What’s up everyone? Are final exams stressing you out? If not, then you must study harder!!
First, thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on my tournament report from San Diego. It is a work that I am very proud of, and according to Microsoft Word’s tracker, it took me 28 hours to write it (and it just so happens to be 28 pages long). My goal was to contribute useful and original knowledge to the community.
I’d also like to acknowledge Long Dao yet again. As I mentioned in my report, he dealt me my most crushing defeat at San Diego. This past weekend, he won YCS Lille, and only dropped a single game in the entirety of the top 32 playoffs – with a 53 card deck no less. I think he’s set two entirely different YCS all-time records with that performance.
Lastly, has anyone noticed people pronouncing Evilswarm Kerykeion’s name as “Sur-see-on?” I’ve been hearing it quite a bit lately. I was curious why the “K” was being pronounced like a soft “C,” so I did some digging. Usually the answer is found in the Japanese translation, so I looked to that first. However, the Japanese name is still Verz Kerykeion with a “K” sound. If you youtube Cercyon, you’ll find that a lot of the results are Yugioh related, indicating that people have chosen to draw a connection between the Yugioh card and the character from Greek mythology. The Greek figure Cercyon is pronounced with the hard “K” sound since its first letter is kappa, but the English spelling with a “C” has enticed people into (incorrectly) pronounce it with the soft “C.” Mystery solved! Tell me about your own card name-related stories in the comments.
And as always, send us your crazy deck ideas on the Deck Doctor fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgDeckDoctor
We really appreciate it when you capitalize (Mystical Space Typhoon instead of mystical space typhoon or mst) in your lists. Thanks!
Fabo Rodriguez’s Skill Beast Beat
Main Deck: 42
Monsters: 20
3 Beast King Barbaros
3 Alexandrite Dragon
3 Gene-Warped Warwolf
3 Photon Saber Tiger
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Reborn Tengu
2 Rescue Rabbit
2 Effect Veiler
Spells: 9
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Pot of Duality
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Pot of Avarice
Traps: 13
3 Skill Drain
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Horn of The Phantom Beast
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Solemn Warning
Extra Deck: 14
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Fairy King Albverdich
1 Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 10: Illumiknight
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 17: Leviathan dragon
1 Number 20: Giga Brilliant
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Number 32: Shark Drake
1 Number 34: Terror-Byte
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon
At a Glance
Skill Drain with Beast monsters had a significant presence in this game’s 2nd and 3rd generation. The deck departed from the meta when Reborn Tengu went to 2 (the first time in history a TCG exclusive made its way onto the forbidden/limited list), and a ridiculous card called Inzektor Hornet stung a nail into its coffin.
However, conditions for the deck’s resurrection are slowly brewing. Consider the following:
1. Hornet is not as huge a threat as before
2. Skill Drain still hurts the entire meta
3. Thunder King went to 2
4. Hazy Flame Cerbereus just came out and provides benefits very similar to that of Tengu (and oftentimes better)
So there is hope for this deck. Let’s try to bring some new life into a classic strategy.
Monsters
3 Beast King Barbaros
3 Alexandrite Dragon
3 Gene-Warped Warwolf
3 Photon Saber Tiger
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Reborn Tengu
2 Rescue Rabbit
2 Effect Veiler
Generally, the deckbuilding principles used here should follow that of the classic T.G. Stun. One of those principles would be to not run handtraps such as Maxx “C” or Veiler. Skill Drain covers nearly everything Veiler does, and Veiler is just not very effective right now overall.
Rescue Rabbit is not a phenomonal rip in this deck and thus only good turn 1. Its entire engine serves little purpose. Cyber Dragon defined one-for-one formats, which is the entire opposite of the current one. It will not advance your win condition. Thunder King will serve to maintain a workable monster count while acting as a floodgate, even under Skill Drain.
-3 Alexandrite
-3 Gene-Warped
-2 Cyber Dragon
-2 Rabbit
-2 Veiler
+3 Cerbereus
+2 TKRO
Spells
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Pot of Duality
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Pot of Avarice
The exclusion of Book in a Skill Drain deck is practically a sin given the multitude of plays, both aggressive and defensive, it facilitates. Chain it to effects to enable their resolution under Drain. Chain it to negation like BTS or Fiendish to enable their resolution. End phase it on a Barbaros and rain down with 3000 attack. And the list goes on.
