Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 This can likely be improved on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Konami predictions for this format Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Miracles do happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 http://yugioh-kankyou.jp/kankyou/201901rannkinngu.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darj Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Is that Salamangreats? Can you elaborate some more on what is that link about? I don't understand japanese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Is that Salamangreats? Can you elaborate some more on what is that link about? I don't understand japanese.No google translate? Its just ~ week 1 tops of the new list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darj Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 No google translate? Its just ~ week 1 tops of the new list Yes, but it's kind of rude to just post pictures or links without explanations. Not to mention that translators can be inaccurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Yes, but it's kind of rude to just post pictures or links without explanations. Not to mention that translators can be inaccurate.Ah ok, I'll work on it in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted January 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2019 Welcome to Week #0 of the OCG 2019.01 format. Happy New Year! This preliminary report will cover 76 top-performing decks from 11 tournaments that were held in Japan and China during 23 – 30 December 2018, played under the new OCG 2019.01 Limit Regulation. New Product ReleaseV Jump January 2019 promotional cardGod-Eyes Phantom Dragon20th Anniversary Duelist BoxJump Festa Limited Pack 2019Premium Pack 2019 Metagame Breakdown 25 Salamangreat10 Sky Striker9 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon6 Subterror5 Thunder Dragon4 Zefra:3 Mono Zefra1 World Chalice Zefra3 Magician2 Gandora-X FTK 2 Infernoid:1 Grass Infernoid1 Traptrick Infernoid 2 Invoked2 Phantom Knights Burning Abyss1 Altergeist1 Blue-Eyes1 Invoked Shaddoll1 Kaiju Luna Mekk-Knight1 Phantom Knights Orcust1 Sky Striker Invoked SalamangreatSalamangreat is able to quickly swarm the field and setup some basic disruption in the form of Salamangreat Rage or Salamangreat Roar. They are also able to bring out Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir. Bagooska is especially impactful in the mirror match to negate Salamangreat Gazelle, Lady Debug, Speedroid Terrortop and Salamangreat Mirage Stallio. With multiple different ways to open using Salamangreat Gazelle, Salamangreat Spinny, Lady Debug or Speedroid Terrortop, Salamangreat is currently one of the most consistent deck, especially when the theme comes with its own searcher too – Salamangreat Circle. Hinkinson Louis Takashi “ふぇ” is one of the Japanese representative that competed in this year’s World Championship 2018. He went 5-0-1 and finished 1 – 4th in “Japan YU-GI-OH Tournament 2019 with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 72 teams (216 participants). As Salamangreat is currently the most popular deck in OCG 2019.01, running Super Polymerization for Salamangreat Violet Chimera is one of the most popular Side Deck choices since it cannot be negated by Salamangreat Roar. Sky Strikerkazuma went 4-0-2 and finished 1 – 4th in “Japan YU-GI-OH Tournament 2019 with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 72 teams (216 participants). His teammates Aroma (アロマ) and Aoi Ui (あおい うい) were running a similar build and went 6-0 and 4-1-1 respectively. With Sky Striker Ace – Kagari currently limited, the current most popular solution to reuse Kagari is by running Pot of Avarice. In the old standard play for Sky Striker is to open with Sky Striker Ace – Raye to go into Sky Striker Ace – Kagari and then Sky Striker Ace – Shizuku. By simply running through Sky Striker Ace – Hayate and Sky Striker Ace – Kaina in the steps between Kagari and Shizuku to fill up the graveyard with monsters, Pot of Avarice can then be activated as soon as the next turn, shuffling back Kagari for another use. Dinosaur Thunder DragonPokkerio (ポッケリオ) went 6-0 and finished 1 – 4th in “Japan YU-GI-OH Tournament 2019 with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 72 teams (216 participants). Thunder Dragon Colossus‘ effect is quite effective against both Salamangreat and Sky Striker. Salamangreat relies on searching with Lady Debug, Speedroid Terrortop and Salamangreat Veilynx, while Sky Striker relies on searching with Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage! and Sky Striker Airspace – Area Zero. As a countermeasure, both Salamangreat and Sky Striker are running the full 3 copies of Infinite Impermanence in the Main Deck. ConclusionSalamangreat is currently the most popular top performing deck and is without a doubt the deck to beat for the early OCG 2019.01 format. Sky Striker and Dinosaur Thunder Dragon follows behind, but they are lacking in consistency when compared with Salamangreat which is untouched by the OCG 2019.01 Limit Regulation. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-0/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted January 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #1 Welcome to Week #1 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 68 top-performing decks from 13 tournaments that were held in Japan, China and Hong Kong during 1 – 8 January 2019. Update: Added tournament result of “Asia Championship Winter 2019 Hong Kong Qualifier”. Metagame Breakdown 15 Salamangreat11 Sky Striker9 Thunder Dragon7 Magician5 Infernoid:2 Grass Infernoid2 Grass Lair Infernoid1 Subterror Infernoid5 Subterror3 Trickstar3 Zefra:2 mono Zefra1 Dinosaur Zefra2 Altergeist1 Cyber Dragon2 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon2 Dinosaur Yang Zing1 Synchro DARK1 Train1 Zombie SalamangreatKBT went 6-1-2 and finished 2nd in “Hatti CS × Dragon Star Cup in Dragon Star Kishiwada Haruki Shop” (Team 3v3) which had 38 teams (114 participants). He ran two copies of Swords of Concealing Light in his Side Deck. Against the Salamangreat mirror match, Swords of Concealing Light is mainly used to turn Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir face-down, thus shutting off its effect that negates the activated effects of monsters. Swords of Concealing Light is also great for turning Thunder Dragon Colossus face-down, shutting off its effect that prevents adding cards from deck to hand, and also disallowing its substitution effect to be used when being destroyed. However Swords of Concealing Light is more effective against Dinosaur Thunder Dragon. Mono Thunder Dragon would be able to chain Thunder Dragon Titan‘s effect against Swords of Concealing Light‘s activation to destroy it before resolution. This would result in Swords of Concealing Light resolving with no effect. Sky StrikerRunning 3 Pot of Avarice has been a very successful build in bringing Sky Striker back to the top of the competitive scene. Combined with the card advantage from Pot of Desires and Sky Striker Mobilize – Engage!, Sky Striker is able to keep up against Salamangreat and even out resource them. Puralis (ピュラリス) went 7-0 and finished 1st in “Woluney Cup” which had 54 participants. Thunder DragonAka Daruma (あかだるま) went 7-0 and finished 1st in “78th Oretachi Card Division CS” which had 43 participants. He ran a copy of Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max in his Extra Deck as an additional finisher. This is quite relevant against Sky Striker as they could negate an attack using Sky Striker Ace – Kaina, but the 2000 damage from Gustav Max in Main Phase 2 would be the finishing blow. MagicianDespite getting further hit by the Limit Regulation, Magician is still able to compete in the OCG 2019.01 format. Magician is running the similar build as its previous OCG 2018.10 variant, by substituting in Odd-Eyes Revolution Dragon and Black Fang Magician to fill in the slots emptied by the newly limited Chronograph Sorcerer. Fumi (ふみ) went 6-2 and finished 2nd in “78th Oretachi Card Division CS” which had 43 participants. Conclusion Salamangreat continues to be the most popular top performing deck, but Sky Striker is fast catching up. Interestingly Dinosaur Thunder Dragon took a dive, and instead mono Thunder Dragon rose up to its place. With more Thunder Dragon around, players running Super Polymerization might need to look into using Predaplant Dragostapelia, as Starving Venom Fusion Dragon could be played around by having only 1 Thunder Dragon Colossus on the field at a time. Non Salamangreat deck are also choosing to run Diplexer Chimera over Salamangreat Violet Chimera due to its more lenient summoning condition. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-1/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 Yu-Gi-Oh! Asia Championship Winter 2019 Hong Kong Qualifier The Yu-Gi-Oh! Asia Championship Winter 2019 Hong Kong Qualifier was held during 5 January 2019 and had a total of 202 participants. 