[RinehardtS@aol.com]
Dark Beginning - A Forewarning of the Future by "Neo"
Fellow duelists,
 
I don't know if it's some kind of joke, but the newest set of cards coming out in November - Dark Beginning - has some interesting sets that will more than likely piss off every duelist that has spent tons of money and hard trading getting good cards.
 
This was brought to my attention by my little brother, who was just randomly looking through cards at tw.com.  I figured it wasn't anything big until he told me this:
    
"The pieces of Exodia are Commons!"
 
Yes, you read that right, Exodia will become much more available to players, especially those who are on budgets.  I've been on a quest for Exodia for a little while now, so obviously this was good news to me.
 
Intrigued (and slightly doubtful), I hopped onto the 'net and checked it out.  Sure enough, all Exodia pieces except for the head will be Commons, along with other cards that have been hard to get.  Now, there is a disclaimer that tw has included, which states that though they are certain the cards they have on their list are the ones Upper Deck will pick, "Upper Deck may change the assortment at any point before the set is released, as such, these cards may be changed without any warning as new information is obtained." 
 
In other words, don't blow a gasket just yet.
 
Here's a full list of the cards they plan to release as Commons:
 
ALL of Exodia minus the head
Painful Choice
Card of Safe Return
Gravity Bind
Confiscation
Suijin (a card I had to get from eBay mind you)
Kazejin
Maha Vailo
Shining Angel
Mirror Wall
Nobleman of Crossout
Giant Germ
Banisher of Light
Polymerization
Mask of Darkness
Harpie Lady
Harpie Lady Sisters
Mask of Restrict
Thousand Eyes Idol
Revival Jam
Jam Breeding Machine
Jam Defender
Infinite Cards
 
...These are Commons! Not Rares, not Ultra Rares…Commons. What's even better (or worse dependinng on how you look at it) is that each booster pack will come with 12 cards instead of nine like normal.  In addition, there will be little "Player Tips" included in each pack.  Obviously, Dark Beginning (or DB1) is aimed at younger duelists, but I'll talk about this later.  I don't know if there is only one Rare included still, or if they will cost more than a normal booster, but with those kinds of Commons, who cares?
 
Well, to be honest, you should care, because the Rare list is pretty loaded as well.  However, in my opinion, these cards aren't hard to get in the first place.  I'll only list the better examples from now on instead of complete lists.  I'll leave it to you to check tw for yourself:
 
Cyber Jar
Man-Eater Bug
Morphing Jar #2
The Legendary Fisherman
Dust Tornado
Forceful Sentry
Magic Drain
 
After seeing the full list, I can tell you that most of the Rare cards can be pulled from starter decks.  It's almost laughable when compared to some of the Commons you get.  However, this saves duelists from having to buy copies of starter decks because they want three copies of one card.
 
But now we get into the Super Rares.  Again, it's somewhat of a shock as to what they are releasing as Supers.  Here's a few of'em:
 
Call of the Haunted
Premature Burial
Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon
Red Eyes Black Dragon
Pot of Greed
Summoned Skull
Goblin Attack Force
Mystical Space Typhoon
 
...Call of the Haunted? Goblin Attack Force? Nice.  Though again some - if not most - of the cards on tw's list are cards you can get from starter decks, like Dark Hole or Megamorph.  I guess if you want a shiny Dark Hole, which is officially banned anyway, now is your chance.  Or a holofoil Pot of Greed...oooo, yay.
 
Topping off this extraordinary set are the Ultra Rares.  Strangely, there were no Secret Rares when I checked the list (October 1st).  The Ultra Rare list won't be as big of a surprise to most of us who have been playing the game for long enough:
 
Jinzo
Raigeki
Imperial Order
Exodia the Forbidden One
Snatch Steal
Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Dark Magician
United We Stand
Torrential Tribute
 
Now, I'm not ignorant of the advanced ban-list.  If you look over DB1, you'll easily be saying "that's banned now, so is that…" but imagine with me for a minute: You have the same chance of pulling a Jinzo as you do Exodia, Torrential Tribute, or Imperial Order.  No Harpie's Feather Duster is in sight, but it's banned anyway, so there's no heartbreak there. 
 
I should also add that the artwork on a few of the cards, namely the ones made popular by the anime (Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes, Summoned Skull, Red Eyes, etc.) have "new" artwork.  I think the artwork looks better than the previous editions, but seriously, how many more versions of Blue-Eyes do we need?
 
My attitude toward DB1 is a positive "better late than never."  I have a feeling that Upper Deck released this after the ban-list went into effect so that tournaments wouldn't be overrun with Painful Choice and Raigeki.  Looking at it from a casual player's standpoint, it's very awesome.  In a way, it's a "the best of" set for Yu-Gi-Oh.  Both old and new duelists should rejoice in the fact that sought-after cards will become obtainable in just one set.  Not only will players be able to build decks they've always dreamed of, but also trading will become a lot more fun, as everyone will be able to participate.
 
