Gadgets are a statement. They are mathematic, controlling, and intelligent. - read more

The first thing I like about this deck is that Burkhead was able to do what most players weren't: cut a lot of Zombies. - read more

...Whether You Like It or Not - read more

Most TeleDAD main decks can be restrained by Skill Drain, but not enough for Skill Drain to destroy the deck’s combos and strategies. - read more

This week’s mail bag involves a slew of Gladiator Beast questions, with a special appearance by Royal Oppression. - read more

Playing "by the book" is almost guaranteed to let you make the "strongest" move in a given scenario, but it isn’t necessarily going to maximize your chances to win the current duel. - read more

I’m really tired of Solemn Judgment, and playing my own copies of it to fight back just doesn’t make me feel warm and tingly inside. This guy, however, comes with tingles aplenty! - read more

In my opinion, this TeleDAD deck should have won Houston. It is better in every way than the build that everyone else was using. - read more

This week, we have a deck that's of the most underrated type: combo. - read more

Today, I want to put these rights and the responsibilities up against the wall so we can all get a good look at them, and see how important balancing them out actually is to the success of the tournament. - read more

You need to know how games can be won because in a nine round tournament you will need to exhaust your entire arsenal. Games are won by skill, by luck, by trickery, and by the most perfect of timing. - read more

The Huntik TCG will be hitting stores in February, but you don’t need to wait until then to learn what sets Huntik apart from other card games. - read more

Huntik is more than a battle between monsters; it is an adventure through the world's most dangerous places to collect powerful amulets and the Titans they command. - read more

It’s Monday, January 26, 2009, and less than two weeks remain until thousands of duelists get their shot at a copy of Gold Sarcophagus! - read more

You can expect Little City to be a force in future Shonen Jump Championships, so whether you need to understand the deck or make a copy of your own, research is essential to being successful on the highest levels of competition. - read more

If I had to choose the most difficult strategy to use a side deck with, I’d choose Lightsworn. - read more

The thing to remember when you build a theme deck is that if you want it to be more than just a handicapped oddity, you need to take full advantage of your theme. - read more

We’re back again, and after a title victory just weeks ago in Atlanta, Jerry Wang has captured his third Shonen Jump Championship! - read more

This weekend over 300 competitors went head-to-head at Shonen Jump Championship Houston, and when the dust settled and the smoke cleared Jerry Wang had claimed his third Shonen Jump Championship title! - read more

To begin the New Year, we’re going to look at what might be the cheapest Yu-Gi-Oh! deck to be introduced by Metagame. With only six rare cards and thirty-four commons, this is a deck almost anyone can afford! - read more

Awesome news this week—Upper Deck has made the surprise announcement of "Upper Deck Day" events, a multi-tournament festival of free stuff aimed at Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG players. - read more

Since I doubt any player wants to learn about disqualification or suspension firsthand, my goal here is to explain each term and give a better understanding of how these processes work. - read more

"While many creatures copy the abilities of those around them, the Phantom copies the abilities of the deceased. The forgotten ancestrage offers up its wisdom, and the Phantom partakes". ― Excerpt from the journals of Kozaky - read more

North Las Vegas, NV (January 13, 2009) — Upper Deck regrets to announce that hobby tournament stores nationwide will not receive their orders of Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Champion Packs. Despite contractual obligations, Konami Digital Entertainment failed to send the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Champion Packs to Upper Deck for distribution to hobby stores. - read more

Is anybody else as pumped about this as I am? - read more

Every card had a purpose and the deck performed better than anyone could have hoped for. Since then the deck has been modified and perfected for the current metagame. This is where it all started. - read more

Two of the best duelists in the world went head-to-head and Scurry made one of the biggest scoops of all time, in a display of dueling skill that had the audience on the edge of their seats. - read more

The Light and Shadow-Imprisoning Mirrors continue to show up in decks as a means of combating various light or dark themed decks popular in the metagame. The confusion surrounding how they work is recurring, so if you know any players that are new to these cards, have them read this article. - read more

After all, what’s the point in winning if you aren’t winning with style? - read more

I feel like I improved my game a ton when I wrote this article by realizing just how many ways the battle phase could be used to advance your position. Perhaps more importantly, I learned how you need to apply the knowledge of what you want to do to your deck building process. - read more

In honor of Retiari’s astonishing contribution to the Gladiator Beast theme and appearance in the most recent Shonen Jump Top 16, I’ve chosen this article as my favorite of the year. - read more

