Draco
Replies: 2

joecap12
Replies: 0

kingofduel
Replies: 5

soccerkid31
Replies: 0

Vampire Lord
Replies: 8

Hi everyone! I'm back from my long absence from Yugioh, and I'm here to evaluate the potential for Chaos to succeed without the Soldier and Dragon in its arsenal. This isn't the most timely article anymore, but I think it'll still be of use.

First off, I'm going to post my own Chaos build for the advanced enviroment. I made it on a budget with mostly common cards.

MONTERS (18)
2 Chaos Sorcerer
1 Mefist the Infernal General

1 Magician of Faith
2 Shining Angel
1 Roulette Barrel
1 Magical Merchant

2 Giant Orc
1 Cliff the Trap Remover
1 Tsukuyomi
1 Mystic Tomato
1 Dark Scorpion -- Chick the Yellow
1 Old Vindictive Magician
1 Cyber Jar

1 Needle Worm
1 Twin-Headed Behemoth

SPELLS (14)
1 Card Destruction
1 Dark Hole
1 Lightning Vortex
1 Premature Burial
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Snatch Steal
1 Scapegoat
1 My Body as a Shield
1 Book of Moon
1 Nobleman of Crossouot
2 Creature Swap
1 Swords of Concealing Light
1 Question

TRAPS (7)
2 Mirror Wall
1 Dust Tornado
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Deck Devastation Virus
1 Torrential Tribute
---

Let's analyze this deck from top to bottom. The monster line-up consists of five LIGHTs and 11 DARKs, so there's no shortage of Chaos fuel. I chose, aside from the two Chaos Sorcerers, the underrated Mefist the Infernal General as my tribute monster. He's a 5-star, 1800-atk trampler with the added bonus of forcing your opponent to discard whenever he inflicts damage. Bring him out at the right time, and he can wipe the floor with your opponent's LP and card advantage.

My Giant Orcs are excellent one-shot attackers that combo with Deck Devastation Virus, and aside from them, my monster lineup is mainly focused on control. Control of the board and my opponent's hand are key. And re-using Needle Worm with Tsukuyomi, which I have pulled off, is vicious.

Many of my choices have self-evident reasoning behind them, but a few are unusual. Question seems bizarre -- it's just a fun little card I threw in to fill out my deck. And my Mirror Walls work spectacularly with Mefist and my weak monsters like Clif the Trap Remover and Dark Scorpion -- Chick the Yellow.

Anyone else giving Chaos a try in this new enviroment?

The New Banlist

I am positively ECSTATIC over the new banlist. On almost all the choices made, I agree. My prediction is that Zombies will rise to even more supremacy, because the single best themed monster in the game (Vampire Lord) is now at 3 per deck! I mean ... whoa. And Warriors have their 3 Marauding Captains, giving them broken power.

Goat Control is dead. 1 Goat, 1 TER, 1 Tsuku, 1 BoM, 1 Morph ... Goat Control is worthless. Chaos is no longer going to dominate, because 3x Chaos Sorcerer cannot compare to BLS-Envoy (thank goodness for its banning!)

But Zombies ... oh, Zombies! They will swarm their way to the pinnacle of the dueling environment. The new Zombie line-up will be 3x Vampire Lord, 3x Pyramid Turtle, 2x Spirit Reaper, and 1-2x Ryu Kokki. Or at least, that’s mine.

Confiscation returning is AWESOME. Delinquent Duo, arguably the most potent magic card in the game, is banned, along with Graceful. The Trinity is no more, replaced by the vastly weaker pair of Confiscation and Pot of Greed.

I love this banlist. My deck archetype is now, without question, the strongest in the game. Machines could’ve stood a chance ... but Limiter is banned, so scratch that. Warriors lost their trump card, while Zombies now have 3 of their best monster at their disposal!

Here is the new banlist:
FORBIDDEN (NONE PER DECK):
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
Butterfly Dagger -- Elma
Change of Heart
Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
Delinquent Duo
Executioner Makyura
Fiber Jar
Forceful Sentry
Graceful Charity
Harpy's Feather Duster
Imperial Order
Magical Scientist
Mirage of Nightmare
Mirror Force
Monster Reborn
Painful Choice
Raigeki
Ring of Destruction
Sinister Serpent
Witch of the Black Forest
Yata Garasu

