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5th at North America's WCQ with Wind-Ups!
Adrian Sean Shakir
7/12/2012 12:30:00 PM 
Hey guys! My name is Adrian Sean Shakir, and I'm going to tell you about my experience taking 5th place at this year’s NA WCQ. To start things off with a bit of background information, topped twice this format with Wind-Ups: Long Beach (Top 64, 12th in Swiss) and Dallas (Top 16, 28th in Swiss). With that being said, Wind-Ups is the deck I used for the WCQ and I’m going to tell you why I chose them for the 3rd time; how I prepared for the event; what my card choices were and why; what I sided and how I sided for each matchup; and of course tell you how I went through some of my most important plays. Deck Choice: Now some of you guys might think Wind-Ups are just a “herp derp” deck, and that the only way they win is by looping with Wind-Up Hunter or getting lucky. Well, I want to say that that's completely false, and the deck actually takes a good amount skill to play. Similar to Plants, Wind-Ups are a versatile combo deck that can make big pushes and get out of many situations because it has a strong toolbox of Xyz Monsters. It's wide range of monster effects combo really well with each other. Those are the main reasons why I actually like Wind-Ups, and why I chose to play it for the WCQ. The Hunter loop is just a bonus in my opinion. Honestly, I won a lot of my games by outplaying and out-resourcing my opponent. Preparing For The WCQ: After playing Wind-Ups for 26 rounds of premier events, countless locals, and in testing sessions with friends, I felt really comfortable and confident going into the WCQ with this deck. That kind of confidence is huge, because your mindset influences your decisions, and affects many different aspects of your performance, like your card choices, play style, what to side in and out for each match-up, and much more. The only thing I didn't really feel comfortable with was the Dino Rabbit matchup, which is this deck’s toughest, just like it was for Plants. After playing with friends from Colorado; good players like Johnny Nagel, Andrew Salazar, Luke Mattingly; and especially testing with YCS Rhode Island Champion Tyree Tinsley with his Dino Rabbit build (where I was just beating him game after game, [no offense he's an extremely good player]) I really got my confidence up. With support from friends, I knew that Wind-Ups was the deck for me. The Deck List: For my build, I wanted the utmost consistency and the ability to perform in the Dino Rabbit match-up, because I knew that Rabbit would be huge at this event. Pin the previous versions of the deck that I'd topped with before, I used two Instant Fusions and I used to really like the card. However, with the new Fast Effect Timing rules and Dino Rabbit being as tough a match-up as it is, I didn't want to risk the threat of unnecessary minuses and losing 2-for-1's to cards like Bottomless Trap Hole, Torrential Tribute, or Effect Veiler without the chance of having chainable answers. Instead I played two Spirit Reaper (which were great) and a more defensive trap line-up, to combat not only Dino Rabbit, but also everything else. So without further ado, here's my deck list. My Deck Choices: As I said before, I wanted the utmost consistency, which led me to play three of almost every card that could be considered a staple Wind-Up monster. The exception was Wind-Up Magician, because playing three copies of it makes things a little too inconsistent. I only played two Effect Veiler because I didn’t want to draw it to often, or draw multiple copies, and clog my hand. As I said, this is a combo-based deck that needs to draw its key cards; running 3 Effect Veiler can sabotage that goal, and ruins that line of consistency. As for spells, three Mystical Space Typhoon is still a staple to me because back rows are definitely still a problem. Some of you may think that it's a bad call versus Chaos Dragons, but with this deck already having such a good match-up against them, it's manageable. Once the Chaos Dragon Player knows they’re playing against Wind-Ups, they have to set their most important spells in fear of those cards getting sent to the graveyard by Hunter. As you'll soon find out, Typhoon isn’t as bad as you think in that match-up. I only ran two Wind-Up Factory, because playing a full three creates more consistency issues. And of course, you have your staple spells and traps. I also played one Dimensional