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The Buzz Heading Into Day 1
Here’s the scoop on the “buzz” heading into Day 1 of the U.S. Championship. There seems to be a lot of talk about how Deck construction and what kind of Deck you’re playing against is going to be the main factor. This will essentially be a shift in the skills that are most rewarded at the top levels of competition. While tactics and actual on-table decision-making have been seen as the most important skills in the past, two factors are currently more important: Deck building and match-ups.
Great Deck builders with keen strategic insight seem to be winning a lot lately. Nowhere was that more evident than the Canadian National Championship two weeks ago, where we saw some great Deck builders take established Deck types to all new levels. At the Canadian Championship we saw new builds of four major Deck types in the Top 8: Blackwings, Lightsworn, Synchro Cat, and Gladiator Beasts.
The Blackwing Battle
First up, we saw two different takes on Blackwings battle it out all day long, as aggressive-minded competitors clashed with more conservative, slower builds. The defining card that divided those two approaches was “Reckless Greed.” Played by Top 8 competitor Tariq Patel, the Reckless build was extremely good at drawing cards to create big combos, filtering through them with “Allure of Darkness.” This slower build had an obvious advantage when it could go first, and saw “Black Whirlwind” more consistently than other versions. Patel played 13 Traps total to accomplish his strategy.
But only one Duelist took that Deck to the Top 8, while two Blackwing Decks without “Reckless Greed” made the cut. Matt Peddle and Michael McTavish each made the final rounds of the tournament, running a couple fewer Trap Cards than Tariq Patel. Peddle’s lineup was decisively more aggressive, running just 10 Traps – all of them monster destruction. Peddle’s build was the most aggressive Blackwing Deck to make Top 8 in Toronto. McTavish’s build seemed like a compromise between Peddle’s build and Patel’s. He ran 11 Traps, but included 3 copies of “Threatening Roar” in his Main Deck.
If we were to judge these Decks against those played in recent Regional Qualifiers, all three of these Decks could have been considered “Trap heavy.” But moving forward, expect Trap lineups like the following to be the norm even for aggressive Blackwing players. Here are all three Top 8 Trap lineups side by side so you can see the similarities, and the differences.
| Matt Peddle Trap Cards |
Michael McTavish Trap Cards |
Tariq Patel Trap Cards |
3 Solemn Judgment 1 Mirror Force |
3 Solemn Judgment 3 Threatening Roar |
3 Solemn Judgment 1 Mirror Force |
Note the cards that all of these Decks played. All three Duelists played 3 copies of “Solemn Judgment,” 2 copies of “Icarus Attack,” and one copy of “Torrential Tribute.” Three of them maxed out on “Bottomless Trap Hole,” while McTavish ran only 2 copies.
As far as differences, Matt Peddle ran “Mirror Force,” while McTavish opted to play 3 “Threatening Roar” instead. Patel’s Deck ran both “Mirror Force” AND a single “Threatening Roar,” alongside his 3 “Reckless Greed.”
It’s food for thought for Blackwing Duelists. The overall strategy has slowed a bit since its turbo-speed debut, and while there are still big differences between successful builds, we’re seeing a general trend towards control-oriented strategies. We can expect to see that trend grow here today.
A New Step For Lightsworn
The next trend-setting Deck came from 3rd place finisher Curtis Bowles, who narrowly lost to the eventual Champion Charles Easton in the Top 4. Bowles played one of the best Lightsworn Decks we’ve ever seen in a major competition, breaking old taboos to take the Deck in new directions. His secret? A 40 card version of Lightsworn that defied the old, conventional wisdom of “bigger is better.” While the previously successful Lightsworn Decks from SHONEN JUMP Championships ran anywhere from 42 to 45 cards, Bowles opted for consistency over longevity, running 40 cards instead.
This was a big deal, because it meant his opening hands would be as strong as possible. With just 40 cards in his Deck he maximized his chances of opening a Duel with “Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Solar Recharge,” or “Honest.” Coupled with “Beckoning Light,” Bowles was able to use and then reuse his biggest, baddest LIGHT monsters in match after match.
The Real Cat’s Meow
Charles Easton came out of nowhere to capture the Canadian National Championship with Synchro Cat, and while Easton has only begun to build his reputation, his Deck building skills were obvious. “Gravekeeper’s Spy” was a big point of distinction between Synchro Cat players: Main Decking copies of the card meant easy access to free Synchro Material fodder thanks to the Spy’s effect, but it also meant weakness if your opponent had “Mind Control.”
Instead of Main Decking “Gravekeeper’s Spy” and then siding it out, he kept his copies Side Decked and rotated them in – waiting until he knew it was a safe play to make. Nobody seemed to see this coming, and it gave Easton a distinct advantage. He avoided a lot of trouble in Duel 1, but still held a powerful option in reserve for Duels 2 and 3 of each of his matches. Since Easton won the National title we can definitely expect this to be emulated here today.
Gladiators Make a Comeback
Solemn Judgment has been a standby staple of Gladiator Beasts for over a year now, but Top 8 finisher Lincoln Lindo didn’t run it. Instead, he ran a tremendous number of chainable effects, including 3 copies of “Waboku” and 2 copies of “Enemy Controller,” giving him tremendous resilience in the Synchro Cat matchup.
His biggest innovation was also the most obvious: Lindo ran 2 copies each of “Summoner Monk,” “Rescue Cat,” and “X-Saber Airbellum” to bring Synchro Monsters to the Gladiator Beast archetype. Lindo was one of a handful of Gladiator Beast Duelists who chose to run this tech, and his success above all others sends a clear message about the future of the archetype. Despite being written off by many over the past months, Gladiator Beasts are still running strong.
Jason Grabher-Meyer
