Banlist reaction

Sorry for the lack of post, but this is my final year, so I just can't afford to write on the blog once a week like before

And, to be honest, I wasn't active in this game for the last format. The whole 4 months I was just toying around with Dragons (Dragunity with Tefnuit + Primus Pilus, Hieratic, Blue-Eyes Drain Ruler with Silver's Cry etc...). No competitive play for me

Now that we have our new ban list confirmed, I'm not sure whether I should get back to this game seriously again, or just remain inactive waiting for something new (pendulum summon anyone?)

The reason is... Basically nothing has changed

For Mermail: Seriously, why hit Gunde? We still have 3 Sphere, 3 Linde, 3 Spike and 3 Teus. And then there's Turge, and even Salvage. So that's 7 cards in the deck which means "you have Gunde", and another six cards that recycle Gunde, and ANOTHER six cards that search for all the above cards. Even though I've been in love with Mermail for so long, I actually wished that Sphere or Teus be hit. Now what?

For Fire Fist: Yeah, for the CardcarD Fire Fist deck that gets popular recently, hitting Wolfbark is quite a pain. But then there's still the mixed Fire Fist, and it isn't hard at all to fit 2 Call of the Haunted in space of the 2 Wolfbarks

Did I mention that I play 3 Call of the Haunted in every deck I play? That card, along with Mind Crush, was so good last format

For Infernity, yeah, seriously, if you think hitting Barriers hurt the deck, you probably never played against the deck. Instead of facing 1 Break 3 Barriers, 3 Breaks and 1 Barriers sound different? No, not at all, except for Mermail maybe. Also, Infernity has a lot more tricks: Beetle + Zone lockdown is annoying enough, not to mention Vanity's Emptiness. And the Beetle version is going to get Beezle soon (that Dragon that cannot be destroyed by any means)

Lastly, I think only Fire King and Laval died because of the list

Aaaand yeah, about the Jars. Serious... I don't even know why. Killing Empty Jar? Hitting Dark World? Or what?

Also, we all want Stratos back, and Geargiagear hit somehow

To conclude, nothing has changed, so don't expect much from my blog, at least until June. Sorry guys :<

Hieratic Ruler - The new Dragunity Ruler

Because everyone's talking about DSummon winning YCS Sydney, I'll just leave me congratulations here, and get to the other notable event of the weekend: the ARG Circuit Nashville

You can check the results by taking a look at ARG Coverage Site

Just need to know that Fire Fist defeated Prophecy in the final (just as any predictions) but the 2 other semi-finalists were all playing Hieratic Ruler, whose decklists can be found here

Also, the famous CoreTCG writer Robert Bojyajan? topped YCS Sydney with the same strategy too

However I don't think this is the optimal build for Hieratic. They're fast enough to create OTK out of nowhere, especially after the addition of Labradorite Dragon/Star Eater

What they need is the faster and more stable combo setup, like Hanzo, Reckless Greed, Card Car D,... Not more power cards like the 4 Dragons

And the 4 Dragons weren't that powerful at all. Just one Blaster in your deck is enough to create OTK with the classic 3-card Hieratic combo, but with a synchro level 8 like Scrap Dragon/Crimson Blader instead of Gaia/M7/REDMD like before

Just like how Dragunity was far better than Dragunity Rulers, imo this trend will just decrease as soon as people playtest more

Hieratic is really good right now, and one Blaster just makes it better (free Grapha!). The 3 other Dragons and those Shrines, Skill Drains just make the deck worse

I'm pretty sure about that

D:

Too long never update - The new TCG Mermails

The inspiration for this deck came from, uhm Jason Grabner Meyer, with his passion for Masked Chameleon

A week ago I realized the synergy between Chameleon and Atlanteans Dragoons. I mean, instant level 8 synchros are never bad at all, right? (If they were, Dragunity - my farorite deck - wouldn't be dead like this)

And then I looked at the spoilers of LVAL, and I see Number 101 in it

That's a good card right? One card out to Ophion when you make it with Chameleon

DN was down at that time, so I downloaded YGOPro, tested a bit

No sooner than this did I realize that Numer 101 is WATER, which triggers Dragoons

Too good right?

