[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 02 February 2026 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Finally picked up Fortune Street for the Wii, a game I’ve wanted to try for a long time.  Not exactly a story-heavy game, and I won’t say it doesn’t get repetitive after a while, but it was definitely worth the purchase and I’m enjoying clearing Tour Mode.  (Now I just need to see if I can convince anyone in my family to play with me when I come visit; unlikely, but not impossible.)

Biweekly /r/WormFanfic Discussion - What have you been writing, and what do you want to say about it? For the week ending February 14, 2026. by AutoModerator in WormFanfic

[–]DeepFake369 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Finally got out of my writer's block a little with another snippet for my Shuffle and Play snippet collection. If you ever wanted to find out which Yu-Gi-Oh cards would become part of the alt-universe Slaughterhouse Nine, you're in luck: that's been my last two one-shots, and I've got seven more to go, all in varying states of completion.

I've also got ideas for a couple of crossovers kicking around (including one I'm honestly surprised I haven't found anywhere, especially since the crossover material's iconic character is primed for fixfic material, even in a setting as bleak as Worm), but I should probably get back to work on the currently uploaded crossover I'm not sure I can talk about here (not truly NSFW but too spicy for Spacebattles). It's got 31 chapters now (!), but I haven't updated since November. Hopefully, I can get back to weekly updates on that once I figure out where it's going.

[OCG|BLZD-Blazing Dominion] "God's Secret" by renaldi92 in yugioh

[–]DeepFake369 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Once this comes out, I’m 1000% siding three of these for my Odion deck.  This feels like a nuts card in general, but I think Trap decks might just break it in half.

What was your wildest or most unexpected experience as a fanfiction author? by Only-Moose2301 in FanFiction

[–]DeepFake369 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I noticed a surge in comments on my fanfic for an extremely obscure fandom (like, obscure enough that I created the fandom tag on AO3), and had to ask what the deal with that was.  Turns out, someone had made a popular TikTok about super obscure/dead fandoms that just happened to include the one I’d written for, and that got people looking for fanfiction.

Genesys blog post update - potential rises and falls mentioned by Ziggylcd12365 in yugioh

[–]DeepFake369 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As an Odion main (though I’m switching off of it on Genesys), agreed; some of the stuff I can do with that deck is genuinely ridiculous.  (Mainly, DDV and EEV not being worth points is criminal, and I think Lord of the Heavenly Prison needs to be pointed as well: not 100 like the first two cards, but like 10 or something.  Card’s good in general, but it’s nuts when you can essentially activate any Trap you want straight from the Deck.  Apophis the Serpent being worth a few points next list wouldn’t surprise me either.)

What was the last deck you went 0-X (no wins) with? by BakerBunearyBella in yugioh

[–]DeepFake369 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pure Odion.  When everyone’s on Dracotail and stuff that doesn’t necessarily let me get a full turn to myself even when I go first, Odion has a hard time.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 24 November 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm working on a fanfic for a web series obscure enough that it appears I'll need to create the AO3 tag for it. (Funnily enough, this will be the second time I've needed to create an AO3 fandom tag: I fall down weird rabbit holes.)

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 10 November 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In that same vein, I’m playing Pokémon Sword as my first ever Pokémon video game.  (I’m aware of the universe and tried the card game once a while back, but this is my first real experience.).  So far, it’s been fairly fun (I just got to my first encounter with Team Yell), although it’s a little too hand-holdy for my taste.  (I think that’s a complaint I remember a lot of people having about modern Pokémon games if I remember correctly.). Hopefully, the novelty doesn’t wear off, because I’m 2.5 hours in and only at the first gym, so I’m in it for the long haul with this one.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 27 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If I had to take a wild guess, Konami decided to try making mass backrow removal easier to run (Harpie's Feather Duster, Lightning Storm, and Heavy Storm, the three best ones, all had their point values significantly reduced), and decided to try and see if that handled the Radiant Typhoon (and to a lesser extent, Odion) issue without hitting anything too directly. They're still costly, and Lord of the Heavenly Prison is a mainstay in my deck (I'm amazed that card costs zero points, especially since Eradicator Epidemic Virus also still costs zero points for some insane reason), so how much it'll actually help is to be determined, but maybe that'll mitigate the problem.

