OCG 2023.07 Metagame Report #5, #6

by Akira · 14 August 2023

Welcome to Week #5, #6 of the OCG 2023.07 format.

This report will tabulate 208 top-performing decks from 42 tournaments that were held in Japan, China Mainland and South Korea during 29 July – 9 August 2023.

Update: Revised with additional data from “HSCS 3v3 Team Tournament”.

New Product Release

Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG Structures Volume 7 promotional card: Flametongue the Blazing Magical Blade

Metagame Breakdown

39 Rescue-ACE (38 Sinful Spoils Rescue-ACE, 1 Rescue-ACE)
34 Tearlaments (7 Ishizu Tearlaments, 6 Horus Ishizu Tearlaments, 3 P.U.N.K. Ishizu Tearlaments, 3 Sinful Spoils Ishizu Tearlaments, 3 Sinful Spoils Ishizu Kashtira Tearlaments, 3 Adventurer Ishizu Kashtira Tearlaments, 2 Adventurer Ishizu Tearlaments, 2 Ishizu Kashtira Tearlaments, 2 Ishizu Visas Tearlaments, 1 Sinful Spoils Dragonmaid Ishizu Tearlaments, 1 Sinful Spoils Ishizu Visas Tearlaments, 1 Grass Horus Ishizu Tearlaments)
23 Labrynth (14 Labrynth, 9 Unchained Labrynth)
13 Branded (10 Branded, 3 Grass Branded)
11 Purrely (10 Purrely, 1 Shaddoll Purrely)
7 Vanquish Soul (6 Vanquish Soul, 1 Sinful Spoils Vanquish Soul)
6 Adamancipator (3 Grass Superheavy Samurai Ishizu Vernusylph Adamancipator, 2 Vernusylph Adamancipator, 1 Fossil Vernusylph Adamancipator)
6 Salamangreat (4 Salamangreat, 1 Mathmech Salamangreat, 1 Sinful Spoils Salamangreat)
5 Mannadium (4 Scareclaw Mannadium, 1 Kashtira Scareclaw Mannadium)
4 Dragon Link (2 Bystial Dragon Link, 2 Grass Bystial Dragon Link)
4 Magician (3 Supreme King Magician, 1 Sinful Spoils Supreme King Magician)
3 Bystial Thunder Dragon
3 Exosister
3 HERO
3 Mathmech (2 Mathmech, 1 Code Talker Mathmech)
3 Phantom Knights (1 Horus Adventurer Phantom Knights, 1 Sinful Spoils Adventurer Phantom Knights, 1 Mikanko Phantom Knights)
3 Runick
3 Sky Striker
3 Tri-Brigade (1 Horus Spright Tri-Brigade, 1 Scareclaw Tri-Brigade, 1 Spright Tri-Brigade)
3 Unchained
3 Vaylantz (2 Vaylantz, 1 Horus Vaylantz)
2 Chimera (1 Chimera, 1 Superheavy Samurai Horus Chimera)
2 Grass Sinful Spoils Ishizu Thunder Dragon Bystial P.U.N.K.
2 Horus Therion
2 Swordsoul (1 Swordsoul, 1 Tenyi Swordsoul)
2 Necroface (1 Grass Superheavy Samurai Ishizu Thunder Bystial P.U.N.K. Necroface, 1 Sinful Spoils Horus Superheavy Samurai Visas Necroface)
2 Tri-Brigade Lyrilusc
1 Adventurer Marincess
1 Evil Eye
1 Floowandereeze
1 Grass Branded Horus Eldlich
1 Mathmech @Ignister
1 Meta Beat
1 Mikanko
1 Shaddoll Branded Despia
1 Shinobird
1 Sinful Spoils Adventurer Tenyi
1 Sinful Spoils Horus Orcust
1 Sinful Spoils Horus Visas
1 Sinful Spoils Synchron
1 Sunavalon Rikka

Rescue-ACE

On Week #5, Hakua (はくあ) went 6-2 and finished 2nd in “GIRAFULL Namba CS” which had 62 participants. On Week #6, he went 7-2 and finished 2nd in “GIRAFULL Namba CS” which had 55 participants.

