Introducing our Singaporean players, 2

Yeap, it's back. Today's player is a well known Blackwing (Black Feather) enthusiast and also the writer of his own blog, Avengingknight's Yu-Gi-Oh Zone. It's Vishal Dharshan!

Acheivements:

2011 Asia Championship Qualifyer Top 16

2011 Asia Plus Top 8 with Evol

2011 Top Shop of Singapore Top 4 with Blackwing

Could you introduce yourself and how long you've been playing Yu-Gi-Oh?
Hello, my name is Vishal aka avengingknight, I have been playing Yugioh since 2008.

In all the past formats you've played which has been your favourite and why?
Definitely the March 2010 format. The format was filled with great plays but with balanced decks such as Blackwings and Machina.

Since playing Yu-Gi-Oh, what has been your favourtie card and why?
Black Whirlwind, mainly because it's my favourite deck and also because it makes the entire deck more versatile and consistent.

I assume then your favourite deck is Blackwings, why is that so?
Yes. Blackwings in my opinion are a very balanced deck. There is no two card OTK in the deck. Hence it rewards skillful plays. And also Blackwing monsters are cool :D.

I have to agree with that, being a former Blackwing player myself. In your opinion, how large are the differences between OCG and TCG and how much has Extra Pack done to reduce that?
Honestly, before Extra Pack 2012 was released, they were like 2 different card games. Now everybody can enjoy the same amount of brokenness in the cards, which is better IMO.

Do you forsee the OCG and TCG becoming even more similar as time passes or more differences to crop up as more exclusives get released before Extra Pack 2013?
I can see that happening to a certain extent. Konami will definitely release TCG exclusive cards like Tour Guide in the future. But it all comes to who plays better and not who plays more broken cards.

There have been complaints that the game is taking less and less skill, though such complaints are definitely fewer than before, do you forsee the game to become more skill based with the direction Konami is going?
If the ban list eliminates decks that can OTK or lock with 2 or less cards, then the format will mostly be based on how skilled you are rather than how lucky you are in drawing the 2 cards. There should be satisfaction in a loss and not hatred because you lost to a skilless play.

Well said indeed, regarding the local scene, how competitive is it in your opinion, and how well do your forsee youself performing in 2013?
Singapore locals are actually very competitive. It is not very easy to top in our locals. I have been doing well since 2013 begun. The deck I currently pilot is Dark World (hail Grapha). I believe it is the best meta call. As for foresee I'm hoping to get Top 8 finish at a major event.

Looking into the March 2013 format, what do you expect it to be comprised of/dominated by?
Fire Fist mainly. The rest will have to depend what's on the list.

So what do you think is going to be on the list?
Monster Reborn.

I think that's about it, thanks a lot for your time, do you have any shoutouts?
Yeah, Kenneth Tan for starting Pokemon with me and yourself for conducting this interview for Singaporeans!

So there you have it, also expect a banlist post soon.

Introducing our Singaporean players, 1

Ok this is a ripoff of Kyde's Rolling with the Top Dogs, in this segment, I will be interviewing prominent players in Singapore's competitive scene that are not so well known. Well, today's player is extremely well known in the country as well as over the Causeway in Malaysia, it's Sherwyn Lim!

Achievements:
Asia Plus 2012 Top 8

By his request, there will be no picture of him. Future interviews (if any) would hopefully have a picture of the player.

My words will be bolded whilst responses will be bolded in red.

So Sherwyn, when did you start Yugioh?
2009?

Of all the formats you've played in which has been your favourite?
Hieratic.

Hmmm, that's interesting, what has been your favourite card since playing Yugioh?
Reborn.

If you could bring back a card from the banlist, what would it be and why?
Ummmmmm, dunno, LOL.

Ok, now tell me, what do you enjoy about Yugioh?
The plays and the people playing it.

Can you give me an example?
I was only joking, I enjoy Yugioh because it is interesting.

Haha, that was very funny, was there any moment in Yugioh which you regret or treasure?
I have 1 regret in WCQ (World Championship Qualifyer) 2012 which I don't wish to tell. Sorry.

That's alright. The March 2013 Banlist is approaching do you see any unexpected cards on the list?
My thoughts are almost the same as the rest, Wind-Ups are getting a hit. IMO Mermails will not be touched although Bixuan (from HLG) abuses it too much with his (Armor) Kappa and Megalo.

Haha. What do you forsee the next format to be comprised of/dominated by?
It should be dominated by HEROes, Fire King and Mermails. Fire King eat Mermails, Mermails eat HEROes, HEROes eat Fire King. Verz would also be another contender though in small numbers.

So we are looking at a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" format? Any rouge decks other than Verz you expect to contend against this Big Three?
Lavals, as Maxx "C"  wouldn't be much use.

