Deck Analysis: "Gladiator Beast"

Welcome to the continuation of the series of Deck Analysis of the blogger regarding the top tier decks of this format. And now, it is time to analyze the third Archetype that has rose from the dead: "Gladiator Beast". I somehow predicted that at least one deck of this Archetype would make it in the top 16 of the Shonen Jump Los Angeles and it turns out I was correct. There was still some spine left in the nearly forgotten deck type after all.


"Gladiator Beast" monsters rely heavily on successfully attacking for their Effect to activate. For each successful attack done, without them getting destroyed, they can 'tag out' for other "Gladiator Beast" monsters in the deck and the newly Special Summoned "Gladiator Beast" will have a proper effect based on what the player needs at a given situation. This system clearly makes the archetype the most consistent deck ever made in the history of "Yu-Gi-Oh!". Able to use the deck as its own toolbox, "Gladiator Beast" rely on other "Gladiator Beast" for Effects that control the board and put the situation in your favor. There is a corresponding "Gladiator Beast" for each needed Effect: Card advantage, Monster, Spell and Trap Destruction, Special Summoning, from huge beatsticks to walls.


But what makes "Gladiator Beast" shine the best is because of their own themed boss monster "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus". This Contact Fusion monster requires one "Gladiator Beast Bestiari" and any other "Gladiator Beast" as its ingredients. Basically what it does is destroy up to 2 cards in the field upon hitting the field. If that was not enough, it comes in a 2400 Attack body and just like any regular "Gladiator Beast", it can 'tag out' for not one but two other "Gladiator Beast", resulting in heavy card advantage.


With decent "Gladiator Beast" support as well as tech cards like "Rescue Cat" with "X Saber Airbellum", as its backbone, "Gladiator Beast" also has the potential to tap into future game elements like Synchro-ing, despite it being one of the oldest archetype ever designed. The deck has anti-meta feel in it as it is created to control the field and accumulate advantage slowly but surely. Popular tech cards now are "Thunder King Rai-Oh" to eliminate "Black Whirlwind" as well as Special Summoning compressed in a 1900 Attack Body, removal cards like "Dimensional Prison", and now seeing some play, "Icarus Attack", as "Gladiator Beast Equeste" is also a Winged-Beast and is an eligible tribute fodder for it.


The biggest obstacle a Gladiator player will encounter is "Royal Oppression", as all of the Gladiators requires to be Special Summoned from the deck in order for them to have their Effects. Their lack of speed is also a major problem, making them have a difficult time keeping up with the rest of the Tier 1 archetypes. Despite these weaknesses, they are still holding ground, considering they are the oldest archetype that is still considered competitive up until today.

With "Gladiator Beast" being the weakest among the top tier decks, it is very unlikely that they will get hit by the March ban list. In fact, they might get even more support with "Holy Light" in the side come Absolute Powerforce. With this in mind, hang on to your Gladiators for now as they might be in the spotlight again. Always remember that this archetype is the most consistent one ever made in the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Card Game.

January 16 Weekly Tournament Report

Saturday is "Yu-Gi-Oh!" day for me, and January 16 is no exception. Came in locals a tad bit early and handed down the payment for the usual Saturday weekly. Pairings were announced and I was fully prepared for the 3 rounds of Swiss. Then I realized I still don't have "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer" in my Side Deck. Uh oh.

Tournament was healthy all around with more than 15 participants. Here's what I ran:


Monsters (19)
3 Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn
3 Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame
3 Blackwing - Bora the Spear
3 Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow
1 Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
2 Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North
2 Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Dark Armed Dragon

Spells (12)
3 Black Whirlwind
2 Allure of Darkness
2 Book of Moon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Brain Control
1 My Body as A Shield
1 Giant Trunade

Traps (11)
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
3 Icarus Attack
2 Royal Oppression
1 Trap Dustshoot
1 Solemn Judgment

Extra Deck (15)
1 Magical Android
1 Ally of Justice - Catastor
1 Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
2 Blackwing Armed Wing
1 Blackwing Armor Master
1 Black Rose Dragon
2 Stardust Dragon
2 Colossal Fighter
1 Blackwing - Silverwind the Ascendant
1 Mist Wurm

Round 1: "Blackwing" v.s. Flamvellsworn
Game 1
Started getting straight advantages from "Black Whirlwind" and "Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame". Midway through he used "Rekindling" and swarmed me.

