Introduction
Hello everyone! My name is Marlon, and I recently placed 1st at the Auckland Regional over the weekend. Before I dive in, I’d like to thank TCGTopDecks for giving me the opportunity to write this article about my deck of choice, Jiren.
In this article, I'll explain why I chose Jiren, break down my matchups, and walk you through the key decisions that led me to victory.
Why I chose Jiren
The reason I picked Jiren is actually pretty simple—I just thought he was a cool character in the show! When FB03 was released, it was an easy decision to choose him as my leader. Fortunately, Jiren turned out to be one of the most fun decks I’ve ever piloted in any TCG. Every game I played with him was more about having fun than worrying about winning or losing, and I believe that mindset played a big part in my success during the tournament.
Card selection:
Jiren:
The most obnoxious card I've ever seen. Take Life, Replace life, Draw a card from Leader, oh and their attack also gets negated!!
Rumsshi:
This was the MVP when facing blue. Being able to On Play KO any of their 30000 or less felt so good. Goodbye Vegitos and Gohans.
Double Attack Goku + Marcarita:
Whenever you’re looking to close out a game this duo will never let you down. Double Attack AND offensive super combo for 1c is insane to me. Only once did I charge this card early because I had 2 other copies in my hand, otherwise I will hold this card until the end of the game to secure the win.
Matchups:
During the event, I only faced two different decks across the seven rounds: Androids and Blue Vegeta.
- Round 1: Androids
- Round 2: Blue Vegeta
- Round 3: Blue Vegeta
- Round 4: Blue Vegeta
- Round 5: Androids
- Round 6: Androids
- Round 7: Androids
It was a bit surprising to have such a repetitive matchup pool, but sometimes that’s just how tournaments go!
Versus Androids:
My game plan was to awaken as quickly as possible using cards like Hit, Gohan, Caulifla, and even Jiren. Once I awakened, the strategy became straightforward: flood the board with as many Jirens as possible and push for the win.
Versus Vegeta (Blue):
Admittedly, this was my first time facing Blue while piloting Jiren. Going into the matchup, I had a solid understanding of what Blue does as a color and the key interactions to watch out for.
Before facing Vegeta, I was advised to always take the second turn, focus on playing my 5-cost units, and charge Jiren whenever I had the chance.
My three games against Blue played out in a similar fashion: I focused on protecting my life early, played cards that negated reduction effects to maintain control of the board, and then deployed my 5-cost units. In two out of the three games, I closed things out with Goku or Marcarita to secure the win.
Final Thoughts:
I still believe I had a bit of a lucky run, facing Androids in 4 out of the 7 rounds, but sometimes a little luck is all you need in TCGs.
I’d also like to give a special thanks to two players who gave me valuable advice during the event: Max (@MyBaeGengar on Twitter) and Jiawei, the only other Jiren player at the event who also made it into the top 16.
Thank you all for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @crymeeeee.