The mighty will always fall!

We are approaching the March banlist. There is a lot going on in the game with Inzektors and Wind-Ups popping up everywhere now. So before we continue getting bombarded with more useless banlist predictions remember that Konami doesn't care! We can go on forever with our wishful thinking but at the end of the day they will ban and un-ban whatever they want, that's for sure. And with each banlist an era ends and another begins. Decks will fall and others will rise. Will you be ready?

News Fridays

Konami hasn't stirred up much of anything past the reprint confirmation of Elemental HERO The Shinning and Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza in New Orleans, LA tomorrow. As of now, the team's reach extends through central and south-west Texas thanks to Clockwork Games and Events and Legacy Comics.  Our mission right now is to promote Yu-Gi-Oh! in our stores.  Tomorrow is going to be the first locals Laredo's held a while and hope for a good turn out.

Dino Rabbit

The Engine

Step 1: Get Rabbit
   

Step 2: Search 2 Dinosaur Vanillas with different names and exceed into
or

If you have a banished Rabbit or a desirable level 4 or lower monster follow the next steps

Step 1: Get Tour Guide     ---->     Step 2:  Search your level 3 fiend target and exceed into   
              

Card summaries:
Rabbit specials two level 4 or lower Normal monsters from your deck to the field, Rabbit cannot be special summoned from the deck.

Laggia negates anything that activates or summoned.

Dolkka negates monster effects that activate.

Tour guide specials any level 3 fiend from your deck to the field, the monster summoned cannot be used as synchro material.

Leviair detaches a material to special a level 4 or lower monster from the banished zone to the field.

Concept:

Make Laggia and/or Dolkka with Rabbit and recycle Rabbit with Leviair and make another Laggia and/or Dolkka and win with the crazy advantage you built up.

Counter:

You need to disrupt the generic combo of exceeding into Laggia and Dolkka. Black Horn of Heaven, Thunder King Rai-Oh, Bottomless Trap Hole, Fiendish Chain, and other effect and summon stoppers will do work against the match up. Main decking a Maxx "C" will scare off your opponent from special summoning so much. Hoping that they draw normal monsters all day helps too. :D

Thoughts:
The deck is simple. Runs a lot like Six Samurai when they had Shi En at 3. If they manage to recycle Rabbit you will most probably lose.

Disclaimer: All images should be be credited to Wikia

Dear secondary market

Sorry for posting this a week late.  Order of Chaos is out and I decided to go through ebay and see what everything in the set is going for and I am still shocked by what I found! Centipedes going for $3, Dragonfly $3, Hornet $20. Don't get me started with the Ninja cards! The prices are not as ridiculous as I thought they would be considering that the pricing is based on hype. I'm seeing a lot of veteran players, more than usual, taking advantage of the new players. Konami needs to hit the secondary market hard and reprint anything worth more than $25 to avoid this all together. The community can be really rough; Yu-Gi-Oh players have a notorious reputation of being trouble makers, cheaters, thiefs, and a lot more things. Until Konami steps in we won't be able to weed out these people.

Side note: I'm plan to add a segment on Saturday or Sunday that will recap my matches of the day/week. I got the idea from the blogger community and wanted to give it a shot in our blog. I finally got a locals up and running in Laredo and we even have a Yu-Gi-Oh page! If you're in the area check it out.

Super side note: Today are the NFL AFC and NFC Championships! Go New England Patriots!!!!

News Fridays

Prices are all over the place for cards in the new set, and this is all based off hype! And most of the cards everyone wants are just supers and ultras! Justin and JD went to an eventful regionals in San Antonio, a lot of players had issues with the store owner because he is somewhat of a prick. I am going to start running regionals in my hometown and get a feel for the crowd here.  Hopefully we get a good turn out. Phil is partying it up in College Station running Yu-Gi-Oh. All in all the week has been normal, nothing crazy to report.

Quick update!!

