A YCS is a proving ground for the greatest Duelists, but every journey begins with one step. These Duelists are attending their first ever YCS! Let’s meet them!

Noah Shively made the drive here from Birmingham, Alabama. He started Dueling just last summer, with his first tournament the weekend Duelist’s Advance released. He played in the Genesys event yesterday using his Purrely Deck, saying he really enjoyed Genesys despite not having tried it much before. He especially liked how Genesys is a way to play with Decks that might not be seen in Advanced. So far he’s been enjoying the event, and liked meeting people he’d seen in the coverage of past events – he even got Jeff Leonard to sign his copy of Exodia the Forbidden One. He’ll be playing his Ars Magna Elfnote Deck in the Advanced tournament today.

Noah’s favorite card is Epurrely Happiness, and he has the Yu-Gi-Oh! Day Game Mat to show it off in every Duel!

Mike Kelly is here from West Palm Beach, Florida, with several friends from the same local tournament scene. Mike said he got started in Yu-Gi-Oh! back in 2011 when Dino Rabbit and Wind-Ups were the strongest Decks. He’s playing an Ars Magna Light and Darkness Ritual Deck today, commenting on how strong the Ars Magna cards are with Mediclius the Extraordinary Power Patron. He was very happy to come to this event and find that YCS Champions were very welcoming, and happy to talk and give tips.

Mike’s favorite card is Rescue Rabbit thanks to his early days playing the Dino Rabbit Deck. We didn’t have a copy at the ready, so instead he posed with our Rescue Rabbit banner while showing another favorite: Dark Magician of Destruction!

Joseph Patalano and Maria Gibson are in the same group as Mike, here from West Palm Beach. They got started Dueling just a few months ago with Chaos Origins! Maria is using Lunalight in both Genesys and Advanced this weekend, which was the second Deck she learned after Melffys. She’d played some other trading card games before, and loved how Yu-Gi-Oh! is such a unique experience with a lot of challenge and depth. She initially wasn’t planning to play in the YCS, but jumped in at the last minute to join her brother and the others who travelled here together.

Maria said her favorite card is Cupsy☆Yummy, and showed off her custom Yummy nails! There’s Cupsy☆Yummy and Marshmao☆Yummy with a candy theme!

That’s dedication, and I now expect more Duelists to do the same. Don’t let me down, readers!

Joseph said he got started because he had a lot of friends who played. He was drawn to the Blitzclique Deck, really enjoying the midrange gameplay style where you can pick apart your opponent’s field and not rely on the Extra Deck. He said it’s been a lot of fun at the YCS, where he’s playing Blitzclique in both the Genesys and Advanced events. Joseph, Maria, and Mike aren’t the only ones from their local area – three of this weekend’s Bounty Duelists are also from the same scene! Joseph reflected that having many strong Duelists in his area has been great for his own improvement.

Joseph’s favorite card is Whisker Blitzclique, a card he’s happy to draw every time. He posed with the whole Blitzclique crew for our photo!

It’s always a delight to meet Duelists taking their first step in their YCS experience! Good luck, first-timers!