1st, Lo Lai Chun [Dinosaur Yang Zing] 2nd, Mok Hou Teng [Dinosaur Thunder Dragon] 3 – 4th, Liu Hoi Ki [salamangreat] 3 – 4th, Jiang Hongkang [Thunder Dragon] https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-asia-championship-winter-2019-hong-kong-qualifier/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #2 Welcome to Week #2 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 44 top-performing decks from 6 tournaments that were held in Japan during 12 – 15 January 2019. The following were excluded from this tabulation as Dark Neostorm was not allowed in these tournaments: 3rd Okayama Orbis Cup Team Battle with Hatti CS3rd Hayato CS with Hatti New Product ReleaseDark Neostorm Metagame Breakdown 10 Salamangreat8 Sky Striker4 Altergeist4 Subterror3 Grass Infernoid3 Phantom Knights Burning Abyss2 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon2 Magician2 Orcust:1 Phantom Knights Orcust1 Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust2 Thunder Dragon1 Blackwing1 Cyber Dragon1 World Chalice1 Zefra SalamangreatShakeneru (しゃけねる) went 7-0-1 and finished 1 – 2nd in “34th Takatsuki CS with Hatti CS” which had 86 participants. He has taken a more control approach for his Salamangreat build, cutting out Speedroid Terrortop for Pot of Desires and running more Traps. From the Salamangreat Reference Sheet, we can see that Speedroid Terrortop is often redundant and a win-more card as the deck already has plenty of methods to open consistently with Salamangreat Circle and Lady Debug. Running Speedroid Terrortop also comes with the risk of drawing Speedroid Taketomborg. On the other hand, Pot of Desires is also useful for digging into the combo pieces. But if you already opened with the combo pieces in hand, then Pot of Desires can be activated after the combo to draw into more Traps and ‘Hand Traps’ to strengthen the opening board. Salamangreat Roar and Salamangreat Rage are also increased to 2 copies to avoid Pot of Desires banishing the singular copy. Although some players are testing with running 1 copy of Cynet Mining, but as Salamangreat builds are going for stability rather than explosive opening, it is very likely that Cynet Mining is not necessary for Salamangreat, especially with Salamangreat Circle and Lady Debug at 3 copies each. Sky StrikerAroma (アロマ) went 8-0 and finished 1st in “49th Adachi CS with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3). He then went 7-1 and finished 1st in “79th Oretachi Trading Card Division CS” which had 46 participants. Landing Podship Ambrowhale is a perfect replacement for Topologic Bomber Dragon. Topologic Bomber Dragon is mainly run for its lenient summoning condition. The “2+ Effect Monsters” summoning condition allows a Link-3 monster and another monster to be used for the Link Summoning. This is crucial to keep the Main Monster Zones empty but still having a monster with a threatening ATK. Landing Podship Ambrowhale has the same “2+ Effect Monsters” summoning condition but comes with a much more useful effect. The (2) effect in particular is useful for reviving Sky Striker Ace – Kagari. Conclusion Dark Neostorm has a rather low impact on its debut weekend. Salamangreat and Sky Striker did not gain any significant boost from it. Meanwhile Altergeist has been doing well with running Manhunt in the Main Deck. Manhunt is a new Continuous Trap from Dark Neostorm that takes control of an opponent’s monster. During the opponent’s turn, it can be activated right after a monsters summon to take control it and deny the opponent from activating its Ignition Effect. Since Manhunt only prevents the monster from activating its effect, the monster’s Continuous Effect will still be applied. Taking control of the opponent’s Thunder Dragon Colossus will deny them from adding cards from the deck to hand. Dark Neostorm has also boosted Orcust with Sheorcust Dingirsu and Orcustrated Climax. This results in a popularity spike for Orcust, but its performance has been mediocre so far. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #3 Welcome to Week #3 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 35 top-performing decks from 5 tournaments that were held in Japan and China during 19 – 22 January 2019. New Product ReleaseV Jump March 2019 promotional cardHi-Speedroid Kitedrake Metagame Breakdown 6 Sky Striker5 Orcust:2 Phantom Knights Orcust2 Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust1 Grass Phantom Knights Orcust5 Salamangreat:4 mono Salamangreat1 Sky Striker Salamangreat5 Zefra:3 mono Zefra2 Dinosaur Zefra3 Thunder Dragon3 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon3 Subterror2 Altergeist1 Destiny HERO1 Magician1 Synchro DARK Sky Striker Kinnikuso (きんにくそ) went 7-2 and finished 2nd in “Hatti CS × Surugaya Cup in Surugaya Takatsuki Trading Card House” which had 64 participants. The overall pace of the metagame has slowed down and more decks are going taking a more control approach by running more Solemn Traps in the deck. Kinnikuso ran 2 copies of Solemn Judgment in the Main Deck. One of the more common ways that Sky Striker loses control of the game is having a timely Harpie’s Feather Duster sweeping their Spells/Traps and nulling the advantage from Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole. As Solemn Judgment could negate Harpie’s Feather Duster and Twin Twisters, it is the preferred choice for Sky Striker over Solemn Strike and Solemn Warning. Orcust After a poor debut weekend, Orcust is starting show some results. There is yet to be an optimised build for Orcust as players are still currently experimenting with different