The Big March of the Yu-gi-oh decks

So, some interesting developments happened this weekend.  On the one hand, March 2013s top deck at the moment has been defined as Mermails.  Not really a big surprise there, since it was a pretty obvious choice for best deck of the format, at least for right now.  A lot of people aren't focusing on these results as much, since one HA and Tachyon comes out the whole thing changes.  Me?  I'm just biding my time until that happens, but I really don't want to think about it (running Dragunity, needing to buy three Tempest once Tachyon drops).

As many people know, Mermail is basically a big bully, making aggressive plays while seemingly punishing the opponent for doing anything.  I know a lot of people are saying the Undineless build gets much worse once Ophion comes out, and although that is true, it's kind of sad since the Undineless variant of Mermails is so good.  Regardless, Mermails are here and will be here to stay.

One of the most interesting decks to make it's way out of the weekend was the Electrum Cannon deck that came out of the weekend.  For those of you who don't know about it, you can read more on it and see the list here http://blog.coretcg.com/innovating-a-weapon-electrum-cannon-otk/.  One of the things I like the most about this deck is that it doesn't focus exclusively on the OTK, giving it more options and functionality.  Like the article points out, I think the true star of the deck is Card Car D, as it feels like the deck would not work without it.  Why?  Because Card Car D fills dual rolls and fills those rolls better than any other card can.  It let's you play the control game, and lets you play the build the OTK game.  Sadly, as fun as this looks I don't think it will be dominating any events any time soon, but it is nice to see some awesome rogue options appearing, and it's all ways nice to see a non-standard hero deck pop up.

One of the other rising stars of the weekend was Lancer Frogs.  The deck has been breaking through in a good number of events this weekend, going from what was seemingly obscurity into the spotlight.  I've only played against the deck a few times, but my win record against it isn't too impressive (if at all, although to be fair, the person playing the deck at my locals has a ton of experience with it, and topped the recent Detroit regional...he's really good with the deck).  From what I understand, the deck apparently has a good match against the field of Mermails, but I think that limiting the estimation of the deck to just having a good match-up is a mistake, the deck has a ton of solid plays backing it.  We've seen a couple of variants of Frogs pop up, from Lancer to Slushy, the deck seems to be on the rise.  Once HA hits, I think the deck will fall back to where it was, again due to the Ophion control option, but I wouldn't count the deck out even after that.

Fire Fist.  When I stopped writing earlier this year, and Cosmo Blazer was just released, a lot of people were worried that Fire Fist would be regulated to being the over hyped deck of the set (much like Hieratics were).  I know some people are probably thinking I'm crazy for saying that, but a lot of people really were implying that until the deck saw future releases that it wouldn't be good.  At this point the deck is fairly strong, but an optimal build still hasn't been completely decided for the deck, and oddly enough I don't think it will have a set standard until Tachyon hits, and the TCG hopefully gets some of the cards it needs. Other than that, it's been interesting to see some of the tech cards pop up here and there in the deck, DNA Surgery was an interesting choice.

So yeah, seems like everything I missed.  I understand that other decks are also doing well this format, but this recap was for me to get some of my thoughts straight on this format.

This Week...

Will be my last week on hiatus.  I just have to finish up doing a couple more research projects and then Spring Break.  So I'll probably be pumping a lot out once that starts to make up for the lack of writing I've done this past month.  Also, looked like my friends were right on the Undine-less Mermail call.

With a regional coming up this week, I'm hoping to run this:

Click the image to see it better.  I don't want to go through too much about the deck, but one of the things that bugs me is Garunix basically turns the game into a race and I'm not sure against some decks I'd be able to win that race.

Also, with the release of Tachyon Galaxy in the OCG, Dragunity are seeing more play and are getting a bit of hype.  My build for that, once that set drops for the TCG, will probably look like this:

Tempest is supposed to add a lot of consistency to the deck, something that makes me a bit excited.   I've never felt like the deck had consistency issues in the months that I've played it up until now, but Tempest does add a little bit, and even that helps. I'm going with double Tempest and double Sarc because, as good as the Sarc play is, I feel like trip Sarc and trip Tempest would hit more dead draws and take up deck more deck space, neither of which are positive things.

~E.P.B.

Podcast Happening

The usual drill.  Watch on Twitch TV, being live streamed.

http://www.twitch.tv/et3rnalphoenix13#

Will be up on my Youtube channel later.

Hard Times

Sorry I haven't updated anything this past week.  It's been really difficult since my classes are picking up.  At the moment, I have to write two-5 page (not that much though) assignments, memorize all of the bones and their characteristics in the upper body, and complete an annotated bibliography for one of my other classes, as well as keeping up on the readings for all of those classes (and prepare for a few exams).

 Figured I'd let people know what's going on. I will be doing another podcast this week, so in case you missed it, here is last weeks:

~Et3rnal13

Podcast Going Live Soon.

Just waiting for people to get on.  Basically, we will be discussing yu-gi-oh stuff.  Put it on a listen to it in the background or something.  There won't be much video, unless I switch over to show my screen if we are talking about some sort of obscure card. Thanks for watching and listening, I want to do this once a week.

Here are the links:

http://www.twitch.tv/et3rnalphoenix13  - to listen to it live

http://www.youtube.com/eternalbuysafish - to listen when I upload it.

