The May installment of the NA Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza was held last May 22nd-23rd. Being someone who lives in an OCG region, this was a little bit more hectic for me than most. In this article, I'll detail how the event went and how I brought a so-called dead deck to the Extravaganza Main Event and got the top!
Virtual World Deck Profile
Whether you're a casual or competitive duelist, if you don't play this deck a lot, you're going to think, "there's not a lot to unpack here." That's a common thought, and honestly rightfully so. Most Virtual World deck lists have a ton of similarity, especially in the main deck. You always see 3 of each of the monsters with hand effects, 3 of each of Kauwloon and Qinglong (some play 2 Qing with Prosperity, with which I disagree).
I personally believe that there's a set 27 cards that everyone MUST play with this deck. Absolutely mandatory, with no arguments. That'll be the entire Virtual World engine plus the 3 Pot of Desires. This is already the first point of contention for others. Prosperity vs Desires. Let's get into it.
Prosperity or Desires?
I'm going to be blunt here. I personally believe Prosperity is wrong, and that most people who prefer it only want to use it since they splurged. It could be argued that Prosperity gives "the most consistency." That would be correct, as it lets you dig up to 6 and get you to your Lulu / Kauwloon easier. That'll sound even better when you hear the phrase "Virtual World has innate consistency issues." However, most people do NOT negate Prosperity as it doesn't "plus". They would usually wait for what you take off of it and interrupt that card instead. What does that mean? You're going to sit there with your key piece negated and in hand, and without the capability to draw any cards the entire turn. This hinders a lot of the good cards in the deck, like Triple Tactics Talent, Stardust Charge, and Coral Dragon!
Desires, on the other hand, has been a staple in the deck ever since release. Having mostly 3-ofs in the main deck makes it so that Desires doesn't even feel like it has a cost. That, in tandem with other draw cards in your deck, can allow you to recover much, much easier when you get interrupted! It's key to have more points of interaction than to have one chokepoint that screws you over real bad.
Consistency / Resiliency Cards
So if we're missing out on the consistency brought about by Prosperity, what do we do? Well, we run these cards! Foolish Burial Goods translates to Lulu, and Emergency Teleport is your third option to get a Virtual World name on board (the first two being normal summon and via Kauwloon/Qing)!
In addition to that we have Called by the Grave and Triple Tactics Talent (TTT) to help us recover even if we get interrupted. The great thing about this is, TTT can also count as a going second card as it is also just as powerful when trying to break a board. You can take an opponent's monster (which, if worded in a specific way, can allow you to use its negate), force a negate, OR draw 2 cards. Virtual World is probably the best deck to utilize TTT in, as drawing 2 allows you to dig for any other name. And the good thing about this deck is that any hand effect is practically an extender!
Floodgates in Virtual World
Going first, you need floodgates to get some easy wins against the top decks of the format. People have forgotten that Gabriel Netz once mained Skill Drain in Virtual World to go undefeated in the LCS! This card is still insane to this day, and why not utilize it? It also makes it more difficult for opponents to side against the deck, as they'd have to worry about both your monsters and your backrow!
The Virtual World's Toolbox
The Extra Deck is still Virtual World's biggest weapon. Having the entire Rank 3/6/9 and Synchro 6/9/12 as an arsenal is unthinkably good. You pick your weapons and mold your extra deck however way you want!
A bunch of people still think this deck is a combo-heavy deck and run it as such. Newsflash, it's not! Running Caliga / Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon makes the deck very predictable and easy to side against. All you need is a layer of protection (Crystal Wing / Bamboozling Gossip) and your good ol' floodgate-y Kyubi - Shenshen. Everything else can be for recovery or card removal!
Extravaganza Main Event
I intended to play a couple Win-A-Mats but I got a clean sweep on my first try, so I stopped there and prepared for the Main Event.
