SiphonX

Enter the Labyrinth
1.19.05

Battle Position is one of the most important, and yet, most overlooked aspects of the game. A player able to successfully manipulate the Battle Position of a card can willingly exploit the opponent’s ability to control the field, and furthermore, tilt the chances of winning in their favor.
Today’s article focuses on a card able to successfully do this without sustaining any repercussions.

Very few excellent cards pass through the clutches of the always-hungry Yu-Gi-Oh! players without being readily abused. Within an otherworld, a such card exists, living among the clandestine and speaking to no one. It shows no powerful external effects, but when examined closely, is the bane of all conventional decks’ existences, annihilating Scapegoat, reducing Berserk Gorilla to ruin, keeping Spirit Reaper in check, and supporting a vast amount of Monsters. In all seriousness, Labyrinth of Nightmare is the most underplayed card and deck theme, but is one of the most powerful.
Before I proceed any further, here lies its text:

AST-108
Labyrinth of Nightmare
TRAP
Continuous
During the End Phase of each turn, change the Battle Positions of all face-up monsters on the turn player's side of the field.

Right from the start, an even sporadic player can see the potential for this card. By switching the Battle Positions of their own and their opponent’s Monsters, one can manipulate the playing field to their will and possibly be able to win the game through their manipulation. Combinations with it include those with Monsters that switch to defense position and Monsters with high defensive strength.

It’s a Continuous Trap, meaning that it needs to remain in play for some time before its effect can be achieved. With the right amount of protection and support, it can become one of the most powerful forces acting against any attack-based deck. However, it can be exceedingly situational in some decks and is therefore reserved for only a deck based upon position changing.

The deck itself only incorporates the most powerful Monsters to use in conjunction with Labyrinth of Nightmare. Old-school Beatdown players rejoice as finally they can use their Spear Dragon, Goblin Attack Force, and the like again. Of course, there is some technical usage with it, as it can be advantageous to use alongside heavy defending decks, but for the time being, I would like to incorporate it into a technical Beatdown deck.

17 Monsters:
3 Goblin Attack Force
3 Spear Dragon
3 Command Knight
3 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Exiled Force
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Magical Scientist
1 Tribe-Infecting Virus
1 Sinister Serpent

14 Spells:
1 Pot of Greed
1 Painful Choice
2 Reinforcement of the Army
2 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Premature Burial
1 The Warrior Returning Alive
1 Change of Heart
2 Enemy Controller
1 Swords of Revealing Light

9 Traps:
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Ring of Destruction
3 Zero Gravity
3 Labyrinth of Nightmare

As you can see, the Monster selection of this deck is mainly Warrior based.
This is an odd coincidence, but I decided to capitalize on it at any rate.
The Monster selection is made from cards that excel at attacking or supporting others while remaining synergetic with the Battle Position changes inflicted by Labyrinth of Nightmare. Goblin Attack Force and Spear Dragon were already covered, but Command Knight may be a bit of an odd card.
However, in this deck, it excels supremely at what it does best: defending and supporting. Its 1600 Attack point base can easily be transferred to its 1900 Defense points. I also added a few Monsters I felt that would be folly to leave out.

The Spells in this deck exude support to the Monsters through their Battle Position changing effects, but they are somewhat rare. Included were two copies of Enemy Controller, but also some supporting Spells for Warrior-based decks and Monster and Spell/Trap destruction. The essential Pot of Greed, Premature Burial, and Change of Heart were also added. I feel that the Spell selection is often times a large sign of the deck’s speed, but this particular deck focuses on Monster strength.

Aside from three copies of Labyrinth of Nightmare, I also included three copies of Zero Gravity, its half brother. This enormously chainable Trap functions the same way as Labytrinth of Nightmare, but its effect is immediate. Thus, it can be seen as Spell/Trap destruction fodder and also a nice technical booster in a time of need. Call of the Haunted was included for some additional recursion, as well as what I feel to be two of the best destroying Traps available, Torrential Tribute and Ring of Destruction.

This deck’s ability to succeed is centered on one key factor: its ability to control the Battle Positions of the opponent’s field. The Monsters act as a gate through which Labyrinth of Nightmare manipulates the playing field, but are not so dependent on it that they do not work without it. In this manner, I feel this deck could compete at a large-scale tournament, possibly a Regional. As a fun and effective deck, I think that Labyrinth of Nightmare serves as an excellent controller.

Until next time, duel hard, play well, and most importantly, have fun.
~SiphonX~