Today, we kick off two straight weeks of all-new card profiles as we count down the days to the Phantom Darkness Sneak Preview.
Phantom Darkness Just Twelve Days Away
Possibly the most anticipated booster set ever, Phantom Darkness goes on sale in retail and hobby stores early next month. But Sneak Previews are just twelve days away, and thousands upon thousands of duelists across the globe are gearing up for their first taste of the new set!
Sneak Previews start on Saturday, January 26, and continue through Sunday. Attendees will receive packs of Phantom Darkness to build their deck for the event, an all-new promo card, and a chance to win a downright horrifying t-shirt featuring Yubel—The Ultimate Nightmare. The exclusive promo is called Dark Grepher, and if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a 1700 ATK Warrior monster that helps you get Dark monsters into your graveyard. That’s important because many of the best monsters from Phantom Darkness need others in the graveyard. Expect this promo to be exceptionally popular.
Haven’t made your plans yet? Step one is to find the Sneak Preview in your area, which you can do with the convenient event locator on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG site. There are nearly 200 Sneak Previews in the locator so far, and more are being added. With an incredible set, a killer promo, and a mentally scarring t-shirt on offer, this is one Sneak Preview you definitely won’t want to miss.
Organized Play Announcement Brings Massive Championship News
A forum post three days ago from Premier Events Specialist Jeff Piroozshad released a ton of news regarding the 2008 tournament schedule. The post included information about National Championships in North America, as well as date and venue information for eight new Shonen Jump Championships. The following is a list of major tournaments confirmed for this year’s lineup:
January 26–27: Shonen Jump Championship—Orlando, Florida
February 23–24: Shonen Jump Championship—Houston, Texas
March 8–9: Shonen Jump Championship—Costa Mesa, California
March 29–30: Shonen Jump Championship—Columbus, Ohio
June 21–22: U.S. National Championship—Columbus, Ohio
June 29: Canadian National Championship—Toronto, Ontario
July 5–6: Shonen Jump Championship—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 12–13: Shonen Jump Championship—Honolulu, Hawaii
August 16–17: Shonen Jump Championship—Indianapolis, Indiana
October 4–5: Shonen Jump Championship—Seattle, Washington
October 18–19: Shonen Jump Championship—Charlotte, North Carolina
November 22–23: Shonen Jump Championship—Atlanta, Georgia
December 6–7: Shonen Jump Championship—San Mateo, California
That’s eleven Shonen Jump Championships confirmed so far, and the year’s just getting started! This isn’t a complete list either, so expect to hear about more big tournaments over the coming weeks.
Some points of interest: The Costa Mesa Shonen Jump on March 8–9 is the fiftieth tournament in the Shonen Jump series. The buzz around the event has indicated that there will be a lot of additional stuff going on, and while no one at UDE is giving details, the consensus seems to be that if you can get to Orange County that weekend, you probably should. We’ll have more details as they become available.
In addition, the Canadian National Championship is confirmed as a one-day event again, meaning there will be plenty of opportunities to qualify for the event via Last Chance Regionals on the Saturday before.
Phantom Darkness Previews on Metagame.com
With the news out of the way, it’s time to look at our upcoming week of Phantom Darkness previews! I get things started today with an in-depth look at the cardboard version of Jaden’s Season 3 nemesis. Yubel, Yubel—Terror Incarnate, and Yubel—The Ultimate Nightmare are the basis of a potent control deck that’s gotten a lot of buzz over the past weeks. How does it work, and how can you use these three monsters to lock down your opponents? Click on over to find out.
Tomorrow, Jerome McHale takes a break from the darkness to look at Volcanic Counter, an awesome new monster for Volcanic decks. Filling a two-part role for the Volcanic duelist, Counter functions both as ammunition for Blaze Accelerator and as a threatening line of defense against would-be attackers. Burn damage and monster control collide to make this one of the most notable cards from Phantom Darkness, and Jerome will show you how to get the most out of it.
On Wednesday the darkness returns as Bryan Camareno profiles Dark Nephthys, the reduxed version of Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. Dark Nephthys is one part Sacred Phoenix and one part Breaker the Magical Warrior, but a few extra twists make it more than just the sum of its inspirations. Bryan will explain why later this week, and he’ll show you some killer combos to get the most out of the new flaming chicken.
Curtis Schultz will swing open the doors to his Duelist Academy too, as he begins a series that takes a look at the most confusing part of dueling: the damage step. Don’t know why it’s such a nightmare? Then trust me, you need to read this article. Curtis is going to take the next several weeks to give you a complete crash course on this important part of the game system. If you’re a competitive duelist or just like knowing how your cards work, you won’t want to miss it.
The Dark Creator is one of the most talked-about cards in Phantom Darkness. With a special summon ability that puts Il Blud to shame, and ATK numbers that leave Cyber Dragon blowing in the wind, this is a fierce new spin on a classic monster. Ryan Murphy writes us all the way from Thailand to explain why The Dark Creator is so dangerous. Make no mistake, Day 2 decks will be built around this monster in the coming months.
Friday, Matt Murphy tackles the other hyped heavy-hitter in the set, Dark Armed Dragon! With the ability to clear four cards from the opponent’s field with relative ease and a whopping 2800 ATK, this card is already having a big impact on the secondary market as cards that combo with it have climbed in value. Arguably the most-wanted card in the set so far, Dark Armed Dragon can break open just about any duel and swing the game irreparably into your favor. Make sure you check out Matt waxing poetic on how awesome this card is.
Matt Peddle joins us on Saturday to discuss Cyber Valley, a little monster that might have a huge effect on competitive dueling. Three unique effects unite to create what is being called the successor to Card Trooper, shutting down battles, protecting life points, drawing extra cards, and even letting you replay your best cards. Why is Cyber Valley a top pick for some of the Shonen Jump Circuit’s best duelists? Matt will tell all this weekend.
Finally, we’ll hear from Jerome McHale one more time, as he looks at two support cards for Phantom Darkness’s best monsters. Armageddon Knight is going to be an absolute staple for any deck focusing on the biggest, baddest Darks of Phantom Darkness, and Dark Eruption helps you reuse it and countless other useful Dark monsters. Jerome’s going to show you how to use each card to support the best new themes from the set.
And that’s it for this week! Head back here in another seven days, because things are only going to heat up as we count down the remaining hours to Phantom Darkness.
Thanks for reading!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com