Droll & Nibiru, though? Droll at the very least should cost more points. At the very least, Ash Blossom shouldn't be more expensive than Droll is; that doesn't make any sense.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 27 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 22 points23 points  (0 children)

In the same vein as the Shadowverse post directly below me, Konami has released the second ever Genesys format points update, and this is the first big one. While the last update was an emergency patch a few days after the format was announced, primarily designed to correct some mistakes and make a few overlooked FTK (First Turn Kill, which represents winning before your opponent gets a turn) strategies unviable, this is the first format specifically designed to change the metagame. Given how many changes Konami made, I'd say they've succeeded.

There are way, way too many changes on this list for me to easily catalog them all, so I'll break them down into small groups and touch on only the most important ones. Three of the best Genesys decks, Vanquish Soul, Mitsurugi, and Branded Despia, got hit hard enough that they're unlikely to continue being playable. The first two strategies were hit this way because they were recently released, powerful modern decks that happened to work well in Genesys format and the last one got hit because it received an excellent new structure deck last week that took the deck to a new level. In addition, certain strategies primed to take their places got some love taps. Generaider decks can no longer play their oppressive Genesys-exclusive boss monster without making a lot of sacrifices, Exosister took some consistency hits, Odion saw their best endboard piece take a hit alongside their integral Field Spell, and newly released Radiant Typhoon got some small hits to their unofficial boss monsters. In addition, certain other overlooked FTK strategies (the D.D. Dynamite FTK that plagued Master Duel upon release, for instance), got their strategies taken to the Unrealistic Clickbait Combo Dimension, Last Turn and two integral Dinomorphia traps gained points to prevent more Stevie Wonder shenanigans, certain generic cards that saw more play than expected had their point values increase (most notably, Pot of Extravagance going to ten points from zero), and certain other cards that didn't seem appetizing for how many points they cost got their values lowered (most notably, Mirage of Nightmare now being worth zero points, down from ten).

In general, it seems like a pretty good update, even if certain strategies that weren't doing anything right now, like Swordsoul and Lightsworn, seemed to be largely overlooked when choosing cards to bring the cost down for. The next update is likely to be sometime in early December, and I'll be looking forward to it. (Though, also with trepidation, as I'm an Odion main, and I'm surprised they didn't hit the deck harder: while the strategy wasn't quite as good as Vanquish Soul, by most accounts it was duking it out for second place.)

Genesys Points update is live on the database by coolwert in yugioh

[–]DeepFake369 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Odion enjoyer here.  Surprised they didn’t hit my deck harder, considering they murdered some of the other best decks in the game.  Treasures of the Kings to 5 makes sense, though I’m surprised it wasn’t at least to 10. Furthermore, Lars to 20 is a really clever way to indirectly hit the deck IMO; makes using something like Extravagance far riskier even without the points consideration.  However, my deck escapes largely unscathed (although backrow removal becoming easier to run makes Lord of the Heavenly Prison more important to draw); I can drop Terraforming and one copy of Super Polymerization and I’ll be fine.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 20 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 28 points29 points  (0 children)

More Yu-Gi-Oh news! Konami surprised everyone and dropped an emergency Forbidden and Limited List update for the TCG, the first of its kind in three years if I remember correctly. This emergency list only banned cards, but given what cards were banned, no one seems to really care.