Prison and one Fiendish Chain, which are just solid defensive cards overall; I think they're important in this deck to help protect your monsters. Now you may ask, “why would you want to protect your monsters?” Well, the other reason I like this deck is its ability to spam monsters to the field. For example, say I have Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity and it gets hit by an Effect Veiler. I set Fiendish Chain, and perhaps another trap in fear of Mystical Space Typhoon. If my opponent doesn't get rid of my Wind-Up Carrier by his or her next turn, then that Veiler will have been wasted, becoming a straight -one in terms of card presence. Or say you have a Wind-Up Rat and a Wind-Up Rabbit in face-up defense position with some viable Wind-Up monsters in your graveyard and you set protection. If your opponent does get rid of both of your monsters, then at some time during their turn I'll banish my Wind-Up Rat with my Wind-Up Rabbit's ability and will get to reuse my Wind-Up Rat’s effect when it Returns to the field. This is what the deck can do, and if you use defensive cards correctly, you can make some really explosive plays. The Extra Deck is pretty self-explanatory, except a couple cards like Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger, which I play for Mind Control and Monster Reborn shenanigans. Also, I run Maestroke the Symphony Djinn as another versatile Rank 4 Xyz. As for my Side Deck, I wanted to have a very diverse Side so that I could combat all of the major match-ups. Day one – The Swiss Rounds: I got to the Convention Center around 8 AM, ate some breakfast and registered for the main event. Round one started around 11:30, good timing. Round one Versus Dino Rabbit: I lost the die roll, but managed to keep control over the tempo of the first game with Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, Wind-Up Rabbit, and Wind-Up Rat shenanigans, plus some protection. That led into Tiras, Keeper of Genesis; Number 17: Leviathan Dragon; Gem-Knight Pearl; and Number 20: Giga-Brilliant, eventually winning me the game. For this match-up I sided out two Wind-Up Magician, a Wind-Up Shark, and a Wind-Up Rabbit to bring in anticipated cards like Maxx “C” and Thunder King Rai-Oh. I also sided out two Spirit Reapers because it’s not as effective going second, and to anticipate cards like Fiendish Chain, Forbidden Chalice, and Forbidden Lance. I also sided out two Wind-Up Factory and a Mystical Space Typhoon. I Put in three Snowman Eater, two Forbidden Chalice, two Xing Zhen Hu, another Fiendish Chain, and another Dimensional Prison. In Game 2, Snowman Eaters, Fiendish Chain, and Xing Zeng Xu put in work and won me the Duel. 1 – 0 in Matches Round two Versus Inzektors: I lost the die roll, and in Game 1 I played Wind-Up Factory with Wind-Up Rabbit and Wind-Up Rat combos. Knowing when to use my Effect Veilers won me this one. I sided out two Spirit Reaper, two Bottomless Trap Hole, one Mirror Force, and one Dimensional Prison. I sided in two Forbidden Chalice, two Prohibition, one Fiendish Chain, and one Maxx “C”. I Game 2 I managed to keep control over things, and Hunter looped my opponent in the mid-game to win it. 2 – 0 in Matches Round 3 Versus Anti-Meta Chaos: I won the die roll, but I lost Game 1. He played Monster Reborn on his Thunder King Rai-Oh, but after I Solemn Warning'd the Reborn I misplayed by setting Dimensional Prison with nothing else, so I got nailed by Mystical Space Typhoon. I sided out one Wind-Up Magician, two Effect Veiler , and two Wind-Up Factory. I sided in three Snowman Eater, one Dimensional Prison, and one Fiendish Chain. Games 2 and 3 I pretty much out-resourced my opponent with my Snowman Eaters, Spirit Reapers, and Wind-Up Rabbits, which led to bigger field presence. I also kept him at bay with defensive back row cards. 3 – 0 in Matches Round 4 Versus Inzektors: I lost the die roll, and Wind-Up Factory with Wind-Up Rabbit let me control tempo and take Game 1. I did the same Side Deck procedure as I did for my previous Inzektor match. In Game 2, my opponent got me with a clutch Safe Zone on his Inzektor Centipede, and it eventually won him the game. In Game 3 I managed to start off with the Wind-Up Hunter loop and won from there. 