A new YCS brings us a new opportunity to discover an under-looked card that fits into a variety of Decks. But to help put things in perspective, let’s look back at some of the most popular cards used at YCS Orlando.

.

Reborn Tengu

Reborn Tengu was perhaps the most popular card from Extreme Victory. Out of the 857 Duelists who competed in YCS Orlando, 92 of them ran a full 3 copies of Reborn Tengu in their Decks. That’s more than 10% of the field, including the 6 Duelists who used their Tengus to make it to the Top 32.

Reborn Tengu is the perfect Synchro Material monster, as well as the perfect monster to use for a Tribute, since it replaces itself when it leaves the field. That makes it fit into a variety of Decks, including classic Plant Synchro Decks, as well as other Synchro-heavy Decks that are specifically built around Reborn Tengu.

Since Reborn Tengu fits into so many Decks and helps to swarm the field, it’s surprising that there weren’t even more Reborn Tengus in the tournament. We’re likely to see Reborn Tengu’s popularity trending upwards in the future, including this weekend, as Duelists realize the powerful plays that can be made in their Decks by using Reborn Tengu.

.

Thunder King Rai-Oh

Thunder King Rai-Oh was another popular monster at YCS Orlando, which also fit into lots of different Decks. 7 Duelists in Orlando Main Decked 1 copy, 77 Duelists Main Decked 2 copies, and 37 Duelists Main Decked 3 copies.

Thunder King Rai-Oh could be used as tech in just about anything. Just about every Deck either Special Summons monsters that Rai-Oh can negate or searches for cards that Rai-Oh can prevent from being searched out, and even Decks that do neither of these things will often have trouble destroying a 1900 ATK monster like Rai-Oh. Despite this, most Duelists decided to Side Deck Rai-Oh instead of Main Decking it, swapping it in during Matches where an opponent is especially dependant on Deck searching and Special Summons, like in the Six Samurai Matchup.

Overall, more than 14% of the field decided to Main Deck Thunder King Rai-Oh – a card that has typically been seen as a Side Deck card! In the Top 32, a whopping 7 Duelists Side Decked Thunder King Rai-Oh, while only 2 Duelists – the 2 Gladiator Beast Duelists – Main Decked it, verifying that Rai-Oh’s most popular place still remains in the Side Deck.

However, Rai-Oh’s strong presence in so many of the YCS Orlando participants’ Main Decks may indicate a rising popularity for Rai-Oh in the future. Even though Rai-Oh always has been a popular Side Deck card and remains that way, we may start seeing more Duelists shift Rai-Oh from their Side Decks to their Main Decks to gain a Duel 1 advantage that opponents will be unprepared to combat.

.

Pot of Duality

The popularity of Pot of Duality seems to be remaining steady. Almost 25% of the Duelists in Orlando used at least 1 copy of Pot of Duality in their Decks, and more than 13% of the Duelists at YCS Orlando used the maximum 3 copies.

Pot of Duality is as good as it has ever been, since it allows a Duelist to choose which of the top 3 cards of his Deck to add to his hand, in exchange for giving up Special Summons for the turn. The hefty amount of Special Summoning led the popularity of Pot of Duality to see a slight decline after Storm of Ragnarok was released and Six Samurais ran rampant, but with so many other Decks managing to defeat Six Samurais without relying on early Special Summons, it’s easy to see why Pot of Duality’s popularity seems to have stabilized.

.

Solemn Warning

Before Solemn Judgment was Limited, it was constantly relied on to secure a victory, since it had the power to negate a critical card that an opponent could use to turn a Duel around. Now, 2 copies of Solemn Warning have effectively filled the niche that Solemn Judgment’s Limitation left open long ago.

More than 60% of the Duelists in Orlando used Solemn Warning, with more than 58% of the field using 2 copies – the maximum number of copies allowed in a Deck. Duelists use Solemn Warning to lock an opponent out of a Duel after they gain the upper hand, by negating the Summon of an opponent’s most important monster. The 2000 Life Point cost is a small price to pay to ruin an opponent’s strategy and assure victory.

.

Royal Oppression

Like Solemn Warning, Royal Oppression can also secure a victory by negating an opponent’s Summon, and it’s also being played in lots of different Decks. Royal Oppression has remained consistently popular throughout the format. Almost 30% of the Decks in Orlando used Royal Oppression. Duelists know that whether or not they Special Summon lots of monsters in their Decks, if they can flip it when they have the upper hand, they’ll force their opponent to destroy it immediately or slowly be eliminated by a superior field. Watch out for an opponent’s Royal Oppression while you’re Dueling!

.

Mystical Space Typhoon

Mystical Space Typhoon also has remained popular throughout the format. More than 80% of the Duelists competing in YCS Orlando used at least 1 copy of Mystical Space Typhoon in their Main Decks, and more than 70% of the Duelists in Orlando used 2 copies.

It’s no mystery why Mystical Space Typhoon is so popular. Trap Cards like Solemn Warning and Royal Oppression are used to secure a victory, and Mystical Space Typhoon can destroy those Traps. Plus, Continuous and Field Spell Cards like Gateway of the Six and Necrovalley continue to be the focal point of Decks that dominate the format, and all Continuous and Field Spell Cards are vulnerable to Mystical Space Typhoon.

.

Giant Trunade

Almost as many Duelists used Giant Trunade as Mystical Space Typhoon. Although Giant Trunade can’t destroy Spells and Traps like Mystical Space Typhoon can, it’s able to clear the field to get them out of the way for a turn. Usually, that one turn without resistance from Trap Cards is all you need to flood the field for an OTK, or Summon a monster that will stick around because an opponent couldn’t stop its Summon with a Trap Card. More than 62% of the Duelists at YCS Orlando used Giant Trunade in their Decks, as a means to clear the way for safe Summons and successful attacks.

These are just a few of the most popular cards at YCS Orlando. Stay with the coverage to see which popular cards emerge for the first time this weekend, here at YCS Providence!