We’re hanging out with some of our players who are attending their very first YCS!

Zach Balli is 22, and he’s made the trip up here from Clovis, New Mexico. He’s using an Archfiend Deck in the tournament today, and was very quick to say that his favorite card is Archfiend Empress. He said the event was a lot bigger than he’d expected. “I think it’s pretty awesome, I’ve never been to a YCS or big huge tournament like this before, so it’s a big change.” Here’s Zach showing off his favorite card, Archfiend Empress!

Next is 26-year-old Jonathan Lopez. He’s came up with Zach, from Clovis, New Mexico. His Deck of choice is something he calls “A mixture of Mecha Phantom Beasts and Chain Beat.” What did he think of the event? “It’s amazing! I’m just so stoked!” His favorite card is Dark Magician of Chaos, but unfortunately he didn’t have a copy of the Forbidden powerhouse on hand. He opted to pose with Diamond Dire Wolf instead!

Finally, we met up with Paul Norton, a 24-year-old from here in Las Vegas. He’s packing Geargia Karakuri for the Main Event. He was very impressed by the YCS so far, especially how organized everything was, from table numbers to vendors. “It’s nice, it’s a lot better than the regional that I played in, in L.A. A lot more space, and well put together.” He also made sure to mention how happy he was that the air conditioning was working in this heat! His favorite card is Celtic Guardian, but he hadn’t anticipated that he’d need one for a photo – he went with Effect Veiler in its place.

Good luck first-timers, and to all of our competitors here at YCS Las Vegas!