The Yu-Gi-Oh Cwarantine Series
Hey, everybody, Joseph Rothschild here, AKA MBT - and I desperately hope that you read this in my voice.
The world has been through a lot of late. We weren’t doing so hot to begin with, either - which makes the ongoing global pandemic (with the exception of Montenegro) that much more frightening. For many, the mandatory quarantine and unprecedented unemployment has exacerbated the feelings of alienation they were experiencing already - and for many, they are currently without the methods of escape they enjoyed before the world shut down. Alongside the shuttering of most businesses, any hobby that requires in-person gathering has been halted for weeks - if not months.
Unfortunately, this includes Yugioh. Nearly every event up to the WCQ got cancelled - and I don’t have very high hopes for nationals. For Yugists, this couldn’t have come at a worse time - Duel Overload, the most hyped set in recent memory, was seconds from shipped, and Master Rule 5 was about to take effect. To do my part filling the upcoming chasm of tournament results, I hosted a 6-round swiss tournament with top cut on March 22nd, 2020.
These are the results from that tournament!
Deck Breakdown
I hadn’t expected such a rapid response and had to cut entries off at 64. Because of that, take total entry numbers with a grain of salt - I don’t think Trains is more powerful than SPYRAL pre-April 1st F&L, for example. Despite this, it is clear that the deck to beat before the ban of Lunalight Tiger was Lunalight.
Above is Sir Emanon’s list - well known for his instructional guides on how to play Lunalight. He came prepared with everything I expected to see out of Duel Overload - Artifact Dagda, Raidraptor- Wise Strix, and of course, Mystic Mine.
Unfortunately, not a single Lunalight deck made it out of swiss. Instead, the Top 8 decks were all unique- each boasting radically different gameplans, many I hadn’t expected at all.
Top 8 Decklists
1st Place - Giant Skyhawk's Paleozoic Dinosaur
Giant Skyhawk is no stranger to Dinosaur - but this build certainly caught me by surprise. Unlike other combo-oriented takes on Dinosaur, this build aimed to dig deep into the pool of Lost World enablers. The Paleozoic Marella and Survival's End stuck out for me as well as his opponents.
2nd Place - Luscious Mustard's Mermail
Luscious Mustard confirmed what we had all supposed - allowing the most consistent Moulinglacia the Elemental Lords deck access to additional discard tools in Desert Locusts was probably a mistake. This list will only improve under the Master Rule revision - netting an additional Deep Sea Diva and more consistent access to Bahamut Shark.
3rd Place - samksoon321's Mekk-Knight Invoked
Another Crystron Halqifibrax deck! Mekk-Knight Invoked is a deck that’s incredibly rewarding for players who are practiced in the deck, and samksoon321 took advantage of an untested field of untuned decks by, well, just being better than their opponents.
4th Place - PeepsYGO on Trains
PeepsYGO has been playing Trains long enough to qualify for a union job as a conductor. He’s playing the Infinitrack engine as well, which was instrumental in giving him the link material to push through powerful turn one setups.
5th-8th Place - Lt. Labcoat on Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon
The breakout archetype from the tournament, Lt. Labcoat admitted to throwing this list together in the ten minutes before the tournament began. It aims to summon - though Halqifibrax, of course - Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon with two Deskbot 001 in the GY, then synchro summon its way to victory. He did just that - all the way to Top 8, where a disconnect robbed him of prizing.
5th-8th Place - Towlie on Sky Striker Link
With a list that reeks of week one testing, Towlie proved the doubters wrong and topped with this build. By including enough cards to consistently make it to Topologic Zeroboros as well as the blind second options that have been stealing games all format, he was able to flex the Sky Strikers as link fodder, flex their removal spells as two-for-ones, and coast to top cut with three Toon Table of Contents.
5th-8th Place - fearbandit on Giant Ball Park
I know, I was shocked, too. fearbandit’s Giant Ball Park list remains one of the spiciest amalgamations of 42 cards I have ever seen. They rode Shiny Black “C” Squadder to a Top 8 finish, even taking a game off of the champion in the process.
5th-8th Place - Dazkhan on SPYRAL
And what would a pre-April F&L tournament be without SPYRAL representation? Dazkhan gave the deck one last hurrah, implementing the feared Union Carrier combo into the list. Unfortunately, Dragon-Buster Destruction Sword wasn’t enough to make it out of the Top 8 match.
Lessons Learned
I’ve certainly learned a lot from hosting a live tournament. Firstly, I learned running anything with more than 16 people with one TO/caster is insane - I’ll definitely be increasing the staff (as well as the entry cap) in the future. Secondly, I learned both from the feedback from participants as well as the hunger for a followup that, in times of crisis, finding simple enjoyment is key. In the midst of uncertainty, sometimes it is the most mundane things that anchor us.
A sincere thank you to all who entered. The next Yu-Gi-Oh Cwarantine Series will take place Saturday, April 4th at 11AM EST. The tournament filled up already, but tune in for coverage on https://www.twitch.tv/mbtyugioh this Saturday!
