May the 5th Be With You?
 
So you may or may not know that on May the 5th there was a Regional Tournament in San Jose California. For those of you who don't care, don't read. I participated with my friends Keenith and Kevin who both actually were very successful in the event. Of course San Jose is about an hour and a half away from Davis, where I live. So the requisite early morning rise was unavoidable. Regardless our night was spent playing games and changing decks. Keenith and Kevin both had their decks locked down, Inzektors for Keenith and Chaos Dragons for Kevin. I was originally playing Chaos Dragons in the version that I did my article on. The deck was extremely explosive, but was incredibly unable to make a consistent showing to compete with the speed of Chaos Dragons (traditional) and the brutal combos of Inzektors.
 
In a fit of rage I slapped together a Lightsworn deck and completely brutalized both of their decks. Chaos Dragpons had no way to stop the overpowering destructiveness of Judgment Dragon and Inzektors had a hard time with the explosiveness of the deck. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the consistency of the deck as well as the stunning power of 3 Judgment Dragons. I went to sleep very satisfied with the deck choices we made, each fairly different but still able to hold round one with almost any other popular deck in the current format.
 
In the morning after a fairly uneventful drive where we all struggled to stay awake, we arrived at the Parkside Hall extension of the San Jose Convention Center. This event was run by my friends at Sharks Gaming who seriously know how to put on an event. 4 vendors participated at the event which meant that players (including myself) could get all the cards they needed before the event started. door prizes, a raffle and 4 flights of side events made sure that there was always something you could do during the day. Entry packs for us all were fairly uneventful except for Keenith who snagged an Inzektor Hornet, which laid the groundwork for 5 amazing trades for him throughout the event. Before we knew it the event was set to start with over 300 participants in the tournament.
 
And yes, I am going to post the decklist at the end. AT THE END PEOPLE.
 
Feel The Wrath of the Judgment Dragon!
 
Round 1 Alex (Lightsworn) VS. Gustavo (Malefic Gears)
 
This deck was seriously scary to play against. A first turn Malefic Cyber End Dragon almost killed me, backed up by a Geartown that was positioned ot be destroyed next turn. Darkl Hole took care of that MCED and I milled a Necro Gardna. Gorz came down off of the Gajiltron attack and managed to almost win after I traded his Gadjiltron for my token. A second Malefic Dragon almost broke my back but Necro Gardna saved my bacon and then Judgment Dragon descended to wipe out the last of my opponent's lifepoints.
 
The second game, a first turn Dimensional Fissure shut down my deck and Necrovalley and Gajiltron Dragon utterly destroyed me. Proving how truly devastating a Macr/DFi strategy is against a graveyard deck.
 
The third game was a blowout on my part as multiple Solar Recharge allowed me to fill my graveyard for the two Judgment Dragons in my hand and milled Wulf sealed the deal. Even if he had an on field Malefic Stardust Dragon on the field backed up by Necrovalley, Judgment Dragon proved its worth as just a 3000 beater in this game.
 
Round 2 Alex (Lightsworn) VS. Guillermo Bubble Heroes)
 
Game 1 was a bit of a blowout on my part as I managed to get two Lumina on the field first turn of the game with a Garoth as well. I drew 4 cards and milled 2 Wulf off the Garoth. My opponent had a Neos Alius and 1 set and I stopped his attack with a Necro Gardna. I activted Mystical Space Typhoon to blast his back row Hero Blast and tributed a Lumina for Celestia and it was all over when I attacked.
 
The second game was far more competetive as my opponent summoned a Neos Alius and I could not do anything for 2 attacks as my hand was full of Wulf and JD. I finally tried to summon some monsters, but was stopped by Solemn Warning and then Solemn Judgment. My opponent XYZ summoned up Blade Armor Ninja by Summoning Stratos and searching up a Bubbleman. I plopped down a Gorz off of his first attack. I then summoned up a Colossal Fighter by summoning Effect Veiler and fusing with the token and beat down my opponent with those two.
 
