Only one week has passed since Cesar "The Princess" Gonzalez captured his second title at Shonen Jump Championship Seattle, but there’s more SJC action on the way this weekend!
Shonen Jump Championship Charlotte This Saturday
Hot on the heels of September’s string of Shonen Jump Championships, the Shonen Jump circuit returns to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the first time in over three years. The East Coast’s best will show up to throw down at the Charlotte Convention Center, and with no other Shonen Jump tournaments for five weeks, this one’s going to be big.
Teleport Dark Armed Dragon is on top, scoring thirteen seats in Day 2 and gaining its second Championship win in last weekend’s Shonen Jump Seattle! But Lightsworn continues to score multiple Day 2 finishes, and Eric Ing’s innovative build has given Gladiator Beast 
duelists new hope. Little City continues to be an underrepresented deck type with huge potential, while the new Middle City variant with King Tiger Wanghu and Burden of the Mighty could make an impact. With three top decks firmly established, it’s time for the innovators to get busy.
If you want to take your shot at prizes like iPods, gaming consoles, Doomcaliber Knights, a laptop, and the glory of a Championship win, there’s still time for you to get in on the action. Check out all the info over at the official website for Premier Tournament Organizer Star City Games. They’ve got information on side events, prize distribution, and start times, plus they also have deals on local hotel accommodations and an online registration system. Do yourself a favor and register online before the event: it’ll make your Saturday a lot easier.
Can’t make it to the event? Join us all weekend long as we bring you deck profiles, feature matches, and tech news live from the floor of the Charlotte Convention Center. This event will set the pace for the next five weeks of dueling, so don’t miss it.
See you there!
This Week on Metagame.com
I’m starting off the week with an article that’s bound to be debated. I’m going to take a fresh look at a card that was quickly deemed unplayable when it was first released: Gladiator Beast Octavius. Times have changed, and with Gladiator Beast duelists forced to innovate, every option is worthy of consideration. Octavius could be the basis of an all-new Gladiator build, and I’m going to show you why.
On Tuesday, Jerome McHale will share with you his latest version of the deck he took to Shonen Jump Championship Baltimore, Synchro Dude. For the past weeks, Jerome has been evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of his original build, and this all-new version taps the strengths of the original ‘Dude deck along with TeleDAD to create a strategy that’s strong in both short and long games. This one’s definitely worth the read.
Curtis Schultz’s mighty ruling fist will be unleashed yet again this week, this time loosed upon the slippery hides of some of the OCG import cards that were brought over from Japan and 
added to our version of The Duelist Genesis. Splendid Venus, Kunai with Chain, and Toy Magician have all seen considerable interest from duelists, and Curtis is going to take you through the finer points of these awesome imports.
Thursday, Matt Peddle shares his personal philosophy on playstyle, revealing the universal approach he takes to virtually any deck he plays. It’s another cool opportunity to see how a player of Matt’s caliber sees the game, and the fact that the technique discussed in this week’s installment of Battlefields is so pan-strategic makes it an intriguing article read. Mark my words, Matt’s not the only top duelist who plays this way, and this is a must-read article for those who really want to compete.
Speaking of competition, Bryan Camareno is going back to basics to review the most important fundamentals he’s discussed over the past year and a half. He’s going to help you ask important questions about your motives and performance that will aid you in achieving your goals. Don’t have goals?! Well, that’s part of the article, too, so be sure to check out The Practical Duelist on Friday!
Matt Peddle joins us again on Saturday, for a look at another groundbreaking deck in The Champions. It was pretty clear to me early on Day 1 that Eric Ing was headed to the Day 2 tables at Shonen Jump Championship Seattle. His Gladiator Beast build represents a number of leaps forward for that archetype, and Matt’s going to show you how Ing breathed new life into Gladiators, examining the deck from a unique perspective. Be sure to check this one out.
Finally, Ryan Murphy returns to The Forgotten Format to show you the deck he himself uses in Traditional duels. It’s an awesome FTK with some stunning moves that I guarantee you’ve never seen before. This thing makes me want to start playing the format again, and if there’s Traditional action in your area that you want to start being a part of, this is the perfect inexpensive deck to get you started.
That’s it for this week, but join us seven days from today as we kick off our previews of the new booster set, Crossroads of Chaos. Crossroads is really going to up the ante, bringing big changes to at least three major deck types. Don’t miss it, and don’t forget to join us on Saturday for live coverage from Shonen Jump Charlotte!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com