Diva-Spy

After my best friend took back his Rai-Oh, I had to temporarily put down KillSwitch (Gadget/Rock Stun) since I didn't feel all to good with just 1 Thunder King. It's like playing with a handicap.

So then I decided to take my other spare decks (Genex Fish, Gravekeeper's, Blackwings) and work them out and see which one could jump to main deck.

The one that did best was Gravekeeper's, so I decided to upgrade it a bit. Why the upgrade? Gold Series 3 gave this deck a reason to be in the form of a single card...


Reese the Ice Mistress was the key card I needed in order to complete this deck, mostly because it's a level 2 Sea-Serpent tuner. Meaning...this makes Deepsea Diva a lot more relevant. Now Gravekeepers can run 3 Divas without having to worry about the last one being a dead draw.

So how can we take full advantage of this? Simple. The first Diva searches for Reese, making sure you don't draw Reese at any time during the game.

You can combine this combo with double Spy for 2 level 6 synchros, as well as with a single keeper for a massive level 8 synchro summon. Your choice. Remember, Stardust Dragon doesn't target itself in the graveyard, so it gets around Necrovalley!

This deck is still a control deck, despite there being no Royal Oppression in the main deck. How? Necrovalley does all the work. Most decks today once again rely on the graveyard. Let's take a look at them:

1. Infernities: Simply put, these guys need their graveyard for Launcher and Mirage, as well as their ever so famout loop. Cutting access to their graveyard is all you need to keep them locked.

2. Frogs: Treeborn can still revive itself (doesn't target), but Ronintoadin is rendered useless as long as Necrovalley is on the field. Also, Spear Soldier (if you choose to use it in this build, I just don't have any but want to) makes quick disposal of all the frogs.

3. X-Sabers: Now, these are the trickiest of them all. You can control them to some degree with Necrovalley because it prevents their revival via Faultroll and recovery via Ragigura. However, you completely cut off Gottom's Emergency Call (big plus). Sadly, we don't get 100% control over this deck mainly because they can still swarm from the deck and hand. If Sabers are giving you some trouble with this build, then siding Oppression can easily help.

4. Blackwings: Same as Sabers, except that Necrovalley prevents their Vayu and Blizzard plays.

Now then, Diva-Spy has a few other tricks...

3 Gravekeeper's Stele go in the deck mostly due to the discard cost (Phoenix Wing Wind Blast, Brionac, Divine Wrath) or recycling of monsters after a synchro or two.

Phoenix Wing Wind Blast / Divine Wrath add another degree of control. Either one is good for this build. Stele will keep your hand with enough discard fodder. Either that, or discard that spare Diva that you drew for a bad hand.

Sangan is mostly used to search for the first Diva, but don't be afraid to use it to get that Spy if you want to. It all depends on the draw.

Brionac combined with Stele is complete win.

Iron Chain Dragon can mill away those useful cards to the graveyard, where Necrovalley keeps them unavailable.

Now then, here's more or less what Diva-Spy looks like.

Monsters: 17

Deepsea Diva x3
Reese the Ice Mistress
Gravekeeper's Spy x3
Gravekeeper's Descendant x2
Gravekeeper's Assailant x3
Gravekeeper's Guard
Gravekeeper's Commandant x3
Sangan

Spells: 13

Necrovalley x3
Gravekeeper's Stele x3
Royal Tribute x2
Book of Moon x2
Mystical Space Typhoon
Allure of Darkness
Giant Trunade

Traps: 10

Trap Hole x2
Bottolmess Trap Hole x2
Torrential Tribute
Rite of Spirit x2
Phoenix Wing Wind Blast x2
Dark Bribe

The extra deck can be anything you want, just make sure to have a Brionac if you want to go crazy with some plays this deck can do.

Last, but not least...here's a clip of the deck in action.



That's all I got for now...be back soon with another update.

