Sunday, April 20, 2014

News: Team League 2014 France Won by Defender Team, Invaders in Second

Photo courtesy of Alunyan.
The first stage of Team League 2014: Invasion concluded in Paris yesterday, with first place taken by a team from the Netherlands. 39 teams took part in the regional qualifier, numbering 117 persons in total, with a native French team placing second. According to eyewitness accounts the French team was in the minority of those playing Invader side of the tournament; Team League 2014 is divided into two halves according to its special rules, the Cray Defenders and Void Invaders, and depending on which force a team chooses to side with they are restricted to either being unable to use Link Joker and "Яeverse" cards or are required to use them in their decks.

Photo courtesy of Alunyan.
Following the announcement that Extra Booster 9: Divine Dragon Progression will be getting an English release midway through the Team League tournament, many teams have preemptively chosen to side with the Defenders in anticipation of Dragonic Nouvelle Vague's sweeping effect on the format. In spite of Chaos Breaker Dragon's upcoming release in BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak within the next two weeks, this has ironically left Void understaffed.

The first place team, United Force, was led by a Gold Paladin cardfighter playing a Liberator deck that combined Liberator Alfred's topdeck superior call to fill the field with a massive field power bonus from Gancelot's break ride skill. Middle and rear positions were played by Shadow Paladin and Eradicator cardfighters, with the self-standing Raging Form Dragon as the marquee card of the Shadow Paladin fighter's Revenger deck. Second place team SKET played Luquier "Яeverse," Nebula Lord Dragon and Vowing Saber Dragon "Яeverse."

The regional qualifiers for Mexico and Canada also took place on the 19th, with their results currently forthcoming.