Game 2
The deck pretty much got crippled since I was able to flip "Royal Oppression" early.

Game 3
Somehow he didn't have "Honest" in his hand and my Goyo proceeded to steal all his monsters. Trap Dustshoot on the first turn removed that only "Honest" he was supposed to have in his hand. Plus I knew his hand cards.

2-1, 1-0

Round 2: "Blackwing" v.s. Zombies (Chester)
Game 1
He has a "Breaker the Magical Warrior" in play but he over extended and used up all his resources because he felt confident that I couldn't return anymore. Sad for him I "Brain Control" his Breaker and destroyed the "Swords of Revealing Light" and proceeded to Synchro for game.

Game 2
I made a huge misplay on the first turn, summoning "Blackwing - Bora the Spear" without playing my "Black Whirlwind" first. I asked him if I was able to redo my turn but he declined. He got this game.

Game 3
I drop "Dark Armed Dragon" to wipe his field. He Summons "Snipe Hunter", tried to destroy my "Dark Armed Dragon". Unfortunately, he rolled in a 6 and I respond with "Bottomless Trap Hole".

2-1, 2-0

Round 3: "Blackwing" v.s. "Gladiator Beast" ("The Beast" Jovic Leovis)
Game 1
I erase all his Monsters from the field and was able to harass further with my "Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn". He was forced to set all his hand cards. I worked my way up to finally take game with a swarm.

Game 2
He Summon "Gladiator Beast Heraklinos" and I use up 2 Traps to destroy it, turning the duel into a top deck war. Turns out he topdeck what he sided against me: "Holy Light". Good game.

Game 3
"Royal Oppression" really hurts "Gladiator Beasts".

2-1, 3-0

Top 8: "Blackwings" v.s. NecroChaos
Game 1
I "Trap Dustshoot" early to remove his "Battle Fader". I saw Tragoedia though. He "Gold Sarcophagus" for "Necroface", removing a lot of cards from his deck and mine. He beat me down with "Dimension Alchemist" and finally got game with the "Caius the Shadow Monarch" from his hand.

Game 2
I was able to double "Black Whirlwind" early on and he couldn't recover from all the advantage I was able to obtain. He scoops.

Game 3
I Dustshoot again and removed the only summon-able monster from his hand, "Cyber Dragon". The rest were "Dark Armed Dragon", "Chaos Sorcerer", "Caius the Shadow Monarch" and "Dimensional Alchemist". Without any Spell or Trap in his hand, my "Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness" destroyed him.

2-1

Top 4: "Blackwing" v.s. Twilight (Kai)
Game 1
He use up his deck, dropped "Judgment Dragon" but I flipped "Royal Oppression". I Synchro for "Blackwing Armor Master" and he was running out cards in his deck.

Game 2
He FTK me with 2 "Judgment Dragon" and "Chaos Sorcerer"

Game 3
I got scared of him having "Heavy Storm" and did not set my "Royal Oppression". He FTK me again with the same setup from game 2.

Closing Thoughts: Jovic won over Kai in the end, making him the Champion yet again. I could have stood a chance at becoming a Champion if I did not hesitate to set my "Royal Oppression". Part of this logic was because this is the first time I was able to face a "Lightsworn" deck and did not know how to play around them. I was playing conservatively not knowing that they can OTK at any given time. Firsthand experience at tasting the reason why "Lightsworn" and friends has got to go this coming March.

Props
Undefeated in Swiss
4th Place in locals
"Trap Dustshoot" is a beasty tech

Slops
Was not able to buy my "Dark End Dragon" due to lack of funds
Double OTK
Crap from Booster Packs
Was not able to find any "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer" to complete my deck

Stay tuned for the upcoming post: Deck Analysis: "Gladiator Beast"

Deck Analysis: "Lightsworn"

Welcome to the second part of the series of posts I decide to write that are all about the top tier decks that have proven themselves this format. This deck type is arguably the strongest among the rest with a rich background regarding its history and mechanics. The popular deck type we all know as "Lightsworn".


