Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lesson learnt from Ycs long beach

There is only one.

Tcg players will start to play/side macro cosmos. True story

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Hieroglyph Ninja

I feel like I'm playing tele DAD. lol

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Hieroglyph or Inzektor

Dilemma between which deck to play.

If we think far ahead until the next banlist, we can be sure both decks will be hit.

Dragons will probably have their Seal of Gathering limited because Konami wont give it so much Rota, and the deck is kinda strong cos of that.

Inzektor will probably get Hornet or Damsel touched.

But if Gathering is touched, it will still be consistent because of Ninja whereby 1 Hanzo is effectively a Gathering or better.

Inzektor will still have Guaho which is just as good as Hornet, and Centipede alone is still strong.

And both will definitely receive more future support.

Hmmm!

Sam's list

Sam's list is up.

Kudos to him for revealing it.

here you go:


netdeck galore

Monday, March 19, 2012

Inzektor List (post Asia)

Monster 17
3 damsel
3 hornet
3 centipede
2 gruff
1 gigamantis
2 veiler
3 car car d


spells 12
3 duality
3 mst
1 reborn
1 heavy storm
1 foolish burial
1 allure
1 mind control
1 book of moon

traps 11
2 torrential
2 call of haunted
2 thunder break
2 solemn warning
1 lair wire
1 pwwb
1 solemn judgment

1 volcasaurus
2 leviair
1 revise dragon
1 brilliant
1 tiras
1 armored ninja
1 gaia dragoon
1 exastag
2 mainspring zenmaines
1 utopia
1 utopia ray
1 photon streak bouncer/cameraman
1 muzurythm djin

May run 1 weevil for ease of making rank 6

Sunday, March 18, 2012

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.



Asia Post 2 with Top 4 decklists and videos link

Link of Videos:


No point subscribing to my channel because i will never upload videos unless i film major events. And the next is in 3 months time...

Pardon the stupid channel name i made it 3 years ago. And i was bored at that time, i dont know how it got sync-ed to my laptop.

Pardon the camera angle. I intentionally filmed it in a proper way, but then when i converted the video, it automatically inverted the camera position.

Now let us do a short analysis of the 2nd game of the finals. If LGQ had summoned No 25 cameraman Edison Chen instead of Photon Streak Bouncer then he would have beat Sam (pointed out by Clover and Sam) because Cameraman negates Tragoedias effect so its attack wont be bloody 5400. Unfortunately LGQ did not have a clue about Cameraman's effect or that it existed (neither did i), until the end of the final match.

On a side note, when Sean played Alex in the 3rd/ 4th place playoff, he was locked in 3rd round after Alex made Cameraman. After the game, Sean addressed Cameraman as the reason to why he lost.

So, for the Top 4 matches, i would say the MVP card is :

1) cameraman

I was gonna say Car car D too but then it has become too common already.

Here are the decklists of the top 4 players:

1st place- Sam Kee
3 hornet
3 damsel
3 centipede
1 gruff
1 gigamantis
3 car car d
2 veiler

3 duality
1 heavy storm
1 monster reborn
1 foolish burial
1 book of moon
1 mind control
1 allure
3 mst
1 dark hole

1 fiendish chain
2 torrential
2 warning
2 phoenix wing wind blast
2 call of haunted
1 solemn judgment
1 chain disappearance

Extra deck:
standard. nothing to see here.

Known cards from sideboard:

2 Maxx C
2Tragoedia
1 Mask of restrict
2 Lair Wire
rest unknown

2nd place- LGQ (stolen from his blog)


monster (21):

3 Tfeni Dragon
3 Shuu Dragon
3 Aset Dragon
2 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon
1 Emerald Dragon
1 Watt Dragon
3 Card-Car D
3 Effect Veiler
2 Koaki Meiru Drago

spell (12):

3 Pot of Duality
3 Mystic Space Typhoon
3 Seal of Gathering
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon

trap (8):

3 Call of the Haunted <--- shouldn't have played 3 since I side them out almost every match
3 Raigeki Break
2 Torrential Tribute

side (15):

2 Maxx C <--- useless
1 Koaki Meiru Drago
2 King Tiger Wanghu <--- good but it does the same thing as Drago, could be something better
2 Ryko Lightlord Hunter
1 Dark Hole <--- useless
1 Mind Control <---useless
3 Macro Cosmos <--- MVP
2 Bottomless Traphole
1 Chain Disappearance <--- I wanna have 1 more of this

extra (15):

2 Gaia Dragoon
2 Atumus
1 Photon Streak Bouncer
2 Exa-Beetle <---only need 1
1 Tiras, Keeper of Genesis <--- never once made this
1 No 12 Crimson Shadow <--- never once made this
1 No39 Hope <--- same as above
1 CNo39 Hope Ray <--- made it once but it did not do anything
1 Queen Dragoon < --- not once
1 AOJ Catastor < --- not once
1 Brionac < --- useless
1 Black Rose Dragon < --- once but doesn't stop me from losing

