Heading into the weekend there were four big defined strategies that were expected to be heavily represented in the field. Burning Abyss had won the last two North American YCS, so it had a huge target on its head. Monarchs in various forms have been popular since their release, with Extra Deck Monarch pulling ahead by a substantial margin recently over its Domain counterpart. Two different variants of Pendulum had shined a bit more than the rest, one utilizing powerful Performapal combos while the other used the consistent Odd-Eyes Magician engine to Pendulum Summon huge threats like Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin and Mist Valley Apex Avian. Finally, Card of Demise has given life to a ton of different trap strategies as Duelists tried to find the best shell for it. What ended up being the most successful?

Let’s take a look at the Top 64 breakdown:

21 Burning Abyss Phantom Knight
13 Extra Deck Monarch
6 Domain Monarch
7 Odd-Eyes Magician
6 Performapal
5 Demise Kozmo
2 Burning Abyss Monarch
1 Fire King Kozmo
1 Kozmo
1 Demise Qliphort
1 PSY-Frame

A whopping 21 Burning Abyss Phantom Knight Decks made it into the Top Cut, taking up nearly 33% of the remaining field. Monarchs took the second highest spot, putting 13 Extra Deck variants while 6 Domain also made it through. This is a huge increase in Domain Monarch compared to the past few premier events, most likely due to the popularity of Burning Abyss Phantom Knight and how well Domain of the True Monarchs lines up against it. Next, Pendulum had a fairly strong showing with 7 Odd-Eyes Magician and 6 Performapal. There were a total of 6 Card of Demise strategies, 5 utilizing Kozmos and the last Qliphort. 1 pure Kozmo along with 1 Fire King Kozmo variant also made it through, so a total of 7 Kozmo in the Top Cut. Burning Abyss Monarch made the Top Cut of YCS Origins, and two more Duelists managed to fight through a huge field to give it a repeat performance. Finally, a single PSY-Frame also squeaked in to round out the Top 64.

What to take away? Burning Abyss Phantom Knight is by far the most dominant strategy. It is absurdly consistent and the power level of Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal is unquestionable. The inclusion of Phantom Knights help make the Deck dense with cards that are good to send to the Graveyard with Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, and The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots lets you search Phantom Knights’ Fog Blade which means you don’t have to actually draw your Trap Cards. Monarchs are still the real deal, but if Burning Abyss continues to dominate then perhaps it is time to return to Domain of the True Monarchs and not sleeve up an Extra Deck. Pendulums are still definitely strong enough to succeed, and the key to their success may be Majespecter Unicorn – Kirin thanks to how well it also lines up against Burning Abyss. Finally, Card of Demise showed up in some numbers but not as many as expected. Kozmo seems to be the best shell for the strategy, and that makes sense given how much damage the deck can do so quickly for a Trap-centric strategy.

So is Burning Abyss Phantom Knight really the best? We’ll find out by the end of the day so stay tuned!