WCQ First-Timers
Normally our “First-Timers” articles are dedicated to Duelists competing in their first-ever high-level tournament, but every Duelist in the building here today is an experienced Duelist, who earned their way to the U.S. World Championship Qualifier through big tournament success. But many are still first-timers in another sense, because for a lot of Duelists, today is their first shot at qualifying for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship!
Elijah Martincek is 10 years old, and traveled here this weekend with his brother Evan and mother Pam from Atlanta, Georgia. “I was going to run Crystal Beasts today,” says Martincek, “But I couldn’t find my Deck once we got to the airport. I changed over to Worms with Destiny Board. All in all it’s really good, but it’s going to get even better when Hidden Arsenal 2 is out!” Martincek already has his favorite new Worm cards thanks to Duel Terminal Volume 2: “I can’t wait to play Worm Queen, because she’s easy to Summon – for 1 Tribute she’s got 2700 Attack Points, and then her effect allows me to search out stuff.” His favorite card he’s playing today? “Destiny Board!”
Elijah’s younger brother Evan is also here, and is 7 years old! “I’ve been playing for about 2 or 3 years,” said Evan. “I just wanted to follow my brother, and Dueling seemed really cool!” Evan is playing a Dimensional Fissure Deck today that focuses on keeping his opponents monsters out of play. His favorite card is Burden of the Mighty. “It reduces my opponents’ monsters’ ATK by 100 Points for each Level. It helps me attack big monsters!”
Zach Font traveled here this weekend from Indianapolis, Indiana, and is running a cool Deck that combines Infernities and Blackwings! The reason? “I play Infernities so I can bring out Hundred-Eyes Dragon, and then use its effect to copy abilities like Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind’s halving effect and Blackwing – Bora the Spear’s piercing damage. It’s really good!” He’s been Dueling for 6 years. “I got into the game because my Dad played it!” Zach is 9 years old, and his favorite card in his Deck today is Dark Armed Dragon.
Last up, we have Tanner Sparrow from Kernserville, North Carolina! He’s playing Gravekeeper’s in today’s tournament. “I think it’s a really good meta call, since it shuts down Decks like Infernities. It stops some plays in X-Sabers and Blackwings, too.” Tanner’s been collecting cards since Legend of Blue-Eyes, but his Dueling career really kicked off in 2007. “I went to the Tactical Evolution Sneak Peek, and that was my first real event.” His favorite card is Gravekeeper’s Spy: “It’s a good opening play, Setting Spy. If my opponent attacks and can’t destroy it I can Special Summon Gravekeeper’s Descendant and Tribute Spy to destroy my opponent’s monster. It’s a good way to clear the opponent’s field.”
These Duelists are just four of the many competitors who are making their first attempt at winning an invite to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championships this weekend! We wish them all luck, and hope they have a great time here at the U.S. World Championship Qualifier!