It seems as though in the past six to eight months, the usage of the Warrior deck has dropped dramatically within the competitive dueling environment, and not because players have lost interest.  The fact remains that more reliable (and yet, somehow less synergetic) decks have routed the Warrior deck’s competitive edge.  Through all the fanfare and Warrior Monsters released, the Warrior deck itself has lagged in card advantage.  Even though the Warrior deck is able to inflict dire wounds in lightning speed, somehow, the opposing player gets (quite literally) the upper hand.  This is an issue that needs to be addressed and altered to suit the Warrior deck’s requirements.

 

Marauding Captain, Goblin Attack Force, and Mataza the Zapper are cards synonymous with the Warrior theme, and are included into many Warrior decks.  However, these three Monsters bear the brunt of the Warrior deck’s failure: although they may deal quite a bit of damage, their lack of field maintenance and control is the penultimate cause of loss.  I have seen Warrior decks expend their hand on turn two to inflict 7500 points of damage, but after that, not deal the opponent another scratch.  This major flaw in the theme is intrinsically tied to the fact that none of the deck’s key attackers can survive more than one turn of battle. 

 

Marauding Captain may have an astounding effect: being the catalyst of mass-summons, and also protecting its fellow Warriors, but its puny statistics display its true flaws to an exact science.  This Monster allows the Warrior deck to deal quite a bit of damage in the first attacking turn, but it is unable to withstand the attacking blows of virtually any offensive Monster in the conventional deck’s arsenal.  Mataza the Zapper and Goblin Attack Force have alike weaknesses.  There are cards to help allot these Monsters extra time, but many of them (such as Covering Fire) are either too conditional or too situational to use effectively.  So what, then, can we use to replace these cards?

 

Although the conventional Warrior deck has some flaws, there is hope.  Recent releases of cards like Blade Knight, Command Knight, and D. D. Assailant have allowed the deck to become more stable.  All three of these Monsters can be used in conjunction to keep the opponent from gaining field advantage too rapidly.  Plus, they are all searchable under the Holy Grail of the Warrior deck, Reinforcement of the Army.  Command Knight boosts the attack strength of all your Warriors; Blade Knight, when used properly, can be a 2000 ATK, flip-effect negating machine; and D. D. Assailant has been hailed as the best Monster removal to hit the West since D. D. Warrior Lady. 

 

There are other Warriors that are used less-often that are just as good.  Zombyra the Dark, now a common in Dark Beginnings 2, is a whopping 2100 ATK beatstick.  Although it can’t attack directly and it chronically loses attack strength, it is still an asset for getting rid of those pesky Tsukuyomi (just don’t use it to kill Sinister Serpent). Greenkappa (also reprinted as a common in Dark Beginnings 2) is used for an excellent source of Spell and Trap removal, and with intermediate statistics and the DARK attribute, it is an asset for the Warrior-Chaos theme.  Obviously, there are quite a few cards within easy access that can dramatically improve the chances of a conventional Warrior deck’s success.

 

The following is a loose model of the conventional Warrior deck.

 

17 Monsters:

1 Jinzo

3 D. D. Assailant

2 Blade Knight

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Tribe-Infecting Virus

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

1 Don Zaloog

2 Command Knight

1 Exiled Force

1 Sangan

1 Morphing Jar

1 Magician of Faith

1 Sinister Serpent

 

16 Spells:

1 Pot of Greed

1 Graceful Charity

1 Delinquent Duo

2 Reinforcement of the Army

1 Lightning Vortex

1 Smashing Ground

2 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Premature Burial

1 Snatch Steal

1 Swords of Revealing Light

2 Scapegoat

 

7 Traps:

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Ring of Destruction

1 Magic Cylinder

2 Dust Tornado

 

Black Luster Soldier isn’t present because attention needs to be diverted to the Warriors rather than Chaos fodder.  The main focus of this deck is to attain field presence with D. D. Assailant or Blade Knight, and then summon a Command Knight.  Once that happens, the Monsters are protected from battle, and extra Spell and Trap removal allows to not need to worry about opposing threats.  The supreme amount of Monster removal helps to eliminate facedown and face-up Monsters, at a small expense.  D. D. Assailant and Command Knight are both strong opening plays, and with the Traps, field presence won’t be hard to achieve.  Scapegoat generally is a folly move to use in such a high-count Monster deck, but by its synergy with Command Knight, it is an asset to protecting the investment.

 

The Warrior deck itself is not outdated, but players need to seek alternate options rather than devoting time and effort to the use of archaic and insubordinate Warriors.  In reality, those Monsters do have a place in a competitive deck – but it is an altogether different theme from the one displayed in full today.  Warrior decks are fun, fast, and easy to learn, but very difficult to master.

 

If you have any questions or comments on this article or previous articles, or if you just want to give me an idea for the future, feel free to contact me at cpecharka@msn.com.

 

Until next time, Big Brother is watching…