Quick Announcement: New Banner!

As you can see I have added a Banner in the site. I have spent several hours in front of Photoshop to make it (I am crappy at using it and I guess that's why it took me so long) but I am quite pleased with the result.

I was wondering what monster(s) to add there and I was between Eatos (my favorite Monster), Absolute Zero (my second favorite) and T.G. Hyper Librarian (fits the name of the this site, you know librarian, academy). But Eatos needs a lot of work with his wings, Absolute Zero is really hard to fit in a nice background since he is placed diagonal in the card with an explosion in his feets and as for Librarian, let's admit it,he is lame.

So I decided that Trishula is a better fit with her colours and tones in the blog's style plus it is much more imposing Monster than the ones previously mentioned. Only problem was the wings that are cut in the card art and I had to make them. They did not got very good and I will try to make them a bit better later, possibly even a bit larger.

Hope you like it!

Card Review # 2: Daigusto Phoenix

Hello and welcome to the Second Card Discussion for Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Building Academy. This time we will talk about a little Xyz Monster that it is supposed to be the next big thing to the One Turn Kill Decks.

Daigusto Phoenix is a Rank 2 Xyz Monster that can make a Wind Monster attack twice this turn, including itself. Even aside the Wind and Gusto  Decks that can summon him in order to make their huge beaters attack twice it will help any OTK deck that can summon him multiple times in a single turn.

When I think multiple for summons per turn, my mind goes to Fish OTK at once.  And truly by bringing 4 level 2 Fish with Coelacanth you can summon two of these and with Coelacanth you can deal 8800 of damage in an open field. This is not a good plan though as it does not involve clearing the opponent’s field but it can be a possible play now that Fishborg Blaster is gone.

I have made an Ojama Deck Profile that can Summon this guy easily even though it did not focused so much in him but in Gachi Gachi Gantetsu. Yet one  could use Tri-Wight Zone in order to summon it in three copies and perform an One Turn Kill very easily.

But let’s move to the more interesting section.  Years ago Cyber-Stein was banned for it’s ability to make OTK swings of damage with Cyber End Dragon or Cyber Twin Dragon and Limiter Removal or Megamorph. Now years later, The Agent of Creation – Venus can summon three little Mystical Shine Balls and Xyz Summon for Daigusto Phoenix, activate United We Stand and attack for a huge swing of 7800 with Phoenix and finish with Venus.

This combo also needs only two cards in hand and it has many pros over the Stein Combo. First of all the cost in Life points is not that great and hence enabling one that failed to perform the OTK to come back unlike the Stein player that if he would lose the Combo then he was going to lose in most of occasions due to the large impact in his life points. 

Second it is the versatility that it offers; when one summon the Mystical Shine Balls one can go for Trishula if there is The Agent of Mystery - Earth from previous turn or you summon T.G. Striker before Venus or you can use the Mystical Shine Balls to summon a Gachi Gachi Gantetsu to slow down the pace of the game and have a 2000 ATK Venus as a beater.

Finally this combo pieces are highly searchable due to Earth and Tour Guide/Gold Sarcophagus Combo in case of Venus and Hidden Armory in case of United We Stand.

All in all Daigusto Phoenix  is one that will have huge impact in certain strategies and possibly will help shape the Metagame.  I  am sure that there are going to be even better strategies to summon it in multiple copies and win with but only time can tell what are those strategies gonna be.

Thanks for reading and till next time

-Eatos

P.S. Excluding the Green Flames, Daigusto Phoenix looks more like a Pterodactyl and not a Phoenix.

Number 6! Top 10 Fusion Monsters

In our Coundown for the Top Fusion Monsters number 6 goes to a really formidable Monster and the second of the Gladiator Beasts in the list, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos.

With the incerdible amount of 3000 ATK points and the awesome effect that let's you negate any Spell Speed 2 Spell or Trap, simply by discarding a card, this guy is a really tough one to beat. Backed up by the commonly used cards like Gladiator Beast War Chariot, Solemn Warning and  Solemn Judgment, it can really make a game winning force. Also considering how easily Gladiator Beasts can summon this guy by simply making a Gyzarus, destroying 2 cards then attack and in the end of the Battle Phase summon Laquari and Darius (to salvage a monster) and summon this guy, Heraklinos could not be missing from a list like this. Nothing more to add.

Number 6: Gladiator Beast Heraklinos

Next week: we continue the Countdown in order to find the Top Fusion Monster of All Time.

Number 7! Top 10 Fusion Monsters

In the 7th place of the Top Fusion Monsters of all time, there is a card known for the vicious One Turn Kill it can perform : Chimeratech Overdragon.

Players used to reveal one of this card through Future Fusion and dump a Cyber Dragon and a ton of other Machines from the Deck to the Graveyard. Then they activated Overload Fusion, banished all the Machines in Graveyard and Special Summoned this guy who had 8000 or more ATK and could attack to every Monster the opponent controlled (there is a ruling that states that if this guy attacked a Monster then he could not attack directly despite having some attacks left) possibly dealing even 20000 Damage. As you can guess he is the reason Overload Fusion was Limited for years and it was the original reason for the Limiting of Future Fusion (now there are a ton more combos to abuse with that card so it can only go higher in the Ban List, not lower for sure).

Number 7: Chimeratech Overdragon

In order to play this monstrous guy in an OTK nowdays you can follow 2 paths: use Gold Sarcophagus and Synchro Fusionist to search your deck for Overload Fusion and Future Fusion and perform the combo above or use the Fusion Gate/Chain Material Combo to summon this guy with 16000 or more ATK and then use Ectoplasmer to tribute him and deal 8000 of Burn Damage. Alternatively you can use only Overload Fusion to summon this guy with only a few monsters in Graveyard. Remember a four times attacker with 3200 ATK is still able to finish the game in a turn.

No matter what he is now but a shadow of his former self. However we count Top Fusion Monsters of ALL Time and this list would have been, in my opinion, incomplete without Chimeratech Overdragon taking a spot, ergo he is the Number 7 in our List.

Number 8! Top 10 Fusion Monsters

In the Number 8 of the Countdown for the Best Fusion Monsters of all time we have a vicious beater known for it's ability to make One Turn Kill with multiple ways and unbelievable easiness: Cyber Twin Dragon.

His effect may not seem as much but it is more than great. Unlike Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning he can attack twice directly and 2800 ATK this making him instantly 5600 Life Points of Direct Damage. Back in time he was the main Monster summoned by Metamorphosis and this gave creation to one of the Demise OTKs. Summon Demise,King of Armageddon by Advanced Ritual Art ditching two Insect Knight to Graveyard and activate Demise's effect to clear the field , then use the Knights to Special Summon Doom Dozer and follow by activating Metamorphosis tributing Dozer to summon Cyber Twin and attack for exactly 8000 of Damage.

Number 8: Cyber Twin Dragon

But there are more straight forward uses of Cyber Twin Dragon. He is Light, Fusion and Machine and each of these have it's way to abuse the effect. First of all: Honest. This nasty guy is known for making a great combo with Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and this for the double attackers like Bls or Cyber Twin when they attack to one monster and you activate Honest he gets to keep the attack bonus for his second attack, making an OTK highly viable. Also being a Fusion and Machine means he has access to Power Bond and Limiter Removal which are able to double it's original Attack giving you a 5600 ATK Double Attcker. Megamorph can also be used but I would not suggest it since in some cases it will make your Monsters Attack 1400 and this is not good at all.

