I've been sick the last 24 hours. All I've done is play Pokemon Yellow, watch TV and sleep. Last night I had a dream where I came first place at Nationals. It felt really good but unfortunately it was a dream.
Nationals will be completely filled with good players. Every player there has topped at least on Regionals or YCS. I could be paired up against some of the best players in the world, which is quite intimidating. Playing against Billy Brake first round would be a little uncomfortable.
If I'm correct only the Top 6 will get their invites to the World Championships in Tokyo. 2000 players will be fighting for one of those 6 spots. I like to think I have a chance at one of these spots. Last year, Bo Tang came in the Top 6, and I beat him this year at a Regionals, so does that mean I have a chance?
As of right now, I'm 99.9% sure I can attend Nationals, which is pretty good. I actually have the money this year to go, since last year I didn't. I don't know what I'm going to play yet, but I'm pretty sure I will be choosing between Dino-Rabbit and Chaos Dragons. I want to do well, and I will be disappointed if I don't. Oh well, at least it will be a nice vacation if nothing else.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tournament Report 05/25/2012
I decided to attend my Locals this week with a fun deck. Playing Dino-Rabbit for the last few weeks straight was necessary for practice. However now that Regionals is over, I decided to play Dragon Draw Exodia.
Round 1 vs Final Countdown (2-0)
Self-explanatory because I don't think 20 turns is required to draw all 5 pieces of Exodia...
Round 2 vs Ninja Chaos Dragons (2-1)
Game 1 I ran out of draw cards, which meant I got destroyed by dragons. Games 2 and 3 I drew all 5 pieces within a few of my turns. I controlled the duels with One Day of Peace.
Round 3 vs Chaos Dragons (2-1)
Game 1 I never drew a One Day of Peace so I lost to normal chaos Dragon swarming. Game 2 was really close. It was my opponent's turn and I had 4 pieces in my hand. He would've killed me, but I had a set Reckless Greed which drew me into the 5th piece. Game 3 I controlled him with One Day of Peace until I drew all 5 pieces.
Round 4 vs Malefic Geartown (2-0)
I drew Exodia fairly early on the first game. Game 2 I controlled my opponent with One Day of Piece and eventually won. I'm happy I played this game because I realized how little Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos hurt this deck. All it stops are my Blue-Eyes searches and the second effect of Dragon Ravine.
Top 4 was determined at this point, but we all decided to split, which was fine. Going undefeated with Exodia is hilarious. Exodia Obliterate!!!
Round 1 vs Final Countdown (2-0)
Self-explanatory because I don't think 20 turns is required to draw all 5 pieces of Exodia...
Round 2 vs Ninja Chaos Dragons (2-1)
Game 1 I ran out of draw cards, which meant I got destroyed by dragons. Games 2 and 3 I drew all 5 pieces within a few of my turns. I controlled the duels with One Day of Peace.
Round 3 vs Chaos Dragons (2-1)
Game 1 I never drew a One Day of Peace so I lost to normal chaos Dragon swarming. Game 2 was really close. It was my opponent's turn and I had 4 pieces in my hand. He would've killed me, but I had a set Reckless Greed which drew me into the 5th piece. Game 3 I controlled him with One Day of Peace until I drew all 5 pieces.
Round 4 vs Malefic Geartown (2-0)
I drew Exodia fairly early on the first game. Game 2 I controlled my opponent with One Day of Piece and eventually won. I'm happy I played this game because I realized how little Dimensional Fissure and Macro Cosmos hurt this deck. All it stops are my Blue-Eyes searches and the second effect of Dragon Ravine.
Top 4 was determined at this point, but we all decided to split, which was fine. Going undefeated with Exodia is hilarious. Exodia Obliterate!!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Just Some Random Thoughts
Over the last little while, the games has had some astronomical changes. From new arising decks to the most recent tech cards to combat the metagame, the game has definitely changed over the last month. These are my random thoughts based on the recent metagame:
Hieratics - Having been playtesting and experimenting with the deck, I've noticed the deck isn't as powerful as it could be. The deck is extremely combo-oriented, and not opening with the correct card combinations can lead to disastorous results. I might play this deck at my locals at some point in the near future, but I sincerely doubt that I'll fall in love with Hieratics; at least until we get Gustaph Max...
Alternative Win Condition Decks - Final Countdown made Top 16 at YCS Philly, which honestly doesn't surprise me. This deck doesn't get hurt as much as Chain Burn does, by Royal Decree. Honestly, it is the most consistent alternative win condition deck, and I believe Chain Burn would be second. The player who topped said he doesn't prefer Cardcar D and always sided it out. I can understand that completely, but I don't believe it's a coincidence that this deck topped, now that Cardcar D is in the TCG...
Dino-Rabbits vs Chaos Dragons - It appears that these decks are currently at war. Dragons defeated Rabbits in Philly, but Rabbits beat Dragons the YCS before. At this point, with the research and playtesting I have put into this topic, I can honestly say that neither deck is superior to the other. Sure, Dragons have the bigger monsters, but Rabbits have counters to those bigger monsters. At Nationals, I definitely expect these decks to take up the large majority of the tables.
Inzektors - Everyone knows that this deck is good. However, this deck has failed to win a single event in North America. Dino-Rabbits has many advantages over this deck, both in the main and side decks. Dragons can just squash insects. However, this deck still has the ability to defeat these decks, and I feel like it's only going to get better.
Wind-Ups - If people are seriously removing Maxx "C" from their main and side deck, then this deck can drastically increase top results. Maxx "C" especially, Veiler and Crow are the only cards that have the ability to disrupt a turn 1 hand loop.
These are just a select list of my random thoughts on the metagame. Yeah...
Hieratics - Having been playtesting and experimenting with the deck, I've noticed the deck isn't as powerful as it could be. The deck is extremely combo-oriented, and not opening with the correct card combinations can lead to disastorous results. I might play this deck at my locals at some point in the near future, but I sincerely doubt that I'll fall in love with Hieratics; at least until we get Gustaph Max...
Alternative Win Condition Decks - Final Countdown made Top 16 at YCS Philly, which honestly doesn't surprise me. This deck doesn't get hurt as much as Chain Burn does, by Royal Decree. Honestly, it is the most consistent alternative win condition deck, and I believe Chain Burn would be second. The player who topped said he doesn't prefer Cardcar D and always sided it out. I can understand that completely, but I don't believe it's a coincidence that this deck topped, now that Cardcar D is in the TCG...
Dino-Rabbits vs Chaos Dragons - It appears that these decks are currently at war. Dragons defeated Rabbits in Philly, but Rabbits beat Dragons the YCS before. At this point, with the research and playtesting I have put into this topic, I can honestly say that neither deck is superior to the other. Sure, Dragons have the bigger monsters, but Rabbits have counters to those bigger monsters. At Nationals, I definitely expect these decks to take up the large majority of the tables.
Inzektors - Everyone knows that this deck is good. However, this deck has failed to win a single event in North America. Dino-Rabbits has many advantages over this deck, both in the main and side decks. Dragons can just squash insects. However, this deck still has the ability to defeat these decks, and I feel like it's only going to get better.
Wind-Ups - If people are seriously removing Maxx "C" from their main and side deck, then this deck can drastically increase top results. Maxx "C" especially, Veiler and Crow are the only cards that have the ability to disrupt a turn 1 hand loop.
These are just a select list of my random thoughts on the metagame. Yeah...
Monday, May 21, 2012
Why Did Dragons Win?
Before YCS Philadelphia began, I automatically knew that either Dino-Rabbits or Chaos Dragons would be victorious. Sure enough, it was Chaos Dragons that won. This deck already won a YCS in Europe a little while ago, so it was about time that it won in North America. Honestly, this deck is absolutely insane, and I'm going to go over the reasons why:
1. Future Fusion = Painful Choice + potential Five-Headed Dragon. If a Dragon player resolves a Future Fusion, that player should automatically win (unless that player is terrible at the game, or both players activated it that game).
2. This deck's boss monsters include BLS, DAD, REDMD, Light Pulsar Dragon, Darkflare Dragon, Chaos Sorcerer, Judgment Dragon, Tragoedia and Gorz. I've always believed in the theory that decks with many boss monsters will always do well, which is why I built Frog Fairies last September.
3. This deck has significant deck thinning and drawing energy. Honestly, no one is playing Morphing Jar, and when I play around with this deck in a couple days, my deck should have Morphing Jar.
4. Honestly, siding against this deck is insignificant. Thunder King does very little against the deck (personal experience...), Macro can be counter by MST, D.D.R or Return from the Different Dimension... Any additional traps are countered by Royal Decree and Trap Stun. Oh, and for the mirror match, and those Acid Golems and damage step Forbidden Lances, Honest exists...
Yeah, those are my thoughts on Chaos Dragons. This deck is the new Agents, so everyone can enjoy their inexpensive Tier 1 starter deck.
1. Future Fusion = Painful Choice + potential Five-Headed Dragon. If a Dragon player resolves a Future Fusion, that player should automatically win (unless that player is terrible at the game, or both players activated it that game).
2. This deck's boss monsters include BLS, DAD, REDMD, Light Pulsar Dragon, Darkflare Dragon, Chaos Sorcerer, Judgment Dragon, Tragoedia and Gorz. I've always believed in the theory that decks with many boss monsters will always do well, which is why I built Frog Fairies last September.
