Happy Holidays! What's in your Yugioh stocking?

I just wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

I am curious, what Yu-Gi-Oh products, if any, are you getting for Christmas? 

Booster packs? Mats? Sleeves or supplies? Maybe even a few of you lucky ones are getting a whole booster box! 

You can never go wrong with 3000 extra Life Points.

I myself am splurging on a some Single cards that will come in handy for future deck building [Diamond Dire Wolf, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy, Thunder Sea Horse, all those other great tin promos, and a few Fire King Avatar Yakshas]. Come January, there is going to be a fresh start everywhere for new decks to thrive!

As a budget duelist, I would like to remind you all that there will be some great deals during those after Christmas sales. So if you can restrain yourself, there should be some great bargains out there, ripe for the picking.

That's all. A short message. Enjoy the season with your family or friends wherever you are! And when you're stuffed with good food, bubbly, and cheer, sit back, get lazy, and try out your new cards on Dueling Network or Devpro!

Happy holidays!

-Fossil Dyna 23

Underrated and Overlooked: Starlight Road

As formats and decks and trends change, some cards become the new "go-to" choices (Vanity's Emptiness anyone?) while others are left in the dust.

The other day while on DevPro, I stopped a Judgment Dragon from ruining a perfectly good game with Starlight Road and promptly took control. My opponent began complaining, asking me why on earth would I play Starlight Road? Nobody plays it anymore and that is unrealistic to have it in the deck since Heavy Storm was banned.

Cool, but not as cool as Rainbow Road.

His comments made me wonder: how brainless is he? But also, is Starlight Road that unpopular right now? I remember that in the past, it was more common than not to have Starlight Road in the Main Deck. But I have to admit that Starlight Road has fallen by the wayside as the games has accelerated in finding newer ways to remove people's cards on the field. Between Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack, Spellbooks, Mermails, and Firefists only destroying 1 card at a time, Big Eye stealing things, Constellar Pleiades bouncing cards, and Gishkis and Madolces spinning cards away, I can see why Starlight Road has lost its appeal for defense. And current meta decks are so aggressive and good at gaining card advantage that they need not bother with a slow, possibly useless Road.

However, Starlight Road still has potential for the less than meta decks. There are still plenty of staple mass removal cards even with Heavy Storm gone. Here are some to constantly watch out for:
Dark Hole
Mirror Force
Torrential Tribute
Black Rose Dragon
You might also see some Tech Card mass removal such as Malevolent Catastrophe, Chain Whirlwind, Treacherous Trap Hole, or Needle Ceiling.

And of course, many themes (that are not currently the meta) have some access to mass removal:
Icarus Attack (Blackwings and Harpies)
Gladiator Beast Bestiari (this thing will ruin your day)
Mobius the Frost Monarch
Lightsworns (Judgment Dragon, Celestia Lightsworn Angel, or Lyla + Raiden = Black Rose)
Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis
X-Sabers, Batterymen, etc...The list goes on and on.

For decks that are a little slower and do not generate as much card advantage as some meta decks, Starlight Road is a great insurance policy. Because when you do go on the offensive, it's nice to know that a single mass removal card will not ruin your day. Starlight Road allows you to play more aggressively and try to take control of the game. In addition, with the rise of the popular decks mentioned above, Spell Speed 2 monster effects that can negate traps like Six Samurai - Shi En, Evolzar Laggia, or Naturia Barkion are seeing decreased play, making it far more likely for your Starlight Road to actually resolve. Still, watch out for Trap Stun and Forbidden Lance! As a bonus, it always delights me to Set Starlight as a bluff and watch my opponent waste Mystical Space Typhoon on it.

If you are running a more defensive deck, Starlight Road may still have a place in it. Try it out!

An Ending Note and Prophecy

In the next Yugioh Booster Set Legacy of the Valiant, there is one particular monster I am concerned about: Evilswarm Exciton Knight (Warning: name subject to change from those terrible translations).

Damn, is he ugly!

This looks essentially like an Xyz version of Black Rose Dragon. It has the powerful ability to destroy the whole field (except himself, which is sort of a bonus). And it is extremely easy to make since all you need are 2 level 4 monsters. I'd say it's easier than Black Rose because when your opponent has a level 4 monster and a level 3 tuner out (and you have lots of cards on the field), you know what going to happen next. With 2 level 4 monsters, you'll never know if your opponent is going for Exciton Knight or another Xyz until it's too late! I am afraid that this card might become an Rank 4 Extra Deck staple upon its American release. Forewarned is forearmed. Starlight Road may again become a popular method of protecting your valuable resources in the face of this new threat. Of course, only time will tell!


