It’s the tenth of July, and after a month of waiting, the Shonen Jump Championship circuit is back!

Shonen Jump Action Returns to Texas This Weekend

It’s been over a year since a Shonen Jump Championship title was decided on Texan turf, but this weekend that streak comes to an end. Hundreds of duelists will fill the Arlington Convention Center on Saturday, competing for tons of electronics, boxes of Yu-Gi-Oh! boosters, a copy of the mighty Shrink promo, and the glory of winning a Shonen Jump Championship.

The format is in a state of flux, with Cyber-Stein suddenly forcing duelists to see the game from a new perspective. The triumvirate of the European Championships, Canadian Nationals, and Shonen Jump Denver opened up the field to innovative ideas, and after a few weeks off from Shonen Jump competition, we’ll get to see how duelists have reacted. Is Cyber-Stein here to stay, or was its massive jolt of popularity nothing but a fad? Will duelists take up new decks or borrow strategies from duelists like Marcus Spanier and Max Suffridge? We’ll find out the answers this weekend starting at 10 AM sharp, as we go live from Shonen Jump Championship Arlington with all the decks, tech, and feature matches that you want to see.

Are you in the area, but still haven’t locked down all your travel arrangements? Check out the official website for JDS Events, the Premier Tournament Organizer for Shonen Jump Arlington, and you’ll find venue info, directions, event times, and more.

Power Of The Duelist Less Than Four Weeks Away!

Sneak Preview events for the next Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG expansion, Power of the Duelist, are just three and a half weeks away! A definite crowd pleaser for fans of the Elemental Heroes, it’s also packing tons of new tricks for one of the game’s most under-explored monster types: Dinosaurs! Destiny Heroes and Vehicroids return as major themes for this new collection of cards, and they’re joined by several new monster families too. Jaden Yuki’s Neo Spacian monsters, a plethora of mysterious alien invaders and more combine to create one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s most unique sets, and you’ll be able to get your hands on the cards weeks before their retail release.

To find a Sneak Preview event near you, hit up Upper Deck Entertainment’s official Yu-Gi-Oh! website, and take your pick from a list of hundreds of tournaments worldwide. Every Power of the Duelist Sneak Preview will offer you your first chance to crack some packs of the new expansion, as well as a shot at plenty of exclusive swag like new promo cards and Power of the Duelist t-shirts.

As we get closer to the set’s launch, stay tuned to Metagame.com, because we’ll have tons of in-depth looks at new cards, before you can get your hands on them!

This Week on Metagame.com

Mike Rosenberg starts off our week with the first in a series of articles. Over the next three weeks, he'll use his column to dissect the individual cards that make the Counter Fairy deck tick, and today he'll get things started with Bountiful Artemis. Why is Artemis so important to the deck, as compared to Layard the Liberator and similar monsters? Is there more to it than just raw advantage? Mike will show you all the intricate ins and outs, while discussing the factors that make Counter Fairies both challenging, and rewarding.

On Tuesday, Jerome McHale takes a cue from Ryan Hayakawa's success at Shonen Jump Denver and builds an aggressive Machine Beatdown deck. Jam-packed with themed tech and alternate win conditions, it's a deadly weapon that's all about the short game. Capable of generating incredibly fast victories and keeping the opponent completely off the field, this crash course in aggro dominance is a great deck, and the perfect tool for developing some of your dueling skills.

Majestic Mech - Ohka has garnered more attention than perhaps any other card from Enemy of Justice, but so far it's only made top-level showings as a Chaos Return splash. On Wednesday I'll try and remedy that, as I take on a Light Return deck and take it in a whole new direction in The Apotheosis. Everybody's talked about Majestic Mech-Skill Drain builds, but if you haven't seen one yourself, then don't miss my column on Wednesday.

Following up on last week's introduction to the complexities of Soul Exchange, Curtis Schultz hits you with the hardcore material this Thursday. What happens when you activate Soul Exchange and target a Sheep token? Or Spirit Reaper? When do you have to claim the tribute? And why can't you use it to target a face down monster for Metamorphosis? Curtis has all the answers in one of the most advanced rulings articles we've ever run. Consider this one a must-read.

Speaking of must-reads, beginners and hardened veterans alike are going to want to check out Solid Ground this week. In an era where fusion decks are becoming increasingly important, Julia Hedberg will break down all the necessary fusion cards serious duelists should be running. Sorting choice fusions by level for ease of reference with Metamorphosis, this article is the perfect cheat-sheet for those of you who want a perfect fusion deck without doing all the necessary research.

Beast decks have always been a favorite of mine, and the stable of available Beast monsters means that they can be used to drastically different ends. This weekend, Jae Kim puts his spin on the monster pool with a deck he calls The Big March of Small Animals. Using Rescue Cat to generate tons of powerful effects, the deck delves all the way into the original Kaiba Starter Deck to find innovation. More ways to use everyone's favorite whistle-blowing kitty? Sign me up!

Finally, Matt Peddle rounds out the week with an in-depth look at the deck Calvin Tsang took all the way at Canadian Nationals. Chaos Return with a splash of Cyber-Stein and Machines, it took the field by storm and stole win after win. What makes the deck so surprising? What lets it win games when it’s lagging far behind? Matt will dissect the deck for you, answering those questions and more, this weekend.

We've got all that, plus a look at The State of the Game to lead you into Shonen Jump Championship Arlington this weekend. Don't miss all the live coverage, as the best duelists of the south come together to duke it out for the title of Shonen Jump Champion!

It’s an action-packed summer for duelists this year, and you can catch all the action, and all of the world’s best Yu-Gi-Oh! articles, right here on Metagame.com. As always, thanks for reading!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Contributing Editor, Metagame.com