Hey duelists. Thanks to the many people who have submitted decklists to ARG’s Deck Doctor page. Tyler and I are looking to doctor all kinds of decks. If you would like our input on your deck, “Like” the Deck Doctor fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgDeckDoctor
There, you can post your deck (along with a brief summary) on the wall of this page or send it in a message, and you will automatically be considered for the future deck doctor articles.
How do I choose which decks to doctor?
To summarize what I’ve said before, I am looking for all kinds of decks, even if they aren’t YCS-topping material. Most submissions we’ve received have been from players trying to improve at least their local level performance, and my goal is to draw out the potential in a deck so that it can take its pilot as far as possible. If your deck gives me a chance to talk about general deck building principles, I will especially want to doctor it.
Carl Frazier’s Thunder Synchro
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 20
3 Vylon Prisma
3 Pahunder
3 Mahunder
3 Thunder Sea Horse
2 Kagetogake
2 Batterman AAA
2 Tragoedia
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
Spells: 10
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Recycling Batteries
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Forbidden Lance
Traps: 10
2 Mirror Force
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn judgement
1 Dimensional Prison
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Starlight Road
Extra Deck: 15
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Kachi Kochi Dragon
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Vylon Disigma
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Light End Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
2 Thought Ruler Archfiend
2 Stardust Dragon
At a Glance
There have been many unique decklists floating around the Deck Doctor facebook page as well as in my inbox. Carl’s Thunder deck is one of them. Carl recently piloted this deck to a top 8 finish at a 52-man local, losing out to Wind-Ups. While this archetype does not have an official name, I am inclined to name it Thunder Synchro because the Synchro component is what makes it unique (as opposed to Thunder XYZ, since pretty much all decks will XYZ summon).
This deck has some simple yet neat interactions that caught my eye. For instance, there are themed cards which generate advantage, such as Recycling Batteries and Thunder Sea Horse. Also, there is a focus on Thought Ruler Archfiend, which protects itself from most traps, yet also a teched Forbidden Lance in case they do have the one out to Thought Ruler. Sea Horse + the Thunder siblings allow for XYZ spam, sometimes even XYZ monsters that require THREE materials to summon – a difficult feat for non-Thunder decks.
The spell and trap lineup are pretty standard, so I will devote the majority of my attention to the Main and Extra Deck monsters as well as the side deck.
Monsters
3 Vylon Prisma
3 Pahunder
3 Mahunder
3 Thunder Sea Horse
2 Kagetogake
2 Batterman AAA
2 Tragoedia
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
Since Abyss Rising’s release, Thunder decks have shown themselves in different variants. What stood out to me the most here was Baterman and Vylon Prisma. A quick filtered search on DN reveals that Vylon Prisma is in fact the strongest Thunder-type tuner (the others are a bunch of Watts), and incidentally it can also be returned to the hand with Recycling Batteries.
Kagetokage was released in PHSW and was intended by Konami to be used to facilitate more XYZ centered decks. It’s a level 4 Reptile that can’t be normal summoned or set – but it can be special summoned when any level 4 monster is successfully normal summoned. Think of it as a ghetto generic reincarnation of Wind-Up Shark that cannot be used for Synchro summons. You can’t spell Kagetokage without “geto.” (That was awful)
Batteryman AAA facilitates turbo XYZ summoning like the other monsters in the main deck, but its effect is far more situational and thus less consistent than the other star players. While Thunder Sea Horse does increase hand sizes for Tragoedia, the heavy backrow lineup discourages the use of Tragoedia. However, BLS is a ridiculously effective monster in Light-heavy decks, so to keep up the dark count, we can go for Tour Guide’s family instead. Lastly, Honest is going to give us a bit of coverage against Thunder King Rai-Oh, as well as enable blowouts if you conserve it well.
-2 Bateryman AAA
-2 Tragoedia
+2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
+1 Sangan
+1 Honest
Spells
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Recycling Batteries
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Forbidden Lance
I think Batteries at 2 is a healthy choice here. I’m the kind of guy who won’t max out on Salvage in the water deck in the name of opening consistency over late game power, and in the same way, I wouldn’t want to see too much of this card early on. Typhoon is good at either two or three in this deck, though three isn’t a bad idea since you REALLY want to snipe the Solemn Warning, which is the one trap the deck can’t effectively play around.
No changes.
