Amidst the mass of Chaos and Warrior abusers in the current metagame, the Zombie deck remains to be a highly competitive deck in even the most difficult playing environments.  From the release of Pharaonic Guardian, the Zombie deck has been a strong deck to use.  Dark Crisis pioneered an entire brood of Zombie decks, and Invasion of Chaos, though it may have spawned something larger, furthered the Zombies’ cause.  Since then, various sets have lengthened the Zombies’ grasp, but all these changes to its structure seem trivial compared to the drastic measures created by the April First Forbidden List changes.  By them, the Zombie deck will be transformed into an omnipotent juggernaut of a theme, not seen since the birth of Chaos in March 2004.

 

The Zombie deck has myriad of minions dedicated to its cause, some of which include: Spirit Reaper, the staller and hand abuser which we all know and love; Pyramid Turtle, the omniscient searcher devoted to the Zombies’ cause; Ryu Kokki, a powerful destroyer and protective force; and of course, the self-regenerating Vampire Lord.  However, the truest asset to the Zombie deck lies in its relentless recursion by the unrestricted Spell card Book of Life.  Run in doubles or triplets, this card is the source of the infinite energy of which the Zombie deck exudes.  Even though all of these cards see some sort of praise, the Zombie theme was amplified the most not by the Forbidden and Limited List changes due to be in effect by April 1^st, 2005.

 

One of the most obvious changes that aided the Zombie theme was the semi-limiting of the master himself, Vampire Lord.  By allowing for easier access to a seemingly infinite supply of searchable regeneration, Konami inadvertently made Vampire Lord the most broken Tribute Monster since the release of Dark Magician of Chaos.  As stated before, Vampire Lord is a self-regenerating Monster, coming back to the field if it is destroyed by the opponent due to a card effect, but it has another nasty surprise: whenever it inflicts Battle Damage, the controller declares one type of card and the opponent must remove one of that type of card from their deck and send it to the Graveyard.  As strong as it may seem, it is not impervious to all things; it can still be effectively destroyed as a result of battle, and if removed from play, its regenerative effect is rendered useless.  Konami still made an unforgivable sin of allowing a highly powerful yet still searchable Monster reenter the Yu-Gi-Oh! atmosphere, this time in multiple copies.

 

The emphasis the new Forbidden and Limited List placed upon destruction over removal caused havoc for most deck themes, but for the Zombie deck, the changes seem to invigorate its strength.  For one, this created a newfound advantage for Vampire Lord, as it can’t be removed from play as easily, but moreover, it helped the thematic searcher of the Zombie deck, Pyramid Turtle, which is now able to successfully execute its effect more easily.  Indeed, D. D. Warrior Lady’s limiting to one created a rift in which the Zombie deck took control.  Also, the introduction of the Raigekiesque Lightning Vortex and the reintroduction of Mirror Force have made Vampire Lord’s effectiveness even more evident.  D. D. Assailant may still be abroad, but its effect can easily be countered with simple field removal.  These new implications may have detrimental effects upon the field presence of Pyramid Turtle, but they are nothing compared to the positive effects the changes provided for it.

 

Zombie decks were traditionally coupled with the intermediate hand control associated with many of the Zombie Monsters.  The restriction and limitation of two of the “prenegators” have opened a rift in the presence of hand control in the environment that the Zombie deck has successfully answered with a swift kick from its small friend, Spirit Reaper.  It is also now able to be abused in threes due to the banning of its long-standing nemesis, Magical Scientist.  In addition, the reintroduction of Delinquent Duo and Graceful Charity has allowed a more methodical and practical approach to “dump and revive,” a technique used commonly to establish heavy field presence.  By these tokens, the Zombie deck is able to better use the recursion and hand control aspects of its theme that it once relished.

 

Don’t get me wrong; Zombies were affected in a negative way by the Forbidden and Limited List changes as well.  Mirage of Nightmare and Painful Choice, which were the two absolute key deck thinners in a Zombie deck, were both banned.  Due to this change, Zombie decks will never possess the insane speed they once displayed to the fullest extent.  In a way, most decks were affected by this, as many ran one or both of those cards, but I believe Zombie decks were affected in the largest extent.  Zombie decks are by no means invincible, either.  They have been known to be slightly unstable and with some skill, countered.  With a bit of strategic sidedecking, a player can easily tech a Zombie deck to death.  Just think of what the Zombie deck relies upon as its root for dueling, and you’ll see exactly how to eliminate opposing Zombie threats.

