Beat 2 Format

There are many mixed feelings about this format. If you look at YCS Toronto and YCS Ecuador, it is clear that we have a format with 2 main decks to beat. Those are Chaos Tengu Synchro and Agents. The majority of the top 32 in both of these events were made up of those decks with some variances between one another. Despite the popularity of those 2 decks, we can look at YCS Ecuador for evidence of what our format is really about. "If you can beat those 2 decks, then your deck is playable."

Of course, if you were in Toronto, you may have had to play against a LOT of Chaos Tengu Synchro. This is a card game and when you play against so much of the same deck, you do have increasing chances to lose against it. However, this may not mean that your deck is bad. CTS(as I will be calling it for now on) has many "god hands" that are very difficult to outplay. Short of drawing into your side, an opening hand of Reborn Tengu, One for One, Gorz, Veiler, BLS, or any combination of those can spell doom for most players. When you get right down to it, if your deck has answers to zany early-game plays like this, you can call it competitive, Tier-1, etc. This is not to say that CTS and Agents are Tier 0 or Tier 0.5. Let's call them an entrance exam to top 32. If you can get through that door, you get to play OTHER decks that aced the entrance exam too; and THAT is when the game really starts getting fun.

So if you aren't playing CTS or Agents, then what else is there? Let's take a look at Ecuador:
Six Sams
Frogs
Gravekeepers
Dragons
Glads
Blackwings
TGs
CTS
Agents

If you thought the format wasn't diverse, then you may be having trouble with CTS and Agents. Believe it or not, it really is possible to beat the decks, even though everyone seems to be playing it and it IS a tough match. Toronto players didn't have it as easy with their top 16:
1 Anti-meta
1 TG
1 Karakuri
Everything else: Agents and CTS

It really is unfortunate that so many people played the deck. If you are playing on the Local level, don't get discouraged as your deck may still be competent with good tech and an appropriate side. There are many decks(not posted above) to choose from and all of can make it past the entrance exam:
Scraps
Monarchs
Rekindling variants(Flamvells, Jurracs)
Heroes
X Sabers
Infernity
Quickdraw
Machina Gadgets
Nordics
Gigavise
Fabled
Zombies
Of course some of these decks have an easier time with the exam than others. With luck, your side deck can overcome that disadvantage.

I like to believe that the format is defined by the number of plays your deck can make, and the number of your plays your deck can stop. CTS is known for having "plays for days." Unlike slower decks, they can place cards on the field without really making a push for game, and still call it making a "play." A good example of this is setting Sangan or summoning Card Trooper to make more cards in their hand live. Other decks can do this too, like Heroes, Sabers, and Machina. Agents don't have as many plays as CTS, but it has excellent cards to stop plays. Unlike antimeta monsters Banisher and Thunderking, Agent cards that stop plays, also generate them. Whether it is your first turn Gachi or dropping Hyperion, followed by Krystia, they will slow the duel down to their pace until you can't compete with their bosses. Other YGO decks have a lot of sustainability too like Zombies and Monarchs.

You can extend this to tier 2 and 3 decks too, increasing the amount of plays available or slowing the competition down to your level. Let's look at something like Crash Fiends that we talked about in this dark post. Crash Fiends can be designed for the "plays for days" philosophy. Pushes that your opponent manages to stop, are fuel for boss monsters. Three plays can be stopped using Gorz and Effect Veiler, backed by BLS.

Don't think that the only decks in the format are Agents and CTS. Don't think that you have to play those 2 decks because nothing else can come close to their power. Take a look at your deck and try to extend the amount of things it can do in random situations. If your deck is lacking sustainability(it runs out of steam too easily.), think about ways to get your best cards back through things like Monster Reincarnation and Fabled Leviathan. If your deck can't stop much, think about fitting in Maxx "C", Gorz, Enemy Controller or Scapegoat. Don't let YCS Toronto discourage you from at least testing some of your favorite ideas. Also look forward to Photon Shockwave. Only a month way, we get Evols, more F!sh support and a brand new Rescue Rabbit to abuse.