How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh! Part 3 - Knowing your Phases!

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a turn based reaction card game. That means there are 2 players and they activate cards and your opponent would have a response to  the turn player's actions. Very simple.

There are a few things that we have to understand, PHASES. Phases are window frames where a certain type of action is allowed. All phases must be gone through by a player except when you are going first in the game and for Battle Phase (more detail bellow). I will help you through these steps in a very basic manner. After the introduction, I will go further into details.

DRAW PHASE

• First thing that happens here is the turn player, DRAWS 1 CARD. Simple, not much explanation needed :)

STANDBY PHASE

• Any type of effects that needs to happen here will happen (the car will say so if it does). 50-80% percent of the time, this phase would be skipped unintentionally. 

MAIN PHASE 1

• Activating Spell cards or Summoning monster happen here. Also Setting your Trap cards and Monsters if player chooses to do so. This is where player interaction really starts. An example would be me summoning Gemini Elf. My opponent then has first response to the summon, they activate Torrential Tribute, destroying my monster(s)! OH NO! That's very sad. That's a simple interaction with my opponent and I. We will talk about, "What if I want to protect my Gemini Elf?" in a later post (Chains and Spell Speed).
  

BATTLE PHASE

• This is where all the monsters collide and clash for who is stronger! If the player chooses not to go into Battle Phase, you will skip Main Phase 2 and go directly into End Phase. We can see the difference of power by the numbers written on the card! For example, taken from above, Gemini Elf has 1900 ATK and Psi-Blocker has 1200 ATK, so Gemini Elf wins! So now, we take the difference and subtract it from the weaker monster's Life Points (both players start at 8000). Again, this is another player interaction heavy phase. So your opponent can use cards like Mirror Force to destroy your Gemini Elf! Another sad story indeed. There are more advanced steps in here, but we can go into that at a later stage of this series. 

MAIN PHASE 2

• After the battles have been done, we head into Main Phase 2. Now we can reassess what damage has been done and set or activate more spells and trap cards! This allows you to set up for your opponent's turn. Maybe you can get them with your own Torrential tribute or Mirror Force! Bwhahaha!

END PHASE

• In here, this is where you say, "My turn is over, it is now yours". Well, you don't have to say that exactly, but you get the concept. Any card that says that you have to activate at the end of turn will occur here. This phase is sometimes complicated, but can be easily simplified in a later post. 

From here, your opponent does the same 6 phases and continue to go back and forth until someone's life points goes to 0 or wins through a game-winning effect (Exodia). Hope this teaches a little bit more about how to play this game. Comment below for any more specific details!

How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh! Part 2 - Forbidden, Limited, Semi-limited, and Restrictions

So with every game there are restrictions to create a more balanced and fair type of game. Yes, it may be true that with each new set, there will be unbalanced cards, but that's to give the players and duelists a new taste of the cards. Sometimes, there will be a need of intervention because of the overpowering use of a card. (I forget which card at the moment, but I've heard from people that there was one that was forbbidened in the middle of a format).

There are also limitations to a person's deck, allowing them to only have a certain number of cards in the Main deck, Side deck, and Extra deck. They are the following:

• Main Deck - 40 to 60 cards
• Side Deck - 0 to 15 cards
• Extra Deck - 0 to 15 cards

Some of these cards are AMAZING! Like Monster Reborn or Change of Heart. But these cards are so powerful! Well, there's a limit to these powerful cards! So check out for the Forbidden/Limited list! Here, you can check how many copies of each card you may play in your deck! Check about every March/September because that is usually the time that the list will be  

So here we go:

Forbidden and limited list: (copied directly from their site)

