Deck Construction Profile: Australia’s Jono Ritzau
Jono Ritzau traveled here from Australia to compete in this weekend’s YCS with his Fire Fist Deck. Jono Ritzau came prepared, and Dueled his way up to the Top 16. But now, no amount of preparation and practice with his Fire Fist Deck will help him. Ritzau is about to take part in the first Battle Pack 2: War of the Giants – Round 2 draft ever to take place in the Top 16 of a YCS tournament. Ritzau has never drafted Battle Pack 2: War of the Giants – Round 2 before, but has a keen understanding of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. Will his strong knowledge about the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME be enough to help Ritzau advance to the Top 8, or will his inexperience with drafting force him to face early defeat? I sat down next to Ritzau to watch his draft experience unfold.
The first set of cards that Duelists were forced to choose among consisted of 3 combined packs of Battle Pack 2: War of the Giants.
Round 1, Pick 1: Ritzau strongly considered taking D.D. Assailant and Ape Fighter, but eventually settled on taking The Golden Apples.
Round 1, Pick 2: Ritzau quickly chose Kunai with Chain.
Round 1, Pick 3: Ritzau choose Ancient Gear Golem.
Round 1, Pick 4: Ritzau took Bazoo the Soul Eater.
Round 1, Pick 5: Ritzau passed up the raw power of Gene-Warped Warwolf and took Skill Successor.
Round 1, Pick 6: Ritzau chose Zoma the Spirit.
Round 1, Pick 7: Ritzau took Draining Shield to protect his monsters.
Round 1, Pick 8: Ritzau took Axe Dragonute for its brute strength.
Round 1, Pick 9: Ritzau took Gravity Axe – Grarl
Round 1, Pick 10: Ritzau took Half Shut for his Deck.
Round 1, Pick 11: Ritzau took Anarchist Monk Ranshin.
Round 1, Pick 12: Ritzau selected Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts to help him Tribute Summon big monsters he selected earlier, like Ancient Gear Golem, and big monsters that he would later pick.
Round 1, Pick 13: Ritzau selected Ultimate Tyranno – a strong pick to go along with his Tanngrisnir.
Round 1 Pick 14: Ritzau selected Labyrinth of Nightmare, which had good synergy with his earlier-chosen Axe Dragonute, and which would have good synergy with any other monsters that switch into Defense Position after attacking, which he may end up picking later on.
Round 1 Pick 15: Ritzau took Ancient Gear Golem – the only card remaining for him to take in set 1.
At the end of Round 1, Ritzau had a bunch of Tribute monsters and a Tanngrisnir to help him Summon them. He also had a couple of attack modifiers, and a Labyrinth of Nightmare that could prove crucial to a strategy he may develop later on. After moments of reflecting on his Round 1 choices, the players began choosing cards for Round 2!
Round 2, Pick 1: Ritzau chose Cursed Fig for his first pick in Round 2.
Round 2, Pick 2: Ritzau selected Pineapple Blast.
Round 2, Pick 3: Ritzau chose Yomi Ship for his Deck, as a way to get rid of his opponent’s monsters.
Round 2, Pick 4: Ritzau took Power Breaker, which would work well with his Labyrinth of Nightmare.
Round 2, Pick 5: Ritzau took Jurrac Gillam.
Round 2, Pick 6: Ritzau selected Junk Forward, to make it easier to Tribute Summon his biggest monsters.
Round 2, Pick 7: Ritzau selected Otohime, which would exploit the low DEF of some of his opponent’s monsters and destroy any Berserk Gorillas that his opponents Summoned.
Round 2, Pick 8: Ritzau chose Evilswarm Mandragora for his Deck.
Round 2, Pick 9: Ritzau took Winged Sage Falcos.
Round 2, Pick 10: Ritzau selected Pineapple Blast.
Round 2, Pick 11: Ritzau took another Evilswarm Mandragora to ease his Tribute Summons.
Round 2, Pick 12: Ritzau took Double Summon.
Round 2, Pick 13: Ritzau selected Garbage Lord.
Round 2, Pick 14: Ritzau took Mog Mole.
Round 2, Pick 15: One card remained, and Ritzau added it to his pile without even looking at it.
At the end of Round 2, Ritzau’s strategy seemed to be all over the place. He hoped that Round 3 would bring his Deck together and make it strong enough to beat his opponents.
Round 3, Pick 1: Ritzau took D.D. Warrior Lady – a powerful card for defeating any opposing monster.
Round 3, Pick 2: Ritzau chose Ego Boost to increase the ATK of his monsters.
Round 3, Pick 3: Ritzau selected D.D. Assailant – a powerful card for the same reasons as his earlier-chosen D.D. Warrior Lady.
Round 3, Pick 4: Ritzau took Axe Dragonute, which once again had synergy with the Labyrinth of Nightmare he took in Round 1.
Round 3, Pick 5: Ritzau selected Photon Thrasher for its high ATK.
Round 3, Pick 6: Ritzau chose Big Bang Shot – a card that would be more powerful if Ritzau could get some Spell & Trap destruction cards that can be used on a Big Bang Shot equipped to an opponent’s monster.
Round 3, Pick 7: Ritzau took Horn of the Unicorn to increase the ATK of his monster.
Round 3, Pick 8: Ritzau chose Battle Fader.
Round 3, Pick 9: Ritzau selected Photon Thrasher for his Deck.
Round 3, Pick 10: Ritzau selected Ancient Gear Knight for its 1800 ATK.
Round 3, Pick 11: Ritzau chose Revival Jam.
Round 3, Pick 12: Ritzau took Beast Machine King Barbaros Ur.
Round 3, Pick 13: Ritzau selected Gilasaurus.
Round 3, Pick 14: Choosing between 2 cards, Ritzau took another Beast Machine King Barbaros Ur.
Round 3, Pick 15: Ritzau was forced to take Belial, Marquis of Darkness.
Ritzau got some good cards in Round 3, but lack of experience in drafting Battle Pack 2 hindered his ability to construct a more powerful Deck. Ritzau gravitated toward cards that modify the ATK of a monster, but often struggled with choosing between different monster options.
Ritzau confidently said that if he had prepared for the draft, his Deck would be a lot stronger. But for now, Ritzau must construct a 40 card Deck out of the 45 cards he chose, and pilot it through the final rounds of this tournament.
Will Ritzau and his newly constructed Deck have what it takes to win a YCS tournament?