3rd place: Alex Yeo

3 hornet
3 damsel
3 centipede
2 gruff
1 gigamantis
3 car car d
2 veiler

3 duality
1 heavy storm
1 monster reborn
1 foolish burial
1 book of moon
1 mind control
1 allure
2 mst

1 fiendish chain
2 torrential
2 warning
2 thunder break
2 call of haunted
1 solemn judgment
1 bottomless trap hole
1 chain disappearance

Tech: 1 chain disappearance, 1 bottomless trap hole.
extra:
2 zenmaines
2 leviair
1 utopia ray
1 utopia
1 tiras
1 crimson ninja
1 volcasaurus
2 gaia dragoon
1 inzektor exastag
1 revise dragon
1 brilliant
1 cameraman edison chen

side
3 snowman eater
2 maxx c
2 tragoedia
1 effect veiler
1 mst
1 trap stun
1 fiendish chain
1 transmigration prophecy
1 bottomless trap hole
2 overworked


4th place: Sean Cheong

18 Monster
1x Dark Armed Dragon
1x Sangan
2x Card Car "D"
2x Inzecter Gullf
3x Inzecter Hornet
3x Inzecter Damsel
3x Inzecter Centipede
1x Inzecter Gigamantis
2x Effect Veiler

11 Spell
1x Heavy Storm
1x Mind Control
1x Monster Reborn
3x Pot of Duality
1x Allure of Darkness
1x Foolish Burial
1x Book of Moon
2x Mystical Space Typhoon

11 Trap
2x Bottomless Trap Hole
1x Solemn Judgment
2x Solemn Warning
1x Torrential Tribute
1x Seven Tools of the Bandit
2x Raigeki Break
2x Call of the Haunted

tech: 7 tools of bandit
Extra
1x Drum Devil Tenten Tempo
1x Brass Devil Mellowmellow Melody
1x String Devil Muzumuzu Rhythm
1x Wind-Up Arsenal Zenmaioh
1x Empty Space Sea Serpent Levaiel
2x Mainspring Mine Zenmaine
1x No. 12, Crimson Shadow Armored Ninja
1x No. 17, Revise Dragon
1x No. 20, Brilli-Ant the Gig-Ant
1x No. 61, Volcasaurus
1x Inzecter Exastag
1x Protector of Founders, Tyrus
1x Gaia Dragoon, the Swift Thunder Knight
1x Chaos No. 39, Aspiring King Hope Ray

Note: 1x No. 25, Fullmetal Photoglide - Focus Force has replaced 1x Mainspring Mine Zenmaine. May or may not include Photon Streak Bouncer

Not revealing side deck :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gonna have quite a long post bout Asia analysis and the format and choice + tech cards which will be posted up tomorrow :)

Asia Qualifier 2012 Post



Started the day early by waking up at 6 and then LGQ picked me shamir and andrew up to go to SG wang, I had alot of last minute borrowing and buying to do from various people.

Met some of my hometown friends there (about 7 or 8) so it was nice seeing them all again.

Kudos to Kyde for lending 90% of the things i needed to me.

Match started shortly after.

Round 1:
Vs Jonathan (don't really remember his name)
Deck Used: TGAA

Game 1:He won the die roll and he opened with Venus into Gachi Gachi. Opened without Hornet and didnt see it for a long time. One for One-ed his stuff and he Veiler mine and i did the same to his stuff like Warning Hyperion etc and exchanged damage

Revived Damsel with Call of the Haunted and equip Guaho and made Exastag to suck up his Gachi. We were left in topdecking mode. He topdeck Monster Reborn into Hyperion, and wiped out the remainder of my lifepoints.

So i was like okay, these things dont happen twice.

Game 2: Opened with green hand with 2 Veiler. I topdeck another Veiler. He summoned Sangan and poked me 4 times and summoned Venus but i threw veiler and set Bottomless.. Then i finally drew Gigamantis and summoned Hornet and equip it to kill Venus. then he got rid of it somehow. I set Veiler telegraphing. Next turn he topdeck Heavy Storm drop Junk Synchron and i threw 1 Veiler and then removed a ball in hand to drop Hyperion and killed me. Never saw a single Centipede or Damsel or a single maxx C, true story.

Joshua who was watching behind just laughed and keep shouting Mike scrubbed his first Asia. Sean who watched half of the game 2 also shook his head and said i could not do anything.

The guy who defeated me eventually went into top 20. I guess no one anticipated TG Agents.

Became very frustrated and emo cos of my luck. Somemore it is single elimination. When discussing with baha, he also told me it was bad format because he also often lost Game 1s and proceeded to win the following games. Edsel also said the same thing.

