With so many competitors from different nations in Europe, various national trends in play and deck styles became apparent by the end of day one of Battle City Amsterdam. Though play was varied, there were certain interesting trends that seemed to be generally true for most competitors from certain countries.
English players’ play styles were similar to Japanese and American play trends. Hybrid Chaos and Chaos Beatdown were the two most common decks from English competitors, and the decks were constructed and played similar to their American and Japanese counterparts. Unlike most of the other European competitors, the English did not gravitate towards the high tribute monster counts that most competitors utilized over the weekend. Anything from an extra Dark Ruler Ha Des or Airknight Parshath beyond what would be common for players in other countries, to up to three ‘extra’ tribute monsters was frequently seen. Smatterings of Smashing Ground and Scapegoat were also popular. In general, the English play style was more aggressive than that of other countries, and a pair of Nobleman of Crossout matched by gutsy attack strategies seemed to be the national hallmark.
The big archetype in most parts of Germany at the moment is First Turn KO Scientist. The deck is so prevalent in the German metagames that many stores have actually attempted to ban Catapult Turtle from competition. That said, the bulk of the German competitors present at Battle City Amsterdam were not playing First Turn KO, which as a whole was under-represented in the entire weekend of competition. Turbo Chaos seemed to be second in popularity for the Germans. The impact of First Turn KO Scientist was evident in the main decks and side decks of the competitors—three Torrential Tribute, Magic Drain, and especially Spell Shield Type-8 reigned supreme in the side decking priorities of Germans. In general, German competitors were fond of the high tribute monster counts favored by many European players, and Airknight Parshath, Jinzo, Dark Ruler Ha Des, Tyrant Dragon, and Byser Shock were popular picks.
Sweden is in an interesting situation with Yu-Gi-Oh! in general: by the time this article is posted, Sweden will almost be having their Yu-Gi-Oh! anime premieres on television. The show, which is a driving factor for the popularity of Yu-Gi-Oh! and the development of organized play in any region, has not been publicly available through mass media television channels in Sweden up until this point. The result is that despite having regional and national level competitions, and a national champion, the Swedish metagame has not been as developed as much or for as long as the metagames in other European countries. This results in one of the widest cross sections of skill levels, and a lot of different decks being played. Chaos, especially Turbo builds, was popular, but so were Warrior and Fiend decks, and to a lesser extent other decks like Amazons, Dragons, and Remove From Play. Many Swedish players were enthusiastic about running high tribute-monster counts, but like many Dutch players they did so intelligently, running Cost Down, discard/recursion combos, and other tricks to use more high-level monsters. As a byproduct, many Swedish decks were running more copies of defensive cards like Waboku, Book of Moon, Negate Attack, and Enemy Controller than would be considered common.
The local Dutch players at this tournament played in some ways that were similar to German competitors with a dash of Sweden. In general, high tribute counts were popular, but the Dutch executed counterbalance for this factor better than any other nationality. Chaos Beatdown was the number one deck, but a Dutch Chaos Beatdown deck looks quite different from an American Chaos Beatdown deck. While an American Chaos Beatdown deck will run Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End, and then one Jinzo, Airknight Parshath, or Vampire Lord, if anything, a Dutch Chaos Beatdown will generally run four of those five cards, possibly splashing in the fifth card or even a different tribute monster. Byser Shock, Tyrant Dragon, and Mystical Knight of Jackal were all seen repeatedly over the course of Battle City Amsterdam. All European countries had a penchant for Magic Cylinders, but the card seemed even more popular for Netherlands players, who virtually all seemed to be running it. In general, the Dutch players were top-notch; using strategies that might seem odd or less than optimal to a North American or Japanese player, but were actually in-tune with the European metagames. However, they were not routinely as aggressive as some of the other players. Other popular decks were Fiend and Gravekeeper.
French players were similar in style to the English players—aggressive, knowledgeable, and experienced. They generally played more tribute monsters than the English players, but not as many as the Swedes, Dutch, Germans, or Austrians. For overall game knowledge the French were among the best; the bulk of the combos that mark a veteran player, such as the Mirage and Exodia combos, as well as veteran tournament knowledge, were demonstrated frequently by many of the French players. Overall, Turbo and Control Chaos were the most popular decks amongst the French, though Fiend, Warrior, and Direct Damage were played as well.
Other countries were also represented at Battle City Amsterdam. Players from Austria, Spain, Italy, Belgium and more all competed in Battle City Amsterdam 2004. However, play from these countries was mixed, and trends were more difficult to decipher. Beyond the fact that most of the Exodia decks in the competition came from these countries, solid play and deck trends were difficult to pin down. The one common thread between all competitors was enthusiasm. Everyone was friendly, enjoying themselves, and excited to be part of the largest Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament of all time: Battle City Amsterdam 2004.