JUNE 2008

Crystal Control deck - Gemforce Archfiend

 

Crystal Fuel/Crystal Control

 

Hello again, and welcome to my guide to creating a cheap and deadly Crystal Beast deck that can combat even the scariest strategies. This deck makes use of the Gravi-Crush and Magna-Slash Dragons from Force of the Breaker, along with the cards to keep their effects going.

So without any further ado, let’s get cooking!

 

Deck Total: 42

 

Monsters: 24

3x Gravi-Crush Dragon

3x Magna-Slash Dragon

3x Sapphire Pegasus

2x Topaz Tiger

3x Amber Mammoth

3x Emerald Tortoise

2x Cobalt Eagle

3x Amethyst Cat

1x Ruby Carbuncle

1x Marshmallon

 

Spells: 10

3x Crystal Beacon

2x Crystal Abundance

3x Crystal Blessing

2x Crystal Release

 

Traps: 8

2x Crystal Counter

2x Crystal Raigeki

1x Torrential Tribute

2x Beast Soul Swap

1x Needle Ceiling

 

Deck Analysis

 

So as you can see, this deck is relatively cheap to create. You can get most of the commons you need from maybe a dozen Force of the Breaker packs, and a few Jesse packs. Torrential Tribute is easy to find, with most Starter/Structure Decks containing one. You can probably trade with your friends for the Beast Soul Swaps and Needle Ceiling, as well as the Marshmallon, which comes from the first Premium Pack (PP01).

You’ll just have to look hard for the Pegasuses and Crystal Counters.

 

Strategy

This deck focuses on maintaining control of the field through spamming your Dragons’ effects, along with skilled use of Crystal Raigeki and Torrential Tribute. Three of the main cards in this deck need Crystal Beasts in your Spell/Trap zone to activate their effects, which is where the cards like Crystal Counter and Blessing come in. Try to open up the duel with an Amber Mammoth equipped with Release for a powerful wall that can protect all your other CBs, or maybe set an Emerald Tortoise if you’re confident that your opponent won’t be able to Shield Crush it or something on their next turn. After a couple of turns you’ll be ready to start up your Crystal Fuel combo. Destroy your own monsters if you don’t have too many in the S/T zone through use of Torrential Tribute, and when you activate it, chain it with Beast Soul Swap to re-summon a Pegasus or Mammoth. Stall ‘till your next turn and Tribute Summon your Dragons. Now you’ll have enough ‘Crystal Fuel’ to destroy your opponent’s field. When you’re left with maybe one sCB (Crystal Beast in the Spell/Trap zone), hit your Crystal Counter or a couple of Blessings to recycle your fuel. Repeat until your opponent’s field is wide open and hit them directly for massive damage.

To ensure that you can keep your field safe until you’re ready to go Dragon-spamming, you can include Needle Ceiling to wipe out your opponent’s monsters, or use Abundance to take out their entire field. Just remember that you will be left with no set Traps after you play Abundance, so keep them in your hand until after you play it. Perhaps you could invest in a Mask of Darkness to return one back to your hand in case you are forced to move one to your graveyard.

 

Of course, the deck I have given here is by no means perfect – there will always be someone with a way to beat your deck – so it’s up to you to decide what cards you could put in your side deck. Check my other article, ‘Competitive CB decks in the current meta’ for examples of cards that go well with a CB deck.

 

Well, that’s all for me, and remember if you have any questions regarding Crystal Beasts or any other areas of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, you can reach me by e-mail at: runepriest@hotmail.co.uk.

 

Have fun, and remember: it’s more than just a game!!!