[RinehardtS@aol.com]
Dark Beginning follow-up ~Neo
Fellow Duelists,
 
First and foremost, I want to say thank you to everyone who has given me feedback/e-mail in response to my first article about Dark Beginning.  It's quite the encouragement, and it's nice to talk to some of you on an individual level.  So thank you!
 
Another quick note: I realize there are other writers that use the name Neo.  I'm sorry if I cause any confusion with this.  From now on, look for the ~ in my name, and you'll know its my article.  Plus, you can always check my e-mail address to see if they all match up.
 
But, to get back to Dark Beginning…
 
There are a couple of things that I have discovered, or have been brought to my attention.  Now, before I get into this, I would like to say thank you now to everyone that has given me information or has different opinions than my own.  The intent of this article isn't to bash or flame anyone, but to merely show the good or bad ideas and conclusions that have been made by others about DB1. In doing so, I'll present facts and information about these opinions to see if they can hold up.
 
First off, the list I wrote of the Commons has been altered.  Instead of the 26 cards that I originally posted, there are now a grand total of 185 Common cards.  That's…a rather large addition.  Again, you'll have to go to tw.ccom for the full list, as I'm not going to write out all 185 for you.  Nonetheless, it has a few cards worth mentioning:
 
Messenger of Peace
The Shallow Grave
Tornado Wall
Mother Grizzly
Backup Soldier
Fire Princess
Solemn Wishes
Toon World
Toon Mermaid
Time Seal
 
I know, they're not spectacular, but like the promotions for DB1 have said, now you can basically build any deck you've dreamt of.  If you look carefully, it's almost like they're giving you the cards to make an Exodia deck.  Messenger of Peace? Backup Soldier? The Shallow Grave? Interesting, yes?
 
Something else that was brought to my attention is that the ban list is usually subject to change on a monthly basis.  An alert duelist we'll call "kwazy wabbit" informed me via e-mail that the forbidden list may change on a monthly basis.  In terms of DB1, duelists shouldn't fret too much over getting cards that are already banned.  Well, I looked into this, and this is all I could find on Upperdeck's website:
 
"In February of this year, the Forbidden List for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME was activated for tournaments in Asia. A list of 10 cards was forbidden for use, with the intention that the Forbidden List would change every few months (and would not always be 10 cards)."
 
Well, it seems that Upperdeck is prone to changing the ban list, but it doesn't seem to suggest that it does so on a monthly basis.  The point I'm trying to make here is that while we'll be getting things like Raigeki, Imperial Order, and Dark Hole in DB1, don't expect the advanced format to be lenient because of this.  From the wording of the above quote, Upperdeck Entertainment doesn't seem too gung-ho on changing the ban list anytime soon.  "…with the iintention…"  sounds more like "we might, we might not" to me. So even if they do change it, it's not monthly.
 
In my opinion, the ban list will only change once a new deck emerges from the metagame of that which is post-ban.  The ban-list came into effect when two decks were basically running the show: chaos and control (or a mix of the two).  Well, once the ban-list took over, these decks lost their powerful cards, namely Chaos Emperor Dragon.  Now we're all forced to "start over" and find a new deck that will eventually be the new "Chaos deck."  As duelist Sting writes in his article "The Future of THE Game" (posted earlier this month):
 
"Now, for at least a couple of months, you will see alot of different deck ideas showing up in tournaments again. For those of you who think this just gave every or a lot of decks the power to win tournaments... yea right. Your wrong. In advanced format there still is a BEST deck that will really be the most productive in winning, there always will be no matter WHAT Upper Deck or Konami does. People just have to find it... and once they do they will tweek it little by little, find out the best version of it, and then Whalla! In a few months guess what... a new mono deck will show up which ALOT of people will begin to make for the crave of winning."
 
While slightly exaggerated and lacking in proper grammar and spelling, I think his point is pretty clear.  Until cookie-cutter decks start to take over once again, the ban list will most likely remain as it is for a while.  With DB1, I feel change may be relatively soon.
 
There were many of you who agreed with my previous article, but there are some who still believe that Exodia will be just as hard and expensive to get, if not harder.  I'm not saying these people are wrong or stupid, they are obviously entitled to their own opinions.  I do not wish to offend anyone with that mindset, but I would like to point out a few facts on why Exodia is going to be much easier and more affordable to get.
 
The first fact is the card ratios of DB1.  A quick search for Dark Beginning boxes on eBay can lead you to the ratios. But I'll post them here:
 
185 COMMON CARDS (11:1)
30 RARE CARDS (1:1)
20 SUPER RARE CARDS (1:4)
15 ULTRA RARE CARDS (1:8)
PLAYER TIP CARD (1:50)
 
There's 15 Ultra Rares, and if I'm reading the ratios right, it won't be that hard to pull one.  In order to get Exodia, you have to pull one Ultra Rare and four Commons.  Frankly, I think it will be much easier to do this than trying to pull five Ultra Rares from Legend of Blue-Eyes.  Even more so than Soul of the Duelist, which made getting Ultra Rares nearly impossible.  In SOD, there are only four Ultra Rares to get, and the ratio is 1:24!  If my assumption is correct, that means there are about one or two per BOX. It's going to be a lot easier pulling one Ultra Rare and four Commons from 12-card boosters than pulling five Ultra Rares from 9-card boosters.  If nothing else, DB1 has a ton of good cards to get anyway, while LOB, quite frankly, has little to offer.
 
