Hey everybody! This week I’d like to take a break from all the Super Rejuvenations and Spellbook of Judgments to take a look at the past with the next installment of my “A History of Competitive Play” series. This time I will be looking at the April 2006 format. Below I have also linked the previous segments for this series.

October 2004 – March 2005
April 2005 – September 2005
October 2005 – March 2006

Changes since the Last Ban List

The last format was known as the Warrior Toolbox format. It was based on being able to tutor whatever answer you might need from your deck to handle a given situation. It was also characterized by a high amount of 1 for 1 removal such as [ccProd]Sakuretsu Armor[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Widespread Ruin[/ccProd]. The Ban list that took effect in April caused a shift away from this. Here were the changes the ban list made:

Newly Forbidden

- [ccProd]Cyber Jar[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Victory Dragon[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Exchange of the Spirit[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Last Turn[/ccProd]

Most of these changes were actually not that significant in terms of changing the format. While 5 (6 in OCG as [ccProd]Time Seal[/ccProd] was also banned) cards hit the forbidden list, only one of them was a staple and none of them besides [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd] saw much play in any conventional deck of the previous format. These changes were more preventative measures and changes because of the OCG meta in an attempt to steer the game away from possible alternative win conditions without much interaction.

As I mentioned before, the previous format was defined by all sorts of 1 for 1 removal cards. Dark Hole was strictly better than these other removal cards as it allowed possible +1s or even more at little cost to the user. It was seen as too powerful to stay in the game. A sharp contrast from today’s meta, where the card is almost unplayable.

Newly Limited

- D.D. Assailant
- [ccProd]Mask of Darkness[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Treeborn Frog[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Last Will[/ccProd] - Level Limit - Area B
- [ccProd]Metamorphosis[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Pot of Avarice[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Scapegoat[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Drop Off[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd]

Newly limited cards are generally where we see the biggest changes to any given list and this list is certainly no different. The first change was the limitation of D.D. Assailant. This was the backbone of the Warrior Toolbox deck that was dominant most of the previous format. Assailant’s solid stats and ability to never be worse than a 1 for 1 were extremely strong in the format. This limitation helped move the format away from its dependency on removal.

[ccProd]Mask of Darkness[/ccProd], Level Limit, and [ccProd]Drop Off[/ccProd] never saw much play in the TCG, but in the OCG they were a serious problem. When used together, they limited the interaction between both players which isn’t good for the game.

[ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd] were the only two cards to come off the forbidden list. Mirror Force was unbanned as a counter measure for taking away Dark Hole. UDE still wanted mass removal in the game, just not mass removal without cost. It’s difficult to never play two monsters on the field and risk being punished by a [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd], but it’s a lot easier to not attack with two and still be able to set. Because of this, [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd] was the lesser of two evils. [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd], on the other hand, is a card that rewarded for skilled play. At this time in Yu-Gi-Oh, decks were not nearly as graveyard reliant as they are today, and short of [ccProd]Treeborn Frog[/ccProd] or a light for [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd], there was little advantage to discarding cards. This often meant that it was better to hold [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd] until you needed to play it. Those who played it correctly were thus rewarded when using it more so than those who played it immediately.

Speaking of [ccProd]Treeborn Frog[/ccProd], he was the next card to make the limited list. Upon his release, there was a bit of controversy regarding how played the card would be, but as the format continued to develop, it became more and more apparent that the card was close to staple status. This gave players a big advantage when one player had Frog in the grave and the other did not. Thus, Treeborn was limited to keep that in check.

[ccProd]Scapegoat[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Metamorphosis[/ccProd] had now been near staples in the previous three formats. They were deemed too powerful and limited in an effort to reduce the format’s dependency on Fusions and one of the first moves towards an overall faster game.

The final change was the limitation of [ccProd]Pot of Avarice[/ccProd]. This card had the high risk of abuse and near the end of the format Monarch decks began popping up that could quickly fuel their graveyard and abuse multiple copies of [ccProd]Pot of Avarice[/ccProd].

Newly Semi-Limited

- [ccProd]Apprentice Magician[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Magician of Faith[/ccProd] - [ccProd]Reflect Bounder[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Nobleman of Crossout[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Deck Devastation Virus[/ccProd]

With [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd] banned, [ccProd]Magician of Faith[/ccProd] lost a bit of power. While still a staple, it was apparent the format was shifting away from spells. Because of both of these factors, Faith was moved from limited to semi-limited. To keep it balanced, they moved [ccProd]Apprentice Magician[/ccProd] to two so as not to be able to abuse Faith. They also moved [ccProd]Nobleman of Crossout[/ccProd] back to 2, from 1, to keep Faith in check.

