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Article 11: Deconstructing the Chaos Deck Part Three:
Welcome to part three of this series featuring counters to
the all-powerful Chaos deck. This article brings us Zombies,
a powerful and oft-overlooked subtype stacked with viable
counters to the two Envoys. The strengths of the Zombies
naturally correspond to the weaknesses of the Chaos deck;
this article will show you how to construct a proper deck. PURPOSES OF A ZOMBIE DECK: The Zombie deck, as expected, features heavy graveyard manipulation and regeneration features. Numerous zombie-specific cards will seek to bring out the heavy hitters and keep them on the field, regenerating forces when needed. Zombies pack a downright frightening array of resources that can be revived quite easily. STRENGTHS: Zombies own the most unique and powerful searcher in the game. Pyramid turtle, the glue of the deck, can bring out almost any Zombie in the game. With powerful tribute monsters, easy access to those powerful monsters through Turtles and Spirit Reapers, and frighteningly diverse recursion methods, Zombies instantly dominate the field. In addition, many of the strongest weapons of the Zombie arsenal, namely Ryu Kokki, Book of Life, and Regenerating Mummy, are natural counters to the effects of Chaos. WEAKNESSES: Zombies generally pack a higher than usual amount of Tribute monsters. The key to destroying the Zombie deck is to manipulate the graveyard, eliminating revival tools, and controlling the Pyramid Turtles. Having said that, a well-built Zombie deck possesses few, if any, weaknesses. NOTABLE MONSTERS: A list of solid Zombie monsters.
Vampire Lord Lord is a proper title for the Zombie deck's champion. Experts should agree that no card is as important to its archetype as Vampire Lord is to his Zombies. Packing revival, destruction, and power into one fearsome package, the V. Lord is the pure embodiment of that which makes Zombies so fearsome. While many cry out foolishly that he's overrated, I say that, within the realms of a well-constructed Zombie deck, this is the best monster, period. You'll have five to six options of reviving him, four options to search him, and immunity to Raigeki, Dark Hole, Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, Ring of Destruction, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Exiled Force and every monster except D.D Warrior Lady, Berserk Gorilla, and Magical Scientist. Think of all the options in your deck that can permanently eliminate him; you probably have four at most. Then, think of the 4 to 5 revival cards in the zombie's arsenal to bring him back. Fearsome, indeed.
Ryu Kokki It's almost unfair how Zombies can conjure up 2000+ attack powerhouses through a searcher. Ryu Kokki is the counter to the Envoy of the Beginning; he's also a devastating powerhouse in his own right. Don't forget, you'll rarely be tribute summoning for this beast. Pure power and aggression. Spirit Reaper Dark/Zombie/Effect/3 stars/ATK 300/DEF 200 This monster is not destroyed as a result of battle at any time, although damage calculation is applied normally. When this card is specifically designated as a target of the effect of a Magic, Trap, or Effect Monster Card, this card is immediately destroyed. When this card attacks your opponent’s Life Points directly, 1 card is randomly selected from your opponent’s hand and discarded to the Graveyard. This is another of the best monsters in the game. He is the backbone that makes the Zombie-control deck type viable. Running two to three of these will create a guaranteed thorn in your opponent's side for the duel. Cards must be wasted to get rid of him, certainly, and his threat of hand disruption constantly looms over your opponent's head. Pyramid Turtle Earth/Zombie/Effect/4 stars/ATK 1200/DEF 1400 When this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, you may select 1 Zombie-Type monster with a DEF of 2000 or less from your Deck and Special Summon it to the field in face-up Attack or Defense Position (no Tribute is required for monsters of Level 5 or more). The Deck is then shuffled. Yet another of the best monsters in the game! Pyramid Turtle rivals Witch and Sangan as the best searcher in the