1458 Duelists have been eliminated, and a lone champion has been named! Mexico’s Jose Lagunes rose above the competition to take home the trophy with his Performapal Pendulum Deck!

.

The impact of Breakers of Shadow was felt throughout the tournament hall, as Duelists leaned on Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Cyber Dragon Infinity, Solemn Strike, Twin Twisters, Traptrix Rafflesia, and more to secure their victories.

Performapal Pendulums are certainly the main story of the weekend, placing 29 Decks into the Top 32; but in an ocean of Performapal Pendulum Decks, the existence of a Kozmo Deck in first place at the end of the 11 Swiss Rounds, gave Duelists a lot to think about. Jose Diaz ultimately piloted that Kozmo Deck to a fourth place finish, signaling the potential strength of Kozmos after the “Adjusted List” takes effect on February 8th.

Did you attend YCS Atlanta? Well if you’re still looking to win some sweet stuff, make sure to help us out and complete this short survey! Two random winners will receive a display box of Breakers of Shadow, so check it out at the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series YCS Atlanta Survey!

The Emperor of Darkness Structure Deck, released on January 29th, also proved its relevance here this weekend. This new Structure Deck revolutionized the way Monarch Decks are played, encouraging Duelists to build their Monarch Decks without any cards in their Extra Decks in order to take advantage of cards like Domain of the True Monarchs. Two Monarch Decks, devoid of an Extra Deck, secured a Top 32 finish.

Young Dawson McGaha further displayed the eminence of the Monarchs as he piloted his own Monarch Deck to a Dragon Duel Championship victory against his brother this weekend.

Now that the dust has settled, it is obvious that most of the Decks in the Top 32 were very similar; but subtle differences among them, as described in our three earlier tech updates and Feature Matches throughout the weekend, spelled the difference between victory and defeat for many of the weekend’s Duelists. Moving forward, the field of competitive Dueling is wide open, with the new “Adjusted List” significantly weakening the most dominant Deck, and the release of Wing Raiders on February 12th shaking up the tournament scene once again.

It’s anyone’s guess which Decks will compete at the Ultimate Duelist Series Invitational – Winter 2016 in Los Angeles on February 20th and 21st, or which Deck will win at the subsequent Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 12th and 13th. Until then, congratulations to Jose Lagunes and Dawson McGaha for their tremendous victories this weekend!