As the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series and tournaments like this weekend’s WCQ keep growing, more and more Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are becoming part of these big-event experiences. One part of that trend is costumes – Duelists dressing like their favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. It’s not a common sight yet, but little by little, dedicated costumed Duelists are beginning to appear at the biggest tournaments.
Emily Nelsen is one example. She first turned heads at YCS Chicago when she appeared in her full Akiza costume. She reprised that role this weekend, wowing 5D’s fans and competitive Duelists alike. Naturally we had to talk to her, and she graciously obliged.
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Heading into the Top 32, with almost 1200 competitors eliminated by that point, and in a field of X-Sabers, Blackwings, Gadgets, Gladiator Beasts, and Frog Decks, 1 competitor stood apart from the crowd. Ben McDowell made Top 32 and won himself a Dark End Dragon with a Macro Cosmos Deck. Here’s how he did it! Read more…
Tom Walter loves playing Plants. Last year, he entered the 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship with his Plant Deck. This year, he updated his Plant Deck and adapted it to the new field of Decks. He came back using his favorite Deck, this time competing in the 2010 World Championship Qualifier.
Tom Walter’s Hamster Plant Deck specializes at taking his opponent’s monsters and using them against him. With 3 copies of Mark of the Rose in his Main Deck and tons of Plants to remove to activate them, no monster can safely be left on the field against Walter. Walter also uses Super-Nimble Mega Hamster to Special Summon Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter or X-Saber Airbellum from his Deck, giving him monsters to use in Synchro Summons or to Tribute for the Summon of Caius the Shadow Monarch. Read more…
Yesterday we saw an impressive showing from up-and-coming Duelist Courtney Waller, as he narrowly lost to Ryan Spicer in Round 7. We didn’t actually get to see most of the cards that got Waller selected for his Feature Match. The Duel was fast and intense, and only lasted a matter of minutes. But Waller is one of a handful of Blackwing Duelists who made Top 64, and his success was clearly due to some of the creative tech choices he made in building his Deck. Check it out! Read more…
You may remember Ira Jones from the SHONEN JUMP Championship in Edison, New Jersey. It was his first ever SHONEN JUMP Championship, and he made it to the Top 32 with his unique Gladiator Beast Deck running 2 copies of Honest and a bunch of other LIGHT monsters to work with them. He was back at this event, competing for an invitation to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship for the first time. He stuck with his favorite Deck type and updated it for this weekend’s tournament. Read more…
Fili Luna is one of four Duelists here today who received a free trip to this event. Luna won the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series event at GenCon in 2009, his fourth Championship win over the years. But today, he’s facing a new challenge – winning a World Championship Qualifier and earning an invitation to compete in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship. He’s chosen X-Sabers to bring him to the top, and added a personal touch that sets it apart from other Duelists’ X-Saber Decks. Read more…
Robbie Stargel’s Deck is an extension of the Caliber Cat Deck that Grant Kelly played at YCS Chicago. But instead of his entire X-Saber lineup being Airbellums and Darksouls, Stargel has decided to add XX-Saber Fulhelmknight to his team and leave out Doomcaliber Knight. After omitting Doomcaliber Knight from his line-up, Stargel decided to name his Deck “X-Caliber Cat,” noting Doomcaliber Knight’s absence. Read more…
Back in February, Adric High took 2nd place at the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series in Nashville, Tennessee. Now, he’s back on the tournament scene for this weekend’s World Championship Qualifier, competing against the rest of the nation’s top players. His Deck of choice for this high-level tournament? It’s a combination of Doomcaliber Knight with Blackwings, which he calls Knight Wings! Read more…
Dan Quach entered the World Championship Qualifier with the coolest Deck he could think of. While plenty of Duelists in the field of players are using Obelisk the Tormentor in today’s tournament, mostly in Frog Monarch Decks, none of them can use Slifer the Sky Dragon since it no version exists yet that can be used in a Duel. “Everyone’s always talking Obelisk,” Quach said. “I wanted to show them Slifer’s true power.” He decided that the best way to do this would be to build a Deck around Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, the GX equivalent of Slifer. Read more…
Chris Bowling is one of four Duelists here today who received a free trip to this event, since he won the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournament in Texas in 2009. Bowling was also the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG U.S. National Champion in 2008, and represented the Unitd States at the World Championship held in Germany that year. Today, he’s back to earn another shot at the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship title, by first making it through to the Top 4 of this WCQ. Take a look at the X-Saber Deck Bowling chose to run this weekend. Read more…