Duel Video: Chino VS Gizer

In this video duel, I take on my friend's Hopeless Dragon deck with my Froggy Fish deck.

Judging and Mistakes...How to go about

Those of you who know me personally know I have been a Yugioh Judge for quite some time and do my best to do everything to the best f my abilities. However, as a judge, we all make mistakes (we are human, after all, we aren't perfect).

This story isn't about a ruling mistake that happened recently, it's about a ruling error that happened a long time ago during one of my tournaments.

My best friend was dueling against a Gladiator deck with his Moja deck. However, his opponent tries to fuse with the face-down glads and sees it odd, and calls for the judge (me). He explains the situation and I rule he can't do it face down. Obviously, I had made a mistake (but back then I didn't notice). Due to that ruling, he proceeded to lose the match.

Flash forward to last night...

I get a call from my best friend who was trading stuff in a rival store, and he tells me that the Gladiator player from the previous tournament has been bad mouthing about how much of an a-hole I am due to the ruling. Now, this is mostly because the place is full of elitists, but I digress...

The angry player recognized my best friend and then continued to bad mouth me all over the store, thus causing the creation of an angry mob. Now, I don't know about you...but when a player creates an angry mob for a judge who made a simple mistake, that seems a little too much, don't you think?

My best friend had to leave the premises and contacted me right away about the angry mob that basically wanted my head on a platter for simply ruling Glads can't fuse face-down so many months ago.

I urge to all those who read this blog, please don't be like that player. If you think a judge ruled incorrectly (as can happen, since we aren't perfect beings), talk to him/her individually afterward and explain how the ruling was wrong, along with a link or something of the correct ruling. Simple as that, no need to create an angry mob or anything.

Best one can do is move along. But many players forget judges are just regular people as well, so they tend to want to sacrifice them to the gods upon a mistake.

Talk to your judge(s), be calm about the situation, explain with details the ruling in question, and remember that this is just a game...enjoy it.

As for me, I want to go there and face the angry mob myself...

Structure Deck...Marik?!?!?!?!?!

Konami has just announced their newest Structure Deck will feature Marik here.

While long overdue, it gives us TCG players access to a common Mirror Force. It's about damn time we get a common, budget friendly version. Now everyone can get one without any complications.

Also, it has been mentioned that Gravekeeper's would also make an appearance here. I'm anxious to see which ones do.

Looking forward to this deck!

Duel Video: X-Sabers (Casper) VS Gadgets (Gizer)

This was another casual duel I managed to tape before last Sunday's Regional Qualifier. As usual, we were still quite sleepy, since we were dueling at 1am, but it's all good.

Hopefully more videos to come!

Archetype Analysis...The Amazon's Guide to Deadly Snu Snu

Well, with the anticipation for The Duelist Revolution, one particular set of cards began to take my interest as of late...The Amazoness


Monsters: 18

Amazoness Swordswoman x3
Amazoness Paladin x3
Amazoness Trainer x3
Amazoness Chain Master x2
Amazoness Sage x2
Amazoness Queen x2
Warrior Lady of the Wasteland x2
The Immortal Bushi

Spells: 14

Solidarity x2
Reinforcement of the Army
Pot of Avarice x2
Pot of Duality
Book of Moon x2
Brain Control
Mystical Space Typhoon
Amazoness Village x3
Terraforming


Traps: 8

Bottomless Trap Hole x2
Royal Oppression x2
Dimensional Prison x2
Torrential Tribute
Solemn Judgment

Note the Royal Oppression in the deck. It was an idea that hit me upon reading the text of Amazoness Village carefully...

All "Amazoness" monsters and "Amazon Archer" gain 200 ATK. When an "Amazoness" monster or "Amazon Archer" you control is destroyed by battle or by a card effect, you can Special Summon 1 "Amazoness" monster or "Amazon Archer" from your Deck with a Level equal to or lower than the destroyed monster's. This effect can only be used once per turn.

Since the Village allows them to summon when destroyed by battle, it will occur in the damage step, which seems ideal combined with Royal Oppression. This, along with Warrior Lady of the Wasteland allow for the mighty amazons to swarm the field during the damage step, while controlling your opponent via Oppression.

The Immortal Bushi is also a new idea for the deck, as it can be used to tribute summon for Amazoness Queen. Also, it can be combined with Amazoness Chain master. Ram Chain Master into a monster, pay cost, steal opponent's monster (Gorz, Monarch, Prime Material Dragon, LADD, Vanity's Fiend, Jinzo, among others). Then during your next turn, Bushi returns and you tribute it for your opponent's stolen card.

That's one good way of taking advantage of Amazoness Chain Master's effect in order to compensate for the loss of non-Amazoness support. Also, it gives you access to a wide variety of monsters, along with the ability to not interrupt your Solidarity.

However, there is another interesting idea for these strong ladies that has yet to be mentioned...

In today's meta, it is common for our opponents to use Starlight Road due to the great amount of removal in all decks (X-Sabers, Infernity, Frog Monarchs, etc.), so how can we counter that when we don't have Royal Oppression?

The answer is none other than Super Polymerization! With this, you can use their Starlight Road to your advantage in order to summon something completely unexpected...


Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste! Use your opponent's Stardust to not only summon this (combined with any Amazoness or even Bushi), but also take advantage of this card to copy Stardust Dragon's effect when you need it, removing it from your opponent's graveyard in the process.

With all the possibilities these Amazonian Warriors will be discovering, it's no doubt that the Amazon Decks will be a force to be reckoned with come DREV.

Regional Report 6-13-10 San Juan

Well, the last regional of the year (that we know of) is behind us, and it's time to look back and see what has happened during yesterday's tourney.

For those of you who didn't see the last regional report, I ended up placing at 27th with Gadgets, so I decided to repeat the same issue yesterday.

I took KillSwitch to see how far I could go, considering that the Top 32 players were going to get a nationals invite this time. And I wanted that vacation.

Round 1: VS Random Spellcaster

Simple duel, controlled the game from early on.

Won 2-0

Round 2: Vs Blackwings

Game 1 was quite intense, but I ended up losing via destruction of my Oppression.

For Game 2, I switched to Rock Stun via side deck, but got Dustshoot'ed in turn 1, losing my Guardian as well as my entire advantage.

Lost 0-2

Round 3: VS Drill Plants

Royal Oppression and Fossil Dyna worked wonders in this duel. However, the Gadgets were the real stars as the little guys kept destroying all the Fluff Tokens during the entire game.

Won 2-0

Round 4: VS X-Sabers

This was one deck I knew from the inside out, so I felt good going into this match. My best friend runs this deck and I practiced against him the night before and did quite well, so this new opponent was going to see how well I knew the deck.

However, I lost due to random tech that only my best friend used. My opponent used Mind Control on my set Fossil Dyna in a field full of special-summoned monsters.

Lost 0-2

I was already 2-2 and quite anxious, since I knew most of my games weren't going as well. But I knew I could still keep going.

Round 5: VS Gladiator Beasts

Game 1 I lose due to Gyzarus, and I hear my opponent saying "so you're playing Machina..." as he side decks. And with that, I switch to Rock Stun.

Games 2 and 3 were dominated by the Sandman/Grand Mole combo, bouncing his set Glads and attacking directly with Sandman.

Won 2-1

Round 6: Vs Froggy Monarchs

This deck was too much...I tried to gain control during the duel, but I came up short due to Monarchs overpowering.

Lost 0-2

Round 7: VS Froggy Monarchs (Again)

Simply put, lost due to a lapse in judgment on my part...I was already frustrated with the entire situation.

Lost 0-2

Round 8: Infernity

WTF was Infernity doing in the bottom tables at the last round? Either way, I planned to make my last match a victorious one.

Game 1 I got OTK'd at turn 2, enough said...

Game 2 I won via Big Burn.

Game 3 I lost due to bad hands...

And so, I lost 1-2.

The entire record of the tournament was 3-5, not a good showing. Last night's tourney was the most aggressive one I have even been to. Never before have I gotten this bad of a beating at a tournament. Looks like this format, while indeed slower, is just way more aggressive than I thought...

Frogs are dominating here at a local level, along with X-Sabers...way too much for one to handle. My entire group came prepared, but we all came up short...

Oh well, perhaps next year...

Duel Video: Casper VS Gizer

Yea, it's my first duel video!

Este es mi primer video de duelo!

It was recorded at about 1am this morning, all while preparing for a Regional, so we were a bit off from time to time...

Se grabó a las 1 de la mañana en la madrugada de hoy mientras nos preparabamos para el torneo regional, so verán que estamos fundidos en partes del juego.



In this game, I play my best friend as he prepares his Monarch deck for the tournament, while I simply test a new Fish build discussed by a few players in the Fish Strategy Thread.

En ese juego, estoy en un duelo con mi mejor amigo mientras el prepara su deck de monarca para el torneo, mientras yo experimento con un deck nuevo de peces cual ha sido mencionado en el foro estrategico.

Widespread Dud pt.2

Going to regionals this sunday and I'm still working on the deck.

However, I reminded myself about the one card that helped me out in my last regional.

Widespread Dud

With all the removal most decks pack (Dust Tornado, Heavy Storm, Saber Slash, Mystical Space Typhoon, monster effects), it seems like a good idea to main or side a single copy at least.

Main decking Big Burn seemed to help, so perhaps Widespread Dud will also prove quite useful.

Big Burn

You can only activate this card when your opponent activates a card that specifically designates a monster in the Graveyard as a target. Remove all monsters in both players' Graveyards from play.

With the current format taking great use of the graveyard, this little trap can shine. Even though most don't consider it due to the risk or removing their own monsters, decks that don't require much graveyard use can take full advantage of this...

So to name a few...

Macro, Glads, Anti-Meta Gadgets, Rock Stun

This card is in my main deck for KillSwitch and it's incredible.

Opponent summons Ragigura and targets his Faultroll, or activates Gottom's E-Call to revive 2 Sabers...Big Burn solves the problem!

Your opponent has just summoned Infernity Necromancer and targets Archfiend, Big Burn!

By having it main decked, it is sure to give a surprise at game 1, along with quite the advantage.

Politoed

Well, I previously posted a deck idea about a deck that utilized Politoed's (HS-Unleashed) ability to switch via Poke-Power Poliwrath and Slowbro.

But now that the new format has arrived, this older Politoed has been discovered in my quest to learn about the older sets. With this little guy, the entire Poli group gets quite stronger.

Now...if I were to use 1 for the switch and 1 for the boost, Poliwrath's Dynamicpunch would be able to do a total of 120 minimum base damage (without applying weakness and resistance) and even more if I flip heads.

This doesn't compare to the Feraligatr/Blastoise deck...but it sure makes quite the fun deck to use for the league.

New Pokemon Format

• Majestic Dawn
• Legends Awakened
• Stormfront
• Platinum
• Rising Rivals
• Supreme Victors
• Arceus
• HeartGold & SoulSilver
• HS - Unleashed
• Pokemon Rumble
• HS Trainer Kit
• Promos DP22 and higher
• Promos HGSS01 and higher

Seems like I can update my Poli deck now with quite the force...

Gravekeepers

The meta is currently dominated by decks that all use the graveyard at some point.

Infernities use it like no tomorrow

X-Sabers use it as a reverse toolbox of sorts, especially to recycle Darksoul with Ragigura

Frogs...enough said

So why aren't Gravekeeper decks taking charge against the meta? They seem to have all the tools necessary to take these 3 top-decks down.