Hello all. My name is Kemal Mohamed and this is my entry article for ARG's deck doctor contest. My name isn’t familiar to 99.9% of the readers but that isn’t what you are here for. You are here for quality information that will help broaden your perspective of deck building/doctoring. As you all may know, contestants were provided with two decks to doctor up. Let’s get straight into it.
Whenever you begin building a deck, it is important to keep in mind how the deck plays overall. What I mean by this is determining whether the deck is offensively geared or defensively geared. Figuring this out is fairly obvious; decks that can crank out powerful special summoned monsters are offensively geared while decks that are focused on controlling the game with limited special summoning capability are defensively geared. You may be asking yourself: why this is important? Whenever you are building a deck, it is important to find a balance between offense and defense. From a glance, Billy Brake's 'Rock Stun' deck is more of a defensively geared deck while Joe Giorlando's 'Gishki HERO Turbo' deck is more offensively geared. We have now completed the first step towards deck building.
Another important step in deck building is to understand a decks weakness and improving them. Many defensively geared decks, or control decks, suffer from the same stigma-- they have trouble running over big monsters. This is one of the reasons why many duelists avoid control decks. They are too reliant on their spell and trap cards and are rendered useless without them. Many offensively geared decks, or aggro decks, also suffer from a polar opposite-- they have trouble dealing with spell and traps. The question is: how can you find a balance of offense and defense for both decks? I will attempt to do so by breaking down the components of Billy's and Joe's decks' respectively.
Let's take a look at Billy Brakes ‘Rock Stun’ deck:
Monsters: 19
3 Koa’ki Meiru Guardian
3 Koa’ki Meiru Sandman
3 Koa’ki Meiru Wall
3 Block Golem
2 Card Trooper
2 Maxx “C”
2 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
1 Neo-Spacian Grandmole
Spells: 10
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Soul Taker
2 Pot of Duality
1 Seal of Orichalcos
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
Traps: 12
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Solemn Warning
2 Call of the Haunted
2 Bottomless Traphole
2 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Starlight Road
Extra Deck: 15
2 Gem-Knight Pearl
2 Kochi Kochi Dragon
2 Soul of Silver Mountain
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Gachi Gachi
1 Fairy King Albverdich
1 Gaia Knight, Force of Earth
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
Beginning with the monsters, 19 monsters for a control oriented deck are a little excessive. Since control decks are more reliant on their normal summon being the most important, the monsters can get clogged in your hand. A general range of 15-16 monsters is just about right. Although one can justify that the maintenance cost associated with the Koa'ki Meru monsters allows you to run a high monster count, I would suggest cutting 1 Maxx "C" and 1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo. The reason behind this is that I believe Maxx "C" is a lackluster card. It also doesn't have any synergy with the idea of Rock Stun. It doesn't stop your opponent in their tracks. The idea behind Rock Stun is to limit your opponents’ use of Monster Effects, Spells and Traps. Maxx "C" gives your opponent the option of letting you draw a ton of cards while they attempt to OTK. The reason behind cutting 1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo is that it isn't a good standalone monster. Its effect is notable alongside other stun oriented cards but its stats aren't great.
Moving on to the spells, I would take out 1 Mystical Space Typhoon, 1 Soul Taker and the lone Seal of Orichalcos and put in 2 Forbidden Lance. Beginning with Mystical Space Typhoon, I was never too fond of running this card at three. I always thought duelists who ran the card are three were a little too paranoid in regards to backrow, unless you were running some sort of combo-oriented OTK deck such as Wind-Ups or Geargia Karakuri. I believe Forbidden Lance is one of the best spells in the game. The reason I believe this is because it can act as both an offensive and defensive card. It can help you run over monsters and can also help you protect your monsters from Dark Hole, Bottomless Trap Hole, or Torrential Tribute if you don't happen to have a Koa'ki Meru Sandman or Koa'ki Meru Wall on your side of the field. That doesn't mean I do not like Mystical Space Typhoon. I believe whatever amount of Mystical Space Typhoon you don't main, you should side the remaining amount. In regards to Soul Taker, I am not too fond of giving my opponent lifepoints. Yes, it will cause your opponents Elemental HERO The Shining and Lightpulsar Dragon to miss timing; it's a great one-of tech card. Finally, The Seal of Orichalcos maybe a fan favorite but its effects aren't all that great. While the 500 attack boost may seem enticing, it’s a card not worth running one of since it renders your extra deck useless. One can argue that Rock Stun doesn't need to use their extra deck. While this may be true, having the option of using the extra deck is better than not having the option to.
