Poking my head out, Groundhog Day style.

So back after a few months of hiatus, lets look at all the stuff that has happened while this blog has slept:

- A few YCS have come and gone. Countless people have jumped or dismounted bandwagons based on what pro players happened to be running those days.

- The Tachyeon Galaxy is live, and people were feeling the pain of $8-10 dragon rulers. While at the sneak peek i thought their prices would drop when they officially came out but that was before I saw someone open a box and only get 1 ._.

- I have tried some new stuff, which I will talk about in a later post.

- A bunch of new cards and sets have been announced. For more information on that, listen to the news section of our podcasts at ycgpodcast.com. I dont want to be redundant and talk about past news, but ill say this now: Number Hunters was a awesome pack

- 2 New banlists has come and gone, with all the drama that entails. I personally think the 1st banlist was fine after playing in it, but it didnt take Konami very long to introduce broken stuff like Prophecy and Dragon Rulers into meta that is completely unaffected by it. The second banlist is bananas and I love it.

- For the last couple of months I distanced myself from Yugioh, but this new meta is drawing me back in.

More posts to come (I mean it this time D:)

Quick Regionals Report + Banlist Stuff and General Updates

QUICK-STYLE REGGIE REPORT

NAME: JUSTEN BELL

DATE: 2/2/2013

PLACE: SEATTLE REGIONALS

DECK USED: Spanish Wind-Ups

DECKLIST:

TOTAL: 41

MONSTERS: 18

3 Shark

3 Magician

3 Rabbit

3 Rat 

1 Spirit Reaper

1 Sangan

2 Tour Guide

2 Thunder King (TKRO)

SPELLS: 11

1 Dark Hole

1 Heavy Storm

1 Monster Reborn

1 Book of Moon

3 MST

3 Wind-Up Factory

1 Pot of Avarice

TRAPS: 12

2 Solemn Warning

1 Solemn Judgement

2 Fiendish Chain

2 Bottomless

2 Mirror Force

2 Torrential Tribute

1 Compulsory

EXTRA DECK: 15

1 Leviair

1 Maestroke

1 Zenmaity

1 Zenmaines

1 Zenmaioh

1 Giga-Brilliant

1 Flaccid Golem of Destruction

1 Shock Master

1 Temtempo

1 Adreus

1 Tiras

1 Abyss Dweller

1 Cowboy

1 Papilloperative

1 Black Corn

SIDE DECK: 15

2 Maxx C

3 D-Fissure

1 Dust Tornado

1 Shadow Imprisoning Mirror

2 Snowman Eater

1 Spirit Reaper

1 Compulsory

2 Lances

2 Soul Taker

MATCHUPS: 

Following will be just a short quip for each match since I didnt take notes. :[

Round 1: Wind Ups (Win)

I am not awake yet and make a bunch of misplays, and it comes down to game 3 where i just draw what I need.

Round 2: Prophecy (Win)

Thunder King is such a bitch for this deck to deal with. That and Shock Lock. 

Round 3: Wind Ups (Win)

He gets a game loss for miswriting his decklist. Shame, cause this duel was epic. He almost came back after my strong start, but I seal the deal due to him misplaying. He forgot to use Breakthrough Skill during his turn to nullify Zenmaines effect so he could attack over it for game.

Round 4: Heros (Win)

We take turns smacking the taste out of each others mouths. I win game 3 by grinding him down to nothing, then exploding with Magician + Shark + Pot of Avarice, and locking him down in time.

Round 5: Macro Rabbit (Lose)

I draw bad in the beginning and get discouraged, and lose game 1 to my own misplays. Game 2 I control him with backrow. Game 3 he has Rabbit + Tour Guide and I have a monster hand.

Round 6: Pure Dragons (Win)

I faced this guy in YCS Seattle. Hes running pure Dragon Syncro-crontrol with cards like Delta Fly and Koaki-Meiru Drago as well as REDMD, Wyvern and crew. Very close duels, but I barely edge him out in time due to a last minute push.

