It’s Monday, February 18, 2008, and we are just a few days away from the first-ever Shonen Jump Championship appearance of Phantom Darkness!
Phantom Darkness Arrives in Houston
It’s been weeks since the Sneak Preview release of the hottest booster set in memory, and since then Phantom Darkness has sold out from Upper Deck Entertainment, as well as many distributors and retailers. Cards like Dark Armed Dragon, The Dark Creator, Cyber Valley, and Allure of Darkness have been tearing up locals and Regional tournaments, but the best of the best have been saving their biggest combos and most broken strategies for Shonen Jump Championship Houston—the first Shonen Jump to allow cards from the new set.
Debate is rampant: Will Dark Armed Dragon live up to the hype? Can Zombies make a comeback thanks to Goblin Zombie, or will the new and improved Macro Cosmos variants wipe out that and other strategies? Just weeks ago at Shonen Jump Championship Orlando, not one, but two Championship-level teams had planned to play Van’Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord—will a fistful of counter traps prove to be the perfect remedy for the dreaded First-Turn Knockout decks that have been the topic of such heated discussion as of late? Right now it’s impossible to tell what effect the new cards will have, as Phantom Darkness, Duelist Pack—Jesse Anderson, Duelist Pack—Jaden Yuki and even a promo card or two are legal for the first time, creating a swirling morass of questions just waiting to be answered.
And answering those questions is exactly what we’ll do, as we bring you live coverage from the tournament floor in the Westin Galleria. Some of the game’s biggest teams and independent duelists will be looking to take home one more prize card before the 50th Shonen Jump Championship in Costa Mesa, California, and competition is going to be intense as some of the dueling world’s best deckbuilders come out to play. We’re going to see a ton of innovation in a short thirty-six hours, so don’t miss a minute of the action as we bring you new decks and new tech!
Still thinking of heading out to Houston to compete? Check out the official event listing page over on wannaduel.com for all the info you need, including event starting times, PTO information, and venue location. Get ready, because this one’s going to be big!
New Advanced List Debuts Thursday
Revisions to the Advanced and Traditional Format lists are made every six months, and that means new lists will be in effect on March 1 just in time for the 50th Shonen Jump Championship in Costa Mesa.
According to Upper Deck Entertainment, the new lists will be posted on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG website on Thursday, February 21. If you plan on heading to Shonen Jump Championship Costa Mesa, you’re going to want to check out the list as soon as possible so you can start working on your deck. Don’t miss it.
This Week on Metagame.com
I’m kicking things off today with a look at two of the top cards from Duelist Pack—Jesse Anderson and Duelist Pack—Jaden Yuki 3. Everybody’s been talking about Phantom Darkness lately, and today I want to take some time to explore some of the best cards these sets have to offer: Hand Destruction and Hero’s Rule 2. Hand Destruction has been a hot prospect for many competitive players, and I’ll explain why that is while delving into the card’s full potential. Hero’s Rule 2 has largely flown beneath the radar though, so I want to show you why I think it’s so good. Click on over and check it out!
Tomorrow, Jerome McHale will have a similar focus, as he creates a new Crystal Beast build that takes advantage of some of Jesse’s new cards. With combo decks on the rise, the negation effect offered by Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins is really a strategic gem, and Jerome’s new build is designed to defy many of the problems that usually plague Crystal Beasts. Macro Cosmos? Not a problem for this innovative, special summoning-packed deck. If you’ve ever been interested in the Crystal Beasts, this article is a definite must-read.
Then, Curtis Schultz switches gears on Wednesday as he delves into the deep blue depths, discussing important rulings on Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth. Included are some important points about more Phantom Darkness Fish-types, including Deepsea Macrotrema and my personal favorite Golden Flying Fish. If you’ve tried building a deck around Deepsea King but found that you ran into some play issues when you actually went to duel, then Curtis has all the answers you need to get back in the game.
Thursday, we greet a new member of the Metagame family, as respected Yu-Gi-Oh! theorist Brian Bodkin joins us with a new monthly column. Brian’s articles will discuss currently played decks and then show you cards that can make strong, innovative additions that can shake up the expected routine. This time around, he’ll look at Perfect Circle Monarch, making a few suggestions that you may not have thought of to take this successful strategy to all new heights. Welcome aboard, Brian!
Bryan Camareno is back on Friday, looking at the recent impact of Phantom Darkness and making some predictions about how the set will impact Shonen Jump Championship Houston. Need a crash course on what decks get stronger, and what new strategies have emerged? Bryan’s got you covered in this week’s The Practical Duelist, a great resource for the up-and-coming player, or a nice quick cheat sheet for those of you headed to Houston.
I think my absolute favorite deck from Shonen Jump Championship Orlando was Hugo Adame’s Wildheart Macro Cosmos build, and this week in The Champions, Matt Peddle will show you why Adame’s latest Top 16 build was so cool. In a word? Battle. Adame used the battle phase to its fullest, taking dueling back to its roots and leaving many an opponent completely defenseless on his way to Day 2. Matt will dissect Hugo’s deck to show you how he did it, and considering the boost Phantom Darkness gives to the Macro Cosmos theme, this is one article you competitive players won’t want to miss.
Finally, Ryan Murphy closes out the week on Sunday with an innovative new point of dueling theory. I’ve often believed that the best duelists are those who can shift between conservative and aggressive play as the situation calls for it, but never before has their been a framework to help us discuss and explore this quality. How do you know when you’re adapting quickly enough, when to adapt, and how far to swing between card-hoarding miser and back-to-the-wall speed demon? Well, thanks to Ryan’s latest article, any duelist will be able to approach this topic from a new, simple perspective, and dueling may never be the same.
That’s it for this week, but don’t forget to join us here on Saturday for Day 1 of Shonen Jump Championship Houston! Macros and combos and Dragons, oh my! It’s going to be one heck of a tournament.
See you then!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com