Competition is fierce here in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend, and Duelists tweaked their Decks to gain every edge in the tournament that they could! Check out the popular tech cards that Duelists are using this weekend!

1. Lightning Storm

It should be no surprise that Lightning Storm is a popular tech card this weekend. Recently released in Ignition Assault, Lightning Storm has the power to destroy all Attack Position monsters on your opponent’s field or all Spell & Trap Cards on your opponent’s field, making it a versatile tech card that works in many situations. Lightning Storm is especially powerful against Decks that put lots of cards in the back row, like Altergeists, but also effective against Decks that build impressive fields, like SPYRALs. Expect Lightning Storm to be a big card in competitive Dueling moving forward.

2. Droll & Lock Bird

With SPYRAL Decks out in full force, Duelists are looking for ways to stop them. That’s where Droll & Lock Bird comes in. SPYRAL Decks need to add lots of cards to their hand in any given turn in order to perform the string of plays that combo into a big field, and Droll & Lock Bird stops the strategy in its tracks. That’s why Droll & Lock Bird is back as a popular tech card this weekend. Droll & Lock Bird is also effective against other popular Decks that rely on grabbing cards from the Deck outside of the Draw Phase, including Salamangreat and HERO Decks.

 D.D. Crow

Like Droll & Lock Bird, D.D. Crow is a monster with a Quick Effect that activates in the hand and can disrupt an opponent’s turn. Banishing a single card from an opponent’s Graveyard may not seem like much, but being able to do it at any time during either Duelist’s turn can have a huge impact. D.D. Crow works to counter popular cards like SPYRAL GEAR – Big Red, Monster Reborn, and SPYRAL Quik-Fix. SPYRAL Decks are also able to search it out with the effect of Lyrilusc – Recital Starling, allowing them to reliably gain access to D.D. Crow. D.D. Crow has been in and out of popularity for over a decade, and at the moment, it’s definitely at one of its higher points of popularity.

 Called by the Grave

As long as there are monster effects that activate in the hand to disrupt an opponent’s play, there are cards that Duelist will use to stop them. That’s where Called by the Grave comes in. Called by the Grave will banish pesky monsters like Droll & Lock Bird, D.D. Crow, and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and stop their effects, allowing Duelists to play through them. Plus, it works like D.D. Crow to banish important monsters from an opponent’s Graveyard.

5. Instant Fusion and Millennium-Eyes Restrict

Like Called by the Grave, Millennium-Eyes Restrict helps to counteract the popularity of monsters with effects that activate in the hand, like Droll & Lock Bird, D.D. Crow, and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. Millennium-Eyes Restrict will absorb a monster whose effect your opponent is trying to use, and render that effect powerless. Duelists using Millennium-Eyes Restrict are Summoning it with Instant Fusion, allowing them to set up an insurance plan against an opponent’s monster effects with the activation of a single Spell Card.

Many of these tech cards were popular in the past, but regained popularity this weekend as Duelists started to assess the most powerful Decks in the new Advanced Format and the best counters against them. Follow the coverage to see if any of these 5 cards have a major impact on Top Cut Feature Matches this weekend!