Pook's Place

What Every Duelist Should Know

By Pook

             07.06.04  My friends, the time is fast approaching for the best-of-the-best to gather in southern California for this year’s annual Yu-Gi-Oh World Championships.  So I figured that since I will be attending this year, as well as having attended last year’s in New York, I’d bestow some helpful information to people planning to attend this year’s event.  Most of this stuff is common sense, but it is good to have a reminder – after all, the event is less than 3 weeks away. 

            First of all, every person attending is a potential duelist.  Therefore, you must be ready at just about any time to set up and duel.  The best thing for you to do is to travel light – if you are planning on bringing lots of cards and such, put them all into a backpack or something easily accessible, but not in the way.  Last year at Madison Square Garden, the people running the event only set up tables for their official duels, therefore most of the casual duels going on took place on the floor – no joke.  So rather than having to drop off (hehe, Drop Off) lots of big bulky items every time you wish to duel, something handy like a backpack can just be places right next to you on the floor. 

            The backpack idea is great, especially to transport your cards, as well as hold essential items, such as your deck, a Gameboy Advance, link cable, paper, pens and pencils, calculators, extra card protectors, and the new packs you will be buying throughout the day – yes, last year I ended up buying lots of packs of Legend of Blue Eyes from the Belgian national champ, just to get a Raigeki (and I did!).  The only thing is that with a backpack, make sure to keep it on you at all times – you don’t want someone stealing it or taking things from it.  If you can’t keep an eye on it while dueling, ask a friend or a parent/guardian to watch it for you.  I hate to say it, but you are incredibly vulnerable to theft if your mind is focused on your game only.  Safety first, everyone. 

            If you are planning on playing the GBA game, either officially or casually, make sure that you have plenty of extra batteries, or for the SP owners, charge your battery the night before, as well as bring your AC adapter – last thing you want is to lose by disqualification from a power loss.  And for those who say that you only want to play with the cards, bring your Gameboy anyway – it helps to break up the repetition of dueling, plus you can win some cool prizes from Konami. 

            Lastly, bring your cards, especially your rare cards looking to be traded.  But make sure they are in a binder or something solid with your name on it – lots of people may have the 2x2 official Yu-Gi-Oh binder that they bought at a card shop, so make sure you know which is yours.  Also, know the value of your cards – I’m not talking monetary value, but how rare something is, a personal favorite, etc.  You don’t want to get short changed in a trade deal with someone else.  Most of the time, people are pretty friendly about trades, and I’m sure that if you make a good offer, you’ll walk away with something you really like.  Please don’t prey on younger players who have a good rare that you want and so you think you can trade a Basic Insect for a Needle Worm.  Remember, this is a game about fairness and good sportsmanship, let’s keep that in mind. 

            Other than that, the only thing is to have fun.  The day will be very hectic and exhausting, but there is so much fun to be had there.  Last year was great, this year should be even better.  I’m looking forward to seeing people there, and hey, who knows, maybe I’ll be recognized, sort of like a minor Yu-Gi-Oh celebrity (see my article “The Yu-Gi-Oh Pro Tour Circuit” if you don’t know what I mean).  Happy dueling!