Now the first turn is always about setting up with Atlantean Dragoons. Even though we only have 1 Dragoons, having it in graveyard is something that happens every game thanks to the Sphere-Linde-Pike-Undine search chain

I remember reading an article of Simon He, in which he stated that Mermail is very fast but they run out of resource after the Megalo/Moulinglacia drop

This was right until Tidal came into play, and Masked Chameleon just improves the mid-game miraculously. Ark Knight is your best option, followed by the synchro ones, and Exciton Knight is basically a better Black Rose

I play Genex Undine because, yeah, it gets me to Dragoons and Tidal. I considered Hanzo too, and maybe I'll switch between the 2 engines to test out? However I suppose Undine is superior thanks to the synergy with Megalo/Teus (being WATER) and Salvage, and especially Divine Wrath

Divine Wrath is insane right now. It's one of those only traps that's good against Spellbooks, while being never bad against anything else (beside Malefic Drain maybe?) Salvages and Undines give me the hand advantage needed for Wrath, and Armor Kappa...

Which is also a very good card that can be summoned through Bahamut Shark. The Waboku effect, seemingly sub-par as it seems, is actually pretty good in many situations when you need to defend or when you have spare Gundes/Atlanteans in hand. It simply doesn't die, and it evens help Tidal run over Dracossack lol

The modern (but classic) triple Aqua Spirit is there because, yeah, Bahamut + Angineer = insane combination

Meanwhile, the double Calls are just for Dragoons. Pike searches, then Call Dragoons for xyz is cool. Calling Megalo to push is ok too, and chaining it to MST (on Linde) is of course never bad. Call also makes Genex Controller a better card, and, most importantly, Call + Sphere = commanding position, while double Sphere is awkward

I'm not too sure about the side deck. Probably will mostly be s/t hate. Xing Zhen Hu maybe? Being set on the field is the only place that your opponent cannot recycle Spellbook of Fate lol

Also, I think I need Black Rose Dragon (Chameleon + Marksman or Controller + Pike/Turge/Dragoons) but I can't find space. Aaand, against fields that Gungnir cannot deal with, Black Rose isn't usually a better choice anyway

So, that's for today xD See you next time

How to win a YCS

Play Dragon Ruler

Or play 3 Imperial Iron Wall in your main deck

https://tcg.konami-europe.net/coverage/finals-samuel-pedigo-geargia-vs-konrad-grunewald-dragon-ruler/

I personally think this final match was one of the most... interesting YCS final ever

The best deck of the format, in 2 games, was countered by 2 of its foreseeable weakness: Speed and lack of outs to anti cards

-------------------------

On a side note, have any of you guys thought of siding Traptrix Myrmeleo and Deep Dark Trap Hole in Dragon Ruler mirror match?

Tourney report (no Return or Sixth Sense)

I was dead tired of the format, so I didn't have any intention of playing

But when the organizer announced that Sixth Sense and Return were banned for the event (it's 90% competitive but not official Konami tournament), I decided to give a shoot

Tested all builds of Dragons for 2-3 weeks, ended up with this

Taking mathematics into consideration, the deck size of 40, 41 or 42 didn't matter much about how you draw your cards, especially when there're no retarded limited cards that everyone wants to draw asap. With 42 cards I have space to main deck all the cards I want to without having to cut anything. This was actually my best decision during preparation. I have no "winning card" in this deck, and versatility is never bad at all. Had I have to cut the deck down to 40, I think I would drop a Card Trooper (Patrik Rieder's style) and Solemn Warning. 2000 LP = too much cost sometime, and once in the tournament I was taken down to 1500ish and top deck Solemn Warning, but luckily I had Thought Ruler Archfiend to gain my life back and Warning was actually the game definer

Some other reasonings:

Trooper: Milling and drawing is good. Despite not playing Scarecrows, I had enough traps to protect myself from Crimson Blader

Book: Book followed by Crimson Blader = mad good

MST with Trap Stun: Hitting Ravine is crucial, and 2 anti-trap cards is not enough for me. This is just my personal preference, but I don't like playing one-of, so 2 MST and 2 Trap Stun seemed to be good

Bottomless Trap Hole: Just like PWWB, this card makes your opponent lose one colour. The cool thing is that everyone tends to summon Blaster/Redox first to play around a possible Maxx "C", so if I had a BTH set, I was more likely to hit the 2 more important dragons than the 2 other

No Sarcophagus: Enough draw engine to get to all colours I need, also I have traps to buy time

No Scarecrow: Yeah as I said, I have enough traps. The deck sometimes didn't work like Dragon Rulers at all, I just summon a level 8 synchro and back up with 2-3 defensive cards for the win. Stardust Spark + Emptiness win them all, and I never really missed Scarecrow

Red Dragon Archfiend: Because I didn't have my 2nd Crimson Blader or Ancient Fairy Dragon. An alternate tribuet fodder for DDV and EEV too, because I don't like tributing my Thought Ruler or Colossal

