Greetings to all! My name is Loukas Peterson, and I’ve had the privilege of playing this game we call Yu-Gi-Oh! since the release in America. Ever since I cracked open my first pack of Legend of Blue Eyes and pulled a Pot of Greed, I’ve been playing hard to become the best duelist I can be. Here, I’ll be trying to fix up some of the decks that Billy and Joe wrote for us to submit. Let’s get right into Billy’s deck.

Billy Brake’s 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

With the release of the Koa’ki Meiru monsters, a new archtype was born, but with the addition of Rock-type monsters than “stun” your opponent, an even more specialized archtype was born, deservedly labeled “Rock Stun.” Fair enough, right?

The strategy of Rock Stun is to, well, stun your opponent to death! The trifecta of the Koa’ki Meiru ‘Stun’ monsters (Sandman, Wall, and Guardian) do just that by negating spells, traps, or monster effects, respectively. And by having a hefty 1900 Attack Points each, their power goes beyond their ‘Stun’asd effects! Calling them integral to the deck would be undermining the core of the deck itself!

If you’re not familiar with their newest “trump” card, let me get to that: Block Golem!

Block Golem

Rock/Earth Level 3; 1000/1500

If all the monsters in your Graveyard are EARTH: You can Tribute this card to target 2 Level 4 or lower Rock-Type monsters in your Graveyard, except "Block Golem"; Special Summon those targets, but their effects that activate on the field cannot be activated this turn.

Its stats aren’t the best and sure, it has some restrictions on the summon and the effects of the monsters you bring out, but WOW, this card is incredibly powerful! All the monsters in your Graveyard (at least in the main deck) are Earth-Attribute, and once the turn expires, your monsters are roaring to go again! This is easily a must have for the deck (Fossil Dyna’s effect to disallow special summoning doesn’t ‘activate, so he’s always ready to go!)

The “core” of the deck is pretty standard and should not be messed with: the Koa’ki Meiru trio, Block Golem, and Fossil Dyna. However, though I may seem crazy, I’d actually like to cut a Sandman (blasphemy!). The deck quickly gets big, and you’d rather have a more controlled number of cards in a stun based deck. So, the third Sandman will leave us here (only to be supplemented by more Rocks!)

So let’s make some cuts. First and foremost, let’s get rid of Card Trooper. While it’s a phenomenal card, I quickly found in testing that too often it would mill what I didn’t want it to. Yes, it can lead to some explosive plays, but sadly I saw too many Dark Holes and Neo-Spacian Gran Moles fall into the Graveyard to be satisfied with this card. Furthermore, setting a monster as defense just to get a plus zero (via his effect, of course) simply won’t cut it in today’s meta, especially for a stun deck. Granted, you could ram Trooper down the throat of a thunder King Rai-Oh, but there are better alternatives for the deck.

Secondly, I’d like to cut Maxx “C.” Though it is one of my favorite cards of all time, if you’re dropping Maxx “C” in Rock Stun, something is wrong. Ideally, you should be able to control the field with your Koa’ki Meiru monsters and plethora of traps, and I understand that you may not always have that, but Maxx “C” presents a few problems. 1. It will clog your hand, sadly, in here. Many times I look at that little insect and curse it for not being a trap I could set. 2. What will you do with all those cards you’ve drawn? If your opponent already exploded, you can’t really draw into too many answers to draw into (no Gorz, Emissary of Darkness, Effect Veiler, Tragoedia, and you only have one Dark Hole!) This deck thrives on being able to counteract plays rather than stock resources for a massive attack.

After taking out five monsters, I would actually like to in some very unique additions to the deck. Though my love for Legendary Jujutsu master is great, I can’t will myself to put him in. He simply isn’t strong enough to fight back as many monsters as he was. Sure, back in the day, your opponent would have to waste one if not two monsters to get this eyesore off the field, but with the rise of manipulating monsters (Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei") and sneaky destroyers (Nobleman of Crossout), LJM falls just shy of being phenomenal. If it had 1900 defense, then I think we could toss him in.

Has anyone ever heard of this card?

Gigantes

Rock/Earth Level 4; 1900/1300

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by removing from play 1 EARTH monster in your Graveyard. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.

Probably not, but let’s take a look at it in all its wonder. Level 4? Great for XYZ. Earth? Check. Rock? Check (and reveal this for Koa’ki Meriu cards). Special Summon? If you want to spam.

