Digitalist Profile, 2

People  have been asking me what other decks are worth playing in an Inzektors-dominant format. This is a hard question really. Not many decks are as devastating and advantageous as Inzektors. Hieros out of the picture since its expensive and too many people are relying on Gustaph Max. Honestly, you do not need that card. Though it would be fun for it to be legal. That aside, REDU gave us Geargia and this little fuckers are actually worth your time. It gives you with a lot of plus if you know what you are doing and it can OTK pretty easily. Having said that, they do require some setup but of course you can spam in Turn 1 as well if you wish. I have been testing them for awhile and here is the build I am most comfortable with. Work is insane as usual but it did find ample amount of time to test and research on YGO. This build works with MK-II’s effect. Most of the combos the deck makes start from it.

GEARGIA TURBO

Geargiarmor x3

Geargiaccel x3

Geargiarsenal x3

Geargiano MK-II x3

Genex Ally Birdman x2

Card Car D x2

Machina Fortress x2

Karakuri Muso mdl 818 "Haipa" x1

Karakuri Watchdog mdl 313 "Saizan" x1

(Monsters-20)

Pot of Duality x3

Mystical Space Typhoon x3

Night Shot x2

Heavy Storm x1

Book of Moon x1

Monster Reborn x1

(Spells-11)

Torrential Tribute x2

Solemn Warning x2

Solemn Judgment x1

Divine Wrath x1

Raigeki Break x1

Call of the Haunted x1

Compulsory Evacuation Device x1

(Traps-9)

EXTRA DECK:

Geargiganto Cross x2

Maestroke the Symphony Djinn x1

Fairy King Alverd x1

No.32: Shark Drake x1

No.39: Hope x1

C-No.39: Hope Ray x1

Leviair the Sea Dragon x1

Wind-Up Zenmaines x1

Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X "Bureido" x2

Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei" x2

Scrap Dragon x1

Black Rose Dragon x1

I added a few techs to make this deck slightly more flexible to deal with the meta-game. Some of which you might agree with or not. Allow me to do some further explanation regarding those cards that look out of place. As mention above, this deck does require some setup. Thus the following techs I chose to accompany the deck. 

GENEX ALLY BIRDMAN

This guy allows you to recycle cards like Geargiaccel, Geargiano MK-II, or cards that MK-II revived. With Birdman you can easily continue your combos through bouncing your own cards back into your hand namely Geargiaccel since it can it Special Summon itself back. It gives you access to easy Synchros and you can plan your plays according to the situation at hand. OTK, control or Toolbox. Search-able by Geargiganto Cross.

MACHINA FORTRESS

I have always liked this guy. Fortress can act as defensive measure and easy out when you deal with bigger monsters due to it’s destruction effect. It’s discard cost provides you with another form of setup measure. This card helps you OTK in some ways or beats the shit out of people.

CARD CAR D

You lose out on hand-advantage at times with the need for constant discards. Car D does what it does best, draw-whoring and giving you pluses. Being a machine, you can discard it for Machina Fortress. This card provides more options to the deck’s plays. Search-able by Geargiganto Cross.

DIVINE WRATH

Discarding helps this deck a lot and Divine Wrath gives you that ability with protection against hand traps. It also deals with on-field effects. Being a Speed 3 ensures the success of it going off and forces opponent’s to counter it with Solemn Judgment if they really need to.

RAIGEKI BREAK

Again, Mill. This card is flexible enough to solve and setup plays. Either you destroy a set card or a monster that is preventing you to go for the kill. 

This is the end of today’s post. I believe Dueling Days have done a very good explanation post on how to utilize each Geargia cards and pretty sure there are blogs that have done combo posts. However, if you like me to list down a couple of tricks, do leave a comment and I will do my best to reveal all the possible plays with this deck. Thank you for reading!

Rolling With The Top Dogs, 4

A part of this section dedicates itself to promote players who are talented and possess potentials to make it further into the ranks of competitive YGO. Not only pros deserve the attention and recognition. There are a lot of duelists  who do well but don’t get enough credit. Other than that, I will look to promote OCG players around the world. We need the publicity as well. I’ve been talking to Satoshi lately and decided to ask for his opinion on players that I should add into this list. He recommend another player from Japan who  has good credentials. Meet Daiki Asano!

Daiki Asano

Notable Achievements:

Winner of Fuchu CS

Top 8 Kanagawa CS 

How is the meta in your country performing at the moment?

