Welcome to YCS Niagara, Ontario!
It’s been one month since the new Advanced Format kicked off at the 200th Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) weekend.
The new Forbidden & Limited List dealt notable blows to some of Dueling’s most dominant strategies, but by the time the dust had settled at YCS Utrecht, YCS Columbus, and YCS Mexico City the field looked quite familiar. The nature of competition seemed to be evolving, as Turn 1 setups became weaker and grinding for value became the order of the day. But at the end of three consecutive Championships the balance of power almost refused to shift.
Sky Strikers won YCS Utrecht. Sky Strikers won YCS Columbus. And Sky Strikers lost only narrowly in the Finals at YCS Mexico City. The mode of competition was different. But the victorious strategies remained nearly immaculate.
But that was then. And there are a few ways this can go.
The last two weeks have seen two massive releases shake the foundations of high-competition Dueling. The Legendary Hero Decks unleashed powerful new monsters for Warrior Duelists, offering new opportunities for Burning Abyss, Dark Heroes, and Goukis – three strategies that were all successful at the 200th YCS weekend and Regional Qualifiers since. Burning Abyss took 2nd Place in Utrecht, while Andres Torres piloted the strategy to a Championship win at YCS Mexico City. And an “Andres Torres” is registered to compete here this weekend.
Soul Fusion debuted one week later, bringing a host of new and reinvented strategies to the competitive forefront. Here this morning it’s becoming readily apparent that a huge number of respected and celebrated Champions have taken up Thunder Dragons, an aggressive strategy that easily deprive opponents of their key cards – especially Sky Strikers.
It’s very possible that Sky Striker Duelists will simply outnumber Thunder Dragon Duelists this weekend. But the Thunder Dragons arrive with a reputation for crushing Sky Strikers and Trickstars, a situation that could create a triangle metagame: one where Thunder Dragons beat Sky Strikers, Sky Strikers beat Altergeists, and Altergeists beat Thunder Dragons. And spoiler: a lot of big names are playing Thunder Dragons. We’ll see the Deck in action in our Round 1 Feature Matches.
Meanwhile, some of the game’s most creative and successful Champions are here with other plans entirely. Noble Knights finally received solutions to some of their biggest problems in Soul Fusion, with Heritage of the Chalice giving precision access to key cards and Until Noble Arms Are Needed Once Again offering an alternative to Normal Summoning.
And at least one of the game’s most celebrated stars is running a revamped version of Danger! Dark World, fresh off the release of Danger! Thunderbird! and Danger!? Tsuchinoko? That competitor might be a YCS winner. They might be an Ultimate Duelist. They might even be both. We’ll have to wait and see.
The energy here in the Scotiabank Convention Center is electric this morning, and with so many new opportunities and so many conflicting opinions about the future of competitive Dueling this format, everything is up in the air. Round 1 kicks off momentarily, so get ready to see some of the greatest competitors from North America and beyond, playing a wealth of exciting new Decks. It looks like it’s gonna be a rollercoaster of a weekend.
Round 1 is coming up. Welcome to the Soul Fusion season, and welcome to YCS Niagara!