combos. The starting point of the combo is to Link Summon Knightmare Mermaid and use its effect to Special Summon Orcust Knightmare. That would lead to The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche and following up with The Phantom Knights’ Rank-Up-Magic Launch on Sheorcust Dingirsu to bring out True King of All Calamities. Nemuru (眠) went 5-1 and finished 3 – 4th in “80th Oretachi Trading Card Division CS” which had 38 participants. He is running the DARK Warrior engine. Armageddon Knight and Dark Grepher are used for sending Destiny HERO – Malicious to the graveyard, whose effect would then Special Summon another Malicious. Then together they are used to Link Summon either Knightmare Cerberus or Knightmare Phoenix, which can be used to Link Summon Knightmare Mermaid, thus starting up the combo. The advantage of the DARK Warrior engine is having the Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson synergy, a Tuner Monster that enables Crystron Needlefiber and Borreload Savage Dragon. Fat Sheep (肥羊) went 5-1-2 and finished 3 – 4th in “Duel City 2018 Beihai” which had 45 participants. He is running the Sky Striker engine. Sky Striker Mecha – Hornet Drones will create a “Sky Striker Ace Token” that can be used to Link Summon Sky Striker Ace – Kagari, taking back Hornet Drones. Hornet Drones is then played again to create another Token and together with Kagari they are used to Link Summon Knightmare Cerberus or Knightmare Phoenix, and then going into Knightmare Mermaid. The other alternative opening is using Knightmare Corruptor Iblee to directly Link Summon Knightmare Mermaid. However, if both Hornet Drones and Iblee are in the opening hand, then the Hornet Drones combo can be executed first to bring out Knightmare Mermaid. After which Normal Summon Iblee and use its effect to Special Summon Cerberus or Phoenix from the graveyard, allowing for an extended play. Salamangreat Shakeneru (しゃけねる) went 8-0 (excluding 1 bye) and finished 1st in “Hatti CS × Surugaya Cup in Surugaya Takatsuki Trading Card House” which had 64 participants. He was featured in last week’s report and went on to achieve another victory this week. He has tuned his Side Deck to improve his match-up against Thunder Dragon, cutting out 2 D.D. Crow and 1 Starving Venom Fusion Dragon for 1 Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion and 2 Dimensional Barrier. Zefra Castella (カステラ) went 5-0-2 and finished 1st in “6th Quality Cup” (Team 2v2) which had 26 teams (52 participants). He ran a Speedroid engine consisting of 2 Speedroid Terrortop, 1 Speedroid Marble Machine and 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice. Speedroid Marble Machine is a Pendulum Monster with Pendulum Scale 1. This low Pendulum Scale complements with Zefraath since Zefraath‘s Pendulum Effect is commonly activated by sending Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing and changing its Pendulum Scale to 7. When going first, Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop and then search and Normal Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to go into Crystron Needlefiber. When going second, Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop and then search and Normal Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to change Terrortop’s Level to 6. Both of them are then used to Synchro Summon Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing. Activate Yazi ② effect to destroy an opponent’s card and itself, triggering its ③ effect and Special Summon Mare Mare from the deck, opening up for an OTK. The Speedroid engine complements well with Zefra, providing the flexibility to fetch for a low Pendulum Scale or for developing the board. Conclusion Sky Striker, Orcust, Salamangreat and Zefra are sharing the top spot with an almost equal split. Thunder Dragon, Dinosaur Thunder Dragon and Subterror are trailing not too far behind. The metagame has yet to settle, especially with Orcust joining in the competitive scene, and should expect to see some changes over the next few weeks. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-3/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #4 Welcome to Week #4 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 32 top-performing decks from 6 tournaments that were held in Japan and China during 26 – 29 January 2019. Metagame Breakdown 7 Salamangreat6 Sky Striker4 Orcust:2 Sky Striker Trickstar Phantom Knights Orcust1 Phantom Knights Orcust1 Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust3 Altergeist3 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon2 Magician2 Subterror1 Guardragon1 Infernoid1 Invoked1 Thunder Dragon1 Sky Striker Dinosaur Salamangreat Yabu (やぶ) achieved consecutive victories in two tournaments over the weekend. On Sunday, he went 5-1-1 and finished 1st in “11th Yu-Ky CS” (Team 3v3) which had 37 teams (111 participants). Later on Tuesday, he went 