Welcome to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series here in Chicago, Illinois!

1566 Duelists have gathered in Chicago to Duel in the very first Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series event of 2019! This event will be unlike any event before it – a new Forbidden & Limited List just took effect on January 28^th, and Duelists are scrambling to discover which Decks are strongest under the new Forbidden & Limited List.

The latest Forbidden & Limited List gave a major shakeup to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. Six new cards became Forbidden, 10 cards became Limited to 1, and a whopping 10 cards were removed from the Forbidden & Limited List entirely. Highlights include the return of Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End and Cyber-Stein, the end of Soul Charge, Topologic Gumblar Dragon, and Number 86: Heroic Champion – Rhongomyniad, and the allowance for Duelists to now use a full 3 copies of Eradicator Epidemic Virus. All of these changes are expected to have a huge impact this weekend.

For the first time at a YCS event, Legendary Duelists: Sisters of the Rose (which was released on January 11^th, 2019) and Savage Strike (which was just released yesterday) are both legal for tournament play! Powerful Harpie cards like Harpie Perfumer and Harpie Oracle were introduced to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME in the latest Legendary Duelists set, as well as powerful new cards from the Lunalight, Cyber Angel, and Level 10 “Trains” themes. It remains to be seen whether any of these strategies will be used this weekend, but all of them are stronger than ever before. Savage Strike, on the other hand, is certain to have a major impact this weekend. Pot of Extravagance, Fantastical Dragon Phantazmay, and Witch’s Strike are powerful tech cards that many Duelists are using in all sorts of Decks, while new themed cards in the Trickstar, Valkyrie, Subterror, and Shiranui archetypes, as well as many others, have given rise to the possibility of new competitive Decks.

The Duelists are shuffling up their carefully constructed Decks and getting ready to begin. It’s almost time to Duel here at YCS Chicago!