Yu-Gi-Oh Meta Analysis Week 3

By Froylan Carreno

Things have started slowing down since the ban list was revealed on September 1st. Everyone is getting settled in to the new format like a comfy bed. No one is really upset about it anymore -- Except those few non-conformists who live only to get angry about something. I have personally not been dueling in real life often this week, as much as I have been on DN. There's an ever increasing number of duelists using Plant and Dragunity Rulers, which could mean bad news for Dragon Rulers in general come the next ban list in January -- And since Dragon Rulers are consistently topping small tournaments, more people are starting to resume the nasty habit of "netdecking", which is essentially stealing a complete deck profile from the internet, creating it in real life, and using it as your own. It's the Yu-Gi-Oh equivalent of plagiarism.

Netdecking is frowned upon, but most players think they can avoid the discrimination by simply taking out a card two and replacing them with others. I personally abhor netdeckers because it rips any creative opportunity in a deck. However there is a difference between straight netdecking, and looking up a deck video to see what basic cards you need to put in your deck to make it function. I personally have only netdecked once or twice, and only to try out a deck on DN to see if it was worthwhile to make in real life.

Lately on DN, I have been testing out a Blackwing deck which has yielded mostly positive results -- And enough to make me want to make the deck in real life. I already have about half the cards you need to make the deck, and the rest would not be too expensive to obtain. The deck is powerful now since it was actually aided by the ban list, in which it returned to 3 one of the decks most potent Spell Card, Black Whirlwind. This Spell Card allows you to search a "Blackwing" monster from your deck to your hand when you Normal Summon a "Blackwing" monster. It's a good card but still not nearly as good as other similiar cards like "Wind-Up Factory." Just now, I lost to a "Lightsworn" deck vs. my Blackwings on DN, and though he basically destroyed me I did learn some areas in my deck that could use some improvement. Next week, I will be more or less focusing on my pet peeves in the game, and of course, any new news that might arise.