Card Type	Card Name	Advanced Format	Traditional Format	Remarks
Monster/Effect	CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON - ENVOY OF THE END	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	CYBER JAR	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	CYBER-STEIN	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	DARK MAGICIAN OF CHAOS	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	DESTINY HERO - DISK COMMANDER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	FIBER JAR	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	FISHBORG BLASTER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	GLOW-UP BULB	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	MAGICAL SCIENTIST	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	MAGICIAN OF FAITH	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	MAKYURA THE DESTRUCTOR	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	MIND MASTER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	RESCUE CAT	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	SANGAN	Forbidden	Limited	Was Limited
Monster/Effect	SINISTER SERPENT	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	SUBSTITOAD	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	TRIBE-INFECTING VIRUS	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	VICTORY DRAGON	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	WITCH OF THE BLACK FOREST	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Effect	YATA-GARASU	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Fusion	THOUSAND-EYES RESTRICT	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Synchro	BRIONAC, DRAGON OF THE ICE BARRIER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Synchro	DARK STRIKE FIGHTER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Synchro	GOYO GUARDIAN	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Synchro	TRISHULA, DRAGON OF THE ICE BARRIER	Forbidden	Limited
Monster/Xyz	WIND-UP CARRIER ZENMAITY	Forbidden	Limited	Was Limited
Spell	BRAIN CONTROL	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	BUTTERFLY DAGGER - ELMA	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	CARD OF SAFE RETURN	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	CHANGE OF HEART	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	COLD WAVE	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	CONFISCATION	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	DELINQUENT DUO	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	DIMENSION FUSION	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	FUTURE FUSION	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	GIANT TRUNADE	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	GRACEFUL CHARITY	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	HARPIE'S FEATHER DUSTER	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	LAST WILL	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	MASS DRIVER	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	METAMORPHOSIS	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	MIRAGE OF NIGHTMARE	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	PAINFUL CHOICE	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	POT OF GREED	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	PREMATURE BURIAL	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	RAIGEKI	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	SNATCH STEAL	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	TEMPLE OF THE KINGS	Forbidden	Limited
Spell	THE FORCEFUL SENTRY	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	CRUSH CARD VIRUS	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	EXCHANGE OF THE SPIRIT	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	IMPERIAL ORDER	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	LAST TURN	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	RING OF DESTRUCTION	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	ROYAL OPPRESSION	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	TIME SEAL	Forbidden	Limited
Trap	TRAP DUSTSHOOT	Forbidden	Limited

Card Type	Card Name	Advanced Format	Traditional Format	Remarks
Monster	LEFT ARM OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE	Limited
Monster	LEFT LEG OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE	Limited
Monster	RIGHT ARM OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE	Limited
Monster	RIGHT LEG OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE	Limited
Monster/Effect	BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER - ENVOY OF THE BEGINNING	Limited
Monster/Effect	BLACKWING - GALE THE WHIRLWIND	Limited
Monster/Effect	CHAOS SORCERER	Limited
Monster/Effect	DANDYLION	Limited
Monster/Effect	DARK ARMED DRAGON	Limited
Monster/Effect	ELEMENTAL HERO STRATOS	Limited
Monster/Effect	EXODIA THE FORBIDDEN ONE	Limited
Monster/Effect	GLADIATOR BEAST BESTIARI	Limited
Monster/Effect	GORZ THE EMISSARY OF DARKNESS	Limited
Monster/Effect	HONEST	Limited
Monster/Effect	INZEKTOR DRAGONFLY	Limited
Monster/Effect	INZEKTOR HORNET	Limited
Monster/Effect	LONEFIRE BLOSSOM	Limited
Monster/Effect	MEZUKI	Limited
Monster/Effect	MORPHING JAR	Limited
Monster/Effect	NECROFACE	Limited
Monster/Effect	NEO-SPACIAN GRAND MOLE	Limited
Monster/Effect	NIGHT ASSAILANT	Limited
Monster/Effect	PLAGUESPREADER ZOMBIE	Limited
Monster/Effect	RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON	Limited
Monster/Effect	T.G. STRIKER	Limited
Monster/Effect	WIND-UP MAGICIAN	Limited		New
Monster/Ritual	EVIGISHKI GUSTKRAKEN	Limited
Monster/Synchro	FORMULA SYNCHRON	Limited
Monster/Synchro	LEGENDARY SIX SAMURAI - SHI EN	Limited
Monster/Synchro	T.G. HYPER LIBRARIAN	Limited
Spell	ALLURE OF DARKNESS	Limited
Spell	BLACK WHIRLWIND	Limited
Spell	BOOK OF MOON	Limited
Spell	BURIAL FROM A DIFFERENT DIMENSION	Limited
Spell	CARD DESTRUCTION	Limited
Spell	CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE	Limited
Spell	DARK HOLE	Limited
Spell	FOOLISH BURIAL	Limited
Spell	GATEWAY OF THE SIX	Limited
Spell	HEAVY STORM	Limited
Spell	INFERNITY LAUNCHER	Limited
Spell	LIMITER REMOVAL	Limited
Spell	MIND CONTROL	Limited
Spell	MONSTER GATE	Limited
Spell	MONSTER REBORN	Limited
Spell	ONE DAY OF PEACE	Limited		New
Spell	ONE FOR ONE	Limited
Spell	POT OF AVARICE	Limited
Spell	PRIMAL SEED	Limited
Spell	REINFORCEMENT OF THE ARMY	Limited
Spell	SCAPEGOAT	Limited
Trap	CEASEFIRE	Limited
Trap	MAGICAL EXPLOSION	Limited
Trap	RETURN FROM THE DIFFERENT DIMENSION	Limited
Trap	SOLEMN JUDGMENT	Limited
Trap	SOLEMN WARNING	Limited		Was Semi-Limited
Trap	THE TRANSMIGRATION PROPHECY	Limited
Trap	ULTIMATE OFFERING	Limited
Trap	WALL OF REVEALING LIGHT	Limited

