Breaking The Curse, 7

The time for Asia Plus has once again promise duelists with excitement and entertainment. The time when Meta isn’t defined by a few decks and the tournaments are filled with tons of different decks, some old and some new, a time where a format’s bullshit is of no relevance. Well, not totally, but players get to compete against a multitude amount of decks while each team shares a banned list. Sounds exciting? Regardless, the year 2012 marks my first debut in Asia Plus and I am hoping to achieve something for this new environment, for me. As mentioned above, Asia Plus is a team tournament governed by the Asia Format. For the first time, I joined forces with my rivals to reach a higher plateau. We are called Team Dark Stallion. I’ll leave my team’s introduction for another time and today we are back again with yet another tournament report. Also, I finally got my Hieratic 2012 Nationals Playmat. Stoked! So, let’s get into it.

Asia Plus Qualifiers

Format: 3 Rounds of Swiss Cut to Finals

Deck Used: Improvised Hanzo Hieratics

ROUND 1 (Queen Dragun Hieroglyphs, Sorry I Forgot Your Name)

I was jacked-up nervous as both my teammates Izzat and Sean nominated me as the team leader by unanimous vote. Frankly speaking, I was expecting myself to be sort of a feeder given the fact that I am running a deck which primarily speaks out in many ways, kill or be killed. But I’ve come far enough into the competitive scene to learn how to subdue my nervousness. Needless to say I was focused and my mind only had the field and the steps in concentration. In a way, pressure is a good way for me to concentrate. 

GAME 1: I had a tech Drago on the field and managed to hold my opponent down until his Life Points were 2300. Two more strikes and the game would have ended for free but he managed to topped-deck my best friend, Dark Hole. Well, what happens next is pretty much the usual herp derp. There goes Game 1.

GAME 2: Now this game is slightly more interesting. We played a couple off set-and-pass as my opponent farms with Card Car D. I drew into my Drago and summoned it to hold field again. This time he has Alexandrite Dragon to smack my ace off the board. He tried to rush for OTK but seemed to have misplayed. Well, it looks to me. My opponent has REDMD, Gaia Dragoon, and Alexandrite Dragon on field. At this point I am down with 500LPs and my hand card consists of Seal of Gathering, Su, Tefnuit, and Emergency Teleport. Bait out his one back-row with my Tefnuit, gathered another Tefnuit from my deck, made Atumus to special summon a random Level 6 Dragon, and E-Tele for Krebons to Synch into Void Ogre Dragon. ZERO HAND CARDS! Void devoured REDMD while Gaia Dragoon pierced Alexandrite. Now he only has a Gaia Dragoon left. He took some time to consider and decided he had no chance against the mighty black dragon from Premium Pack 14.

GAME 3: Nothing special until the point where I made Gaia Dragoon and Void Ogre to kill his REDMD and Emerald Dragon. Now, the dude has a Gaia Dragoon left on the field while I had around 3000LPs left. I read a Monster Gate in hand as he contemplated on the fact that if he should gamble with the risks. It was a situation of do or die and personally I want him to go. LOL! He searched out Tefnuit using Seal of Gathering previously so I knew he wanted to bet on the Volca-Finish. Everyone was watching the game as he made more obvious nervous expressions. I was holding Hanzo, no negate for me. Eventually, he decided to play Monster Gate and the fuck he got a Nebthet out! I was ready to scoop but instead of popping my Void Ogre and ramming Gaia against Gaia, he went and popped Void Ogre after that ended his turn. I drew into REDMD! The game was pretty much sealed. Remove Gaia Dragoon for REDMD, REDMD’s effect to revive Void Ogre Dragon, summon Hanzo and search out Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation. Set and battle. He drew and scooped. 

XOO

TEAM RESULTS

Player A (Sean): O

Leader (K’yde): O

Player B (Izzat): X

(1-0)

ROUND 2 (Chain Burn, Sorry I Forgot Your Name)

Rogue decks aren’t a problem for me since they play weird and I can cope with weird plays. Of course, it was fun to actually encounter a Chain Burn deck in Malaysia. Final Countdown, Chain Burn, and Exodia decks were one of those decks that people never remember. It is quite relevant in team tournaments if you ask me. They don’t use staples and, damn, they create a whole bunch of confusion and throw a majority of people into disarray in the scene. That alone spells entertainment. Whatever the fuck it was, it’s time to duel!