Round 7: Agents (Win)

Game 1 he draws god awful. Game 2 I wasnt really being serious cause we were joking around during our duel and make a misplay by forgetting a factory search that costs me the game. In Game 3 I buckle down on him and give him a slow rolled Shock Lock.

Round 8: Agents (Lose)

Also faced this guy in YCS Seattle. He played circles around me, he knew his deck inside and out, and he made no mistakes. Game 2 I draw 3 copies of D-Fissure (The only cards I sided in), which killed any momentum I had. 

Round 9: Mermail (Lose)

Mermails for last round again. I lose game 1. Game 2 I draw 3 D-Fissures AGAIN (After I pile shuffled too!). He drew bad as well though so I didnt drop a game because of it. 

We grind it out and it comes down to game 3. I have the upper hand, but he says if he rips Avarice he will be destined to win. He rips Avarice. He wins =/. I just run out of steam before he does and it enters time so I know theres no comeback possible.

FINAL STANDING: 6-3 (37th Place) 

Invite is given to top 48, so I get one! Yaaaay!

I liked: 

Fiendish Chain (Was amazing against the mirror match)

Mirror Force (Was never a liability and it surprised a lot of people)

My decision to not maindeck Maxx C or Veiler (Bah humbug)

I didnt like:

Maxx "C" (Was barely useful all day)

My lack of Utopia and Leviathan Dragon (It hurt not having those, and I felt it all day)

Flaccid Golem (Card almost lost me 2 duels ~_~)

END REGIONAL REPORT

BANLIST STUFF!

For a good summary of my (and my crew/friends) thoughts on the banlist, listen to this! YCGPodcast <3!

My current decks:

Wind-Ups

Prophecy (Turbo edition)

Plants

Plants isnt really fleshed out, but I really like where my Prophecy deck is going. Its finally starting to flow well, and although I can still feel the sting of not having traps (I tested a trap using version before, to mixed results), I feel that the deck can finally bring High Priestess to bear and make up for its lack of defense with overwhelming offense. 

Deck runs 3 Upstart, 3 Wonder Wand, and 3 Reckless Greed for maximum DRAW POWAR! Draws into High Priestess very easily, and usually has the means to summon it. That doesnt mean Im going to be content with this version however. I will be testing more techs and builds all the way up to the release of Lord of the Tacheyon Galaxy and Divine Judgment to find the perfect build ;]

Till next time!

(PS: I will add a decklist for Prophecy if anyone wants it~)

Thoughts about my Wind-Up Deck + My new pet projects.

Wind Ups:

Overall my impressions from YCS Seattle/Tacoma was the deck was pretty solid, only thing that was wierd about it was that I never drew Tragoedia or Spirit Reaper. I would probably side 3 Soul Drains as well and cut the Macro. I feel the deck is at the most solid it will ever be, hence why ive temporarily shelved it in favor of my new projects:

- Prophecy

- Air Neos OTK

- Rabbit X-Sabers (Idea hijacked by my friend)

With prophecy taking up most of my playtesting and deck building time. Ive almost settled on a final build. Controversial card choices include 2 Wonder Wand, 2 Star Hall, no Temperance of Prophecy, and 3 Madolche Magileine (thanks to Bahamut84 for that idea). My deck is alot like his deck would probably be if it were in the TCG, and its running as smooth as butter (most of the time). More info at a later date

My YCS SeaTac Decklist: Passive-Aggressive Wind-Ups

Quick decklist before I go to bed, thoughts about in a later post

Monsters: 20

3 Wind-Up Shark
3 Wind-Up Rat
3 Wind-Up Rabbit
3 Wind-Up Magician
2 Maxx "C
2 Tragoedia
2 Tour Guide From The Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Spirit Reaper

Spells: 9

3 Wind-Up Factory
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Pot of Avarice
2 MST

Traps: 11

2 D-Prison
1 Trap Stun
1 Compulsory
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn J

Extra:

Standard Stuff + Cowboy and Abyss Dweller (No Tiras)

Side:

2 Macro
1 Soul Drain
1 MST
2 TKRO
2 Cyber Dragon
1 Chimeratech
2 Soul Take
2 Fiendish Chain
1 Trap Stun
1 Compulsory

YCS Seattle Report + Important Stuff!