Kyde had it just as bad (in game 2) as i did as he got Royal tributed while holding a otk-potential hand with heavy storm twice out of 3 games by a random kid, who later beat zack and went into top 20 swiss and was later eliminated by LGQ, whereby the kid made 3 misplays and lost (check out his blog)

But the entire day was not a waste of time. Apart from getting experience, i got to socialize with my hometown friends, meet the Singapore gang and playtested with baha, while chatting with Rick and Ds

I cooled down later, and also got a lot of experience from there and learnt to accept my loss, and just enjoy the remainder of the day.
$200 from Baha's card box (actually its Clarence's :O )
Top 20.

LGQ VS Sean as you can see.

Blue checked shirt is Amir. Next to him is Sam with the cap and he was going against Parameswara (yes thats actually his name for those of you who are familiar with Malaysian history!)

Izzat is standing up onlooking the players.

Loner: Andrew VS Alex Yeo
Your top 8 players listed out:

Clarence VS Sam (Clarence let Sam go up)
Wai Loon VS Alex (Alex won)
Sean VS Shamir (Sean won)
Allen Chiew VS LGQ (LGQ won)

here is the breakdown of the decks in top 8:
4x Inzektor
1x Pure Hieroglyph
1x Hieroglyph Ninja (baha's build)
1x Gravekeeper
1x Agents

Sam- inzektor
Sean- inzektor
Shamir- inzektor
Alex- inzektor
Wai Loon- agents
Clarence- dragon Ninja
LGQ- dragons
Allen- gravekeeper

Top 4:
LGQ VS Sean (LGQ won)
Sam VS Alex (Alex let Sam go up)

3rd place fightoff:
Sean VS Alex (Alex won)

Finals:
Sam VS LGQ ( Sam won)


Sean at 4th place
Alex at 3rd place
LGQ at 2nd place
Sam at 1st place
The playmat which LGQ lent me (he had 2)

A hearty congratulations to all the people who topped especially Sean + LGQ

After that we went to dinner and opened LGQ's GENF box. It had been ages (3 years?) since i opened a booster pack because i dont endorse boosters and prefer buying singles.

We were disappointed because there wasn't a revise in there but when i opened the last pack and slid up the last card we all saw the gleem of a silver text on a XYZ card. Ghost Rare FTW.

Card of the day? Car Car D hands down.

It nullifies Thunder Break's cost and having 3 Pot of Greed is too good. Just look at Sean and LGQ's match and Sam's matches.

When i was playing with Baha everytime i threw down Car D he would throw a response without thinking.

Impact of this Asia qualifier?
1) Everybody now realizes Sam is god, and yeah, gotta respect that guy.
2) Everyone will run 3 Car Car D now.
3) Car car D will be expensive (GAOV is out of stock in Malaysia)

God knows, it will probably be a SCR in TCG lol

edit: here is the list i played:

3 car car d
1 sangan (shouldnt have put this in)
2 veiler
1 gruff
1 gigamantis
3 centipede
3 hornet
3 damsel

3 duality
2 mst
1 foolish burial
1 heavy storm
1 allure
1 book of moon
1 monster reborn

2 fiendish chain
2 warning
2 torrential
3 call of haunted
2 thunder break
1 chain disappearance
1 solemn judgment

Gonna endure 3 months of torture by Joshua (the Judge who is both good and sohai) who will continuously tease me about yesterday.

Videos will be up shortly!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Monday, March 5, 2012

Waboku

Another weird card which may work against hieroglyph since tragodia and battle fader in game 2 or 3 dies when they side board km drago

Unlike scarecrow which can only be used when sustaining direct damage , which means all your opponents monster has destroyed yours and you have taken a lot of damage already, waboku protects your monsters and prevent damage

The downside ? If opponent randomly shiyu it you can chain it but then opponent won't commit to make huge field. However after that they will just xyz photon streak bouncer instead of atmus and try to control from there. Which means Insector bombing can only occur successfully when you have another call of haunted or reborn or thunder break.

But with scarecrow you can do Insector spam next turn. So both cards have their upsides and their downsides. Which is better ? Your call.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Hieroglyph Sideboard Option


OK this post is NOT a troll.

What are you gonna do when you Hieroglyph mirror match?

Besides siding in 2x Trago, 3x Maxx C, and 3x KM Drago?

As you know, once you commit, and if you dont manage to OTK (thats why Tragoedia is SO important) then you are gonna die to opponents dragon spam next turn.

Lets side in Super Poly.

Opponent spam field of 4, and you Super Poly into FGD

Instant mindfuck.

Kudos to Kyde for figuring out this crazy card.

It requires timing and its not a crazy effective card which noobs can just simply throw in and it will work wonders for them.

Playing in Toysbar now, and LGQ's tech of Galaxy Eyes in Hieros is really good. Free beatstick with Atums. Even if your opponent Hieroglyph you next turn, you will always have a 3k beatstick.

In depth playtesting against LGQ's hieros helped me prepare for Asia :)

How to Beat Hieroglyph

Sideboard Buster Blader!

Nah just joking. Still trying to think of something.