LIMITED (ONE PER DECK):
Book of Moon **
Breaker the Magical Warrior
Call of the Haunted
Card Destruction
Ceasefire
Confiscation
Cyber Jar
Dark Hole
D. D. Warrior Lady
Dark Magician of Chaos
Deck Devastation Virus
Delinquent Duo
Exiled Force
Exodia the Forbidden One
Heavy Storm
Injection Fairy Lily
Jinzo
Left Arm of the Forbidden One
Left Leg of the Forbidden One
Lightning Vortex
Limiter Removal
Mage Power
Magic Cylinder
Metamorphosis
Morphing Jar
Mystical Space Typhoon
Night Assailant
Pot of Greed
Premature Burial
Protector of the Sanctuary
Reckless Greed
Reflect Bounder
Right Arm of the Forbidden One
Right Leg of the Forbidden One
Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys
Sangan
Scapegoat
Sinister Serpent
Snatch Steal
Swords of Revealing Light
Thousand Eyes Restrict
Torrential Tribute
Tribe-Infecting Virus
Tsukuyomi
Twin-Headed Behemoth
United We Stand

SEMI-LIMITED (TWO PER DECK):
Abyss Soldier
Creature Swap
Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow
Emergency Provisions
Good Goblin Housekeeping
Gravity Bind
Last Turn
Level Limit - Area B
Manticore of Darkness
Marauding Captain
Nobleman of Crossout
Reinforcement of the Army
Upstart Goblin

If you think this is a chaos bashing rant, then you are wrong. I have no problem with running chaos at large tournaments, as they want to win, and this is one thing that gives you a better chance to win. I also have no problem with people running a chaos deck in "friendly" duels, as it can fit your play style. However I'd like to explore the more original side of deck building.

The first step is to find a card that is almost broken. For this example, I'll choose Ben Kei. He has an interesting effect, but depends on other cards, making him inconsistent. The next step is to find a way to exploit the card, while minimizing the bad part of the effect by supporting it with other cards. The cards around Ben Kei would be Gravity Bind and Axe of Despair(s).

The third step is to find other cards that support the theme you have created. Mataza, Hayabusa, LLAB, and Maha Vailo all fit here. From here, the deck building is almost done. All you have to do is play test it, and make the necessary changes.

The other part of making a deck original is in how you play it. This deck is meant to be played quickly, thus few traps. This is also another part of creativity, as it gains it's name, "Blitzkreig" (meaning Lightning War). So i ask, please be creative when building decks, so that maybe we will see more Blitzkreig or Tora! Tora! Tora! decks at Nationals, instead of the ever-dominant Chaos.

To see my Blitzkrieg Deck click here.

Dear reader, I'm taking a break from editing TMR just for you to write this article. Today's article will cover the dominant archetypes in today's metagame. The new banlist will soon be upon us, so I'd better write this article before it loses all relevance :). There are 5 groupings of decks I'm going to cover.

The Dominant Decktypes
We'll start with the Dominant Decktypes. These are the decks that win the tournaments and that most people use. The two leading decktypes in today's metagame are Goat Control and Chaos-Warrior. Goat Control is a Chaos variant that seeks to abuse Scapegoat and Metamorphosis to bring out the mighty Thousand-Eyes Restrict. It typically runs 5 Lights and 5+ Darks in addition to cards like Tribe-Infecting Virus, DD Assailant, Sinister Serpent, etc.

Chaos-Warrior is a Chaos variant based off of the Warrior-subtype, which has more support than any other. Mighty cards like Blade Knight, DD Warrior Lady, The Warrior Returning Alive, etc. make this an extremely powerful and potent decktype.

Tier 1
Zombies, Gravekeepers, Warriors, Burn, Soul Control, and Non-Dominant Chaos Variants make up this section. Tier 1 decks are viable, less-seen archetypes that can often Top 8 at major tournaments and win local tournaments. Zombies have extreme speed, swarming power, and recursion in the form of Book of Life and the typical recursion cards. Gravekeepers are a great anti-meta decktype that posess swarming, the best Field Spell in the game, and their own special recursion in the form of Rite of Sprite. Warriors swarm just as effectively as Gravekeepers and Zombies with The Warrior Returning Alive, Reinfocements of the Army, Marauding Captain, etc. Burn remains effective despite Des Wombat.

Soul Control is extremely effective and uses your opponent's monsters as Tributes to summon your own high-level monsters with cards like Brain Control and Soul Exchange. Non-Dominant Chaos Variants like Hand Control have great stability and power.

It could be argued that A Legendary Ocean decks are Tier 1. I wouldn't say so. I'd say they're more Tier 1.5 – they're quite playable, and may win local tournaments, but aren't quite as powerful as the Tier 1 dectypes.

After Cybernetic Revolution, Machine decks will without question become Tier 1, and Machine-Chaos decks may well become dominant! Until then, they're at the same level as ALO.

