Hi to everyone! Reading a few of the recent threads on the Pojo.com Message Boards (the premier internet Yu-Gi-Oh community for discourse still, by the way), inspired me to find a time in between classes to churn out a few more articles. Most of my work is going up on two very established Yu-Gi-Oh websites (Metagame and TCGplayer) that love Pojo.com, so you can find more stuff there.

There’s been a few misconceptions regarding my writing. The last article on the greatest ten players of North America (I should have made that more clear) created a firestorm of controversy, but it wasn’t the backlash (of which there was very few) or controversy that made me lay off writing the next set. It’s actually the fact that writing inspired pieces takes a good deal of time, and giving space so that other writers can find their voice and make their mark is generally a good thing.

From the very start, I’ve always had people who’ve chosen to roughly critique my work or my skills as a player. I’ve been called overrated, arrogant, pompous, idiotic, and all sorts of other verbal atrocities. The goal has always been to take criticism with a smile and move on, while using play skills and developing writing skills to silence the category of dissenters. I hope nobody thinks that the backlash makes me stop writing; that’s not true at all. And as I’ve always said, one kind letter or forum post makes up for twenty pieces of negative spew.

Anyways, I wanted to write a rambling collective based on the new forbidden list that’s out, the release of gadgets, and the slow evolution of the game. The points I want to address are the reason for my top player article, the development of the game, and the vindication of many theories that I’ve put forth as an author (that were inspired by the class of professional players such as Team Overdose, Team Superfriends, Team Odyssey, and former Team Savage that I’ve had the honor of playing with.)

The Real Reason I Wrote the Top Player Article

Yu-Gi-Oh players have a history of demonizing their champions. When a player such as John Umali is able to receive 8,000 dollars for the very first Cyber-Stein ever won, the community tends to utter negative sentiments such as “you’re crazy to pay that much for a card LOL” or “why would anyone want to buy a piece of cardboard.” This type of thinking has always upset me.

Because players have not had the chance to make serious income from playing the game, which sets it at odds with other competitive games such as Upper Deck Entertainment’s World of Warcraft and VS System and Wizard of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering, the game’s competitive tournament scene has always had the danger of dying out. While UDE has done a very good job of maintaining interest in the game through a variety of methods such as hobby leagues, worldwide regionals, and Shonen Jump Championships, a lack of prize support leads to a lack of players interested in competing.

In fact, it seems to me quite probably that Konami/Shueisha and whoever else runs the SJC events had no idea the promotional cards would sell for that high on E-Bay. But ironically, it is those very cards that have sustained the market. If the promise of winning a Cyber-Stein or Shrink and selling it for a few thousand dollars wasn’t around, I guarantee that nobody other than people from the region would attend Shonen Jump events. Historically, the game has always received more income from tournament entrees than it’s given out.

Booster product is basically free to produce for Upper Deck. When they receive 700 SJC entrants that pay 20 dollars each, we’re looking at 14,000 dollars in revenue. Because the top 5-8 only get Nintendo DS’s (100-150 dollars each), the top 3-4 get PSP’s (200-250 dollars each), and second only gets an I-pod (300-400 dollars), the promoters are making FAR more money than they’re giving back. Throw in the laptop that first place gets, and you have a 14,000 prize pool that only gives back four grand at the most.

Because of this, many of the famous players from the past have all decided to quit. Evan Vargas picked up Spoils and stopped showing up to Shonen Jump Championships. John Umali decided to quit. Wilson Luc decided traveling to each venue was irresponsible. Kevin Hor could not afford to travel so far any longer. And so on and so forth.

The danger basically came true. SJC events basically became regionals, and only a few of the sturdy few could afford to travel to every event. When star players from Team Overdose, Odyssey, and Superfriends are sitting out the upper echelon Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, you can see problems. Take a look at the lackluster Metagame coverage when Dale Bellido or Paul Levitin isn’t around to capture. It’s hardly as exciting, with no offense to those who top eighted such events.

