If you have ever had the opportunity to attend a Premiere event such as a Regional or Shonen Jump Championship tournament, you have undoubtedly been asked to fill out a Decklist.

 

This document is taken very seriously, and under UDE Tournament Policies, you may incur severe penalties for failing to properly prepare and utilize a Decklist.  As a Judge, I am regularly amazed at how many avoidable penalties are given out for Deck and Decklist violations.

 

A piece of paper

 

As a Metagame, Yu-Gi-Oh is often difficult to predict. You may go to Regionals thinking that the Burn deck type is dead, only to discover four people running Burn, with you having left your Des Wombats in your Trade Binder.  It is at times like these that duelists are tempted to swap out some cards from their Side Deck, and quickly rebuild it to counter threats that had hitherto been discounted.  Upperdeck Entertainment has no problem with a duelist changing their Deck or Side Deck around before the tournament begins, but once those first pairings are made, you are expected to run the deck as you’ve prepared it.

 

The purpose of the Decklist is to ensure fair play amongst all tournament participants.  It prevents duelists from customizing their decks after the first round, when they have seen what their competitors are running.  It also helps the Judging staff to determine that everyone is running a legal deck.

 

“He’s making a list…”

 

Once the Judges have collected all the Decklists, they are quickly reviewed.  The Judges make sure that the cards listed equal the totals written for the Deck, that the Side Deck contains either 0 or 15 cards, and that the contents of the overall deck abide by the current Forbidden, Semi-Limited and Limited lists.

 

If problems are discovered, a Judge will usually ask to speak to the duelist after the first round is completed, to resolve any errors in the Deck or on the Decklist.  An illegal Decklist will usually only warrant a Warning, but running an illegal Deck will often bring about more severe penalties.

 

In recent Premiere Events, I have handed out Warnings to people who listed 16 cards in their Side Deck; had written 40 cards as a total, but had 41 cards on the list; and had listed two copies of a card that was Limited to 1.  Luckily for these players, their actual Decks were perfectly legal, with the only errors being on their Decklists.

 

At the same time, I have personally handed out Game Loses to players who ran Pot of Greed (a Forbidden Card), had the same 3 cards listed in both their Main Deck and Side Deck (meaning they had 6 copies of the card in their deck), and players who ran multiple copies of Limited cards.

 

The commonality amongst all the above situations is that they were all completely avoidable!

 

“…checking it twice”

 

Duelists generally tend to be somewhat sloppy in the way they play this game.  Whether it is using worn sleeves, dice instead of Sheep Tokens, or calculators instead of a pen & paper, your average player doesn’t take the necessary time to fully prepare for a Premiere Event.  The Decklist however, is not something to be lazy and lackadaisical about.  Failing to fill it out properly leaves you open to penalties that you really don’t want.

 

I realize that it must sound cool in your Tournament Reports to say that you filled out your Decklist while standing in the Registration line.  I guess it makes you sound ‘pro’ that you managed to Top 8 with a deck that you built in your head while driving to the event.  Nevertheless, dismissing the Decklist as unimportant in such a manner invites disaster. Wouldn’t it really suck to have to lose your spot in Top 8 because you earned a Game Loss for accidentally running two copies of Sangan in your deck?

 

“Finding out who’s naughty or nice”

 

Once the Decklists have been collected, reviewed and corrected, the process of ‘Random Deck Checks’ begins.  In case you have never had one, here is a brief overview of the process.

 

Usually, after the first round is completed, the computer will randomly select a table number to be checked.  Judges assigned the duty of performing Deck Checks will often observe the table from afar, making sure that the duelists are shuffling their decks in accordance with UDE Tournament Policy.

 

Once each player presents their deck to their opponent for shuffling, the Judges will then intercede and ask to see both player’s Decks and Side Decks.  The reason the Judge waits until this point is: according to Tournament Policy, once you present your deck to your opponent, you are stating that the deck is ready to go.   If any discrepancies between your Deck and Decklist are discovered, the excuse of “My deck wasn’t ready yet” won’t cut it.

 

The Decks and Side Decks of each player are taken to the Judge’s Station, where the contents of both are compared to their respective Decklists.  If there are any inconsistencies, they will be reported to the Head Judge, and the appropriate penalties will be imposed.  This ultimately prevents cheating by catching players who, after finding out who their opponent is, decide to swap in cards from their Side Deck to help them out Round 1.

 

Do not be careless!  At a recent Regional tournament, I was forced to give a Game Loss to a player who discovered that he had accidentally left one of the cards from his Main Deck in his deck box.  Since he had already presented his Deck to his opponent, his Deck and Side Deck were both illegal, containing 39 and 16 cards respectively.

 

Here are some tips to help you avoid unwanted penalties.

 

1- Prepare your Decklist ahead of time.

 

Voted #1 most obvious answer by “Judges Magazine”, it still amazes me that so few duelists actually think of this.  Every Regional event begins for me the night before, when my wife writes up my Decklist (I have horrible handwriting).  I decide beforehand which deck to run, and so it makes sense to me to show up at the Tournament with the Decklist sheet already filled out.  You can even download a blank Decklist sheet by visiting UDE’s Tournament site.   On a personal note, I wish I could reward every duelist who shows up with a Decklist that was printed off their computer.  Often at times it seems as if we need a Rosetta Stone to decipher the hieroglyphics players often use to fill out their Decklists.  Neat handwriting leads to happy Judges, and who doesn’t want that?

 

Now, some of you will say that you don’t know what deck you are going to run until you get to the tournament, or that you are not sure if you will be able to procure the needed cards from friends or teammates.  Fair enough, but then I would heartily suggest you arrive at the tournament early!  Showing up five minutes before registration closes, not knowing what deck you are going to run, and busily trying to trade for the cards you are missing is certainly not helpful to either you or the Judges.  Every time I see a player filling out a Decklist while the timer is running, and their opponent is sitting patiently waiting for them, I want to reach over and swat them on the head.

 

2- Make sure your deck is Legal

 

The current Forbidden / Limited list can be found here, and is updated regularly whenever changes are made.  Showing up with a deck that contains Forbidden cards, or too many copies of a Limited card is a silly way to earn yourself a Game Loss.  Complaining that you haven’t been to a tournament in a long time is no excuse.  It is every player’s responsibility to regularly check the Forbidden / Limited list.

 

3-Double check your work

 

Great advice for anything you do in life, applying this principle to your Decklist is equally effective.  Your deck may only contain 40 cards, but somehow or another, you listed 41 cards on your Decklist.  A careless misake, while only meriting a Warning, is not beneficial to the other players or the tournament.

 

4-Remember it!

 

Once you have turned in your Decklist, you are no longer permitted to see it, or make any alterations.  If you forget which cards belong in your Side Deck, it will be difficult to restore your Main Deck back to its original contents after the first round is over.

 

Let’s Talk Turkey:

 

The Deck List should be as important to you as your Custom Playmat, your Mirror Force or your Sheep Tokens.  There is really no excuse to having an illegal Deck List, and even less reason to not make good use of it to ensure your Deck is legal.  Judges greatly dislike handing out Game Loses for silly reasons, and it doesn’t get any more preventable than this.  Take your time and double check everything.  A little extra effort before the tournament can mean all the difference between getting that Nationals Invite, or falling short of Top 8 because of a penalty.

 

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