YCS Orlando is fast approaching and a lot of new decks are bound to pop up with the numerous new cards that have been thrown into the card pool.  In my last article, I covered the Worm archetype and how it may make some splashes at upcoming Premier Events.  Today, I again want to go over a new deck that has been talked about for a while now, and in my opinion will make an appearance in some way at the upcoming YCS.  This deck will only gain strength with the release of T.G. Hyper Librarian, but at its current level the Fabled Archetype has a good shot at making waves in the coming months!

T.G. Hyper Librarian
Spellcaster
Level  5 Synchro
2400/1800
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
While this card is face-up on the field, each time a Synchro Monster(s) is Synchro Summoned, draw 1 card for each.

When I first thought to write this article, I really didn’t know much about Fabled’s at all aside from the well-known fact that they are centered around discarding to the graveyard.  I knew I would need to do a lot of research catching up on all the potential cards that this deck could use.  At the end of this research, I came up with my own version of the deck and a solid approach to using this deck.  Some things I learned about using this deck is that it has scary potential and can gain enormous advantage within a turn or two.  I’ll start off this article with the build that I eventually decided to write about, and go into some of its combos and ways to combat this deck when you end up sitting across from it at an upcoming event!

Monsters:  24
3 Fabled Grimro
3 The Fabled Cerburrel
3 Fabled Krus
3 The Fabled Ganashia
3 The Fabled Chawa
1 Fabled Kushano
1 Morphing Jar
1 Glow-Up Bulb
2 Snipe Hunter
3 Gravekeeper’s Spy
1 Gravekeeper’s Descendant

Spells:  8
1 Monster Reborn
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Book of Moon
1 Giant Trunade
3 Pot of Avarice

Traps:  8
2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
2 Seven Tools of the Bandit
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgement
1 Mirror Force

Now that we have a decklist to work off of, lets take a look at some of these cards individually and there effects along with the Fabled Synchros; because I know I didn’t know very many of these cards prior to working on this myself!

Fabled Grimro
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Effect
Level:4
ATK/DEF: 1700/1000
While you control a face-up “Fabled” monster, you can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard to add 1 “Fabled” monster other than “Fabled Grimro” from your Deck to your hand.

Fabled Krus
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Effect
Level:  2
ATK/DEF: 1000/800
When this card is discarded from the hand to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Fabled” monster other than this card from your Graveyard.

The Fabled Cerburrel
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Beast/Tuner
Level:  2
ATK/DEF: 1000/400
When this card is discarded from the hand to the Graveyard, Special Summon it.

The Fabled Chawa
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Beast/Tuner
Level: 1
ATK/DEF: 200/100
Activate this card’s effect during your Main Phase. Discard 1 “Fabled” monster, and Special Summon this card from your hand.

The Fabled Ganashia
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Beast/Effect
Level: 3
ATK/DEF: 1600/1000
When this card is discarded from your hand to the Graveyard, Special Summon it. If this card is Special summoned by this effect it gains 200 ATK, and when this card is removed from the field, it is removed from play.

Fabled Kushano
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Tuner
Level:  3
ATK/DEF: 1100/800
If this card is in your Graveyard, you can discard 1 “Fabled” monster (except “Fabled Kushano”) to add this card from your Graveyard to your hand.

Fabled Leviathan
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Synchro/Effect
Level:  10
ATK/DEF: 3000/2000
1 “Fabled” Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monster.
When this card on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can select up to 3 “Fabled” monsters in your Graveyard. Add the selected monsters to your hand.

Fabled Valkyrus
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Synchro/Effect
Level: 8
ATK/DEF: 2900/1700
1 “Fabled” Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Once per turn, you can discard 1 Fiend-Type monster to draw 1 card.

Fabled Ragin
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fiend/Synchro/Effect
Level: 5
ATK/DEF: 2300/1800
“1 Fabled” Tuner Monster + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned while you have no more than 1 card in your hand, you can draw cards until you have 2 cards in your hand.

