Zombie Dual

Effect Monsters(21)
1 Goblin Zombie
1 Pyramid Turtle
1 Rose, Warrior of Revenge
2 Mezuki
2 Il Blud
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
2 Zombie Master
2 Shutendoji
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Armageddon Knight
2 Dark Grepher
1 Sangan
2 Gravekeeper's Spy
1 Gravekeeper's Guard

Spells(15)
3 Book of Life
2 Supervise
2 Foolish Burial
3 Burial from a Different Dimension
2 Allure of Darkness
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Brain Control

Traps(4)
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
2 Bottomless Trap Hole

Extra(15)
2 Revived King Ha Des
2 Black Brutdrago
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Ally of Justice - Catastor
1 Mist Worm
1 Doomkaiser Dragon
1 Dark End Dragon
1 Arcanite Magician
1 Tempest Magician

Warrior's Strike, Stardust Overdrive and Hidden Asernal is just around the corner.

Basically the goal of the deck is to swarm your Graveyard with Zombies and use and reuse them for Black Brutdrago. This set has the potential to inflict significant amounts of damage in a single turn. The bad part is that this deck is totally crippled when the Graveyard is disabled with cards like Necrovalley. Nothing a good Side can't help circumvent.

I haven't tested the build myself, but what's important is that I convey the idea to you and you adjust it based on your preference. Fixes are also welcome.

Mangaholix Manga Mania Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament

*Click on the image to enlarge*

Nuff' said.

Burial From A Different Dimension

Today's trend leads cards on the Graveyard as resource, it actually being the player's second hand. Cards from tier 1 decks like Blackwing's Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor, DHZ's Plaguespreader Zombie and to some extent, Lightsworn's Necro Gardna, will benefit from this one card.


This card opens up possibilities for OTKs or at least push for significant amounts of damage in one turn. Use this card in combination with Vayu and Blackwing Armor Master for two Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendants in one turn, or any Blackwing Synchro combination you can think of.

Activate Mezuki and for an Il Blud, then Activate Plaguespreader Zombie from your Graveyard to play and Synchro Summon Black Bulldrago for massive punishment. If that wasn't enough, activate this card to produce another copy of it.

This card can also add fuel to your Dark Armed Dragon while preventing your opponent from summoning one at the same time. Assuming he activated an Allure of Darkness beforehand, he will miss his 3 DARK count. You can also use this card to adjust DARK monsters in your own Graveyard as well. Surprise Judgment Dragons are possible too, if your opponent thinks he removed all the Lightsworn monsters from the game with his Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer.

Let's not conveniently forget the fact that it is a Quick Play Spell Card, which can act as a Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon bait, and can be activated in response to these cards.

Cards that allow for surprise OTKs are usually bad for the game and are usually hit in the Ban Lists. This card is definitely one of those cards.

Lion's Den: Answer to Rauzes' challenge

Being in a country where Konami is nonexistent, people still play their favorite card game without this much needed support. I was actually surprised that our countrymen are able to think of ways to improve their much loved card game, despite issues with money and support.

I present you with an example of the innovative methods my countrymen does to improve the current state of Yu-Gi-Oh in the Philippines.


A group of duelist, who refer to themselves as Lion's Den, hosts tournaments in the middle of the street that allows all kinds of cards-even fake ones. You could see them having a great time in these pictures, despite it just being in the middle of the street with not even a roof. They are willing to help their fellow duelists by converting their cards to authentic ones as the prizes for their tournaments.


This clearly shows that people, rich or poor, can still enjoy playing their card game, regardless of any circumstances they are currently facing.

Why are they still playing the card game?
What drives them to assemble in these places and continue enjoying it?

The answer is simple enough. They just truly love Yu-Gi-Oh, and nothing is stopping them from playing it. No matter what the odds, Filipinos who love Yu-Gi-Oh will never succumb to these problems.

Here are more pictures of them playing. (redirects to Facebook)
Pictures are not taken by me, and credits are due to Alexander Dela Cruz Jr.

