It’s Monday, December 1, 2008, and we are counting down the days to the final Shonen Jump Championship of the year!
Shonen Jump Championship Detroit this Weekend
Chicago and Atlanta are in the record books, but we’ve still got one big tournament left before the new year. Atlanta set the stage, and duelists are scrabbling to build or beat the top three decks: Zombies, Lightsworn, and TeleDAD. But as the weekend draws closer, one card is on everybody’s mind: Gorz.
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness was not legal for competition in Atlanta, but it was brought into the premier event card pool immediately after. That makes this weekend’s tournament in Detroit the first-ever Shonen Jump where Gorz will see play, and a lot of things are going to change as a result. Everybody’s going to be trying to fit this card into their deck (even if it takes a shoehorn to do it), and we’re going to be seeing some drastically different plays both in opening turns and elsewhere as a result.
If you haven’t booked your travel plans yet but think you might still be able to make it, hit up the official event listing as your first source of information. From there, definitely check out the SJC Detroit page over on the website for Professional Event Services, the premier tournament organizer for this event. It’s got a lot of info about the venue, side events, start times, and prizes. With the Shonen Jump circuit metagame taking shape in the wake of Crossroads of Chaos, this event should be a big one—if you can make it, this’ll be one tournament you won’t want to miss!
As always, if you can’t get there to compete yourself, we’ve got you covered here on Metagame.com, with live reporting from the Cobo Exhibition Center all weekend long. There are going to be some big surprises at this tournament, and we’ll bring you the stories as they happen.
See you there!
Big Prizes Announced for U.K. National Championships
Upper Deck Europe’s Rob Hooley dropped some huge information last week about the 2009 U.K. Championships, including a slightly different qualification system and a massive new prize structure for the main event! Here’s the lowdown:
-The 2009 tournament season begins in the U.K. in January and runs until April 12.
-City and Regional Championships have been renamed as Local and Grand Qualifiers, respectively.
-The number of these qualifying events is expected to increase from last year. More tournament organizers means a high chance for more Local Qualifiers.
-Dragon Duel Series events will be run in parallel to the qualifying events, and the final Championship in this division will have identical prizing to the regular U.K. Championship tournament.
The Top 32 finishers at UK Nats will qualify for the European Championship, now known as the Continental Championship. The commemorative coin given to top finishers of the U.K. Championship in past years has been traded for a commemorative pen, which will be awarded to all competitors placing 64th and higher. Duelists placing ninth to sixteenth will also get a 1 GB iPod Shuffle and a playmat along with an invite to the Continentals! Finishing fifth through eighth will earn you a 4 GB Shuffle and a playmat, and finishing third or fourth will net an 8 GB iPod Nano and a trophy, in addition to the other prizes. Second place gets a Nintendo Wii instead of an iPod, and the U.K. Champion will score a laptop, plus a trophy, a playmat, a commemorative pen, and a copy of the current Shonen Jump Championship prize card!
Big news for U.K. players—the new prize structure, plus more opportunities to qualify, should bring in record numbers this year!
This Week on Metagame.com
Today, I take some inspiration from Matt Peddle’s article last week and investigate tech cards that can help you slow down the opposition. In a format that’s so often defined by aggression, a strong defense can be a tournament-winning force, and I want to discuss some of the splashable options that you can play in your decks.
Tomorrow we’ll see Jerome pair Royal Oppression with a plethora of special summons—ones that Oppression can’t touch due to timing rules. The result is a really cool Beast deck that gets to toolbox freely, cram the field with squirrels, and drop one enormous monkey over and over, all while locking down your opponent’s Emergency Teleports and Synchro monsters. This one’s a must-read.
Curtis Schultz joins us Wednesday to look at pressing rulings for four of the biggest world debut cards from Crossroads of Chaos! Overdrive Teleporter and Tempest Magician have left strong impressions on those lucky enough to crack them, and Seed of Flame and Rai-Jin receive some important clarification as well. Read all about it in this week’s edition of Duelist Academy.
Friday, Michael Kohanim begins his run as a staff writer here on Metagame.com! Michael’s new column is called Taking Sides, and it’s all about getting the most out of your side deck. It starts this week with a general overview of siding techniques. From there, things are going to get a lot more specific, as discussion turns to specific decks and matchups in high-level competition. This new twice-monthly series will be a must-read for hardcore duelists.
Matt Peddle is with us Saturday to take a look at the most successful Lightsworn build from Shonen Jump Atlanta: Felipe DeJesus’s teched out version, designed to wreck Colossal Fighter and a whole lot more. In a field thick with Lightsworn players, DeJesus managed to overcome conventional threats through innovation, and Matt’s going to show you how it all came together.
Finally, Ryan Murphy joins us on Sunday with yet another deck that you can build without dropping a ton of cash: Crystal Beasts! As usual, Ryan’s got an ace up his sleeve, playing three copies of one underused card to bring this theme to new heights. Want a competitive Crystal Beast deck? Want it for under 40 bucks? Ryan makes it happen this Sunday in The Budget Builder.
That’s it for this week, but don’t forget to join us this weekend for live tournament coverage, straight from the floor of the Cobo Exhibition Center in Detroit!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com