The Fabled Unicore
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Beast/Synchro/Effect
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 2300/1000
1 “Fabled” Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters.
If both players have the same number of cards in their hands, the effect(s) of Effect Monsters, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards your opponent activates are negated and destroyed.

So now that we know what all these crazy cards do, lets talk about why certain cards were chosen for this deck and why they work so well in here.  I’ll start talking about the set of Gravekeeper’s Spy and single copy of Gravekeeper’s Descendant.  Mainly, I like using the Spys because they allow me to either go into Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier by flipping spy, searching another and synchroing with a level 1 tuner (Chawa or Glow-Up Bulb), or I can flip a spy, search for a descendant, destroy a card on field, set my hand and then synchro into a Fabled Ragin which then allows me to draw two new cards.  Also, their high defense can allow me to stall for turns if I don’t quite have a set up ready to go off with.

Next lets look at a card I really like in here… SNIPE HUNTER!  This one was a little strange, but it fit the bill perfectly.  Its level four status allows me to combine it with Chawa or bulb to make Fabled Ragin, and at the same time allows me to discard my cards in hand and special summon them to the field while at the same time destroying my opponents cards!  This one accomplishes two goals at once.  It provides an outlet for getting the Fabled on the field to do their magic, and clearing the field so it is safe for them when they do make it there. A common play in this deck is to special summon multiple Fabled’s, set your hand, synchro for a Ragin, draw two more cards, Synchro for a Stardust dragon(potentially), use a Pot of avarice to refill your hand even more, then set some defense and grind out from that point on.  Other support cards such as Phoenix Wing Wind Blast provide a three-way benefit; they provide a discard outlet, a flexible defense, and a way to clear the opponents backrow cards.

Next, I would like to go over some cards that really hurt this deck so you can be prepared for this matchup when you finally do face it! (or be ready for these cards if you are using Fableds!)

1^st – D.D. Crow – this card absolutely shuts this deck down.  Whether your stopping the all important Pot of Avarice, Fabled Krus, Fabled Cerburrel etc, this card is going to hurt.  It shouldn’t take long at all to figure out when exactly you should be using your D.D. Crow to cripple your opponent.

2^nd – Effect Veiler – this one is good for stopping Fabled Ragin, Trishula or any major threat your opponent can dish your way.  This is not only good against Fabled, but many other top tier decks(hello X-Saber!), so this should be seeing a lot of play in either your main deck, or at least your sidedeck.

3^rd – Maxx “C” – this one is personally my favorite against Fableds.  When your opponent starts their shenanigans, you just discard this bad boy(drawing a card and replacing itself) and your opponent is going to be faced with a choice, either keep synchroing and allowing you to continue drawing cards, or stop right there with all of the weak Fabled cards on the field vulnerable.  Since Fabled’s aren’t much until they get to synchroing, you should easily be able to clear the Fableds that did make it to the field, and destroy them before they can do much of anything.

4^th – Light-Imprisoning Mirror – this one is has dual purpose and shuts down not only Fableds, but the new Worm deck that I discussed in my last article.

The Fabled archtype is an emerging deck that will be played in the coming months.  I don’t believe they will be the most dominant deck, but they will make a splash depending if someone can truly break this deck wide open.  Also with the release of T.G. Hyper Librarian, this deck will only gain strength.  After its release, I would assume that this deck will re-center its focus on dropping the Librarian and drawing numerous cards off of its effect.

Another approach to using this deck is dropping The Fabled Unicore, which allows you to negate any card your opponent can throw your way.  But that is a build of the deck that I would like to save for next time!  So, until then, be prepared for this deck, and you better know that the Fableds will be making their appearance at YCS Orlando!  Until next time, remember to have fun, thanks for reading and remember to check out my next article that will feature another strategy you can use with this archetype!

Check out my youtube channel at youtube.com/blackluster777

The Game Academy will be holding Starstrike Blast Sneak Peek on November 6th & 7th.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Regional Qualifier – Saturday, December 4th, 2010 hosted by The Game Academy

PLEASE READ!! IMPORTANT VENUE CHANGES BELOW!!

