Triumphing Solution

With the introduction of the new banlist, you can expect the new format to be extremely fast and powerful with BLS and JD back in the game.  Without a doubt, fairies and chaos decks will run over all the other powerful decks.  In my opinion, Fairies will have the upper hand as they have the most important thing that Lightsworn lack and that is: consistency.  Honestly, Lightsworn is all about milling your entire deck into the graveyard to get either JD or monster reincarnation into your hand.  So, what can be done against these absurdly powerful monsters?  The solution is quite simple, get some cards that can thoroughly block these absurd creatures.  I don't know why many people said that backrows will be useless because I tested it and it still proves very resilient in the face of this extreme circumstance.  Solemn warning is not recommended anymore since we have too many 2.7k - 3k beatsticks in the current meta that makes this format uberly painful!  At times like these, you will find that tragoedia and gorz can work wonders! 

So, I am currently running a DW beatdown deck that focuses on consistency and running the opponent's field over.  Yeah, I still remember my rant about Dark World in my previos post but thanks to the blessing of the new banlist, DW has seen light at the end of the tunnel.  If you feel like it, care free to comment on the list.  Here goes:

3x Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World
3x Snoww, Magician of Dark World
3x Broww, Huntsman of Dark World
2x Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World
1x Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World
1x Sillva, General of Dark World
1x Scarr, Scout of Dark World
1x Bronn, Mad King of Dark World
1x Dark Armed Dragon
1x Morphing Jar
1x Tragoedia
2x Fabled Raven

1x Dark Hole
3x Dark World Dealings
3x Gate of Dark World
2x Dark World Lightning
1x Card Destruction
1x Monster Reborn
1x Heavy Storm
2x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Gateway to Dark World

2x Mind Crush
2x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x Torrential Tribute

As you can see, this deck is a very cheap deck with exceptions to Raven.  However, Raven is absolutely essential in this deck since it enables mass discarding for the win in this deck.  That's all from me, until next time, see ya~

September 2011 banlist and my thoughts

Forbidden Cards 「禁止カード」:

Fishborg Blaster 「フィッシュボーグ－ガンナー」
Mind Master 「メンタルマスター」
Giant Trunade 「ハリケーン」
Royal Oppression 「王宮の弾圧」

Restriction Cards 「制限カード」:

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning 「カオス・ソルジャー －開闢の使者－」
Debris Dragon 「デブリ・ドラゴン」
Lonefire Blossom 「ローンファイア・ブロッサム」
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En 「真六武衆－シエン」
Tech Genus Hyper Librarian 「ＴＧ　ハイパー・ライブラリアン」
Formula Synchron 「フォーミュラ・シンクロン」
Heavy Storm 「大嵐」
Primal Seed 「原初の種」
Shien's Smoke Signal 「紫炎の狼煙」
Pot of Avarice 「貪欲な壺」

Semi-Restriction Cards 「準制限カード」:

Summoner Monk 「召喚僧サモンプリースト」
Tragoedia 「トラゴエディア」
Necro Gardna 「ネクロ・ガードナー」
Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier 「氷結界の虎王ドゥローレン」
Destiny Draw 「デステニー・ドロー」
Swords of Revealing Light 「光の護封剣」
Mind Crush 「マインドクラッシュ」
Call of the Haunted 「リビングデッドの呼び声」

No longer restricted 「準制限」:

Judgment Dragon 「裁きの龍」
Spirit Reaper 「魂を削る死霊」
Overload Fusion 「オーバーロード・フュージョン」
Mystical Space Typhoon 「サイクロン」
Megamorph「巨大化」
Gravity Bind 「グラヴィティ・バインド－超重力の網－」
Icarus Attack 「ゴッドバードアタック」

Taken from Shriek

Be advised, this is going to be one hell of a post!

Okay, let's do a quick breakdown of the banlist shall we?  Cards that were put to one are Fishborg Blaster, Mind Master, Giant Trunade and Royal Oppression.

