It’s Monday, April 23rd, and we’re in the midst of one heck of a busy time in the world of dueling!
Shonen Jump Championship Anaheim This Weekend!
The Shonen Jump circuit comes home this weekend when SJC action returns to the Anaheim Convention Center! Two-and-a-half years ago, 309 duelists competed in the very first SJC, and now the biggest Yu-Gi-Oh! event series of all time is headed back to where it all began. We’re right in the middle of one of the most volatile and exciting formats of all time and only one thing is for certain: it’s going to be a weekend full of surprises.
How do you make a metagame read in a format where everything from Cyberdarks to Elemental Heroes has made Day 2? Duelists preparing for Anaheim are probably starting big and working their way down the pyramid, and SJC Montreal set some interesting forces into motion. Monarchs took more Top 8 slots than ever before in this format, so Anaheim competitors will certainly be keeping that in mind. The surprisingly competitive showing from Burn decks presents more of a gamble: in Montreal, a number of Burn strategies worked because duelists just weren’t siding for them. Will it be worth doing so in Anaheim, or will the entire concept have ironically burned itself out for the time being? That, and many more questions face the would-be champions making their way to So Cal this week.
If you still haven’t finalized your travel plans, hit up the official event listing right here for all the details you need. Can’t make it? Don’t worry, because we’ve got you covered! Jerome McHale will be bringing you live coverage from the tournament floor all Saturday and Sunday, and we’ll have all the deck profiles and feature matches that you want. The Advanced format marches on, and Metagame.com is your first source for cutting edge info.
Zane Packs Now In Stores!
After its initial debut as part of the six-booster Duelist Pack Collector’s Edition, Duelist Pack—Zane Truesdale had its formal release last week. Packs of the popular set can now be purchased on their own, and if they haven’t appeared in your area yet, then keep an eye on your local hobby stores—they’ll probably get it in stock a bit before big chains like Wal-Mart and Target.
Duelist Pack—Zane Truesdale has a ton of highly playable cards that were pretty scarce before the set’s release. If you haven’t cracked a few packs yourself, highlights include Cyber End Dragon, Cyber Phoenix, Cyber Twin Dragon, Chimeratech Overdragon, all three of Zane’s Cyberdark monsters, and five new cards that have never been released before. There’s even a new version of Cyber Dragon with alternate art, which has really been a hot item for serious collectors! Zane packs should be available now in your area.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Season 3 On Cartoon Network
More good news for GX fans—the season debut of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX hit the airwaves two weeks ago on Cartoon Network! This time around, there are four new students at Duel Academy, and you’ll see a lot of their cards in upcoming expansions sets this year. Old friends return, and a new instructor named Professor Viper hides a secret from Jaden’s past. Plus there’s a new character who carries a crocodile on his back at all times. A live crocodile named Shirley. Trust me on this one: it’s worth watching for the croc alone.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX airs at 7:30 p.m., Saturday night on Cartoon Network.
Force Of The Breaker Sneak Previews Are Right Around The Corner!
Segueing right along, one of the new students in Season 3 is Jesse Anderson, a top duelist of North Academy and master of the Crystal Beast cards. Where can you get Crystal Beasts in real life? Why, at your local Force of the Breaker Sneak Preview on the weekend of May 5th and 6th! You can find all the info you need about Sneaks in your area right here at the official Sneak Preview page.
If you liked Strike of Neos for its tournament playability, then you’re going to absolutely love Force of the Breaker. Strike definitely captured the title of “Best Expansion Since Invasion of Chaos,” but it didn’t get to hang onto it for long—Force of the Breaker definitely usurps its spot at the head of the pack. If you’re looking to make some high-impact additions to a few of your existing decks, then look no further because Force has all that delicious legacy support Upper Deck Entertainment teased us with towards the end of last year. And if you’re looking to try something you’ve never played before, there are lots of new strategies, themes, and monster sets that are going to be competitive for tournaments!
Preview Weeks Start Today on Metagame.com
And that’s exactly what Dr. Crellian Vowler is looking at! Today we kick off two weeks of previews, showing you the most exciting and competitive cards from Force of the Breaker! Click on over to see Vowler introduce Jesse Anderson’s Crystal Beast monsters. The Crystal Beasts are some of the most anticipated cards in the set, and we’re starting off big by showing you two of the set’s four ultra rares! Why all the exclamation marks? You’ll probably understand once our resident dueling curmudgeon unveils Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and the spell card Rare Value. So what are you waiting for? Open another window and head over there to look!
Tomorrow, Mike Rosenberg shows off one of the three Sky Scourge monsters. The Sky Scourges are incredibly powerful monsters that feed off the power of Dark Fiend-types and Light Fairy-types, and some duelists are already terming them “new Chaos monsters.” Why? Check back with us tomorrow, because Mike Rosenberg’s going to explain that and a lot more when he shows you what makes Sky Scourge Enrise so good.
Then Jae Kim will tackle a card that really hasn’t seen much hype yet, but deserves some deep investigation. Goe Goe the Gallant Ninja may appear unimpressive at first, but his effect happens to be a great fit for competition here in North America. Capable of robbing three cards from your opponent in a single turn, Goe Goe can shape the way your opponent perceives the duel. Don’t believe me? Jae makes a convincing case this Wednesday.
With decks like Diamond Dude Turbo and Magical Explosion making strong showings at all levels of tournaments right now, spell and trap negation has never been so good. Sky Scourge Invincil is Jinzo and Spell Canceller rolled into one, and it has the potential to outperform either of those classics given the right support. Matt Peddle is on deck this Thursday, and he’s going to demonstrate what an experienced duelist can do to take full advantage of Invincil’s impressive versatility.
One of the most anticipated components of Force of the Breaker is legacy support: support for older decks, many of which haven’t had new cards in over a year. The biggest group that accomplishes this in Force of the Breaker are the new field search monsters: monsters that you can discard in order to pull a matching field spell from your deck. Jerome’s going to look at two of the best, Gravekeeper’s Commandant and Elemental Hero Captain Gold. He’ll analyze the differences between the two on Friday, with special attention paid to the ways those differences influence how each card can be played.
Finally, Julia Hedberg will round out the week on Saturday by giving you a taste of legacy support for the Six Samurai. Backs to the Wall is the ultimate finisher for any Samurai deck: it’s sort of like Return from the Different Dimension, but custom-fit for the Samurai. Julia will illustrate why it’s such a spectacular match for the Six Samurai builds that have been successful lately, and she’ll also discuss alternate uses for this potent trap.
We’ll have all that this week—plus another Duel Academy article from Curtis Schultz—so don’t miss a single day here at Metagame.com! We’re going to be previewing at least one new card from Force of the Breaker every day right up until the Sneak Previews, so strap in for two weeks of new card goodness, and get ready to see what some of the best minds in dueling think of the best set this year!