Unfortunately, Yu-Gi-Oh! regionals will no longer be held at the Comfort Inn Conference Center because of some remodeling issues they are experiencing. All necessary information about the new venue can be found below. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

NEW VENUE INFORMATION

Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
2900 Bayport Drive
Tampa, FL 33607
813-874-1234.

Map &  Directions

Call 813-874-1234 for Directions Only
Call 813-914-7000 for any questions about the tournament

Event Schedule:
9:00am – Registration begins for Regional Qualifier
9:45am – Registration closes for Regional Qualifier
10:00am – Player meeting for Regional Qualifier
1:00pm – Sign ups begin for On-Demand events*

*On Demand events will begin once the required number of players has been met.

Event Specifics:
Fee – $20 USD

Format – Advanced Constructed. There will be swiss rounds based on attendance followed by a cut to top 8 for a single elimination playoff.

Prizes – Each participant will receive 5 booster packs of the most current set as a participation prize.

Top 8: Each player in the top 8 will receive a 2011 Regional Qualifier Playmat
Top 4: Each player in the top 4 will receive a YuGiOh Card Binder

Invites to the 2011 Regional Qualifier will be based upon attendance according to the schedule below:

4-49 Players: 4 Invites to the 2011 National Championships
50-99 Players: 8 Invites to the 2011 National Championships
100-149 Players: 16 Invites to the 2011 National Championships
150-199 Players: 24 Invites to the 2011 National Championships
200-299 Players: 32 Invites to the 2011 National Championships
300+ Players: 48 Invites to the 2011 National Championships

Misc. – Each player is required to bring the necessary tools to participate in this event (pens, paper, counters, etc.) as we can guarantee that they will be provided by the venue.

This event is open to the public meaning that you do not need to pre-register or pre-qualify in order to participate in this event.

The Game Academy reserves the right to ask anyone to leave the venue for inappropriate behavior, cash trading, or anything that jeopardizes the integrity of the event.

Please feel free to call our office at 1-813-914-7000 with any questions you may have. If no one is available to take your call please leave a message and your complete phone number and we will promptly return your call. You may also send us an email to: thegameacademy@gmail.com

The information presented here, if presented in error, will always defer to official YuGiOh rulings. For information on Konami, YuGiOh or tournaments please visit their website at http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/

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Scars of Mirrodin Booster Boxes 84.99
Scars of Mirrodin Booster Box Cases 504.99
Scars of Mirrodin Fat Packs 29.99

]]> http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/08/28/scars-of-mirrodin-now-available-for-pre-order/feed/ 1 http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/08/16/%e2%80%9cnext-level-frogs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-a-yu-gi-oh-article-by-allen-pennington/ http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/2010/08/16/%e2%80%9cnext-level-frogs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-a-yu-gi-oh-article-by-allen-pennington/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:10:53 +0000 The Game Academy http://www.thegameacademyonline.com/?p=1320 Monday, August 16th – Allen Pennington discusses his first place finish at The Game Academy’s Yu-Gi-Oh! 2K Championship.

Leveling Up With Frogs

Ever since US Nationals I had dedicated myself to mastering the deck that is Frog OTK. Although when the deck was young, I had considered it a luck-based “all or nothing” deck that required you to win die rolls and get lucky throughout the day (see my “die roll jokes” in previous articles). After the deck placed second at Canadian Nationals, I gave the deck a second look and discovered that it was a very hard deck to play. You often had to work for your wins and were sometimes forced to win in unconventional ways.

I Day2′d US Nationals with a 7-2 record and lost out to Herald of Perfection (aka “the worst matchup”) in round 10. I honestly wish I had practiced more with the deck before the event. I came very close to topping, and I feel that with more experience and better sidedeck I could’ve got there. After nationals, I started tearing up local tournaments at The Game Academy. I was pretty confident that I would be able to top8 the 2K tournament, but I also recognized that it was Yu-Gi-Oh! and anything could happen.

