Judging by discussions on the tournament floor this morning, alot of Duelists spent a fair amount of time practicing Sealed Play to prep for this weekend.  A quick walk of Hall C here at the San Diego Convention Center let us overhear everything from discussions of Prideful Roar and Darkworld Shackles, to debates about cards like Obelisk the Tormentor and Blue Thunder T-45.  It’s a completely different environment at this YCS than those in the past, and everyone’s looking to compare notes and make last minute tweaks to their strategies.

Of course, for many others this will actually be their first time playing Battle Pack Sealed – a great way to plunge into a totally different way to Duel!  And for many of you reading at home, you might be new to the format too.  So let’s take a quick moment to review some last minute fundamentals…

Keeping Control

Unlike the Advanced Constructed format, One-Turn KO’s and giant game-winning combos are pretty rare in Battle Pack Sealed.  It’s much more common for Duels to come down to who can control the field with one or two monsters long enough to make a string of game-winning attacks.  It’s important to build your deck with lots of easy-to-play Level 3 and Level 4 monsters with solid ATK, sine those monsters will frequently prove more important than your bigger, flashier attackers.  In addition, monsters with strong DEF tend to survive longer in Sealed Play than they would in Constructed.  Don’t underestimate the power of a good defense in this kind of tournament.

With so much hinging on your ability to keep monsters on the table, monster removal cards are invaluable: they help your little monsters deal damage and keep the attacks aimed at your opponent, instead of flowing towards you.  More importantly, cards like Ego Boost and Fissure serve as answers to your opponent’s bigger threats when they unleash a monster with high ATK, or a Duel-defining effect.  Remember, Tribute Monsters and Xyz Monsters usually require you to give up a card either for Tribute or Xyz Material, so if you can destroy that kind of monster with one removal trick, you turn your opponent’s aggression back against them by stripping them of their cards – and their control of the field.

By the same token, it’s important to try and hold back your bigger, more costly monsters until your opponent is out of monster removal.  If you and your opponent continually trade off in battle and through card effects and you come out of it with the biggest monster on the field, guess what?

You win.

Xyz Dominance

Xyz Monsters play a very important role in Battle Pack Sealed, because they’re powerful, and relatively easy to get to.  You can unleash monsters like Number 39: Utopia and Number 17: Leviathan Dragon any time that you can get two monsters of the right Level to use as Xyz Materials.  Xyz Monsters are precious because you don’t have to draw into them: they’re a constant threat, if you can put together the Summons.

But that doesn’t mean you should play them as fast and as early as you can.  Quite the opposite.  Xyz Monsters are often best played as your last resort, and frequently the trick to winning is to hold them back until you either have no choice, or a truly golden opportunity.  Remember, an Xyz Summon trades two of your monsters for just one, leaving you vulnerable to monster removal – or even just a bigger attacker that can swing over yours.  Xyz Monsters are make-or-break: one hand, they have high ATK that can end Duels quickly and answer your opponent’s big threats.  On the other, each Xyz Summon you make involves some risk, because if you bring out an Xyz Monster and then lose it immediately, you’re down two cards and you lose valuable field presence.  That means you’ve got fewer options, and you’re more vulnerable to attacks.

When you open your Battle Packs, it’s a good idea to pick out all your Xyz Monsters first and see what you got.  If you cracked alot of Rank 4’s, then playing and protecting your Level 4’s becomes a little more important.  If you opened several Rank 3’s, then Level 3’s are more important, and so on.  You want to have the ability to play your Xyz as frequently as possible, even if you want to play them conservatively in the long term.  Duelists in the know will tweak their Decks and change their in-game priorities to keep their options open.  Build carefully, make your decisions well, and just one Xyz Monster can win an entire Duel.

Game-Shaping Cards

All field control and general tips aside, certain cards in Battle Pack: Epic Dawn can turn the whole Duel sideways in an instant!  Cards like Skill Drain, King Tiger Wanghu, Jinzo, and Burden of the Mighty all have long-lasting effects that can make lots of your opponents cards useless in the blink of an eye.  If you’re lucky enough to open a card like that, make sure to tweak your Deck and build around it to make the most of it.  You might not draw into it every game, but you want to make sure that you’re prepared to take advantage of it.  Your opponent’s going to have to scramble just to survive, but cards don’t last forever on the field, so it’s important to capitalize as quickly as you can.

Luck always helps, but at the end of the day it’s skill, wit, and resourcefulness that’s going to decide who goes to Day 2 this weekend.  With so many high-powered cards in Battle Pack: Epic Dawn, everybody gets something that’s obviously powerful.  But it’s the more subtle, less flashy cards that make up the bulk of your deck, and it’s those cards that’ll get you the majority of your wins.

Be ready.