I know I’ve spent the last month or so writing about chaining, and I’m still not done! However, since US Nationals are coming right up, I decided to take a short break from chaining, and talk a little bit about preparing for this event.

US Nationals will take place in San Francisco on June 2-4, and quite a few players are planning to attend. Over 800 have qualified, and hordes of hopefuls will arrive to participate in the Last Chance Qualifiers which kick off the weekend on Friday. Other players will go to take advantage of the side events and general Yu-Gi-Oh! camaraderie, so look forward to a crowded and lively weekend of events.

Now then, if you intend to play in the main event—the US National Championship—you’d better be prepared. This is a significant step up from Regionals and even Shonen Jump Championships as far as the standard of play that will be expected of you.

This topic is of particular interest to me, since I’ve been given the honor of head judging the event. So, if you’re planning to play, I’ve got a few things to go over with you! If you’re hoping to get in via one of the many LCQ’s that will be run that weekend, you should first check out the article I wrote on single elimination tournaments last year.

Before The Event

Read up on policy. The very first thing that I want you to do is go here and read over the Upper Deck Entertainment policy documents for Yu-Gi-Oh! Specifically, read the general Tournament Policy, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament Policy, and the Penalty Guidelines. I’m still shocked at how many experienced players still don’t know this stuff. The tournament policy documents tell you how to shuffle, how to handle your side deck, how the tournament operates, and all the rest of it. The penalty guidelines tell you what not to do, and what will happen to you if you do it anyways. Judges are tired of being called over by a player who proceeds to tell them, “Hey, my opponent looked at an extra card/didn’t declare his game phase/forgot to offer me a cut after he shuffled/etc., he gets a game loss!” Go and read the documents. Print them out and study them again. You will be responsible for knowing what they say. Please don’t waste the judges’ time by making us repeat them during the tournament. Come on, you should all know this stuff by now.

Now then, as long as you’re in the mood to read, get a copy of the latest version of the rulebook and go over it. Seriously, just do it. We’ve still got some players who are unclear on some of the basic game mechanics, even though they’ve made it this far. Pick up the new Invincible Fortress Structure Deck: it’s got the latest version of the rulebook. Or borrow the rulebook from someone you know who has it and read it through. It’s been rewritten, and you’ll probably find some useful info in there.

Resleeve your deck. When you’re done with all that reading, trot on out and buy some new sleeves! Do it before the event, and bring extra sleeves with you. Sleeves show wear pretty quickly—especially if you play a lot or are rough on your cards—and it’s not worth the risk of having marked cards. Just go buy new sleeves, and don’t forget to resleeve your side and fusion decks too. Besides, you want to look good for the big show.

Clean out your deck box! The only things that should be in there are your deck, one 15-card side deck, and your fusion deck, if you’re using one. if you’ve got some Sheep tokens, you may keep them there as well, as long as they are not playable Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. If they’re cards that are legal for play, you can’t use them for Sheep tokens, even if you turn them around so that the backs show through the sleeves.

Remove any mascot cards, stuff for trades or whatever else you keep in your deck boxes. When you are playing, take your fusion and side decks out of the box and place them on the field where your opponent can see them. Be clear about what you have —let’s avoid any misunderstandings here.

Know your deck. You should know how all of your cards work. You can go read up on them at the UDE single card FAQ, you can email the judge list if you’re a level 1 or higher judge, and you can ask judges in your area or at the event. Make sure your deck does what you think it will before you show up at Nationals!

You also need to know what’s in your deck so you de-sidedeck correctly. If you need to keep a copy of your list, definitely do it. “I forgot I wasn’t main decking that” is not an acceptable excuse if you get caught out on a deck check.

Take a second look at that custom mat. If you want to accessorize by bringing your custom playmat (all the rage, aren’t they?), go ahead. Remember, though, that if your playmat’s customization includes bad language, insults or derogatory terms, or excessively violent or salacious images, you won’t be allowed to use it in the event. The same guidelines that apply to clothing and language in the policy document extend to your playmat as well. Trust me, it will be enforced, and I get to decide what is allowable and what isn’t. Don’t treat this as some kind of “I wonder what I can get away with” test: err on the side of prudence and leave the “edgy” mats at home.