My sidedeck had evolved a lot since I had started playing the deck. After Sam Tse took Canadian Nationals by storm, the maindeck had become standardized. No two Frog OTK maindecks differ by more than a card or two. I’ve been using Tse’s exact list from the beginning. Here it is for reference…

Monsters: 26
3 Substitoad
2 Ronintoadin
1 Fishborg Blaster
3 Swap Frog
3 Dupe Frog
3 Poison Draw Frog
3 Unifrog
2 Des Frog
2 Beelze Frog
2 Flip Flop Frog
2 Treeborn Frog

Spells: 14
3 Salvage
3 Hand Destruction
3 Moray of Greed
2 Mass Driver
1 Card Destruction
1 Giant Trunade
1 One for One

I’ll explain some of the choices for those who are unfamilar with the deck (which I find is still a lot of people, despite this being one of the top3 decks of the format). Twenty Frogs is the most logical number, as 20 * 400 = 8000.

The 1-of Fishborg Blaster is definitely needed. If you need extra damage with the Mass Driver OTK (say they gained lifepoints with Magical Android), Fishborg Blaster allows every card in your hand to be an additional 400 damage. Sometimes Frogs get removed with Gladiator Beast Retiari, Banisher of Radiance, or D.D. Warrior Lady and you find that you need to do extra damage. Also, being tuner is extremely relevant as it gives you an alternate win condition. If I see a synchro OTK I’ll usually take it over the option of hoping to draw into a Mass Driver. My synchros of choice are usually a powered-up Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier, a Mist Wurm, and 2 Swap Frogs for exactly 8000 (3500 + 2500 + 1000 + 1000). Yet another win condition is to synchro for Colossal Fighter and Armory Arm, attach Armory Arm to your opponent’s big monster, and keep ramming your Colossal Fighter, reviving itself each time, and dealing your opponent 2800 damage for each battle. This OTK allows you dodge Gorz-like effects, but not Hanewata.

Sam Tse’s greatest innovation to the deck was only playing two copies of Mass Driver, the deck’s most common win condition. The key thing you need to realize is that once you resolve a Substitoad loop the game is usually over. You’ll thin the deck of everything minus Mass Drivers and cards that will draw you cards (Moray of Greed, Hand Destruction). After bringing Poison Draw Frogs to the field, you use Swap Frog to send them to the graveyard and draw three cards. In those three cards there has to be a Mass Driver or a draw spell. Getting the Mass Driver early on might seem like a “lucky draw”, but you can usually draw the entire deck if needed.

I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to the sidedeck. I figured that I should just trust Sam Tse’s judgment on the sidedeck as well, and decided to play this side in the national tournament…

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Light and Darkness Dragon
1 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Deep Sea Diva
1 Spined Gillman
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Brain Control
1 Enemy Controller
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Raigeki Break

Although I liked some of the cards, I found most of them to be useless. Light and Darkness Dragon was amazing, and I liked my Raigeki Break tech pretty well, but most of the time the side just wasn’t good enough. I modified the monsters in the side after I saw the lists that topped our nationals.

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Light and Darkness Dragon
2 Quickdraw Synchron
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Brain Control
1 Enemy Controller
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Raigeki Break

Quickdraw Synchron seemed great in theory, but I found that it usually sat in my hand the entire game. Interestingly enough, I found that most of my friends were having the same experience with it. Cyber Dragon was decent, but it wasn’t as stellar as people were making it out to be. Again, the only card that I liked in the side was Light and Darkness Dragon. These less-than-optimal sidedecks were good enough to win local tournaments, but I wanted my sidedeck to be something reliable rather than a pile of fifteen cards that I might throw in the deck just for fun.

I don’t remember where the idea came from, but I figured that an Absolute Zero sidedeck was worth trying. I figured that a Raigeki on legs was pretty good against most of the format. Absolute Zero leads to some pretty sick blowouts and allows you steal games that you shouldn’t have won. Here was my first draft of the new sidedeck:

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
3 Elemental Hero Alius
3 Miracle Fusion
1 Future Fusion
1 Heavy Storm
2 Gemini Spark
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 E – Emergency Call
1 Treacherous Trap Hole

I honestly thought this sidedeck would solve a lot of my problem matchups. Absolute Zero wrecks X-Sabers, and 1900 beatsticks are really good against Gladiator Beasts and Anti-Meta (especially after they side out their Bottomless Trap Holes). Treacherous Trap Hole is an amazing card that has saved me on multiple occasions. Destroying two monsters with one cards is amazing against… um… everything? After testing this sidedeck for only a short amount of time I realized that changes needed to be made.

