OCG 2024.04 Metagame Report #0

by · 5 April 2024

Welcome to Week #0 of the OCG 2024.04 format.

This report tabulates 98 top-performing decks from 21 tournaments that were held in Japan, China Mainland, Taiwan and South Korea during 27 – 31 March 2024, played under the new OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation.

Update: Revised with additional data from “Yizhihe Card Store Tournament” and “Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) Tournament”.

Metagame Breakdown

  • 22 Fire King (21 Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Fire King, 1 Snake-Eye Fire King)
  • 10 Voiceless Voice
  • 8 Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Rescue-ACE
  • 8 Snake-Eye (4 Snake-Eye, 3 Kashtira Snake-Eye, 1 Yubel Snake-Eye)
  • 7 Tenpai Dragon
  • 4 Labrynth (2 Labrynth, 2 Yubel Labrynth)
  • 4 Yubel
  • 3 Mannadium
  • 3 Purrely
  • 3 Runick
  • 2 Grass Branded
  • 2 Infernoid (1 Grass Infernoid, 1 Grass Snake-Eye Infernoid)
  • 2 Melodious
  • 2 Supreme King Magician
  • 1 Centur-Ion
  • 1 Chimera
  • 1 Danger Dark World
  • 1 Floowandereeze
  • 1 Grass Centur-Ion Dragon Link
  • 1 Grass Rokket Adventurer Synchron
  • 1 Horus
  • 1 Horus Naturia Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye World Chalice
  • 1 Horus Orcust
  • 1 Horus Tearlaments
  • 1 Magical Musket
  • 1 Meta Beat
  • 1 Red Dragon Archfiend
  • 1 Ritual Beast
  • 1 Sky Striker
  • 1 Spright Tri-Brigade
  • 1 Superheavy Samurai Adamancipator
  • 1 Tri-Brigade Lyrilusc

Fire King

Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Fire King received some hits from the OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation that slightly lowered their consistency. WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils became limited, so most players increased Diabellstar the Black Witch to 3. Fire King High Avatar Kirin and Snake-Eye Ash became semi-limited, but there are no direct replacement, so some players are running cards such as Triple Tactics Talent, Pot of Prosperity that could help draw into starters or extenders.

Droll & Lock Bird is a good tech for the OCG 2024.04 format, useful against Voiceless Voice, Rescue-ACE and Yubel.

Huang Teng Kuan (黃騰寬) finished 1st in “27th NTU Cup” which had 61 participants.

Voiceless Voice

Voiceless Voice received very minimal hit from the OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation. Pot of Extravagance became semi-limited, so most players are running the 3rd copy of Pre-Preparation of Rites instead.

Voiceless Voice was initially thought to be the deck to beat in the new OCG 2024.04 format as it was relatively untouched by the OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation. However, the metagame quickly adapted by running Triple Tactics Talent and Forbidden Droplet to break Voiceless Voice’s board.

Kabao (カバオ) went 5-2 and finished 1 – 2nd in “2nd Miracle Chain Cup 3 on 3” which had 72 teams (24 participants).

Rescue-ACE

The weakening of Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Fire King and Snake-Eye decks saw some players switching back to Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Rescue-ACE. Rescue-ACE disruption comes from their Trap cards and this has the advantage of fairing better against Triple Tactics Talent and Forbidden Droplet.

Forbidden Droplet is a good tech for the OCG 2024.04 format, useful against Voiceless Voice and Yubel.

Shino (しの) finished 3 – 4th in “1st Oni CS with Next Play” which had 47 participants.

Snake-Eye

Snake-Eye is the most impacted by the OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation. WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils to limited and Snake-Eye Ash to semi-limited are significant reduction to Snake-Eye’s consistency as they are already running Diabellstar the Black Witch at 3.

