To Infinity & Beyond

The metagame in Yu-Gi-Oh! is a volatile thing, for months, even years, a decktype can be competitive. All it takes is one bad banlist and it's playability can be totally shot. But the banlist isn't the only factor that comes into play. In the TCG, being a few sets behind the OCG, the differences in player mentality can be notable especially when compared to our Eastern compatriots. Generally speaking, the Japan and the other OCG countries will always have a larger card pool to work with. The only stabilizing factor is the existence of the TCG exclusives which cause the metas to diverge, on occasion. Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, Allure of Darkness, and recently Reborn Tengu—cards like these generate creative spikes in the TCG which otherwise draws most of its strategies from the OCG.

Gradually, however, these "exclusives" become available in both regions, which drastically impact either meta. For example, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, previous limited to one in the OCG was recently released on Western shores. Due to previous not being available the card was not mentioned on the previous banlist for TCG players (March 2011). As such, players here can enjoy the privilege of using Triple Trishula for the next few months, at least until the September list is released. Trishula, being the devastating card that it is, has hindered some playable predominating decktypes in the meta. Users of Formula Monarchs, previously a top rated decktype, can be completely overwhelmed by an opponent playing one Trishula, let alone three.

In times like this, if a deck isn't able to evolve, it will die out completely. Now I've been a long time player of Monarchs. However, the emergence of Formula Monarchs, or Frog/Genex Monarchs as the deck's also been called, several months back put me off from competitive play for quite some time. The reason being most players of the deck refused to work on exploring the other variants of Monarchs. Recently, thanks to my good friend Chris Oyola, I've discovered the marvel that is Water Synchro. I won't give his exact build but basically the deck uses the Genex engine to set your Graveyard for future Synchro Spamming. I've constructed my own variant minus a few cards. I'm not running Effect Veilers (needed to counter Trishula) or teching any Monarchs in my variant, lacking the appropriate cards for such tactics, at the moment anyway.

HOHENHEIM & TRISHULA (MARCH 2011)

MONSTERS (25)
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Meklord Emperor Skiel
3 Reborn Tengu
3 Genex Controller
3 Genex Undine
1 Sangan
1 Spore
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Dandylion
2 Fishborg Blaster
2 Treeborn Frog
1 Glow-Up Bulb
3 Battle Fader
1 Meklord Emperor Grannel
1 Tragoedia

SPELLS  (15)
1 Dark Hole
1 One for One
1 Mind Control
1 Foolish Burial
1 Giant Trunade
1 Monster Reborn
1 Allure of Darkness
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
3 Enemy Controller
3 Pot of Avarice

Honestly only real complaint I have with the deck is that I have trouble deciding what Synchros to run. The sky's the limit when it comes to level manipulation. With regard to the Meklords, Skiel and Grannel are just personal tech with Wisels being preferred over the two more often than not. Unfortunately we've yet to to hear any word of the last Machine Emperor's release, so until then I'm stilling experimenting with substitutes.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

The Shining Zero

So I've been the last few days, what with schoolwork and a near-death experience and all. But of course, even with all this craziness I haven't failed to pre-order my copies of Elemental Hero The Shining. I've run the new deck through several simulations and let me you: the deck is AMAZING!

Elemental Hero The Shining
(Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100)
1 "Elemental Hero" monster + 1 LIGHT monster

This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card gains 300 ATK for each of your removed from play "Elemental Hero" monsters. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you can select up to 2 of your removed from play "Elemental Hero" monsters, and add them to your hand.

In the past I've always had to wait to set-up my graveyard unless I happened to open up with Prisma or E-Call in hand. But back then my main go-to hero was Absolute Zero and later Gaia. Now any combination of the Elemental Heroes that I run will fuse, making the deck play much smoother. I had to scrap the General Raihos from the previous build, however, after noticing a flaw in its effect. Apparently it can only negate effects that resolve on the Field, making it much less playable than I had initially believed. Thus I'm currently running a Hero Beat/Light Gemini Variant, shown below:

THE SHINING ZERO (MARCH 2011)

MONSTERS (18)

1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

3 Elemental Hero Neos Alius

2 Crusader of Endymion

1 Elemental Hero Stratos

2 Elemental Hero Prisma

2 D.D. Warrior Lady

1 Elemental Hero Wildheart

2 Elemental Hero Ocean

1 Honest

1 Glow-Up Bulb

2 Snowman Eater

SPELLS  (19)

3 Miracle Fusion

3 Gemini Spark

2 Pot of Duality [PROXIED]

2 Forbidden Lance [PROXIED]

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Super Polymerization

1 E – Emergency Call

1 Monster Reborn

1 Book of Moon

1 Future Fusion

1 Dark Hole

TRAPS (3)

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Call of the Haunted

I've been using the deck for about two weeks now and I really like it. It's very consistent. I've run many Hero variants in the past and this one has got to be my favorite. The only real issue I've faced in my trials is running into Eradicator Epidemic Virus which obliterates my hand if I have mostly Spells, which tends to happen, a lot. I can still survive the three turns but it makes games much more challenging. Fortunately Malefics are not consistent enough as is, so for now I haven't had too much trouble winning the match-up.

