It had been a long trip for Alistar Albans and some of his card flopping friends. They crossed the Atlantic to show Europe's finest Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists at the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series Brighton some of their tricks. Several of them had been able to add YCS titles to their already impressive resume earlier in 2011, so they all came with high hopes. After day 1 concluded, none of them remained with a good chance of making it to the round of the final 32. Asked about the reason why they didn't do so well despite their skills, Albans responded:

"The popular Decks differ a lot from the typical choices in America. I don’t intend to make it sound like a bad thing, it’s just totally new and a rather different environment!"

No matter how great of a Duelist you are, you'll struggle to do well in a larger tournament if you don't know about the most popular Decks. Despite the fact that European and American Duelists have access to slightly different card pools, the popular Decks on both continents basically work the same (the main difference lies in the distribution of the popular Decks). Today, I'll break them down for you so you can also do better in the next few tournaments you will attend!

Plant Synchro / Synchrocentric

This Deck has gone through several iterations over the course of the past year, which also led to it being referenced by a different name every other month. Originally, the Deck's main engine consisted of several Plants that allowed you to easily perform a Synchro Summon here and there. Earlier the past year, it seemed like the Deck would struggle to claim the top spot as both the Six Samurai as well as the X-Sabers proved to be rather competitive. However, ever since Extreme Victory's Sneak Preview promo card Reborn Tengu made an appearance, Plant Synchro was able to dominate the competitive tournament scene (some claim their reign ended at YCS Brighton, but it's still too early to tell). Although Tengu was flexible and powerful enough to make an appearance in almost every Deck, it was obvious that Plant Synchros would benefit the most of a Monster that could easily be used to perform several Synchro Summons – at least as long as you wouldn't run out of Tuner Monsters. Someone started to call the Deck "Tengu Plant Synchro" at that time, which meant we were now able to welcome a new Deck to the Metagame.

Featuring Spore and Glow-Up Bulb, the Deck already had all the necessary tools to perform Synchro Summons in abundance. Both of these Monsters could be returned to the field from the Graveyard thanks to their own effects once; one single copy and Reborn Tengu would always mean at least 2 Synchro Monsters. If the first of them happened to be T.G. Hyper Librarian, you could also draw into new cards while adding more threats to your field, leaving your opponent in a rather desperate position if he couldn't find an answer quick.

Despite the fact that the main engine of the Deck took a few spots, the Deck always had enough room to include powerful tech cards that work well against other popular Decks. Effect Veiler has been the favorite choice of Duelists earlier in 2011, but Maxx "C" saw a rise in popularity ever since. Billy Brake, a back to back winner of two Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series, went as far as maxing out the copies of Maxx "C" the second time he claimed the top spot!
New Decks have since made an appearance, seemingly leaving Plant Synchro behind. Then again, the Deck has been in the exact position before and its versatility always worked wonders in its favor. Another iteration of the Deck, a few more tech cards that will help improve the match-up against Dino Rabbit and we might very well see Plant Synchro on top once again.

Additionally, come March, things will be shaken up dramatically when a new list of forbidden and limited cards will dictate the format for the following 6 months. I don't expect Plant Synchro Decks to take a huge hit as most of the important cards are limited to 1 copy anyway, while many of the other popular Decks will have to deal with important losses which might lead to Duelists considering them not competitive enough anymore.

Recap and how to fight them

The Plant Synchro Deck's main engine consists of Dandylion, Lonefire Blossom, Spore, Glow-Up Bulb as well as Reborn Tengu. Together, they allow for quick Synchro Summons, adding several threats to your side of the field in one single turn.

To stand a chance against the Deck, try to keep Tengu from ever hitting the field and hold on to your Maxx "C" until the Plant Synchro Duelist starts to "go off". As long as you can survive the turn or draw either into Gorz the Emissary of Darkness or Tragoedia, you'll be able to start a comeback the following turn and come out winning!

Dino Rabbit

Compared to the other popular Decks, this is by far the youngest. Photon Shockwave introduced us to the mighty Evolzar Xyz Monsters, able to negate opposing cards and effects. Evolzar Laggia is basically a Solemn Judgment on a 2400 ATK body – it doesn't get much scarier than that! Evolzar Dolkka can negate opposing Effect Monster's effects, helping you to work your way out of a tricky scenario when you're staring down opposing Xyz or Synchro Monsters. While Laggia's effect can only be used once (you detach both Xyz Material Monsters to activate it), Dolkka's effect can be used twice before it turns into a still impressive 2400 ATK beatstick.

To Xyz Summon these powerful Monsters, you need 2 Level 4 Dinosaurs. No easy task, at least if the set wouldn't have also packed Rescue Rabbit – an inconspicuous Monster with a mere 300 ATK and 100 DEF. Don't be fooled by its less than formidable stats, though; its effect more than makes up for them! You can banish it to Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck. Add Kabazauls and Sabersaurus, both Level 4 Dinosaur Type Normal Monsters and it's rather easy to put the pieces together.