There were a lot of situations where I was sitting on a Moray of Greed with one water monster and a Stratos/Reinforcement/E-Call. Now the play here would be to search the deck for Elemental Hero Ocean and activate Moray of Greed. Only I wasn’t playing Elemental Hero Ocean! I decided to cut Alius for Ocean, just because being a water monster is that good (it also allows me to synchro Ocean with Fishborg). Since I no longer had 3 Alius, I had to cut Gemini Spark down to one, which gave me room to add Mystical Space Typhoon to the sidedeck. Here was the final sidedeck and extra deck…

Extra deck: 15
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
3 Elemental Hero Absolute Zero
2 Armory Arm
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Mist Wurm

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
2 Elemental Hero Alius
1 Elemental Hero Ocean
3 Miracle Fusion
1 Future Fusion
1 Heavy Storm
1 Gemini Spark
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 E – Emergency Call
1 Treacherous Trap Hole

Here’s what I usually side out, although it varies depending on the matchup:
- 2 Des Frog
- 2 Beelze frog
- 2 Flip Flop Frog
- 2 Unifrog
- 1 Poison Draw Frog
- 3 Hand Destruction
- 1 Card Destruction
- 2 Mass Driver

Now on to the tournament itself, the most exciting part. At this point, I had made a name for myself as the best Frog OTK player in the Tampa Bay area, and many people were expecting me to top. I had decided to call my deck “Next Level Blue” or simply “Next Level Frogs”. I named my deck Next Level Frogs for two reasons. I felt that my sidedeck took the deck to the next level. I’m still convinced that a sidedeck with Elemental Heroes and Miracle Fusions is the best. Secondly, I feel that I’m a next level player. I don’t think I’m up there with Sam Tse, CJ Lack, or Alex Bunts, but I know how to play the deck far better than the average player. I think hard about each play, and my knowledge of math and probability really shines when I play this deck. Also, I am very patient. Winning turn 10 is just as good as winning turn 1 for me. The deck’s style really reminds of Elf Combo, which was one of favorite Magic decks.

Ironically enough, I actually think Frog OTK was a bad meta call for this tournament. Anti-Meta was very popular. The vendors were sold out of Fossil Dyna Pachycephalos the entire day. Also, Gladiator Beasts were popular as well, which is always an uphill battle. I’d say Gladiator Beasts were probably the second most popular deck overall, with X-Sabers being first of course. My best matchup, Frog Monarch was practicing nonexistent. I decided to play Frog OTK only because I knew how to play the deck better than any other deck.

Round 1: Anti-Meta
For game 1, I had opened an FTK hand, but he won the die roll. He summons King Tiger Wangnu and activates Macro Cosmos in my draw phase. I try to stall on 2000 defenders until I can draw answers, but he tributes for Raiza and we’re on to the next game. Game 2 I open the Substitoad combo, but I end up not drawing what I need and I have to go for game on turn 3. He Hanewatas the last 400 damage when I had exact game, but there are only two cards left in my deck and one of them is a Fishborg Blaster. I draw it, set it, and send it at him for game. Game 3 was way too close. He starts out by summoning Doomcaliber Knight, activating Dimensional Fissure, and setting three backrows. I start out by setting Dupe Frog and Mystical Space Typhoon. It gets hit in the end phase by his own MST. He attacks into my Dupe Frog, sets another spell/trap and passed. I decide to special summon Swap Frog to trigger Doomcaliber Knight, normal summon Stratos, and hit for 1800 after searching out Alius. He special summons Cyber Dragon and I thought it was game over. How does my deck beat that, especially with Dimensional Fissure on the field? He runs over the Dupe Frog and passes. I switch Stratos to defense and pass. He adds King Tiger to his board and attacks. My draw for the turn is my one-outer: Treacherous Trap Hole! I summon Alius, and set the Treacherous Trap Hole along with two bluffs, just in case of the off chance that he has Dust Tornado. He thinks for awhile and attacks, and I blow up his monsters. I start beating with Alius while he’s forced to set D.D. Crows and Hanewatas to defend himself. Eventually I put a second Alius on the field and draw into Gemini Spark, just in case. I win.
1-0 (0-1 in die rolls)

