Done my Midterms! On to YuGi-Oh!!

            This is just a post today to communicate with the card players that decide to read this. It’s been a while but I haven’t felt energized enough to post anything, and stress with midterms didn’t help.

            First some news (if you aren’t already aware of the news). The Light Pulsar Dragon OTK/FTK no longer exists because the card text changed to say “when” and not “if” so it will miss its timing when tributed with the likes on Cannon Soldier. Here is the website this is viewed: http://www.yuginewz.com/2011/10/lightpulsar-ftk-not-legal-revised-text.html

            Second, the second waves of tins are released on Tuesday. This means two things: X-Sabers are Lightsworns/Twilight decks are less expensive, and everyone has access to Warnings and Fossil Dynas. Konami has made it easier for bad players to become good, somewhat. Warning is a card that requires skills and you have to negate the right card or you’re fucked.

            Now on to my personal struggles with this card games. First, after not a lot of deliberation I’ve decided I won’t be gathering the cards for the Rescue Rabbit deck. My reasoning isn’t complex: 3 Rabbits + the dinosaur exceed monsters = lots of money. I don’t plan on drastically increasing my card game activities any time soon (hopefully I can when my next semester starts though). Therefore, paying a lot of money for cards I can’t use competitively is a huge waste. I would rather purchase three dark world structure decks (even though I would try and find Dark Smog). I need Tragoedias, Faders and possibly Dark Bribes for my random people I playtest with to use, plus I do get a deck (even if it’s not proven to be the best) and the decks won’t cost half as much as a playset of Rabbits.

            Speaking of random people, for those who are unaware I have started to upload duel videos with the two people at my university who play the game: Random Person 1 and Random Person 2 are the newest members of SkillOverLuck (indirectly). They aren’t that experienced with Yu-Gi-Oh but they do play MTG which buffers them slightly. These players lie somewhere between Bobby, and the handful of players who consistently do well when competing in a local tournament (only Belleville players could fully appreciate the value of this statement). Fortunately, I’ve known these guys in the past, and we do get along quite well, so it’s not like these players are complete strangers. However they are serious about wanting to become more skilled. Our agreement was this: These random people help with duel videos, and I help them become better players. I create their decks with my cards and I teach them how to properly utilize the deck in its entirety. Eventually, we will start attending the Ottawa locals and any bigger tournaments that are possible.

            That’s all for today. Thanks for reading.

Intelligence and Skills aren't Enough for Children's Card Games

Just so all my readers know, I'm typing this blog post to brainstorm multiple ideas for multiple assignments. Nonetheless it is related to Yu-Gi-Oh. I apologize in advance if this post is all over the place.

As an introduction I will state the results of my Pulsar FTK deck on Dueling Network. I won 33 games and lost 5 games. Not bad statistics. I will come back to this later.

Currently, at my university, I have the highest marks in all my classes. I'll admit not too much has happened yet; only a few minor and major assignments. The real test for me is approaching swiftly. I have 1 midterm tomorrow and 4 next week. My goal is to get perfect grades on every single one.

I have numerous other skills as well. I'm a pretty good athlete in terms of specific sports. I have excellent business and detective skills. I have computer skills in certain areas. I'm also able to multitask excellently (I can do it better than anyone I know). For example, a few days ago I was texting with my left hand, typing an essay with my right hand, chatting with my girlfriend on Skype and playing on Dueling Network all at once (of course while I waited for my friend to text me back both my hands were on the keyboard typing away).

I hate to appear like I'm gloating but that's not my intention. I'm simply stating the facts about myself. I have fucking amazing skills and work habits which push me to excel in all my serious work-related affairs (university being a splendid example). Trust me though, my life is farther than perfect than you might thing (I'm not 100% happy with my life right now, putting it simply). Excluding the previous sentence what does all of this have to do with Yu-Gi-Oh? Simply put, intelligence has some bearing on how you perform but, at least this format, the biggest deciding factor is chance.

I'll talk about the intelligence factor first. It usually plays significant roles in how games can unfold. Activating Monster Reborn at the right time, for example, can either win or lose the game for you immediately.


That’s self-explanatory though. Luck is the biggest factor and sometimes it’s too much to handle. Opening with a garbage hand or a broken hand makes a difference. I will now discuss Pulsar FTK. This deck is absolutely luck-based. It is a very consistent deck but if you open poorly you will lose. You don’t even need the FTK sometimes if you can beat down your opponent quickly with Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. You can be the smartest person in the universe but if your opponent has the cards for the FTK, and you don’t have Veiler or Crow, you lose.

I’ll be honest. If I put the same amount of effort into this game that I do with university work, I would be a much better player (even though luck can still dominate occasionally). However I never will do that. I hate university because of the amount of work I have to put in to achieve the best results. If I put that same effort into Yu-Gi-Oh I would hate the game, therefore I will never do that.