"We want to see our fellow duelists grow...and, through this program, we might be able to give them hope...hope that will make them think a million times before they quit playing our beloved card game..." -Rainwalker13, representative of Lion's Den

People here aren't ready to give up their beloved card game, how about you?

So about them GB's

While browsing the internet, I came upon this very insightful post over at Pojo (this is VERY rare, considering its Pojo)


Quoted from Peps, Today, 12:08 AM at Pojo
"The metagame is just way too fast for Gladiator Beasts to compete in.

Every other deck in the metagame can easily beat Gladiator Beasts no problem, even without side-decking. For example, a simple Wulf, backed by a Bottomless Trap Hole, can easily put immediate pressure on the GB player. Even a constant stream of 1900 beaters can destroy GBs no problem.

With Bestiari limited, as well as many decks being practically unaffected by Cold Wave now, Gyzarus is an utter joke. Sure, you play Gyzarus, whatever. Unless you have a strong backrow with a Solemn or whatever, I'll summon Judgment Dragon, summon Lumina, ditch and win. Similar can be said for other decks.

You could argue that GB players are not siding correctly, but every deck it faces can also side deck, rendering GB's side to be completely useless. Similarly, you could also argue many GB players are still thinking for some reason that Samnite + Rescue Cat is amazing, when realistically, it kills consistency, and overall, is pointless considering the heavy investment it requires in deck building.

As for GB topping at regionals, it could also be argued that those regionals contain a lot of budget players, thus swinging the metagame in favour of cheaper decks like GB. It could also be argued that for other decks, they have terrible players running them.

In short, it's Yu-Gi-Oh."

Source: http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=766895

Since this quote was used without permission from him, I will apologize by posting his Blog's link here. I hope this serves as a good bribe for him, in case he comes across this page.

In short, this post pretty much explains why Gladiator Beasts did not top the last 2 Shonen Jump Championships.

Resolve

Light and Darkness.

Both seemed like fine choices to me, but due to financial difficulties , I have to choose one of the lot. This choice has been thought about by me for weeks, and picking one out of the other is really difficult. But alas, I have come to a decision.


Lightsworns represent my passion for having fun, although inconsistent, they are definitely fun to use and the cards' art are superb. Nothing can compete with Lightsworn's brilliance in terms of radiance and awe. In short, Lightsworns represent my heart in the game, the one that does not care if he loses in a duel, as long as he is having fun overall.


On the other side of the coin, Blackwings represent my passion for winning. Blackwings are surely better than Lightsworn in most cases, one of them being consistent. The darkness shrouds my heart. Blackwings represent my brain, the one telling me that I must win every single duel as much as I can, despite having less fun and a bigger dent in my wallet.

After weeks and weeks of thinking. I have finally decided to choose a side. The choice of darkness prevailed over light, thus, starting today, I will be working to create my own Blackwings deck as my main.

Although on the flip side, the heart is what keeps the brain alive, but the brain tells what the heart does. Just a random quote from a friend.

This has entirely nothing to do with both bandwagons as most people think of. This is a personal resolve that I have undergone in more than a month's worth of deciding and pondering.

October 10, 2009 visit at the locals - Tournament Report

The stage was set and everything was in order. Deck list. Check. Decks, check. Game mat, check. Dice and notebook, check. Calculator, check. This was the grand debut of me and my brother's deck in our locals, finally after we deemed it to be "playable" to some extent. The first player to use the deck was my brother, and he was ready to face whatever was thrown at him. Or so we thought.

I. First Tournament (Over 20 Participants)
First Match:
V.S.
Junk and Debris versus Gadget Monarch

This game started with me not yet still on the venue. According to my brother, he was overrun by the massive amount of Fissures and Smashing Ground and he couldn't summon Stardust Dragon for some reason.

(0-2 match)(0-1 total)

Second Match:
V.S.
Junk and Debris versus Dark Variant

*I came around midway this match.*

Game 1
Junk and Debris was able to quickly summon Stardust Dragon and despite the Necro Gardnas who were sent to the graveyard by Dark Grepher, the opponent was not able to recover and my brother ended up taking game 1.