Card Type	Card Name	Advanced Format	Traditional Format	Remarks
Monster/Effect	ARCHLORD KRISTYA	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	CARD TROOPER	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	DEBRIS DRAGON	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	DESTINY HERO - MALICIOUS	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	REBORN TENGU	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	RESCUE RABBIT	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	SUMMONER MONK	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	THE AGENT OF MYSTERY - EARTH	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	THUNDER KING RAI-OH	Semi-limited		New
Monster/Effect	TOUR GUIDE FROM THE UNDERWORLD	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	TRAGOEDIA	Semi-limited
Monster/Effect	TSUKUYOMI	Semi-limited		Was Limited
Monster/Synchro	DEWLOREN, TIGER KING OF THE ICE BARRIER	Semi-limited
Spell	A HERO LIVES	Semi-limited
Spell	ADVANCED RITUAL ART	Semi-limited		Was Limited
Spell	CHAIN STRIKE	Semi-limited
Spell	E - EMERGENCY CALL	Semi-limited
Spell	HIERATIC SEAL OF CONVOCATION	Semi-limited
Spell	MAGICAL STONE EXCAVATION	Semi-limited
Spell	POT OF DUALITY	Semi-limited
Spell	REASONING	Semi-limited
Spell	ROYAL TRIBUTE	Semi-limited
Trap	BOTTOMLESS TRAP HOLE	Semi-limited
Trap	MIRROR FORCE	Semi-limited
Trap	OJAMA TRIO	Semi-limited
Trap	TORRENTIAL TRIBUTE	Semi-limited

So that's it for the restrictions! So build your deck appropriately and let's duel!

How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh! Part 1 - What are these cards?!

Today, as the first segment of the "How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!" series, I would like to go over some of the basics of, what types of card is this? A lot of these cards have multitudes of information. So pay close attention!

Here are the basics!

MONSTERS

• Normal and effect - The whole point of the game is to summon powerful creatures to knock your opponent's Life Points to zero! So we need these Monsters to win the duel. The color here is a tan or light brown color. The difference here is that tan colored cards are what Yu-Gi-Oh! calls, Normal Monster and the light brown ones are Effect Monsters. The effect monsters can have multitudes of power but the Normal monsters will not have any thing but a short description of the monster.
• Extra Deck Monsters - There is another type of Monster, which comes from the Extra deck, in the colors of Purple, White, and Black. These are powerful monsters that are allowed to players only through certain conditions such as Polymerization or monsters that says "Tuner" on them. This allows a strategic maneuver that a lot of players needs to decide. 
• Ritual Monsters - These are represented in the color of blue! With the ritual magic card and the Ritual monster, the duelist can get out a ritual monster by fulfilling the ritual magic card's requirements! 

