"The Last Croak" - What's next for "Splights"? | July 2022 OCG Banlist Review

"Konmai, I don't feel so good" - Toadally Awesome 2016-2022

Toadally Awesome exits after more than 6 years in OCG

Exactly one week since the July 2022 OCG Forbidden & Limited List was released, the world was shocked again with the changes that will soon take effect. Three very powerful cards namely Toadally Awesome, Crystron Halqifibrax and Vanity's Emptiness ended their reign. Today, I'm going to do a quick review on the latest OCG Banlist as well as provide some insights on how the archetype Splights adapt after the changes in a span of a week.

What's NEXT for "Vernalizer"? | DABL Support Review

"Vernalizer, are we there yet?"

Yesterday, we have received several news and that includes the wave 2 of the Vernalizer archetype. Three cards have been revealed which includes one boss monster, one main deck monster and one field spell. 

Vernalizer Archetype

Today, I'm going to do card reviews for the three new Vernalizer cards in Darkwing Blast (DABL) and if they successfully delivered what the archetype needs. Let's get started!

Surprising Tech Cards that will Work with new "Kshatri-La" | Archetype Review クシャトリラ

Few hours ago, a new archetype named Kshatri-La was revealed being the third iteration of the Visas Starfrost universe. Kshatri-La is an archetype of Psychic-type monsters with multiple attributes that can special summon themselves aiming to punish the opponent by using monster effects. 

Kshatari-la Archetype

Eight cards were revealed but only 6 works directly with the theme. Since the Kshatri-La archetype is a small group at the moment, I'm going to share some of the surprising tech cards that will work with the theme. Before that, lets have an archetype review.

Here's WHY you have to take the new "Doodle" cards SERIOUSLY! | New 1-Card Combo

 Just today, we have received a new update from the upcoming Animation Chronicle (AC02) that will be released on OCG this June 11, 2022 and the buzz of the moment are the new Doodle cards! Aside from their cute and peculiar artworks, there's actually a deeper story behind them and that's what we're going to talk about in this exclusive article.

Origin

Doodle is an archetype used in Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V by anime character Frederick also known as Futoshi Harada. As a theme, they are composed of EARTH monsters which look like crayon hand-drawings made by a child using awkward lines or hand-made painting with the addition of white border around the drawing. 

10 Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks you need to try that aren't Maxx "C" magnet

In the meta most especially in OCG and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, we anticipate that you'll play against a myriad of handtraps you can ever imagine and in today's Metagame, going second without any disruptions against opponent plays could mean game over. Clearly, determining who goes first and second in the first game may predict your fate. 

While handtraps are our go to cards to control the pace of opponent's plays, you wouldn't want to experience the same destiny especially when your opponent would gain card advantage and that is through Maxx "C". 

Similar to Nibiru, the Primal Being, Maxx "C" puts pressure the moment it's used. Looking at the effect, it doesn't do anything to affect the field you are trying to establish but the creepy part is if you do, the player who resolved it would gain a lot of card advantage which would eventually make your established field futile. We always have a choice though either you take the challenge or you end your special summoning. Most of the time, it's always the latter choice....until I discovered, choosing decks that do not instantly get affected by Maxx "C". 

You saw that right! Today, we're going to list 10 decks/archetypes that can stand a chance even with roaches around. (And we'll sort it backwards 'cause why not) 

Is "Pure P.U.N.K" now viable? | Power of the Elements (POTE)

 Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here and today, we're going to cover the underdog of Deck Build Pack: Grand Creators (DBGC) which is P.U.N.K who received new support cards in Power of the Elements(POTE). Let's get started!

Will PH finally have its own ‘Card Con?’ Here’s our answer.

With the advent of Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, it really brought some light in encouraging new and returning players to play the game we love. Ranking tournaments are also becoming more consistent and active as ever. 

YCS Japan 2022 Yokohama - YuGiOh_OCG_Info

In fact, last March, the recent YCS Japan 2022 - Yokohama with a total of 3000 participants concluded which showcased a lot of interesting decks. That's huge!

Why these 7 Yu-Gi-Oh! cards need to be reprinted ASAP?

(Rumbling) Do you hear that sound? (What sound?) That's the sound of people crafting their cards! Look, there's one dismantling their royal finish Obelisk!

In the advent of Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, your imagination (and patience) is your limit: Imagination as you can build whatever deck you desire and patience as you grind for gems so you can buy packs and get random URs and SRs which you can dismantle to generate almost any card that exists in Master Duel database. None of these can happen in real life but while we couldn't dismantle our card stashes and absolutely get any card we need, we can make these accessible. As a duelist on a budget myself, it's music in the ears when you hear the word REPRINT. Why though? Let's get started.

Here are the Top 10 MUST-HAVE cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel!