This guy was a ton of fun to play with as I was making jokes with him all game.  A note to all the sourpuss players out there, this is a game and you should have some fun while playing even if you are losing. I know it's hard but do try anyway. It is so much more fun for everybody involved.
 
Round 3 Alex VS. Brian (Heroes)
 
This first game I managed to get off 2 milled Wulf and a Lumina. My opponent Summoned off a Blade Armor ninja and attacked my Wulfs bt left Lumina. Celestia came down to the field and ended the quick win my opponent though was coming. My opponent took a while to die, stalling with he whole suite of defensive Traps that the deck plays. Eventually Judgment Dragon descended and ended it.
 
The second game my opponent again went for a quick Blade Armor but a Summoned Gorz ended that as Gorz and the token defeated him while his own Solemn Traps depleted his lifepoints. Gorz was a major player throughout the tournament, both for me and my opponents as it would often turn a game around easily.
 
Round 4 Alex VS. Zachary (Upstart/Dojo Samurai)
 
This was an amazing matchup as extra lifepoints allowed me to get off my mills without too much difficulty as Samurai don't stop attacks as well as other decks. A first turn set MST managed to stop an explosive first turn by waiting to hit his draw Spells and destroying his Gateway instead. I managed to pull off a couple JD summons and my opponent managed to to stop them with Solemn Traps. My opponent also managed to bring off a Grandmaster/Spirit combo and a Foolish Burial Wulf tributed into Gragonith managed to win the game as my opponent had no monsters to get over it. Gragonith was also a major player as he was often just too big for my opponents to deal with and was also able to get in for massive damage.
 
The second game my opponent set up with a free Shien synchro and then a Naturia Beast. My in hand spells were useless and I quickly lost as his traps kept my monsters off the field. Despite this my deck usually has a great matchup against Samurai as they splooge all over the field to be Judgment Dragon food. But there is not too much you can do when they make a bunch of prohibitive Synchros.
 
The third game was a complete blowout as my Judgment Dragons got vengeance for me. I Summoned 4 in a turn thanks to drawing all 3 and Herald of Creation. I never saw a hand as good as this one ever in the tournament.
 
Round 5 Alex VS. TJ (Machina Gadget)
 
This was my game at table 1 and TJ was one of the most fun players in the tournament. The first game I managed to get off 2 Judgment Dragons and finished the game after he paid a bunch of his lifepoints for Ultimate Offering. The deck idea was incredibly sound but was not one of the mor einspired designs that I have seen. Maestroke made his first game appearance for me and actuially was surprisingly effective at stopping me for a while.
 
The second game, many Gearframe made their appearance and thus Fortress beat the poop out of me. Garoth tried to stop it combined with Lumina, but the massive damage just proved too much.
 
The third game was one of the greatest games I have ever played. We both took massive hits from early monsters and we both had full graveyards. It came down to this, my opponent had one card in hand with a Maestroke on the field and on my turn I had a Ryko and Gragonith with a Plaguespreader Zombie in the graveyard. The safe play would have been to set Ryko and destroy a card and then hope I milled something good and that he wouldn't kill me. I was fairly certain his in hand card was a Gadget and he had already used Dark Hole, so I went for the kill. I Summoned Plaguespreader by putting Ryko on the top and tributed it off for Gragonith. I had 5 Lightsworn names in my graveyard which boosted Gragonith to 3500. My massive Dragon attacked Maestroke for 1700 damage, leaving my opponent at 50 lifepoints. On his turn he drew another Gadget and summoned it, turning Gragonith facedown with Maestroke's effect, seeing that Gragonith has a natural defense of 1600. He then attacked my Gragonith with Maestroke and did not realize that Gragonith gains BOTH ATK and DEF so he rammed into Gragonith and lost his last 50 lifpeoints. Again one of the greatest games of my life and one of my favorite players all day. He ended up pulling a fairly impressive top 40 showing with such a dark horse deck.
 