After not publishing an article for over 4 months, I'm back with my comeback: a (kinda lackluster) YCS report!

Preface to this report: After becoming disillusioned with Yugioh and burnt out, I've slowly been working my way back to regular Yugioh activity levels. This culminated at my first major event I attended since my last blog post: YCS Seattle (/Tacoma)!

PRE YCS GARBAGE:

Got off work Friday night at 9 pm. After getting a ride to Tacoma, I stayed at Motel 6 with YCGPodcast crew (Matt Carter + Joe Mecham) and other people from our locals (Phoenix Games). After getting 2 hours of sleep and playtesting all night, I make my big YCS debut! 

YCS SEATTLE: DAY 1

Get in line, get registered, eat no food :(. Also I'm running a Nick Ma inspired Wind-Up deck. Around 750ish people show up, which is less than normal for a YCS, so top cut is 32.

ROUND 1: Vs. WIND UP MIRROR MATCH [WIN]

G1: I misplay horribly, but so does he and I win

G2: No backrow and my Wind-Up combos get veiler'd ;[

G3: Gagaga Cowboy burn and stall in time. Woooo!

ROUND 2: Vs. DINO RABBIT [WIN]

G1: He Macros me 2 turns in but I just use my Monster Reborn his Sabersaurus and give him a bad beatdown.

G2: He gives me the Dolkka treatment and I draw no outs for the longest time.

G3: Wind-Up player using Tragoedia and Thunder King control? His answer is Grand Mole :S. He gets stomped due to his magic monster hand.

ROUND 3: Vs. DINO RABBIT [LOSE]

G1: -

G2: -

G3: I dont remember much about the first 2 duels but the third one I lose decisively to Dolkka + Laggia.

ROUND 4: Vs. WIND UP MIRROR MATCH [WIN]

G1: He doesnt really bad Wind-Up combos and uses waaay too much resources so I win.

G2: Like, to give you an idea of how bad it was. He was using Soldier/Shark to make Rank 5's when I had 1 backrow and a set Magician, then makes Tiras instead of Zenmaioh and rams Tiras into my D-Prison :x.

ROUND 5: Vs. KARAKURI GEARS [LOSE]

G1: I draw all monsters except for 1 Factory. He opens 4 backrow + Geargiarmor. I eat dirt.

G2: I sit on my Cyber Dragon because I want to Fiendish Chain his set Geargiarmor. He Trap Stuns me, slaps me silly with Burei and Shock Master, then locks spells when I have Heavy + 2 MST and sets 4. Derp

ROUND 6: Vs. AGENTS [WIN]

G1: Shock Lock for the win.

G2: Hes low on life, I have a field full of winning, I use Adreus effect on the Gorz he dropped last turn, then try to run over the 1500 Atk Gorz token. He drops Honest and I lose cause I'm at 1200 LP. That was meansies ;(

G3: I open Magician/Shark and he uses Herald of Orange Light discarding Krystia on my Magician. 2 Turns later I Reborn his Krystia and commence a 7 turn beatdown with his own Krystia where he is forced to set every monster he draws. At the end, he reveals his hand of 2 Maxx "C", Gorz, and Tragoedia and offers me the handshake.

ROUND 7 Vs. CHAOS DRAGONS [WIN]

G1: Slow roll into a Shock Lock after being denied the first time by Effect Veiler.

G2: Sad game where my only monsters for 5 or so turns were Rat and Magician. At the end I'm so desperate that I Rat my Magician, Monster Reborn his Card Trooper, and make Zenmaity to combo off. However he drops Maxx "C" on my Rat, so I'm like fck it, and I end up trying to deck him out and getting him down to 7 or so cards left. He drops a Tragoedia on my attack. His turn, he specials Lightpulsar, Tributes both monsters for another Tragoedia , Drops 2 more Lightpulsars, and Specials Dark Armed. Scoop Phase :3

G3: Mid game Shock Lock and I got amazing backrow that he cant power through. He milled Heavy so I called monster effects. After that he's pretty much done.

