Finally, DaD decks have been hurt with a swift mid-format ban change. By that I mean nothing, it was sarcasm. Dark Armed Return was slowed down but the SJC regulars simply played DDR and Escape from the different dimension. 14 out of 16 decks were DaD variants. This proves the efficacy or effectiveness of DaD. The top players used innovation to whip versions up which ranged from Ladd builds to just as powerful builds with a single copy of Cyber Valley.
Who won?
Jason Holloway. His DaD version featured Ladd and two copies of DD Crow. Two interesting tech cards and even more so when played together. His Magic line-up was interesting at my first glance, it had 1x Trade in. Interesting due to the fact is seems a little random, although I use it he only three targets. I got from this; his build was a little rushed. With time, I am positive he could produce a stronger build. Future competition will see more DaD builds.
His deck also removed emphasis on the removed cards onto the power of a dark deck. He only ran three RFG return cards, while main decking no DDR’s, which I for one expected to find in day two. Two additional interesting Trap cards were Mind Crush and Trap Dustshoot. These two were in a couple top 16 deck lists.
There were some interesting cards utilized this weekend.
Two cards stood out to me. One was a personal surprise, Caius. He is a good card; I was just surprised to see he built into a deck in such a short time frame. I was equally surprised by some decks using PWWB. This format can allow cards to be removed from play or added back to the deck, but when players would like a card in the grave for DaD, PWWB was a good solution.
A few other notable cards include Solemn Judgment being used in any deck except Six Samurai and Gladiator Beasts and the combo of Mind Crush and Trap Dustshoot. They are good cards and together can make some great combos but were underused in this DaD format.
What was underused?
The top 16 had no Zombie decks, no Six Samurai decks or no Gladiator Beast decks. Given, I think that to perfect six samurai to my playing style took months; I just assumed that some players would have these decks built. Future SJC’s will feature these decks for sure. This SJC proved that DaD is not going away, but this SJC did prove that the DaD return was hurt and now would require more set-up and skill to pull off.
Underused cards?
I for one expected to see more DDR's. It is an excellent RFG card that is just as effective as other RFG support cards. Also, the speed lost by Allure could have been picked up by Trade-in due to the high level monsters such as DMoC and Darklord Zerato.
What does this mean for the metagame?
It means little. DaD can and will be played but due to the deck lists and that most were DaD returns, the dark return will not go away. But, Ligh of Destruction does have a couple powerful deck types inside of it and other decks like Six Samurai, Zombie and Gladiator Beasts should be anticipated.
