Adapting the Water/Darkness/Fire Control Deck

December 14, 2012

Categories: Christian Van Hoose, Kaijudo

by Christian Van Hoose

Hey guys, I'm back with another Kaijudo article! Today's article will actually focus more on the game of Kaijudo than other games, if you can believe it! Specifically, I'll be talking about the deck that I've been giving a lot of attention in the last week or so, and why it's been performing well, since it has gotten some good results in the matches I've played it in. I'll also go over why I made certain card choices and why certain ratios work with the meta the way it is. To start off, here's the decklist!

Water (17)
3 Reef-Eye
3 Aqua Seneschal
2 Rusalka, Aqua Chaser
2 Milporo, Council of Logos
2 King Neptas
1 King Coral
3 Logos Scan
1 Crystal Memory

Darkness (20)
3 Fumes
3 Scaradorable of Gloom Hollow
2 Screeching Scaradorable
2 Hydra Medusa
2 Razorkinder Puppet
1 Dark Scaradorable
3 Bone Blades
3 Terror Pit
1 Skull Shatter

Fire (9)
2 Bolt-Tail Dragon
1 Tatsurion the Unchained
1 Gilaflame the Assaulter
3 Barrage
2 Heat Seekers

Total: 46

The first thing I actually want to discuss is the deck's total. 46 cards, while not the biggest deck you've probably ever seen, is still a good few cards over the minimum of 40. The idea of a control deck that hovers around the 44-50 margin began in Duel Masters, where some control decks even got away with more than 50 cards, because of the 4 copy limit. Players unfamiliar with how the competitive scene worked in DM or coming from a game like Yugioh, where it's usually optimal to run a deck as close to 40 cards as you can get it, might not fully understand why this deck, and deck's like it, are so big at first glance.

I've seen people point out the reasoning that since the idea of a control deck is to push the game into late game and win by controlling the opponent's resources, the combination of the stall with all the removal and discard and the draw power could make you deck yourself out. This might be a problem in a select few matches, but on the whole, it's definitely not the reason I run over 40 cards. I run more than 40 because of power cards; there are certain cards, like Terror Pit, Skull Shatter, and finishers like Bolt-Tail, that I want access to in the numbers I've chosen, but I still want to minimize the chance of opening with them. For example, I still want to have the ability to use 3 Terror Pit's on my opponent throughout the course of the duel to deal with their powerful creatures, but I don't want to open with them, because in this deck, they're dead until turn seven and beyond.

You might be saying, "but if you build a larger deck to reduce the chance of drawing those late game cards, you're also reducing the chance of drawing cards like Aqua Seneschal and Fumes which can help early game!" This is true, but it's a necessary evil in my eyes because this game is turn based. Since you can only play cards from your hand based on how many turns the game has progressed, and you have to use actual playable cards in your hand as mana (unlike MTG's "lands"), drawing more than one Terror Pit in the opening hand and being basically forced to put it down in certain matchups can be a problem, as it's one less Pit the opponent has to fear. In contrast, it usually only takes seeing one playable copy of a card like Aqua Seneschal or Logos Scan by turn 3 for a hand to be "good". More than that can often even become redundant. So now that I've got the reasoning for the deck total out of the way, let's go into the actual card choices!

The Kings - Neptas and Coral

Most of the Water section is pretty tried and true, aside from these two cards. I actually started using these cards because I wanted to test out Neptas for a Card of the Week segment on EarthP0w3R's YouTube channel, and I had no idea how the card actually tested. As it turns out, pretty well! In the control mirror match, it can be astonishingly hard to get rid of, and there are times when just dropping one Neptas can make your opponent go on the defensive in a heartbeat and they'll struggle to deal with it as it takes a number of their shields. In a control deck such as this one, it's easy to control their field and keep it clear of things that could attack over Neptas, and even in the control mirror match there are a very few cards they run that can get rid of it. All their removal is dead, and only Frogzooka and Keeper of Clouds are commonly played Blockers that can halt it. They're forced to attack over it, and even in this deck, there are only so many things capable of that.

Running Neptas alongside Coral also has its benefits. Coral can work wonders in any aggro matchup, clearing a field of cards like Seneschal and Chimeras, and even Evolutions such as Emperor Neuron and Bronze-Arm Sabertooth to make the opponent replay them. It comes with a nice 5000 power body, and its effect can be re-used if you drop a King Neptas after it, setting you up with a good field while keeping their small creatures at bay. It can also be beneficial to re-use your own cards like Rusalka and Fumes at times as a cool side effect to Coral.

The Chimeras

I've come to the conclusion that at the present moment, Hydra Medusa is too good not to run in a deck like this. Sure, it'll see more consistent play in a more dedicated build such as Water/Darkness, but even in here there's enough solid Evo bait to warrant two of them. Scaradorable of Gloom Hollow at three isn't a bad choice at all, since it stops so many relevant Evolutions and cards like Gilaflame which can be otherwise hard to deal with on turn four. Screeching Scaradorable is great in a meta filled with aggressive decks and cheap Evo bait, being a simple +1 a lot of the time. On top of that, Dark Scaradorable rounds out thee lineup, being a solid finisher and the earliest one in this deck. It can be very devastating to drop it and then follow up with another finisher such as Unchained, and of course Dark Scaradorable can evolve into Hydra Medusa in a pinch.

The Fire Section

The Fire section is the last section that I think deserves an explanation. The finishers should be pretty self-explanatory, but the rest of the cards could potentially cause some disagreements. The Heat Seekers are in there to deal with level three threats such as Seneschal, Razorhide and Gigastand, as well as helping out in the rush matchup like no other removal spell at this time is able to. It's hard to count on as a turn three play in a section of only nine cards, but when it happens it can be life-saving. Three Barrage is something I feel is necessary with the advent of all the Evolutions and aggressive decks. Before Evo Fury, there were a lot of times when Barrage would only hit one card in my opponent's battle zone, but I find myself clearing two or more creatures away with it more and more. It's a lot like Tendril Grasp in that aspect; cards like these are great in control decks right now.

Potential Changes

As with any deck, I don't claim to have the "right" way to build it, just a good way. It still requires more testing, and I'm sure many players including myself will put WDF control through the gauntlet in the months we have with this metagame before the next set. It will undoubtedly develop as the meta does, but there are some things I was considering in the initial build like Dark Return and a second Gilaflame that could be very good choices. Both of them were decided against because I really didn't want to take anything out or go above 46 cards, but they do deserve testing for sure.

Deck Doctor!

Before I close out this article, I want to announce that I'm trying to do a little deck doctor segment with my articles! I'm not sure exactly how often I'll be doing something like this (my guess is not terribly often), but I'd enjoy taking at least one article and using it purely to help other people's decks. That being said, if you have a deck list you want to send me, the best way to do this is on YouTube. My YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/cvhmusic, which a lot of you are probably familiar with, and sending me a personal message on there with a deck list and a short explanation of what you're trying to accomplish with the deck will put you in contention to be in my deck doctor article! I'll consider anything, from a new player wanting help with his first attempt at a deck, to a veteran player trying an off-the-wall strategy or a new take on a tried and true deck. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all come up with, and again, be sure to message me on YouTube with your lists! I'll probably do the article two weeks from now if I have gotten a couple good submissions.

Well, until next time guys! Be sure to leave a comment down below with your thoughts on the deck and article itself, and I hope you all have a successful week of Kaijudo playing!