3. This deck has significant deck thinning and drawing energy. Honestly, no one is playing Morphing Jar, and when I play around with this deck in a couple days, my deck should have Morphing Jar.
4. Honestly, siding against this deck is insignificant. Thunder King does very little against the deck (personal experience...), Macro can be counter by MST, D.D.R or Return from the Different Dimension... Any additional traps are countered by Royal Decree and Trap Stun. Oh, and for the mirror match, and those Acid Golems and damage step Forbidden Lances, Honest exists...
Yeah, those are my thoughts on Chaos Dragons. This deck is the new Agents, so everyone can enjoy their inexpensive Tier 1 starter deck.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Extensive Report: Testing, Locals and Regionals
I believe this is the post viewers have been awaiting. I spent Friday (the 18th of May) and Saturday (the 19th) in Toronto, playing with my Dino-Rabbits. This report covers everything that happened, during the duration of these days.
FRIDAY
I leave for Toronto at around noon with Raymond, and arrive at Toronto at around 2:00. We stopped at some restaurant where I mastered eating with chopsticks (I've never really used them before...). Afterwards, we arrived at our temporary residence, and we playtested for about 3 hours. I swapped back and forth between Dino-Rabbits and Chaos Dragons (so Raymond could practice using Inzektors against it.) and Raymond swapped between Inzektors and Chaos Dragons ( so I can practice Dino-Rabbits against it). Anyway, playtesting seemed to go really well in my favour, although I did have difficulty against Dragons.
I felt confident enough, though, and carried that attitude with me to Card Masters, for their Friday night local tournament. For those who don't know, Card Masters is the home of popular players like the Bellido brothers, Bo Tang, Aaron Noel and Jeffery Cho. I knew that this would be somewhat more difficult than my Belleville Friday night local tournament.
Round 1 vs Jeffery Cho: Chaos Dragons (1-2)
Game 1 I opened with Rabbit and made a Laggia, and then set some other cards. Basically, I had an answer for everything he did, and he proceeded to lose to my Laggia and Dolkka, which I made with 2 normal monsters I drew... Anyway, he exploded on me game 2. Game 3, I was controlling him with Macro for most of the game, but I never drew Rabbit or Tour Guide. Eventually he summoned Eclipse Wyvern, banished it for REDMD, and started beating me down with it, and I had no more answers, so I lost.
This was a little discouraging. However, I realized that I can still top if I won my next 3 matches.
Round 2 vs Lazaro Bellido: Hieratics (2-0)
Game 1 he went first and immediately passed. I drew, summoned Rabbit and made Dolkka, which took away 2300 life points. I set a couple cards to my spell/trap zone and ended. He kept setting traps, but I kept destroying them with multiple MST. I beat him down with Dolkka the entire game. he eventually made a play, and summoned a REDMD, but I had the Dimensional Prison, which was the only trap I drew. Game 2 he passed immediately again. I played Rabbit and summoned another Dolkka and attacked, setting a couple traps like the previous game. He normal summoned Eset, and banished it for REDMD. He attacked my Dolkka, but I had the Lance to survive the battle. Next turn, I summon Kabazauls and attack with both my monsters. He drew for his turn, thought for a bit, and scooped because he had nothing on my Dolkka.
So it's good to know how badly Dolkka wrecks Hieratics.
Round 3 vs Inzektors (2-0)
Game 1 He set a monster and backrow. I summoned Guaiba and attacked his face down Sangan. He searched Dragonfly and I summoned Guaiba, which became a Dolkka, with multiple traps set. He used MST on my Warning. He summoned Centipede and I had Bottomless Trap Hole. He set another face-down card and passed. I attacked with Dolkka and set another trap. He summoned Dragonfly, and I negated its effect with Dolkka. He flipped Call of the Haunted and I chained MST. Next turn I summoned my third Guaiba. I attacked with both. He drew, and set a monster. I drew, attacked with Dolkka into Spirit Reaper. I used Lance on Reaper and I won. Game 2 he set a monster with almost his entire hand. I summoned Sabersaurus, and he activated Bottomless, but I chained Lance. I attacked into his face-down Dragonfly and took some damage. I set most of my hand after that. He set another monster and ended, then I flipped up Macro Cosmos and he didn't have an answer. I attacked his face-down Sangan and banished it. I set another trap. He switched his Dragonfly to attack and activated Safe Zone, which I didn't have a response to. For a while we were just stalling, until I drew a Twister (that's right, a Twister) and destroyed Safe Zone, which destroyed Dragonfly. I made a Laggia right after, and took control and eventually killed him.
Round 4 vs Inzektors (2-0)
I won the die roll, and opened up with Rabbit into Laggia, and set some traps. He summoned Dragonfly, which I negated with Warning. He activated Dark Hole, and I chained Lance. He set some traps and ended. I summoned Tour Guide, made Leviair, and summoned Rabbit which turned on into 2 Sabersaurus. Laggia + Leviair + 2 Sabersaurus = 8000. Game 2 I managed to get Laggia and Dolkka on the field, without the use of Rabbit... but was stalled for a while by Arcana Force - The Fool. I had Macro Cosmos face-up so he was unable to do anything. Eventually, I won by drawing a Rabbit, and then summoned Photon Papilloperative, which switched the Fool into attack mode, and won that turn.
After this I did make the Top 8 thankfully.
Top 8 match vs Dino-Rabbit (2-1)
Unfortunately I don't remember how I won game 1. Game 2 the only monster I drew the entire game was Kabazauls, and he opened double Rabbit with Heavy Storm... so I lost that game. Game 3 I started with Rabbit and made a Laggia, with one card set. I used Veiler on his Rabbit, and destroyed his set MST with my MST. I summoned Kabazauls, attacked into his Rabbit with Laggia, and ended my turn, in case he had Gorz. He set a monster and passed. I summoned another Kabazauls, and made a Dolkka. Dolkka killed his face-down Kabazauls, and Laggia attacked directly. He scooped next turn, with Gorz in his hand, along with a bunch of other monsters and useless traps.
Top 4 match vs Gravekeepers (2-0)
Game 1 I swarmed him with Rabbit and Tour Guide plays immediately and he didn't stand a chance. Game 2 was Kabazauls beatdown. My Kabazauls attacked directly 3 times, and I had 2 warnings for his 2 monsters. He ended up using Dark Hole on my Kabazauls, and passed that turn with no monsters. I attacked him directly with my Sangan. He used Gravekeeper Stele to add 2 monsters to his. He summoned Descendant and attacked my Sangan and I search Rabbit. He activated Royal Tribute, discarding my Rabbit and Veiler. I draw a Rabbit and he scooped.
Unfortunately, I had to split 1st and 2nd place with Dale Bellido, since the store owner was closing his shop for the night. It was past 11 p.m... Oh well, I can live that since technically I ended up with the best standing, tie with Dale, and won $30.
Raymond and I ended up going back to our place of residence at midnight.
SATURDAY
At midnight we ordered pizza and continued to playtest. Raymond's friend came over, who is also named Raymond, and he playtested as well, since he was going to use our Chaos Dragon deck at Regionals. During this playtesting, I started to lose many games, and this was discouraging. I decided to change around my deck a little, and Raymond I started to considering using a card in the main deck that I never considered in the main deck: Thunder King Rai-Oh. It's good against Dragons, Wind-Ups, Six Samurai and Heroes, it's ok against Rabbit and Dark World, but terrible against Inzektors. I tried it out anyway. Sure enough, it was working against Chaos Dragons, but against Inzektors I wish those Thunder Kings were Guaibas, because I took out the 3 Guaiba for 2 Thunder King and a BLS...
Anyway, both Raymonds went to bed at around 3 a.m and for the rest of the night, I fiddled around with my deck. I contemplated maining 1 Maxx "C", because it's good against almost everything. Rabbit, Dragons, Inzektors, and especially Wind-Ups. Deep down, I was afraid of getting looped, and I would feel a little more comfortable if I used 3 Veiler and 1 Maxx "C". So I spent many hours, until about 7:45 practicing with myself, and seeing what I liked.
Raymond, other Raymond, and I arrived at around 9, and we got entered and got ready to play.The Regionals consisted of 217 players, and Top 32 would be awarded with a Nationals invite. From our local area, I participated, along with Raymond (Inzektors), Josh (Six Samurai), Rori (Wind-Ups) and Jordan (Wind-Ups). Jordan also brought his friend along, who was just getting into the game, and other Raymond joined us. And now, the Regionals report:
Round 1 vs Other Raymond (2-0)
Game 1 I opened with Rabbit and made Dolkka (since I knew he was playing Chaos Dragons), and set some traps. He set a monster and passed. I summoned Tour Guide and made a Laggia, and I won that game shortly after. Game 2 he did swarm me a little bit, but with some Rabbit plays, and some spells and traps, I broke through his monsters, and reduced him down to 2 dead Solar Recharges. Yeah...
It was unfortunate that I played him first round, out of everyone their. But he wasn't discouraged, and we both moved on.
