It’s April 17, and with three long weeks to go between now and Shonen Jump Championship Columbus, duelists are testing plenty of new ideas for the environment that was established in Baltimore!

Because of their dependency on cards that were removed from play, these might become pretty big once Macro Cosmos is released in Enemy of Justice. Helios – The Primordial Sun even has a special interaction with Cosmos that allows you to special summon it when Cosmos is flipped. I’m personally snapping up my copies now, since a lot of duelists are going to want multiples once Enemy of Justice is released.

 

Starting this past Saturday, the official Yu-Gi-Oh! website began previewing Season 2 of the hit animated series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Packed with exclusive information, it’s a must-see for fans of Jaden’s adventures.

In addition, the site is also previewing some new cards from Enemy of Justice, so hardcore duelists will want to check it out, too. See all the info right here!

Mike Rosenberg begins our week today with an earth-shattering confession! He’s a control player! Okay, okay, you probably noticed that if you’re a regular reader, but in return for accepting Mike’s dark secret, you get to read a cool article about a card that’s been seeing increased play at the top tables of Shonen Jump Championships as of late—Mask of Darkness. Recently limited to one per deck, the Mask is a powerhouse with the proper support, and Mike will show you exactly how to use it.

Jerome McHale revisits the days of Change of Heart with his latest deck in Almost There. Titled “Yoink!,” the deck combines Reshef the Dark Being, Cannon Soldier, and Magical Blast in order to steal the opponent’s monster on every single turn that it wants to, tributing it off for burn with Cannon Soldier. Backed by some hot tech that’s gaining speed in the current environment, it’s a well-tuned strategy with some underused cards that you may have never seen in tournament play. Check out how he makes it work tomorrow!

On Wednesday, I look at a deck that focuses on one of the format’s most hyped cards, Deck Devastation Virus. Designed to activate the Virus with a frightening speed and reliability, it can use the feared trap card multiple times in a single duel with relative ease. Go ahead, check out some recent Shonen Jump coverage and hit the Top 8 decklists. See all those monsters with 1500 ATK or less? Okay, now cut and paste the decklist and erase all of them. Pretty scary stuff, eh?

Next up, Curtis Schultz gives you a must-read article that details the mechanics of costs. Did you know there are three specific types of costs, as far as rulings interactions are concerned? Whether you’re a beginner or a hardened veteran, this article is going to make dueling with some of the game’s more popular cards a lot easier, so you won’t want to miss this important treatise. With Dark World on the rise and plenty of other cards requiring balancing costs, the issues Curtis discusses will only become more important as the months go by.

Finally, Matt Peddle wraps up the week with a look at a mechanic that ties into his first article on the battle phase: spell and trap removal. Despite plenty of alternate win conditions, Yu-Gi-Oh! is usually about victory through combat, and domination in the spell and trap zone can lead a duelist to victory. Taking a look at Shane Scurry’s Shonen Jump Championship–winning deck from Baltimore, Peddle demonstrates a series of deck choices and individual play examples that illustrate how to get the most out of cards like Dust Tornado and Mystical Space Typhoon.

That’s it for this week! Head on back in another seven days for more cutting-edge articles about the developing April 1 format as it manifests!

As always, thanks for reading.

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Contributing Editor, Metagame.com