Those are all great plusses, and the last effect, the “Heavy Storm” effect, is great, but not as good as you think. Keep in mind you will have a decent of amount of  backrows at times, but a smart player can ensure that this negative (and or positive) side effect won’t hurt you too much, especially considering the Seal of Orichalcos can momentarily protect itself. In testing, I ran it into a Thunder King Rai-Oh to destroy a set Mystical Space Typhoon and faceup Wind-Up Factory!

While we’re at Graveyard manipulation, let’s look at this card:

Gaia Plate the Earth Giant

Rock/Earth Level 8; 2800/1000

You can Special Summon this card by removing from play any 2 Rock-Type monsters in your Graveyard. During your Standby Phase, remove from play 1 Rock-Type monster in your Graveyard, or send this card to the Graveyard. Halve the ATK and DEF of any monster that battles with this card.

Rock Stun is great at stunning, but not great at beating the living daylights out of your opponent when you’re looking down a huge monster. Though your opponent can just destroy this by spell or trap, there are VERY few instances that any monster can take this guy out by battle, even with some added help. Secondly, it removes rocks from your Graveyard. Yes, this may be bad for Block Golem, but it can manipulate the Graveyard, which brings us to Grandsoil, the Elemental Lord.

Jeff Jones made this card popular in Toronto, and while the surprise factor may be gone, a Monster Reborn on legs is no laughing matter. Yes, it has an unfortunate downside and may seem counter to this deck’s purpose, but so is something like Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness in a deck like Heroes. Sometimes, the surprise factor and sheer strength of the card is just overwhelming, despite its lack of sense in the deck. Unconventional, dangerous, and a double edged sword, but sometimes the craziest things work.

Lastly, and while it may be quite boring, I added a copy of Giant Rat. With the Seal of Orichalcos, this vermin of epic proportions is not something to laugh at, and if it gets destroyed in battle, you have A) more defense coming out B) a faster way to your GranMole/Block Golem C) Food in the graveyard for Gigantes, Gaia Plate, and Grandsoil

-2 Maxx “C”

-2 Card Trooper

-1 Koa’ki Meiru Sandman

+ Gigantes

+ Giant Rat

+ Grandsoil, the Elemental Lord

+ Gaia Plate the Earth Giant

So with the Graveyard manipulation piece added in, this will change the structure of the rest of the deck! We have the powerful Stun piece in play, but there are some added elements that can give this deck an extra punch it needs.

Let’s get onto the Spells. I love Dark Hole, Monster Reborn, Seal of Orichalcos, and double Pot of Duality. Some ‘staples’ like Book of Moon and Heavy Storm aren’t really that helpful for this deck, and now with Gigantes in play, if you REALLY want a storm to be abrewing, you have that.

But there are some fixes that need to be made. The Stun deck (with a punch!) won’t really try to be busting through for game on a single turn (unless you could throw down a Grandsoil, Gigantes, Gaia Plate, and Block Golem to go crazy), so I don’t think 3 Mystical Space Typhoons are necessary. Yes, they are great cards to disrupt opponent’s plays (Gateway of the Six, Gates of the Dark World, Royal Decree, etc.), but I think we can take one out and put in two copies of Forbidden Lance. Lance (effectively) works like an MST when summoning monsters (save your guys from Bottomless Trap Holes and the like), but it also has an element of being able to cut your opponent’s monsters down to size. It saves your monsters (Grandsoil and Gaia!), hurts your opponent, and if you play against someone who flips Horn of the Phantom Beast in the damage step, be prepared to watch them cry.

Similarly, I have seen too many people “blind” MST. This can be dangerous, because often your opponent won’t have as many responses to you as they have cards facedown. Let’s say you’re playing against Wind-Ups and have effectively traded both Life Points and card advantage, leaving you with just a Koa’ki Meiru in hand and a Forbidden Lance versus three facedowns that have been there for a short time. You check your opponent’s graveyard and see both Warnings in there, but see no Torrential Tributes, Dimensional Prison, or Mystical Space Typhoons. Either your opponent could have multiple responses (Torrential and Prison) that Lance could overcome, or they may just be bluffs. Personally, I’d rather bait out cards and ensure I do damage than blindly hit a bluff and then crash into a Mirror Force.

Also, I don’t think Soul Taker is needed. There’s a better card for that purpose found in a trap which I’ll discuss later.

