It’s October 16th, two days since the final match of Shonen Jump Championship Durham, where we saw two Zombie decks duke it out in the finals!
Phillip Anthony Wins Shonen Jump Championship Durham
The Top 16 this past weekend included two burn decks, an Apprentice Monarch build, Bazoo Return, and a whopping seven Perfect Circle decks, but in the end it came down to Zombies versus Zombies in the finals. Five Zombie duelists made it to Day 2, and in the end it was Phillip Anthony who took home the ultimate glory: a Shonen Jump Championship title.
Mei-Kou, Master of Barriers was the tech card of the weekend, seeing sided play in ten of the Top 16 decks. Dark Bribe appeared in a variety of archetypes and was sided by virtually anyone who had copies to play, while more than a hundred anti-burn cards were sided in Day 2. Remove-from-game strategies and Big City saw another increase in play in Day 1, but the metagame in Day 2 was the narrowest we’ve seen in this format, as tech and single-card creativity took top honors over innovative new strategies. Missed the coverage? You can still check it out right here on Metagame.com.
Shonen Jump Durham is the last in a string of three Shonen Jump tournaments in four weeks, and now with the Thanksgiving season approaching, the Shonen circuit takes a bit of a break, as we await Shonen Jump Championship San Mateo. That event is six weeks off, taking place on December 1st and 2nd, but now is a great time to start making your travel plans. Check out the official event listing on UDE’s site, then stop by Premier Tournament Organizer Cascade Games’ San Mateo web page for more details.
Premium Pack 1 Legal This Week, and New Secret Rares?
We’ve waited for it for months, and this Saturday, Premium Pack cards will finally be legal for premier level play. From this weekend on out, Marshmallon, Shield Crush, Legacy of Yata-Garasu and more will be playable in Regionals and Shonen Jump Championships, the first of several big new influences on the game over the next six weeks.
As an interesting side note, we’ve been seeing a lot of evidence that the Premium Packs now available in stores are a bit different than the ones originally previewed at Comic Con International this past summer. Some packs contain more than the guaranteed two secret rares, something that never happened in the preview release: duelists have pulled as many as five secret rares from a single booster. Even cooler, though, these packs contain alternate secret rare versions of the set’s super rares as well, giving collectors a few more cards to chase over the coming weeks. Cool stuff!
This Week On Metagame.com
This is our last week before we dive into in-depth previews of the choicest new cards from Gladiator’s Assault, but for now, we remain focused on the present. Yesterday I looked at another newly-revitalized trap card in this format, Ceasefire. With the slower pace of play that we’re now accustomed to, and several decks that create strategic standoffs, Ceasefire can be a deadly weapon. I discussed where to play it, the full extent of its different effects, and how it can be played. Check it out!
Today, Jerome McHale works to reinvent one of the greatest classic decks in all of dueling: Warrior Toolbox. This old dog learns new tricks by borrowing obscure favorites from the past (like Freed the Matchless General) and mixing them with popular new cards such as Elemental Hero Stratos. As is so common in this format, the trap lineup draws everything together, and if you’re looking for something different that can win your local tournaments, I’d recommend giving this deck a shot.
Zombie Master has created more rulings confusion in this format than Skill Drain, which is quite an amazing feat given the latter’s extensive history of making judges and players weep. On Wednesday, Curtis Schultz will give an in-depth look at the card’s mechanics and the rulings surrounding it, answering important questions about when Zombie Master’s effect can be used, and how it can be stopped. If you’re a competitive duelist, you won’t want to miss it.
Thursday, Matt Murphy fixes up a Six Samurai deck in The Apotheosis, helping its owner take on his most feared matchup: Zombies. The Six Samurai get a whole lot better once Gladiator’s Assault makes its way into the paws of eager players, but for now, they’re capable of a surprising amount of consistency despite their reputation. Matt’s going to show just that in this week’s deck fix.
Analyzing risk is an important skill in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, but before you can gauge the merits of various moves, you first need to understand the real cost of each. This week’s installment of Bryan Camareno’s The Practical Duelist will help you do just that, outlining the various costs a single action could present. In addition, Bryan will also discuss an important resource available to tournament players, too.
One of the most discussed decks from Shonen Jump Chicago two-and-a-half weeks ago was that played by Donald Myers. A fascinating example of tech blended with a near-overkill focus on monster control, Myers’ creation took him all the way to Day 2 and set off a lot of debate. Matt Peddle’s going to dissect the deck this Saturday, to show you what made it such a great pick for the expected metagame
Finally, Ryan Murphy will join us on Sunday to show you a Last Turn deck in The Forgotten Format. Last Turn may not be legal in the Advanced format, but Traditional’s a different story, and Ryan’s going to show you how to take advantage of that fact. One of the most explosive combo decks of all time is back, and if you think your Chaos deck will keep you safe, well, you’ve got another thing coming.
That’ll be all for this week, but be sure to join us on Monday, because we’re going to kick off two straight weeks of Gladiator’s Assault card previews as we count down the days to the Sneak Preview weekend. For now though enjoy the week, and thanks for reading!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com