Quick Article #7: Scientist Control

I’ve been having some interest in the Scientist Control deck I’ve been posting in my latest tournament reports, both online and in person. One player in particular emailed me directly to ask me some very good questions regarding how the deck plays, combos, match-ups, siding, and then some queries about specific card choices (such as Number 56: Gold Rat and Evilswarm Ouroboros). Since I don’t think it’s too much of stretch to assume there are more people interested than just the few who have talked to me, I’ve decided to use the quite detailed answers to the aforementioned player for the basis of this short article, describing how I play deck.

Its main goal is to get out Scientist – the heavy tendency in the construction towards drawing, searching and Special Summoning is primarily geared towards finding Magical Scientist and putting him on the field. For a first turn play, I’m going to be trying to lock the opponent out of their first turn (a second turn play will obviously be more intent on creating the best possible response to the opponent's first turn set up); depending on what the opponent is using (that is, what their Spell/Trap/Monster ratio is like, what their play patterns and possibilities are, etc.), and depending on what I’m able to find and create, some combination of Number 16: Shock Master, Photon Strike Bounzer or Evilswarm Ouroboros, backed up by my Spells and/or Traps – Imperial Order, Crush card Virus, Delinquent Duo, etc. – and/or Effect Veilers, is going to be my final set up. The aim, again, is to lock the opponent out of their turn, so the pilot needs to be able to read what they're playing, and what they'll be trying to, and able to, accomplish.

That said, though, the deck has many other options. The Chaos monsters, as well as being discard/removal fodder for the draw engine, can also be Summoned when needed. By the same token, Light and Darkness Dragon, again primarily a discard target, is also a very powerful option to be Summoned when Scientist isn't available, and is quite easily done with all of the Special Summon options. Other Monsters make Crush Card Virus live, the Extra Deck does contain a couple of Synchro Monsters which can be summoned with Effect Veiler, the Magical Scientist/Dark Strike Fighter FTK is possible, and even just Elemental Hero Stratos with some control cards can be a decent opening play. It all depends on the opening hand – the pilot will need to be able to gauge the amount of stuff he or she can do, which only comes with experience. When I play the deck, I can see my final set up from my opening six cards, and plan what I'm going to do anywhere from the second possibly play up to the twentieth possible play in advance.

If I’m going to be playing against FTKs, I'll need Hand Traps; Effect Veilers are already Mained, so the Side Deck will generally consist of Droll & Lock Birds, Hanewatas, Neko Mane Kings, Maxx "C"s, Elephant Stature of Disaster, depending on what I expect to play against. Battle based matchups are quite good, although I may want to Side more battle based cards – Snatch Steal, Dark Hole, Heavy Storm and Harpie's Feather Duster, that sort of thing. Also, some Hand Traps, such as Maxx "C" and D.D. Crow, can be good for battle based match ups – Dark World, heavy Special Summoning strategies – so I’ll consider Siding those, as well. The Side really depends on what I expect to play, and then changes accordingly. My Side, even for the same deck, is different at every tournament.

On the subject of Number 56: Gold Rat: during my turn, I quite often end up with Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Magical Scientist on-field, and, in this scenario, rather than making a few exceeds (which obviously cost Life Points with Scientist) and leaving those two, low ATK Monsters susceptible to attacks, I summon Thousand Eyes Restrict and overlay the three for Gold Rat. I then get to draw another card, shuffle back a dead card (or my second Malicious, always helpful), put Disk Commander (by detaching him to activate Rat's effect) back into the Graveyard for another revival and draw, and have a LIGHT target if Rat hits the Grave. It seems like an odd choice, and I got a bit of crap for it at the time, but it really is very good here.

Evilswarm Ouroboros is for when I have Imperial Order. If I've drawn the Trap Card, I don't want to Summon Shock Master and call Spells – I'll already be cutting out Spells with Imperial, and doubling up on effects, except when making a fancy surprise combo, is useless. Therefore, unless I need to cut out Monster effects (which I'm most likely going to be doing with Photon Strike Bounzer or Effect Veiler anyway), I'll make Ouroboros to take another card from the opponent's hand instead.

I hope this clears up some questions that might have formed around this deck, especially since I unfortunately never got around to writing any others pieces about it.

Deck Analysis #25: Chaos Control

If there is one specific deck that the majority of people associate with the Traditional Format, it would be that widely and variably known as Cookie Cutter Chaos, Chaos Stun, Chaos Control, or any number of differing titles. While I have covered many, many Chaos variants (this is Traditional, after all, and one cannot deny the power of the archetype), I have been wholly unwilling to commit myself to the particular playstyle, it not being compatible to my own, necessary for a discussion here; furthermore, with so many players posting decklists of Chaos Control (which we will simply call it from now on) to the various message boards and other websites devoted to Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as, recently, the overabundance of such decks in my own tournament results, I have been starved of different approaches to showcase. However, after a brainwave a few weeks ago, in which a selection of lesser-used cards, one almost never-used, presented themselves to my mind, I began building, testing, rebuilding and retesting for a possible deck analysis. Here, we have the result, a decklist of Chaos Control highly stylised towards my personal predilections, focusing on some irregular yet powerful combinations.

 

As with any Chaos variant, the overall goal of the deck is extremely simple: place LIGHT and DARK Attribute Monsters into the Graveyard, use them to summon a Chaos Monster, finally attacking with said Chaos Monster. Beyond that, the possibilities are nigh endless: some use Lightsworn Monsters for drawing and extra attacking power; some Synchro Summon to create One-Turn-Knockouts; some play Destiny Heroes for more draws and any one of the huge number of other uses they present; and so on. Here, however, in pure Chaos Control, one is trying to do only a single, very simple thing: that is, trying to present, through the use of tech cards, a gamestate in which the opponent is unable to make optimal plays, or indeed any plays at all. Through employing a series of single, utility-based, control-centric Monsters, Spells and Traps, some of which are typically seen in Stun decks (hence the previously-mentioned name, Chaos Stun), this build of Chaos aims to slowly grind the opponent into a state of submission wherein one can summon a Chaos Monster to attack for game.

 

The Monsters: 16

 

3 Thunder King Rai-Oh

2 Tour Guide from the Under World

1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning

1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End

1 Dark Armed Dragon

1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

1 Magical Scientist

1 Cyber-Stein

1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander

1 Dark Magician of Chaos

1 Witch of the Black Forest

1 Sangan

1 Sinister Serpent

 

I shall begin by discussing the core of the control line-up found here within the list of Monsters. Firstly, we see a full set of Thunder King Rai-Oh, a card typically played in such decks; a first-turn Thunder King, with its high ATK and pair of effects, can be one of the most devastating plays imaginable in the Advanced Format, and Traditional is no different: its ability to prevent a long list of commonly-played cards from ever being activated – think here, Painful Choice, Toon Table of Contents, Witch of the Black Forest and Reinforcement of the Army, to name a few – as well as the further ability to negate Synchro Summons, Exceed Summons, Chaos Summons, etc., makes it a forbidding sight from the opposing side of the table. Furthermore, its status as a LIGHT Attribute Monster simply adds the icing to the cake, so to speak, since, upon eventual destruction (or tributing for its own effect), it becomes fodder for a Chaos Summon of one’s own.

 

From there, Tour Guide from the Underworld, played here in its now-allotted pair, comes in to control the game the old fashioned way – with high ATK. Access to Number 17: Leviathan Dragon and Number 30: Acid Golem give not only their ability to attack as most players know quite well, but also, though it may only appear a tiny nuance, their ability to prevent an opponent from committing to their own plays; such ATK as these two cards boast acts alike to a roadblock, a stop-sign, forcing the opponent to deal with them instead of executing the play they would rather make in order to advance their own game position. In addition to this, the Tour Guides also grant access to the Wind-Up Zenmaines from the Extra Deck, unleashing its extremely powerful effect, while also, if needed, having the possibility of bringing one’s Sangan to the field for a search.

 

To complete the core control-based Monster contingent, we have the single allowed copies of both Magical Scientist and Cyber-Stein. The former is undoubtedly the more powerful of the two, Special Summoning as it does a full field of threats at once: for example, one can bring out and overlay the three copies of Darkfire Dragon for Number 16: Shock Master, detaching a material to render one type of card useless during the opponent’s turn: or, one can bring out and overlay just two Level 4 Fusions for either the Number 39: Utopia, to negate attacks, or the Steelswarm Roach, to negate Special Summons (as with Thunder King); or, one can bring to the field and overlay the two copies of Flame Ghost for any of the Rank 3 Exceeds; or, indeed, one can accomplish any two or three of these summons at once. The Scientist is all about versatility, here, while the Cyber-Stein, not to be outdone or forgotten, grants the possibility of summoning Naturia Exterio, undoubtedly one of the most powerful options in the Traditional Format owing to the reliance on Spell Cards. Each, of course, can also summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict, as usual, if required.

