Metagame.com - Take Your Game to the Next Level

The month of July was a period of renewal for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. While Shonen Jump Championship Arlington gave hope for new archetypes and fresh strategies, Shonen Jump Championship Philadelphia delivered, sending three Recruiter Chaos decks to the Top 8 with one winning the whole thing. Now, as July draws to a close we look ahead to new Shonen Jump Championships, a new expansion set, and the 2006 World Championship!

The Power of the Duelist Sneak Preview weekend is nearly upon us! In just five days, duelists new and old will mingle to get early access to the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG expansion set. Featuring fresh Elemental Heroes, tons of Vehicroids, Destiny Heroes of unparalleled power and several great tournament-level cards, it’s set that will please rabid Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fans as well as serious competitors. Head on out to your local Sneak Preview event to get your paws on some packs, and you’ll even get exclusive swag like promo cards and t-shirts. Most Sneak Previews offer both competitive tournaments and league play, so whether you’re a casual collector or a diehard duelist, there’ll be an event to fit your style. Both formats give you boosters of the new set and a chance to earn more, and who doesn’t want free stuff?

Want to throw down for plenty of new product? Check out the official Sneak Preview page right here, and you’ll be able to choose from hundreds of different event venues across the globe. Sneak Previews are a great place to grab some sweet trades, so even if you’re a collector, you won’t want to miss this awesome opportunity . . .

. . . unless you’re one of roughly two dozen duelists fighting it out in Japan this weekend! In that case, you’d have to miss the Power of the Duelist Sneak Preview, because on August 5 and 6, the world’s best will throw down to see who’s the ultimate champ. Akihabara is known as Tokyo’s Electric Town, and it’s the number one place in the world for anime, TCGs, manga, computers, gadgets, and anything else that blends otaku interests with the raw essence of Japanese cool. This coming weekend it will be the backdrop for the biggest clash of the dueling year, as we see which nation will take home the honor of the World Championtitle!

Metagame.com’s own Julia Hedberg will preside over the tournament as head judge, with floor judging assistance from Simon Sangpukdee. While we won’t all be in attendance, everyone here at Metagame.com would like to wish all competitors good luck in the final showdown of the 2006 dueling season.

Eleven days remain between today and August 12, Day 1 of Shonen Jump Championship Indianapolis!

Gen Con Indy, one of the gaming industry’s biggest and most prestigious conventions, will once again play host to a massive dueling epic. Hundreds of contenders will show up to throw down and compete for stellar prizes, chasing the unparalleled glory of a Shonen Jump Championship title. Last year, Nareg Torossian went from lightweight to showstopper as he captured his first Shonen Jump title and began what has become an expert stint on the Shonen Jump circuit. Offering a central location accessible to tens of thousands of duelists, Indy may once again catapult an underdog into the spotlight!

Metagame.com will be there to capture all the best matches, decks, tech, teams, and duelists, as we bring you live coverage from Day 1 and Day 2! Stick with us all day, and you’ll know who’s winning and how they’re doing it.

Are you interested in being in the spotlight yourself? Gen Con Indy will also feature more than half a dozen Regional tournaments, a ridiculous number of side events running around the clock, and plenty of opportunities to meet and challenge celebrity duelists. You’ll even be able to play against some of Upper Deck’s finest, and who knows, maybe some more of those super-limited Token promos will be available . . .

As we count down the days leading up to the Power of the Duelist Sneak Preview weekend, we here at Metagame will keep bringing you insight and first looks at new cards from the set!

Jerome McHale blew the lid off of the biggest Destiny Hero yet, Destiny Hero – Dogma, this past Saturday. With massive stats, an incredible effect, and a win-condition level of viability, it's the core of an all-new Hero-heavy Burn strategy. What does he do, and how can you use Dogma to its utmost potential? Click on over and find out!

Yesterday I took a look at one of my favorite cards in the set. What Enemy of Justice did for counter-traps, Power of the Duelist is going to do for fusion monsters, giving you an incredible new way to bring out some of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most feared behemoths. It's called Future Fusion, and it's going to change the way you build decks.

Power of the Duelist has a ton of souped-up Vehicroids too, and the list doesn't end at the cards that Jae Kim revealed last week. Check out Mike Rosenberg's preview today for the biggest Vehicroid fusion printed, plus an awesome new spell card to make it nigh-unstoppable. With a dash of insight into Sealed Pack and Booster Draft competition, this is a good one to study up on before the Sneak Previews!

Tomorrow, Dr. Crellian Vowler takes a long hard look at one of the most intriguing cards in the set. Mausoleum of the Emperor lets a duelist trade his or her life points for tribute power, making obscure monsters playable and giving you access to stellar effects without harming your field presence. What monsters should you use with it, and what kind of combos can it open up? The Doctor will have all the answers on Tuesday.

Speaking of combos, Julia Hedberg is previewing one of Power of the Duelist's best support and combo monsters this week. Black Ptera is one of several new tribute support monsters for the Dinosaur monster type. It stymies Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, softens the tribute cost of Ultimate Tyranno, and it's even the center of a new One-Turn KO strategy! Be here Wednesday for Julia's detailed investigation.

On Thursday, Simon Sangpukdee is back, and he’s looking at even more Aliens. He'll discuss what you can do with A-Counters and how best to take advantage of them. Stealing your opponent’s monsters? Making them easy marks for attacking? Simon will show you how to do both of those and more.

Finally, on the night before the Sneak Preview weekend kicks off, Matt Peddle will take on our final two preview cards. Destiny Hero – Dasher and Destiny Hero – Fear Monger both have special summon effects that can be used from the graveyard. When they're destroyed, things just get uglier, and Matt will demonstrate how you can use their effects to create devastating plays and combos. It’s a must-read for those of you who view Sneak Previews with an eye for competition.

That’s it for this week! If you haven’t made arrangements to hit up a Sneak Preview or two yet, there’s still plenty of time to do so. It’s the summer, and tournaments are everywhere. Get out there and show the dueling world what you’re made of!