The dueling world has waited six long weeks since Shonen Jump Championship Durham, and now, the last big tournament of the year is finally here! The Six Samurai are back and better than ever, Marshmallon and Shield Crush are legal for the first time, Foolish Burial and Trade-In will be fueling innovative concepts, and the mighty Light and Darkness Dragon seems to be set to terraform the tournament landscape.

Today’s going to be a tournament to remember.

A month and a half ago it was Zombies versus Zombies duking it out for the glory of Shonen Jump gold, as Phillip Anthony triumphed over Levi Yoder in a fierce mirror match. Today, a quick walk around the tables as duelists await the player meeting reveals an entirely new metagame, riddled with unpredictable picks. For every Light and Darkness Dragon deck or anticipated strategy, there’s something totally different: everything from super-fast Demise builds running Trade-In to Beast burn and Normal Monsters. That’s right: at least one former Top 8 qualifier is running Enchanting Fitting Room here today — long-time readers can probably guess who it is since we’re in California.

Gadgets, Macro-Cosmos, Samurai, and many more well-known strategies appear to comprise a good portion of the competitive field. Light and Darkness Dragon itself doesn’t appear to be a top pick for most former champions in contention this morning, as most Shonen Jump veterans seem to be playing to beat the Dragon, not to use it. In fact, we might be in a situation where more players are teching against the Dragon, than are actually using it.

Tech from recent releases is what everybody’s talking about as they make last-minute tweaks. Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Energy-Absorbing Monolith, and several more new cards are showing up in side and main decks everywhere, and they’re sure to be deciding factors in competition today. Rulings issues are also sure to abound, and experienced players who’ve done their homework are going to be at a huge advantage. Questions about cards like Majestic Mech – Ohka, Pulling the Rug, and Card of Safe Return are being actively debated by players on the floor even as I write this.

In an interesting twist, this event has drawn competitors from all across the globe! Representing Canada are players like Matt and Ryan Peddle. American West Coasters like former National Champion Austin Kulman and the Leonhardts will throw down against East Coast stars like Paul Levitin and Shane Scurry. There’s even a team from the UK. With so much opportunity for truly skilled duelists, many have been willing to put their travel dollars where their mouths are to throw down here this weekend.