Three cards are appearing in almost every Deck - Fiendish Chain, Maxx "C", and Effect Veiler. The first one is the most easily countered - a few Mystical Space Typhoons and Heavy Storm are obvious answers. The other two, not so much. There are two cards that both serve as good techs against these cards - Dimensional Fissure and Debunk. Debunk is a short term solution but doesn't keep the hand traps in your opponent's hand - if they blow up Dimensional Fissure they'll still have the hand traps. On the other hand, Dimensional Fissure will allow you to control the game more effectively and has more uses, although some Decks can't support it effectively.
There are also two alternatives to Dimensional Fissure: Banisher of the Radiance and Macro Cosmos - both of these also Banish non-Monsters, so they will Banish Xyz Materials and Equipped Monsters, stopping Inzektors and Wind-Ups (but unfortunately not Rabbits). The main downsides of these are that Banisher of the Radiance is a monster that you have to protect and most decks are using Thunder King Rai-Oh and even Doomcaliber Knight and Macro Cosmos is a Trap Card, requiring it to be set first as well as making it vulnerable to Royal Decree.
Of these, I would use either Macro Cosmos or Banisher of the Radiance, depending on my Deck - you have to be able to thwart Inzektors and Wind-Ups, even at the cost of being more vulnerable to Rabbits.
Next comes specific Decks:
Currently, the playing field consists of three Tier 1 Decks: Wind-Ups, Rabbits, and Inzektors. Some Rogue Decks such as Evols and Empty Jar may also show up but they aren't likely to consistently top as they no longer have a surprise factor.
Inzektors are the easiest to side against - max out your Spell and Trap destruction (to stop Royal Decree, which is sided against this card) and side in three Shadow-Imprisoning Mirrors. In doing so, you will stop any of their effects as well as Tour Guide and Sangan's effects.
Rabbits are also pretty easy to side against. Previously, the most popular card was Spirit Reaper. While this card is amazing, it has a huge weakness - Forbidden Lance and Mind Control will destroy it. As a result, it's often more worthwhile to run Arcana Force 0 - The Fool. You can also use Marshmallon but the downside is that Dolkka can negate its effect and destroy it, making it easier to get over than The Fool. In addition to that, Rabbit Decks have seen use of Doomcaliber Knight which negates Marshmallon and kills it. Another side is Lava Golem. This monster is insane - it can get over even Vennominaga as there is no way of preventing its summon. The downside is that you give your opponent a huge monster, but provided you side in the rest of these wall monsters, it should work fine - Rabbits don't run any cards that Tribute so they will probably die from Burn Damage. Royal Decree is another option and if you have space, you can side Decree, The Fool, and Lava Golem against Rabbits all at once. I would side up to two Lava Golems, two or three Decree, and at least two Fools. If Rabbit is your worst matchup, side three Fools and some Marshmallons. Side out your Effect Veilers, Maxx "C"s, and possibly your Fiendish Chains.
Lastly we have Wind-Ups. Wind-Ups are the most problematic due to the hand destruction loop. Maxx "C" and Effect Veiler are main decked to deal with this threat. After turn one, you have a chance to set some backrow - the following cards can be quite effective. First and foremost is Fiendish Chain for obvious reasons, but this is also a main decked card. Now for Side Decks: Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror is an unlikely contender but consider this: it makes Wind-Up Hunter's effect a -1 (if you chain to its activation) as well as wasting your opponent's Tour Guide or stopping Sangan from giving them a potentially game-winning search. In addition to that, you may want some backrow protection - Dark Bribe can fill this role. Normally I would advocate the use of Magic Drain but as we all know Wind-Ups main deck a full set of Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm, and Wind-Up Factory as well as Monster Reborn, Foolish Burial, Dark Hole, Pot of Avarice, and occasionally other cards. As a result, Magic Drain is rather lackluster against this specific deck. Next is Cyber Dragon. This amazing monster was even sided against Plant Synchro as an out to Rai-Oh. It remains an out to Rai-Oh but is also a way around Wind-Up Zenmaines by making Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. This alone makes it worth using as Zenmaines can be a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
Outside of these three Decks, you can expect to see a smattering of Six Samurai and potentially Evols due to both Deck's recent YCS tops. T.G. Stun will also be a rather common Deck due to it having won YCS Atlanta and the fact that it costs little to make. To counter Six Samurai and Evols, just use the same strategies as against Rabbits, although you won't need to side Decree. Against T.G., make sure to have three Royal Decree sided as well as Dimensional Fissure or Macro Cosmos.
If you encounter Empty Jar, Macro Cosmos should serve you well. Fiendish Chain will also allow you to negate one use of Morphing Jar which is likely to be a game winning move.
In one of my next posts I will write about the merit of Agents following the Banlist (and explain just how good they will be) as well as discuss Hieroglyphs and what not to do (hint: don't use Level 6 and 7 Dragons. Big Eye doesn't justify using Level 7s and Level 6s just get you another Normal Dragon which you were better off using to make a Thunder-End or Ennead).
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