I was thinking about replacing the Glow-Up Bulb with a Neo-Spacian Grand Mole but losing the ability to summon Black Rose Dragon might definitely hurt. I've won quite a few game thanks to Black Rose's second effect and a powered up Shining on the Field.

Remember players, the game ends with you.

No More Heroes

This new banlist has really put me at a loss, not only have I lost a copy of Dandylion and Debris Dragon in my Plant Deck, but an Honest and two copies of Book of Moon in my Hero Deck. And to make matters worse I lost my sole Card Trooper in an ante. *sigh* Anyway this was the build I was previously testing:

ABSOLUTE ZERO BARRIER (SEPTEMBER 2010)

MONSTERS (20)

1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

2 General Raiho of the Ice Barrier

3 Elemental Hero Neos Alius

1 Elemental Hero Stratos

2 Elemental Hero Prisma

1 Elemental Hero Wildheart

2 Elemental Hero Ocean

2 Honest

2 Elemental Hero Voltic

1 Neo-Spacian Grand Mole

1 Glow-Up Bulb

2 Effect Veiler

SPELLS  (15)

3 Book of Moon

3 Miracle Fusion

3 E – Emergency Call

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Dark Hole

1 Cold Wave

1 Future Fusion

1 Monster Reborn

TRAPS (5)

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Call of the Haunted

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

I'm too broke to afford Solemn Warnings, hence the Bottomless Trap Holes, and I'm still tinkering with the Extra Deck, but this build showed a lot of potential against a variety of decks: Blackwings, Gladiator Beasts, Macro, Chaos, and Six Samurai (to an extent), at least from my testing.

Replacing an Honest and Cold Wave is simple enough as there are many alternatives with similar effects, Shrink and Giant Trunade being among them. However, Book of Moon is a bit more difficult since the alternatives won't always be as helpful as the original.

• Enemy Controller won't stop Blackwings from getting a search off Black Whirlwind.
• Compulsory Evacuation Device won't save you when your opponent chains Trap Stun or has Royal Decree active.
• Forbidden Lance was originally praised for its ability to counter Book of Moon, but with the latter being restricted to one, it's bit more limited in it's use.
• Effect Veiler will negate a monster's effect, but it's still useless during the Battle Phase and won't protect you from receiving damage.

I guess this is just one of those things that needs to be solved through trial and error. Guess I'll be proxying Pot of Dualities and Solemn Warnings in the meantime. ^_^

Remember players, the game ends with you.

P.S: Yes, I understand that General Raiho of the Ice Barrier is not legal in the TCG as of yet. So what? He's still a sexy beast. (No homo, lol.)

Bahamut ZERO

Us TCG players have a huge advantage in this game. Since the vastly majority of our card pool has been previously released in the OCG, we are fortunate enough to have a number of pre-tested strategies at our disposal. Sure the secondary market prices are higher here, but that's usually not an issue for the dedicated duelist. After all, if you want to play something that wins, why not just use something someone else has proven successful. 

Now, I'm not trying to encourage netdecking or anything, but even have to admit the folk in the East can make some really innovative builds. Take a look at the following Absolute Zero varient created by OCG player Bahamut84, the build here was taken from Neuxcharge's YouTube channel:

Bahamut ZERO

MONSTERS (17)
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Elemental Hero Neos Alius
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
2 Elemental Hero Prisma
3 Elemental Hero Ocean
2 Honest
2 Debris Dragon
1 Elemental Hero Voltic
3 King of the Swamp

SPELLS  (19)
3 Miracle Fusion
3 Polymerization
3 E – Emergency Call
2 Fusion Recovery
2 Gemini Spark
1 Heavy Storm
1 Future Fusion
1 Parallel World Fusion
1 Super Polymerization
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Reinforcement of the Army

TRAPS (4)
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Hero Blast 

EXTRA DECK (15)

3 Elemental Hero Absolute Zero

2 Elemental Hero The Shining

2 Elemental Hero Great Tornado

1 Elemental Hero Gaia

1 Elemental Hero Terra Firma

1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

1 Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

1 Black Rose Dragon

1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Now the first thing that caught my attention was the name. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Bahamut is the name of a recurring Dragon summon in the Final Fantasy series. He is usually one of the more powers summon and is even known as the King of Dragons. Such a fitting name for a deck that specializes in summoning Dragon-type Synchros and Elemental Hero Fusions.

Unfortunately there are a number of cards not currently available in the TCG and out of these there are even a few without any planned release date. But this shouldn't discourage one from building the deck. With a little innovation I think can make this deck TCG compatible and competitive.

Remember players, the game ends with you.