Sorry I have not been able to post anything new this week, I've been trying to organize Yu-Gi-Oh in my hometown and its been pretty hectic! For those of you in the Laredo/Valley area in Texas, Legacy Comics & Collectibles has given me the green light to run unsanctioned tournaments at their store to get the crowd going. We don't have Order of Chaos yet, but we do have Generation Force and Photon Shockwave. I will be running the tournaments weekly on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., so tell everyone you know! If you have any questions about this please e-mail me at 99misplays@gmail.com or eliud_vasquez@hotmail.com. I will still vending with my team so if there are cards you are looking for or selling, send me a list and we'll give you a price on cards we have in stock.

I will use Friday to post up our thoughts about the new set too!

News Fridays

Pretty sure everyone is aware that Effect Veiler and Winged Dragon Ra are being reprinted as supers in the Order of Chaos SE.  The secondary market value of Veiler could drop anywhere from 5 to 10 dollars on all rarities based on condition.  A few people may be upset about the reprint, but me not so much.  I appreciate that Konami, whether conscious or not, reprinted Veiler because it gives casual players the ability to bridge the gap between card pulls or competitive players.  Effect Veiler may not be as potent as Maxx "C" or Herald of Orange, but timing Veiler correctly can be game breaking.  Moving on, tomorrow is the first run of Sneak Peeks and needless to say, I'm excited to see what the team pulls because I am nowhere near any of he Yu-Gi-Oh scenes back home. I still haven't confirmed whether or not Justin is going to San Antonio to judge, but updates will come whenever available.

Picking up on the subtleties (part 2)

In today's segment, I will be addressing the learning curve in Yu-Gi-Oh for side decking.  It is important to analyze your deck's card lineup and its interactions with one another.  Maximizing the synergy in the main and the side deck should be as equal as possible going into games 2 and 3.  Siding into cards that ruin the synergy no matter how good it is for the match-up will slow down your deck ability to combat certain match-ups.  Siding into Thunder King Rai-Oh in a deck that revolves around search is a perfect example.  It is really hard to change the complete makeup of a deck when you are limited too a 15 card side to address the whole meta so avoiding cards that disrupt the synergy of deck will go a long way.

Moving on, the idea of siding is simple, you side out cards that may have a negative or no impact on the match-up for cards that will have a positive impact.  I identified 6 different ways to side:

Side decking - Generic siding, take out and put in cards that will put you in the best position to win, some people use the opportunity to side into a completely different deck to catch opponents off guard.  Not many decks can pull this off but when they do the rewards could be well worth the the risks.  Also playing mind games with your opponent and making obvious assumptions out loud could shaken and/or deter your opponent mentally when they side; they could be make a mistake or a bad judgment call that you could capitalize on.  A strong presence is invaluable games 2 and 3, especially when the players are equally skilled.

Ghost siding - Credit to my friend Nathan for revolutionizing the way I side.  As the name suggests, ghost side decking is siding in mystery.  When you do this, nothing should be what it seems.  You want to make it blatantly obvious how many cards you are siding without revealing what they are and side a fraction or none of the cards you revealed without alerting your opponent.  The pressure it provides on your opponent is absolute and will increase proportional to what game it is.  In their mind, they will be trying to side and counter side against your ghost side.  More often than not, will cause them to over-side and commit to more than they needed too; committing to much will be the demise of most decks because of the lack of synergy in the deck.  This also gives you a little leeway to side and make the appropriate judgment calls.  Ghost siding is all about mind games and secrecy is key.  You may have sided 0, maybe 3, or 15, your opponent will never know.

No siding - Not siding has its benefits in favorable match-ups and avoids disrupting your deck's synergy.  More oftern than not Yu-Gi-Oh is luck based so siding or not are ways to combat that luck.  In good match-ups you can deliberately not side and use the time to observe your opponent side.  You should always do this but more so when you do not side.  Being aware of what and how your opponent sides will help you have the in game adjustments to fend off his/her side.  Of course there is the down side that your opponent might have the card lock you down, but if you know/feel that you could take the risk going into the next game then why not do it.

