I had not been updating my E HERO deck in months, and I'm currently very very busy to play test on DN due to assignments and stuff. But, I did found some time just now (I woke up at 2:30 am thinking it was 5, took my shower and coffee, waiting for my dad to wake up, went into his room, and saw the time, feeling fucked up) and updated my decklist to the current meta. My first thought was to have a card in main deck that would do good against Inzektor and Machina Gadget, one that would stop them in their tracks effectively, it didn't took long as that card is glued into my side deck since the beginning of time, naturally, that card is Skill Drain.
monster(8):
3 E HERO Neos Allius
2 E HERO Bubbleman
1 E HERO Airman
1 E HERO Ocean
1 E HERO Forestman
spell (18):
3 E Emergency Call
3 Pot of Duality
3 Miracle Fusion
3 Gemini Spark
2 Mystic Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Future Fusion
1 Polymerization
trap (14):
3 HERO Blast
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Skill Drain
2 Dark Bribe
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
extra (15):
3 E HERO The Shining
2 E HERO Absolute ZERO
1 E HERO The GREAT Tornado
1 E HERO Gaia
1 E HERO Escuridao
1 E HERO Nova Master
1 E HERO The Earth
2 Blade Armor Ninja
1 H-C Excalibur
1 No39 Hope
1 NoC39 Hope Ray
I've played a game with this build just now and found it fairly consistent, being the hybrid of my normal HERO build, Bubble Beat and HERO Beat. The one card I find iffy in here would be Future Fusion, its good for setting up HERO Blast plays but I find it dead without Blast in the opening hand, and even if I have Blast, its normally too obvious. Simply put, good players can easily play around it. Maybe I would replace it with a Book of Moon or something.
Forestman and Ocean are 2 cards people would never play in their deck, but those 2 are cards I would never take out of my deck. With Skill Drain out, Forest is still a 2000 wall; without Skill Drain, your opponent has to make sure they can get pass your backrow to them, since come standby phase, they will gain you massive advantages. Or maybe this is just my ego speaking, since I like these cards.
I would really like to find room for the 3rd MST, being my favorite card this format. I would want MST to be in my opening 6 every game (if my opponent is not Chaos Dragons), but now, I couldn't really fit a 3rd one in here. Also, I like to play a pair of Dark Bribe in here, ever since I saw Joe Giorlando's Long Beach Top 4 HERO beat deck. I do feel that it is still the best card there is in the game (next to Judgment) to keep Skill Drain on the board. Unlike cards like Fake Trap, it is NOT situation and can be chain to a Solemn and Lance, which are cards your opponent normally plays to stop your Gemini Sparks. Like I've said in my previous blog posts, HERO'ss greatest asset lies in Gemini Spark, play it right and you will win, if your opponent somehow stops it, your in a minus 1 all of a sudden, and in a control deck, thats bad.
Compulse is a card I never like to be in here, its good and I know this, but it feels so cheap, it feels like eating some food you bought at a road side stall in a fancy Spanish restaurant. But, I do realize that they're aren't many good traps at the moment due to Inzektor domination, those that can't be chained are instantly drop out of the selection list. Since the deck doesn't play Card-car D, I can't play Phoenix Wing Wind Blast without it being dead half of the time.
3 copies of HERO Blast may be overkill, but I tend to never pull into them when I play 2 copies. Player preference I guess, but I don't think anyone would deny the pure control HERO Blast lets you gain. Then again, I main deck a copy of Future Fusion, so that can help me get Allius into the grave fast enough. But, depending on the results of my testings, the Future Fusion may be my 3rd MST or Book of Moon, so by then, maybe I'll cut down on the HERO Blast.
For the extra deck, I'm not sure if I want to go with 2 Ninja; 2 Excalibur or one of them each and a Gemknight Pearl. Maybe I'll just go completely random and have a Stardust (for Road) or Chimeratech Fortress (for the gadget matchup). Maybe I'll take out the CNo39 for something else, but nothing crosses my mind at the moment. With the new Heroic Champions coming out and not to mention the all awesomeness Gagaga Gunman, the argument above might be completely irrelevant soon enough.
For the side deck, its not done yet, as I have yet to play test all the top tier with the current build, but there are some cards I would consider staples in here.
(1) Thunder King Rai-Oh - What HERO deck doesn't play Thunder King if your not running triple Bubbleman. Thunder King is extremely good against Dino Rabbit and Hieratics (all of its variants). Just putting this card on the board turn 1 against these 2 decks and your in an extremely good position. The Hieratic player's only out would be Dark Hole, or maybe a Tragoedia//Gorz. Rabbit might have more outs, like Forbidden Lance to push over the Thunder King, but your backrow is in no way inferior to theirs, so feel free to start a backrow war with them. I would at least have 2 copies of Thunder Kings in here, depending on the meta shift, the 3rd copy might even see some plays.
(2) Cyber Dragon - While most people would no longer consider CyDra as a side deck staple, I feel the card is still extremely viable in an E HERO side. Machina Gadget is a very very tough deck to beat if you couldn't establish field control very early in the game. Cyber Dragon solves this problem for you. Its also good against rogue decks as an additional beater. Some might prefer Barboros for its 3000 atk points, I would stick with CyDra for this format. The only time Barboros and CyDra would be good, is when you have Skill Drain up on the board (to a lesser extend on CyDra, but ideally), but the only deck that could get pass CyDra with a Skill Drain would be Dark World and a mirror match, none of the other decks could do so. If your going against a Mirror or Dark World, I doubt you would still side in your CyDra//Barbo, and I think you would side out the Skill Drains for something better. Also, CyDra is a better Torrential bait, as you still get your normal summon afterwards.
Conclusion for CyDra vs Barbo would be, while Barboros is bigger, it doesn't really matter in our META game. CyDra is very much better in the Machina Gadget matchup. Although its only 1 match up, I do think this would make an impact in the long run. Maybe you would consider Barbo for it is still bigger than REDMD in Chaos Dragons, but I do think there're better cards. As of now, I'm not sure how many copies of CyDra I would side (if I'm siding them at all), it all kinda depends on how big the Gadget population grow.
(3) DD Crow - The card kinda die out due to the preference towards Macro Cosmos, the only decks that would run this are those who can't play Cosmos. HEROs are a deck that can't really play Cosmos. They don't die to Cosmos, but they can't work with them either. Crow is a huge card against DWs, the deck's worst matchup. Crow can somewhat stop Inzektors early game, although I do feel the main deck is more than enough to guarantee a game 1 win most of the time. Crow also stops random matchups like Junk Doppel and Infernities. Its a simple one-for-one, which this deck enjoys, so I consider it a good contender for a side deck slot in here. Like CyDra, I'm not sure if I would be playing this, but if I do, I would only play this at 2; not any other number, its 0 or 2.
(4) Forbidden Lance - One of the more important cards in the format, especially useful in Mirror Matches. I can never find room for this card in a HERO's main deck, similarly, I can never find space for it in the side deck. But, that doesn't mean I do not acknowledge this card's power, its just that I can never find room for it. I'm not sure how many copies of this card I can play, but its one of those cards that would instantly be in the side when an empty slot pops out. Extremely good in a HEROs side against mirror and other slower match ups. Any one-for-ones that potentially becomes a plus 1 when played right is always welcome in my side deck.
