It’s Tuesday, January 16th, and we are just two days away from the debut of Gadgets in North America! Can you contain your enthusiasm? Exclamation points suggest that I can’t contain mine!
Structure Deck 10: Machine’s Re-Volt Hits Stores This Week
The long-awaited Machine’s Re-Volt Structure Deck will ship to stores across North America this week, and could be appearing in your local hobby store as early as Wednesday. If your local retailer isn’t taking pre-orders then I’d suggest finding out when they expect the decks to arrive, and hustling on over there as quickly as possible. Jerome’s stuck in that position right now, and since Machine’s Re-Volt will probably sell out, I think he’s off somewhere setting up a tent to camp out in.
So what’s so cool about the newest Structure Deck? Well, first up, it’s got more new cards than any Structure before it. It’s got one copy each of Green Gadget, Red Gadget, and Yellow Gadget, as well as their unique trap monster, Stronghold the Moving Fortress. All four were originally expensive ultra rares in Japan, but they’re a lot easier to get here. Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo is a Machine that gains 2000 ATK when you control a Gadget, and he’s searchable with Giant Rat. Re-Volt also has a bunch of support for Ancient Gear decks, the best of which is probably Ancient Gear Engineer (also searchable with Rat). The Engineer can destroy a spell or trap card every time he attacks. He’s a bit fragile at 1500 ATK, but he’s got plenty of negation tricks that keep monster destruction off his back. He’s my pick for the sleeper hit of the Structure.
As for reprints, the deck comes with two Sakuretsu Armor cards and a bunch of other handy tournament standbys. For those of you who missed out on Champion Pack: Game One, you’ll find that Pot of Avarice, Enemy Controller, and Limiter Removal are all available here too. Heck, there’s even Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, which is a nice little cherry on top of everything else.
If you’re still looking for a place to pick up your copies of Machine’s Re-Volt, I’d suggest checking the Hobby League locator over on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG site. You can search for stores in your area, and if a store is running League, they’ll definitely be carrying the Structures.
SJC Orlando Less Than Two Weeks Away
Once the Gadgets debut, their premier outing in North America is going to be at the year’s first Shonen Jump Championship. Hundreds of duelists are expected to flood the Orange County Convention Center on Orlando’s Universal Boulevard, as SJC action returns to the Sunshine State! With questions being raised about Gadgets and Chain Strike Burn, and expectations running high for both in the minds of many, it’s shaping up to be quite an interesting event. If you’re interested in attending the big throwdown on the 27th and 28th, you can find all the event details right here.
If you can’t make it to Orlando yourself, then be sure to check in with us the weekend of the 27th as we bring you extended coverage live from the tournament floor. We’re just as eager as you are to see the impact Machine’s Re-Volt has on the competitive scene, so expect to see a great deal of coverage on Gadgets. We’ll be looking at how duelists are using them, how they’re countering them, and just how many people are bringing them to Day 1. It’s going to be an exciting event, so be sure to mark it on your calendar. This format just continues to evolve, and the repercussions from SJC Orlando might affect us all.
This Week On Metagame.com
Mike starts things up this week with a look back at Shonen Jump Championship San Jose, and an investigation into the viability of Morphing Jar in Chain Strike Burn. The Jar can spell instant victory, and it was included in both of the Top 8 builds. So why do some players (myself included) opt not to main deck it? Why did Chris Moosman, Matt Murphy, and many others show up to San Jose intentionally avoiding it? Mike will investigate both sides of the debate and show you the reasoning behind those differing opinions.
On Tuesday you get a double-dose of Jerome, starting off with yet another deck that’s pretty dang competitive. Destiny Hero - Dasher is one of my favorite cards in this format, and it’s seen experimentation from top players like former American Champion Max Suffridge. Jerome foregoes some of the more popular complements like The Creator in order to pack a whole playset of a Monarch-killing tech card, and the result is a really playable deck that looks promising.
Then Jerome swings open the doors to his School of Duel to put the Gadgets through their paces. Think you know little Yugi’s favorite monsters pretty well? Check this article out, and you might be surprised. It discusses everything from deck types to tactical play scenarios, and it’s a valuable read to anyone who’s going to be picking up Machine’s Re-Volt.
On Wednesday, I fix up a Destiny Hero deck in The Apotheosis, taking a bulky deck list and giving it some direction. Destiny Heroes are going to gain a lot of viability next month when Aster’s Duelist Pack debuts, but for now they’ve got some very cool, underrated cards that can be a blast in a local tournament or Hobby League. Destiny Hero - Defender has never been so beautifully annoying as it is here.
Also Wednesday, I’ll show you how to turn your three copies of Machine’s Re-Volt into a North American version of a classic Japanese deck, Fifth Gadget. One of the most timeless decks overseas is now possible here in North America, and while a few changes need to be made, the result is a great starting point for anybody who wants to check out Gadgets but doesn’t know exactly where to begin. I’ll take you step by step through the construction process—from opening your Structure to the final build—and then discuss how to play it.
Curtis Schultz follows up his article last week with yet more rulings and advice on Deck Devastation Virus. How does the virus interact with boosted ATK totals? And how does it work with monsters that have an ATK of “?” instead of a specific number? He’ll answer those questions and many, many more on Thursday.
Friday you get another day of double articles, as Julia Hedberg brings you Solid Ground and Agents of Judgment. First up, she’ll take a look at the cards in Machine’s Re-Volt to give you an idea of what’s in there beyond the obvious Gadget trifecta. A lot of cards in the deck have been rather overlooked (like Ancient Gear Engineer!), so Julia’s going to take you through the full roster.
Then in Agents of Judgment, she’ll discuss how you as a judge can help integrate new players into tournament communities. Duelists come and go, but unless you’re attracting and supporting the new arrivals, any metagame can shrivel up to just a handful of hardcores, and that means smaller tournaments, smaller prizes, and less innovation. As a judge, you’re in a great position to ensure that things go well for new players, and that your communities benefit from them. Julia will show you why.
On Saturday, Jae Kim’s going to share an off-the-wall Normal monster deck that runs, of all things, Mad Lobster. Yes, you read that correctly. Strange? Definitely. Playable? 100%. If you’re looking for an intriguing Normal deck, or just want to flaunt those three alternate-art Mad Lobster cards you pulled from the 2006 Collector’s Tins, then this is the article you’ve been waiting for.
Finally, Matt Peddle will round out the week with a look at one of the format’s best (and sadly most overlooked) decks. Dale Bellido ran a Return variant built by his brother Lazaro at Shonen Jump Championship Anaheim and seemed destined for the Top 8 before an unfortunate game loss on an irreparable game state knocked him out of the tournament. Matt’s going to show you what makes it so good.
Wow, that’s a packed week. Metagame.com: helping you kill the hours between now and the release of the Gadgets!
—Jason