Hi everybody, it’s been a while since my last article. I’d hoped to write one on Pure Geargia but I prefer to Top with a deck before publishing an article about it. (Congratulations, though, to Mike Steinman for making Top 32 with our build at YCS Chicago). This article will be an exception, though. After having played Gears for so long I wanted to give something else a try. Because they have the ability to abuse two of the most powerful cards from Dragons of Legend, [ccProd]Soul Charge[/ccProd] and [ccProd]Kuribandit[/ccProd], and access to their own version of [ccProd]Graceful Charity[/ccProd], I decided Read more
Game of Thorns
29
May 2014
22 Comments
26
Dec 2013
When the Dragon Rulers were limited and Ravine was banned, a whole new world of possibilities seemed to open up. I created a pretty long list of decks that I thought could be viable, but then I remembered going through the same exercise last format when we were all under the assumption that Dragons weren’t, well, Dragons. Sure enough, they went on to dominate the format and that extensive list of decks that could compete was essentially narrowed down to just two: Dragons and decks geared (see what I did there?) to beat Dragons. While it may seem like an Read more
23
Dec 2013
2013 was a strong year for Yu-Gi-Oh. Wind-Ups dominated the end of the September 2013 format. “Pure Mermail” Water, as introduced by Billy Brake and Jeff Jones at YCS Miami, became the best deck in the early stages of the March 2014 format. During that same timeframe, North America got to experience sealed play at a premier event for the first time at YCS San Diego, where Konami introduced the multi-format event into Yu-Gi-Oh with Battle Pack on Day 1 and Constructed on Day 2. Lord of the Tachyon Galaxy came out not too much later, a set that has Read more
04
Dec 2013
It’s been a while since my last article but now I’m writing as a YCS Champion! It’s still sinking in, though, and I’m not really sure to begin, as there’s a lot to say, so let’s start with the first question I’ve typically been asked since winning the event in Turin, Italy: WHY GEARGIA? I’ve been asked why I chose to play Geargia quite a few times. After the North American WCQ, I took some time away from the game. Dragon Rulers versus Spellbooks had grown stale and I was looking forward to a new banlist. When I saw all Read more
10
Sep 2013
What should define a player’s place in history? That’s the question of the article and it’s not as simple as you’d think. There are many different ways to etch one’s place into the history of the game. Jason Meyer will have left his mark on the game through a variety of mediums: feature match writer, article writer, editor. No doubt, everybody knows Cordero for his videos and event coverage. The game might change forever on September 21st when ARG holds the first Circuit Series event in Ft. Worth, Texas. This article’s purpose, though, is to examine what should define a Read more
14
Jun 2013
Have you ever reflected on yourself and thought how dumb you were a couple of years ago? You’ve been through so much since then, though. Now you have a much better grasp on life; you’re more intelligent, wiser, less naïve and more prepared to deal with what’s coming. Be proud! But don’t be content—the you from the future thinks you are oblivious to so much right now. The older you become, the less you congratulate yourself for how sage you have become and the more you realize how little you actually know. You come to realize that life is a Read more
Yup, I decided to go back to Geargia—a deck that I had some success with back in September—for YCS Austin. I must have been mad to play a deck that needs to maintain field presence in a meta dominated by decks featuring Atlantean Marksman and Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Bear, right? Maybe not. GEARGIA? By the time I returned home from Europe, the meta was beginning to become clear. Decks like Herald of Perfection came and went and Wind-Ups were making its way back into the fold. Then again, nobody needed two weeks to see what the top Read more
05
Mar 2013
Once a friend of mine said that before he even sits down to duel his opponent, he knew he was going to win. It wasn’t arrogance, it’s just confidence. By the end of his competitive career (before boredom, among other issues, got in the way of traveling to Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments) he had gone two straight events without losing a match on Day 1 in route to his fourth and fifth tops in just under a year. While not every player with such great ability goes into a duel knowing they’re going to win, because they acknowledge the amount of variance Read more
19
Feb 2013
Recently I got into a discussion about whether or not you could effectively will yourself to achieve your Yu-Gi-Oh goals. I’ve always been somebody who’s believed if you were motivated and disciplined enough you could do whatever you wanted. It’s just a matter of working harder and working smarter than anybody else. But if you believe that, you might want to stop reading. That’s because the truth is, this theory has its limitations. The past couple years of playing competitive Yu-Gi-Oh has taught me as much and if you’ve been playing long enough, you’ll know exactly what I’m saying. That Read more
11
Feb 2013
Hi everybody, it’s been a while. I have been trying to do what I normally do around this time of the year: recharge my batteries. If you didn’t read Joe’s article on how to use your breaks between competitive play, then I recommend taking a look: http://articles.alterealitygames.com/?p=17657 If you’re not going to YCS Miami you still have time, too. The format’s coming to a close and any playtesting you do is at your own risk—since the only deck we really know is going to take a hit is Wind-Ups. If you’re really smart, you might drop off the radar until after the Read more
