Hi again duelists! Welcome to my third article. Thank you for your continued deck submissions to ARG Deck Doctor. Tyler and I can’t choose everyone to be featured in an article, but we are giving all your decks fair consideration. Don’t be shy - send us your deck! “Like” the Deck Doctor fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgDeckDoctor
On that page, you can post your deck (along with a brief summary) on the wall OR send it to us in a message, and you will automatically be considered for future deck doctor articles.
How do I choose which decks to doctor?
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 your deck so that it can take you as far as possible. I also really like decks that give me a chance to talk about general deck building principles. This week marks the first week we start doctoring decks under the March banlist!
Joel Miller’s Gravekeepers
Main Deck: 41
Monsters: 17
3 Gravekeeper’s Commandant
3 Gravekeeper’s Spy
3 Gravekeeper’s Recruiter
3 Gravekeeper’s Descendant
2 Gravekeeper’s Guard
1 Gravekeeper’s Assailant
1 Effect Veiler
1 Tsukuyomi
Spells: 12
3 Necrovalley
2 Pot of Duality
2 Royal Tribute
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Forbidden Lance
1 Gravekeeper’s Steele
1 Card Trader
Traps: 12
2 Starlight Road
2 Mirror Force
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 12
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Alchemic Magician
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Number 16: Shock Master
2 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
2 Stardust Dragon
At a Glance
Joel presented me this deck with the request to help improve it so that he can start winning or topping locals. Gravekeepers are somewhat like Gladiator Beasts in regards to their place in the meta: they always take on new popularity at the start of a ban list. Last September was without question the hugest resurgence I have ever seen of the Gravekeeper deck. The reason was because it was the start of an undefined format, and GKs offer a simple yet effective engine to present a decent threat when the meta has yet to take form.
This time around, we do know what the meta is at the start of the ban list. Still, it doesn’t mean we have to abandon Gravekeepers altogether. Getting Royal Tributed is painful, and so is spending your last out clearing a monster only to be replied to with Stele on the next turn. GKs have a solid engine. On top of this, they autowin against Chaos Dragons (barring an exceptionally innovative side deck).
Monsters
3 Gravekeeper’s Commandant
3 Gravekeeper’s Spy
3 Gravekeeper’s Recruiter
3 Gravekeeper’s Descendant
2 Gravekeeper’s Guard
1 Gravekeeper’s Assailant
1 Effect Veiler
1 Tsukuyomi
The playset of the first four monsters is fairly standard. They are great cards to max out on (2 Descendant is debatable). GK Guard launches are first discussion on what to change. Guard can trade with XYZs as well as punish a false read on a face down Spy. However, it in turn is punished by cards that don’t care about FLIP effects or cards that are happy to return to the hand to be reused. The former describes Fire Fist Bear and the latter describes Mermails. Also, the only XYZ-centric deck (Wind-Ups) is now off the radar, so we can only conclude that it is not Guard’s best moment right now. I would advocate 0 or 1 copy.
Tsukuyomi resets Spy and is good vs. Agents and Thunder Kings. However, Necrovalley already gives Agents a bad time and Thunder King is going to 2 with the new list in March (not to mention, it is going to see considerable less play with Wind-Ups gone). There is no reason to include this piece of tech in the main deck (or even side) at the present.
Effect Veiler is kind of random and also unnecessary. Again, turn one Carrier Shark or turn one Mage Shark or whatever else in between is no longer a thing. Your infinite backrows will do what Veiler does but better.
Let’s do add an Assailant, though. It plusses off Spirit Reaper and takes out problem monsters without spending a card on removal.
-2 Gravekeeper’s Guard
-1 Tsukuyomi
-1 Effect Veiler
+1 Gravekeeper’s Assailant
Spells
3 Necrovalley
2 Pot of Duality
2 Royal Tribute
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Forbidden Lance
1 Gravekeeper’s Steele
1 Card Trader
Maxing on Duality and Valley is a good idea since Valley is the win condition. Card Trader, on the other hand, is an inherent -1 in card advantage AND also a luck-based card (the worst of both worlds, yuck). Let’s replace it with something more devastating, like a Stele.
Monster Reborn is a ban worthy card, but not in GKs. It’s actually mediocre at best considering if you’re winning, you have Valley up, and if you have Valley up, you can’t even activate Reborn. Stele is your Reborn. Instead, Book of Moon deserves a slot. It achieves what Joel was trying to do with Tsukuyomi, except somewhat better.
Fire Fists are super serious right now, so keep the Lance.