 

The list of Monster Cards is completed by win conditions, general aiding and consistency options, or choices one might term ‘staples’: the two Envoys quite clearly check in, but as does Dark Armed Dragon – the deck is able to place enough DARK Attribute Monsters into the Graveyard for its summon, owing primarily to the Exceed mechanic, but, since it operates at a far slower pace than many others, also has to time to build that infrastructure required; Gorz the Emissary of Darkness prevents battle-based (and sometimes burn-based) One-Turn-Knockouts; Dark Magician of Chaos and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander turn Monster Reborn and Premature Burial into draw or Spell-retrieval cards; Sangan and Witch of Black Forest can search, depending upon which, for any Monster one might require save only a few; and Sinister Serpent becomes an easy inclusion when the deck packs so many discard-costed Spells and Traps (more on that in the following sections).

 

The Spells: 15

 

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Mirage of Nightmare

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Allure of Darkness

1 Painful Choice

1 Monster Reborn

1 Premature Burial

1 Raigeki

1 Harpie’s Feather Duster

1 Snatch Steal

1 The Forceful Sentry

1 Delinquent Duo

1 Confiscation

 

One will see taking centre stage in the above list of Spells the card alluded to in the introduction as ‘almost never-used’ – that is, Mirage of Nightmare. With so much of the strategy herein accomplished by simple cards which require very little or even no interaction whatsoever from others, there was a surplus of space to be found whilst designing the deck. This allowed me to lean far more towards my eccentric tendencies than usual, including a long list of cards that are so close yet so far from being viable, this example being the most singular one. Quite simply, Mirage of Nightmare has the potential to be absolutely amazing; since the deck can commit so many cards at once (a Monster, some hand control, and then some Traps), the opportunity to activate Mirage of Nightmare, draw four new cards, and then chain with Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying the Mirage in order to keep all cards drawn, was simply too tantalizing to pass up. That play is a plus two (+2) in card presence (not to mention the access to fresh options), which, when the opponent is already under constant pressure, can be devastating. Only two Mystical Space Typhoons have been included, for, while it is a decent choice in its own right, chaining to Imperial Order to force through Spells or pre-empting Ring of Destruction, I think it not quite good enough to warrant the third (space was not quite that surplus).

 

The remainder of the Spell Cards are all rather ordinary inclusions (more interesting choices emerge in the Trap line-up), and is a combination of regular additions for drawing, searching, summoning, and field and hand controlling: Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity sit alongside the only specific draw Spell, Allure Darkness, as a means to find new and/or extra options; Painful Choice comes in to set up the Graveyard for the entire game, as it does in most others, although I will admit that I was hard pressed to keep it here – with only three optimal targets, and combos few and far between, it is rather risky in my opinion, but it has been listed for this analysis; Monster Reborn and Premature Burial allow either the recovery of a needed Monster or potential plays with Dark Magician of Chaos and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander; Raigeki, Harpie’s Feather Duster and Snatch Steal all check in for their arguable status as the best of the ‘big six’ field control options (the other three being Dark Hole, Heavy Storm and Change of Heart); and, to round out the list, the full hand control suite is present and accounted for – the massive swings in advantage The Forceful Sentry, Delinquent Duo and Confiscation create, not only by removing powerful cards but also by the knowledge gained to play around others, has rightly been considered one of the most powerful effects in any Trading Card Game, not just Yu-Gi-Oh!, and are almost given additions to a control-centred deck.

 

The Traps: 6

 

2 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

1 Crush Card Virus

1 Imperial Order

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Trap Dustshoot

 

The selection of Traps round out the listed Main Deck by continuing its most prominent feature – the fact that cards one might ordinarily find in such a deck proudly sit beside others which very few people would have considered. Here, specifically, we see in the former category those three Traps which, through the past years of constructing and playing within the Traditional Format, I have found are the most consistently powerful in a battle-based strategy: Crush Card Virus and Ring of Destruction do so much in terms of controlling the field and hand that, when presented with the space (and, while considering the Virus, the Tribute potential), it would quite simply be a crime to omit them. Similarly (though, if possible, more so), Imperial Order is without a doubt the best Trap Card to open with, as I have alluded to many times before, for the ability it grants to shut down, more often than not, the opponent’s entire gameplan can easily be translated into a first-turn victory.

 

With these three obvious choices set in place, we discover then, as aforementioned, the final three cards occupying the realm of technically interesting. Owing to the speed at which Life Points are depleted within the Traditional Format (including, noticeable here, by the player’s own cards), as well as the need for chainable and versatile defence, I have long held the view that Phoenix Wing Wind Blast is a superior card to others we might use in its place (Solemn Warning, Bottomless Trap Hole and Dimensional Prison all spring to mind); the amount of possible discards, and even one that can be retrieved (Sinister Serpent), also aid in this decision. Moreover, the ability to further disrupt the opponent’s plays by placing the targeted card on top of their deck instead of destroying it, forcing them to redraw it a turn later, makes it preferable in my opinion to other, similar cards such as Raigeki Break. Finally, the list is completed by the single allowed copy of Trap Dustshoot, continuing the overall goal of control and the sub-goal of hand control by offering one more chance to remove a needed Monster from the opponent’s repertoire, also granting, as with the Spells discussed previously, important information as to further plays. 

 

+ 3 Tech cards

 

I have left the above decklist at only thirty-seven cards, allowing the last three slots to be chosen by the individual wishing to test the deck in their own environment. One might play a set of Effect Veiler, a set of Droll & Lock Bird, a set of Doomcaliber Knight, or any combination of such cards or others; it merely depends upon the specific circumstance.

 

The Extra Deck: 15

 

3 Darkfire Dragon

2 Karbonala Warrior

2 Flame Ghost

1 Thousand-Eyes Restrict

1 Naturia Exterio

1 Number 39: Utopia

1 Number 16: Shock Master

1 Steelswarm Roach

1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon

1 Number 30: Acid Golem

1 Wind-Up Zenmaines

 

The entirety of this list was discussed while talking earlier of Magical Scientist and Cyber-Stein; I record it here merely for reference purposes.

 

I stated quite plainly in the introduction, and then alluded to many times throughout the remainder of the analysis, that the deck herein was a build of Chaos Control heavily modified to suite my own penchants – that it contained many of the commonplaces of the strategy intermingled with more unconventional choices, choices which may not be considered up to scratch by some. Obviously I disagree with this latter notion; while there are undoubtedly bad cards, ones which should never under any circumstances be played in a competitive environment, there also exists a lazy attitude by subpar players towards making that decision (or the reverse) for themselves. It is my fervent position that such risks need to be taken in order to fully understand the intricacies of deck architecture and construct the fastest, most powerful, most consistent decks imaginable. Through this desire for understanding, I have come to present this wholly unusual control-based Chaos strategy which arguably has the potential to outstrip the norms in terms of speed, power, consistency, potential plays and versatility of plays, while never sacrificing, for the most part, the stability of a simple, single card-oriented deck. Such would not be possible without observing what other people are saying about particular decks and individual cards, and then saying to oneself: “I think that’s wrong”; “That could be better”; or “I’d like to try that and see if it really works”. There is no harm in trying, and sometimes the results are worth it.

Deck Analysis #22: Painful Choice.dek

There is not the shadow of a doubt in my mind that, were I to conduct a survey of the player base, putting forth the question: “What single card do you consider to be the most powerful?” – many a person should answer in return that either Pot of Greed or Graceful Charity occupy that most coveted position. And why should they not? I hardly disagree; the two mentioned Spell Cards most often turn, single-handedly, a dead hand into a playable one, and with no cost (in terms of the former) or occasionally very little cost (in terms of the latter – that is, to clarify, one having to discard options that one would rather have kept). However, when analysing the immense potential for Graveyard-abusing strategies within the game of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and when constructing such amazing decks, I find the top honour must be instead bestowed upon Painful Choice, rather than the previous two: the sheer amount of set-up possible from activating only the single Spell Card is unparalleled, and, though it does not, on its own, grant the drawing of further cards (which is, of course, an all-important aspect to the Traditional Format), it does, assuming an even remotely acceptable hand, facilitate the long and powerful list of combo plays necessary to such a deck – it is almost always the best card to draw.

With this fact in mind, I set myself some time ago about constructing a deck that could take the amazing capabilities that Painful Choice could render in what we might term a normal Traditional Format meta deck (that is, one with, say, five or six prime targets for the Spell Card, a usual number), and then amplify it well beyond anything previously imagined. While some people might argue that to do such a thing is not possible within a consistent strategy, and subsequently question the project, I myself was not perturbed, for I quickly realised that the extra Graveyard-based Monster Cards would give the deck access to an additional retinue of discard-costed draw cards, thus increasing consistency and speed by granting a use to those otherwise dead cards. Now, while I was not able to remove the entirety of the inconsistency issues from the deck (a feat which is, for the most part, impossible even in a standard deck), the majority of them have been allayed, and, despite the possibility to still draw a completely useless hand on occasion, the end result is something that I am very pleased with. So, without further ado, I present Painful Choice.dek!

The Monsters: 18

3 Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
2 Necro Gardna
2 Destiny Hero – Malicious
1 Destiny Hero – Dasher
1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
1 Dark Magician of Chaos
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Glow-up Bulb
1 Morphing Jar
1 Cyber Jar

Now, I did mention, before, that a standard number of prime targets for Painful Choice would be around five or six; here, however, there is an almost unheard of twelve. With this vastly increased number of possible dead draws, the deck needed to be constructed accordingly. This meant including cards which would be able to function in such a way so as to either aid those dead draws in becoming live, or simply exchange those dead draws for other cards. The final product, therefore, is a delicate balance between Painful Choice targets, cards which in some way help that specific strategy, and a relatively small but essential selection of the obvious power cards. I shall discuss these groups in that order.