Mill decks and OTK decks like Cyber Stein and Summoner of Illusions could fall anywhere between Tier 1 and Tier 2. They're unstable, but they can sometimes win local tournies. I'm not sure where to classify them.

Tier 2
These are casual-competitive decks. Dragons, Harpies, XYZ, and other decktypes that, though not tournament worthy, do have some support belong here. Not too much to be said about this category – these decks may Top 8 at local tournies and fare well in friendly duels, but they won't be winning any major tournies any time soon.

Tier 3
Tier 3 decks are purely casual. They shouldn't be used at tournaments you want to actually win or even T8 at, but they can be quite fun. Decks in this category include Dinosaurs (they DO have Ultra Evolution Pill, after all), Dark Paladin, Dark Magician, Mokey Mokey, etc.

Utter Crap
Gate Guardian, Valkyria the Magna Warrior, 80-card decks made by little kids, and similar fall here.

I'm sure I've forgotten many decktypes, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3. Still, this article gives a general overview of what makes up the metagame under this banlist.

Rebirth of Atlantis: Part 2
The Killer Whale

This is Part 2 of our 3-part Rebirth of Atlantis series. A Legendary Ocean decks are some of the most powerful ones out there, and though this one is quite unstable, it also has the potential to be a lot of fun to play and promotes excellent field control. Let’s look at the 3 key cards in this archetype (besides, of course, the obvious ALO deck staples such as ALO itself and Terraforming):

Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness
Level 5
WATER
Sea Serpent/Effect
Offer 1 "Torpedo Fish" on your side of the field as a Tribute to destroy 1 monster on the field. Offer 1 "Cannonball Spear Shellfish" on your side of the field as a Tribute to destroy 1 Spell or Trap card on the field.
2100/1200

This is the centerpiece of the Killer Whale deck. Our orca can be summoned without Tribute when you have ALO on the field, and he becomes a 2300/1400 4-star in that case. Not quite the raw power, of Giga Gagagigo and Terrorking Salmon, but his effect promotes amazing field control. Unfortunately, it requires you to run the following craptastic monsters to use:

Torpedo Fish
Level 3
WATER
Fish/Effect
As long as "Umi" remains face-up on the field, this card is unaffected by any Spell Cards.
1000/1000

Cannonball Spear Shellfish
Level 2
WATER
Fish/Effect
As long as "Umi" remains face-up on the field, this card is unaffected by any Spell cards.
1000/1000

These cards are identical except in Level. They both have lackluster stats and a poor effect. If not for our Orca, they’d be worthless. This deck will also run 3 Salvage to re-use these cards and many standard WATER support cards. A good thing about this decktype is that we can run much less monster and s/t removal than the average deck due to our Orca. Without further adieu, here’s the decklist:

MONSTERS (17)
1 Levia Dragon -- Daedalus
2 Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness
1 Mobius the Frost Monarch
3 Mother Grizzly
3 Torpedo Fish
3 Cannonball Spear Shellfish
1 Sangan
1 Sinister Serpent
2 Abyss Soldier

SPELLS (17)
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Delinquent Duo
1 Premature Burial
1 Snatch Steal
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Nobleman of Crossout
3 Salvage
2 Terraforming
3 A Legendary Ocean

TRAPS (6)
1 Ring of Destruction
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
1 Magic Cylinder
1 Ceasefire

Magic Cylinder and Ceasefire are quite different from my usual pick of 2 Dust Tornadoes. However, we don’t need Dust Tornados in this deck due to our Shellfish. Test this deck out -- it’ll be fun!

The Ancient Gear Deck

The Ancient Gear Deck is a unique type of machine deck. This deck utilizes Ancient Gear Golem and Ancient Gear Beast, two cards that were released in The Lost Millennium. Before we move on, let’s take a look at both of these monsters.

Ancient Gear Golem
Level 8
EARTH
Machine/Effect
This card cannot be Special Summoned. When this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of a Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell or Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.
3000/3000
Wow. This guy is just all-around HUGE. 3000 attack is nearly unbeatable, and 3000 defense is enormous. His effect has some negative aspects, though -- you can’t Special Summon him. That means that once he’s in the Graveyard, he’s staying there, unless you use Monster Reincarnation to return him to your hand or something. You also can’t dump and revive him. If you want to bring him out, you have to Tribute 2 monsters to do so. However, his effect means he can attack without fear of Mirror Force or similar, and trample is excellent for a monster of these superior stats.

