Thank Goku it’s Friday! Find out the latest DBZ TCG news below:

1) General announcements: Tuesday’s post will detail the new tournament kit rotation. The ARG Series makes its next stop in Michigan, a competitive hotbed! If you’re attending, you’ll want to be familiar with the latest changes to the CRD. Stay tuned for Season 2 of OP…

2) Amusing deck concept of the moment: Black Perceptive Android 19 and its hilarious attachment shenanigans.

“I wish I knew how to crit you.”

3) Orange Charge’s clarification may have dealt a blow to early builds, but the soul still burns. There are several potent combos enabled by Orange Charge, and it will be interesting to see where they fall in the meta!

4) Mastery on the rise: Blue Tag Team. While it doesn’t generate an action or provide any damage modification, Tag Team continues to see increased play in the emerging environment. Spotted in the wild: Android 18 w/16 Ally…Cell w/Nappa Ally…various builds pulling Ginyu Ally…

Of course, there’s always Goku with (insert every Hero Ally here).

5) “Why isn’t Blue Concentrated Blast a reprint of Blue Stance from Frieza Saga? Are gold reprints finished for good?” – Eric S. from Florida

Unfortunately, old energy attacks did not state the stage cost on the card, and thus might have caused confusion with new players. While there aren’t that many reprint candidates remaining, never say never!

6) Card spotlight: Battle Pausing

“If we wait here long enough looking sad, someone is bound to try us in a deck.” 

Discard pile removal is more valuable than ever, but many decks appear to be cutting corners in order to fit new tech. There are numerous ways to abuse an opponent that does not interact with your discard pile, but Battle Pausing is an underused option. At the very least, it can recur a powerful defense such as Namekian Hybrid Defense or Time is a Warrior’s Tool. Offensively, it exchanges trash in your hand for known commodities. In a an ideal scenario, you can combo out with specific attacks. More commonly, something attractive will end up on top of your discard pile through damage. Ultimately, midrange decks that thrive in combat will get the most mileage out of Battle Pausing.

7) The Perfection meta is still in its larval stages, and each day brings exciting innovations in deck construction. We’ll close out the week by seeing what some voices in the community are currently playing:

Tim Batow: Blue Tag Team Turles
James Stadtmiller: Black Devious Cell
Phil McGrath: Blue Protective Vegeta (Hero)
Matthew Coombs: Orange Adept Roshi
Graham Foard: Blue Protective Cell
Brian Valdez: Blue Tag Team for Roshi Ally (various MPs)
Daniel Green: Black Devious Tien

Yamcha has also been a popular choice, while Piccolo, Krillin, Android 20, and Captain Ginyu all continue to remain relevant.