Monday, November 12, 2012
Apparently this is an OTK Format…
I’ve heard and read a lot of discussion on the above statement. I thought I would share my thoughts on this format. From this point, I’m defining OTK as to generate 8000 ATK points in a single turn. I will start by stating a few pinnacles:
These are the current mainstream decks that have the ability to OTK consistently:
Wind-Ups
Geargia
Agents
Heroes
Mermails/ Atlanteans
Chaos Dragons
These are the current mainstream decks that have the ability to OTK the odd game:
Inzektors
Six Samurai
Dark Worlds
Heroic Champions
Plant Synchro Variants
Lightsworns Varients
These are the current mainstream decks that rarely have the ability to OTK:
Dino-Rabbit
Madolche
Psychics
Other Anti-Meta decks
Based on the above statistics, it’s fair to assume that OTKs aren’t uncommon by any means. I will definitely agree when someone tells me this format is extremely diverse. The majority of these decks, though, have simple OTKing abilities, which is likely why they all stand a chance of performing exceptionally.
It’s safe to say I’ve witnessed a lot of bullshit in the last 2 months. I’ve watched and observed duels at my Locals, Youtube, DN… that have resulted in an OTK, and that player won the game, regardless of advantage or player skill. There’s nothing fair about MST, Dark Hole, Magician and Shark when you are going second. From an OTK standpoint, Yu-Gi-Oh is not salvageable. Cards and archetypes with OTK potential are printed in every major set. Konami desires for every players to have a card-pool, that’s easily obtainable, that is able to auto-win. Unfortunately, this is not healthy, however it won’t change because Konami has to make money somehow.
One approach of combating this uprising is by playing Anti-Meta. I built my Chaos Anti-Meta deck for that simple reason and it barely disappoints me (with the exception of my performance and thankfully I was still able to scrape my 31st 1st place finish). This deck’s only weaknesses include Spell/ Trap lockdown and lucky draws. It seems to be a strong, competitive deck.
The other approach I’ve contemplated is constructing decks with multiple hand traps. The closest deck I have is one of my Gallis monster mash decks, containing 3 Veiler, 2 D.D. Crow, 1 Gorz, 2 Tragoedia and 3 Battle Fader. This deck is definitely competitive; however, I don’t believe it is enough.
This approach makes me want to take another swing at Frog Fairies; my original deck I constructed 2 formats ago that destroyed everyone. Ideally, I would like this deck to use 2-3 Veilers, 2-3 Maxx “C”s, 2-3 Herald of Orange Light, 1 Gorz, 2 Tragoedia, 2-3 Battle Fader, and 1 Honest. Followed up with a stream of boss monsters, it seems like this deck can shine once again.
My only issue with this approach is the existence of Shock Master. If the only hand-traps I possess are Gorz, Tragoedia, Battle Fader and Honest, I’m screwed. Kristya is another card that messes this strategy up. Thunder King also presents a challenge, but no where near as deadly as the above two options.
So those are my basic thoughts on the subject. I could go into a lot more detail; however, I don’t believe that is necessary. Just pick your position in this format and be prepared: Anything can happen.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Tournament Report 11/09/2012
Yesterday, I booked off work so I could play at the
tournament. Nothing special; just your average Locals. With the spirit of “fun
day Friday”, I decided to play Exodia. This tournament would decide whether or
not I come 1st for the 30th time.
Round 1 vs Mason (Prophecy)
1 – This was a really long game, simply because I didn’t
have anything going for a while. I eventually drew my 5 pieces of Exodia.
2 – He sided in 3 Royal Decrees, and predicting that, I
sided 3 MST and Storm. Anyway, I had to use a Solemn Judgment on the first
Decree. I didn’t have any answers to his second one. He had Stardust on the
field to prevent me from destroying it, unless I had 2 MST or MST + Storm. I didn’t so I lost.
3 – Time was called very early in this game. Anticipating
that time would be called, I didn’t play my Upstarts or Gift Cards, so I would
be able to force a draw if nothing else. When Turn 5 arrives, I have 4 pieces
in my hand with a set Reckless. He summons Gagaga Cowboy, since I used
Threatning Roar, to burn me for 800, which put him in the lead… I flipped my
Reckless and drew the last piece I needed to win. The crowd went wild, since
almost everyone was watching our game. Heart of the Cards FTW!!
2-1
Round 2 vs Zach (Chaos Dragons)
1 – I easily take the first game since this deck doesn’t
usually have outs to Exodia in the main deck…
2 – He summons Jinzo… I knew he was siding it because he
told me, but I had an MST waiting for a Decree. I ended up using it on his
Prohibition that was locking me down. I just had to stall with Battle Faders,
One days, and Swift Scarecrows. It gets to the point where my 4 cards in hand
are 4 Exodia pieces. My face-downs were useless traps. I draw the 5th
piece of Exodia and obliterate him.
2-0
Round 3 vs Austin S. (Wind-Ups)
1 – He doesn’t explode first turn, thankfully, because I
didn’t have Maxx “C”. I draw 2 of them later on, and end up triggering them,
after he summoned his Shock Master turn 3. I was able to fight him off, and
win.
2 – He opens with both of his Thunder Kings so I can’t use
my 2 PODs or Sangan. I still manage to win because he’s so bad.
2-0
Round 4 vs Ganon (Sea Lancer)
I was a little surprised…
1 – He didn’t draw his LADDs so I won…
2 – Read above sentence…
2-0
I ended up going undefeated into Top 4. Mason, Austin and
Ganon top as well.
Round 5 vs Mason (Prophecy)
1 – I was close to winning, but he summoned Tempest Magician
and used its effect to finish me, since my life points were quite low.
2 – He doesn’t draw any of his Decrees and I had a good
hand, so I won.
3 – He sets a bunch of backrows, summons the guy that
searches Spellbooks, searched a Spellbook and played it, then ended his turn. I
play 3 Upstart and One Day of Piece. I ended up setting 3 Hope for Escape, 1
Gift Card and an MST, going YOLO because my hand didn’t offer any other
options. He flips Decree at my End Phase. He draws and plays Heavy Storm. I
activate my 3 Hopes, then Gift Card, then MST to destroy Decree. MST destroys
Decree, and the rest of my chain resolves, allowing me to draw a total of 12
cards. I ended up with the 5 pieces of Exodia.
2-0
Round 6 vs Austin
1 – Once again, he doesn’t explode. I opened a good hand
that let me go through my deck quite quickly, although not as strong as my last
match. I still won.
2 – Just read the above paragraph…
2-0
So I come 1st for the 30th time now. I
will admit, I was legitimately sacky in some of my matches (those ones should
be obvious). If I wasn’t as lucky as I was, I probably wouldn’t have won the
tournament. Oh well, onto the next Locals.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Money...
Money... This certain term has brought pain and agony to numerous card players. This definitely a strong control of the game, and seperates players into two different groups: Players with money, and players without money. Players with money will have an easier time gathering the more expensive cards while players without money will face difficult times, and cherish every $50+ card they possess (i'm not saying the second group of people doesn't have money, but they are definitely on a tigher budget that the people of the first group).
