From: Anteaus44@aol.com [mailto:Anteaus44@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 12:10 AM

Subject: The Great One-for-One Debate-Anteaus

Hello, all you pojoers! Welcome to another installment of Anteaus' [insert cool name here]!

Today we're going to be talking about the "one-for-one" (141) in Yu-Gi-Oh! and why everyone is so shaken up about the fact that they're still around in threes, even after April Tewart's Day (to quote EMoD). But before we get into all that jazz, let's take a look--briefly--at the history of the Yu-Gi-Oh! metagame.

Era 1: Pre-Yata

Decks:

Beatdown

Exodia

Other OTK's that I don't know about but I'm sure you all do

Era 2: Yata

Decks:

Yata

Beatdown

Exodia

Other OTK's that still weren't good (Last Turn)

Era 3: Yata-Chaos

Decks:

Yata-Chaos

Other OTK's that didn't do squat against BLS and CED

Era 4: Advanced Chaos

Decks:

Warrior-Chaos

Metamorphosis-Chaos

Basic-Chaos

Beatdown (to an extent)

Attempts at Control (i.e. Hand Control-dominated by Chaos)

Other OTK's

Era 5: Goat Control

Decks:

Goat Control

BLS-EotB Control

BLS-Goat Control

Warrior-Chaos

Metamorphosis Chaos

Basic-Chaos

Beatdown

Attempts at Control

Other OTK's

Era 6: Warrior Toolbox

Decks:

Warrior Toolbox

Monarch/Soul Control

Zombie Toolbox

Beatdown

Bazoo

Tomato Control

Phoenix Control

OK, the list isn't perfect, many of these "eras" overlap and whatnot, but generally, what's up there is what won during that time. Anyway, here's the reason I included all these eras: the metagame has generally stayed consistent. Players like to control things--and if they can't control the game, they smash it to smithereens. Sometimes, if they're really bored, they'll do both (hence Warrior Toolbox, Tomato Control), but what's really important is that in all these eras, they've been dominated by certain cards. Era 1: Jirai Gumo/Megamorph. Era 2: Yata. Era 3: Yata. Era 4: BLS. Era 5: BLS. Era 6: Nothing.

Era 6 is where nothing really dominated, and that's a fact. So, what we have now in Era 6 is a dilemma: what are we going to do about all the cards that give me instant advantage now being banned? Simple. We replace them with watered-down versions. Mirror Force became Sakuretsu Armor. Raigeki became Lightning Vortex. Harpie's Feather Duster became Heavy Storm (kind of...Heavy Storm was still around). And then new cards entered into the mix: Bottomless Trap Hole, Mobius the Frost Monarch, Nobleman of Extermination. Uh-oh.

Duelists search for whatever they can to win, right? And in every era there has been ways to stop that win, but I can't really think of them all (you're all smart, you can do that :). Mostly it's been Sakuretsu Armor or Bottomless Trap Hole. Both of these cards show up again and again in every SJC, or Regional tournament, or even at school or at the local card shop. Why? Because they stop the win factor.

These cards are labeled one-for-ones (141) because they take your card and your opponent's card to the graveyard at the same time (for more explanation about advantatge, go to Metagame.com, go to Archives, and check out all articles by Jason Grahber-Meyer), Now, these cards are crucial to the metagame for several reasons:

1) They slow it down. In an era where Bazoo/Return from the Different Dimension and Mobius the Frost Monarch rule, it's imperative that we slow down the tempo of the game.

2) They stop insanely large amounts of Monsters from hurling into your unsuspecting life-points. Again, where Cyber Dragon and RFtDD rule the field, it's hard to stop the swarm, unless you have a Sakuretsu Armor (and, thanks to the new banlist, Mirror Force) and a Bottomless Trap Hole to help ward off the invading armies.

3) They keep you in a constant state of advantage. As well as keeping your opponent in a constant state of disadvantage, where they are now reacting to your reactions and trying to stop your monsters from hurling into their life-points.

4) They keep the game interesting. That's the most important part. It's no longer Raigeki-Harpie's Feather Duster-Confiscation-The Forceful Sentry-Delinquent Duo-slap down Yata-Garasu for the win. Now, it takes skill to win.

So, 141's are generally a good thing.

Oh, and the metagame is good too. People bitch and moan about how the metagame isn't fair and how the only way to win is by top-decking. Well, sure it is, but only in the late-game stages. Or if you over-extend yourself and you're top-decking. Luck does play a factor, yes, but overall it's the skill of the duelist that determines who wins a duel. Everyone always talks about top-decking and whatnot, but we all do it. It's the basic rule of Yu-Gi-Oh! When both players are out of options, the only option left is to rely on your deck to secure you victory. So, when you think about it, it's not top-decking, it's now relying on your deck instead of your hand to win you the game.

So there.

Now, I know people will have disagreed, but please, enough is enough. No more hate-mail. If you do, I'll do something not very nice (specifically, call you a communist and never answer any mail you send me ever again :) So yeah, if you disagree, that's great, tell me. But don't do it in a hateful way, because this game is about sharing your thoughts and ideas and not hogging them all and being a greedy prick. So yeah.

E-mail me at anteaus44@aol.com.

Cheers!

Anteaus