To begin the immense assortment of prime targets for the eponymous Spell Card – that is, those cards which one, if given a complete, uninhibited access to the deck, would choose above all others – we find arguably the most interesting cards of the lot: a full set of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast. With Painful Choice, once the opponent has made their decision, sending the remaining cards to the Graveyard (and, therefore, directly thither from the deck), the effect of Wulf will trigger to Special Summon itself to the field; not only does this give simply a (or many) free, high-ATK Monsters, but also Monsters with which to create Exceed or Synchro combos. While it is undoubtedly the worst card of the entire deck to draw (being that, aside from discarding it for a draw card, Wulf is completely useless in the hand), the payoff is most definitely worth the risk. From there, a pair of Necro Gardna is included, simply for their amazing ability to stop required attacks, while also regulating the number of DARK Attribute Monsters in the Graveyard (a point I will elaborate on more in due time). There are followed then by the Tuners, Plaguespreader Zombie and Glow-up Bulb, each for their ability to be Special Summoned from the Graveyard in order to initiate Synchro Summon potential. Finally, before I move into a rather more specific suite of cards within this category, we find the single allowed copy of Dark Magician of Chaos, whose combo potential is, quite simply, second to none.

To complete the grouping of Painful Choice targets, while at the same time forming, synergistically as it does, the backbone of the drawing engine (and, therefore, the entire strategy), a set of Destiny Hero Monsters has been included. Not only do these cards – that is, Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, Destiny Hero – Dasher, and a pair of Destiny Hero – Malicious – round out this list, bringing the count of prime targets to the aforementioned twelve, they can all be discarded for Destiny Draw (or, for that matter, any of the other discard-costed draw Spells the deck runs), thereby facilitating the immensely fast, consistent movement through the deck that is possible in the modern Traditional Format. Each, of course, also brings their own use to the deck once loaded into the Graveyard: Malicious acts as Synchro or Tribute material; Disk Commander draws two further cards upon its Special Summon from the Graveyard; and Dasher allows the Special Summon of any Monster drawn during the Draw Phase – an effect which crosses into the second category of cards by turning a potentially dead Wulf into a live top-deck.

There exists, at this point in the analysis, the need to point out the degree of care one must exercise when activating one’s single copy of Painful Choice. With so many possible targets, each of which brings a completely different purpose to the strategy, it is essential for one to consider from every single angle the best course of action to take when presented with the Spell Card. One must consider the remaining contents of the hand, the remaining contents of the deck, the contents of the field (and the opponent’s side as well as one’s own), the contents of both Graveyards should they already be built up, the strategy the opponent is piloting, as well as the almost endless number of possible outcomes to an equally endless number of plays. The card requires an immense level of knowledge and skill to successfully play here, effectively becoming a painful choice for the pilot as well as the opponent.

We come, thence, to the second group of cards – the ones which help the deck function smoothly by granting some sort of use to the large amount of otherwise useless cards. Although we find only two here, both are essential, for each boasts an effect that can single-handedly turn a hand of dead cards into a set of amazing options. Morphing Jar, while inarguably the less powerful of the two, allows one to dump these Graveyard-based cards for fresh ones, thus fulfilling two purposes at the same time. Cyber Jar, on the other hand, allows one to keep the initial hand, only supplementing it along with the distinct possibility of Special Summoning copies of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, amongst other things. Should one find oneself with a less than favourable hand, resolving a single Jar can be game-breaking; one might argue (and argue convincingly, I might add) that this would be rather difficult in the Traditional Format, but I find the risk, once again, to be worth the payoff.

Finally, the Monster Cards are completed as we discuss the final section of the tripartite list. With the vast array of LIGHT and DARK Attribute Monsters, both of the Envoys and Dark Armed Dragon become obvious inclusions. With the speed at which the deck can move through itself, all the while placing the required Monsters into the Graveyard (and, for the condition of Dark Armed, regulating those Attributes), one is able to Special Summon them with relative speed and consistency. The deck is already capable of creating an enormous field, but these three cards put the icing on the cake, so to speak, and can easily be discarded for draw Spells if they are not needed.

The Spells: 19

3 Hand Destruction
2 Destiny Draw
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Card Destruction
1 Painful Choice
1 Foolish Burial
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Monster Reborn
1 Premature Burial
1 Dimension Fusion
1 One for One
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Snatch Steal
1 Raigeki

It has been mentioned many a time, thus far, that the deck includes a series of options intended to turn the unavoidable dead draws of such a strategy into live options, but the list of Monster Cards contained very few; here, however, we find this statement played out to the highest degree. A full three copies of Hand Destruction, backed up by the single allowed copy of Card Destruction and the already staple copy of Graceful Charity, give the pilot a total of five cards that exchange these otherwise useless Monsters for new options, discarding the Graveyard-based cards for future combos while also sifting through the deck at break-neck speed. We will also discover the single allowed copies of both Foolish Burial and One for One, each granting even more uses again for these potential dead draws by, in the former case, sending them from the deck to the Graveyard (achieving, in this way, a miniature Painful Choice effect), or, in the latter case, discarding one in order to Special Summon another from the deck to the field. One will most often find Foolish Burial being used in conjunction with Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, although it can of course search any Monster one wishes; whereas, on the other hand, One for One will almost exclusively be used to grant access to Glow-up Bulb, although, again, the card does have another, if far less desirable, option (that is, Destiny Hero – Disk Commander).

From there, the Spell line-up is filled out by mostly obvious choices that require little justification: Pot of Greed, Allure of Darkness and Reinforcement of the Army complete the Destiny Hero-centred draw engine by either drawing cards or searching for draw card targets; Monster Reborn, Premature Burial and Dimension Fusion come in as both potential draw cards (that is, by reviving the Disk Commander or the Dark Magician of Chaos) or ways to create extra Synchro or Exceed material; and the usual slimmed-down field control suite of Harpie’s Feather Duster, Snatch Steal and Raigeki give individually powerful options when required. Although termed ‘obvious choices’, it is essential to note these cards, for, while each is mostly considered as such, their presence helps to balance the deck by cushioning the possible damage from dead draws, or merely just adding that extra level of consistency. There is no point playing a hugely powerful combo deck if it has the distinct possibility of drawing useless card after useless card.

The Traps: 3

1 Imperial Order
1 Crush Card Virus
1 Ring of Destruction

As is almost always the case, Trap Cards are generally shunned in favour of faster cards that can specifically contribute to the central win condition. However, in relation to the statement concluding the previous paragraph, it is necessary here to include a group of Traps that will be able to give the pilot better hands across the overall gamestate, in so doing creating a more consistent strategy in the long run. With the build pretty much packed solid, though, we find only the most powerful options possible included here: Imperial Order and Crush Card Virus can each single-handedly win games if played correctly, for both in their own distinct way has the ability to control an opponent’s moves; and, as has been known for many years now, although the destruction is, of course, a welcome aspect, the burn damage of Ring of Destruction is of immense usefulness.

The Extra Deck: 15

1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Thought Ruler Archfiend
1 Dark Strike Fighter
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Armory Arm
1 Formula Synchron

With the fifteen card limit straining the contents of the Extra Deck more and more as each new booster set is released, the ability to construct this aspect of the complete deck is becoming increasingly important. Here, with the vast amount of possible plays, versatility is prized most of all, thus resulting in fifteen single cards. To begin with, a pair of Rank 4 Exceeds (that is, Number 39: Utopia and Steelswarm Roach) is included due to their ease of access thanks to Wulf, Lightsworn Beast combos. We go from there into a huge toolbox of the most powerful, most flexible Synchros possible: Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier for its amazing ability to remove possible threats from an opponent’s hand, field and Graveyard simultaneously; Stardust Dragon and Thought Ruler Archfiend for protection in the myriad potential gamestates; Colossal Fighter and Goyo Guardian for, not only their effects, but also their sheer size; Scrap Dragon, Ally of Justice Catastor and Black Rose Dragon for their invaluable destruction effects; Dark Strike Fighter for the distinct opportunity to end a game on the spot; Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier for Premature Burial combos and its field-clearing effect; T.G. Hyper Librarian and Formula Synchron for their draw effects; and Armory Arm for, although it is rather useless sometimes, it quite often proves itself to be of immense value in creating larger, more complicated combos as a passing summon (that is, a Synchro Summon to then initiate more Synchro Summons). Every card here has been chosen for its usefulness across the widest possible scope of situations, with each also being unproblematic to summon by means only found within this deck.

When thinking to myself of win conditions, there are two primary ways in which a deck can be constructed: the first is to build around a central combination of cards, or a set of synergistic combos, ensuring that the strategy functions most efficaciously towards achieving those manoeuvres – for example, the Dimension Fusion Loop; and the second is to build around a key card, one which can, by the merits of its effect alone, create victory, ensuring, again, that the strategy ameliorates such. The latter is what I have done here, and, while purists might argue that to construct a deck around a single card – and, furthermore, a single card that we can only use one copy of – would be folly, and would not constitute the deck being named after it, I find I must disagree; when the single card in question has the aforementioned quality of a win condition, as Painful Choice does, it most definitely deserves to be the eponymous card. To build such a deck, one must simply fill the strategy according to its needs, which means, here, finding other possible uses for dead Painful Choice targets when they are inevitably drawn, a feat which has been done by including suites of both discard-costed draw Spells, to exchange the dead draws for other cards, and options to turn the dead draws into live options. Not only does this address the consistency issue, but it also creates an immense speed at the same time, something that is, on the whole, never a bad thing in the Traditional Format.

