In the very beginning of Yu-Gi-Oh! when many of the more experienced players started, there was no such thing as “Shonen Jump Championships” or “Metagame.com.” Decklists were very difficult to come by, so the gulf between experienced players and amateurs was even more pronounced. The summer where Mike Rosenberg, Pojo’s own Dawn Yoshi, became the best placing U.S player ever at the World Championships has largely gone forgotten by the current dueling crop. Even the accomplishments of Theerasak Poonsombat and Sang Bui, champion and runner-up of the next year’s national tournament, have largely been obscured. You see, the publicity engines of Pojo.com and Metagame.com had not gone underway yet.
 

            Pojo.com has been a long-standing site with a natural ebb and flow of writers. The originals such as Someguy and Nickwhiz eventually gave up their duties, giving way to a new more aggressive generation led by Sandtrap and f00b. I matured as a player reading their works, and felt eager to contribute. Then came DM7FGD, ExMOD, Lord Tranorix, and myself. After a consistent year or so of providing solid articles that took an expert player’s point of view (sorely missed in all online coverage), I’ve also found it difficult to continue contributing consistently. Thus, the new wave of Pojo writers have arrived, I would hope you would show them the same respect that older writers have received.
 

            Today the game has changed. Because of the team revolution that Odyssey and Savage created, the Metagame.com revolution of posting match coverage and decklists, and the emergence of the first true celebrity figures in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community who are on one name recognition with the entire community (WANG, LUC, VARGAS, DALE, PEDDLE!!!!1), the stakes have gotten proportionately higher. For better or worse (mostly better by all accounts), the game has shifted from something more focused on regional flavors and metagames into a nationwide extravaganza that has upped the ante. Much of this change has occurred on the very pages of Pojo.com. The birth of Team Savage and Team Odyssey coincided with the meteoric ascent of Metagame.com readership, which came to a stunning head at Shonen Jump Pomona. It was after that point, after touring the nation with my teammates to meet fellow Yu-Gi-Oh players that immense amounts of team shirts and loyalism began sprouting up. And while Team Odyssey and Savage have basically receded into the background because of studies, scandal, and intrigue, the mark remains.
 

            Unfortunately, the current format is striking for precisely one fact. Perhaps since the days of traditional Chaos right before the first ban list, there has never been such a dominant tier one deck type. The different Chaos return variants that pack numerous floaters, multiple Chaos Sorcerers, and multiple Cyber Dragons completely obliterates the next contenders. Even the counters to this deck theme, which include Royal Decree and Dust Tornado variants, are simply variations of the Chaos Sorcerer removal engine. The fact is that a topdecked Chaos Sorcerer, Graceful Charity into Chaos Sorcerer, or other such situation can completely change the game state. For example, imagine you have a Chaos Sorcerer, Spirit Reaper, and Mirror Force on the field to your opponent’s zero cards in hand. If they topdeck a Chaos Sorcerer, their next two main phases will be spent removing your monsters. At the end of this exercise, they will have evened out the 3 versus 0 advantage you once hand.
 

            Because of this, the Yu-Gi-Oh professional is a dying breed. The legitimate superstars of the game who do not cheat or play dirty will probably top eight every third or fourth Shonen Jump Championship they enter. This is due to the luck-based nature of the game. A select few during a hot streak will top eight about 50% of their tournaments, or even find it in them to find two placements in a row. In fact, the list of duelists who have placed in the top eight of two Shonen Jump Championships in a row is still fewer than ten. Of those, the ones who have done so legitimately (without cheating, scooping, or using dirty tricks) is about half of the original number. The fact is that cheating in Yu-Gi-Oh exists. To those who are attending Nationals, make no mistake about it that this is the biggest tournament in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! It will make immortals out of the top four like it did for Team Alpha Omega, Team Nexus, and Team Overdose. The stakes have never been higher, and correspondingly players will deface the nature of the game through trickery and deceit.
 

            The stage has been set to dictate the crown for best player in the United States. Of the twenty or so big names that are currently at the head of the list, a top eight berth at Nationals will place them at the forefront of the list. The winner of the National tournament, provided he is not a “random” or such, will unquestionably be the best player in the world. I’m looking forward to the competitive challenge.

A Special Note to Those Who I’ve Met Over the Internet: I currently attend college and am about to wrap up the year. I’ve missed almost every Shonen Jump since Seattle and Charlotte because of these constraints, but this may possibly be my last summer with competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! To all those who may have been helped by my writings or e-mail correspondences, wish to stop by and say hello, or wish to flame me in person (: P), I urge you to drop by during my possible last few stops. My friend Hugo Adame and I are currently operating a co-op of sorts (owned by the players) that deals with Yu-Gi-Oh product. I reside in Southern California, and information on the location can be found at http://www.fs-collectibles.com/.

FS-collectibles, which we’re not affiliated with whatsoever, is a giant convention center type structure that provides floor space to different vendors. Our booth seeks to do things for the players, such as offering the lowest prices on our wares, buy lists (we’ll buy cards for the best price), and other such special features. We’re offering the biggest names in Yu-Gi-Oh! such as Wilson Luc, Dwayne Nunez, Emon, Evan Vargas (sandtrap), Tony Lee, David Simon, and myself providing deck fixes, playing matches with you fellows, and organizing tournaments. It’s been a great ride here at Pojo.com (that hasn’t ended yet), and I would love to meet many of my readers (who I haven’t had a chance to meet yet) at this setting.

The booth has recently been opened, and will kick things off with a by players, for players tournament that should include the very best from Southern California. We’re hoping to make this a weekly thing, but details on the tournament to take place during this Saturday (ask for Jae Kim to find the booth and area in the play zone) are here:

Yu-Gi-Oh Constructed Tournament

Entry Fee: 9 Dollars at 12 PM, Saturday 5/27/06

Prize Support (Depending on Entrants): Either a cash prize given to the top four placements (if less than thirty entrants) or a cash prize given to the top eight (if more than thirty entrants).

Coverage to be placed on Pojo.com, with big names such as Sandtrap (Evan Vargas), Steven Adair (SJC Long Beach winner), Emon Ghaenian (SJC Columbus winner), Tony Lee (sheckii from Pojo.com), Jae Kim, Hugo Adame, Wilson Luc, Dwayne Nunez, Theerasak Poonsombat, and others! Come meet your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh players and engage in great competition with them!

Apologies for the advertisements, but I’m doing a favor for a good friend. Thank you, and continue contacting me at JAELOVE@gmail.com!