A wise player will make the effort to learn why the good cards are good and use this to his or her advantage to turn profits and gain a competitive advantage over others. If that sounds good to you, then this is an article that you won’t want to miss. - read more

Today we’ll be looking at an incredibly affordable deck, and one of the most irritating decks the game has ever created: PACMAN. - read more

Out of Jaden’s deck and into yours! - read more

Gorz the Emissary of Darkness was a welcome surprise in November, and as soon as he was legal, he found his way into the main decks and side decks of many players. He certainly deserved the attention. - read more

It’s December 22, 2008, and here in the midst of the holiday season we are just two-and-a-half weeks removed from the next Shonen Jump Championship! - read more

Many players looking to break into the tournament scene without breaking into their wallets choose Samurai for two reasons: they’re inexpensive to build and they level the playing field for new players. - read more

Side decking against less popular decks can be tricky. Even similar builds of less commonly played decks often vary significantly, and that makes it extremely important to pay attention to the cards your opponent plays in the first game... - read more

We conclude 2008 with another batch of questions from the mail bag. - read more

While the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG already has plenty of level-2 Tuners, Shiba’s effect and attribute make it unique. - read more

If you’ve been looking for a fun, innovative control deck to bring to a tournament with serious competition, you might want to consider this one. - read more

In this article, I’ll be analyzing how the two most common Gladiator Beast matchups are expected to play out and which cards would be beneficial to side in and out during each match. - read more

We close out 2008 by diving into the mailbag! - read more

At every Shonen Jump Championship I go to—no matter where—I always find myself matched up against That Guy in the first three rounds... - read more

This deck was piloted while others were playing Machine OTK decks: decks which had almost as much aggression as modern archetypes, but less control over the game. - read more

It’s important to have a side-deck strategy before entering any tournament in order to optimize use of those fifteen side-deck slots and gain every advantage possible... - read more

Today we discuss a few of our new TCG exclusives that were released in Crossroads of Chaos! - read more

It’s Monday, December 1, 2008, and we are counting down the days to the final Shonen Jump Championship of the year! - read more

Today, we’re going to make Reptiles a competitive archetype for tournament play. After all, the deck is worth less than $75, and its best card has an effect that basically reads "you win the game." - read more

The truly frightening thing about Gorz is that he might be lurking in any deck under the sun. - read more

It’s Wednesday, November 26, 2008, and the dueling world has another two-time Shonen Jump Champion! - read more

Interestingly enough, Crow, Frog, and Forced Back are basically nonexistent a year later, and Destiny Hero - Malicious is unlimited again. Perhaps it’s time for a comeback? - read more

Today we’ll be looking at a deck that hasn’t seen much play lately, but is nevertheless a powerful competitor and incredibly fun. - read more

With extensive playtesting, I changed a few cards in my deck each week, until my deck completely transformed into one that relies heavily on Gladiator Beast Equeste, Gladiator Beast War Chariot, and Gladiator Beast’s Respite—three cards I didn’t even run in Baltimore. - read more

It’s Wednesday, November 19, 2008, and we are smack-dab in the middle of two big Shonen Jump Championships! - read more

There are two basic reasons that Zombies have wound up back in the public eye despite having only one Day 2 appearance in a heavily hybridized deck... - read more

If you’re looking for a way play at a very competitive level while still keeping things well below the price range of other strategies, this might be the answer you’re looking for. - read more

What makes a card good? This question has been debated since the origins of trading card games, but the qualities that make a card good remain constant throughout. - read more

The damage step is riddled with "event-specific chains:" chains used to respond to a specific event. They are divided up amongst several points of the damage step, each with its own purpose. - read more

It’s Tuesday, November 11, 2008, and in just five days we’ll kick off the first in another string of Shonen Jump Championships! - read more

The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG can be an expensive game if you want to follow trends. But it's a game of almost boundless strategy, and you don’t have to be a drone subject to the whims of other innovative players! - read more

Chris Taporco made a big impact at Shonen Jump Championship Charlotte with what was quickly becoming everyone’s favorite deck of the day. - read more

Retiari’s true contribution to the Gladiator Beast deck can only be realized with a comprehensive perspective of the entire Gladiator Beast theme in a post-Crossroads environment. - read more

Why yes! I DO take liberties with peoples’ deck names when they don’t provide one! So glad you asked… - read more