This guy is on of the main reasons half of the Fusion Summoning Banned Cards are Banned: Metamorphosis and Cyber Stein were able to summon him so easily and use it's high attack and effect paired with an Attack enlarging card to claim game in an instant. It is only natural therefore for this card to be in the Top 10 List of Fusion Monsters.

Number 9! Top 10 Fusion Monsters

In the 9th place for our Countdown for the Top Fusion Monsters of all time there is a personal favorite of mine. This is because today's card, Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird, is the primary win condition of the first Deck Profile for this site, the Elemental Fenix OTK.

If you have read it you will now how awesome this card can be. He is used in 2 versions of the same combo in a different way each time. The One Turn Kill version uses Fusion Gate and Chain Material to summon three of this guy while there 9 or more cards in the field in order to make an instant Burn OTK. The First Turn Kill version needs in addition to Fusion Gate and Chain Material, Elemental HERO Bubbleman and Bubble Illusion in order to activate Chain Material during First Turn.Then proceed as following:

Number 9: Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird

 1)Summon Bubbleman and activate Bubble Illusion, followed by Chain Material and Fusion Gate.

 2)Fuse a Pyro and a Machine from Deck to summon Blaze Fenix. Activate it's effect and Burn some Life Points.

 3)Fuse Avian, Burstinatrix, Bubbleman and Clayman to summon Elemental HERO Electrum. Return everything Banished from Fusion Gate to the Deck.

 4)Fuse Elecrum and Fenix for an Elemental HERO Nova Master.

 5)Fuse Avian, Burstinatrix, Bubbleman and Clayman to summon another Elemental HERO Electrum. Return Blaze Fenix and the other Electrum to the Extra Deck.

 6)Repeat Steps 2-4.

 7)Fuse the 2 Nova Masters for a third one and follow with an Electrum to return everything Banished back for reuse.

 8)Repeat until you Burn your opponent's Life Points to Zero and all this even in your First Turn.

For it's ability to provide these two vicious and fatal combos Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird is the Number 9 in the Top Fusion Monsters of all time!

Number 10! Top 10 Fusion Monsters

We begin our first Countdown with the Top 10 Fusion Monsters of all time and we begin this list with a fairly new guy; Gladiator Beast Essedarii.

This card gave to the most timeless Archetype, the Gladiator Beasts, a great boost despite the  actual negative stance that many players keeped against him. But why is he good? First of all it makes Gladiator Beast Darius a lot better as he is a salvage for an Gladiator Beast in the Graveyard. Second it is great for sending the weak in terms of Attack and Defence like Retiari or Murmillo back to the deck and summon a strong beater it the field. The above  combo especially well with Gyzarus; use his effect then tag out him and summon two Gladiator Beasts from the Deck. Use their effect (you can also summon Darius to salvage one from your Grave) and then send them back to the safety of the Deck to summon Essedarii.

Number 10: Gladiator Beast Essedarii

 But this card is also a Beast which means that he is a target for Horn of the Phantom Beast, a really popular card since the rise of T.G. that have found it's way to some Gladiator Beast Variants. One of the most interesting was one that used Rescue Rabbit to summon 2 Gladiator Beast Andal in order to summon this guy. Backed up by Horn of the Phantom Beast, Gladiator Beast War Chariot, possibly Skill Drain and a variety of staple defensive Traps this guy is a really tough one to beat!


I am not a Gladiator Beast player myself but I like this guy. It proves, like Elemental HERO Neos Alius, that effects does not matter when the said monster have access to a variety of great cards to support him.

Card Review #1: Elemental HERO Escuridão

Welcome to the first Card Discussion for this Blog. Today’s card is one that is not by any means a good card but it is one that is supposed and will shape the Metagame in the months after it’s release. But let’s be more specific.

Elemental HERO Escuridão is an Elemental HERO Fusion which need an Elemental HERO and a Dark-Attribute Monster in order to be Fusion Summoned.  From there he is an 2500 ATK beater with a lousy effect that at best will make him a 2800 ATK beater in any competitive HERO build and by that I obviously mean the Miracle Gemini  Deck . 

But why  is Escuridão important ? Well Escuridão is the last of Six Heroes often referred  by Yu-Gi-Oh! Players as the Omni-Heroes. Each one of them is Summoned with an Elemental HERO and an different Attribute Monster as it’s Fusion Material.

We have in the order in which they arrived TCG ;

Elemental HERO Absolute Zero for Water

Elemental HERO Gaia for Earth

Elemental HERO The Shining for Light

Elemental HERO Nova Master for Fire

Elemental HERO Great Tornado for Wind

… and now Elemental HERO Escuridão for Dark. 

This means that cards like Miracle Fusion and Parallel World Fusion will need only an E-HERO and another Monster in Graveyard in case of the former and Banished Pile in case of the latter in order to summon a big beater. But this is not the main reason that Escuridão is going to get the Elemental HEROes to the Top. By having access to every single Attribute, the HERO player can main deck 3 Super Polymerization without worrying about them being dead draw.

And even though in terms of straight card economy the Super Polymerization deal may not seem good (as it is a minus 1), in terms of playability it is simply awesome.  From all the Monster Removal ways existing in Yu-Gi-Oh!  (Plain Destruction like Smashing Ground, Banishing like Caius, Possible Destruction like Snipe Hunter, Tributing of the Opponent’s Monsters like Lava Golem) using your opponent’s monsters as a Material to your Summon is by far the best and the most difficult to stop.  And even though these ways are popular like Mind Control (for a Synchro/Xyz Summon) or Cyber Dragon (to Chimeratech Fortress Dragon) they are also easy to stop, all your opponent  need is a Dark Bribe in case of the first and a Bottomless in case of the second. 

But in case of Super Polymerization, by far the most versatile type of Summon Stealing there is absolutely no way for the opponent to stop it. No Solemn Warning, no Solemn Judgment, no Dark Bribe, no anything. Your opponent is going to lose a monster and you are going to get a big beater in the field no matter what.

Also Future Fusion can now send a HERO and any monster in the Graveyard letting us use it as a second and reusable Foolish Burial. This gave birth to the first Yu-Gi-Oh! 1 Card FTK by Allen Pennigton. It is before the Semi-Limiting of Dewloren though.

To close I will say that Escuridão is the boost the New Era Heroes need in order to skyrocket to the Top Tiers of the Meta and it will possibly be one of the reason that Super Polymerization is going to be Limited/Semi-Limited in the Ban List that follows the Rise of Heroes.

Thanks for reading and till next time

-Eatos

Two New Series of Articles!

Time for the next 2 steps for this Blog! With an Article per Month a Blog cannot function, so I decided to run to more Series of Articles in a specific Time Scedule.

Every Saturday I will post a medium size article called; Card Review. In this series I will review cards that fit in one of the following Categories;

A) Cards about to come that will have an impact to the Metagame and hopefully an interesting combo. However I will not bother with the highlights like Rescue Rabbit, for their usage is obvious.

B)Old cards that are useful to a new and interesting combo but I am not interested in making a deck for them.

This Saturday I will present you the first Card Review. The Card: Elemental HERO Escuridao!

Then I decided to make Top 10 Countdown Lists; every weekday I will present one card in a Mini-Article from a list and so a list will be completed every 2 weeks. The Lists will be for various things around Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Next Monday begins the First Top 10 Countdown. The theme; Top 10 Fusion Monsters!