Deck Essay #20: French Twilight

“It is not very often that we, as Traditional Format players, are given a Limited List in which something has changed to significantly, if at all, affect our game-play... This is quite sad, for... there are some decks which, should they be only given slightly eased restrictions on one or two cards, would prosper... However, I am glad to say that this latest Limited List... has provided for Traditional, giving several decks another chance of competing in this amazing format.” – and so I wrote in my last deck essay. The sentiment is quite obviously true, although it would be mostly meaningless if I failed to back it up, at least to some degree, with more examples of the new, prosperous times afforded by the September Limited Lists. Here, now, therefore, I shall do so, exploring the Lightsworn-based deck known as French Twilight, which is, as aforementioned, made plausible by eased restrictions on key cards (namely, those on Tragoedia and Necro Gardna). While I have, in the past, utilized the Lightsworn engine (and, in at least one case, done so to great effect), this exploration of the theme will be wholly disparate; for, here, I shall be including, as per conventional French Twilight deck architecture, many more Lightsworn Monsters than previously in order to accommodate Judgment Dragon – a very welcome addition.

French Twilight is a variation of the deck formerly known simply as ‘Twilight’, a strategy combining the Lightsworn archetype with DARK Attribute Monsters in order that cards alike to Dark Armed Dragon and, in the Advanced Format, Chaos Sorcerer, can intermingle with the already present Judgment Dragon, creating a mass of overwhelming and, most importantly, synergistic, win conditions. The deck was piloted to a victorious showing at Shonen Jump Championship Columbus in 2009, done so by French premier player Vincent Ralambomiadana, hence the name. Of course, constructing the deck within the Traditional Format, as I will be doing, will afford more speed, more power and, as a result, more efficiency in reaching its end goal. Such is, quite clearly, to create live copies of Judgment Dragon, Chaos Monsters and Dark Armed Dragon as quickly as possible, although, as one might expect, the deck is very capable of filling the gap between drawing its first six cards, and subsequently Special Summoning huge Monsters for game, with the smaller, intermediate plays necessary to make the most of inevitable bad hands. The result is a deck with immense capabilities in speed, power and versatility, if unfortunately a little inconsistent at the same time.

The Monsters: 24

3 Judgment Dragon
3 Wulf, Lightsworn Beast
2 Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior
2 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress
2 Necro Gardna
2 Tragoedia
1 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner
1 Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid
1 Jain, Lightsworn Paladin
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Dark Magician of Chaos
1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Honest

I think that last thought is worthy of some further exposition. There is no doubt that French Twilight contains all of those previously mentioned faculties (that is, speed, power, efficiency, versatility), but I would never attempt to hide the fact that it does suffer from an inconsistency otherwise unseen, for the most part, amongst the Top Tiers of the Traditional Format. This is simply due to the Monster/Spell/Trap ratio that is essential during construction, and is, unfortunately, unavoidable. I have done what I can, with the build herein, to allay this problem as much as possible, forgoing some generally accepted options (most of which are Monster Cards) in favour of a more stable line-up, but, in truth, this quandary can never be fully allayed.

To begin with, the deck is, as has already been stated, very heavy in the Lightsworn aspect. Firstly, I have made the possibly somewhat questionable decision to include a full set of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast; many players have shied away from such a devotion to the card, but, in the Traditional Format, one will find not only extra uses for dead copies but also a quicker access to the freely Special Summoned copies, as well. Next, two copies of each Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior and Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress find their usefulness by, with the former, granting extra card sifting (and, in especial, during opening turn plays) and, with the latter, in extra Spell and Trap removal. Finally, single copies if Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid and Jain, Lightsworn Paladin round out the line-up of Lightsworn, being included for the following reasons: the first, only allowable at this one copy, boasts the amazing ability to revive fallen Lightsworn, adding an ever-useful element to not only the initial set-up stage, but also to the final, game-ending stage; the middle, which is, I will admit, a somewhat capricious inclusion, has the ability to prevent some lesser thought of powerful options in this format, such as Ring of Destruction, Change of Heart and the like, when a Lightsworn Monster is involved in such a fray; and the last is simply included for its ATK score and name – nothing too complicated in this last instance.

With the relatively vast array of Lightsworn Monsters, a full three copies of Judgment Dragon have been included. While many players, again in the Advanced Format, have shied away from doing so, I think it is something to be embraced in Traditional; the format offers us a far greater access to the card, and, more importantly, a far greater facilitation for its summon. In short, they will seldom be useless, here. Alongside the other synergistic win condition Monsters, namely Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning and Dark Armed Dragon, we are presented with an amazing opportunity for six huge Monsters in a single deck, all of which are complimented by the general architecture, and thus very rarely dead weight.

From there, a retinue of DARK Attribute support is included, thus fleshing out the Twilight theme. Tragoedia, the innovation of French Twilight – that is, the card which transforms the standard Twilight deck into that of the French variety – is quite obviously included at its newly allowed two copies. The Monster, of clearly being of the necessary Attribute, functions in such a way so as to act as both an offense and a defence at the same time: the offensive capabilities are of interest here since it allows a transition phase, or an intermediate phase, if you will, between the set-up and the execution of the primary win condition – a chance for one to attack when one is not yet ready to launch the final assault; and the defensive capabilities are clearly of note when regarding a deck which only contains a very few Trap Cards (this particular build, in fact, contains only one). The allowed two copies of Necro Gardna, permissible by their ability to easily be sent to the Graveyard by the inherent milling effect of the Lightsworn, are also included for this latter reason.

Dark Magician of Chaos, Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Plaguespreader Zombie complete the DARK Attribute suite by acting as excellent cards when sent to the Graveyard (which, of course, happens very quickly here), not only in terms of their Attributes but also their effects: the former two, upon being revived, help so much in allowing further deck sifting through either drawing more cards or, in the case of the Magician, retrieving a Spell Card to then draw more cards (thus doing so indirectly); while the latter, the single allowed copy of Plaguespreader Zombie, gives the deck access to Synchro Monsters, thus affording, when needed, the creation of large Monsters from the Extra Deck. You will note, however, after the mention of this card, the absence of Glow-up Bulb. While it is no doubt an amazing card, functioning as it does as a free Tuner, Special Summoned from the Graveyard once, being neither DARK nor a Lightsworn plays against its inclusion here. I needed, to put it simply, the room for another, more desirable card.

Finally, the single allowed copy of Honest completes the Monster line-up, granting that chance to protect a smaller LIGHT Attribute Monster from battle, and, of course, the threat of doing so weighing heavily on an opponent’s mind when conducting their Battle Phase.

The Spells: 15

3 Solar Recharge
3 Monster Reincarnation
1 Pot of Greed
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Graceful Charity
1 Painful Choice
1 Charge of the Light Brigade
1 Monster Reborn
1 Premature Burial
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Raigeki

To be completely honest, there is very little complication to discuss with regards to the Twilight deck. The strategy draws many cards, sends even more cards to the Graveyard, and then drops multiple large Monsters in a single turn to claim victory – that is all. For this reason, as well as the plethora of Monster Cards which require, at the very least, mentioning, the Spell line-up needs only a short discourse. We can split the list of Spell Cards into two general categories, the first being drawing and searching, and the second being general support. One will notice that one, the first, by far outweighs the other, the second. This is for the reason that, in this archetype, the Monsters ‘do the talking’, so to speak. In other words, they realize everything the deck must accomplish, and in so doing only require a small amount of help from other types of cards.

Within the first category, we have, in terms of options for drawing additional cards, a full complement of the Lightsworn-specific draw Spell, Solar Recharge, backed up by Pot of Greed, Allure of Darkness, and Graceful Charity. Each one aids in the instant sifting of cards necessary in this format, with the first and last particularly furthering the strategy by loading cards into the Graveyard which need to be thither. The draw Spells are then backed up by a group of searching cards, namely Painful Choice and Charge of the Light Brigade, both of which have the amazing ability of also helping to set up the Graveyard for future use, and a full three copies of Monster Reincarnation. Now, I have termed this latter card a ‘searcher’ due to the fact that the deck, by its very nature, sends a massive amount of cards to the Graveyard, and is typically neither selective nor careful about doing so, burying, quite often, its win condition Monsters; Monster Reincarnation, therefore, becomes necessary to retrieve said cards, and, in effect (taking into account the speed of the strategy) searching cards from the Graveyard. This Spell has been chosen over the arguably more powerful Beckoning Light for the simple consideration of instantaneous use.

Within the second category, one will find only four cards: the single allowed copies of Raigeki, Harpie’s Feather Duster, Monster Reborn and Premature Burial. The former two are quite obvious and need little justification, and the latter two are much the same. I will, however, before I continue, note that I have lumped Monster Reborn and Premature Burial into the category of ‘general support’ because they don’t, in actual fact, present any specialised use to the deck; while they may bring such to other strategies, such as Synchro-based decks, or ones abusing Dark Magician of Chaos and the like in order to create combos, there is no such employment to be found here. Indeed, the deck does run Dark Magician of Chaos and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, but I have included them on a more as-needed basis, and there would be no problem, I think, in playing without them in this instance.