Counter-Siding - Games 2 and 3 can be full of surprises and mind games.  Sometimes in mirror matches, the one that sides the best will win.  The victor is determined by anticipating what the opponent is siding and the answers his/her side has for them.  Take for example Six Samurai, side decking is crucial!  Kinetic soldiers, Snowman eaters, Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, monster hate, backrow hate, etc. will dictate the pace of the game.  The appropriate counter measures will almost always win you the game(s).

Over side - This is absolutely the worse way to side unless your deck auto-loses to the match-up you are facing.  I don't like doing this because of its implications and the side-effects to your deck's synergy, but sometimes siding 15 cards can put you in a position to win.

Unsiding - Depending on the game, some cards are better when you go first or second because they are proactive or reactive and/or helpful or useless.  Siding out cards you sided in can dictate the tempo if you made the right reads.

Side decking can be an effective tool in winning games and should not be overlooked.  You will learn through experience how to handle every situation and what cards to side against the meta.  If you have other ways to side leave them in the comment section below and as always this is E from The Team Misplay signing off.

Dissecting Inzektors

The Engine:

Centipede

Dragonfly

Hornet

Card summaries:

Dragonfly specials any Inzektor except itself when an equip leaves the field

Centipede searches any Inzektor except itself when an equip leaves the field

Hornet destroys any card on the field when it sent as an equip to the grave

Concept:

Issues: 

The deck can not go off if it does not have Hornet in hand or grave.  To compensate many builds run Armageddon Knight and Foolish Burial to maximize Inzektor plays.

Counter:  

If you have any way of stopping the effect that equips in the initial games, do so.  The wording on the cards makes it so that timing is not missed if the effects are allowed to resolve.  In games two and three graveyard removal, negating summons, and effect of Inzektors while maintaining a high level of aggressive play will go a long way in defeating the deck; Inzektors function best when the opponent plays passively.

Thoughts:

Inzektors when released are going to compete with all the tier 1 decks, slowly but surely. The question remains though, will they survive the banlist? And are you ready? 

Honorary Mentions:

Inzektor Giga-Mantis

Disclaimer: All images will be updated as they come, credit for images goes to Wikia

Ninjas...

The Engine:

Ninjitsu Art

Upstart Golden Ninja

Hanzo 

Card Summaries:

Hanzo is a floater with two different effects when normal, flip, and special summoned. The most common card the this card will search is Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation which when properly utilized is game breaking.

Upstart lets you special summon any ninja level 4 or lower from your deck by discarding a trap.

Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation is Ninjitsu Art of Transformation on steroids that sends your opponents monster to the grave and a face-up ninja you have monster to special any 1 Dragon, Dinosaur, or Sea Serpent type monster that is less than or equal to the combined levels.

Concept:

Step 1. Normal Summon Hanzo search and set Ninjitsu Art-->Step 2. Activate Ninjitsu Art and target 1 face-up Ninja and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and send to grave to to make target monster-->Step 3. Exceed whenever possible.
Else.--> Use Upstart exceed into a rank 4.

Ninjitsu Art opens up options that didn't exist, speed, search-ability, and play-ability. It's limitations are your imagination. As of now, the most popular builds in the O.C.G. revolve around exceeding into but not limited to Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka for obvious reasons. Rescue Rabbit is in the build to consistency while Jurrac Guaiba and other Normal Dinosaurs are targets for Ninjitsu Art.

Counter:
Your best bet is stopping Hanzo searches and siding into monster and backrow hate.

Thoughts:
This archetype is just a fun deck. It's lack of consistency is this deck's undoing, but give them too much space and they will make you pay with Ninjitsu Art.

Honorable mentions:

Aqua Armor Ninja
Masked Ninja Ebisu
Earth Armor Ninja
White Dragon Ninja
Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing
Ninjitsu Art of Duplication

Disclaimer:All images will be updated as they come, credit for images goes to Wikia

Inzektors

If you haven't heard by now then I suggest you learn all you can about them.  Inzektors are are on the horizon, and if you haven't played some version of them on dueling network, then take my word for it when I say they're really good.

