The time has come! Today we’ll see the first premier competition in North America to include Light of Destruction, and, while Dark Armed Dragon remains a top pick in the new environment, Champions like Paul Levitin, Lazaro Bellido, Dale Bellido, and more have answered the call — the game is afoot, and Lightsworn, Gladiator Beasts, Batterymen, and more will be in contention here today!

Light of Destruction isn’t the only big change affecting the field today — a series of rulings reversals and new rulings issued over the past three days have shaken major archetypes to their core. Zombie Master, Honest, and Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner have all received important rulings or reversals, a fact many players are not aware of today.

The hot tech this morning? Honest, Limit Reverse, and Gladiator Beast Gyzarus — the latter played in decks that aren’t Gladiator Beasts. The tactic is one part paranoia and five parts clever gambit: while Brain Control and Monster Reborn would let a non-Gladiator Beast player summon Gyzarus in extremely rare situations, the chief reason so many duelists are playing the new Fusion is simple deception. Gladiator Beasts were a hot prospect heading into this weekend, but few experienced duelists actually chose to play them — instead, they’ve opted to fake out the opposition in the early turns of game 1. It’s a strategy so easy that it seems likely to be emulated in future tournaments — why not?

Today is the final Shonen Jump Championship before the American and Canadian National Championships, making this event a formative one for both competitions. In addition, scheduling for this event appears to have affected turnout. With American Nationals just four weeks away, only 237 made the trip to historic St. Charles this morning. That means just eight rounds, and little room for error. With that said, competition is certainly high: Fili Luna, Shane Scurry, Jason Holloway, Billy Brake, the Bellidos, Ryan Spicer, Levi Yoder, Phillip Anthony, and even metagame’s own Jerome McHale are in contention alongside a number of Shonen Jump regulars. Victory will be anything but easy here today.