Inzektors. Inzektors are obviously strong but all other decks take measures to deal with them. So, it isn't necessarily advantageous to run Inzektors as well.

Do you think TCG exclusives provides positive changes in OCG's meta?

Yes, positive! We all know the strength of Tour Guide despite not having it in OCG yet.

Has Yugioh's progression gotten better and do you enjoy playing the game as of now?

Can’t really tell. It is a good thing that its in fashion. However, it is regretful that there are only a few official tournament in Japan.

How do you prepare yourself upon entering a major tournament?

Not to be nervous or too eager and sleep well. Simple yet very important.

How do you usually choose which deck to play? Is it meta-preference or passion?

Preference. There is no Yu-Gi-Oh without fun. Of course, winning is important at the same time.

What is your major focus when it comes to side-decking?

To have it function effectively against weaker decks.

What is the best or fastest way to improve yourself as a player, in your opinion?

Learn by watching top players. If you cannot, watch top players’ game videos and store the knowledge gained from Internet. I became stronger by doing so.

If you were given the right to ban a card, which card would it be? Why?

Monster Reborn. Too strong, can't cope with it sometimes.

If Konami would allow you to unbanned a card, which card would it be? Why?

Royal Oppression. This trap can be used now and its weak on a whole.

Apart from banned list, if you were given the chance to change something in Yugioh, what would it be?

Hold National Convention four times a year!

Mike suggested I add some fun while doing this section. So, this is a trivia corner for those who are interested in other duelists’ personal side. Have to admit, it is amusing and was a good suggestion. All work and no fun is boring at times. I'll try to get more info on this kinda stuff next time. Here goes!

TRIVIA CORNER!

-Daiki Asano’s favourite deck is Gravekeepers.

-Ruin, Queen of Oblivion is his favourite card. He finds her very smexy and has more than 200 copies of it!

This is all for today. Hope you enjoyed reading today's interview. Thank you for dropping by!

Something To Read About

The Meta in OCG has began to take a slow step in accepting change recently with Geargia silently making their presence felt. I’m positive they will add variety to YGO and slightly shift the pace of the game. With Ignition Priority gone in TCG,  it is almost certain that they will begin to take a liking to how OCG’s competitive scene are right now. For better or bad, that is up to players to decide. No more cheap plays in DN! Though I’m sure the number of rage quitters will continue to increase. Perhaps two different worlds are becoming one? Hopefully, this means positive improvements and not negative bullshit. Regarding today’s post, I would like to share a couple of cards that could possibly be good techs in your main or side-deck in the current format. Some are old, some are relatively new in some sense. 

SMASHING GROUND

This card has been around for awhile now. With Torrential Tribute being at two, a majority of players are beginning to accept Starlight Road into their ranks of staple techs. Bad news? Maybe. Road seeing more play does bring about a sense of hesitant when choosing to run instant-out cards like Dark Hole. Simple math, assuming everyone in your competitive scene mains double Torrential and a Dark Hole, which most likely is the case, means there are a total of six destruction cards, including you, that can trigger Starlight Road. This is where Smashing Ground comes in. Though its not as good as Dark Hole, it does make sure you do not meet Road when attempting to clear your opponent’s field off disturbing monsters. In match-ups like Rabbits or Six Sams, Smashing are good enough to force a negation leaving you one less problem to worry about. Probably a one-for-one trade off where you actually gain a plus, virtually. Smashing Ground proves to be a considerable choice of instant monster removal tech.

NIGHT SHOT

Needless to say, more back-row hate. Knowing for a fact, top decks run more chain-able trap cards in the current game-play. OCG-wise. Many times MST’s ability to trade off backfires with more chain-able traps being played. Hitting cards like Raigeki Break or PWWB when dealing with Inzektors as a general example allows them to setup faster and plus from your move.  Instead of being a one-off-trade. Night Shot solves that issue. Being desperate enough, your opponent might even negate it giving you information on the importance of that particular card. Sadly, its not a Speed 2 spell card. 

DIVINE WRATH

Probably another tech for Inzektors or decks that requires Graveyard setup. We all know hand traps are in trend and every deck relies on monster effects to make plays. Divine Wrath deals with both. This is a good tech for and against Inzektors. Fucking a Veiler up is pretty important nowadays. It could be useful in Hieros in a way, against Maxx “C”. That’s if your opponent are capable of dealing with all your Macro Cosmos. A good back-up plan. So yeah, why not give it a try? Also, it’s a Speed 3 trap which your opponent probably has no other option but to Solemn Judgment it in crucial situations. Free burn is good news. Key point being Speed 3 and it helps perpetuate plays revolving around the Graveyard.

