Locals Report - Judgment Day

First up I have to say YAY HUNDERS!!!  It makes me happy to see a deck I love to play get 2nd Place at ARG Montreal.  Looking over the build I must say its very standard with techs to beat the Dragon Ruler matchup.  I also won't be surprised if more people hop on the Hunder bandwagon now the deck has done legit well during a format that decks like it struggle.  Not that it bothers me any.  Stuff like this stopped bothering me long ago when I came to the realization that people will try out something that topped for many reasons;

-It topped a major event
-It's something new in a format that many except the extreme competitive (like Pat Hoban) find to be stale now
-They want to know how it works

My only issue with this is that retarded hipsters will not realize these points and call anyone who plays Hunders after this weekend an uncreative, netdecking piece of shit tryhard.  Fuck you buddy.  Fuck you.

Secondly I didn't actually legit play at locals.  Instead I was offered the chance to be Head Judge which I won't lie is something I've contemplating trying to get into after talking to the guys who ran our last Regionals.  Mind you this is locals, in Regina, during a -45 C winter nightmare.  To say this was small was an understatement.

Anyway the way we do things here at Locals is the judge "plays" against people but anyone who faces him gets 2 wins.  You may remember me mentioning this in one of my reports during the Genex Undine portion of Mermail format.  I decided much like Cameron do bring multiple decks with the intention of changing what I played between rounds and a totally legit Extra Deck.

Turns out it may have been a good idea to play today as I was on FIYAH with each deck, beating my opponents 2-0...even if for all intents and purposes I lost 0-2 against them.  Undefeated yet winless at the same time.  Oh the contradictions!

Round 1 - Assault Rulers vs Gagaga.dek

The guy is your typical ReRe that overextends, has no concept of strategy and runs a handful of destruction cards meaning anything that puts out Stardust has a field day with him.  This went downhill oh so fast.

Round 2 - Herald Agents vs Yugi Reloaded

This was the guy playing Exodia last week so I thought it fitting to use a deck that does largely the same thing; not allowing the opponent to do jack shit at all.  Difference is I still win my games through monster attacks.

Round 3 - Constellar vs Photon

This was where I had to bust out my old Dueling Network Moderator muscles as a couple of things came up that I had to explain like Veiler vs Pollux and how Galaxy-Eyes works.  Not to be mean or anything but...even if the person has been playing Photons for a long while (and admittedly his build has improved since the last time) when it comes to Dragons I know all.

Anyway the first game is ridiculous with me opening triple Pollux and two Algs so I'm forced to make Paladynamos and such.  It ends up being 300 vs 100 LP thanks to a clutch Forbidden Lance and I hang on just long enough to topdeck a Sombres and cowbell for game.  Game 2 I open ALL THE BACKROW and have Trap Hole, Void Trap Hole, TT and much more to stop several summons and such.  Then I start drawing monsters and win.

After that the top cut is announced and Megamonkey defeats Agents with Inzektors to win it.  The tournament went smoothly and I had a few judge calls.  I was able to respond to them quickly and I tried to keep the rounds moving while also throwing down the gauntlet on a few things that at this point have become really fucking dumb.  I enjoyed the experience and look forward to doing this again.  Once the tourney wraps up rades are done and I pick up more DT Constellars (!!) before we head to Robins, play some Vanguard then later on I talk with Monkey about the secret to immortality and other evil stuff.  The universe will be mine in due time after all.  Nah, I'm just kidding.

Or am I?

Locals Report - Fine Tuning

First up I'm sorry I didn't write anything else last month.  The only other Locals I was able to make it to ended terribly for me and I wound up coming home late, tired and not really motivated to blog.
Long story short I took Red-Eyes Dragon Rulers to Locals and god did the deck ever brick out on me.  From losing to bad players to getting smashing grounded by good players the inconsistent nature of the deck was just too difficult to overcome.  Don't give me that garbage of "you just have to believe!  Anything can work if you give it a chance" that hipsters like to say.

Some things just don't work.  Some cards are just flat out AWFUL.  I'm looking at you Red and Blue Six Samurai monsters.  And its not just "oh that's because people don't try to make them-"

WRONG ASSHOLE.   Established decks do NOT play shitty situational cards that are a part of your awesome 5 card OTK that loses to a finger poke because the skilled players are quick to realize that some cards of an archetype completely suck.  Fine deckbuilding comes from being able to realize what theme cards don't work and what non theme cards go with the deck.  Just because you're playing a theme doesn't mean you HAVE to run all of the theme cards.  It's not required.  If you're doing so because "you have to" then you're holding yourself down with a shitty mindset and you'll lose to the people who expand their horizons.   Don't be like these people, dear readers.  You're better than that.

...