4 – 0 in Matches Round 5 Versus Wind-Up Mirror Match: I lost the die roll. In Game 1, I Mind Controlled my opponent's face-down Sangan and proceeded to hit him with Spirit Reaper, then got him with the Wind-Up Hunter loop I sided out two Spirit Reapers, one Mystical Space Typhoon, one Mirror Force, and one Dimensional Prison. In Game 2, he looped me and I couldn't come back from it. In Game 3 I looped him, with Pot of Avarice. Enough said. 5 – 0 in Matches Round 6 Versus Dragons: I lost the die roll, and in the first game I looped him, but he came back from it. In the long run I managed to out-resource him with Wind-Up Factory and Wind-Up Rabbit. I sided out 3 Mystical Space Typhoon and Heavy Storm. I put in two Level Limit - Area B, one Dimensional Prison, and a Fiendish Chain. In Game 2 I went into Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, and my opponent negated its ability with Effect Veiler. I set two and passed. I get hit with Heavy Storm and OTK'd on my opponent's second turn. Game 3, I Hunter loop him with Pot of Avarice. This game and the one versus the the Wind-Up player in the previous round were the only games I started with Pot of Avarice and the loop, which is standard in my opinion. 6 – 0 in Matches Round 7 Versus Gravekeepers: I played this opponent in Long Beach, where he also topped with Gravekeepers. I lost the die roll, but managed to grind out a longer Game 1 and get into a situation of card advantage with Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity and Tiras, Keeper of Genesis, thanks to my defensive cards. I sided out two Wind-Up Magician, two Effect Veiler, two Wind-Up Factory, and one Fiendish Chain. I put in two Snowman Eaters, two Xing Zhen Hu, two Prohibition, and one Dimensional Prison. I manage to keep swinging with Tour Guide From the Underworld and Sangan in Game 2, and kept my opponent at bay with defensive cards while locking his spells and traps with Xing Zhen Hu. That card really put in work here. 7 – 0 Round 8 Versus Wind-Ups: I lost the die roll. He looped me in Game 1 and I couldn't come back. My siding procedure was the same was the last Wind-Up match. For Game 2, we went back and forth and I managed to control the game with Wind-Up Factory and Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon, winning out from there. My opponent opened with the loop for Game 3, but I had Maxx “C” and Effect Veiler and I managed to get card advantage. I went into Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger and swung at his face-up defense position Sangan for game. 8 – 0 Round 9 Versus Fraizer Smith With Wind-Ups: I lost the die roll. In Game 1, he started off by setting one monster with three backrows. I Summoned Wind-Up Rabbit, and he let it through. Then I activated two Wind-Up Factories and attacked... into Snowman Eater. I was not expecting that at all, and he managed to play around my two Factories while keeping my monsters off the field, winning from there. I sided exactly what I sided for my previous mirror matches. Game 2 I opened up Tour Guide From the Underworld; Mystical Space Typhoon; two Wind-Up Rat, and two Wind-Up Shark. I Summoned Tour Guide wanted to get Maxx “C” out the way if he had it, but lost out to Effect Veiler instead. I set Mystical Space Typhoon and ended. He opened up Wind-Up Magician with Wind-Up Shark: the game was pretty much sealed in his favor, but he misplayed by not taking the fourth card out of my hand, leaving me with Wind-Up Rat. He banished his Wind-Up Rat with Wind-Up Rabbit, and didn't retrieve it back. I topped Wind-Up Factory and came back with Leviair the Sea Dragon, searching my last Wind-Up Shark with Wind-Up Factory, and taking his Wind-Up Rat. I went into Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity; Special Summoned my last Wind-Up Rat; Special Summoned Wind-Up Shark off my Rat; and Special Summoned my other Wind-Up Shark. I made both of them Level 5, went into Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon because my opponent had Number 39: Utopia, and blew it up with Adreus to get some control over the game. He topped Pot of Avarice! He then drew Tour Guide From the Underworld off Pot and everything goes downhill from there. I ended up misplaying by not searching with Wind-Up Factory when he hit me with Wind-Up Zenmaines, and my last draw was Solemn Warning when I was at 500 life points. Not good, and I was kind of mad that I both misplayed and had bad luck. But I couldn't let that bring me down. 8 – 1
