It’s rare to find a tournament where the same cards appear so often in so many Side Decks, but at this weekend’s event, these four cards seem to be the usual suspects you’ll find in Duelists’ Side Decks.

Mask of Restrict: This Continuous Trap Card saw virtually no play at YCS Virginia a couple months ago, but exploded in popularity at YCS Chicago. While Pulling the Rug was a popular countermeasure to both Gadgets and Monarchs, the sliding popularity of Gadget Decks and the rising threat of Frog / Mass Driver Decks created a big trend that Duelists have adjusted to. Both cards are great against Monarchs, but while Pulling the Rug was better against Gadgets, Mask of Restrict can shut down Frogs, especially if you go first, making it a top pick for competitors in this tournament.

It’s unusual to find Duelists running 3 copies of the same card in their Side Deck. But 3 Masks of Restrict are a popular choice here, as competitors are wary of the Frog FTK Decks that did exceedingly well at both the South American and Canadian WCQ tournaments.

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Consecrated Light: This LIGHT Fairy-Type is another card being Side Decked in 2’s and 3’s. Infernities won YCS Chicago and the Canadian WCQ, and for many Duelists it’s the #1 threat this weekend. Consecrated Light shuts down the Deck, stopping the Infernity Duelist from Summoning the powerful effect monsters that are the basis for their combos. Most Infernity Duelists play nothing in their Main Deck except DARK monsters, so Consecrated Light can be extremely difficult for them to get through. Consecrated Light is also good against Blackwings, which are also DARK monsters.

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Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter: In fact, the threat of Consecrated Light has made Ryko into another popular Side Deck choice. The Infernity Deck that won YCS Chicago Side Decked many cards meant to counteract the opponent’s Side Deck. If your opponent adds Consecrated Light or Royal Oppression from their Side Deck to their Main Deck, add your own Ryko from your Side Deck to your Deck, and you can destroy either of them.

Ryko also gets key cards like Infernity Beetle and Infernity Necromancer to the Graveyard. This helps build the winning combos that Infernity Decks use.

Like Mask of Restrict and Consecrated Light, we’re seeing this card played in 3’s.

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Royal Oppression: We saw X-Saber Duelists begin to play single copies of Royal Oppression in their Main and Side Decks at YCS Chicago. But Infernities won Chicago anyways, so X-Saber Duelists are turning up the heat. Lots of Duelists who didn’t run Oppression previously are now playing with 1 copy, and Duelists who were playing 1 copy before are doubling up to play 2. Against Infernities, Heralds, and Frogs, Oppression is a game-changing card that lets Normal Summoned X-Sabers like XX-Saber Boggart Knight and X-Saber Airbellum rule the field. In the X-Saber mirror match, Oppression is played after you get your big monster out, like XX-Saber Gottoms, so your opponent can’t respond with big monsters of their own.

Oppression is seeing more play in Main Decks today too. Gadget Duelists are starting to include it, and Blackwing players also find it helpful. The biggest counter to Oppression is Dust Tornado, and it continues to see heavy Main Deck and Side Deck play, but it looks as if Duelists are just deciding that the benefits of Oppression are worth the risk. A turn or two with Royal Oppression on the field is often enough to decide who wins, and that’s made Oppression a big part of this tournament.