Hey everyone! Welcome to our very first article in February. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has been a very popular game since its release and it really caught the attention of existing, returning and new playerbase. While Master Duel has a great feature to dismantle unwanted cards and craft the cards you need with ease, with less exposure to the current OCG/TCG metagame, there's high probability that the crafted SRs and URs will turn into waste by getting cards that either doesn't benefit your deck's strategy or has little to no impact in the competitive scene. Which is why today, we're going to share the top 10 must-have cards whether you are just starting to play the game we love or if you want a baseline to build almost any deck!

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Maxx "C", Infinite Impermanence, Called by the Grave

Here are the top 10 cards (In no particular order)

Deck Analysis: Scareclaw "Isn't scary yet" because..

Hey everyone! Arcknight here. Today, we're going to deep dive on one of the newest archetype who debuted on Dimension Force (DIFO) and it's no other than Scareclaw. The deck has an interesting concept of swarming monsters to summon their boss monster Scareclaw Trich Heart where even Red-Eyes Dragoon will bow down. They also have their own level 4 monster that can instantly turn into a +2 in terms of overall card advantage when you have 3 or more defense position monsters. It really does prey on the weak but is it strong enough to face the current meta? That's what we're going to find out in this exclusive article!

In this article, we'll divide the analysis into 3: What worked, What didn't Work, What will work. As we anticipate a possible 2nd wave on the next sets, we expect that the supports they got are just the beginning. Let's dive in on the cards and strategies that worked for them.

"Rex Rampage!" - Week 3 Jan 2022 Metagame Report

Hey everyone! Arcknight here and I'm back after a very long break. We'll cover the 21 topping lists out of 40 participants in our chart. This week is the official release (arrival) of Dimension Force in the Philippines and a lot of interesting cards have been tried as well. 

Last week is also the official release of Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel in all platforms except iOS and Android and this is exciting as this ignites a lot of seasoned, new and even returning players to play the game we love. We'll have a separate discussion on what I think of Master Duel and hopefully, I can also do some quick gameplay recaps and deck list discussion soon. 

For now, here is our chart: 

New Product: Dimension Force (DIFO)

Let's go!

Here's why "Therions" is the Next Best Deck in the Meta

Hey everyone! Arcknight here and today we'll talk about the newest archetype in town called Therions that will be released next week on Dimension Force (DIFO). This archetype was revealed on the official website here

"The King has arrived!"

Let's begin!

Is "Dinorphia" finally Meta? Here's why

 Hey everyone! Arcknight here and Happy New Year everyone! It's now 2022 and this is our very first article for this year! Today is the first day of the month and you know what that means? It's time for our countdown of the next main box Dimension Force! 

So what is exciting about this box? Let's find out!

"The Last Stand!" | Week 2 - Dec 2021 OCG Metagame Report + January 2022 Banlist Review

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here and welcome to our Metagame Report covering the top 22 players out of 60 participants on week 2 of Dec 2021. This is the last week tournament before any banlist announcements (which happened yesterday). Yesterday was pretty earth shattering and aside from the usual metagame chart and deck profile, I'll also do a quick January 2022 Banlist reaction. Without further ado, here's last week's chart:

New Products: 

None ( SD43 Delay )

Let's begin!

NEW BANLIST FOR THE OCG HAS JUST ARRIVED!

January 1, 2022 THE NEXT BANLIST IS UP! We will be officially in a new format starting January 1st 2022! New year with a new banlist!

 

"1st Week, Last Chance!" Week 1 Dec 2021 OCG Metagame report + How to prepare for Albaz before it STRIKES

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here reporting this week's meta game report covering 4 different OCG tournament venues and OTS in the Philippines.

"New month, new chapter", this is normally heard when a month starts but not for OCG players who are a month away (or 1 week away ) from the reveals of the January OCG 2022 Forbidden & Limited List. December is the month where PH OTS are holding their Duelist Cup qualifiers and while that is still ongoing, we'll first cover the 16 topping lists out of 40 HC from 6 different tournaments combined from Dec 4-5, 2021:

Let's dive in!

"The End is Near!" - Week 4 NOV 2021 Metagame OCG Report + Upcoming Banlist Speculations

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here. It's the 4th week of November and we're featuring yet another compilation of metagame happenings now featuring 4 different OCG tournament venues in the Philippines. Without further ado, here's the breakdown:

New product: 

Duelist Pack 26: Duelist of the Abyss

Let's get started!

"Is this for Real?!" - Top 4 OCG Nordic Deck Profile Analysis + 2-Card Combo Tutorial!

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here and Odin told me that you're looking for something, the Nordic Deck Profile that topped in our metagame report here. Due to insisting public demand, I will present to you it's deck profile and also a 2-card combo using Nordic! Before this treat, let's have an overview of what Nordic is as an archetype and how did it even managed to land on top 4!

Let's begin!

