Summer Champs 2020
Top 4:
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Anju
Iceberg
What made you choose this deck for the tournament, and what were your tech choices?
I really enjoy the playstyle of Orcust, and wanted to take advantage of being able to play 3 Girsu before it most likely ends up getting hit. I:P Masquerena is essential for the deck to function, and the deck size needed to be kept small. So naturally, with only a half-point to spend, Sky Strikers became a great inclusion. There's a solid amount of synergy as well, with Raye being able to summon itself under Orcust restrictions, Zeke being a Dark Machine for triggering Desperado, and the varied attributes of the Link monsters when I needed to push for game with Accesscode. I wasn't playing the TCG during the time these two decks were at the top tables, so I got to experience them both together in true Trinity fashion.
Would you make any changes to the deck?
Inevitability it will once only 1 Girsu is allowed, which will require more starters for going into Union Carrier, such as Clock Wyvern or Tetherwolf. As for the current meta, though, I'm happy with how the deck performed. I mulled over the main deck choices quite a bit before the tournament, and everything worked very well together, and I don't think I would change anything. The side deck, on the other hand, was pretty subpar, with some cards such as XYZ Encore and Black Garden being pretty mediocre when I drew them. Stronger, generic options like Forbidden Lance or Mirror Force would have been better.
How did your matchups throughout Swiss and Top 4 go?
First game of the tournament, I had an unfortunate disconnection vs Cino occur due to DuelingBook, so it didn't start off too great. After that, I was able to secure game 2 by drawing Lightning Storm and Lightning Vortex early on, and game 3 with a well timed Dimensional Barrier to stop a Polymerization into an E Hero. Against Impy's OrcBard, I was able to take Girsu with Shark Cannon, helping me secure a win, and against Jeff's Crickets, I was able to draw Twin Twister both games before Ballpark was activated. In Semis, I got more value out Striker plays than Burrito, and held stronger card advantage with Orcust compared to Trickstars. When I faced Anju both times in bracket and top cut, his Plant engine simply dominated, there wasn't much I could do. Finals was especially deflating, essentially losing game 1 to misplays with Longirsu, and game 2 with Anju ending the tournament using Super Polymerization. This is the farthest I've gotten so far in Trinity, so I was at least happy about that.
Do you have a favorite play of the tournament?
Game 2 against Burrito, I was down to about 1000 life points to his +5000, and had a deficit on card advantage. I flipped up a Chicken Game he gave me earlier in the game without using it, to bide for time. Next turn, I was able to top deck Mind Control, took his Zeke, and linked into Accesscode Talker for game.
Moving forward, what cards do you think should be banned or restricted, if any?
Frankly, Girsu does deserve to go to 1/2 a point. Other hits I believe that are important would be Accesscode, Titanocider, and Sun Mou, as well as banning Dark Spirit of Malice. For the upcoming set, Noble Knights and Dragma need to be looked at.
Spiderking
Summer Champs Top 4 Spiderking.png
What made you choose this deck for the tournament, and what were your tech choices?
I choose Plants because it's a deck I am highly practiced with and have ran in multiple events beforehand, so I'm less likely to make errors of judgement or serious misplays. I also feel Plants is a deck with some serious potential, that was kept in check via stronger decks like Eldlich running rampant in previous events. My tech choices were cards such as Absolute King Back Jack, which provides disruption and consistency, and additional Traps such as the enlarged Trap Hole lineup and Bad Aim which provide early disruption so that the powerful Rikka core of the deck can reach the grind game which it excels in.
Would you make any changes to the deck?
I would have to make a few changes due to the new hits resulting from the changed banlist, such as cutting the additional copy of Rikka Petal because it's coforbidden now, and the extra Traptrix Mantis due to the abundance of cards which require Trinity investments, resulting in the larger Traptrix engine being less effective. ROTD offers a wide range of new cards which can fill the empty spaces devoted to meta choices with powerful staple options like Forbidden Droplet and Ice Dragons Prison.
How did your matchups throughout Swiss and Top 4 go?
My matchups went very well, in part due to some exceptional luck on my end. I didn't hard brick or was left with unplayable hands too often during the tournament, and as a result of this, my only losses were in the mirror natch with the eventual KOG Anju, who's alternate take on the Plant strategy offered me some new insights.
Do you have a favorite play of the tournament?
Probably during one of my games wherein i bricked rather badly with no monsters for the entire game, yet surviving and dropping my opponents LP dramatically with the use of trap cards such as Blazing Mirror Force and Gravediggers Trap Hole, until i eventually drew Rikka Glamour and was able to attack for game with a copy of Rikka Mudan buffed up with Rikka Erica. It was a clown fiesta.
Moving forward, what cards do you think should be banned or restricted, if any?
Infernoble Knights are definitely a scary deck, which has been weakened by the banlist. But the biggest threat is Dragma, who's powerful consistency tools and access to beatsticks, negation and mass removal makes them a major threat. For the banlist, i think some of the myriad Plant hits should probably be laxed, and Dragma should receive an additional hit by banning Punishment which served as a multipurpose removal option for the deck which was terrifying in its searchability, often enabling the deck serious advantage when used properly.
Burrito
What made you choose this deck for the tournament, and what were your tech choices?
I decided upon this deck because between the 3 decks I was considering (Machines, Thundra and Trickstars), this was the one that overall did best in what was the expected meta. For tech choices, I would have to say the biggest one would be the inclusion of the insect engine of Gokipole, Maxx "C", Retaliating "C" and Shiny Black "C" Squadder. The purpose behind this inclusion was to provide an answer to the deck fusions that were being run, and have a non-targeting pop. The other reason was to have another Foolish Burial target.
Would you make any changes to the deck?
The only big change I would make would be to the inclusion of the Insect engine. While it was spicy, it didn't really synergize too well with the other ones. I would probably look to include a Dragma engine instead
How did your matchups throughout Swiss and Top 4 go?
They honestly went rather well. The only difficult matchups I had were vs Plants and vs Orcust Strikers. With the Plant matchup, I won game 3 off of luck after bricking super hard, and in the Orcust Striker match, I ended up losing due to some major misplays.
Do you have a favorite play of the tournament?
Game 2 vs Iceberg, where I sent Gokipole off of Cherubini to kill the just summoned Phantazmay during my turn. Made me super glad I was including the Insect engine.
Moving forward, what cards do you think should be banned or restricted, if any?
I would say to look out for Noble Knights, Dragma, Melffy and Dragons. NK is still quite strong, even with all of the hits. Dragma is super splashable, and Melffy has extremely strong advantage game, while dragons had numerous decks buffed with cards like Dragonmaid Clean-Up, the Gaia support and Chaos Ruler. For banlist changes, I would say to move Dragma Punishment to Semi, unhit atleast 1 NK card, and ban Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom. Besides that, the rest should be fine, from my viewpoint.