YCS Atlanta - Brief Review

Okay, so I don't wanna get into huge detail about this YCS because I think it was a fluke. Apparently NOBODY thought Gravekeeper's might be a contender? Seriously? I'll give a rundown of the top 8 decks and then the deck that won.

So the top 8 table looked like this:

3x Gravekeeper's

1x Quickdraw Plants

1x Volcanic Quickdraw

1x X-Sabers

1x Blackwings

1x Lightsworn

Blackwings are the only deck that took me by surprise. It's odd that this deck topped since Royal Decree has grown in popularity and we all know that Blackwings rely on their trap line-up.

X-Sabers are still a good deck in my opinion and deserved a spot in the top along with both plant variants.

Lightsworn made me proud and kept hope alive for the deck.

Now, the main deck we all want to hear about is Gravekeepers. After reviewing the deck list, I learned a few obvious reasons why the deck won. First of all, aside from the Necrovalley & Recruiter combo which wrecks decks in the first place, the combination of Royal Tribute and Gravekeeper's Stele was the most effective; stripping someone of their hand then replenishing yours generates a lot of pluses. HOWEVER, this whole Gravekeeper fiasco could have been avoided if Quickdraw and Blackwings would have just main decked 1 simple card:

Ancient Fairy Dragon

*******

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters
Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 Level4 or lower monster from your hand. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activatethis effect. Once per turn, you can destroy aField Spell Card. If you do, gain 1000 Life Points, and you can add 1 Field Spell Card from yourDeck to your hand.

That's all I have to say about this.

Contest Winners!

So guys, after watching over 20 videos and looking at over 40 written deck lists, I have the winners. All of you guys did an amazing job and don't be discouraged if you didn't win. Make sure to PM me so I can send out your prizes. Without further ado, here are the winners:

1st Place - YGOTeamCandJ - Gravekeeper's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtblbmM5jCs

These guys had an amazing deck list and after listening to their explanation of Book of Moon, I felt like this was the most competitive of all the decks. Congrats guys!

2nd Place - ninjamasterht - Morphtronics

I really liked this deck, and although he didn't post a video response, I felt like he incorporated each one of my rules to the tee. I tested the deck out personally and found it to be really fun. Good job bro.

3rd Place - TeamEVOBurst - Elemental Hero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPht8b5oHkA

I based this off of video view counts, and these guys had the most. I really liked the deck and I've always been a fan of E Heros. Congrats guys, I'll be subscribing!

Remember to PM me for your prizes guys and hopefully no one was discouraged. I loved everyone's deck lists, but a lot of people didn't follow my rules correctly. I'll have another contest up soon! Thanks a lot guys!

A Look Into the Past - Lightsworn Deck Profile

Hey guys, so it feels like yesterday when I was running 3 Lumina, 3 Necro Gardna, 3 Charge and 3 Tragoedia. Man, those were the days. Anyways, I have a new deck list for Lightsworn, so hopefully it proves to be extremely effective.

Monsters:

[2] - Judgment Dragon

[3] - Celestia, Lightsworn Angel

[3] - Wulf, Lightsworn Beast

[3] - Lyla, Lightsworn Sorcerer

[2] - Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

[1] - Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner

[1] - Arukus, Lightsworn Druis

[1] - Ehren, Lightsworn Monk

[1] - Jain, Lightsworn Paladin

[1] - Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior

[2] - Honest

[1] - Card Trooper

[1] - Gorz

[1] - Plaguespreader

[1] - Necro Gardna

Spells:

[3] - Solar Recharge

[1] - Charge of the Light Brigade

[2] - Gold Sarcophagus

[2] - Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] - Cold Wave

[1] - Giant Trunade

[1] - Foolish Burial

[1] - Monster Reborn

[1] - Dark Hole

Traps:

[1] - Solemn Judgment

[2] - Threatening Roar

[2] - Beckoning Light

So yeah, that's the deck. Seems simple enough, right? Basically, I wanted to focus purely on Lightsworn, and NOT a twilight version of the deck. I feel that this build is a lot more consistent and lets you pull off your combos more often.