Ok, in the Singapore competitive scene, we've seen some big achievements on the international stage, such as several tops in the World Championships and actually winning it in 2009. How far do you see yourself in the competitive scene in 2013?
Wow, that's a tricky question. Singapore is very competitive IMO, so I will just do my best and hope for the best. I forsee myself getting a Top 8 in Asia Plus this year.

Thanks a lot for your time. Do you have any shoutouts?
Keith Chen :), Wesley Seek, Bixuan.

That's all?
Johann.

Well that's the end of this interview. Yay.

Disclaimer: grammatical changes and removal of local slang were made to the actual interview to allow foreign readers to fully understand it. After all, this IS to promote Singaporean players to the foreigners.

PUT IN JSPEED!!! FOR MY SHOUTOUT!!!!

As for banlist predictions, I can only say, I have absolutely no idea. For the first time in all my Yugioh I have no idea what direction Konami wants, everything they are making is completely fresh, completely new, they could start set rotation and the game would still be competitive.

Elemental Dragons

I think LTGY biggest cause for hooha is actually these 4 mofos.

All of them have a semi-broken effect, and my personal favourite would have to be Redox cos I'm a Chemistry geek and cos Monster Reborn is looking to FINALLY be banned.

However, like my previous post on Tidal, Redox's effect being one of the strongest leaves it to have almost no attack at all. whereas Blaster and Tidal are HUGE.

That being said, Redox is not needed on the field, so there are two uses it has:
1. Prepare to Endphase go back hand
2. Use for Rank 7 Exceed.

That being said, wtf they are all Level 7 that's making Big Eye broken as shit.

Anyway, I think proper Machina Gadget, not with Tinplate, will be a real contender with the inclusion of Redox in their decklist.

I also think Blaster is asking for abuse, but I can't find a suitable way to truly abuse it other than popping your own Garudinix.

And banlist post should be up anytime now.

Some people just want to watch the world burn

LTGY-JP039 Tidal, the Waterfall Dragon 「瀑征竜タイダル」WATER/Dragon - Effect/7/2600/2000Activate by removing from play a total of 2 Dragon-Type or WATER Monster from your hand and/or Graveyard, except this card. Special Summon this card from your hand or Graveyard. Return this Special Summoned card to its owner's hand during your opponent's End Phase. Also, by discarding this card and 1 WATER Monster from your hand to the Graveyard, send 1 Monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. If this card is removed from play, you can add 1 Dragon Type WATER Monster to your hand. The effect of "Tidal, the Waterfall Dragon" can only be used once per turn.

WHAT THE FLYING FUCK?!
Oh ya I scrubbed at ranking cos Six Sam dies terribly to Verz.

Discard Dragoon, send Dragoon, what's Undine?

Ranking Tourney 13/1/13

Decided to finally get out of Yew Tee for a few hours, get some ranking points as well.

Anyway I used my Infernity Exceed build and there were 12 players that day.

Round 1 vs Ash (Evol) OXO

Game 1 and 2 were night and day as it showed both the best and worst possible scenarios for the deck. Game 1 I opened broke and game 2 I opened jank, I only managed to win game 3 due to walling in time out, although I had earlier made a mistake in that game of activating Archfiend topdeck against a Dolkka when I could have just made Pearl to seal the game.

Round 2 vs Ash's friend (Verz) XOO

I think I performed extremely poorly in all 3 games, with some clutch Black Horn of Heavens as well as standard beatdown taking the games for me. I was quite mentally exhausted as I was up till 3am the night before as well as having to play around the hate that Evol was able to side into and decided to just fuck away all his LP with 1800 beats from Archfiend.

I decided to let my friend Bixuan (from HLG) take the win for the next round (it was Top 4 in single elimination) as my head was like BOOM. 

Though I didn't learn anything new or made any real big plays, I think actually playing around with a side deck helped me realise that this new build required different side deck cards from my old build. I also realised my tournament stamina is at an all time low. Like wtf. Need to buck up on that.

How to use Infernity Exceed

In response to Thomas' request that I do a post on it, well here it is.

Disclaimer: While playing the deck I use mostly instincts, so there is no real strategy I have when using it.

However, the first priority in my opinion is to get 1 Archfiend's effect to go off, and depending on the situation, decide what else to take.

If Patrol is in grave, take another Archfiend, use Patrol's effect then you can search for Necro if your Normal Summon isn't used yet, if not, take Infernity Break or Barrier depending on what the current situation appears to require.

It is actually not advisable to take Launcher unless you have a way to fully utilize Archfiend special summons. The ideal scenario would be to get out Necro and Archfiend, get a search, and use Necro's eff to get another Archfiend to get another search.

The deck focuses on churning Rank 4 Exceeds, and with Archfiends tutoring each other, it won't be long before all 3 are out of the deck. That way, feel free to use Infernity Break to remove Archfiend and retrieve it with Leviair's effect.