Money has driven people away from the game, simply because it's too expensive to have the best cards. It doesn't help that prize support in yugioh is lacking, compared to the prize support in MTG or Pokemon. This lack of prize support isn't an incentive to play yugioh competitively; the only incentive is to hold up the trophy at the end of the day, or have fun (if you are one of those people...).
Money isn't always assurance when it comes to buying a box, either. Yugioh is not like Pokemon or Vanguard, where you 95% guaranteed to break even or profit from purchasing a box. In Yugioh, each box usually contains 5-6 super rares, 2-3 ultra rare, 1 ultimate rare, 1 secret rare, and maybe 1 ghost rare. Konami is quite annoying and frustrating because each set contains good cards AND bad cards within the same rarity. I believe in ABYR, exactly 5 of the 8 secret rares are good, expensive cards. The others won't be as good. If person A buys a box of ABYR, and pulls Mermail Abyssmegalo, and person B buys a box and pulls Spellbook Library of the Heliosphere, person A almost made broke even with that one card, while person B is crying in a corner. It's ridiculous. Konami knows exactly what they are doing. People will purchase boxes until they obtain the cards they want. Konami makes more money by purposely including crappy cards into the higher rarity bracket.
Money is definitely a challenge in every card player community, and certain communities have it significantly worse than others. Here in Belleville, the owner of our card shop decided to charge us $29.95 + tax for the Hanzo tin. This is a little ridiculous, especially when I can buy the same tin at Walmart for $24.99 + tax. The original retail price, according to Konami, is $19.99. Silly, right? Also, I found out something yesterday from Mike (the other employee at the card shop). Apparently, the owner is starting to despite his credit system because it's unfair. Unfortunately, that's all the information I received regarding that because the first round started, but I'm probably going to visit the shop on Monday so he can elaborate on this topic.
...
This is where I start discussing a different tangent...
...
I'm currently in the process of trying to organize Pokemon DS tournaments (generation 5 Pokemon). The financial cost of this is quite minimized compared to any TCG. $40 to purchase Black/ White/ Black 2/ or White 2 (most people have already purchased this game), and entry fee every tournament. That's it... I don't have to work two jobs to afford that or anything.
This also happens to be a game that rewards patience. It requires patience because you should train your Pokemon to make them stronger, hatch eggs until you get a Pokemon with a suitable nature, etc. This game requires skill because battles do require a good amount of though to come out on top.
The luck factor in this game is quite small. There are critical hits (lucky shots that do more damage, and critical hits don't happen all the time either. In wifi battles of generation 5, I've ony once seen two critical hits in a row. Those critical hits were against my team, and I still won after a close battle. The other factor of luck is quite minute: Normally the pokemon with the higher speed attacks first. The luck comes into place where you have two pokemon facing each other with the exact same speed stats. Who attacks first? I experimented this once on my own, and both Pokemon went first multiple times. Other than those two examples, I can't think of any other luck factor at this time.
Generation 5 battles also contain a variety of formats: Single battle, double battle, triple battle, and rotation battle. There are also formats a little more specific like Little Cup for example.
When I do get things rolling, we will decided upon our own "ban-list" to make the game balanced. This will include banned pokemon, moves, and possibly items.
So yeah, people of Belleville, expect something soon. This is a really great idea, and doesn't require significant financial loss...
...
Money... Unfortunately, we can't change how Konami runs their business. Unfortunately, we do have to deal with unfair prices in our communities. However, that's not a reason to quit playing. I've won locals with both cheap decks and expensive decks. I also build my decks so they can defeat expensive decks. Just because the game is expensive doesn't mean you have to get depressed over it. Fight it and move on, and kick ass with cards, expensive or not.
Money has driven people away from the game, simply because it's too expensive to have the best cards. It doesn't help that prize support in yugioh is lacking, compared to the prize support in MTG or Pokemon. This lack of prize support isn't an incentive to play yugioh competitively; the only incentive is to hold up the trophy at the end of the day, or have fun (if you are one of those people...).
Money isn't always assurance when it comes to buying a box, either. Yugioh is not like Pokemon or Vanguard, where you 95% guaranteed to break even or profit from purchasing a box. In Yugioh, each box usually contains 5-6 super rares, 2-3 ultra rare, 1 ultimate rare, 1 secret rare, and maybe 1 ghost rare. Konami is quite annoying and frustrating because each set contains good cards AND bad cards within the same rarity. I believe in ABYR, exactly 5 of the 8 secret rares are good, expensive cards. The others won't be as good. If person A buys a box of ABYR, and pulls Mermail Abyssmegalo, and person B buys a box and pulls Spellbook Library of the Heliosphere, person A almost made broke even with that one card, while person B is crying in a corner. It's ridiculous. Konami knows exactly what they are doing. People will purchase boxes until they obtain the cards they want. Konami makes more money by purposely including crappy cards into the higher rarity bracket.
Money is definitely a challenge in every card player community, and certain communities have it significantly worse than others. Here in Belleville, the owner of our card shop decided to charge us $29.95 + tax for the Hanzo tin. This is a little ridiculous, especially when I can buy the same tin at Walmart for $24.99 + tax. The original retail price, according to Konami, is $19.99. Silly, right? Also, I found out something yesterday from Mike (the other employee at the card shop). Apparently, the owner is starting to despite his credit system because it's unfair. Unfortunately, that's all the information I received regarding that because the first round started, but I'm probably going to visit the shop on Monday so he can elaborate on this topic.
...
This is where I start discussing a different tangent...
...
I'm currently in the process of trying to organize Pokemon DS tournaments (generation 5 Pokemon). The financial cost of this is quite minimized compared to any TCG. $40 to purchase Black/ White/ Black 2/ or White 2 (most people have already purchased this game), and entry fee every tournament. That's it... I don't have to work two jobs to afford that or anything.
This also happens to be a game that rewards patience. It requires patience because you should train your Pokemon to make them stronger, hatch eggs until you get a Pokemon with a suitable nature, etc. This game requires skill because battles do require a good amount of though to come out on top.
The luck factor in this game is quite small. There are critical hits (lucky shots that do more damage, and critical hits don't happen all the time either. In wifi battles of generation 5, I've ony once seen two critical hits in a row. Those critical hits were against my team, and I still won after a close battle. The other factor of luck is quite minute: Normally the pokemon with the higher speed attacks first. The luck comes into place where you have two pokemon facing each other with the exact same speed stats. Who attacks first? I experimented this once on my own, and both Pokemon went first multiple times. Other than those two examples, I can't think of any other luck factor at this time.
Generation 5 battles also contain a variety of formats: Single battle, double battle, triple battle, and rotation battle. There are also formats a little more specific like Little Cup for example.
When I do get things rolling, we will decided upon our own "ban-list" to make the game balanced. This will include banned pokemon, moves, and possibly items.
So yeah, people of Belleville, expect something soon. This is a really great idea, and doesn't require significant financial loss...
...