Please prepare your decklist in advance, if possible. Type it up if you can’t write in a legible hand, and don’t abbreviate your card names—the judges will have to read all these lists, so make it as easy as possible. Check it over at least twice to make sure there aren’t any errors, and compare it to your deck to make sure it matches. People make mistakes and you don’t want to be penalized for something that easy to avoid, or end up having to play without some crucial cards— it has been known to happen. Make sure your deck is legal. Enemy of Justice will be legal for play, so you can use those cards, but make sure you’ve got the right numbers of the right cards, and don’t include anything forbidden. That should be obvious advice, but people do make mistakes here. Double check your work.

At The Event

Keep your eyes—and hands—on your belongings. You don’t want to have to drop out of the event because your deck got lost or stolen. Leave anything you don’t need locked in your hotel or your car, and pay attention to your stuff when you are at the venue. We collect it when we find it, but sadly we don’t always find it first.

Once the tournament gets under way, remember that the judge staff will be strictly enforcing the penalty guidelines (you did read them, right?). This is the big time, folks, and if you can’t play by the rules you don’t deserve to go to Worlds. What will be expected of you? Here are a few things you should keep in mind—the list is by no means comprehensive, but it will give you an idea of how we’ll be running this event.

We expect you to play in a manner that makes your moves easy to follow and your intentions crystal clear. If you win one of the top 4 spots and go to Worlds, you’ll likely be playing against an opponent who does not speak your language, and he or she will rely on watching your moves to decipher what you intend to do. Prepare for it by playing clearly at Nationals. Put all of your cards and decks where they are supposed to go. Keep your graveyard and removed from play pile organized and easy to see—don’t let them slosh around. Keep the cards you’ve drawn in your hand—don’t set them down near your spell/trap zone. When you summon a monster, set or activate a spell or trap, or declare an attack, be clear about what you are doing. Accompany any gestures like wiggling a monster card with a spoken description of what you are doing, like “Breaker attacks Magician of Faith” or “I use Exiled Force’s effect to destroy Chaos Sorcerer.” Make sure your opponent and any judges can see exactly what’s going on in your side of the field—keep everything where it belongs, and don’t try and hide your set cards behind your hands. To peel it down to basics, don’t try and be sneaky here to gain an advantage, and don’t be a slob.

Also, do not try to rules lawyer your way to a win. This year’s US National Championships will have the best fleet of floor judges ever assembled—these guys are the best of the best. There will be plenty of level 3’s, all of whom have extensive judging experience—we’re talking judges who have head judged Shonen Jumps, so they’re not likely to fall for any of your tricks. There aren’t going to be any easy wins due to saddling your opponent with a game loss in this event, and if we detect a pattern in your efforts to do so, you may find yourself penalized out of the running.

Avoid disputes with your opponent about who had the chance to do what and when. We want to avoid situations where one player claims he or she didn’t have a chance to respond, so this is how we would like you to play. The turn player will go through his or her turn as normal. Go ahead and announce your phases, such as “As I enter main phase two, I’ll summon this monster,” etc. If you wish to ask if your opponent has a response to each of your actions, you can . . . but don’t do it to stall. Otherwise, play through your turn but pause between moves, and look at your opponent to give him or her a chance to respond. Opponents, if you wish to respond to a move made by the turn player, for goodness sakes speak up and say so once he or she has completed the move. “Hold on, I may have a response,” will make your intent clear.  Don’t try to stall by stopping a player after each move, or by constantly asking, “Do you have a response?” because if you do we will have to penalize you. It is also up to the turn player to declare if he or she is using an effect at the time a monster is summoned, or there is a change in game phases and so forth. The opponent should always ask if the player doesn’t say anything.  (“Will you be using Exiled Force’s effect?”) The player must then say whether or not he or she will.