As a side note, I’m starting to enjoy Pokemon more and more. The game still has a luck factor but it is nowhere near as ominous as the Yu-Gi-Oh luck factor. Pokemon is more based on skill and carefully-executed plays will reward the player. Yu-Gi-Oh had this a long time ago, but that horse long left the barn…

In conclusion, luck plays a large factor in Yu-Gi-Oh. It is completely possible to get better by learning not to make certain misplays and performing actions at the correct times. Skill and intelligence will only go so far though. Being the smartest person around won’t win you every tournament you attend.

The Newest FTK

I was going to test my Monster Mash deck, I will in a few days like I planned but something urgent appeared before my eyes in the last hour...

Last format Fish FTK existed, and it was ok. It wasn't nearly as consistent as Frog FTK but it was a viabe option. However Konami is in the process of releasing a new card that introduces a new FTK. This FTK is approximately 12% more consistent than Fish FTK because of the multiple options of unleashing it. This is called... Light Pulsar Dragon FTK.

Light Pulsar Dragon: Light, Dragon, Lv 6, 2500 ATK, 1500 DEF. Effect: You can banish 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your graveyard; Special Summon this card from your hand. You can send 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your hand to your Graveyard; Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher DARK Dragon-type monster from your Graveyard; Special Summon that target.

Now let me explain the FTK for those who don't know it (it has been spreading around the internet a lot). Normal summon Cannon Soldier of Toon Cannon Soldier. Special summon Pulsar somehow while Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is in your graveyard. Tribute the Pulsar with Cannon Soldier and burn for 500. Pulsar's effect can special summon REDMD. That will use its effect to summon Pulsar. tribute REDMD to burn for 500, then tribute Pulsar to burn for 500. Repeat the process a few more times and you win.

A factor about this deck that will attract the attention of many players from all skill players is the cost. Pulsar is coming out... in a structure deck!!! REDMD is supposed to be released in the same deck. Cannon Soldiers are easy to get and he rest of the deck is simple to gather.

There are multiple ways to perform this FTK:

1. Future Fusion:
- Dump an REDMD and other light and dark dragons while you have Cannon Soldier and Pulsar in hand.
- Dump a Pulsar and a REDMD while you have Cannon Soldier, a light and a second dark monster in hand.
2. Foolish Burial
- Dump Pulsar while you have REDMD, Cannon Soldier and a light monster in your hand.
3. Dragon Ravine
- Similar dumping tricks. I don't feel the need to repeat myself.

There are alternative combos that enable this FTK but it depends on what is in your hand. Players will play many draw cards like Upstart, Trade-In and Cards of Consonance in order to draw into the FTK.

What do players have to do now in order to fight this off? Main deck 3 Veilers and 3 Crows (possible 3 Maxx "C" to draw into those cards). I guess if players do that they have another excuse to splash BLS...

I made a build of this on DN and tested it out before writing this blog. I played 10 games and won 8. 80% isn't bad. I want to find a way to break this deck open more.

Basically Konami is getting worse with card design. This FTK is inexpensive and more broken that Dark World and Rescue Rabbit put together. I feel bad for OCG players because this FTK will be around for a few months unless a mid-format ban is approved. The TCG may not be able to use this in major tournaments because of the march 2012 ban list (the structure deck will likely be released close to this list).

Anyway, it's late at night but I felt the desperate need to blog about this. My next post will likely be on Monday. Discuss this and let me know your thoughts about Konami's most recent fuck up.

Monster Mayhem!

Last night someone brought to my attention Morphing Jar 2. I didn't know the complete rulings about the card but I researched it and figured it out. This card sparked an idea for a deck; a deck I toyed with around a year ago... Monster Mash!

This particular build will be running 3 Morphing Jar 2 because it summons a lot of monsters. This build however will have to focus on lv 4 and lower monsters in the main board if I'm going to run 3 Morphing Jar 2.

The deck will run only a few spells and traps because I don't want to be milling them with my 3 Morphing Jar 2. However Morphing Jar 2 will force the opponent to send important spells and traps (possibly monsters) to the graveyard which is excellent.

Once I finish all my homework in the next couple of days I will build this deck and test it on DN. I believe this deck as potential if built properly. Anyway it will be a few days before I get an results with the deck but I will keep everyone posted.

I'm pretty much done today's post. I don't have a lot of spare time to get into much detail. Good luck to all my hometown players at the tournament who read this!

Financial Magnets and Repellants

Someone wanted me to blog about the financial aspect of Yu-Gi-Oh. I have spoken my opinion on this multiple times. By now I'm sure every player which a brain realizes that Yu-Gi-Oh is the most expensive competitive card game, especially in the TCG.

The prices of cards in the OCG are in some cases unfairly lower than in the TCG. Take Pot of Duality for example (it's one of the best examples). When this card was released in Japan it wasn't released at a high rarity and the price for a playset was reasonable. When Duality first hit the TCG the card was already more expensive than in the OCG ($40). However after a decent amount of time passed it became a $200 card in the TCG. That's clearly an unjustice.

