Death of the Turbo Pack

Tournament-exclusive packs have always been a big part of Yugioh. At first, they were the only way to get exclusive cards like Mechanicalchaser and Morphing Jar. Later on, it was also a way to get great reprints. The latest iteration, the Turbo Pack, is the best way to foil out your deck with cards like Dark Hole and Book of Moon getting rarity bumps.

Konami Giveth and Konami Taketh Away

Warning: This article is going to be sloppy because I don't have a lot of time, but please enjoy :)

What can I say about ban list time that I haven't already said in another post? It's here, and as always, is making some major changes for the game. The biggest decks this format have been Dino Rabbit, Inzektors, Wind-Ups (early format), and Chaos Dragons. Amazingly, this list deals with all of these major decks, at least a little bit. Now, on to the list!

Legendary Collection 3 Update!

Right on time, here's some juicy new info on the upcoming Legendary Collection 3.

Legendary Collection 3: Yugi's World

Konami calls mulligan on the first Legendary Collection and is releasing an LC02-like product based on the original series.

Upcoming Products

Working all the time makes it very hard to update. I have a long lunch today, so here's an update from my office :) Here's the upcoming Summer and Fall lineup.

June 26: Structure Deck: Samurai Warlords
This (along with the recent Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En reprint) is a great way for new duelists to make a tournament-ready deck without spending too much money. Current Samurai duelists will be interested in the super rare versions of Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki and Shien's Smoke Signal, along with the all-new Six Samurai Xyz monster, Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien.


July 24: Hidden Aresenal 6: Omega Xyz
Not too much going on here, unless you like Vylons, Steelswarms, and Gem-Knights. Gusto and Lavalval duelists will have to wait until HA07 to get the really good stuff.

August 14: 2012 Collector's Tins Wave 1
Tins are always a great way to get packs and reprints of rare cards. This year is no exception, except we're also getting a peek at the next booster set. Evolzar Dolkka is one of the more expensive cards in the top tier Dino Rabbit deck, and Heroic Champion - Excalibur will be an Extra Deck staple for any deck using Lv4 Warriors.

August 28: Booster Set: Return of the Duelist

Rulebook Update: Fast Effects and "Priority"

As you probably all know by now, the OCG's priority ruling is now in effect for the TCG. Konami presents the change in this crazy graph.You may be thinking "this doesn't say anything about priority..." and you're right. It does explain what you as the turn player can and can't do following a Normal Summon (among other things), and activating a monster's Ignition Effect without giving your opponent a chance to respond isn't one of them.

Sealed Play Prizes

With the release of Battle Pack: Epic Dawn only a couple months away, we've been getting a bunch of little updates here and there. With the sealed play of Battle Pack comes prizes just for this new type of tournament. There will be 20 'Starfoil" cards that will only be available as prizes different than the possible 220 starfoil cards in BP:ED. Half the cards in the set of prizes can be obtained at Top-Performing Official Tournament stores, while the other half can only be obtained at Konami events such as a YCS or WCQ. For everyone not playing at a Top-Performing Official Tournament store, you can win a Battle Pack card box. Apparently, they did this with STOR as well, but I've never seen one. Does anyone know if it came with anything inside?

Confirmed Starfoil Prize Cards
Icarus Attack
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
Blackwing Armor Master
Spirit Reaper
Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth
Mystical Shine Ball

Newly Confirmed BP:ED Cards
Harpie's Feather Duster
Scapegoat 

2012 New Products

Sorry about the lack of updates and the shortness of this article. I've been very busy lately and that doesn't seem to be changing. Anyway, We've already talked about the new Battle Pack: Epic Dawn being released  May, but there's a ton of new products about to hit the market that are looking pretty amazing so far. Here's what we've got coming up.

First off, in just a few days, we've got the 2012 Premium Collector's Tin feature previously unreleased cards from all four tv series. Every tin comes with a secret rare Elemental HERO The Shining and Number 34: Terror Byte. This is pretty good news for anyone unable to obtain a Shining from the GX manga or any TCG player outside of North America.

Perhaps the biggest reason to buy these tins are the new cards, Void Ogre Dragon and Masked HERO Acid. Void Ogre Dragon is a Shi En for Infernity decks, and Acid is a great addition to the HERO arsenal and makes the "Bubbleman Beatdown" deck possible for the TCG. These are the cards I'm looking forward to most, alongside the DM-era Meteor B. Dragon, Fiend's Mirror, Beastly Mirror Ritual, and Firewing Pegasus.


April gives us a new Starter Deck, XYZ Symphony, and Battle Pack, as well as the new booster set, Galactic Overlord come out in May. The biggest news, however, was announced recently to much surprise. Structure Deck: Samurai Warlords comes out on June 26. It includes reprints of Great Shogun Shien, Musakani Magatama, Six Samurai United, Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan, Dark Hole and FIENDISH CHAIN! This is amazing for anyone who didn't get their Chains when they were $10 as opposed to the $60+ they are now.