SPELLS

• Normal - Spell cards that can only be activated in Main Phase 1 or 2 as the first card in the Chain Link (more on a later post)
• Continuous - A Spell card that remains face-up on the field that continuously has its effects being applied. 
• Quick-Play - Can be activated from your hand in response to something (during your turn) and you can activate this card on your opponents turn IF you set it down when it was your turn before. 
• Equip - Targets a monster and gives it an additional effect, it stays on the field as long as the mosnter stays on the field. 
• Field - A card that affects both players and acts similar to that of a continuous Spell card, however, it takes the Field Card Zone instead of the normal Spells and Traps Zone. (More on that later)
• Ritual - This symbol signifies that this is to summon a Ritual monster. 

TRAPS

• Normal - All trap cards has to be set for one turn before they can be activated. Starting off is the Normal Trap cards. It now can be activated when it meets the condition OR whenever you feel is appropriate. 
• Continuous - Similar to that of a Continuous Spell card EXCEPT you can activate this card in your opponent's turn after it has been set for one turn. 
• Counter - The fastest type of card out there, only can a counter trap card negate a counter trap card

FIELD ZONES

"What are these field zones?" you ask? These are designated areas for where your certain cards should be placed! Here's a picture for reference.

So here are the Zones! The top left Lime Green area is the field zone, this is where the field card is placed. The next 5 light brown zones to the right are the monster zones, this is where the monsters should be summoned or set. And the last zone, the dark gray area, is the graveyard or the "discard pile". 

The next one is the light gray area on the bottom left, this is the extra deck zone, you may put your extra deck cards here for ease of access. The next 5 aqua colored zones are for your spells and traps. And the last and most important of them all, the deck zone, where you will begin to play your duel with your opponent!

In the next segment of "How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!", we will be discussing what are the step by step process a duelists goes through each turn! So come back for some more dueling tips.

Welcome to Yugioh!

What is Yu-Gi-Oh!? And no, I'm not yelling, that is part of their franchise name. The name is literally translated into "King of Games" as I have learned from my parents who read it off the television screen. So what is this game about? It is about summoning monsters and using spells and traps to support these powerful monsters. It is all fun and games and making it a competitive and fun environment for the players to enjoy. How do I go about learning more about this game?

There are a lot of products out there to start off. I started, and recommend, watching the television show. However, there are some rules that are different from the Trading Card Game (TCG); the TV show is still still quite entertaining and exciting. With that, you'll have an idea what the TV show is about and relatively what happens when playing the card game (excluding the explosions and criminals). Also, if you want to find out more about the actual card game, check out their website for their multitudes of products.

As for what follows up this post is what I would like to discuss about the game and how to get batter at the game. There are indeed tutorials on Konami's website which I gave above, but I would like to reiterate the important things that the tutorial may or may not have gone over. And after that, we will be discussing what kind of strengths and weaknesses certain decks have. I hope you come back to this blog and read up more about the different ideas and concepts. Thanks!

Update!

So I've been ignoring this blog for the longest time, NO MORE! I will be posting regularly about once a week on Tuesday nights about random Yu-Gi-Oh! Stuff. I'll be starting from scratch and introduce the game. While doing that, if I travel, I will also be posting up the pictures from the locals/tournaments I head out to.

Hope to see you duelists soon! Keep dueling!

YCS Austin

It has indeed been a week after the event. It was to once again work with a bunch of fellow judges. Compared to the regional I just ran, it was a lot smoother and fun. Maybe it was because I wasn't in a "leadership" role, but it was much more organized. I am super grateful for having these types of events around and not lose my mind. I now understand, especially after having to run a regional, how the HJ and the TO feel about an event during it occurs. It is quite hectic.

What did I think was gonna win, it was gonna be water OR MacroRabbit (or anything that could run Macro). I think the water has good matchups against a lot of deck because it becomes huge beaters and forces the opponent to use some sort of removal, which most decks now lack. Also, we can add to the fact that a lot of players were running water (more like more than 50%). I wasn't surprised when 50% of the players in the top 32 was water, but it was still interesting. What was more interesting was the people that weren't playing water. Read more here.