Traps
2 Mirror Force
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn judgement
1 Dimensional Prison
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Starlight Road
Starlight was a great pick for this deck, not just to protect the 14+ backrow that can be set, but also because you are never dropping just one monster on the field in a single turn (game 1, at least). Eat your heart out, Torrential Tribute.
Great lineup, no changes.
Extra Deck
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Kachi Kochi Dragon
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Vylon Disigma
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Light End Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
2 Thought Ruler Archfiend
2 Stardust Dragon
The Extra is full of Light, which shines brightly with the new addition of Honest. The inclusion of Tour Guide necessitates a few rank 3s. Zenmaines is much more crucial than Leviair in this deck because it is lacking in strong openings, given its combo-based monster lineup. We’ll cut some rank 4s to make room for rank 3s. While 3-monster XYZ summoning is relatively easy with this deck, I don’t think there is room for so many of them. Blackship will give us another Dark for BLS as well as out cards that Temtempo would normally be depended upon to take care of.
-1 Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon
-1 Kachi Kochi Dragon
-1 Gem-Knight Pearl
+1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
+1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
+1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 20
3 Vylon Prisma
3 Pahunder
3 Mahunder
3 Thunder Sea Horse
2 Kagetogake
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Honest
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
Spells: 10
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Recycling Batteries
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Forbidden Lance
Traps: 10
2 Mirror Force
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn judgement
1 Dimensional Prison
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Starlight Road
Extra Deck: 15
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Vylon Disigma
1 Light End Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
2 Thought Ruler Archfiend
2 Stardust Dragon
Since Carl struggled with Wind-Up in his last tournament experience I would recommend Fossil Dyna, Maxx “C”, Thunder King, and Gozen Match in the side deck to encourage a slower-paced grind game in the matchup.
Side Deck: 15
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh (It isn’t a Thunder deck without the King of Thunder)
2 Maxx “C”
2 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
2 Spirit Reaper
2 Dimensional Fissure
1 Soul Taker
2 Soul Drain
2 Gozen Match
In summary, this is a strong deck which generates card advantage and has some forceful plays yet also can convert into a control-oriented antimeta. Give it a try!
Andrew Dingess with Plants
Plants (or the deck Konami dubbed Synchrocentric) was the best deck in the September 2011 fall format, and the plant format itself is regarded by many as one of the most skill-intensive formats in recent years. The deck used to cost over $1200 if you were buying the cards as singles (even more if you were going to try to pull them out of packs), but I really enjoyed the format despite the large price tags because of how complex and fun it was to pilot the deck. Joe Giorlando wrote an article about his take on plants at the very start of the current ban list, though the deck has gone pretty much unmentioned since then. I now have the honor of revisiting the viability of the Plant deck, here at the end of the September 2012 format.
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 21
3 Effect Veiler
2 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Debris Dragon
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Night Assailant
1 Blackwing – Elphin the Raven
1 Lonefire Blossom
1 Dandylion
1 Spore
1 Chaos Sorcerer
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
Spells: 12
2 Pot of Duality
1 One for One
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Foolish Burial
1 Mind Control
1 Scapegoat
1 Book of Moon
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Pot of Avarice
Traps: 7
3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
3 Call of the Haunted
1 Return from the Different Dimension
Extra Deck: 15
1 Formula Synchron
1 Armory Arm
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Orient Dragon
1 Ancient Fairy Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Number 39: Utopia
At a Glance
If I recall correctly, someone piloting “Synchrocentric” did top the first YCS of the season (Toronto). And now the Yugioh world has fallen all but silent on this deck. The reason I have picked out this deck to work on today is the same reason I wrote extensively about X-Sabers during the Deck Doctor competition: it is highly undervalued. And like my friend David with Sabers, there is also a niche player in my area (Houston) who is not only dedicated to the Plant deck, but is good enough to consistently take out common tier 1 and tier 2 meta decks and top in a competitive environment. His name’s Julian.
Monsters
3 Effect Veiler
2 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Debris Dragon
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Night Assailant
1 Blackwing – Elphin the Raven
1 Lonefire Blossom
1 Dandylion
1 Spore
1 Chaos Sorcerer
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Dark Armed Dragon
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
The monster engine here is rather scattered, and a clear path to a win condition could be better carved with the removal of some unnecessary distractions. Night Assailant, Elphin, Chaos Sorcerer, and Dark Armed Dragon are all inconsistent cards in a deck that needs a strong opening gameplan in order to maintain control until more complex plays are initiated in the mid game. There is little purpose in creating an engine around the concept of chaos when Chaos Sorcerer is at 1. Cards like hand traps, Snowman Eater, Thunder King, Spirit Reaper, and Tour Guide are crucial in establishing that control early on to exchange resources and pave the way for your combos. Maxx “C” is generally mediocre in most main decks right now, but I would advocate it in this particular deck to seize control of game 1 against Water and Wind-Ups.
