Today I don’t want to talk about cards or strategy. Instead, I’d like to give you some insight into the mistakes I see at every Shonen Jump Championship, with the goal of helping you avoid them. No matter what deck you play or what level you compete at, there are obvious mistakes that can threaten your win percentage. The shocking part? Most Shonen Jump players just keep making them.
Here are the five things you shouldn’t be doing anymore. If you can avoid them, I guarantee you will do better in every tournament you play in.
Not Pile Shuffling—And Not Doing It Randomly
It’s everybody’s nightmare: playing against an opponent who has combo cards side by side in his or her deck, or even entire favorable hands arranged card by card. It can happen unintentionally, and all that needs to happen is a weak shuffle. One thing can keep your opponent from having an insufficiently randomized deck: sufficient randomization.
"Well duh, Jason, thanks for that blinding flash of the obvious." Fair response, but I watch hundreds of Shonen Jump Championship matches a year, often played by some of the most successful duelists in the game, and all too often a player will give his or her deck or the opponent’s nothing but a quick, insubstantial shuffle. The result can be a clumpy hand for that player, or a combo-laden smorgasbord of easy plays for his or her opponent.
So pile shuffle both your deck and your opponent’s. Just divide the deck, card by card, face down into eight piles. When you make those piles, do it randomly: not from the left to the right or in any other pattern. Flop cards here and there, and change up the arrangement with every shuffle even if you wind up with an uneven number of cards in some piles. You’re not looking for perfection: just randomization.
Piling like this accomplishes two things: first, it makes the entire shuffle more random, which ensures that if someone does draw a particularly good or bad hand, it was luck and not your own fault. In addition, a random pile shuffle puts you above the suspicion of foul play. A sequenced pile shuffle done in a strict order can create patterns that a shady duelist might be able to take advantage of. But you’re on the level, so go ahead and shuffle in a way that wards off any doubts.
When you’re finished pile shuffling, give the deck a few quick shuffles with another shuffling technique of your choice. This again serves to counteract any systemization or patterns the pile shuffling might have created. Sticking to a complete shuffling routine in the pre-game will save you frustration later on.
Not Filling Out Your Decklist Properly
Wow! Bryan Camareno might be writing about this in the next week or two, but I’ve got to include it here: never, ever hand in a decklist that you haven’t carefully inspected. Under current tournament policies, decklist errors—big or small—will earn you a game loss. Nobody wants to lose a duel (and possibly a complete match) for something as easy and routine as this. And yet, they do. About 5% of the field at Shonen Jump Championship Costa Mesa took game losses for improper decklists. That might not sound like many players until you remember that there were 1,056 competitors in that event—more than 50 of whom took game losses for their decklists. Pretty nuts, isn’t it?
Go over your list with a fine-tooth comb: it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s accurate and complete. Tournament days can move very quickly, but a little care will keep you from losing a match you might have won.
Not Playing With Fresh Sleeves—And Not Checking Them Between Rounds
Don’t bring the beat-up, nicked, or scratched sleeves you’ve been using at your local to a Regional or Shonen Jump. It’s just asking for trouble. It’s easy to create accidental markings on your card sleeves, and it’s just as easy for a tournament official to misconstrue patterns of damage as something purposeful. Again, if you’re an honest duelist, just don’t put yourself into the situation where you might raise red flags.
It’s not hard: buy a new pack of sleeves before any competitive premier event you play in, inspect them for manufacturing errors, and re-sleeve your main and side deck before competition begins. Then check your sleeves for wear between rounds in order to make sure that your pristine deck stays that way: a single bump can damage the corners of sleeves or create tears along the sides, so give your cards a check each round. Like your decklist, the integrity of your sleeves is your responsibility.
Since the recent changes to tournament policies made the arrangement of one’s deck in the pre-game period very difficult, many tournament officials are now watching even closer for other concerns like marked cards. As long as your sleeves aren’t damaged, this policy works to protect the integrity of the tournament and your own performance.
Not Keeping a Notebook—And Not Using It
One of the biggest changes to tournament policies this year was the shift to allow timely, non-disruptive note taking in sanctioned tournaments. Previously all but the most minimal note taking was forbidden from sanctioned play, but it’s now encouraged as a tool to help those who would like to write tournament reports, as well as a means of keeping games moving briskly.
At every Shonen Jump Championship I’ve been to since this protocol was brought into place, that has meant you can quickly jot down your opponent’s hand when it’s revealed by a card like Trap Dustshoot. Any duelist who decides to rely on his or her own memory in such a situation is taking a risk and needlessly dividing mental attention. You played a card that let you get that information, so why throw it away? Cedric Sequerra was one of the first players to really adopt note taking when it became legal, and we’ve seen the results that he’s earned over the past several Shonen Jumps. A lot of the game’s top players are giving their notebooks a serious workout: if you want to compete with them, you should too.
Not Taking Your Final Cut After Every Shuffle
If I can give you one piece of advice it’s to avoid this particular pitfall. The most recent
tournament policies dictate that you get a final cut every time your opponent’s deck is shuffled. That applies to both the pre-game period and shuffling as part of gameplay (for instance, after a search for Armageddon Knight’s effect). So if I shuffle my deck and all you do is give it a cut, I can’t randomize my deck further. If I shuffle my deck and you shuffle it as well, I can cut my deck and you can then do the same.
Always go for the second option, because it ensures that both players have had sufficient chances to randomize the deck. Don’t forget to claim your right to a final cut, because it guarantees that your opponent can’t do anything to manipulate his or her draws. This is not just a pre-game protocol: do it every time your opponent’s deck is shuffled. Encourage your opponents to do the same for your deck as well.
This new protocol was put in place to protect you from deck manipulation (also known as "stacking") and there’s absolutely no reason for you to not use it. Protect yourself and protect the integrity of your matches.
None of these five mistakes is difficult or complicated to avoid: it literally requires no thought and virtually no effort. However, the confidence you’ll gain—and the game losses and other concerns you’ll be saved from—are huge. Thousands of competitors are still subjecting themselves to these bad habits. If you aren’t, you’ll have an advantage in any tournament you walk into.
—Jason Grabher-Meyer