I personally hate the meta.  It doesn't really matter what the meta is, I just hate it.  It's mindless and takes so much fun out of the game.  Netdecking has become an epidemic recently, and when everyone is netdecking the top deck then you kind of have to ask what's the point.  Netdecking certainly has a place in the game as it allows newer players to see what other people are doing so they can learn the game faster.  Abusing it by just copying exactly what someone else has already done, just seems like a waste of time.  My favorite part of this game is the ability to be creative in deck design and do things other people haven't thought of or haven't been able to make work efficiently before.  I know I am just stubborn, but what's the fun if someone else just shows you how to win and you win all the time?  It seems like a waste of time.  Regardless the reason I like to talk about these meta decks is because I spend a decent amount of time breaking them down and doing my best to pinpoint their weaknesses whenever a new idea surfaces. 

Sorry about the rant, but if you ask anyone who knows me they know that's how I feel,  but back to Inzektors.  You use a three card base with Inzektor Dragonfly, Inzektor Hornet, and Inzektor Centipede to keep a constant card advantage making huge pluses.  You can also go about using a mini Wind-Up engine capitalizing on Wind-Up Rat, Wind-Up Hunter, and Wind-Up Zenmaighty to go about making you discard their hand in a nice little loop.  I think the design that uses the Wind-Up monsters is far more lethal and is certainly the one to watch out for.  The idea is to make huge pluses off of card advantage destroying a card and special summoning at the same time, and then methodically eliminating their hand.  If I could pick an ultimate strategy it would probbaly include my opponent having no hand and no cards on the field, but that's not very realistic, well at least until now. 

Fortunately you are here though and I'm going to shed some light on a couple of nice ways to stop them.  They work off of equip effects much like Dragunitys do, so naturally they fall to some shortcomings.  I'm going to do my best to highlight those, and then outline a good inexpensive deck that should put up a tough fight.

Weakness #1: Graveyard Reliant
Weakness #2: Effect Reliant
Weakness #3: All of them are DARK attribute monsters
Weakness #4: Relatively low ATK monsters

Despite that low attack they just reload every turn, your best option is to eliminate that ability to reload.  It's usually nice to just be able to play your main strategy and beat decks relatively easily, but with decks with potential like this you have to know how to stop the engine from ever starting.

Exploiting Weakness #1.
So think of all our basic removal cards.  Those are all good here.  When they summon Dragonfly and try to equip Hornet from the graveyard, use a card like D.D. Crow on that Hornet or maybe you use Crevice into the Different Dimension.  Whatever option you choose, a good chainable removal card will serve you well in this match-up.

Now the biggest removal card in the game is surely Dimensional Fissure.  Decks that can main a
Dimensional Fissure are going to have huge success against Inzektors.  All they're effects revolve around sending cards to the graveyard that are equipped to an Inzektor Monster, With Dimensional Fissure up they won't go to the graveyard but will in fact be removed from play. 

Also cards like debunk can help you a little as well when they try to use their effect in the graveyard you can negate it and remove it from play.  So the Inzektor on the field may still go off, but the one in the grave won't.

Exploiting Weakness #2
They do rely on effects while they are on the field that activate on the field and in the graveyard.  So if they summon Dragonfly and try to equip Hornet an Effect Veiler can stop that play and set them back a good turn.  However if you don't remove that dragonfly the next turn it will likely come back to hurt you in a big way.  So it is a good one turn solution, but something like Skill Drain can make sure they don't continue to equip monsters and build their hand over and over again.

Exploiting Weakness #3
They do fall victim to a major weakness and perhaps their biggest weakness, that they are all DARK monsters.  Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror.  Welcome to the one card shutdown if you can pull it off and keep it alive.  A huge part of why Dark Worlds can't be viable long-term is this card and, it has some more use here.  Shadow Imprisoning Mirror is a side-deck must.  It really doesn't matter what format it even is because it has so much playability.