"The Golden Supremacy!" - Week 3 of Nov Metagame Report OCG + The End of Engines!?

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here reporting for our week 3 November 2021 Metagame Report OCG of the Philippines. Like last week, we'll still cover 3 major tournament areas and the topping lists breakdown. Without further ado, here is our chart! 

New Product release:

Duelist Pack 26: Duelist of the Abyss

Let's dive in below! 

Deck Breakdown: (21 Topping decks out of 94 overall)

Tournament Venues: Toy Shogun, Hyuray Trading & FT Duel Grounds 

Decks: 

5 Edlich (4 Mono, 1 Brave Enforcer)

4 Floowandereeze 

3 Swordsoul (1 Mono, 2 Tenyi)

2 Nordic

1 Altergeist

1 Subterror

1 Shaddol Invoke

1 Virtual World

1 True Draco Brave Enforcer

1 Phantom Knight Brave Enforcer

1 Good Stuff Brave Token Tenyi

Eldlich

This is the list piloted by Ryan Zennyx of Toy Shogun last Sunday, 11/21. Eldlich has been one of the staple decks this format that has been very consistent in top 4 of the meta. One of the reasons is because it can adapt well with the help of the floodgate cards that it can main with little to no drawback. 

Inspector Boarder, a well known stun card in Extreme Force back in 2017 and is never reprinted in OCG, was seen added on this list which helps to ensure that your Edlixir of Scarlet Sanguine and Pot of Extravagance (If Inspect Boarder was present previously on the field) won't be halted by Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Floowandereeze has seen a major impact recently and Inspector Boarder is an easy win against Floowandereeze due to it being reliant on monster effects almost similar to how Skill Drain can impact the field (but worse and with a big 2000 body). Inspector Boarder can also help in baiting negation and will force the opponent to use their resources just to get rid of it allowing the Eldlich player to overwhelm the opponent by freely resolving their cards once the counters have been baited.

Swordsoul

This is the list piloted by Bip-Bip Ducut, a seasoned OCG player in PH who won 1st place twice using this build. 

According to him, one of the major weaknesses of Swordsoul is the inability to make a follow-up after the first Swordsoul summon has been negated or there are floodgates standing in the way like Skill Drain or Summon Limit. He found success by piloting the Tenyi engine which helped bait stuff and also helps in removing problematic floodgates or boss monsters. This also helped him open to more extra deck options and removal to overwhelm the opponent. 

Floowandereeze

This is the build piloted by Julius Bautista of Toy Shogun successful in acing 3 different rank categories. Floowandereeze is the deck that has been very popular both in OCG and TCG due to how versatile it is in terms of strategy ranging from having an easy access to floodgate, negation and removal without the need to special summon.

One of the major weaknesses of Floowandereeze x Empen is when opponent summons monsters in defense position,thus, rendering its floodgate effect useless. Hence, we saw that Final Attack Orders has been added as a tech on this deck. 

With Final Attack Orders face-up, all monsters on the field are forced to be in Attack position thus, strengthening Floowandereeze X Empen ability to control. The battle position cannot change either and Floowandereeze X Empen can usually win battle with its ATK/DEF altering effect (that is not even once per turn).

Summary:

On the 3rd week of November, we saw that less players are utilizing the Brave Token and DPE engine. We have a month or less til we get the official January OCG 2022 Banlist and people are starting to predict that engines may be affected as normally, engines are touched after the 2 forbidden lists it survived in theory. As a result, players are exploring other viable options as early as now to check which decks can work 'just in case' a format reset happens. ( Or maybe they sold the engines as a preventive measure? )

This week's list has been overtaken by Edlich as a strong contender and proved that stun can still overwhelm the meta with the right tech cards and strategy. As we travel towards December, we might either see a permanent switch for exploration or people using their Brave Token/Enforcer related decks for its final arah. As we're not yet in that phase, the upcoming banlist remains a mystery and we know that Konami has always been quite unpredictable especially in OCG. 

Whatever happens, make sure that you're prepared and ready as we welcome a new chapter. Deck change or change strategy - that's something that we'll have to watch out for in the next metagame report!

For deck lists, be sure to check the following:

RespectYGO FB Page - click here

Toy Shogun FB Page - click here

Hyuray Trading FB Page - click here

Thank you so much for reading today's article! I appreciate your support! 'Til next Monday!

~Arcknight

1st Place - Floowandereeze Deck Analysis and the things I've realized

Hey RespectYGOers! Arcknight here and today, we'll talk about my recent tournament report that took place 11/20/21 where I used Floowandereeze. This is the 2nd time I piloted this deck and has been successful with it but I have some eye opening realizations. Before that, let's dive in to the round report!

FT Duel Grounds OCG

Deck used: Floowandereeze

Format: Swiss 4 rounds (Oct 2021 Banlist Applied)