Malefic Adventures

January 5, 2012

by Evan Wooden

One year ago I decided to break my extended hiatus from Yu-Gi-Oh!. I soon embarked on what would become an adventure that will be remembered until the day I die. All of the talk about Synchro monsters and speed was foreign to me, as I remembered the days of "biggest beater wins." As you could assume, I had no interest in this new play-style. I wanted to play with power. There was only one problem with this, though: the top decks were based around speed and Synchro monsters. If I wanted to win, I had to either join them or find a way to demolish them. I chose the latter.

Instantly, an older card that I had toyed with before it became popular came to mind. That card is Skill Drain. After a few months of play, I began to realize that the reason these top decks could win so easily was because of the effects that their monsters wielded. What better way to stop everything dead in its tracks than Skill Drain? I quickly formulated a deck based around the card, and posted it in the Pojo Forums; the only place I knew where I could go for help. My thread garnered a few replies in the week or so that it was up, giving me a few ideas for improvement, but nothing came by that was really ground breaking. Then one day, like a diamond in the rough, someone suggested the advent of Malefic cards in my deck. The connection was instantly made. The ultimate power cards in the game, combined with Skill Drain could tear a hole in any deck and bring "cookie-cutter" decks to their knees. My mouth watered at the thought, and I knew that this was what I was looking for. The game would be mine!

I quickly researched the Malefic archetype and its support. I put together a slew of cards to make this new creation. When I thought my build was good, I, of course, posted it on Pojo and began testing. On the birthday of my thread, a person with the username "shadowpwnr" gave me some advice, leading me to the addition of the Geartown engine, and utilizing the Virus cards. Another person named "Glomp Panda" also came along and became a huge help with the deck's formation. My dream of developing the best Anti-Meta deck in the game was coming true.

After testing out many different ideas brought forth by those wanting to help, the deck was beginning to flow very well. I could realize an incredible amount of potential in this, but I had no way to showcase it. The closest local tournament was an hour away from my house, and being a college student, I just couldn't afford to drive back and forth. Finding a close regional or a Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship series tournament would be the only way for me to use the deck at a high competitive level. My thirst to take this deck to a tournament needed to be quenched soon. Finally, a close regional tournament showed up! I began collecting the cards I needed immediately.

At the turn of a new format, I walked into Bluegrassmagic Game Shop with one thing in mind: win. This was my first regional, so I didn't quite know what to expect, but I walked my nervous body through the doors, Malefics in hand. I powered my way through the regional, only losing twice in eight rounds, one a very crushing defeat, coming after time was called in the round. I had destroyed many Meta decks and shown just how powerful Malefic Stun is. I knew that this would shine a low light on those who "hated" on my deck, and serve them some humble pie on a silver platter. Oh, how great it felt to show everyone how great the deck had become. I took my nationals invite and drove home; I was mentally drained after all of it.

When I woke up the next day, I wrote a report about the tournament, and in that report I stated that I didn't meet my expectations. Deep down I knew that twelfth place was underachieving for what I had. I went back to the Pojo thread, which had achieved a part three, gaining one thousand posts on each of its first to parts, and got right back to work on the progression of the deck. By this time, many people had come to look at the thread and some had become frequent posters. A small community had begun to form, and I realized that this was truly something special.

With this community growing larger, more and more ideas were brought forth to try out. Being the workers we are, "shadowpwnr" and I proceeded to test each and every one of them. Some worked very well and eventually worked their way into the deck, and, of course, some ideas proved to be not-so-good. The deck fell into a state of constant evolution, changing when necessary to challenge those decks at the top, and fixing flaws to inch closer and closer to perfection. In my honest opinion, through the hard work and countless hours spent working on this deck, it truly has become the new Anti-Meta. No other deck can toe the line with Malefic Stun and come out unscathed.

Today, the Pojo thread I made, "The NEW Anti-Meta!", has reached its eighth part, soon to be the ninth, and has garnered much support. Little did I know when I posted the first thread for my Malefic Stun deck that it would turn into everything that it did. It has been a great experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I love this deck and the people involved in its making and evolution. I am very proud to say that I'm a member of the great Malefic community, and have the ability to help make the virtually unknown archetype feared amongst the top duelists. I look forward to continuing on in this game with my Malefics in hand, much like how I walked in to my first regional. Meta, look out!

Leitchfield, Kentucky