Hundred Apple dragon yugioh. OCG 2023.01 Metagame Report #4, #5

OCG 2023.01 Metagame Report #4, #5

This report will tabulate 155 top-performing decks from 38 tournaments that were held in Japan, China Mainland, South Korea and Vietnam during 21 – 29 January 2023.

Update: Revised with additional data from “Battle City Vietnam 2023 XGOD”.

Metagame Breakdown

Tearlaments

Raito (ライト) went 7-1 and finished 1st in “12th Tulio CS @ Nabe” which had 32 participants, went 6-1 and finished 1st in “5th Tulio CS @ Nabe 2v2 Team Tournament” which had 15 teams (30 participants), and went 6-1 and finished 2nd in “123rd Next Play CS” which had 29 participants.

Bystial becomes a top contender deck and the amount of Bystial monsters being played has greatly increased in the metagame, resulting in Triple Tactics Talent and Triple Tactics Thrust making a return to the Main Deck and Side Deck.

Purrely is also another top contender, and Xyz Encore in the Side Deck is excellent for removing Purrely Xyz Monsters. Xyz Encore is a Quick-Play Spell and can be activate right off in your Draw Phase, effectively preventing the opponent from drawing off Purrely Sleepy Memory. Xyz Encore could also be used on Expurrely Noir with 5 or more Xyz Materials. Xyz Encore‘s “detach all Xyz Materials from it” is not treated as an effect that affects monsters, allowing it to detach Expurrely Noir‘s Xyz Materials. in turn causing Expurrely Noir “unaffected by your opponent’s activated effects while it has 5 or more materials” effect to stop applying. Since Expurrely Noir no longer has the effect that makes it unaffected by your opponent’s activated effects, it would be returned to the Extra Deck, and monsters among the detached Xyz Materials would be Special Summoned from the graveyard to the opponent’s field. The relevant ruling is If “Xyz Encore” was activated by targeting a “Number 86: Heroic Champion – Rhongomyniad” with 3 or more Xyz Materials and has its “ 3 or more: Unaffected by other card effects.” applied, how will it resolve?

Purrely

Shirax (しらっくす) went 8-1 and finished 1st in “RAM Festival” which had 100 participants, and went 5-0-1 and finished 1st in “5th Tulio CS @ Nabe 2v2 Team Tournament” which had 15 teams (30 participants).

Purrely has started optimizing their Extra Deck, reducing the Purrely Xyz Monsters to make space for more utility monsters. Protector of The Agents – Moon and Sky Striker Ace – Azalea provide useful removal effects against the opponent’s Spell/Trap. Protector of The Agents – Moon tributes itself for the cost of activating its effect, allowing it to be used for destroying the opponent’s Skill Drain.

Lyrilusc – Recital Starling effect is used to add D.D. Crow from deck to hand. Besides being able to stop Tearlaments monster graveyard effect, D.D. Crow could also be used in the Purrely mirror match, by chaining to the opponent’s Purrelyly effect to banish the targeted Purrely Quick-Play Spell and stop the Xyz Summon.

Tri-Brigade

Inco (インコ) went 6-0-1 (excluding 1 bye) and finished 1st in “169th Taiyo CS” which had 34 participants.

There is an increase of Combo decks in the metagame with the rise of Spright Bystial, P.U.N.K. Bystial, Superheavy Samurai, and various other decks that uses the Superheavy Samurai package, making Dark Ruler No a reasonable inclusion in the Main Deck.

Anti-Spell Fragrance in the Side Deck could be used against Superheavy Samurai, stopping Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi from being activated as a Pendulum Spell. Anti-Spell Fragrance is also useful for preventing the opponent from activating Dark Ruler No

Bystial

shinra went 6-1-1 and finished 1st in “20th YCCS in Chiba” which had 47 participants.

The Bystial monsters in the Main Deck are Level 6 or Level 8, and they would need a Level 2 Tuner to Synchro Summon Level 8 or Level 10 Synchro Monsters. Since the deck is running a number of Level 2 Tuner monsters, Spright becomes a good package to run for their Level 2 synergy.

