The Arc Light Rises

Hey there YGO Community,

You guys continue to show so much love with every post. Even more than love, you keep giving me feedback to improve every facet of these articles. I'm just so thankful that I'm doing something so many people enjoy being a part of. Whether it's just reading the articles, commenting on them, suggesting topics/cards for me to talk about, even telling me that you don't like this or that about my article series. It all helps and I'm so thankful for each and every one of you who reads. We're so close to 2,000 views, so if you like this week's article, please feel free to send the link to your friends or share it on your preferred social media outlet.

1. The Current Trend
It looks like people are starting to realize how good Denko Sekka is. This newfound appreciation for the pseudo Cold Wave on a stick has caused the demand for the card to rise and the price along with it. The card is now averaging $25+ after being $15-18 since release. I think the card has a lot of potential as an OTK-enabler. But you don't come here to see what I think about a card as far as playability goes. You read to see what I think about a card as an investment. Ib think that $30 is about the the ceiling for this card, that is until it puts up a major event top being played in triplicate. If that happens, expect the card to jump to $40+.

2. Speculation Targets
This week's target is Herald of the Arc Light.
The card reads:
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Any monster sent from the hand or Main Deck to the Graveyard is banished instead. During either player's turn, when a Spell Card, Trap Card or monster effect is activated: You can Tribute this card; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. If this card is sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell Card from your Deck to your hand.

As with last week's speculation on Exa-Beetle, this card is exciting because of the impending release of the Nekroz archetype, specifically the card Nekroz Kaleidomirror. You activate it to summon the card The Nekroz of Unicore, sending Herald of the Arc Light to the grave and you get to search for your next ritual monster or the spell with which to summon the one you already have in hand. The card is currently $2-3 and I've been targeting them as throw-ins and in deals where my trade partner just wants cards out of my smalls($8 or so and under) binders. I think the card has a lot of room to grow and is a very safe pick up at a mere $3, not to mention the reprint in the Special Edition should keep their price low for quite a while.

3. What to Dump
As I just referenced, and you should probably know by now, all of the cards printed Super Rare are going to be reprinted in the Special Edition boxes for this set. If you have copies of Supers that are more than $5, now's probably the time to move them so you can pick them up in the very near future at a significantly decreased price.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you guys and gals.

Keep the juice flowing,
Lyle

Ambitionz Az A (Shared) Ridah

Hey there YGO Community,

Well, this past weekend was the debut for NECH cards and things went about like everyone expected. Qliphort, Shaddoll, and Burning Abyss were the decks that put up the best numbers. But something else happened this weekend as well. Yang Zing won their first confirmed Regional, causing the deck to rise slightly in price. The addition of Yazi, Jiaotu, and Brutality seemed to be exactly what the deck needed to put up some numbers. Also, the Grave of the Super Ancient Organism buyout is over and copies are between $10-15 like I predicted. Hopefully you got your hands on a couple and can flip them for a profit. If you're reading this, I believe you definitely have the business sense to do so. But I know you're not here for another “I told you so", so let's get into it.

1. The Current Trend
It's the week following release, so prices on all cards not currently in a Tier 1 deck continue to trend downwards. If there are cards you want for yourself, pick them up. Obviously, cards that did show up in winning decklists are either rising or staying where they are with no real signs of depreciation.

2. Speculation Targets
I have two cards that I'd like to talk about this week since last week wasn't really in depth and instead I just played the part of news correspondent. The first card is Inzektor Exa-Beetle. This Secret Rare from Order of Chaos reads:
DARK
Rank: 6
Insect/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 6 monsters
When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; equip that target to this card. This card gains ATK and DEF equal to half the original ATK and DEF of the monster equipped by this effect. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 face-up card on each side of the field; send those targets to the Graveyard.
1000 ATK/1000 DEF
This card has been around for a long time and hasn't really done all that much since the Chaos Dragon Format when you'd go mega plus from Light Pulsar Dragon or Sangan. Well, the idea is kind of the same with the deck it's going to be played in: Nekroz. The play goes:
Activate Nekroz Kaleidomirror sending Shooting Quasar Dragon to Ritual Summon 2 Nekroz of Brionac
Overlay for Inzektor Exa-Beetle
Activate effect targeting Quasar on summon
Activate effect to send two cards to the grave, target Quasar and whatever card your opponent has that you want gone
Effect of Quasar to Special Summon Shooting Star Dragon from your Extra Deck for free.
This card is currently approximately $4 and has been played before. If it's played again, I can't help but feel it'll reach $15-20 again.

The second card is Shared Ride. I've been stocking up on this card for a while now. Getting them out of peoples' dollar binders, pulling them out of crap foils that I've bought, you know, just setting them back for a rainy day. It looks like the sky is about to open up. It's good against every Tier 1 deck and can absolutely break the mirror of any of them. It can cause Qliphort to skip their entire turn the same way as Maxx “C" can cause BA to end their turn. Even if you just cycle the card in response to their search effect, it is a quick-play Upstart Goblin that doesn't gain your opponent life. At best, it's a Time Walk, setting your opponent back an entire turn. And we all know how important tempo is in YuGiOh these days. Copies are between $4-7 and if you're going to get them, I'd say do it now before there's another buyout.

3. What to Dump
I'm finding less and less to try to move each week. I think that this section is going to stay a little slow for the foreseeable future.

If you have any suggestions for topics or even just ways to make the articles better, feel free to let me know on social media.
Twitter: @SparkConfidant
Reddit: BigTymeJuice

Keep the juice flowing,
Lyle

Grave News

Hey YGO Community,

Sorry I didn't post last week. I was just incredibly busy getting things ready for the big Sneak Peek weekend. So I figured I'd make it up to you by posting some breaking news type stuff today. Without further ado, let's get into it.

1. The Current Trend
With the release if New Challengers this coming Friday, forums and Facebook groups are buzzing with questions of how to beat them or how to slow them down. There is a card that I've been considering boarding against the deck. It's Grave of the Super Ancient Organism, an Ultra Rare from Raging Battle. The card reads:
Continuous Trap
While this card is face-up on the field, Level 6 or higher Special Summoned monsters cannot attack or activate their effect(s).
Apparently I'm not the only one who thought this card was a good side choice because TCGPlayer.com experienced a buyout on the card mere hours after I bought my playset. Buyouts have long been a thing in MTG, but they are just starting to creep into YGO and this will undoubtedly drive the price of this card to $10+ when the buyers re-list them later this week.

2. Speculation Targets
I was actually going to write about this card as a Spec target today, but it seems like I may be a little late to my own party. If you can get copies for $5 or less, they are a must buy even if you just wanna flip them for the quick come-up. This card has so much potential. Think about it, it's Fiendish Chain for all Level 6 or higher monsters. It stops Qliphort in their tracks. Think about all the decks that are currently or will be relevant in the near future and how this card interacts with them:
Qliphort
Shaddolls (Only the Fusions, I know)
Yang Zing (Synchros)
Nekroz (the new hotness that everyone is hyping)
Spirit Beasts (More new hotness)
If you can get these copies, do so. If you already have yours, good job.

3. What to Dump
I'm still not sure what I'd dump. If you have $40+ cards from the Sneak Peek that you're not going to play, those are my suggestions as to what I'd move (to the highest bidder of course).

It's good to be back.
Keep the juice flowing,
Lyle