OCG 2021.01 Metagame Report #10

by Akira · 13 March 2021

Welcome to Week #10 of the OCG 2021.01 format.

This report will tabulate 99 top-performing decks from 21 tournaments that were held in Japan, China Mainland, Taiwan and Vietnam during 6 – 10 March 2021.

New Product Release

Deck Build Pack: Ancient Guardians
*Currently only available in Japan, delayed elsewhere in Asia

Metagame Breakdown

20 Zoodiac
8 Code Talker
8 Virtual World
6 Drytron
6 Sky Striker
5 Dragonmaid
5 Eldlich (2 Eldlich, 1 Cyberse Paleozoic Eldlich, 1 Evil★Twin Eldlich, 1 Zoodiac Eldlich)
5 Endymion
5 Shaddoll (2 Invoked Shaddoll, 2 Grass Invoked Shaddoll, 1 Dogmatika Invoked Shaddoll)
5 Tri-Brigade (3 Tri-Brigade, 1 Lyrilusc Tri-Brigade, 1 Zoodiac Tri-Brigade)
3 Cyber Dragon
3 Gizmek Orochi Da Eiza
3 @Ignister
2 Adamancipator
2 Altergeist
2 Orcust (1 Orcust, 1 Scrap Orcust)
2 Phantom Knights
2 Prank-Kids
2 Traptrix (1 Amazement Traptrix, 1 Dogmatika Traptrix)
2 Zefra
1 Magical Musket
1 Salamangreat
1 Subterror

Zoodiac

On Saturday, hagetaka went 8-1 and finished 1st in “Mirin CS Individual Battle” which had 63 participants. On Sunday he ran the exact same build, but went 4-3 and finished 3rd in
“Nara CS” (3v3 Team) which had 32 teams (96 participants).

His deck build is slightly adjusted for the Zoodiac mirror match, opting not to run Skull Meister, Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion in the Main Deck, but instead going for Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit, Triple Tactics Talent in the Main Deck and Mind Control in the Side Deck.

Despite Zoodiac having a surge in popularity, the metagame is still fairly diverse. In the 16 matches played across both tournaments, he was only paired against 3 Zoodiac opponents.

2021-03-06 | Mirin CS
Swiss Round 1: Megalith OO
Swiss Round 2: Zoodiac XX
Swiss Round 3: HERO OO
Swiss Round 4: Dragonmaid OO
Swiss Round 5: 60 Adamancipator OO
Swiss Round 6: Zefra OXO
Quarter-Final: Altergeist OO
Semi-Final: Code Talker OXO
Final: Zoodiac XOO

2021-03-07 | Nara CS (3v3 Team)
Swiss Round 1: Virtual World XX
Swiss Round 2: SPYRAL OO
Swiss Round 3: Dragonmaid XOO
Swiss Round 4: Endymion OO
Quarter-Final: @Ignister X(Game Loss)OX
Semi-Final: Endymion XX
3rd/4th Playoff: Zoodiac XOO

Code Talker

Erekiteru (エレキテル) went 5-1-1 and finished 3rd in “Asaka CS (2v2 Team Battle)” which had 44 teams (88 participants).

He ran a Trap heavy build that cuts out almost all the ‘hand trap’, leaving only 3 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and 3 Infinite Impermanence in the Main Deck. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring is useful for negating Maxx “C”, while Infinite Impermanence is useful for disabling the opponent’s Zoodiac Drident or Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder during your own turn.

The Japanese metagame is currently leaning towards Zoodiac, Virtual World, Dragonmaid, with relatively fewer Combo decks, making the Trap heavy lineup a viable choice.

2021-03-07 | Asaka CS (2v2 Team)
Swiss Round 1: Thunder Dragon XOO
Swiss Round 2: Dragonmaid XOO
Swiss Round 3: Tri-Brigade OO
Swiss Round 4: HERO OXX
Quarter-Final: Virtual World XOO
Semi-Final: Zoodiac XO-
3rd/4th Playoff: Zoodiac OO

Virtual World

On Saturday, Tennoji (天王寺) went 3-2-2 and finished 2nd in “Zekken CS” (2v2 Team) which had 30 teams (60 participants). On Wednesday, he went 5-2 and finished 3 – 4th in “9th Next Play Cup” which had 32 participants. He ran almost the same build for both tournaments, only swapping out 1 Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion in the Side Deck for 1 Red Reboot.

Similarly, he was only paired against 2 Zoodiac opponents in the 14 matches he played across both tournaments.

2021-03-06 | Zekken CS (2v2 Team)
Swiss Round 1: Zoodiac OX-
Swiss Round 2: Endymion X
Swiss Round 3: Virtual World OO
Swiss Round 4: Zefra XOX
Quarter-Final: Zoodiac OXO
Semi-Final: Code Talker OO
Final: Endymion OX-

2021-03-10 | 9th Next Play Cup
Swiss Round 1: Dark Magician OO
Swiss Round 2: Virtual World XOO
Swiss Round 3: Eldlich OO
Swiss Round 4: Da Eiza XOO
Quarter-Final: Eldlich XOO
Semi-Final: Tri-Brigade XOX
3rd/4th Playoff: Dragonmaid XX

Conclusion

At the end of the OCG 2021.01 format, Zoodiac holds on to the top spot. Despite having the largest representation in the top-cut, its power level is fairly even with the other top decks. From the 21 tournaments tabulated this week, Zoodiac only took three 1st-place finishes.

The OCG 2021.01 has been an exciting format where many different decks are viable in the metagame. As seen from the players’ match-ups across several tournaments, they have played through a variety of many different decks. Managing the 15 cards constraint of the Side Deck to maximize coverage across as many decks as possible is also a challenge.

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