Now, a lot of you that are reading this and are more than likely ready to send Upper Deck a flood of hatemail.  Understandably so, some of you have paid gobs of money and traded many cards to get where you are today.  But before you do that, think of the positive impact this will have. 
 
No longer will duelists be able to use the excuse of rich kids ruling the game.  That's right, all those cards we once thought were unreachable are now within our grasps, so no longer will the excuse of someone being rich come into play.  I know plenty of you like to rant about how rich kids beat you because they have unlimited access to good cards. Yu-Gi-Oh should be about skill and building a good deck anyway, but now the good cards will be in vast supply to everyone, so no more complaining.  By the way, I am not a "rich kid" by any means, I am in college.  I've got my cards through eBay, trading, and buying boosters/starter decks.
 
Secondly, I believe this set is intended for duelists who have just started.  I mean, why else would they include Player Tips?  Most of us (arguably) know how to play the game by now.  But when a new duelist is just starting out, he or she usually has no idea what boosters to buy, how certain cards can work well with others, or what the good cards are.  This set will help them get some of the building blocks for making a formidable deck.  It is true a lot of the cards in DB1 are game breaking, but buying this set alone isn't going to flood the metagame with powerful decks.  For example, you still need to buy Invasion of Chaos if you want the Chaos monsters.  You still need to buy Legacy of Darkness if you want Injection Fairy Lily, A Legendary Ocean, or Yata-Garasu.  Two of those are banned, but the point is, not every card that was previously difficult to get is being re-released, and new duelists will still need to work at getting some of the better cards if they hope to compete.
 
Third, even if you're a seasoned collector, you can still try and collect the older versions of the cards.  DB1 may bring the value down of the more expensive cards, but nothing is quite as satisfying as owning an original version of a card like Imperial Order.  You can still take pride in it, but if you're playing against someone using the new versions, don't bash them.  The DB1 Gravity Bind will still stop your Level 4+ monsters from attacking regardless of its rarity, and if you're experienced, you should be able to deal with it anyway.
 
Probably the most stunning part of all of this is how easy it will be to get Exodia.  Personally, I love that I will finally be able to build an Exodia deck without paying a heap of money to do so.  Not that my other decks (Water/Beatdown and Toon) aren't good, but now I can explore other options.  And even with Exodia becoming more feasible, it's not like Exodia is dominating the metagame.  He can be countered just as much as he could've been before.  With cards like Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan banned, it won't be as easy getting the pieces in duels.  Even if Exodia does become commonplace, you still need to find an Ultra Rare to get the actual piece of Exodia that will let you win the game.  For all we know, they might turn the pieces into Rares or Super Rares before the set is released.  So it's not as if Upper Deck is just handing Exodia out. 
 
Lastly, think back with me if you will: Remember how excited you were when you pulled Jinzo from a booster?  Or how you were able to slam down a Cyber Jar you just got in case things were going bad? I can still remember feeling incredibly lucky and overjoyed pulling a Chaos Emperor Dragon from a booster.  Well, new duelists will be able to experience that same joy of pulling well-known and powerful cards from boosters, especially if they are in a lower age bracket.  Why would you want to rob them of that?  This is good news not only for kids, but their parents as well.  No more having to scour eBay and paying insane prices and shipping for that one card your kid wants.  Who wouldn't enjoy saving money on buying boosters that have many good cards for the same price of one good card?
 
Like it or not, Dark Beginning may change Yu-Gi-Oh more than any previous set, including Invasion of Chaos.  Not so much the game play, but the age brackets and types of decks that will see more play.  In one way, it feels like Upper Deck is slapping us in the face with this because of the ban list, but at the same time, it's almost a way of repaying us by making good cards much more available.  It'll be an excellent chance to let everyone enjoy the game of Yu-Gi-Oh, not just the rich or the seasoned players.  If you're scared a little kid is going to build a powerful deck, good.  But if you're that worried, you should be more concerned about whether you're a good duelist or not.  I'm looking forward to Dark Beginning, and you should too.
 
"Neo"
 

Source: http://store.yahoo.com/dragonballzcentral/yudabe1sicab.html
 
Disclaimer: I don't work for tw.com, Upper Deck, or Konami.  (If I did, wouldn't I have Exodia already?)  My ideas do not necessarily represent the mentioned companies or that of pojo.com.  I'm just a regular guy that has been dueling and collecting for about a year now, and simply wish to inform fellow duelists.
 
Questions, comments, praise, insult?  E-mail them to RinehardtS@aol.com.  Put "Yu-Gi-Oh" in the subject line please.  Remember, this is my opinion, so whatever respect you give mine, I'll give yours.