As previously mentioned, I live in Asia. What this means is that the event officially started at 12 MIDNIGHT for me. This, coupled with the long wait times, made it a rough ride. Not only did I have to battle tough opponents but also had to fight to stay awake. The event ended at around 12 NOON and I was pretty beat, but it was all worth it.
Throughout the day, I lost FIVE dierolls, and had to go second that many times. This made it really tough as most decks put up good interruptions. I, however, was able to power through most of them, because that's just how good Virtual World can be! Now let's look at the individual rounds.
Swiss Rounds
R1 Prank-kids - O O (lost dieroll)
Started off against a decent match-up. Lost the dieroll but fortunately the main-decked Twin Twisters was clutch!
R2 Mekk Knight - O X O (won dieroll)
The first dieroll that I won was actually against Mekk-Knight. Absolute classic. Virtual World Kyubi - Shenshen doesn't do much against this deck, but I was able to adjust and grind out the match.
R3 Invoked Shaddoll Dogmatika - X O O (won dieroll)
One of the best decks of the format, this definitely was a rough one! Even though I won the dieroll, I lost game 1. Thankfully I was able to bounce back games 2 and 3 even when I got Lancea'd. Just expected an Ash / Lancea. That way, the cards I sent off of Virtual World Kirin - Lili were to make sure that I could get to at least Shenshen through Lancea.
R4 Prank-kids - X O O (vs Alyse Chase) (lost dieroll)
I was a little bit starstruck, not gonna lie. It's always a pleasure to go up against someone who already got to the invitational. She's fresh off of her Top 4 from the RDIQ just before the Extravaganza, and I wasn't sure what she was playing. Turned out it was Prank-Kids and Ice Dragon's Prison got me good game 1, but was able to control the game with Shenshen games 2 and 3.
R5 Code Talker - X O O (won dieroll)
The first move he did was Cynet Mining pitch Salamangreat Sanctuary. I was baffled and thought to myself, "There's no way Salamangreat is undefeated at this point". Fair enough, there WAS no way. It was Code Talker. Kind of a rough matchup since they have a ridiculous amount of gas to otk. Not only that, they can make Firewall Dragon that cannot be targetted due to Transcode Talker. Bounces are really good against this deck, and if THAT wasn't bad enough for me, he also played Iblee. For a deck that does NOT even have Link monsters in the Extra Deck - yeah that's pretty good. Good thing I was able to use the deck's inherent strengths in Qinglong, Shenshen, and Chuche to grind out a win!
R6 Dragon Link - X O O (lost dieroll)
Losing dieroll to Dragonlink gives Virtual World a very very slim chance to break the board. I tried to play through it and not just scoop. Reason being, I wanted him to know that I'm on Virtual World, so that he'd side in Lancea, Nib, Dark Ruler No More, and the like. True enough, he sided in those things PLUS a Cosmic Cyclone, but I was able to win by virtue of Imperial Order and There Can Be Only One. Game 3 was a grind, but I had Droll & Lock Bird on his turn which allowed me to swing the game to my favor.
R7 Prank-kids - O X X (lost dieroll)
This is the only match that I lost. Overall it was a pretty tight game, and I really only lost to my own deck. The consistency bug caught up and bit me in my back. Game 3 I was going first, and didn't open a playable hand. I only had to end on Shenshen and I would've won the game and probably ended 8-0. Tough times, but you gotta move forward!
R8 Invoked Eldlich Shaddoll Dogmatika - X O O (lost dieroll)
The guy I faced in this round was the same as the one I faced during the Win-A-Mat finals that gave me free entry. Both matches were intense and grindy, but Shenshen prevailed in the end!
Conclusion
I've said it several times before, and I'll say it again. Virtual World is still a really good deck! A lot of people considered this as a "dead deck" - even those that are in our Discord Server and Facebook Group. I'm just happy that I was able to go out there and prove myself and the deck I piloted! If there is one thing I want you to take away from all this, it is to never give up! No matter what people say, work on what you believe in, and you will get rewarded for your hard work.