A combo with Spright is to Normal Summon Ringowurm the Hundred Apple Dragon and then Special Summon Spright Blue, which would fetch Spright Jet. Ringowurm the Hundred Apple Dragon and Spright Blue would be used to Synchro Summon Cupid Pitch, which would increase its Level by 2 to Level 6. Ringowurm the Hundred Apple Dragon graveyard effect could then be activated to Special Summon 1 “Hundred Apple Token”. Cupid Pitch and “Hundred Apple Token” would be used to Synchro Summon Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon. Cupid Pitch effect would add Caligo Claw Crow from deck to hand, then Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon effect would excavate the top 5 cards of the deck. Since the DARK Attribute Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon is on field, Caligo Claw Crow could be Special Summoned, and together they would be used to Link Summon Spright Sprind. Spright Sprind effect would send Shinobi Necro from deck to graveyard. Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon would Special Summon itself from the graveyard by banishing Cupid Pitch and Shinobi Necro from the graveyard. Shinobi Necro effect would Special Summon itself from banished, then together with Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon, they could be used to Synchro Summon Bystial Dis Pater.

Even when opening with no Bystial monsters, using just a Spright monster and a Level 2 Tuner monster provided a way to go into Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon to dig for them. Gigantic Spright and Spright Starter are only used towards the end of the combo to finish with Spright Elf and I:P Masquerena.

Ready Fusion could Special Summon Allvain the Essence of Vanity a Level 2 Tuner Fusion Monster if you opened with a hand of Bystial monsters or Spright monsters, or Special Summon Soul Hunter a Level 6 non-Tuner Fusion Monster if you opened with hand of Level 2 Tuner monsters. The Fusion Monster Special Summoned by Ready Fusion is also a non-Effect Monster, allowing Ringowurm the Hundred Apple Dragon to be Special Summoned from hand.

Conclusion

Tearlaments takes the lead, with Purrely, Tri-Brigade and Bystial trailing behind.

Droll Lock Bird and Dark Ruler No are being played in the Main Deck or Side Deck, against increasing Combo decks in the metagame.

If you enjoyed these Weekly Metagame Reports, consider supporting Road of the King on Patreon. Cheers!

• 2023-01-29 | 5th Tulio CS @ Nabe 2v2 Team Tournament
• 2023-01-29 | 20th YCCS in Chiba
• 2023-01-29 | 169th Taiyo CS
• 2023-01-29 | 1923CS 3v3 Team Tournament
• 2023-01-29 | Battle City Vietnam 2023 XGOD
• 2023-01-28 | 12th Tulio CS @ Nabe
• 2023-01-28 | 168th Taiyo CS (2v2 Team Tournament)
• 2023-01-28 | Satisfaction Cards Tournament
• 2023-01-28 | Draw CS
• 2023-01-27 | Cosmos TCG Ranking Tournament
• 2023-01-27 | Xuzhou Yu-Gi-Oh Winter Break Tournament
• 2023-01-27 | Champion Cards Annual Tournament
• 2023-01-27 | Inspiration Code Cards Store Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Feixue Cards Store Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Urumqi New Year Cup
• 2023-01-26 | Mengqi Cards Store Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Bingo Cards Store Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Zengcheng Yu-Gi-Oh Annual Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Fangzhou Cards Weekly Tournament
• 2023-01-26 | Huizhou Yu-Gi-Oh Annual Tournament (1st | 2nd | 3 – 4th: A, B)
• 2023-01-25 | 2023 Maoming Annual Tournament
• 2023-01-25 | Inspiration Code Cards New Spring Special Tournament
• 2023-01-25 | Wowo Cards Special Tournament
• 2023-01-25 | Xingzhilanyi Annual Tournament
• 2023-01-25 | Yuyao Cixi League Tournament
• 2023-01-25 | Longzhixingchen Student Cup
• 2023-01-25 | Longzhixingchen 2v2 Team Tournament
• 2023-01-24 | Cosmos TCG Spring Festival Tournament
• 2023-01-24 | Chongfeng Cards Annual Tournament
• 2023-01-24 | New Year 1923 CS Individual Tournament
• 2023-01-23 | Card Square Tournament with 1923 (1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th)
• 2023-01-22 | 9th Shuto CS (1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th)
• 2023-01-22 | 14th Lotus Cup (1st: A, B, C | 2nd: A, B, C)
• 2023-01-22 | RAM Festival
• 2023-01-22 | 167th Taiyo CS
• 2023-01-21 | 4th Yosuga CS
• 2023-01-21 | 166th Taiyo CS (2v2 Team Tournament)
• 2023-01-21 | Yushin Cup with MSC (1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th)

The Best Yu-Gi-Oh Cards: Cyberstorm Access!