Round 2 vs Chaos Dragons (2-0)
Game 1 he started and played his Charge of the Light Brigade, and all 3 Solar Recharges... He set a monster and passed. I summoned Thunder King and attacked his face-down Ryko, which killed my monster. I set 2 cards and passed. He played Heavy Storm and destroyed my traps. He summoned Darkflare Dragon, Light Pulsar Dragon and BLS. He attacked with Darkflare, then Light Pulsar, then BLS, and with 100 points remaining I dropped Gorz, with a 3000 token. He played Smashing Ground to destroy my Kaien Token and he ended his turn by setting one card. I activated Monster Reborn on his Lyla, which he let through, and I destroyed his face-down Torrential Tribute. I summoned my BLS, then I summoned Kabazauls. I used Kabazauls and Lyla to make Utopia, then Utopia Ray. I used Utopia Ray to drop his BLS down to 0 attack, and I won that turn. Game 2 I had Macro active so he couldn't get any monsters in his graveyard the entire game. I had answers for both of Lylas. This game I beat him down with Kabazauls and Fossil Dyna (it's a good card against dragons).
Round 3 vs Dino-Rabbits (2-1)
Unfortunately I don't remember this match very well at all. The guy I played was cool though. His Dino-Rabbit deck played Shrink, so his Guaibas were more powerful against other monsters. This is an idea I've wanted to try for a while. It was fun.
Round 4 vs Chaos Dragons (0-2)
We had a very close game 1. His deck had about 10 cards left, and I had a face-up Kabazauls with 400 life points left. He was top-decking, and the only cards left that could kill me in his deck was one Chaos Sorcerer and one Darkflare dragon. He drew one of them and I lost. Game 2 I got completely destroyed by dragon plays. I had no traps at all, and I opened 4 normal monsters and a Thunder King, which was practically useless, because Card Trooper is a good card...
This was rather disappointing that I lost. I don't like losing...
Round 5 vs Blaze Fenix OTK (2-0)
I opened Rabbit and made a Laggia, after he went first and I assumed he was playing Blaze Fenix. I had the MST for when he played Fusion Gate on his turn. He summoned Cyber Valley and passed. I summoned Thunder King, attacked into his Cyber Valley and ended. On my next turn I overpowered him with Tour Guide. Game 2 Catastor put in some work, because he couldn't kill it, and I was able to stop the OTK by using Warning on his Chain Material.
I really like this deck. I made it once before but it really was too fragile. I will probably revisit it and make it better at some point.
Round 6 vs Chaos Dragons (2-0)
Both of these games were really close, but really funny. He summoned his BLS and did some damage, then I summoned my BLS and after he used Veiler on my BLS to prevent me from banishing his, I play Dark Hole, which also killed his Darkflare Dragon. On his turn he used Monster Reborn on my BLS, and I dropped Gorz, and he ended his turn. On my turn I used Monster Reborn on his BLS, banished my BLS on his side off the field, summoned Sabersaurus and beat him that turn. Game 2 was similar. After a few turns, he summoned BLS, but I destroyed it with Torrential. I brought it back with Monster Reborn, and that BLS won me the game a few turns later.
Fortunately, that was the last Dragon deck I would be facing, but playing against Dragons half the day is really stupid. Reminds me of Agents, because it was Tier 1 deck that anyone could play because it was cheap...
Round 7 vs Dino-Rabbit (0-2)
This match was really depressing. He summoned 2 Rabbits, both games, and I didn't have Veilers, or my own Rabbits, just normal monsters and useless Thunder Kings...
Yeah, so I have to win the next match, or I don't top. Unfortunately, I'm paired against Rori last round, which means whoever wins tops, and other person doesn't top.
Round 8 vs Wind-Ups (2-0)
Game 1 I had a hand trap to prevent my hand from being looped with Magician, Shark and Pot of Avarice first turn. I went and summoned Rabbit, and made a Dolkka and attacked his Zenmaines that he made, and set most of my hand. At the end phase I detached a material from Dolkka to prevent Zenmaines from blowing something up. Next turn he used Mind Control on my Dolkka, summoned Tour Guide and went into Sangan. I decided to Torrential Tribute the field at that point, and I used my Forbidden Lance to prevent Dolkka from being destroyed (Typically I would've used Torrential after he overlayed the Tour Guide and Sangan, which would prevented a Sangan search, but I didn't. I felt like being as nice as possible, which is very rare...). Anyway he searched another Tour Guide, and ended his turn, which means I got my Dolkka back. I won shortly after. Game 2 he went first and set a monster and a trap. I summoned Thunder King and attacked, but he activated Thunder King, and I was fine with that (since Thunder King can negate a special summon under Fiendish Chain). I set many cards in my hand again, and ended my turn, in case he would loop me next turn. He normal summoned Hunter but I banished it with Bottomless Trap Hole. On my turn I summoned Rabbit and then I won in no time.
So I ended up going X-2, and coming 16th overall, which is pretty good. It's about fucking time as well. This format disgusts me because I didn't lose any games because of lack of skill: I lost because of top-decks and hands that are practically impossible to defeat when I draw shit. Sure, I sacked a few people today, but the games that I didn't draw Rabbit were based on outplaying my opponents, which I did.
Now that I topped a Regionals, I can relax a little and defeat people with decks that aren't Dino-Rabbit. However, in a few weeks I will have to prepare for Nationals, since I'm already 90% certain I can attend the event. I will likely upload a video of my Dino-Rabbit deck in a few days, and start writing blogs on Yu-Gi-Oh related content that doesn't necessarily focus on Dino-Rabbit nearly as much.
This is the longest post I've ever typed. Enjoy.
FRIDAY
I leave for Toronto at around noon with Raymond, and arrive at Toronto at around 2:00. We stopped at some restaurant where I mastered eating with chopsticks (I've never really used them before...). Afterwards, we arrived at our temporary residence, and we playtested for about 3 hours. I swapped back and forth between Dino-Rabbits and Chaos Dragons (so Raymond could practice using Inzektors against it.) and Raymond swapped between Inzektors and Chaos Dragons ( so I can practice Dino-Rabbits against it). Anyway, playtesting seemed to go really well in my favour, although I did have difficulty against Dragons.
I felt confident enough, though, and carried that attitude with me to Card Masters, for their Friday night local tournament. For those who don't know, Card Masters is the home of popular players like the Bellido brothers, Bo Tang, Aaron Noel and Jeffery Cho. I knew that this would be somewhat more difficult than my Belleville Friday night local tournament.
Round 1 vs Jeffery Cho: Chaos Dragons (1-2)
Game 1 I opened with Rabbit and made a Laggia, and then set some other cards. Basically, I had an answer for everything he did, and he proceeded to lose to my Laggia and Dolkka, which I made with 2 normal monsters I drew... Anyway, he exploded on me game 2. Game 3, I was controlling him with Macro for most of the game, but I never drew Rabbit or Tour Guide. Eventually he summoned Eclipse Wyvern, banished it for REDMD, and started beating me down with it, and I had no more answers, so I lost.
This was a little discouraging. However, I realized that I can still top if I won my next 3 matches.
Round 2 vs Lazaro Bellido: Hieratics (2-0)
Game 1 he went first and immediately passed. I drew, summoned Rabbit and made Dolkka, which took away 2300 life points. I set a couple cards to my spell/trap zone and ended. He kept setting traps, but I kept destroying them with multiple MST. I beat him down with Dolkka the entire game. he eventually made a play, and summoned a REDMD, but I had the Dimensional Prison, which was the only trap I drew. Game 2 he passed immediately again. I played Rabbit and summoned another Dolkka and attacked, setting a couple traps like the previous game. He normal summoned Eset, and banished it for REDMD. He attacked my Dolkka, but I had the Lance to survive the battle. Next turn, I summon Kabazauls and attack with both my monsters. He drew for his turn, thought for a bit, and scooped because he had nothing on my Dolkka.
So it's good to know how badly Dolkka wrecks Hieratics.
Round 3 vs Inzektors (2-0)
Game 1 He set a monster and backrow. I summoned Guaiba and attacked his face down Sangan. He searched Dragonfly and I summoned Guaiba, which became a Dolkka, with multiple traps set. He used MST on my Warning. He summoned Centipede and I had Bottomless Trap Hole. He set another face-down card and passed. I attacked with Dolkka and set another trap. He summoned Dragonfly, and I negated its effect with Dolkka. He flipped Call of the Haunted and I chained MST. Next turn I summoned my third Guaiba. I attacked with both. He drew, and set a monster. I drew, attacked with Dolkka into Spirit Reaper. I used Lance on Reaper and I won. Game 2 he set a monster with almost his entire hand. I summoned Sabersaurus, and he activated Bottomless, but I chained Lance. I attacked into his face-down Dragonfly and took some damage. I set most of my hand after that. He set another monster and ended, then I flipped up Macro Cosmos and he didn't have an answer. I attacked his face-down Sangan and banished it. I set another trap. He switched his Dragonfly to attack and activated Safe Zone, which I didn't have a response to. For a while we were just stalling, until I drew a Twister (that's right, a Twister) and destroyed Safe Zone, which destroyed Dragonfly. I made a Laggia right after, and took control and eventually killed him.
Round 4 vs Inzektors (2-0)
I won the die roll, and opened up with Rabbit into Laggia, and set some traps. He summoned Dragonfly, which I negated with Warning. He activated Dark Hole, and I chained Lance. He set some traps and ended. I summoned Tour Guide, made Leviair, and summoned Rabbit which turned on into 2 Sabersaurus. Laggia + Leviair + 2 Sabersaurus = 8000. Game 2 I managed to get Laggia and Dolkka on the field, without the use of Rabbit... but was stalled for a while by Arcana Force - The Fool. I had Macro Cosmos face-up so he was unable to do anything. Eventually, I won by drawing a Rabbit, and then summoned Photon Papilloperative, which switched the Fool into attack mode, and won that turn.
