Baptism Under Fire

 

OCG’s Limit Regulation created a huge explosion within both communities. Just when we thought surprises were over Konami came around for round two and practically blowtorch the TCG scene. Professional opinion, great job for finally fixing the game or at least made it look that way. Personal opinion, fuck you Konami why is Verz Ophion still at three?! Back on track, I honestly take this as a good sign (at least this coming TCG format) because with all the master cleansing going on people finally got what they all wished for, creativity and innovation. This is the baptism under fire TCG players need so whoever wants to earn self-respect and respect from their community this is the time to do it. For the first time the competitive scene in TCGland has become an open field now. Any deck can possibly take any title, well, unless Konami decides to “surprise” us again. Probably plenty of you guys have been waiting for this so time to make good use of time. For now, it’s definitely good news for TCG. 

As for “in-existence decks” that hasn’t been completely torn off, I don’t really care since its TCG and has no relation to me and if it was me I would aim to come up with new deck ideas instead of having forcefully letting go of new toys just to go back playing with old toys. Hieratics “looks” to be the best deck to pilot but y’all gotta remember escalation. Enough people running it the Meta will gradually form to fuck with it (and Hieratics are easy to fuck with.) Maxx “Cs” and Effect Veilers alone are good enough to stop the deck cold and if the build ain’t solid hell you’d probably regret picking the deck up. Don’t get me wrong it’s still my favourite deck but TCG lacks important pieces to make it work. If you want to play Hieratics, try out E-Tele in them (more resilient towards Maxx “C” and Veiler) or just run Exodius for now. All is normal until Labradorite Dragon hits the playing field at your side.  On a sidenote, I would be interested to test out Chaos Dragons in TCG right now. Time for you guys to make Evilswarm versus Blackwing videos and fuck my favourite Verz Ophion up with Icarus Attack!!! Nah, I am just joking. Maybe LGQ will win a YCS with Hieratics and everyone can copy his deck. LOL! Aite guys thanks for dropping by and stay tune for more possible updates!

The Balls

The list is out (http://shriek.twoday.net/stories/453141875/) and everyone is excited as hell because Trishula is coming back! If you want scans please visit here. Well, more important, the reign of Dragon Rulers and Prophecies will officially end come September 1^st. There is nothing to be said since I am pretty sure everyone is just happy with those two shitty decks to be gone and for once Konami actually did react as the community wished. However, bumping Gorz to two is a shitty move in my opinion. A free 2700 ATK stand-alone beater is just plain stupid if not “retardifying.” I don’t know I just can’t seem to enjoy that piece of news (fuck the Ophion reasoning.) Konami likes hand traps these days maybe it’s time to play Mind Drain. With Scapegoat coming back to three I suppose there are more means to prevent yourself from getting OTKed now ( 3 Battle Faders, 3 Swift Scarecrows, 2 Tragoedias, and double Gorz.) Time for me to abuse Scapegoat and Labradorite Dragon to make Trishula for no apparent reason in Hieratics! 

A side note, Heroes are clearly coming back in style with E-Calls and Pot of Duality back to three. Mirror Force back to three is a bonus for them as well I suppose. I hope to see Heroes wrecking Verz with Super Poly because fuck Ophion that’s why! (If you know what i mean.) KONAMI Y U NO LIMIT OPHION?! Aside from all that, Trishula coming back is going to bring some changes but whether or not it’s a positive or negative sign no one can say for now. Either way there are plenty of ways to screw around with Trishula now (Veiler it, Trish attacks, meets Gorz and token, okay.jpg, Gorz token suicides, Gorz attacks, meets Gorz and token, okay.jpg) so no need for panic modes people. Will Plants make a return? Good question. Having said all that, Chaos Sorcerer back to two looks to be a sign for more DARK and LIGHT bullshit in the future while Advanced Ritual Art at three might just smash some balls because Perfect Herald is cancer. 

New OCG policies are eye-catching but I have no comments until further experience. Three WCQs a year means more official tourneys to compete in so that’s good news. At least for now all these changes bring a sign of positivity with them but we’ll wait and see. The rest of the list is self-explanatory. Until Konami’s next bullshit, thank you for dropping by and let’s all celebrate the end of Dragon Rulers/Prophecies with much joy!

