Preparing for a Premier-Level Tournament

Playing in a premier-level tournaments such as the Asia Championship Qualifier or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Open Tournament is a fun and unique experience that can also be rewarding if you are able to make it far into the tournament, or win it altogether.

However, to reach this goal you should always come prepared in order to maximize your chances. Here are some advice that would hopefully be useful for players new to the competitive scene.

 

 

• Sleeved Deck in a Deck Box
• Deck List (2 copies)
• Pen and Paper
• Duelist ID, Calculator, Dice, Tokens and Spare Sleeves

 

 

In a premier-level tournament, you will be required to sleeve your deck with a minimal of 1 layer of sleeves. In the OCG Asia region, you are allowed a maximum of 2 layers of sleeves. No matter if you are using 1 or 2 layers of sleeves, the back of your card has to be covered by an opaque sleeve, while the front must always remain transparent.

Premier-level tournament are also much stricter regarding the condition of your sleeves. General wear-and-tear can be constituted as marking on cards, and it is recommended that you use relatively new sleeves for tournaments.

Personally when I was still active in the competitive scene, I kept a set of sleeves to be used only for premier-level tournaments. As such they can be re-used for a couple of premier-level tournaments before I have to switch to a new set.

As for your deck box, please keep only cards from your tournament deck in it. If you are planning on doing some trading, do not keep those extra cards in your tournament deck box, but rather in a different deck box. As stated in the tournament policy, you may be penalized for having extra cards in your tournament deck box.

Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that are not registered on a Duelist’s Deck List as part of their Main Deck, Side Deck, or Extra Deck may not be kept with a Duelist’s Deck (in the deck box, etc.) with the exception of cards used and clearly marked as Tokens.

If a Duelist chooses to use cards as Tokens, they may only use cards that are marked as Tokens.

Source: KDE Official TRADING CARD GAME Tournament Policy

 

 

English Card Names

Set Numbers

In a premier-level tournament, you will be required to submit your deck list during registration. It is strongly recommended that you spend some time to type out the deck list and print it out before the event.

The above are two recommended methods of filling in the deck list – using English Card Names or Set Numbers.

You can choose to fill the deck list with the official English card names (or fan-translated English names if the official English card name is yet to be released) of the cards. You can search for the official English card names on Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME – CARD DATABASE or search for the fan-translated English card names on Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia. Note that fan-translated English card names are only accepted for cards that have yet to receive an official English card name.

Alternatively you can choose to fill the deck list with the Set Number. If you are filling in the Set Number, please use the same Set Number as the cards that you are using in your deck. For Series 1 cards that do not come with a Set Number, you may use the Set Number from a different set of the same card. For example, if you are using the Vol.2 version of Monster Reborn, you may fill in “PG-58” as the Set Number instead.

No matter which method that you are using, please stick to just one of them. Do not mix English Card Names and Set Number within the same deck list.

Note that errors in the deck list may result in a Game Loss or even a Match Loss. Do spend some time in ensuring that your deck list is written correctly and legibly to avoid being penalized.

The 2nd copy of the deck list is for your own reference to restore your Main, Extra and Side deck at end of every Match. You may be penalized if your Main, Extra and Side deck is not restored correctly at the start of a Match.

For the OCG Asia Region, the deck list can be downloaded from: www.yugioh-card.com/sg/event/rules_guides/download.php?lang=en

 

 

The pen and paper is essential for tracking of Life Points for both players. In a scenario when there is a dispute regarding Life Points, only records on paper will be taken into consideration. Records on calculator or other electronic devices will not be supported.

Personally I like to keep a record of Life Points in a small notebook. It is useful for writing my tournament reports later on.

If there is a decrease in life points from multiple direct attacks, it is better to record each decrease separately rather than as a total. This would making it easier to verify and rectify in the case of a dispute in Life Points.

 

 

Duelist ID may be required for verification purposes and it is recommended that you bring it along. If you do not have a Duelist ID, you may apply for one at the tournament before registration.

Calculator is useful for performing calculations, but do note that only Life Points recorded on paper will be acknowledged.

Dice is for determining which player gets to choose to go first or second. Both players are required to roll the same dice.

Tokens are required if you are running cards that generate Tokens.

Spare sleeves are for replacing damaged sleeves which can be constituted as marked cards.

 

 

These are the minimal recommended items to bring along for a premier-level tournament:

• Sleeved Deck in a Deck Box
• Deck List (2 copies)
• Pen and Paper
• Duelist ID, Calculator, Dice, Tokens and Spare Sleeves

Other items to bring along are water in a bottle to keep yourself hydrated and a jacket to keep yourself warm.

As the saying goes, fortune favors those who are well prepared.