Thoughts on September List: Predictions

Well, here's my attempt at a september format list. I say attempt because no list can be 100% accurate and because I'm mostly reporting from experiences in either my games or observing local tourneys.

Now then...let's go.

Don't know if I should go adding stuff to the banned category here, but it seems we get something banned every format. Most people are suggesting either Trunade or Monster Reborn as options for the banhammer.

For my part, I would probably just skip the bans, as I haven't been too sharp predicting bans.

Hyper Librarian should probably go to 1, since it's too insane to be left at 3.

Formula Synchron is on the same boat. Lowering it to 1 won't kill it, since it's needed for other synchros and it's a helpful monster. But at 3 is just too insane, especially when combined with librarian.

LSS Shi En is probably another guess for limited. One is all you need anyways to completely dominate.

Solemn Warning is another card I would like to see go to 1.

Trishula will take it's rightful place in the limited list for the TCG so it can be the same as the OCG.

I have seen some people debate about either limiting or semi-limiting Pot of Avarice, since it's going completely bonkers with Plants and Tengu. However, I would somehow see this on the semi list for some reason.

Reborn Tengu will NOT be on the September list, so people have to stop saying it will be. The formats are based on the OCG meta mostly and Tengu is still a TCG exclusive.

Doubt any Blackwing stuff will be there, but if anything's hit it might be Vayu with a limit due to the great use of Graveyard Feathers in the OCG.

For semi limit it's tough to see what can and cannot go. But if I had to pick, it would possibly be either Tech Genus stuff or perhaps Doppel Warrior since it's also going berserk. A semi would slow it down a bit but not really make the deck useless.

Perhaps a semi on Duality? I don't know.

Damn...making this prediction is hard.

People speculate on the return of BLS - Envoy of the Beginning but I doubt it will return. Then again, we have all been surprised before by a random move.

As for unlimited, it could be anybody's ball game.

But then again, I'm just guessing all the stuff from the list. Who knows what might happen in September?

Facebook Page

Hey readers! Got a new facebook page for the blog, so feel free to check it out and follow me on the site. Also, the site will have some exclusive content that probably didn't make it on the blog, like random videos, dueling shenanigans, and photos.

Here's the link just in case:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gizers-Deckbox/145092238904594

Be back soon with more posts.

Two Attempts at Xyz Fish

Well, as some of you might know, I'm quite the fan of playing Fish decks. And with the Xyz already out and more on the way, it's only natural that I give my shot at making 2 versions of Xyz oriented Fish decks. Now, while they still support a few tuners, they only use one Fishborg for both access to lvl 8 synchros via Coelacanth or access to Shooting Star Dragon. But the main tuner here is Royal Swamp Eel, as it can give access to level 7/8 synchros and Rank 4 Xyz when needed. With such versatility, I figured I could give it a shot.

Here's deck #1: Phantom Fish, Xyz Edition



Running the Genex/Sunfish engine, the Phantom variant makes full use of well...Phantom of Chaos itself. The variant had issues since after taking Coelacanth's effect, it was just a sitting duck. But now it's all different since you can use Phantom for an Xyz summon and have more options when you set up your field.

Surfacing allows for more Xyz and Synchro shenanigans as you can revive any lvl 3 and combine with Genex Controller for a Brionac or make a Revise Dragon. It's also a bit more flexible with traps, since there's no reason to use Treeborn here. However, room is tight but Surfacing is a card of choice and can be changed for more defenses if needed.

The next deck sounds ridiculous when you hear it, but I think it can be quite fun to use.

Deck #2: Rabbit Fish

So yea, as one would assume...it makes full use of Rescue Rabbit. However, this one does support the Frog engine for tributing, but it's still not fully focused on synchro as seen with only one Fishborg. 7 Colored Fish and Root Water make excellent Rabbit targets and can be sent back to the deck via Moray, or the can simply be summoned via Coelacanth. As usual, it runs 2 copies of Royal Swamp Eel to give access to some synchros, but mainly to give access to Rank 4 if necessary.

Coelacanth has been dropped to 2 since the main focus isn't an OTK, but it's still a focal point of the deck. However, Rabbit's assistance makes up for the loss of 1 Coelacanth, but it can also be adjusted to personal preference.

As for the extra deck, here's more or less what I'm looking into.

Phantom Variant:

Stardust Dragon
Formula Synchron
Shooting Star Dragon
Thoughtruler Archfiend (or any other lvl 8 synchro)
Brionac
Gungnir
Black Rose Dragon
Inverz Roach x2
Revise Dragon
Black Ray Lancer x2
Utopia/White Knight Illuminator/Evigishki Merrowgeist/Vylon Disigma x3 (in any combination you want)

Rabbit Fish Variant:

Stardust Dragon
Formula Synchron
Shooting Star Dragon
Any other lvl 8 Synchro
Gungnir
Black Rose Dragon
Black Ray Lancer x2
Revise Dragon
Inverz Roach x2
Evigishki Merrowgeist
Utopia
Vylon Disigma
White Knight Illuminator

Extra decks are very flexible here, but more or less these are what mine would look like in this case.