He was using Sinful Spoils Rescue-ACE for both weeks, but switched over to the Auroradon build. More players have been making the switch to the Auroradon build as the various Synchro Monsters are able to provide Spell/Trap negations. This caused the odds of Evenly Matched to resolve against Rescue-ACE very unlikely, thus players switched over to using ‘hand traps’ that negates Monster Effect such as Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence to disrupt Rescue-ACE opening. Some are even running additional Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill in the Side Deck.

To use S:P Little Knight ① effect to banish a card from field or graveyard, a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and/or Link Monster has to be used as material for its Link Summon. If using a Level 1 monster as Link Material, then that Level 1 monster can be used to Link Summon Linkuriboh or Relinquished Anima, before being used with another monster to Link Summon S:P Little Knight. The Charmer Link Monsters are also another way to fulfill the Link Material condition. The two monsters can be used to Link Summon a Charmer Link Monster such as Hiita the Fire Charmer, Ablaze or Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy, whose effect would Special Summon a monster from the opponent’s graveyard. Then the Charmer Link Monster and that monster can be used to Link Summon S:P Little Knight. As many decks are running the Sinful Spoils package, Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy effect could be used to Special Summon Diabellstar the Black Witch from the opponent’s graveyard.

Tearlaments

Muqingz (沐卿z) went 6-2-1 and finished 17 – 32nd in “China City Tournament Qingdao 2023” which had 400 participants.

The Tearlaments build running the Horus package has been gaining popularity. The Horus package typically consists of 3 Imsety, Glory of Horus, 1 Hapy, Vanguard of Horus and 1 – 2 Pharaonic Sarcophagus. The Horus monsters could be Special Summoned from graveyard while Pharaonic Sarcophagus, and being Level 8 monsters they could be used to Xyz Summon The Zombie Vampire. The Zombie Vampire effect would send the top 4 cards from both players’ deck to graveyard, then could Special Summon 1 monster from among them.

Imsety, Glory of Horus and Pharaonic Sarcophagus could also be used to send Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard or Agido the Ancient Sentinel from hand to graveyard as cost to activate their effects, and thus triggering Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard or Agido the Ancient Sentinel effect to send top 5 cards from both players’ deck to graveyard.

Labrynth

Kutora (クトラ) went 6-2 and finished 3 – 4th in “Taiyo CS 200th Breakthrough Commemorative Tournament” which had 59 participants.

He ran 3 Nibiru, the Primal Being in the Main Deck as a tech against Rescue-ACE. A practical trick is to activate Nibiru, the Primal Being effect on Chain 1, then Labrynth Chandraglier or Labrynth Stovie Torbie effect on Chain 2 by sending itself to the graveyard and discarding Nibiru, the Primal Being as cost. Resolving the chain, Labrynth Chandraglier or Labrynth Stovie Torbie effect would set 1 “Labrynth” Spell/Trap from deck. Then Nibiru, the Primal Being effect would tribute all monsters on field, but since Nibiru, the Primal Being is no longer in hand, it would not be Special Summoned, and the effect would stop right here without Special Summoning the “Primal Being Token”.

The 3 Artifact Lancea in the Side Deck are used as a countermeasure against the opponent’s Evenly Matched. Artifact Lancea could also be used against Called by the Grave to prevent Labrynth Chandraglier or Labrynth Stovie Torbie from being banished and negated. To a certain extent Artifact Lancea would also disrupt Rescue-ACE, causing them to be unable to Special Summon Rescue-ACE Turbulence and Rescue-ACE Preventer from hand by banishing “Rescue-ACE” card from the graveyard.

Conclusion

Rescue-ACE, Tearlaments and Labrynth remains in the lead, but Purrely has taken a huge drop.

The Horus package has also been gaining traction among various other decks besides Tearlaments that could utilize the graveyard such as Therion, Orcust, Phantom Knights and Necroface. It is not uncommon to see Sinful Spoils package and Horus package being run together in the same deck for access to Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon and The Zombie Vampire.

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