Another point, though it is a well-known one anyway, is that getting the head of Exodia won't be all that hard to do.  Since getting the other pieces will be fairly easy, all you have to do is go on something like eBay to buy it.  Granted, the cost of the head may go up because of demand, but it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying the entire set for $100, or at least $20 for each limb.
 
And if that isn't enough to convince you, the head will be guaranteed in an upcoming binder of cards (link found at the end of the article).  tw is calling it a master collection.  It'll be a gold-colored binder that includes one booster from the first six sets of cards, and a "best of" card from each series.  Here's what it includes:
 
Exodia the Forbidden One (Legend of Blue Eyes)
Barrel Dragon (Metal Raiders)
Relinquished (Magic Ruler)
Thousand Eyes Restrict (Pharaoh's Servant)
Dark Necrofear (Labyrinth if Nightmare)
Dark Ruler Ha Des (Legacy of Darkness)
 
I don't think the whole Relinquished/Thousand Eyes thing is all that good.  But come on, for about $55 that's a pretty good deal.  And if you manage to get the Common pieces and not the head by December, you can just grab this.  Sersiously, it won't be THAT hard getting Exodia.
 
Reading over some of the other articles about DB1 and Exodia, I came across a recent one that claimed that DB1 will be in Super Short Print (SSP).  Apparently, getting SSP cards is a lot harder than pulling a Secret Rare. However, this person didn't really offer any concrete proof on this information, so I talked to them about it.  Apparently, they are a judge, and have connections inside Upperdeck.  Here's the conversation we had (their screen name has been changed):
 
RinehardtS [3:26 PM]:  ...connections with UDE huh?
Yugi [3:26 PM]:  yep
RinehardtS [3:27 PM]:  So a higher-up told you they won't be in print for very long?
Yugi [3:27 PM]:  yeah
RinehardtS [3:27 PM]:  So then, what do you estimate will be the shelf-life of DB1?
Yugi [3:28 PM]:  maybe about as long as each set, like 6 months
RinehardtS [3:28 PM]:  Well, that's still a long time to collect 4 commons and an ultra rare, don't you think?
Yugi [3:28 PM]:  yeah
RinehardtS [3:29 PM]:  Interesting
(Notice: Posted with permission)
 
Quite frankly, I think the conversation speaks for itself.  If what this judge says is true, will it really be harder to go and buy DB1 than finding a Secret Rare? Especially if it will be out for about six months. And even if it is a limited time deal, I'm sure there will be plenty of eBay auctions that will let you buy single cards or packs, or even boxes.  I could be misinformed about the entire subject of SSP, and if so feel free to let me know.  But if someone that has connections to UDE is saying something like this, I'd presume they know what they're talking about.
 
A final concern that has been expressed is that kids and inexperienced duelists will have cards made available to them that duelists of old had to struggle to obtain.  Well, I'd like to quote duelist Monkey in saying:
 
"Anyone who says that (it's so bad I payed so much money to get those cards now they are commons) well the same thing happened to Change of Heart, Monster Reborn, Premature Burial, Swords of Revealing Light ect. No one cared so much then."
 
It's true, I hardly remember people complaining about the starter secks, so why start complaining now? They call them start decks for a reason.  Starer deck, Dark Beginning...coincidence? I think not.  Like I mentioned in my previous article, if you're an old duelist that is afraid a beginner will make a powerful deck, you should be.  But question your own integrity and skill before pinning the blame on a new set of cards coming out.  A new duelist is just that: new. Even if they have a powerful collection of cards doesn't mean they know how to use them. You can't hand a child a katana and expect them to beat a samurai.  Sure, they may do some damage, but they lack the experience to wield it right and win.  New duelists will have to duel, play test, win, lose, and make corrections just like every other duelist in existence, so it's hardly going to change the game in that sense.
 
Duelists old and new, beware: DB1 approaches, and it approaches quickly.  Will it disappear as quickly as it comes, or will its effects linger like a thick fog? One thing is certain, if duelists can get their hands on it, it's going to be chaos all over again, and I'm not talking about the dragon.  It's going to be great, and I personally cannot wait for it to be released.  Good luck everyone.
 
~Neo
 
 
 
Sources:
DB1 Common List: http://www.tw.com/bdabe1sicafc3.html
Upperdeck ban list info: http://www.upperdeckentertainment.com/yugioh/news.asp
Sting's article: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/CCGTips/October2004/Yugi-18/The%20Future%20of%20THE%20Game.%20%20Sting.txt
"Master Collection" http://www.tw.com/yucabcosebco.html
Article about Exodia Commons: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/CCGTips/October2004/Yugi-20/About%20the%20Common%20Exodia%20Pieces.htm
Monkey's article: http://www.pojo.com/yu-gi-oh/CCGTips/October2004/Yugi-20/About%20Dark%20Beginning%20-%20Monkey.htm
 
Disclaimer: I don't work for tw.com, Upper Deck, or Konami.  My ideas do not necessarily represent the mentioned companies or that of pojo.com.  I'm just someone that has been dueling and collecting for about a year now, and simply wish to inform fellow duelists.
 
Questions, comments, praise, insult? E-mail RinehardtS@aol.com.  Like before, please include "Yu-Gi-Oh" in the subject line.  I'm more than willing to listen to you, whether you agree with me or not.