Karakuri

Since I began to test the deck out, the possibilities it gives me are awesome.

I can play Pure Karakuri (won't due to no synchros)

I can play Machina Karakuri (current deck)

Or I can play Karakuri Town (wanna try it so bad)

I wonder if there's a way to use elements of all into something new. Either way, Karakuri have become my main focus for now. Looks like this year I will be all machines.

Tournament Report: Wizard Locals 2/26

End of the format locals, oh it's on. I was struggling with which deck would go. I had Fish, Blackwings, and Gravekeepers all ready to go. My Blackwings were losing 3 Kalut, Goyo and 1 Book, Fish losing a Book, Goyo and Cold Wave, while my Keepers just lost 1 Book and 1 Tribute.

Decided with my keepers in the last second.

Round 1: vs Karakuri

Tough match indeed. It was a battle for who was going to keep using the respective field spells. All in all, forgetting to side deck System Down and bad draws led to my first defeat of the day.

0-1

Round 2: vs Samurai

First duel my friend got a bad hand, so it kinda sucked. Duel 2 I managed to gain control with Gozen Match (main deck) to pick up a quick win.

1-1

Round 3: vs Geartown

Another duel where control for the field spell was going to be crucial. However, this time I had the upper hand with Rai-Oh and a few other cards, as well as Royal Tribute sending the main Ancient Gears to the graveyard so Geartown couldn't get them.

2-1

Round 4: vs Chaos Stun

Very slow duel. We both had dead hands during most of the match, so it was kinda slow. We had a good laugh at our misfortunes on this matter, but overall, I managed to pick up the win thanks to Recruiter saving my ass in the last 2 duels.

3-1

In the end, I came up 5th for the second time. Noticing I'm mostly placing between 4th and 5th consistently each week. On another positive note, the Karakuri that beat me in round 1 is now under my possession...yeah! So it's time to test Karakuri Machina.

New Format, New Decks

With the current format coming to a close, it's time to test some new decks for the new format, especially with another regional coming up on March 5th.

Deck of current format:

1. Fish OTK

2. Blackwing

3. Gravekeeper

4. Machina

And now my ideas for the new format...

1. Vanity Gadgets 2.0 or Machina

2. Diva-Spy

3. Level Monarchs (at last, I have the tools to make it)

4. Anti-Meta Blackwings

Perhaps Fish might come back for the Regional due to it being my signature deck, but it all depends. But for now, those decks are my choices.

New Ruling Change

After checking a ver various sources, it seems there will be indeed be a ruling change effective March 19th concerning ignition effects. While it has already been announced for the OCG, it is currently unknown if this issue will be addressed in the TCG at the same time or at a later date.

Notice as to a change in the way Ignition Monsters work
Thank you Yu-Gi-Oh! Patrons for playing the game.

For those who play the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game, we always wish to improve the game so that our customers can enjoy an exciting Duel at any time. Though we commonly change the rules of each card we make for the concerns of Game Balannce, at this time, we would like to announce we are changing the way monsters' Ignition Effects work.

Date of the Ruling Change being applied
Saturday, March 19, 2011

This ruling goes into effect on Saturday, March 19th, 2011, which is the same date as the release of our Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Official Card Game "Starter Deck".

- The Point of the Rule's Change:
Before:
Monsters with Ignition Effects could activate their effects at the same time they were Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned.

After:
Monsters with Ignition Effects cannot activate their effects at the same time they were Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned.

A monster's Ignition Effect basically becomes an effect that can be activated during the Main Phase so long as there is nothing else going on at the same time. So now, if another effect or action is resolving, you cannot activate an Ignition Effect until the timing of that specific effect has ended.

You can continue to use the old ruling of using Ignition Effects when you Normal, Flip, or Special Summon until March 18th, 2011 ends. Afterward, it is forbidden to do so from March 19th, 2011 onwards.

This will indeed have an impact on the game as we know it, since some of the big power cards are indeed ignition effect monsters.

Here is a brief list of notable monsters affected by this ruling...

Card Trooper
Dark Armed Dragon
Dark Grepher
Demise, King of Armageddon
Dimensional Alchemist
Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg
Master Hyperion
Mind Master
Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth
Tragoedia
Worm King
Worm Queen
Worm Zero
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
Judgment Dragon
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
Chaos Sorcerer
Lonefire Blossom
XX-Saber Faultroll
XX-Saber Gottoms
Scrap Golem
Scrap Dragon
Scrap Twin Dragon
Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
Ancient Fairy Dragon
Armory Arm
Dark End Dragon
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Junk Archer
Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 Burei
Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind
Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn
Infernity Mirage
Hundred-Eyes Dragon
Infernity Doom Dragon
Hand of the Six Samurai
Legendary Six Samurai - Mizuho
Gravekeeper's Descendant
Elemental Hero Prisma
Test Tiger

And those who aren't...

Black Rose Dragon
Green, Red, and Yellow Gadgets
Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North
Stardust Dragon
Monarchs

Tragoedia

With the new Exceed Monsters coming out, Tragoedia is going to be a key card in many decks.

Summon Tragoedia

Discard monster

Modify level to one you took control of.

Proceed to Exceed Summon.

And people thought Trag was dangerous for Synchros...

Just wait until Exceeds come out...

Xyz Monsters and Xyz Summoning

As stated before, the Xyz Monsters reside in the extra deck, much like Synchros and Fusions. However, these new monsters have a unique new mechanism as well.

Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of levels, and the rank is stated in the left side of the card. Their rank normally (for now) states the levels the monsters must be in order to summon. In order to perform an Xyz Summon, you must have 2 monsters of equal level (which indicates their rank) and place them together in the same monster zone below the newly summoned Xyz Monster.

Those monsters are now Xyz Material Monsters and used accordingly with the new monster's abilities. When a material must be removed, it is sent to the graveyard.

Here's a look at another Xyz Monster

Since it's Rank 3 it lets us know it needs 2 Level 3 monsters for it's summoning condition.

There are still some unknown details concerning these new monsters, along with unknown ruling issues that will be notified once released.

But for now, this is all we know of these new monsters.

Fallen Heroes: Goyo Guardian

It seems now that Goyo got the boot with this new banlist.

When it first came out, Goyo was an insane synchro that managed to reverse the game at an instant, which is why it got limited sometime later. And it was fine at 1.

But with the news of the upcoming Exceed Monsters, Goyo was going to become an even bigger threat. It was going to become an Exceed gathering machine. Perhaps this is why a once beloved kabuki theater warrior became a future threat.

This is the only reason I can think for Goyo getting banned. And if it's so, then we will find out once Exceeds do indeed get here.

But for now, we keep looking for a replacement for Goyo...