TONIGHT IS NOT HAPPENING

Sorry, if anyone was looking foreword to it. Apparently the set time is conflicting with my friends schedules. That and it snowed really hard, making it difficult for everyone to meet up.

Et3rnal13

Some news and...Number Chronicles Pt.1 Let's go get some Numbers.

Well, today's article is going to be more casual, really casual actually. There might not be much relevant information, but it was incredibly fun for me to write.  I felt like I discussed a couple of pretty heavy topics over the last few weeks, so for this one I wanted to do something more fun.

Also SORT OF BIG NEWS; tomorrow will be the first day that I'm starting my new podcast.  It's going to be a couple of the competitive players in my area discussing several topics at my choosing.  It's going to be an experiment, but it will work out much better than my first Video Blog.  I will be posting a link to my stream, and a link to my youtube channel where you can watch it if you miss the initial stream.  I'm aiming for starting somewhere around 11:00 p.m. EST time, so look here around that time for that.

ARISE NUMBER!!!

Number monsters are Xyz monsters in the Zexal anime that have an extra effect, they can not be destroyed by battle with non-number monsters.  These monsters don't get this extra added bonus in real life, but they still have decent effects, and they are still fun to collect.

The numbers in the real game add another collection element in the game.  This is a good thing for people looking to collect something, but not really looking for becoming a serious collector, or even add something a little extra if a person is buying packs.  It's just something cool you can look foreward to when a new set comes out.

Now, let's look at some tips to help someone collect numbers.

Start small, work your way up...basic tips for beginners.

The first Number seen on Zexal.

 A lot of the Number cards are pretty easy to obtain.  For example, the earlier numbers have been reprinted a ton, some of them you can even pick up for about a quarter in trade or cash.

Number 10: Illumiknight is pretty easy to get, and is a decent place to start a collection if you're short on trade-able cards.  Illumiknight isn't a very good example of a strong number though.  He doesn't really have a great effect.  He does have a couple of uses, and it really seems like cards like Illumiknight are ones to watch out for.  I don't think it would be that farfetched to say that with the card designed the way it is, it could, some day, be used in a combo oriented deck of some sort.  This is getting really close to saying it is has "potential" so I'll stop there. Number 34: Terror-Byte should be another easy snag, considering it's not valued at anything and has been reprinted twice.

A couple of the other numbers are staple cards for Xyz decks.  Numbers like Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, Number 39: Utopia, Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction, and Number 16: Shock Master can be easily picked up.  They even see reprints really often. 

The more advanced stuff...

So yeah, some other places to pick up Numbers.  Shonen Jump Alpha gives out 4 promos each year with subscription.  Alpha promos are sometimes numbers, even if the card isn't that good those numbers can still end up costing a pretty penny if you get them elsewhere. The subscription is only $30, and even if there aren't any Numbers being offered at the moment, the promos are still generally pretty desirable things.

Shock Master was once of these promos, and fetched a pretty good chunk of money for just being one card.  Right now, the most recent card from Alpha was Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings, with Number 88: Gimmick Puppet - Destiny Leo being the next one slated for shipment.  As time goes on, there will probably be even more offered. My guess is that the next one will be Number 69: God Heraldic, Coat of Arms.  At least that is what I would want it to be.

Next in line????

The other place that new Numbers see release is through the Zexal manga.  Everyone knows Number 50: Blackship of Corn by now, since it is a really good card.  He was released in the Zexal manga.  The next promo in the manga is Number 22: Zombiestein.  He won't be seen as much as the Blackship, but he's a fun little card, and a huge beatstick.  Sadly, if your looking for a playable Number then Zombiestein isn't the best.  It is, however, a really easy card to pick up for the collection.

New sets also contain a lot of Numbers.  Those releases are often related to the anime. Currently, the most sought after Number from a base set is Number 11: Big Eye.

Trading for Numbers

Personally, I usually try to get the number cards as throw-ins in my trades.  Mostly because the majority of them are not really sought after anymore, due to excessive reprints or just not being powerful enough.  I like to wait on picking up the more expensive ones if I don't need them for a specific deck.  The most patient hunter is the one who gets the easiest prey after all. Generally, if the card is sought after enough, or is pretty iconic, it will be reprinted soon enough.

There are a few ways to get difficult Numbers without trading.  I usually don't advocate doing this, but playing for cards is another nice way.  If I were to do it, I would do the throw in method if it's a Number that is valued at less than $10.  Something like Big Eye would be a pretty difficult catch, because the only people who would ante it would probably be confident in their abilities.  So if someone is going to do it, make sure you know what you're doing.  Again, I do not advocate doing this, but it is a method for collecting Numbers as well as increasing a collection just in general. I accept no responsibility if you do this and lose.

Wrapping it Up

This was a pretty basic article. I hope it didn't bore any of you, like I said, it was meant to be pretty casual.  Just something to spur up some ideas.  The next part to this won't be posted any time soon, as it is something that there isn't a ton of new and interesting things to say on it. Also, Cosmo Blaze It Pt. 3 will be a video.  I'm going to have that up by the end of the weekend, by this point, I can actually talk in depth about the practical uses of the TCG exclusives.

~Et3rnal13

Also, if you got here from the Pojo Number Hunters Guild, feel free to post pictures of your collection in the comments section.