(5) Bottomless Trap Hole and Dimension Prison - 2 extremely good cards that were forced out of the format by Inzektors. Both of these are good against any match up that isn't Inzektor. I can't think of anything else to say about these 2, and you shouldn't be unfamiliar with them either.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Hieratic deck [Update 23rd June]
This is gonna be one of my last blog post for this deck for a while, since Official Tourney season is over for the most of us, until Top Shop and Asian Plus in September or October. I'm gonna be building more random decks and focus more on my HERO (which I've mostly neglected since ACQ) till then. Looking forward to play the new Mermail and the updates to the Spell Book archtypes looks cool, from what I'm seeing now Abyss Rising is a much better set as compared to Return of Duelist.
monster (21):
3 Aset
3 Su
3 Tfenut
3 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
3 Effect Veiler
3 Cardcar D
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
1 Emerald Dragon
1 Wattail Dragon
spell (14):
3 Hieratic Seal of Convocation
3 Pot of Duality
3 Mystic Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
trap (5):
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Raigeki Break
1 Solemn Judgment
I've looked into the problem with my decklist in WCQ, and concluded that I was playing the deck based too much on countering my opponent instead of trying to do what it suppose to do. Cards like Safe Zone may be great against Inzektors (in theory), but it didn't help me solve problems the majority of the time, and there were times I wished the card I was setting is Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.
Now, why I took out Wing Blast for Raigeki Break. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Wing Blast. But to me, Wing Blast is a card based around defense where Raigeki Break is the offensive part of the duo. A timely played Wing Blast can spell game, since it means your opponent is gonna waste his next turn on a dead card, and it also gives you time to prepare for it, no doubt there. But this is not where I wanna lead my deck into. Raigeki Break is a much simpler card, unlike Wing Blast, you could play it whenever it was targeted without much consideration (given you have hand advantage). While I do agree this to be player preference, I do feel Raigeki Break suits my deck better at the current format, since Machina Gadget is picking up in popularity. Why PWWB is mediocre against gadgets you say? Because of the Gadgets and Offering to the Doom, and sending Gearframe and Fortress for them doesn't solve your problems all to much from my point of view.
I've also played Trago, CyDra and Drago in my main deck during WCQ. These were bad mistakes, they were dead weight in my deck, Drago and Trago especially. The original reasoning for Tragoedia in the main was BLS. I wanted to play BLS no matter what, because this deck lacks a top deck, and I wanna give it a very good one. Experience and play testing showed me that 3 Red-Eyes are more than enough it seems, since I would only ever need BLS if my OTK fails, when that happens, I would most definitely have Red-Eyes in the grave. I do consider Cyber Dragon a better tech as compare to the other 2. It gives me access to Volcasaurus and Tiras much easily, and its a great top deck against Gadgets, but being nothing more than a beatstick for other match ups lead me away from it.
Another thing I notice was that I played far too many monsters for my comfort, and my trap line up was almost non-existence. I usually play no more than 20 monsters, 21 is already pushing it for me, but I played 24 monsters in WCQ. I would definitely do better if those 3 were Traps instead, having more traps suits my playstyle better. Well, I guess this means lesson learned.
Most of the deck stays the same, and I feel this is the best pure Hieratic build in the Asian format, player preference might differ, but I can't see another build, thats not tech to beat Hieratics, taking this down (unless my opponent is Malaysian-God level). I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I'm extremely confident with this build, I've been building numerous builds and constantly test playing the deck for the past few months. My only regret was that I did not stick with this build, but instead trying to do too much in WCQ. "Try not to do too much and focus on a goal" is something I ALWAYS tell other Hieratic players when they ask me for advise, guess I should have followed my own advise.
Until new support or a new meta shift occurs, I would no longer update on this deck, as I feel this is the best build for the format (that suits myself). I'm now currently building both Dino Rabbit and Machina Gadgets, as well as updating my extremely obsolete HERO build. I may have lost my 2nd chance for a trip aboard for 2012, but theres still 2 chances left. Signing out.
monster (21):
3 Aset
3 Su
3 Tfenut
3 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
3 Effect Veiler
3 Cardcar D
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
1 Emerald Dragon
1 Wattail Dragon
spell (14):
3 Hieratic Seal of Convocation
3 Pot of Duality
3 Mystic Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
trap (5):
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Raigeki Break
1 Solemn Judgment
I've looked into the problem with my decklist in WCQ, and concluded that I was playing the deck based too much on countering my opponent instead of trying to do what it suppose to do. Cards like Safe Zone may be great against Inzektors (in theory), but it didn't help me solve problems the majority of the time, and there were times I wished the card I was setting is Phoenix Wing Wind Blast.
Now, why I took out Wing Blast for Raigeki Break. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Wing Blast. But to me, Wing Blast is a card based around defense where Raigeki Break is the offensive part of the duo. A timely played Wing Blast can spell game, since it means your opponent is gonna waste his next turn on a dead card, and it also gives you time to prepare for it, no doubt there. But this is not where I wanna lead my deck into. Raigeki Break is a much simpler card, unlike Wing Blast, you could play it whenever it was targeted without much consideration (given you have hand advantage). While I do agree this to be player preference, I do feel Raigeki Break suits my deck better at the current format, since Machina Gadget is picking up in popularity. Why PWWB is mediocre against gadgets you say? Because of the Gadgets and Offering to the Doom, and sending Gearframe and Fortress for them doesn't solve your problems all to much from my point of view.
I've also played Trago, CyDra and Drago in my main deck during WCQ. These were bad mistakes, they were dead weight in my deck, Drago and Trago especially. The original reasoning for Tragoedia in the main was BLS. I wanted to play BLS no matter what, because this deck lacks a top deck, and I wanna give it a very good one. Experience and play testing showed me that 3 Red-Eyes are more than enough it seems, since I would only ever need BLS if my OTK fails, when that happens, I would most definitely have Red-Eyes in the grave. I do consider Cyber Dragon a better tech as compare to the other 2. It gives me access to Volcasaurus and Tiras much easily, and its a great top deck against Gadgets, but being nothing more than a beatstick for other match ups lead me away from it.
Another thing I notice was that I played far too many monsters for my comfort, and my trap line up was almost non-existence. I usually play no more than 20 monsters, 21 is already pushing it for me, but I played 24 monsters in WCQ. I would definitely do better if those 3 were Traps instead, having more traps suits my playstyle better. Well, I guess this means lesson learned.
Most of the deck stays the same, and I feel this is the best pure Hieratic build in the Asian format, player preference might differ, but I can't see another build, thats not tech to beat Hieratics, taking this down (unless my opponent is Malaysian-God level). I'm not trying to sound arrogant, but I'm extremely confident with this build, I've been building numerous builds and constantly test playing the deck for the past few months. My only regret was that I did not stick with this build, but instead trying to do too much in WCQ. "Try not to do too much and focus on a goal" is something I ALWAYS tell other Hieratic players when they ask me for advise, guess I should have followed my own advise.
Until new support or a new meta shift occurs, I would no longer update on this deck, as I feel this is the best build for the format (that suits myself). I'm now currently building both Dino Rabbit and Machina Gadgets, as well as updating my extremely obsolete HERO build. I may have lost my 2nd chance for a trip aboard for 2012, but theres still 2 chances left. Signing out.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Chaos Dragons Tops Malaysian WCQ//Nationals
Trying to introduce this deck sounds stupid, since its stampeding throughout the whole TCG since its debut months ago. Yes, this deck needs no introduction, a bunch of big bosses, a few monsters that easily make big bosses and also some guys to help you get those bosses out. The deck has incredible top deck abilities rendering any attempt to start a top deck war sounds foolish. No, I'm not here today to discuss what the deck does, everyone knows that and no one wants to here more, I'm here to discuss how this deck can win in the Asian Format without the Tourguides and stuff.
Weeks ago, the mere attempt to play this deck in WCQ Malaysia was like playing Final Coutdown or Chain Burn to many. People think of it as a suicide bomber. Most people here don't read blogs or follow the TCG, and those who do mostly felt the deck is not gonna do good based on the META. TCG's top deck is Rabbit while our's is Inzektor, thats one of the most common reasoning I've received. I don't understand why Chaos Dragons have a bad match up against Inzektors, I really find the truth to be the opposite.
Some people say the deck is easily sided against, 3 Macro Cosmos and the deck is dead. I say same applies to Inzektors and Hieratics, 3 Macro or 3 Mask would kill the deck, if the card could stay on the board long enough. I don't understand why no one bought my point that this deck runs a lot more spell trap removal compare to the other decks, this deck has 7 cards in the main deck that could pop back row, and that's before MST gets boarded in. Also, people are thinking that this deck is a one-trick-pony, the only major combo is the Pulsar Red-Eyes loop. While that may be true, a deck doesn't really require that much of combo to begin with, if you have a very good one, just play that repetitively. This deck is not as linear as most people thinks.
Now, how did SungLee build the deck without access to Tourguide. I own a Tourguideless Chaos Dragons, I know the deck can still work without the loli from hell, but it is very apparent that the deck would never be at full power without it, for one, we lack of good generic Dark monsters in our deck, without Tourguide there isn't much of a reason to play even Sangan; not to mention the access to the versatile rank 3 xyzs. SungLee plays Zephyrus the Elite. Summoning Lyla, poping a facedown, return that to hand, ditch it together with a dark for LightPulsar is a very good move I've heard. It doesn't stops there, you could summon DarkFlare, plays it effect to send Wyvern to the grave, bounce DarkFlare back to hand and summoning it again, banishing Wyvern, claiming your Red-Eyes in the process. Theres just tons of plays this BF adds to the already combo heavy Chaos Dragons.
Another card that I found surprising in his main deck was Instant Fusion. In his extra, it features both a level 3 and 5 Dark Fusion monster. Chaos Dragons never really needed their extra that much to begin with, since you normally never even get anything out. With Instant Fusion, SungLee can now make Leviair and Zenmains easier, not to mention Tiras and Volcasaurus. Of cause, it doesn't stops there. Armory Arm and Brionac becomes within hands reach. Armory Arm and BLS is an OTK, and it helps Chaos Dragons gets pass the 3000 attack line which Grapha boasted. Brionac may be a good field clearer, but ditching too much hands is bad, even for Chaos Dragons, but thats not what Dato Tan wants Brionac for. He wants it because its a level 6, and 2 level 6 makes Exa-Beetle (the 1 rank 6 that spells OTK all over it). Exa-Beetle and Pulsar is an OTK, just making it when your opponent doesn't have outs to it already spells trouble, against inexperience opponents, he might even try to Veiler your Beetle to detached the Pulsar equipped to it, you've already won. While Zephyrus is a card that I've considered playing for a long time, Instant Fusion was one I would have never dreamed of, and when I saw it, all the combos just comes rushing in. It was an amazing tech, and maybe this was the temporary replacement for Tourguide we really really needed.
SungLee plays 28 monsters only, which is surprisingly low considering he mills all monsters most of the time; well, the man is good with decks that mill to begin with, he has always been playing decks that mill and ditch out big plays since who knows when. A tech choice where I still do not comprehend would be a single copy of Chain Disappearance in the main deck. Chain Disappearance is good against Inzektors, yes; but it only hits Damsel (since people hardly ever summons Hornet, and if they do, their hand is usually bullshit). For the Hieratic match up, it can hit Aset and Cardcar; for Rabbit, the rabbit; and for Machina Gadgets, well, nothing. Disappearance is a card that defines effectiveness vs efficiency; it hurts a lot when it goes off, but its target is too limited. Like many would say, why not Treacherous Traphole instead, since you don't play any other trap, and Inzektors will have 2 cards one the board, same goes to Rabbit and Hieratic, sometimes Machina. Well, SungLee is known for making weird deck choices, and some how works, thats not news. But I suspect the reason why he played it was because he totally forgot about Treacherous Traphole (LOL), since he can be really random as well.
Thats about it, kudos to SungLee for scoring another flight to World Championship (he was the 2010 Malaysian rep). And a really really solid way to proof that Chaos Dragons means business in the OCG.
Weeks ago, the mere attempt to play this deck in WCQ Malaysia was like playing Final Coutdown or Chain Burn to many. People think of it as a suicide bomber. Most people here don't read blogs or follow the TCG, and those who do mostly felt the deck is not gonna do good based on the META. TCG's top deck is Rabbit while our's is Inzektor, thats one of the most common reasoning I've received. I don't understand why Chaos Dragons have a bad match up against Inzektors, I really find the truth to be the opposite.
Some people say the deck is easily sided against, 3 Macro Cosmos and the deck is dead. I say same applies to Inzektors and Hieratics, 3 Macro or 3 Mask would kill the deck, if the card could stay on the board long enough. I don't understand why no one bought my point that this deck runs a lot more spell trap removal compare to the other decks, this deck has 7 cards in the main deck that could pop back row, and that's before MST gets boarded in. Also, people are thinking that this deck is a one-trick-pony, the only major combo is the Pulsar Red-Eyes loop. While that may be true, a deck doesn't really require that much of combo to begin with, if you have a very good one, just play that repetitively. This deck is not as linear as most people thinks.
Now, how did SungLee build the deck without access to Tourguide. I own a Tourguideless Chaos Dragons, I know the deck can still work without the loli from hell, but it is very apparent that the deck would never be at full power without it, for one, we lack of good generic Dark monsters in our deck, without Tourguide there isn't much of a reason to play even Sangan; not to mention the access to the versatile rank 3 xyzs. SungLee plays Zephyrus the Elite. Summoning Lyla, poping a facedown, return that to hand, ditch it together with a dark for LightPulsar is a very good move I've heard. It doesn't stops there, you could summon DarkFlare, plays it effect to send Wyvern to the grave, bounce DarkFlare back to hand and summoning it again, banishing Wyvern, claiming your Red-Eyes in the process. Theres just tons of plays this BF adds to the already combo heavy Chaos Dragons.
Another card that I found surprising in his main deck was Instant Fusion. In his extra, it features both a level 3 and 5 Dark Fusion monster. Chaos Dragons never really needed their extra that much to begin with, since you normally never even get anything out. With Instant Fusion, SungLee can now make Leviair and Zenmains easier, not to mention Tiras and Volcasaurus. Of cause, it doesn't stops there. Armory Arm and Brionac becomes within hands reach. Armory Arm and BLS is an OTK, and it helps Chaos Dragons gets pass the 3000 attack line which Grapha boasted. Brionac may be a good field clearer, but ditching too much hands is bad, even for Chaos Dragons, but thats not what Dato Tan wants Brionac for. He wants it because its a level 6, and 2 level 6 makes Exa-Beetle (the 1 rank 6 that spells OTK all over it). Exa-Beetle and Pulsar is an OTK, just making it when your opponent doesn't have outs to it already spells trouble, against inexperience opponents, he might even try to Veiler your Beetle to detached the Pulsar equipped to it, you've already won. While Zephyrus is a card that I've considered playing for a long time, Instant Fusion was one I would have never dreamed of, and when I saw it, all the combos just comes rushing in. It was an amazing tech, and maybe this was the temporary replacement for Tourguide we really really needed.
SungLee plays 28 monsters only, which is surprisingly low considering he mills all monsters most of the time; well, the man is good with decks that mill to begin with, he has always been playing decks that mill and ditch out big plays since who knows when. A tech choice where I still do not comprehend would be a single copy of Chain Disappearance in the main deck. Chain Disappearance is good against Inzektors, yes; but it only hits Damsel (since people hardly ever summons Hornet, and if they do, their hand is usually bullshit). For the Hieratic match up, it can hit Aset and Cardcar; for Rabbit, the rabbit; and for Machina Gadgets, well, nothing. Disappearance is a card that defines effectiveness vs efficiency; it hurts a lot when it goes off, but its target is too limited. Like many would say, why not Treacherous Traphole instead, since you don't play any other trap, and Inzektors will have 2 cards one the board, same goes to Rabbit and Hieratic, sometimes Machina. Well, SungLee is known for making weird deck choices, and some how works, thats not news. But I suspect the reason why he played it was because he totally forgot about Treacherous Traphole (LOL), since he can be really random as well.
Thats about it, kudos to SungLee for scoring another flight to World Championship (he was the 2010 Malaysian rep). And a really really solid way to proof that Chaos Dragons means business in the OCG.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
To the guy I took a foul win from:
I am
terribly sorry for that, it’s a very very bad experience, I know, I’ve faced
this too. But I assure you, I wasn’t planning to rule shark you to begin with.
Me, Mike, Andrew, Kyde and Sharmir all
thought that Aset could be set and played like this for months, till 10 minutes
before the match, when head judge ruled it impossible. At that moment, I was
top decking with my life at 300, Pot of Duality got me Convocation, I was more
panic than calm, you should know that. I wasn’t thinking straight and played
based on instinct rather than thinking. Naturally I set Aset Dragon, being the
play I have always done.
It was not until my opponent
brought up the ruling announcement moments ago where I remembered it. I started
defending myself because I don’t want to lose the match because of some ruling
that was so drastically different from what I’m used to. I know anymore would
sound like excuses, but I am truly sorry for that, and I did quote that game as
the most shameful game I’ve ever played in my last post. I’ll take blame for
everything regarding that move; BUT if my opponent is accusing me cheater for
something else, such as when I trick him into playing Maxx C at the wrong
timing, I would not take blame for that. Because tricking your opponent into
the wrong move via dialogue is the unspoken rule of trading card game.(ie, declare
to him I’m playing Tfenut’s effect to special a Dragon in a provocative manner
to make him not drop the Maxx C just yet, and capitalize on his lack of ruling knowledge
on Maxx C when he drop it after I summon)
I’m not sure whether this is a
case of rule sharking or not, but whatever it is, I take the blame. I’ve heard
news from my friends; it is highly likely he is thinking I was favored because
I am friends with judge Cookie. Cookie//Joshua is a good judge, while he can be
an ass at times; his judgment is usually unbiased when it comes to things like
this(like how he looked through half a dozen of sites just to confirm the
ruling of LightPulsar VS ExaBeetle, wanting to confirm his call before actually
calling it). There is a standard procedure of doing stuffs and previous
examples of similar cases were ruled in the same way as this, committer gets
foul 1, and game goes on. Please do not hurt our good judge’s reputation. And
because of this rule, I continued with my defense because I know this was how
the judges do things.
Also,
thanks Alex Yeo and Jason for backing me up at that moment, I really appreciated
it guys. Especially since we never really talk to each other outside of the
dueling table, in Jason’s case, we even had an argument over a ruling the last
time we talked.
If anyone
of you are friends with my opponent that match, please help me direct him to
this, as I have no idea who he is and how can I contact him. Please treat this
as a sincere apology on my part.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Re:Chaos Dragons - the dark horse of WCQ
Called It!! Remember weeks ago I posted a blog post stating this deck would make an impact on WCQ, I was expecting it to top, winning the event was beyond of my expectations. I revericed so many comments stating that TCG and OCG are different, and all I was saying are mere predictions based on a format that does not exist. And Dato Tan became my reference.
Remember when I said I would do well if my meta analysis was right, it was right. Problem was my opponent was Alex. I knew Machina Gadget is gonna be strong this format, hence I mained CyDra, but Alex proves a force too strong for a single CyDra in main, 3 Virus in side to handle. Partially because I was trying to bait him into a bad play and win from there. After the match, it hit me "this is Alex ... what are the odds of him making a bad play ..."
WCQ report
A day before the event I play tested with multiple Hieratic builds and just found nothing really suits me. Came back to my original build with CyDra instead of PWWB as tech, but the deck just doesn't move smoothly.
Before my game, judge announce that Aset Dragon could not be set, I didn't know this as I assume it being the same thing as Sirocco and such. After brief discussion, it was concluded that the move was not possible.
Top32: VS Inzektor
Duel 1: He set a monster and a S/T. I set Safe Zone and farm with CCD. He flip Damsel, equip Gruf, I play Veiler on it, he then swings for 1000. I play MST and drop an OTK on him.
Duel 2: I was leading him by a lot, having Macro face up, Safe Zone face down. He has Gruf equipped with Hornet, 3 S/T. I special summon CyDra, holding Aset, I wanted to go into Tyrus, but I don't want to risk Warning. I attack with CyDra, he chain 2 Lances to make me drop 1600 attack point, however, this was not possible because the 2nd lance would negate the first 1, making me only dropping 800 and would kill his Inzektor, sadly I wasn't quick to realize that, and went downfall from there.
Duel 3: I didn't open good and the duel drag on to the point that I'm at 1800 and him at 1000. I Torrential his Zenmain and Damsel, he attacks me with Zenmaines, in the end turn, he forgot to pop my set card, maybe luck is on my side? I play my facedown Duality and get Convocation, grab Aset and set both that and Storm. Ending. My opponent was about to draw for his turn, but realize that my move was illegal, he ask me to replay that, my point was I didn't realize that and he already acknowledge it. Jason and Alex both backed me up and Cookie(the judge) came in and stated to him that he has correct my mistake when I commit it, giving me a foul 1 in process, duel goes on. His Zenmaines can easily walk over Aset, but his chose to put it in defense and set 2. I flip Storm and set Torrential. He summons Damsel and I clear the board, now I have nothing and he has a Veiler(POD) only. I drew for turn REDMD, my balls shrunk and I cursed my luck, passing hopping he drew nothing. He set his monster and a S/T. I drew Aset next, knowing I won't have another chance of wining, I make REDMD and summon Gaia, attacked ... and game.
After the match, I wanted to apologize to my opponent for making an illegal move but he was obviously not in the mood to be entertained, so I kept it to myself. This was easily my most shameful win in my 10 years of playing, I do realize this. I only won this game because I was friends with a lot of big names there and no one knew who my opponent was. Conspiracy much.
Top16: VS Machina Gadget - Alex Yeo
I'm still in a losing streak against Alex, I played him at least in 6~7 events and always drop when I met him. Oddly enough, maybe my guilt from the previous match was haunting me or something, I just can't imagine myself beating him this time, since he helped me out a lot the last game. Regardless, the game has to go on.
Duel 1: I open good, holding both REDMD and BLS early on. When I got the chance to attack, I summon Aset and Su, Su got Warning'ed, I got Emerald Dragon out, I banish the dragon for REDMD, Alex played Raigeki Break, I flipped Safe Zone, summoning Su from the grave, and attacked for 2200. His turn came, played Storm on me, I chained Book to save my REDMD, he summon a Gadget, Reborn another, make Giganto X, searches for Gearframe, ditching both Gadget for Fortress. Giganto X walk over Su and Fortress attacked a facedown REDMD. I main deck CyDra, so I was hoping I could draw into it, but no, sadly, I pass, wanting to save my BLS for an opening, but died next turn to his rush.
Duel 2: I open the randomest hand ever, Heavy, MST, MST, Dust Tornado, Emerald, Virus. Maybe its because I knew I would lose with a hand like this, I don't feel nervous any longer, and made better plays. He summons Gearframe, gets Fortress, attacks and POD for Raigeki Break, sets 3. I play MST from hand, wanting to chain everything off, but he chain his targeted Compulse on his Gearframe. I summon CCD and drew. He summons his Gearframe again, gets Cannon and attacks. I MST and Dust his back row, he chains Raigeki Break, ditching his Fortress to kill his Gearframe, obviously not wanting me to drop Tfenut, and also telegraphing to me he has no Veiler. I play Reborn on his Fortress and attacked. He summons a Gadget and drop Fortress, both Fortress kills each other, he gadget attacks me and he pass after setting 1. I play storm, drop Tfenut and then tribute for Aset, made Atum, summon REDMD, Aset, special Su, make Focus Force and Gaia, drop Virus for game.
I was surprise how I made a comeback with that opening hand, I honestly thought that I'm gonna 2-0 drop when I pulled that opening hand. I guess over predicting on his part plays a part.
Duel 3: I open Virus, Cydra, MST, Dust, CCD, Torrential, a very good hand in comparison to the last game. But that lead to my downfall as I began to think how am I gonna win instead of playing conservative, the feeling of finally beating Alex after all these years was pulling me away from making good judgment. I started by blind MST his backrow, hit a mindcrush, he lets it go. Summons CCD, set Dust and Torrential, he flipped Mask of Restrict. He summons Gearframe, I played Torrential because I didn't want to see a Giganto X, but in fact, I should have left it because I have Torrential to keep me in game and also CyDra to win if he really did over extended but not kill me, he drops Fortress next and swing for 2500. I Dust his facedown and make Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, swing for 2000 and passed. He Dark Holed me and summon Gadget. I topped a REDMD (before the 3rd game, I was debating whether to keep 3 REDMD or 2 REDMD and a BLS, I went with the former; but I really wished I gone with the latter at this point), not having Catastor in extra, I can't go Virus and Veiler, I passed, he rushed and win next turn.
After the match, we had a bried discussion on how the game should have went, he told me that he was originally gonna play conservatively, but felt he needs to end the game before I pull anything.
Normally I would feel real bad if I scrubbed in top16, but I feel nothing today, I felt a lot worst losing to Sam at ACQ. Maybe because of the guilt from top32. Sung Lee won with Chaos Dragons, which made me and Andrew go LOL, since we debated on whether to play Chaos Dragons earlier yesterday and the day before, but we both know we can't mill as well.
Before my game, judge announce that Aset Dragon could not be set, I didn't know this as I assume it being the same thing as Sirocco and such. After brief discussion, it was concluded that the move was not possible.
Top32: VS Inzektor
Duel 1: He set a monster and a S/T. I set Safe Zone and farm with CCD. He flip Damsel, equip Gruf, I play Veiler on it, he then swings for 1000. I play MST and drop an OTK on him.
Duel 2: I was leading him by a lot, having Macro face up, Safe Zone face down. He has Gruf equipped with Hornet, 3 S/T. I special summon CyDra, holding Aset, I wanted to go into Tyrus, but I don't want to risk Warning. I attack with CyDra, he chain 2 Lances to make me drop 1600 attack point, however, this was not possible because the 2nd lance would negate the first 1, making me only dropping 800 and would kill his Inzektor, sadly I wasn't quick to realize that, and went downfall from there.
Duel 3: I didn't open good and the duel drag on to the point that I'm at 1800 and him at 1000. I Torrential his Zenmain and Damsel, he attacks me with Zenmaines, in the end turn, he forgot to pop my set card, maybe luck is on my side? I play my facedown Duality and get Convocation, grab Aset and set both that and Storm. Ending. My opponent was about to draw for his turn, but realize that my move was illegal, he ask me to replay that, my point was I didn't realize that and he already acknowledge it. Jason and Alex both backed me up and Cookie(the judge) came in and stated to him that he has correct my mistake when I commit it, giving me a foul 1 in process, duel goes on. His Zenmaines can easily walk over Aset, but his chose to put it in defense and set 2. I flip Storm and set Torrential. He summons Damsel and I clear the board, now I have nothing and he has a Veiler(POD) only. I drew for turn REDMD, my balls shrunk and I cursed my luck, passing hopping he drew nothing. He set his monster and a S/T. I drew Aset next, knowing I won't have another chance of wining, I make REDMD and summon Gaia, attacked ... and game.
After the match, I wanted to apologize to my opponent for making an illegal move but he was obviously not in the mood to be entertained, so I kept it to myself. This was easily my most shameful win in my 10 years of playing, I do realize this. I only won this game because I was friends with a lot of big names there and no one knew who my opponent was. Conspiracy much.
Top16: VS Machina Gadget - Alex Yeo
I'm still in a losing streak against Alex, I played him at least in 6~7 events and always drop when I met him. Oddly enough, maybe my guilt from the previous match was haunting me or something, I just can't imagine myself beating him this time, since he helped me out a lot the last game. Regardless, the game has to go on.
Duel 1: I open good, holding both REDMD and BLS early on. When I got the chance to attack, I summon Aset and Su, Su got Warning'ed, I got Emerald Dragon out, I banish the dragon for REDMD, Alex played Raigeki Break, I flipped Safe Zone, summoning Su from the grave, and attacked for 2200. His turn came, played Storm on me, I chained Book to save my REDMD, he summon a Gadget, Reborn another, make Giganto X, searches for Gearframe, ditching both Gadget for Fortress. Giganto X walk over Su and Fortress attacked a facedown REDMD. I main deck CyDra, so I was hoping I could draw into it, but no, sadly, I pass, wanting to save my BLS for an opening, but died next turn to his rush.
Duel 2: I open the randomest hand ever, Heavy, MST, MST, Dust Tornado, Emerald, Virus. Maybe its because I knew I would lose with a hand like this, I don't feel nervous any longer, and made better plays. He summons Gearframe, gets Fortress, attacks and POD for Raigeki Break, sets 3. I play MST from hand, wanting to chain everything off, but he chain his targeted Compulse on his Gearframe. I summon CCD and drew. He summons his Gearframe again, gets Cannon and attacks. I MST and Dust his back row, he chains Raigeki Break, ditching his Fortress to kill his Gearframe, obviously not wanting me to drop Tfenut, and also telegraphing to me he has no Veiler. I play Reborn on his Fortress and attacked. He summons a Gadget and drop Fortress, both Fortress kills each other, he gadget attacks me and he pass after setting 1. I play storm, drop Tfenut and then tribute for Aset, made Atum, summon REDMD, Aset, special Su, make Focus Force and Gaia, drop Virus for game.
I was surprise how I made a comeback with that opening hand, I honestly thought that I'm gonna 2-0 drop when I pulled that opening hand. I guess over predicting on his part plays a part.
Duel 3: I open Virus, Cydra, MST, Dust, CCD, Torrential, a very good hand in comparison to the last game. But that lead to my downfall as I began to think how am I gonna win instead of playing conservative, the feeling of finally beating Alex after all these years was pulling me away from making good judgment. I started by blind MST his backrow, hit a mindcrush, he lets it go. Summons CCD, set Dust and Torrential, he flipped Mask of Restrict. He summons Gearframe, I played Torrential because I didn't want to see a Giganto X, but in fact, I should have left it because I have Torrential to keep me in game and also CyDra to win if he really did over extended but not kill me, he drops Fortress next and swing for 2500. I Dust his facedown and make Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, swing for 2000 and passed. He Dark Holed me and summon Gadget. I topped a REDMD (before the 3rd game, I was debating whether to keep 3 REDMD or 2 REDMD and a BLS, I went with the former; but I really wished I gone with the latter at this point), not having Catastor in extra, I can't go Virus and Veiler, I passed, he rushed and win next turn.
After the match, we had a bried discussion on how the game should have went, he told me that he was originally gonna play conservatively, but felt he needs to end the game before I pull anything.
Normally I would feel real bad if I scrubbed in top16, but I feel nothing today, I felt a lot worst losing to Sam at ACQ. Maybe because of the guilt from top32. Sung Lee won with Chaos Dragons, which made me and Andrew go LOL, since we debated on whether to play Chaos Dragons earlier yesterday and the day before, but we both know we can't mill as well.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Slight Update
Sorry for not blogging for a week, I was busy rushing all of my assignments so I can have my weekends (last and this coming) free. I have 4 assignments (2 which require prototypes) and a FYP (final year project for those of you who don't know) this semester, its gonna be chaotic. But I manage to get a deal with my lecturers to finish everything in 2 months so I would be free on the weekend for Worlds.
Planning ahead of myself here, I know. But I am feeling pretty confident here as the only big name in the country I have yet to take a win from would be Malaysian God Sam, and I want my revenge match. Anyone else, I say I have a 50/50 chance of winning, and that statistic could be significantly higher if my meta call is right (not revealing yet!), but that works both ways, if I somehow scrubbed this coming weekend, that means my meta call went the other way round. Not to sound arrogant or anything but I need my morale boost!
Planning ahead of myself here, I know. But I am feeling pretty confident here as the only big name in the country I have yet to take a win from would be Malaysian God Sam, and I want my revenge match. Anyone else, I say I have a 50/50 chance of winning, and that statistic could be significantly higher if my meta call is right (not revealing yet!), but that works both ways, if I somehow scrubbed this coming weekend, that means my meta call went the other way round. Not to sound arrogant or anything but I need my morale boost!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Side deck choices for the WCQ Malaysia // Nationals format
WCQ
Malaysia is next Sunday, to the duelist participating, I wish you the best of
luck (of cause, my main goal is to take the title for myself, not gonna lie).
Also, it should be a given that you have already decide upon your decklist and
strategies as last minute work usually doesn’t go well. You also need enough
time for practicing, no matter how good you think you are with your deck, your
contenders are some of the best duelist in the whole country , take no short
cuts, play test with good players. This weekend would most likely be your last
chance to play test, so, unless you have something really important you HAVE to
attend to (ie, life…), please make use of this last play test session.
Now, some
of the guys out there may still have doubts on the side deck you should be
preparing. This isn’t uncommon, as most players here tend to focus too much on
their main deck. But you play 2 or you 3 matches with your side, knowing and
not knowing how to utilize this usually determines the winner. I’ve repeated
the importance of the side deck numerous times before, and I shall do it again
now. Please, understand and build a good side deck, IT IS IMPORTANT! And again,
don’t take short cuts, play test with the side decks as well, I know many who
just prepare a side deck that has the outs to all the decks he/she might face,
but face a difficult decision on what to take out for the swap-ins.
Personally,
if you run a deck that can play Skill Drain, you should definitely play Skill
Drain. Decks that could run Skill Drain include Dark Worlds, T.G (uncommon here
though), Hieratics (yes, Hieratics is a deck that could do well under Skill
Drain), Chaos Dragons (BUT, the main reason why you wanna play Skill Drain is
Inzektors; Chaos Dragons have no problem for Inzektors, so I don’t think you
need to run it, but theres always this option) and arguably, Rabbits. Having Skill
Drain in the deck lets you play some of the more powerful but non-chainable
traps, Mirror Force and Dimension Prison (more so for the latter) comes into
mind. Prison is a very powerful card, the main reason it doesn’t see plays is
because of Inzektors, but it is very effective against rogue decks like Dark
Worlds, Gravekeepers and Chaos Dragons; it also does well against more
established decks like Rabbits and Machina. Having Skill Drain also means you
can side this in even against decks like Hieratics. Although it’s still not
that good against Inzektors, but hey, a card that can do damage to all decks
aside of 1 is good side deck material.
Next, you
MUST have cards in your side that deals with the graveyard. Be it DD Crow,
Macro Cosmos or Transmigration Prophecy. These cards will be of use this
format, half the decks in the format needs constant utilization with their graveyard.
Cut that off, and you’ve already in the winning side. Inzektors could look into
Dimension Fissure once more, and when I say “could”, I meant, put serious
consideration into it. Dimension Fissure was a card that Inzektors played when
they were introduced into the game, then dropped out of favor for other cards.
Now, I think this is a good time to revisit this card. Firstly, this card stops
Veiler, an Inzektor’s number 1 annoyance while not affecting your game play at
all. Secondly, Dark Worlds backed with Skill Drain can really do a lot of
damage to Inzektors, and this card does more damage to them; also, Chaos
Dragons, which have a fairly good matchup against Inzektors (which I know the
TCG guys reading this would disagree) also dies to this card. While lacking the
element of surprise like the ones shown with DD Crow, this card (and Cosmos)
back itself up with raw power.
Extra bit
of spell and trap removal is encouraged, not necessary depending on your build.
The best side deck cards at the moment are majority continuous spells and
traps. If your deck dies to one of these, an extra copy or two of Dust Tornado,
Night Beam won’t hurt. It will, if you don’t have these and your opponent side
in a hate. Personally, I prefer Dust Tornado over Night Beam because of my
playstyle, and I trust my ability in reading face downs. I don’t like my
opponent flipping the face down Continuous Trap or play Necrovalley when I’m
holding Night Beam either. While considerably slower, it suits my play style a
lot more than Night Beam, but this choice is player’s preference.
To
summarize things, in your side deck, you’ll need (1) Outs to popular decks, (2)
Outs to bad match ups, (3) Outs to hates, and if possible, (4) Something effective
with the element of surprise. Thanks for reading, this blog post is majorly
targeted towards duelist that has troubles with side decking (obviously); feel free
to drop a comment regarding interesting side deck choices, especially if that
something isn’t controversial, additional choices and information is always
good.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Super Inzektor Hate Hieratics!!
On contrary to the blog post name, I do not hate Inzektor as a deck at all, just saying. Because I see a lot of guys saying stuff like they hate Inzektors and stuff, just to clarify, I'm not one of them. Well, guys who say this usually hates every single topping deck they do not own themselves. And back to topic!
monster (22):
3 Hieratic Dragon of Su
3 Hieratic Dragon of Tfenut
3 Hieratic Dragon of Aset
3 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
1 Wattail Dragon
1 Emerald Dragon
3 Card-car D
2 Effect Veiler
2 Tragodia
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy
spell (13):
3 Pot of Duality
3 Hieratic Seal of Convocation
3 Mystic Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Chalice
1 Monster Reborn
1 Heavy Storm
trap (5):
2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
2 Skill Drain
1 Solemn Judgment
Yes, basically I have main decked 2 of each effect hates in monster, spell and trap form. Why not 3 Veiler and 3 Skill Drain, or even lower the hate count? Torrential Tribute missing?
If I can leave Skill Drain up on the field, I pretty much win because Hieratics are still very big even after they've turned vanilla. But, Skill Drain is slow, if I chain it to 1 of their effects, a MST will ruin my negation, people now main all 3 of their MSTs here. Veilers are here to stop those effects when I have no Drain; also stopping those turn 1 plays (especially Cardcar D), but I found the 3rd copy stuck dead most of the time.
As you might have know from the previous post, I love Forbidden Chalice. Here, it serves as a transition between Skill Drain and Veiler. Also, it helps me kill those Morphing Jar #2's. I don't have much more to discuss on Chalice here, refer to my previous post. Simply put, I want to cover as many ground as I can, even it means playing fewer copies of the same card.
Why no Torrential? Simple, the only reason we play Torrential on a Damsel or Centipede is because they will plus off it, now they can't, my monsters will be bigger than their Inzektors.
I've come to like this build quite a bit now, since I can focus my side deck to mirror match, Machina Gadget and Dark Worlds more.
monster (22):
3 Hieratic Dragon of Su
3 Hieratic Dragon of Tfenut
3 Hieratic Dragon of Aset
3 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
1 Wattail Dragon
1 Emerald Dragon
3 Card-car D
2 Effect Veiler
2 Tragodia
1 Black Luster Soldier - Envoy
spell (13):
3 Pot of Duality
3 Hieratic Seal of Convocation
3 Mystic Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Chalice
1 Monster Reborn
1 Heavy Storm
trap (5):
2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
2 Skill Drain
1 Solemn Judgment
Yes, basically I have main decked 2 of each effect hates in monster, spell and trap form. Why not 3 Veiler and 3 Skill Drain, or even lower the hate count? Torrential Tribute missing?
If I can leave Skill Drain up on the field, I pretty much win because Hieratics are still very big even after they've turned vanilla. But, Skill Drain is slow, if I chain it to 1 of their effects, a MST will ruin my negation, people now main all 3 of their MSTs here. Veilers are here to stop those effects when I have no Drain; also stopping those turn 1 plays (especially Cardcar D), but I found the 3rd copy stuck dead most of the time.
As you might have know from the previous post, I love Forbidden Chalice. Here, it serves as a transition between Skill Drain and Veiler. Also, it helps me kill those Morphing Jar #2's. I don't have much more to discuss on Chalice here, refer to my previous post. Simply put, I want to cover as many ground as I can, even it means playing fewer copies of the same card.
Why no Torrential? Simple, the only reason we play Torrential on a Damsel or Centipede is because they will plus off it, now they can't, my monsters will be bigger than their Inzektors.
I've come to like this build quite a bit now, since I can focus my side deck to mirror match, Machina Gadget and Dark Worlds more.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
CA Seed Qualifier Report "Are You Thirsty, Bro?"
Helped my mom at her office since 8am in the morning, manage to finish work by noon and rush to CA, luckily it was only a 10 minutes drive from my mom's office. Tourney starts late, because of some unforeseen issues, head count was low, 12. Partially because Card Arena (CA) is basically a Vanguard hangout, not YGO. And many don't even know where this is. I found this place only because Mike knew the way; Rauzes brought him there once.
Because I've already qualify for top32, my only objective was to help either Kyde or Mike out. But one of my closest YGO friend, Fishtank showed up, and now I have no idea who to support. I came into conclusion, help no one, let them settle things off themselves. I use this tournament to test out Chaos Dragons in OCG. While the turn out was small, more than half of the players are constant locals topper, so this would be a great chance to put this deck to work.
Also, I build a side deck 5 minutes before the matches starts, but basically I just import my Hieratics side deck with a little changes. Just before the tourney, it was announce that the format would be single elimination, well, I don't particularly mind since winning this means nothing more than proving my deck, unlike the others who are trying to qualify.
Deck used : Chaos Dragons
Match 1 : VS Dark Worlds
Duel 1 : I open Future Fusion but my hand doesn't really have any plays, so I just summon Lyla and milled, just to get my engine going. He pop my Future Fusion with Grapha and Gates, and attacked over Lyla, setting 1. I summon Pulsar and Lyla, trying to pop his gate, he flipped Skill Drain. I played Dark Hole just to get some damage in with Red-Eyes. He is now at 4200. He then got a whole field of 2 Graphas, a Snow, Gates and Skill Drain out, drop me to the 2000s. I was only holding Lyla and Judgment, Skill Drain was in the way and JD could only crash with a Grapha who would come back the next turn. I drew for my turn, HEAVY STORM!!! Judgment clear the field after storm got Skill Drain (and Gates) and both my monsters did 4700 to my opponent. Luck was with me at this point since I don't main deck MSTs.
Duel 2 : He starts with Gates, set 4 and a monster facedown, obvious Morphing Jar. My whole hand was monsters, I topped deck a Storm, but he had Judgment for it. His advantage from Jar was too big and killed me next turn with Grapha, Goldd and (a reborned) Dark Flare. He showed me he had Card Destruction and another Grapha together with Snow in hand, so it doesn't really matter.
Duel 3 : I start by summoning Lyla and setting MST. He played Dealings, ditching Broww while I ditch Wyvern. He played Gates but I had MST. He sets 1 and passes. I played Lyla's effect, hitting BTH. I proceed to do my stunts and summon a bunch of big monsters in one turn.
OXO
1-0
Match 2 : VS Inzektor - LCW
Duel 1 : I open with Future Fusion but just seem to get the engine started. He controlled the whole board while I watched. I dropped a Trago on him to try do some damage and start my combo, but he had mind control.
Duel 2 : Recharge 3 times in my first turn and filled my grave good. That also nett me 2 Veilers in hand. Beatsticks and Veilers win you games.
Duel 3 : Both players didn't draw good this game. But my opponent misplayed by playing Torrential Tribute when I summon Light Pulsar, killing my Pulsar, Trago and his Centipede. I got REDMD back and brought back Pulsar. I banish Trago and Wyvern for BLS.
XOO
2 - 0
Match 3 : VS Inzektor - Fishtank
Duel 1 : I open with Future Fusion and Veilers. Setting Ryko. He can't get pass this and loss.
Duel 2 : My opponent played Allure and banish Hornet, that means either he has a hand where he can get multiple Hornets, or his Screwed. He summons Card Trooper to mill, suggesting the latter, since I know Fishtank isn't one who mills for no reason playing Inzektor (unlike myself who would mill with Card Trooper just for fun). I couldn't start my combo because I don't have a Dark in Grave, I topped a DD Crow, used it to banish Sangan from his grave and start the combo. Didn't kill him there but he didn't see Hornet for the whole game.
OO
3-0
At this point, the finals would be me and Zack, both of us are already in the top32 for WCQ, but the winner gets a playmat, so we still decides to play for it. Effectively, the 3rd/4th placing is much much more important because 3rd place gets into top 32. I don't know who to support, since it was Fishtank vs Kyde. We didn't start our finals right away since I want to watch their match and Zack was tired. Grats to Kyde for winning; the thing that determine the match was effort I believe, don't get me wrong, Fishtank is a good duelist, but he has to balance his focus on both YGO and Vanguard; while Kyde only plays YGO (with Jspeed bro!).
Finals : VS Hieratics - Zack
This is weird, because normally I would be the one piloting Hieratics. I know I'm in the disadvantage; while Chaos Dragons has better top decks and broken plays, Hieratics are very very much better consistency wise. I know this, I own both these decks and you don't know how many times I've tested these decks against each other.
Duel 1 : I open with an ok hand, but needs minimal set up, I hold 2 Tragos, Pulsar, BLS, REDMD and Wyvern. I set Wyvern and passed. He did Tfenut, Su, REDMD on me, I wasn't really bothered, but he had a tech in the for Enemy Controller to grab my Trago so his Gaia could deal the last 2600 damage on me.
Duel 2 : I open Lyla and milled Reborn, Dark Hole, BLS. Not the best of mills, he summons Drago. I have Jains in hand because I know how much of a bitch Dragos are, but he played control the whole game and never has less than 3 Backrows, can't touch his Drago at all, I finally summoned Jain (I was saving it because it was my only out to Drago, and waiting for Storm, but I need to kill Drago now) he had Enemy Controlled, I milled both my Electric Virus during the end phase, he lol'ed. Effectively kicking me out of the game because those were my only outs left to Drago.
XX
Placing : 2nd place
Conclusion : I'm not playing Chaos Dragons in WCQ, while it is good, it still has the most random hands and mills, and we don't have Tourguide. It can do good against Inzektors, but falls prey to Hieratics; my initial reason for playing the deck was because there won't be much Hieratics around, but now, that is no longer true as the number of Hieratics has officially become META level in Malaysia.
Play tested with Mike and Kyde (and Zack for a lesser degree) till 10:30 pm at night, reach home at 11. Took a shower and went to bed immediately.
What Happened yesterday :
1. Mike Scrubbed!!
2. Mike finalized a very very consistent Inzektor build (don't expect me to review it) after a lengthy session of test play and card to card evaluation.
3. My initial plan to play Chaos Dragons in WCQ is completely crushed, sticking with Hieratics from now on.
4. Vietnamese Curry (which I had for dinner at Asia Cafe) was good, if your in that area, check it out! But this is for those who like spicy stuff, as even I found them spicy.
5. New term unlocked "Are You Thirsty, Bro?" - I don't know what this means as I wasn't paying attention when they first used this term, bu it has something to do with Malaysian-God Sam.
Because I've already qualify for top32, my only objective was to help either Kyde or Mike out. But one of my closest YGO friend, Fishtank showed up, and now I have no idea who to support. I came into conclusion, help no one, let them settle things off themselves. I use this tournament to test out Chaos Dragons in OCG. While the turn out was small, more than half of the players are constant locals topper, so this would be a great chance to put this deck to work.
Also, I build a side deck 5 minutes before the matches starts, but basically I just import my Hieratics side deck with a little changes. Just before the tourney, it was announce that the format would be single elimination, well, I don't particularly mind since winning this means nothing more than proving my deck, unlike the others who are trying to qualify.
Deck used : Chaos Dragons
Match 1 : VS Dark Worlds
Duel 1 : I open Future Fusion but my hand doesn't really have any plays, so I just summon Lyla and milled, just to get my engine going. He pop my Future Fusion with Grapha and Gates, and attacked over Lyla, setting 1. I summon Pulsar and Lyla, trying to pop his gate, he flipped Skill Drain. I played Dark Hole just to get some damage in with Red-Eyes. He is now at 4200. He then got a whole field of 2 Graphas, a Snow, Gates and Skill Drain out, drop me to the 2000s. I was only holding Lyla and Judgment, Skill Drain was in the way and JD could only crash with a Grapha who would come back the next turn. I drew for my turn, HEAVY STORM!!! Judgment clear the field after storm got Skill Drain (and Gates) and both my monsters did 4700 to my opponent. Luck was with me at this point since I don't main deck MSTs.
Duel 2 : He starts with Gates, set 4 and a monster facedown, obvious Morphing Jar. My whole hand was monsters, I topped deck a Storm, but he had Judgment for it. His advantage from Jar was too big and killed me next turn with Grapha, Goldd and (a reborned) Dark Flare. He showed me he had Card Destruction and another Grapha together with Snow in hand, so it doesn't really matter.
Duel 3 : I start by summoning Lyla and setting MST. He played Dealings, ditching Broww while I ditch Wyvern. He played Gates but I had MST. He sets 1 and passes. I played Lyla's effect, hitting BTH. I proceed to do my stunts and summon a bunch of big monsters in one turn.
OXO
1-0
Match 2 : VS Inzektor - LCW
Duel 1 : I open with Future Fusion but just seem to get the engine started. He controlled the whole board while I watched. I dropped a Trago on him to try do some damage and start my combo, but he had mind control.
Duel 2 : Recharge 3 times in my first turn and filled my grave good. That also nett me 2 Veilers in hand. Beatsticks and Veilers win you games.
Duel 3 : Both players didn't draw good this game. But my opponent misplayed by playing Torrential Tribute when I summon Light Pulsar, killing my Pulsar, Trago and his Centipede. I got REDMD back and brought back Pulsar. I banish Trago and Wyvern for BLS.
XOO
2 - 0
Match 3 : VS Inzektor - Fishtank
Duel 1 : I open with Future Fusion and Veilers. Setting Ryko. He can't get pass this and loss.
Duel 2 : My opponent played Allure and banish Hornet, that means either he has a hand where he can get multiple Hornets, or his Screwed. He summons Card Trooper to mill, suggesting the latter, since I know Fishtank isn't one who mills for no reason playing Inzektor (unlike myself who would mill with Card Trooper just for fun). I couldn't start my combo because I don't have a Dark in Grave, I topped a DD Crow, used it to banish Sangan from his grave and start the combo. Didn't kill him there but he didn't see Hornet for the whole game.
OO
3-0
At this point, the finals would be me and Zack, both of us are already in the top32 for WCQ, but the winner gets a playmat, so we still decides to play for it. Effectively, the 3rd/4th placing is much much more important because 3rd place gets into top 32. I don't know who to support, since it was Fishtank vs Kyde. We didn't start our finals right away since I want to watch their match and Zack was tired. Grats to Kyde for winning; the thing that determine the match was effort I believe, don't get me wrong, Fishtank is a good duelist, but he has to balance his focus on both YGO and Vanguard; while Kyde only plays YGO (with Jspeed bro!).
Finals : VS Hieratics - Zack
This is weird, because normally I would be the one piloting Hieratics. I know I'm in the disadvantage; while Chaos Dragons has better top decks and broken plays, Hieratics are very very much better consistency wise. I know this, I own both these decks and you don't know how many times I've tested these decks against each other.
Duel 1 : I open with an ok hand, but needs minimal set up, I hold 2 Tragos, Pulsar, BLS, REDMD and Wyvern. I set Wyvern and passed. He did Tfenut, Su, REDMD on me, I wasn't really bothered, but he had a tech in the for Enemy Controller to grab my Trago so his Gaia could deal the last 2600 damage on me.
Duel 2 : I open Lyla and milled Reborn, Dark Hole, BLS. Not the best of mills, he summons Drago. I have Jains in hand because I know how much of a bitch Dragos are, but he played control the whole game and never has less than 3 Backrows, can't touch his Drago at all, I finally summoned Jain (I was saving it because it was my only out to Drago, and waiting for Storm, but I need to kill Drago now) he had Enemy Controlled, I milled both my Electric Virus during the end phase, he lol'ed. Effectively kicking me out of the game because those were my only outs left to Drago.
XX
Placing : 2nd place
Conclusion : I'm not playing Chaos Dragons in WCQ, while it is good, it still has the most random hands and mills, and we don't have Tourguide. It can do good against Inzektors, but falls prey to Hieratics; my initial reason for playing the deck was because there won't be much Hieratics around, but now, that is no longer true as the number of Hieratics has officially become META level in Malaysia.
Play tested with Mike and Kyde (and Zack for a lesser degree) till 10:30 pm at night, reach home at 11. Took a shower and went to bed immediately.
What Happened yesterday :
1. Mike Scrubbed!!
2. Mike finalized a very very consistent Inzektor build (don't expect me to review it) after a lengthy session of test play and card to card evaluation.
3. My initial plan to play Chaos Dragons in WCQ is completely crushed, sticking with Hieratics from now on.
4. Vietnamese Curry (which I had for dinner at Asia Cafe) was good, if your in that area, check it out! But this is for those who like spicy stuff, as even I found them spicy.
5. New term unlocked "Are You Thirsty, Bro?" - I don't know what this means as I wasn't paying attention when they first used this term, bu it has something to do with Malaysian-God Sam.
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