What do you think guys? Is Starlight Road still good? Will it see increased play in the coming format? Let me know in a comment!

Change For the Better: Thoughts on the YCS Top 16 Structure Change

Who would have thought?

Konami has finally decided to change the structure of the YCS (Yu-Gi-Oh Championship Series) by making the Top 16 onward a Booster Draft format. For the whole article, follow this link.

This announcement has brought some division to the Yugioh community with some people believing it is a good idea and most of the players (at least, the complainers seem to be far more visible) believe it is a terrible idea.

Can you guess what I think? From the style of my blog I would certainly hope so.
This Top 16 change is one of the best ideas Konami has had in a long time.

I am not afraid to draw criticism. Please comment below on whether you agree or disagree. So far though, most of the protests from the conservative players follow the lines of "This is stupid", "Now a YCS is luck-based", etc.
Here are examples of typical comments I have found:

• "This is a pretty %$#@ing stupid idea. There is no way I can think of to keep this balanced for any player. So, after you worked so hard and spent days/weeks/months researching, testing, and constructing a deck, all you get is a chance to lose to drawing absolute bullshit." - YouTube user Reiden Lightman
• "This is so stupid. Sealed play should be a side event, not a main part of the core tournament experience. This reduces the Top 16 to pure luck. A great player could pull shit and still lose to a mediocre player who pulled amazing."

Below is my argument for why this Top 16 change is good.

First of all, some people seem to be confusing Sealed and Draft formats. While Sealed has some luck to it, drafting has a very small luck factor. You only take 1 card at a time, and it takes much skill to decide which cards to draft, not draft, or counter-draft (prevent your opponents from taking it). There are many articles on the strategies required in Drafting so I do not think it requires further elaboration here. In addition, the Battle Packs are designed for drafting. They are supposed to be as balanced as possible and force you to rely on your skills. Each pack is not made out of one solid gold card and four scraps of toilet paper. It may happen in a few packs, but overall, THE PLAYER IS RESPONSIBLE for good drafting. 

Isn't the draft still luck-based?

Christ I hear this one alot. "But what if you open broken?" "What if your opponent gets better cards? A scrub could beat you." It shows a severe lack of confidence in one's skills to say that the game is over as soon as you look at your starting hand. But let's say your opponent gets some better cards than you or you get some duds. If they "open broken," so what? Are you going to throw down your cards, complain, and say that you couldn't win the Draft simply because your opponent has better cards? 

Besides, you just played 11 Rounds where that exact same situation happens sometimes. Especially in Constructed, people have already faced situations where they have a bad hand, and their opponent "opens broken." I don't hear people complaining about it as much (except when they lose). In fact, don't people always try to optimize their deck for the best possible hands? Therefore drafting for the Top 16 would not technically change much, would it? Except that having everyone construct from the same card pool further minimizes the ability to have a completely "broken" deck. 

Fun fact: Even if your constructed deck has a 80% win rate (between your deck build and you skills), your odds of making through 11 rounds including 1 loss is only 23.6%) so chances are that you have already been forced to deal with bad luck, and good luck, on your fight to the Top 16.

The Top 16 Change gives everyone a chance to shine.

When you look at the Top 16 deck lists, it's usually 14 meta decks (i.e. Dragon Rulers currently) and a few lesser-played ones. Those rogue decks are usually quickly weeded out; they never make it all the way to the Finals. It's no longer a fair match-up. "But you don't have to play rogue decks." Indeed, that seems true. But for one thing, not all players can afford to buy whatever cards they need to create the current "best" deck (i.e. still Dragon Rulers). Not all players have time to test extensively. So they work with whatever they have and use their skill to make it to the Top 16. 

"But Dragon Rulers need skill too, to be played successfully." I cannot argue against that statement, (well, I could but I do not feel the need to at the moment) so FINE. We can agree and acknowledge that those players who made it to the Top 16 all have good skill piloting their deck, yes? So at this point, if all the players are presumably skilled, what is wrong with showing the skills in a new way? Drafting requires players to examine new cards, reflect on new combinations and how cards may interact, and become more flexible. Changing to Drafting will showcase a player's deck-building skills, creativity, abilities to think quickly and duel with a deck he hasn't "play-tested/prepared for months."  After all, if you claim to be a good swimmer, will you only swim the 100 meter freestyle? If you claim to be a good piano player, can you only play classical and refuse to play ragtime? If you want to be called a good Yu-Gi-Oh player, I believe that you should able to show that you are well-rounded and can demonstrate skills at something other than piloting the "best deck" that you are accustomed to.

Conclusion: The Top 16 Change is going to be a great era for dueling. 

Agreements? Disagreements? Let me know what you think!

-Fossil D23