Round 6 Alex VS. Thomas (Dino-Rabbit)
 
This is one of the few decks that mine has a real struggle with. Dolkka managed to stop most o fmy effects first game and he just beat in for damage without playing another monster. Have I mentioned I REALLY dislike this deck?
 
The second game was even more embarrassing as my opponent managed ot have a first turn Macro Cosmos as well as a pair of Rabbits and Tour Guide. Gorz managed to even it for a little while and got him down to 1300, but Book of Moon took Gorz down and it was all over. Have I mentioned that I hate this deck? He managed to finish 9th overall even with a cookie cutter deck that they left to promote XYZ and not for the health of the game.
 
Round 7 Alex VS. Andrew (Dino-Rabbit)
 
The first game was again a poor showing from my deck, as my opponent went first and brought out a Roach and it couldn't get worse than that as I drew no answers. Have I mentioned tha I hate this deck?
 
This game my opponent acvtivated Veiler on Lumina and it was ruled that as I was turn player I could choose which effect expired first, even though my opponent and everybody around said differently. Because of that horrible mill (Monster Reborn, Honest and Heavy Storm) I drew into Judgment Dragon and blasted the field for the win.
 
The third game we both drew terribly and it became a slugfest between my Jains and Garoths and his Sabersaurus' and Kabazauls. My opponent brought out a Tour Guide and made a Zenmaines in defense. My Judgment Dragon came down and activated it's effect twice to blow it up and then destroy it in battle and Lyla attacked for exactly game. Despite myself hating  his deck, Andrew was a ton of fun to play with and he managed to drop and win a side event flight.
 
Round 8 Alex VS. Mark (Samurai)
 
This first game ended up being a slugfest between my monsters and his without any signifigant summon until I played a Gragonith and smashed face over his Smaurai for the victory. All 3 of my JDs were milled this game and gragonith was my last shot at even being close to winning.
 
This second game was a blowout as a summoned Catastor beat me down for like 5 turns. I managed to get him down to 1000 LP, bugt a flurry of Special Summons on his part overwhelmed my Necro Gardnas for the win.
 
This last game I survived an early rush by Barkion and Shi-En and then Summoned Judgment Dragon, slow playing his effect and beating with him as well as my other monsters. He drew pretty terribly to get out of it as well, only draw spells....
 
Round 9 Alex VS. Tyler (Inzektor)
 
These games were both easily summarized by my deck decided to slow play and he had the nuts both games. Sometimes when you play Inzektors they just rip you to shreds and there isn't anything you can do about it.
 
The Result
 
The result was I placed 11th, heartbreakingly close to top 8 with a Lightsworn deck, but still managed to get my invite. Props go out to all the Davis Crew for doubting me and my choice of deck only to come and support me at almost every game. Thanks guys! Major props go out to Kevin and Keenith who were my constant companions and supporters. Keenith managed to win a side event and Kevin got some amazing trades. Major props to my girlfriend for being patient with my hobby and supporting me so much through all of the tournament via text. Especially because I am writing this on our one year anniversary...
 
The Deck
 
White Lightning
 
3x Judgment Dragon
3x Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
2x Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
2x Jain, Lightsworn Paladin
2x Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
2x Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
2x Effect Veiler
2x Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior
2x Necro Gardna
2x Herald of Creation
1x Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid
1x Ehren, Lightsworn Monk
1x Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon
1x Honest
1x Gorz, Emissary of Darkness
1x Plaguespreader Zombie
 
3x Mystical Space Typhoon
3x Solar Recharge
1x Charge of the Light Brigade
1x Heavy Storm
1x Monster Reborn
1x Dark Hole
1x Foolish Burial
 
2x Beckoning Light
 
 
 
Thank you all for reading this report, you can expect some more analysis of the current decks as well as some strategies and good ideas while preparing for an event. If you have any questions, ideas or comments please email me at alarbios@live.com and don't bother Pojo with it. Put YGO in the title so it doesn't get junked.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
GZ