Welcome to the fifteenth installment!
Hi readers; it’s been a while since I’ve come at you with a deck. Classes just began for me in med school, so these days I’m shuffling up notes instead of cards and sleeving up with a white coat instead of white player’s choice. Sadly, this now means no regular tournaments (locals) for me. In 2013 I set a goal to win $1,000 from local tournament prize support within the year. I hit $990 the day before the NAWCQ and had to stop there unfortunately. However, there are new opportunities on the horizon, though I have to say it’s been a tough adjustment switching from practicing Yugioh every day in preparation for a single tournament to studying human anatomy and patients. The Yugioh life was certainly a lot more fun, but at this time I’m having to make sacrifices. Do you have your own story about having to sacrifice from this game to pursue a different goal? Share in the comments below!
I got to meet some Dragon Duelist parents at the NAWCQ. Today we’ll look at one of these parent’s decks.
As always, send your deck ideas to the Deck Doctor fan page:
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Please write your decklist out fully. Use the deck lists in this article as an example. Thanks!
Randy Gailbraith’s Constellar
Main Deck: 38
Monsters: 18
1 Photon Thrasher
1 Thunder King Rai-Oh
3 Constellar Kaus
3 Constellar Pollux
2 Constellar Algiedi
3 Constellar Sombre
2 Constellar Sheratan
1 Honest
1 Effect Veiler
1 Maxx "C"
Spells: 10
1 Heavy Storm
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
2 Night Beam
1 Fire Formation - Tensu
3 Fire Formation - Tenki
Traps: 10
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Breakthrough Skill
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Reckless Greed
1 Imperial Iron Wall
1 Gozen Match
Extra Deck: 13
1 Gaia Dragon, The Thunder Charger
1 Constellar Ptolemy M7
1 Tiras, Keeper of Genesis
1 Constellar Pleiades
1 Number 61: Volcasarus
1 Number 85: Crazy Box
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Constellar Praesepe
1 Constellar Omega
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Starliege Paladynamo
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Gagaga Cowboy
Side Deck: 15
1 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Gorilla
2 Electric Virus
1 Maxx "C"
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Vanity's Emptiness
2 Imperial Iron Wall
1 Gozen Match
Discussion
I’m adopting a new format to this segment, where I go over changes holistically and incorporate card relationships while reducing the clutter from systematically writing out all the monsters, spells, and traps again. Brevity is the name of the game.
Randy is a Yugi-dad I had the pleasure of meeting at the NAWCQ, where his son Adrian competed as a Dragon Duelist. His goal is to earn an invite for the next WCQ. Since we have an entire year, there will be plenty of opportunities. The first deck he sent me was Constellars.
Constellars are the foil of Evilswarms, representing justice over corruption. Both decks generate advantage using XYZ monsters with floating effects (to float is to go +1 or higher in card advantage through an intrinsic effect, that is, not counting destroying a monster by battle).
For the main deck, we want to optimize the core strategy. For this reason, we cut some of the 1-ofs that offer more marginal benefits, and raise any 1-ofs to full playsets if we really want to draw them. Game 1 needs to be consistent, and we need to draw the cards we want to see as often as possible. For example, we would cut the 1 Maxx “C” because it is not applicable against all the threats game 1. We want to maximize the hand trap we actually want to see, and for game 1 this would be Effect Veiler. Examples of increasing core strategy consistency include raising to full playsets of the Constellar monsters, Algiedi and Sheratan. A Star Chart can also help you generate advantage in a grind game.
There is one 1-of, however, that I do like in Constellars, and that is Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear. Bear is searchable, so you are rewarded far more for running a singleton copy versus singletons of other beatsticks like Tking or Thrasher. Its effect also makes Fire Formation - Tensu more playable, and Tensu helps to dispel some of the inconsistencies brought about by summoning the lone Sheratan.
Night Beam is another card we cut in the name of consistency, as this format, spell-trap removal is less reliable in game 1 and is better used in side deck strategies. Ideally, you will remove problem cards with Pleiades. Book of Moon is a ridiculously good card this format. I mean, it’s good any format, but this format it has stood out in an exceptional way and I would sooner include it than Dark Hole in any competitive deck. Shutting down boss monsters in one go, not losing to trap negation, and activating on the turn its drawn are just a few of its amazing characteristics.
We want to support our XYZ strategy with traps that will hinder your opponent’s monsters from getting past your own, be they Dracossacks, big dragons, or Ophions. Compulsory is the top unlimited trap to meet this need. We normally allocate the less consistent traps such as Iron Wall and Gozen Match (which do nothing in terms of removal) as well as Reckless Greed (which is meant for turbo decks that also main 3 Upstart) to either the side deck or the shoebox. However, Iron Wall is somewhat exceptional in that we are in a format where it inhibits the top 2 decks. What is normally not worthy of the main deck by virtue (or vice) of not being removal is now main-worthy. Since we already have a maindeck that is targetting Dragon Rulers, we can round it out with Vanity’s Emptiness. Pleiades works great with VE since it can return cards to the hand that would otherwise have triggered VE’s destruction. Be careful to use Pleiades outside of main phase whenever you can afford to luxury, in order to avoid Veiler.