Avarice dead draws more than it helps, and when it helps, it doesn’t convert losses into wins; it just bolsters wins into better wins. Read Pedigo’s article on how Avarice discourages player growth if you still aren’t convinced.
Play Lance because it allows shenanigans under Skill Drain, and it also deals with opposing Lances against your Horns. Play Chalice for devastating results with Barbaros and to deal with opposing threats.
-1 Avarice
+2 Lance
+2 Chalice
+1 Book of Moon
Traps
3 Skill Drain
2 Dimensional Prison
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Horn of The Phantom Beast
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Solemn Warning
Torrential is superior to Compulsory because it acts as a more solid floodgate while also synergizing with summon effects (you could, say, chain it to your Sabre Tiger under Skill Drain to get the search). I’d play four copies of Mirror Force if I could. Road is pretty crucial too. Dimensional Prison could be a good side choice, but the list of threats that it is really needed for is about the same as the list of threats that Horn takes care of. Keep Prison sided for the slower grind in g2/3.
-2 Dimensional Prison
-2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
+2 Torrential
+2 Mirror Force
+1 Starlight Road
Extra Deck
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Fairy King Albverdich
1 Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 10: Illumiknight
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 17: Leviathan dragon
1 Number 20: Giga Brilliant
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Number 32: Shark Drake
1 Number 34: Terror-Byte
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon
Extra space is fairly loose given that you aren’t running a T.G. build (that has Striker for Synchro summons). I will include rank 3s because I expect Snowman in the side, and also give attention to the possibility of using two Cerebreus to go into a rank 6. A good number of cards in this extra are virtually never the right play to go into, so I’m going to make quite a few cuts. Don’t forget Chimeratech in the Extra if you side Cyber Dragon. Also do NOT forget the Emeral because the monster count is local and its ability to recycle them will matter. Pearl is to run over Stardust Dragon and Evilswarm Ophion.
-1 One-Eyed
-1 Chrononaut
-1 Number 10
-1 Terror-Byte
-1 Thunder Spark
-1 Shark Drake
-1 Albverdich
-1 Giga-Brilliant
-1 Leviathan
+1 Stardust
+1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
+1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
+1 Emeral
+1 Gagaga Cowboy
+1 Maestroke
+1 Pearl
+1 Dweller
+1 Strike Bounzer
+1 Constellar Ptolemy M7
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 13
3 Beast King Barbaros
3 Hazy Flame Cerbereus
3 Photon Saber Tiger
2 Thunder King Rai-Oh
2 Reborn Tengu
Spells: 13
3 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Forbidden Lance
2 Forbidden Chalice
2 Pot of Duality
1 Monster Reborn
1 Dark Hole
1 Heavy Storm
1 Book of Moon
Traps: 14
3 Skill Drain
2 Mirror Force
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
2 Torrential Tribute
2 Horn of The Phantom Beast
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Solemn Warning
1 Starlight Road
Extra Deck: 15
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 Photon Papilloperative
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Temtempo the Percussion Djinn
1 Leviair the Sea Dragon
1 Daigusto Emeral
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Gem-Knight Pearl
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Photon Strike Bounzer
1 Constellar Ptolemy M7
Kieran Tan’s Six Samurai
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 15
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan
3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki
2 Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi
2 Elder of the Six Samurai
1 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
1 Shien’s Squire
Spells: 16
3 Shien’s Smoke Signal
3 Asceticism of the Six Samurai
3 Six Samurai United
2 Shien’s Dojo
1 Gateway of the Six
1 Mind Control
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
Traps: 9
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Musakani Magatama
2 Fiendish Chain
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Double-Edged Sword Technique
Extra Deck: 15
1 Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 M-X-Saber Invoker
1 Heroic Champion - Gandiva
1 Heroic Champion - Excalibur
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Naturia Landoise
1 Colossal Fighter
At a Glance
Kieran has expressed trouble with the Water and Fire matchups. This is understandable, as those matchups can only be improved so much without sacrificing from the core engine. Ultimately, they are not advantageous matchups. However, we can still make the deck as good as possible. Lately I’ve been going back and forth against my friend Cris in somewhat of a mock war, my warriors of Atlantis (50+ card Mermails) against his Feudal Lords. Cris has found that Safe Zone on Shi En provides soft locks that are very challenging to break. Let’s explore this strategy.
