It’s Tuesday, March 6th, and as news spreads about the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s first ever three-time Shonen Jump Champion, the dueling world continues to feel the impact of the latest Duelist Packs!
Emon Ghaneian Wins Shonen Jump Championship Houston
Shonen Jump Championship Houston was an event filled with exciting firsts. The inaugural Jump of the new Advanced format, Houston was the first SJC to be run under the Top 16 model, a new system in which sixteen duelists qualify for competition in the Sunday playoffs instead of just eight. This weekend gave out more prizes, more glory, and more excitement than any SJC before it.
After months of struggle Team Overdose is back on top, with Emon Ghaneian breaking his slump to claim his unprecedented third Shonen Jump Championship title! Emon faced off against teammate Kris Perovic in the finals. It was a killer match that pitted Card Trooper Return against Perovic’s masterfully-constructed Diamond Dude Turbo build, a deck that most duelists disregarded going into the event. Right behind them was teammate Paul Levitin, also scoring a Day 2 appearance.
The Top 8 included Monarchs, Gadgets, Dimensional Fissure, Warrior Toolbox, and several other strategies. The sheer number of decks that saw successful play was astounding, even when compared to other events held at the beginning of a format, and offbeat strategies like Elemental Heroes and Ratbox Gadget (affectionately nicknamed “Ratty Gadget”) tore up the field. Though the bulk of the day’s glory went to Overdose, Steven Arias defeated Keanson Ye to take third place and score himself a Crush Card Virus. Arias is just one more duelist loving the new prize structure, which also awarded a minimum prize of an iPod to every member of the Top 16.
Our congratulations go out to all competitors at Shonen Jump Championship Houston! Now, with less than three weeks between today and SJC Columbus, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the format will hold. Study the coverage from Houston, and start placing your bets now.
Duelist Pack Collector’s Edition In Stores Tomorrow
With the top two decks in Houston both depending on ultra rares from Duelist Pack – Aster Phoenix and Duelist Pack – Jaden 2, these two new sets are even hotter than they were before. The good news? As of tomorrow, you’ll have a new way to get your Duelist Pack fix.
The Duelist Pack Collector’s Edition comes boxed in an attractive “mini-tin”. The set comes with one booster each of Duelist Pack – Jaden Yuki, Jaden Yuki 2, Aster Phoenix, and Chazz Princeton. It’s also the first place you’ll find Duelist Pack – Zane Truesdale, weeks before its retail release in stores! The new Zane pack has some incredibly strong reprints, including Cyber End Dragon, Cyber Phoenix, and Chimeratech Overdragon, as well as a bunch of new cards. It’s even got a rare version of Cyber Dragon, and for those of you who already have a playset, this one’s got new card art that you can’t find anywhere else!
Yes, that’s genuine excitement you’re reading there, folks. I’ll be stopping at my local hobby store tomorrow to pick mine up tomorrow. Come onnnnn, alternate art Cyber Dragon!
This Week on Metagame.com
Yesterday, Mike Rosenberg waxed poetic on one of the most strategically exciting cards from Strike of Neos. The Transmigration Prophecy can tech your opponent’s graveyard effects, bolster your search tricks, let you reuse powerful limited cards and more. While the Prophecy’s effect is subtle it has a million and one uses, and Mike showed you the best. Click on over and check it out for yourself.
Today you get a double dose of Jerome McHale, and it’s all about the Six Samurai. While Jonathan Moore’s Samurai build managed to take Top 16 at Houston, it made some conventional choices and missed out on some of the Six’s best tricks. Jerome’s got a Samurai build today that could have a place in any North American gauntlet, and it’s packed with control tricks to stabilize the game and create crushing wins.
Then in School of Duel, Jerome shares the solution to the tricky puzzle he proposed in his last installment. From there, he moves on to ask some important questions about the Six Samurai, giving you a chance to answer for yourself and see how much you know about the new Warrior super-team. If you’ve been trying your hand at this new theme then you’ll definitely want to hit up both of these articles.
The esteemed Dr. Crellian Vowler takes on another deck this week in The Apotheosis, returning to give a detailed lecture on a turbo Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys deck. The good doctor makes some ambitious additions, headlined by a high-risk high-reward selection from Strike of Neos. Better than Ancient Gear monsters? Well, Vowler probably wouldn’t think so, but his fixed up build comes pretty close, and he’s got a really cool new take on the Phoenix theme.
In Curtis Schultz’s Duel Academy, he looks at the final Neo-Spacian cards from Strike of Neos, this time focusing on the new fusions. Elemental Hero Grand Neos, Elemental Hero Glow Neos, and Elemental Hero Air Neos are profiled in conjunction with Neos Force, and Curtis will show you all the important rulings you’ll need to know if you want to try out any of these new monsters. If you’re a Jaden fan, don’t miss this article.
Losing happens—it’s a fact of any duelist’s playing career. What really counts is what you do when victory eludes you. This Friday, Julia Hedberg starts a two-part series detailing how to turn your losing duels into positive experiences, and teaches you how to benefit from the times when things don’t go your way. Want to become a better duelist? Play people who can beat you, and learn as you take your lumps. Julia’s going to show you how.
Carlo Perez made big waves with his stunning win at Shonen Jump Championship St. Louis, winning a flashy 2-0 victory in the finals with Diamond Dude Turbo. With Kris Perovic taking a second place finish with a similar deck at this past weekend’s Jump, Perez’s build still has a lot of relevance for the average duelist, and Matt Peddle’s going to take it apart piece by piece to show you what made Perez so successful. It all goes down this Saturday, and if you’ve been looking for a primer on Diamond Dude Turbo, then Matt’s got you covered.
Finally, Jae Kim will finish out our week with the first of a two-part series, as he analyses the new format and builds a brand new deck to beat it. What will Jae place his chips on, and why? He’ll show you the thought processes he went through to arrive at a final product, giving you rare insight into the deck building routine of an experienced duelist.
That’s it for this week, but head on back next week as we ramp up towards Shonen Jump Championship Columbus. The format is wide open, anything can happen, and Vincent Tundo will be joining us with a brand new deck to boot. Don’t miss it!