In the beginning of May, the newest set in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game will be released! Konami is releasing new cards for a series of fan-favorite decks and archetypes in this set. Decks all the way from Branded and Kashtira to Superheavy Samurai will be getting new cards here. A few new decks will show up as well, such as Manadome and Nemleria. Additionally, this is the last set of Series 11, which started in Rise of the Duelist.

Cyberstorm Access will shake up the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Below are five cards that will have the most impact, as well as one honorable mention. As official translations release, names for the cards below may change.

Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi

Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi creates a new FTK (First Turn Kill) deck.

Going into Cyberstorm Access, the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game is likely to see a resurgence of powerful combo decks, as may very well be the theme of the set as a whole. The new support here gives new life to decks that want to go off as early as turn 1. One unexpected deck among these has been Superheavy Samurai. For the vast majority of this deck’s lifespan, it has been a joke deck, the kind of strategy you would run for some laughs with the boys. over, being unable to play Spell and Trap cards is a gigantic restriction, and there hasn’t been a compelling reason to put up with that restriction over playing anything else.

This changes with the introduction of Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi. The introduction of Wakaushi gives this deck exactly the kind of card that it sorely needed, a tuner that does not take up the Normal Summon, while also getting more of your monsters out of the deck and into play. Sign me up! Being a Pendulum Monster is equally important, as it means that it has synergies with many of the recent Superheavy Samurai cards.

This card enables a powerful FTK (First Turn Kill) combo, that is alarmingly consistent. As with most FTK combos, this folds to any amount of interruption. But if this strategy is uninterrupted, it will crush any unsuspecting opponent. Expect to see plenty of this deck in the early weeks of Cyberstorm Access‘s release, however I personally expect to see it fall off in usage over time, as the surprise factor wears off.

Chaos Angel

Chaos Angel is easy to use and hard to overcome.

Cyberstorm Access has more than one contender for the best generic level 10 Synchro Monster in the game. And that’s saying a lot, as we have had Baronne de Fleur for some time now. And while I am of the opinion that overall, Baronne is still superior as a defensive tool, the offensive power of Chaos Angel is difficult to overstate. Firstly, it is extremely flexible in terms of what you need to use to bring it out. Instead of using a Tuner, you can just use a Light or Dark monster, which opens it up for being played in a much larger pool of decks.

Furthermore, it has a powerful effect on summon, that banishes a card on the field. This happens every time that it is summoned, which includes when it is brought back by card effects. The most powerful part of this card is that none of its effects, including the banish, are once per turn. If players can find a way to bring this thing in and out of play with ease, Chaos Angel can become oppressive to deal with.

Many decks exist that could already play this, such as P.U.N.K Therion, and I expect those decks to do so. I’m not sure if it will make any decks come back into the metagame on its own, but we’ll see. It really depends on how easy it is to summon this card. Speaking of that…

Ringowurm, the Hundred Apple Dragon

Ringowurm is here to make your Synchro-climbing dreams come true.

Ringowurm, the Hundred Apple Dragon is amazing. This kind of card would have never existed before the ban of Crystron Halqifibrax. It’s a relatively generic tuner monster that can summon itself if you have a non-effect monster, such as a token, on the field already. And then, after you use it as material to Synchro summon something, you can get a small token. This token in particular is useful, as you can use it as a Tuner, even though it is not one.

Right away this card is, at worst, two free link materials for any Link-2 monster. In a great number of decks, however, this card is even more valuable than that. Firstly, for decks that can create tokens with any amount of ease, this card is an easy way to climb up any Synchro ladder. The most common tokens are level 4, produced by cards like Rite of Aramesir. In combination with these, Ringowurm allows the player to easily produce Level 10 Synchro monsters like the aforementioned Chaos Angel and Baronne de Fleur.

The ability to summon powerful Synchro monsters with very low resource commitment is very impactful. I predict that this card will see play, in tandem with the various monsters it creates, in a wide variety of decks. It will open up a lot of interesting experimentation as well, which I look forward to seeing.

Branded

Albion, the Incandescent Dragon is the newest Albaz Fusion.

The Branded deck, which consists of cards mostly found in the Bystial, Despia, and Branded archetypes, got a lot of cards in Cyberstorm Access. Alone, they might not have made the list. But together, they are a boost to arguably the best deck in the game right now. The highest impact cards here will be their new Fusion monster and their new Synchro monster. However, I am of the opinion that all these cards have applications in the deck.

