WIXOSS Grand Prix Houston 2025: Interview with the Winner

On June 22nd, 2025, Dusel took the victory at the WIXOSS Grand Prix in Houston. He piloted Hirana to the top, marking the first time that a red LRIG has won a North American GP. Following the event, Dusel was kind enough to answer a few questions for Mayu’s Room.

Hello everyone! My name is Dusel, I have been interested in WIXOSS for a long time but only started collecting back during the end of Key Selection. My favorite LRIG is Eldora and I mostly focus on collecting cards and other items relating to Eldora.

Dusel’s 1st Place Deck from GP Houston 2025

// Could you tell us a little about the deck you chose? As a long-time establish player, I feel that this deck differs pretty heavily from what you’re generally known for playing – what led you to Hirana? //

During testing I prioritized looking into options for Eldora, but I quickly found that the new liberation cards matchup unfavorably against many of the top decks that were expected to be played at Houston.

My next consideration was that I wanted to play a deck that included Ivy//Dissona. I believe Ivy is one of the strongest cards in the current environment and so my search narrowed to decks that can best utilize this card. I focused on Fesonne Yuzuki, Dissona Nanashi, and Dissona Hirana. Of the three decks, I decided that the deck that can best utilize Ivy was Hirana.

// How does this version compare to previous versions of Hirana? //

The original Hirana center relies heavily on Flathro to push through damage on the board, and while the +1 damage on LRIG is fearsome, it falls short when you are facing the vast amount of Servant # searching and recursion available right now.

The Dissona package alongside the new Hirana center allows for you to consistently threaten the full board early on; Hirana’s Once Per Turn ability nearly guarantees at least one lane after level 3; and the Once Per Game ability leaves most decks with no options to defend themselves.

// What did practice and preparation for this event look like? //

Due to the aggressive nature of the deck, I focused my testing on how best to exploit the defenses of my opponents rather than trying to devise ways to deal with the threats the other decks are able to present. I wanted to make sure I was aware of all of the hard counters I could expect and then find ways to avoid falling victim to these counters.

The ways my opponents can stop me largely come down to effects that prevent my LRIG from attacking or dealing damage – cards like Michaela Fang, Invincible Story, Defend Tamago’s enter ability, Mel Invisible, etc. It was critically important to quickly discover these types of counters and play the game in a way that I can present lethal through these strong defenses.

Burst-chan; the trophy for 1st Place

// Did you expect to win the whole thing? //

Decks that aim to deal most of their damage on the first two turns of the game are always going to be gambling on the abilities of life bursts to determine the outcome. I knew how to put myself in the best position to take advantage of the odds and it all came down to whether or not the dice came up in my favor.

// How was playing games in the streaming room – especially with finals, did you feel any extra stress or pressure from knowing you were under a more public eye during those games? //

The biggest stress point of the feature match is knowing that everyone is going to see your misplays. There was a point during the finals match that I realized I should probably use [Ex Echo, which draws three] before going to combat, but I had already played my board for the turn. I had to decide between saving the draw 3 effect to seem like it wasn’t a misplay, or make the correct play now even though it isn’t optimal. I am not too prideful to admit I had made an error, and putting off [the grow would] only be adding a second mistake. I wouldn’t have worried as much about this kind of thing if I was off camera.

Dusel’s first turn against Skewer in the finals.

// What were your thoughts on the event format, and what are some memorable moments from it, within the games or otherwise? //

This format is the final sendoff to the focus on three LRIG gameplay in Diva Selection. With the new pieces from Legendary Diva, every deck is at full power and we saw some truly powerful strategies emerge.

The big memorable moments from this format come down to the massive game changing life bursts. As the power level has increased the impact that the right burst can have has only grown over time, and so a burst that gains you a small number of resources can truly turn a game entirely around.

The biggest life burst moment of the tournament was in the semi-final match when I flipped an Emergence as my final life burst to retrieve the servant I Ener Charged with Hirana’s enter ability to prevent my opponent from killing me, and then instantly winning the game on the next turn.

Dusel’s Round 4

// What are your thoughts on the P-16 metagame? Are you looking forward to ARTS format? //

The strongest decks in the current format heavily restrict access to resources and as a result you must play a deck that is still able to function without these resources. This limits the total available options for most decks and polarizes the metagame.

The introduction of ARTS doesn’t solve the resource denial issues, but it does give decks access to a more versatile set of tools to allow for a broader range of strategies.

// Lastly, as a finalist, you qualified for Mugen Shoujo 2025 – are you excited for that event? What plans do you already have for both your trip there and practice leading up to it? //

I am excited, but I am nervous about playing in a tournament where every card is in Japanese. I aim to gain exposure to the card pool through grinding games online prior to the event.

I am lucky to be surrounded by people who are willing to assist me with playtesting. The release of Open!Batoru will allow me to get more practice that would have been impossible otherwise.

Many community members have expressed interest in joining the Mugen Shoujo participants on the trip to Japan. Regardless of how the tournament goes, we are sure to have a great time.

Thanks again to Dusel for sharing his thoughts with us and a huge congrats to his triumph and victory!