As for my experience, I blew a casket you can say... During round 2, a player went into time and then the match ended in a draw. He proceeded to complain about how it became a "draw" and that the system is stupid. I then threw back, maybe if you didn't slow play so much, you'd have time to play out the match. This was me stressed from the previous weekend... He then proceeded to request to talk to the HJ, I followed up with an apology as I knew my head wasn't in the right place. WOW, I can't believe I did that. This was definitely a sign that I needed to get out the judging scene for a bit, but I can't help it, it's so much fun with the people I work with. As for customer service, I don't know if I can continue with such hard work. I'm not quitting, no. I want to continue this expedition, but I want a break :\

What can I say? That wasn't a good customer experience for that player and I do apologize for that. Especially making Konami look bad in front of other players and especially making that person's experience not very welcoming. I as a well experienced judge, should have known what to do and should have said the right things, however, I was out of my mind... We shall see how things turn out in the future. :\

Besides all this, here's some pictures from Austin :]

First meal in TX

Water fall pool... I keep forgetting to get swimming trunks. 

Working hard to make the place clean!

Lining up for judge dinner! BBQ!

Lobby on the 10th floor?

The was a fire place... LOL

Outside the convention center, so many stairs!

From the 18th floor! GOSH it is high...

Jadges

Cool looking building

Someone stole my iPod

Congrats on making Day 2 Galo!

BOSTON!

HJing my first event!

Ahhh, it has been almost 2 weeks since this event, have been super busy about this YGO thing. Let us say that it wasn't the most pleasant experience that I've had in a while. It is due to the fact that it was the first regional in the Massachusetts area for over 1.5 years. I applied as a judge and I became the Head Judge because I was the "most experienced". This wasn't the fact for the Tournament Organizer (TO) as he believed that he didn't need my help. I didn't offer it. Instead, I took it into my own hands. I contacted the potential judges and talked to them about what was expected and tried to prepare them for what is needed.

The HJing experience was one of the most difficult due to the fact of the lack of experience coming from me, and especially the TO. Coming from me, I understand what HJ is supposed to do, however, I had little to no experience of how to do it. Player management was one of things I wanted to work on. Luckily another judge volunteered for the event and was really helpful. Thank goodness. Overall, not going into too much detail, we, the judges, saved this fiasco of a Regional and we got through and got all the results at the end.

What did I learn from this? A LOT. Judges don't want to read the material, players don't want to listen, TOs need their materials to have the tournament run much more smoothly. I had to become TO, Scorekeeper, and HJ at this moment. The TO/Scorekeeper was too busy cleaning up after and selling products to the players. Anyways, I hope that we all learned something because I definitely have over the 1 year judging at premiere events.

Being a Player and a Judge - The Conflicts

As a "well-experienced" (there's always something to learn from judging) judge, I always have a nick to be a judge even though I'm a player. As one player said, "WTF Allen, you're always instigating about the game." Well, that's what judges have to do, keep a gamestate. I do have to step down because I am not the judge at the locals and I am a player at that moment. The issue I have is when I am a player and my opponent insults me and my rules knowledge.

An incident occurred where I did a play where my opponent was confused. His first reaction was, "You can't do that!" Now I look at him and I wonder why I couldn't have done that. I gave him my reasoning and he continues to say that I can't do it because it would make that deck "broken". Then I asked him if my reasoning made any sense to him. He ignored my question and then continues to say that his reasoning was correct. I did the proper thing to call the judge over to get the ruling. While we waited for the ruling, he said to me one of the lowest comments ever. "____ and ____ played the deck longer than you, they're experts at this deck, call them. I've played that deck since it came out. You never topped a YCS, you don't know the rulings nor do you know how to play the deck."

I kept as calm a demeanor as I could being a player at the moment. What I want to bring up is that I as a player have to abide to what a player is. No matter what the ruling the Head Judge of the locals give, whether you know is incorrect or correct, we abide to it. As for the behavior of this player, I do not like it one bit. If I was the judge, I would not have tolerated it and would have brought it up to the TO and/or the store owner for this rude behavior. I try to keep an open mind about rulings as the transition from UDE to KDE has made drastic changes in rulings and in wording (PSCT). There is a time of learning for players and judges alike and from that, I learned quite the lot. Especially in the player's shoes (similar to an incident in Miami). And it would have been even worst if I was surrounded by a lot of players.

Even as a player, I want to be a judge. It was true that I should "stop instigating" games, but the inner me just wants to judge people xD

YCS Miami

Hi all! It has been a while since I posted something up on this page and I start it off with the first YCS of the year! SO EXCITING! Before I start, I will post up some pictures for everyone to see!