 

Zombies have shown their colors in the past as remarkable competitors against even the toughest competitors.  Prior to the April 1^st Forbidden and Limited List changes, Zombies had been a Tier 1 deck – one to run at competitive events.  After these changes take effect, I predict that Zombies will overrun even Chaos decks as the most played deck in the environment.  In many ways have the changes helped the Zombie deck, including a change disturbing the placement of what seems to be an increasingly powerful Tribute Monster.  Certainly, the Zombie deck will be the deck to run at future events.  April 1^st has ushered in an era of Zombie dominion – the Undead Revolution.

 

I am prepared to fully display my personal Zombie deck, but before I do, I would appreciate if the audience observed this disclaimer:

 

Please, do not copy this deck.  Copying is wrong in every sense and infringes upon the rights and privileges of those who so faithfully create and display their decks for all to see.  The deck itself is meant to instill a sense of awe and inspiration to those who view it, not create a trigger finger for CTRL + C.  Adopting ideas from a deck is a legitimate concept, but outright copying it is not.  Thank you.

 

Post-April 1^st Zombie Deck: 40 Cards

 

16 Monsters:

1 Ryu Kokki

2 Vampire Lord

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

1 Tribe-Infecting Virus

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

3 Pyramid Turtle

1 Exiled Force

1 Sangan

1 Sinister Serpent

3 Spirit Reaper

 

18 Spells:

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Delinquent Duo

1 Lightning Vortex

1 Smashing Ground

2 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Book of Moon

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Premature Burial

2 Book of Life

1 Snatch Steal

1 Creature Swap

1 Enemy Controller

1 Swords of Revealing Light

2 Scapegoat

 

6 Traps:

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Mirror Force

1 Sakuretsu Armor

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Bottomless Trap Hole

1 Ring of Destruction

 

The Monsters I selected for this deck should seem obvious, if not self-explanatory.  I limited my intake of Tribute Monsters to three to reduce bad topdecks and draws.  Note the absence of usual Tribute Monsters like Jinzo.  I included three copies of both Pyramid Turtle and Spirit Reaper to illustrate the Zombie underlying theme while remaining true to its Hand Control archetype.  I also included some basic Monster destruction/removal by including the maximum of Exiled Force, D. D. Warrior Lady, and Tribe-Infecting Virus.  Furthermore were Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, which I felt necessary to impede the assaulting onslaught of Zombie and Chaos decks, while Breaker is present to eliminate opposing Trap threats.  Sinister was included to provide hand stability.

 

The Spells are moreover an induced conformist movement.  Not much is present that breaks free of the norm.  I included the big three hand momentum providers that will be available, as well as some field control, which I felt necessary to oppose offending D. D. Assailants and the like.  In addition, some technical removal was included to prevent obscure threats and items that would not bode well face-up.  Snatch Steal and Creature Swap were included to maintain opposing field control, the latter of which to compliment Pyramid Turtle and my two copies of Scapegoat, which I felt were necessary to maintain board presence and attack deflection.  Heavy Storm and MST are used for additional Spell and Trap removal, whilst Premature and two copies of Book of Life ensure my field is full and my Graveyard utilized well.

 

There is not much to say about my Trap selection I decided to use, if anything at all.  The new “big four” are used (Call of the Haunted, Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, Ring of Destruction), as well as two protective Traps I felt essential to ensuring my Zombies are not laid to waste by various removal threats.

 

This deck works upon the fundamental idea of seeking and destroying opposing threats before they become threats.  I chose a more moderate form of hand control, as well as supplying it with the power and disruption I needed to maintain field presence.  It maintains this presence by providing the structural support that the Zombie theme and its minions mandate.  I feel that this deck could do very well in an even large-scale tournament, provided that it is utilized correctly.

 

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article or suggestions for future articles, feel free to email me at siphon_x@yahoo.com, or catch me on the forum with the user name (you guessed it) SiphonX.  Until next time, Big Brother is watching…

 

~SiphonX~