-1 Card Trader
-1 Monster Reborn
+1 Gravekeeper’s Stele
+1 Book of Moon
Traps
2 Starlight Road
2 Mirror Force
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
2 Starlight has seemed to be the standard for GKs since Stele was released. Everything you do plays into Heavy, Torrential, Dark Hole, and Force, so that’s why we have it (plus Judgment). Earlier we took out some monsters, which freed up slots for an even heavier trap lineup. Fiendish has the “IT” factor right now – even in the absence of Wind-Ups. It has the versatility of being both an attack response or summon response trap, while doing neat things like negating Megalo and causing Marksman to resolve without effect (if it targetted the set Fiendish). Compulsory has always been standard in GKs as well, since anything in the meta that D Prison is after, Compulsory addresses better in the context of a matchup with GKs. Think of Compulsory as the chainable superior replacement for the Guards we cut earlier.
-2 Dimensional Prison
+2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
+2 Fiendish Chain
Extra Deck
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Alchemic Magician
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Number 16: Shock Master
2 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
2 Stardust Dragon
While XYZ summoning with Recruiter is not the likeliest of events, we could still run at least a few more rank 3s. Space isn’t particularly tight in GKs. Alchemic Magician is not useful (it’s a non-floater non-beater that requires 3 XYZ materials to summon whose effect does not even activate until the end phase). Second Utopia is never needed (heck, there’s almost a better alternative to the first one too).
-1 Alchemic Magician
-1 Utopia
+1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
+1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
+1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
+1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
+1 Gagaga Cowboy
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 14
3 Gravekeeper’s Commandant
3 Gravekeeper’s Spy
3 Gravekeeper’s Recruiter
3 Gravekeeper’s Descendant
2 Gravekeeper’s Assailant
Spells: 12
3 Necrovalley
2 Pot of Duality
2 Gravekeeper’s Steele
2 Royal Tribute
1 Dark Hole
1 Forbidden Lance
1 Book of Moon
Traps: 14
2 Starlight Road
2 Mirror Force
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Fiendish Chain
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Torrential Tribute
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 15
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Steelswarm Roach
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number C39: Utopia Ray
2 Stardust Dragon
I’ll include a teched side. Everything is straightforward. Ryko punishes Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. Vanity’s Emptiness is nice tech that works well with Macro (but also is quite functional without it). Gozen may not be needed at all depending on your local meta (since Wind-Up isn’t a thing anymore). Snowman and Dyna help control and punish false reads on Spy. DDV and Macro for Mermails.
Side Deck: 15
2 Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
1 Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo
1 Snowman Eater
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
3 Macro Cosmos
2 Gozen Match
1 Deck Devastation Virus
1 Vanity’s Emptiness
Good luck and have fun with this deck.
Kyle Talbot’s Gem-Knight Ritual Deck
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 24
3 Gem-Knight Amber
3 Gem- Armadillo
3 Gem-Knight Obsidian
3 Gem-Knight Iolite
2 Gem-Knight Garnet
2 Gem-Knight Sapphire
2 Gem-Knight Tourmaline
2 Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands
2 Rescue Rabbit
2 Reshef the Dark Being
Spells: 15
3 Gem-Knight Fusion
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Advanced Ritual Art
2 Supervise
2 Swing of Memories
2 Dark Factory of Mass Production
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
Traps: 1
1 Treacherous Trap Hole
Extra Deck: 15
2 Gem-Knight Amethyst
2 Gem-Knight Citrine
2 Gem-Knight Prismaura
1 Gem-Knight Topaz
1 Lavalval Chain
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Gagagigo the Risen
At a Glance
I’m excited about this one! If the absence of protection traps hasn’t already given the secret away, here it is: this is a turbo deck. It has an uncommon strategy: Reshef blowouts and Gem-Knight Fusion spam. The one-two punch of this combo is somewhat reminiscent of the Gishki-Hero Turbo strategy I wrote about in my first article. Each individual engine fuels the other. And similar to that deck fix, I’m going to emphasize the importance of consistency. I encourage you to take a look that previous article, since I included a lot of general theory that applies to turbo strategies of all kinds. When I saw this list I knew right away what I wanted to do with it – make it into a well-oiled, streamlined turbo deck. This means maximizing the potential of Gem-Knight Fusion in tandem with Reshef summons. With Advanced Ritual Art to 2 copies, we are going have some kicks with Reshef.
http://articles.alterealitygames.com/?p=16894 (scroll down to Joe’s deck)
Monsters
3 Gem-Knight Amber
3 Gem-Armadillo
3 Gem-Knight Obsidian
3 Gem-Knight Iolite
2 Gem-Knight Garnet
2 Gem-Knight Sapphire
2 Gem-Knight Tourmaline
2 Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands
2 Rescue Rabbit
2 Reshef the Dark Being
One thing that turbo decks love is to search, filter, and recycle. Armadillo, Lazuli, and Obsidian do a great job of this. While it’s clear what Kyle is trying to achieve with Amber as well as the rest of the Gemini engine, it’s ultimately lackluster and not as consistent a win condition as straight Gem-Knight Fusion and ARA spam. Gemini monsters being treated as normal doesn’t really help since they aren’t normal while in the deck anyway.