Putting the hammer on Fishborg was an extremely good call.  Just that marks the death of all those Fish FTK and Water variance bullshit.  Same to Mind Master, if substitoad was banned, mind master has no reason to stay in the format.  It was one hell of a broken card when it was around, just play research lab (optional) and you can spam like crazy!!  Giant trunade was a good call too providing that you can't stop it at all except with solemn judgment or spell negating counters.  Rest assured, its substitute has been found and is now in the limited section.  Oppression to one is a bit subjective, for me personally, I liked the idea.  I played on DN and oppression just killed all my monsters and it was pure bullshit since as long as you can pay the life points, you can negate all those special summonings.  Fuck that honestly.

Monster Reborn should have been banned too since it is a generic revival that can be used on either player's grave.  That, in itself, is enough to upset the flow of the game.  Gateway is still in play but I honestly hoped that it would get hit since it gives samurai too much boost.

Alright, moving on to the one's.  We have BLS, Debris Dragon, Lonefire Blossom, Shi En, Hyper Librarian, Heavy Storm, Formula, Primal Seed, Smoke Signal and Pot of Avarice.

Putting Black Luster Soldier back into the game is madness!!  As I posted earlier in my recent post, it doesn't matter whether you can perform an OTK or not, just this card's presence is enough to turn the tide of the game.  A 3k beatstick and every turn removal is seriously retarded!  This card can basically kill you without you knowing it and now that he has 3 chaos sorcerers to tag along, you can expect to see your opponent's field clear of monsters.  That's one crappy choice Konami.  Debris dragon to 1 was kind of a surprise but I can see what Konami is getting at.  The combo with dandylion to pull off a Black Rose is indeed terrifying and Konami decided to make it 1 so that Black Rose's play will be limited.  Good call on that.  Lonefire was expected since it was a bit too much.  Shi En has hit the list!!  Woo hoo!!  It was about time this piece of crap gets here, I would be happier if they had hit it with the hammer.  Not much explanation on this since a bad card being limited is always a good move.  Librarian to 1 since  it won't be that spammable and the draw nightmare will be lessened.  Honestly, I could do with it getting banned since that would get rid of the nuisance completely.  Heavy storm to 1 is natural since trunade has been banned but the problem is with the 3 MSTs.  Formula to 1 so that it won't be abused anymore.  Primal Seed to 1 = WTF?  I don't think many people even know what it does.  It's crap and can only be used with BLS.  Uber stupid choice Konami.  Signal to 1, same reason as ROTA.  No deck should have 3 search engines or more.  Pot of Avarice to 1 is definitely the best move ever!!  With that, plant decks are weakened tremendously and will not be seeing play as frequent as before.

Double Edged Sword Technique is still rampant, shit!  Well, that's the only complain I have I guess.  Shoulda hit Six Sams harder. ><

To 2s are Call of the Haunted, Mind Crush, Sword of Revealing Light, Summoner Monk, Necro Gardna, Destiny Draw, Tragoedia and Dewloren.

COTH to 2 is nonsensical!  I mean seriously, if you (Konami) wanted to bring this back to 2, then you should have banned monster reborn in the 1st place.  Still, COTH to 2 is still a bad call since generic revival is bad in itself!  Mind Crush to 2 is a yay for me since I am running DW and that means it's a +1 overall!  Sword of Revealing Light to 2 is going to be sweet as news to stall and exodia decks but with MST at 3 and all those spell/trap destruction cards out there, I am dubious as to how long this will last.  Summoner Monk at 2, who gives a damn!  Necro Garna at 2 is a bad move Konami.  This means that the player has 2 shots to a good draw before getting KOed and this means, a potential overturn!  Destiny Draw to 2 is a good move (would have been better at 3) and D-Heroes should be more playable now.  Tragoedia to 2....Umm...Not sure what to say about this.  Good blocker, yes.  Game breaker, not the least!  Dewloren to 2 was expected thanks to that stupid symbols of heritage loop.  Should just stay here for eternity.

Master Hyperion should be semi-ed here since it is something like DAD and BLS.  Great attack, great destruction and most importantly, great field presence!  Get 3 out unstopped and it's GG to the opponent.