7-1 and finished 1st in “81st Oretachi Trading Card Division CS” which had 60 participants. He made a good metagame call and ran 3 copies of Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay in the Main Deck. In the current competitive scene, Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay is great against Salamangreat, Sky Striker and Orcust. Although Phantazmay is not that great against Altergeist, Thunder Dragon and Magician, they would still go to Linkuriboh, Salamangreat Almiraj or Some Summer Summoner, allowing Phantazmay to be Special Summoned. Infernoid and Subterror are the few match-up that Phantazmay could be stuck in hand. But since they are not very popular, running Phantazmay in the Main Deck might be a worthwhile risk. Sky Striker Alive (アライブ) achieved consecutive 2nd place in two tournaments over the weekend. On Saturday, he went 7-1 and finished 2nd in “6th Aso Vic Cup” which had 64 participants. On Sunday, he went 5-2 and finished 2nd in “11th Yu-Ky CS” (Team 3v3) which had 37 teams (111 participants). He ran a copy of Evilswarm Exciton Knight in his Extra Deck. Xyz Summoning Evilswarm Exciton Knight is not easy for this deck and often involves using 2 Sky Striker Ace – Raye. When falling behind in the Sky Striker mirror match, Exciton Knight is useful for wiping the opponent’s advantage gained from Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole. Orcust Xun (巽) went 10-1 and finished 1st in “Duel City 2018 Guangzhou” which had 122 participants. In addition to running the Sky Striker engine and Knightmare Corruptor Iblee, he ran a small Trickstar Engine consisting of just Trickstar Candina, Trickstar Corobane and Trickstar Light Stage. Normal Summoning Trickstar Candina and using its effect to search for Trickstar Corobane and then Special Summoning it would provide 2 materials for Link Summoning Knightmare Cerberus or Knightmare Phoenix to go into Knightmare Mermaid. The advantage of the Trickstar Engine is having Trickstar Light Stage to lock down an opponent’s Spell/Trap, making it safer to resolve Knightmare Mermaid. However, Trickstar Light Stage being a Field Spell conflicts with Orcustrated Babel. Conclusion Salamangreat and Sky Striker are the top two decks, while Orcust, Altergeist, Dinosaur Thunder Dragon, Magician, Subterror and Thunder Dragon are still showing up fairly often. This diverse metagame is quite demanding on the Side Deck, causing players to favor more generic tech cards that are applicable across multiple match-ups, and cutting back on niche tech cards that are good only against a specific deck. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-4/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #5, #6 Welcome to Week #5, #6 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 61 top-performing decks from 9 tournaments that were held in Japan during 2 – 10 February 2019. New Product Release20th Anniversary Legend Collection Metagame Breakdown 18 Salamangreat12 Sky Striker9 Orcust4 Zefra:2 Dinosaur Zefra2 Speedroid Zefra3 Altergeist3 Magician2 Cyber Dragon2 Madolche2 Subterror2 Thunder Dragon1 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon1 Gandora-X FTK1 Grass Infernoid1 Mekk-Knight Salamangreat Neji (ネジ) went 6-1-1 and finished 1st in “10th Larpy CS” (Team 3v3) which had 58 teams (174 participants). He had prepared against Orcust in his Extra Deck and Side Deck. The Abyss Dweller in the Extra Deck is to prevent Orcust monsters such as Orcust Knightmare, Orcust Harp Horror, Orcust Cymbal Skeleton and World Legacy – “World Wand” from activating their graveyard effect. Abyss Dweller is also occasionally useful in the Salamangreat mirror match and Sky Striker match-up to prevent Salamangreat Spinny, Salamangreat Foxy, Salamangreat Jack Jaguar, Salamangreat Falco and Sky Striker Ace- Raye from activating their graveyard effect to Special Summon themselves. Artifact Lancea is also useful for stopping Orcust Knightmare, Orcust Harp Horror, Orcust Cymbal Skeleton and World Legacy – “World Wand” from banishing themselves and thus disrupting the Orcust combo for a turn. After Artifact Lancea ② effect was activated and resolved, if Salamangreat Roar that was set on the field by its own ② effect was activated, the effect of Lancea would prevent Roar from banishing itself. Roar would go to the graveyard, and could be recurred again on the next turn. Sky Striker Cherenko (チェレンコ) had back-to-back top placing over the weekend. On Saturday, he went 6-2 and finished 1 – 2nd in “7th Miyagi CS” (Team 3v3). On Sunday, he went 6-1 and finished 3 – 4th in “10th Larpy CS” (Team 3v3) which had 58 teams (174 participants). He ran 2 D.D. Crow in his Main Deck. D.D. Crow is great against the current top 3 decks – Salamangreat, Sky Striker and Orcust. Against Salamangreat, D.D. Crow is used to banish Salamangreat Spinny, Salamangreat Foxy, Salamangreat Jack Jaguar or Salamangreat