It’s October 17, and seven days have passed since Shonen Jump Championship Atlanta. After the triumph of Team Nexus’s John Jensen, duelists across the world have the first Top 8 deck lists for the new Advanced format, and Shonen Jump Championship Chicago is just twelve days away.
Tournament Pack 7 Ultra Rare Announced
The influx of recent reprint sets, like Dark Beginnings 2 and Dark Revelations 2, has left many duelists wondering what exactly would make it into Tournament Pack 7. Speculation ran wild—especially about the identity of the set’s new Ultra Rare offering, which has historically always been a groundbreaking card.
This time, UDE didn’t disappoint. The newest ultra rare in the Tournament Pack series is D. D. Warrior, another member of the venerable D.D. family! Though it has lower stats than any of its brethren, the Warrior automatically removes any monster that it battles with from play (also heading off to the Different Dimension itself). It’s searchable with Sangan, Reinforcement of the Army, and Giant Rat, and it takes some finesse and skill to play . . . but it can be incredibly rewarding against the right monsters. If you can get your hands on D. D. Warrior, you should definitely consider playing it.
Other highlights from the set include Warrior Elimination and Fortress Whale. Check out the article on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG site for more information!
Warrior Structure Deck Hits Stores!
Sources tell us that the long-awaited Warrior Structure deck is now popping up in stores! Entitled Warrior’s Triumph, the deck is focused on a Warrior strategy that uses a huge amount of equip-centric spells. To achieve that goal, it includes several new cards: Gilford the Legend, Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, and Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade will all make their debuts in this handy little deck.
An incredible number of high-quality reprints may make this Structure deck the fastest selling deck of any that have been released thus far. D. D. Warrior Lady, Reinforcement of the Army, and Mystic Swordsman LV2 all saw massive amounts of play at Shonen Jump Atlanta, and all three are reprinted here, just in time for Shonen Jump Chicago. In addition, Giant Trunade, Mystical Space Typhoon, and Heavy Storm are all available in Warrior’s Triumph, making it a fast and affordable way to get your hands on some extra play sets of spell and trap removal.
Of course, for those already in the know, the big attraction is Royal Decree. This card has always commanded a premium from collectors, since it’s previously been available only in high-priced holographic forms. It’s a factor that has unfortunately kept it out of the reach of many duelists, and given the trap’s power in the current Advanced format, it will definitely see a ton of play now that it’s easy to find. While collectors that shelled out or traded hard for their Tournament Pack copies probably won’t see their investment devalue, players will be elated to get their hands on this (and a wealth of other playable cards) for a relatively low price.
If you’re looking to get your hands on the new Structure decks as fast as humanly possible, your best bet is to call local hobby and mass market retail locations in your area. Get them before your rivals do!
This Week on Metagame.com
Reactions to the Shonen Jump Atlanta Top 8 deck lists were varied, and many of this week’s articles have been written either in response to them—or at least, with the lists in mind. It’s definitely a do-not-miss week here at Metagame!
Mike Rosenberg leads off the week as usual, taking an in-depth look at the strategic, tactical, technical, and mental aspects of one of the game’s most underrated cards: Lava Golem! Mike investigates the exact function of the card in Burn decks and discusses the important mental role that it can play. If you’ve played Burn before, but did so without Lava Golem, this article will definitely change your mind. The Golem covers some important fronts not handled elsewhere by this popular underdog archetype, so read all about it today!
Jerome writes about a deck that’s focused on one of his favorite cards, . However, first he takes on the Top 8 decks from Atlanta, and, well . . . it isn’t exactly pretty!. If we’d had a pool (and we almost did), I don’t think any of us would have guessed that Jerome would be the first to break down and term the metagame “full of neutered Chaos decks and themeless Beatdown decks.” But he did! With a cool deck and some retrospective to boot, this article will be especially interesting to those of you who aren’t testing only Chaos and Warrior decks.
Speaking of going beyond the norm, on Wednesday I’ll take a look at a deck that’s based on the soon-to-be-released Elemental Energy Sneak Preview promo, Exchange of the Spirit! When they heard of the card’s release, many duelists went through the roof, recognizing it as a previous powerhouse of the Japanese environment. This unique trap continues the deck-out legacy of Empty Jar, and the resulting deck is incredibly different from anything you’ve seen before. I fix up just such a beast this Wednesday, and the result is a strong and threatening tournament-worthy deck.
On Thursday, Curtis Schultz peels apart Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys and its little buddy Hand of Nephthys, delivering some important rulings on the popular cards. His commentary arrives at a period when Sacred Phoenix is slowly seeing a steady rate of increased play, so his timing couldn’t be better. If you think you know everything there is to know about the Phoenix, think again—Curtis whips up some odd scenarios that you might not have considered. What happens when Ojama Trio is chained to the Hand’s effect? Does the Phoenix return to play next turn if it’s in the graveyard and is hit with Divine Wrath? Check out Curtis’s column for the answers!
Back from Shonen Jump Championship Atlanta, Julia Hedberg looks at player opinions of the new Advanced format lists. She talks to five individuals who attended the Shonen Jump Championship, asking them some important questions about their opinions of the format. Are you interested in seeing what top players like Tony Lee and Evan Vargas said in these on-the-record interviews? Head back on Friday to check it out! Then, it’s a double-dose of Julia as she opens with the first article in her latest Agents of Judgment series. Level 3 Judges are mythical beasts who are often completely unfamiliar to players, and in this series, Julia takes on the role of Dian Fossey. The end result is a series of engaging interviews with some of the minds that guide and shape the game’s most complicated rulings. Get to know your Level 3 judges in this entertaining series!
Jae Kim rounds out the week by looking at “the new Chaos™” that took so many players to successful finishes in Atlanta. What does Jae consider to be a modern Chaos deck? What makes it tick? Will it be an overwhelming presence yet again in high-level play? Jae’s conclusions are well-reasoned and equally well-detailed, and he addresses some interesting points about Chaos Sorcerer that will hold a lot of value for the serious tournament player.
It’s a must-see week here at Metagame.com, and next week we’ll follow it up with yet another when we crack the lid off Elemental Energy. Never-before-seen previews? We’ve got two full weeks of them, starting on October 24!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com