The great part about the Xyz variants is that the extra deck can become more and more flexible as time goes on and we get more Xyz monsters. But for now, it's only something that just came to me while trying to recreate my Fish deck.

Crusher Control

So it's time to post one of my newest decks, Crusher Control. I originally just teched a few copies of Genex Ally Crusher in my Blackwings but didn't know it could be epic in it's own deck. But once I found out, I quickly got to work.

First off, let's look at the main card of the deck!

Once per turn, when you Normal Summon a monster with this card's Attribute, you can select and destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

So the main concept of the deck is to get out Crusher on the field as fast as possible, keep it alive, and gain control of the field. But Crusher can't do it alone. That's where the backup comes in. By using other DARK attribute monsters whose effects also destroy or remove from either the field or hand, it allows for an additional destruction via Crusher's effect. In essence, a Crusher and a Breaker can get rid of 2 backrow, or 1 backrow and 1 monster. Either way, it's a good way to keep control, and a really fun deck.

So here's my version of Crusher Control

Monsters:

Genex Ally Crusher x3
Breaker, The Magical Warrior x3
Mystic Tomato x2
Don Zaloog x2
Cliff The Trap Remover (random tech is epic)
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer x2
Sangan
BW Gale The Whirlwind
Spirit Reaper
Caius, The Shadow Monarch

Spells:

Dark Hole
Book of Moon
Shrink x2
Monster Reborn
Mystical Space Typhoon x2
Smashing Ground x3

Traps:

Dimensional Prison x2
Bottomless Trap Hole x2
Seven Tools of the Bandit x2
Compulsory Evacuation Device x2
Torrential Tribute
Mirror Force
Royal Oppression
Call of the Haunted
Solemn Judgment

Deck is really fun to play. So much disruption that it's hard to keep up. That's all for today.

Photon Shockwave: Part 2

Looking at a few other notable mentions from the set. Notable mentions go to any of the Xyz, Evol/Evoldar, Wind-Up, and Photon cards since they are also very interesting.

Looking at a few spells and traps that caught my eye:

First off we got Deep Dark Trap Hole:

When a Level 5 or higher Effect Monster(s) is Special Summoned: Banish that monster.

Pretty good side against many decks (Samurai, Blackwing, Plants, Machina for example) since most decks have quite a few monsters that fall under this category. Eliminates the vast majority of synchros, as well as popular boss monsters. However, it doesn't negate the summon, so watch out for those trigger effects.

Next up we have Extra Gate:

Declare a Level from 1 to 12: Your opponent banishes 1 monster from their Extra Deck with the same Level as the declared Level. If there is no monster with the declared Level, then discard 1 card from your hand.

Really nice against decks with a full extra deck, especially since it doesn't hold back against either Synchros or Fusions. Gets rid of Hero fusions and also cuts down opponent's synchro options if planned well.

That's all I got for now, since it's hard to pick specifics in this wonderful set. Anyways, be back later with a tourney report from this past weekend...got a busy week.

Photon Shockwave: Part 1

Photon Shockwave has shown to be such a good booster, that it can't simply be reviewed in one post alone. So I'm gonna try to divide them as well as I can. First up, a few interesting gems found in the set. (Rescue Rabbit was already reviewed, so it won't be in any of these.)

First up we have Tribe-Shocking Virus:

Once per turn: You can banish 1 monster from your hand; destroy all face-up monsters with the same Type as the banished monster.

Tribe's more balanced cousin, TSV proves to be a good side-deck option against decks like Gravekeeper, Samurai, X-Sabers, Blackwings, Machines, Fairies, and Plants. It's still good enough to defend itself, but it will most likely be a card you don't play on Game 1.

Next up we have Telepon D.D.

When this face-up card you control is banished: You can target 1 Psychic-Type monster with 1500 ATK or less in your Deck; banish the target. During your next Standby Phase, Special Summon that monster.

A fun little weapon for the RFG Psychics, it makes for quite the interesting floater. Combine it with the other existing Psychics for some Banishing shenanigans to maybe pull synchros and/or Xyz summons without having to play anything else. Should be interesting to see how it changes the deck.

Next up we have Watt King Cobra:

This card can attack your opponent directly. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent by attacking directly: select 1 "Watt" monster from your Deck and add it to your hand.

Not only does it make Watts an even better deck, this snake helps get Giraffe, Pheasant, or Dragonfly a lot quicker. Now they have both a searcher and a floater. Surely, this snake makes Watt decks a serious force now.

Another one most might not like, but I find great is Preacher of the Ice Barrier:

If you control a face-up "Ice Barrier" monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If you do, you cannot Special Summon Level 5 or higher monsters during this turn. You can Tribute this card to target 1 "Ice Barrier" monster in your Graveyard except "Preacher of the Ice Barrier"; Special Summon that target.

Upon first seeing this, I immediately thought of Wetlands. However, this is also a miniature General Gantala that can revive from the grave. Heck, use this to revive Gantala and then revive again for any other Ice Barrier. Could this finally help Ice Barriers be taken seriously? Not only does it help it's own deck, but it also allows for greater reverse toolboxing for the Wetlands variant.