The key Exceed in the deck are Lavalval Chain, No.16, Direwolf, and Abyss Dweller, reason being they allow you to detach materials with no conditions unless you have no cards left in deck in the case of Chain. This is EXTREMELY VITAL, as the flow of Archfiend special summons allow you to dictate the tempo of the game. In some of my earlier games, I ended 3 turns without using Necromancer's effect because I made a Pearl and my Archfiends were stuck under it.

Also, as a form of personal tech, I chose to use Blade Armour Ninja as well due to the pressure it can provide. I chose it ahead of Excalibur cos it was a birthday present and means more to me LOL.

I do not agree with the need to use Emeral, as the only reason you should be making Emeral is when you're behind, you aren't even supposed to be behind. If you're ahead, you should go straight for the kill or at least be applying pressure constantly.

Does the deck really die to Raiou? In the mid game yes, as this is the point you've used up your Grephers, your only real Exceed material to lure Raiou's effect out with is Archfiend, putting you even furthur behind. However, in the early game, just use the Grepher to set up before baiting with some Maestroke probably.

tl;dr Use Patrol effect to fully utilize Archfiend tutoring, hence Patrol is arguably the most important engine peice. Also, don't be afraid to use Patrol's effect to SS Patrol from hand just to reduce hand size, the SS-ed Patrol can also be used later as Exceed material.

Extreme Makeover

As you may have noticed by now, I remodelled the blog. If it looks like a brain fart of colours, do tell me because half of me thinks it does.

Anyway, if I will change it if I think there is a need to. Just trying out more colours and playing around with advanced settings LOL.

Infernity Exceed build

I've been testing the Exceed build of Infernity recently and I find it way more consistent, like sure you don't get to go Beetle derp Gachi wall, or first turn Void Ogre, but this deck feels more Doppel in the way that if you topdeck something that allows you to go off, you can produce a kill board almost always.

Besides, Void Ogre is a bad card, it really is. Shi'en is 10 times better than it. For starters, Shi'en is easier to protect, and Void Ogre's negation is even easier to force out than Shi'en.

The only issue I have with the lack of Synchros is the size of monsters, right now, I can just go Gaia or Gravity Warrior to clear some larger monsters, but for this build I have been forced to go Direwolf just to clear Gorz and Trag, this deck does have issues with clearing big monsters.

Still, 3 Break and 2 Compulse should do well enough to counteract that. Also, I notice the Tinplate count in Japan decklists are always 1, and I'm still trying to understand that. I can tell 3 is overkill, but I don't see why you shouldn't main 2.

Raiou in Wind-up?

I think main deck Raiou in Wind-up is extremely stupid.

Your deck is a win more deck, and game 1 your opponent has no side in his deck prepared for you, why the fuck would you conflict with your win more aspects?

Have so far never seen a maindeck Raiou pay off in Wind-ups. Unless you count being there to eat the Prison as a plus, in that case I'd rather maindeck Zombrya the Dark. At least you can DDV with that.

Karakuri Fighter Plane

I claim all rights and originality to Karakuri Fighter Plane. Joke.

Pretty sure there's alot of room for improvement, but this works really smooth, especially once the Synchros come out.

After all, Burei material with Dog comes free from all these mobs, so why not?

Thoughts and opinions most welcome.

Hi WASSUP

Not much, as I haven't been willing to travel to play any locals for like a month. Anyway, after facing a Phantom Fighter Plane thingy deck with Inzecter I realised Flying type wins Bug type and that shit CRUSHES Zecter with their inability to blow up.

The deck clearly has alot of power right now and it's kinda tempting as I enjoy playing such toolbox decks. However, BK would still be my deck of choice between the two due to it being a Warrior deck, which allows more room for sudden PMS aggression.

Also, I made a new DN account and it's NoLogicEustace. Right now the rating is not very high only about 800, but the account is only 4 days old so I think it's quite reasonable :)

If you want to playtest anything and see me online you can drop me a PM and if I'm free maybe we can have a game.

Right now, really looking forward to the new pack as it is going to introduce alot of balanced (IMO) archetypes that can compete at Tier 1.5 easily.

NOT looking forward to Fire Fist as that deck is as easy to read as Harry Potter, the whole toolboxyness of the deck is not challenging at all to me but there's not much you can do if they burst 700 ATK for no reason.

Logically speaking they're like Inzecter too, but since their bigger it makes up for their inability to really choose what they want to blow up and their Hornets aren't renewable resources too.

That's all for now, oh and I don't expect Harpie to be big. They really need that Spell to blow up badly, so they need the Spell that's bad enough, and they need to blow it up, which no one will do for them. Sounds like Geartown to me. Plover is strong, but it's not a carry.