Game 2
My brother opened god and was able to send almost all the Neo-Spacians on his graveyard as early as turn one, and proceeded to bash the opponent with Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and Cyber Dragon.

(2-0 match)(1-1 total)

Third Match
V.S.
Junk and Debris versus DHZ Tele-DAD

Game 1
The match started out intensely, with both players countering each other with their Traps. My brother dropped a Dark Armed Dragon and proceeded to wipe out the opponent's side of the field. On the opponent's next turn, he also dropped his own Dark Armed Dragon and played Brain Control for game.

Game 2
Also an intense duel, the match was dominated by Tele-DAD at the early game until my brother topped Heavy Storm. My brother then quickly summoned Stardust Dragon and proceeded to swing for three straight times against his opponent. The opponent was able to react but it was too late.

Game 3
The match that would determine who will win, I switch on to spectating the Tele-DAD's side of play this time. My brother was able to summon a Goyo Guardian early in the game only to be responded with by a Torrential Tribute. Despite the powerful draw engine of the opponent, he was unable to counter a Stardust Dragon with Neo-Spacian Grand Mole locking him. They then quickly shook hands and the match was over.

It was interesting to see that the Tele-DAD player was not scooping and stayed to calculate the damage until the very end. He was one of the duelists in my locals whom I look up to for his sportsmanship.

(2-1 Match)(2-1 Total)

In the end, my brother was cut and was 9th in the run, despite his record of 2-1. A very interesting and insightful first time tournament for us, despite not being able to reach top 8. The people were really friendly and showed sportsmanship.

Props:
Asian-English Blackwing Armor Master UtR for $10 or 500 PhP
Japanese Dark Armed Dragon for $6 or 300 PhP
First time experience in tournaments
Players were very good and friendly
Was able to enjoy my final duels with Oliver and his Dual Zombie deck

Slops:
Learning that Japanese Blackwing Arms Wing already costs $18 each. Thanks Rodrigo Togores
I ran second batch using the same Junk and Debris deck, scoring 0-2 and ended up dropping
My friend who was looking for Helmet Cat was not able to buy one because it was too expensive for a common

My run for the second batch will be posted in another time, even though I ran bad with 0-2. Stay tuned for it. In the end, what was important was that everyone had fun playing the game they love.

Starcraft and Yu-Gi-Oh

On a random conversation with my non Yu-Gi-Oh playing friend today, I was discussing to him about how the Blackwings were winning with their speed and swarming capabilities. Upon the continuous flow of conversation, I ended up explaining to him the strengths and weaknesses of every one of the top archetypes of today. It was hillarious that I ended up comparing them to Starcraft, as the races that a player is able to choose in that game is somewhat related and connected to today's Yu-Gi-Oh.

First and foremost, I was explaining that Blackwings share a similar style with the Zergs in Starcraft, as they rely on speed and on their swarming capabilities. The units are fairly cheap and easy to summon and they also have the ability to catch players by surprise with Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow.

Then, Gladiator Beasts are similar to Terrans as the concept of the Gladiators are control and heavily fortified defenses, much like Terrans in Starcraft. Their swift methods to deal with their current ordeals and the flexibility they use to react to the situation are their key in winning their duels.

Finally, Lightsworn is best represented by Protoss. Extremely powerful cards with devastating effects at a price-either they are too expensive to build or they pretty much exhaust their resources faster than the other two races. Judgment Dragon is also similar with The Protoss Carrier. Once a fleet is assembled, the game is finished.

Although I am dissapointed that Starcraft II will lack multiplayer function in its first release, I am still looking forward to watching professional matches held by Koreans and be amazed again and again.

Draw Engine

I am a firm believer that every deck has to somehow have a draw engine in it to speed up the deck. For the Gladiator Beasts, the themed version of their draw power is not seeing much play as expected. I do not understand the reasoning behind this.

Gladiator Beast's Respite will allow you to easily return to your deck Gladiator Beasts that aren't good regular summoned like Gladiator Beast Murmillo and Gladiator Beast Secutor while it makes those Book of Moons and Wabokus easier to run through in your deck all at the same time.

In my way of thinking, people should run more of this card in the Gladiator Beast decks.