ROUND 8 Vs. WIND UP MIRROR MATCH [WIN]

G1: I outplay the crap out of him. After wading through both his Solemn Warnings and  his Solemn Judgement, I make him waste his backrow on Wind-Up Rabbit since he only has 1000 left. Then I give him the beatdown once he runs out of backrow.

G2: I outplay him severely again. He wastes his resources on the wrong plays, searches the wrong things with Factory, and I leave him with nothing. I get the feeling he was not very familiar with the deck.

So I go x-2 and make it to Day 2. I get more sleep tonight! Yay!

DAY 2:

ROUND 9 Vs ATLANTEAN MERMAILS [LOSE]

This guy is a regular at any Washington Regional. I know as soon as I see that I'm playing him that he's gonna be tough to beat. Add that to the fact that this is my first time ever facing Atlantean Mermails...

G1: He goes and sets a card. I go and Shock Lock.

G2: I open backrow + Wind-Up Rabbit, which is the exact opposite of what I wanted against this deck. After a few turns, he outplays me straight up. He does more damage than I thought he was capable of doing after he gets a surprise marksman effect in somehow during my endphase with Abyss-sphere, killing my last backrow (Torrential D:)

G3: He has MST for my Macro when he uses Abyssmegalo, and he has Gozen Match for when I try to Wind-Up combo. 

ROUND 10 Vs. Alexander Thomas (MADOLCHES?) [WIN]

G1: He ends up being in the middle of a duel/trades, so he doesnt show up and I get the default win.

I end up getting 61st, which I am more than content with after being away from competitive Yugioh for so long. But I wanted a little something to remember this day by, and I told myself  that if I had time on day 2 I would try to enter the structure deck duel and win the  XYZ Symphony mat I had my eye on ever since I saw it at the judges table day 1.

A NEW CHALLENGE APPEARS!

XYZ SYMPHONY STRUCTURE DECK DUEL: 8 PEOPLE ENTER, 1 LEAVES.

ROUND 1: Vs. MYSTERY G (!)

My opponent never showed up, so I got the only bye in the tourney. I use this time to get familiar with the cards in the deck.

ROUND 2: Vs. DRAGON DUELIST PRODIGY KID!

This kid was something else. Apparently he was a famous Dragon Duelist who had a monster binder full of expensive cards like Italian Cardcar Ds and misprinted ultra Book of Moons (They said Creature Swap). He also outplayed the crap out of his opponent round 1 and seemed pretty cocky. Before the round started he offered to scoop to me if I payed him 40 bucks. I was like helllll nawww.

I 2-0'd him. He overextended alot and left himself open to counter attacks from cards like Dark Hole. He also tried to rule shark alot. Oh well, I gave that kid the beatdown.

FINAL ROUND: Vs. Joyang (?)

I think that was his name, I feel bad about forgetting it after asking him for it but my memory sucks :(. Anyways this duel was super epic. He won the first round, I won the last 2. Sorry for not remembering the specifics. This duel went on for so long that we actually got put into time, which went turn 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 instead of the standard 5. I was already edging him out near the end, but since we were both topdecking anything could happen. Me ripping a call of the haunted gave me insurance. I set it and changed my Muzurhythm to defense. His last turn he couldnt push through, so he offered the handshake.

+1 Xyz Symphony Mat.

I then finish trading for everything I need to run my next pet projects (Prophecies and Air Neos OTK). I also played in the Atlantean Structure deck tourny, but I get thrashed! Dumb Atlanteans ;(. I then go over to watch the finals and see the epic conclusion as Michael Stibbins from my locals wins YCS Seattle! Me and the rest of the Phoenix Games crowd are super stoked and we celebrate together. 