The Traps: 1

1 Crush Card Virus

With thirty-nine cards already mentioned and accounted for, and my unspeakable anguish at having to construct a deck with anything more than forty cards, it should come as no surprise that there is only a single Trap Card. With regards to instances where a single Trap Card is involved, as I have done before, there are an overwhelming number of options as to what could rightly fill the spot: Imperial Order is the obvious choice, being so incredible as it is in shutting down, more often than not, an opponents’ entire strategy, and Ring of Destruction grants spot removal and a chance to finish a game instantaneously. For the subject of this particular essay, however, I have decided to go with Crush Card Virus, for the simple reason that the cards is too amazing to pass up when given the distinct chance to play it. An opponent without any large Monsters is often an opponent with nothing to do, clearing the path for a shot at game very quickly.

It must be said, I think, that, while I am most often and most vehemently a supporter of strategies very specific to the Traditional Format (that is, ones that, due to the simple fact of the deck existing not at all within the Advanced Format, by means of the necessity of Forbidden cards for proper or better functioning), the French Twilight deck, and, indeed, the standard Twilight deck, presents very little in the way of differences between the two aspects of gameplay; this is, no doubt, due in large part to the vast number of cards essential to its core structure, and which, by no means, can be removed, leaving only a small amount of additional support in terms of cards either exclusive to the Traditional Format, or made plausible by it. However, that being said, I find that there is almost no consequence to speak of here. As was noted in the introduction, the deck already boasts high levels of speed and power, which are, to be sure, the two prerequisites necessary for successful performance in this format, and the movement here simply amplifies, by way of the few additions one is able to make, these aspects. By doing so, although, as also aforementioned, it suffers from slightly more inconsistency than others I would myself consider to be Top Tier, a deck capable of enormous potential is created. For only a small foray into the strategy, as I do with these deck essays, I am very much impressed.

Deck Essay #19: TeleMonk

It is not very often that we, as Traditional Format players, are given a Limited List in which something has changed to significantly, if at all, affect our game-play; for example, the constant jumping to and fro of cards between Forbidden status and Limited status (such as, just lately, Heavy Storm and Dark Hole have been doing) has no bearing whatsoever in this aspect of the game, and the Limiting of cards like Book of Moon is very much the equivalent. This is quite sad, for, while there are indeed an enormous amount of possibilities within the card pool already present, there are some decks which, should they be only given slightly eased restrictions on one or two cards, would prosper, adding an even greater range of options for deck strategies. I am glad to say, though, that this latest Limited List (that is, for all those reading this essay at a later date, September 2011) has provided for Traditional, giving several decks another chance of competing in this amazing format. For the subject of this discussion, I will be exploring one such deck which, owing to the newly Semi-Limited status of two essential cards, is now playable once again in the Top Tier: I am talking about the Synchro-based strategy known as TeleMonk.

The win condition of the TeleMonk deck can be clearly defined through the unravelling of its name: such is an amalgamation of the two primary Synchro generating engines utilized therein, those being Psychics (with Emergency Teleport) and Summoner Monk. Running, as is most often the case in the vast DARK Synchro sub-archetype, upon a Destiny Hero backbone, the TeleMonk deck uses the aforementioned engines to create a game-ending swarm of Synchro Monsters as quickly as possible, most often by the pilot’s first or second turn. The strategy was a natural progression of the infamous Emergency Teleport Dark Armed Dragon deck, better known by its own portmanteau, TeleDAD, after rolling changes to the March 2009 Forbidden and Limited Lists all but knocked it out of contention. While TeleMonk hasn’t been seen in the Advanced Format since this time, the increased card pool of the Traditional Format, as well as the newly Semi-Limited status of Summoner Monk and Destiny Draw, sheds light on its potential as a top contender in competitive play.

The Monsters: 19

2 Summoner Monk
2 Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts
2 Krebons
2 Destiny Hero – Malicious
1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander
1 Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Dark Magician of Chaos
1 Plaguespreader Zombie
1 Mind Master
1 Cyber Jar
1 Dark Grepher

I will concede that the above list of Monster Cards appears somewhat random and is, to be perfectly honest, rather ugly to behold. While I would never attempt to hide the fact that the deck can, on the occasion, draw a completely useless opening hand, underlying the unsightliness of the decklist is a strategy of immense power, speed and versatility. To put this into perspective, it must be acknowledged that every deck is capable of drawing dead hands, and that such usually correct themselves within a couple of draws. Some special considerations have also been made to help correct these instances.

To begin with, I shall expound upon the three individual engines being run here. The first is the Destiny Heroes, which will function as both a draw engine and a non-Tuner generator: the pair of Destiny Hero – Malicious cards fulfil the latter, with their six Levels combining with the Psychic engine to create Level Seven and Level Eight Synchro Monsters; while Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude both fulfil the former, with each one being able to sift through extra cards. Diamond Dude is one of the special inclusions I have made here, as opposed to Destiny Hero – Fear Monger, Destiny Hero – Plasma or Destiny Hero – Dasher (all of which would be viable choices), for it gives the player an option during a dead hand situation. Furthermore (and, of course, to mention the central reason for their use), each of these Monsters is also compatible with Destiny Draw, the four Destiny Heroes (along with Elemental Hero Stratos and Reinforcement of the Army to search for them) making the perfect ratio of discard targets to the two allowed copies of the Spell Card.

Next, we come to the two Synchro generation engines, the strategy’s namesake cards. Firstly, to the Psychics: two copies of Krebons, along with the single allowed copy of Mind Master, have been included. By pairing these Tuners with any other Monster Card herein, one will be able to access anything from a Level Two to a Level Nine Synchro Monster, thus creating the most versatile toolbox of effects and power cards imaginable. The decision to include Mind Master, a card not commonly associated with a mere Psychic engine, grants access here to not only Formula Synchron (and the extra draw it provides), but also a LIGHT Attribute for the Chaos Monsters. Secondly, the two allowed copies of Summoner Monk, accompanied by their corresponding two copies of Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts, round out the engines by giving quick and easy access to Level Eight and, with some help, Level Nine, Synchro Monsters, which are of course the most powerful. Again, the strange, or rather uncommon, choice of Guldfaxe over Rose, Warrior of Revenge has been made in order to accommodate Chaos; these changes are so minimal and synergistic, and Chaos so obviously powerful, that these were simple decisions to make.

From there the Monster line-up is fleshed out by a plethora of cards to either assist in the setting up of combos, or assist in the overall large attacking turn. Cyber Jar, Dark Grepher and Dark Magician of Chaos fall into the first category by sifting through extra cards, by Special Summoning, in at least some fashion, more Monsters to the field with which to perform a Synchro Summon, or by setting up or reusing the Graveyard. The second category is made up of Plaguespreader Zombie, which acts as another, highly synergistic Level Two Tuner, both Chaos Monsters, Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, as well as Dark Armed Dragon. Each card of these two categories present the pilot with the versatile options necessary when running a slightly inconsistent combo-based deck, doing so much to alleviate dead hands and either facilitate the creation of the central win condition, or stand in for it altogether.

I will just take a moment, if I may, to mention one factor essential to the proper playing of TeleMonk. Due to the large number of cards which can, in some or most instances, require one’s Normal Summon, one must prioritize the use of this single mechanic as carefully as possible. Realistically, one might find it necessary, in order to accomplish appropriate moves depending on the opening hand, to Normal Summon Elemental Hero Stratos, Dark Grepher, Cyber Jar, a copy of Summoner Monk, or any one of the many Tuners herein. This is something to be careful of, for there is very little, if any, margin for error in the Traditional Format.

The Spells: 18

2 Destiny Draw
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Card Destruction
1 Painful Choice
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Monster Reborn
1 Premature Burial
1 Dimension Fusion
1 Emergency Teleport
1 Last Will
1 Change of Heart
1 Snatch Steal
1 Brain Control
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Raigeki

While it is very common for decks in the Traditional Format to run a plethora of Spell Cards, the TeleMonk deck finds such to be a necessity, for, not only does it require the ability to sift through itself as any other strategy would, it also needs the ability to discard extra Spell Cards for Summoner Monk. For this reason, several options have been included that are, while not interfering with the basic functioning of the deck, redundant (and, therefore, not needed) in some situations. A prime example is the three Monster theft cards, as opposed to only one or two.

I shall begin the discussion of the Spell Cards by completing the engines, or, rather, the two engines that have specific cards here. The Destiny Hero engine is rounded out by the inclusion of the two copies of Destiny Draw, along with the single allowed copies of both Allure of Darkness and Reinforcement of the Army. With this suite of cards in place, one has access to the fastest possible movement through the deck while still, at the same time, maintaining consistency and versatility. This is the reason Destiny Heroes see so much play in the DARK School, and why I, personally, am such an advocate of them being Top Tier in the Traditional Format. Finally, the single allowed copy of Emergency Teleport finishes the Psychic engine by allowing the Special Summon of any of the three Psychics, at any given time. While most people would argue that having only a single Emergency Teleport discounts the card from being mentioned in the deck’s name, I would counter by saying that it is an integral part to the strategy, and thus is warranted; with the Normal Summon more often than not going to Elemental Hero Stratos, Dark Grepher or Summoner Monk, the ability of Emergency Teleport to Special Summon a Tuner is extremely important.