Massacre Conspiracy

Remember those days when you open with only Tefnuit/Eset with Nebthet and thought to yourself “Fuck My Life”. Well, many sought to reduce their chances of getting self-inflicted cancer in Hieratics by adding in Curse of Dragon into the equation. It worked for some people but the rest saw it as another form of cancer (playing two vanillas is bad enough seriously.) Probably the only reason I am excited with Shadow Specters is because they have a new Level 6 vanilla dragon Tuner in the set (yes, I am talking about Labradorite Dragon!) I have now found my solution to opening only with Eset/Tefnuit and Nebthet thanks to the existence of Labradorite Dragon and Celestial Dragon. 

                                              (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Labradorite_Dragon)

A quick analysis on this new vanilla, it is a Level 6 making it compatible with Hieratics for OTK combos and whatnot. Labradorite is also a DARK which is an added bonus if you are looking to run Chaos Monsters in the bunch. This card being a Tuner is the main point since it will be bringing more fun and love in Hieratics possibly spreading more joyous cancer to the community. In all honesty, this card would suck if it wasn’t for the availability of Celestial Dragon. It has zero attack points so you can't rely on Labradorite to perform  the usual 3-Cards-OTK combo (Atumus+M7) which Wattaildragon does and at the very least Emerald Dragon comes with 2400 ATK. A side note, I might even consider constructing a build with Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Twilight in it (3000 ATK free massacre.) I am definitely going to be experimenting with new cards from Shadow Specters (mainly Labradorite Dragon and Kiganjo) and maybe come up with a good enough build to run when September Format arrives. Hopefully the Dragon Rulers and Prophecy bullshit ends while the Green Day dude continues to sleep. Hieratics is hardly a reliable competitive deck anymore but who knows maybe they can make a comeback with creativity (Verz Ophion still needs to go to Hell though.)  So, I am off to once again mess around with my favourite deck. Thank you for dropping by!

Order And Disorder

                                (http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_74:_Master_of_Blades)

Let’s talk about Number 74: Master of Blades. The OCG version of this card will most probably be in Collector’s Pack: Zexal Version which is due to be release in August (plenty of mixed feelings going around for this card.) Let’s start off with a general analysis into the card’s stats. Number 74 is a Rank 7 generic Exceed boasting a 2700 ATK and 2300 DEF body (Dragon Rulers and Mermail love.) Being an EARTH makes this card compatible with Redox’s Special Summoning effect similar to Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack and Tempest’s relationship in Dragon Rulers. 2300 DEF makes it a reliable enough meat shield while 2700 ATK makes it a relevant beatstick which is bigger compared to Dracossack, Number 11: Big Eye, Tidal, and Tempest but smaller in comparison to Blaster, Crimson Blader, and Colossal Fighter. Not so important notice, 2700 ATK automatically includes this card into the OTK-relevant or stand alone category.

At first glance, Master of Blades is just another card with big stats. Going slightly deeper, being an Exceed Monster instead of a Synchro gives Dragon Rulers easier access to it compared to a similar card, Thought Ruler Archfiend (two daddy dragons and the job is done no Tuners involved.) So, what’s the point here? Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack is obviously a better card in general. What changes will Number 74: Master of Blades bring into the most dominant strategy in the Meta right now? Well, let’s just say this card revolutionizes much more than what meets the eye. In my opinion, Master was created to bring more creativity in terms of tactics especially in the mirror match. That’s where its value lies assuming Dragons don’t die off after September banned list. Again, how and why?

Forbidden Chalice, Enemy Controller, and Book of Moon are a few popular tech choices in Dragons to fend off opposing Dragons. When it comes to hate techs, Compulsory Evacuation Device comes into everyone’s mind instantly. Number 74: Master of Blades allows you to bypass all those threats unlike Dracossack giving it significant amount of credit. Also, with this new addition into the Extra Deck ranks, players can now go into Master instead of airplane during Main Phase 2 or whatnot to prevent Big Eye from wrecking your board during your opponent’s turn. Having said that, this card is vulnerable to effects that does not target (Dark Hole, Book of Eclipse, Spellbook of Fate, and Jowgen’s effect are some examples.) Before I forget, Konami forgot to include the “Once per turn” clause into this card. Now that’s just fucked!

