It’s Monday, February 4, 2008, and with the retail release of Phantom Darkness tomorrow, competitive duelists have one thing on their minds: Houston!
Shonen Jump Championship Houston, February 23
Gadgets made a huge comeback at
Shonen Jump Championship Orlando, but
Light and Darkness Dragon still reigned supreme. The result has been tons of speculation—and even more debate—as we count down the weeks to Shonen Jump Championship Houston.
The last Shonen Jump of the format will also be the first to include cards from Phantom Darkness, and right now, it’s anybody’s guess as to what impact that set will have in Houston. Duelists in the know are predicting a metagame that’s heavy on combo decks, while others are predicting a rash of new 1-turn-KO strategies. Macro Cosmos gets even stronger with the release of Cyber Valley and Allure of Darkness, while new decks based around Dark Armed Dragon, The Dark Creator, and various combo cards like Doomsday Horror and Rainbow Dark Dragon seem to hold promise. With the high demand for many of these cards, duelists may not even have access to them in time for the Shonen, so we’ll probably see a real mish-mash of competitive strategies.
There’s still almost three weeks remaining before the next Shonen Jump Championship, so if you’re interested in going but haven’t made travel arrangements yet, you’ve still got plenty of time. Check out the event listing right here on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG site for the basic info you’ll need. Hundreds of duelists are going to flood the Westin Galleria, and you can join them to compete for prizes, glory, and a championship title.
As always, Metagame.com will be reporting live from the tournament floor, bringing you decks, feature matches, and multiple tech updates covering new innovations from Phantom Darkness and the new Duelist Packs. There’s sure to be a lot of unexpected twists and turns at this tournament, so if you can’t be there in person, join us here at Metagame.com for the next best thing!
Phantom Darkness
in Stores This Week!
Many stores I’ve spoken with have informed me that they’ll be receiving Phantom Darkness this week, as early as Tuesday, February 5 (tomorrow!). Expect stores all across Upper Deck Entertainment territories to start receiving their shipments some time this week.
That’s good news for duelists, because the demand for a lot of the new cards is pretty nuts. Have you seen secondary market prices for the top cards in the set? A quick check revealed that many Phantom Darkness Secret Rares are in the $70.00-plus range, with Dark Armed Dragon still leading the pack at $200.00 or more! Duelists who pulled Secrets from their Sneak Preview packs are making out like bandits. Demand for those cards seems likely to remain high, which is great news for those of us who have been considering buying a box or two. Even Secret Rares like Rainbow Neos and Belial - Marquis of Darkness are commanding a higher value than similar cards from previous sets. As for non-Secrets, online auction sales of Allure of Darkness alone have topped $30.00 to $40.00. It’s crazy! You can open one pack and wind up pulling a card that covers your next three boxes!
It’s unclear just how long Phantom Darkness’s first printing is going to stay in stock, so if you haven’t placed a pre-order yet, you might want to call your local hobby store to see if they’ll put your order on reserve. If you’ve never bought a box of cards all at one time before, the strong values of the Secret Rares in Phantom Darkness could be exactly what you’ve needed.
This Week on Metagame.com
This week, I get things started with a look at one of my favorite Phantom Darkness cards: Metal Reflect Slime! A number of players ran Fiend’s Sanctuary at Shonen Jump Orlando, culminating with a Day 2 appearance from Theeresak Poonsombat. But in many ways Metal Reflect Slime is a superior card that fills the same role with more versatility. The potential uses for this powerful new trap are extensive, and that’s what I want to explore today in The Binder.
Tomorrow, Jerome McHale creates his spin on one of the most talked-about decks from Phantom Darkness: Yubel. Paired with Doom Shaman, the Yubel monsters can act as the basis for a powerful control engine, the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. In an era of fast combos and speedy aggressive decks, Jerome’s going to show you a grinding control strategy that can slow down virtually anything.
On Wednesday, Curtis Schultz is going to examine rulings surrounding one of Gladiator Assault’s sleeper hits: Veil of Darkness. Then he’ll investigate several new cards from Phantom Darkness, including the world-debut monsters Darklord Zerato and Metabo Globster. If you’ve been interested in the TCG-exclusive cards from this set, stay tuned to Curtis’s Duelist Academy, because he’s going to be covering them all over the coming weeks.
Thursday, Matt Murphy will take on another unique challenge in The Apotheosis. This time he’s set upon a task that I’ve never seen before: fixing a deck that uses only cards from the Limited list. Insight, observation, and hilarity abound as Matt does his best to lend consistency to a deck that perhaps can’t be consistent to begin with. You’re going to want to check it out!
Then, Bryan Camareno kicks off our weekend as he gives a lesson on the nature of imperfect information. He’ll follow it up with some powerful observations on human behavior and body language. Have you ever wanted to read the messages your opponent doesn’t want you to see? Wondered what tells you can search for in your duels? Bryan’s going to start part one of a handy guide to just that this Friday.
On Saturday, Matt Peddle joins us to highlight one of the most intriguing decks from Shonen Jump Championship Orlando. Puerto Rico’s impact was felt at the home of the happiest place on earth, but no Puerto Rican player made a bigger impression than Day 2’s Alvaro Jirau. Armed with a genius Volcanic Monarch build that transitioned into Macro Cosmos for game 2, Jirau’s build deserves a serious breakdown, and that’s exactly what Matt’s going to deliver.
Finally, on Sunday, Ryan Murphy takes a break from his Forgotten Format column to bring us another article on reading your opponent. While Bryan’s article focuses on body language, Ryan’s going to delve into the intricacies of gameplay reads, discerning your opponent’s cards, and figuring out their moves before they make them. This one is a must-read for competitive players.
That’s it for this week, but join us in another seven days as we continue to look at new play trends, new decks, and new cards from Phantom Darkness and the 2008 Duelist Packs!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com