You’ve all likely been playing for a while now, and if you’ve earned an invite to Nationals then you should know proper play etiquette. Follow it. It’s not appropriate to try and sneak your way to a win by being deceptive.

Shuffling—ah yes, shuffling. I’ve seen all kinds of methods of shuffling over the years, and for Nationals I’d like to standardize it somewhat. You can pile shuffle, you can separate your deck into chunks, riffle shuffle, or however you like—but all shuffling will be done with the deck held perpendicular to the surface of the table. No one will be allowed to hold their decks sideways while they shuffle. Everyone must adhere strictly to the policy set forth in the UDE tournament document, and to save time I’ll just paste it in here:

“To guarantee fairness, each player must ensure that his or her deck is thoroughly randomized before presenting it to an opponent at the start of any game. Players are encouraged to mix several different shuffling methods, such as pile shuffling and riffle shuffling, as they randomize their decks. Once a player thoroughly randomizes his or her deck, he or she must present it to the opponent, and the opponent must shuffle the deck for at least ten seconds to further randomize it. Presenting your deck to your opponent implicitly states that you have thoroughly randomized your deck. Players may not pre-set or sort their decks in any specific order before shuffling. Stacking a deck or illegally manipulating the order of the cards while shuffling is considered cheating.

“Players are expected to shuffle quickly. Players are limited to 30 seconds of shuffling during a game and two minutes of shuffling between games.

“Players are expected to shuffle carefully. Players must shuffle in a manner such that they cannot see the bottom of the deck while shuffling. Players must ensure that no cards are damaged while shuffling their opponent’s deck.”

Do not look at the contents of your deck or your opponent’s deck at any time when you shuffle. Do not use the “bottom card” trick to determine who goes first. Do not separate your cards into spells, traps, and monsters, and then pile them up one after the other.

Do shuffle your opponent’s deck—as per the document—rather than merely cutting it. Do check the ground to make sure you haven’t dropped any cards. Do keep the deck above the table at all times when shuffling, and watch your opponent to make sure he or she follows all of the above. If there’s a problem, notify a judge or ask your opponent to shuffle again, following the correct procedure. I’m serious about the side shuffling, too. This won’t be permitted at the event, so I suggest you practice shuffling with the cards facing the table.

Don’t eat or drink at the tables. Don’t put your food or drinks on the tables. Players have been disqualified from Nationals in years past for spilling their soda on their cards, so don’t let it happen to you. We don’t want to see food and drink on the tables between rounds, either —it ruins the tablecloths. Eat in designated areas. Also, don’t write on the tablecloths, because we’ll disqualify you for that, too.

Match slips are very important. Don’t sign or mark your slip until the match is over. Once the match is over, sign it and make certain that the winning player has been correctly recorded. Then the winning player needs to take the slip immediately up to the scorekeeper. If you have a problem with your match, you need to clear that up with a judge before you sign your slip. Do not put it in your pocket or leave it lying on the table while you trade or gossip or run to the bathroom. Do not make any additional markings on the slip, except to check the drop box if you wish to drop. Don’t keep track of life points on the slip. Do not write remarks on the slip. Do not fold, tear, spindle, mutilate, or eat the slip. If some sort of catastrophe occurs and the slip is destroyed, both players need to go up to the scorekeeper and report the outcome of the match. Remember, once the slip is handed in, the results are final. Make sure the slip is correct before it is handed in.

Don’t stall. There are a lot of ways to stall, and you’ll be dealing with a judge staff that has seen them all. We will be calling you on it, and penalties will escalate, so play in a timely manner. If you suspect your opponent is stalling, notify a judge who can keep an eye on the match and determine what is gong on.

All of this might seem like a lot to remember, but honestly, you should be able to pull yourself together for nine or ten rounds. If you can’t, well . . . you might not be ready for the National Championships. We can only send the best, and that doesn’t mean only the best strategist or the best deckbuilder. The players selected to go to Worlds will represent their country—and their fellow players—and we only want to send players who can live up to that challenge. I’m looking forward to seeing you all there, and we’ll expect you to be prepared and ready for a spectacular event. Good luck!