January ensured that Yu-Gi-Oh! in 2018 started strongly. There were several great international and regional events which have received higher numbers than ever before. 

Recent Events

YCS Melbourne welcomed duelists from all over the world and was streamed via Twitch and YouTube to all those who couldn’t make it but wanted to be part of the action. 652 players came but ultimately it was won by Ryan Levine from the USA. Coverage for the event can be found here.

UK Open 2 became the largest WCQ in UK history with 277 players coming to EXP Leisure in London to win some great prizes. While many around the world watched on Twitch, duelists from Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and even Australia made the journey to London to be part of the action. Thanks to the OTS points system, over 70 stores received points for their local players attending and over 550 points have been distributed!! There did have to be a winner and after 9 rounds its was Timothy Cox who won it all and also the 50 bonus OTS points for his locals Mad For Miniatures.

Future Events

Season 3 WCQs are well under way with stores hosting regionals for players far and wide.

YCS Bochum is on the 24^th February and with all the attention on the updated Forbidden and Limited List which is receiving fantastic feedback, this promises to be a very popular event. The event will also be streamed on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! Twitch and YouTube channels.

The Lost Art Promotion will be underway from 1^st March and will see countless players running to their local OTS to get their hands on these extremely limited promotional cards. The promotion begins with a card that has just been allowed back into play Monster Reborn! 

In the Meta

The updated forbidden and limited list comes into effect on 05/02/18 and will have a dramatic effect on the meta and what decks will be played as will the latest cards from ‘Extreme Force’

Spyral

With the release of ‘Circuit Break’ Spyral became the go to deck winning multiple YCS’ back to back. In the recent Forbidden and Limited List update, Spyral Resort was limited and has been met with great feedback from players to balance the deck but still keeping its place in the meta. The deck focuses on summoning multiple monsters and utilising the link mechanic thanks to ‘SPYRAL Double Helix.’ Players often prefer to go second and this will only grow with the release of ‘Extreme Force: Special Edition’ which will give players the chance to obtain ‘Psy-Framegear Gamma’ which is a very strong card for that variant.

Trickstar

Trickstar work primarily on winning by using effect damage to lower the opponent’s life points, but also have a secondary tactic of controlling the opponent. Trickstar Light Stage stops your opponent’s activating a set spell and trap card before forcing them to use it during the End Phase or it will be destroyed! Trickstar Reincarnation can banish your opponent’s entire hand, forcing them to draw a new hand, combined with Droll and Lock Bird (which stops your opponent adding cards to hand outside of their draw phase) your opponent starts their next turn with a huge disadvantage! All the Trickstar cards are in Code of the Duelist. Trickstar are all Light Fairy type monsters, meaning that they can utilise old cards like Honest and other Fairy support. Recent version of the deck use cards such as ‘scapegoat’ to make powerful Link Monsters such as the ‘Circuit Break’ cover card ‘Borreload Dragon’

Pendulum Magicians

Pendulum Magicians were by far the hardest hit deck in the latest Forbidden and List update. Double Iris Magician and Performapal Skullcrobat Joker are now Forbidden from tournament use. The deck however is still playable and will most likely be seen in the top tables of events. Players are also happy that most of the main deck is available in the ‘Pendulum Evolution’ Booster pack. “Ghost Ash & Joyous Spring” continues strongly as a staple in decks especially in Pendulum Magician.

Lightsworn

The appearance of this deck in the top cut of Prague took some people by surprise. Ever since ‘That Grass Looks Greener’ was limited, 60 card decks fell from popularity. However, it is expected to rise even higher in popularity since ‘Spyral Resort’ was limited as that exploited some of the deck’s weaknesses. The deck utilises the graveyard and additional summoning for a very strong rank 4 and level 8 synchro engine which can also cause interruption in the opponents turn. It became stronger and more accessible thanks to ‘Duelist Saga’ and ‘Battles of Legend: Light’s Revenge’. For players looking to build the deck that is where they would most commonly look. The most popular card for the deck is ‘Curious, The Lightsworn Dominion’ a very powerful link 3 monster that allows the player to ensure key cards get to the grave and allows the deck more Extra Deck summoning, this is a super rare in ‘Extreme Force.’

True Draco

Following the release of Inspector Boarder in ‘Extreme Force’ some competitive players are looking back at ‘Maximum Crisis’ and the very popular True Draco deck, the deck focuses on tributing continuous spells and traps to summon large monsters to control and wear down their opponents.