Fighter's Spotlight is an ongoing project concerned with tracking real-world professional cardfighters across the globe.
Yasooka at the height of his Magic career.
Yasooka Shouta/八十岡翔太Age: Unknown; Seniors Division
Titles Won: Sendai Regional Finalist Third Place
Current Status: Sendai Regional Finalist Third Place (Summer 2011)
Deck Type: Royal Paladin (Lohengrin-SSD)
Yasooka Shouta is a professional Magic: The Gathering player who made his first and only appearance as a cardfighter in the Sendai regional competition, contending with two other finalists. He placed third in the regional, using a swarm-based Royal Paladin deck. Yasooka is primarily known for his success in the Magic 2006 Pro Tour season, in which he was declared Pro Player of the year. He has played over 2500 Magic: The Gathering matches, and currently resides in Shinjuku.
Decks and Play Style
Similar to his other opponents at the time, Yasooka's deck is a Barcgal superior ride build, but rather than being grounded in Alfred like Gotou or Soul Saver Dragon as with Murakami, his centerpiece is Gigantic Charger. His intended vanguard is clearly pinned as Lohengrin or Soul Saver Dragon, but Charger is the deck's main feature in that it immediately and unavoidably fills the field. It comes as a curiosity then, that Yasooka chose not run even a single copy of the King of Knights--his strategy could be broken down into riding from Lohengrin and Soul Saver Dragon, having arranged his field for her Holy Charging Roar beforehand with Charger.
Summer 2011 Regional Tournament, Sendai Seniors Division
Card Pool: TD01-BT02, PR 0001-0018
Grade 0
x1 Barcgal
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x2 Future Knight, Llew CT
x3 Flogal ST
x3 Margal DT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x4 Young Pegasus Knight
x4 Pongal
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 Knight of Silence, Gallatin
Grade 3
x2 Demon-Slaying Knight, Lohengrin
x2 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x2 Soul Saver Dragon
x3 Gigantic Charger
1. "2006 Player of the Year Race: Event Coverage: Daily MTG." Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast, 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Events.aspx?x=protour/standings/poy06>.
1. "2006 Player of the Year Race: Event Coverage: Daily MTG." Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast, 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Events.aspx?x=protour/standings/poy06>.
