Yu-Gi-Oh! 1st Place PHANTOM KNIGHTS Kills the META - Invitational Qualifier ft. Julio Mendoza

[@Ichibanmon]

Bro I’m loving these interview style deck profiles 🙌🏼

[@ElPsyKongroo]

That's why I love yugioh over other card games, this guy might not have come back if we had rotations and left pk fire to die in 2016. Unlike magic and pokemon yugioh buffed this guys old strategy and that made him happy and in turn konami gets money, I pray the game always stays like that.

[@fidibus4290]

Srsly, I don't know how people even get the impression that yugioh had no rotation. Banlists and power creep are functionally the same as rotation with the difference that rotation is actually a scheduled forseeable format shift. PK is only relevant again because it got new support. It is exeedingly rare that old decks beome relevant again without new cards which support them. comebacks like this are artificial and part of Konami's buisness plan (at least most of the time). Also it's just wrong to assume that MTG just rotates and doesn't support older decks. There are formats besides standart, folks. If you don't want to play a rotating format you can play Modern, Pioneer, Commander etc. Also it's not like there is never support for older strategies in magic. Kaldheim intoduces new Snow support for example. Last year Goblins saw a surge in playability in Modern since it got quite a few new cards. Imo MtG handles format shifts much better than YGO. You can either play a scheduled rotating format or a slower moving eternal format with deck archetypes which are established and playable over a long time. I can guarantee you that red burn decks will always be relevant in Modern in some way shape or form.

[@AirIUnderwater]

I had to quit Yugioh. Over the last 8 years, it became this: Turn 1 Player 1 spends 15 minutes special summoning and chaining effects until they build a board of 30000 cumulative damage and 6 negates or disruptions, or just flat-out locks the opponent out. The only thing Player2 can do is hope they have a Nibiru or something other handtrap that they could try to disrupt with. Turn 2 Player 2 spends the entire turn special summoning and chaining effects while Player 1 disrupts and negates as much as he can. If Player 2 breaks the board that Player 1 has, he wins. If he can't, he loses. This can often take 10-15 minutes. Turn 3 Player 1 does whatever he can to recover and Player 2 responds however he can with his board setup. This is just whatever is left after the two players activated their monster negates and disruptions. That's it. That's literally the entire game. People whined so much that they banned Maxx C here in the TCG. People give Mystic Mine such a bad rep when really it's really the ONLY other competitive alternative to playing some numbingly annoying combo deck. I'd rather lose to Mystic Mine than sit there for 15 minutes watching my opponent special summon 80 times and build a board that I know the five cards in my hand can't beat and have to pray my draw is worthwhile. ====== Wizards prevents this from happening in Standard. The two most recent sets of overpowered standard decks were probably Reclamation decks and Omnath/Uro centered decks. MTG players give Wizards crap for not moving fast enough in banning these cards in Standard play but really, when, Wizards responds at light speed compared to the literally degenerate crap that every other card does in Yugioh. Seriously, it was comical quitting Yugioh and focusing on MtG and hearing people complain about Uro or Wild Reclamation or Omnath. When I was dealing with Virtual World, Red Eyes Dragun, Salads, etc. I told some of my MtG friends about what a Red Eyes Dragun analog of MtG would be and they didn't believe that a card like that could exist until one of them looked it up. If Dragun showed up in MtG it would completely dominate EVERY format from unlimited through to standard (except pauper because I doubt it'd be cheap enough to be allowed in pauper). Literally, the degenerate power creep in Yugioh makes it so that practically any meta relevant card in Yugioh would utterly crush the entire game of MtG. ======= But to end this. Yeah, I'd go back and play Yugioh if they made the decks I want to play meta relevant. Relinquished. Magical Musketeers. Weather Painters.

[@fidibus4290]

​@@AirIUnderwater I still play Yugioh though. Power creep is a feature of this game. It creates a pseudo format rotation and gives players the incentive to buy into new decks. It's not like Standart was any less of a rip-off than Yugioh Advanced Fromat. Tbh, I'd never started playing MtG if there weren't eternal formats like modern or commander. Also power creep in MtG is a thing. Uro and Omnath come to mind, but honestly, Oko and especially the Companion mechanic were really broken. It's not like Wizards is perfect in the way they're handling their game. It really comes down to what you enjoy as a player. A lot of people enjoy combo decks in YGO, if it isn't for you, try something else. It's not like Yugioh is dying.