[ccProd]Reflect Bounder[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Deck Devastation Virus[/ccProd] had no real impact on the previous format, but neither of them were particularly good for a healthy game.

Newly Unlimited

- [ccProd]Abyss Soldier[/ccProd]

- [ccProd]Book of Taiyou[/ccProd]

With Treeborn at one and Sinister gone, Soldier no longer had much potential for abuse. Additionally, Taiyou was no longer needed to be limited as [ccProd]Exchange of the Spirit[/ccProd] was just banned and deckout was no longer viable.

You can check out the full ban list here.

The Decks of the Format

Chaos Return
Austin Kulman – 2006 National Champion

Monsters: 22

1 [ccProd]Tsukuyomi[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Magician of Faith[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Cyber Dragon[/ccProd]

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

2 [ccProd]Spirit Reaper[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Night Assailant[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Zaborg the Thunder Monarch[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Breaker the Magical Warrior[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Sangan[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Magical Merchant[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Jinzo[/ccProd]

 

Spells: 12

1 [ccProd]Confiscation[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Premature Burial[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Nobleman of Crossout[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Scapegoat[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Mystical Space Typhoon[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Snatch Steal[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Smashing Ground[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Book of Moon[/ccProd]

 

Traps: 7

1 [ccProd]Bottomless Trap Hole[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Sakuretsu Armor[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Call of the Haunted[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Torrential Tribute[/ccProd]

Chaos Return was by far the most dominant deck this format. The deck revolved around gaining advantage through cards like [ccProd]Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Magical Merchant[/ccProd] followed by an aggressive follow-up like [ccProd]Zaborg the Thunder Monarch[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]. This fueled massive game-ending [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd]s.

Recruiter Chaos
Kyle Duncan – 1^st Place SJC Philadelphia

Monsters – 23

3 [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Cyber Dragon[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Shining Angel[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Mystic Tomato[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Spirit Reaper[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Zaborg the Thunder Monarch[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Magician of Faith[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Breaker the Magical Warrior[/ccProd]

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

1 [ccProd]Sangan[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Tsukuyomi[/ccProd]

 

Spells – 14

1 [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Mystical Space Typhoon[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Snatch Steal[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Book of Moon[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Nobleman of Crossout[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Scapegoat[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Creature Swap[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Enemy Controller[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Confiscation[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Smashing Ground[/ccProd]

 

Traps – 4

3 [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd]

Recruiter Chaos operated in a similar fashion to the traditional Chaos Return deck, but it takes advantage of both [ccProd]Mystic Tomato[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Shining Angel[/ccProd] to fuel their [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]s. In this format [ccProd]Sakuretsu Armor[/ccProd] was rarely played higher than two, this hardly gave adequate answers to a full six recruiters. Instead of playing Return to end the game, they played triple [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd] as an excellent counter to an opposing Return.

Stein OTK
Corey Faibish – 1^st Place SJC Hamilton

Monsters: 20

1 [ccProd]Spirit Reaper[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Breaker the Magical Warrior[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Morphing Jar[/ccProd]

1[ccProd]Sangan[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Magician of Faith[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Nimble Momonga[/ccProd]

2 Cyber-Stein

1 [ccProd]Exiled Force[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Zaborg the Thunder Monarch[/ccProd]

3 [ccProd]Cyber Dragon[/ccProd]

 

Spells: 17

1 [ccProd]Confiscation[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Giant Trunade[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Premature Burial[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Book of Moon[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Snatch Steal[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Enemy Controller[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Nobleman of Crossout[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Mystical Space Typhoon[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Megamorph[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Creature Swap[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Last Will[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Limiter Removal[/ccProd]

 

Traps: 4

1 [ccProd]Mirror Force[/ccProd]

1 [ccProd]Torrential Tribute[/ccProd]

2 [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd]

The last major deck of the format was Stein OTK. This deck revolved around paying life points for Cyber Stein instead of Return to end games. This strategy was strong because it didn’t require nearly as much setup as the Return strategy did. It used [ccProd]Nimble Momonga[/ccProd] to ensure that they had enough life points to pay for a game winning [ccProd]Cyber Twin Dragon[/ccProd]. Once it got to Cyber Stein, the deck had to make sure any opposing backrow would be gone. Between Breaker, Heavy, Typhoon, two Trunade, and two Decree this was generally never a problem.

