No two Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournaments are alike: formats are different, trends change at the drop of a dime, and in many cases, the Dueling landscape of the hosting city itself shapes the tournament. Here in Toronto we are in Kalin Kessler country: Infernities may be more popular here in Toronto than anywhere else, thanks to big Championship wins in the hands of Torontonian Duelists last year. While Infernities fell off the competitive map many months ago, the new September 1st Advanced List has opened the gates once again, and Duelists like Jason Larabee are capitalizing on one of the biggest new tournament powerhouses to take the strategy to new heights.
Read more…
Jason Larabee entered today’s YCS with a complex Infernity Deck that loops Summons with Leviair the Sea Dragon and is capable of Summoning Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier multiple times in a single turn. Larabee’s Round 5 opponent, Ryan Muttaqi, is using Gladiator Beasts. Gladiator Beasts typically give Infernity Decks a tough time, since Gladiator Beast Retiari has the ability to banish key combo cards from the Infernity Duelist’s Graveyard; but Larabee’s new Infernity tricks may be enough to help him triumph in this difficult Matchup. Read more…
Christopher Evans made it to the Top 32 with his fast-paced Infernity Deck, while Mark Johnson made it there with his slow-paced Quickdraw Dandywarrior Deck. Johnson likes to draw cards to increase his options, while Evans likes to burn through them to give his strongest cards their effects. Which strategy will prevail?
Read more…
Marshaun Young is currently 6-1 with the Fairy Chaos Deck we profiled at the start of the tournament. His opponent, Christopher Evans, has a 6-1 record with Infernities. Young’s 3 copies of Royal Decree may make this a tough matchup for Evans, but if Evans can draw the right cards early on, he may be able to defeat Young before he gets his Deck up-and-running. A victory here will put one of these Duelists into a great position to make the Top 32 after the 2 rounds of swiss tomorrow morning.
Read more…
Kareem O’Brien is here today running Infernities. This is his first big tournament showings and he’s up against Lazaro Bellido, a former National and Shonen Jump Championship Tournament Champion who is here today using X-Sabers. Both players here are from the Toronto area and have played each other multiple times in the past. Will O’Brien be able to stand up to Bellido or will he fall short of the goal line?
Read more…
Infernities proved to be extremely popular here in Toronto this past Summer: so much so that while X-Sabers were dominating in the United States, Infernities were winning the Canadian World Championship Qualifier. Aaron Noel took home the Canadian Championship, but it was fellow Canadians like Lazaro and Dale Bellido that first pioneered the Deck when it debuted at YCS Virginia. They, and many more Canadians like them, continued to play the Deck for the bulk of the March 1st Advanced Format.
Read more…
Canadian Duelist Dale Bellido is competing here today with a new version of the Deck he ran for the bulk of the last Advanced Format: Infernities. Despite Infernity Launcher’s newly-Limited status, a number of Canadian Duelists are undaunted and have stuck with the Deck, compensating by running more copies of Infernity Mirage and cards like Infernity Force and Infernity Break. The new breed of Infernity Decks are all about the long game.
Jimmy Chen was Bellido’s opponent this round, piloting a popular pick in today’s tournament: Blackwings. With cards like Icarus Attack and Delta Crow – Anti Reverse likely to appear in Chen’s Deck, this Match might come down to who can play the long game the best.
Read more…