After this I did make the Top 8 thankfully.
Top 8 match vs Dino-Rabbit (2-1)
Unfortunately I don't remember how I won game 1. Game 2 the only monster I drew the entire game was Kabazauls, and he opened double Rabbit with Heavy Storm... so I lost that game. Game 3 I started with Rabbit and made a Laggia, with one card set. I used Veiler on his Rabbit, and destroyed his set MST with my MST. I summoned Kabazauls, attacked into his Rabbit with Laggia, and ended my turn, in case he had Gorz. He set a monster and passed. I summoned another Kabazauls, and made a Dolkka. Dolkka killed his face-down Kabazauls, and Laggia attacked directly. He scooped next turn, with Gorz in his hand, along with a bunch of other monsters and useless traps.
Top 4 match vs Gravekeepers (2-0)
Game 1 I swarmed him with Rabbit and Tour Guide plays immediately and he didn't stand a chance. Game 2 was Kabazauls beatdown. My Kabazauls attacked directly 3 times, and I had 2 warnings for his 2 monsters. He ended up using Dark Hole on my Kabazauls, and passed that turn with no monsters. I attacked him directly with my Sangan. He used Gravekeeper Stele to add 2 monsters to his. He summoned Descendant and attacked my Sangan and I search Rabbit. He activated Royal Tribute, discarding my Rabbit and Veiler. I draw a Rabbit and he scooped.
Unfortunately, I had to split 1st and 2nd place with Dale Bellido, since the store owner was closing his shop for the night. It was past 11 p.m... Oh well, I can live that since technically I ended up with the best standing, tie with Dale, and won $30.
Raymond and I ended up going back to our place of residence at midnight.
SATURDAY
At midnight we ordered pizza and continued to playtest. Raymond's friend came over, who is also named Raymond, and he playtested as well, since he was going to use our Chaos Dragon deck at Regionals. During this playtesting, I started to lose many games, and this was discouraging. I decided to change around my deck a little, and Raymond I started to considering using a card in the main deck that I never considered in the main deck: Thunder King Rai-Oh. It's good against Dragons, Wind-Ups, Six Samurai and Heroes, it's ok against Rabbit and Dark World, but terrible against Inzektors. I tried it out anyway. Sure enough, it was working against Chaos Dragons, but against Inzektors I wish those Thunder Kings were Guaibas, because I took out the 3 Guaiba for 2 Thunder King and a BLS...
Anyway, both Raymonds went to bed at around 3 a.m and for the rest of the night, I fiddled around with my deck. I contemplated maining 1 Maxx "C", because it's good against almost everything. Rabbit, Dragons, Inzektors, and especially Wind-Ups. Deep down, I was afraid of getting looped, and I would feel a little more comfortable if I used 3 Veiler and 1 Maxx "C". So I spent many hours, until about 7:45 practicing with myself, and seeing what I liked.
Raymond, other Raymond, and I arrived at around 9, and we got entered and got ready to play.The Regionals consisted of 217 players, and Top 32 would be awarded with a Nationals invite. From our local area, I participated, along with Raymond (Inzektors), Josh (Six Samurai), Rori (Wind-Ups) and Jordan (Wind-Ups). Jordan also brought his friend along, who was just getting into the game, and other Raymond joined us. And now, the Regionals report:
Round 1 vs Other Raymond (2-0)
Game 1 I opened with Rabbit and made Dolkka (since I knew he was playing Chaos Dragons), and set some traps. He set a monster and passed. I summoned Tour Guide and made a Laggia, and I won that game shortly after. Game 2 he did swarm me a little bit, but with some Rabbit plays, and some spells and traps, I broke through his monsters, and reduced him down to 2 dead Solar Recharges. Yeah...
It was unfortunate that I played him first round, out of everyone their. But he wasn't discouraged, and we both moved on.
Round 2 vs Chaos Dragons (2-0)
Game 1 he started and played his Charge of the Light Brigade, and all 3 Solar Recharges... He set a monster and passed. I summoned Thunder King and attacked his face-down Ryko, which killed my monster. I set 2 cards and passed. He played Heavy Storm and destroyed my traps. He summoned Darkflare Dragon, Light Pulsar Dragon and BLS. He attacked with Darkflare, then Light Pulsar, then BLS, and with 100 points remaining I dropped Gorz, with a 3000 token. He played Smashing Ground to destroy my Kaien Token and he ended his turn by setting one card. I activated Monster Reborn on his Lyla, which he let through, and I destroyed his face-down Torrential Tribute. I summoned my BLS, then I summoned Kabazauls. I used Kabazauls and Lyla to make Utopia, then Utopia Ray. I used Utopia Ray to drop his BLS down to 0 attack, and I won that turn. Game 2 I had Macro active so he couldn't get any monsters in his graveyard the entire game. I had answers for both of Lylas. This game I beat him down with Kabazauls and Fossil Dyna (it's a good card against dragons).
Round 3 vs Dino-Rabbits (2-1)
Unfortunately I don't remember this match very well at all. The guy I played was cool though. His Dino-Rabbit deck played Shrink, so his Guaibas were more powerful against other monsters. This is an idea I've wanted to try for a while. It was fun.
Round 4 vs Chaos Dragons (0-2)
We had a very close game 1. His deck had about 10 cards left, and I had a face-up Kabazauls with 400 life points left. He was top-decking, and the only cards left that could kill me in his deck was one Chaos Sorcerer and one Darkflare dragon. He drew one of them and I lost. Game 2 I got completely destroyed by dragon plays. I had no traps at all, and I opened 4 normal monsters and a Thunder King, which was practically useless, because Card Trooper is a good card...
This was rather disappointing that I lost. I don't like losing...
Round 5 vs Blaze Fenix OTK (2-0)
I opened Rabbit and made a Laggia, after he went first and I assumed he was playing Blaze Fenix. I had the MST for when he played Fusion Gate on his turn. He summoned Cyber Valley and passed. I summoned Thunder King, attacked into his Cyber Valley and ended. On my next turn I overpowered him with Tour Guide. Game 2 Catastor put in some work, because he couldn't kill it, and I was able to stop the OTK by using Warning on his Chain Material.
I really like this deck. I made it once before but it really was too fragile. I will probably revisit it and make it better at some point.
Round 6 vs Chaos Dragons (2-0)
Both of these games were really close, but really funny. He summoned his BLS and did some damage, then I summoned my BLS and after he used Veiler on my BLS to prevent me from banishing his, I play Dark Hole, which also killed his Darkflare Dragon. On his turn he used Monster Reborn on my BLS, and I dropped Gorz, and he ended his turn. On my turn I used Monster Reborn on his BLS, banished my BLS on his side off the field, summoned Sabersaurus and beat him that turn. Game 2 was similar. After a few turns, he summoned BLS, but I destroyed it with Torrential. I brought it back with Monster Reborn, and that BLS won me the game a few turns later.
Fortunately, that was the last Dragon deck I would be facing, but playing against Dragons half the day is really stupid. Reminds me of Agents, because it was Tier 1 deck that anyone could play because it was cheap...
Round 7 vs Dino-Rabbit (0-2)
This match was really depressing. He summoned 2 Rabbits, both games, and I didn't have Veilers, or my own Rabbits, just normal monsters and useless Thunder Kings...
Yeah, so I have to win the next match, or I don't top. Unfortunately, I'm paired against Rori last round, which means whoever wins tops, and other person doesn't top.
Round 8 vs Wind-Ups (2-0)
Game 1 I had a hand trap to prevent my hand from being looped with Magician, Shark and Pot of Avarice first turn. I went and summoned Rabbit, and made a Dolkka and attacked his Zenmaines that he made, and set most of my hand. At the end phase I detached a material from Dolkka to prevent Zenmaines from blowing something up. Next turn he used Mind Control on my Dolkka, summoned Tour Guide and went into Sangan. I decided to Torrential Tribute the field at that point, and I used my Forbidden Lance to prevent Dolkka from being destroyed (Typically I would've used Torrential after he overlayed the Tour Guide and Sangan, which would prevented a Sangan search, but I didn't. I felt like being as nice as possible, which is very rare...). Anyway he searched another Tour Guide, and ended his turn, which means I got my Dolkka back. I won shortly after. Game 2 he went first and set a monster and a trap. I summoned Thunder King and attacked, but he activated Thunder King, and I was fine with that (since Thunder King can negate a special summon under Fiendish Chain). I set many cards in my hand again, and ended my turn, in case he would loop me next turn. He normal summoned Hunter but I banished it with Bottomless Trap Hole. On my turn I summoned Rabbit and then I won in no time.
So I ended up going X-2, and coming 16th overall, which is pretty good. It's about fucking time as well. This format disgusts me because I didn't lose any games because of lack of skill: I lost because of top-decks and hands that are practically impossible to defeat when I draw shit. Sure, I sacked a few people today, but the games that I didn't draw Rabbit were based on outplaying my opponents, which I did.
Now that I topped a Regionals, I can relax a little and defeat people with decks that aren't Dino-Rabbit. However, in a few weeks I will have to prepare for Nationals, since I'm already 90% certain I can attend the event. I will likely upload a video of my Dino-Rabbit deck in a few days, and start writing blogs on Yu-Gi-Oh related content that doesn't necessarily focus on Dino-Rabbit nearly as much.