Finally, there's Gold Series: Haunted Mine coming out on June 12. Instead of just regular old Gold rares, this set contains Ghost/Gold rares, which have the Gold Series shine, but with the 3D holographic picture of a Ghost rare. The size of the set increases to 55 cards this year as well. Here are the confirmed cards so far.

Ghost/Gold
Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Herald of Perfection
Naturia Barkion
Mystical Space Typhoon
Solemn Judgment

Standard Gold
Fabled Grimro
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Starlight Road
Formula Synchron
Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X "Bureido"

Also Confirmed
Zombie monsters
Trap Monsters
Six Scorpion cards

Banlist For Real

So that list is pretty much undeniably confirmed. Here it is...

Newly Banned
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Glow-Up Bulb
Spore
Trap Dustshoot

Newly Limited
The Agent of Mystery - Earth
T.G. Striker

Newly Semi-Limited
Marshmallon
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (called it)
Emergency Teleport (totally called it)
Level Limit - Area B
Torrential Tribute
Shien's Smoke Signal (so totally called it)
Reborn Tengu
Ultimate Offering

Newly Unlimited
Call of the Haunted


So what does this mean????
Plants are gone. Putting Dandylion, Lonefire Blossom, and Debris Dragon at 1 hurt, but banning their Tuners and putting Tengu at 2 completely destroys them. The T.G. engine is no longer a cheap alternative to Tour Guide in Agents, which are already hurting from the Earth limit. Enjoy playing against only Wind-Up and Inzekktor decks for the next 6 months.

There are some interesting choices, like Torrential Tribute, and the 2nd Smoke Signal and Lumina certainly help Six Samurai and Lightsworns.

Banlist!...oh wait, just a Battle Pack update

While the (awful) banlist is being confirmed, here's some newly confirmed cards from Battle Pack: Epic Dawn.

Number 39: Utopia
Gachi Gachi Gantetsu
Grenosaurus
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
Wind-Up Zenmaister
Tiras, Keeper of Genesis
Snowman Eater
Mask of Darkness
DUCKER Mobile Cannon
Freed the Matchless General
Airknight Parshath
Cyber Dragon
Noisy Gnat
Wind-Up Dog
Wind-Up Soldier

Battle Pack: Epic Dawn Update

Some more cards from BP:ED have been revealed in Kevin Tewart's latest strategy article. Here's a quick list of everything we know so far.

Rare
Gem-Knight Pearl
Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon
Witch of the Black Forest
Dark Bribe
Skull Archfiend of Lightning
Dark Magician of Chaos
Obelisk the Tormentor
Tour Guide from the Underworld
Raigeki
Metal Reflect Slime
Caius the Shadow Monarch (assumed)
Raiza the Storm Monarch (assumed)
Mobius the Frost Monarch (assumed)
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness (assumed)
Pot of Avarice (assumed)

Common
Backup Warrior
Greenkappa
Liberty at Last!
Penguin Soldier
Axe of Despair
Ante
Forbidden Lance
Reckless Greed
Half or Nothing
Power Frame
Luster Dragon
Wind-Up Warrior
Vampire Lord
Toon Gemini Elf
Guardian Sphinx
Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
The Tricky
Doomcaliber Knight
Card Trooper
Ancient Gear Knight
Arcana Force XIV - Temperance
Power Giant
Gogogo Golem
Giant Soldier of Stone
Psi-Blocker
Muka Muka
Makyura the Destructor
Stealth Bird
Night Assailant
Drillroid
Cyber Valley
Fabled Raven
Naturia Strawberry
Gagaga Magician

So far, it doesn't seem too amazing as a reprint set, but it's good for what the product's intended use is, and an easier way to get some rare and out of print cards.

HUGE NEWS! Battle Pack: Epic Dawn

If it wasn't on the official products page, I'd never believe it. Konami is completely changing their products. I thought LC2 was pretty amazing, along with the Ra Yellow Mega Packs, but this is just crazy.

Coming May 28th, Battle Pack: Epic Dawn encourages players to take part in sealed pack play. Each pack contains 5 cards from a 220 card set. Each pack contains 1 black or white lettered rare card, 3 commons, and 1 random card from the set in an all new rarity! The packs have an MSRP of $1.99 each, so for $20 each, you and a friend can have some very fun games, pulling away from the ridiculousness that is today's metagame. If you really don't care about having fun and just want good cards, take a look at these confirmed cards.

Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon
Doomcaliber Knight
Forbidden Lance
Gem-Knight Pearl
Backup Warrior
Caius the Shadow Monarch
Raiza the Storm Monarch
Mobius the Frost Monarch
Pot of Avarice
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Fabled Raven
TOUR GUIDE FROM THE UNDERWORLD

After the initial celebration of reading that last card, you might be thinking that you get 1 rare in each pack and there are 55 rares in the set. The odds aren't that great of pulling what you want, but at $2 a pop and the fact that ANY card in the set could be the new rarity, I'm sure there will be plenty of Tour Guides floating around.

If you'd like to know more about this product, check out the official info page HERE.