Round 2: X-Sabers
I lose the die roll. Game 1 he synchros up for Magical Android early and starts to gain life and also hits me with X-Saber Airbellum a couple of times. I stall by reviving Treeborn Frogs and Ronintoadins until I draw something helpful. He plays Gold Sarcophagus, whose text reads “I win in two turns” because he searches Rescue Cat. I’m able to combo out with Synchros, attack for 9000, leaving him at 600. I reveal the last card in my hand which is Mass Driver, and we’re off to game 2. Game 1 took 26 minutes, so we know that time will be called at some point. He hits for early damage but I’m able to take control of the game with Absolute Zero. Unfortunately time gets called in game 2, and I can’t push for damage so I lose. We’re not allowed to side for game 3, which sucks because both of my Mass Drivers are now in the side deck. I decide to play first, setting Dupe Frog and passing. He Mind Controls, summons Thunder King Rai-Oh, and attacks for 1900. I drop Gorz. He sets three backrows and passes. This is my last turn to win. I have Gorz and token attack. He reveals that his backrows were bluffs, and I take the match.
2-0 (0-2 in die rolls)

Round 3: Demise OTK
This guy didn’t know what any of my cards did, but his deck was surprisingly good. The fact that a deck like this was 2-0 further supports my theory that “Raigeki on legs” is really good right now. I have a turn 2 kill hand so I set Treeborn Frog and pass. He goes Sonic Bird, Advanced Ritual Art, Demise, Doom Dozer and attacks for 5200. He sets a backrow and ends. Next turn I Trunade, Substitoad loop, and OTK with synchros. Game 2 was similar to game 1, only I OTKed with Mass Driver instead.
3-0 (1-2 in die rolls)

Round 4: Gladiator Beasts (Elijah Gersten)
I lose the die roll. Game 1 I get a less than optimal hand, and he quickly Herk + Chariot locks me out of the game. Game 2 I open FTK. Game 3 my five card hand is Future Fusion, Dupe Frog, Substitoad, Giant Trunade, Mystical Space Typhoon. Great hand! I’ll simply Future Fusion to put Fishborg into the grave and turn one Substitoad loop. Unfortunately my sixth card is the Fishborg Blaster, which was very disappointing. I set Dupe Frog and pass. He attacks into it, tags into Murmillo, and Chariots. Then he Dustshoots, and sets me back even more. When I can finally do something relevant, I Trunade and he has Solemn. I lose.
3-1 (1-3 in die rolls)

Round 5: Frog OTK
I lose the die roll, which is usually a death sentence in the mirror match. He opens One For One and turn 1 Substitoad loops. He screws up horribly and punts the game. He’s able to do 7600 damage with Mass Driver. He tries to use Swap Frog’s extra normal summon on a non-Frog multiple times that game, and can’t do enough damage as a result. His hand was actually horrible, but he plays Hand Destructions during the course of his turn and fixes my hand, so I was able to FTK. He starts game 2, and we both open “second turn kill” hands, so he wins. I start game 3 and FTK. I’m glad that’s over with.
4-1 (1-4 in die rolls)

Round 6: X-Sabers
Not much to say about this game. I win the die roll and FTK game 1. Game 2 he has the nuts and kills me on his second turn. Then I FTK game 3.
5-1 (2-4 in die rolls)