-1 Tking
-1 Thrasher
-1 Maxx
-2 Night Beam
-2 Reckless
-1 Gozen
-2 Bottomless
-2 Breakthrough
+2 Veiler
+1 Sheratan
+1 Algiedi
+1 Bear
+1 Book
+1 Compulsory
+2 Iron Wall
+2 Emptiness
+1 Solemn Warning
+1 Solemn Judgment
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 20
3 Constellar Kaus
3 Constellar Pollux
3 Constellar Algiedi
3 Constellar Sombre
3 Constellar Sheratan
3 Effect Veiler
1 Honest
1 Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear
Spells: 10
1 Heavy Storm
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Constellar Star Chart
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon
1 Fire Formation - Tensu
3 Fire Formation - Tenki
Traps: 10
3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
3 Imperial Iron Wall
2 Vanity’s Emptiness
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 15
1 Gaia Dragon, The Thunder Charger
1 Constellar Ptolemy M7
1 Tiras, Keeper of Genesis
1 Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon
1 Number 85: Crazy Box
2 Constellar Pleiades
1 Number 61: Volcasarus
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Constellar Praesepe
1 Constellar Omega
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Starliege Paladynamo
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Gagaga Cowboy
Side Deck: 15
3 Maxx "C"
3 Electric Virus
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
3 Puppet Plant/Last Day of Witch
3 Eradicator Epidemic Virus
The main deck was 38, possibly due to clerical error or a forgotten card or two. I’ve bumped it up to 40, the side up to 15, and changed the Extra a bit to support EEV (with Adreus). Crazy Box isn’t as good as a 2nd copy of M7 or Omega, but we can give it a try as we side deck EEV. E-Virus offers coverage for both Dragons and Swarm, and you have 9 cards for Spellbooks.
Carl Pham’s Rank 4 Anti-Meta
Main Deck: 41
Monsters: 20
3 Tin Goldfish
3 Star Drawing
3 Inari Fire
3 Flamvell Firedog
2 Flamvell Magician
2 Summoner Monk
2 Effect Veiler
2 Maxx "C"
Spells: 13
3 Rekindling
3 Rank-Up Magic Barian's Force
3 Instant Fusion
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon
Traps: 8
3 Imperial Iron Wall
3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 15
2 Karbonala Warrior
2 Number 39: Utopia
2 Number C39: Utopia Ray V
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
1 Number 85: Crazy Box
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Evilswarm Ouroboros
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Crimson Blader
Discussion
It’s admittedly not a good format for anti-meta. Currently the best anti-meta decks are themselves themed archetypes. Anything one can hope to accomplish with a strategy like rank 4 spam, for instance, is executed more efficiently with Hunders; they do the same thing as generic strategies involving Tin Goldfish or Kagetokage while having inherent plus generators and additional tricks like Vylon Prism-Blader running over Redox. Blame Konami for the power creep.
However, I still give Carl credit for deviating from the norm and coming up with an uncommon strategy that utilizes Inari Fire to special summon itself with a combination of various Spellcasters, like Magician, Monk, Star Drawing, and even Effect Veiler. Effect Veiler-Inari makes Catastor possible, so we’ll want to add that.
Star Drawing offers a potential plus, but Monk is a guaranteed minus. While Spellcasters are scarce, we simply cannot afford that much neg, so we will cut it. The same goes for Barian’s Force, which should be dropped altogether, depending on the level of casual/competitive you want to take the strategy. It’s obviously cool if you can drop Utopia Ray V, so if you’re after style points, go for it. Otherwise, we get greater consistency out of minimizing “finisher” cards and maximizing cards that open well. The set of Rekindling is already dead weight for opening plays, so the rest of the deck should favor opening plays.
Iron Wall is a good way to go since the theme is anti-meta. I recommend siding Emptiness as well, as you can make 1 or 2 rank 4s to establish board presence and seal gamestates with Emptiness. Some examples of good monster pairings for Emptiness include stun cards like Shock Master or Abyss Dweller, or beatsticks that establish 2 or 3 turn clocks, like Scrap Dragon. A little more defense may be needed in the trap lineup as well, since we only have 3 removal cards apart from Solemn.
Drawing any of the Spellcasters in the monster lineup without Inari Fire can prove quite problematic, as apart from Breaker, they can scarcely pay for themselves in card advantage. A card like Wonder Wand can open up your options while curbing this deficiency. The number of copies is up to you, but we can start with one for now. Keep in mind you can side Tsukuyomi (who is also a caster).
-2 Maxx “C”
-2 Summoner Monk
-3 Rank-Up Magic Barian’s Force
+1 Effect Veiler
+1 Magician
+1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
+1 Wonder Wand
+2 Mirror Force
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 19
3 Tin Goldfish
3 Star Drawing
3 Inari Fire
3 Flamvell Firedog
3 Flamvell Magician
3 Effect Veiler
1 Breaker, the Magical Warrior
Spells: 11
3 Rekindling
3 Instant Fusion
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Monster Reborn
1 Book of Moon
1 Wonder Wand
Traps: 10
3 Imperial Iron Wall
3 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Mirror Force
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 15
2 Karbonala Warrior
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
1 Number 85: Crazy Box
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Evilswarm Ouroboros
1 Diamond Dire Wolf
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Scrap Dragon
1 Crimson Blader
Alright, thanks for your submissions. Keep sending us decks!
Until next time,
Play Hard or Go Home.
Sincerely,
Johnny
Johnny Li
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