Spotlight: Virtual World
A little bit over a week into the post Phantom Rage metagame and already one new archetype is leading the meta. With an impressive showing at the Luxury Games' LCS 8 Virtual World took the entire event. The finals of the event was a Virtual World mirror match. Deck List Here is the first place winner of the LCS 8. Gabriel Netz is playing what looks to be a refined list. The Virtual World portion of the deck takes up 60% of the deck. The remaining 40% is split between draw cards and disruption tools. Source: https://www.facebook.com/LuxuryGamingLLC The Strategy Most Virtual World main deck monsters have the effect to special summon themselves from the hand by targeting another Virtual world card on the field and sending another Virtual World card from the deck to the graveyard with a different type (monster, spell, trap). This makes it easy for the archetype to spam the field with monsters. The deck Specializes in making Synchro and XYZ monsters in multiples of 3. As it stands the deck tries to setup True King of All Calamities to lock out the opponent from playing the game. Virtual World is just getting started in the TCG. In the next few weeks we will see if the archetype can stay on top or if the metagame will adapt to try and counteract this past week's dominant results from the deck.
Top 5 Picks from Maximum Gold
Maximum Gold is right around the corner! Gold Series has always been an exciting product and we have not seen in for 4 years. The last one being Premium Gold: Infinite Gold which released in March of 2016. Although there are many goodies in this set there are some that stand out more than others. Here is our top 5 picks from Maximum Gold. Number 5 : Barrier Statues These little fellas were starting to get pricy. With very few printings the Barrier Statues were hard to come by especially in good condition. The Statues are a welcomed reprint. Number 4: Toadally Awesome The funny looking Frog boss monster gets another reprint finally! Toadally Awesome is a fine card but there is no need for it to be soo pricy. Lots of players will be excited to get there hands on this card as Frogs are special for many of us. Some might remember the nightmare that was Frog FTK and others will remember something more recent like Frog Paleozoic. Number 3: Eldlich the Golden Lord Yes! The Big Bad Golden boy gets his reprint! Eldlich is an archetype that came out earlier this year. Due to the its meta relevance and how difficult it was to obtained Eldlich the Golden Lord was very expensive. With the reprint the archetype should be more accessible for everyone. Number 2: Collector Cards? Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon are all getting some love. This year, among other things, has been the year we have seen collector markets explode in value. The collector in most of us would like to their hands on these iconic cards as they make their return in Gold! They are simply the Classics of Yu-Gi-Oh! Number 1:Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess Well Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess did not need another reprint so close to the Megatin reprint. However, the new alternate art will definitely make her a very sought out card. Metagame relevant and collectable! What more could you ask for in a card?
Spotlight: Phantom Knights
The spooky season has come to an end and the Phantom Rage booster set is right around the corner. No better time to start talking Phantom Knights. The archetype made its appearance in the TCG in early 2016. The Phantom Knights cards found a home along side Burning Abyss. The deck was known as PK Fire in reference to both and maybe Ness from EarthBound/Super Smash Bros. The archetype saw a real boost in power in 2018 when The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche made its debut. The card found a home in Dark Warrior strategies as well as Orcust. The card was soo powerful it was forbidden up until the September 2020 Forbidden and limited list. Phantom Knights were good support cards for other strategies. But can they make as their own stand alone strategy? The Deck Here is a sample list to use as a starting point. Most decks will use a bigger Phantom Knight line up now. In the past, drawing Phantom Knights in your hand felt bad because there was no good way of utilizing them. But with the addition of The Phantom Knights of Torn Scale those cards can be put to good use. Discarding a Phantom Knight card to Torn Scale's effect allows you to access so many plays depending on the situation. The Deck has good going first plays capable of setting up disruptions with cards like Phantom Knight's Fog Blade and Dark Requiem XYZ Dragon. Going second the deck can destroy the opponents cards can push for lethal damage.
Rogue Spotlight: The Destruction Swordsman
It has been almost 2 months since the last update to the Forbidden and limited list and a metagame has solidified. Dragon Link, Infernoble Knights and Dinosaurs are the top contenders. These oppressive strategies have marginalized many of the other decks. However, a new comer has joined the fray. The one, the only.....Buster Blader??? Seriously! This strategy has been taking the meta by storm. The Strategy The Destruction Swordsman package is a small engine usually played alongside a Dogmatika engine and sometimes other engines. The strategy aims to put up both Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman and Buster Dragon at the same time. In combination these two create a soft-lock where the opponent's monsters are turn into dragons due to Buster Dragon and Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman will turn them to defense and prevent their effects from activating.This strategy is good for a few reasons. First, the engine is pretty compact. This allows for more room to fit in other supplemental strategies. Second, lots of hand traps can be played alongside it. The most impactful disruptions can be slotted into the deck to improve matchups or hedge against going second. Third, stopping monster effects is always powerful. Skill Drain is limited to 1 for a reason. Preventing almost half of your opponents cards from doing something is very strong. Getting out the lock is easy due to the accessibility and consistency of the strategy. The Engine3-Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman1-Buster Blader, the Destruction Swordsman3-Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman2-Destruction Sword Memories2-Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman2-Buster Dragon The engine is very small which leaves plenty of room for experimentation. Try it out with different things. Perhaps even different ratios? Sample Decklist Here is a sample list of what has been going around. Start with a list like this and try tinkering with it till it's just right for you.