To 3s are Judgment Dragon, Gravity Bind, Overload Fusion, Spirit Reaper, MST, Megamorph and Icarus Attack.

First off, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING KONAMI??!!!!  Judgment Dragon at 3 is literary an invitation to hell for all those players who come across Lightsworn deck.  It means that the LS players have a bigger chance of drawing dragon and putting a period on the game faster.  Gravity Bind at 3, another WTF!  Well, so much for Exodia, Final Countdown and Burn pawnage...Overload to 3, could care less about this since no one runs it anymore (at least I think so).  Spirit Reaper at 3...This could be interesting for zombie players.  MST at 3...Might as well put Imperial Order back in play Konami.  Megamorph and Icarus Attack to 3.  Doesn't mean much to me but the latter proves to be a valuable asset to BF decks.  So, congratulations BF. =D

In all honesty, Konami should have put Magical Stone Excavation back at 3.  No one runs it anyway and its cost is greater than its play (with monster reborn, might be a different issue).  Overall, the banlist has its good and bad.  Good thing is Konami addressed most of the issues with too much OTKs and FTKs and rebalancing the game.  Bad thing is Konami closed one eye to all the potential OTKs and FTKs that can be pulled by brilliant players like Baha with the new cards in the new sets.  With BLS and Dragon back into the game, prepare to see a lot of crazy plays and rantings here and there.  So, my verdict?

Thoughts about WC2011

Didn't come much of a surprise that agent angel got 1st in the WC2011.  I fought against it and it is as terrific as it is.  Dark World cards cannot even come close to that totally imba deck!  Well, for those who are keen, here's the list.  Notice that it is simple yet ridiculously stable.

List:

Monsters: 19
3 Master Hyperion
3 The Agent of Mystery – Earth
3 The Agent of Creation – Venus
3 Mystical Shine Ball
3 Herald of Orange Light
2 Archlord Kristya
1 Sangan
1 Honest

Spells: 12
3 Pot of Duality
3 Cards from the Sky
1 Dark Hole
1 Giant Trunade
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon
2 Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 9
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Solemn Warning
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Dust Tornado
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Trap Dustshoot

Extra: 15
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Mist Wurm
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Ancient Sacred Wyvern
1 Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Magical Android
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Armory Arm
1 Grenosaurus
2 Gachi Gachi Gantetsu

Side: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
3 Kinetic Soldier
2 Gozen Match
2 Chain Disappearance
3 Dimensional Prison
1 Dust Tornado
1 Malevolent Catastrophe

Yu-Gi-Oh! 2011 World Championship

Alright, World Championship is due in two days time and frankly speaking, I am not hyped at all.  You are wondering the reason for this lethargy right?  The reason is quite simple, I can almost predict which deck will emerge victorious in this competition, so much so that it has not left such an impact in me anymore.  Even though with the release of XYZ monsters, Synchro monsters still dominate the current meta and XYZ monsters' effect cannot come near to Synchros'.  Due to that, the most likely candidate to get the trophy is none other than: Tengu variant deck.  Other eligible candidates are Six Samurai and T.G. but other than that, I simply don't see any other decks that can get the cup.

This is just my assumption though so let's wait and see what the championship will show us.  If, which is likely, tengu variant comes out at the top, then I won't even bother to do a break down and analysis of the deck since it's just a pick and run deck and as Michael stated, even an amateur can pull off a piety stunt like that.  The same goes for Six Sams and T.G., they can operate on their own and won't come as a surprise if they manage to secure the top position.  Less likely candidates are GB and Black Feather but honestly, I don't think these two can survive in this fast heated meta.  Even the Machina gadget deck I run is no match for my doppel dandy and that deck doesn't have tengu!!

