Indianapolis, Indiana
August 15-16, 2009
We’re about to start our third day in what’s famously known as The Best Four Days in Gaming! High-level Dueling has returned to America’s biggest – Gen Con Indianapolis – and 466 Duelists have gathered here at the Indianapolis Convention Center to throw down in the last SHONEN JUMP Championship under the current Forbidden & Limited List. With the Advanced Format changing over on September 1st, this may be the last time we see Synchro Cat, Blackwings, Gladiator Beasts, and Lightsworn clash in their current incarnations.
Conventional wisdom today is that the established Decks from the last 6 months will again dominate the field, and that two things will determine who heads to Day 2 to play in the Top 16: skill and practice with the established Decks, and innovations to these venerable archetypes. There are tons of experienced players throwing new spins on established Decks.
Some of the world’s greatest Duelists are in attendance here today. Former U.S. & Canadian National Champions like Charles Easton, Lazaro Bellido, Calvin Tsang, and Max Suffridge are here to try and claim another title. Prior SHONEN JUMP Champions like Paul Levitin, Cesar Gonzalez, Bobby Chambers, and Andrew Fredella are here to try and do the same thing – there are more SHONEN JUMP Champs on the floor than we can count at the moment.
This 4-day convention weekend’s been huge so far. The new tournament participation pack, Turbo Pack – Booster One – made its debut yesterday, unleashing Rare “Crush Card Virus,” Super Rares like “Black Whirlwind” and “Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior,” Ultra Rare “Doomcaliber Knight,” and even an Ultimate Rare version of “Judgment Dragon”! The Pegasus League Deck Challenge and Duelist League events gave competitors a taste of two new programs that are also available at your local store, and the Go for the Gold tournament challenged Duelists to test their skills in sealed pack play. Over a dozen Regional Qualifiers have been held so far, and countless Duelists have walked away with the brand new Win-A-Mat prize: the Jack Atlas and “Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode” playmat.
The action has been hot so far, but it’s all about to get hotter as we count down the minutes to the main event! Welcome to The Best Four Days in Dueling. Welcome, to SHONEN JUMP Championship Indianapolis!