My theory is Konami doesn't realize the potential certain cards have when they are designed. Once an over-used card is released in the OCG Konami will realize that and hit the TCG with the same card at a higher rarity with a ridiculous price. Consider this: Cards that are released in the TCG first won't surpass $40 upon their release. After a few months the price of an exclusive card either goes down because no one plays it, or rise in financial value because it is over-used (Tour Guide from the Underworld...). This is similar to what happens in Japan.

Recently Konami hit a rough spot financially. Since Konami is a business they need to fabricate methods of making money. How did they do this? Massive amounts of reprints; of good cards. These products include the 2011 tins, Turbo Pack 6, Gold Series 4 and Legendary Collection 2. Is it convenient that Konami changed the wordings of cards at this point in the universe as an excuse to reprint an enormous collection of excellent cards...

This next example was discussed on Facebook yesterday and I will relay it here in more details. The Dark World structure deck is to be released in literally a few days. Konami is intelligent because they are going to make money by allowing players to access a Tier 1 deck by buying 3 of the structure decks. However the players of Europe will be likely to buy this deck much more than the North American players because of one card; Tragoedia. In North American this card was released in the Shonen Jump (therefore easy to get) and as a turbo pack ultimate rare (therefore not-so-easy to get). Europeans don't get the Shonen Jump. This implies that the easiest way for European players to get Tragoedia is to pull it in a turbo pack... Konami is specifically releasing Tragoedia in this deck so the Europeans will have another reason to buy this deck. Also Konami put Tragoedia to 2 in the latest ban list. Coincidence...

Konami uses every dirty trick they can in order to make some profits. This is the reason this card game is still going, and will continue for a long, long time. Konami makes insane amounts of profit off of this one game. Any competitive player unfortunately has to put up with this or quit. I would go into more detail but I'm in class right now... I know pretty much everything about this topic, or at least have good assumptions. If there is anything you are unsure of ask me. I will respond to it in some way, even if it means creating a follow-up post. This is a serious issue after all.

Impact of Photon Shockwave.

The time is quickly approaching. A new 100 card set will be introduced into the TCG. We know the majority of the cards that will be released. There are two things about this set which I will dedicate to this post, because they definitely deserve to be known.

1. Wind-up Zenmaines

Basically this card is a crazier version of Gachi-Gachi Gantestu. This TCG-exclusive will most likely be released as a secret rare because of its impact. It will be in every good player's deck if lv 3 monsters can be spammed. Wait, I forgot to mention Tour Guide...

2. Rescue Rabbit --> Another type of deck.

By the time this set is released, the big decks in the format will be Plants, Fairies and Dark World. Rescue Rabbit has had no problem topping many tournaments in Japan and the Japanese don't have Tour Guides... to summon Leviair... to have easier access to rabbit spam... A few builds are centered around this card and a few others can tech this card (Gladiator Beasts, X-Sabers and Heroes). Konami will probably make this card a secret rare as well so players have to spend insane amounts of money to receive a playset...

This is pretty much it. I only wrote this because someone asked me to and I'm leaving my topics for the most part up to my readers at this point in time. Basically he wanted my opinion on how this set will influence the TCG. The above 2 cards will influence the TCG the most, especially Rabbit. Of course I will do a more detailed analysis of the set as we approach it.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging Lately

Hello everyone. The title is self-explanatory and this is what today’s post is all about.

I’ve been in university for my first month now. The workload has been more intimidating then I initially suspected. Possibly this is because I’m trying to maintain my 100% overall average and I’m overdoing all my schoolwork to achieve this milestone. I am putting 30 hours of study in every week…

Another reason I’m not blogging is simply because I’m not really feeling it. I’m 3 hours away from my friends, family and girl-counterpart. I haven’t quite managed to overcome this reality and it’s dragging me down quite a bit. Anthropologists call this “culture shock”; disorientation caused from a significant change in surroundings. My anthropology professor said during the very first class that this disorientation caused from moving cities and school systems doesn’t normally last more than a month. It’s been a month so hopefully I will overcome this quickly.

Moving into the Yu-Gi-Oh aspect of this post, my activity in this game has significantly decreased past a degree I didn’t think existed. From what I gathered the only locals in Ottawa is an hour away from me which complicates things. I currently spend 95% of my very limited Yu-Gi-Oh time on dueling network which is usually quite grueling. I managed to find two players at my university though. Unfortunately I have a completely different schedule from them and they aren’t exactly skilled players. They don’t have an extensive collection of good cards either. They are awesome people but annoying at the same time. Hopefully I can get duel videos up with these people soon. I’m considering building two decks at a time so these guys have a really decent deck when paying me on the camera. I could just lend them an extra deck and certain good cards I may not be using at the time. I have yet to decide.

Anyway I haven’t thought of anything that personally touches me enough to blog about. However if you readers have topics you want my thoughts about let me know and I will discuss them in some way.

I think that’s all for today.