From: Cindy Mathews [mailto:megin@cableone.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:49 PM

Subject: Armageddon and Oblivion--by brad

Armageddon and Oblivion

 

Hello, all Pojoers.  Today, I will be discussing a new deck Idea that is based around some of the cards in the new set, Shadow of Infinity. 

 

First, lets take a look at the new cards and what they do.

 

Ruin, Queen of Oblivion SOI-EN034

Light-Fairy, lv. 8 2300/2000

Ritual/Effect

This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, “End of the World.” . If this card destroys your opponent's monster as a result of battle, it can attack once again in a row.

 

Demise, King of Armageddon SOI-EN035

Dark-Fiend lv. 8 2400/2000

Ritual/Effect

This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, “End of the World.” By paying 2000 Life Points, destroy all cards on the field, except this card.

 

End of the World SOI-EN046

Ritual spell card

This card can be used to Ritual Summon “Ruin, Queen of Oblivion” or “Demise, King of Armageddon.”. You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you are attempting to Ritual Summon.

 

Now that’s out of the way, a little bit of deck discussion.  First and foremost, you never want to overextend your field with more than one or two monsters if you play this deck.  In part because of the resources it requires to summon one of the rituals, but primarily, because when it does happen, you lose everything due to the King’s effect. 

 

I know what many of you are thinking.  “…But rituals suck.”  In general, yes, they do.  Rituals, after all, have to have a very good effect in order to see competitive play, because of the resources involved.  It will usually take four cards to summon one of the rituals, which is never a good thing, unless you can offset that loss with an excellent amount of resource generation. 

 

This deck should function well with a higher than average monster count, rounding out at 20.  This serves the purpose to feed you with a little bit more possible tribute bait when you need it.  Having more monsters in hand is a huge help in summoning the rituals. 

 

Here are some explanations on some of the cards we will use to build this deck. 

--Embodiment of Apophis.  One of these main decked will give you an extra level four monster on the field to use as a tribute. 

--Shining Angel.  This is an excellent choice to bring out the tutor to the ritual spell or monster cards.

--Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands.  Run in triplicate, this should tutor out the spell card or ritual monster cards at will, as well as double as tribute bait for the rituals.

--Spirit monsters.  These can detract from field presence, but since you can tribute them from your hand to bring out the rituals, it should somewhat lessen the burden.  Both will translate to overall card advantage in the form of removing some important threats from the board.

--Chaos Sorcerer.  This deck is literally chock-full of lights and darks for food.  We will run this for stability and monster removal.  A fun little fact about this deck and how well Chaos Sorcerer meshes with it:  Ruin, Queen of Oblivion + Chaos Sorcerer = BLS-EotB that can use both effects in one turn.  Excellent choice.

--Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive.  In a deck like this, it is necessary to have reliable speed.  At first, I considered using a Magical Merchant for this effect, but you really don’t want to risk dumping a vital piece of the puzzle in the graveyard at an inopportune time.  Plus, Dekoichi will net you an extra monster as tribute bait about half of the time.  Run this in threes for the obvious reasons.

--Spirit Reaper and Don Zaloog will contribute to a little bit of hand advantage when you need it.  Again, pivotal in a deck such as this one.

--Old Vindictive Magician.  Monster removal may be a premium, but this can do away with those pesky Cyber Dragons and DDAs.

--Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer.  Tech, really.  If you can think of something better to use, go right ahead.

 

As for the glaring lack of Cyber Dragons and DD Assailants, they will do little to help this deck function properly.  Cyber Dragon can bring immediate field presence, but by the time he hits the field, he is nothing more than a level five monster with 2100 ATK.  You MAY find it useful, but it isn’t recommended.  DDA’s presence in this deck will work like tech, not as a necessary part of a working machine.  Again, it isn’t needed that much.

 

For the trap lineup, we’ll throw in two copies of Dust Tornado, although if it isn’t needed, you could always drop one.  The reason for this is because lots of Decrees makes it harder to stop the rituals.  Try dropping one Dust Tornado for Samsara if you would like.  In case you don’t know what it does, here is the effect.

 

Samsara SOI-EN048

Continuous spell

Monster Cards tributed for a Ritual Summon are returned to the owner's Deck instead of being sent to the Graveyard. Then shuffle the Deck.

 

One more note before we get to the deck itself, this deck is built to adhere to the current format, not what the upcoming ban list may consist of.  It is up to you, the player, to augment the deck as necessary to adhere to the ban list.

So, here goes nothing…

 

Tribute Monsters x 4

Ruin, Queen of Oblivion

Demise, King of Armageddon x2

Chaos Sorcerer

 

Non-Tribute monsters x 16

Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands x3

Dekoichi, the Battlechanted Locomotive x2

Shining Angel

Magician of Faith

Tukuyomi

Asura Priest

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

Spirit Reaper

Breaker the Magical Warrior

Don Zaloog

DD Assailant

Old Vindictive Magician

Sangan

 

Spells x 11 (or 12)

Snatch Steal

Brain Control

Heavy Storm

Dark Hole

Smashing Ground x2

Mystical Space Typhoon

Swords of Revealing Light

Premature Burial

End of the World x3

(and if you want to) Samsara

 

Traps x 10 (or 9)

Dust Tornado x2 (or 1)

Royal Decree x3

Sakuretsu Armor x2

Bottomless Trap Hole

Embodiment of Apophis

Call of the Haunted

 

There you have it.  Hopefully, this will be a competitive ritual build.  Build it, play test it, and feel free to tweak it as needed and give credit where it’s due.  Of course, Shadow of Infinity doesn’t officially come out until March, but some of us (like those of us who went to Sneak Preview events) already have some of the cards.  Play hard, and most importantly, have fun! 

 

Until next time…

 

Like my opinion?  Think I’m a pompous nOOb for suggesting such ludicrous ideas?  Drop me a line, I like the feedback.  brad@bradlandusa.com As always, I do not accept unsolicited hate mail.