-1 Mystical Space Typhoon

-2 Soul Taker

+ 2 Forbidden Lance

Onto the traps, which will be the most boring part of my review. Dimensional Prison, Solemn Warning, Solemn Judgment, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Call of the Haunted are superb. I’ve had Starlight Road negated too many times by Warning  to be pleased with that card right now and would put A Huge Revolution is Over in over that.

Torrential Tribute is a phenomenal card (stops the “derp” in the same way Maxx “C” fails to in this deck), but with so much presents on the field, I honestly only want one in here. But in addition to taking that out, I think our favorite trap Mirror Force would look great in here!

Remember how I took out Soul Taker? Soul Taker is a great 1 for 1 (ha) trade that takes out a monster and makes many cards miss their timing, however, this deck needs to “stun” your opponent, not sit around and wait for your turn to destroy cards. So instead of Soul Taker, I think 2 Compulsory Evacuation Devices are in order. They take almost all XYZ monsters and Synchros, make the Shining Miss timing as well, and while you’re at it, gets rid of Stardust.

-1 Torrential Tribute

-1 Starlight Road

+ The Huge Revolution is Over

+ 2 Compulsory Evacuation Device

+ 1 Mirror Force

I know I said the traps would be boring, but actually, the Extra Deck may take the cake on that.

The most common XYZ-ing you’ll be doing is Rank 4s (hopefully Earth) so Gem-Knight Pearl, Kochi-Kochi Dragon, Wind-Up Zenmaister, and Fairy King Albverdich are all good.

But where is Gagaga Cowboy? What is Gagaga Cowboy?

Gagaga Cowboy

Warrior/Earth Rank 4; 1500/2400

2 Level 4 monsters

Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; apply this effect, depending on this card's battle position.

● Attack Position: If this card attacks an opponent's monster this turn, it gains 1000 ATK and the opponent's monster loses 500 ATK, during the Damage Step only.

● Defense Position: Inflict 800 damage to your opponent.

Can you say game changer right here? If having a plethora of stun monsters wasn’t good enough, you might as well have a toolbox in your extra deck as well. This card is unparalleled in the world of Yugioh right now with such a versatile effect and ease to summon. 2 are going in the extra for sure, especially since it’s an Earth.

And if you can get this one off, my hat goes off to you:

Giant Soldier of Steel

Rock Earth Rank 3; 1300/2000

2 Level 3 Rock-Type monsters

This card is unaffected by other monsters' effects. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; it gains 1000 DEF until the End Phase, and if it does, you take no effect damage from your opponent's card effects this turn.

Granted, it is relatively hard to summon, but your toolbox (Extra Deck) will have the space, certainly, and why not have a defense against burn?

I think Natura Beast and Natura Barikon are too situational. Sure, a Grandsoil or a Monster Reborn could get you a tuner, but that is highly unlikely. Thus, let’s add some cards that could be “finishers.” While the core of the ‘stun’ deck is still there, wouldn’t it be nice to have some options in your extra deck? Photon Papilaperative and Shock Master will be in here for this purpose. Yes, I understand they conflict with Block Golem, but just go ahead and kill them if the opportunity arises. With Gigantes, Block Golem and Grandsoil, you’ll have this option to XYZ summon if you so desire and push through a Gorz, Spirit Reaper, Marshmallon, Gachi-Gachi, or annoying cards like that.

-1 Gachi Gachi

-1 Gaia Knight, Force of Earth

-1 Stardust Dragon

-1 Naturia Beast

-1 Naturia Barkion

+ 2 Gagaga Cowboy

+1 Giant Solider of Steel

+1 Photon Papilaperative

+1 No. 16 – Shock Master

Thus, we have: Rock Stun – Revisited (41 cards)