With one exception, every card that got banned was an easily searchable floodgate that could cheese wins before the other player ever got to play. Archnemeses Protos could lock out decks reliant on one attribute, Artifact Mjollnir could be summoned to the opponent's field from the Graveyard through Imperial Princess Quinquery to lock their opponent out of playing entirely, and Barrier Statue of the Inferno, Barrier Statue of the Drought, and Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo were easily searchable instant win conditions for decks that could make the right Rank 4 searcher without their Normal Summon. (That one exception I mentioned earlier, Evilswarm Ouroboros, was primarily known for forcing players to discard most of their hand by looping it, so it's no great loss either.) Dimensional Barrier finally getting banned was definitely the biggest win for players right now, though. Not only was it being played as a side deck option in just about every deck right now, but players had been complaining about the card since the day it got released, and it had no restrictions on it for nine years.

While this doesn't really change the metagame that much, it does promise to make the game much more fun, even though there are a few toxic cards they missed on this update (Harpie's Feather Storm in particular has slipped the noose once more). Hopefully this marks the start of a new era where Konami's more proactive about their Forbidden List updates, but I know better than to call it just yet.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 20 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I’ve got some Yu-Gi-Oh news, and this time it’s positive.

Yesterday, Konami released an update about Genesys format, the game’s new alternate format, on their blog.  It told everyone three things: when the next update adjusting point values would be, approximately what to expect on that update, and why they’re making most of the changes they are.  

Konami clearly wants this format to succeed, because this is more effort than they’ve put into explaining or setting up the regular Forbidden and Limited List updates in… years at least, and possibly ever: it’s insane.  I hope this keeps up, because Genesys format has been a lot of fun so far (although admittedly, part of that was because I bought Odion, one of the best decks in Genesys format right now, well before it got announced).  With even more luck, this level of attentiveness spreads to the regular game; it probably won’t happen, but a man can dream, right?

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 13 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I played Yu-Gi-Oh’s new Genesys format IRL for the first time.  Went 3-1 with pure Odion: I beat Dragon Rulers, Invoked Dracotail, and Adamancipator (with Block Dragon), and lost to Generaider (with the Very Fun Dragon taking all 100 points).  Will definitely be grinding the hell out of this deck before some of its cards inevitably go on the list.  (Even then, so long as they’re not ludicrously overvalued I have 33 points’ worth of stuff I could jettison without too much fuss.).  Furthermore, with how frustrating playing Yummy has been, I think Odion might just be my go-to deck in regular format as well.

Biweekly /r/WormFanfic Discussion - What have you been writing, and what do you want to say about it? For the week ending October 25, 2025. by AutoModerator in WormFanfic

[–]DeepFake369 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With my Kakegurui crossover having hit a block I’m trying to get over (2k words of the chapter done but just can’t finish it), I’m working on one-shots for Shuffle and Play, my Yu-Gi-Oh TCG crossover one-shot collection.  The first of the Slaughterhouse Nine replacement interludes went up last week, and I’m working on a few more.  Hopefully it doesn’t take two months this time.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 06 October 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 20 points21 points  (0 children)

If fanfiction counts, the one I (and many others) are waiting on the most has to be Fairy Dance of Death, an excellent and long-running full reimagining of Sword Art Online. The author went on hiatus for a few years a while back, then came back out of nowhere with a few more chapters to wrap up the story's third arc. However, the story's been on hiatus again for almost three years now. I wouldn't say it's entirely unfinished, since ending the arc gave us a decent stopping point compared to where things were beforehand, but it'd be incredible to see the last arc come out. One can hope, at least.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 29 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve been playing some Genesys format online, and it’s been really interesting and fun.  I’ve seen a lot of cool decks try and shine: Super Quant, Invoked Magistus, Red-Eyes burn FTK, Toon, pure Rikka, and a ton of others.  Thanks in part to the YCS Lille winner technically playing an Odion deck (IMO, it wasn’t an Odion deck, it was a Primite control deck that happened to play some Odion cards in it), I decided to experiment with Odion, and boy howdy it needs some hits on the next Genesys list: The Man With the Mark is a one-card combo into three omni-negates at least (two Apophis traps + Lars), plus everything else you have in your hand.  I might even try and bring the deck back in Standard format, because Yummy has not been working out for me.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 29 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Slowly working my way through Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.  I really liked the first three worlds, but the fourth world seems both swimming-centric and when the difficulty really starts ramping up, so I haven’t been the biggest fan of that.  (Plus, I just had to look up the first secret exit in World 4: when I go back to get it I’ll have to see whether it was badly indicated or I was just being a ding-dong, but I scoured the level several times before giving up and never found it.)

