It’s November 26th 2007, and as duelists across the globe brace themselves for the impact of Shonen Jump Championship San Mateo this weekend, it seems that the last of the holiday duel merch has made its way into stores. Head spinning from all the new releases? Let’s look at what hit stores this past week.
Lots of New Stuff For The Holidays!
The first “wave” of this year’s collector’s tins featured Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus, Elemental Hero Grand Neos, and Destiny Hero - Plasma. Now the second wave of tins has arrived across North America, and each one features a secret rare promo version of Rainbow Dragon, Elemental Hero Plasma Vice, or Volcanic Doomfire.
The boosters in the new tins have been updated from Wave 1 too, including a pretty cool surprise. Each tin includes (amongst other boosters) a pack of Tactical Evolution. The sweet part? The rare cards in these Tactical Evolution boosters have rainbow foil printing on the name instead of the regular silver foil! It looks awesome, and I’ve already picked up a playset of Hunter Dragon cards with the new foil finish. Cool stuff.
Next up, the Light and Darkness Power Pack should be available in hobby stores everywhere as of this week. Each Power Pack has an ultra rare version of Light and Darkness Dragon (good news if you missed the manga version), plus two boosters of the new Dark Revelation 4. With ultra rares like Treeborn Frog and Cyber Dragon, as well as foiled-out super rares like Bountiful Artemis and Macro Cosmos, the set seems to be getting a pretty warm reception from players.
Finally, for the GX fan in the family there’s the GX Next Generation pack. It’s got a booster of three of the most GX-intensive sets: Elemental Energy, Shadow of Infinity, and Cybernetic Revolution. Collectors will want to pick one up too, because it comes with an exclusive ultra rare version of White-Horned Dragon. If you missed the promo version given out last year at McDonald’s, now’s your chance to score a few copies of the potent Dragon.
Whew, that’s a lot of stuff!
Shonen Jump Championship San Mateo This Weekend
Short of hiding under a rock, you probably already knew that the first Shonen Jump Championship in a six-week span is going down this weekend in San Mateo, California. Everything’s different: Light and Darkness Dragon has terraformed the North American metagame. Marshmallon and Shield Crush are legal, alongside the new Samurai support from Gladiator’s Assault. Foolish Burial, Trade-In, and more cards from the Rise of the Dragon Lords structure deck are bound to see play. And there are sure to be a ton of unexpected surprises: this one’s going to be big.
If you’re still finalizing your travel plans for the weekend, be sure to check out the official event listing on UDE’s site right here at the Shonen Jump Championship event locator. It has all the important info you’ll need, like venue and contact information. Once you’re done there, I’d suggest book marking Premier Tournament Organizer Cascade Games’ San Mateo page: they’ve got the skinny on hotels, prizes, side events, and a lot of other stuff you’ll want to be aware of.
As always, if you can’t be there yourself to compete in the main event, then Metagame.com is your inside source for all the news, decks, strategies, and tech as they emerge over the weekend. This tournament is going to have a huge influence on your local metagame, and I can honestly say that if you read the coverage from just one tournament this year, San Mateo should be the one. There are so many questions going into this tournament. Will Light and Darkness Dragon live up to the hype? Can Samurais finally triumph thanks to Cunning of the Six Samurai and Enishi, Shien’s Chancellor? And what whacked-out ideas will pop up thanks to cards like Foolish Burial, Necroface, Malevolent Catastrophe, and other new releases? We’re going to find out with two days of coverage, live from the tournament floor. Here’s hoping you join us!
This Week On Metagame.com
I kick off our week today with a look at one of my favorite new cards. Herald of Creation is a unique monster with great stats and an awesome ability, but it’s fallen into the shadow of other Rise of the Dragon Lords picks. It deserves a moment in the spotlight for a number of reasons, and I’m going to show you why. Curious? Click on over!
Speaking of Rise of the Dragon Lords, Jerome decided to see what he could do with a few copies of the new structure and a bit of support material this past week. The result is a deck that works to counter current trends through . . . wait for it . . . Tyrant Dragon! If you picked up three copies of the structure deck, then this is going to be a must-read article for you, and if you’re a Dragon fan, you won’t want to miss it.
In our last installment of Duel Academy before Shonen Jump San Mateo, our beloved rules guru Curtis Schultz dives deep into his mailbag to answer your last-minute questions about Light and Darkness Dragon. Curtis has been at this for weeks now, explaining how the Dragon’s trio of effects work in different situations, but this is the first time he’s answering questions from readers. If you’re heading to San Mateo, or any other tournament this weekend, you absolutely have to check this out.
On Thursday, I fill in for a briefly-absent Matt Murphy with another article on Light and Darkness Dragon. The reason? Defeating the Dragon isn’t easy, and I want to share just a few of my favorite tricks that have helped me deal with it. While Light and Darkness Dragon can appear nigh invincible, it has its weak points, and I want to show you how to exploit them. For the duelist not playing a Light and Darkness build, you’ll learn how to counter one of the game’s deadliest cards. And if you wield the Dragon yourself, consider this a guide to what to look out for.
Then Bryan Camareno will discuss what I consider one of the most important skills for any tournament competitor: side decking. One of the big differences between an average player and a truly great one is how they use their sides, and Bryan’s going to show you three different techniques that will help you expand the reach of your main deck. Side decking isn’t easy, but a bit of knowledge goes a long way. That’s what this week’s Practical Duelist is all about.
Jerome “Muscles” Baisey took an impressive finish at Shonen Jump Washington earlier this year with a deck that went largely ignored: a deft twist on Warrior Toolbox. Matt Peddle decided, quite rightly, that Baisey’s strategy deserves a second look given the upcoming metagame trends. The result is an insightful read that may open doors for you on a strategic level. How did Baisey do so well with such a well-worn game plan, and what gave him such an edge over his opponents? Matt will tell all on Saturday.
Finally, Ryan Murphy will show you the Traditional Format build of a deck that may very well be in Day 2 of San Mateo by the time his article is posted: Exodia OTK. Thanks to the release of Foolish Burial and some, ahem, “colorful” friends, this deck can win out by turn 3 a shocking percentage of the time—in any format. What tech picks makes Ryan’s build so deadly? Tune in on Sunday to find out. I’ve tested this myself and the results are impressive.
That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to join us Saturday and Sunday for live coverage from the San Mateo Event Center as we get ready for one of the most epic Shonen Jumps of all time. Thanks for being with us here on Metagame.com!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com