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Day 2 – The Rest Of The Swiss Rounds: I got to the tournament hall pretty early with some friends, ate something small, and got into a confident mindset, ready and focused because I knew this was going to matter. Round 10 Versus Wind-Ups: I won the die roll, and in Game 1 he used Heavy Storm and Dark Hole when I had control over the game. But, I managed a comeback with Wind-Up Factory and double Effect Veiler. I Side Decked just as I did for the previous Wind-Up mirrors. In Game 2, my opponent looped me but I managed to fight back with two clutch Tour Guide From the Underworlds, Wind-Up Rats, and a late Wind-Up Factory to kill him off with Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger (which attacked his face-up defense position Spirit Reaper). Yes!! I knew from here I was guaranteed to top. It felt great, but now what mattered was the playoff rounds. 9 – 1 Round 11 Versus Shane Scurry With Dino Rabbit: He came late, so he took a Game Loss for the first Duel. I sided the same as I did in Round 1. In Game 2, he got control of the game mid-way and OTK'd me after he played Solemn Judgement on my Solemn Judgment with Evolzar Laggia and Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. All I had was a face-down Dimensional Prison. Now, since I was going first, I put my third Wind-Up Shark back into my main deck to increase my odds of hitting the Hunter loop a little more, and took out a Forbidden Chalice. Game 3, I managed to keep control of the Duel with Wind-Up Rabbit, Snowman Eater, Effect Veiler, and backrows while locking his set spells and traps with Xing Zhen Hu. 10 – 1 Day 2 – The Elimination Rounds: I was second place in the Swiss rankings, and four of the players I beat ended up topping. Top 64 Versus Inzektors: I lost the die roll, and in Game 1 we both drew sort of slowly. I managed to get what I needed, though, and out-carded him with monsters like Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, Number 20: Giga-Brilliant, and Tiras, Keeper of Genesis. I did my standard siding routine for Inzektors. Game 2 went the same way, and I managed to lock him down with Prohibition. It came down to my 3300 Life Points to his 500. I had two Effect Veilers, Mind Control, and Wind-Up Factory. I topped Wind-Up Shark and Book of Moon'd it when I Summoned it. He Tributed for Inzektor Gigamantis, and attacked my Wind-Up Shark. I topped Mystcial Space Typhoon. I just needed a relevant monster for game. I set Effect Veiler and Space Typhoon and ended. He Summoned Inzektor Centipede and Mind Control'd my monster to swing for game. I almost had that one. Game 3 I did some fancy Wind-Up Rabbit, Wind-Up Rat, and Wind-Up Magician plays, pulled off the loop and won from there. Top 32 Versus Dino Rabbit: I won the die roll. Game 1, I managed to fend off my opponent with defensive cards and pull off a mid-game Hunter loop for two cards. Tiras, Keeper of Genesis and Wind-Up Zenmaines trampled his field. I sided the same way I normally do against Dino Rabbit, going second. In Game 2, we went back and forth but a topped Pot of Avarice gave him what he needed to beat me. Before Game 3, I took out both of my Forbidden Chalices to add in a Spirit Reaper and a Wind-Up Shark. I got off the loop early on into the third Duel: he Effect Veiler'd my Wind-Up Carrier Zemaity on my first attempt, but I was able to protect it, and he couldn't fight back after the loop went off. Top 16 Versus Jerry Williams With Dino Rabbit: I won the die roll here as well. In Game 1 I had Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark, but he had Maxx “C”, which I wasn't expecting. I got Wind-Up Rabbit with the Magician, set Bottomless Trap Hole and ended. He thought a moment, then Summoned Kabazauls: I tried to banish it with Bottomless; he saved it with Forbidden Lance; and tried to attack my Magician. I banished it with Rabbit, so he attacked the Rabbit off the replay, set two, and ended. I Mystical Space Typhoon'd his Bottomless Trap Hole, brought back Wind-Up Magician, made Wind-Up Shark into a Level 3, and got Wind-Up Hunter with the Magician. I Tributed Wind-Up Magicia for Hunter’s effect, went into Wind-Up Carrier, and he Chained Effect Veiler. I Summoned Tour Guide From the Underworld and he had nothing to stop it, so I went to town. Hunter took away two Rescue Rabbits and Ta our Guide from his hand. I eventually won the game from there. Game 2, he Summoned Rescue Rabbit but I don't stop it with Effect Veiler, because I have Torrential Tribute and Solemn Judgment set. He went into Evolzar Laggia with two backrow cards set. Next turn I summoned Wind-Up Rabbit, he