Top 5 Creepiest Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards
Yu-Gi-Oh! has been out for over 20 years. In that time the game has amassed several very creepy cards. In honor of the spooky season, here are the top 5 creepiest Yu-Gi-Oh! cards! Number 5: Tongue Twister Starting of the list is Tongue Twister. This card made its debut in Gladiator's Assault as a secret rare. Its angry eye and odd tongue shape make this monster quite the looker. It even as a little chicken foot to keep itself up. And is that sweat or saliva? Number 4: The Wicked Worm Beast The Wicked Worm Beast is very difficult creature to look at. With worms coming out of its body and weird green tentacles this monster deserves its place on this list. This creeper looks like it belongs in an old school horror movie. Number 3: Malice Doll of Demise No clue why but doll are really creepy. Perhaps it's due to their resemblance to us. Malice Doll of Demise wields an axe almost as big as itself accompanied with a terrifying gaze. This little creeper is sure to send shivers down your spine. Number 2: Il Blud Il Blud looks like it came straight out of a Tim Burton movie. It's almost a weird mix of Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. The creepy face coming out of its zipper makes you wonder what else could be inside of it. Its messy hair and bright red eyes give this creeper a very ominous look. Number 1: Outer Entity Nyarla Outer Entity Nyarla is actually a creation of the famous American Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. This creepy looking creature is known as a Nyarlathotep. This creature is something of a shapeshifter. Its many mouths and long tentacles give it quite the apperance. This monster looks like it could be part of the movie Alien.
Spotlight on Phantom Rage
In just under a month, the Phantom Rage booster set will be coming to the TCG. Archetypes such as Phantom Knights and Raidraptors are getting their fair share of support. It's always great to see Konami revisit old fan favorites to give them new life and potentially make them meta relevant. This set has all kinds of goodies for us and will definitely shake up the meta. Let's take a look at some of the new cards and strategies! New Comers Datascape A mixture of Wind Psychic type and Earth Wurm type monsters, Datascape is the newest level/rank 3 matters deck. The deck aims to spam level 3 monsters on to the field to perform Synchro and Xyz summons. The archetype's extra deck monsters offer lots of utility in the form of negation, banishing, and sending cards from the field to the graveyard. Unfortunately this strategy will be missing Datascape Princess Niangniang upon release as the card is currently a VJUMP card in the OCG. But it might be added as a OCG import in the set. Only time will tell. Tri-Brigade The Tri-Brigade archetype combines Beasts, Beast-Warriors, and Winged-Beasts. The main deck monsters share the effect to special summon a Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged-Beast link monster from the extra deck by those types of monsters from your graveyard equal to the link rating. Of course that effect can be used to summon out a Tri-Brigade link monster but it can also be used generically to summon a link monster like Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty which can step up an infinite negate combo alongside Mist Valley Apex Avion and Mist Valley Thunderbird. The strategy is a big boost to old and new Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged-Beast decks. New Support for Existing Archetypes Phantom Knights Phantom Knights gets additions to their archetype. The one that stands out the most is The Phantom Knights Of Tear Scale. It sends Phantom Knights to the grave. It brings itself back from the grave. The card is the perfect support for the deck as it can used as a way to start your plays as well as a combo extender. Prank-Kids Prank-Kids Meow Meow sounds like a joke but this card is nothing to laugh at. It's a Linkk 1 monster that requires any level 4 or lower Prank-Kids monster. It allows a card like Prank-Kids Weather Washer to activate its effect without having to tribute itself by simply banishing itself from the graveyard. This new addition to the deck allows for some some seriously powerful plays. Zoodiac Zoodiac received some indirect support. The deck has already seen a resurgence in play thanks to the unbanning of Zoodiac Drident as well as Dogmatika being used as an additional engine in the deck. Zoodiac has lots of space in the main deck as it requires very little inputs to start its plays. Their newest toy finds itself in the extra deck as Negalogia AA-Zeus is simply too easy to bring out. With one direct attack from Zoodiac Boarbow this powerful card can be summoned. The Unknown There are many difference between the OCG and the TCG. Certain cards and strategies might do well in the TCG but might not have seen success in the OCG. The opposite also holds true. With that said there is still plenty to look forward to! Which cards will get the starlight treatment? Will Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring be the next handtrap to see that rarity bump? What kind of OCG imports will we get? Will any of them have an impact on the metagame?
