Karakuris are little toy robots from
18th century Japan, and just found their way into YuGiOh.
They can be tragically underrated, but very powerful when
used correctly. I'll confess right away that even I thought
they were garbage before trying them out. There are many
kinds of Karakuri decks: OTK, the pure build, people using
Geartown and Machinas, and a version that combines Machines
and Plants.
The OTK Karakuris are probably the most well-known. You
summon the ever-present Black Salvo, to revive Dekoichi. Use
Machine Duplication to pull two more Salvos out of your deck
(note: Dupe works on a few Karakuris, too!). Tune one with
Dekoichi to summon the boss monster Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 "Burei",
who will summon a level 4 Karakuri, to tune with another
Black Salvo, to summon another Burei, another Karakuri . . .
you end up with 3 2600 ATK Shoguns + a level 4 Karakuri.
That's an OTK.
Then there's Karakuri Karakuri. Right away, you might be
asking, "Mark, what does this deck DO?" For one thing, it
can Synchro Summon. It also racks up a lot of advantage.
It's INCREDIBLY versatile, depending on how you build it,
and Karakuri Showdown Castle switches enemy battle
positions, making them easy to take down. After a steady
defensive takeover, you can overwhelm your opponent with an
unflinching army of Karakuris! Lots and lots of Synchros and
searching power these machines. I had to rewrite that
sentence ten times to un-alliterate it.
Karakuris have two powerful boss Synchros, and a fun cast of
helpers. Karakuri Soldier is an awesome recruiter,
Strategist is a level 3 Dupe-able Tuner that changes
positions, the Merchant can search any Karakuri machine or
support card, Kuik is our Firedog/Shura, and Haipa is a LV 4
2100 giant backed up by tons of support and with downsides.
For Spell/Trap support, the variation continues. Change two
Karakuri positions and Karakuri Anatomy is an instant Pot of
Greed. Cash Cache changes a position and searches out any
Karakuri in your deck. Catching on the mad consistency?
Showdown Castle is your key to tearing apart those giant
enemies. In fact, with Karakuri Haipa, you can take down
huge Synchros like Stardust Dragon and Goyo Guardian . . .
complete with a built-in Geartown effect. You also have a
theme-specific Mirror Force in Karakuri Klock, and Trick
House destroys any card on the field.
Because of all the search power, you can use the varied
effects to halt any opposing advances, while defending
against any excess battle damage. It's also notable for
having a level 7 Synchro with a total destructive power even
higher than DSF [DSF = 4000 damage, Shogun + Haipa = 4700].
This is my first entry in a
whatever-part series on the Karakuri. The first is just the
basics. If you have any comments, feel free to find me on
the forums or email me at orasion64(at)gmail.com.