let it slide, and I set three cards. Next turn he Summoned Kabazauls, I activated Torrential Tribute, he played Lance on his Laggia, and I played Solemn Judgment because he can't negate it with Laggia. But he has Solemn Judgment too, and it goes downhill from there. Last game, I went Tour Guide From the Underworld into Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity: he played Maxx “C”, but I searched for Wind-Up Rabbit anyways because I don't have the loop. Throughout the game I just manage to barely outplay and outcard him, and eventually all he has is Spirit Reaper. I kill it off with Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon for the win. Yes!! I was so happy, because I was that much closer to getting my invite to Worlds!! Top 8 Versus Dino Rabbit: I won the die roll, and Game 1 I opened with Wind-Up Magician and Wind-Up Shark. I win from there. Siding procedure was the same as before for this match-up. In Game 2, he takes early control with Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo. I managed to stall out a bit with Spirit Reaper, but he draws into Forbidden Lance to destroy it. Game came down to making a read, trying to figure out if I should Summon Reaper with my set Snowman Eater and Mind Control in hand. My opponent had a face-down monster, and I didn't want to risk it being a Kabazauls, or walking into a Torrential. I opted for the safe play, Summoning Rabbit and attacking into Sangan. I had Forbidden Chalice set, and I set Bottomless in addition. He End Phases one Mystical Space Typhoon, then topdecks the next one on the following turn, so he wound up going into Rabbit and Evolzar Dolkka. Later on, I have four monsters in the graveyard and he has Dolkka with one negation left. I have Shark and another card in hand, and I'm at 1600 Life Points. I Summoned Shark; reduced its Level by 1; and he negates it with Dolkka. I use Avarice, but I top Veiler and Torrential and next turn he just swings for game. Top 6 Versus Mike Steiman With Dino Rabbit: It all came down to my last match to see if I was going to go to Worlds or not. Al in all, this is just another game of Yu-Gi-Oh, so I figured I wouldn't be so nervous if I didn't keep my eye on the prize, per se. I decided just to play the game the way I always do; that was my mindset I played Mike before at YCS Dallas 2011, during the peak of Six Samurai's domination of the format. There, we played a Blackwing mirror match. Game 1 of that tournament, I felt I outplayed him and won. Games 2 and 3, he topdecked Dark Armed Dragon to win both Duels. I went into this match hoping my luck wouldn't be that bad this time. I won the die roll, and Summoned Wind-Up Rabbit, revealing Wind-Up Shark. I went into two Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity and a Rabbit with a Rat and two cards set to my back row. He hits me with Heavy Storm, and Summoned Rescue Rabbit for double Kabazauls. He destroys both of my Carriers, went into Evolzar Dolkka, and set two to his back row. I set two again and ended. He attacked next turn with Dolkka, and I banished it with Dimensional Prison. In the End Phase I banished Rat with Rabbit, and from there I gained momentum and won. He went first Game 2, bringing out Laggia and setting two cards. I think, then Book of Moon his Laggia and play Heavy Storm: he flips Starlight Road. I go into Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, and he Veilers: I should've gone into Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction. I misplayed. I set Warning and Prison, and when I said, “That better not be Heavy Storm,” it was. He blew away my sets and then Summoned Tour Guide: not good. Game 3, I managed to outplay him with Snowman Eater and Tour Guide From the Underworld, making correct reads to do so. I Xing Zhen Hu'd his back row, and slowly but surely gained card advantage to build the win. Well, I was extremely happy that I won, and that I get to go to Worlds, though I felt a little bad for Mike. It turned out that we were actually playing for 5th and 6th though, and we were both going no matter what! So I congratulated him and then celebrated with my friends. Afterwards I went out with some friends and just had a good time! Overall It was a great weekend, and thanks to everyone who supported me. I hope you guys learned a thing or two from my experience, and enjoyed reading it. Next stop: Worlds! -Adrian Sean Shakir 
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this card!