We are past the halfway mark here in Day 1 at YCS Niagara, which means now is a great time to look at the top tables for a quick impression of what’s undefeated.  These Duelists are all 4-0 at least for the moment, and by examining what they’re playing we can begin to read into the shape of the field moving forward.

Table: 1

Azad Deihim with Sky Strikers

Versus

Jorge Sosa Danger Burning Abyss

 

Table: 2

Ryan Levine Thunder Dragons

Versus

Rohan Thomas Pendulum Magicians

 

Table: 3

Arvind Rajabhathor Dark Goukis

Versus

John Wilkin Sky Striker Goukis

 

Table: 4

Elvis Vu Sky Strikers

Versus

Jeremy Thibeau Thunder Dragons

 

Table: 5

Tianyi Du True Dracos

Versus

Usama Ikram Sekka’s Burning Abyss

 

Table: 6

Lawrance Lin Mekk-Knight Invoked

Versus

Samuel Deng Dark Goukis

 

Table: 7

Michael Walters Sky Strikers

Versus

Kareem El Hindawi Sekka’s Burning Abyss

 

Table: 8

Gaetan Georges Thunder Dragons

Versus

Evan Betzig Sky Strikers

 

Table: 9

Adam Kosmowski Sky Strikers

Versus

Javier Hernandez Pendulum Magicians

 

Table: 10

Maximillian Reynolds Dark World Danger!

Versus

Aidan Quach Altergeists

 

For those of you following along, that all breaks down to look like the following:

 

5 Sky Strikers

3 Thunder Dragons

3 Burning Abyss

3 Goukis

2 Pendulum Magicians

1 True Dracos

1 Mekk-Knight Invoked

1 Dark World Danger!

1 Altergeists

 

It’s a really wide open field at the top tables right now, despite the level of dominance we’ve seen from Thunder Dragons in Feature Matches.  Sky Strikers definitely struggle in that match-up unless they can find a key Sky Striker Mecha – Widow Anchor, but the deck’s still seeing so much play – and it’s still so good against everything else – that it remains the most successful deck at the top tables midway through Day 1.

 

Meanwhile Burning Abyss is riding high on momentum from YCS Utrecht and YCS Mexico City, while Pendulum Magicians are proving to be the surprise of the afternoon so far.  Perhaps the most notable absence is Altergeists: the deck doesn’t appear to be popular this weekend as the newness of Thunder Dragons meant relatively low representation, removing one of the biggest reasons to run Altergeists this weekend.

 

If Thunder Dragons score big in Day 2 expect to see more Altergeists in upcoming tournaments, but for now the deck seems under-represented and that’s contributing to the shape of the metagame here at YCS Niagara.