GAME 1: He summoned Card Car D, set 5 back-rows, draw, and ended. I Storm and he chained, I took a whole bunch of damage and he seemed very pleased. But what my opponent isn’t aware of is I’ve trained myself in the wise words of Grandmaster Baha of Merlion. “I Don’t Exceed Every Turn, I Exceed One Turn And People Die.” Yup, he wasn’t very pleased after that.

GAME 2: He started off with the usual Card Car D-Set 5 plays and ended. I drew into my Royal Decree. I summoned Hanzo for fun, searched out my art of stealing, attacked for 1800, set Super-Transformation and Royal Decree before ending. My opponent went into Card Car D and he seemed very pleased once again. I End Phase Decree him. Now he doesn’t seem very happy. Did some Hieratics stunts and went for game to obviously bait of opponent’s Swift Scarecrow. Repeated the process for another turn and in the end Chain Burn burned itself. TROLL AVOIDED!!!

OO

TEAM RESULTS

Player A (Sean): X

Leader (K’yde): O

Player B (Izzat): X

(1-1)

ROUND 3 (Chaos Dragons, Sorry I Forgot Your Name)

GAME 1: He started off with Future Fusion while I am here sitting down enjoying the view of my Koa’ki Meiru Drago. This game is not worth mentioning. The usual MY-OPPONENT-TOP-DECKS-DARK-HOLE happened while I was in the process of beating the shit out of him with my Drago. Three strikes in and yet again no home-run with Drago. Let’s go to Game 2.

GAME 2: The dude made a clever play by spamming his REDMD, Lightpulsar Dragon, and BLS while I have Hanzo and double Super-Transformation set. So, I took all his boss monsters and showed him all of my boss monsters. When I Special Summoned Lightpulsar he was shocked as if he has seen a ghost. In horror movies, if you are scared the ghost usually eats you like nobody’s business. The same happened here.

GAME 3: At this point both my teammates scrubbed and the dude I was playing against got a little too cocky. I was pissed. No joke. He played Volcasaurus on my REDMD, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and taught him how to use Lightpulsar Dragon. End of story.

XOO

TEAM RESULTS

Player A (Sean): X

Leader (K’yde): O

Player B ( Izzat): X

(1-2)

Both my teammates went through a series of unfortunate events.  Izzat was constantly outplayed by his opponents. They simply had the right cards to overcome his plays so there is nothing you can really say about it. In Sean’s case, he met BLS during late game and was utterly disgusted by Card Destruction. I don’t know what to say. I was frustrated no doubt about that but a part of playing in a team means you win as a team, lose as a team, and learn as a team. No member should point fingers at the others or play the blame game. No point wasting time on unnecessary issues. No hard feelings and all you need to do is put your head up high while preparing yourself physically and mentally for the next opportunity you get. Basically, Team Dark Stallion scrubbed their first team tourney. Life sucks at the moment! Last but not least, I would like to congratulate Team MYM for qualifying. Congrats to Andrew Ng (my idol), Shahmir Roshidi, and Zack Teoh for playing a day’s worth of good games! Once again my idol has proven why he deserves my respect and admiration. LOL! I’m looking forward for our next attempt in team tournament and damn it we will take the seat home next time! Until then, remember to play smart, fight hard, or go home a loser. Thank you for stopping by!

For The Things We Have To Learn Before We Can Do Them, We Learn By Doing Them

Remember last May when you were sitting in the toilet waiting for season’s calling to end and you stared blankly into the infinite universe wondering how everything comes together to create what we called the world? Deeply in thought than all the sudden you feel a slight tingling sensation and gravity brought you back into reality. You probably thought, “Fuck Newton…” Well, sorry about that. That was probably the only time anyone actually finds peace of mind in this chaotic absurd planetary called Earth. Of course, everything written above has no relation to the subject this article is about to go into. I found myself reading about Isaac Newton a lot lately and the gravity of bullshit I have been through in the past week is as horrendous as a homo zombie trying to rape you instead of eating your brains out. Yup, shit happens when you live with a bunch of monkeys who makes a water theme park out of your condominium unit when you are not around blasting your water bills up to a record breaking 800 bucks. Malaysian Ringgit that is. Still, a ridiculous amount and the above shit-has-hit-the-fan-line is the only reasoning I can think of as a conclusion to why my water bills totaled up to a height similar to Mount Everest. So much for Abyss Rising. 

