It’s Monday, November 27, and while the dueling world continues to reel from the impact of Shonen Jump Championship Anaheim, thoughts begin to turn to the next stop on the SJC circuit!
Shonen Jump Championship San Jose
The final SJC of the year is less than three weeks away, and after the big shakeups in Anaheim, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the San Jose metagame will look like. While Monarchs and Dark World seem destined for popularity, other decks like Creature Swap Control, Strike Ninja, Dimensional Fissure, and many more could go either way. Many strategies could have big showings . . . or might not appear at all!
San Jose is one of the most competitive metagames in the US, so we’re bound to see a ton of nail-biting feature matches. A big turnout seems like a sure bet, and if you want to be part of the action, then surf on over to the PTO’s official website. This one’s being brought to you by the good folks at Cascade Games, and their event listing for Shonen Jump Championship San Jose has all the info to get you started planning your trip.
We here at Metagame.com will be coming to you live from the San Jose Convention Center all weekend long with deck profiles, feature matches, interviews, tech info, and all the extras you’ve come to expect from our Shonen Jump Championship coverage! If you can’t be there to compete, then join us on December 16th and 17th and catch all the up-to-the-minute coverage as it happens live.
Ultimate Edition 2 in Stores Now
Sure enough, our insider source at Upper Deck Entertainment came through, as Dragon Master Knight has begun appearing in hobby stores across North America!
Remember the first Ultimate Edition set? It featured two packs of Dark Revelation 2 and an ultra-rare version of Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. This time around, you get two boosters of the brand new Dark Revelation 3 and an ultra-rare copy of Dragon Master Knight: a card that hardcore collectors have been pining for since its release in Japan! Ultimate Edition 2 also comes with a Dueling Guide exclusive to this package, filled with a detailed history of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, a ton of cool deck ideas with play tips, and plenty of other useful info.
Right now, you can find Ultimate Edition 2 in Wal-Mart and hobby store locations across the US, as well as hobby stores in Canada! These are bound to be a hot item for the holidays, so if you want a copy or two for yourself I’d recommend calling around immediately to see if they’ve hit in your area.
This Week on Metagame.com
We kick off the next seven days here on Metagame.com with a detailed investigation into one of Mike Rosenberg’s favorite cards from Cyberdark Impact. He’s been slowly wending his way towards a Binder article on this card ever since he previewed it, and now Mike takes the gloves off to show you what makes Chain Strike such an amazing spell! Riddled with detailed play examples, this one is a must-read for anybody interested in playing Burn.
On Tuesday, Jerome McHale steps back from his Almost There column to give his reactions to the events that played out at Anaheim. He sounds off on everything from Creature Swap Control to Dark World to lucksacking, and the result is an interesting set of observations and challenges for the average tournament player. Still trying to figure out what to make of Anaheim? Jerome shows you one set of perspectives.
You’ll hear mine as well on Wednesday, as I pipe up with another installment of Trends ‘N’ Tactics. While many play trends gained momentum at Anaheim, several new ones were born to counter them, creating the most interesting metagame I’ve seen since Worlds. I’ll discuss these new trends, plus some plays-to-make tips on how to beat current strategies.
Then it’s time for another dose of The Apotheosis, as I take on a challenging Cyber Ogre Machine build in my weekly deck fix column. Can Cyber Ogre be a competitive addition to modern Machine builds? Heck, can it be competitive at all? I’ll answer those questions and many more this Wednesday.
Thursday, Curtis Schultz swings open the doors to his Duelist Academy to go into detail on the Dark Lucius monsters. Dark Lucius’s path to greatness is fraught with challenge, but for those who can help him pass his two tests of strength, there are great rewards. Curtis will show you how to support this huge new monster, while outlining the little rulings issues that can pop up along the way.
Jae Kim joins us Saturday to show off what might be one of my favorite decks in a long while. Cyberdark Horn has huge potential in a format that is often dominated by the 2100 ATK of Cyber Dragon, and its piercing damage is nothing short of game-winning. Jae will take on this new headliner and show you how to turn it into a metagame-breaking beatstick.
Finally, Matt Peddle rounds out our week with an in-depth investigation into the deck that carried Theeresak Poonsombat all the way to his sixth Top 8 finish in Anaheim. Dark World and Deck Devastation Virus united to create a heavily anti-meta strategy that took a spot in the Top 4, and Matt’s going to show you how T did it.
That’s it for this week, but join us in another seven days for more strategy, tactics, news, and a brand new deck from Vincent Tundo!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Contributing Editor, Metagame.com