New Banlist

Well, the latest ban list for Yu-Gi-Oh! has been officially released, and it seems everyone is taking a hit. I imagine it's to slow down some of the nastier decks out at the moment, and while I know I'm gonna miss a couple of cards there are some that most of us will be grateful to see gone.

One big change is that all of the baby Dragon Rulers are now banned completely. I don't think any of us will be surprised by this, what with Dragon Rulers dominating the previous format. By getting rid of the baby dragons, this should slow them down by a significant amount. What may be the killer for them though is the banning of Super Rejuvination and limiting of Gold Sarcophagus. Admittedly, I'd hate to be the guy who bought more than one copy of Dracossack and Number 11: Big Eye at the moment.

Speaking of Xyz monsters, the only new one on the ban list is Number 16: Shock Master. Here's another one who I think we'll be glad to see the last of for a while. I know more than once when I've been playing Harpies and started swarming my opponent has expressed a sigh at the sudden appearance of Shock Master, although I'll admit to not having played one in my deck even before this ban list.

Here's a surprise for me in that Elemental HERO Stratos is now banned. I have a friend in England that I play against on Dueling Network who plays HEROes, and having had experience against him I would've thought that Stratos was fine being limited. I'll assume there was a decent reason for it and move onto the next cards now, so don't worry about that.

However, it's the toolbox cards that took the biggest hit. As of September 1st, we are no longer allowed to have copies of Monster Reborn, Heavy Storm, Pot of Avarice and Solemn Judgment in decks. Card Destruction is also gone, so just about every one of us will have to do some thinking about what we're gonna fill those holes with. Reborn is an easy one for me, as I can substitute Galaxy Zero in my Photon deck and Hysteric Party for my Harpies.

Another couple of banned cards that caught my attention are Gateway of the Six and Spellbook of Judgment. I haven't seen too many Six Samurai decks lately, which I have the feeling that Evilswarm Ophion is responsible for, and this could very well be the final nail in the coffin for them. The banning of Judgment will definitely serve to slow down Prophecy/Spellbook decks, although they might still be able to remain competitive since it looks like none of their other cards got hit.

Onto the limited stuff, and we will no longer be seeing more than one of the Wascaly Wabbits due to being limited. This will hit quite a few decks, slowing down Dino Rabbit, Noble Rabbit, Evilswarm and Fire Fists. I know I won't be sorry to see him at one for a while.

Speaking of limits, I seem to remember Mermails, Fire Fists and Bujin being thought to be the big decks for the upcoming format. It would seem that Konami agrees, limiting several cards that slot in with them. Among those hit are:
 - Atlantean Dragoons
 - Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit
 - Deep Sea Diva
On that topic, it's worth mentioning that Fire Formation - Tenki got the semi-limited treatment, probably in anticipation of Fire Fists and Bujin decks. We shall see if it's enough to keep the balance over the next few months.

The last one I'm going to talk about for now is the complete removal of Black Whirlwind from the list. As someone who has played Blackwings (in the form of Black Harpies), I'm honestly shocked by this. One really good starting hand can result in a massive swarm of the field in a single turn, especially with Heavy Storm gone. Whether or not it will be enough to make Blackwings competitive again is something we'll find out over the next few months, just like how well the fan favourites will be I mention in the last part.

Actually, there is one other really big change to the ban list I want to mention. This ban list will only be in effect for the period of September 1st to December 31st, giving it only half the life span of previous ban lists. I have the feeling that this is to stop cards that come out early into a format from dominating it for extended periods, making this a welcome change in my eyes. Hopefully it will also result in some more diverse decks, and we won't be seeing only a few decks in the top sixteen results for tournaments worldwide. I can dream, can't I?

For the full ban list, see the following link: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/index.html

The Pokemon Professor, Troy

That was a Blast

Well, the Plasma Blast pre release has come and gone, and apparently my streak of getting useless crap in my pre release boosters continued. I think that one time drawing Pyrorex the Elemental Lord got my hopes and expectations up to the point where fate just doesn't want to deal with them. Maybe it had something to do with getting some Judgment of the Light boosters before the tourney and pulling Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Rooster (I traded it already, so don't molest me over it). Ah well, that didn't stop the day being enjoyable. Getting a full art Iris or a Master Ball wouldn't have hurt though.