[@lifequality]

@@fidibus4290 I also still play Yugioh to this day. I started with the very first structure decks back in the early 2000's and although i took several breaks, i always found the motivation to come back. During 2017, i also started to play Magic, given i was only playing Draft, Standard and tried out Commander a little bit. I started Magic since there were a lot of people playing mtg at my university and literally noone played yugioh. I love Yugioh for its faster pacing, since it can be over pretty quickly (and most of the time, it will be over quickly). But that's a personal preference. Yugioh has, for me at least, the problem that it's very very bad at handling these overpowered cards in a given format. They don't give cheap alternatives or counters to them right away. Rather, these counters come a few sets later. Then, it's often too late or the problem card has gotten its reprint and is due for a ban or a limitation (the cash has been earned and the next wave of problem cards that will be potential cash makers are already waiting). This creates a weird dynamic that there a phases where the meta game is almost unplayable and toxic due to numerous reasons. And the no rotation argument is a farce, a lie. Since older decks will never win unless they get support to update their gameplan. Last but definitely not least is the increasing player number argument yugioh players like to bring up. Yes, yes. Tournament participation has steadily gone up over the last years. And that's a good thing since it means more people either start playing or decide to get more invested. But the factor that a lot of people seem to miss is that there is a big problem attached to this. The people playing actively and maybe competitively aren't playing over long time periods (with the exception of a very small minority that are team-sponsored "pros"). Most people endure 2-3 rotations of yearly set releases, bans & reprints before they ultimately feel burned out and take a step back. Because the business model of the game is very draining (energy-wise and financially). So while there are people getting into the game every year, we also lose players every year. And when the new entries won't be able to make up for that loss anymore, we will experience a drastic fall in popularity. I don't know when that happens, nor am i saying the game is dying. But if Konami chooses to pursue the same business model it currently pursues in the future, it's not about "if it happens" but rather about "when does it happen?"

[@fidibus4290]

@@lifequality you seem to forget that Konami actually got a lot better in terms of keeping the game accessible. It is true that ygo becomes quite toxic periodically. But it's much easier to buy into decks nowadays due to a better reprint policy and deck cores being more "budget". Of course there are money cards, but TTT, Droplets etc. are nothing compared to how expensive nekroz cards, Dracossack, CCV etc were in their prime. YuGiOh motto is fast, fun and exciting. Imo the growing player base shows that many people enjoy the game despite the flaws you pointed out. In my experience most people who play ygo don't quit the game that easily. In the 10 years I play this game competetive, people were always complaining about how Yugi is dying, but very few people I know quit because of those issues. They either skipped a format or just played non-competetively for a time. I totally agree with you that game play wise, Konami strategy is toxic. However different people like different formats. A friend of mine absolutely loves the spyral t0 format which I hate, but that's personal preference. YGO keeps drawing in new players and keeping old ones invested despite it's many flaws. I don't see it dying anywhere soon.

[@ky...]

nice to see another list sans Dragoon package for Phantom Knights

[@Feast_]

I'm just glad it's an Xyz heavy PK deck, most other lists I've seen are more link heavy and I feel like that's not within the spirit of PK

[@theaverageDon]

Dark Requiem is by far my favorite XYZ and so glad it is this guy's MVP

[@Yishan]

Congrats Julio! You played very well!

[@july_tcg7458]

Like-wise! See you at the invitational!

[@ralman88]

I'm kinda addicted to these guest deck profiles. Great; chill music in the back, in-depth thought process in deck breakdown/construction, what the players played against to see where meta is heading, plus a sample combo video to show how the deck functions. Just putting this in the background while working gives me thoughts and such to the current decks I'm playing and see how to improve on them, even if it's just 1 step forward. Looking forward to the next one!

[@joshuakelley3875]

These are the best guest profile videos I've seen

[@MSTTV]

I'm glad u guys are enjoying them, I really wanted to give them the spot light!

[@pbjpablodepurp]

Ayy the homie Julio glad to see hes back!

[@yugiohlegend]

Me a pendulum player seeing Anti-Spell in side decks of lately: 🥲 Congrats Julio!