Albion, the Incandescent Dragon is an incredible boss monster and recursion tool in one card. Immune to Super Polymerization and able to bring Albaz back with a target for its effect? Amazing. Plus, it has a potent graveyard effect that can crush opposing boards to bring itself back. The Branded extra deck has become a bit on the tight side lately, but this card will be played.

The new Synchro monster for the deck, Bystial Dis Pater, is also amazing and very easy to summon. Both the already-played Cartesia and newly incoming Bystial Aluber can mix with any of the Bystial monsters, in order to make it. And once it’s out, it rewards you for having banished cards by summoning them and disrupting your opponent with them.

The new trap card, Blazing Branded King, is a one-turn Skill Drain with recursion. The new spellcaster, Quem the Virtuous, is an easy way to get Albaz in the graveyard – as well as a way to get him back. Even the level 12 synchro, Despian Luluwalilith, will likely see play in some builds.

This may be the last set of Branded support, but even if it is, this is one amazing last group of cards for the deck.

Honorable Mention: Vicious Astroud

Vicious Astroud could be more than meets the eye.

This is speculation, and mostly based on rumblings that I have heard. Vicious Astroud is a very interesting card, being a fusion of Visas Starfrost and a monster with specific stats. It isn’t particularly overwhelming as a card, essentially boiling down to a big beat stick with removal. However, the fact that it is a fusion monster with Visas Starfrost specifically, means that it may have applications in Tearlaments.

Tearlaments is a deck that was hit pretty hard by the most recent Forbidden and Limited List. Players have been brewing up new versions of the deck, but none have made an impact yet. There have been rumblings of a build centered around Visas, and his new fusion, that might just do the trick. I don’t know whether that is true or not, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Time-Rending Morganite

Time-Rending Morganite could be a card that changes the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game completely.

Time-Rending Morganite does a lot, so let’s go over its effects first. This Spell card gives you an additional draw during your Draw phase, and an additional Normal summon during your main phase, for the rest of the game. This comes at the cost of restricting you from using the effects of monsters in your hand. Additionally, you can banish it from the graveyard and discard a second copy of it, to stop your opponent from activating effects when you Normal Summon a monster. Catch all of that? Good.

Time-Rending Morganite breaks the fundamental rules of the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. A second normal summon is insanely powerful, but even more important than that is a bonus draw during the Draw phase. Having that extra resource is huge, and will allow some decks to grind their opponents into dust. Many monsters with effects that trigger on a Normal Summon are not once per turn, as usually, you can only Normal Summon once per turn anyway. With Morganite, those effects can now be used twice, to devastating effect. Plus, the effect in the graveyard protects those effects and ensures your opponent is left helpless before them.

All of these being on one card indicates that we are discussing one powerful card. And you would be right!

But the OCG…?

Maxx C puts all cards into a different context, just by being present.

One important factor when talking about Time-Rending Morganite is how it performed in the OCG or Official Card Game. In this Japanese version of the game, this card already exists, and did not perform particularly well. However, the OCG is a different format, dominated by one card in particular – Maxx C. This card has an unreasonably powerful effect in the hand, that sometimes ends turns or duels as a whole. The restriction on effects in the hand is untenable there, because you need to have the ability to use Maxx C, or you’re out of luck. You also need other effects in the hand, to capitalize off of the Maxx C that you have to play.

In the Trading Card Game or TCG, Maxx C has been banned for a long time now. As a result of that difference between the two regions, there have been many formats where in-hand effects weren’t played at all. In the current format, for example, many decks are foregoing them in favor of board-breakers like Lightning Storm or Evenly Matched.

I predict that not only will this card see a ton of play in the TCG once Cyberstorm Access launches, but that it will shape the metagame. Decks that make plays off of their Normal Summon or use a lot of traps will make this card work. importantly it will bring decks back into the metagame that have not seen play in a long time.

In Conclusion…

Cyberstorm Access is going to be very impactful, and make changes to the way we play the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. The last few sets, Photon Hypernova and Darkwing Blast were also impactful, and I think this may be just as much so if not even more. This set will make a lot of new decks appear, while also powering up a few of the already prominent decks.

Cyberstorm Access releases on May 5th, 2023!