Ho, fellow gamers!  I have come from the future to impart wisdom and...(clong).  Ow!  Who threw that!  Why, I oughta... oh, well.  Here we go.  In this article, and those to follow, I'm going to be taking a look at decks from the past, starting with the LoBE-set decks, and see whether they, with newly released cards, can still compete in today's environment.  We start with the first deck to truly be considered as such.  This thing was the only viable deck in the days of Legend of Blue-Eyes (which was a really lousy set, tell you the truth), as Lord decks just didn't do well.  Yes, I'm talking about...

 

 

Brings back memories, doesn't it?  How long has it been since you've seen a classic Beatdown?  Only last tournament, you say?  You think that today's Beats are the same deck?  WRONG, DUDE!  Today's Beatdown decks are a completely different beast from the F/S classics of old.  Today's nasties are, as can be expected, much faster, tougher, and nastier than the F/S types.  Using better kill spells, bigger monsters, and better defenses, the Mosern Beatdown could tear the old F/S types a half dozen new ones.  Poor old F/S Beatdowns.  Unfortunately, they can't stand up to the Modern Beatdown with any hope of winning. 

 

Or can they?

 

With the release of Labyrinth of Nightmare came the Demi-Spirit cards.  The best of these was the awesome Dark Necrofear.  This beast made many duelists sit up and take notice.  His 'drawback' Summon requirements were more of a help than a hindrance, his attack was respectable (sort of), his defense sublime, and his effect... devastating.  Getting this thing out and active meant that the opponent was going to lose a monster for a while, since destroying Necrofear in any way triggered his effect.  Many players attempted to build a deck around this nasty Demi-Spirit, and a lot of them worked.

 

Then came Legacy of Darkness, and with Legacy of Darkness came Dark Ruler Ha Des.  I'm still not sure on his effect, but I think he can negate Bazoo's effect, and bop the stupid primate down to his normal 1600 attack.  If not, well negating the effects of: Magician of Faith, Cyber Jar, Penguin Soldier, Mask of Darkness, Witch of the Black Forest, Sangan, Wall of Illusion (still around in my area), and a hoard of other evil creatures earns Ha Des a reputaion as the next biggest Tribute dude, next to Jinzo.  Which Ha Des can kill.  And since I play G-Bind, having people fear for their Jinzos is a gooood thing.  Another nasty, nasty new Fiend is Possessed Dark Soul, which can send any G-Bind deck running for their lives as their own arsenal is turned against them.  Also good for getting Goats out of the way, as well as getting them in your opponent's way.  I haven't seen many of the new Fiend weapons, but Dark Ruler Ha Des, Possessed Dark Soul, and Dark Necrofear alone can form the basis of an evil new Fiend-based deck!  With Necrofear stealing the opponent's biggest freakazoids, Dark Ruler Ha Des slapping around Effect(less) Monsters, and Possessed Dark Soul running amok with G-Bind decks, the new Fiend Disruptor decks can prove very annoying.  Combine your nasty Fiends with stuff like Robbin' Goblin, and your new 'Heckraiser' (or that other word) deck could easily win you tournaments.  While staying rather original; or at least more so than the Modern Beatdown everyone and their mother uses. 

 

Next time I write in, I take a look at the old Lord of D. hypersummon decks that was Legend of Blue-Eyes's only other deck type.  Let's see if Legacy of Darkness can bring back the Dragons, shall we?

 

Got Questions?  Hate Fiends and Want to Let Me Know?  Mail me at Arcane_Draconum@hotmail.com and sing your heart out.  But keep it civil, or you won't like the result.  So now, I head back to the future, as my mission is accom-(clong).  HEY!  You little weed!  Get back Heeeeeeeeeeeeeer! (Bye-bye).