The Metagame - Sept 2011 Part 3

This is the third part of a multiple-part discussion about the TCG side of Yu-Gi-Oh! Since the banlist peaked its...interesting looking head round the corner, many things have changed, more so than any other format this early on, at least from my personal experience. This time I want to cover a few topics in one post, as I don't really think I have as much to say on each. So without further ado...

Lightsworn! Some people love them, some people hate them. I personally dislike this deck a lot, but I will attempt to withhold personal bias for the sake of this posts integrity. The new banlist has definitely lent a helping hand to lightsworn in the form of a much less backrow heavy format in comparison to the past year, as well as the unlimiting of Judgment Dragon and the semi-limiting of Necro Gardna. This had a lot of duelists blindly running back to Lightsworn with the mindset that it would be the best deck to play. However, even with all these changes, I personally do not believe this. While the helpful factors are quite helpful, the major reason that Lightsworn saw a lot less play in the previous 2 formats is because of the damage that had already been dealt by previous banlists, namely the limiting Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, Charge of the Light Brigade, Honest, and at the time, Necro Gardna. While Necro Gardna has been given a chance to reign at 2, the other 3 aforementioned cards still retain a limited status. This hinders Lightsworn decks a lot. Charge allowed them a tutor, as well as helping to set up all the other plays in the deck. Lumina was a strong choice of search for Charge, as well as facilitating most of the swarm and milling power of the Lightsworn deck. Honest was the icing on the cake, allowing the smaller monsters to live, while allowing strong pushes against strong looking fields. Because of the lack of these cards, I do not feel that Lightsworn can have as strong of a presence on the metagame, at least not in the current way that the deck is commonly built. That is not to say that the deck will not be seen or played. Many will stick by this deck, and will play this deck. The chances are if you are to enter a high level tournament that you will at some point take a loss to this deck, as it can open extremely well. Judgment Dragon still remains as one of the most powerful monsters in the game, and now has free reign with its unlimited status. This deck can also play Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning quite potently, as well as his weaker brother Chaos Sorcerer. In closing, this deck has a lot of tricks at its disposal, as long as it is able or allowed to set up correctly. The difficulty the deck will now have to do this though is what puts me off this deck a lot.

The second topic I want to discuss is the big swap: Giant Trunade being banned, and Heavy Storm being limited once more. This has probably been done to death, but here are my thoughts on the matter. I do not feel Heavy Storm should have ever been expelled from the game, and as a result 2 formats of imbalance passed, with backrow heavy decks beginning to reign supreme. Only with the creation of powerful cards such as T.G. Hyper Librarian and Reborn Tengu were decks finally able to gain enough power and advantage to switch this power shift. However, now Heavy Storm is back. But first, lets compare Giant Trunade with Heavy Storm. The former allows a temporary field clearance, with less ways of countering, however, if played correctly instantly pushed the game heavily in the Trunade-ing players favour, or simply ended the game in some cases. The latter delivers a more permanent clearance approach, however at the cost of carrying the word 'destroy', leaving it vulnerable to cards such as Starlight Road and Stardust Dragon. The permanance factor is a necessary one however in stopping backrow heavy decks from reigning, as they have done. Unfortunately, another change on the list appeared: the complete unlimitation of Mystical Space Typhoon. What this has done is scare a number of players into believing that backrow heavy decks are practically impossible to play. At first, I was one of these players, however, not so much anymore. If played correctly, a backrow heavy deck can still exist. Also multiple factors must also be taken into account. Since the number of quickplay spells and traps within the main deck has plummeted, many decks have decided to opt to play 1 or 2 Mystical Space Typhoon instead. However, that is not to say that there will not be people who do actually play a full playset. I do not think this has as big of an impact on the game as it could do, however, the psychological impact is quite high, and that could be the difference maker. Also, a players ability to hold onto an MST instead of wasting it will still be as invaluable as ever.

Despite everything I may believe, all the above topics will still have a large impact on the metagame, and all players should be aware of this. Hopefully this post helps you be ready for this in some way.

