Asia Analysis and Choice

Like after any particular event in our lives (including non YGO related), there is something that we all can learn.

So I'm gonna go straight to the point.

I don't think Fiendish Chain is a very good card for Asia format.

Looking at the decks from Top 4 , Sean and Alex mained minimal Fiendish Chains, whereby Sean mained none and Alex mained 1 while keeping to standard Bottomless Trap Hole.

After the tourney and playtesting (before obtaining the decklists) i found that it was really just a sit alone card because with everybody bumping up to 3 MST, its just gonna die. Furthermore, it can be played around easily.

Look at this example:

I summon Centipede and bait Fiendish Chain and pass. Opponent summons his own Dragonfly thinking he can profit tremendously because he has cards to destroy but I throw veiler. Next turn i summon my own Dragonfly and take advantage of the Fiendish Chain on his field. If my opponent cant respond then I would have won the bloody game.

Now consider replacing Fiendish Chain with something else like Raigeki break, PWWB or Lair wire. What these cards do is that they address the problem immediately and the fact that they are chainable makes it even better because i believe the remainder of the format will be defined by chainable cards.

It makes it even worse that maining 2 Fiendish chains is risky because you will have 2 dead draws against Hieroglyph, which is a top deck. And that they die badly to MST. If you throw a Veiler, they cant do anything and Inzektor just stops there. So do dragons. If you use Fiendish Chain VS Inzektor, opponent can just flip 1 more Call of Haunted/MST and destroy your Chain and profit.

It is still one of those cards whereby you can side it if you have space, so why not?

But then we remember that Overworked is a better sideboard option vs Inzektors and that if we want to fight Lagia effectively we might as well just side 3 Snowman Eater or Rykos.

It cant take out Car Car D or Rabbit because both cards leaving the field is a cost, as Sean pointed out to me.

While it is effective against Inzektor, it doesnt guarantee you a definite win because people can play around it. I can't resolve a Chain and hope to win from there on.

Notice from Sam's video with LGQ that he did not play a single Fiendish Chain.

The 2nd thing is how important chainable cards are. With so many versatile cards that can deal with them and everyone running 3 Thunder Break, and the increasing popularity of Lair Wire, it is adamant that we minimize the number of non chainable cards, which is why some people have realized that 2 call of haunted is sufficient in inzektors.

At the same time, before you go for a play, we should just blind MST to play safe. With the increasing number of chainable cards, the only way we can deal with them effectively is to hit them before they can be activated meaning when they have just been freshly set.

Afterall its the only way to prevent people from playing their Thunder Breaks. I learnt this when seeing Sam play VS LGQ.

And why wont we want to run 3 MST? Hitting Call of Haunted is a damn good thing too and hitting your opponent's freshly set MST can be important too because it means one of your set traps will be safe.

Now the 3rd and last thing i would like to address is that there is no such thing as setting one card and pass anymore.

The probability of your card getting hit by MST is extremely extremely high, meaning you will be risking alot because your opponent will explode the following turn.

Even if there is a risk of getting Heavy Storm we must risk it. There is no such thing anymore as "Oh i have 1 Veiler in hand so i will pass with a set card because even if you MST it, i have Veiler as a backup"

I have seen many people just set their hands. If you have Heavy Storm, then good for you, you deserve that win but if you dont, then just set your stuff and we will have a backrow war.

The whole game has changed drastically because of the introduction of Car Car D which has done many things such as :

1) blown things out of proportion by being 3 Pot of Greed

2) Makes Thunder Break a costless card

3) Instantly baits out Veiler/ Warning/ Torrential

4) Change the meaning of card advantage.

And in case you havent noticed yet: with this MST thing going around, its ever more important that your traps be chainable so that you dont lose advantage :) Of course we cannot consider turn 1 situations because opponent has not committed yet so we just need to let that pass.

So, to sum the post up, just imagine this. Summon Monster, bait Fiendish Chain and MST and kill.

Or opponent summon monster and I Thunder Break/ Torrential, opponent flip Call of Haunted, then I respond with MST.

Get the picture?

Stay competitive or lose out in the process.

So the format has come down to quite a dangerous one where you need to go with instinct, and your rely solely on your decision making. Should i set 1 and die, or set 2 and risk Storm although i wouldnt be losing advantage if I had used Car Car D. That is what makes this format so hard.

And so exciting too, frankly speaking.