For the mechanics of the deck, I'll break down a few of the cards I play and why I more multiple copies of certain cards.

3 Celestia & 3 Wulf

The point of this is simple; the ratio keeps things consistent and gives me more win conditions. This is pure Lightsworn, so I have more chances to tribute a monster for Celestia this way. JD is not always going to be my win condition and--in some cases--I never get my JD's. Because of that, I can win by swarming with Wulf and constantly ridding the field of threats via Celestia.

3x Ryko & Card Trooper

I tested this deck for a while and came to the conclusion that I need to be able to mill more often while creating advantage at the same time. Since every other Lightsworn monter other than Celestia mill at the end phase, I'm not always guaranteed to mill. With Ryko, I can mill 3 while blowing up a threat on the field at the same time which has become more and more important for me. Card Trooper is a 1900 beater who mills 3, gets under Bottomless, and gives me a +1 when he's destroyed. Self explanatory.

Mystical Space Typhoon

I struggled with the importance of this card for a long time, and realize now that it's extremely important. This card doesn't serve purpose in a lot of other decks because getting rid of an opponents s/t blindly is bad. However, Lightsworn can get rid of back row almost every turn, via Lyla, Celestia, Ryko, Cold Wave, Trunade, etc. Because of that, MST is good because my opponent will usually only have 1 or 2 back rows anyways after all of my shenanigans.

Threatening Roar

I chose to play this over Mirror Force and TT. While Mirror Force and TT can generate a lot of advantage, I care more about my apparent combos. Mirror Force and TT aren't chainable and I need to ensure that my monster will survive an extra turn so I can Celestia. Plus, it's my only defense against Sabers. That's pretty much why I run this card.

So yeah guys, that's it. I hope this helped you understand why I feel this is the best current version of Lightsworn. OH! Contest Results will be up tomorrow, so make sure to stay tuned =]

Contest Time!

Hey guys, so it's time for another contest in honor of me getting 1,500+ subscribers. I'm really excited for this contest because I think it'll be the most creative one yet. Before I tell you guys the rules, here are the prizes:

- Nintendo DS Lite (White) - $70

Comes with charger & 4 games

- Regional Topping Absolute Zero Deck (Complete) $100

Deck list will be posted at the bottom

- 6 Mini Deck Boxes $30

Go to my previous blog to see what they look like

1st place will be given the choice of which prize they want, 2nd gets second choice, and 3rd gets the remaining prize. This way, people get what they want.

Now then, HERE are the rules of the contest:

Create a deck list based upon a theme (Aliens, Amazons, etc.). Try and make the deck as creative as possible, but also make it competitive. You MUST use theme related cards and CANNOT use generic power support. You CAN'T use cards such as: Dark Armed Dragon, Chaos Sorcerer, Solemn Warning, Pot of Duality, etc. This keeps the contest fair for who people who have creative minds but play on a budget.

Decks you cannot use:

-Blackwings

-X-Sabers

-Lightsworn

-Geminis

-Gadgets

-Gladiator Beasts

Record a video of your deck and post it as a video response to my video on Youtube that brought you here. If you have no way of recording, write the deck list in a comment here on my blog. But remember, video responses get priority. So that's the contest. Please be creative guys and have a lot of fun, because I know I'll have fun looking at them. Contest ends next Friday (November 12th).

Absolute Zero Decklist (Regional topping)

1x Elemental Hero Stratos

3x Elemental Hero Alius

3x Gemini Lancer

3x Cyber Dragon

2x Cyber Valley

2x Honest

1x Mobius the Frost Monarch

1x Card Trooper

3x Book of Moon

3x Gemini Spark

2x Miracle Fusion

2x Mystical Space Typhoon

2x Gold Sarcophagus

1x Future Fusion

1x Monster Reborn

1x Dark Hole

1x Giant Trunade

1x Reinforcement of the Army

1x E-Emergency Call

2x Skill Drain

1x Solemn Judgment

1x Torrential Tribute

1x Hero Blast

Deck Boxes for Sale!