So the scedule of this Blog will be;
Every Weekday; a Top 10 Countdown
Every Saturday; a Card Review
Every Month; a Deck Profile (which will be posted in the first Sunday of every Month)
Sundays are free for me but occasionally I will make some discussions about news or Meta techs. Stuff like that.

Deck Profile # 8: Ojama Xyz Beatdown

From all the Yu-Gi-Oh! Decks in existence there is none that is more overlooked than the theme of this Deck Profile; the Ojamas. They are considered by everyone (including Konami) as the most crappy of the Archetypes and so noone ever pays attention to the new cards that are released and can support this Deck. And now it is time for their Vengeance!

Unlike many other Archetypes that have no particular strategy, the Ojamas can follow many strategies with an amazing success. During the past the most often was the OjaMachineGun which used the Snipe Hunter to discard OjaMagic and then use the three gained Ojamas as three more shots gaining an advantage many times equal to the Dark Armed Dragon's with the exception that Snipe Hunters effect is not guaranteed to destroy and so Stardust Dragon and My Body as a Shield were not able to negate it. Other Strategies are focusing on making the opponent's Monster Zones unusable with Ojama Trio and the Ojama Fusions.

But now there are many new cards to use the Ojamas with, mainly the Xyz Monsters that are giving new breath to a lot of Decks, including this one. So here is one of the combos the Ojamas can pull off in cooperation with Xyz Monsters. Using Ojama Country ditch OjaMagic to Special Summon an Ojama from the Graveyard and get the three Normal Ojamas from the Deck, then Normal Summon Ojama Red and Special Summon the three Normal Ojamas.

From there, there are to paths to take;
A) Clear the field with Ojama Delta Huriccane, Special Summon 2 Daigusto Phoenix, then Special Summon anoher Ojama through either a second Country, Monster Reborn or Tri-Wight Zone and use it for a third Daigusto Phoenix. Then use the effect of all three of them and attack for six attacks of 1500 each, making an OTK.
B) Use the 4 Ojamas to make 2 Gachi Gachi Gantetsu.

After some tests I found that the best option is by far the second; not only it needs very few cards (3 to be exact) and all of them searchable by the awesome Ojama Blue but it also is a move that even though it does not result in an OTK, puts a lot of pressure in the opponent. And that is why the Gachi Gachi Gantetsus, a card known for it's ability to slow down the pace of the game, in this combo it has it's Attack reversed with it's Defence due to Ojama Country's effect and the 5th Ojama in the field. So with this simple combo you get two 2600 ATK beaters that have three "lifes" each and an Ojama with 1800 ATK. Simple yet devastating.

So the deck is build around this combo but it has plenty of other tricks to show but in order for me to explain better let's take a look at the Deck List.

Monsters x 21
Ojama Blue x 3
Ojama Red x 2
Ojama Yellow x 2
Ojama Black x 2
Ojama Green x 2
Junk Synchron x 2
Genex Ally Birdman x 2
Effect Veiler x 2
Sangan x 1
Honest x 1
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness x 1
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning x 1


Ojama Blue being the searcher of this deck is included at three copies in order to gain access as quickly as to the cards you need to execute the previous combo. I must say it is one of the best Archetype Searchers ever, being able to get you two cards instead of the usual one. Also it is able to revive with Ojama Country leading to even more searching. So absolutely no reason not to run it in three. Next it is the other Effect Ojama, Red. Even though it is a centerpiece for the combo it is not needed in more than two copies since it is searchable by Blue. Closing with the Ojamas there are two of each of the Normal ones. There are going to be times when you will draw two with the same name and you will not be able to activate the effect of OjaMagic (since you must bring one of each), but if you run more 3 of each Normal then there are going to be so many dead draws. And to be honest the combo does not need to have Ojamas with different names so you can simply use Red to summon like two Blacks and a Yellow and the rest remain the same.

Junk Synchron is used for it's many targets that exist in the deck and it's ability to summon Frozen Fitzgerald, a powerful Level 5 Synchro that needs a Dark Tuner and a Beast Non-Tuner, so Junk Synchron and any Ojama can make it. Next we have another Dark Tuner at two copies which can play a lot of roles in this Deck. Genex Ally Birdman can be used when you have your swarm of Ojamas to return one of them (most likely Red) to hand and summon the almighty Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. Another use for it is when you summon Ojama Red to perform the combo and it gets "Veilered" (something very often considering that almost every deck runs a couple of Effect Veilers in the Main Deck) , then the maximum you can make out of him is a Xyz Material, but with Birdman you can return it to hand and use it next turn plus you get an Frozen Fritzgeral in the field (by tuning Birdman with the, revived from the Ojama Country, Ojama in the field)!

Next the two Veilers are more like a staple this Format as they are great against any Deck. From there, there are four Limited Monsters that complete the Monster Line-Up. Sangan can search almost any Monster in the Deck and it makes great combos with other cards that will be mentioned later. Honest is also included for it's powerful ability to make even an Ojama boosted by a Gachi Gachi and/or the Ojama Country to run over something huge. As you will see later the deck runs a pretty small Trap Line-Up and hence even with a Field Spell, Gorz is a really decent inclusion. And finally the Big Boss, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning is a simple inclusion due to the plethora of Light and Dark Monsters in the Deck.


Spells x 15
Ojama Country x 3
Creature Swap x 3
Pot of Duality x 3
Mystical Space Typhoon x 2
OjaMagic x 1
Heavy Storm x 1
Dark Hole x 1
Monster Reborn x 1

Ojama Country is added in a full playset since it not only is the main engine in the Deck, allowing you to summon a Rank 2 Xyz every turn and being a centerpiece to the Deck's Combo but also messes up with opponent's Monsters ; an Ojama ties with Dark Armed Dragon and beats Rai Oh and Gachi Gachi Gantetsu and Frozen Fitzgerald  can take down almost anything. Creature Swap is there for a simple yet vital purpose; the opponent will realize that attacking your Monsters is not any good and if he does not destroy Blue in battle the Deck cannot function. Ergo I have added this card that not only allows you to steal an Opponent's Monster but also allows you to guarantee getting the effect of Ojama Blue or rarely Sangan's. Also it can be used to trade a pathetic Normal Ojama for something big, giving a purpose to drawn Normal Ojamas.

Pot of Duality's job is pretty basic; consistency and since this deck does not Special Summon in every turn (like the ones you set Blue or using the Creature Swap shenanigans) it is obviously included at three copies. OjaMagic is added at one since more is too much, the effect is not negatable by commonly used cards and if they Mind Crush it you still get the effect. Finishing with the Spell Line-Up we have 5 slots filled with staple cards, added in every Deck; Double Mystical Space Typhoon and the Single allowed Heavy Storm are there to clear the back row, Dark Hole is to clear the front row and finally Monster Reborn is there for it's ability to bring any card needed from the Graveyard.

Traps x 4
Solemn Warning x 2
Solemn Judgment x 1
Trap Dustshoot x 1

This is the Trap Line-Up that I use in trap-light Decks. Solemn Warning is there in order to cut the Opponent's Monsters and Solemn Judgment to stop anything the Opponent sends against you. Some say that Judgment's cost is too much for the Format and they left it out but I completely disagree and still believe that it is the best Trap out there. Trap Dustshoot is my second favorite Trap for not only it succesfully disposes of some threats (I just love it when I send Black Luster Soldier back to the deck) but also gives you knowledge about the opponent's moves and deck. I would also like to include Common Charity in order to give to the drawn Normal Ojamas another purpose but there was simply no space.