The Hostel I stayed in on Thursday night! One of the best hostels around on South Beach

Fences to the beach!

All over that beach! ;D

So many palm trees!

It was a really good day! The sun ALMOST came out... haha

My friend Galo pre-registering for the YCS.

Getting seated for round 1 of the YCS Miami!

Mid round bantering with players. 

View from hotel room! It was such a sunny day on Sunday, but chilly for Miami. 

Judges assembling! Michael Lee!

After day 2, we were exhausted. A few good judges here, except Uzo... ;P 

It was a fun time, especially getting out of the cold weather in Boston to go to Miami. It was 3 times the difference (20 degrees F to 60 degrees F). I had my small bit of traveling up and the beach and then walked through the "shopping district" although there wasn't much to shop for because they were all small local stores. I was carrying around a 20 pound duffle bag at the time too. I didn't volunteer this time at Miami because I wanted to look around Miami and hang out with a friend who came down with me to Miami (Galo). I saw a bunch of the older judges and greeted them as I ran into them. We went to the judge dinner after the Pre-Reg was over and I was super excited to get some food in my belly.

The dish I ordered sounded better than it tasted. There were inedible tissues left on my steak and I just left the rest on the table for the chefs to deal with it. I understood that there was a huge party that the cooks may not have been prepared for, but the group made a reservation ahead of time. Why was the restaurant not prepared? I'm not sure. But we got out of there relatively late. The manager tried his best to help out the waitresses to no avail, the group was just too overwhelming for such a small restaurant.

Day 1! 

The amount of people trickling in was any typical YCS. Big waves of people, then small amounts, and then big waves of people again and then the stragglers. Those who just like to get the round 1 loss. hahaha, no, the whole day went pretty smoothly. There were a few issues and hiccups that came up. I had to bring up a few of the issues with the TOs and the judges. It was a rough day for me, but I pulled through. It was definitely a HUGE learning experience for me. Player management, rules knowledge, and many other aspects of the community I learned more from this YCS. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, got some food, looked at some trade binders and went to sleep. Luckily, I didn't catch anyone trying to intentionally draw to make it into day 2.

Day 2!

Players were excited to play for day 2. Some people were completely dominating and some... forgot to wake up. Sadly, with this loss in the beginning of day 2, the player didn't make it to the top 32. I stayed in as a floor judge for all the top tables and also was a feature match on a top 16 table! Fire Fist versus Wind-Ups! It was a close battle, good communication from the players and everything went smoothly. This was my first time judging a feature match. And from that, I learned a bunch! ^_^ Our top tables Lead, Natalie, did a great job, especially from all the experience she's had. It was a smooth top tables! I've heard that side events went pretty smoothly. Good job Uzo and judge staff!

Our Winner?

I'm sure you've heard already, Wind-Ups! It was a WU mirror match in the finals, so there was no chance another deck would have won... haha. There was a bunch of other good decks out there, including Billy Brake's 3rd place water deck (Water deck w/out Undine engine), and 4th place Karakuri deck (w/ Solar Wind Jammer + Emergency Teleport techs for first turn shenanigans). Congratulations to all those attended and I hope you learned as much as I have in this event, judges and players alike!

Rules I learned and told to YCS

• Wind-up Rabbit still banishes the card even though the monster is targeted by Book of Moon afterwards. It will be banished facedown due to the wording of WU Rabbit that says "banish it" rather than "banish that target". It will also return back facedown. 
• Although agreed upon by judges, Altantean monsters should not get their effects if it was returned to an area of private knowledge before they activated, it was ruled at YCS that they still get their effects. (Broken much?) We hinted on a sense of Konami trying to push for the water deck. But this ruling was in a limbo for a while. 
• Dark World Dealings doesn't make both players discard at the same time, instead, it is whenever one player discards and then the other. Players can "change their cards of selection" after seeing that it was a Dark World match up (discarding their Moulinglacia). 
• There is less incentive of a double game loss, instead, it will more likely be an "accepted game state" instead of handing out game loss/warnings to players. (I know, this is less of a ruling than a judge/player management thing)

And here's the last and one of the most important picture around, the judge staff! I believe there was a few people missing. :[ But that always happens for the judge photos. :P

Stolen From Julia! RUV U!