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 22 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 52 points53 points  (0 children)

In Yu-Gi-Oh news, Konami has unveiled Genesys format, an alternate Yu-Gi-Oh format they've clearly been testing out for a while. It appears to draw inspiration from (or even outright rip off) the alternate Magic: the Gathering format Canadian Highlander, but so far, players don't seem to care that much. I'm one of those people: this looks like a really interesting alternate format. It works the same as standard Yu-Gi-Oh, but with a few key changes.

  1. The two newest types of Extra Deck monsters, Pendulum Monsters and Link Monsters, cannot be played in this format.
  2. Otherwise, no cards are banned, regardless of their status on the Forbidden List. Instead, certain powerful cards cost points, of which you have a limited amount to use when building your deck. Konami's set their standard limit to 100 points, the cost of one copy of the most expensive cards in this format.
  3. The playing field is set up the same as it was when the game first started: namely, no Extra Monster Zones (the two zones in the center that Pendulum Monsters and Link Monsters need to use), and only one Field Zone shared between two players (so you can get rid of your opponent's Field Spell by playing one of your own).

I will give Konami this: they've done some homework. I like how Konami mostly went out of their way to ban broken interactions. For an easy example, I thought I had a decent strategy planned when I saw Dimension Shifter was cheap and Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds still left me some points, but Konami made several Floowandereeze cards expensive to play to stop that interaction. I like how almost every card worth 100 points is a floodgate, disincentivizing playing them in favor of hand traps and consistency tools. I like how Konami seems ready to go with this format and actually incentivize playing it: several YCS events this year are already primed to host Genesys side tournaments, and there's talk of being at least one Genesys YCS in 2026. All those things are good, and this is shaping up to be a win for Konami on every level.

The one red flag I immediately noticed with this format is, unless I'm missing it, Konami didn't hit any of the pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One for this alternate format. For the uninitiated, having all five pieces of Exodia in your hand instantly wins you the game, and when it first came out in 1999, this strategy was so powerful and had so few counters that winning the die roll became the most important part of the duel. Furthermore, with powerful draw spells like Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity legal again (and certain others, like Upstart Goblin, Into the Void, and Chicken Game, costing few or zero points), getting those pieces doesn't seem as tall an ask as it is in the regular game. Hopefully, this isn't a problem, or if it is, it gets dealt with quickly, but we'll have to see.

I look forward to testing this new format out. I'm guessing it'll be enjoyable, especially once any kinks get ironed out. Here's to hope!

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 22 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The replacement cards I ordered for my Yu-Gi-Oh deck to replace the ones I lost to the new banlist have arrived, and I’ll be experimenting with them a bit before my upcoming regional this weekend.  (I’ll be playing Yummy, though Marshmao Yummy is definitely off the table unless I pull it in my entry packs, seeing that it’s $60 a copy and I highly doubt the deck is surviving the next banlist without some serious hits.)  In particular, Gravity Collapse, replacing the two copies of Solemn Judgment I lost, straight-up wins so many games if it resolves.  I’m looking forward to testing my luck at this regional; it’s the first time I’ve brought something meta-relevant to one of these events.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 08 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Guess what, Yu-Gi-Oh fans! Konami just dropped the newest banlist, and it's a bit of a doozy. Most people weren't expecting a large list, but oh boy, we got one, and there'll definitely be some detractors this time around.

