The first event of our new diverse format has come and gone, and while Dragon-type decks seem to be the top contender, as usual in these times I decided to take something a bit different than everyone else. Ever since Harpies first came out, I was in love with them. It was the first deck I ever actively made that wasn't just a pile of cards, and it forever holds a special place in my heart.
What I first loved about the deck was that there are no cards you can instantly side against the deck like you can Spellbooks or Dragons or Mermails. Secondly, the deck can side perfectly against other matchups without hindering itself. A card I chose to side deck for my Prophecy matchup was Anti Spell Fragrance. Not only did this card slow Prophecy down by forcing them to set all of their Spells before activating them, but it allowed me to pop all of them with Harpies Hunting Ground before they can even get a chance to. In a format without [ccProd]Heavy Storm[/ccProd], many decks could focus on setting cards without any fear. Harpies makes that fear real once again. With Hunting Ground being a searchable and infinate source of backrow destruction, your opponent will always double think before setting cards; and if they dont, better for you as it allows you to set up an OTK with [ccProd]Hysteric Party[/ccProd]. 
Anyway, here is the deck I used
2 [ccProd]Effect Veiler[/ccProd]2 Flying Kamakari #1
3 [ccProd]Harpie Channeler[/ccProd]3 Harpie Lady #1
3 [ccProd]Harpie Queen[/ccProd]2 Harpie's Pet Dragon
2 [ccProd]Maxx C[/ccProd]2 [ccProd]Summoner Monk[/ccProd]
1 [ccProd]Book of Moon[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Dark Hole[/ccProd]2 [ccProd]Elegant Egotist[/ccProd]3 Harpie's Hunting Ground
3 [ccProd]Hysteric Sign[/ccProd]2 [ccProd]Pot of Duality[/ccProd]
1 [ccProd]Bottomless Trap Hole[/ccProd]2 [ccProd]Fiendish Chain[/ccProd]3 [ccProd]Hysteric Party[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Torrential Tribute[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Solemn Warning[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Compulsory Evacuation Device[/ccProd]
1 [ccProd]Scrap Dragon[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Crimson Blader[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Abyss Dweller[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Diamond Dire Wolf[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Gagaga Cowboy[/ccProd]1 Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon
1 [ccProd]Ice Beast Zerofyne[/ccProd]3 [ccProd]Lightning Chidori[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Maestroke the Symphony Djinn[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack[/ccProd]1 Number 11 Big Eye
1 [ccProd]Master of Blades[/ccProd]1 [ccProd]Queen Dragun Djinn[/ccProd]
A monster normally seen in Harpie decks is the Dragon Ruler of Wind, Tempest. Its a Level 7 Dragon that in turn, morphs [ccProd]Harpie Channeler[/ccProd] into a Level 7 as well, but I found it made bad hands much worse and really didn't have a great place in the deck. I really wanted to focus on trying to see Hysteric Sign turn 1, which is why I included 2 [ccProd]Pot of Duality[/ccProd]. Whenever I got to see a [ccProd]Hysteric Sign[/ccProd] turn 1, I nearly always won. It gets you your Elegant Egotist, and then floats there until you decided to destroy it and proceed to +3 your opponent.
Also, another beauty about Hysteric Sign is now many decks max out on MST. Meaning if you are in no hurry to activate and search for Egotist, you can simply set it and wait for your opponent to take the biggest minus ever by MST'ing it, and allowing you to search for 3 Harpie cards.
Looking closer at my deck, you might see a few things missing or that seem out of place. One of those cards is Flying Kamakari. Honestly, the card isn't very good, but the deck lacks Monsters and needs a way to get Harpies on the field until the mediocre Harpie Dancer comes out. She's pretty unexciting, but the fact she is a Harpie Lady makes her instantly playable.
Next is the lack of the very powerful Trap:[ccProd] Icarus Attack[/ccProd]. Honestly, the lack of Winged Beasts makes the card fricken terrible. I almost never wanted it in testing, and always wanted to keep my Monsters on the field. Icarus Attack is probably not very great to turn to until again, Dancer comes out increasing the amount of Winged Beast in the deck.
The extra deck is pretty standard, lots of Rank 4 monsters and a splash of Rank 7's. [ccProd]Lightning Chidori[/ccProd] is obviously the MVP here, and is the go to card most of the time. Killing opponents draw phases has always been very good in the game. Dracossack is the next most important Xyz monster, for obvious reasons, while the most overlooked yet very important Xyz monster is the [ccProd]Ice Beast Zerofyne[/ccProd]. She comes out with 2000 attack, which isn't very impressive, but as most monsters with lower attacks, she is backed up with a wicked effect. She can negate the effects of ALL cards your opponent controls that are face-up until YOUR next turn. This means anything you cannot get rid of, like[ccProd] The Grand Spellbook Tower[/ccProd], will have its effects negated leaving it almost useless. Next, she starts to get big. Real big. Ice Beast gains 300 attack for each faceup card on the field. Period. Yours and your opponents. Now, Harpies actually play a lot of cards that go face up. Hysteric Sign and Party, Harpies Hunting Ground, and [ccProd]Fiendish Chain[/ccProd] to name a few. Many of these cards are always on the field at any given time. The highest my Ice Beast got to at this event was 5000 attack, but normally she stays around the 3k range. Again, this attack increase last until your next turn. She is certainly a force to be reckoned with and her appearance can easily surprise most duelist.
As for how my tournament went, I ended up 7-3 at the end of the day, very unfortunate. So close, yet so far! I ended up beating 2 Dragon decks, 2 Prophecy decks, 1 Nimble Water deck, 1 Inzektor deck, and 1 Mecha Phantom Beast deck. My losses were to a Mermail, in round 1 which was in time (gosh I hate time), a Constellar, which apparently is a terrible matchup for Harpies, and then at the end of the day I lost to a 4 Axis Fire Fist deck which honestly, is one of my best matchups, but in game 3 I opened with double Harpies Pet Dragon. I guess it just wasn't my time!
Finishing up here, I'd just like to touch on the fact that in just a few weeks the first ARG Circuit Series tournament in Texas. This means more chances for new and creative decks to shine, and a new champion will rise, and a handfull of people will walk away with some great prizes. Myself, I cannot attend, but I will be attending the ARG Circuit series in Ohio, October 12th, so make sure to come out, say hello, and so your support for ARG!
Also, a special shout out to the most wonderful partner in the world, my boyfriend Loukas Peterson who topped his first event this YCS, and made it all the way to the top 8. Congratulations, I'm so proud of you!
Until next time duelist, thanks for reading and as usual, play hard or go home.
LMJeffJones
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