[@scotta4050]

This guy knows the Drytron matchup better than all of us

[@LauncherSpiderMk7]

Yeeee nice to see this deck top. I love this deck so much that I ordered a secret rare Dark Requiem, even though I already had a common one. He's too much of a boss to not have him blinged out.

[@SSJFutureGohan62093]

Just ordered the Ultimate Rare one from the new OTS pack, you have to replace that common one from the Hero decks at some point lol, the card is too awesome not to do that

[@boblon8150]

I like the time stamps on the vid because it looks like speedrun splits.

[@TheBamKAI]

Phantom Knights ! yeah !

[@kenetik13]

saw this deck top a locals last week. the eternal dark horse

[@alessandrofranzan6951]

Rocking Pk since Arc-V era, glad to see some competitive recognition

[@tdid4865]

Simple and strong combo at the end. The deck can vomit that exact board plus another fog blade with leviar on board to go into Zeus next turn if nec. Easy solitaire lol

[@Kuribohdudalala]

Hmm, I get why he cut dragoon, but having no spell and trap negation in a board is always terrifying especially when tactics is a card. Congrats on your win

[@alexpaulk9364]

I play a crazy 60 card variant of PKFire and I main 2 Judgment and Imperial Order.

[@kreatorkeon4478]

@@alexpaulk9364 How crazy are the sacks?

[@alexpaulk9364]

@@kreatorkeon4478 Opponent activates their sided in Lightning Storm... 'I will chain Imperial Order' and just watch their smirk quickly retreat. Lol

[@alexpaulk9364]

Also, playing 60 cards gives you a shit ton of options for siding out things and makes it easy to drop a Mystic Mine to watch them squirm.

[@alexpaulk9364]

I consistently outgrind Eldlich and Dogmatika variants so there's that.

[@miguelfraire4633]

My mans keepin it classy with the Pinot Grigio

[@brandonkick6142]

It’s crazy that a single dark hole or evenly match can break that field. Having at least one spell or trap negation is essential in combo. But congrats man!!!

[@chritsfootballs]

You do realize he loses almost nothing from getting dark holed because he can easily revive it with fog blade banish, and people are not siding evenly much right now because ghost belle is popular and because it does nothing to meta decks

[@theyugiboi]

YO JULIO ITS ME ELIKSR LOL! NICE STUFF BATTLE!! LOL

[@LIM-xn2pp]

I love his decklist I just can't imagine what does he do if his oponent manages to summon the vfd + chuche before he does anything

[@ImHim_BelieveIt]

was this on youtube??? i cant find it

[@pangolinstirfrylungjuiceco1211]

Kore ga... Requiem, da

[@timbahr1792]

Amazing this man didnt get nibirud once.

[@WShoup9818]

Nib is not mained this format and a lot aren't even siding it.

[@july_tcg7458]

I did.

[@timbahr1792]

@@WShoup9818 what format are you playing in? Nibiru has seen pretty consistent play since its release wether it have been main or side. I stopped playin PK myself because the deck auto loses to Nibiru.

[@timbahr1792]

@@july_tcg7458 you the player in the video?

[@july_tcg7458]

@@timbahr1792 ye

[@Spicytoaster737]

Sick i actually play the deck as well. Will consider his list.

[@ImHim_BelieveIt]

is requiem perma atk boost?

[@thesteph8925]

Is bardiche sending pk to gy a cost or an effect

[@Baalbergen1]

Wine, how decadent! I like it

[@nyang8639]

I am confused. If you are going first and you summon out dark rebellion xyz dragon and then use boots effect to search out the rank up spell. How do you use it on your opponents turn if you still have materials on your dark rebellion dragon because the rank up spell requires your dark xyz monster to have no materials.

[@july_tcg7458]

Youre looking at the wrong rank-up spell.. Look into rank-up-magic force

[@nyang8639]

@@july_tcg7458 Thanks!

[@angelrankingofthunder]

Does Anyone know the combo for how to play around nibiru. Also couldnt he end with Dragoon , xyz requiem xyz dragon plus for blade with the same starting cards

[@MrJasonful]

Yeah, you need 1 starter + 1 extender. Go Appo first, then Rusty.