CHAOS TRAP HOLE

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Chaos Trap Hole is very much similar to Solemn Warning. 2000LP cost, Speed 3 trap. However, this card specifically deals with Light and Dark elements. The best part is it banishes the monster instead of sending it to the Graveyard. In Chaos Dragons and Inzektors match-up, this card helps prevent a lot of plays from happening. Namely, the Chaos Dragons’  Pulsar REDMD loop and it works as a generic trap to banish Hornet or Dragonfly. Those who are teching BTH will find this card a good bonus since BTH deals with Centipede and huge monsters. It indirectly cuts off Inzektors from their potential CotH plays ensuring at least a couple of dead draws. Having said that, it doesn’t have Solemn Warning’s versatility to solve a variety of problematic moves and its not something you can slap into main-deck. Depending on your country’s Meta really. Another side-deck option I would suggest you consider or as a single copy tech. 

CURSED SEAL OF THE FORBIDDEN SPELL

TROLL CARD ALERT! Cursed Seal has pretty good function frankly speaking. ‘Sealing’ off, as it’s name suggests, cards like MST, POD and field cards are devastating without a doubt. Again, dead draw factor. The problem here is this card requires you to discard a spell card as a cost immediately limiting the possibility of having it see any play. Not much of an option in terms of creativity. Specific requirements aren’t gonna make the cut. Compared to traps like Raigeki Break or PWWB which could play the same role and absolutely more flexible. At least, those cards helps you setup some sort of play. Yes, it is a strong card but drawing it late in the game basically means you’re fucked. Not exactly but let’s be realistic. Another virtual advantage card. If it does go off, feel free to LOL at your opponent when they go “FUUUUUU!” Imagine negating field cards when going against decks like Gravekeepers and Dark World. Man, I’d be damned if one did not become the highlight of the tournament after doing so. Trust me it works when it works. I only managed to pull it once in tournaments against a Dark World player. It is fun to negate Duality and let your opponent draw into despair. Element of surprise in the face.

LIGHTFORCE SWORD

ANOTHER TROLL CARD! Allow me to have some fun. Lol. Back to business, Lightforce does have its own functionality. It generates momentary advantage, its chain-able, and could potentially provide you with a plus. For example, set and wait for your opponent to MST it then you chain it back, it immediately becomes a temporary plus and it is a nasty game closer if you hit the right card. Inzektor Hornet as an example. It’ll take quite awhile until they get their card back also Lightforce removes its target face-down meaning no Empty Space Sea Serpent recycle to bring the card back if you did hit a Level 4 or lower monster. Priceless moment much? Again, too much risk and a waste of space unless you’re a freaking psychic. No point gambling with such odds. Element of surprise in the face once more.

Alright guys, it ends here. I trust you had fun reading and as usual I do hope this post is informative enough. I might do a double post today depending on my schedule. Do check later on if i did go ahead and do another post as mentioned. Thank you for dropping by! Please comment and share your experience if you manage to troll with Lightforce Sword and Cursed Seal.

Subliminal Oblivious

First of all, I would like to thank both Mike Ting and LGQ for their shout-outs. Appreciate it a lot and hopefully Digital Mortal will continue to be informative and productive as their blogs, Dueling Legacy and YGO’s zero-th Theory. Coming into today’s topic, every country has their own respective Meta-Game and it may contain the same elements as other countries or can be entirely different. However, the situation is not the same in Malaysia. Some might disagree with this statement. Through my observation, Malaysia’s Meta-Game is still developing as of today. Of course, we know clearly Inzektors is the country’s Tier 1 deck at the moment. Having said that, the country has an inadequate amount of other decks to fill in the Meta-Game in their respective categories. This does not mean its non-existing. Many factors can be considered when evaluating this issue though I wish not to discuss regarding these factors as it varies among each individual’s take and commitment in the game. 

WCQ is approaching soon. June if not mistaken and this week marks the of April thus giving Malaysian players only a month left for preparations. Play-test and finalize your deck while you can. This post contains my observation and opinions on what Malaysia’s Meta situation is as of now. Also, a part of this post includes possible decks that will invade the format of this country. Here is what Malaysia’s Meta possibly looks like.