The common argument right now against this card is Crimson Blader. 2700 is big but as mentioned earlier there are even bigger aggressors. Now remember  Book of Moon and Chalice being popular tech cards right now in mirror matches? Crimson Blader will never cease from being a nightmare for Dragons and in common cases like that, Master of Blades works well with Forbidden Chalice and Book of Moon for combination douchebagery (I especially love how much synergy Blades have with these cards.) For example with Forbidden Chalice, common play would be you pumping Number 74 to 3000 ATK during Damage Step to run over Blader however by doing so you are leaving yourself vulnerable during Main Phase 2. An alternative trick can go like this, you choose to negate Chalice with Number 74’s effect and pop Crimson Blader breaking even (one-for-one) and survive further onslaught preventing your death. Now with Book of Moon, the obvious play would be minus one by changing Crimson Blader to Face-Down DEF position preventing it from killing Master of Blades and Blader’s effect to go off. OR you can target Number 74, negate BoM, and proceed to pop Crimson Blader through Master’s effect again going into a nice one-for-one. Those are some examples on how Number 74: Master of Blades can be useful in the mirror match. Listing down every usage and combination would be a pain but bottomline is Master of Blades adds in more value into already fearsome techs like the ones mentioned above. 

Master of Blades might not be as convincing as Dracossack when it stands alone but by combining it with other cards it is possible to pull off a variety of effective plays depending on the situation and your resources. This card also becomes another out to popular win-conditions like Colossal Deck Out and Armory Arm OTK when combined with cards like Forbidden Chalice and Book of Moon (or generally cards that targets a Face-Up monster.) Give your opponent cancer by requesting him or her to perform the Colossal Deck Out combo step by step, proceed to draw into more cards with Maxx “C”, when you had enough use Master’s effect to end your opponent’s misery. Sounds fun doesn’t it? That’s the case if you have both 74 and Dracossack on the field and your opponent attempts to screw with your airplane (you can still stop that combo if its only Master on the field and you have a card that targets.) I can understand if one would to question the effectiveness and consistency in establishing two-card combos. 

After writing all that, this card is indeed less useful in Prophecy match-ups. Spellbook of Fate does not target, Power+Starhall makes Kycoo a bitch, even Jowgen's destruction effect goes through Number 74. Not to mention how shitty it would be for this card to stare down Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Azure-Eyed Silver Dragon. The card still proves to be decent against lower tier strategies such as Fire Fist and Constellars. You can net plus ones if you pull out Master at the right time. Against Verz, I like the fact Master of Blades keeps Reptiless Vasuki at home and can potentially destroy Ophion and Imperial Iron Wall while being immune to Compulsory Evacuation Device assuming you get to summon it so it’s not all that bad. Overall, Number 74 looks to be a well-rounded custom card designed to counter Dragon Rulers. Some love for other decks that can utilize Rank 7 Exceeds. It changes a number of things believe it or not.  This card has “I am giving you a choice” written all over it and definitely isn’t something one can mindlessly play. Bring it out at the wrong time you’ll probably want to tear Master of Blades on the spot. At the very least, this shit ain’t stupid like Dracossack! That’s my take on Number 74. I hope you have enjoyed reading another wall of text. Thank you for dropping by!

Points Of Authority

As far as anyone is concern Dragon Rulers have been the talk of the year regardless of Prophecy or Evilswarm’s existence in the Meta. No other deck is as big of a priority as the legionnaire of draconian rulers. Whether or not Konami wishes to dethrone the strongest deck right now is about anybody’s guess and it remains a subjective matter to discuss. Malaysia World Championship Qualifiers 2013 ended right about a week ago and to everyone’s knowledge I ran Dragon Rulers because I had access to it not because I like that deck. The key aspect to decide the differences of your deck’s performance was originality. Prior to our WCQ, Singapore had their brutality contest and sure enough Dragon Rulers came out on top. The age of “exclusive knowledge” has long been a thing of the past due to the internet. Anyone with half a brain and a Facebook account easily have access to what the biggest game changing techs in trend are with that follows net-decking (may or may not be a good thing, you decide.) 

Forbidden Chalice and Enemy Controller were of two big guns that would decide how much leverage you have in the mirror match (because that’s the most important match up if you ran Dragons.) Vanity’s Emptiness came in later in effect of the “full circle cycle.”  Cards like those aforementioned were factors that will eventually decide whether or not you fight an uphill battle or simply cruise through. The thing about relevant techs is even if you are fighting an uphill battle they alone allow you to take the hill given the right circumstance. Still, such reasons are why duelists would die to obtain even a tiny bit of insight. After all of that, proceed to add in hand traps into the equation and your cancerous cocktail called a deck is complete. When everyone practically knows what techs to play and look out for it usually sums up to skill level differences but unfortunately sometimes things end up being decided by who has superior luck during that particular round. 