Rescue Rabbit Pt.2

On my original post concerning this card, I commented on it not being broken but still a card with great potential. And just a few days after, I started seeing what others already broke the rabbit beyond repair. I started seeing Xyz/Synchro combos and even first turn Quasar with just a rabbit...

Needless to say, they broke the rabbit right before my eyes. I can only sit and speculate as to whether it will live up to it's new-found hype, or will it just be another good card seen in some decks?

Until then, I sit and prepare myself for Rabbit Season.

Pain Painter

While this card is face-up on the field, its name is treated as "Plaguespreader Zombie". Once per turn: You can target up to 2 face-up Zombie-Type monsters you control, except this card; they become Level 2 until the End Phase. They cannot be used as Synchro Material Monsters except for the Synchro Summon of a Zombie-Type monster.

Well, looks like the new TCG exclusives for GENF are coming in slowly. This one is a bit curious, because I have always wanted a tuner like this to exist (only Plague for zombies seemed a bit unfair, even for just casual games since their synchros were barely playable due to their only tuner limited to 1). But it is a really good card for zombies, since the level modification effect can easily give access to each of the zombie synchros and with any zombies you control. This means that this can work well in a Skull Servant deck without having to worry about all those levels now.

Ya vemos que las cartas exclusivas al TCG del set GENF estan llegando. Esta es un poco curiosa, ya que siempre he querido un Tuner como este (ya que Plaguespreader solo para zombies parecia un poco injusto, aunque era para juegos casuales y sus synchros no se podian usar por esta razon). Me gusta para los zombies, ya que su efecto de modificar niveles por fin puede dar acceso facil a los synchros del mismo tipo y con cualquier zombie. No solo eso, se ve que puede servir bien en un deck de Skull Servant ya que no hay que preocuparse de todos esos niveles ahora.

Fun card, don't know if it will ever make it to meta decks, but it's a card I would definitely get if I'm going to play any Zombie-themed deck.

Carta divertida para los decks zombie, pero no se si algun dia llegara a estar en algun deck competitivo. Pero si vas a jugar un deck de zombie, dale un intento a esta carta.

Duality Reprint!

First news of my morning and it's starting to look great. It seems Konami decided to put a Super Rare version of it in the following 2011 Collector Tins. Here's the source, just in case.

At last, we don't have to pay a ridiculous sum of cash for a piece of cardboard when we can just get it cheaper. This is certainly a dream come true to many players out there, while a nightmare to others (don't really care on that one, I'm a budget player). It's a great way to make sure everyone gets to have equal shots at making their deck, so there' nothing negative about this little bit of news.

At last, I can go back and playing my Anti-Meta decks!

Rescue Rabbit

Finally back from vacation. Started catching up with what I have been missing, and suddenly I find this little card:

Ya volvi de vacaciones, asi que he empezado a ver que me he perdido durante ese tiempo y me encontre con esta carta:

This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. During your Main Phase: You can banish this face-up card; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck. Those monsters are destroyed during the End Phase. The effect of "Rescue Rabbit" can only be used once per turn.

This card is pretty neat, but it's not broken. Yes, there are ways to reuse it and it's at 3, but it's nothing like it's feline counterpart. Why? Well, they found a way to balance it out. Banishing it makes sure you won't abuse it as much as Cat (unless you use Dimensional Alchemist or Levial as a way to recycle it), the monsters must be normal and of the same name (avoiding synchro shenanigans unless you play Natural Tune), it's only once per turn, and it cannot be special summoned from the deck (so no Rat into Rabbit plays for example).

Esta carta es bien interesante, pero no esta "broken" como dicen muchos. Si, hay formas de reciclarlo y estara en 3 al salir, pero no es nada como su amigo felino. La razon por esto es que ha sido balanceado. Removiendolo del juego asegura que no tenga tanto abuso (a menos que uses Dimensional Alchemist o Levial para reciclarlo), los monstruos deben ser normales y con el mismo nombre (evitando trucos de synchro a menos que juegues Natural Tune), es solo una vez por turno y no se puede hacer invocacion especial del deck.

But while this card has great potential, it's meant to be a lean mean Exceed/Xyz spitting machine. Just it's effect alone can make Exceed/Xyz summons from Ranks 4 to 1 (as long as they need 2 monsters alone), since it brings out the Overlay Units from the deck.

Pero mientras esta carta tiene gran potencial, su verdadero proposito es ser una maquina que produce Exceed/Xyz. Su efecto solo puede sacar monstruos de Rango 4 a 1 (siempre y cuando necesiten dos monstruos), ya que saca los materiales necesarios del deck.

But still, this little bunny is more than meets the eye, as mentioned above. There are many uses to this card, and one can only sit and wait to see if this card will make an impact or not.

Pero como sea, este pequeño conejo es mas de lo que parece, como mencionado aqui. Hay muchos usos para esta carta, pero solo podemos esperar a ver si hara un gran impacto en el juego.