movie Packs, completing a play-set of each of the Malefics except Paradox, which is unnecessary, and Cyber End, which also isn't completely necessary. Expect to see a Malefic deck in the near future. With the remainder of the store credit, I got a second Ultra Rare Tuning. Splitting with JB also let him get an Infernity Barrier, so that was cool.

So yeah, today was a pretty good day. The only downside I can see (besides Katana and Sick Penguin's lackluster win-loss ratios) is that now people might start to copy my Scrap Worm deck, which I don't mind that much.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Side Decking at the Beginning of the Format

It's going to be basically the same as last format.

The main difference is that you would shift the attention that would have gone to siding against (Quickdraw) Plants to siding against X-Sabers. Dandylion getting Limited essentially killed (Quickdraw) Plants, and the TCG doesn't have T.G. Hyper Librarian yet, so Junk Doppel isn't viable.

X-Sabers may have lost some of their defensive capabilities in losing two Book of Moon and one Solemn Warning, but those limits also benefit them. Trap Stun is much more effective with less Quick-Play Spells that can be used to render it useless. So, the Boggart Knight-Pashuul-Faultroll-Hyunlei play is much safer and can give more advantage.

As always, Effect Veiler can save you in that situation. But, let's not forget about Forbidden Chalice. Setting it makes it look like you could have a Counter Trap that your opponent would want to pre-emptively Trap Stun. Then, you could Chain it to Boggart Knight's effect, and it would be useless. Or, if they already had the materials for Hyunlei out and it was your only back row, you can Chain it to Hyunlei's effect, targeting Faultroll.

An interesting Side Deck option that I would like to bring to your attention in this match-up is Synchro Control. You can't really use it all that effectively if you're going to be spamming Synchros yourself, but it can be quite helpful in the X-Saber match-up, and in other match-ups as well. Being a Quick-Play allows you to play it through Trap Stun, and it also lets you keep the Synchro Monster until the end of your turn, even if you take it on the opponent's turn.

The best thing to do with a XX-Saber Gottoms stolen this way would be to attack, then tribute it to rip a card out of your opponent's hand. If you weren't so fortunate and could only steal a Hyunlei, then you should make sure you tribute it, Synchro with it, or push for game before they get it back.

If you couldn't tell already, I'm mainly advocating Quick-Play Spells because Trap Stun is going to be a lot more popular, not only in X-Sabers, but also in Gladiator Beasts. However, all of these Quick-Play Spells could be stopped by Forbidden Lance, which is also gaining popularity. If you still fear the threat of Forbidden Lance, then just use Effect Veiler.