Money... Unfortunately, we can't change how Konami runs their business. Unfortunately, we do have to deal with unfair prices in our communities. However, that's not a reason to quit playing. I've won locals with both cheap decks and expensive decks. I also build my decks so they can defeat expensive decks. Just because the game is expensive doesn't mean you have to get depressed over it. Fight it and move on, and kick ass with cards, expensive or not.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
"Box" Tournament Report 03/11/2012
So today I planned to go the box tournament today and I was piloting Wind-Ups. At yesterday's tournament (where I went undefeated with Chaos Anti-Meta..) we were told by the owner that the prize would be a box of GAOV. Today, we find out the real prize: A bunch of random packs of GAOV and HA6... We were all disappointed. I even went as far to ask the owner if credit could be today's prize. He said no... So yeah, playing for absolute crap...
Round 1 vs Random Scrub (Macro)
I didn't open amazing during any of these games, but I won because he is still a scrub...
2-0
Round 2 vs Richard (Inzektors)
1 - I opened Magician + Shark and I made a Shock Master locking off monster effects. I won the next turn because he couldn't use monster effects.
2 - I don't remember the details of this game, but I won within a few turns.
2-0
Round 3 vs Jim (E-Heroes)
1 - He went first, summoning Stratos, searching Alius, and setting a trap. I opened MST, Tour Guide and Shark so I won that turn.
2 - I joked with Jim that he gave me a godly hand. I opened 2 Magician and 2 Shark... He stopped my first first Magician + Shark play, but I killed him the turn after... That was by far the best and I've ever experienced playing this deck.
2-0
Round 4 vs Random Scrub (Dark Worlds)
1 - He goes first, and does a couple of Dark World plays. I won by beating him down with Rabbits because I had answers for his plays.
2 - This game was quite drown out. Gemini Imps beat his Card Destruction, then I had control of the game with Thunder King and Rabbit. I also kept my Graveyard empty so he couldn't properly use Dark Smog.
2-0
I topped, along with Rori (Karakuri), Zach (Chaos Dragons) and Ryan (Geargia Machina). Now get this:
Yesterday, Rori lost to me, got a bye, and won his other 2 rounds and he topped. The bye was worth 3 points. Today, Dark World scrub received a bye, a loss by myself, and won his other 2 rounds. His bye was worth 1 point... Discrepency much... I would also like to poit out Rori won against 3 random scrubs today, and lost to Jim. Just saying... Anyway, back to the report:
Round 5 vs Zach (Chaos Dragons)
1 - I start by summoning Tour Guide into Sangan and set a Warning. He summoned Card Trooper, which was negated by Warning. He then passes and I draw Shark. I make a Zenmaity with my 2 monsters and summon Magician. I then activate Shark...and I win that turn because he didn't have any hand traps.
2 - He summoned Thunder King and passed. I summoned Wind-Up Rabbit and passed. He summons a Tour Guide, special summons another one, and makes Leviair (In case I decided to banish the Rabbit). I let his Thunder King kill my Rabbit, he swings with Leviair and I drop Gorz. He passes and I summon Tour Guide and Sangan. Gorz kills Thunder King, my Token crashes with Leviair, and Tour Guide gets 1000 damage in. He draws, plays Dark Hole to destroy my field, Monster Reborn to summon my Gorz, and BLS to have exactly enough damage to win... So many limited cards...
3 - I summon Magician, and he drops Maxx "C" when I reveal Shark, so he draws a card. I set 2 traps and pass. He plays Heavy Storm, then Monster Reborn on his Maxx "C", and tributes it for Light Pulsar Dragon (I saw his hand after, that was the best he could do...). He attacked my Magician and ends his turn. I win on my next turn because I have Reborn too. He didn't have any more hand-traps.
2-1
Round 6 vs Rori (Karakuri)
1 - I go first with Magician and Shark, and end up with Shock Master, declaring Spells. He summons Komachi, uses its effect to normal summon a lv. 4 Karakuri, and he destroyed my field with Black Rose. We continued to fight, and it got to the point where we were both under 1000 life points. My only play was to make Tirus for game, and he had the CED. I will also note that I could've won a couple of turns before that, but he had Limiter Removal so I couldn't win. I lost... I was not happy at all. I refused to let Rori end my hot streak at 28 1st place titles...
2 - I held him back with Thunder King. I didn't leave the field the entire game... I won with Thunder King and a couple of Wind-Up plays.
3 - By my second turn I had Thunder King and Fossil Dyna on the field. He had no outs to either monster until the very end, when it was too late. I took advantage of the Karakuri battle-changing mechanics to win the tournament. I was a little happier...
2-1
So I secured my 29th 1st place finish. That was more of a prize than the packs were, since the best card I pulled was Vylon Disigma...
Other than that, I lost my voice last night and couldn't speak much today. It was annoying playing cards like that. Also, Richard and Ryan made fun of me because I could barely speak... bunch of meanies...
Anyway, I did some trades, and bought some sleeves off my store credit, since I refuse to pay $30 for a Hanzo tin (That's right, $30 for a tin, when the official price is $19.99 according to Konami...). He charged me tax on the sleeves, since I was using credit, which was a little annoying since I didn't win any credit today...
Today's events I consider more negative then positive. Yeah, I won another tournament, but that's old news...
Round 1 vs Random Scrub (Macro)
I didn't open amazing during any of these games, but I won because he is still a scrub...
2-0
Round 2 vs Richard (Inzektors)
1 - I opened Magician + Shark and I made a Shock Master locking off monster effects. I won the next turn because he couldn't use monster effects.
2 - I don't remember the details of this game, but I won within a few turns.
2-0
Round 3 vs Jim (E-Heroes)
1 - He went first, summoning Stratos, searching Alius, and setting a trap. I opened MST, Tour Guide and Shark so I won that turn.
2 - I joked with Jim that he gave me a godly hand. I opened 2 Magician and 2 Shark... He stopped my first first Magician + Shark play, but I killed him the turn after... That was by far the best and I've ever experienced playing this deck.
2-0
Round 4 vs Random Scrub (Dark Worlds)
1 - He goes first, and does a couple of Dark World plays. I won by beating him down with Rabbits because I had answers for his plays.
2 - This game was quite drown out. Gemini Imps beat his Card Destruction, then I had control of the game with Thunder King and Rabbit. I also kept my Graveyard empty so he couldn't properly use Dark Smog.
2-0
I topped, along with Rori (Karakuri), Zach (Chaos Dragons) and Ryan (Geargia Machina). Now get this:
Yesterday, Rori lost to me, got a bye, and won his other 2 rounds and he topped. The bye was worth 3 points. Today, Dark World scrub received a bye, a loss by myself, and won his other 2 rounds. His bye was worth 1 point... Discrepency much... I would also like to poit out Rori won against 3 random scrubs today, and lost to Jim. Just saying... Anyway, back to the report:
Round 5 vs Zach (Chaos Dragons)
1 - I start by summoning Tour Guide into Sangan and set a Warning. He summoned Card Trooper, which was negated by Warning. He then passes and I draw Shark. I make a Zenmaity with my 2 monsters and summon Magician. I then activate Shark...and I win that turn because he didn't have any hand traps.