Fencing Fire Ferrets: I hate Ophion

DDV: Side against Mermails or Dragons. I actually hit 2 Debris, 1 Card Trooper and 1 Scarecrow with this thing over the course of 3 turns once during the tournament

Now onto the quick report

Round 1: Dragon mirror
G1: Was back and forth. At one point I hit him with Crimson Blader, he flipped Raigeki Break, I chained Trap Stun and put him under the lock. He had to leave the field open, and I had a chance to finish off with Star Eater but I misplayed and make Scrap Dragon instead. He had Scarecrow, and Blaster effect, ended his turn with a monster I didn't remember. I pushed back, he flipped Emptiness, I showed my 2nd Trap Stun and that was GG. I didn't have enough damage, but he was locked under his own Emptiness and couldn't turn it off
G2: It went into time. I had a slow start, took damage so I had to make Thought Ruler to gain some life back and set DDV. Next turnI hit him with DDV (just like mentioned) but he had 4 colors to my 2. I hit for 5200 with Blaster and Tempest, had nothing left, and made Dracossack with Bottomless set. His turn, he summoned Redox and Tempest, thought for like 5 minutes, then made... Dracossack? I know I win at this point, so I just let it go. He realized his misplay and condeced
Actually had he made Gaia, I'd have Bottomelss'd it right away. Since he took too much time for game 1, game 2 went into time and I was sure to secure the win with traps

1-0

Round 2: Dragon mirror (but not actually mirror)
G1: He passed. I summoned Trooper, milled shit, attack into... Gagaga Gardna? 1 turn later I realize Gardna is too good (discard 1 to protect itself from battle = no Crimson Blader allowed), and fucked up all my plays. Next turn he hit me with Mythic Wood, Mythic Water, Queen Dragun Djinn and whatever
G2: He activated Charge of the Light Brigade for Lyla, milling 2 colours in the process. I have 2 colours and nothing else, so I just summon Colossal Fighter I think. Next turn he showed 2 DDR and a bunch more things to finish me off

1-1

Round 3: Dragon Dragunities (with Tidal)
G1: I was outpaced. Having no draw or mill engine is bad against Dragunities
G2: I started with Stardust Spark and set 5 traps. He passed, I just summon Blaster and attacked. He was stopped by the traps, and I secured my game with Trap Stun
G3: At one point he had 2 set and 2 Dragons in hand, 5600 LP left, locked down under my Crimson Blader but he had Blaster for it. My turn, I Ravine'd Poki Draco, Debris it back but the Debris was Raigeki Break'd. So I Redox'd my Blader, summon back my Blaster (2800 + 2800 + 200 = 5800) but Blaster was Raigeki Break'd again. I had to pass. He was left with 2 Duxes, a Tempest and a Tidal. He topped Flamvell Guard, make Colossal Fighter and locked my under Blader. I drew blank and scooped

1-2

Round 4: Blackwing

Yeah with this score...

G1: I had few dragons, he had too much protection and Whirlwind + Shura to push for enough damage before I get my deck going
G2: I beat him down with Card Trooper, Fencing Fire Ferret and Blaster
G3: He started with Zephyros, Bora into Master Key Beetle, targeting Emptiness. I looked at my hand: Tempest, MST, 2 Fencing Fire Ferrets, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and Cards of Consonance. It's typically bad, but against the lock, the 2 Ferrets suddenly seemed so broken. I rammed one Ferrets to clear Emptiness, and the 2nd cleared Beetle. He drew no monster after that, and once I got my draw engine together, I win

2-2

Round 5: Ninja? I think it was White Dragon lockdown.dek
Needless to say I win game 1 with Trap Stun and game 2 with Skill Drain

3-2

Top 8: Dragon Dragunities (same guy from round 3)
G1: Was outpaced yet again
G2: Stardust Spark + Emptiness. I could have MST'd my own Emptiness and push for game but I feared Scarecrow so I decided against it. He didn't have Scarecrow, but instead he had 2 Blasters, combined with his top-decked Dark Hole, he cleared my Emptiness and Torrential Tribute. Luckily when he pushed (including Electric Virus on my Stardust Spark) I have my last trap, PWWB, to secure the win
G3: We both started slow with 4 set traps on each side. I had double Swords, so 3 turns after I was ahead thanks to a top-decked Tidal. I established the lock ofStardust Spark + Emptiness yet again. This time he formed a huge chain link including Book of Moon and 2 MST to clear my Emptiness, then hit my Stardust with Blader. I took the hit, but had enough defense to survive. And then I Big Eye'd his Blader, hit him. He was under the lock, summoned Dux, equip Phalanx just to survive. I read a top-decked Veiler but couldn't do anything about it, so I just attacked then set MST. I hit with Ravine with MST, leaving him with Tempest and Redox as his only 2 colours. I had Debunk for the Redox and I win