Monsters: 19

3 Koa’ki Meiru Guardian

3 Koa’ki Meiru Wall

3 Block Golem

2 Koa’ki Meiru Sandman

2 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo

1 Neo-Spacian Grandmole

1 Grandsoil, the Elemental Lord

1 Giant Rat

1 Gigantes

1 Gaia Plate the Earth Giant

Spells: 9

2 Mystical Space Typhoon

2 Forbidden Lance

2 Pot of Duality

1 Seal of Orichalcos

1 Monster Reborn

1 Dark Hole

Traps: 14

2 Dimensional Prison

2 Solemn Warning

2 Call of the Haunted

2 Bottomless Trap Hole

2 Compulsory Evacuation Device

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Solemn Judgment

1The Huge Revolution is Over

1 Mirror Force

Extra Deck: 15

2 Gem-Knight Pearl

2 Kochi Kochi Dragon

2 Soul of Silver Mountain

2 Gagaga Cowboy

1 Giant Solider of Steel

1 Photon Papilaperative

1 No. 16 – Shock Master

1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn

1 Wind-Up Zenmaister

1 Fairy King Albverdich

1 Scrap Dragon

Next, we have Joe Giolando’s Gishki Hero Turbo Deck. I’m a huge fan of Joe, but not of this deck. I see… a decent amount of problems, and in testing, am uncomfortable with this deck. Yes, it has some fun plays, but it’s one of “those” decks, that burps a ton of damage onto the field whilst being only so protective of itself.

Joe Giorlando’s  Gishki Hero Turbo Deck

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

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

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

Right off the bat, there are problems left and right (sorry to sound so critical), but these problems are evident. First, we have to recognize the point of the deck, i.e., the win condition. It looks like the boss monsters of the deck are Gishki Soul Ogre, Destiny Hero Plasma, Tragoedia, Dark Armed Dragon, and Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness. I normally wouldn’t include Tragoedia and Gorz as boss monsters, but the winning condition here is quite moot. After all, look at the whopping number of Miracle Fusion targets in the extra deck. It’s zero.

Let’s go ahead and start with the monsters, though. We have a variety of level 8 monsters, so a theme here is the “Trade-In” factor, which is a start for the deck. Our Gishki (and thus Water) lineup is 3 Soul Ogre, 3 Vision, and 1 Shadow. This primarily is to get out, of course, Soul Ogre, whose effect is:

Gishki Soul Ogre

Aqua/Water Level 8; 2800/2800

Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must first be Ritual Summoned. You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Gishki" Ritual Spell Card. Once per turn: You can discard 1 "Gishki" monster to target 1 face-up card your opponent controls; shuffle that target into the Deck.

This deck searches like nothing else, so getting the vital pieces, including Gishki Aquamirror, should be no problem, right? Well, with 3 Ogres and one Mirror, we have a problem with 3 Vision and 1 Shadow.

Gishki Vision searches the Ogre, and Shadow searches the spell required to summon Soul Ogre. While it is great to add Ogre to your hand, he’ll be next to impossible (ok, impossible) to summon without his ritual spell. First and foremost, we need another Shadow in there to even get the spell to our hand. It will be returning to the deck quite often by returning our Soul Ogres to our hand with the Mirror’s effect. The good part about Gishki monsters is that they recycle pretty well. In a pure Gishki deck, we could (almost) infinitely Ritual Summon, but here, that is not the main point of the deck. If we get out Soul Ogre three times, that’s good enough.

So for this engine change, drop a vision for a Shadow. This way, we can search the Ritual Spell card to our hand. Vision will be dead later on in the duel.

Next, let’s look at the Hero lineup. We have Elemental Hero Stratos, 2 Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, and 3 Plasma. The Plasma are in here simply for a Hero Target for Miracle Fusion and a Stratos target for deck thinning. If you summon a Plasma, that’s just icing on the cake, but in testing, if you rid your field of three monsters for plasma, you would already be so far up it would do nothing. This engine seems pretty good.

The Tour Guide engine has always been phenomenal, but with only 2 Tour Guide of the Underworld and 1 Sangan, the amount of searching through your deck and recycling your hand will no doubt conflict with Tour Guide. The Normal Summon will probably already be taken by a Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, Elemental Hero Stratos, or Sangan, by the time you’ll have had the chance for a Tour Guide from the Underworld Summon, it will be too late, and you’ll have drawn two. I understand that Tour Guide is a phenomenal card, but playing the deck around her Normal Summon is corrupting the core of the rest of the deck. Thus, both copies of her will be taken out.

With no defense (virtually), Gorz, the Emmisary of Darkness and Tragoedia will all stay in. No brainer here. With Miracle Fusion and a relatively low Dark Monster count after the Tour Guides have bid us farewell, Dark Armed Dragon (barely) makes the cut.

And for a chaotic approach, we’ll add Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning. Not only is he a huge boss monster, he’s level eight. Though, he needs Light-Attribute monsters to be effective. Considering this deck has almost no defense, Effect Veiler is a good idea regardless of Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the beginning presense or not. Keep in mind that worst case scenario, you can use Trade-In on BLS – EotB.