Some players chose to run a small Kashtira package in the Main Deck as seen in Master Duel, to play around Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence. Kashtira Unicorn is Special Summoned and its effect would add Kashtira Birth from deck to hand. Snake-Eye Ash is then Normal Summoned and if it gets negated, then it could be used with Kashtira Unicorn to Link Summon I:P Masquerena. Kashtira Birth effect would Special Summon Kashtira Unicorn from the graveyard and it would be used with I:P Masquerena to Link Summon Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames. Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames effect would Special Summon Snake-Eye Ash from the graveyard, and its effect could be activated by sending itself and Kashtira Birth to the graveyard to Special Summon Snake-Eyes Poplar from deck. Snake-Eyes Poplar effect would add Original Sinful Spoils – Snake-Eye and the combo continues from there.

Kashtira Birth ① effect could also be used to Normal Summon Diabellstar the Black Witch without Tributing.

If the opponent has no disruptions, Kashtira Unicorn and Kashtira Birth could be kept on the field. In the Sinful Spoils Snake-Eye Fire King and Snake-Eye match up, Kashtira Unicorn effect could banish S:P Little Knight or Promethean Princess, Bestower of Flames from the opponent’s Extra Deck, and Kashtira Birth could banish cards from the opponent’s graveyard, making it harder for the opponent to break your board.

Magicians’ Souls functions as an extender for Snake-Eye. It could be Special Summoned from hand by sending Diabellstar the Black Witch from deck to graveyard. Magicians’ Souls can be used to Link Summon Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians, fulfilling the Spellcaster monster condition. Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians effect can then Special Summon Diabellstar the Black Witch from the graveyard.

Heim went 6-1-1 and finished 2nd in “HSCS Individual Tournament” which had 46 participants.

Tenpai Dragon

Tenpai Dragon is untouched by the OCG 2024.04 Limit Regulation. But it might struggle if Yubel decks becomes popular.

Some players are trying out Samurai Destroyer as an answer to Yubel. When Samurai Destroyer battles an opponent’s monster, opponent cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step, also that opponent’s monster has its effects negated during the Battle Phase only. This prevents Yubel monster from activating their Trigger Effect that inflicts damage, negates the Yubel monster effect that makes them cannot be destroyed by battle, and the Yubel monster’s Trigger Effect cannot be activated when they are destroyed. Nightmare Pain ③ effect does not create a Chain Block, so its effect would still be applied while Samurai Destroyer is battling a Yubel monster.

Weak at Game (겜못하는사람) went 7-0-1 and finished 1st in “HSCS Individual Tournament” which had 46 participants.

Conclusion

The preliminary week of the OCG 2024.04 format is fairly similar to the previous format. Fire King, Voiceless Voice, Snake-Eye and Tenpai Dragon remains among the top contender, but now with the addition Rescue-ACE.

Phantom of Yubel is a newly released card that is heavily hyped up among the community. Besides boosting Yubel decks, Phantom of Yubel could also be played as a small package of 1 Yubel, 1 Spirit of Yubel, 3 Nightmare Throne in the Main Deck and 1 – 2 Phantom of Yubel in the Extra Deck.

Activating Nightmare Throne would destroy Spirit of Yubel from deck, then Spirit of Yubel effect would Special Summon Yubel from deck. Yubel and Spirit of Yubel are then shuffled to deck to Special Summon Phantom of Yubel. When the opponent activates a monster effect, Phantom of Yubel ② effect could be activated in a chain by tributing itself as cost, and change that effect to ‘Your opponent destroys 1 “Yubel” monster in their hand, Deck, or field’. This Yubel package effectively setups a protection against the opponent’s ‘hand trap’.

The Valuable Book EX 4 is currently sold out in Japan, causing the price of Phantom of Yubel to spike in the secondary market. However, in the preliminary week of the OCG 2024.04 format Phantom of Yubel success is mostly limited to Yubel decks, and has yet to see widespread usage as a small package in other decks.

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References

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3 Responses

  1. yy says:
    8 April 2024 at 4:54 pm

    where’s the Grass Centur-Ion Dragon Link deck?I’m pretty interested

    Reply
  2. Anjoe says:
    8 April 2024 at 5:28 pm

    I can’t find the danger dark world deck.

    Reply
  3. Lambo says:
    9 April 2024 at 4:32 am

    0 Raika lists once again:/ wonder what it’ll take for the deck to be more popular

    Reply

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