This is the longest post I've ever typed. Enjoy.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Best Dino-Rabbit Build: Re-cap and Side-decking Thoughts
Finally, after all of the extensive play-testing and posts, I have finished concluding what cards I would prefer against certain match-ups. The notes below are numbers that represent the cards I chose, and the amonnt of times they have appeared.
The first diagram reviews every cards I initially selected, and reveals how many times I suggested the particular card in a post. Additionally, the number also reveals how many copies of the card I suggested, while the maximum amount is to the left of the card's name.
(The reasons it looks somewhat messy is because I wrote these notes in Notepad, and pasted them here. However, I anticipated this and the notes are simple to understand. There are the 8 decks below, that I reviewed. The first number, moving left to right, is the number that represents the Inzektor match-up. The second number represents the Chaos Dragon match-up, etc.)
inzektors chaos dragons rabbit dark world wind-up six sam heroes hieratics
+1 gorz 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
+2-3 veiler 3 0 3 0 3 0 0 3
+1-2 maxx c 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2
2 snowman 0 2 2 0 2 2 2 0
1 reaper 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1 avarice 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
1 lance 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
1-3 night beam 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0
2 chalice 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0
1 torrential 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 bottomless 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 starlight 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1-2 fiendish chain 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 2
2-3 macro cosmos 3 3 0 3 3 0 2 0
1-2 safe zone 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1-2 d prison 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 0
1 mirror force 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
This second diagram shows the amount of times the card has appeared. In fraction form, the denominator represents the maximum copies of the card, while the numerator is how often it appeared.
gorz - 6/8 75%
veiler - 12/24 50%
maxx c - 6/16 37.5%
snowman - 10/16 62.5%
reaper - 4/8 50%
avarice - 3/8 37.5%
lance - 5/8 62.5%
night beam - 4/24 16.67%
chalice - 6/16 37.5%
torrential - 7/8 87.5%
bottomless - 7/8 87.5%
starlight - 0/8 0%
fiendish chain - 10/16 62.5%
macro cosmos - 14/24 58.3%
safe zone - 2/16 12.5%
d prison - 10/16 62.5%
mirror force - 1/8 12.5%
AGAINST INZEKTORS, CHAOS DRAGONS AND DINO-RABBITS ONLY
gorz - 1/3 33%
(I realized after I wrote my chaos dragon post
I forgot to mention Gorz. Gorz is good against
Chaos Dragons. Therefore, the above numbers
should be 2/3 and 66%)
veiler - 6/9 66%
maxx c - 0/6 0%
snowman - 4/6 66%
reaper - 1/3 33%
avarice - 1/3 33%
lance - 2/3 66%
night beam - 0/9 0%
chalice - 4/6 66%
torrential - 3/3 100%
bottomless - 2/3 66%
starlight - 0/3 0%
fiendish chain - 6/6 100%
macro cosmos - 6/9 66%
safe zone - 2/6 33%
d prison - 4/6 66%
mirror force - 0/3 33%
Now that the numbers are finalized, typically, the optimal idea is to run the cards with the highest percentages, to have the strongest match-ups available. However, this does cause some conflicts between these cards: Gorz, Veiler, Macro and Fiendish Chain. It's hard to summon Gorz when multiple continuous traps are active, and it's difficult to use Veiler when Macro is active. These are all cards I wish to include, but it clearly isn't possible. And just as a reminder, I will never exceed 40 cards in a deck. However, now that I have the numbers listed, making a decision on the final 9 cards is a little simpler. Unfortunately, I have less than 48 hours left to decide though...
Anyway, onto the side-deck. I should be siding for the above 8 decks. I've already decided that I want to side 3 Royal Decree or Trap Stun for the random anti-meta, or alternative win condition deck that I could see (Gravekeepers, Chain Burn...). This leaves me with 12 spots to experiment. I already know that many of the above cards will likely be sided, if not mained. I'm also deliberating random surprise tech, against certain match-ups, like Soul Taker...
Any advice is greatly appreciated, especially now. Tomorrow I will be attending a Locals in another city, likely Toronto, instead of Belleville. I will do my best to write a tournament report for it.
The first diagram reviews every cards I initially selected, and reveals how many times I suggested the particular card in a post. Additionally, the number also reveals how many copies of the card I suggested, while the maximum amount is to the left of the card's name.
(The reasons it looks somewhat messy is because I wrote these notes in Notepad, and pasted them here. However, I anticipated this and the notes are simple to understand. There are the 8 decks below, that I reviewed. The first number, moving left to right, is the number that represents the Inzektor match-up. The second number represents the Chaos Dragon match-up, etc.)
inzektors chaos dragons rabbit dark world wind-up six sam heroes hieratics
+1 gorz 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
+2-3 veiler 3 0 3 0 3 0 0 3
+1-2 maxx c 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2
2 snowman 0 2 2 0 2 2 2 0
1 reaper 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1 avarice 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
1 lance 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
1-3 night beam 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0
2 chalice 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0
1 torrential 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 bottomless 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 starlight 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1-2 fiendish chain 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 2
2-3 macro cosmos 3 3 0 3 3 0 2 0
1-2 safe zone 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1-2 d prison 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 0
1 mirror force 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
This second diagram shows the amount of times the card has appeared. In fraction form, the denominator represents the maximum copies of the card, while the numerator is how often it appeared.
gorz - 6/8 75%
veiler - 12/24 50%
maxx c - 6/16 37.5%
snowman - 10/16 62.5%
reaper - 4/8 50%
avarice - 3/8 37.5%
lance - 5/8 62.5%
night beam - 4/24 16.67%
chalice - 6/16 37.5%
torrential - 7/8 87.5%
bottomless - 7/8 87.5%
starlight - 0/8 0%
fiendish chain - 10/16 62.5%
macro cosmos - 14/24 58.3%
safe zone - 2/16 12.5%
d prison - 10/16 62.5%
mirror force - 1/8 12.5%
AGAINST INZEKTORS, CHAOS DRAGONS AND DINO-RABBITS ONLY
gorz - 1/3 33%
(I realized after I wrote my chaos dragon post
I forgot to mention Gorz. Gorz is good against
Chaos Dragons. Therefore, the above numbers
should be 2/3 and 66%)
veiler - 6/9 66%
maxx c - 0/6 0%
snowman - 4/6 66%
reaper - 1/3 33%
avarice - 1/3 33%
lance - 2/3 66%
night beam - 0/9 0%
chalice - 4/6 66%
torrential - 3/3 100%
bottomless - 2/3 66%
starlight - 0/3 0%
fiendish chain - 6/6 100%
macro cosmos - 6/9 66%
safe zone - 2/6 33%
d prison - 4/6 66%
mirror force - 0/3 33%
Now that the numbers are finalized, typically, the optimal idea is to run the cards with the highest percentages, to have the strongest match-ups available. However, this does cause some conflicts between these cards: Gorz, Veiler, Macro and Fiendish Chain. It's hard to summon Gorz when multiple continuous traps are active, and it's difficult to use Veiler when Macro is active. These are all cards I wish to include, but it clearly isn't possible. And just as a reminder, I will never exceed 40 cards in a deck. However, now that I have the numbers listed, making a decision on the final 9 cards is a little simpler. Unfortunately, I have less than 48 hours left to decide though...
Anyway, onto the side-deck. I should be siding for the above 8 decks. I've already decided that I want to side 3 Royal Decree or Trap Stun for the random anti-meta, or alternative win condition deck that I could see (Gravekeepers, Chain Burn...). This leaves me with 12 spots to experiment. I already know that many of the above cards will likely be sided, if not mained. I'm also deliberating random surprise tech, against certain match-ups, like Soul Taker...
Any advice is greatly appreciated, especially now. Tomorrow I will be attending a Locals in another city, likely Toronto, instead of Belleville. I will do my best to write a tournament report for it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Dino Rabbits vs Hieratics
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This is the final deck that I feel the requirement to address. The deck is relatively new so not everyone may know how to fight against it. These are the cards I would use against the match-up:
+1 Gorz
+3 Veiler
+2 Maxx "C"
+1 Spirit reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
Hieratics is an OTK deck, so Gorz is required in order to survive. Plus the Kaien token that Gorz will reproduce should be fairly powerful. 3 Veiler and 2 Maxx "C" are also required to disrupt their plays. However, with Maxx "C", you can still be defeated the turn you activate a Maxx "C", regardless of the number of cards you draw. 1 Spirit Reaper is included to survive the swarm, although Gaia Dragon will pierce through it. Hopefully you have full life points before that happens....
The extra Forbidden Lance is pretty useful. You need to be able to attack over their dragons.
1 Torrential and 1 Bottomless extra in the deck are required to disrupt the OTK, along with Fiendish Chain.
That's pretty much it with this deck. Tomorrow I will summarize all of these articles and discuss side-decking for Regionals. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This is the final deck that I feel the requirement to address. The deck is relatively new so not everyone may know how to fight against it. These are the cards I would use against the match-up:
+1 Gorz
+3 Veiler
+2 Maxx "C"
+1 Spirit reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
Hieratics is an OTK deck, so Gorz is required in order to survive. Plus the Kaien token that Gorz will reproduce should be fairly powerful. 3 Veiler and 2 Maxx "C" are also required to disrupt their plays. However, with Maxx "C", you can still be defeated the turn you activate a Maxx "C", regardless of the number of cards you draw. 1 Spirit Reaper is included to survive the swarm, although Gaia Dragon will pierce through it. Hopefully you have full life points before that happens....