Falco to stop them from Special Summoning themselves from the graveyard. It can also be used to banish Salamangreat Roar and Salamangreat Rage to prevent Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf from recurring them. Against Sky Striker, D.D. Crow is used to stop Sky Striker Ace – Kagari from taking back a Spell by banishing it, and banishing Sky Striker Ace – Raye to stop its Special Summon from the graveyard. Although D.D. Crow can also be used against Pot of Avarice by banishing one of its targets causing it to fizzle, the Sky Striker player would typically resolve Sky Striker Mecha Modules – Multirole ① effect first so that Pot of Avarice cannot be chained to. Against Orcust, D.D. Crow is activated preemptively to banish Orcust Knightmare, Orcust Harp Horror, Orcust Cymbal Skeleton or World Legacy – “World Wand” before the opponent could activate their graveyard effect. However, once Orcustrated Babel is on the field, the graveyard effect of Orcust can be chained to D.D. Crow, rendering it ineffective. Orcust Sea Archer (シーアーチャー) went 7-1 and finished 1st in “10th Larpy CS” (Team 3v3) which had 58 teams (174 participants). The current build of Orcust is trending towards using Armageddon Knight and Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson for starting off the Orcust combo. Armageddon and Destrudo can be used to for the standard Knightmare Cerberus or Knightmare Phoenix into Knightmare Mermaid, but also opens up an alternative option of going into Crystron Needlefiber. In the scenario that he drew his only copy of Orcust Knightmare, rendering Knightmare Mermaid useless, going into Needlefiber will allow him to bring out Jet Synchron to discard it, or go for Orcust Bass Bombard to Special Summon it from hand. The 3 copies of Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay also allows him to return Orcust Knightmare to the deck when going second. This allows him to optimize the build by running the minimal amount of Orcust Knightmare. Conclusion Salamangreat, Sky Striker and Orcust are the current top decks to beat. Orcust has proven itself to be quite a threat causing players to run specific tech such as Artifact Lancea against them. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-5-6/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted March 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #7 Welcome to Week #7 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 38 top-performing decks from 6 tournaments that were held in Japan and China during 16 – 19 February 2019. New Product ReleaseYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters x Monster Strike collaboration commemoration cardsLight Bringer Lucifer Metagame Breakdown 12 Salamangreat8 Orcust:4 Phantom Knights Orcust1 Psychic Phantom Knights Orcust1 Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust1 Atlantean Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust1 Trickstar Sky Striker Phantom Knights Orcust6 Sky Striker5 Thunder Dragon3 Altergeist1 Cyber Dragon1 Grass Dinosaur Thunder Dragon1 Magician1 Subterror SalamangreatAigyan (あいぎゃん) achieved two consecutive victories over the weekend. On Saturday, he went 6-2-1 and finished 1st in “5th Puchi Alpha CS with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 56 teams (168 participants). On Sunday, he went 8-1 and finished 1st in “Hatti CS × Surugaya Cup in Surugaya Takatsuki Trading Card House” which had 64 participants. He ran 3 copies of Manhunt in the Main Deck. In the mirror match, Manhunt is useful for disrupting the opponent’s play by taking control of their Link Monsters. Taking control of Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf is also extremely advantageous since it can be used for a Reincarnation Link Summon later during your turn. OrcustUeni (うえにー) went 8-0 and finished 1st in “5th Puchi Alpha CS with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 56 teams (168 participants). He ran a more traditional build using Speedroid, Dark Grepher and Armageddon Knight. He cut out Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson, Jet Synchron, Crystron Needlefiber, Borreload Savage Dragon and focused on just the core Orcust and Phantom Knights components. This lowers the explosive potential of the deck, but also improves the consistency by reducing the bricks in his opening hand. Sky StrikerM1 (えむいち) went 6-2 and finished 2nd in “5th Puchi Alpha CS with Hatti CS” (Team 3v3) which had 56 teams (168 participants). As Glow-Up Bulb is forbidden, the purpose of Linkuriboh is now mainly to serve as a stepping stone for Link Summoning Ningirsu the World Chalice Warrior. Some Sky Striker players have started switching over to Relinquished Anima since it fulfils the same purpose, but has a useful effect that could be used to clear Link Monsters such as Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf, Salamangreat Heatleo, Knightmare