Hi guys, so I wasn't gonna do this, but I've gotten WAY too many messages, lol. After you've chosen acolor and how many you want, send me a message on my Youtube channel with your address, at which point I will give you my PayPal information. I am only accepting payment via PayPal simply because it's faster. Shipping will be $1-$2 depending on where you live.

Deck Boxes - 2 for $5

Colors (You CAN mix colors, but it will cost an extra dollar)

- Purple

- Black

- Red

- Teal

- Blue

- Smoke (Sorry guys, this is actually black)

- Clear

Example Pictures:

Each order will come with 2 boxes that hold your main deck, side deck and extra deck. Make sure to follow my blog and subscribe to me on Youtube. Oh, and check out my older blog posts. Thanks guys.

Blackwing Tutorial (Various Match-ups)

So, before I start, I wanna say that I can't legally tell you to CLICK THE ADDS ON THE SIDE. Anyways, on to the blog.

Since Blackwings are one of the best decks in the format right now, I feel as though a tutorial is in order. I'll be teaching you guys how to play the deck and some play scenarios that may occur against certain match-ups.

To blatantly put it, the goal of a Blackwing player is to force your opponent to minus themselves heavily and run out ofoptions while you continue to have "all the outs."

Blackwings are one of the few decks that hasversatile and effective destruction & advantage:

I apologize for how uneven this looks, but I'll start explaining.

Icarus Attack: We all know this card is good, but I commonly see players make the same mistake with this card. If possible, you never want to play this card as a "one-for-one." Usually, Monsters are important in Blackwings, and unless you're blowing up 2 back row because you have a big explosive play next turn, try not to play this card as a one-for-one; try and play it as a chain if possible. When you're opponent tries to bottomless, mirror force, etc., then play it.

Delta Crow: I like this card. Nobody plays Starlight Road anymore, so this card serves a high purpose. There's nothing better than your opponent setting 4 back-row then you Delta Crow at the end phase. Plays like that make me happy. Anyways, play this card, it's a Heavy Storm.

Black Whirlwind: Every time I draw this card, I remember how broken it was to play 3 of these. It's important to play Dualities in this deck so you can get to this card faster. Not a lot of people play MST anymore because they don't like going blind. Because of that, this card will usually survive more than 1 turn and give you a lot of pluses.

Blackwing Shura: Almost every deck has a few floaters in it; Lightsworn, X-Sabers, Zombies, Absolute Zero, etc, and because of that, Shura wrecks. Plus, almost no monster can get over 3,200 (Shura + Kalut). This card usually searches a Vayu for me and sets up for Icarus Attack plays. But it's versatile in the sense that you can search for Gale, Vayu, or Kalut--which in a lot of cases helps me synchro for 6's and 8's.

Dark Armed Dragon: This is probably one of the most underrated cards this format. Wow, I never thought I'd say that DaD is underrated. I think that this card is way too good and any deck that can run him, should. It's a win condition and an extra pain in the ass for my opponent to deal with.

I have the deck list on my channel, but I figure I'd post it here too so you guys can get a visual of it. I don't plan on talking anymore after this--because frankly--I'm really tired, lol. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and here's the deck:

Monsters: 19

3x Blackwing - Sirroco

3x Blackwing - Shura

3x Blackwing - Bora

3x Blackwing - Kalut

3x Blackwing - Blizzard

1x Blackwing - Gale

1x Blackwing - Vayu

1x D.D. Crow

1x Dark Armed Dragon

Spells: 9

3x Book of Moon

2x Pot of Duality

1x Allure of Darkness

1x Black Whirlwind

1x Dark Hole

1x Monster Reborn

Traps: 12

3x Icarus Attack

2x Delta Crow - Anti Reverse

2x Bottomless Trap Hole

2x Solemn Warning

1x Torrential Tribute

1x Royal Oppression

1x Solemn Judgement

Card count, advantage, and running conflicting cards.

This is probably one of my more serious entries, but important nonetheless. Don't get too bored, okay? Stick with me on this one and I'm pretty sure you'll get a lot out of it. Alright, let's get started.