Shonen Jump Overview

This format was only five months long as UDE changed the ban list release from every April and October to every March and September beginning at the end of this format. Despite it being the shortest format since SJCs began and still the shortest since, it had a whopping 10 events. By today’s standards, there are only about 10 US events a year. They matched that in just 5 months.

The first event of the format was SJC Baltimore. As with most of the SJCs this format, the top 8 was primarily Chaos Return decks. This Top 8 was marked with 5 well known players. The first of which is Jonathan LaBounty who made his first Top 8 appearance at this events and went on to win a SJC the following year.  He was beaten out by Chris Pittao, who made it all the way to the finals. Next we have Nareg Torossian who had won SJC Indianapolis the year before. Both of these players lost out in Top 8. On the opposite side of the bracket we have Roy St. Clair face off with Shane Scurry in a Chaos Return mirror match. Shane’s deck was defined by interesting tech choices like [ccProd]Asura Priest[/ccProd], Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World, and [ccProd]Mirage Dragon[/ccProd]. Shane won out and went on to beat Chris Winkler’s [ccProd]Strike Ninja[/ccProd] deck in top 4 before meeting Chris Pittao in the finals. Pittao won the first game in under five minutes and Shane returned the favor in a similar fashion game 2, but game three was long and drawn out and ultimately Shane won out when Pittao had no cards left in his deck!

If you want to talk about one of the most prolific Top 8s in the history of the game, SJC Columbus is one of the first ones that come to mind. A whopping 7 out of the 8 Top 8 players are named players. In top 8 Kris Perovic played Lazaro Bellido in a Chaos Return mirror. While the matchup arguably favored Lazaro due to his two main decked Kycoos, Perovic won out before losing to Mike Ibrahim in top 4 who overcame already-Shonen Jump Champion Anthony Alvarado in top 8. On the other side of the bracket Jerry Wang took on Carlos Santiago, two huge superstars at the time and Wang came out on top. The final top 8 match was between Emon Ghaneian and Robert Morgan. Emon’s deck featured a full 3 copies of [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd] and 3 copies of [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd]. He beat out Jerry Wang in top 4 and then Mike Ibrahim in the finals to win the event and was quickly becoming one of the most dominant players in the game now with a win and two other tops under his belt.

The next Shonen Jump took place in Chicago, and Top 8 featured 4 named players, all of which were on the same side of the bracket. Dale Bellido beat out Robert Morgan in top 8 in a Chaos Return mirror. Brent Yetter beat out Edgar Flores’ Monarch deck in top 8 and went on to face Dale Bellido in top 4. Their decks were surprisingly similar as both players used only 2 copies of [ccProd]Chaos Sorcerer[/ccProd] and 1 copy of [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd]. Dale drew a clogged hand off mostly spell and trap removal and was swiftly 2-0’d by Yetter who went on to beat relative unknown Adam Baxter in the finals.

The next event was Nationals. Named players include Miguel Flores, Emon Ghaneian, Austin Kulman and Matt Laurents. Flores made it to top 4, before losing to Mark Garcia. Matt Laurents and his Monarch deck beat out Victor Reinert in top 8. The most anticipated matchup of the top 8 was definitely Emon’s match against Austin. While Austin may be a named player today, this was his first top and he was only 11 years old. Not to mention, he was going up against arguably the most dominant player in the game during 2006 in top 8. After a giant [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd] in game 3, Austin beat out Emon and then Matt Laurents, and finally Mark Garcia to win the National Championship at 11. What’s a Dragon Duel?

Next the Shonen Jump Series made its way to my hometown of Atlanta. While I know several of the competitors in top 8 since they are from my area, the only named players to make Top 8 were Robert Morgan, James Laurent, and Andrew Fredella. Robert Morgan had made top 8 in an impressive 3 SJCs by this point, but missed his wake up call and arrived 20 minutes late to his top 8 match against Shon Long and was given a match loss. James Laurent of team Villains had the most unique deck in top 8. He was playing Chaos Return with triple[ccProd]Newdoria[/ccProd], triple Sasuke Samurai #4, and a [ccProd]Fairy Box[/ccProd]. He won his top 8 match, but lost out to Long in top 4. On the other side of the bracket, Fredella beat out David Gordon and Zach Johnson with a unique deck that was seemingly a mixture of Chaos Return and Recruiter Chaos. It took the regular aspect of Chaos Return decks and while it didn’t play Return or Recruiters, it did take the Decree aspect from the Recruiter Chaos deck. This seemingly would give him an advantage over Shon Long’s more traditional Chaos Return deck, but in the end Long won out over Fredella in the finals.