Monsters
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan
3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki
2 Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi
2 Elder of the Six Samurai
1 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
1 Shien’s Squire
When it comes to winning the battle against Atlantis, you either protect the floodgate or lose. Kagemusha plays a solid role in protecting the gate, and is also a tuner. While Kageki is Kagemusha’s complement, it is not quite as versatile and does not play a central role in protecting your soft lock. Enishi is darn good, but there is little need to ever draw a second copy. Squire is pretty inconsistent and really only belongs in the sub-par Dojo build. Zanji, however, offers us greater toolbox options.
-1 Kageki
-1 Enishi
-1 Squire
+1 Zanji
Spells
3 Shien’s Smoke Signal
3 Asceticism of the Six Samurai
3 Six Samurai United
2 Shien’s Dojo
1 Gateway of the Six
1 Mind Control
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
Once again, Dojo is subpar here. A card like Upstart will race to soft locks quicker and is a much better topdeck. Mind Control is considerably better this format than last, but does not fit Samurai’s mission to protect Shi En’s floodgate. Heavy defines the format and belongs in most decks, even those that run double digit backrow. It’s absurd that Gateway is not banned.
-1 Mind Control
-2 Dojo
+3 Upstart
+1 Heavy
Traps
2 Compulsory Evacuation Device
2 Musakani Magatama
2 Fiendish Chain
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
1 Double-Edged Sword Technique
With the Upstarts taking the place of more gimmicky cards, the strategy is as streamlined as ever. For the finishing touch, Safe Zone will help reinforce a soft lock at the very moment when your opponent thinks he has found an out to your Shi En, creating an all too frustrating gamestate. Safe Zone is nasty for the way it outright steals games in this way, forcing your opponent to drop a game before realizing he has to play around it. It also possesses a tremendous amount of synergy with Shi En’s negation effect and the generic protection effect of Six Samurai monsters.
Since Torrential is not an option, it comes down to Bottomless/Compulsory/Fiendish. Bottomless and Fiendish outclass Compulsory as they deal with far more threats.
-2 Compulsory
-1 Musakani
-1 Double-Edged
+2 Safe Zone
+2 Bottomless
+1 Fiendish
Extra Deck
1 Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 M-X-Saber Invoker
1 Heroic Champion - Gandiva
1 Heroic Champion - Excalibur
1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Number 39: Utopia
1 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Naturia Landoise
1 Colossal Fighter
As I’ve said time and again about Extra Deck choices, it is all about identifying how often a monster is the correct play. That’s the one key to choosing the right cards for an Extra Deck.
-1 Landoise
-1 Gandiva
-1 One-Eyed Skill Gainer
-1 Number 39: Utopia
-1 Colossal Fighter
+1 Mist Wurm
+1 Abyss Dweller
+1 Maestroke
+1 Blackship
+1 Number 23: Shock Master
+1 Black Rose Dragon
Final List
Main Deck: 40
Monsters: 13
3 Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan
3 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai
2 Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki
2 Elder of the Six Samurai
1 Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi
1 Grandmaster of the Six Samurai
1 The Six Samurai - Zanji
Spells: 17
3 Shien’s Smoke Signal
3 Asceticism of the Six Samurai
3 Six Samurai United
3 Upstart Goblin
1 Gateway of the Six
1 Heavy Storm
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Dark Hole
1 Monster Reborn
Traps: 10
3 Fiendish Chain
2 Safe Zone
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Musakani Magatama
1 Solemn Warning
1 Solemn Judgment
Extra Deck: 15
1 Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien
1 Wind-Up Zenmaines
1 M-X-Saber Invoker
1 Heroic Champion - Excalibur
1 Number 16: Shock Master
1 Gagaga Cowboy
1 Abyss Dweller
1 Maestroke the Symphony Djinn
1 Number 50: Blackship of Corn
1 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Naturia Beast
1 Naturia Barkion
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Mist Wurm
I won’t go in depth about the side as the one Keiran provided was generally correct. My one critique is that triple Lance does not belong. Consider Vanity’s Emptiness, which synergizes with Dimensional Fissure and shuts down the win conditions of a number of decks.
Until next time,
Play Hard or Go Home.
Sincerely,
Johnny
Johnny Li
Latest posts by Johnny Li (see all)
- 100 Prisoners - February 23, 2015
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