We’re still fresh in this brand new format, with a Forbidden & Limited List that’s only a month old, and Ignition Assault, Legendary Duelists: Magical Hero, and Structure Deck: Shaddoll Showdown all newly released. Here are a few of the trends we’re seeing here in Las Vegas.

Galactic Spiral Dragon

Perhaps not a tech in the strictest sense, but we’ve seen Galactic Spiral Dragon popping up in some Decks. It’s a powerful way to finish off a combo in a strategy like Rokkets, allowing you to throw down a threat like Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy. This is even easier to do if you send Galactic Spiral Dragon to the Graveyard with Dragon Ravine.

Retaliating “C”

There are a lot of copies of Retaliating “C” in Side Decks right now. It’s an incredible answer to Fusion Summons specifically. Wait for your opponent to play El Shaddoll Fusion, Invocation, or any other Fusion Spell, then spring Retaliating “C” on them. They’ll be forced to resolve their Spell Card and banish the Fusion Materials. Banishing Shaddolls or Aleister the Invoker can be a game-changing play, and Retaliating “C” does this with ease.

Forbidden Chalice

Duelists are looking for more ways to handle monster effects like Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess and El Shaddoll Winda, which can sometimes win Duels on their own. While Infinite Impermanence is great if you’re going second, Chalice can be better in the late game when you already have cards on the field.

Dark Ruler No More

While this has been a popular card since its release, we’re seeing it pop up in Main Decks a lot more than usual. It remains a great way to get through some of the imposing opening fields that are often seen with top strategies. Cards like El Shaddoll Winda, Invoked Mechaba, Borreload Savage Dragon, and Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess (just to name a few) can make things incredibly difficult. With Dark Ruler No More, you can simply turn these effects off for a turn and power through them.

Nibiru, the Primal Being

Another card usually found in Side Decks, Nibiru, the Primal Being is being played in more Main Decks this weekend. It makes for a good answer to Decks that go through a chain of Summons such as Rokkets, Salamangreats, and SPYRALs, though it is vulnerable if the opponent plays Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess within their first five Summons. Clearly some Duelists felt it was worth the risk, though it remains to be seen if that will pay off for them.

D.D. Crow

The final typically-a-side-deck-card is D.D. Crow, now being played as a strong option in many Main Decks. SPYRAL Decks are using SPYRAL Quik-Fix to play Lyrilusc – Recital Starling (thus preventing Quick-Fix from being banished), then using Recital Starling to get D.D. Crow. However, other strategies are also playing D.D. Crow simply for the card’s versatility and usefulness against the current top decks.