The next Shonen Jump took place in Denver. This top 8 featured lots of named players; Keanson Ye, Emon Ghaneian, Ryan Hayakawa, Bryan Rockenbach, and Chris Moosman. Ye lost out to Lindsey Mantos in a Chaos Return mirror in top 8 as did Moosman to newcomer Daniel Zamorano. Bryan Rockenbach, who would go on to finish second at the national Championship in 2007 and become a world’s competitior, lost to Andrew Novoa in top 8. The most anticipated match pitted the hottest player of 2005 with the hottest player of 2006. Ryan Hayakawa, the first person to win back to back SJCs, played Emon Ghaneian, who had already won a Jump this format and was now in his 5^th top 8 appearance. This was a classic Overdose vs Odyssey team battle, and Overdose won out as Emon defeated Ryan and went on to beat Mantos and then Andrew Novoa to win his second Shonen Jump Championship that format.

The next SJC was in Arlington, Texas. James Naughton ended up winning the event with a rather standard build of Chaos Return, but the top 8 was filled with all sorts of interesting tech and players. Before winning the championship, Naughton had to battle through Ryan Spicer in his first of 10 top 8 appearances. Also in top 8 was SJC veteran, Matt Laurents and his Monarch deck. Finalist Jake McNeely made some interesting choices such as main decked [ccProd]Banisher of the Radiance[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer[/ccProd] that got him all the way to the finals before losing out to Naughton. By this point the idea of “random Stein” had taken form. The idea was that you’d play 1 copy of Cyber Stein as it was a searchable way to end games. This was beginning to pop up in many of the top 8 decks.

The next Shonen Jump took place in Philadelphia. This Shonen Jump marked the decline of Return from the Different Dimension. In this top 8, there were only 4 copies of the card main decked. This was a sharp contrast from earlier in the format where 2-3 copies were common in most decks. There were several big names in top 8 and two of them had to play off. Shane Scurry took on Michael Kohanim in a Chaos Return mirror. Kohanim won out, before losing to the eventual winning, Kyle Duncan, and his Recruiter Chaos deck. On the opposite side of the bracket, Cesar Gonzalez made his first of 13 top cut appearances with a Stein OTK variant, but lost out in top 8 to David Everett.

The second to last Shonen Jump of the format took place in Indianapolis. This top 8 featured several named players. John Jensen, who had already won a SJC and split in the finals of a second one, faced off with Kris Perovic in top 8. These competitors were playing Chaos Return and Recruiter Chaos respectively. Jensen won out and had to face Robert Morgan and his Stein OTK deck in top 4 before making his way to the finals. Brent Yetter was the sole big name on the other side of the bracket and he managed to make it all the way to the finals with his Chaos deck without [ccProd]Return from the Different Dimension[/ccProd]. Ultimately, team Nexus’ John Jensen won out and we had a new 2 (and a half) time champion!

The final Shonen Jump of the format in Hamilton, New Jersey. After a win in Philadelphia, Kyle Duncan was back with his Recruiter Chaos deck. This deck once again got him to the finals, but this time he was on the reverse side of the table and wasn’t able to claim the win. Also in top 8, Lazaro Bellido took on Eric Blum, a top 4 competitor in Philadelphia. Blum won out in top 8. Corey Faibish faced off with Shonen Jump Champion Anthony Alvarado in top 8, and Faibish’s Stein OTK deck won out. He then went on to beat Blum and Duncan in top 4 and the finals to become the latest Shonen Jump Champion. This wrapped up the final Shonen Jump of the format.

When the format began, Return was the clear dominant strategy. As the format developed, Return was seen as unnecessary and high risk as more and more competitors turned to Recruiter Chaos that mained [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd]. Another common trend as the format developed was the presence of Cyber Stein. Clearly Stein OTK was a deck this format, but more than that, 1 copy of Cyber Stein began appearing in most top 8 decks of the format.

Stars of the Format

Below are all the players with more than 1 SJC top in this format.

Robert Morgan 4

Emon Ghaneian 3 (2 wins)

Kyle Duncan 2 (1 win)

Brent Yetter 2 (1 win)

Shane Scurry 2 (1 win)

Anthony Alvarado 2

Lazaro Bellido

Kris Perovic

Matt Laurents

Eric Blum

That wraps up this week’s article for my “History of Competitive Play” series. I hope you all enjoyed the break from Spellbook of Judgments and Super Rejuvenations. Thank you all for reading and if you have any questions, just leave a comment down below. Until next time, play hard or go home!

 

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