Preparing for Nationals 2011

There is not a single event in Yu-Gi-Oh! that I prepare for more than Nationals. Last year I tested Infernities for nearly 2 months straight before bringing the best build possible to Nationals. However I can cannot say the same for this year. This format is going to change drastically with the addition of TGHL and there is no definite best archetype in my eyes. Let's look at several important factors about the North American WCQ that will factor anybody's decision making.

1) Canadians will be there.

I think this is bigger than most people give it credit for. The Canadians are incredible at Yu-Gi-Oh! The Bellido brothers, Matt Peddle, James Neumann, and other various Canadian professionals will be attending and they will add a whole dynamic to the whole flow of the event. The field will increase by a very large margin and this new addition will be very concentrated with some of the game's best.

2) What the metagame will be like.

Now in one of my previous posts I discussed the different ways of figuring out a meta in an event. Nationals is something way different because of the fact it's essentially a melting pot consisting of every meta in North America. So how do we figure out the meta? The Internet is now our only reliable pool of information, and make sure to abuse it. Tour Guide of the Underworld, Water Synchro, etc are all decks and card choices that spawned in North America and several European countries through the online community.

3) What deck will be the most consistent.

The thing about this format that I think will play a huge role is playing decks you are comfortable with. While you can easily try and pick up JunkDoppelPlants and expect to do well with it, I will guarantee you without at least 2-3 weeks of testing it you won't be comfortable with it or be able to play it to its fullest potential. So while you can think a certain deck is the best deck, it may not be the best deck for you. This is a format where anything can win so exploiting a skill edge you may have with a deck like Gravekeepers may end up giving you more wins than you expect. In the end the luckiest and the best will be left standing with such a tough field so all you can do is know your deck well and play it to its best.

These 3 factors are the 3 main things I'm focusing on while preparing for the event. DuelingNetwork has been nice for testing and I currently have 3 decks in the works. I think the events meta will be solidified right before the event starts and by then I will have chosen what I think is the best deck.

Good luck dueling~
-Jhub