If there are two things that Teleport Dark Armed Dragon decks need, it’s spell cards and the ability to remove cards in their graveyard from play. Guess what? Those happen to be two things that Spellcaster decks can shut down with ruthless efficiency. - read more

Plants are no longer simple blunt objects to be special summoned and hurled at your opponent. If I wanted to play a straight swarm deck, I’d run Zombies. - read more

Tempest Magician is an example of a Synchro monster geared directly toward its monster type. The card is built to support Spellcasters... - read more

Last week we determined that activating Dragon Ice’s optional trigger effect prevents Player A from using priority to activate the ignition effect of The Six Samurai - Yaichi. - read more

There’s really no better way to say this: Overdrive Teleporter is a sick card. - read more

I’m not really sure how it was decided that Plants would be the previously maligned type that would suddenly become super-powered, but I’m all for playing new, theme-specific versions of cards that everyone else plays alongside their generic counterparts. - read more

There are probably more competitive Plant-themed cards in Crossroads than every other set combined. - read more

Right off the bat a certain thought comes to mind: "one-sided Imperial Order." - read more

With the introduction of Crossroads of Chaos, Psychics are going to be getting some new support. - read more

Another week, and another Shonen Jump Championship is in the books! - read more

I’ve been asked time and time again what deck I use when I play the Traditional format, and today we’ll be looking at that deck. - read more

To be honest, I don’t think any goal is too ambitious. You have the ability to accomplish anything you set your mind to. - read more

Today we look at a few of our bonus cards from The Duelist Genesis: cards that were previously released in Japan as promos, but weren’t included in the Japanese version of this set. - read more

Only one week has passed since Cesar "The Princess" Gonzalez captured his second title at Shonen Jump Championship Seattle, but there’s more SJC action on the way this weekend! - read more

Today we’ll be looking at a deck that aims to do two things: change the way the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is played and demonstrate the advantage of creating dead cards in your opponent’s hand. - read more

If I’m going to be playing a deck like this, I want it to be both reliable, AND flashy. - read more

Instead of outright killing the Six Samurai strategy, I think the Limitation of Reasoning gave it an opportunity to redefine itself in a way that players will actually appreciate. - read more

A card we completely disregarded might just be the key to the best Lightsworn build ever. - read more

Going undefeated in a major tournament like a Shonen Jump Championship or National Championship is incredibly difficult. - read more

When Chris Bryson failed to reach the Top 8 in Tulsa, many jumped to the conclusion that the future was bleak for Gladiator Beasts. - read more

The Mirrors were made to shut down the effects of Light and Dark monsters that activate on the field or in the graveyard. Recognizing which effects they will negate requires an understanding of where the effects activate. - read more

Tele-DAD is basically a six-shot magnum with only two or three bullets in the chamber. That’s poor, so let's fix it. - read more

Clearly prepared for Baltimore, Jupiter adjusted his deck just enough to combat Teleport Dark Armed decks as well as the Gladiator mirror. - read more

Thanks to the new Synchro summon mechanic, which sends monsters to the graveyard instead of tributing them, there’s finally a consistent purpose for The Little Ronin That Could. - read more

It’s Tuesday, September 23, 2008, and as the final days tick down to Shonen Jump Championship Tulsa, three new tins are hitting stores today. - read more

Lately I’ve drawn more dead copies of Dark Armed Dragon and more double-Malicious openings than I’ve really felt comfortable with. We all hate those scenarios, and The Transmigration Prophecy is the answer. - read more

Many players showed up that weekend in Baltimore with all sorts of Synchro decks. But only one looked this good. - read more

The game is so much more intense. Every play matters, every mistake is costly, and every draw counts. - read more

I watched a lot of matches being played and observed a lot of people preparing their decks for the event, and I barely saw any Little City. - read more

Some of the weekend’s best tech actually didn’t make it to Day 2, and wasn’t covered in feature matches. - read more

It’s easy to make a decklist and pack it full of cards that will help you set up and achieve a certain game state. But what’s important is making sure you win the game after you’ve established your infrastructure. - read more

So Psychics are good as a support engine in a variety of decks—that’s fact at this point. But where do we go from here? - read more

Before I get to the actual decklist this week, I’d like to take a moment to talk about what decks are going to have to be able to do if they want to survive this format. - read more

How did Gladiators beat what’s so obviously a terrible matchup, and in Jupiter’s case, how did he do it three times? - read more