After that I go to the hotel across from the event hall be a part of the joint interview of Michael Stibbins by the YCGPodcast and SlimXTeamSymetry. Then I go eat food at Dennys and go home :S. Ill post a follow up article later answering any questions people have, giving a decklist + thoughts, and detailing what Ive been thinking about and doing in my abscence. Till next time!

Wind-Ups win WCQ...My Reaction.

------------------

In other news, computer issues have plagued me for the last week or so, but now that they are completely resolved, I look forward to finishing my Zenmailstrom articles, then moving on to giving more analysis/love to what will probably be the newest/oldest sensation of this summer: Wind-Ups. Not sure why people were so surprised when Wind-Ups topped. They were never bad, and it all makes sense in retrospect if you consider the following formula:


{if:}


Maxx "C" =/= Your side or main deck


{then:}

{executefunction=WINDUP_TAKES_A_DUMP_ON_YOU}

Certainly is enlightening isnt it?

An Introduction to Zenmailstrom

Before I detail the combos involving Zenmailstrom, I thought it would be prudent to first give an proper introduction to the card itself, since there's a good chance most of you out there have no idea what it even does.

As you can see, the basics of the card are:

• Tribute 1 Wind-Up monster with 1500 or more ATK (as a cost.)
• Special Summon 1 Wind-Up monster from your hand (Mandatory)
• Special Summon 1 Wind-Up monster with the same ATK as the monster just special summoned from your deck (Optional)

On the surface, the card is a minus 1 1/2. You play the card (-1), tribute a Wind-Up monster you control (-1), Special Summon a monster from your hand (-1/2?) and special summon one from your deck (+1). 

Likely candidates of monsters you want to tribute for Zenmailstrom are:

Wind-Up Hunter

Wind-Up Soldier

Wind-Up Shark

There are more targets but you probably don't want to run them in a competitive Wind-Up deck (Knight, Juggler, ect.)

Likely candidates of monsters you want to special summon with Zenmailstrom are:

Wind-Up Rat (600 ATK)

Wind-Up Magician (600 ATK)

Wind-Up Shark (1500 ATK)

Wind-Up Soldier (1800 ATK) [Not recommended as this doesn't lead into any meaningful combos by itself but it IS possible]

So you might be thinking whats the point of playing a card like this where you get a couple of negs just from resolving it? Simple my friend, when used correctly it sets up some of the most broken and ridiculous combos the Wind-Up deck has to offer. Now its time to detail how exactly to properly use this card.

The first rule to using Zenmailstrom is realizing that what you tribute to activate it doesn't really matter too much for basic combos, but matters alot when executing advanced ones. There is a hierarchy in tributing preferences in regards to these combos:

1. Shark (Technically better than Soldier to tribute due to a better level range [3,4,5 as opposed to 4,5 for Soldier] however be wary of using all your Sharks too fast. Also is the only one of the 3 tribute choices that can make the Shock Master/Disigma plays happen.)

2. Soldier (These things are expendable and can make most of your big plays happen no problem.)

3. Hunter (Obviously only gives you level 3 to work with from the graveyard. However this is perfectly acceptable to use as tribute for Zenmailstrom because 1) The graveyard is where you want Hunter anyways 2) It leads into the hand loop seamlessly and 3) it wont limit your plays too much as long as you don't try anything ridiculous.)

In 95% of all cases when resolving a Zenmailstrom your going to want to summon Magician or Rat, then summon the counterpart you didnt summon from your deck. This is the beginning of most Zenmailstrom plays barring a few strange ones involving Shark that really arnt worth doing. The reason you do this is because:

• It lets you use Rat immediately (Bring back the monster you just tributed)
• Lets you resolve up to 3 Magicians in one combo and end with a meaningful field, a feat that is almost impossible in normal Wind-Up decks due to field space issues.
• The basis of the forbidden Shock Master/Disigma OTK combos!
• Truly the best start to making the field of your choosing

Next article will tackle the combos themselves, from the strange to the expected, the outlandish to the boring, and might possibly include a flowchart! Tune in next time!