It’s April 24, and only eleven days remain between now and the next Shonen Jump Championship!

New Shonen Jump Championship Prize Card

The eras of Cyber-Stein and Des Volstgalph have come and gone, and it’s time for a brand new Shonen Jump Championship promo card. In response to a press release issued by Upper Deck Entertainment last week, speculation as to the identity of the new card has already begun to run rampant through many dueling communities.

The press release announced that Des Volstgalph is to be retired at Shonen Jump Championship Columbus, where a new card, exclusive to Shonen Jump champions, will debut. Sources at Upper Deck are being incredibly tight-lipped about what the card might be. Though tradition dictates that it will probably be a monster, there are literally dozens of likely candidates, and aside from promises about the quality of the selection, no details are being leaked.

Check out the official UDE press release for yourself right here. 

If you aren’t going to Columbus to compete, be sure to check out our live coverage of the event all weekend long. The new Advanced format environment is still in its formative stages, and Shonen Jump Columbus will set trends for the months to come. See all the dueling action, new decks, new tech, and new dueling celebrities, as they distinguish themselves, right here on Metagame.com.

Tournament Pack 8 Ships to Hobby Stores Today

More prize retirements abound! After a long run as the official support for local-level sanctioned events, Tournament Pack 7 is being rotated out of circulation in favor of the new Tournament Pack 8. Shipping to retailers today, the set features a plethora of cards that cater very specifically to both hardcore duelists and collectors. There’s something for everybody here.

TP8 should arrive in your area this week or next, so you’ll want to hit up your local tournaments to get your hands on all the hot new cards. Curious as to where you can throw down? Hop on over to the official TCG site’s tournament search page, and you’ll be able to find out all your options for sanctioned dueling competition.

Curious as to what made the cut for Tournament Pack 8? Then you’ll want to check back with us each day, because you won’t want to miss a moment of . . .

Tournament Pack 8 Week on Metagame.com

I kick off our week of Tournament Pack 8 coverage by revealing and deconstructing the set’s ultra rare! Coming in one of every 108 packs of Tournament Pack 8, it’s bound to become one of the hottest, most valuable trap cards ever printed, and its effect makes it a great pick over Sakuretsu Armor. Check out my in-depth review of the newest Tournament Pack powerhouse today!

Tomorrow, Mike Rosenberg shows you one of the set’s super rares, and takes a stroll down memory lane to discuss the history of alternate-art cards. An old favorite is back in TP8 with the original art it boasted in Japan, so it’s a great chance to look back on some the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG’s original promos, as well as one of its rarest, most obscure reprints!

A certain monster has garnered plenty of attention in the new Advanced format, seeing play from both Team Scoop and Team Overdose at Shonen Jump Baltimore. Now this hard-to-find promo is back in super rare form, and Jae Kim will show you what makes it one of the game’s most unique, and powerful monsters. Stop by Wednesday to see what makes this Warrior tick, and how you can use it dominate your opponents.

As if the alternate art card wasn’t enough, Tournament Pack 8 has another treat for the collector’s and hardcore fans! One of the most popular Japanese promos of all time, many duelists (including me) have been waiting for this monster for ages. On Thursday, Curtis Schultz will show you how to unlock the true power of an under-appreciated monster group, doing everything from negating spells and churning out big ATK values to gaining huge card advantage.

All four Monarch monsters are included in Tournament Pack 8, too, and Jerome McHale will look at each one on Friday. With some extra focus on the fall of Thestalos and the potential rise of Granmarg, he’ll illustrate how to support each. Treeborn Frog isn’t the only tribute aid you’ve got at your disposal, and Jerome will demonstrate how you can make tributing easy! Monarchs: because they’re not just for Soul Control any more.

Finally, our last bit of insight into Tournament Pack 8 is offered by Matt Peddle, who explores the re-emergence of a certain furry friend on Saturday. With the current format often taking highly aggressive tones, it might be time for some serious monkey business. Peddle seeks to discover where precisely this card should be played, and demonstrates plenty of ways that you can get serious synergy out of your seething simian!

Julia Hedberg rounds out the week with a double-shot of her popular columns, Solid Ground and Agents of Judgment. After looking at activation and resolution last week in Solid Ground, she moves on to begin her series on chaining with a look at the basic principals behind the mechanic. Then it’s an Agents of Judgment that practically everyone can benefit from, detailing just where you can get official rulings and how to effectively use the Level 1 judge mailing list.

That’s it for now, but head on back in seven days, because we’ll be cracking open Enemy of Justice! We’ve got two full weeks of card-by-card previews lined up for what’s probably the most playable set in recent memory, and you won’t want to miss a single day’s sneak peek. As always, thanks for reading!

—Jason Grabher-Meyer

Contributing Editor, Metagame.com