Extra Deck x 15
Gachi Gachi Gantetsu x 3
Daigusto Phoenix x 2
Frozen Fritzgerald x 2
Ally of Justice Catastor x 1
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier x 1
Gaia Knight, Force of Earth x 1
Black Rose Dragon x 1
Stardust Dragon x 1
Scrap Dragon x 1
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier x 1
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon x 1

Well, nothing special about the Extra Deck. Gachi Gachi is really important so included at maximum allowed copies, Daigusto Phoenix is here just in case I am able to perform the OTK (with 2 Phoenixes and 1 Gachi Gachi) and Frozen Fitzgerald is here at two copies for the Deck is able to bring him out so easily. Apart from these everything else is staple in order to have 1 or 2 Synchros for every Level.

Well this is Deck I have been working on since last month's article and I must say I am more than satisfied by it's winning ratio. I believe that this is the most competitive form of Ojamas right now, yet I will soon try a different approach on them, focusing more on the Lockdown.

Thanks for reading and till next time remember; Never underestimate those little freaks!
-Eatos

Bibliography

Jason Grabher-Meyer , 2009, TCG Player, OjaMachineGun Reloaded

Jason Grabher-Meyer , 2009, TCG Player, Blue Plate Special

Announcement: Reduction to the Number of Monthly Articles and E-Mail For Deck Application

Summer is over and School is back and ready to consume a vast amount of my precious time. This means several things to my Dueling "Career" with first and foremost being the reduction to the amount of time I have to spent experimenting on new Decks. Ergo I have to reduce the number of my Deck Profiles to one per month instead of the Whenever-An-Idea-Have-Popped-In-My-Head system. I hope it is for the best and that it will give me the time to find interesting ideas and to build as consistent decks as possible.

Now for the second matter. I have good ideas about new combos or decks and I am sure you have too. So if you want to share it and possibly have me making an article about it send it here:

adouloumis@hotmail.com

I will be really really grateful.

Here is what I am looking for:

-Combos that result in Game Win
-Combos that result in multiple pluses for you or minuses for the opponent
-Decks with original Win Conditions
-Original First Turn Kills or Loops
-Decks with interesting playstyle

What I am NOT looking for:
-Archetype Decks (e.g. X-Sabers, Six Samurai etc.) except if they abuse a special combo or playstyle
-Type/Attribute Decks (e.g. Dragons, Water etc.) except if they abuse a special combo or playstyle
-Hybrids (e.g. Scrapsworn, T.G. Agents etc.) except if they abuse a special combo or playstyle
-Situational Combos (e.g. Monster Reborn or One for One required)

Thanks for reading and till next time
-Eatos

Deck Profile # 7: Palomuro Tempest OTK

I have said again and again during my short time as a writer to this blog that I hate loops for I not only find them boring and unstable but even kind of unethical. Yet there is something fascinating in discovering a loop all by yourself even though when you go to Google you see that many people have found it  before you do. This happened to me about five weeks ago and even though it is not an extremely powerful or consistent loop I have got it one step further by making adding a winning condition and by making the deck that contains the loop as consistent as possible. I have to say that even if the deck was creating in order to set up the loop in the first turn and use it in the second with a consistency over 85% yet it is not even close to the Traditional Format First Turn Kill Decks and since it leaves the opponent with a turn to respond it's winning rate drops significantly. So I would suggest no one to run this deck and I have uploaded for purely academic reasons.

The loop begins with the small and unused X-Saber Palomuro. This little Reptile Special Summon itself from the Graveyard at the small cost of the 500 life points when a X-Saber is destroyed in battle. The good thing is that it does not states another X-Saber except himself ergo when a Palomuro dies you get another one from the Graveyard. The bad thing is that since you pay life points this loop cannot be used for an unlimited amount of times. And there the next card comes into play.

Rainbow Life, which can be activated at the cost of a card at hand, allows you for a turn to gain as much life points as you would have lost. So you activate Rainbow Life, attack with Palomuro to something with more than 700 ATK, you get the difference between the ATK of Palomuro and the opponent's monster and you summon the next Palomuro and announce the number of times you want to repeat the combo. For example if you suicide Palomuro to something like a Reborn Tengu with 1700 ATK you get 1500 every time and minusing the 500 life point cost you get 1000 life points every attack and if you say "I repeat the combo a million times” you get yourself a billion life points. This is what most opponents need before they scoop and burble something about broken loops and silly cards that kill the game. 

But one must not rely on the opponent to win at any case. A smart opponent will count the rest of the cards in both decks and considering the amount of Draw Power this deck contains in order to set up the loop in most cases you are going to lose first. And such one must find a way to abuse the loop even further. I have decided to do this using another X-Saber, Axel. This little guy allows for every time an X-Saber is destroyed by battle to draw one card. See the point? Draw all of your deck by repeatingly suicide the Palomuros in opponent's monsters. Yet when Axel is on the field you cannot perform the combo with Palomuro for unlimited amount of times since then you would be decked out  by yourself (Axel's effect is not optional).

But even having all of your deck on your hand is not gonna guarantee you the game so I had to add a win condition by stuffing to the deck as few cards cards as possible in order to hurt consistency as less as possible. I have found a fitting win condition in the face of Instant Fusion which is added to a single copy and used to summon Musician King. This level 5 Spellcaster-Type monster is tuned with Palomuro in order to summon Tempest Magician, a card known for it's ability to turn massive hands to Burn Damage OTKs making the perfect win condition to this deck.

So to sum up the whole combo since you will most likely have been confused. You need two Palomuro at the Graveyard along with Rainbow Life on the field and an Axel on the field in the first turn in order to begin the combo next turn. Since this is kind of hard to happen I decided to make some changes to make the deck more playable. First I have added Snake Rain which allows to send four Reptiles from the Deck to the Graveyard making perfect to send multiples of Palomuro there and second I ran XX-Saber Emmersblabe which allows me to suicide him in order to Special Summon both Axel from my Deck and Palomuro from the Graveyard. Ergo all the setup this combo needs is Emmersblade, Rainbow Life and Snake Rain first turn in hand. And trust me this is not hard at all.

But enough with the explanations, let's go to the deck build.

Monsters x 16

X-Saber Palomuro x 3

XX-Saber Emmersblade x 3

X-Saber Axel x 2

Broww, Huntsman of Dark World x 3

Evil Dragon Ananta x 3

Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes x 2

Obviously Palomuro and Emmersblade, the centerpieces of the deck is included at the maximum allowed of three copies in order to sent them to the Graveyard faster in the case of the former and add one to the hand as soon as possible in the case of the latter. Next we have one of the major flaws to this decks consistency but yet a necessary one. Two copies of X-Saber Axel are necessary since this deck runs (as you will see below) Card Destruction and Into the Void both of which will be unusable if the single copy of Axel is stuck in your hand and you cannot sent it to the Graveyard as the whole combo will be useless next turn.

Next Broww, Huntsman of Dark World is added paired as you will see by Card Destruction and triple Dark World Dealings making a really decent Draw engine.

Finally I had to add some Reptile-Type Monsters other than Palomuro since Snake Rain cannot work if you have less than 4 Reptiles in your deck. I have looked carefully to every Reptile in both TCG and OCG and I found none non-Archetype specific that can provide some sort of advantage from the Graveyard or even at the hand (with the exception of some crappy Worms that you get to Draw a card when they are Flip Summoned, but they were obviously ruled out as they offer nothing essential to the deck). I chose then to add Level 8 Dark Reptiles in order to have some valid targets for Trade-In and Allure of Darkness. Ergo I have added triple Evil Dragon Ananta and twice Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes. A total of 8 Reptiles in the deck makes sure that you will get to activate Snake Rain in the vast majority of occasions (I had tried with 7 and it was not an uncommon phenomenon to have draw 4 of them and a Snake Rain, making it completely dead). Also with 5 Dark Level 8 triple Trade-In and a single Allure are justified in a deck that works much like a First Turn Kill in terms of Draw Power.

Spells x 21

Snake Rain x 3

Instant Fusion x 1

Pot of Duality x 3

Momentary Truce x 3

Into the Void x 3

Trade-In  x 3

Allure of Darkness x 1

Dark Word Dealings x 3

Card Destruction x 1

Now for the Spells, we begin with triple Snake Rain a really great card as it is the primary way of dumping Palomuro in the Graveyard and also it thins the deck. Foolish Burial could be used as well but I found that there was absolutely  no need.  We continue with the single copy of Instant Fusion. By the time you would need this you will have theoretically drawn all of your deck so adding more of this is unnecessary and unneeded. If you draw it when you have Card Destruction or Into the Void you can simply set it (If your opponent haves  Mystical Space Typhoon/Heavy Storm/other form of back row hate then it would have used it in Rainbow Life anyway but then again as I said before this deck is here for purely academic purposes and it is not actually combatant).

Next we have the Draw Spell Arsenal. First there is Pot of Duality, which is an obvious choice in triplets since this deck does not uses any kind of Special Summons during the first turn in which it only draws (a lot!). Second Draw card is a currently OCG-only (do not worry, this card is coming out in November in Photon Shockwave) and it is one hell of a card in certain decks; Momentary Truce. Both players draw a card making it a 1-for-1 for you and a plus one for the opponent but all damage is reduced to zero during yours and your opponent’s turn,ensuring that you will not be OTK’d. But both Pot of Duality and Momentary Truce can be used only by the first turn when you draw and not in the second where you Special Summon like hell (possibly even a billion times) and when you want to do a Burn OTK through Tempest Magician (Momentary Truce is reducing to zero both Battle and Effect Damage). Finishing with the 1-for-1 draw cards we have Into the Void a simple card that allows you to thin your deck at the cost of discarding your entire Hand in the End Phase but if everything goes ok then you would have set up the combo and no longer needed your Hand. I guess that by now you have noticed the absence of Upstart Goblin. The reason of this is pretty simple; this deck wins by inflicting a certain amount of Burn Damage, if you have used 2 Goblins then the opponent haves 10000 life points, and this means that Tempest Magician needs 20 cards to fuel him in order to win. But with the rate this deck is thinned in the first turn it is not uncommon to draw more than 20 and so you may not have enough to discard for Tempest Magician.

Continuing with the Discard/Draw Spells, we have Trade-In a great Draw Card with 5 targets in this deck making it almost never dead. Allure of Darkness is even better since it targets every non-X-Saber monster in the deck but obviously it is better not to discard Broww as he does not get his effect. Dark World Dealings is a great card even though it helps the opponent along with you and it is a minus one since it lets you draw further into your deck without worrying about the other cards in hand (unlike Trade-In or Allure) and it makes a great pair to Broow since with him it is an ordinary 2-for-2 Draw Card much like Trade-In and Allure. Closing we have possibly the best Draw Card; Card Destruction can turn massive dead hands into great ones, plus it also combos well with Broww or even better Browws.

Traps x 3

Rainbow Life x 3

In the Trap Line-Up we have only the last necessary piece of the combo and no other card. I tried to add Solemn Judgment or even Dark Bribe/Debunk to protect the combo and the setup but for every Dead Card loses at least 3% of its ability to perform the setup during the first turn (and with 3 dead cards: 2 Axel and 1 Instant Fusion, without counting the possibly dead Broww/Trade-In/Dark Reptiles), I decided to cut off any even a little unnecessary card.

In the last test I have done to this Deck it was able to setup the combo First Turn in 87 out of 100 times but this does not mean I would have won (since this works as a First Turn Kill I tried it by myself and not in a real Duel most of the time). This deck does not have what it takes to win in a consistent and reliable rate as Mystical Space Typhoon, Heavy Storm and Effect Veiler; cards in almost every deck nowadays can easily counter the combo. If you have the cards make this deck for fun, it is truly funny to see other people faces when you have 1 billion life points or when you draw all of your deck and summon a single Synchro to claim game. If you do not have the cards then do not spend on this deck (if you like this style of decks try Traditional Format Makyura FTK or Dimension Fusion FTK).

Thanks for reading and till next time

-Eatos

Bibliography

Neither this time I have any Bibliogrphy Link to present but this time it is due to me, thinking and developing the loop by myself and so I haven't found any article or video to help me further.

Deck Profile # 6: Clear Golem Burn

Generally I am not fan of the Burn/Stall Decks yet there is a card in that category that I find exteremly good. If you see Lava Golem from the perspective of maths it is really a 2 for 2 trade but the great thing about it is that it's effect not only takes off 2 monsters of the opponent (that can be really anything making the trade better than 2 for 2) but also noone will negate it's summon. I mean that if you tribute Lava Golem the opponent can use Solemn Warning and friends to negate the summon yet if he does it he is an idiot since with that move not only gets a minus two but also loses 2000 life points twice as the golem would Burn (in case of Warning). After the Golem is summoned it is an 3000 beater that you do not want to destroy that burns the 1000 points of the opponent per turn.

Hence the Burn/Stall decks that abuse Lava Golem use their Burn part to increase the damage done by Golem when the Stall part focuses on the survival of the player in order not to be beaten by his own monster. But even though in theory this category of decks seem good, in real gameplay they lack consistency by having no draw or search power. I have to say that this is due to the players that they randomly throw into the decks any card that can do a lot of damage and do not pay attention in the build as a whole but in the individual cards. So I have decided to create this deck that not only uses a draw engine compatible with the purposes of the Burn/Stall Decks but also a way to double the damage Lava Golem deals per turn.

I will begin with the latter part: Clear World, a really strange Field Spell with kind of decent effects that can prove useful but none of them is game-winning by itself. But the Fire one if it is paired with Lava Golem (of which the Attribute guarantees that you will get the proper effect) it can burn the opponent's life points in four turns.

Now let me introduce to one of the few proper Burn/Stall Decks that you will see in the web (and yes I know I am arrogant).

Monsters x 9
Lava Golem x 3
Blast Sphere x 3
Des Koala x 2
Marshmallon x 1

A really short Monster Line-Up this is indeed. Most Burn Deck users use huge Monster Line-Ups throwing random slow cards like Stealth Bird that not only are situational but also hold the Deck down disabling it by function as a whole. Lava Golem is the main burning device of the deck and obvioucly is runned at maximum copies in order to ensure maximum consistency. I have chose not to run Volcanic Queen for several reasons. First of all unlike Golem it is a 2 for 1 making it a bad card from the card economy perspective,then she is a level six hence can easily be used as a Synchro Material easily by most decks and finally her effect give choices to the opponent like avoiding the damage for a turn or even damaging you (which can be pretty serious considering the cost for Clear World and the tendance of all modern decks to huge swings of Damage).