Thence, the remainder of the Spell Cards, some staple and some otherwise, are split into three categories: the first being gaining more cards; the second being Special Summoning Monsters with which to Synchro; and the third being controlling the opponent. To begin with, the first category contains Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, Card Destruction and Painful Choice, with each one either drawing cards or setting up the Graveyard for combos – Graceful Charity and Card Destruction achieving both at the same time. Next, the second category contains not only the usual suspects of Monster Reborn, Premature Burial and Dimension Fusion, but also the oft-overlooked Last Will, which recognises an amazing potential is Synchro-based strategies by Special Summoning, after one has sent a Monster to the Graveyard, such as in a Synchro Summon, either a Tuner or a non-Tuner with which to perform another. One will most often find, in this case, a copy of Summoner Monk being one’s target, for it can act as both at the same time. Lastly, the final category contains five of the most powerful field control cards ever printed: Change of Heart, Snatch Steal, Brain Control, Harpie’s Feather Duster and Raigeki. The latter two are, for the most part, obvious, but the former three have been chosen specifically, instead of other options (namely Heavy Storm and Dark Hole), for their ability to control the opponent’s field while also creating a Monster with which to Synchro – an almost unfair advantage.

The Traps: 3

1 Imperial Order
1 Crush Card Virus
1 Ring of Destruction

There is ultimately very little room to include Trap Cards, and, to be honest, very few options I would ever consider playing, anyway. The three cards included here, however, make their way into the deck for being inarguably the most powerful control-based Traps in the game, and so special consideration is made for them. Imperial Order, Crush Card Virus and Ring of Destruction all have the most wide-reaching effects possible, and require little justification, save possibly Crush Card Virus, which is allowable due to the high number of suitable tributes for its cost (seven in total).

The Extra Deck: 15

1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Mist Wurm
2 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Dark End Dragon
1 Dark Strike Fighter
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Armory Arm
1 Formula Synchron

With the deck having almost unparalleled access to any Level of Sycnrho Monster imaginable, the Extra Deck has been built accordingly. The most powerful and versatile options from all level ranges have been included here, making almost any situation that may present itself during a game a winnable one. For the Level Nines, I have decided to include both Mist Wurm and Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, as opposed to only the latter, for the added versatility through a range of game positions. In the way of Level Eights, we have Stardust Dragon, included at two copies, for its ability to negate destruction (which is an all too common occurrence in the Traditional Format); Colossal Fighter for its sheer size when attempting to go for game; and both Scrap Dragon for the costed destruction of any card, along with Dark End Dragon for the free removal of any Monster, again diversifying options. For the Level Sevens, we have Dark Strike Fighter for its capacity to burn away the last few Life Points one could not attack through; and Black Rose Dragon to reset the field should the opponent gain the upper hand.

Continuing, we have, in the way of Level Six Synchro Monsters, the ever important Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier to clear an opponent’s board, if only temporarily, and also for the distinct ability to create Special Summon loops with Premature Burial (for the Monster attached to Premature Burial, when the Spell Card is bounced to the hand, is not destroyed); and Goyo Guardian for high ATK points and its Monster theft effect. For Level Fives, I have included T.G. Hyper Librarian, which can draw more cards upon the repeated Synchro Summons the deck is capable of; and Ally of Justice Catastor as a lynchpin against non-DARK strategies. Finally, the Level 4 Armory Arm most often functions as a go-between, a Monster summoned in order to facilitate the further summoning of bigger Monsters, but can, on occasion, be used itself; and Formula Synchron, which can be made through Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Mind Master, allows the drawing of an extra card, and subsequently another Tuner. These explanations of the extra deck are quite short and concise, but little else is required; every card here is, to put it simply, the most powerful options possible.

Having discussed the reasoning behind every card included in my build in TeleMonk, as well as giving some insight into how the deck should be played, I now find myself in need of a conclusion. I am very thankful that this deck is again playable in competition, for, with the speed and myriad options at its disposal, it has a fantastic potential in the modern Traditional Format, and I have spent a large amount of time studying its intricacies in order to come up with this particular build, and many others along the way – some without Chaos, others more control oriented with Necro Gardna, etc., but I believe this version to be the best. Through a Destiny Hero draw engine and a surplus of Special Summon effects, the deck is able to create a full field of Synchro Monsters, backed up by a Chaos Monster or Dark Armed Dragon, by the end of the very first turn and still have cards left in the hand to spare. While TeleMonk, by its very core idea of combining three engines, two of them being Synchro generators, can present some inconsistency, perhaps more so than other decks from the DARK School (or, more specifically, the DARK Synchro sub-archetype), it should not be discounted, I feel, for this small shortcoming. It is still highly consistent, and a few tweaks, no doubt, could make it even more so. I only hope, possibly in vain, that future Limited Lists are more lenient.

Deck Essay #18: Chaos Monarchs

Within the Traditional Format, there is, due to the vastly increased number of options permissible by additional cards unavailable in Advanced, some strategies which, while fallen out of favour in this latter format, are still very much alive and well – this is true, and is something I have noted many times. However, not only do specific, famous decks become playable, but individual engines also discover extra potential here; and, with Magician of Faith being not only a legal card, but also a highly playable card in the Traditional Format (a format governed, for all intensive purposes, by Spell Cards, to which the Magician extends its ever useful recursion effect), Apprentice Magician is no doubt one such engine. Wishing to explore, as I do, this amazing format in the greatest depth possible, I have come to this facet as my next port of call, so to speak, following classical conventions to reconstruct a deck which has not, to the best of my knowledge, seen the light of day for quite some years now: I am talking, of course, about the Apprentice Monarch deck.

I must first declare that it was, of course, by no vast stretch of the imagination that I arrived at Monarchs as a suitable win condition to pair with the Apprentice Magician engine. However, I was very quickly clued in to the fact that there was also the potential for the addition of an extra, supplementary set of powerful Monsters; this possibility struck me from almost the very first instance, when I no less noticed, in the very early stages of testing, that Apprentice Magician, a DARK Attribute Monster, searches the deck for Magician of Faith, a LIGHT Attribute Monster. It was then that more and still more support for the inclusion of Chaos Monsters began to reveal itself to me, and that I continued to postulate not only the distinct opportunity to create a deck playing two synergistic win conditions, but moreover the distinct opportunity to run two immensely powerful win conditions within one immensely synergistic deck. Through the utilization of a free Monster generating engine that comprises both LIGHT and DARK Attribute Monsters, as well as the addition of the oft-forgotten Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, the two disparate themes merge flawlessly to create something that I had hitherto not considered.

The Monsters: 20

3 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
2 Raiza the Storm Monarch
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Apprentice Magician
1 Magician of Faith
1 Crystal Seer
1 Old Vindictive Magician
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
1 Dark Magician of Chaos
1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander
1 Treeborn Frog

Now, while I would never declare (and would never attempt to deceive people thus) that Monarchs are a viable deck type in a large-scale, professional-level tournament, I have found, through not only playing them multiple times, but also writing about them multiple times, that they are more than capable of holding their own, and, in the hands of a skilled player, very capable of winning, at the local-level of competition. Furthermore, the Monarch deck also presents to us, from the academic point of view, the extraordinary prospect of studying governing theories, both in terms of deck architecture and in-game decision making. That kind of tool, and especially when it be attached to such a practiced deck, is invaluable.

I shall begin by discussing the Monarch Monsters, which are, by and large, the central win conditions (the Chaos Monsters, while obviously extremely powerful, shan’t be drawn each and every game). In the past, I have taken the approach of reducing the line-up of Monarchs in favour of either extra acceleration or extra Trap cards; here, I have done no such thing, instead choosing to embrace the established principle, in classical architectural educations, to play seven Monarchs. Without the aforementioned extensive support in other areas of the deck, this number (which has been proven time and time again throughout history, most notably by Adam Corn’s victory at the 2007 United States National Championships) is both achievable and welcome.

A note on the decisions behind individual Monarchs: for mostly obvious reasons, Caius the Shadow Monarch has been included at a full three copies; not only does it boast by far the greatest of the Monarch effects, being able to completely remove a threat from the opponent’s side of field, no matter what type of card it might be, but it also holds one of the two needed Attributes that facilitate the proper functioning of this deck; furthermore, while not being immensely powerful, the possible burn damage is still worthy of note, especially in regards to a format during which Life Points are exchanged at such an alarmingly fast rate. Thence, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch has been included as the primary thread which ties the two themes together; in addition to this aspect of being of the other needed Attribute, however, Zaborg, of course, stands upon its own two feet with its destruction effect, which, while clearly not as powerful as that of Caius, is still exceptionally strong, warranting two copies. Finally, the ensemble of Monarch Monsters is rounded out by the addition of two copies of Raiza the Storm Monarch, which steps in either when the previous two are unavailable or contraindicated by the game-state; on occasion, the spinning effect of Raiza can be far more the powerful option than the removal effect of Caius or the destruction of Zaborg – for example, if one were to return an opposing Chaos Monster to the top of the deck at a time in which the opponent cannot summon it again, causing them to draw it dead.