One of the most important components of becoming better in this game has to do with the concept of card count, advantage and the art of running conflicting cards within the same deck. A lot of players try to beat their opponent in the mile instead of trying to win the race.

Some times taking damage from a direct attack is not always a bad thing. For example, you're opponent has a Stratos out on the field; you have a Thunder-King in hand and a face down Dimensional Prison. I know a lot of players who would remove the Stratos from play with D-Prison instead of making the smart play--take damage and run over the Stratos next turn with Thunder King. Although you'll take 1800 damage, you save a valuable resource for later in the game. Damage means less than advantage in the long run if you're able to keep a good position, right? Right.

A player also has to understand when going plus and minus is important. It's okay to minus if it will cause you to break even or plus in the next turn. For example, Book of Moon is obviously an immediate minus. But if it leads to you destroying an opponent's monster via an attack, then it becomes a plus which breaks even.

Pete Navaro's deck is a great example of plus and minus. He ran 3 Volcanic Shell, which allowed him to plus throughout the game and allowed him to be able to minus when it was necessary. When you're up in advantage, minus cards such as Effect Veiler become 10x better for the simple fact that you have room to minus, which is an important concept to understand.

The next thing I want to talk about is the idea of running conflicting cards in the same deck, which is something that a lot of good players know how to do. Obviously, a Lightsworn deck revolves around special summoning, so why would a Lightsworn player play cards like Royal Oppression? Here's why: A good player knows how to set up their field and when to play certain cards. First of all, in a 44 card Lightsworn deck chances are that you will hardly draw the Oppression or it will get milled throughout the duel. However, if you do end up drawing it a good player will first create a powerful position on the field (via special summoning and etc.) then sit on Royal Oppression and wreck their opponent. As long as you know when to play certain cards you should be fine. A BAD player will set Royal Oppression first turn, activate it next turn, then realize how screwed they are because they can't special summon. Don't do that, okay? Not smart, not smart.

Other common decks that run conflicting cards are decks like Gadget Stun. 3 Thunder-Kings are usually staple in this deck; if you guys didn't already know, Thunder-King doesn't let you search with your Gadgets. So why would you play them both in the same deck? The simple fact that TK usually is a 1st turn opener makes it a good card in Gadgets. More than likely it will be removed from the field the next turn anyway and clear the way for your gadgets; if it doesn't get removed then let it act as a beat stick until it's gone. Seems easy--I'd say.

The last thing I want to talk about are cards that instantly create a plus or force your opponent to waste resources to break even. The first and best card that comes to mind is Breaker the Magical Warrior.

Breaker the Magical Warrior ATK/1600 DEF/1000

When this card is Normal Summoned, place 1 Spell Counter on it (max. 1). This card gains 300 ATK for eachSpell Counter on it. You can remove 1 Spell Counter from this card to destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field.

I'm pretty sure I didn't need to display what it does, but I did it just incase someone might not actually know. Plus, I'm way too lazy to copy and paste a picture of the card. But I do digress. Basically, this card is either an instant +1 or breaks even. Haha--breaks even. Get it? I guarantee you that one of two things will happen when you normal summon this card:

A) You're opponent will waste a Bottomless, Book of Moon, Solemn Warning, etc. on him just so they won't go minus in the long run.

B) You will actually get to use his effect and blow up a spell or trap thereby going plus.

BEST case scenario you will run over an opponent's monster THEN blow up a face down and +2 as a result. That's always fun. Most people don't understand that going plus early in the game can almost always determine the winner. Why do you think winning the dice roll matters?

But yeah, that's all for today. I talked a lot and wasn't visually appealing to anyone due to lack of pictures. But hey, my words can be just as entertaining sometimes. Definitely go check out my Youtube channel. I have over 1,000 subs now. Awesome much? I appreciate everyone who has followed me since my measly 300 subscribers. Thanks for reading guys =]

Oh yeah, I should probably post a link to my channel; it might help: www.Youtube.com/tyl3n0lpm