Hiya guys! As we all know, Regionals are upon us. Go here for the official list of locations. Here's the scoop on them, though it's irrelevant as most of you know this already. If you qualify in the top 4 at your regional, you get to go to the National Tournament in Orlando, Florida (so I've heard). Top 4 there, you go to worlds (no definite location yet). Very hard to do, though I'm sure some of the Pojo Members will qualify. Anyway, this would have to be the biggest step Koonami/UD has taken to successful organized play. This is the United States Regional Tournament, but as of 12/31/03 UD and Koonami Released information on a Canadian regional (with hopefully more to come).      What will be played at Regionals? Well, it depends. If you live near or in the location of the regional, you'll have an idea of what's being played (players you know will fill most the seats). Because this is a higher level of play, you most likely won't see many original decks. Archfiend (look at that, it's already been done), Beatdown/Control, Themed Beatdowns, Magical Scientist, Elma... I'd even side some stuff against Polite Intruding Trio (Omija Trio) as it has A LOT of dangerous combos. Gravity Bind will see minimal play with Tinzo and Jinzo running rampant. I'm quite sure a restriction list will be thrown together at the last second, depending on when your regional is. The Judges will be only the best (so I've heard), so they are a walking PDF. Infernalqueen Archfiend "themed" decks will hurt if it is not errated before that. Here are some general cards that I would imagine to be in a large majority of Regional Decks.

-D. D. Warrior Lady -Tribe Infecting Virus -Breaker the Magical Warrior -Vampire Lord -3 Prenegators (With or without Confiscation) -6 "Staples" -Mirror Force -Torrential Tribute -Imperial Order -Magic Cylinder -Waboku -Call of the Haunted/Premature Burial

The list goes on and on. Of course all that's been described so far is for Regionals before Invasion of Chaos (306 and 307) comes out. That will be true test to see who can take the Chaos duo. Read DM7's article about them...      Invasion of Chaos brings Chaos Emperor Dragon and Chaos Soldier, but it also brings some overlooked cards. Some good Animal types such as Berserk Gorilla come in this set¡K Chaos Necromancer, Reload (for Exodia), fire types, Black Magician of Chaos (effect), dinosaurs, water, plants, insects, Manju God¡K a lot of for originality. I still, however think that a CED deck is going to make its way through the Regionals to the Top 4. It's a matter of opinion. There are so many thing that could happen that it's impossible to know for sure what will be played at these Regionals. If my regional wasn't that early, I'd probably play an Animal/Animal-Warrior deck.      Before actually attending one of these things, there are few thigs you should do. If at all possible you should reserve a seat (contact the tournament organizer for details) because Regionals will be extreamly crowded. If you are a parent of a Yu-Gi-Oh child reading this, you should really consider making a PayPal account here if you haven't all ready. This is because most tournament reservations are paid either through PayPal or mail. PP is safer and you'll most likely be using it for future card events anyway. Now, back to what you as a player should do. You should ask the tournament organizer what the tournament structure will be (Single-Elimination, Swiss, Round Robin...). Doing that will give you an easier time because there will be no surprises or confusion as to what happens when you win or lose. The final and most important thing to do when you are at these tournaments is to WATCH YOUR CARDS AT ALL TIMES! The amount of security varies with the store, but long time players know that the only one who can protect your cards is you. There will be 100s of people including non-players and theifs. Try to travel light and not bring your whole collection. Also keep a watchful eye on your graveyard and out of play cards as there have been cases of organized theft. One more thing, when control of cards changes via Change of Heart type card, make sure you take it back. Hold on to your prized deck as it most likely (if you want to do your best) is filled with your favorite, best, and rarest cards.      The best thing to do is play your best there. It [i]is[/i] pretty hard to play for such high stakes when only 4 people qualify. Sorry if this article fell a little short. I'll do a nice long one next week!

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