OCG 2021.07 Metagame Report #1, #2

by Akira · 17 July 2021

Welcome to Week #1, #2 of the OCG 2021.07 format.

This report will tabulate 92 top-performing decks from 22 tournaments that were held in Japan and China Mainland during 3 – 11 July 2021.

Metagame Breakdown

17 Virtual World
10 Prank-Kids
7 Drytron
7 Tri-Brigade (6 Tri-Brigade, 1 Dogmatika Tri-Brigade)
6 Shaddoll (5 Grass Invoked Shaddoll, 1 Dogmatika Invoked Shaddoll)
5 Dragonmaid
5 Magician
4 Code Talker
3 Zefra
3 @Ignister
2 Adamancipator
2 Eldlich (1 Eldlich, 1 Dogmatika Eldlich)
2 Orcust
2 Phantom Knights
2 Sky Striker
2 Tri-Brigade Lyrilusc
1 Da Eiza
1 Danger Dark World
1 Dogmatika Invoked
1 Dragon Link
1 Endymion
1 HERO
1 Kragen Shark
1 Madolche
1 Salamangreat
1 Sekka Danger Kaiju Luna
1 Thunder Dragon
1 True Draco
1 Utopia

Virtual World

Kinnikuso (きんにくそ) had an impressive run over these two weeks. On Week #1 Saturday, he went 7-1 (excluding 1 bye) and finished 1st in “Mirin CS Individual Battle” which had 50 participants. On Week #1 Sunday, he went 8-1 and finished 1st in “8th Hagetaka CS” which had 52 participants. On Week #2 Saturday, he went 7-2 and finished 2nd in “No-Face CS” which had 60 participants.

He initially ran 2 Dark Ruler No More in the Side Deck on Week #1, but switched over to 2 Droll & Lock Bird on Week #2 to better prepare against Drytron.

Prank-Kids

Among the 10 Prank-Kids deck that made the top-cut in these two weeks, 4 decks were running 3 Prank-Kids Pandemonium and 2 – 3 Polymerization, 5 decks were running 3 Prank-Kids Pandemonium, and only 1 deck was running just 1 Prank-Kids Pandemonium. Overall, there is a shift towards a more Fusion style for Prank-Kids.

The main deck to beat in the current format is Virtual World, and Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen shutdowns Prank-Kids’ 1-card combo of using Prank-Kids Effect Monster to Link Summon Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu. Since Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen only banishes cards that are sent from the field to the graveyard, using Prank-Kids Pandemonium or Polymerization to Fusion Summon with materials from hand would allow the Prank-Kids Effect Monsters to reach the graveyard and thus be able to activate their effects.

One of the possible outs to Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen is to Fusion Summon Prank-Kids Rocket Ride using materials from hand to the Main Monster Zone right below the Extra Monster Zone (2nd MMZ or 4th MMZ). The two Prank-Kids Effect Monsters used for the Fusion Summon would trigger their effects and Special Summon 2 Prank-Kids Effect Monsters from the deck, which would be used to Link Summon Prank-Kids Bow-Wow-Bark to the Extra Monster Zone above Prank-Kids Rocket Ride. Prank-Kids Bow-Wow-Bark ① effect would cause Prank-Kids Rocket Ride to gain 1000 ATK, allowing it to attack over Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen.

While the Fusion style does enable some plays against Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen, Virtual World still has True King of All Calamities and Virtual World Gate – Chuche. Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen reviving from the graveyard is also a recurring threat.

Ogaon (おがおん) went 5-3 and finished 4th in “40th Taiyo CS” which had 32 participants.

Compared to his deck build in Week #0, he swapped 1 Droll & Lock Bird for 1 Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion, and added 1 more Prank-Kids Place to the Main Deck.

As Prank-Kids become one of the more popular decks in the metagame, having 3 Prank-Kids Pandemonium provides him with the flexibility of using Crossout Designator to negate it in the mirror match.

Conclusion

Virtual World remains comfortably in the lead, while Prank-Kids caught up considerably to a second position. Drytron continues to make strides in the format, moving up to third position tying with Tri-Brigade.

In the match-up between Virtual World and Prank-Kids, Virtual World has the advantage in terms of engine. Prank-Kids has difficulty against Virtual World Kyubi – Shenshen, while Virtual World could answer Prank-Kids Battle Butler with Virtual World Gate – Qinglong. However, the bigger deciding factor is still who goes first and Prank-Kids can rely on generic tech cards against Virtual World.

Despite being semi-limited, PSY-Framegear Gamma is still one of the stronger ‘hand trap’ in the format and is still seeing widespread play in many top decks.

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