Ancient Gear Beast
Level 6
EARCH
Machine/Effect
This card cannot be Special Summoned. The effects of your opponent's Effect Monster that this monster destroys as a result of battle are negated. If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell or Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.
2000/2000
Ancient Gear Beast has poor ATK indeed for a Level 6 monster. If your attack is at Vampire Lord’s level and you’re a tribute monster, you’d better have a killer effect. Ancient Gear Beast falls short in a CCC deck, but he’s playable in a Machine deck. Though he can’t be dumped-and-revived, his effect is decent and he can be used.

It’s clear that neither of these guys is exactly “splashable.” However, in their own deck (and NOT just a standard machine deck!) these two are playable and, indeed, lethal. Let’s make a sample deck list:

MONSTERS (17)
1 Ancient Gear Golem is the star monster in this deck.
1 Ancient Gear Beast will negate those pesky MoFs and others.
1 Jinzo is a machine deck staple.
1 Fusilier Dragon can be BoM abused.
3 Mechanicalchaser give this deck some beatsticks.
1 Reflect Bounder gives this deck monster destruction and does some burn damage.
2 X-Head Cannon give this deck more beatsticks.
2 Cannon Soldier can do that last bit of finishing damage.
1 Sangan is a staple.
1 Tribe-Infecting Virus is a staple.
1 Sinister Serpent is a staple.
2 Magician of Faith are near-staples.

SPELLS (19)
1 Pot of Greed is a staple.
1 Graceful Charity is a staple.
1 Delinquent Duo is a staple.
1 Premature Burial is a near-staple.
1 Snatch Steal is a near-staple.
1 Mystical Space Typhoon is a near-staple.
1 Heavy Storm is a near-staple.
2 Nobleman of Crossout are near-staples.
3 Book of Moon abuses your Fusilier and Magicians of Faith.
1 Metamorphosis works with your Level 1s, 6s, 7s, and 8s.
3 Limiter Removal are machine deck staples.
3 Brain Control help bring out your beatsticks.

TRAPS (5)
1 Torrential Tribute is one of the Big 4.
1 Ring of Destruction is one of the Big 4.
1 Call of the Haunted is one of the Big 4.
1 Mirror Force is one of the Big 4.
1 Dust Tornado is almost as good as Mystical Space Typhoon.

There you have it, a decklist with explanation. It’s important to note that though this deck is similar to a standard machine deck, there are important differences in the way you should run it. Brain Controls are essential due to our 4 Tribute Monsters (although Fusilier doesn’t really count, so more like 3), two of which can’t be dumped-and-revived.

Try this deck out! It should run well.

Supplies of a Competitive Duelist

Obviously, a top notch duelist needs a deck.

Included should be some reasonably "Staple"-ish cards (Ring, MST, or Breaker maybe) as well as some kind of personal flair. Choose a deck that fits your playing style, it will make the game much more fun. Refer back to my previous articles for examples on how to choose and build a deck.


I highly suggest, though it isn't absolute necessary, nor guarenteed to work, but music can help immensly.

A quick, choppy track to start with, say "Eye of the Tiger" gets you ready for the battle ahead, and softer tunes after that, "Perfect", "She Will Be Loved", to keep yourself from getting angry. However, you may want to change songs every once in a while, using the same songs over and over again can make them lose their effect.

Among the other items a duelist should have our a calculater, a waterbottle, and a rule book.

A calculater to keep track of life points. THis is easier than doing it on paper, but more reliable then in your head. A water bottle to keep you focused on the duel, not the heat. A rule book, or clarifications, to solve any mid-duel conflicts.

A duelist should also have supplies for trading, a binder or card box, penny cases, and top loaders are all good examples.

A binder to store your cards. Penny cases to protect your cards, and top loaders for special trades.

So, in conclusion, carry:
- Deck, Staples and Flair included
- CD player, soft and quick music, preferably a mix CD
- Calcualter, 9 # spots
- Waterbottle
- Rule book

and if you can make trades:
- Binder(s)
- Penny cases
- Toploaders

I think too many duelists ignore the single most important factor in Yugioh: psychology. The way to win duels is to manipulate your opponent into thinking that s/he has no chance of winning, because once your opponent starts believing that, then his/her (henceforth assumed to be a male) play will start suffering. He'll begin to believe that since he has no chance of winning, he may as well not even try.

There are many cards that deal with the psychological aspect of the game. In my opinion, some of the single most demoralizing cards that you can use your opponent are:
*Magic Cylinder
*Mirror Wall
*Solemn Judgment
*The Trinity, especially when more than one is used in the same turn
*Mirror Force
*Lightning Vortex
*BLS-Envoy
Magic Cylinder is probably the most psychologically effective card in Yugioh. If I owned one, I would probably run it, because it can work wonders against your opponent. If timed correctly, you'll inflict anywhere from 1500-3000 damage to your opponent's LP, AND stop your opponent's offensive dead in its tracks! Magic Cylinder would be so much more effective if semi-limited or unrestricted, but even with just one per deck it can shatter your opponent's confidence. I know, because it's done that to me quite often.

