Event
YQ Wins the Midwest Garden Arena Regional on Raizan
YQ lost his first match of the day. He didn't lose again.
Playing Raizan/Lightning, he won the Garden Arena: Midwest Regional in Peoria, earning $3,000 and an invitation to Azuki Invitational II in Los Angeles.
A mainstay of the LA locals scene, YQ ranks #3 in both participation points and winner points in the Azuki TCG app. After the opening loss, he won the next five rounds of Swiss to enter the Top 8 as the seventh seed at 5–1. He then defeated tadpolite, ducky, and NoahBrews without dropping a top-cut match.
His Raizan list was built on cheap Black Jade entities and 13 Weapons. Full decklist here
His Top 4 win was a rematch with ducky, the first Garden Arena Regional champion and January Invitational winner. The final was a Raizan mirror against NoahBrews, whose list was only three cards different from YQ's. Along the way, YQ won twice while going second, which is usually the harder side of the table.
Raizan was the story of the day. Four of the Top 8 players were on Raizan and Surge Gate, and Raizan took first, second, and third.
The event awarded $10,000 in cash and qualified 16 players for Azuki Invitational II.
Final standings: Top 8
| Place | Player | Leader | Element | Result | Swiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YQ | Raizan | Lightning | Champion | 5–1 |
| 2 | NoahBrews | Raizan | Lightning | Finalist | 6–0 |
| 3 | ducky | Raizan | Lightning | Top 4 | 5–1 |
| 4 | Azn | Zero | Fire | Top 4 | 5–1 |
| 5 | tadpolite | Shao | Water | Top 8 | 5–1 |
| 6 | zakai | Shao | Water | Top 8 | 5–1 |
| 7 | Baydestrian | Zero | Fire | Top 8 | 5–1 |
| 8 | jaxx | Raizan | Lightning | Top 8 | 5–1 |
NoahBrews posted the only undefeated Swiss record at 6–0. All Top 16 finishers qualified for Azuki Invitational II.
The Regional featured a $10,000 cash prize pool, paid out through the Top 8:
- 1st: $3,000
- 2nd–4th: $1,400 each
- 5th–8th: $700 each
Top finishers earned tiered Garden Arena promo cards with tournament stamps and textured foiling. Every competitor received a participation pack.
The field
- Lightning: 31%
- Water: 30%
- Earth: 21%
- Fire: 18%
Raizan and Shao were the two most-played Leaders, at 31% and 28% of the field. Zero was less common but had the best win rate of any Leader at 57%, and Azn took it to the Top 4. Earth barely missed the Top 8, with the best Earth pilot finishing 10th on Bobu. Tenshin was the most-played card of the event, in 78% of all decks and every Top 8 deck.
Missed it live? Watch the full tournament stream on YouTube
Thank you
What's next
The Garden Arena season continues:
- NorCal Regional: Saturday, December 5, Pittsburg, CA
- Florida Regional: Saturday, January 30, 2027, Kissimmee, FL
- Azuki Invitational II: February 2027, Los Angeles, CA
Registration details for NorCal and Florida will be announced soon.