The article was actually intended to provide the deserved recognition that some of our pioneers deserve. Wilson Luc, Theerasak Poonsombat, Evan Vargas, and other legends are basically ignored for the new wave of star players who have grasped the spotlight. At Shonen Jump San Jose, while conducting a team battle, it dismayed me to hear that most of the players there didn’t even know who Emon and I were referring to when discussing Luc. That sort of disdain for the game’s founding fathers motivated me to write.

The truth is that many players have no idea who Someguy, DM7FGD, f00b, Sandtrap, “T”, and others are. In fact, I’m sure many people who visit Pojo.com have no clue who I am either. They probably lump my articles in with the rest of the new faces at the site because the game has no respect for the history of its first promoters. Whereas VS. System gets hot jobs to pros such as Antonio de Rosa and Brian Kibler, Yu-Gi-Oh simply shoves them out the door.

Look at my list. It features names such as Hugo Adame, Max Suffridge, Eric Wu, and Wilson Luc that many have forgotten. The fact rankles me to the very core, and that’s what inspired me to write. Moving on then.

Changes in Store for Yu-Gi-Oh that Excite Us All

I was very critical of Upper Deck Entertainment, Kevin Tewart, and Konami for their blatant and disgusting mishandling of the game. This was when I was a young hothead, unaware of the politics behind Upper Deck’s earnest attempts to gain more of Konami’s ear in changing the disgusting mechanics that lead to “lucksacking.” However, now all I seem to be doing is singing Kevin Tewart and Upper Deck’s praises. Allow me to explain.

The recent forbidden list was the best attempt yet to achieve game balance. Most of the pros simply uttered “ban Stein” and the list is perfect. Well, they banned Stein (a few months too late). Now this next list is about as good as it gets for game balance. All of the broken power cards are gone except Confiscation, and Stein was removed even before this next list came out.

Also, there’s a new system in place for Shonen Jump Championships. We’re cutting to a top sixteen now, with prize cards in place for the top two competitors. You’ve never known me to lie on this website, so you can blame me for the new changes. At SJC San Jose, Emon Ghaenian and I had the chance to talk to Alex Charsky, a stud muffin head honcho at Upper Deck Entertainment that gathered a few of our thoughts. I told him that a cut to the top sixteen would be the biggest morale boost for Yu-Gi-Oh players in the history of mankind. He said he would work on it. He then asked us what else we’d like to see in tournaments. With my losses at Charlotte and Seattle fresh in mind, I said there was too big of a price discrepancy between first and second. There was no incentive for top players to fly across the nation when the chances of winning anything were far too low.

Flash forward to a few months later. Mr. Charsky and Upper Deck got it done! The new cut off to the top sixteen and two prize cards given out are the most exciting changes to happen to the game in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh! All of a sudden, we have old pros such as Evan Vargas jumping back into the game! Team Superfriends is going to the Houston Shonen Jump! Overdose will travel across the nation! Pandemonium! (And I don’t mean the field spell, HEHE YUGIOH JOKE!)

So make sure to thank me, Emon, and Mr. Charsky (him most of all). He is the greatest. Impeccably dressed, with dapper attire and sunglasses indoor, Alex is the unsung hero of the Yu-Gi-Oh set.

Also, please don’t post on the message boards about how I’m patting myself on the back. I’m not. It’s just an indisputable fact that Emon and my conversation with Mr. Charsky spurred on these new, brilliant changes. Without our input, they would have never known that is what the competitive crowd wanted. He was the man with the power and we’ll thank him and Upper Deck forever. You’re welcome.

I’ll continue with my thoughts on the forbidden list; this one is getting a bit long. And by the way, the little court case with Top Innovations was settled in a Pomona small claims court. The issue was between my good friend Hugo Adame and a former business partner. I was dragged in for no reason whatsoever other than to cause me a great inconvenience. There were no criminal charges, the case was thrown out, and I emerged unscathed. I have no idea what this has to do with Yu-Gi-Oh, but the vicious rumors need to stop. Thank you!

Back in a day with an actual game-related article.