I live and play in the Mid-West. The Indianapolis Regional Tournament is on the 17th of December; tomorrow as I write this, perhaps a day or two ago as you read this. Like many of you I set aside some time to get ready. What have I personally done to get into fighting shape for the Regional? I’ll answer that in this article. I enjoyed Frazier Smith’s recent piece “Personal YCS Rituals” and while I am no Frazier Smith perhaps my own little pre-event planning will help some of you get ready for any upcoming regional events you might have. Read more

Konami publishes a breakdown of the top decks after every major event. This list is full of the acknowledged tier one decks. Every competitive duelist knows the top decks and has side deck options available to combat them. Many serious competitors run only tier one decks at events. Despite the tendency of players to gravitate towards acknowledged tier one decks almost every big tournament sees a few rogue decks near the top. I remember how surprised everyone was when Paul Cooper took his Empty Jar deck to the top tables at YCS Charlotte. I’m sure any duelist who faced Paul’s Read more