Going into today’s topic, given if you were an athlete or a sportsman you most probably heard of runner’s high. I simply call it athlete’s high. It is the moment when physical surpasses mental and you are reacting according to how much you have trained over the ages. An instinctive metamorphosis of one’s usual self whereby one does not feel the level of fatigue and pain their muscles are in. Instead of slowing down and passing out, your body moves based on experience and instincts bringing you to the next level of your game gradually upping the pace disregarding the tiredness and the strenuous conditions of every muscle in your body is experiencing. The moment when every move, stroke, and action you make is as good or maybe even better compared to all the athletes you have admired. The experience of uncontrolled physical extremes while being mentally absent as to what a person is going through. Basically you are as unstoppable as horny bunnies making out 24-7. Literally high as fuck. Yes, being in the zone as most would name it. While ‘being in the zone’ in sports language means reacting through the physical memory of your training, Yugioh and similar card-related games function in a more complex definition. Being in the zone in Yugioh immediately define an individual reacting calmly, composed, and calculated. While both are a form of aggression, we as duelists fall under the category known as calculated aggression. 

Often times we see subconscious mistakes being made by a variety of players. It is not an uncommon sight and even the best of duelists are prone to such mistakes. Not necessarily touching on misplays but something of a smaller detail. For example, while being in a heated situation during a duel both player top-decks and almost instantaneously changes his or her expression. While that is something most are unaware of and do not pay much attention to, it is one of those big game-changing moments that one has to especially give more attention to whether it is expression, reaction, or the types of plays about to be made. Acknowledging the fact that sometimes you are forced into a play due to certain circumstances, however, the key difference between professional athletes and expert card players boils down to understanding the drastic difference in the Wild Factor, being in the zone of each own competition. The pinnacle of professional sports is the ability to create and recreate success or inspiration through instinctive decisions exceeding the thinking process excelling one’s level of skills. Again, to be able to perform at the best level based on bodily experience and instincts alone. 

We, duelists, play a different game. While sports are hot, loud, and recklessness brings success, the pinnacle of card games are the exact opposite. One makes the best plays when they think thoroughly even in the most desperate of scenarios. Key words being cunning, calm, and composed. To have the ability to mask ourselves and be cold while you are calculating all the odds based on every piece of information you have gathered, that is what ‘being in the zone’ is when it comes to card games. Thinking ahead makes all the difference not reckless plays. Much like Poker, the more you are able to control your reactions and bluff your way through the better you become at the same time your chances of winning and achieving success increases. I suppose the idiom of calm before the storm is the best way to describe how an ideal expert card player is. You dominate and overpower your opponents by utilizing a maze of trickery that puts them into expected situations you are familiar with while they did not see it coming. And you achieve that not through power alone but by understanding your opponents, absorbing as much information you can get, while concealing your own stack of files. 

Playing Yugioh is very much similar to business and stock market investments you gain by having more knowledge and, most importantly, information compared to the opposing parties. It is important to calculate the probabilities beforehand.  Strength, speed, and skills alone are not the deciding factor to victory when it comes to card games unlike sports. You can own the best deck, make the best combos, and play faster to intimidate your opponents but without knowledge of rulings or the ability to avoid misplays, read and bluff plays you are nowhere near the top. That doesn’t mean you don’t win but it reflects a player’s level and caliber in a thousand ways. I am not sure where I’m going with this piece of article but I had to write it down. Well, gut feeling I suppose. Nonetheless, I hope you have found it informative and interesting. Most importantly I hope it make sense. Remember to play smart, fight hard, or go home a loser. Thank you for dropping by!

There Is No Better Title Than This One

Well, the end of July is near and that marks one more month before the announcement of the next banned list. I am quite unsure how Konami plans to shape the next format but there are a few things they absolutely need to address despite popularity and commercial purposes. Do remember like many other bloggers my version of the banned list is based on what I want to see happen and not to predict what Konami is going to do exactly. No point in playing their guessing game. Before going into today’s topic, Ventus from No Names has presented an idea to me about hosting a bloggers’ tournament using the WC format. It seems like an interesting thing to keep us occupied until the next format. Let me know what you guys think. Now, going into today’s topic. 

Forbidden:

Sangan

Wind-Up Hunter

Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Leviair the Sea Dragon

Mind Control

Monster Reborn

WIND-UP HUNTER

This is probably the only problem card in Wind-Ups. Technically, without Hunter, Wind-Ups are no different from any other spam-and-OTK decks out there. Of course, limiting Zenmaighty is another solution but it is most unlikely due to the fact that Shark and Rabbit has yet to be released in the OCG. Banning Hunter is a controversial call but it is the best way to cut of Wind-Ups unfair advantage in Turn 1. Effect Veiler factor aside that is.

