Kyle Duncan Wins Shonen Jump Championship Philadeliphia

Only one word can describe this past weekend’s Shonen Jump showdown in Philly, and that’s shocking. New teams formed, old teams collapsed, new tech was discovered, and Chaos Return was ousted from the number-one spot by the format’s newest top deck, Recruiter. Three duelists took inspiration from Adrian Madaj’s performance at the European Championships and stormed the Top 8.

Kyle Duncan, of the new Superfriends / Xtreme alliance pulled out all the stops to score a ridiculous win in the quarterfinals. He then mowed down Michael Kohanim before beating out Team Trixter’s David Everett with a 2-0 record. Philadelphia was Duncan’s second Shonen Jump Top 8, his first win, and a great way to kick off the new team. Defeating over 800 other duelists in the biggest Shonen Jump Championship yet, Duncan blended luck, skill, and a great deck choice to take home the title.

Missed the action? Check out all the extended coverage for the weekend right here. Feature matches, tech, decks, the Metagame.com blog and the Scrub Brush Challenge await.

Twelve Days Until Power Of The Duelist

Sneak Preview events for the newest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG expansion are just around the corner! Kicking off next Saturday and continuing on through the weekend, hundreds of venues across the world will be giving duelists advance access to Power of the Duelist. Want to get your hands on cards from the latest set two weeks before it hits store shelves? Sneak Previews are the only way you can do it, and they’re a great place to meet new duelists, do some trades, and throw down for pride and prizes.

Most events will offer both Sealed Pack tournament competition and League format play. That means that whether you’re a big-time player looking to lay it on the line, or a casual duelist who just wants to crack some packs of the new hotness, there’ll be something to suit your personal tastes. All attendees who register to play will receive cards from Power of the Duelist, which includes the latest in Jaden’s trademark cards, new Destiny Heroes, fresh Vehicroids, the latest evolution of Cyber Dragon, and some highly competitive entries into the tournament scene.

Sound good? Check out the list of Sneak Preview venues near you and head on out twelve days from now for packs, an exclusive promo card, and more cool swag!

Power of the Duelist Previews Continue on Metagame.com

Want to get a jump on the competition at your local Sneak Preview? Want to know what to trade for, what to play, and what’s going to make an impact once the set hits the streets? We here at Metagame.com have got you covered, as we continue examining cards, combos, and mechanics from Power of the Duelist!

Today, Jae Kim looks at the future of Vehicroids, and things are looking bright. What could possibly get a nod of approval from a hardened veteran like Jae? How about a trap card that plays right into Vehicroid’s weaknesses and compensates for them with free cards? Supercharge is like Pot of Greed in purple form, and Jae will show you how to get the most out of this stellar new trap. He’ll also unveil a brand-new Vehicroid monster for your viewing pleasure.

Mike Rosenberg follows up this Tuesday with a look at one of the most important cards in the set. If Supercharge is just the boost Vehicroids needed, then Elemental Hero Neos is what Jaden’s Elemental Heroes have been waiting for. Absolutely huge, Neos makes O-Oversoul into an incredible threat and finally lends the Heroes some serious muscle. Mike will show you how Neos makes Yu-Gi-Oh! GX’s number one superhero team intoa serious threat, looking at key plays, strategies, and a brand new combo card.

On Wednesday, we turn Julia Hedberg loose on her favorite monster type. Little known fact, but Julia is a huge fan of Dinosaurs, and while they’ve been under-represented in Yu-Gi-Oh! up until this point, Power of the Duelist is going to fix all that. She’s going to show you the biggest, baddest thunder lizard of the bunch, a two-tribute monster that ranks up there with Dark Magician of Chaos for its potential impact on a duel.

On Thursday, Simon Sangpukdee takes a first look at the new Alien monsters introduced for the first time in this set. He’ll discuss the effects that make them tick, important rulings interactions, and will show you two of their key cards. Aliens are bald, Simon’s bald—it’s basically a match made in heaven.

On Friday, Matt Peddle will unveil one of Power of the Duelist’s hottest new cards. You can’t really destroy Destiny Hero – Double Dude, at least not very easily. Once you try and it gets angry enough, Double Dude splits into two parts and just hands out twice the beatings. Matt will show you what makes this card a contender from the design level on up, and will demonstrate how best to use its duplicitous effect.

Jerome McHale follows that up on Saturday with a one-two punch, debuting Destiny Hero – Dogma. Matt will show you tons of things to do with your Double Dude, but Dogma might just be the ultimate Double Dude combo. Huge in size and capable of turning a duel upside down with its incredible effect, Dogma is the ultimate weapon in Aster Phoenix’s arsenal and the greatest Destiny Hero ever printed.

Finally, I’ll round out the week on Sunday by taking a look at one of the best spell cards in the set. Future Fusion gives duelists a brand-new way to use fusion monsters, pulling fusion materials from the deck at virtually no cost. It combos especially well with certain groups of monsters, and I’ll show you precisely what those groups are.

That’s it for this week, so be sure to head back every day to see an in-depth exploration of at least one unreleased card! The summer is in full swing, competition and new cards abound, and it’s a great time to be a duelist.

As always, thanks for reading Metagame.com!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Contributing Editor, Metagame.com