I have no idea how I went from talking about a bad tournament experience to shooting on Hipsters for what feels like the bajillionth time.  Let's just say Red-Eyes Rulers looks nice in theory and when it wants to work plays quite well.  However its got issues like the Blue-Eyes build.  Both are bad compared to Standard Rulers which is what I took to this tournament.  Megamonkey was sitting this one out and lent me his Sixth Sense to use.  Would I actually be able to use it?

Round 1 - vs T.G. Madolche (2-1)

I forget a good bulk of this match.  I know two of the three games I lost due to bricking.  It seems that the more techy Dragon Rulers become and the less monsters it runs, the more passive its early game is and tendency to draw outright unplayable hands.  All monsters?  You lose.  All Spells?  Oh you lose that too.

Anyway he's able to build advantage off of Ticket and I can't really do much about it.  The one game I Maxx "C" him and don't draw into the Fader and get OTKed, the other I do Dragon things and the last one I resolve Black Rose and leave him topdecking which is never good against this deck.

Round 2 - vs fuckingfaggotbullshitstallretardsolitarefest...I mean Exodia (2-1)

I hate alternate win condition decks.  I always have and always will.  Game 1 he hits all of the draw cards and sadly the stall cards needed to get all 5 pieces.  I'm talking Threatening Roar and Waboku for 6 straight turns.  Do you know how frustrating it is not being able to do jackshit during your turn?  People complain about lockdown cards and guess what?  Alt Win decks basically do the same thing.  They lock you out of your turns and your ability to play a normal game of Yu-Gi-Oh!  Not only that but they do it s-l-o-w-l-y.

I honestly would have much rather preferred Dark Hole and Power Bond into Cyber Twin for game.  OTKs > Alt Win decks.

Game 2 goes much more to my favour thanks to Star Eater's ability to not be Swift Scarecrow'd and all that jazz.  The critical moment comes to when while under Reckless Greed he goes off with a 3 card chain with Accumulated Fortune at the end;

OBJECTION!

I've got Trap Stun.  GG.

Game 3 was basically Star Eater beats as he burns his Battle Faders early and runs out of steam.

Round 3 - vs Mecha Phantom Beast Karakuri (2-1)

This one was crazy and derpy.  The one game had him going completely the hell off against my set monster and being able to power past my Phoenix Wing Wind Blast to put lethal damage on board.  Unfortunately for him that set was a Fossil Dyna that completely annihilated his board and won me the game.

Oh yes, I main deck Dyna now.  Why run Vanity's Emptiness when you can have it on legs while being food for Redox?

The other game has him going off again and being unable to kill me, but I can't do anything to his board and get Cowboy'd.  Then in the last game I'm forced to go out of my way to answer a Dracossack + Power Tool Dragon with United We Stand on it play.  I do so by clearing the sack, taking Power Tool with Big Eye and using Sacred Sword to banish it for the draw 2.  I'm pretty sure I also flipped Return at some point.

Top 4 - vs 3 Axis Fire Fist (2-0)

I opened kind of weird in the first game and maybe misplayed?  I remember leaving myself with a Tidal without protection and I get Blader'd but play out of it with Blaster popping and some other things.  Fire Fist Swallow is interesting to deal with but even with these new tricks the deck can't compete with Dragons without heavy siding and he didn't get to his anti Dragon cards.

Final - vs Bujin (2-0)

This was big.  I got knocked out the last tournament by this deck opening extremely anti Dragon (Kaiser Colosseum and Fossil Dyna) and me opening piss poor game 3.  I dedicated several cards in my side to this matchup as it's going to be very relevant next format.

Mind you this is all moot as I flipped Return in both games, with the second duel having a Sixth Sense that resulted in me drawing 6.  I didn't JUST play it however as I was low on life in both games and could not afford to have him Honest or even Crane me.  I spent a few turns trying to get the Yamato off the field or having a way around it.  Game 1 was via my spells and traps while Game 2 was with my sided in Exploder Dragon and Smashing Grounds.  The Return play in Game 2 ended with Exploder and enough damage on board to OTK him.

After the tourney I pick up several card needed to build Harpies, Mecha Phantom Beasts, Photon and Bujin.  I may not care for the deck currently but the next format may well be a three way contest between Noble Knights, Bujin and Gravekeepers.  I'd play NKs but well...Medraut.  Fuck Gravekeepers.

Props
-Beating Exodia.  Fuck that deck.
-Fossil Dyna.  He's an extremely good Meta call right now.  Honestly because of him I could see Battle Fader being dropped for Scarecrow again BECAUSE of Dyna.  It's very possible to set up a Return play that has him coming out.
-Taking Power Tool Dragon and using Sword to get rid of it.  That was some crazy shit right there.
-Beating Bujin.

Slops
-Losing a game to Exodia.  Fuck that deck.
-Bricking.  I should honestly name my deck Xbox 360.
-Return and Sixth Sense sacking.