Heading into the World Championship Qualifier weekend, one card has towered over others as a new concern for Duelists: Secret Village of the Spellcasters.  First played as a Side Deck call in successful Shaddoll decks in late May, Secret Village has exploded as a Main Deck pick in new variants of Burning Abyss.  Secret Village is a natural choice for Shaddolls since the monsters in the Shaddoll Main Deck are mostly Spellcasters to begin with.  But Downerd Magician and Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss mean you can use it in Burning Abyss, too; a faster strategy that can capitalize on Secret Village very quickly, while protecting its Spellcasters with Mechquipped Angineer.

If you’re not familiar with Secret Village of the Spellcasters, it’s a Field Spell with the following effect: “If you control a Spellcaster-Type monster and your opponent does not, your opponent cannot activate Spell Cards. If you control no Spellcaster-Type monsters, you cannot activate Spell Cards.”  Since Nekroz runs so few Spellcasters and Qliphorts don’t run any, you can keep those strategies from activating the Ritual Spells and Pendulum Spells they rely on.  And while Mystical Space Typhoon is usually the best answer to a Continuous Card that forbids important actions, it’s irrelevant once Secret Village has resolved: it’s just another Spell that can’t be activated.

We hit the tournament floor to ask Duelists here in Day 1: are you concerned about Secret Village, and has it changed any of your Deck-building decisions?

“I’m slightly concerned since I play Nekroz, but I think Secret Village is really fragile.  It’s kind of like Djinn Releaser of Rituals in that if your opponent breaks your lock, you usually auto-lose. But you can obviously just draw no outs and lose to it very easily.  It influenced my Deck-building a lot; I’ve changed many choices over the last two tournaments.”  Galileo Mauricio De Obaldia Soza ~ Panama – Former World Champion

“Secret Village is not a problem for me, since all my Main Decked Shaddolls and Mathematician are Spellcasters!  I don’t run it myself, though.” Cesar Alvarado Ramos ~ Guadalajara, Mexico

“I’m playing Nekroz, so it’s a very troublesome card for me.  It’s one of the reasons I’m Main Decking Dance Princess of the Nekroz, as well as two Effect Veiler.”  Cesar Eduardo Medina Garcia ~ Estado de Mexico

“Secret Village doesn’t matter to me, because I’m playing Volcanics, which is more trap-heavy than spell-heavy.” Gerardo Sotomayor Meza ~ Morelia Michoacan, Mexico

“I think Secret Village is a really good card, but I would personally only use it in Shaddolls.  I feel it can be a weakness in Decks that run very few Spellcasters.  Game 1 it’s game against me, but in Games 2 and 3 I run triple Fairy Wind to stop it.” Jose Lagunes ~ Vera Cruz, Mexico – Reigning Central American Champion

“Secret Village! Not a concern for ‘tellarknights!” Angel Ernesto Alonso de los Santos ~ Guadalajara, Mexico

“Secret Village is a very big problem for me, playing Qliphorts.  I built my Side Deck to combat that, using Dust Tornado specifically for Village.” Juan Carlos Coronel ~ Guadalajara, Mexico

“I’m playing Infernoids, so Secret Village is not a concern for me! I play very few Spell Cards.” Duarte Ceniceros ~ Durango, Durango Mexico

“It’s a very strong card against my Deck, since I play Qliphorts.  But I decided not to specialize in any way.  Hopefully I don’t see it.” Saul Torres Juarez ~ Estado de Mexico

Predictably, most Nekroz and Qliphort Duelists seemed aware of the Secret Village threat… But not all of them followed through with solutions.  More competitive Duelists seemed to prioritize it more, since dropping even just one Match to Secret Village of the Spellcasters could mean the difference between making the Top 64 cut tomorrow, or falling short of the playoffs.  Secret Village seems to have made Effect Veiler a bit more popular, while Maxx “C” seems less common here than it has been elsewhere.  A fair number of Nekroz Duelists are Side Decking Zefrasaber, Swordmaster of the Nekroz as a backup plan for Ritual Summons, and trap solutions like Fairy Wind, Dust Tornado, and Typhoon are seeing more use in Side Decks.

If your World Championship Qualifier is still ahead, really put some thought into the Secret Village issue.  Be sure to watch for the solutions Duelists are trying this weekend, and be diligent in weighing them against your own Deck’s priorities.