Tier 1:

-Inzektors

-Hieroglyph Variants

-Rabbits

There is no reason to doubt Inzektors is Malaysia’s core Meta. Every deck has to revolve against it. In terms of construction and tech choice. The deck itself is not as expensive as Hieros and has proved it’s superiority for many months now,  local and international-wise. Many considers this as their best bet when participating in a tournament. Understand that almost everyone has play-sets of Inzektors. Pop-works is not funny.

Going into Hieroglyphs, although this deck is expensive it will see more play because of popularity and its potentials. Hieroglyphs has not been particularly successful in Malaysia, again because of the price tag, but local players tend to make selections through its success in other countries. The only worthy success it has seen in Malaysia is through LGQ’s ambush during Asia Qualifiers. I died to Royal Tributes. In this case, Japan and Singapore will determine how much respect this deck deserves. Knowing for a fact, Hieroglyphs conquered the Asia throne. This alone is enough to perpetuate the rise of representation. Who doesn’t like to OTK really?

The last deck in the list, Rabbits. Raggia has dominated the TCG scene for awhile now, with the help of Dolkka, and Rabbits are beginning to dominate Asia contending for the top spot as seen in Japan with their own variant, Verz Raggia. Everyone knows the capabilities of this deck and thus the reason why it should be included in Tier 1. The possibility of Rabbits having a huge following in Malaysia is no longer an assumption. Turn 1 Raggia, set 5 and end duel. Not turn.

Tier 1.5:

-Six Sams

-Chaos Dragons

-Machina/Karakuri Geargia Variants

With the release of more deadly Rank 4 Exceeds and the swarm-ability Six Sams has always possessed, it will be certain that they deserve a spot in this category. Previously, Shien’s Smoke Signal went back to semi-limited. Another factor to consider. Facing a field held by Shi En, Great Shogun, Excalibur and Blade Heart is no joke and clearly not impossible. Sams’ ability to control, swarm, and OTK are a force to reckoned with though the odds of them opening with a sub-par hand is another factor to consider. That aside, it is still a legit bet and the deck itself is no longer as expensive as previous format. 

Chaos Dragons, it has recently seen success and through observation I have encountered a substantial number of duelists running this deck. Though usually combined with Hieros and such. The deck itself is cheap and can be very explosive, at any given moment. Most importantly, it does not have much problem dealing with the Meta in Game 1. If built and pilot by a experience or good player, this deck proves to be a threat. People will soon realize the potential in this deck. So, It deserves a spot in Tier 1.5. Constant recurring of boss monsters, fucked up much? 

REDU gave us Geargia, Geargia in return gave us more support for Machine-based decks. The attention this archetype has gotten within these few weeks is not surprising. And it has begin to show signs of invasion in Japan’s Meta. With Geargiganto X reaching a price status of RM50-70 feeds players with obvious information on how good that funny robot is. Instant plus. Machina Gadgets, a force to be reckoned with received further spare parts. The same goes to Karakuri. Expect to see this deck in WCQ. Repeating pluses and possible OTK is persuasive enough. Lucky enough, Excalibur and Blade Heart ain’t generic Rank 4 Exceeds.

Tier 2:

-Dark World

-Gravekeepers

-Lightsworns

-Twilight Variants/Stun/Anti-Meta

Dark World has shown potential in many aspects. However, due to the lack of hand consistency and a good understanding on how the deck construction relies on the player’s play-style, it has failed to made any note-worthy achievements. Being a cheap and strong deck, there will be players who choose to pilot it to try out their luck in the upcoming major event. The believe in DDV being a threat to Inzektors is strong. Such thought is further backed-up by Skill Drain. Learn how to go against them and make space in your side-deck for it if you must. Grapha says hi!

An earlier version of Rabbits if I must say so. Gravekeepers are able to control the field well enough and capable to facilitate big beaters like Malefic Stardust Dragon or Malefic Cyber End Dragon without affecting their synergy. Much of their plays are still reliable in this format. Veilers out of the story. And Royal Tributes are a bitch to deal with. If it hits you Turn 1 and you are running decks like Hieros, well, FLIP THE TABLE BRO! Make sure to prepare back-row hate and save your MSTs for Necrovalley.

