YCS Pittsburgh Wrap-Up!
The first Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series event since the release of Maximum Crisis is finished, and Ultimate Duelist Aaron Furman bested over a thousand Duelists to gain the title of YCS Champion!
Even before the tournament began, there was no doubt that cards from Maximum Crisis would have a big impact this weekend, but Duelists weren’t quite sure which cards from Maximum Crisis would be most influential. Now that the weekend is over, the answer is clear.
Zoodiac Decks had a dominating presence in the Top 32, with the new additions of Zoodiac Hammerkong and Zoodiac Chakanine making Zoodiac Decks more potent than ever before. Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra and Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio also appeared at the top tables throughout the weekend, facilitating Duelists’ access to Instant Fusion and the powerful Elder Entity Norden.
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring – a card that many Duelists anticipated would hold a dominating presence in the top tables – met expectations, as it repeatedly appeared in Feature Match after Feature Match, making appearances all the way up until and throughout the Finals. Most Duelists’ eyes going into this tournament, however, were on the new True Draco cards in Maximum Crisis. Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King and Dragonic Diagram were easily identified by Duelists as powerful cards, and the True Draco theme is full of powerful effects. That’s why spectators were eager to see how True Dracos would perform in their first major event. One-fourth of the Top 32 Decks utilized the new True Draco cards, with Furman’s winning Deck heavily relying on them. The strong showing for True Dracos this past weekend likely indicates a rising presence for them at tournaments in the near future.
Some Zefra Decks, improved by Zefraath, Zefra War, and Zefra Providence in Maximum Crisis, performed well this weekend, as did a lone Dinomist Deck improved by Dinomists Howling. But all of these Decks fell short of a Top 32 finish. Will they have greater success moving forward, as Duelists experiment with these powerful new cards?
In this weekend’s Dragon Duels, Justus Long prevailed with his Metalfoes Deck to take home the Dragon Duel Championship trophy and prize cards. Long incorporated Zoodiac monsters into his Metalfoes strategy to bolster the power of his Deck. Duelists may draw inspiration from Long’s success this weekend and continue to improve their Metalfoes Decks for this new Dueling age.
YCS Pittsburgh was just the beginning for Maximum Crisis and the way it will define the new Advanced Format. There are many more Decks to be built, Duels to be fought, and tournaments to be won.
You can look back on all of this weekend’s excitement on our coverage page, and use the event table of contents to help you navigate through it.