I should now like to discuss the Apprentice Magician engine, the driving force behind the deck – the very foundations upon which the remainder of the deck was constructed. Firstly, two copies of the engine’s namesake, Apprentice Magician, have been included; one would only generally find two copies, as opposed to three, necessary, due to the fact that search targets will not always be available, having been drawn or searched already, creating dead draws; in addition, there is simply not enough room to run three, should such a thing be so desired. Next, the three search targets have all been included at a single copy each, owing to the allowance to only play one or the necessity in keeping the spread of effects as versatile as possible: Magician of Faith, the central reason for playing this engine in the first place, allows the retrieval of Spell Cards from the Graveyard, and (as aforementioned), in a format defined by its extensive list of powerful Spells, is very welcome; Old Vindictive Magician, which is another DARK Attribute Monster, brings with it the distinct opportunity to search for Monster destruction, being thus able to deal with two Monsters at once when followed by the summon of a Monarch; and, last but by no means least, Crystal Seer is included as a searchable form of drawing power, granting access to an extra card when flipped, which is, all in all, a potent option should the previous search targets not be desirable. Each of these is also, of course, useful when drawn by themselves.

To further enhance this suite of tribute-generating Monsters, two copies of Cyber Dragon and the ever-important Treeborn Frog have then been included. The former, while setting up for the instant summon of a Monarch, as it always does in such strategies, also stands out as being one of the necessary two Attributes, creating yet another synergistic support for both win conditions. The latter, on the other hand, boasts no such feat; however, what it loses there it more than makes up for with what it does do, by acting as constantly revivable tribute fodder for the seven Monarchs. Only the single Treeborn Frog is permissible, for the deck neither needs nor has the support for more copies.

The list of Monster Cards is completed with what one might rightfully term general additions: that is, Dark Magician of Chaos, Destiny Hero – Disk Commander and Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. As they have been doing in almost all strategies in the Traditional Format, Dark Magician of Chaos and Destiny Hero – Disk Commander present the opportunity to turn Monster Revival into extra cards; while this effect is discovered to its fullest extent in combo-oriented decks, instead here they propose the distinct advantage of then being subsequent tributes for the summon of a Monarch. Dark Magician of Chaos itself can also be Tribute Summoned quite easily, owing to the large amount of tribute support herein. Finally, although I generally omit the card in faster strategies, owing to the fact that it disrupts the flow of such decks, Gorz the Emissary of Darkness finds no such detriment here, and is, of course, very useful for preventing large attacking turns. The fee token is also simple tribute fodder.

The Spells: 15

1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Painful Choice
1 Foolish Burial
1 Monster Reborn
1 Premature Burial
1 Dimension Fusion
1 Raigeki
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Change of Heart
1 Snatch Steal
1 Brain Control

With the deck very much focused, as it is, with the Monster Cards, there is very little in the way of interesting Spells (and even Traps, for that matter) to be discoursed on. Everything here, barring only a few minor tweaks for the specific strategy, would be found in almost any competitively constructed Traditional Format deck. To begin with, Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity and Painful Choice have been included for their acceleration through the deck, and, in the latter two cases, their ability to set up an ideal Graveyard. Allure of Darkness, one of the stated few, also comes in as extra acceleration with the large amount of DARK Attribute Monsters present, and Foolish Burial, being another, also helps to set up the Graveyard.

From there, Monster Reborn, Premature Burial and Dimension Fusion have all been included, for the obvious reasons of Special Summoning more Monsters to either be tributed for a Monarch, or to simply create more points with which to attack. The latter, however, needs possibly some discussion, I think: with the deck playing Caius the Shadow Monarch in triplicate, and said Monarch’s effect frequently aimed at Monster Cards, one will often find an opponent with Monsters in their Removed from Play area; ergo, one will need to exercise caution when activating Dimension Fusion. I did indeed consider dropping the card entirely, but, with Dark Magician of Chaos, Allure of Darkness and both Chaos Monsters Removing cards from Play (or, of course, being Removed from Play itself in the Dark Magician’s case), it was simply too tantalizing as a possible alternate win condition.

To conclude this section of the discussion, one shall find a full set of Traditional Format field control options: namely, Heavy Storm and Harpie’s Feather Duster for destruction of the opponent’s back row; Raigeki and Dark Hole for the destruction of the opponent’s front row; and Change of Heart and Snatch Steal for the ability to remove a threat from the opponent while creating one for oneself. These latter two cards, while by no means unique to the Monarch strategy, do bring with them some extra dialogue: this is for the distinct reason that each also acts as a producer of tribute fodder – a simple and free way of obtaining a Monster to then be tributed for a Monarch. It is an effect well worth noting, and the single allowed copy of Brain Control also finds its way here as a result (with, in addition to that, the higher number of Monarchs present).

The Traps: 5

1 Mirror Force
1 Crush Card Virus
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Ring of Destruction
1 Imperial Order

Continuing with the subject of universal, uninteresting support, we are now come to the list of Trap Cards. While I do use the adjectives ‘universal’ and ‘uninteresting’ to describe the Spells and Traps that I am running here, I do not mean such terms in a derogatory manner: each and every card is essential, creating a highly stable, versatile deck, but I digress. Mirror Force, Crush Card Virus (permitted by the high number of suitable tribute targets), Torrential Tribute, Ring of Destruction and Imperial Order have been included as the most generally powerful Trap Cards in the game. All have wide-ranging effects over a duel, with the only possible exception being Ring of Destruction (although, as well known by many a player, the card can, on occasion, end a game on the spot), presenting the pilot with immense control over what an opponent can do – nothing more and nothing less.

In conclusion, I should like to reiterate, if I may, that it is unfortunately not possible to consider the Monarch deck one to be placed, for the Traditional Format, into the list of Top Tier strategies for premier competition. There is no doubt that this is true, but there is also no doubt that Monarchs are exceptionally powerful at smaller, local tournaments, during which one should not come up against many turbo-based decks, thus allowing one the time necessary to build infrastructure and gain control of a duel. I also think it is true that in order to gain a complete understanding (or, in the very least, something resembling a complete understanding) of this wonderful format, it is essential to study every possible contender for the top spot, even if it be only at the lower levels – such deserves our respect, no matter where they sit, and doing so opens the mind to previously unconsidered ideas. Here I have shown one such idea, which came about simply by noticing the massive potential the Apprentice Magician engine holds in the Traditional Format, and building upwards. The result is a powerful, consistent, versatile strategy, and one which I personally would definitely consider when playing in such competitions. In all, a little bit of lateral thinking, backed up by sound techniques and decision making, goes a long way.

Deck Essay #15: Fortune Chaos Turbo

There is no doubt in anybody’s mind, I should hazard a guess, that Yu-Gi-Oh! is a fast game; with little or even no cost or restriction associated with some of the most powerful effects ever printed, there is not a great deal of constraint when it comes to claiming victory in only a matter of a couple of turns. Many people, however, will decry this aspect of the game as detrimental to its lifespan, stating that decks designed to win in this way are unskilled and do not further our understanding of play. These people, quite simply, are wrong: while I would not be conceited enough to announce that every single One-Turn-Knockout strategy requires a large quantity of skill and experience to pilot, the outnumbering majority, in fact, do. Thence, we come to the Traditional Format: due to the increased card pool and abundance of intricate, complicated interactions between cards, there exists an immense amount of new and exciting possibilities to be explored which fall into this latter category. The deck I will be presenting in this essay is just one such example, a One-Turn-Knockout strategy using an engine which has not, I believe, been investigated to the extent it deserves: a Turbo-based Chaos deck centred on Fortune Ladies.

The end goal of this deck, which I have tentatively entitled ‘Fortune Chaos Turbo’, is, as is always the case in One-Turn-Knockout strategies, very simple: to Special Summon as many large Monsters as possible in as little time as possible, and then attack for game with said Monsters. However, the difficulty present, again as is always the case in this category of deck, comes from the way in which it achieves this win condition, the way in which the deck powers through itself to create this game-ending swarm of Monster Cards: in this specific case, a group of Fortune Lady Monsters is incorporated into a Chaos deck by using a number of cards intended to Remove them from Play, in order to then be able to activate the draw Spell of the archetype, Fortune’s Future. A suite of additional draw cards speeds the strategy towards a plethora of Special Summon effects. The result, a deck based chiefly upon a large amount of personal trial and error, is immensely quick, immensely powerful, and surprisingly consistent.

The Monsters: 17

3 Cyber Valley
3 The Dark Creator
3 Broww, Huntsman of Dark World
2 Fortune Lady Light
1 Fortune Lady Dark
1 Dark Magician of Chaos
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
1 Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
1 Destiny Hero – Disk Commander
1 Dark Armed Dragon

I shall begin, if I may, by discussing the group of Fortune Lady Monsters, the most important aspect to this specific strategy – although a small and, at first glance, uninteresting group it is, indeed! but the deck has been carefully balanced to allow the maximum consistency possible within the forty cards: running more than the three Fortune Ladies found herein (two copies of Fortune Lady Light, and a single copy of Fortune Lady Dark) has a tendency to create dead opening hands, in which one has Ladies with which there is nought to do; whereas, of course, running fewer would make it very difficult to find them when needed. Furthermore, Gold Sarcophagus will also be included in the Spell Card list, allowing one to search for a needed Fortune Lady at any given time. While I will admit that it may look like only three Fortune Lady Monsters is not enough to warrant an entire engine, rigorous testing has found that this number is perfect.

