OCG 2017.07 Metagame (1 Jul – 30 Sep 2017)

Dinosaur and True Draco had their consistency decreased with Dragonic Diagram reduced to 1 copy and Terraforming reduced to 2 copies, but they had proven to be resilient and remained as the top contenders throughout the OCG 2017.07 format.

Compiled from a total of 588 top-placing decks from 100 competitive tournaments held in Japan, China and Asia, here is the final metagame breakdown of the OCG 2017.07 format.

• 178 Dinosaur (169 True King Yang Zing Dinosaur, 6 True King Dinosaur, 3 Dinosaur)
• 148 True Draco (69 Invoked Spellbook True Draco, 44 Demise True Draco, 4 Invoked True Draco, 12 Demise Spellbook True Draco, 5 Windwitch Spellbook True Draco, 1 Artifact True Draco, 1 True Draco, 1 Trickstar True Draco, 1 Windwitch Invoked True Draco)
• 67 ABC (58 ABC, 9 Invoked ABC)
• 30 Invoked (10 Invoked, 7 Spellbook Invoked, 5 Kaiju Spellbook Invoked, 3 Kaiju Trickstar Invoked, 2 Kaiju Invoked, 1 Artifact Kaiju Invoked, 1 Kaiju Spellbook Trickstar Invoked, 1 Windwitch Kaiju Invoked)
• 27 Yang Zing (26 Dinosaur Yang Zing, 1 D/D Dinosaur Yang Zing)
• 19 Trickstar
• 18 HERO
• 18 Magician (6 Performapal Magician, 5 Magician, 4 Invoked Magician, 2 Performapal Odd-Eyes Magician, 1 Spellbook Magician)
• 17 Metalfoes Zefra True Draco
• 16 SPYRAL (10 SPYRAL, 3 Ancient Gear SPYRAL, 3 Grass SPYRAL)
• 7 Infernoid (3 Infernoid, 3 Grass Infernoid, 1 Grass Invoked Infernoid)
• 6 Kozmo (3 True Draco Metalfoes Kozmo, 2 Demise Artifact Kozmo, 1 Kozmo
• 6 Windwitch Kaiju Luna
• 4 Demise Phantasm Spiral
• 4 Magical Musketeer
• 3 Brilliant Predaplant Gouki HERO
• 3 Monarch (1 Domain Monarch, 1 Monarch, 1 True Draco Monarch
• 3 World Chalice (2 Kaiju Brilliant Venus World Chalice, 1 Brilliant Venus World Chalice)
• 2 D/D
• 2 Evilswarm
• 1 Blackwing
• 1 Burning Abyss
• 1 Fluffal
• 1 Grass Nekroz Phantom Knights Burning Abyss
• 1 Kaiju Grinder Golem
• 1 Ojama Paleozoic
• 1 Shiranui
• 1 Ritual Beast
• 1 Windwitch Luna
• 1 Zefra

True King Yang Zing Dinosaur begun in the shadows of Invoked Spellbook True Draco, but quickly overtook during mid-format and dominate till the end (almost).

Opening with just Souleating Oviraptor could develop into Denglong, First of the Yang Zing, enabling a double negation with Nine Pillars of Yang Zing and then Herald of the Arc Light.

But more often than not, they could open with a combination of True King and Dinosaurs that develop into Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier to banish a card from the opponent’s hand, and then ending with True King of All Calamities on the field, while still having a Nine Pillars of Yang Zing set.

Even if the opening field was dealt with, they could simply rebuild with Cloudcastle and pressure with Ultimate Conductor Tyranno.

OCG 2017.07 → OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation changes:

• Souleating Oviraptor 3 → 1
• Babycerasaurus 3 → 1
• Dragonic Diagram 1 → 0
• Terraforming 2 → 1
• Fossil Dig 3 → 2
• Denglong, First of the Yang Zing 3 → 1

The OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation hit Dinosaur like a meteor impact, severely crippling their consistency to open with their power play, and brought upon their extinction.

Invoked Spellbook True Draco begun really strong. Despite having Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King limited to 1 copy, True Draco was still a force to reckon with. Invoked provided additional fire power and disruption, while Spellbook boosted the consistency.

However, midway into the format, the rise of Zombie World proved to be effective against Invoked Spellbook True Draco. But True Draco was far from done as Demise True Draco picked up from behind and went for a more aggressive control approach with Skill Drain.

OCG 2017.07 → OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation changes:

• Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King – 1 → 0
• Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter – 3 → 1
• Dragonic Diagram – 1 → 0
• True Draco Heritage – 3 → 1
• True King’s Return – 3 → 1
• Aleister the Invoker – 3 → 1
• Spellbook of Secrets – 3 → 1
• Terraforming – 2 → 1

The OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation ensured that True Draco has finally met their demise.

Having Union Hangar becoming semi-limited and the brand new combos with Destrudo the Lost Dragon’s Frisson renewed interests in ABC.

Zombie World was the key tech card that allowed ABC to beat Invoked Spellbook True Draco, while still having a decent chance against Dinosaur. But their one-trick pony strategy was eventually figured out and they fell off from the competitive scene.

Although short-lived, their impact was so significant that System Down made a brief reappearance in the Side Deck.

OCG 2017.07 → OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation changes:

• ABC-Dragon Buster – 3 → 1
• Terraforming – 2 → 1

It came as a surprise that ABC-Dragon Buster became limited as ABC had mediocre results.

Out of all 588 decks, 486 deck were running Terraforming. Only 102 decks were not running Terraforming.

Union Hangar, Magical Meltdown, Trickstar Light Stage, SPYRAL Resort. Recent Field Spell Cards are frequently designed with an ability to add a monster of their respective theme from the deck to hand. When played together with Terraforming and Set Rotation, this pushes the consistency of these decks over the top.

OCG 2017.07 → OCG 2017.10 Limit Regulation changes:

• Terraforming – 2 → 1

With almost every best performing deck in the OCG 2017.07 format running Terraforming, it was inevitable that Terraforming was going to be hit. The question now is whether Set Rotation would be next and when?