Hello Yugioh Community! Ever since the release of the ever powerful [ccProd]Rescue Rabbit[/ccProd], it seems there has always been an explosive and powerful deck that is designed to stop your opponent from being able to do anything. It started with Macro-Rabbit, but now that the game has evolved we now have Evilswarms who also utilize our furry little friend. Evilswarms utilize [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] to make it to where the arguably most popular deck right now, Dragon Rulers, can do nothing. This week I wanted to try and assist all of the Dragon Ruler duelists out there on different ways to defeat Evilswarms, despite them being built to counter the deck.
Question of the Article: What is your favorite way to deal facing down a turn 1 [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd]?
Don’t forget to answer the question of the article in the comments down below!
-Identifying The Problem-
We all know that all of the Evilswarm monsters on their own aren’t too hard to deal with, this deck is essentially a powered up version of Dino-Rabbit. The XYZ monster they bring out, [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd], is the start of the problem, but the traps that back him up are what can really put you in a bad spot. Ophion will prevent you from summoning any of your big dragons and you will more than likely lose the game if you cannot deal with him, but what is the point of focusing all of your energy on getting him off the board if the insane amount of back rows will stop you from doing anything and then they will get another opportunity to summon another [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] on the following turn. This is why I propose that you make sure you eliminate all of their traps they may have set for you and then take care of that pesky Ophion. Utilizing a two-pronged attack, if you will, is the best way to beat this deck fairly easily.
-The Basics-
Some of this may be common knowledge, but I felt I should at least go over it really quick so everyone is on the same page. [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] can be the most annoying card in the game to any Dragon Ruler player since it has the ability to search out its very own [ccProd]Forbidden Lance[/ccProd] in the form of [ccProd]Infestation Pandemic[/ccProd], but luckily there are ways around this. Assuming you are running a fairly standard build of Dragon Ruler’s, it is safe to assume you are packing at least a couple copies of [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] or at least you should be. Chances are your opponent is going to summon a turn one [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd], set some back row and pass to you. Now let us say your opening hand consist of a [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] and any other form of monster removal, [ccProd]Book of Moon[/ccProd], [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd], [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd], another [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd], etc. You just have to make sure [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] gets in your grave during the next turn. On your own turn, when you use whatever Spell/Trap you have to deal with Ophion, they chain [ccProd]Infestation Pandemic[/ccProd], you can chain the Breakthrough Skill from your grave. Since the Breakthrough will resolve before the Pandemic, Evilswarm Ophion’s effect will be negated and they lose their [ccProd]Infestation Pandemic[/ccProd], two bird with two stones! I mentioned [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd] because it will force them to chain the Pandemic, which you chain [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] just the same, but if they don’t chain [ccProd]Infestation Pandemic[/ccProd], simply activate [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] after the [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd] has resolved.
-[ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd] is your Best Friend-
In my opinion, this card is a must have to side in against Evilswarms if you are using Dragon Rulers. While it doesn’t immediately take care of Ophion, it will shut down a good portion of their deck and leave you free to wreak havoc without worry. Their deck easily plays well over ten trap cards and after siding you can bet the [ccProd]Imperial Iron Wall[/ccProd]s are coming in. As a bonus, you can still activate your Breakthrough Skill from the grave while Decree is up to shut down their Ophion! With no traps to back Ophion up, if you decided to go the route of siding into [ccProd]Tsukyomi[/ccProd] or Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, you can bet they will be free and clear to do their job. The best part is there is little chance at them having any copies of spell or trap removal in their decks during game 2 due to the small amount of back row Dragon Rulers play. From some of the testing I have done so far in this particular match-up, most of the time my opponent has been forced to make a [ccProd]Diamond Dire Wolf[/ccProd] and attempted to use his effect to destroy the [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd], but since I left three copies of [ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd] in my deck, it was easily stopped. Why would you leave in [ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd] against Evilswarms?
-[ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd] is actually good against Anti-Meta?-
Traditionally speaking, cards like [ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd] are not typically good against anti-meta like decks, but against Evilswarms I actually like it. Being able to stop the search with Ophion can be huge, chances are they used [ccProd]Evilswarm Castor[/ccProd] (remember this guy will still retain his ability even if you Veiler) and another Evilswarm monster, to make the Ophion, leaving them with five cards to your five after he has been Veiler’d; the game is even in terms of advantage and you successfully stopped them from searching for protection for their Ophion. In an even better scenario, if they open up with the ever loveable [ccProd]Rescue Rabbit[/ccProd], [ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd] does quite a nice job making sure this bunny with teeth will be stopped in its tracks. Veiler is also a one star turner which is also very important for Dragon Ruler’s vs. Evilswarm match-up. My favorite two card combination to beat Evilswarms is [ccProd]Royal Decree[/ccProd] with a [ccProd]Thought Ruler Archfiend[/ccProd] on board, there is almost no out in their deck game 2 and 3 usually. If you [ccProd]Breakthrough Skill[/ccProd] an [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] in a similar fashion to how I discussed earlier, then if will be all too easy to have one Dragon Ruler and a one star tuner. Thought Ruler will negate all of their [ccProd]Forbidden Dress[/ccProd] or [ccProd]Forbidden Lance[/ccProd] and the life you gain after attacking over any of their XYZ will make sure you can survive when they try to steal him with [ccProd]Evilswarm Bahamut[/ccProd]. Most of the time I even allow it and follow up with a Number 11: Big Eye on your own turn to take it right back and gain more life!
Conclusion: In my opinion, defeating Evilswarms with Dragon Rulers can be an uphill battle, but if you have a plan of attack it is easily achievable. Instead of spending all of your efforts focusing on how to shut down [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd], try and come at them from two sides by eliminating any threat of their back row first then deal with monster that shuts you down. My favorite part about this strategy is that there will be times when they don’t have access to an early [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] and you win even more outright since you are prepared to deal with the other part of their deck as well. Trust me, [ccProd]Evilswarm Ophion[/ccProd] is a scary card, but like most, if you take away the power he has protecting him, he will crumble just as easy as the rest of them.
Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or simply want to just answer the question of the article, you can do so in the comments down below!
-Billy Brake
-YCS Toronto and YCS Columbus Champion
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