I should like, however, before I move on, to discuss my choices regarding the quantities of the individual Fortune Ladies. I have split the possible set of Fortune Lady Light in order to include a single copy of Fortune Lady Dark for the ability of the latter to interact with certain DARK Attribute support cards, all of which it was, during the initial stages of design, obvious that they were to be included: The Dark Creator, here utilized at its full three copies, can Remove from Play the one Fortune Lady Dark via its effect, fulfilling both the Special Summoning of a Monster and bringing a held Fortune’s Future on line; in a similar vein, Dark Armed Dragon, at its allowed single copy, can also Remove from Play the Fortune Lady Dark from the Graveyard; and, lastly, Allure of Darkness, included at its allowed single copy in the Spell Card list, can Remove from Play the Fortune Lady Dark from the hand – this latter example is, in fact, a +1 to hand presence, which is of particular note not only in regards to any deck, but especially in a combo-based deck (that is, any combo-based deck) that requires the retaining of in-hand options.

Frome there, a full set of Cyber Valley has been included to facilitate the further Removal of a Fortune Lady Monster. It does so while also either drawing oneself two more cards deeper into the deck, if one was able (or, rather, needed) to Summon a Fortune Lady to the field, or retrieving a required card from the Graveyard. The former is a rather rare course of action, for one will not often find a Fortune Lady on the field, but the latter is of especial importance: one can Normal Summon a Cyber Valley, activate its third effect by Removing from Play itself and a Fortune Lady from the hand, place a useful card – such as, for example, Pot of Greed or Graceful Charity for continued drawing, or Monster Reborn, Premature Burial or Dimension Fusion for Special Summons – atop the deck, and then follow up by activating Fortune’s Future to draw that stacked card and another. The synergy herein is, while slightly unintuitive and shrouded to begin with, very impressive and well worth looking into further than merely this single essay.

Five supporting Monster Cards have then been included, with the intention to further enhance the general speed, consistency and overall capabilities of the deck: firstly, a full three copies of Broww, Huntsman of Dark World find their place alongside a set of Dark Word Dealings, a Graceful Charity and a Card Destruction in the Spell Card list, offering extra draws by taking inspiration from the arsenal of the First-Turn-Knockout deck; next, Destiny Hero – Disk Commander becomes a welcome addition not only because of its card drawing effect, but also the ease with which it can be sent to the Graveyard, and subsequently revived to trigger said effect, within a deck such as this; lastly, and in direct correlation to the reasoning behind the inclusion of Destiny Hero – Disk Commander, Dark Magician of Chaos offers the distinct ability, and, again the simple execution of such an ability, to further the strategy towards its end goal – it can also play a part in the final win condition, owing to its sheer size of body.

Finally, the Envoys are clearly included. While it may seem to be just plain folly to base a deck around Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, but incorporate only two LIGHT Attribute Monsters to fulfil the second half of their Summoning Requirement, there is simply so much potential for the drawing and searching of cards here that the Envoys will only on the rare occasion be dead. Of course, in addition to this, one should not discount the possibility of sending an unneeded Cyber Valley to the Graveyard through any of the incorporated discard effects, whence it can later provide necessary Removal fodder.

The Spells: 23

3 Fortune’s Future
3 Trade-In
3 Dark World Dealings
2 Gold Sarcophagus
1 Pot of Greed
1 Graceful Charity
1 Card Destruction
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Painful Choice
1 Machine Duplication
1 Monster Reborn
1 Premature Burial
1 Dimension Fusion
1 Raigeki
1 Harpie’s Feather Duster
1 Snatch Steal

We are come now to the Spell Card line-up, which in truth is the last section to discuss – any desired Trap Card would inevitably prove to be too slow to be of any distinct use to this strategy. While it would indeed be nice to run Imperial Order, and possibly Ring of Destruction in addition, such options would offer no specific advantage to the deck as a whole configuration, only finding use when the opponent is involved and, furthermore, only prior to being Set beforehand. Ergo, I decided the omitting of Trap Cards altogether was the best option, for the sake of maximum reliability.

A total of ten theme-specific Spell Cards which allow the drawing of cards stand out in the above list. Quite simply, a Turbo deck is designed to claim victory on the very first turn it can declare an attack, and this plethora of drawing Spells, in addition to the more intricate drawing combos presented by the Monster Card list, will achieve this on the most consistent basis possible: three copies of Fortune’s Future round out the Fortune Lady engine, and has already been discussed and concluded as the cornerstone to the entire idea; three copies of Trade-In then make an appearance due to the abundance of Level Eight Monster Cards included here (a grand total of six, realizing the generally accepted ratio of two targets for every one draw card, expressed as the number 2:1), although this was, of course, an initial design and not an afterthought; three copies of Dark World Dealings, which not only show their usefulness by discarding the primary target of Broww, Huntsman of Dark World, but also when placing other needed Monsters into the Graveyard, such as, for example, a Fortune Lady or the Destiny Hero – Disk Commander; and, lastly, the single allowed copy of Allure of Darkness is an obvious pick within a deck running so many DARK Attribute Monsters.

From there, two copies of Gold Sarcophagus have also been included with the intention of assisting in the drawing of cards, if not drawing cards directly; one is able to select a Fortune Lady Monster from the deck and send it to the Removed from Play pile, whither it can then be immediately used for the activation of a Fortune’s Future. Searching for and Removing Dark Magician of Chaos, or any other required Monster, followed by the activation of Dimension Fusion, is also an acceptable play. Only two copies of Gold Sarcophagus were included in order to prevent the drawing of multiple situational cards at the same time. In the same vein, a single copy of Machine Duplication was also included for the option, should it present itself, to Special Summon all remaining copies of Cyber Valley from the deck; such, while being a welcome addition to the arsenal, is not by any means an essential one, furthering the decision to only run the lone copy.

The drawing and searching potential is completed by what we might suitably term ‘staple’ cards: Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, Card Destruction and Painful Choice. These four Spells realise a great potential in not only the Traditional Format as a whole (hence the use of the term ‘staple’), but especially and most notably in the DARK School of Thought, a school of Yu-Gi-Oh! specifically centred on speed and an overwhelming abuse of the Graveyard. Each one either draws more cards or places combo pieces into the Graveyard for future use, and some even have the distinct possibility of doing both. Their existence is obviously welcome in general, by it is particularly noteworthy in this case.

The next three Spell Cards represent the final additions to the set of Special Summon effects utilized to achieve the game-ending swarm of Monsters: Monster Reborn and Premature Burial both grant the revival of a single large Monster with which to either attack, or advance the deck towards a point in which attacking becomes the object of the mind; and Dimension Fusion, inarguably one of the most powerful Spell Cards ever printed, will most often Special Summon many Monsters at once. These cards are, however, in need of more discussion. While many One-Turn-Knockout strategies would find Monster Reborn, Premature Burial and Dimension Fusion being the instrumental cards in the win condition, the Spells here have a much different, even strange, purpose, due to the peculiar construction of the deck – that is, the majority of the large Monsters which will do the necessary attacking will, in fact, Special Summon themselves, and so these three Spell Cards will function more as combo cards than anything else, creating or facilitating more draws or facilitating the retrieval other needed cards from the Graveyard. They should, of course, be played thus.

Lastly (but by no means the least important aspect), three pieces of generic, Traditional Format field control have been included: Harpie’s Feather Duster, Raigeki and Snatch Steal, the former being able to deal with an opponent’s back row while the latter two deal with the opponent’s front row. While these Spell Cards add nothing to the deck in the sense of strategic importance, they are nevertheless essential in creating a stable battle-oriented deck. To omit them would be to denounce the existence of an opponent altogether, and while the First-Turn-Knockout deck does in fact do this the most extreme degree, it is not the place of the One-Turn-Knockout deck to do so. Although far from being a control-oriented strategy, in which the idea is to restrict the opponent’s moves by reacting to anything they do, there is still a need here, if only a slight one, for the ability to answer threats offered by an opponent; Harpie’s Feather Duster, Raigeki and Snatch Steal comprise the most versatile suite for such, I have discovered.

With the possibilities in this great game, and especially when considered within the increased card pool of the Traditional Format, being very close to infinite, it is almost impossible (or, at the very least, I think so) to sit back and allow ourselves to become slaves to what the wider population consider to be the standard architecture. Doing so would only serve to prevent the growth of Yu-Gi-Oh! to any standard in which ‘flourishing’ would be an appropriate adjective. Although there have indeed been some formats ruled by one deck build (the now termed ‘TeleDAD’ format of September 2008 springs instantly to mind), this time appears to be over – there is merely a need for players to realise this. While I am not condoning, I should clarify, the extradition of what we call ‘meta’ (for meta should always, in my opinion, be the dominant, or even only, force), the leg room available within that term is enormous, as exemplified by the topic of this composition: through the use of a little explored drawing engine, and some additional support in the way of tried and true tricks, I have discovered (or rather, simply unclouded) yet another fast, powerful and consistent One-Turn-Knockout strategy. Now, whether it takes off is another story, but the success I have had warrants, I believe, at the least some further investigation.