Well, do let me hear your comments on the world championship and what you think about the current meta.  Until next time, see ya~

Thoughts on September Banlist

Well, 3 weeks from now will be the faithful time in Yu-Gi-Oh!  You guessed it!  It's the unveiling of the banlist and the changes it will bring to the current meta.  In my honest opinion, there are a few cards I think will get hit by the banlist and a few I think should get hit.  Konami, if you are reading this, please be known that players want to play a fun and balanced game, not some outrageously stupid plays that can defeat an opponent without them doing anything.  Learn from Magic The Gathering and you should be able to get there.  Earn the players' trust and interest through what they want and need and not what the company wants.  Konami should be grateful that there are still some loyal players out there that purchase their sets.  It is the same case as Nokia now.  If you don't make the proper amendments, you are preparing to see hell!

Okay, not so much on my censures, let's move on to the main topic of the day.  Voila:

Banned
T.G. Librarian
Dark Hole
Monster Reborn
Gate of Six Samurai
Giant Trunade
Mind Control

Limit
Pot of Avarice
Brain Control
Formula Synchron
Legendary Six Samurai Shi En
Six Samurai United
Rescue Rabbit
Shien Smoke Signal
Archlord Krystia
Double Edged Sword Technique
Black Rose Dragon
Solemn Warning
Mind Master
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Treeborn Frog
Lonefire Blossom
Tour Guide from the Underworld

Semi-Limited
Reborn Tengu
Dewloren
Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World
Master Hyperion
Machina Fortress
Dimensional Prison
Super Polymerization
Horn of the Phantom Beast
Ceasefire
Pot of Duality

Unlimited
Magical Cylinder
Destiny Draw
Overload Fusion
Magical Stone Excavation
Megamorph

There, the list is done.  Yeah, a lot of cards will be hit this time but in order to balance the game, it is only necessary to do so.  Explanation for such a list is quite obvious and I don't think I need to elaborate on it.  Most of the explanations can be found in Michael's blog (Death Aspect) and Baha's (DuelingDays).  I know there are a few cards that are left out in this list such as Heavy Storm and Black Luster Soldier which everyone said will be coming back.  In all honesty, I think those 2 cards should remain in that list.

As I stated in one of the few posts back, BLS is just too powerful as a 3k beatstick.  Heavy Storm will just bring about more complains saying that "Oh, they should just ban it again."  We have malevolent catastrophe that acts as the heavy storm everyone wants already.  I don't think Gorz need to be hit since yeah, it is powerful but with the speed of the current meta, it won't do much good to most of the decks.  Then again, this is highly situational.  If you need an explanation on the choice of cards, don't hesitate to leave a comment.  Until next time, see ya~

Current Tier 1 Decks

Now we have a lot of decks that have been introduced into this current meta that decks are either overrated or undermined based on their abilities to swarm the field and perform an OTK.  Right now, these decks are the most prevalent and are the so called Tier 1 decks that dominate the meta.  When I say dominate, I mean you can see them anywhere and any place no matter which part of the world you go to.  In the TCG, we have:

1. Six Samurai
2. Tengu Plant
3. Fish FTK
4. Gravekeeper
5. Hero Beat

These decks are so prominent that you can literary predict the way the opponent will run the deck once you see the first card he plays and this makes countering such deck infinitely easier!  For example, if you want to kill Six Sams, just put in Kinetic Soldier and knock them dead!  In fact, all these decks are susceptible to anti meta counters such as Dimensional Fissure etc.  In the OCG however, these decks prevail:

1. Black Feather
2. Debris Doppel Dandy
3. Light Dual
4. Six Samurai (again)

If you observe carefully, you can find discrepancies between these two totally different formats.  As Michael (from DeathAspect) pointed out, Konami has completely wrecked the game and the potentials of other decks such as Jurrac etc are completely eliminated due to their inability to swarm fast enough.  I feel that this should not be the case as there are people who want to try other decks but the second they bring these decks to a tournament, they are almost immediately wiped out and these decks will later be just flung to some random corners in their room.

