Ancient Prophecy cards made a big splash at the previous SHONEN JUMP Championship, and competitive Duelists are still exploring the set for other key cards. There are several gems from the set that could shine in today’s field of Decks. Here are some top picks for new cards that could make a big impact here today.

“Ancient Forest”:

Gladiator Beasts were the most-played Deck at the SHONEN JUMP Championship in Orlando, but they failed to make it to the Top 16. Though they comprised 20% of all Decks used in Day 1 (1% higher than Lightsworn and twice as popular as Blackwings), Gladiators just didn’t make the cut.

Part of the reason may be that Gladiator Beasts in Orlando weren’t using new cards from Ancient Prophecy, while their opponents’ Decks were. Very few Gladiator Beast Duelists ran “Ancient Forest,” and the Deck had a tough time dealing with the stream of big Synchro Monsters generated by “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor.”

“Ancient Forest’s” second effect destroys any monster that attacks, at the end of the Battle Phase. This would have put a ton of pressure on Vayu Duelists, especially those not playing “Burial From a Different Dimension,” by making all their Synchro Monsters into one-shot deals.

“Ancient Forest” is similarly disruptive against Lightsworn. Though Lightsworn monsters like “Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress” and “Celestia, Lightsworn Angel” can destroy “Ancient Forest,” doing so means changing the Deck’s priorities, trading aggression for reactive plays – not good for Lightsworn. Attacking while “Ancient Forest” is on the field would mean losing monsters, and (perhaps more importantly) losing those End Phase effects that send cards to the Graveyard. Slowing the game down like this plays right into the hands of the Gladiator Beasts.

Best of all, Gladiator Beasts are unaffected by “Ancient Forest’s” effect, as they can send themselves back to the Deck before “Ancient Forest” would destroy them.

“Shiny Black “C””:

Another card that was underplayed in Orlando, “Shiny Black “C”” could dominate this tournament today if Vayu Decks occupy a large chunk of the field. This card can be used from the Graveyard to destroy Synchro Monsters as they are Summoned, and Vayu Decks are all about lots and lots of Synchro Monsters.

If “Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honor” Decks occupy the most seats in today’s tournamet, then a Lightsworn Deck with multiple copies of “Shiny Black “C”” in the Main Deck could blow through round after round and take home the title.

“Future Visions”:

This card sends all Normal Summoned monsters 1 turn into the future, so they don’t actually show up until the turn after they’re Summoned. Any Deck that relies on Normal Summons can be ruined by this card. Lightsworn, Chaos Beatdown, and even some Blackwing builds all have major problems when you keep sending their Normal Summons a turn into the future.

Meanwhile, Decks like the Vayu Turbo build Herman Herrera took to the Finals of Orlando often don’t need their Normal Summons. Instead they can Special Summon “Dark Grepher” and then use a variety of Graveyard tricks for the majority of their offense from that point forward.

What a lot of people don’t realize though, and what clinches “Future Visions” as a tournament-level card, is that “Future Visions” is one of those few Field Spell Cards that you can draw multiple copies of without suffering major problems. While many Field Spells become redundant after you activate the first copy, “Future Visions” isn’t. If “Future Visions” is destroyed or otherwise removed from the field, any monster that it has removed from the game stays removed. So if you Summon a monster, activate “Future Visions,” and your opponent Normal Summons next turn, their monster gets removed. Then, you can Set a second copy of “Future Visions” to destroy the first, and your opponent’s monster won’t come back. You’re free to Summon as usual, and you can flip your second Visions later in the turn to banish your opponent’s next Normal Summon.

While this is obviously good in Special Summon Decks, it can even be Side Decked into Beatdown-type Decks when you’re going first. You can play copies of “Terraforming” to search “Future Visions” out, and not worry about drawing dead cards, because extra “Future Visions” become monster removal.

“Fairy Wind”:

One of Herman Herrera’s tech cards in his Side Deck at Orlando was this little gem, which destroys all face-up Spell and Trap Cards. This is effective against powerful Continuous Trap Cards like “Royal Oppression” and “Skill Drain” and Spell Cards like “Black Whirlwind” and “Future Visions.”

“Spirit Burner”:

Lightsworn Duelists have started to experiment with this card for a variety of reasons. You can change a monster equipped with “Spirit Burner” to Defense Position. Since you can play Equip Cards on your opponent’s monsters, too, you can use this card to change your opponent’s high-ATK monsters to Defense Position, where they are vulnerable. “Ehren, Lightsworn Monk” is especially good at eliminating Defense Position monsters, even sending the biggest Synchro Monsters off the field once “Spirit Burner” turns its target to Defense Position.

The cool part about “Spirit Burner” is that once you’ve used it once, you can use it again and again, by giving up your normal draw in your Draw Phase to get this card back from the Graveyard, instead. This is a great deal for Lightsworn Duelists, who often draw cards outside of the Draw Phase and can afford to skip their draw for the turn in order to press through more attacks. Lightsworn Duelists can also miss their Spell and Trap Cards by having them sent to the Graveyard by Lightsworn effects. But if “Spirit Burner” gets sent from the Deck to the Graveyard, you can just add it to your hand instead of drawing.

More Vayu Decks in a tournament means more big Synchro Monsters hitting the field, and running “Spirit Burner” means less pressure to use your copies of Honest or “Judgment Dragon” early on. “Spirit Burner’s” a great call for this tournament, and hopefully insightful Duelists will pick up on that.

These five cards may all have an impact here today, and along with other top themed picks like “White Night Dragon” and “Kasha” (the latter of which is selling out according to the vendors here this weekend), Duelists taking advantage of Ancient Prophecy should have an edge here today.