We here at Metagame.com are back after our holiday hiatus, and while we’re sure that you enjoyed revisiting some of our classic articles from 2005, it’s the New Year. We’re coming out swinging with plenty of new hotness for you!

It was most definitely a merry Christmas for Shonen Jump Championship San Francisco’s Fili Luna, who auctioned off his Des Volstgalph in December. It brought him a record-breaking $4,400, a figure that defies previous expectations for the card’s value on the secondary market.

With that chunk of change backing him, we’re sure to see more of Fili Luna at upcoming Shonen Jump Championship events. In fact, the high value of the card may throw more fuel on the Shonen Jump Championship fire, driving even more duelists to compete seriously in tournaments this year.

Speaking of which, you should check out the 2006 schedule for Shonen Jump Championships over on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG page. The stage is set, and thirteen Shonen Jump Championships have been lined up for the year, including several new venues!

Duelist League Kits for the next season of play have officially been shipped from Upper Deck Entertainment, and they should be arriving at a Duelist League near you any day now. Incentives for this season, which is the ninth in the successful League program’s history, include a Winged Kuriboh pin that should be a huge hit with Yu-Gi-Oh! GX fans.

In addition, keep an eye out for the new promo card released in the kit: Last Day of Witch. Destroying all Spellcaster-type monsters on the field, it may prove to be a superb inclusion for many a side deck in the near future. “Hey, Dark Eradicator Warlock . . . judge this!”

UDE sent out its product release schedule to stores for the next three months, and sure enough, the Chazz and Jaden Duelist Packs have been confirmed as a first-quarter release! With all the massive anticipation for these two exciting mini-expansions, I personally encourage you to preorder a box if you’re interested in picking some up. Let your local hobby store know about your interest, so they can gauge how much product they should order. Once this one sells out, it might be hard for them to get in more.

We’ll have more details about this cool product, including Special Edition packs, as information emerges. Plus, be sure to hit up Seven Days next week for more information on some of the other items included in UDE’s up-and-coming schedule!

The upcoming Big Bads of the dueling universe, the Sacred Beasts, debuted to North American audiences in a recent sneak peek article by Upper Deck Entertainment’s Dan Scheidegger.

For those not in the know, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX’s Duel Academy hides a great secret. Hidden beneath is foundation and sealed behind seven Spirit Gates lie three of the most dangerous and powerful monsters known to man. Should they ever be unleashed, great disaster would befall not only the school, but also the rest of the world. It falls on the shoulders of the Academy’s seven greatest duelists to guard the seven Gates and their Keys.

A group of master duelists seeking unprecedented power are after the Sacred Beasts, and are brewing a plan to assault the school and set them free. Calling themselves the Shadow Riders, they’re nothing but bad news for Jaden and Duel Academy . . .

 . . . but they’re good news for you! Debuting in Shadow of Infinity in scant months come three of the most anticipated cards to ever be released. While none of this was unknown to those of you “in the know,” we do have something that should be news to everybody—the names of the Demons! Raviel, Lord of Phantasms; Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder; and Uria, Lord of Searing Flames are bound to be on everyone’s “hot this summer” lists.

Be sure to keep checking Yugioh.com for continued coverage of the Shadow Rider assault. They’re promising regular updates on the Shadow Riders decks, cards, and more as the latest exciting Yu-Gi-Oh! GX story unfolds!

We’re back and raring to go for 2006!

Mike Rosenberg kicks off the year by taking a brief look at some of the big happenings of the past twelve months. Then, he sets his sights on a card that I’d consider to be a sleeper hit of the current format: Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn. Providing an alternative option to cards like Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive and Masked Sorcerer, Meanae saw some Shonen Jump Championship success back in Atlanta, but has disappeared of the map since its limited success there. Head over to Mike’s article to see why the Scorpion deserves to re-emerge into the light of play.

After that, it’s a must-read from Jerome McHale as he looks at the decks that topped Pharaoh Tour Bremen and Shonen Jump Championship San Francisco. Both of these events had some major surprises in store, and a number of Top 8 decks defied prediction. Lockdown Burn? Strike Ninja? Jerome looks at these decks and more, dissecting both their strengths and weaknesses.

Then, I’ll kick off a week and a half of articles covering the new Structure Deck! Called Spellcaster’s Judgment, this awesome Structure brings six new cards to North America while reprinting a ton of popular favorites. I’ll draw your attention to a few of the new highlights, and then show you how to take a single copy of Spellcaster’s Judgment and turn it into a tournament-winning Beatdown machine!

Curtis Schultz follows up on Thursday, when he uses his Duelist Academy column to find some unique perspectives on Dark Eradicator Warlock. Not familiar with that name? It’s the headlining ultra rare of Spellcaster’s Judgment, and it’s got a vicious effect that makes all of your spell cards into time bombs. How does the Warlock interact with negation? How can it be special summoned? What does it even do? Curtis answers all that, and more, later this week.

After that, you’ll get a double dose of Julia Hedberg on Friday. She looks at the new Structure Deck as a whole and shows you tons of reasons to be interested in Spellcaster’s Judgment. She not only looks at the new weapons Spellcasters have been given, but also discuss the stellar reprints that have made the cut. She even shows you why some of those older cards are more playable now than they have been in the past. Whether you’re a new duelist or a veteran, Spellcaster’s Judgment is the best Structure Deck for your dueling dollar, and Julia shows you why on Friday!

But that's not all! Julia also ends her current run of Level 3 Judge Interviews with Simon Sangpukdee, Jeff Yuschak, Stephen Raisah, and . . . herself! What can she say—we made her do it. Don’t miss this great finish to the interview series as we look at two of the newest, as well as two of the most experienced, Level 3 judges in the world.

Finally, it’s no secret at the end of the week. Jae Kim has been hoping for some support for type-specific decks, and he’s been vocal about that fact. Now, he finally gets his wish, and on Saturday, he’ll get to tell you all about Magical Dimension. Julia and I both mention this card in our articles, but Jae shows you a ton of tournament-winning tricks that are bound to turn heads. Magical Dimensionis one of the best cards in the new Structure Deck, and this weekend Jae will show you exactly why.

That’s it for this week’s lineup! After that we continue our in-depth investigation into Spellcaster’s Judgment, so you won’t want to miss a single day of Metagame.com goodness this week or next. 2006 is looking to be the brightest year that Yu-Gi-Oh! has ever had, and as always, we here at Metagame.com are your exclusive source for the best in articles, news, and major event coverage!

Thanks for reading!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Contributing Editor, Metagame.com