I think Kangaskhan got card of the day for this one. Call for Family has featured on many a card stretching back a long time in the TCG, and to have it on a colourless pokemon makes Kangaskhan easily splashable, which  would have accounted for its common appearance during the day. Comet Punch is a little too unpredictable for my liking, but I'd say it was quite the turning point throughout the day.

Probably some of the best news came in the form of reprints of Rare Candy and Pokemon Catcher, both of which seemed to appear fairly easily compared to earlier prints. Given that they're some of the most useful cards to have in a deck at this point in time, this is extremely good news.

For those of you who have an affinity for water types (hooray for fancy speak!), here's something you'll like. Suicune appears in the Plasma Blast set, sporting the anti-EX ability that made Sigilyph infamous. Which means you too can enjoy a measure of protection from Pokemon-EX just like psychic decks and other people who like to throw in a special energy that can count as psychic. The one thing that sets Sigilyph over the top of Suicune however, is that Sigilyph can be searched for with Level Ball which eliminates the possibility of failure Poke Ball comes with or the loss of cards to use Ultra Ball.

If I could remember the awesome line I said on the day, I would write it here. Unfortunately I can't, so I'm gonna end the blog post here. Mostly because I'm out of stuff to say that I haven't already said in a previous blog post. So have a great night everyone, and enjoy Plasma Blast!

The Pokemon Professor, Troy

Oh shi- The Boss is Back from Vegas, look busy!

Alright guys, I waited for Kev to send me photo's of the Duelists Bad-Asses in Vegas. Unfortunately, no pictures arrived, so I'll call it as BS under the Internets' "Pics or It Didn't Happen" rule.

Troy being the Awesome guy Gentleman and Scholar he is, has covered for me while I sired 3/4 of Queensland's generation Z in 2 short weeks. (The "Pics or It Didn't Happen" rule only applies to outlandish claims Like going to Las Vegas for a Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship, not admissions that I've been tom-catting around, which is basically business as Usual.)

Back on topic; The Judgement of the Light out-shone even the Cosmo-blazer pre-release, and the light burns....

Troy was right on all his predictions: Synchro's are Back baby, Star Seraphs, Bujin and Super Defense Robot burned romped in the per-release, and even that the xyz monster Googly-Eyes Drum Dragon would romp in the pre-releases in the favor of whom had him.

I must disagree with Troy on one point though: pre-releases are not "the great equalizers", because if you get a bad card mix, you are stuffed. But they make it just as hard for your opponent, who are also hobbled by the same problem. They are as close as we are going to get without Konami keeping a good bottom line. (Admittedly, I'm a perfect example of no-skill bastards who does well by buying the cards he needs, so pre-releases eat away my one edge.)

On the Pokemon Front: The Plasma Blast has further annoyed Troy, after I got both a "Master Ball" and a "Jirachi-EX" in my pre-release packs... I think he's (rightfully) suspicious that I've been using black-magic to steal his pre-release fortune, better give it back before he can get pics to prove it happened... (I needed to get to the bus, but I'll arrange to get them to Troy, I had my fun.)

Go Forth and play Card-Games! Also, get pics for the blog.

Chad

A Blast of Light

It's that time of the year again, time for another release for not only Yu-Gi-Oh!, but for Pokemon TCG as well! First thing's first, there are still spots for both pre-release events at the time of writing, with Judgment of the Light on this Saturday the 3rd and Plasma Blast on the 11th. I'm gonna be going to both, as there are quite a few cards I'm hoping to get my hands on as early as possible. Don't we all know that feeling.

Synchro monsters are coming back in a big way in Judgment of the Light. Star Eater (I really don't know why they didn't just stick with Celestial Dragon, Konami makes some odd naming choices. Don't even get me started on the name change of Radiant Photon Paradius) is a good example of this, as it's essentially a 3200atk beatstick that doesn't have to worry about traps when it attacks. I figure it'd work best on the field by itself, since a thought out Mirror Force will get rid of it easily enough. Still, it's one big beasty to have on your side of the field.

As far as the pre-release will go, my predictions are that the stars of the day will be amongst the Star Seraphs and Bujin archetypes, with Super Defence Robot sneaking in there thanks to their xyz monster Googly-Eyes Drum Dragon. This is similar to how Battlin' Boxers with Magnum Shield performed well at the Tachyon pre-release and Hazy Flames being the cards to have at Cosmo Blazer. Mind you, I'd be happier getting copies of Starliege Lord Galaxion for my Photon deck (you thought Galaxy-Eyes was annoying before? Watch me summon it straight from my deck) and Number C39: Utopia Ray Victory and Rank-Up-Magic Numeron Force for the Battlin' Boxer deck I'm working on. Although I have a friend in England I'm sure wouldn't object to me pulling a World of Prophecy.