BRIONAC, DRAGON OF THE ICE BARRIER

Besides Trishula, Brionac is probably the next in line for the most symbolic card to represent Synchro Monsters. Although it has been seeing less and less play in this format, Brionac is still a very strong representation for the Synchros and extremely easy to include in any sort of combos. There is no reason to ban this card but based on gut feeling Konami might take this away from us to further push the Exceed Era. 

LEVIAIR THE SEA DRAGON

While this might look like a weird and uncalled for choice, Leviair is very much similar to Brionac when it comes to enabling combos. Putting this card at two or one does not do any good as most players only use a copy of it. Leviair is a big factor in terms of reviving combos and such. Plus, if combined with Gold Sarcophagus and Tour Guide From the Underworld, this Exceed Monster is probably the most broken one among all. May it be in Dino Rabbits, Inzektors or even Agents. Though it is unfair to immediately banned Leviair, it is something I feel necessary before it becomes much more of a problem. I doubt this will happen so soon.

Limited:

Inzektor Centipede

Rescue Rabbit

Miracle Fusion

E-Emergency Call

Premature Burial

Ultimate Offering

INZEKTOR CENTIPEDE

Hitting Centipede is probably more painful compared to having Damsel at one. To effectively push Inzektors’ dominance away, the card that needs to be reduced is definitely Centipede because he is the one fueling all the right pieces for Inzektors. Even though Damsel is the initiator of combos in the deck, Centipede is the required gear to keep the combo going by giving the deck the ability to search out whatever they need to close the game. So, based on that Centipede should be the candidate to go to one and not Damsel.

RESCUE RABBIT

Rabbit has done enough damage in both sides of the game. In OCG, Verz Rabbits and in TCG as one of the famous Big Three, Dino Rabbits. While this is an unlikely turn of event, we all know Rescue Rabbit needs to either be at 1 or be banned straight up. Despite Dolkka and Tour Guide not reaching OCG yet, Konami has no reason to not touch this furry fucker.

PREMATURE BURIAL

With Monster Reborn and Brionac gone, Premature Burial is an easier to cope with version of monster revival that the game needs. This card comes with a cost and is very vulnerable to everyone’s best friend Mystical Space Typhoon making it similar to Call of the Haunted. Without Brionac around to loop, Premature Burial is a stable choice when it comes to a form of staple. Constellar Pleiades? Maybe and maybe not.

Semi-Limited:

Inzektor Hornet

Mezuki

Blackwing-Kalut the Moon Shadow

Pot of Duality

Book of Moon

Mirror Force

MEZUKI and KALUT

Time to show more love to older archetypes! Bringing part of the older decks back is always a good thing for this game. Everyone has their own reasons for this but it is safe to say everyone wants more variety in the game, especially right now. 

POT OF DUALITY

I am not trolling. While there is nothing wrong with this card existing in the Meta, POD has become sort of a parasite that seeps away deck slots and creativity. There is no doubt that this card is very much stable, however, seeing it splashed in every deck kinda makes one wonder what happens if Duality goes to two. Now the only reason why I am naming this card is because the majority of players include POD in everything they build. It’s not wrong to do so but at the same time it is not right. Depending on each individual’s point of view, I feel that POD has defined part of the game enough and should go to two to allow the Meta to grow after it. Players need to evolve beyond POD. Personal pick, you can agree or disagree.

BOOK OF MOON

With so many combo decks and OTKs running rampart, it is necessary to bring back another copy of Book of Moon to slightly slow down the game. With Effect Veiler being at her limit, Konami giving us another copy of Book will definitely provide positive changes to the game. While this card has always been a wild card in different formats, having it back at two certainly does more good than bad at the moment. Is Book of Moon going to destroy the Meta by being at two? That I leave it up to you guys to decide. 

MIRROR FORCE

It’s about time Mirror Force goes back to two with the existence of countless OTK-decks. With bugs hurt, cards like Mirror Force and Dimensional Prison will see more play I hope as they are required to best the game itself. Similar to Torrential Tribute at two, Mirror Force would provide a healthier environment being at two. I wouldn’t say a stable environment but at least players have better chances to deal with random onslaughts compared to how it is now. Perhaps this card might make a change? I feel there is a 50/50 chance for Mirror Force to be Semi-Limited.

Unlimited:

Destiny Hero-Malicious

Necro Gardna

DESTINY HERO-MALICIOUS

Dark Armed Dragon is at one and Synchros are dying of day by day, I just do not see why Malicious should continue to be in the list. For now, Malicious is not as broken as it is before. A being a part of bring back variety to the game, I think Malicious does more good for the game compared to the Tele-DAD format. There are many ways one can utilize this card. Maybe Konami should give this a try.