Most "Lightsworn" Monsters all have the inherent ability to discard cards from the top of your deck every turn. This mechanic alone allows for easy +1s with the help of milling out the cards that are best off in the Graveyard to begin with, such as "Necro Gardna" or "Plaguespreader Zombie". Along with their very high Attack, "Lightsworn" monsters have a myriad of assorted effects that give the player flexibility at his disposal. A card that can Special Summon another "Lightsworn" Monster, A Monarch type card, A themed "Breaker the Magical Warrior" and so on.


Since the theme is LIGHT, they are one of the best abusers of "Honest". With the nature of dumping DARK monsters into the Graveyard, they are also one of the abusers of "Chaos Sorcerer" and "Dark Armed Dragon", which will transform the deck's type into Twilight.


Being an archetype that is around for more than a year already, "Lightsworn" support are so abundant that its not even funny. They have a Draw Spell, their own themed version of "Reinforcement of the Army", "Call of the Haunted" and so on. The cards are called "Solar Recharge", "Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Glorious Illusion". With the nature of the deck type, all have their ways on dumping cards from the top of the deck to the graveyard.


What makes the theme badass all in all is because of one card: "Judgment Dragon". This card serve the purpose of the archetype milling itself out in the first place. As if you have four or more "Lightsworn" names in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon "Judgment Dragon" and activate its devastating-and usually game ending effect: "Pay 1000 life points. Destroy everything in sight except itself."


"Dark Hole" and "Heavy Storm" attached in a 3000 Attack body is not to be taken lightly. In case everything goes wrong, "Beckoning Light" will bring those unwanted "Judgment Dragon" mills straight back to your hand. It can also serve as "Honest" refill. Whichever floats your boat. Popular techs nowadays are "Archlord Kristya" to disable Special Summons and acts as some sort of reload mechanism in the deck. "Gold Sarcophagus" is now a viable option since the format is not as fast as the previous one.

The only thing that makes "Lightsworn" lose is its own double-edged nature; milling all your guns pose as a risk to you, making you miss that one important "Heavy Storm" that you were hoping to draw thus costing you the game. This unique nature of the deck is also why the deck has little to no Trap cards mained outside "Royal Decree", which disables Traps in the first place.

Being the strongest deck in this format, "Lightsworn" is one of the decks that will take a huge beating this coming March list. Expect the deck to be mangled. Some predictions are "Judgment Dragon" to 1, "Charge of the Light Brigade" to 1 and "Beckoning Light" to 1. Whatever they decide to do with the archetype, its not gonna be smooth.

Deck Analysis: "Blackwing"

Four different types of decks have proven themselves over the myriad of events that have happened in this format. Let us focus on one of them namely "Blackwing". I have decided to post my thoughts about the metagame before the format is changed this coming March. I hope that these series of articles about the "Tier 1" decks is going to be helpful for people to better understand and have a grasp on how the deck plays out in general and how what I think will be made to them in the upcoming March list.


In a nutshell, "Blackwing" play aggressively, usually taking in control of the role of aggressor in a duel. With the help of "Black Whirlwind", they can easily take a "Blackwing" monster with a lower Attack than the one Summoned out of their deck and add it to their hand everytime a "Blackwing" monster is Normal Summoned. After which, they can easily Special Summon different "Blackwing" monsters from their hand and swarm the field with ease. As a back row reliant deck, they rely on multiple copies of "Icarus Attack" and "Royal Oppression" to ensure that the field is in their favor. While they generally have medium to low Attack points, "Blackwing - Kalut the Moonshadow" is there to ensure that they do not lose in terms of brute force.


The deck easily becomes potent just because of "Black Whirlwind", as it allows for easy +1 for each copy in the field, meaning if you have two copies in play, you get to add to your hand two "Blackfeather" monsters. "Icarus Attack" is there to control the field and since the theme does not rely much on regular Special Summoning , "Royal Oppression" pins down your opponent's Special Summons while you continue to abuse your own kind of Special Summon-"Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor" can still activate and Special Summon a Monster even with "Royal Oppression" in the field. "Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame" can even use its effect even with "Royal Oppression" on the field, as the effect triggers at the Damage Step, which "Royal Oppression" can't be chained to.