Now I've already covered some of the good stuff for the Plasma Blast set in this post here, but there's nothing quite like actually being able to get the cards. I haven't actually been to a Pokemon pre-release yet, so I'm definitely excited to be able to attend this one.

I figure it'll be similar to a Magic: The Gathering pre-release (Chad, help me out here with how that works?) where we build either a deck or half-deck with what we get and some borrowed energy cards from the Card House. One tip for building a deck that I can give is to try and stick with a maximum of two types so as to limit the possibility of drawing useless energy.

The best things about pre-release events are that they are "the great equalizers." By that, it means you won't have to worry about coming up against decks like my Gardevoir/Gallade, Team Plasma-EX or, Arceus forbid, Machamp from Diamond & Pearl - Stormfront*. So with a little bit of luck (or a nice Pokemon-EX from your boosters), it's anyone's game. (For those of you who can't read Japanese, Kyurem-EX's first attack is 30 damage + 10 more for each damage counter on itself and its second attack is 150 damage that requires you to discard two water energy attached to it. Not a bad card, and something that can slot into Keldeo/Blastoise easily enough).

Remember, there are only three spots left (though by the time I write this they may be all gone) for Judgment of the Light and approximately eight for Plasma Blast, and the race goes to the swift as they say. Kinda like how the duel goes to Dragon Rulers because they usually spawn Dracossack first turn, but enough about that. I'm looking forward to both days, and I hope to see you all there as well!

Your resident Pokemon Professor, Troy

*Okay, I know I really shouldn't say it like that. But from what I've seen on the rest of the internet it would appear that nobody likes that card apart from the people who suppress their conscience enough to use it.

Stand up my Vanguard!!

Welcome back to Cray everyone.

It has been a long while since my last post (Damn work, not letting me post enough), and since then, alot has happened in the world of CF!Vanguard.

There have been a multitude of new releases for both Japanese and English (as we only have english here, that is where i will be staying). Most recently was the release of EB06 Dazzling Divas. With this release, a new recruitment of Bermuda units arrived. Both beautiful and deadly, these ladies will be a perfect addition to any Bermuda players Deck.

<< With Labrador being the forerunner for this set, Getting your hands on more than one is lucky, and you will have all the boys knocking on your door (for those who are into that >.>). Not only does she look amazing on the field, but her abilities are off the chain.

When you have the 4 damage required to Limit Break, place 3 Pr<3ism units onto rear guard and she not only gets a massive 10K boost, but also gets an extra +1 crit.

Now add this ability to Leyte's and you get a 32K column swinging in at the opponents vanguard with a 2 crit before triggers. This is one heck of a force to mess with.

These two units are not only able create a massive 30+K column but help each other Pr<3ism unit as well.

Now i';m not saying that i have already got 3 Labs, but i have 3 Labs :P Was over the moon when i got them. However they are promised to a friend :)

So today i went and got myself a box of set 3 just to see how i could go. Got myself a SP Pellinore to top my amazing day off.

Speaking of amazing days; Last weekend, a friend (Sean) from the GC and at 3am we built 2 decks. The first is my new favorite, the Oracle Think Tank. With CEO Amaterasu and Goddess of the Sun Amaterasu, this deck has a lot of power and the ability to use it. BUT, the pride and joy of the night, was a Nova Grappler deck built around the Perfect Raizer line. This deck has gone 14 and 0 since it has been built and perfected.

Lets just say when Sean and myself get together to make a deck or two, people better watch out ;)

Well that is all from Cray for now. Stay tuned to hear the latest on the upcoming release of the EB07 which revolves around OTT XD

SO EXCITED!!

Alright enough from me. Time to get back to deck building :D

Until next time everyone.

RIDE THE VANGUARD!!

It's Good to be back!

It's been too long since the last post. My PC was fried like a piece of Chicken, so there isn't a lot I can do apart from play card games.

The Blog is Back! The Card-House is in a Brand New Store, we Gamers have more legroom, less windows for prying eyes to peek through, and Kev's got a good food racket us some discounted lunch delivered to Cardhousians between game sessions. All in all, a sweet set-up.

*Puts on his robe and wizard's hat.*

Yes ladies, gentlemen, and weirds/constructs/elementals that pass as the former, the Magic Core 2014 pre-release was an absolute blast!