Blackwings, Infernities, Dark Worlds, even decks that tech powerful dark monsters like Caius, Chaos Sorcerer, Sangan, and now Inzektors can be crippled by just one card.  My suggestion would be to side at least 2 if not 3, it will be worth your while.  However expect them to expect this and know how Inzektor players try and combat this option

Exploiting Weakness #4
This can be summed up with about 4 cards that are relatively self explanatory. 

1. Chain Disappearance
2. Trap Hole
3. Doomcaliber Knight
4. Deck Devastation Virus

The first 3 are very easy to use, the last one is a lot more tech based depending on what you are running.  Say you use blackwings and you can't afford to use Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, then this is a great option for you.  Cripple their hand after seeing it and make sure they can't ever come back.

Chain Disappearance is good for many reasons.  Remove all copies in their hand and deck from play as well as the one they summoned.  Potential plus 3 because I say removing anything is a plus 1 regardless, but that's my personal opinion. 

Trap Hole may seem kind of like the odd man out here, but I find it to be a very good side deck card.  Many decks rely on that first normal summon and trap hole in many cases can be quite disruptive.  Now they may recover relatively quickly, but they will be forced to use more cards to do so.  A deck that just normal summons Thunder King Rai-Oh a lot can easily be touched up by Trap Hole.  When a Blackwing deck normal summons Shura or Sirocco, its a simple one for one.  That's all it is at the end of the day, a one for one trade, and if they can't afford that loss at the time then you may be in very good shape.

Doomcaliber Knight is constantly seeing more play these days.  With the increased reliance on effect monsters , you can see the reason why.  Many players will attempt to draw out the effect and force the tribute via a nonconventional manner.  By all means let them.  If they have to alter their style of play to adjust the situation you have presented them, then that means you're doing well and if you can keep that up, they won't likely be able to win.  It's just too tough to win when you play someone else's game.  Work on establishing your game and make them play in such a way that they have to play scared of what you might do.

So What is This Good Deck to Combat Inzektors and the rest of the Meta?

Gladiator Beasts
It seems like they come up every format, and I'm not sure why they surface every format but they do. The main problem with this deck is that many of the elite players choose not to play Gladiator Beasts and thus they get very little hype, and are a deck people know the in's and out's of.  I honestly don't care much for the deck, but as I was writing this was the one deck that kept coming to mind. I personally think Inzektor players will dread this matchup and be forced to side heavily and strategically for it because of the following reasons:

1. Removal Ability 
2. Effect Negation
3. Mass Destruction
4. Large amounts of spell/trap destruction/support

Reason #1:
Gladiator Beasts remove cards in two basic ways.  The first is via Retiari.  The little 1200 attack monster who gets to remove a card when special summoned by a Gladiator Beast Effect.  1200 attack may seem low but in this match-up it isn't.  Dragonfly and Hornet have lower attacks, while Centipede does not, but Centipede plays are not what an Inzektor player wants to make and forcing him to make a play like this means he is playing in a way that you are forcing him to.

In addition many Gladiator Beast players play multiple copies of Dimensional Fissure.  Whether this be a main-deck or a side-deck choice, it has huge serviceability here.  It doesn't tend to hurt their general strategy as the cards all return to the deck when used properly, and at the same time can cripple opponents.

Reason #2:
Gladiator Beast War Chariot.  Enough said with this card.  Most people know exactly what it is.  It's a nightmare card.  The only cost is controlling a Gladiator Beast monster and that's not very hard for them to do.  They can use Gladiator Beast Equeste to functionally recycle the card and use it over and over again.  A strategy that would completely eliminate the Inzektor gameplan.

Reason #3:
We all know about Gyzarus.  You know when he's coming and when he does you better hope you have an answer.  If you don't their goes your two cards you had and then if he attacks you get another one.  I'm not a Gladiator Beast player so I actually diagrammed the play on paper and here's what it revealed.