The next burn card I have chose to add is Blast Sphere, a really great card that can easily burn a lot the opponent and also destroy a monster of his. The majority of the Burn cards in this deck are like this one, that abuse the opponent's attack power in order to deal huge swings of Damage instead of petty ones like Stealth Bird. This may seem like this deck depends in what the opponent has out but due to usage of Lava Golem you actually have control over your opponent's front row making these cards especially good when combined with Golems huge ATK. Des Koala was added when I was reconstructing the deck for the new format and it proved to be really good since the current deck are all about pluses and due to Heavy Storm's return they do not commit everything on the field at once making this a good first turn set (plus it is a Dark-Attribute that will stay in defence hence no affection from Clear World. Finally there is Marshmallon, which is a perfect asset to any Burn/Stall as it have both Burn and Stall effects plus a really great artwork. But there is a little catch: if Clear World is in the field same time as Marshmallon your opponent will get to see your hand so the addition of Marshmallon was kind of optional. Overall I decided after playtesting and judging pros and cons that Marshmallon offers more than it harms hence it's addition was justified.

Spells x 13
Clear World x 3
Terraforming x 2
Level Limit - Area B x 1
Scapegoat x 1
Pot of Duality x 3
Magic Planter x 3


First of all Clear World is added at three backed up by two Terraformings, I believe that this is more than enough since Clear World is not extremely important, the deck can easily win even without it but it has some other usages too apart from the Golem Combo. Level Limit - Area B is a must have in every Stall deck hence no justification needed. Scapegoat is a multipurposal card that now is used only in a few deck but in this deck it is used also for Stall and since it is Quick-Play it is great in the upcoming format where Heavy Storm and three Mystical Space Typhoon rule. Next there is Pot of Duality and since this deck does not uses a lot of Special Summons (at least in your turn) it is a must have since it adds consistency Burn/Stall Decks lack.

But Pot of Duality is not enough to make the deck consistent. Every serious deck must have some sort of Draw Power and the generic one aside from Pot of Duality does not fits the purposes of the deck. Hence I had to add an Draw Engine in the deck that does not harms the purposes of this Deck and I found that in the Magic Planter. It allows to send a face-up Continuous Trap to the Grave in order to Draw two cards. Continuous Trap cards have some of the best ways to Stall and even some to cards that Burn hence by increasing a bit the amount of the said cards I can add three Magic Planters in order to have a decent Draw Engine. Another thing that Continuous Traps have in plethora is Anti-Meta Cards : Macro Cosmos, Discord, Mask of Restrict, Gozen Match, Rivarly of the Warlords, Shadow and Light Imprisoning Mirrors, Grave of the Super-Ancient Organism and Skill Drain are just some examples. Even though some of them mess up with the Strategy of this Deck, I have sided a lot of them (maining one) and they are extremely helpful in a variety of Matchups.

Traps x 18
Gravity Bind x 3
Zoma the Spirit x 3
Fiendish Chain x 3
Macro Cosmos x 3
Judgment of Anubis x 2
Magic Cylinder x 2
Ceasefire x 1
Solemn Judgment  x 1

Now for the Trap Line-Up where the true tricks of the deck reside. First for the in-deck Continuous Traps. Gravity Bind is the main Stall card of the deck and a also a target for the Magic Planter so it needs no more justification (just watch out for Xyz since they are not affected). Next we have Zoma the Spirit my favorite Burn card after Golem and Marhmallon. I usually Special Summon it in the opponent's End Phase and then suicide it in to Golem for a massive Burn Damage of 3000 life points usually resulting game win (just make sure that Gravity Bind or Area B is not active). Fiendish Chain, our next card, is a seriously underestimated one. I have added it since it is the best way for this deck to stop powerful Card Destruction effects of monsters like Judgment Dragon, Scrap Dragon, Black Luster Soldier etc. Even though Nightmare Wheel fits best in the Burn category of the deck it is unable to negate the effects and hence it was rejected.

One of the problem this  deck will face out there is the newly released (I have said thousands of times these days) 3 MST and Heavy which you will are bound to face since anyone will side in every Spell/Trap Destruction he has. My first solution is pressure: by activating an Anti-Meta Card (of those I mentioned before)  that kills his deck your opponent have to destroy it with MST in order to make his moves hence leaving your of the Spell/Traps intact hence allowing you to continue your burn damage dealings hence having a great chance to win the game. Macro Cosmos is the card I added in the deck since it adds pressure to a lot of the upcoming top decks (Twilight, Zombies, Agents, Dark World, Junk Doppel etc.). Feel free though to change it if you see that your meta is more valnurable to another card.

But since not all deck are killed by Macro Cosmos and also Heavy Storm does not fall in the trick above I had to add another strategy to deal with this. My first thought was Starlight Road but I rejected it for Judgment of Anubis a really great card this format, especially in this deck. The reasons I have done this is several : first is that Anubis can negate MST and Heavy Storm in comparison of Starlight that can negate also Dark Hole, Mirror Force, Judgment Dragon etc. but since this deck neither do attack a lot nor it is overextended in terms of front row field presence and it has it's way to deal with all those pesky monsters, Anubis wins this. Also Anubis fits better the Burn character of this deck and it often is the final push the deck needs in order to win by destroying Lava Golem or something like that, in comparison with Starlight where you get a Stardust Dragon with no synergy on the field who will most likely will be destroyed by Lava Golem next turn. Also much like Heavy Storm, Starlight rules by it's reputation, if your opponent do not know the deck and sees that you set a lot of back row he will assume that you set Starlight and he will be hesitant to activate his Heavy Storm. This is a game of Mind Tricks.

Continuing we have Magic Cylinder and Ceasefire. These two cards are more than staples in Burn Decks, they are necessities. Absolutely no justification needed. Closing there is Solemn Judgment, in my opinion the most staple staple in every deck that runs traps.

The main reason that players mess up when it comes in constructing a proper Burn Deck is that they dismiss their knowledge about Deck Building considering Burn Decks as something different than the Control or Aggro oriented ones. They think that while other decks fight over advantage over the field or hand Burn Decks are fighting to get advantage over the life points and nothing else and they forgot the basic rules of Deck Building. Hence if they have to get a minus two in order to Burn a thousand or two of their opponent's life points they will do it. But this is totally wrong. In this game the first 7999 life points matter so little. Hence this deck is constructed in order to lose as less advantage as possible yet continuing the Burning in a more slow yet consistent rate.

When I tried to reconstruct the deck in order to fits the new format I have to say I was quite pessimistic about it's hopes during this season but I think now it is even better. It is a very tough deck to deal with and it messes up with a lot of commonly seen or to be seen strategies. If you like Burn/Stall Decks give it a chance, you will not be dissapointed.

Thanks for reading and till next time

-Eatos

Bibliography 


Nothing this time, as I said during my research I have found no interesting burn decks to be influenced by.

September 2011 Ban List Discussion

In every blog I look this time of the year there are articles commenting on how will the Ban List will affect the next six months to come and even though I wasn’t planning to do it I will write a similar article to express my opinion.

New Banned Cards

Mind Master (from Limited)

Giant Trunade (from Limited)

Royal Oppresion  (from Limited)

Fishborg Blaster (from Unlimited)

Mind Master: This is an obvious choice for the Ban Hammer since he has no “once per turn” in his effect hence pairing him with Brain Research Lab and you have Substitoad for Psychics.He is gone for good.

Giant Trunade: hmm this was in my opinion 50-50 chance of getting banned since it secures the OTKs and stuff. I don’t know really maybe it will be back one or two formats later.

Royal Oppresion:  At least! Enough with the madness, throwing this in every deck there is. Bye Bye, I hope forever.