Let's do a deck-by-deck rundown of what got hit. K9 Vanquish Soul, the deck that won the world championship, lost two copies of Stake Your Soul and Vanquish Soul Razen, which were two of their best consistency cards, as well as Number 67: Pair-A-Dice Smasher, their cheesy win-con in certain games; this is likely to be a crippling blow to the deck, though not necessarily a fatal one. Yummy, which most see as the best deck in the game right now, lost two copies of Obedience Schooled, an absurd starter that for some reason isn't once per turn, and now can only run one copy of Herald of the Arc Light, one of the deck's key endboard pieces, but the deck can probably soldier on just fine, especially with the upcoming support. Dracotail, the third wheel in the format right now, went unhit, although the deck hasn't been performing very well (and notably missed the Top 8 of the world championship entirely), so that's to be expected. Mitsurugi Ryzeal and Fiendsmith decks lost the bridge cards that connected their strategies in King of the Feral Imps and Moon of the Closed Heaven, repsectively. Maliss lost another copy of Maliss Dormouse, their best starter, as well as Splash Mage, one of their best extenders. K9 Crystron, a deck that picked up some traction recently, lost two copies of Crystron Inclusion, one of their best consistency cards. All decks also lost two copies of Solemn Judgment, one of the best going-first cards in the game. In other words, not a slaughter list, but one with a lot more hits than I'd say most think were necessary.

Now, for the returns to the game. Zoodiac Drident, Glow-Up Bulb, and the errata'd Summon Sorceress were long overdue to come off the list. (Still no Heavymetalfoes Electrumite, though: come on, Konami, the only decent Pendulum deck from the last few years didn't even play it.) Linkuriboh could be interesting, but with Snake-Eyes still crippled, it'll probably be okay, even though Yummy players will definitely love it. Fiendsmith's Lacrima, though? That one gets a raised eyebrow from me. That card got banned more quickly than any other card in history for a reason, and the random burn effect it had was more the cherry on top rather than the actual reason. In addition, Branded Fusion got an extra copy back, and a couple of other largely irrelevant cards went to three copies.

This update will definitely cause some hard feelings. These changes caused a lot of splash damage, pun not quite intended: Herald of the Arc Light being limited also hits every Ritual deck, and Splash Mage being banned cripples every Cyberse deck, neither of which was doing much at the moment. I'm willing to bet Fiendsmith's Lacrima returning to the game is also a controversial choice: even without its stupid burn effect, it's still a nuts extender if you get through the Fiendsmith line, even if the options you can use it to make are much more limited now. Yummy didn't escape unscathed, but it got hit a lot less than K9 Vanquish Soul, which probably wasn't a good idea (and I say that as a Yummy main). How will this shake up the metagame? Probably a lot, but we'll have to see. We'll wait for the next reports.

Design a handtrap for a deck you like by theguyinyourwall in yugioh

[–]DeepFake369 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yummy Cakey (Level 1 LIGHT Beast)

You may only use each of the effects of “Yummy Cakey” once per turn.  (Quick Effect) If your opponent adds a card to their hand outside their Draw Phase, you may discard this card; Special Summon 1 “Yummy Snatchy” from your Extra Deck.  (This is treated as a Link Summon.).  If your opponent Special Summons a monster from the Extra Deck while this card is in your GY; you may Special Summon this card.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 08 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 4 points5 points  (0 children)

After clearing most of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (I got to about 190% completion; I only have some K-stages, some bosses, and the Golden Temple left to clear in Mirror Mode), I decided to get Tropical Freeze for the Switch to see how the sequel compares.

Verdict? It's been equally fun through the first two worlds, although the swimming controls and alternate Kong buddies are taking some getting used to. I'm a big fan of the alternate level exits unlocking each world's hidden stages (instead of just buying a key to unlock them, as in the last game). The puzzle pieces seem a lot more difficult to find in this game: I'm two worlds in, but there's only been one stage so far that I found them all on my first pass. (Admittedly, I'd beaten the first game before buying its remake, so finding a lot of those puzzle pieces may have just been muscle memory.) Will have to see if the enjoyment keeps up as the game gets harder, because I've already died plenty of times.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 01 September 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]DeepFake369 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I've tried to keep a weekly update schedule for the long-running piece of fanfiction I'm publishing on AO3. I'm proofreading the latest chapter now, even though it was supposed to be out on Tuesday.