The typical opening turn of a Dino Rabbit player goes something like this: Summon Rescue Rabbit, banish it for its own effect to bring out 2 Dinosaurs, use them to Xyz Summon Evolzar Laggia, set 3 cards and pass. Among the face-down cards will be Counter Traps like Solemn Judgment and Solemn Warning, which, combined with Evolzar Laggia, basically turn the Duel into a game of solitaire. No matter what the opponent's trying to do, simply negate it in case it's somehow threatening to your field in any way. He will always need 2 cards to get rid of your 1 copy of Laggia, while you didn't lose a single card so far.

The following turn, you Normal Summon Tour Guide From the Underworld, which then in turn fetches another copy of itself or Sangan from the Deck. Both Monsters will then be used to Xyz Summon Levair the Sea-Dragon, allowing you to bring back a banished Level 4 or lower Monster, which will in almost all cases be Rescue Rabbit. A couple of Special Summons later, the opponent is now staring down 2 (!) Evolzars! That means you're ahead at least 2 cards and there are only so many answers to the fierce Evolzars.

Recap and how to fight them

Dino Rabbit Decks are extremely explosive and can dictate the pace of the Duel from the very first turn on. You have to be patient and not waste the few answers your Deck packs to the Evolzars early on. Instead, try to grind out the game as the Dino Rabbit player will have troubles following up his strong opening plays. Additionally, try to use cards like Effect Veiler to prevent your opponent from Special Summoning his threatening Evolzars in the first place. If you're going first, use your own copies of Solemn Warning or Solemn Judgment to negate the Special Summons of the Evolzars (in case you hold onto Solemn Warning, it's best to chain it to Rescue Rabbit's effect so your opponent's Deck won't get thinned out and he'll draw into his Normal Monsters when he doesn't want to!).

Chaos Agents

At first, few Western Duelists believed in the power of this Deck. That was before Takashi Ogawa took down the most prestigious event of the year, the World Championship, with the help of some Agents and Master Hyperion. No other Deck can run as many "Boss Monsters" as Chaos Agents, which allows for explosive turns as well as impressive comebacks during the later rounds in a Duel.

The Deck makes use of The Agent of Mystery - Earth to thin out the Deck and search for The Agent of Creation - Venus (or additional copies of Earth). The following turn, Venus allows the player to Special Summon up to 3 copies of Mystical Shine Ball which can either be used to Xyz Summon Gachi Gachi Gantetsu – a Monster that is very hard to get rid of as it can prevent itself from getting destroyed twice – or Tuned together with The Agent of Mystery - Earth to Synchro Summon a powerful Monster like Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier or Stardust Dragon. All of this can give the opponent something to do, but it still only acts as a set up for even bigger plays!

Once one of your Agents hit the Graveyard, you can Special Summon Master Hyperion. With 2700 ATK, it can take down most opposing monsters in a fight, but it also packs a devastating effect: You can banish 1 Light Fairy Monster in your Graveyard to destroy 1 card on the field (once per turn). No matter if your opponent tries to hide behind a set Monster or a Trap Card like Mirror Force, Master Hyperion can always clear the way for some game-ending attacks!

As the Deck also features the popular Tour Guide From the Underworld engine, you easily add some Dark Monsters to your Graveyard. Combined with the Light Monsters, this means you gain access to both Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (arguably the most powerful Monster that can be played at the moment) as well as Chaos Sorcerer (a less powerful version of BLS - EotB). These Monsters also hit the field as Special Summons, so you can summon them together with Master Hyperion in one turn so long as you got enough Light and Dark Monsters in your Graveyard.

Recap and how to fight them

Chaos Agents Duelists can easily adapt to the changing pace of a game, but prefer to be in the driver's seat. Therefore, you need to gain the upper hand as early as possible, forcing him to bring out his Boss Monsters earlier than he wished to. If you can then come up with strong answers, you'll ultimately win the Duel.

Maxx "C" really shines in this match-up as you can chain it to the activation of The Agent of Creation - Venus' effect, leaving the Agent player either in a bad position with no follow-up plays or netting you 2 or even 3 additional cards that give you an edge!

Other popular Decks

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Metagame is always evolving and much more diverse than this article might make it look. Other popular Decks are the Dark Worlds, Karakuri-Machina-Plant Decks, Anti Meta Decks as well as some unique builds by creative Duelists.
Additionally, new sets constantly shake up the competitive scene. Shortly, Order of Chaos will be released; a set that is bound to have an impact on the competitive scene as it features powerful cards for both the brand new Inzectors archetype as well as the Wind-Ups. We'll be talking about some of these Decks in future articles, so stay tuned and until then, happy Dueling!