The extra Forbidden Lance is pretty useful. You need to be able to attack over their dragons.
1 Torrential and 1 Bottomless extra in the deck are required to disrupt the OTK, along with Fiendish Chain.
That's pretty much it with this deck. Tomorrow I will summarize all of these articles and discuss side-decking for Regionals. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Elemetal Heroes
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
In my opinion, the Hero match-up is a slightly more difficult one to overcome. Miracle Fusion and Super Polymerization are insane cards. Additionally, Gemini Spark and Hero Blast can directly disrupt a Rabbit play. These are the cards I'm considering for the match-up:
+1 Gorz
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+2 Night Beam
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Macro Cosmos
+2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This list consists of 13 cards, and once again we start with Gorz. Since Gorz is dark, it is currently immune to Super Poly. Gorz also has higher attack points which will be utilized to their fullest potential when battling their fusion monsters. There are 2 Snowman Eater included to take down strong monsters during the damage step, which is excellent because Super Poly or Gemini Spark can't be chained. Spirit Reaper is a excellent wall in this deck due to its immunity to Super Poly. Enough said.
The 3rd Forbidden Lance can assist in battle, but also prevent my monsters from being destroyed by Gemini Spark. It also makes a monster temporarily unaffected by Skill Drain, which I find a little humorous. 2 Night Beam are being considered because the deck contains many traps and quick-play spells, therefore extra spell/trap defense can be useful.
For the traps, Torrential and Bottomless destroy their big monsters. Additionally, these cards can eliminate a Fusion monster that was fusion summoned by Super Poly, where Warning and Judgment cannot. 2 Macro are included to banish all their heroes, making cards like Miracle Fusion and Hero Blast useless. Finally, 2 Dimensional Prison and 1 Mirror Force to eliminate their stronger threats.
Anyway, those are my thoughts of countering the Hero match-up. Tomorrow I will discuss Hieratics, which will probably be the final deck I analyze.
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
In my opinion, the Hero match-up is a slightly more difficult one to overcome. Miracle Fusion and Super Polymerization are insane cards. Additionally, Gemini Spark and Hero Blast can directly disrupt a Rabbit play. These are the cards I'm considering for the match-up:
+1 Gorz
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+2 Night Beam
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Macro Cosmos
+2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This list consists of 13 cards, and once again we start with Gorz. Since Gorz is dark, it is currently immune to Super Poly. Gorz also has higher attack points which will be utilized to their fullest potential when battling their fusion monsters. There are 2 Snowman Eater included to take down strong monsters during the damage step, which is excellent because Super Poly or Gemini Spark can't be chained. Spirit Reaper is a excellent wall in this deck due to its immunity to Super Poly. Enough said.
The 3rd Forbidden Lance can assist in battle, but also prevent my monsters from being destroyed by Gemini Spark. It also makes a monster temporarily unaffected by Skill Drain, which I find a little humorous. 2 Night Beam are being considered because the deck contains many traps and quick-play spells, therefore extra spell/trap defense can be useful.
For the traps, Torrential and Bottomless destroy their big monsters. Additionally, these cards can eliminate a Fusion monster that was fusion summoned by Super Poly, where Warning and Judgment cannot. 2 Macro are included to banish all their heroes, making cards like Miracle Fusion and Hero Blast useless. Finally, 2 Dimensional Prison and 1 Mirror Force to eliminate their stronger threats.
Anyway, those are my thoughts of countering the Hero match-up. Tomorrow I will discuss Hieratics, which will probably be the final deck I analyze.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Six Samurai
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Six Samurai is a very interesting deck to play against. Typically, I only lose if my opponent activates Gateway, or multiple Six Sam United. Despite that, these are the cards I would consider using against them:
+1 Gorz
+2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+2 Dimensional Prison
The following list 16 cards, and each of these cards have a significant use when battling the Samurai deck. Gorz is included because it is stronger than any of the opponent's monsters. Therefore, if the opponent has no answer to Gorz, you'll start to destroy their field. I prefer Maxx "C" over Veiler in this match-up because I would rather draw cards if they swarm with Gateway, then negate a single monster effect. Snowman Eater is for killing Beast, Barkion and Shi En, unless you opponent has a Magatama to counter it. Reaper is simply for stalling after their swarm.
I wish to include the 3rd Lance in my deck because their monsters have similar attack to my monsters. Having the extra 800 points can go a long way, unless your opponent controls a Naturia Beast or Shi En that still has the capability to negate a card that turn. Chalices are quite beneficial in the match-up. If a Shi En or Barkion negates a card, you can chain and target that monster with Chalice to allow your card to resolve. Unfortunately this won't work if the opponent controls Beast, but is still a simple and deadly strategy.
Torrential or Bottomless work wonders when destroying the Samurai swarm (unless they have Magatama). Fiendish Chain is included and works exactly like Chalice. The Chain is useful against Shi En or Beast, and disables their ability to attack, if they continue to remain on the field that is. Finally, Dimensional Prison can be included for the additional monster removal it provides. It cannot be negated with Magatama either, which is beneficial.
That's all for Six Samurai. I have an idea of my posts for the remainder of the week. Tomorrow I think I am writing about the Elemental Hero match-up and Wednesday I will discuss the Hieratic match-up. Thursday will be a wrap-up for all of these segments, and probably include side-decking thoughts. Friday is Locals, and hopefully I come i first place, and Saturday is Regionals. There shall be quite a bit of Yu-Gi-Oh this week.
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Six Samurai is a very interesting deck to play against. Typically, I only lose if my opponent activates Gateway, or multiple Six Sam United. Despite that, these are the cards I would consider using against them:
+1 Gorz
+2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+2 Dimensional Prison
The following list 16 cards, and each of these cards have a significant use when battling the Samurai deck. Gorz is included because it is stronger than any of the opponent's monsters. Therefore, if the opponent has no answer to Gorz, you'll start to destroy their field. I prefer Maxx "C" over Veiler in this match-up because I would rather draw cards if they swarm with Gateway, then negate a single monster effect. Snowman Eater is for killing Beast, Barkion and Shi En, unless you opponent has a Magatama to counter it. Reaper is simply for stalling after their swarm.
I wish to include the 3rd Lance in my deck because their monsters have similar attack to my monsters. Having the extra 800 points can go a long way, unless your opponent controls a Naturia Beast or Shi En that still has the capability to negate a card that turn. Chalices are quite beneficial in the match-up. If a Shi En or Barkion negates a card, you can chain and target that monster with Chalice to allow your card to resolve. Unfortunately this won't work if the opponent controls Beast, but is still a simple and deadly strategy.
Torrential or Bottomless work wonders when destroying the Samurai swarm (unless they have Magatama). Fiendish Chain is included and works exactly like Chalice. The Chain is useful against Shi En or Beast, and disables their ability to attack, if they continue to remain on the field that is. Finally, Dimensional Prison can be included for the additional monster removal it provides. It cannot be negated with Magatama either, which is beneficial.
That's all for Six Samurai. I have an idea of my posts for the remainder of the week. Tomorrow I think I am writing about the Elemental Hero match-up and Wednesday I will discuss the Hieratic match-up. Thursday will be a wrap-up for all of these segments, and probably include side-decking thoughts. Friday is Locals, and hopefully I come i first place, and Saturday is Regionals. There shall be quite a bit of Yu-Gi-Oh this week.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Wind-Ups
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Wind-Ups still exist unfortunately, along with their skill-less first turn hand-loop. These are the cards I wish to experiment against the deck:
+1 Gorz
+3 Veiler
+2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+3 Macro Cosmos
Once again, this list is fairly larger than some of the other lists. Gorz is good because Wind-Ups don't have many answers to it, because it is strong. 3 Veiler and 2 Maxx "C" are for the hand-loop obviously. Snowman Eater has a strong defense and kills monsters, while Reaper is purely a defensive walls to stall for resources if a hand-loop occurs.
Pot of Avarice is nice because it recycles monsters that were looped or previously utilized. Wind-Ups have extreme difficulty overcoming Laggia and Dolkka.
Torrential and Bottomless destroy a Wind-Up over-extension play. 2 Fiendish Chain essentially do the same, along with 3 Macro to banish the Hunters.
This post is a little vague. I just got back from a trip, and I haven't slept a lot lately, so now I will sleep. Look forward to tomorrow's post.
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Wind-Ups still exist unfortunately, along with their skill-less first turn hand-loop. These are the cards I wish to experiment against the deck:
+1 Gorz
+3 Veiler
+2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+3 Macro Cosmos
Once again, this list is fairly larger than some of the other lists. Gorz is good because Wind-Ups don't have many answers to it, because it is strong. 3 Veiler and 2 Maxx "C" are for the hand-loop obviously. Snowman Eater has a strong defense and kills monsters, while Reaper is purely a defensive walls to stall for resources if a hand-loop occurs.
Pot of Avarice is nice because it recycles monsters that were looped or previously utilized. Wind-Ups have extreme difficulty overcoming Laggia and Dolkka.
Torrential and Bottomless destroy a Wind-Up over-extension play. 2 Fiendish Chain essentially do the same, along with 3 Macro to banish the Hunters.
This post is a little vague. I just got back from a trip, and I haven't slept a lot lately, so now I will sleep. Look forward to tomorrow's post.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Dark World
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
The Dark World is very dangerous and frightening. It's one of those decks: Draw certain cards and almost win automatically. These are the cards I suggest for mitigating the insanity of Dark World:
+1 Gorz
+1 Pot of Avarice
+2 Night Beam
+1 Bottomless
+3 Macro Cosmos
+2 Dimensional Prison
This list of cards is significantly shorter than my other lists in previous posts. Gorz is included in the list because it is a Fiend, which receives a boost from Gates of Dark World. The deck doesn't have many ways to combat Gorz, which is excellent. It's easier to summon against Dark World because Grapha will destroy the cards on the field, then attack into Gorz.
I like Pot of Avarice against the Dark World. It can be fueled with Dragged Down, Dark World, Dealings, Deck Devastation Virus... 2 copies of Night Beam seem effective because it can destroy face-down Skill Drains and Deck Devastation Viruses. Many duelists won't see Night Beam coming and won't likely activate these cards during the draw or standby phase.
The 1 extra Bottomless and Dimensional Prisons are for banishing Grapha, for the most part. Finally, Macro Cosmos absolutely kills this deck if I draw it, for obvious reasons...
That's pretty much it. These 10 cards assist with destroying the Dark World.
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
The Dark World is very dangerous and frightening. It's one of those decks: Draw certain cards and almost win automatically. These are the cards I suggest for mitigating the insanity of Dark World:
+1 Gorz
+1 Pot of Avarice
+2 Night Beam
+1 Bottomless
+3 Macro Cosmos
+2 Dimensional Prison
This list of cards is significantly shorter than my other lists in previous posts. Gorz is included in the list because it is a Fiend, which receives a boost from Gates of Dark World. The deck doesn't have many ways to combat Gorz, which is excellent. It's easier to summon against Dark World because Grapha will destroy the cards on the field, then attack into Gorz.
I like Pot of Avarice against the Dark World. It can be fueled with Dragged Down, Dark World, Dealings, Deck Devastation Virus... 2 copies of Night Beam seem effective because it can destroy face-down Skill Drains and Deck Devastation Viruses. Many duelists won't see Night Beam coming and won't likely activate these cards during the draw or standby phase.
The 1 extra Bottomless and Dimensional Prisons are for banishing Grapha, for the most part. Finally, Macro Cosmos absolutely kills this deck if I draw it, for obvious reasons...
That's pretty much it. These 10 cards assist with destroying the Dark World.
Dino-Rabbits vs Dino-Rabbits, and something else!
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Today I will discuss how I would combat the mirror match. So skipping any fancy introduction, these are the cards I would want to utilize:
+1 Gorz
+3 Veiler
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+2 Dimensional Prison
I picked an incredible amound of cards (17) that can be effective against Dino-Rabbits. Gorz is my first pick, and for good reason. Dino-Rabbits have a little difficulty against Gorz because it is so strong. The deck has significantly fewer counters to Gorz than other monsters. You must have Dollka or an active Solemn Warning. If you don't, hopefully you have a Lance or other defensive spell/trap, otherwise Gorz will make things difficult. I chose to include 3 Veiler because Rabbit can be stopped by Veiler for a turn. A lot of players will say it doesn't matter because it will stay alive, and next turn it will be active. That's not always relevant. Veiler also limits Tour Guide and Guaiba, so it's a great card against the deck. 2 Snowman Eater because it kills any monster, unless your opponent has Dollka or Forbidden Chalice.
I'm feeling 1 Pot of Avarice is essential in the mirror match. Usually, whoever summons the most Rabbits is victorious. Recycling Sabersaurus, Kabazauls, Tour Guides and even Rescue Rabbits will allow you to continue explosive Rabbit plays. The extra Forbidden Lance is really good against the mirror match. It's a card that requires some skill to utilize its absolute potential, but having the extra Lance really assist's victory, since it is a multi-purpose card. Sometimes, the attack difference changes everything, especially with Guaiba. Otherwise, Lance keeps your Evolzars safe against Dark Hole, Smashing Ground and other cards. When you use Lance to make your Laggia immune to Dark Hole, instead of wasting its negation technique, it changes the opponent's strategy quite a degree. Forbidden Chalice is extremely powerful in the mirror match. I may have topped Regionals if I had this card, or if it wasn't used against me. Negating a Laggia or Dollka with Chalice, after its own negation cost has occurred, is devastating. Also, the fact that it is a quick-play spell makes it shine amongst other tricks. 2 is necessary for the mirror match.
For the traps, the extra Torrential and Bottomless are required to prevent the opponent from creating an Evolzar. Caution though: Starlight Road does exist, so be careful. Fiendish Chain works like Chalice. Unfortunately, it can't be activated from the hand as a quick-play spell, and MST can be chained to it, but it does prevent attacks, which makes this card strong enough and playable. Finally, 2 Dimensional Prison is good. It either forces a Laggia's negation, or banishes a powerful monster.
Hopefully, I can continue posting this weekend. I am pretty busy, but I will do my best to continue the "Dino-Rabbit vs" series.
And now something else...
2 years ago today, SkillOverLuck was founded by Jonathan and I. This team was created our skills in this game could increase. The name "SkillOverLuck" was chosen because we both believe that Skill is absolutely essential, and Luck can't be relied on to shower you with victory the majority of the time. Luck is limited, but a player can always increase his/her skills with initiative. Speaking from experience, my skills have greatly increased over the past two years, and hopefully this growth continues.
Jonathan and I are still the leaders of this team, and hopefully Jon will come back to the game since summer is here and school is finished, although whether that happens or not is currently unknown. Other team members include my right-hand Asian Raymond (crazy Asian with crazy skills, and has crazy pack-opening powers), Mason and Mike. We know how to play the game, and we have the skills to justify it.
So yeah, thought I would say something about my team since it is 2 years old. Happy Birthday!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Chaos Dragons
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
Yesterday I discussed cards that would assist in ripping apart Inzektors yesterday, and Chaos Dragons is the next deck up for discussion. Out of the above list of cards that I'm debating, these are the cards I would like to use in this particular match-up:
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+2 Fiendish Chain
+3 Macro Cosmos
+2 Dimensional Prison
These are the 13 cards I have selected. Firstly, Snowman Eater is good at blowing up giant dragons, particularly REDMD, Darkflare Dragon, Light Pulsar Dragon (if it cannot use its effect to summon a dark dragon from the graveyard, because none exist at that specific moment...) or Five-Headed Dragon... Reaper is good because the Chaos Dragons don't have many cards able to automatically target a Reaper and kill it, thus making it a good choice to prevent an army of dragons to destroy you. I would like the extra Lance in the deck for this match-up because sometimes the extra attack difference can change everything. For example, I beat someone of DN yesterday because of Lance. I controlled a Dollka with a set Lance. My opponent, summoned an Eclipse Wyvern, banished it to summon REDMD and attacked my Dollka before activating its effect (like a smart player would). I used Lance to destroy REDMD in battle, and next turn I won. I believe playing 2 Bottomless and 2 Torrential is beneficial against Dragons. Bottomless is a really good card since Priority is non-existent and as long as I don't use Torrential when the opponent has Light Pulsar and REDMD on the field, I think I'm good. Fiendish Chain is really good, because it negates effects, and prevents attacks, from giant dragons, so I really like this card against the deck, especially since most decks don't main 3 MST. Macro at 3 is amazing against this deck. Opening it first turn can be absolutely devastating, since the deck largely relies on the graveyard. Finally, 2 Dimensional Prison is good against the deck because it banishes the Light Pulsar instead of destroying it, unlike Mirror Force.
So these cards seem like definite answers to countering Chaos Dragons. Unfortunately I cant use them all... Anyway, I will do another post like this tomorrow. I'm not attending Locals tomorrow due to other commitments, just so everyone knows.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Dino-Rabbits vs Inzektors
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, today I will begin discussing and contemplating what cards I want to run against each potential match-up. Just as a reminder, these are the cards I will be experimenting with, and before Regionals, 9 of these cards will be included in the deck:
The first deck I will cover is Inzektors, because it may just be the most popular deck around, due to the recent release of Ladybug. From the list above, these are the cards I consider to be effective against this deck:
+3 Veiler
+2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+2 Fiendish Chain
+3 Macro Cosmos
+2 Safe Zone
I've chosen 15 cards which can effectively assist with the destruction of Inzektors. In my opinion, Veiler might be the best out of all these cards because it can stop a turn 1 Ladybug/Hopper play, while the others cards are unable to achieve that. Macro is really powerful against the deck because Inzektors can't send their equipment to the graveyard, since the graveyard is inaccessible. Forbidden Chalice and Fiendish Chain are solid effect blockers for a single turn, like Veiler, which can really damage the deck. The 400 attack boost from Chalice doesn't intimidate me significantly. I think 2 copies of Torrential is very effective, since this trap is chainable to the Inzektor summon, therefore preventing the opponent from creating explosive plays. Finally, I like the 2 copies of Safe Zone. An Inzektor can destroy the set Safe Zone, and I will activate it and destroy the monster that was equipped with Hornet. It's really effective, but it seems the other cards are slightly more potent.
Right now it is extremely difficult to select 9 cards out of that list of cards that are effective against Inzektors. These are all great cards against Inzektors, but unfortunately I can't make the final decision until I've covered all of the necessary decks. Again, any advice would be appreciated.
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
The first deck I will cover is Inzektors, because it may just be the most popular deck around, due to the recent release of Ladybug. From the list above, these are the cards I consider to be effective against this deck:
+3 Veiler
+2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+2 Fiendish Chain
+3 Macro Cosmos
+2 Safe Zone
I've chosen 15 cards which can effectively assist with the destruction of Inzektors. In my opinion, Veiler might be the best out of all these cards because it can stop a turn 1 Ladybug/Hopper play, while the others cards are unable to achieve that. Macro is really powerful against the deck because Inzektors can't send their equipment to the graveyard, since the graveyard is inaccessible. Forbidden Chalice and Fiendish Chain are solid effect blockers for a single turn, like Veiler, which can really damage the deck. The 400 attack boost from Chalice doesn't intimidate me significantly. I think 2 copies of Torrential is very effective, since this trap is chainable to the Inzektor summon, therefore preventing the opponent from creating explosive plays. Finally, I like the 2 copies of Safe Zone. An Inzektor can destroy the set Safe Zone, and I will activate it and destroy the monster that was equipped with Hornet. It's really effective, but it seems the other cards are slightly more potent.
Right now it is extremely difficult to select 9 cards out of that list of cards that are effective against Inzektors. These are all great cards against Inzektors, but unfortunately I can't make the final decision until I've covered all of the necessary decks. Again, any advice would be appreciated.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The Best Dino-Rabbit Build?
This question has been on my mind for a while now. This is the best deck of the current format, however it is not perfect. YCS Chicago proved that this deck can be played in multiple forms. The 1st place winner played the deck without any sort of Macro; while other Rabbit decks in the Top 32 included 2-3 Macro Cosmos in the main build. Looking at some of the reveled deck-lists from the Top 32, this was the skeleton of the deck that was consistent throughout the top decks.
3 Rabbit
3 Tour Guide
3 Jurrac Guaiba
3 Kabazauls
3 Sabersaurus
1 Sangan
3 MST
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Storm
1 Smashing Ground
1 Book of Moon
1 Torrential
1 Bottomless
2 Warning
1 Judgment
This skeleton consists of 31 cards. This kinda reminds me of Plant Synchro last format because the skeleton for that deck was like 34 cards, give or take a card. I will most likely abide to this skeleton, since I was playing all of these cards the Friday before YCS Chicago concluded. This only gives me 9 spots for other cards to include. This right now is the list of cards I have to choose from currently:
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This list consists of 20-29 I'm contemplating including. I can only pick 9, since I refuse to play more than 40 cards in my deck.
I believe the decks that I will see at Regionals, more than likely, are Dino-Rabbit, Inzektors and Chaos Dragons. After those decks, there will be Hieratics, Dark World, Heroes, Six Samurai and Wind-Ups. I'm also expecting certain random decks, like Chain Burn for example, to be played because of Cardcar D.
With that I will conclude today's post. Over the next few posts I will discuss how I feel is the best way to tackle the above decks, using the 20-29 card list I mentioned. While this knowledge will be beneficial to you, it will also allow myself to express my thoughts in writing, which will definitely assist me with deciding the final 9 cards of the deck. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
3 Rabbit
3 Tour Guide
3 Jurrac Guaiba
3 Kabazauls
3 Sabersaurus
1 Sangan
3 MST
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Storm
1 Smashing Ground
1 Book of Moon
1 Torrential
1 Bottomless
2 Warning
1 Judgment
This skeleton consists of 31 cards. This kinda reminds me of Plant Synchro last format because the skeleton for that deck was like 34 cards, give or take a card. I will most likely abide to this skeleton, since I was playing all of these cards the Friday before YCS Chicago concluded. This only gives me 9 spots for other cards to include. This right now is the list of cards I have to choose from currently:
+1 Gorz
+2-3 Veiler
+1-2 Maxx "C"
+2 Snowman Eater
+1 Spirit Reaper
+1 Pot of Avarice
+1 Forbidden Lance
+1-3 Night Beam
+1-2 Forbidden Chalice
+1 Torrential
+1 Bottomless
+1 Starlight Road
+1-2 Fiendish Chain
+2-3 Macro Cosmos
+1-2 Safe Zone
+1-2 Dimensional Prison
+1 Mirror Force
This list consists of 20-29 I'm contemplating including. I can only pick 9, since I refuse to play more than 40 cards in my deck.
I believe the decks that I will see at Regionals, more than likely, are Dino-Rabbit, Inzektors and Chaos Dragons. After those decks, there will be Hieratics, Dark World, Heroes, Six Samurai and Wind-Ups. I'm also expecting certain random decks, like Chain Burn for example, to be played because of Cardcar D.
With that I will conclude today's post. Over the next few posts I will discuss how I feel is the best way to tackle the above decks, using the 20-29 card list I mentioned. While this knowledge will be beneficial to you, it will also allow myself to express my thoughts in writing, which will definitely assist me with deciding the final 9 cards of the deck. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Tournament Report 05/04/2012
This tournament report may be lacking in detail. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to write the report last night so my memory of yesterday is somewhat limited. Anyway I did play Dino-Rabbit again.
Round 1 I got a bye. Really...
Round 2 vs Inzektors (2-1)
I don't remember so much about games 1 and 2. Game 1 I know I was able to stall by attaching Safe Zone to his Utopia so he couldn't kill me. I don't believe he drew his inzektor engine, and I eventually gathered my resources and overpowered him. Game 2 I opened with no traps or Rabbits and he opened with his inzektor engine, beating me in a few turns. Game 3 I opened Sabersaurus with 5 set cards. I didn't have anything to defend from Heavy Storm so if he did play it I would've lost. Anyway, he set 3 cards and ended on his first turn, and I flipped Macro Cosmos at the end phase. I attacked him directly the next 3 turns with Sabersaurus. Afterwards, he summoned Hornet, equipped it with Zektkaliber and attacked my dinosaur. He used Book of Moon on Sabersaurus, but I used Forbidden Lance on his Hornet, dropping it to 0 attack. He took 500 damage attacking into my Sabersaurus. On my turn I killed the Hornet by battle, and I won the turn after.
Round 3 vs Inzektors (Raymond) (2-1)
Game 1 I had him but then he dropped BLS, and kept it alive with his Solemn Judgment, and then the Soldier ripped through my field after a few turns. I used Safe Zone on it so it couldn't kill me. He beat me down with Sangan to death since I didn't draw any monsters. Game 2 and 3 I kinda destroyed him if memory serves me correctly, though I don't remember exactly what happened...
Top 4 at this point was myself, Raymond, a Wind-Up deck and a Dark World deck.
Round 4 vs Wind-Ups (2-0)
Game 1 I went first, and I placed as much of my hand on the field as possible so he couldn't do significant hand-damage when he exploded. Fortunately I had the traps to control him the entire game. Game 2 he started by summoning Tour Guide, special summoned Sangan, set some cards and ended his turn. I killed his Tour Guide with my Kabazauls and set some cards. He went and summoned another Tour Guide and this time I chained Maxx "C". He summoned Tour Bus, and then made a Leviathan Dragon. I flipped it face-down with Book of Moon. Next turn I killed it with Kabazauls. My memory is hazy at this point, but I killed him with my traps and a Laggia eventually.
I split with Raymond for first and second and that was it. I've went undefeated for at my locals for a while now. Hopefully this win-rate will stay consistent until after the next Regionals is over...
Round 1 I got a bye. Really...
Round 2 vs Inzektors (2-1)
I don't remember so much about games 1 and 2. Game 1 I know I was able to stall by attaching Safe Zone to his Utopia so he couldn't kill me. I don't believe he drew his inzektor engine, and I eventually gathered my resources and overpowered him. Game 2 I opened with no traps or Rabbits and he opened with his inzektor engine, beating me in a few turns. Game 3 I opened Sabersaurus with 5 set cards. I didn't have anything to defend from Heavy Storm so if he did play it I would've lost. Anyway, he set 3 cards and ended on his first turn, and I flipped Macro Cosmos at the end phase. I attacked him directly the next 3 turns with Sabersaurus. Afterwards, he summoned Hornet, equipped it with Zektkaliber and attacked my dinosaur. He used Book of Moon on Sabersaurus, but I used Forbidden Lance on his Hornet, dropping it to 0 attack. He took 500 damage attacking into my Sabersaurus. On my turn I killed the Hornet by battle, and I won the turn after.
Round 3 vs Inzektors (Raymond) (2-1)
Game 1 I had him but then he dropped BLS, and kept it alive with his Solemn Judgment, and then the Soldier ripped through my field after a few turns. I used Safe Zone on it so it couldn't kill me. He beat me down with Sangan to death since I didn't draw any monsters. Game 2 and 3 I kinda destroyed him if memory serves me correctly, though I don't remember exactly what happened...
Top 4 at this point was myself, Raymond, a Wind-Up deck and a Dark World deck.
Round 4 vs Wind-Ups (2-0)
Game 1 I went first, and I placed as much of my hand on the field as possible so he couldn't do significant hand-damage when he exploded. Fortunately I had the traps to control him the entire game. Game 2 he started by summoning Tour Guide, special summoned Sangan, set some cards and ended his turn. I killed his Tour Guide with my Kabazauls and set some cards. He went and summoned another Tour Guide and this time I chained Maxx "C". He summoned Tour Bus, and then made a Leviathan Dragon. I flipped it face-down with Book of Moon. Next turn I killed it with Kabazauls. My memory is hazy at this point, but I killed him with my traps and a Laggia eventually.
I split with Raymond for first and second and that was it. I've went undefeated for at my locals for a while now. Hopefully this win-rate will stay consistent until after the next Regionals is over...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)