The skill level was from the grandest Archmage, to New Planeswalkers like myself, Fallon and Blake.

Okay Maybe "Planeswalking isn't the best word for my case, but that's close enough to how I roll.

Anyway, Neophyte Blake and I have more experience since the Dragon's Maze pre-release, so we jumped right in like some drunks at a pub brawl, and got Fallon  to join in against her will, Help me get moar cards on the cheap. to broaden her horizons from Yu-Gi-Oh.

I got some cards I needed to finish my deck. All I need now is for everyone to call me "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", join my army of Death-Eaters and I'll be halfway to conqering the known world!

*Takes off his robe and wizard's hat, putting them in his invisible bag of holding he stole from Dungeons and Dragons*

Onto The Yu-Gi-Oh front.

ATTENTION DUELISTS!

There are only 12 days until "YuGiOh Judgment of Ligh" sneak-peak! Spots are limited so if you aren't signed up, do it NOW! There is more cards for the "Archfiend", "Duston", "Coach", "Fire Fist", "Fire King" "Flower Princess", "Galaxy", "Mecha Phantom Beast", "Noble Knight", "Number", "Number C", "Photon", "Prophecy", "Shark" and "Trap Hole" archetypes. Introduces the "Bujin", "Star Seraph", "Traptrix", "Super Defense Robot" and "Umbral Horror" archetypes/series.





You don't want to miss out on this!

The Chad Is Out... It's good to be back!

Lord of The Tachyon Galaxy: Who the heck is he?

Alright Gentlemen

I've removed the Mum's Day Post: Recap: My Google Account was hacked, including the associated blogger account. They were obviously doing this to annoy me, but failed more epically then me sending my Hazy Flames to swimming lessons. TIP: If you are trying to destroy the blog: it's far more effective to have some Cialis ads that you copypasta from your inbox. I have tried for several days to track the providence of it, and have pulled it until I can find the authour.

Back to what we are all here for: Card House! The pre-release for Lord of The Tachyon Galaxy has come and gone.

Troy's rejoicing that The Harpies are back! We also saw a few new archtypes come out: Dragon Rulers, Mecha Phantom Beasts and Battling Boxers!

My thoughts on the Archetypes:

Dragon-Rulers are glass cannons: "Mind Drain" can stop the card effects that SS the lvl 7 Dragons from the hand. "Soul Drain" can do the same for all effects that SS them from the Graveyard. Their lower-level dragons are weaker then most equivalent leveled monsters in the game, so all the offensive will require the Level 7 Dragons. This means that if you prevent them from Special Summoning using a monster effect (Archlord Kristya, Evilswarm Ophion, Crimson Blader," and "Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo" for example) you can slow them down, and mop-up the lower level dragons before they can be Tributed for their bigger cousins. You can also slow them down using "Imperial Iron Wall" and "Masoleum of the Emperor" or "Summon Limit": Don't forget "Dragon Capture Jar" that can make things nasty.

"Battlin' Boxers" are nasty in the Battle Phase. Most of their effects deal with preventing their destruction by battle which is nasty. "Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw" + "Battlin' Boxer Headgeared" combo allows you to get your "Battlin' Boxer" monsters from your deck to your Graveyard, then from there to your hand. You then give your opponent a challenging sparring partner.

Overall, the biggest weakness of this archetype is the same as The Mecha-Phantom Beasts: The non-Xyz monsters are weak in comparison to Xyz Monsters of this archetype. Without these, you are dead in the water. "Battlin' Boxer Switchitter" can help you do this by bring back other "Battlin' Boxers" at the cost of only being able to only Summon "Battlin' Boxers" that turn, and "Battlin' Boxer Sparrer" can help you xyz summon at the cost of the turn's Battle Phase. I'd also Chuck in "Solidarity" to help your non-xyz's stand a chance, until you Xyz.

In general, this Deck has a good amount of strength and flexibility to allow it to counter most strategies. Keeping the Graveyard and hand full of "Battlin' Boxer" monsters gives advantage to Summon "Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke" which is itself a helpful shield and a great offense. Combine with "Magnum Shield" for great effect. "Star Cestus" and its chaos form, "Number C105: Battlin' Boxer Comet Cestus" are both helpful for this Deck as "Star Cestus" provides an offensive defense in the beginning and "Comet Cestus" provides very aggressive offense which can damage your opponent greatly over a short period of time.