-3 Gem-Knight Amber
-3 Gem-Knight Iolite
+1 Gem-Knight Garnet
+1 Gem-Knight Tourmaline
+1 Gem-Knight Sapphire
Spells
3 Gem-Knight Fusion
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Advanced Ritual Art
2 Supervise
2 Swing of Memories
2 Dark Factory of Mass Production
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
A good turbo deck needs a way for the spells and monsters to plus naturally. GKF and Dark Factory fulfill these requirements. ARA, while good on paper, hasn’t seen real play in any deck besides Perfect Herald, since it requires you to run cards that do nothing on their own. Whereas Herald turned those vanilla fairies into negation fodder, this deck uses them for powerful Gem-Knight Fusion monsters. It’s a lot of fun. It should be noted that ARA summons Reshef even though Reshef’s text suggests that ARA cannot summon it. Reshef’s text is outdated, and we can extrapolate from the Herald of Perfection errata that ARA does in fact summon Reshef and other cards with outdated text identical to it.
Reborn and Avarice fit nicely in here. While we’re at it, add 3 Upstart Goblin, the turbo deck standard. The inconsistent 3rd engine will be dropped in favor of centralizing the win condition. As with most other turbo decks, MST is best dedicated to the side.
-2 Supervise
-2 Mystical Space Typhoon
-2 Swing of Memories
+1 Monster Reborn
+1 Pot of Avarice
+3 Upstart Goblin
+2 Pot of Duality
Traps
1 Treacherous Trap Hole
The paradox of running a card like TTH is that any benefit you gain from a potential +1 is outweighed by the just as likely losses experienced from end phase MST. Not to mention, there’s the opportunity cost of making all of your opponent’s removal dead by not running any backrow to consider. Let’s run a playset of relevant chainables instead. If the playset dead draws too often, it can be exchanged for more spells.
-1 Treacherous Trap Hole
+3 Common Charity
Extra Deck
2 Gem-Knight Amethyst
2 Gem-Knight Citrine
2 Gem-Knight Prismaura
1 Gem-Knight Topaz
1 Lavalval Chain
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Gagagigo the Risen
Iolite is out, so Amethyst is out. Citrine is amazing for how it runs over Snowman and through traps. Emeral fits with the theme perfectly. There are some cards here that will rarely ever pay for themselves (Gagagigo, Skill Gainer, Zenmaister, etc.). Rank 7s and 8s may be relevant since you run the appropriate materials. Oh, and Zirconia is huge.
-2 Gem-Knight Amethyst
-1 Wind-Up Zenmaister
-1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
-1 Number 39: Utopia
-1 Gagagigo the Risen
+1 Daigusto Emeral
+1 Number 11: Big Eye
+1 Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis
+1 Gagaga Cowboy
+1 Number 23: Shock Master
+1 Gem-Knight Zirconia
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 21
3 Gem- Armadillo
3 Gem-Knight Obsidian
3 Gem-Knight Garnet
3 Gem-Knight Sapphire
3 Gem-Knight Tourmaline
2 Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands
2 Rescue Rabbit
2 Reshef the Dark Being
Spells: 16
3 Gem-Knight Fusion
3 Upstart Goblin
2 Pot of Duality
2 Advanced Ritual Art
2 Dark Factory of Mass Production
1 Heavy Storm
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
1 Pot of Avarice
Traps: 3
3 Common Charity
Extra Deck: 15
2 Gem-Knight Citrine
2 Gem-Knight Prismaura
1 Gem-Knight Topaz
1 Gem-Knight Zirconia
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Lavalval Chain
1 Daigusto Emeral
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 Number 23: Shock Master
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Number 11: Big Eye
1 Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis
Overall we have a much more fluid deck. If Common Charity doesn’t work out, cards like Foolish Burial and Tragoedia are other useful additions that can take its place. Zirconia and Citrine should probably be played at 2 and 3 respectively since they’re so good. Topaz, the DT XYZs (until they’re released), or rank 7/8s can be taken out in favor of those cards.
Until next time,
Play Hard or Go Home.
Sincerely,
Johnny
Johnny Li
Latest posts by Johnny Li (see all)
- 100 Prisoners - February 23, 2015
- Excuses - February 19, 2015
- Learning Efficiently for the Returning Player - February 16, 2015
Get
Connected