It’s October 8th, and after months of anticipation, Premium Pack 1 is finally being released!
Premium Packs Hit Stores This Week
Wednesday, October 10th is the official street date for Premium Pack 1, the long-awaited all-foil booster set that was previewed last summer at San Diego’s Comic Con International.
If you somehow missed the news, Premium Packs are five-card boosters with three super rares and two secret rares in each pack. No regular rares and no commons. The set’s got some really playable stuff like Marshmallon and Shield Crush, as well as a ton of classic Yu-Gi-Oh! cards for fans of the original TV show. Dark Magician gets a big boost from the release of his Dark Magic Curtain, certain combo decks are going to like Legacy of Yata-Garasu (a new and improved Jar of Greed), and there are even alternate art versions of Metalmorph and Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon.
Boosters of Premium Pack 1 are already cropping up in two-pack blisters at select Wal-Mart and Target locations across the country, and should be widely available at all stores as of Wednesday. Remember, they aren’t tournament legal for premier events like Regionals and Shonen Jump Championships until the 20th, so keep that in mind if you’re going to Shonen Jump Durham.
Shonen Jump Durham Just Four Days Away
Speaking of which, the latest tournament in the Shonen Jump Championship series is this weekend in Durham, North Carolina! Shonen Jump action returns to the Durham Marriott after more than a year and a half, and hundreds of duelists are sure to attend as this format’s North American metagame continues to take shape.
Last weekend in Chicago, we were surprised to see some unexpected decks make it to Day 2. Miguel Albarran took an all-new Monarch variant based around Volcanic monsters to the Top 8, while Machine Burn, Dimensional Fissure, and several other intriguing archetypes duked it out in Day 2. Zombies were well-represented in the Top 16, but when it came down to another Finals matchup of Perfect Circle versus Burn, Louis Raimondo won out with a blend of control and nigh-unstoppable damage effects.
Dark Bribe made a huge impact, and now that more duelists have had a chance to get their hands on the new promo, we should see a lot of it in Durham. Gadgets will likely continue to see an increase in play after putting in another impressive showing, and we may see Big City take its place in the Top 16. Zombies, Burn, and Perfect Circle are likely to remain at the top of the heap on a per-duelist basis, but innovation is never far behind.
If you’re planning to head out and compete this weekend, then don’t forget to check out the official event listing over on UDE’s TCG site. Then, visit Premier Tournament Organizer Star City Games’ official site for more details, including details on possible pre-registration.
Can’t make it there in person? As always, we here at Metagame.com will be live on the tournament floor for both days of competition, doing round-by-round coverage of all the weekend’s biggest stories and matches. Join us on October 13th and 14th for Shonen Jump Championship Durham!
Gladiator’s Assault Arrives In Three Weeks
With Premium Pack 1 launching this week, the holiday floodgates are open for an explosion of new Yu-Gi-Oh! stuff, and the headliner of the bunch is the upcoming booster set Gladiator’s Assault. Packed with support for older decks, it debuts Jaden’s Evil Hero monsters and the new Gladiator Beast monster group. Sneak Preview Weekends start on November 3rd.
Show up to your local Sneak Preview event and you’ll get a copy of Gladiator Beast Octavius, the new world-premiere promo card. Adding some much-needed muscle to the Gladiator Beasts’ repertoire, Octavius has a whopping 2500 ATK and an effect that punishes the opponent for reckless bluffing. In the tradition of Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, Volcanic Rocket, and Gemini Summoner before it, Gladiator Beast Octavius is free with registration to the event.
Want to find a Sneak Preview near you? Check out UDE’s Sneak Preview locator to find the closest one in your area.
The Its Kids Time Mall Tour Hits Philadelphia
After a successful two days in Boston this past weekend, the Its Kids Time Mall Tour is gearing up to visit Philadelphia at the Neshaminy Mall eleven days from today. October 20th and 21st will see plenty of demos, trivia, games, and dueling, as a volunteer staff works all weekend to give new duelists a place to learn the game and experienced duelists a place to trade and throw down. The Mall Tour is a great chance to get your friends or siblings involved in the game since it’s chiefly aimed at new and younger duelists, plus it’s a nice opportunity to meet fellow players.
Volunteer positions for this event are filling up fast, but positions are still open for the upcoming New York, Atlanta, and Illinois stops. Whether you’re a prospective staff member or just looking to show up and have some fun, you can find the event schedule over on UDE’s official website. If you’re interested in helping out, just contact UDE’s Julia Hedberg by e-mailing demo@upperdeck.com, and be sure to include your name, UDE number, and the Tour stop you’d like to volunteer at. Want to volunteer at a two-day event, but can only make one day? That’s fine! Just make sure to specify which day you can volunteer on.
New players are the lifeblood of any healthy TCG, so let’s all do our part! I helped out at the San Diego stop, and it was a lot of fun.
This Week On Metagame.com
Today I kick off a week of articles here on Metagame.com with a look at the most-discussed card of the past ten days: Dark Bribe. The all-new promo counter trap worked wonders in Louis Raimondo’s deck in Chicago, but its uses in Burn decks may just be the beginning. I’ll look at what made Dark Bribe so good in Chicago, where it might be useful in the future, and investigate the skills and situations that make the card so excellent despite its cost.
On Tuesday, Jerome McHale borrows a little inspiration from Kris Perovic, creating his own unique twist on Diamond Dude Turbo. A different monster selection, more traps, and some new tech set this build aside from its contemporaries, and the result is a DDT variant that’s more resilient than many of those that have come before it. Want to see what Jerome did to enrich the theme? Join us tomorrow to find out.
Field spells have long been a point of confusion even for experienced duelists, and with competitive fields like Ancient City - Rainbow Ruin continuing to see tournament play, it’s important to know how fields really work. What happens when the opponent plays a field spell to try and destroy your own, but you chain Dust Tornado? When exactly does one field replace another that’s already in play? Curtis will answer those questions and more on Wednesday, so be sure not to miss Duel Academy this week.
On Thursday, Matt Murphy continues his run on The Apotheosis, tackling the task of fixing up a Vehicroid deck. With Expressroid now in the mix, this deck has more ways than ever to get extra cards in hand, as well as some nifty combos that can really catch your opponent off guard. Matt’s going to see if he can make the theme competitive, and the results are pretty impressive.
Bryan Camareno is moving this week, so I’m filling in for him this Friday with an article about short print rarities. You see the term “short print” tossed around a great deal, but since production is done behind closed doors, very few people actually understand what a short print is, why they exist, and the thought processes that go into deciding what is and isn’t going to be short printed. I’ll give some answers and insight into the elusive topic this week.
Miguel Albarran made a huge impact in Chicago with his innovative Volcanic Monarch deck, and this Saturday, Matt Peddle will take an in-depth look to see what made it a breakout success. Big ATK numbers, incredible monster removal, and a unique new take on the Apprentice engine were just the beginning, and Matt will delve deep to show you how the deck works.
Finally, on Sunday, Ryan Murphy will approach the topic of bluffing from a multi-format view. He’ll recount two stories of successful mindgames that paid off in Regional wins, and demonstrate the things you should (and shouldn’t) do when faced with such tactics. Ryan’s dedicated to bringing up your win percentage one point at a time, and this article is no exception.
That’s it for this week, but don’t forget to join us Saturday for Day 1 of Shonen Jump Durham! Things are just starting to heat up, and I’ve already got new decks stacking up in my inbox from some of dueling’s best, so get ready for some more unexpected twists.
Thanks for reading!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer