No Power...

Well, I'm stuck with no power anywhere I go due to a hurricane that came here yesterday (and one storm supposedly on it's way). Until I can manage to get some electricity back, there will be no updates...

Hopefully there should be some power back soon (managed to update from Starbucks), but it's already day 2 without electricity.

Speaking of electricity, I have taken interest in the Watts.

More to come once the power is restored in my area...

End of the Format Duel Video

While this video was filmed during the summer break, it was by far one of the best duels of the summer. And what better way to close out the format than by a very good X-Saber vs Diva-Spy duel.

Diva-Spy for Regionals

Well, I got a Regional coming up on the 5th and my Diva-Spy deck is the top contender for action on that day. This is what I'm going with...so far.

Diva-Spy

Monsters: 19

Deep Sea Diva x3
Reese the Ice Mistress
Gravekeeper's Spy x3
Gravekeeper's Descendant x2
Gravekeeper's Assailant x3
Gravekeeper's Commandant x3
Sangan
Malefic Stardust Dragon
Thunder King Rai-Oh x2

Spells: 11

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

Traps: 10

Dimensional Prison x2
Bottomless Trap Hole x2
Torrential Tribute
Solemn Judgment
Dark Bribe x2
Deck Devastation Virus
Royal Oppression

Updating my Amazoness Deck

With the new format, all my decks had to go through their usual minor adjustments. However, a few things changed with the Amazoness more than my Fish or Diva-Spy decks.

Monsters: 19

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

Spells: 15

Solidarity x2
Reinforcement of the Army
Pot of Avarice
Book of Moon x2
Creature Swap x2
Mystical Space Typhoon
Amazoness Village x3
Terraforming
Dark Hole
Monster Reborn

Traps: 6

Bottomless Trap Hole x2
Royal Oppression
Dimensional Prison x2
Torrential Tribute


The changes are rather odd from my original build.

I decided to try Creature Swap because essentially you can swap away an Amazoness of yours, destroy it and get one from the deck for extra damage.

I noticed Pot of Avarice may have to be used in 2 here, since Village has often sped the deck a little too much and I often find myself running out of options in the deck. So that's a thought...

Banlist and My Thoughts

Banned:

Rescue Cat
Heavy Storm
Brain Control
Substitoad

Limited:

Black Whirlwind
Royal Oppression
Infernity Launcher
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Monster Reborn
Dark Hole

Semi:
Mystical Space Typhoon
Chaos Sorcerer
Snipe Hunter
Ojama Trio
Magic Cylinder

Unlimited:

Black Rose Dragon
Goblin Zombie
Cyber Dragon
Treeborn Frog
Royal Decree
United We Stand

Now then, let's break it down one by one.

The banned selection was a 50/50 for me. I did suspect things like Substitoad (Frog FTK) and Rescue Cat, but I didn't think it would happen. As for the rest, the banning of Heavy Storm and Brain Control is going to make the game a little more interesting now.

The limiting of Infernity Launcher was expected, and it's good to see Infernities slowing down a bit. Their main card got back to 1, but it could have been a lot worse for them.

Royal Oppression at 1 really hurt me, since most of my decks run them. However, this list will force me to revive Vanity Gadgets once again.

Black Whirlwind @1 slowed down my deck a bit as well, but it's nothing too serious.

The revival of Dark Hole and Monster Reborn just made this game a whole lot more interesting. Haven't seen Dark Hole be legal since I was in my senior year in high school during the chaos era. Going to have fun with those. This will be an interesting format.

Mystical to 2 is curious, but will make players think twice about using more equip/continuous cards.

Magic Cylinder to 2 seems fun, might try it out just for kicks. Might not make an impact on the meta, but burn decks must be happy.

As for the rest, pretty interesting results. Overall, this new list will bring us quite the interesting format. Playing without Heavy Storm will be a challenge to many, but it's not that big of a deal (getting flamed for this?) anyways.

Froggy Balboa: Ronintoadin's Quest to Become Champ

Well, another World Championship is behind us, and it's safe to say that Frogs have gone full circle. They went from ultimate underdog to world champ in half a format. And who is to thank for this great froggy success? Why none other than Ronintoadin, the Rocky Balboa of frogs.

Also, congrats to Galileo de Obaldia for winning the World Championship. Galileo, que bueno que el campeon del mundo es latino, te felicito!


Frogs had a humble start many years back when it was just Des Frog and his crew. Back then, there wasn't much to do to make a frog deck. However, Treeborn Frog was the star there, being used with Monarchs almost instantly.

Frogs would go on to wait for support until they got a boost from LOTD with cards like Substitoad, Wetlands, Unifrog, and Froggy Forcefield. By then, frogs were starting to make headway as a "Wetlands Deck" by pairing up with other monsters that were compatible with the field, but it was still not enough to make a dent, so to speak.

Then came Crimson Crisis, the booster that gave us Flip Flop Frog and Dupe Frog (along with Submarine Frog as a TCG exclusive, but I digress) and by then frogs had something going for them. They were finally a consistent Wetlands Deck that could create a lock and access Des Croaking via Dupe Frog if necessary. By then, frogs showed up in tournaments from time to time, but not making much of an impact.

During this time, everyone used Substitoad to fuel the deck and swarm, since the most common thing to do was tribute the Scapegoat Tokens and Substitoad itself to bring out enough frogs to potentially go for game. That, or use Substitoad to mill the deck to feed cards like Pot of Avarice or simply as an engine. Either way, Substitoad was giving Wetlands and Frog decks a reason to be. Frog decks became really good decks to take to small tournaments or to annoy friends.

However, that was soon to change. Frogs got some more support in the form of Swap Frog, allowing them to not only pull a froggy switcheroo, but also mill without having to depend on Substitoad. However, that didn't seem to give them the edge they needed...

And so came their champion...Froggy Balboa! Ronintoadin

Ronintoadin quickly changed the way people looked at and played Frogs all together. One card alone gave the deck so many possibilities. By combing Ronin with the Substitoad engine, it allowed for constant revival, which led to the discovery of it's synergy with Mass Driver. Frog FTK was born. This became the deadliest of all frog decks. Basically you mill your entire deck (mostly made up of frogs) and then revive Ronin and tribute it with Mass Driver as many times as you have to in order to pick up the win. It's an incredibly fast deck that can end a game faster than a Super Mario Bros speed run.

However, Ronin was also welcome in other decks like Frognarchs/Froggy Monarchs. By having enough frogs to supply a consistent tribute fodder, Ronin could easily become the tribute for any Monarch, LADD, Vanity's Fiend (told ya this card was good), Dark Dusk Spirit (old high school favorite), and many other tribute monsters. Ronin is also seen in other decks as tribute fodder as well, such as Fish (in some variants).

Due to Ronintoadin's potential with decks like Frog FTK and Frog Monarchs, frogs quickly hopped their way into the meta at last. They weren't the dominant species, but they were still making an impact and became a significant threat.

Today, uncertainty lies in the way of these strong amphibians, as nobody knows what the banlist may bring. Will they successfully be able to hop across the street back into their pond? Or will one of these frogs meet the same fate as Frogger during your first time playing?

Only time will tell...

Deck Frustration...

Since I didn't manage to get my Amazoness cards from the sneak, the urge to make a new deck has yet to be satisfied.

Instead, I'm stuck wondering about decks like Quickdraw Machina or Chaos Fiends.

One thing's for sure, Gravekeeper's are getting a slight change now that I got my hands on Malefic Stardust Dragon and Starlight Road.

Perhaps I should try my Arctic Deck, or some other crazy creation.

I'm off to the center of creation...let's see what I come up with!

Tournament Report: GW Local

Well, it looks like the local tournaments are making a comeback, even though it might be slow. While I did find out about it last minute, I decided to enter with my Blackwings to give them a try.

Round 1: VS Gato (Infernity)

Game 1 I opened with Thunder King and Oppression, so I pretty much had great control through the entire duel.

Game 2 was quite the opposite, got the OTK and bad...

Game 3 was pretty much back and forth, but in the end his Infernities proved to me too much for me to handle there...

Match 2: VS Lightsworn

A blast from the past, I faced the deck I once destroyed every week when I had Vanity Gadgets. I wanted to see if my Blackwings could take them on.

Duel 1 was a quick victory for me, but the other 2 duels weren't exactly the best games I have played.

The third round I won by bye, so it was pretty much 1-2 for the day. Not the best tourney, but that happens from time to time to everyone...

But I wasn't the only one down on luck...Casper managed to make it to the final round, but would his luck prevail?

Yugioh: A Lesson on Economics!

With many players today treating Yugioh as a geek's version of the stock market or an independent business, it seems this game is becoming more like it's own economy rather than just a fun hobby.

People now look at your binder and give you the monetary value of your stuff, rather than just their own individual values. Why is this? First, we have to check the various factors that have been turning this game into it's own economic system...

Reason #1: The Secondary Market

This is pretty much the cancer that has spread through all card games (because it troubles many players). By having a secondary market, card games can become expensive or cheap depending on the gods of the market. However, nobody knows who is to control this monetary dictator.

The secondary market has been influencing many players in this game for quite some time now (perhaps during the ReturnDAD or Tele-DAD days, I forget). This has been causing a great divide between players, since now not only do we have a great rift between casual and competitive players, but we now have a rift between players with big wallets and those who are on a budget (this may differ for some people).

The wallet players are mostly known for having binders full of multiple copies of rare cards, decks made out of the highest rarity and complaining when reprints cause their cards to drop in value. Budget players are quite the opposite. They use the lowest rarity (not always, but it's common), are known to complain about the high rarities (let's be honest, who wouldn't complain...but just to be fair and neutral), but love reprints.

Wallet players are also known to run meta decks most of the time (some wallet players play other decks, but that's not an easy thing to see), while budget players will most likely be running anti-meta or any other deck that was once expensive but is now affordable (such as Glads and Blackwings for example), as well as non-mainstream decks.

You can tell who falls into which category by the way they ask you for trades, by their folder content, and sometimes their general attitude.

However, there's another aspect that turns Yugioh into an economy besides the secondary market...

Reason #2: It's not just a game, it's a way of life....literally!

Many players nowadays turn to this game as a main source of income. While others have allowances, jobs, or any other source of income, there are those players who make a living from selling cards alone. These are the Yugioh businessmen who are constantly seen handling money during trades, knowing the value of everything (and I mean everything), and gaining massive amounts of profit in methods unknown to many (whether they are clean or not, it depends on the person).

The players who depend on this game to make a living are mostly known for being paranoid around February/September, since their source of income may be affected. They are seen in tournaments looking to score a deal, and mostly are the leaders of their own Yugioh Mafia (other article needed for this one). They usually have others do their work for them, and some are rarely seen playing at all (not applying for everyone, since some play anyways). To some extent, they also enter tournaments to win (cleanly or underhanded is up to you to judge) and sell their prizes for cash, whether they be promos or boosters.

Reason #3: The Stock Market at YCS

Like most players in this game, YCS and other events turn into a guide into what the meta is and what players will be using. However, it's not just a guide to the meta, but a guide to some cash. By having different results in the YCS, the placements decks get will sometimes dictate the prize of specific cards in proportion to it's usage.

For example: X-Sabers once didn't cost as much since they didn't top major events, but once they managed to win, their prices skyrocketed and became a good investment.

By using tournaments as guides, players can know what cards to invest in. This gives them an edge in terms of profit, since they can help both the secondary market and their wallets. There are times when underdog decks rise to fame and become a good investment, by which will cause a rise in the YGO Stock Market which feels like a wave of chaos ensuing the players as they quickly swarm to the new cards for profit.

So whether you play for fun, fame or profit...one can't deny that this game has developed it's own economy which has now become part of the very game itself. Remember to keep your wits at all times and make the best decisions that fit your style best. Don't let this internal economy get the best of you, or else it will be quite the frustrating time.

Bushi's Small Soldiers

With only a few days to go until the DREV sneak, I wanted to find a way to mess around with Bushi before I combined it with my Amazoness Deck.

Then it hit me, why not make a new kind of Bushi deck? Perhaps if we use Level 3 or lower warriors and boost them with Solidarity? That's when the idea turned into a reality (or at least a small fun deck).

Bushi's Small Soldiers

Monsters: 18

The Immortal Bushi x2
Marauding Captain x2
XX-Saber Fulhelmknight x2
Mataza the Zapper x2
Blizzard Warrior x2
Tune Warrior x2
Amazoness Blowpiper x2
Mystic Swordsman LV 2
Exiled Force
Jutte Fighter x2

Spells: 14

Reinforcement of the Army
Foolish Burial
Level Limit Area B
Shrink x2
Solidarity x3
Giant Trunade
Mystical Space Typhoon
Pot of Avarice
Pot of Duality
Book of Moon x2

Traps: 8

Bottomless Trap Hole x2
Royal Oppression x2
Compulsory Evacuation Device x2
Gravity Bind
Torrential Tribute

Now then, time to explain some of the options here in this deck.

Jutte Fighter is here mostly to run over things the warriors won't be able to run over, with the Solidarity boost. It's also helpful to have it as a tuner when you have no Oppression or Level Limit/Gravity Bind on the field. But it's mostly there for removal of bigger opponents.

Amazoness Blowpiper can also serve a similar purpose as Jutte Fighter, but using it's ATK weakening effect instead.

Blizzard Warrior is there mostly for an added touch of control, since you can manipulate your opponent's next draw upon destroying a monster via battle.