[@dynastywarriorlord07]

My only problem with the combo is that you could have technically used the rota to search for the gloves and then discard the gloves for torn scales to mill another boots directly. The benefits of doing it this way are that it thins out your deck by 1 more card AND it puts another phantom knight monster in your graveyard to set yourself up for a counter attack on your next turn(provided the game lasts that long under dark requiem dragon). But I understand that you wanted to show the reinforcement of the army can be any generic card and this combo would still work

[@july_tcg7458]

The ROTA was supposed to represent a random card to activate to torn scales eff. In most cases, yes, you would search a PK.

[@ky...]

to be fair, it's a blank. if this were a real hand you'd search Kagemucha to chain block TGU.

[@MSTTV]

Rng card

[@TheStalenin]

Hm, I allways wanted to build it as it is really strong. But I want to play dragoon instead of TTT.

[@rexamai4982]

Just play both

[@beyondgoogle6642]

No dragoon’s , Terrortop , teleport , appolousa or rank 4??

[@july_tcg7458]

Not needed.

[@haydenmichelli3065]

I do run apollousa, sometimes you need to go into apollousa when you don't have enough extenders/not enough pks to summon break sword>Requiem is needed to get another turn. It doesn't happen often but phantom knights have a super loose extra deck and I find it worth the spot. I personally dropped dragoon and haven't noticed my W/L has changed any. It's not really needed, Requim + fog blade is 9/10 times as effective as Requim + dragoon. But there are no bricks if you cut the dragoon package. Also remember that you can't use Rusty Bardich as a link material to summon verte anaconda, so you always have to have an extra summonable extender available. You end up having to run way too many extenders with no hand traps which is great game 1 going first, but will often cost you the duel by not being able to slow down your opponent. You could side the dragoon package if you want I suppose for when you know you're going first, if you keep verte + dragoon in ED and just sub the 3 card REBD + DM + REF you still have 12 side deck spots.

[@jamesbowman3034]

10:28 overall good video. When Julio says "meta" does he mean for his locals or big events like these??

[@rushxanthemtcg5607]

He means the meta...

[@jamesbowman3034]

@@rushxanthemtcg5607 oh ok at locals. Thanks!

[@daniel33857]

i think he said monterrey which is a state in mexico ...

[@july_tcg7458]

Also a city and county in the bay area of California

[@silentobserver888]

Yesss

[@yt_baphomet]

No Shade Brigandine? 🤨

[@Harmonic14]

Doesn't really do anything in an Xyz focused build. You search Fog Blade with Boots and set the RUM spell with Rusty

[@richardmann8448]

I know there isn't a card like it but for a budget version of the deck, what u consider a replacement for droplets? Lol

[@Gavvi2552]

DRNM

[@ky...]

I play PK- there isn't one. Use them as flex spots til you can afford Droplets.

[@991yugioh]

@@Gavvi2552 ?

[@clinetribegaming]

@@991yugioh Dark Ruler No More

[@von254]

You cry with your peasant dark rulers until droplets gets a reprint that drops the price under 300 for a playset

[@TrHippyful]

I would mystic mine them all

[@inzoandsons2455]

I love PK I need Dark Requiem

[@daniprimi4880]

but again true king???

[@timothyswindler3397]

In your other vid, prank kidds took 1st 🤨🤨

[@haydenmichelli3065]

Different blocks

[@ZhaVioRxGFX]

he won bc he has money :D

[@mogwai694]

You can play this deck without TTT and droplets lol it’s still explosive

[@xBrayJay]

@@mogwai694 nah just let this guy think all that matters in the game is money, clearly the people who consistently have topped regionals and YCS’s over spans of 5-10 years just win because of money, definitely no skill involved

[@justawarlord]

@@xBrayJay on one hand it does and on an other it doesnt

[@murphmuffin9069]

Ah yes because the tier 2.5 deck that is phantom knights doesn't need you to play absolutely insane to beat out 3 Drytron, 4 Virtual World, and the apparent Drytron killer in Tri-brigade Lyrilusc.

[@justawarlord]

@@murphmuffin9069 i mean if you droplet herald of ulti you are already on a winning foot as he said he lost when he couldnt draw a out

[@komodohype2142]

Yo

[@Sonichellsfire]

:o

[@Madara_Uchiha__]

Is not the pk that kills the meta. Who kill the meta is: Ash Droll Book of this big D Forbidden Dks (droplets) Phantom Dk (sword) Triple dks in the aZZ (TTT)

[@fidibus4290]

No Dragoon. Good. The card is overrated af.