AboutMichael Lucas (Yu-Gi-Oh Category Guru) Expertise On vacation until August 16th. Will fix decks at that time, and discuss options regarding the Forbidden/Limited lists when they are officially posted.
I can answer any question based on the English Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game.
Rulings questions are my specialty. Ask me about ANY ruling for ANY card or combination of cards. If there's a valid ruling or a way to deduce a valid ruling, I'll be able to help you.
I'll also be willing to do deck fixes, but ONLY on decks that actually show some promise of possibly becoming good. Decks that are just random cards that aren't very good will be rejected, and I'll link you to a page where you can look at some better decks for ideas. Decks that are not in Advanced Format, or not competitive, will be sent to the Question Pool.
IF YOUR DECK INCLUDES DARK MAGICIAN, BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON OR RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON, I WILL IMMEDIATELY REJECT IT. These are CASUAL decks, not tournament-competitive ones. Please take decks including those cards to our casual deck experts. Also, I may or may not do fixes on other themes that would be consider non-tournament worthy. (Basically, if your deck is not a Blackwing, Gladiator Beast, Vayu Turbo, Dark Synchro, or Lightsworn deck, AND I don't think it has the promise of being able to compete with any of the above five decks, I'll be hesitant to offer a fix.)
I should also be able to give you general values of cards if you`re looking to buy or sell, or answer whether a certain trade was fair or not. Please limit value questions to 15 cards or less. I'm not going to appraise your entire collection. Additionally, please only list Super/Ultra/Secret/Ultimate rares, and make sure they do not come from structure/starter decks.
Experience Player/trader/collector for 7.5 years
Publications Writer for Beckett Yu-Gi-Oh Collector, Beckett Anime Collector, Beckett Pokemon Collector, and various books produced by Pojo.com
Education/Credentials Player of the American TCG since January 2002, tournament player since March 2002
Awards and Honors Duelist King Tournament Season 3 Champion -- Jahinie Productions, West Mifflin, PA...which has since, sadly, closed its doors.
148th/482 players at 2005 Yu-Gi-Oh Nationals
Top 4 at April 2005 Butler Regionals (Chaos/Trinity format)
Top 4 at August 2005 Butler Regionals (Chaos/Trinity format)
Top 8 at July 2008 Monroeville Regionals (Oppression Monarch)
Top 4 at October 2008 at Coraopolis Regionals (Tele-DAD)
Top 4 at June 14, 2009 Coraopolis, PA Regionals (Blackwings)
Qualified for 2005, 2006, 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh Nationals
Non-gameplay Yu-Gi-Oh Credentials:
Have made over $120,000 in the past 6 years from dealing in bulk quantities of Yu-Gi-Oh collectibles
Created "the point system", a method for fairly trading large quantities of low-valued cards in exchange for high-valued items, commonly accepted throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh community
Question Hey Mike! Iv'e had a remove from play deck, kinda like emon's, for quite some
time now. Ive been loosing too much with it and its getting very old. I have
decided too build a monarch deck but i have no clue on what cards to put in. I
am confused on what monarchs to choose from. I would really apppreciate you
creating me a monarch decklist. Also i have severe trouble making side decks,
can you also make me a side deck for the decklist. Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Answer I can't make your side deck for you; I'll suggest cards but won't do a complete one. Side decks are best meant to cover what's played in YOUR LOCAL AREA.
Monarchs...right now I'm seeing stuff float around like:
2x Mobius
2x Thestalos
2x Raiza
1x Zaborg
With possibly either a second Zaborg (for an 8-gauge deck, 2 of each of the good Monarchs), removing some Mobius and side-decking them so you throw extra Raiza or Zaborg in...
The 3 Cyber Dragons, Sangan, and Treeborn Frog are still a must, usually with Spirit Reaper added as well. From there, for your generic version, usually support like a set of Gravekeeper's Spy cards will give you defensive tribute fodder.
Spells...you start off with the big 6: Confiscation, Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, Premature Burial, Nobleman of Crossout, Snatch Steal.
From there, add Brain Controls and Soul Exchanges (probably 2 of each), a Smashing Ground or two to clear the field when your monsters can't, and other cards like Book of Moon, Scapegoat, and Enemy Controller as quick-play defenses.
Traps: Start with Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, and Ring of Destruction. For basic decks, you could add Sakuretsu Armors and maybe one random other trap after the 3 Sakus. If people play lots of Monarchs in your area, you could consider 2 Sakuretsu Armor and 3 Pulling the Rug to screw over their Monarchs.
Side deck...
If you're not maining Pulling the Rugs, you're siding a set of them as anti-Monarch. Banisher of the Radiance = good anti-graveyard. Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell and Threatening Roar hurt Demise OTK. Otherwise it's up to you but those are the basic things I'd cover because those are the things I see most people play.