Fishborg Blaster:  When I saw this I thought : “What the hell?”.  But I found several  reasons for the Ban Hammer to hit this and also believe he will return next format or at least in a year. First of all I believe it is a move from Konami in order to propel the Fish fans to the new Fish support of Generation Force since the Fish Synchro OTK is unplayble now with the ban of Trunade and Blaster. As a Fish player myself I am not going to do such a thing, I will just keep my deck intact and wait for the return of Blaster. But the primary reason I found was an OCG card Rescue Rabbit (OCG here stands for Oh Cruel God  why again?). If you have Treeborn Frog in the field and Fishborg in the Graveyard ,you summon Rescue Rabbit bringing two level 4 Normal Water Monsters, ditch for Blaster twice making 2 Hyper Librarians (or two any level 5 Synchro), ditch again for Blaster, Synchro Formula Synchron with Treeborn and then Synchro all for Shooting Quasar Dragon. But the Rescue Rabbit is moribund (or moribanned to be exact) hence it will open the ground for Fishborg Blaster again.

New Limited Cards:
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (from Banned)
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En (from Unlimited)

Shien's Smoke Signal (from Unlimited)
T.G. Hyper Librarian (from Unlimited)
Debris Dragon (from Semi-Limited)

Lonefire Blossom (from Semi-Limited)

Pot of Avarice (from Unlimited)
Formula Synchron (from Unlimited)
Primal Seed (from Unlimited)

Heavy Storm (from Banned)

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning:  The longest name in the game, two of the greatest effects there are and a ridiculously easy summoning condition and (Voila!) the return of a card that is expected to single-handedly shape the next format. I am not that optimistic that it will be able to do such a thing but it still is a great card hence his return, along with some other changes in the Ban List, make Twilight/Chaos a solid deck option for the upcoming format.

Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En: Samurais where expected targets for the Ban Hammer and Shi En is one of the two cards that Samurai can use at one and the one with the less impact to the deck.

Shien’s Smoke Signal: This is the second card Samurais lost and the one that is going to hurt more.

T.G. Hyper Librarian: Expected and justified and to be continued in the next ban list.

Debris Dragon: The first hit to Plants and well justified since this is one of the most broken Tuners out there.
Lonefire Blossom: The second hit to Plants and also a painful one.

Pot of Avarice: The third hit to Plants and the Tengu Engine even though it affects other deck too. With this the Plant Engine is officially dead.

Formula Synchron: This is I believe done in order to stop some of the madness made with T.G. Hyper Librarian and with him being hit with the Ban Hammer next list Formula will return I want to believe.

Primal Seed: What? I had forgot this card existed. I know there are some loops and stuff but yet hardly viable.

Heavy Storm: Heavy Storm AND Dark Hole AND Mirror Force AND Torrential Tribute = Where is my Starlight Road? This card will have the greatest impact to the format and the way the decks are built mainly due to it’s reputation. There is a 15% of the opponent to open with this, you are not going to risk and set three cards aren’t you? Surprisingly this card is bad in OTK’s since it can be stopped from Stardust Dragon and Starlight Road. But wait there is more: As you will see below there is also Unlimited Mystical Space Typhoon. Heavy Storm and three MST, seriously? Bad format for traps, really bad (don’t forget the approaching Dark World Lightning).

New Semi-Limited Cards:

Summoner Monk (from Limited)
Tragoedia (from Limited)
Necro Gardna (from Limited)
Dewlauren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier (from Unlimited)
Destiny Draw (from Limited)
Swords of Revealing Light (from Limited)
Mind Crush (from Limited)
Call Of The Haunted (from Limited)

Summoner Monk: Nice! I am a fan of this card and now with all the plethora of Xyz and level 8 Synchro’s he is more awesome than ever.

Tragoedia: Another Twilight boost and a safe move, a balanced card at two I believe.

Necro Gardna: As above it is a zone of defense for the Twilight Duelist. I guess I should buy a couple of Debunks after all.

Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier: Cool name and cool art but other than this is just a boring First Turn Kill loop with Symbol of Heritage and some other  cards that I don’t remember in order to draw your whole deck.

Destiny Draw: At last! That is all I have to say.

Swords of Revealing Light: Konami is mocking us. With three MST (even though not everyone will run three I believe at leat main deck) and Heavy Storm this is not gonna see much play.

Mind Crush: Cool! Well just make sure that when you play this card you NEVER call out something like : “Grapha, Dragon God of the Dark World” or “Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World”.

Call of the Haunted: This could be good if there was not three MST and a Heavy lurking around the corner.

New Unlimited Cards:

Judgment Dragon (from Semi-Limited)
Spirit Reaper (from Semi-Limited)
Overload Fusion (from Semi-Limited)
Mystical Space Typhoon (from Semi-Limited)
Megamorph (from Semi-Limited)
Gravity Bind (from Limited)
Icarus Attack (from Semi-Limited)

Judgment Dragon: I am not sure if Twilight Duelist will run two or three of those so I do not know if this will have a big impact in the flow of the game.

Spirit Reaper: Not a fan of this card. Limited, Semi or Unlimited does not matter to me, I am not going to run it anyways.

Overload Fusion: With no Trunade the OTKs fall short hence this card will be no problem.

Mystical Space Typhoon: This should be either Limited or Semi, I don’t get why Konami have recently got so much Spell/Trap hate.

Megamorph: Same thing as Overload Fusion plus the usual three MST thing.

Gravity Bind: Same as Swords of Revealing Light. Continuous Cards and especially Traps are not gonna see much play.

Icarus Attack: With no Oppresion, one Kalut, one Gale and one Whirlwind Blackwings are not coming back.

So that’s it.  No Equip Spells and very limited amount of Field Spells and Continuous Cards will mark the next Format. I believe that hand and grave abuse will continue especially as a protection resort. Effect Veiler, D.D. Crow, Gorz, Necro Gardna, Tragoedia and more I expect to see a lot the next six months. Cards that I expect to rise in popularity are obviously Starlight Road and Debunk and possibly Treacherous Trap Hole. Dimensional Prison and Bottomless are expected to lose their popularity or at least will stop being throw ins in every deck.

Decks I believe that will dominate this format  are Twilight, T.G. Tengu or some other TenguTourGuideBirdmanDivaZombie variant, Agents, Dark Worlds, Rabbit-something when it is released, and maybe Hero variants especially if Esquiridao is released.

Thanks for reading and till next time

-Eatos

Here is the link to Shriek where I saw the Ban List changes

http://shriek.twoday.net/stories/38747774/

Deck Profile # 5: Tuningware Synchro

When I began Yu-Gi-Oh!, one of the first decks I thought of making was Machinas. So I looked all the cards included in Structure Deck: Machina Mayem and one that draw no attention was Machine Duplication. I just overlooked it for it's restriction to monsters lower than 500 ATK. Now almost two years later I know that ATK restrictions mean nothing when it comes to field presence. Also since I have studied the history of the game I know that Machine Duplication since it's original print have some kind of secret and small impact in the flow of the game but never got a lot of attention in order to win a place in the Ban & Limited List.