Finally moving on to traps, I would add 1 Mirror Force, 1 Rock Bombardment, 1 Skill Drain and swap the Starlight Road for The Huge Revolution is Over. My reasoning for adding Mirror Force is that it’s mass removal. While it may be easily read by skilled duelists, you can take advantage of players who overextend and don't have any answers to the card. You may be asking: why Rock Bombardment? Well, it’s a chainable trap, and fills your grave with a key Rock-Type monster. I forgot to mention that it also inflicts 500 points of direct damage to your opponent. Since you're running 2 Call of the Haunted, it isn't as bad as it seems.
I'm never an advocate of a deck that relies on a spell or trap to help them win a duel when Mystical Space Typhoon is at 3. With that said, Skill Drain is a great one-of tech card that doesn't hurt much in the deck, since the Koa’ki Meru monsters effects’ resolve in the grave, besides Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo. Locking down monster effects in a format full of powerful monsters provides a user with great advantage. Finally in regards to switching Starlight Road for The Huge Revolution is Over, the choice is fairly obvious. One thing is that Stardust can mess up your Block Golem plays since he is a Wind attribute. Another advantage is that The Huge Revolution is Over is a counter trap so it cannot be countered by Solemn Warning or monsters like Evolzar Laggia and The Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En.
Finally, the only obvious adjustment I would make in the extra deck would be to swap the Stardust Dragon for the newly Giant Soldier of Steel. Giant Soldier of Steel can negate the effect damage taken by the controller during any turn. This can be advantageous in Chain Burn matchups.
Let’s take a look at the final draft:
Monsters: 17
3 Koa’ki Meiru Guardian
3 Koa’ki Meiru Sandman
3 Koa’ki Meiru Wall
3 Block Golem
2 Card Trooper
1 Maxx “C”
1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
1 Neo-Spacian Grandmole
Spells: 9
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Lance
1 Soul Taker
2 Pot of Duality
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
Traps: 14
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Solemn Warning
2 Call of the Haunted
2 Bottomless Traphole
2 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Skill Drain
1 Rock Bombardment
1 The Huge Revolution is Over
Extra Deck: 15
2 Gem-Knight Pearl
2 Kochi Kochi Dragon
2 Soul of Silver Mountain
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Giant Soldier of Steel
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Gachi Gachi
1 Fairy King Albverdich
1 Gaia Knight, Force of Earth
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Scrap Dragon
Now, let’s take a look at Joe Giorlando’s ‘Gishki HERO Turbo’ deck:
Monsters: 20
3 Gishki Soul Ogre
3 Gishki Vision
3 Destiny Hero Plasma
2 Destiny Hero Diamond Dude
2 Trageodia
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Gishki Shadow
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Spells: 20
3 Destiny Draw
3 Trade-In
3 Miracle Fusion
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Salvage
1 Gishki Aquamirror
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
Extra Deck: 15
1 Grenosaurus
1 Melomelody the Brass Djinn
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Temtempo Percussion Djinn
1 Maestroke Symphony Djinn
1 Blade Armor Ninja
1 Heroic Champion Excalibur
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis
1 Number 11: Big Eye
1 Gaia Dragon, Thunder Charger
1 Black Rose Dragon
At first glance, the deck looks like an inconsistent mess. Sure, the deck contains a lot of draw power, but it doesn’t look like it can make big pushes and steal games away. First off, you’re going -2 in card advantage just to get a 2800 Attacker on the field with a lackluster effect. Next off, you’re running an outdated draw engine that is easily hindered by a face-up Thunder King Rai-Oh or an imminent Effect Veiler of Elemental HERO Stratos. Finally, your hand can get clogged up with combo-oriented pieces—Trade-In, Destiny Draw, Salvage— if you don’t have a Tragoedia or Gorz the Emissary of Darkness.
Let’s begin with the monsters. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, Thunder King Rai-Oh locks out the deck of its needed searching capabilities. Being that it is quite commonly found in many decks this format, you need to have an answer to the card otherwise you will lose to it—even if the deck is running 2 Tragoedia and 1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness. This may seem a bit radical, but I have decided to take out 3 Gishki Soul Ogre, 1 Gishki Vision and 3 Destiny HERO – Plasma.
