614 talented Duelists have gathered here in Mexico City to compete in Central America’s highest-stakes event of the year! This weekend, one Duelist competing in the World Championship Qualifier (WCQ) and one young Duelist competing in the Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier will be selected to represent their country at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship and Dragon Duel World Championship in Japan. Those Duelists will receive paid travel and accommodations in Japan, plus a ton of other cool prizes. Only Duelists who have earned an invitation to compete in the Central American WCQ may participate, so we can expect a high level of competition this weekend!

With the stakes so high and Duelists’ dreams of becoming World Champion on the line, this weekend’s competitors are certain to bring out their strongest strategies. In addition, innovation and creativity are more important than ever before, as this is the first big event since the June 12th, 2017 Forbidden & Limited List took effect. Duelists competing in the South American World Championship Qualifier in Brazil next weekend, or the North American World Championship Qualifier in the United States on the following weekend, will look to the results of this weekend’s tournament to shape their views on the new format and the competition they can expect to face.

The June 12th, 2017 Forbidden & Limited List brought big changes to the Advanced Format, and are certain to have an impact this weekend. The new Forbidden & Limited List removed Elder Entity Norden from the Advanced Format, placed a 1-per-Deck Limitation on Speedroid Terrortop and That Grass Looks Greener, and improved the consistency of Pendulum-based strategies by removing Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, Wisdom-Eye Magician, and Pendulum Call from the Forbidden & Limited List entirely.

Under the previous Forbidden & Limited List, Zoodiac Decks featuring Lunalight Black Sheep, Fusion Substitute, and Elder Entity Norden reigned supreme; but with Elder Entity Norden now Forbidden, and Lunalight Black Sheep and Fusion Substitute losing their competitive purpose, we are certain to see a shift in players’ strategies. The new Limitation on Speedroid Terrortop, which was primarily used to quickly get Speedroid Taketomborg to the field and Xyz Summon the Rank 3 M-X-Saber Invoker, may cause Decks based around the Zoodiac monsters to shift focus away from the use of M-X-Saber Invoker. Finally, the impact of the new Limitation on That Grass Looks Greener is obvious – Duelists will no longer feel the need to use a 60-card Deck as a countermeasure against Decks utilizing That Grass Looks Greener, and the use of 60-card Decks that aim to capitalize on an activation of That Grass Looks Greener are likely to fade out of popularity.

Although the field of competitive Decks is wide open for discovery, make no mistake – Zoodiac monsters are still anticipated to run rampant throughout this weekend’s World Championship Qualifier and the World Championship Qualifiers in weeks to come. But it remains to be seen how the Zoodiac cards will be integrated into other strategies, like the True Dracos (a theme primarily supported in the new Maximum Crisis booster set), the True Kings, Metalfoes, and anything else that Duelists’ minds can think up.

The Duelists are shuffling up, with big dreams in their hearts big Duels up ahead! By the end of this weekend, one World Championship competitor and one Dragon Duel World Championship competitor will be named. It’s almost time to Duel!