Back in time it was paired with Card Trooper in order to summon three 1900-ATK beatstick plus milling nine cards plus get to draw a card for each Trooper if you got a bit lucky. That was the main reason for the limiting of Card Trooper. It is also used in Traditional Format with Cyber Valley in order to form Retrieve and Draw engine in order to make fast decks faster such as the infamous Dimension Fusion - First Turn Kill. Also if you pair the triple Cyber Valley with Spell Economics and Dimension Fusion you have an unlimited Draw Loop. It has found it's way to the Morphtronic decks being able to summon many of these little guys such as Celfon and Remoten in triples and use their effect with impressive results. Another use Machine Duplication finds is in a lately popular deck : Karakuris. Abusing Black Salvo one could unleash multiple copies of  Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei” or Karakuri Steel Shogun mdl 00X “Bureido” making an One Turn Kill out of thin air. As you can see small Machine-Types can devastate the opponent in many ways despite their original small ATK.

But enough with the history lesson. When I looked for small Machine that are targets for Duplication, two cards draw my attention. Tuningware and Darksea Rescue are both targets for Machine Duplication and both when used for a Synchro Summon you get to draw one card (Tuningware has an additional little effect that allows more flexibility in the level of the Synchro Monster throwing Darksea Rescue out of the competition). But how to aduse them? The best way by far is to use the "Retrieve" Tuners. Junk Synchron and Debris Dragon both can target Tuningware. So you summon Junk Synchron or Debris Dragon while one of the Tuningwares is in the Graveyard and then you activate Machine Duplication to get three of the Tuningware in the field. But what to make? Junk Synchron and Tuningware x3 can make maximum a level 8 since one of the Tuningwares have it's effect negated. The best monster to make is obviously Junk Destroyer giving the opponent a minus three, you get to draw three cards and you have a 2600-ATK beater in the field. Alternatively, with Debris you can use the three Tuningware for a level 9 Synchro. So Trishula plus draw three cards or Junk Destryer plus draw three cards? I don't know about you but to me it sounds like a game winning combo.

I had originally made a deck that was focused entirely in that combo including Inferno Reckless Summon (ensuring that you will use the combo at least once) and De-Synchro (in order to use the combo multiple times in a turn). But even though I found the deck exteremely explosive and terrifying, it was many times inconsistent and suffered from very bad hands, hence I have gone in a less explosive way but more consistent and accurate.

Monsters x 19
Tuningware x 3
Junk Synchron x 3
Debris Dragon x 2
Card Trooper x 2
Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter x 2
Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress x 1
Glow-Up Bulb x 1
Dandylion x 1
Plaguespreader Zombie x 1
Chaos Sorcerer x 2
Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness x 1

Tuningware is included obviously in three copies as it is necessary for the main combo. I have also decided to include both "Retireve" Tuners ; Junk Synchron and Debris Dragon in maximum copies allowed as they are the main Synchro Engines of the deck with or without the combo with Tuningware since they have seven and ten targets respectively. Card Trooper serves many purposes ; not only it is a secondary target for Machine Duplication (even though rarely used) but also is a milling device, a 1900-ATK beatstick, target for Debris Dragon plus adds a little speed. Cyber Valley could be included but I prefered not to, since you would just waste your Machine Duplications in exchange of Draw Power which is not always good.Next, there is the Lightsworn Engine, consisted by two Ryko and a single Lyla, that along with Card Trooper are the primary way to send Tuningware and other interesting little cards to the Graveyard for more shenaningans. Ryko is also target for both Junk Synchron and Debris Dragon.

Glow-Up Bulb, Dandylion and Plaguspreader Zombie are those interesting little cards that can easily be used from the Graveyard for Synchro Summon and stuff. The rest of the Plant Engine could be used (Lonefire Blossom x 2, Spore x 1 and possibly a single Tyttanial) but I have decided that they are not necessary for the deck and removed them, instead filling the space with other most necessary cards. I guess most of you disagree with me but it is a decision I stand by. Chaos Sorcerer in two copies is included since there are 7 Dark-Attribute Monsters and 5 Light-Attribute ones plus a lot of milling. Finally Gorz is included as a last resort protection.

Spells x 15
Machine Duplication x 3
Pot of Avarice x 3
Foolish Burial x 1
Charge of Light Brigade x 1
One for One x 1
Tuning x 1
Mystical Space Typhoon x 2
Dark Hole x 1
Giant Trunade x 1
Monster Reborn x 1

Machine Duplication, the most-difficult-to-get piece of the main combo is included in three copies to maximize the chances off pulling this play. Pot of Avarice is an awesome card paired with Milling and Synchro Engines such as the Lightsworn one and the Plant one respectively. Also it helps stabilizing the main disadvantage of the main combo ; Machine Duplication Special Summons only from the deck hence Tuningware in Graveyard or hand stay where they are, so Pot of Avarice helps returning the extra copies back in deck. From there Foolish Burial and Charge of Light Brigade complete the Dumping Engine opening ways for bigger plays. One for One can be used to summon Tuningware from the deck or bring Glow-Up Bulb for some awesome Synchro Shenaningans. Tuning is used as a sixth "Retrieve" Tuner that I believe it is needed and even though it has only one target is pretty good. Obviously Reinforcement of the Army could used as well but I prefered Tuning for the slight Milling. From there, the rest of Spells are staples that are almost in every deck and need no justification.

Traps x 6
Solemn Warning x 2
Solemn Judgment x 1
Call of the Haunted x 1
Mirror Force x 1
Fiend Comedian x 1

The Trap Line-Up as you can see is pretty basic except one card. Fiend Comedian is a pretty awesome card in this Format to any Deck that Mills. You either leave the opponent with no Graveyard, a devastating thing to many decks or you mill and if you take account the speed of the current decks you will most likely mill a lot. It is so good that I have another one in the Side Deck The only thing I would like to add is that I would love to include Torrential Tribute, a second Seven Tools and possibly even a Limit Reverse but there was no space.

Extra Deck x 15
Formula Synchron x 2
Armory Arm x 1
Ally of Justice Catastor x 1
T.G. Hyper Librarian x 1
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier x 1
Iron Chain Dragon x 1
Black Rose Dragon x 1
Scrap Archfiend x 1
Junk Destroyer x 1
Red Dragon Archfiend x 1
Scrap Dragon x 1
Stardust Dragon x 1
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier x 1
Shooting Star Dragon x 1


No surprise in the Extra Deck except that it costs over 250$ to make.

Overall this deck is able to unleash easily an extremely powerful combo but it also can play with multiple Synchro Summons and Chaos Sorcerer. It is much more consistent over it's predecessor but even though it suffers from the possible bad hands that every deck using Milling Engines can suffer. But the thing that I like most in the deck is that even though Hyper Libarian is included in the Extra Deck, the main combo itself does a better job in Synchroing and Drawing than Librarian. But since the combo can be destroyed by both Effect Veiler and D.D. Crow (which both can stop the "Retrieve" Tuners) I have sided two copies of Debunk and I suggest it to everyone who wants to use this deck.


Thanks for reading and till next time.
-Eatos


Bibliography

There is not many things to show since this combo has not explored very well but here are some links to the history of Machine Duplication if you are intereseted. Also there is a deck called Tuningware OTK but I found it pretty boring since it is another Magical Explosion FTK deck but you can also take a look.

Jason Grabher-Meyer, 2011, Konami.com, "  Deck Profile: Bobby Brake’s Karakuri Machine"

http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=4924 

Jamie Alexander, 2010, The Traditional Format Academy, "Dimensiona Fusion Loop"

http://traditionalformatacademy.blogspot.com/2010/06/deck-essay-3-dimension-fusion-loop.html

aznpersuasion2008, 2009, Youtube. com, "Yugioh Decklist - Tuningware OTK"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKonfXFcmzE