March 2007
Monarchs for the new Format-By GeneralZorpa

Well, I got my first reply from someone about an article! I guess it means that I should keep writing right? This article is all about everyone's favorite top dawg deck, Monarch Control. Lately the banning of Magician of Faith, Breaker and Graceful Charity have greatly hurt this deck, and it is falling out of favor in it's current form, falling to the more trendy and aggressive Bazoo/Trooper Return and Diamond Dude Turbo decks. Here is a deck list that should revitalize our beloved Monarchs in a very aggressive format.
 
Monsters-24
 
3 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
2 Mobius the Frost Monarch
1 Granmarg the Rock Monarch
1 Jinzo
3 Cyber Dragon
 
3 Hydrogeddon
3 Nimble Momonga
2 Gravekeeper's Spy
1 DD Assailant
1 DD Warrior Lady
1 Exiled Force
1 Sangan
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Treeborn Frog
 
Spells-12
 
2 Brain Control
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Premature Burial
1 Scapegoat
1 Enemy Controller
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Snatch Steal
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Creature Swap
1 Confiscation
 
Traps-4
 
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Ring of Destruction
 
 
First off we'll talk about the monster cards that would be a little ackward for some people to use. I'm looking at you Apprentice Lovers.
 
Hydrogeddon
This amazing aquatic dinosaur has been good for a really long time, but the loss of many decks running elemental recruiters has stalled his play. He does what a monarch deck is supposed to do, swarm the field for later tribute. He also forces the opponent to react to what has been played, forcing them on the defensive lest they be on the wrong side of a Hydro smackdown. He is of course run in 3's to maximize his effect, but some people might consider playing him in 2's as the deck can have bad topdecks with both Hydro and Nimble in the deck.
 
Nimble Momonga
This is absolutely my most favorite card in the game. He is one of the best defensive monsters in the game, allowing an awesome first turn set. He swarms the field and will likely gain you 1000 lifepoints, which is never a bad thing. He can also force your opponent to react to his presence, often with a Smashing Ground of remove from play monster to keep you from gaining yet another thousand lifepoints. He will not be run in 2's as his ability to pull out not just another copy, but 2 more copies is incredible! He is a very aggro monster even though he is summoned facedown because he swarms the field by 2, and as he can be turned on a clear field for a decent 2000 damage, and not to mention the fact that your opponent will be unlikely to use a Sakuretsu Armor on a 1000 ATK Flying Squirrel.
 
Granmarg the Rock Monarch
This bad boy is often seen as the weakest of the Monarch monsters. This is because his effect can be foiled by a timely Ceasefire or other chainable trap. However, the only chainable that is run in a standard deck nowadays has been Ring of Destruction, making his effect much more useful on set spell or trap cards. He is the most versatile of the Monarchs, being able to hit set cards as well as set monsters. He also has a plus of not destroying himself due to there being no monsters for him to destroy. He also has the ability of surprise, allowing an opponent to think that your last Mobius or Zaborg is gone, but then SHAZAAM! He gets smacked by their little brother.
 
Gravekeeper's Spy
This awesome monster tore it up at the last SJC, landing in very many high level decks. She is probably the best set on the first turn and is also an aggro swarm wall monster like Nimble due to the fact that she has a whopping 2000 DEF. That DEF is not going away in a hurry, and if your opponent wastes a Smashing Ground on it, so much the better for you. SHe is run in 2's as it is no fun to draw 2 spies in an opening hand, and this reduces the chances of that happening.
 
 
Next we look at the spell lineup, which is actually fairly standard.
 
Snatch Steal
Recently removed from the banlist, this card was a mistake to bring back. It is almost as broken as Change of Heart and in addition to that the important spell removal of Breaker is gone, leaving this to run rampant. It WILL win you games. It is also great for generating tribute fodder, so we run it.
 
Confiscation
A card that screams AGGRO, it is good in that it is a one for one trade in card advantage, but also allows you to see your opponent's plans. With the Nimbles in the deck, it makes it's cost very light, we have no reason not to run it.
 
Creature Swap
We have about 2/3's of the monsters in this deck that make great swap targets and when paired with Nimble it often means game.
 
 
Next the traps, or rather lack of. This deck is very aggro and it requires most of it's space to be devoted to that. The ones that I do have support the theme or are simply too good to pass up.
 
 
How to run this deck
Be aggressive. Do not be afraid of a counter attack. With Spy or Nimble making the best first turn sets in the game, we have an awesome start. You can usually bring out a tribute by the second turn, and usually that is all she wrote. I will beat good decks within 3-5 turns with no room for the opponent to recover. Use cards to your advantage and always force the opponent off balance and keep them reacting to your cards. This will increase your win percentage by a lot.
 
Matchups with other decks
 
Monarchs
Hydrogeddon pwns these decks that use little Dekoichi and Apprentice Magician. They will often have no answer to Spies or Nimbles in the early game, so pwn them early and they have no chance.
 
Gadgets
Hydro loves to munch gadgets and Jinzo and Mobius turn them into mincemeat. Watch out for Shrink, as it has been mass released and will make your mighty monarchs not so mighty anymore. I am currently 6-0 against gadget builds of various construction, so it should be no problem.
 
Diamond Dude Turbo
The monarchs are big, too big for this deck to handle once they hit the field, and DDT has no way to deal with Spies or Nimbles, and it even has trouble with Hydrogeddon. However, if you don't have a Nimble or a Spy, be prepared for a rough fight. They pack a wallop in the early to mid game, so last until the late game and the game is yours.
 
Bazooper Return
I honestly don't know how this deck was able to win so well. Your own remove from play monster make Dimension Fusion less than desirable, and a swarmed field often provokes a panicky Return play that allows you to Snatch or Brain Control your way to victory. Don't waste removal on Trooper, your goal is to reduce your opponent's lifepoints to 0, Trooper give you a free shot at their life, so take it. Bazoo is a bit more of a problem, but the constant swarming should limit the amount of Monsters that are removed and allow your monarchs to eventually score some hits.
 
Well there it is. If you have any questions or anything email me at raptor1k@hotmail.com
 
GeneralZorpa