In conclusion:

-2 Tour Guide from the Underworld

-1 Gsihki Vision

+1 Giskhi Shadow

+2 Effect Veiler

+1 Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning

Now onto the spells…

The one Aquamirror gets recycled enough to be merit only one copy, especially with the addition of the second Gishki Shadow. That small engine is further aided by Salvage, which Joe included two copies of. Salvage is a phenomenal card that recycles your Graveyard, but very early on and late in the game, this card is dead beyond dead. I think we can justify keeping in one to speed up the deck, but only one.

The next thing that hit me like a sack of bricks while looking at this deck was the omission of Night Beam, and in its place, Mystical Space Typhoon. Our one of 4 Normal Summons, Destiny Hero Diamond Dude, has a “destiny” (ha) with this card. If you are unfamiliar with Diamond Dude’s ability, here it is:

Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude

Warrior/Dark Level 4; 1400/1600

Once per turn: You can reveal the top card of your Deck, and if it is a Normal Spell Card, send it to the Graveyard, otherwise place it on the bottom of your Deck. During the Main Phase of your next turn, you can activate the effect of that Spell Card in your Graveyard (even if you no longer control this face-up card).

Granted, maybe he should be discussed in the Monsters section (since he is a monster), however, I wanted to wait until Night Beam to talk about him. Diamond Dude has nearly 20 targets, and abusing him is a key strategy of the deck.

I wanted to add a Scapegoat so that Plasma could be live (set Scapegoat, activate during the End Phase of your opponent’s turn), but the more tried to playtest it, the more I constantly wished it was something else, not to mention the fact that Diamond Dude is not compatible with it.

Thus:

-3 Mystical Space Typhoon

-1 Salvage

+ 3 Night Beam

Without traps, we can move onto the Extra Deck, which may as well be thrown away. It is mostly comprised of Rank 3 monsters, very few of which can actually be summoned since Tour Guide is no longer in this deck. Sure, Tragoedia and Sangan can make Rank 3 monsters, but then again Glow-Up Bulb, Natura Cherries, Attack Gainer, Jutte Fighter, and BriSynchron can make XX Saber Gottoms.

The most important Extra Deck card is not even in here! Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, one of the (few) win conditions of this deck! Three of this wonderful Dark Hole-esque card must go in. We go have (quite) a bit of Extra Deck space in the extra deck, room for some Rank fours with Diamond Dude, Tragoedia, and Elemetnal Hero Stratos, but we can’t go crazy on these. Number 11: Big Eye is a handy addition, something that can steal your opponent’s monsters. Though, Tragoedia, Gorz, or Dark Armed Dragon are needed to fuel this XYZ monster.

Here are the changes:

-1 Grenosaurus

-1 Black Rose Dragon
-1 Melomelody the Brass Djinn
-1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
-1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
-1 Number 39: Utopia
+3 Elemental Hero Absolute Zero

+1 Photon Papilaperative

+1 Scrap Dragon

+1 Ally of Justic Catastor

Joe Giorlando’s  Spamalot Deck

Monsters: 21

3 Gishki Soul Ogre

3 Destiny Hero Plasma

2 Effect Veiler

2 Gishki Vision

2 Gishki Shadow

2 Destiny Hero Diamond Dude

2 Trageodia

1 Sangan

1 Elemental Hero Stratos

1 Dark Armed Dragon

1 Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness

1 Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning

Spells: 19

3 Destiny Draw

3 Trade-In

3 Miracle Fusion

3 Night Beam

1 Salvage

1 Gishki Aquamirror

1 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Allure of Darkness

1 Dark Hole

1 Heavy Storm

1 Monster Reborn

3 Elemental Hero Absolute Zero

1 Photon Papilaperative

1 Wind-Up Zenmaines

1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction

1 Temtempo Percussion Djinn

1 Maestroke Symphony Djinn

1 Blade Armor Ninja

1 Heroic Champion Excalibur

1 Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis

1 Number 11: Big Eye

1 Gaia Dragon, Thunder Charger

1 Ally of Justice Catastor

1 Scrap Dragon

In conclusion, when fixing a deck, it is important to identify what exigency of the deck. It is important to figure out what the deck is trying to do. For example, in the Tock Stun deck, it’s important to keep the “stun” elemental, but I don’t think the cards I’ve added have corrupted the deck. Simiarily, the second deck has a theme of being explosive (and trying to hold onto some defense as well with the Trageoedia etc), and my changes haven’t taken out the core of the deck.

Until next time, go forth and conquer!

Discussion

comments