Mirror Wall is also an amazing psyche-out card. Unless you're running an LP gain deck, you won't be paying the 2000 LP to keep it up -- however, even though it'll just last for one turn, it has an effect similar to Magic Cylinder against the average opponent. Your opponent's BLS being taken down by a Zombyra the Dark, forever, is just too delicious to resist. Again, if I owned one, I'd run it.

Oh, the wonders of Solemn Judgment -- this card kills combo decks and can obliterate powerhouses such as Jinzo, Envoy, etc. If you're running three of those, your opponent is going to play cautiously to avoud having his plans ruined by one of your Judgments. Difficult to play correctly at first, but these can work wonders if used properly. Try running 3 to completely psyche out your opponent.

The Trinity needs no explaining.

Mirror Force is more effective than Lightning Vortex, but both can single-handedly win the duel for you if timed correctly. Having his entire army wiped out is a huge blow to your opponent in most cases. It will often leave him reeling and cause him to make crucial mistakes.

BLS-Envoy can both devastate your opponent's LP and totally neutralize your opponent's flip effects. But then, you already knew that.

Make sure you appear confident at all times, unless you're trying to goad your opponent into attacking into a Mirror Force or something. And though experienced duelists are not as easy to manipulate, it can be done.

The Playstyle Scale

Every duelist approaches the game of Yugioh differently. Some people like to remain totally in control throughout the duel; they seek to manipulate the hand and field to best suit them. These decks start out slowly and increase the heat throughout the duel, whittling away at the opponent’s options while increasing their own. Decks that follown this strategy are called Control decks, and people who use Control decks are often called conservative players. Here are a few random examples of decks that follow this strategy:
*Anything with “Control” in its name.
*Bounce decks
*Hand destruction decks
*Deck-out decks
*Tsuku-Lock Decks
*Goat Control decks
*Fiend decks
*Most Chaos decks
*Burn decks

On the opposite side of the scale is the Aggro player. Aggro is short for “aggressive.” Aggro players try to hurl threats at their opponent more quickly than their opponent can respond. The Aggro deck is often less stable than Control, but it typically swarms the field and simply overwhelms the opponent. Here are a few random examples of decks that follow this strategy:
*Anything with “Aggro” in its name.
*Beatdown decks
*Beastdown decks
*Gravekeeper decks
*Some Zombie decks
*Dragon decks

Where do you lie on the Playstyle Scale? You may have heard of the political continuum; the Playstyle Scale is similar to that. Here’s a graphical representation of it:

Pure Control _____________________ | ____________________ Pure Aggro

Close to Pure Control, you’d find Goat Control and Tsuku-Lock decks. A bit further along are Deck-Out and Hand Destruction decks; closer to the center you’d find Bounce decks. CCCC (Cookie-Cutter Chaos Control) Decks could fall anywhere from at Pure Control to the center.

Beatdown decks fall close to Pure Aggro. Beastdown decks are right there with them. Gravekeeper decks are about halfway between the center and Pure Aggro; certain Zombie decks fall near Gravekeepers (while others fall on the Control side). Control is more popular than Aggro, but both have their merits.

Well, many duelists do not realise it, but your surroundings are EVERYTHING in a good duel. For instance, if you go to a tournament at a brand new store, then you will not know how things will be run, and that frightens many. Another way many duelists are frightened like this is when they go to a spot familiar to many duelists.... The constent chitter all around them, along with the pressure that comes with most any tourney is to much for many to bare alone...... That is why it is best to take a friend with you, for someone you know to be there comfort you (teeheehee... power of friendship... lol) whilst you have those panic attacks that come with almost every tourney for a lot of duelists. Another good thing is to block your sense of sound, except for when you really need it. I have constructed my own little CD I play whilst competeing in a tourney, and play that loudly, using heaadphones (the first song is headstrong by trapped... i play it loud enough for my opponent to hear, and it makes them nervous. lol). There are many ways to use your advantages such as that to your advantage, like mentioned in my little parenthesis.... another good thing to do is to chec with the TO often, so that you know everything is going smoothly, to assist in once agasin calming you down.
The last thing you need to do with your surroundings is STAY CONSISTENT! I f you play a CD, as I do, be sure to play it for every duel that means anything to you, because if you get use to playing one way, it may be difficult to play the big ganmes in other ways.