Lumina back to two and Judgment Dragon at three, why not? The best budget deck in my opinion. Nothing much to talk about really. Its cheap, good, fast, and explosive in some ways. Reprints of Lyla. A majority of player who do not wish to commit much and are there to have fun will definitely pick this deck. How far can they go against top tier decks is pretty up to God. If you happen to meet one, absorb as much information on the type and amount of Traps they run. If they do not run anything that could damage you badly, negate Solar Recharge. A lot of their plays starts there.  

Any tournament has their fair share of Anti-Meta decks that revolves around stun, Twilight and remove- for-play strategies. Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning helps to promote this cult even more. Caius and CyDras contains as much potential to kill if used properly. I strongly believe this mindset of trolling in major events will never cease to end or lose popularity. Know when and what to counter. Experience is key in this match-up.

Not to forget, rogue decks. Gladiator Beasts, Black Feather variants, Agents and Plant variants are likely rogues here in Malaysia. They are very much dangerous, especially GBs, just under-represented. Notice that the Meta in this country develops according to price-tags and popularity. Maybe the same in other countries, I cannot say for sure. The chances of meeting self-invented decks are low not because the players lacks creativity instead many are frustrated with how utterly pointless it is to run decks like those in the current state of game. Vanguard as a result became a more celebrated card game. Though I personally disagree probably due to my own beliefs. Perhaps the Meta might change again within the month of May but that is highly unlikely to happen. Trend and pattern of years in calculation. Hopefully this post has given you insights and a perspective on what you should prepare for the coming WCQ. Thank you for reading!

Digitalist Profile, 1

There is nothing much to talk about lately regarding Yugioh and I realized after almost a month of blogging I have yet done a deck profile. So, this post will slide that way. Currently, I’m running Hieroglyphs (Hieratics) and I do feel that it is the best deck, to me, at the moment. Hieroglyphs assures you Game 1 if you know what you are doing and it allows you to adept to various situations in terms of tactics.  I play an Atumus Turbo build, don’t really like the Ninja variants. It sides easily and its flexible in many ways but I can’t find myself playing it. Here goes:

ATUMUS TURBO

Card Car D x3

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon x3

Hieroglyph Dragon-Aset Dragon x3

Hieroglyph Dragon-Shiyu Dragon x3

Hieroglyph Dragon-Tfeni Dragon x3

Hieroglyph Dragon-Nephthe Dragon x2

Koa'ki Meiru Drago x1

Watt Dragon x1

Emerald Dragon x1

(Monsters-20)

Hieroglyph Seal of Gathering x3

Pot of Duality x3

Mystical Space Typhoon x3

Forbidden Lance x2

Autonomous Action Unit x1

Book of Moon x1

Heavy Storm x1

Monster Reborn x1

(Spells-15)

Compulsory Evacuation Device x2

Torrential Tribute x2

Solemn Judgment x1

Raigeki Break x1

(Traps-6)

EXTRA DECK:

Thunderclap Knight-Gaia Dragoon x2

Hieroglyph Dragon King-Atumus x2

Photon Streak Bouncer x1

Inzektor Exa-Beetle x1

No.32: Focus Force x1

No.61: Volcasaurus x1

No.12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja x1

Wind-up Arsenal Zenmaioh x1

C.No 39: Hope Ray x1

Black Rose Dragon x1

Ancient Sacred Wyvern x1

Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Boundary x1

Chimeratech Fortress Dragon x1

The Extra Deck is a subject to change. Haven’t had much time to work on my deck lately and I am waiting for better Exceeds to be release. I don’t run Gustaph Max because its unofficial and I only focus on the official Asia format. Don’t want to have a hard time adapting with my deck in official tournaments. Machu Mach and Tiras will be included soon enough. Tech-wise, I main 1 Drago to mess with people and it’s a huge beater I can summon just in case I draw bull plus people will never expect this card in Game 1. Autonomous Action Unit gives me the advantage to rip people’s resources off and with so many Veilers around you can guess what its good for in a few ways. Forbidden Lance, I hate back-rows. A lot of times this deck breaks down because of back-rows, Forbidden Lance gives you that added flexibility in terms of defense and offense. Regarding Compulsory Evacuation Device, its a good substitute for Solemn Warning and Bottomless Trap Hole. Chain-ability and versatility. Overall, its a better card in my opinion for this format. I only run 1 piece of Raigeki Break due to the fact that i don't want to be in a position where i am forced to minus with it. However, good card its good.This is all I have for today. Feel free to drop a comment if you have any questions. Thanks for dropping by!