game, based solely on the frightening versatility of his search. You can pull out a spirit reaper to stall, a Ryu Kokki to beat down, or introduce the Vampire Lord to the duel. Awesome. Patrician of Darkness LOD-058 Despair from the Dark DCR-023 Fear from the Dark DCR-025 Regenerating Mummy AST-079 These next four zombies are more specialized in use. Fear, Despair, and Regenerating should be side-decked versus Chaos Control. Introduce all of them to counter Chaos Emperor Dragon and Delinquent Duo. Patrician of Darkness is a card that's better suited to another Zombie variant-- Zombie Metamorphosis. While these four cards are all solid Zombies, they are more specialized than the general purpose ones listed above. And no, I didn't forget Double Coston; he's just not very good in a Zombie deck. NOTABLE SPELL/TRAPS: Two Book of Life is generally an acceptable amount. Coupled with Monster Reborn, Call of the Haunted, and possibly Premature Burial, you'll have five threats (six if you run three book of lifes). Call of the Mummy is not recommended unless you're running it in conjunction with multiple Despair from the Dark and Double Coston (a weak deck in my opinion). Tutan Mask isn't really recommended either; I'd favor Imperial Order/Magic Drain over such. Painful Choice and Mirage of Nightmare are definite inclusions because Zombies like discarding. I feel Traps should include some defensive, chainable counters which include a few Wabokus and Ring of Destruction. Protecting Vampire Lord from stronger monsters is key; Vampire Lord will eventually obliterate your opponent's resources. A Sample Zombie Deck: 41 Cards Monsters: 16 Vampire Lord 2x Ryu Kokki 3x Pyramid Turtle 3x Spirit Reaper 1x Witch of the Black Forest 1x Sangan 1x Magical Scientist 1x Breaker the Mag. Warrior 1x Tribe Infecting Virus 1x Fiber Jar 1x Sinister Serpent Spells: 19 1 Raigeki 1 Dark Hole 1 Change of Heart 1 Monster Reborn 1 Pot of Greed 1 Graceful Charity 1 Harpie's Feather Duster 3 Mystical Space Typhoon 1 Mirage of Nightmare 1 Heavy Storm 1 Painful Choice 2 Book of Life 1 Snatch Steal 1 Delinquent Duo 1 The Forceful Sentry 1 Confiscation Traps: 6 1 Imperial Order 1 Call of the Haunted 1 Ring of Destruction 2 Waboku 1 Mirror Force Yes, I said Vampire Lord in a Zombie deck is the best monster in the game. Flame me at pojojaelove@yahoo.com A BAD System Score of the Week DCR Secret Rare: Vampire Lord Featured In: Zombie Control Advantage F/H: His self-reviving effect is one of the most broken monster effects in the game. You can also revive him or search him at no cost, basically getting him through a variety of appealing options. Once he's on the field, there's very little that can kill him. Sub-par attack advantage, making him beatable by Berserk Gorilla, brings him down from a perfect score. 9.5/10 Best Draw for the Situation: Obviously, as a tribute monster you don't want to draw him in the opening hand or top-deck him. However, Spirit Reapers, Pyramid Turtles, and Book of Life, coupled with the standard Change of Heart and Snatch Steal make him a far more appealing Tribute monster inclusion than every other. He'll also be searched out quickly, making the issue rather moot. 7/10. Attributes/Effect: As I said, his recursion effect is one of the best. Of course, the deck destruction effect may help your opponent, but every card in his deck should provide him some use, given that he included it. Also, his stats and zombie type make him searchable by 4 monsters (3 turtles and witch), and he packs two solid effects into one fearsome package. In a zombie deck, he's near perfect, except his low attack. 9.5/10. Dependability: Compared to other monsters in this scale, he's very, very dependable. Other tribute monsters, and even Chaos monsters, can be wiped clean by a timely Raigeki or such. This guy, on the other hand, is immune to such card effects. He can also be revived. Plus, Zombie control focuses on stripping away threats from your opponent's hand that can handle your own monsters. Low attack, however, makes him killable by Berserk Gorilla and others, bringing him down to a 9.5/10. A BAD Score: 35.5/40= 89/100 The Bottom Line: He is the Lord for good reason. |
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