I wasn’t planning to win WCQ (almost zero preparation done) but I wasn’t too keen on losing out to “celestial luck” at the same time. With plenty of information circling around geared with a pretty accurate level of understanding towards how Malaysian players generally are, I found a simple solution that would fit the bill in my case. The answer was an old classic named Divine Wrath. I’ll keep this simple for you it’s a Speed 3 Counter Trap that kills on-field monster effects, blocks off threats from the hand and Graveyard also count the banish zone in all for the price of one hand card which isn’t really costly when you dump daddy dragon (sounds familiar?) If you are thinking why Divine Wrath over Raigeki Break the answer is obvious, it’s a counter trap. While RB gives you that added value to pop spells and traps it is easier to deal with compared to Divine Wrath but DW has its perks.

In match-ups like Prophecy, Batel is a common occurrence. Divine Wrath deals with it and makes sure no Spellcasters are on the field resulting to cards like Masters and Fate to be dead for the time being. You can add in Cisty and Junon into the list as well as Wisdom being an eyesore when the wrath of God goes down. This card is even better against Verz. There are tons of psychological fuck-ups you can play like allowing your opponent to extend into Verz Ophion (Castor plays and whatnot) before unleashing divine punishment on it. Rescue Rabbit is lunch/dinner/supper while Verz Kerykeion is a 1-for-2 (Kerykeion’s cost and itself) assuming you ditch daddy dragon. Aside from all the Main Deck mumbo jumbo, you have their Extra Deck wrapped up in the process. The amount of creativity cancer you can share is plentiful. The problem with Divine Wrath here is generic, draw it too late it becomes utter crap. However, it is an exploding pack of nails when you can use it during early or mid game in these two match-ups. 

As mentioned earlier, if you are running Dragons the most important match-up to pay attention to is against Dragons (side enough hate and play smart decks like Prophecy and Verz eventually crumbles.) The main purpose of Divine Wrath is to inflict more damage in the mirror match compared to what is already considered as conventional methods can do. Aside from having the potential ability of negating pesky hand traps like Maxx “C” and Effect Veiler at a cost of one hand card Divine Wrath buys you control over rhythm and pace in the battle of resources. Having the power in controlling the amount of colours your opponent gets to use could easily turn the game around. If they have one colour, that’s self-explanatory. If they have two or more, you basically limit their actions by restricting manipulation over one element (it could save you depending on the situation.) Divine Wrath also allows you to restart your opponent’s board through over-extension. For example, granting access to cards like Mermail Abyssgaios or Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack and then breaking their setup or plays. Paying attention to Extra Deck resources is equally important to how many colours you have in your Graveyard. It can be situational and comes with a one turn drawback but the chances of Divine Wrath being useful are high enough due to the lack of back-row removals. If you are facing a Colossal Fighter Deck Out situation, feel free to fix your hand by drawing into more cards with Dirty “C” before closing the curtains on the infamous giant (I wouldn’t recommend drawing half of your deck though that’s asking to die to Card Destruction.) 

Divine Wrath gets you out of tricky situations and allows you to dictate the flow considering the resources you have and the amount of plays you can go into. The possibility of Wrath being dead is quite low when put into consideration but that’s assuming your opponent doesn’t open the nuts and try to YOLO you whenever he or she gets the chance while you hold nothing. It serves as a big enough surprise slapped to the face and can easily be switched between games paying attention on who goes first. In terms of tech flexibility, the card has its merits. Whether you are facing Colossal-Deck-Out, Armory Arm OTK, or Jewel Flare Vanity Lock, Divine Wrath COULD save your ass. Talking about rewarding the right calls and making the right moves, Divine Wrath is all about that (how reliable it is depends on the player’s style.) Knowing how to manipulate it brings you closer to understanding which tactics to choose between depending on the amount of plays you can make or should make (defensive or offensive measure.) It is a simple card abiding to one simple iron rule, timing (the simplest things can create the biggest problems.) That’s the end of another wall of text. Thank you for reading and I hope this has been an informative read. Again, thank you!