Round 7: X-Sabers (Travis Washburn)
I win the die roll and FTK game 1. Game 2 I take control with Absolute Zeroes. I make a bad play by leaving Swap Frog in attack mode with only 1100 lifepoints. I had already used the bounce effect, but I simply could’ve special summoned in defense (although I didn’t want to because he searched Fulhelmknight with Darksoul). I also didn’t realize that my opponent’s water monsters powered-up Absolute Zero, which would have allowed me to make a much better play (his Goyo had stolen Treeborn Frog). Two of his Boggart Knights were gone, but I guess he had a third. He synchros up and attacks over Swap Frog for game. Game 3 I sided back into the FTK, but I couldn’t draw it. I Card Destruction my opponent into a perfect hand and lose.
5-2 (3-4 in die rolls)

Post-match thoughts: I was really disappointed. Had I not misplayed, I would’ve taken the match 2-0. For some reason, it seems like people had expected me to lose in the last round. I suppose I would rather lose to my own misplays than pure luck. My tiebreakers were very strong, and two people with a 5-2 record would make top8. Fortunately enough for me, I slid in at 8th place. In addition, my opponent was starting with a game 1 loss due to registering an illegal extra deck. Sometimes, things just go your way. Joshua Martinez recommended that I spin my totem to make sure that I wasn’t in a dream.

The following matches were all featured on The Game Academy’s youtube channel. Be sure to check it out and when the uploads are finished. Jeremy did amazing commentary as usual.

Top8: Chris Rivera with Zombies
He elects to play first for the second game, and Jake reminds us that neither player can side. He starts with a set monster and 3 backrows. I play Hand Destruction and he comments that he probably should’ve set the other card in his hand (misplay #1). I then special summon Swap Frog and he plays Divine Wrath (misplay #2, you always wait for Substitoad). I play Salvage and he Solemns it (misplay #3). I have another Salvage so I decide to just get back Swap Frog and Poison Draw Frog, put the Draw Drog on the field and end. He attacks over it and passes. I play Swap Frog to thin my deck, bounce and pass. He Emergency Teleports for Psychic Commander and synchs for Urbellum for the Time Seal. For the next couple of turns, I’m walling up with Treeborn and Ronintoadin until I can draw into something. The big play comes when he Brain Controls Treeborn, tributes for Caius, removes Ronintoadin, attacks for 4600, which Time Seals me and leaves me at 100. I realize I had to chance it and see if I can get game. I play Giant Trunade. I normal summon Swap Frog, putting a Ronintoadin back in the grave. I set Mass Driver and Card Destruction for 1 card. With 3 Frogs in the grave and 2 on field, any monster will give me enough damage for game. I draw Flip Flop Frog, which allows me to put 2 additional Frogs in the grave. I reveal my face-down Mass Driver and it’s over.
6-2

After the top4 is determined, we decide to split the prize money at $400 and simply play for the trophy and video coverage. I think splitting was the correct decision, as I knew that I had to play Glads in the top4. In addition, the two people that beat me in the swiss rounds were in the top4 as well. The matchups in the top4 were certain winnable, but not necessarily favorable.

Top4: Maurice Brantley with Glads
I lose the die roll. He starts with Cold Wave, sets a Glad, and passes. I set Dupe Frog and pass. Next turn he plays Prisma, makes Gyzarus, and then makes Heraklinos afterwards. I try to draw outs for a few turns, but I don’t get there and I lose. Game 2 I open One For One and Mass Driver and FTK. Game 3 he starts with a Gladiator Beast, Dimensional Fissure and 3 other backrows. I play Heavy Storm and goes through. What a blowout! The next turn I Substitoad loop and make a 5000 attack Absolute Zero (my four monsters plus his Retiari). Next turn he’s able to Gyzarus but I’ve already taken control of the game at this point.
7-2 (3-5 in die rolls)