The deck has pretty much reached its maximum potential, as only a few techs are added and removed from the core. Some people prefer to add cards like "Mind Control", "Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness" and "My Body as A Shield", but the tech choices are usually just a matter of personal preference of the duelist running the deck.

Problems encountered are when you start a Duel with no 'big' "Blackwing" monster in your hand, or start out with five Monster cards in your hand, without "Black Whirlwind", things can get ugly. They also lack options to cycle through the deck outside of "Allure of Darkness". It also becomes a problem when your back row becomes pinned down by your opponent with cards like "Stardust Dragon" or "Royal Decree".

I predict that if ever "Blackwings" get hurt in the March list, the card that would be hit are: Black Whirlwind to 2 This will make the deck more inconsistent than it was. Since "Blackwing" fail to sweep Shonen Jumps consistently and is arguably one of the weakest ones among the top tier decks, they might be out of sight in the ban radar.

SJC LA

It has finally been concluded.

Shonen Jump LA was finally concluded yesterday with over 1500 participants. This hallmarks the biggest ever single card game tournament in history, at least according to Konami.

With a staggering 11 rounds of Swiss before the cut to the top 16, players dueled until midnight to show what they've got. In this event, the saying 'no pain no gain' proved itself.

Over 1500 participants and just a cut to the top 16-this simply means that doing x-2 or worse would automatically mean that you are in the red zone. Even x-1 players are not guaranteed to have a spot at the top 16 due to the humongous amount of participants in this mind blowing event.

Rogue decks are present here and there and Dimensional Eatos and other deck from the East has also participated in the event. Unfortunately, none of them were able to prove victorious.

The top 16 was full of "Lightsworn", Twilight and Zombies, with only one "Blackwing". Surprisingly and as I predicted, "Gladiator Beasts" make a comeback in this jump, proving once again that they deserve to be on the Tier 1 spot.

This event insured that both "Lightsworn" and Zombies will take a huge hurt in the ban list coming this March, as both took all the top 4 spot of the tournament. Two "Lightsworn" decks competed for the Championship and so it has been concluded that "Lightsworn" has officially won the tournament all in all.

With a few more events remaining for the format, one thing is for sure: This is a "Lightsworn" tailored format.

Goodbye

Goodbye and goodluck to Rauzes, owner of the Gaijin Duelist. Junk and Debris was really enjoyable.

Gold Series 2010 Wish List

One of the most anticipated booster set in the OCG, the Gold Series 2010, is nearly due for release on January 23. Reprints of popular cards such as "Solemn Judgment", "Call of the Haunted" and even "Judgment Dragon" are one of the few cards announced in the set. Here is my biased Gold Series 2010 spoiler, rather, how I would want it to be. This can be considered as my Gold Series wish list.

The list follows the previous Gold Series setup, with 10 Effect Monsters, of which 1 is a Synchro. Then followed by five Spells and five Traps. Normal rares are both Effect Monsters.

Effect Monsters
1. Gladiator Beast Laquari
2. Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness (NR)
3. Lyla, Lightsworn Summoner
4. Celestia, Lightsworn Angel
5. Magician's Valkyria
6. Mezuki
7. Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
8. Dark Armed Dragon
9. Judgment Dragon
10. Ally of Justice - Catastor (NR)

Spells
1. Book of Moon
2. Fissure
3. Lightning Vortex
4. Brain Control
5. Allure of Darkness

Traps
1. Call of the Haunted
2. Solemn Judgment
3. Royal Oppression
4. Threatening Roar
5. Waboku

Second Deck

First post for the new year.

I actually borrowed and played a Zombie deck from a person today, and felt like it had the potential to do devastating plays here and there. That was the first time experience in handling Zombies in the card game.

But in the video game, I am having fun playing Gladial Beasts and I think that the deck type is the most consistent ever in the whole history of "Yu-Gi-Oh!".

Aside from my main deck which is Black Feather, I think I want to come up with a new deck type to study and play. I am currently torn between Gladial Beasts and Zombies.

Any suggestions on what deck to build? Lightlords are out of the picture due to scarcity and price.