Cerberus, Knightmare Phoenix, Triple Burst Dragon, Borrelsword Dragon. As these Link Monsters have a Link Arrow pointing up, when they are summoned in the Extra Monster Zone, their Link Arrow allows Relinquished Anima to be Link Summon directly in front of them, allowing Anima to target and equip those Link Monster to itself. Due to the increase of Relinquished Anima being played, it is best to avoid summoning in the 2nd and 4th Main Monster Zone. Thunder DragonGamon (我聞) went 6-1 and finished 3rd in “Hatti CS × Surugaya Cup in Surugaya Takatsuki Trading Card House” which had 64 participants. He ran 3 copies of Manhunt in the Main Deck. Not only does Manhunt functions as a disruption, it can also be used to take back his own Thunder Dragon Colossus if the opponent took it using Manhunt. He also ran 3 copies of Macro Cosmos in the Side Deck. Macro Cosmos is very powerful against Salamangreat and Sky Striker. Against Salamangreat, Macro Cosmos banishes all their cards, denying their monsters from Special Summoning themselves from the graveyard, and Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf from recurring the Salamangreat Monsters and Traps. Against Sky Striker, Macro Cosmos banishes all their Spells, preventing them from hitting 3 Spells in the graveyard. It also banishes Sky Striker Ace – Raye. Against Orcust, although Macro Cosmos could banish all their Orcust and Phantom Knights monster, preventing them from using their graveyard effect, but Orcust could always go into Knightmare Phoenix first to destroy Macro Cosmos before continuing into Knightmare Mermaid. Conclusion Salamangreat, Orcust and Sky Striker are still the top contenders, while Thunder Dragon is experiencing a slight resurgence. Manhunt was originally popularised by Altergeist and Subterror, but it has been picked up by many other decks. Manhunt is similar to Compulsory Evacuation Device in that it has no activation conditions, making it a very flexible free-timing Trap. But by taking control of the opponent’s threat, it turns the threat around on them, and forces them to answer it instead. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you.https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-7/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted March 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #8 Welcome to Week #8 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 32 top-performing decks from 6 tournaments that were held in Japan during 23 – 26 February 2019. New Product ReleaseV Jump April 2019 promotional cardAnkuribohDeck Build Pack: Infinity Chasers Metagame Breakdown 9 Salamangreat5 Subterror3 Sky Striker3 Zefra2 Altergeist2 Orcust2 Thunder Dragon1 Chain Burn1 Magician1 Mekk-Knight1 Red-Eyes Guardragon1 Sky Striker Invoked1 World Chalice SalamangreatEmukee (えむけー) went 8-1 and finished 1st in “92nd Aichi CS Individual Battle in NextPro Osu Shop with Hatti!” which had 50 participants. He ran a copy of Salamangreat Fowl in the Main Deck to make it easier to Xyz Summon Rank 4 monsters, Number 41: Bagooska the Terribly Tired Tapir and Abyss Dweller. Salamangreat Circle being a Quick-Play Spell allows him to delay searching for Salamangreat Fowl right until the last moment when Special Summoning Salamangreat Falco or Salamangreat Jack Jaguar. Chain 1: Salamangreat Jack Jaguar ② effect.Chain 2: Salamangreat Circle ① effect. If the opponent has no response and the chain resolves, he would search for Salamangreat Fowl on Chain 2 and then Special Summon Salamangreat Jack Jaguar on Chain 1. After resolution, since Salamangreat Jack Jaguar was Special Summoned, Salamangreat Fowl ① effect would trigger on the new chain. If the opponent chained to Salamangreat Jack Jaguar or Salamangreat Falco effect with a D.D. Crow to banish them, then he could hold back on using Salamangreat Circle for Salamangreat Fowl since he could no longer go into a Rank 4 monster. This move prevents him from committing too early and having Salamangreat Fowl stuck in hand, and giving him greater flexibility in reacting to the opponent’s actions. SubterrorHachina (蜂名) went 7-0 and finished 1st in “3rd Saisai Cup” which had 32 participants. He ran a very standard build using backrow control with the full set of Solemn Traps and Manhunt. Conclusion The 3 new themes from Deck Build Pack: Infinity Chasers – Infinitrack, Witchcraft and Evil Eye – have yet to make any impact on the current competitive scene, but it might be too early to tell. Evil Eye has the most potential for now, as it can be used as a small engine consisting of Serziel, Watcher of the Evil Eye , Pareidolia, Domain of the Evil Eye, Evil Eye of Selene and Sentence of the Evil Eye. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-8/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryusei the Morning Star Posted March 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 OCG 2019.01 Metagame Report #9 Welcome to Week #9 of the OCG 2019.01 format. This report will cover 55 top-performing decks from 11 tournaments that were held in Japan and China during 2 – 5 March 2019. Metagame Breakdown 18 Salamangreat9 Orcust:7 Phantom Knights Orcust1 Atlantean Phantom Knights Orcust1 mono Orcust6 Altergeist6 Thunder Dragon5 Zefra4 Sky Striker2 Infernoid2 Trickstar1 Dinosaur Thunder Dragon1 Lunalight1 SPYRAL SalamangreatShota (翔太) went 7-1-1 and finished 1st in “3rd Takatsuki Orbis Cup with Hatti CS” which had 64 participants. He ran 2 copies of D.D. Crow in the Main Deck, a trend that is gaining traction this week. D.D. Crow is great against Salamangreat, Orcust and Sky Striker, making it a reasonable tech to run in the Main Deck for a stronger match-up during Game 1. But this does worsen other match-ups like Thunder Dragon and Subterror. OrcustUeni (うえにー) went 6-2-1 and finished 2nd in “6th Shinai Cup with Hatti CS” which had 42 participants. He has a very interesting Orcust build that drops the Phantom Knights portion of the deck. He reasoned that when going first the Phantom Knights portion of the combo is very susceptible to being disrupted, and when going second drawing the Phantom Knights cards results in a bricked hand. Without The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche, the deck no longer relies on Orcustrated Babel to activate Orcust Cymbal Skeleton and Special Summon Dingirsu, Orcust of Sheol during the opponent’s turn. Instead he focus on having just Borreload Savage Dragon and Orcustrated Climax to negate the opponent’s cards or effects. Although this puts out lesser disruptions, it improves the consistency by cutting the issue of drawing into the Phantom Knights cards. The deck is also able to setup a lockdown with El Shaddoll Winda to restrict Special Summon to once per turn. El Shaddoll Winda can be simply Special Summoned with Instant Fusion at the end of the combo, and when Winda would be destroyed during the End Phase, Dingirsu, Orcust of Sheol ② effect would detach 1 Xyz Material instead. He ran Scrap Recycler, a monster with an effect similar to Armageddon Knight, but sends Machine monster from the deck to the graveyard. Scrap Recycler allows him to send Orcust monsters directly from deck the graveyard, and also Jet Synchron in the event that he already drew the Orcust monsters and needed a discard outlet. Ueni has written a short article in Japanese explaining his unique build: 幻影無しオルフェゴール 解説. AltergeistThro World (スローワ) had two top-placing this weekend. On Saturday, he went 8-0 and finished 1st in “1st Tokiwa Cup” which had 39 participants. On Tuesday, he went 5-1 and finished 3 – 4th in “86th Oretachi Trading Card Division CS”. A noted trend, he ran 3 D.D. Crow in the Main Deck. He ran 2 Different Dimension Ground in the Side Deck for his Saturday build, and eventually increased it to 3 by cutting Trap Trick for his Tuesday build. Different Dimension Ground is great against Salamangreat and Orcust by preventing them from sending monsters to the graveyard and utilizing their graveyard effects. As the opponent will be siding in Harpie’s Feather Duster and Twin Twisters against Altergeist, Different Dimension Ground can be chained to them, while still triggering Altergeist Multifaker. Thunder DragonNorn (ノルン) went 6-0-1 and finished 1st in “4th Hayato CS with Hatti”. He has an interesting take on Thunder Dragon, choosing to run 0 copies of Thunder Dragon. Although Thunder Dragon is useful for enabling Thunder Dragon Titan ① effect, it often leads to brick in hand especially when drawn in multiple copies. Instead, he chose to run Upstart Goblin to focus on consistently bringing out Thunder Dragon Colossus, and relying on the assortment of ‘Hand Traps’ he has prepared in the Side Deck to disrupt the opponent. Conclusion Salamangreat and Orcust remains as the top decks to beat, while Sky Striker has fallen considerably. Sky Striker is having a difficult time as everyone has been running Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay in the Main Deck, and now with D.D. Crow to disrupt Sky Striker Ace – Kagari and Pot of Avarice. We are seeing a lot of progress in build optimization as players have lowered their deck’s ceiling for improved consistency. As shown by AlphaGo’s Move 37 against Lee Sedol, it is better to go for 1.5 moku with 99% win probability than choosing 20 moku but with only 80% win probability. Both 1.5 moku and 20 moku are still a win. Similarly, you do not need 4 – 5 disruptions to win if 2 – 3 disruptions is sufficient, especially when it is a safer and more consistent play. If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, do consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Thank you. https://roadoftheking.com/ocg-2019-01-metagame-report-9/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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