2 - He summoned Thunder King and passed. I summoned Wind-Up Rabbit and passed. He summons a Tour Guide, special summons another one, and makes Leviair (In case I decided to banish the Rabbit). I let his Thunder King kill my Rabbit, he swings with Leviair and I drop Gorz. He passes and I summon Tour Guide and Sangan. Gorz kills Thunder King, my Token crashes with Leviair, and Tour Guide gets 1000 damage in. He draws, plays Dark Hole to destroy my field, Monster Reborn to summon my Gorz, and BLS to have exactly enough damage to win... So many limited cards...
3 - I summon Magician, and he drops Maxx "C" when I reveal Shark, so he draws a card. I set 2 traps and pass. He plays Heavy Storm, then Monster Reborn on his Maxx "C", and tributes it for Light Pulsar Dragon (I saw his hand after, that was the best he could do...). He attacked my Magician and ends his turn. I win on my next turn because I have Reborn too. He didn't have any more hand-traps.
2-1
Round 6 vs Rori (Karakuri)
1 - I go first with Magician and Shark, and end up with Shock Master, declaring Spells. He summons Komachi, uses its effect to normal summon a lv. 4 Karakuri, and he destroyed my field with Black Rose. We continued to fight, and it got to the point where we were both under 1000 life points. My only play was to make Tirus for game, and he had the CED. I will also note that I could've won a couple of turns before that, but he had Limiter Removal so I couldn't win. I lost... I was not happy at all. I refused to let Rori end my hot streak at 28 1st place titles...
2 - I held him back with Thunder King. I didn't leave the field the entire game... I won with Thunder King and a couple of Wind-Up plays.
3 - By my second turn I had Thunder King and Fossil Dyna on the field. He had no outs to either monster until the very end, when it was too late. I took advantage of the Karakuri battle-changing mechanics to win the tournament. I was a little happier...
2-1
So I secured my 29th 1st place finish. That was more of a prize than the packs were, since the best card I pulled was Vylon Disigma...
Other than that, I lost my voice last night and couldn't speak much today. It was annoying playing cards like that. Also, Richard and Ryan made fun of me because I could barely speak... bunch of meanies...
Anyway, I did some trades, and bought some sleeves off my store credit, since I refuse to pay $30 for a Hanzo tin (That's right, $30 for a tin, when the official price is $19.99 according to Konami...). He charged me tax on the sleeves, since I was using credit, which was a little annoying since I didn't win any credit today...
Today's events I consider more negative then positive. Yeah, I won another tournament, but that's old news...
Thursday, November 1, 2012
How to Become a Better Player
Today’s post is something that implied to any competitive
game. I’m going to discuss some fairly simple techniques to become better at
any game. I feel like typing this because I have seen many people in my area
that don’t improve for whatever reason. I’m no expert, I’ll admit, but I can
share my knowledge to benefit everyone else.
- Build and utilize different decks – This is something I mentioned in my previous post, and I’ll summarize it: The more decks you build, the more strategies, rulings, techniques and combos you learn. You can’t accomplish this if you consistently play one deck for 2 or more months at a time. Sure, you can play against a variety of decks, but playing with the deck increases your knowledge substantially. You will likely learn a different dimension that you ever knew existed.
- Play decks that require thought – I also mentioned this in my previous post. You won’t increase your knowledge significantly if you only use decks that are auto-pilot. You have to force yourself to think, in order to learn new concepts and excel.
- Play as much as possible – Whether you play with yourself, a group of friends, or on Dueling Network, you will increase your experience in this game after every game. It’s like a Pokemon that constantly battles. That Pokemon will gain experience, then become stronger after a certain point, and this process continues until the Pokemon’s levels are maxed. It’s much harder and longer to maximize your strength in Yu-Gi-Oh. The more you practice, the better you will become.
- Master your bad match-ups – One of the better feelings in this game it to be victorious against an opponent playing a deck that is statistically stronger. If you can pilot Dark Worlds successfully through a storm of Macro decks, you will become stronger.
- Read – This includes anywhere from reading your cards, to reading online articles. The more you read, research and receive, the more knowledgeable you become. This knowledge travels a lengthy distance. It can help you build decks, fight against decks, etc.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Bulding Decks = Building Skills
So I've decided I will blog a few times a week. I don't have time during the week to type much more than that. I believe I have useful information that will benefit all my readers, or at least the information will enlighten you. Today I want to discuss deck-building, and all of its benefits.
I'd like to start this with this quote: "The more decks you seriously build and playtest, the more your skills as a player will increase". This is a quote that I invented, and I believe it's true to every last point.
Most players tend to have an average of 3 decks built all the time. I have a friend that has 19 or 20 decks built. I currently have 30 complete decks. A lot of people will be flabbergasted when reading this, unless you already knew, because it's rare to find a person with this number of decks. By the way, that number will increase when I scavenge more sleeves. I always have deck ideas to go.
By having 30 decks, I'm able to playtest different strategies against different decks and observe specific results. I'll use this as an example. Let's say I'm testing my Ninjas against Heroes. My current Ninja build used 3 Anti-Spell Fragrance. Some other combos include Mist Valley Falcon + Safe Zone, and Anti-Spell Fragrance + Dark Simorgh. Against Heroes, if I have Anti-Spell Fragrance + Dark Simorgh active, I win because Heroes can't drop a boss monster to deal with the Simorgh unless they use a card like Miracle Fusion, and they can't use it due to my lock. Also, Super Transformation Art makes Shining miss it's timing, so that's always nice. Theoretically, Ninjas would have a dominate match-up against Heroes. Heroes would still likely win if they have instant answers to Anti-Spell Fragrance and Super Transformation Art.
Now say after a match or two between those decks I want to playtest Gallis Monster Mash against Ninjas. You would quickly observe that Anti-Spell Fragrance does nothing against this deck, however White Dragon Ninja + Safe Zone is practically impossible to overcome, or prevent. The only chance for victory at that point would be to resolve an effect of a card like Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, or OTK with burn damage with the Gallis + Birdman + Koaki Meiru Doom loop.You will also notice that Gallis will beat the crap out of Ninjas because of the amount of big monsters, unless they resolve a Safe Zone.
It's this type of playtesting that builds your skills, because you are learning the outcomes of certain cards against other cards. You are forcing yourself to strategically overcome challenges with the 40 cards at your disposal, which can take serious effort and planning.
As an aside, playing a sacky aggressive deck (like Heroes or Agents) barely increases your skill. This is something I always notice when constructing and experimenting with a deck like that. All the deck rewards you for is beating people down with big monsters. It's not an accomplishment, and if anything your skill level decreases, because all you know how to do is beat people with big monsters and you leech off the ability to be lucky. A not-so-skilled player can still win with a deck like this because it's simple and two-dimensional in terms of advanced strategy. A skilled player obviously will be better at the deck, even though it is simple, because skilled players usually have a better idea of when to drop the boss monsters, and use the most powerful cards at the correct times. This is a different post for a different day, though.