Headed to top 4 but decided to split as it was late

Thoughts after the tournaments:

1. Trap Stun and DDV are so good
2. Everyone should have 2 Crimson Blader. Many a time I could have put 2 Blader on board to secure the game, but I couldn't, and my lone Blader was stopped by trap. Had I have the 2nd one I'd have went like 5-0 instead of 3-2 after swiss
3. Castle sucks
4. Different approach to Dragon Ruler (Spark set 5) is cool. Emptiness should be mained again, I swear

Mythic Dragons in... Dragunities!

First up, decklist:

[19]
3 Blaster
3 Tempest
2 Redox
2 Tidal
3 Dragunity Dux
2 Dragunity Phalanx
2 Dragunity Arma Mystletainn
1 Mythic Wood Dragon
1 Mythic Water Dragon

[14]
3 Swords of Seven Stars
2 Cards of Consonance
3 Dragon Ravine
2 Terraforming
3 MST
1 Gold Sarcophagus

[7]
3 Reckless Greed
2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
2 Fucking retarded limited card that need to be banned right now

Extra:

Usual
1 Hieratic Sun Overlord Heliopolis
1 Felgrand the Divine Knight

So...

The idea is basically same as the usual Dragunities: Set up Stardust for defense first, then push on turn 2-3

The Mythic Dragons are for explosiveness, which the deck originally lacks due to not having access to Debris Dragon/Trigon. Heliopolis + Dragon Ruler is really sick, and should have never existed. You simply destroy 3-4 cards on your opponent's field for FREE. Yep

I don't mind much about normal summoning Mythic Wood, simply because I pull him from the deck through Atum more often. My game usually goes as:

1st turn set up Atum and something something (preferably Stardust Radiance to protect Atum)

2nd turn Atum gets out Mythic Wood, also searching Mythic Water (via Ravine/Tidal), summon Water Dragon, clear field

Then summon Dux. Most of my opponents became frustrated at this point, realizing I haven't even normal summoned

Also, the Mythic Dragons give access to Felgrand too, is a tool to play around Swift Scarecrow perfectly, even better than Star Eater does (and Hoban.dek had no access to Star Eater either)

The weakness, for any combo decks, is of course Maxx "C". Still working on it, but I don't like putting more traps because traps suck

So, that's for today...

Techs for Dragons

So, in a period when everyone's playing the same deck with some variations, tech cards make your deck different, win you games, and give you spaces for side decking

For Dragons, the core engine has always been

12 Dragons
1 Dragunity Corsesca
1 Flamvell Guard
3 Swords
2 Ravine
1 Return
1 Sixth Sense

Addtional (optional)

2 Card Trooper
2 Derbis Dragon
1 Trigon/Poki Draco

Those are... 26 must-have cards. One may have variations (Dragunities, Blue-Eyes, non-Trooper,...) but the standard thing is like this

So we have around 14 cards for modification. Staples are:

3 Maxx "C"
3 MST
2 Vanity's Emptiness
2 Raigeki Break/Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

Now there're 4 slots left. I've got some good tech (tested) here

1. Dragoncarnation

So you banish Tempest to search Debris Dragon. Next turn you need Tempest. Realistically Dragon Ravine isn't a reliable tool for feeding Dragons in mid game due to MSTs, so...

Dragoncarnation recycles everything you have used, without wasting a Dragon in your deck

It's chainable, no fear of MST

It sets up double Tempest or double Tidal plays in early games, double Blaster and double Redox late game (just banish to search for another copy then set Dragoncarnation)

It gives you your 3rd Debris Dragon

Sometimes it recycles power card  like Black Rose Dragon

Enough?

2. Castle of Dragon Souls

700 ATK boost - game breaking in mirror matches. Blader + Castle = fuckeverything, Scrap Dragon + Castle (with REDMD banished, ideally) = more than GG, Black Rose Dragon + Castle = a lot of pressure for decks that actually fear Black Rose Dragon

3. Dragunity Darkspear

Trident Dragion, instant 9000 damage, just like a search-able Return. Yeah?

4. Karma Cut

In Dragon mirror match, around late game, this card actually says: Fuck colors

Just like... you have 1 Blaster, summon it, it goes away and never comes back

5. Waboku

Protect Card Trooper, which is the best card. Your argument is not valid at this point

Yeah that's it. Dragon is surely the best deck, and choosing techs is another art of YGO during this period of the format.

Hope you get the luck that I never had =3