Im really happy right now! I got home yesterday after have played at the São Paulo Regional this weekend and somehow finished 3rd with G Fighters (MF) + Justice and my beloved Athrun Zala! I want to write properly about the experience, so Ill share that post tomorrow.

I have also just updated the server with a few Starter Deck fixes, thankfully, there were only a handful of loose ends. Sorry it took me until today to sit down and fix them!

• New Gundam Epyon and Tallgeese III: Their effects now trigger correctly when they destroy an enemy Unit in a battle where both Units go down.

• Ple-Twelve: Cleaned up how her linked effect handles the two cards it looks at, including the card sent to trash and the card kept.

• The Final Victor: Your first Unit choice is now clearly shown while your opponent makes theirs.

• Qubeley: Pairing a Pilot and activating Qubeley now have independent once-per-turn limits, as intended.

• Suletta Mercury: Her draw effect now works when an enemy Unit is destroyed by effect damage during an attack, even if her own Unit was destroyed in that battle.

What’s next?

The Starter Decks officially release this Friday 25th, and they’ll be available in Ranked before noon. I can’t wait to test my brews!

I’m also working on some ideas that I will love to discuss with you below and on our Discord.

• First, we need to bring more people into the game. I started writing a short guide for new players, but I’m making it useful for those of us who already love the game, too. Some people find it easy to teach their friends; others could use is a starting point. I want the guide to help both. Is coming really well, and I think I can finish it this week!

• Alongside it, I’m planning a simple, direct meta overview. Once our friends fall in love with the game, we want to help them find a deck and learn the field. My goal is something they can read in about ten minutes to pick a deck they’re excited to play and understand how to face each archetype.

• Last idea still needs a name: Experimental Ranked or maybe Pro Player Mode. It would give us a place to test different ways to play, starting with best-of-three matches without sideboards, like we are seeing at Regionals. We could try sideboards later, too. With your feedbacks, we will see how these formats play and what kind of meta grows around them. Since this mode would be aimed at experienced players, I’d also shorten the time per action so a best-of-three match can finish in a reasonable time. Eventually, I’d love for what we learn to help bring more best-of-three play to local stores. Best-of-three is possible… right? Let’s test it!

What do you think about best-of-three, and what challenges have you run into when introducing friends to our loved game? Let me know in the comments!

That’s it for now. Cheers, Doug!