Konami really should do something about this broken format.  Ban the cards that are disrupting this game play (Solemn Warning, Giant Trunade etc) and don't release cards that might do the same.  I see a lot of bloggers saying that heavy storm should be unbanned but I don't feel like it.  I mean, yeah, obviously heavy storm is much more balanced than giant trunade but then again, it provides opportunity for an OTK.  I don't like that idea and I think players should not rely on OTK but rely on their skills of interpretation and intuition.  For example, your opponent sets 2 cards facedown in their backrow and you have a good monster in your hand that can gain you your victory.  Then, you would need to interpret the situation and decide whether it's a bluff or not and act accordingly, that should be the case of playing Yu-Gi-Oh! competitively.  It's not about who can produce an OTK the fastest but rather, who can deceive the opponent and make use of the situation to his own benefits.  That is what we call a game of wits!

Furthermore, I honestly think that there are some decks, with the appropriate support, can shine.  We can already see one shining.  That's the T. G. deck.  T. G. is completely balanced and they allow a fun gameplay since you always have a chance of turning the tide around based on the card you take from your deck and the options in your hands.  Some other notable mentions are:

1. Dark World
2. Jurrac
3. Gusto
4. Ghiski

Let me elucidate you on the potentials of these decks and what can Konami do to make it more playable.  First up is Dark World.  As mentioned earlier in my posts, Grapha is indeed one of the most powerful and broken boss monsters ever released in a structure deck.  As long as you can discard it into the graveyard by a card effect, it's an automatic +1 and summoning it out later makes it a +2.  Not much boss monsters can generate such a huge advantage.  Even for Master Hyperion, it only fetches you a +1 when it hits the field but whether it can resolve its effect successfully or not depends on the cards your opponent plays.  I think grapha should be semi-limited to balance out the Dark World deck.  Konami should really include "Dark World Corridor" into the deck.  Most of the time, Dark World players lose the game because they are not able to discard the dark world monsters in their hand albeit 3 Dark World dealings, card destruction, 2 Dark World Lightnings and morphing jar.  It's just too situational, so this deck can at most be a Tier 1.5 to 2.

For Jurrac, I can see a lot of potentials with Evolvo monsters being released.  As dinosaur monsters, this deck can make full use of fossil dig and generate huge advantage by getting destroyed or destroying cards.  They can set Jurrac monsters as the Vanguard that protects the evolvo monsters while the evolvo dinosaurs form their strategies.  I played against Jurrac players before and was a bit disappointed by the lack of support by Konami.  This deck can easily outwit Dragunity which, in my opinion, needs more tweaking by Konami too.

Gusto and Ghiski operate on the same basis.  Search your deck for the required cards and form a combo to wipe your opponent out.  The only drawback of this supposedly fun decks is the cards are all Duel Terminal cards making them extremely arduous to procure and not many players have the monetary support to get these cards.

I understand Michael's frustration when he says that Konami has totally destroyed the game they created.  I am gonna start playing Magic The Gathering and see what's the difference between these two games and why so many YGO players switch to MTG.  Until next time, see ya~

Random Post

Alright, momentary truce is a broken card!  Tested the card out and seriously, it just ensures that you can perform a second destiny draw.  For example, your opponent has swarmed the field with monsters, you play momentary truce.  He pass his next turn, you drew Black Hole.  Black Hole his field, play Monster Reborn to bring back your monster and wipe out his Life Points.  He stares at you, you stare right back at him and offer the handshake.

Honestly, 1 turn can seriously depicts the fate of the entire game.  If you could draw the card you need next turn,  you will be able to turn the game around instantly.  Plus, its effect that doesn't allow you to take any form of damage is simply ridiculous!  Moreover, its 1 card drawing effect is ideal in an exodia deck.  Far better than upstart goblin and any other draw cards, except Pot of Avarice.  So, if you are running a final countdown or exodia deck, you can consider putting this card in just to stall for time or get the card you want.

However, there are ways to counter this card's strategy.  The most obvious would be negating it.  But most people won't do so since players like the feeling of drawing a card and this card acts like a double edge sword that can kill you too depending on what card your opponent drew.  So, if you can't end the game in the next turn, it is the same as good game!

That's all from me today.  Until next time, see ya~