Now, I’m not exactly saying anything original here with these suggestions. In all honesty if tradition works, there isn’t purpose in diverging from methods that are tried and true. The monster lineup will look significantly more like 2011 plants after these edits.
-1 Effect Veiler
-1 Elphin
-1 Night Assailant
-1 Chaos Sorcerer
-1 Dark Armed Dragon
+3 Maxx “C”
+2 Snowman Eater
+2 Spirit Reaper
Spells
2 Pot of Duality
1 One for One
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Foolish Burial
1 Mind Control
1 Scapegoat
1 Book of Moon
1 Allure of Darkness
1 Pot of Avarice
Pot of Duality is incredibly out of place here since special summons and face-up Thunder Kings will be prevalent in your games. Allure does not synergize well with the deck either. However, Enemy Controller is a great bet, display synergy with Dandylion, working under Decree/Trap Stun, and facilitating XYZ and Synchro plays. MST is staple because like in any deck, it clears the path for successful summons.
-2 Pot of Duality
-1 Allure of Darkness
+2 Mystical Space Typhoon
+2 Enemy Controller
Traps
3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
3 Call of the Haunted
1 Return from the Different Dimension
Call is okay at one, but it’s inherently a slow and punishable card that you don’t want to draw into two of. The Solemns are necessary to both protect your field and protect your pushes. Torrential works brilliantly in any plant deck. I would maindeck Compulsory in pretty much nothing but Dark World right now; it’s awful versus so much of the meta at this point that I am siding it in literally nothing except the Wind-Up mirror. Return is a very inconsistent card and is probably the single most dead card choice in the build.
-3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
-2 Call of the Haunted
-1 Return from the Different Dimension
+2 Solemn Warning
+1 Solemn Judgment
+1 Torrential Tribute
Extra Deck
1 Formula Synchron
1 Armory Arm
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Orient Dragon
1 Ancient Fairy Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Number 39: Utopia
The extra is fairly well constructed here, but there is still a little tidying up to do. Colossal Fighter is completely unviable in this game and has been for years due to the popularity of so many cards that either one for one trade with it or punish it for being summoned altogether. Roach is a decent card, but Dragons are not popular enough to warrant dedicating a space for it.
Arcanite is useful for the Librarian+Formula setup (which is still viable even in the absence of Glow-Up Bulb, thanks to One for One). Temtempo is a crucial XYZ (read: Zenmaines) slayer.
-1 Colossal Fighter
-1 Steelswarm Roach
+1 Arcanite Magician
+1 Temtempo
Final List
Main Deck: 41
Monsters: 23
3 Maxx “C”
2 Effect Veiler
2 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Snowman Eater
2 Spirit Reaper
2 Debris Dragon
2 Tour Guide from the Underworld
1 Sangan
1 Lonefire Blossom
1 Dandylion
1 Spore
1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning
Spells: 13
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Enemy Controller
1 One for One
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Foolish Burial
1 Mind Control
1 Scapegoat
1 Book of Moon
1 Pot of Avarice
Traps: 5
2 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Call of the Haunted
Extra Deck: 15
1 Formula Synchron
1 Armory Arm
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 T.G. Hyper Librarian
1 Orient Dragon
1 Arcanite Magician
1 Ancient Fairy Dragon
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 39: Utopia
True to classic plants, D Prison, Fiendish Chain, and Bottomless Trap Hole are key traps in the side deck for the more control-based games 2 and 3. Closed Forest is a nice piece of tech in the side that will help you deal with the Gravekeeper matchup, and Ancient Fairy Dragon tutors it. Soul Taker, Dust Tornado, and the 3rd Typhoon will help with the game 2/3 slow grind as well. Having a lot of first hand experience with plants, I should say do not give up on the build if you aren’t pulling off wins right away. When in doubt, question your plays rather than the build. It’s very effective once you’ve become accustomed to beginning, mid, and endgame dynamics.
Until next time,
Play Hard or Go Home.
Sincerely,
Johnny
Johnny Li
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