You need a GB monster and Test Tiger.  Tag for Darius.  Use Darius to get Bestiari, and contact for Gyzarus.  Attack and likely kill something.  Then tag for Laquari, Darius, and use Darius' eff to get another GB monster and Make Heraklinos.  If you have War Chariot down that't the right play, if not use Equeste and another monster of choice to return a used War Chariot which you should then set and Contact for Essedarii.  So at the end of the sequence two cards can net you the destruction of 4 potentially while slapping down a big beater with backrow support.  Sounds like a situation I'd rather not be in.

Reason #4:
It basically goes off of reason 3.  They can pop cards all over the place and get their pluses.  They have cards like Respite, Proving Ground, and War Chariot to keep themselves in a constantly threatening position while using cards like Bestiari Murmillo, and Gyzarus to destroy cards and using Equeste to recycle War Chariot until they can throw down Heraklinos which usually ends up meaning game for most players.

Conclusion
The following generic cards have a lot of potential use against inzektors

1. D.D. Crow
2. Crevice into the Different Dimension
3. Chain Disappearance
4. Dimensional Fissure
5. Debunk
6. Effect Veiler
7. Skill Drain
8. Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror
9. Trap Hole
10. Doomcaliber Knight
11. Deck Devastation Virus 

Of all the decks I see out there, the one that seems to have the best match-up against Inzektors that is relatively inexpensive and easy to put together is Gladiator Beasts.  They have a lot of good abilities and this match-up will put them on display if done right.

Comments are always appreciated and if you feel I missed something don't hesitate to point it out, so that other players can benefit from the shared knowledge.

Happy Dueling,
Michael

Y.C.S. Updates

Konami released new information about upcoming events. We are definitely going to go to Y.C.S. in Dallas, Justin is contemplating whether or not to judge. I don't feel like judging because I'm really trying to get as much practice for Nationals and Dallas is the best place to do it.  I do feel like judging some regionals in Mexico but haven't gotten around to applying. I will keep you posted.

MARCH
Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series
Lima, Peru
Mar 30 - Apr 1
Centro de Convenciones Atlantic City
Lima, Peru

APRIL
Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series
Dallas, Texas
April 13 - 15
Arlington Convention Center
Arlingon, TX

Initial Thoughts

Welcome to the new segment of the blog I am calling News Fridays, the name is a work in progress.  I hope you are all enjoying the the last days of the break! Today let's talk about some upcoming events and releases that are going to affect the T.C.G., Inzektors make their debut while Wind-Ups and Ninjas get new support. Remember dealing with these cards doesn't mean all hope is lost, to keep up with the evolution of the game you need to familiarize yourself with the all the competitive archetypes so you can counteract each of their strong points.  Inzektors build advantage by looping Hornet, Wind-Ups do it by discarding your whole hand. Identifying what your opponent is attempt to do helps you counteract what their plays and gives you the edge to capitalize so stay informed. 

Team updates

Justin will be judging a regionals in San Antonio January 14th. I may go to vend and trade if time permits. Clockwork Games and Events is having an Order of Chaos Sneak Peek next weekend so if you're from the area you should definitely go.  The team should be going to Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza so look for us. For the next 4 months I will be located in Laredo.  Brennan, Justin, and Michael will be located in College Station and Dallas.  This is The Team Misplay signing off.

Turbo Pack 7 spoiler

I'm not really surprised by the card choices, Konami just releases enough to keep us intrigued and interested nothing more, nothing less. I really just want the Book of Moon like the rest of the world.  


■TU07-EN000 Ally of Justice Catastor (Ultimate Rare)

■TU07-EN001 Book of Moon (Ultra Rare)

■TU07-EN002 Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (Super Rare)

■TU07-EN003 Yellow Gadget (Super Rare)

■TU07-EN004 X-Saber Pashuul (Super Rare)

■TU07-EN005 Horn of the Phantom Beast (Super Rare)

Welcome!

With the new year here, I want to give a few updates. Mondays will be dedicated to Yu-Gi-Oh news and strategies with a little insight here and there. Fridays will be for team updates and analysis. As always this is The Team Misplay signing off.