I enjoy having 30 decks built for multiple reasons. First and foremost, the playtesting and experimentation that occurs is amazing and quite useful. I can playtest at least 6 decks a day, and that's wholesome, beneficial practice. A lot of people can playtest their 3 constructed decks every day, but I believe my playtest is a lot more thorough. Secondly, I just like having 30 decks built to make me feel good about myself. Finally, it's better than having cards lying all over the place, serving no real purpose.
Building new decks is always a challenge because you want to make it as strong as possible. Using innovative tech cards that no one else really considers is definitely a bonus. Good deck building definitely increases your skill as a player, especially building a unique deck that has never really been heard of before (like I did with Frog Fairies 14 months ago). Who knows, you might build come up with a YCS winning deck (like I did with Chaos Dragons... just saying).
Hopefully you found this post enlightening and useful. My next post will likely be a tournament report for Saturday's Local tournament. I would like to come 1st for my 27th Local tournament in a row.
I'd like to start this with this quote: "The more decks you seriously build and playtest, the more your skills as a player will increase". This is a quote that I invented, and I believe it's true to every last point.
Most players tend to have an average of 3 decks built all the time. I have a friend that has 19 or 20 decks built. I currently have 30 complete decks. A lot of people will be flabbergasted when reading this, unless you already knew, because it's rare to find a person with this number of decks. By the way, that number will increase when I scavenge more sleeves. I always have deck ideas to go.
By having 30 decks, I'm able to playtest different strategies against different decks and observe specific results. I'll use this as an example. Let's say I'm testing my Ninjas against Heroes. My current Ninja build used 3 Anti-Spell Fragrance. Some other combos include Mist Valley Falcon + Safe Zone, and Anti-Spell Fragrance + Dark Simorgh. Against Heroes, if I have Anti-Spell Fragrance + Dark Simorgh active, I win because Heroes can't drop a boss monster to deal with the Simorgh unless they use a card like Miracle Fusion, and they can't use it due to my lock. Also, Super Transformation Art makes Shining miss it's timing, so that's always nice. Theoretically, Ninjas would have a dominate match-up against Heroes. Heroes would still likely win if they have instant answers to Anti-Spell Fragrance and Super Transformation Art.
Now say after a match or two between those decks I want to playtest Gallis Monster Mash against Ninjas. You would quickly observe that Anti-Spell Fragrance does nothing against this deck, however White Dragon Ninja + Safe Zone is practically impossible to overcome, or prevent. The only chance for victory at that point would be to resolve an effect of a card like Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, or OTK with burn damage with the Gallis + Birdman + Koaki Meiru Doom loop.You will also notice that Gallis will beat the crap out of Ninjas because of the amount of big monsters, unless they resolve a Safe Zone.
It's this type of playtesting that builds your skills, because you are learning the outcomes of certain cards against other cards. You are forcing yourself to strategically overcome challenges with the 40 cards at your disposal, which can take serious effort and planning.
As an aside, playing a sacky aggressive deck (like Heroes or Agents) barely increases your skill. This is something I always notice when constructing and experimenting with a deck like that. All the deck rewards you for is beating people down with big monsters. It's not an accomplishment, and if anything your skill level decreases, because all you know how to do is beat people with big monsters and you leech off the ability to be lucky. A not-so-skilled player can still win with a deck like this because it's simple and two-dimensional in terms of advanced strategy. A skilled player obviously will be better at the deck, even though it is simple, because skilled players usually have a better idea of when to drop the boss monsters, and use the most powerful cards at the correct times. This is a different post for a different day, though.
I enjoy having 30 decks built for multiple reasons. First and foremost, the playtesting and experimentation that occurs is amazing and quite useful. I can playtest at least 6 decks a day, and that's wholesome, beneficial practice. A lot of people can playtest their 3 constructed decks every day, but I believe my playtest is a lot more thorough. Secondly, I just like having 30 decks built to make me feel good about myself. Finally, it's better than having cards lying all over the place, serving no real purpose.
Building new decks is always a challenge because you want to make it as strong as possible. Using innovative tech cards that no one else really considers is definitely a bonus. Good deck building definitely increases your skill as a player, especially building a unique deck that has never really been heard of before (like I did with Frog Fairies 14 months ago). Who knows, you might build come up with a YCS winning deck (like I did with Chaos Dragons... just saying).
Hopefully you found this post enlightening and useful. My next post will likely be a tournament report for Saturday's Local tournament. I would like to come 1st for my 27th Local tournament in a row.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Yu-Gi-Oh! Past, Present and Future
I'm going to try and restart blogging. My life is extremely busy, with school and other activities that consume large proportions of time. I've decided to write an article on my thoughts of Yu-Gi-Oh! today. I probably wouldn't be writing this post if I didn't read this article: http://kperovic.com/blog/ygo-the-state-of-the-game/. I will be referring to this article, a little bit, in my discussion because there are numerous points I want to discuss myself. I will be dividing this post into 3 sections: The past, the present, and the potential future.
Past:
I remember when this card game first hit Canada, and I was a small kid who wanted to play it. I didn't understand competitive play immediately. I just bought packs and collected the cards for the most part. I remember when I pulled Change of Heart. That was a $50 card when it was first released and I had no idea. I immediately recognized it was a good card, and put it in my deck to play against my school-mates and neighbours (because back then everyone played this game). I still have my Change of Heart I pulled all those years ago, but that's beside the point.
When competitive play and tournaments first began, the card-pool was quite limited. The best deck-builders and more skilled players topped events and bathed in success.
Something I would like to draw attention to is the fact that there were less overpowered cards years ago, then there are today. Sure, back then we have Forceful Sentry, Harpies Feather Duster, Raigeki, etc. However, good players were able to use these cards to their maximum benefit, and also learned to mitigate their impact when used against the player. It wasn't that bad.
Things began to grow out of proportion when BLS, DMOC and Chaos Emperor Dragon were released. Those cards are game-enders. However, there was still skill to playing these cards. Skilled players, under normal circumstances, wouldn't summon their BLS unless they were certain BLS could end the game that turn. Despite these powerful cards entering the metagame, the players who were more skilled still topped events consistently. It was literally the same people, or same group, over and over again. The game had broken cards, individual cards, that didn't necessarily have broken combos with other cards (Chaos Emperor and Yata-Garasu, for example, is an exception).
I remained blissfully ignorant of this environment. I was just a kid in school, with controlling parents and no social life. Yeah, I collected cards, but didn't play with them too much. Honestly, I didn't even know this game was played competitively, because I lived in a bubble and all of that.
Fast forward the years, and let's visit 2009. What happened in 2009? I found out that my small village had a card shop. I decided to go on Saturdays and play in the tournaments. In the beginning I sucked, not horribly, but I would go 2-2 consistently. I played random crap like Elemental Heroes (Not with Shining and Absolute Zero, but Flare Wingman and Thunder Giant, like a boss), and random piles of cards with some strategy. I wasn't trying to be super competitive and be the best player of all time, but I did want to win.
I eventually ended up taking a hiatus from playing at the shop that summer and fall. I returned in the fall, and this was around the time LODT was released. People were playing Lightsworns and Dark.dek. I would consistently go 2-2, by beating the scrubs (even though I was kinda a scrub, but not as scrubby. I kinda scrubbed the scrubs if you know what I'm scrubbing at...). Eventually, Synchro monsters were released, and I built a synchro toolbox deck. I achieved better results, but still didn't top immediately.
Then the Zombie structure deck was released (the one with Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon). I built a zombie deck around that theme, and merging it with my synchro toolbox deck. At that time, I didn't have Plaguespreader or Mezuki because I was too good for that shit (just kidding, I was poor). I finally started to top once in a while. I was amazed with myself, when I look back, that such a horribly constructed deck was able to top, when people were playing Lightsworns, Gladiator Beasts, Tele-Dad, actual complete Zombies... I didn't top all the time; just a couple of times.
When Stardust Dragon Assault Mode was released, I built a deck that spammed Stardust Dragon so I can summon the assault mode version. It was a good deck and I topped a couple of times with that.
I eventually traded for the 5 pieces of Exodia, and built a really bad Exodia deck. It had Giant Germ, Nimble Momonga, Appropriate, Cup of Ace... I managed to top with that deck too somehow.
Looking back, I realized that I was developing some skills. I had to learn to play with budget decks and inexpensive cards because all the tier 1 decks back then were quite expensive. We didn't have as many reprints as we do now. I tried to become skilled and competitive, and my effort was paying off.
Then... UDE was replaced by Konami, and shit hit the fan. From OCG to TCG rarity bumps in sets, to less tournaments and more overpowered cards, the skill level in the game required to succeed dropped. It wasn't that bad right away, and I was still enjoying the game.
I remember the first time I won Locals. It was done with a Dark Monarch deck with random cards like Level Eater, Veil of Darkness, and other tech cards. I saved up and went out to get the cards for this deck, my own creation mind you, and it won. I was extremely proud of myself. I realized that day I do have the potential for greatness, at least being able to win Locals.
I started to top more and more. Then a deck was created that changed everything for me... Quickdraw Dandywarrior: A deck that spammed my favorite synchro monsters. I went out of my way to collect the cards for this deck, including the plant engine, and both Jon and myself started to test Plant Synchro variants religiously. This was around the same time SkillOverLuck was born.
The Plant Engine taught both of us so much about this game: Anything is possible with certain cards and combos. Eventually Spore and Glow-Up bulb were released, and the Plant engine was complete. Both Jon and I became consistent winner of our Locals. We fought through so many challenges and decks together, since we build many decks and played a variety of decks at our Locals. Since we were a team, it was also easier to get the staples as they were released... such as Veiler, Warning, and Scrap Dragon. Eventually, both Jon and I both topped our first Regionals as competitive players. It was a good feeling indeed. It was the beginning of a chapter, an era actually, of competitive card games.
Present:
This is where the article starts to become depressing. Overpowered decks and archetypes are being released more and more. Notice how back then we only had overpowered cards... Also, some of these decks anyone can play because they require minimal financial investment, like Agents of Dark Worlds. A lot of people were unhappy and quit this game, while others tolerated it and tried to find the light, like I try and do.
These overpowering decks reduce the skill level of this game substantially. Random scrubs can top Locals, Regionals, YCS tournaments, Nationals with only basic skills and some luck... It's honestly unfortunate that this game has turned in this horrible direction. However, Konami needs to make money so making cheap, tournament topping decks is a good idea financially.
In the past year or so, YCS tops have been random. Players have been coming and going, some good players and some bad players. This is caused be the decrease in skill required to play this game. There are a few notable exceptions to this, though: Joe Giorlando topped 7 YCS tournaments in a row, which is impressive. Billy Brake won 2 YCS back-to-back, which does take skill.
This leads me to my next point, that there is still a good amount of skill necessary to succeed. The above two players used their skill, and likely some luck, to achieve their accomplishments. Compared to previous years, the difference is that skilled players have an increased chance of losing to "sack" than before. Years ago, the levels of overpowered cards weren't even close to what they are. For example, when BLS was legal years ago, it wasn't terribly difficult to overcome and BLS didn't have any significant game-ending combos. Now, we have Forbidden Lance to protect it from any spells and traps, and Honest + BLS can immediately end the game, much like a hand containing the 5 pieces of Exodia.
Outside of the cards themselves, there are other factors that have a detrimental effect on the card playing society. Konami does horrible event coverage, compared to UDE, and has stopped posting top 32 deck lists from YCS tournaments and other related tournaments. It's not the biggest deal because Youtube exists, however, Konami isn't it making it easier to play the game, and become good at it. The top 32 deck lists of each YCS were a plethora of valuable information that I personally used to understand the game better.
Another detrimental factor is that there isn't a lot of advanced theory-oh online, both in the form of videos and articles. Youtube exists, and videos containing theory-oh and deck lists are uploaded daily. I find a lot of this content basic time-wasting. Hell, people post videos of their car ride to a YCS. Honestly, what's the point? How is that useful to theory-oh? The theory-oh content on Youtube is becoming stale, because people don't know what to discuss, and the same contents over and over again. Try looking for a video with an advanced discussion of different types of card advantage, because there a lot of videos on Youtube that doesn't delve past "Destroying 2 cards with Heavy Storm is a +1". Regarding deck lists, I've watched a lot of basic deck profiles over the years. Unless the deck is something unique or different, or unless it topped a Regionals, YCS, or even 10 Locals in a row, it's usually a waste of time. If you go on Youtube and search "September 2012 Wind-Up decklists", you will be presented with a lengthy list of results. How many good or unique Wind-Up decks are their, and how many Wind-Up decks are roughly the same?
Articles are written for many different reasons regarding this game. Tournament reports, deck analysis and lists and theory-oh are the only subjects that people consider reading, for the most part. One of the reasons I will take a break from blogging is because I find my material to become stale and not overly useful. I stopped posting deck lists (written and video format) because I don't see a point. Unless someone requests of build of a certain deck for whatever reason, I don't see a point in sharing because I don't participate in too many big tournaments for my opinions to stand out to the rest of the world. A deck list Billy Brake posts will be acknowledge more than I deck list I post online, for example. I stopped tournament reports when I stopped blogging. I do find them an intricate and beneficial resource because it shows how Deck A fairs against Deck B. I stopped writing theory-oh because for two reasons. Firstly, I wasn't offering too much game-breaking material after a certain point, and secondly, my life became really busy, which ultimately stopped my blogging.
Continuing with articles, I want to discuss Alter Reality Games (ARG for short). ARG is a card vendor, and the team of some of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s finest delists of this generation (Billy Brake, Joe Giorlando, Jeff Jones, and the list goes on). ARG does try to assist this card playing society multiple ways. Firstly, they are a vendor, and they try and sell cards for as cheap as possible. Sometimes, there prices are a little exuberant, but for the most part are cheaper. The other thing they do to try and help players is pay the popular skilled players of today's metagame to write articles relating to mostly theory-oh, deck lists and sometimes tournament reports.