Top2: Elijah Gersten with Glads
I lose the die roll. I don’t quite remember how he won game 1, but I believe the game ended very quickly. I probably involved the usual contact fusions and War Chariot. Game 2 I open FTK. For game 3 he knows I’m bringing in the Zero side so he sides out Hanewatas like a master. He opens up with a Bestiari and two backrows. I have a few options, but I decide to go the Substitoad loop and see what he has. He chains Mask Restrict to the first activation and I bring out Unifrog. I bring back Ronintoadin, hoping to blow up the Mask and continue the combo. He plays Conpulsory Evacuation Device on Ronintoadin, so I pass. He contacts, attacks, lags for 2 Laquari, sets a couple of backrows and says go. I summon Stratos, search an Alius and activate Miracle Fusion. Rather than simply chaining Compulsory on Stratos, causing Miracle Fusion to fizzle and winning the game, he decided to wait for Absolute Zero to come out and Compulse him, allowing me to get the 3-for-1. He attacks with a Glad next turn and I drop Gorz; he tags for Murmillo. I summon Alius next turn and start beating. He tops Thunder King and attacks the Gorz token. I trade my Alius with his Thunder King, then Emergency Call another Alius, summon it and say go. He sets a monster as a last resort. I peal another Miracle Fusion, which allows me to attack for game.
8-2 (3-6 in die rolls)

The Game Academy 2K Champion is Allen C. Pennington! Winning this event felt great, and it was a nice way to rap up the format. Hopefully I’ll write a couple more articles in the near future.

You will want to be among the first to check out the new monsters of the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TRADING CARD GAME booster set – Duelist Revolution!  This 100-card booster set has Unicorns, Scrap monsters, new Amazoness cards, and Fusion Monsters, including Yusei’s 3200 ATK Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste.

Duelist Revolution also includes many cards that can team up with cards from Hidden Arsenal 2, and Gold Series 3! Every Duelist will receive a limited edition Ultra Rare participation card and have the chance to win an exclusive Duelist Revolutiongame mat.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Customers are limited to 1 entry in the Sneak Peek PER DAY.  Due to this restriction, the quantity of Duelist Revolution Sneak Peek kits are limited so be sure to get to the store early and get yours before we run out!

Event Info:

Where:

The Game Academy

5671 E. Fowler Ave

Tampa, FL 33617

813.914.7000 (please call with any questions)

When:

August 7th & 8th; Doors open at 9 AM

Tournament Info:

Price: $20 per person

Event is open to all players, no prequalification is necessary.

Each player will receive 5 booster packs of The Duelist Revolution + 1 Ultra Rare Promo Card while supplies last

Open Dueling (use your 5 packs to construct a 20 card deck and use that to play in an open play environment; the cards you open are yours to keep)

4 Promo T-Shirts and 4 Promo play mats will be raffled off on each day of the pre-release to participants

WE WILL STILL BE HOLDING OUR REGULAR WEEKEND YU-GI-OH! TOURNAMENTS

Saturday:

1:00 PM Swiss Tournament (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$5 Entry

Each participant will receive 1 Turbo Pack

$100 store credit GUARANTEED to the top players!

Sunday:

12:00 PM Swiss Tournament (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$8 Entry

Participants will receive free pizza and 1 booster pack. Top finishers will be awarded store credit based on attendance.

If you enter this tournament, you will receive FREE ENTRY into our box tournament at 4PM.

4:00 PM Sunday Guaranteed Booster Box Tournament! (Advanced Format Deck Required)

$5 Entry (FREE if you participated in our 12PM tournament!)

Top finishers will split a booster box of the most current set.

The Game Academy will be hosting a 2K tournament on Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Where:

Embassy Suites Tampa Downtown Convention Center

513 S. Florida Avenue

Tampa, Fl 33602

For Map+Directions CLICK HERE

Entry Fee:

$25

Prize Structure:

Top 8 players will advance to play for additional prizes.

1st-$800

2nd-$400

3rd-4th-$200

5th-8th-$100

Tournament Details:

Advanced Format Deck Required

Begin registration @ 8 AM

Late registration @ 9:45 AM (if you register after this time, you will be charged a $30 entry fee)

Tournament begins @ 10:00 AM

Parking and Dining:

On-site valet parking is available for our players for the low price of $6 (normally $12)

There is a Starbucks as well as Trolleys American Café; available for lunch,

Our film crew will be recording duels for our YouTube channel and conducting deck interviews all day long!

This event is UNSANCTIONED

Side Events will run throughout the day!

For video coverage on our  last 2K event, CLICK HERE

Photos of the tournament site: