From Brick Hands to Breakthroughs: My Comeback Story

Hello everyone! I'm back on this blog! After a year away, I finally stepped back into the tournament scene, ready to sling some cards and—hopefully—not brick my way into oblivion. But fate had other plans. This past weekend, I participated in two events: the Challenger Cup Qualifier (a major showdown with serious stakes) and an Asian English Local Ranking Tournament (where I could test my resolve without the crushing weight of expectations).

Spoiler alert: One went terribly wrong, and the other went surprisingly right.

The Challenger Cup Qualifier – When Reality Hits Like a Nibiru

You ever pick a deck, second-guess yourself, then pick something else last minute and immediately regret it? Yeah. That was me.

I went into the event running Ryzeal, thinking I could pilot it well enough. Turns out, Dimensional Barrier had other plans. The sheer frustration of watching my Extra Deck plays get shut down was enough to make me question all my life choices. On top of that, my matchups felt brutal. Labrynth locked me down with endless resources, and in the Ryzeal mirror matches, my opponents had superior side-deck choices—Red Reboot, Metaltronus, and just sheer confidence in their strategy.

It was painful. Really painful.

By the end of the tournament, my record stood at a humbling 1-4. I sat there, staring at my deck, wondering if this was a skill issue or just bad luck. Maybe both. Either way, it felt like a wake-up call. The worst part? I had initially considered running Blue-Eyes, my pet deck, before changing my mind. Would that have been better? Would I have avoided this disaster? Maybe. But hindsight is 20/20, and regret doesn’t win tournaments.

Challenger Cup Qualifier

So, after that crushing event, I moved on to my second tournament of the weekend—the AE Local Ranking. No expectations, no pressure. I was just there to play.

AE Local Ranking – The Comeback Arc Begins

This time, something changed. My mindset shifted. I wasn’t obsessing over winning—I was just playing. And that made all the difference.

I kept Ryzeal, made a few strategic tweaks, and went in with a clear head. The result? First place.

Unlike the previous event, I didn’t run into Ryzeal mirrors, which made my matchups smoother. My Metaltronus and Solemn Judgment side-deck choices paid off, allowing me to keep control despite my opponents’ best efforts. I also learned that Forbidden Droplet was crucial against decks like Tenpai, reinforcing how important it was to have proactive answers in the main deck.

Here's my Ranking decklist where I won 1st

Lessons from the Battlefield

If this weekend taught me anything, it’s that setbacks aren’t failures—they’re lessons.

Deck choice matters, but mindset matters more. Side decks can win games, but knowing why certain choices succeed or fail is what separates average players from truly great ones.

With Alliance Insight dropping soon, Ryzeal is getting Star Ryzeal, which makes its plays much smoother. But I’m still at a crossroads—do I refine Ryzeal further, or do I finally return to Blue-Eyes, the deck I know better than my morning coffee order?

For now, the testing continues. The grind never stops. And if there’s one takeaway from this comeback story, it’s that you can brick, you can misplay, you can get Nibiru’d out of existence—but as long as you keep adapting, you never really lose.

This has been ArcKnight and I hope I can consistently share my journey on this blog! Your comments motivate me so feel free to add them below!