The Metagame - Sept 2011 Part 2

This is the second part of a multiple-part discussion about the metagame for the TCG side of Yu-Gi-Oh! However, I would like to elaborate on exactly what the TCG side means. Originally, this simply meant the difference in card pools between the TCG and the OCG. However, quite recently this all changed. The changes which created such a difference were the OCG adapting a new rule about how monsters no longer retain priority on ignition effects, and the TCG counting XYZ material as being on the field. Due to the latter ruling, the card Tour Guide from the Underworld became a Tier 0 card. What this meant was that any deck that didn't include Tour Guide in it basically suffered an auto loss. Effect Veiler as a result became even more of a staple than it was, and the game between the OCG and the TCG were completely different. However, a week ago the XYZ ruling was revoked, helping to bridge the gap between the 2 game states. Previously, I stated how i was going to talk about Tour Guide, however, I do not feel it needs to be talked about right now, and therefore will approach a different subject: Agents.

Agents are a deck which has become incredibly strong because of 3 aspects. The first of these was "Structure Deck 20: Lost Sanctuary" being released, bringing with it a plethora of insane cards for the archtype. The second aspect was the release of the XYZ monsters, namely Gachi Gachi Gantestu, even turning Mystical Shine ball into a card to be feared. The third and final aspect was, of course, the September 2011 banlist. While the banlist didn't really help Agents by giving them any real new tricks to use (save for Black Luster Soldier), it definitely didn't take anything away from them. With the banlist basically weakening every deck of the previous meta, Agents now have been able to come forwards and show their true dominance. There is a fourth aspect that may have helped, however I do not see it as much of a defining factor. This aspect is the fact that Agents captured first place at the World Championships. This may have made people even more aware of the decks power, but I do not believe it had any real impact on there current dominance.

So what makes Agents so powerful. Without any hesitation, I will say Master Hyperion. In my personal belief, this card makes Black Luster Soldier seem like any other card, and the reason for this is simply the fact that Hyperion exists at 3. While this may seem like random bias, this card does not have a difficult summoning condition. In fact, it can be simply tribute summoned for 2 tributes if need be. But nobody is going to do that. For the small price of banishing a "The Agent" monster from your hand , field or, the most likely scenario, graveyard, this boss of a card comes crashing down, ready to end the game. How does it do that you may ask? With its second ability. By banishing a Light Fairy-type monster from your grave, you can select 1 card on the field and destroy it. While this IS a once per turn ability, it usually would not matter. However, this cards nature is even more deceptive than it seems, mainly due to 1 other card that is commonly played in most Agent builds. The graveyard manipulating effect Hyperion only helps to allow free reign for another Juggernaut: Archlord Kristya. I could go WAY into depth about this card, but there is really no point. You simply manipulate your graveyard with Hyperion, then when you have 4 fairy-type monsters in your grave, you play this card for free, banning all special summons until it leaves. If summoned by its own effect, you also get to add a Fairy-type monster from your grave to your hand. And finally, if Kristya IS somehow destroyed, if it would then hit the graveyard, it would simply place itself back on top of the deck, ready to be played again. These 2 cards are obviously completely idiotic, however, what makes them truly idiotic is how easy they are to sustain.

The final pieces of the puzzle rest in the hands of The Agent of Mystery - Earth, and The Agent of Creation - Venus. Earth's role in the deck is simple: Search out Venus, then either be used as fodder for the Herald of Orange Light (A Spell Speed 2 monster version of Divine Wrath for this deck), or as a level 2 tuner for tuning with. Venus on the other hand is a deceptively powerful card. By paying 500 life points, you can special summon 1 Mystical Shine Ball from your hand or deck to the field. At first this seems not all too powerful, however, it can be. If all 3 balls are in your deck, by paying 1500 life points, you can decrease your deck count by 3, allowing you quicker access to your boss monsters, as well as giving yourself an advantage of already getting 4 fairy-types on the field. This is a number Kristya likes a lot. From here, if you have a The Agent of Mystery - Earth on the field, you could make a Trishula. If this is not the case, you could overlay 2 of them into a Gachi Gachi Gantestu. This would give you a 2000 Attack Venus, as well as a much stronger defence which can give you time to gather a game winning hand.

The cards I have mentioned today are simply the core of an Agent deck. there are many other aspects that help Agents become as strong as they are, however, I feel these are the main points that needed to be discussed. I apologise for how long this post is, but it was personally what I felt needed to be mentioned. This deck is probably going to be the number 1 deck to watch out for, and I hope this post has helped you understand too.