I have come to the end of my opinions regarding the next banned list. There are certain cards which I did not explain because those are self-explanatory and many bloggers out there have covered on them. Now, in this banned list you do not see Hieratics and Chaos Dragons being mentioned. I am not being bias to the deck I am running instead I feel like both decks should be given a chance to shine in the next format. Hieratics obviously have not seen much play in the TCG side and with the recent announcement of Gustav Max I don’t see why Konami will touch them, yet. For Chaos Dragons, this deck is slowly gaining popularity in my country and probably around other OCG-based countries so Konami might let them live another format just to see what is going to happen. So, that’s all for today and hopefully you have found my version of the banned list entertaining. Bloggers remember to leave a comment on what you think of the tournament idea. Thank you for spending time here!

Darkest Night

Elemental Heroes has been one of the longest lasting old archetypes in the game. With Konami’s constant support despite the change of seasons in the Yugioh world, the archetype itself has seen success and failure according to the change of time. However, the fact is, Elemental Heroes plays an uncommon role in the Meta as sort of a stabilizer deck among the top tiers. According to the different variants the archetype is capable of transforming to. Heroes has served a very important role to keep track of every Meta ever existed in the game. But today we receive different views as of what the deck is meant to do. Heroes, like every resilient archetype in Yugioh, are now a part of the dominant Meta. May it be in OCG or TCG, Elemental Heroes are becoming more and more overpowered as more and more cards are being created. Are they still the stabilizers of Meta or does the world of YGO have too many super heroes now? So, has Heroes turn into villains? That is today’s question. 

With so much support, this deck is definitely one of the hardest decks to defeat in today’s Meta. Since the release of omnipotent Fusion Heroes, the many names with their powers increased has continued to make a strong showing with the help of one of Yugioh-nature’s freak, Super Polymerization. Much like Kamen Rider receiving the power to transform into another level, Super Polymerization says more than fuck you to every deck in the game. That card alone and the omnipotent fusions has somewhat gave Heroes a certain victory if I may exaggerate. The ultimate defense and offense describes Super Polymerization. Though even in dead, miracles happens for the allies of justice. Miracle Fusion being another super-weapon in Heroes has broken and set more matches compared to the likes of Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning or Monster Reborn. With great power comes great responsibility so said Voltaire and later Spidey. Clearly Heroes are smoking something wrong at the moment. Or is Konami that has been smoking weird crap?

Being one of the top decks that makes Effect Veiler look like a little bitch, Heroes continues to receive more support as of today. With the recruitment of Blade Heart and Excalibur into their ranks, Elemental Heroes continue to grow as one of the triumvirate of the Meta. Even though this growth has given life to smaller heroes like Bubbleman, this justice of theirs can no longer be ignored. Or has justice turned into another form of greed and manipulation? The amount of Emergency Calls made looks to me like it should be reduced. The battle has been fought and won. Now, my question is has these heroes served their purpose or do we humans still require their alliance to fight the battles we never could? Seems to me it is time to give our heroes the rest and peace they have earned. But the problems lies in the fact that Konami has been feeding these beasts of theirs to a point whereby only drastic measures can deal with them. Or so it seems? My answer to this is limiting E-Call and Miracle Fusion. Heroes had their special privileges long enough. 

The ability to consistently search out cards they need to fuel their OTKs and a card that is miraculously game breaking to epic proportion should not be allowed to be at three. Super Polymerization aside, the two cards that should be hit at this moment, in my opinion, is Miracle Fusion and E-Call. Stratos is already at one. Outright banning that card will hurt the archetype a lot. With E-Call at one, Heroes still have A Hero Lives to rely on at a substantial amount of Life Points. The card is not a free gift in comparison to E-Call. Super Polymerization is a problem but not as much as Miracle Fusion. Super Poly opens up a lot of different plays in a Hero-based deck but it requires both sides to have monsters and it comes with a cost. Using it at the right time shows how well you play your deck but if activated at the wrong time it becomes a card that might possibly bring catastrophic results to your side. Unlike Miracle Fusion which in many ways a more superior card. It is an OTK card, a miraculous top-deck, and basically something that saves your ass for free. Although unlikely to be seen, Miracle Fusion has the ability to be played alongside cards that revives cards that bring back monsters from the banished zone. At the very least, Konami’s concern with Heroes at this point should be limiting E-Call and Miracle Fusion though that is only my opinion. It’s time for a change of guard. That is all for today and hopefully you have found it informative and interesting. Thanks for reading!