Beginning with Gishki Soul Ogre, I really do not see an upside to the card outside of pure Gishki variants. Most importantly, as a mentioned previously, going -2 in card advantage is not worth the summon since it’s just a huge attacker. With Gishki Vision, I tested the build and 3 were a little excessive and a bit dead. When it’s at 2, it seems to be the perfect number. In regards to Destiny HERO – Plasma, he really doesn’t provide you with any advantage while he’s in the graveyard. Since this deck is not concerned with summoning him, it’s probably best not to use him because Destiny HERO – Plasma is a card that can win games by himself.
With the monster additions, bear with me, I am adding 1 Evigishki Gustkraken, 2 Evigishki Mind Augus, 2 Card Trooper, 1 Destiny HERO – Dasher, 2 Destiny HERO – Malicious, 3 Effect Veiler and the king of all unbanned boss monsters Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. Beginning with the reason why I added the level 6 Gishki monsters, Evigishki Gustkraken is the best ‘Gishki’ ritual with its recent limiting on the September 2012 Forbidden/Limited List. When ritual summoned, its effect allows you to look at 2 random cards in your opponents hand and then you get to choose one of those cards and shuffle it into the deck. That was way too good to pass up. In regards to Evigishki Mind Augus, the effect isn’t too shabby either. It allows you to target up to 5 cards in either player(s) graveyard(s) and shuffle them into the deck. This allows you to put back your key cards and can disrupt your opponents graveyard oriented decks.
Moving on, Card Trooper is probably one of the best floaters in the game right now. It fills your grave up with needed cards and replenishes itself when it’s destroyed. Even if you milled something you didn’t want to, you can always shuffle it back into the deck with Evigishki Mind Augus. Did I mention that it bumps heads with Thunder King Rai-Oh? In regards to Destiny HERO – Dasher and Destiny HERO – Malicious, they both have effects when they are in the graveyard, unlike Destiny HERO – Plasma. Destiny HERO – Malicious opens up Rank 6 plays while Destiny HERO – Dasher allows you to special summon a monster you drew during your draw phase. With 3 Effect Veiler, it allows you to stop your opponent in their tracks and fuels Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning.
With the spells, I decided to take out 2 Salvage, 1 Miracle Fusion and 3 Trade-In. In Joe’s initial build, 2 Salvage seemed to be a too dead. He was only running 4 targets. It was a little combo related in a deck that was over the top in combos. I bumped Miracle Fusion down to 2 just to make sure opening hands weren’t too weird. Besides, you have some HERO decks that run 2 Miracle Fusion. Taking out the 3 Trade-In was solely because the level 8 monsters were taken out. Finally, the only card I added was an additional Gishki Aquamirror because if the only copy in the deck were milled, you would be stuck until you are able to mill a ‘Gishki’ ritual monster.
Finally with the extra deck, I took out 1 Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis, 1 Number 11: Big Eye, 1 Grenosaurus, 1 Melomelody the Brass Djinn, Black Rose Dragon and 1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction. First off, his original extra deck didn’t have Elemental HERO Absolute Zero when he was running 3 Miracle Fusion. I decided to take out Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis because the level 8 engine was broken apart. Number 11: Big Eye was removed since summoning him is very rare. With the remaining monsters, they weren’t as useful in my testing.
Lastly, the cards I added were, 2 Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, 1 Number 20: Giga-Brilliant, 1 Photon Strike Bounzer and 1 Sword Breaker. I added the 2 Elemental HERO Absolute Zero because it’s mandatory to run since we’re running 2 Miracle Fusion. I added 1 Number 20: Giga-Brilliant mainly because he is a light and makes it a bit easier to summon Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. I added 1 Photon Strike Bounzer and 1 Sword Breaker for the plays to be made with the level 6 ‘Gishki’ rituals and Destiny HERO – Malicious.
Let’s take a look at the final draft:
Monsters: 25
1 Evigishki Gustkraken
2 Evigishki Mind Augus
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
3 Effect Veiler
2 Card Trooper
2 Gishki Vision
2 Destiny HERO – Malicious
1 Destiny HERO – Dasher
2 Destiny HERO – Diamond Dude
2 Trageodia
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Gishki Shadow
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
Spells: 15
3 Destiny Draw
2 Miracle Fusion
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Gishki Aquamirror
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
Extra Deck: 15
2 Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
1 Photon Strike Bounzer
1 Sword Breaker
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Temtempo Percussion Djinn
1 Maestroke Symphony Djinn
1 Blade Armor Ninja
1 Heroic Champion Excalibur
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Numebr 20: Giga-Brilliant
1 Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger
1 Black Rose Dragon
I hope you enjoyed my article!
Latest posts by Kemal Mohamed (see all)
- Deck Doctor - November 8, 2012
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