In the article Kris Perovic, he mentioned many articles written today, using ARG written articles as an example, are lacking quality and theory-oh. To an extent I agree, because I have a critical view on written material. I believe if you write something, it should be either entertaining, educational or both. Sometimes, I will learn something from reading their articles, but more often than not it's the same old stuff. I believe they should be writing articles with revolutionary material and theory-oh not too many people consider or understand, if they are getting paid to do this. I'm not hating on the ARG members at all, because they are skilled players in today's metagame and do occasionally present useful material, but they should repeat this pattern often.
As an aside, these articles would benefit players who aren't that skilled, and haven't been playing for the longest time. I personally don't find a lot of their material useful because I've read, and theorized about it numerous times over the last few years.
Compared to last format, I will admit this format is healthier for the metagame. YCS Providence, that just concluded, proved this. The top 32 consisted of many different decks; some rogue decks and some newer unique decks as well. Wind-Ups, thought to be the bane of the format, only sported 1 spot in top 16. I believe YCS Providence proved that anything can win, if the skill is present.
Visiting my community now, things have changed in the last year to affect our local community. I can split the players of Belleville into a few simple groups that basically reveal the entire picture:
1. Players who consistently top using different decks
2. Players who consistently top using luck-based decks only
3. Players who don't consistently top
4. Scrubs and retards
What I've written I'm sure can be acknowledge by readers everywhere, and I'm sure these classifications occur in other communities. Because of the overpowered decks, this classification will be true for a long time. Unless we reach a point where overpowered cards are completely removed, and skill becomes a necessity like it used to be, these classifications will continue to exist, unfortunately.
Future:
What awaits the future of Yu-Gi-Oh!? Right now, we are heading in a dangerous direction. If this doesn't change, more people will quit and people who don't deserve glory will receive it. I have a few suggestions that might help:
We need a website, exclusively for Yu-Gi-Oh, where only good players and judges can post material (unlike Pojo). This material should include top deck lists, useful tournament coverage, theory-oh, in-depth tournament analysis and other beneficial information.
Konami needs to eliminate the luck-based nature of this game, as much as possible, by not printing broken cards and archetypes, and limiting the right cards every 6 months. We could complain to Konami about the rarity bumps in cards, but they won't address it because they need to make money.
That's really all we can hope for. I'm positive that the game will change direction if these are put into place.
I want to continue playing this game. I have a passion for this game that drives me to strengthen my skills and collection. The luck-based nature of this game has depressed me, but I still continue to fight it. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a great card game, but desperately needs improvements so more people can enjoy the game and grow.
Please feel free to leave your comments and opinions, so that they can be discussed.
Past:
I remember when this card game first hit Canada, and I was a small kid who wanted to play it. I didn't understand competitive play immediately. I just bought packs and collected the cards for the most part. I remember when I pulled Change of Heart. That was a $50 card when it was first released and I had no idea. I immediately recognized it was a good card, and put it in my deck to play against my school-mates and neighbours (because back then everyone played this game). I still have my Change of Heart I pulled all those years ago, but that's beside the point.
When competitive play and tournaments first began, the card-pool was quite limited. The best deck-builders and more skilled players topped events and bathed in success.
Something I would like to draw attention to is the fact that there were less overpowered cards years ago, then there are today. Sure, back then we have Forceful Sentry, Harpies Feather Duster, Raigeki, etc. However, good players were able to use these cards to their maximum benefit, and also learned to mitigate their impact when used against the player. It wasn't that bad.
Things began to grow out of proportion when BLS, DMOC and Chaos Emperor Dragon were released. Those cards are game-enders. However, there was still skill to playing these cards. Skilled players, under normal circumstances, wouldn't summon their BLS unless they were certain BLS could end the game that turn. Despite these powerful cards entering the metagame, the players who were more skilled still topped events consistently. It was literally the same people, or same group, over and over again. The game had broken cards, individual cards, that didn't necessarily have broken combos with other cards (Chaos Emperor and Yata-Garasu, for example, is an exception).
I remained blissfully ignorant of this environment. I was just a kid in school, with controlling parents and no social life. Yeah, I collected cards, but didn't play with them too much. Honestly, I didn't even know this game was played competitively, because I lived in a bubble and all of that.
Fast forward the years, and let's visit 2009. What happened in 2009? I found out that my small village had a card shop. I decided to go on Saturdays and play in the tournaments. In the beginning I sucked, not horribly, but I would go 2-2 consistently. I played random crap like Elemental Heroes (Not with Shining and Absolute Zero, but Flare Wingman and Thunder Giant, like a boss), and random piles of cards with some strategy. I wasn't trying to be super competitive and be the best player of all time, but I did want to win.
I eventually ended up taking a hiatus from playing at the shop that summer and fall. I returned in the fall, and this was around the time LODT was released. People were playing Lightsworns and Dark.dek. I would consistently go 2-2, by beating the scrubs (even though I was kinda a scrub, but not as scrubby. I kinda scrubbed the scrubs if you know what I'm scrubbing at...). Eventually, Synchro monsters were released, and I built a synchro toolbox deck. I achieved better results, but still didn't top immediately.
Then the Zombie structure deck was released (the one with Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon). I built a zombie deck around that theme, and merging it with my synchro toolbox deck. At that time, I didn't have Plaguespreader or Mezuki because I was too good for that shit (just kidding, I was poor). I finally started to top once in a while. I was amazed with myself, when I look back, that such a horribly constructed deck was able to top, when people were playing Lightsworns, Gladiator Beasts, Tele-Dad, actual complete Zombies... I didn't top all the time; just a couple of times.
When Stardust Dragon Assault Mode was released, I built a deck that spammed Stardust Dragon so I can summon the assault mode version. It was a good deck and I topped a couple of times with that.
I eventually traded for the 5 pieces of Exodia, and built a really bad Exodia deck. It had Giant Germ, Nimble Momonga, Appropriate, Cup of Ace... I managed to top with that deck too somehow.
Looking back, I realized that I was developing some skills. I had to learn to play with budget decks and inexpensive cards because all the tier 1 decks back then were quite expensive. We didn't have as many reprints as we do now. I tried to become skilled and competitive, and my effort was paying off.
Then... UDE was replaced by Konami, and shit hit the fan. From OCG to TCG rarity bumps in sets, to less tournaments and more overpowered cards, the skill level in the game required to succeed dropped. It wasn't that bad right away, and I was still enjoying the game.
I remember the first time I won Locals. It was done with a Dark Monarch deck with random cards like Level Eater, Veil of Darkness, and other tech cards. I saved up and went out to get the cards for this deck, my own creation mind you, and it won. I was extremely proud of myself. I realized that day I do have the potential for greatness, at least being able to win Locals.
I started to top more and more. Then a deck was created that changed everything for me... Quickdraw Dandywarrior: A deck that spammed my favorite synchro monsters. I went out of my way to collect the cards for this deck, including the plant engine, and both Jon and myself started to test Plant Synchro variants religiously. This was around the same time SkillOverLuck was born.
The Plant Engine taught both of us so much about this game: Anything is possible with certain cards and combos. Eventually Spore and Glow-Up bulb were released, and the Plant engine was complete. Both Jon and I became consistent winner of our Locals. We fought through so many challenges and decks together, since we build many decks and played a variety of decks at our Locals. Since we were a team, it was also easier to get the staples as they were released... such as Veiler, Warning, and Scrap Dragon. Eventually, both Jon and I both topped our first Regionals as competitive players. It was a good feeling indeed. It was the beginning of a chapter, an era actually, of competitive card games.
Present:
This is where the article starts to become depressing. Overpowered decks and archetypes are being released more and more. Notice how back then we only had overpowered cards... Also, some of these decks anyone can play because they require minimal financial investment, like Agents of Dark Worlds. A lot of people were unhappy and quit this game, while others tolerated it and tried to find the light, like I try and do.
These overpowering decks reduce the skill level of this game substantially. Random scrubs can top Locals, Regionals, YCS tournaments, Nationals with only basic skills and some luck... It's honestly unfortunate that this game has turned in this horrible direction. However, Konami needs to make money so making cheap, tournament topping decks is a good idea financially.
In the past year or so, YCS tops have been random. Players have been coming and going, some good players and some bad players. This is caused be the decrease in skill required to play this game. There are a few notable exceptions to this, though: Joe Giorlando topped 7 YCS tournaments in a row, which is impressive. Billy Brake won 2 YCS back-to-back, which does take skill.
This leads me to my next point, that there is still a good amount of skill necessary to succeed. The above two players used their skill, and likely some luck, to achieve their accomplishments. Compared to previous years, the difference is that skilled players have an increased chance of losing to "sack" than before. Years ago, the levels of overpowered cards weren't even close to what they are. For example, when BLS was legal years ago, it wasn't terribly difficult to overcome and BLS didn't have any significant game-ending combos. Now, we have Forbidden Lance to protect it from any spells and traps, and Honest + BLS can immediately end the game, much like a hand containing the 5 pieces of Exodia.
Outside of the cards themselves, there are other factors that have a detrimental effect on the card playing society. Konami does horrible event coverage, compared to UDE, and has stopped posting top 32 deck lists from YCS tournaments and other related tournaments. It's not the biggest deal because Youtube exists, however, Konami isn't it making it easier to play the game, and become good at it. The top 32 deck lists of each YCS were a plethora of valuable information that I personally used to understand the game better.
Another detrimental factor is that there isn't a lot of advanced theory-oh online, both in the form of videos and articles. Youtube exists, and videos containing theory-oh and deck lists are uploaded daily. I find a lot of this content basic time-wasting. Hell, people post videos of their car ride to a YCS. Honestly, what's the point? How is that useful to theory-oh? The theory-oh content on Youtube is becoming stale, because people don't know what to discuss, and the same contents over and over again. Try looking for a video with an advanced discussion of different types of card advantage, because there a lot of videos on Youtube that doesn't delve past "Destroying 2 cards with Heavy Storm is a +1". Regarding deck lists, I've watched a lot of basic deck profiles over the years. Unless the deck is something unique or different, or unless it topped a Regionals, YCS, or even 10 Locals in a row, it's usually a waste of time. If you go on Youtube and search "September 2012 Wind-Up decklists", you will be presented with a lengthy list of results. How many good or unique Wind-Up decks are their, and how many Wind-Up decks are roughly the same?
Articles are written for many different reasons regarding this game. Tournament reports, deck analysis and lists and theory-oh are the only subjects that people consider reading, for the most part. One of the reasons I will take a break from blogging is because I find my material to become stale and not overly useful. I stopped posting deck lists (written and video format) because I don't see a point. Unless someone requests of build of a certain deck for whatever reason, I don't see a point in sharing because I don't participate in too many big tournaments for my opinions to stand out to the rest of the world. A deck list Billy Brake posts will be acknowledge more than I deck list I post online, for example. I stopped tournament reports when I stopped blogging. I do find them an intricate and beneficial resource because it shows how Deck A fairs against Deck B. I stopped writing theory-oh because for two reasons. Firstly, I wasn't offering too much game-breaking material after a certain point, and secondly, my life became really busy, which ultimately stopped my blogging.
Continuing with articles, I want to discuss Alter Reality Games (ARG for short). ARG is a card vendor, and the team of some of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s finest delists of this generation (Billy Brake, Joe Giorlando, Jeff Jones, and the list goes on). ARG does try to assist this card playing society multiple ways. Firstly, they are a vendor, and they try and sell cards for as cheap as possible. Sometimes, there prices are a little exuberant, but for the most part are cheaper. The other thing they do to try and help players is pay the popular skilled players of today's metagame to write articles relating to mostly theory-oh, deck lists and sometimes tournament reports.
In the article Kris Perovic, he mentioned many articles written today, using ARG written articles as an example, are lacking quality and theory-oh. To an extent I agree, because I have a critical view on written material. I believe if you write something, it should be either entertaining, educational or both. Sometimes, I will learn something from reading their articles, but more often than not it's the same old stuff. I believe they should be writing articles with revolutionary material and theory-oh not too many people consider or understand, if they are getting paid to do this. I'm not hating on the ARG members at all, because they are skilled players in today's metagame and do occasionally present useful material, but they should repeat this pattern often.
As an aside, these articles would benefit players who aren't that skilled, and haven't been playing for the longest time. I personally don't find a lot of their material useful because I've read, and theorized about it numerous times over the last few years.
Compared to last format, I will admit this format is healthier for the metagame. YCS Providence, that just concluded, proved this. The top 32 consisted of many different decks; some rogue decks and some newer unique decks as well. Wind-Ups, thought to be the bane of the format, only sported 1 spot in top 16. I believe YCS Providence proved that anything can win, if the skill is present.
Visiting my community now, things have changed in the last year to affect our local community. I can split the players of Belleville into a few simple groups that basically reveal the entire picture:
1. Players who consistently top using different decks
2. Players who consistently top using luck-based decks only
3. Players who don't consistently top
4. Scrubs and retards
What I've written I'm sure can be acknowledge by readers everywhere, and I'm sure these classifications occur in other communities. Because of the overpowered decks, this classification will be true for a long time. Unless we reach a point where overpowered cards are completely removed, and skill becomes a necessity like it used to be, these classifications will continue to exist, unfortunately.
Future:
What awaits the future of Yu-Gi-Oh!? Right now, we are heading in a dangerous direction. If this doesn't change, more people will quit and people who don't deserve glory will receive it. I have a few suggestions that might help:
We need a website, exclusively for Yu-Gi-Oh, where only good players and judges can post material (unlike Pojo). This material should include top deck lists, useful tournament coverage, theory-oh, in-depth tournament analysis and other beneficial information.
Konami needs to eliminate the luck-based nature of this game, as much as possible, by not printing broken cards and archetypes, and limiting the right cards every 6 months. We could complain to Konami about the rarity bumps in cards, but they won't address it because they need to make money.
That's really all we can hope for. I'm positive that the game will change direction if these are put into place.
I want to continue playing this game. I have a passion for this game that drives me to strengthen my skills and collection. The luck-based nature of this game has depressed me, but I still continue to fight it. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a great card game, but desperately needs improvements so more people can enjoy the game and grow.
Please feel free to leave your comments and opinions, so that they can be discussed.
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