The next set to come out has been widely anticipated as one to completely change the metagame.  Elemental Energy is going to usher some new changes into the dueling environment – some good, some bad, and some just weird.  There is a new drawing card (rivaling that of Pot of Greed), a new set of Elemental Heroes, but most importantly, a completely broken new card set.  One of the most influential card sets in the entire game (probably more so than the Chaos Monsters and Yata-Garasu combined) will be released with Elemental Energy, and it goes by the name of the Dark Realm. 

 

EEN-JP021

Hunter of Dark Realm - Brau

Dark/Demon/3/1400/800

When this card is discard into Graveyard from your hand by effect of another card, draw

a card from your deck.  When this card is discard by opponent's card effect, draw one

card additionally.

Rare

 

With meek statistics, Hunter of Dark Realm – Brau is unlikely to see any major combat.  Having three stars, Brau is capable of getting under Gravity Bind and Level-Limit Area B easily.  However, what sets this Monster apart (and for that matter, all Dark Realm Monsters) is its effect.  Although its statistics are fairly undersized, it nets you card advantage when discarded due to an effect.  Even though Brau loses most of its potential after the recent restrictions and bans take effect, it is still broken at the very least.

 

Combine this card with Card Destruction, Morphing Jar, or Dragged Down into the Grave, and you can net yourself a surprising advantage.  Brau shows extreme potential as a replacement for Sinister Serpent or Night Assailant, but Brau separates itself from those two cards by actually being able to have significant statistics.  All other Monsters like this have insignificant statistics, a mediocre effect, or both.  This card alone will make players fear using hand disruption, in case his or her opponent had a Brau in hand.

 

EEN-JP023

Military God of Dark Realm - Silver

Dark/Demon/5/2300/1400

When this card is discarded from your hand by effect of another card, special summon this card to the field. When this card is discarded by effect of opponent's card, choose 2

cards in opponent's hand and put them onto the bottom of opponent's deck in any order.

Rare

 

This card is statistical and effect impossibility, at the least.  Its effect parallels that of Electric Snake, Sinister Serpent and more, and yet, its statistics aren’t completely horrible for a Tribute Monster.  Also, this Monster is morphable into Dark Balter the Terrible, always an interesting feature, and it is able to get past Airknight Parshath, Cyber Dragon, and Berserk Gorilla with ease. 

 

Although this Monster does not have any unique characteristics separating it from other Dark Realm Monsters, it is able to incur heavy damage to the opponent’s hand and field, which I think is an interesting concept.  In addition to its hand-burning effect, if it is discarded by your own effect, you can Special Summon it to your side of the field.  Normally, this effect would not matter much, but as it’s a 2300 beatstick, the effect can come in handy quite often when you do not have a field.

 

EEN-JP024

War God of Dark Realm - Gold

Dark/Demon/5/2300/1400

When this card is discarded from your hand by effect of another card, special summon this card to the field. When this card is discarded by effect of opponent's card, choose 2

cards on opponent's field and destroy them.

Super/Ultimate Rare

 

I like this Dark Realm Monster because of its particular effect.  Yes, it’s close to Military God of Dark Realm - Silver’s effect, but as it allows the user to destroy cards on the field, it can be used as an effective tool against Burn and other decks that use heavy field presence.  It has the same statistics, and essentially, the same effect of Silver’s, with just that small difference.  Also morphable to Balter, if it interests you.  I have no clue as to why Konami made this card’s rarity different from that of the other Dark Realm cards (though perhaps it is the best Dark Realm Monster…).

 

EEN-JP048

Continuous Barrier Passage to Dark Realm

Magic - Quickplay

During the turn this card is activate, you cannot Summon, Reverse Summon, or Special

Summon.  Choose a monster with [Dark Realm] in your Graveyard and special summon it.

 

Continuous Barrier Passage to Dark Realm is a Quickplay Spell Card that allows you to Special Summon one Dark Realm Monster from your Graveyard to your side of the field.  It can be incorporated as a method to preserving Life Points, or simply a way to attack.  Chainable, effective, and cost-free, Barrier Passage allows free movement between the Dark Realm deck and its Graveyard, a key concept within the dueling world.

 

Now this – this card is what separates the Dark Realm deck from others in the metagame.  A source of replenishable, unrestricted, and most importantly, cost-free recursion sets this card apart from every other form of recursion on the market.  Its ability to play it the same turn drawn separates it from the Gravekeeper theme, and yet its ability to play it as a Spell Speed 2 card allows it a major difference from the Zombie theme.  It may have a side-effect (you cannot summon later that turn [or before it]), but this is a miniscule side-effect compared to the phenomenal effect provided through it.

 

EEN-JP051

Troops of Darkness

Trap - Normal

Choose 2 monster with [Dark Realm] in your Graveyard and add it onto your hand.

 

Yet again, another card that boosts the Dark Realm deck’s playability.  This one, however, directly nets advantage.  You needn’t discard.  You needn’t have the right cards in your Graveyard to activate its effect.  It’s chainable, it’s effective, it’s cost-free.  In other words, Troops of Darkness and Continuous Barrier Passage to the Dark Realm are completely broken.  End of story.

 

The Deck

 

The Dark Realm Monsters may have mediocre statistics and a conditional effect, but when their effects go off (and most likely, they will), your opponent will be feeling rather angry at himself for allowing you to get such a huge advantage.  Not so.  The Dark Realm deck is one of the few decks capable of netting a vast card advantage over the opponent using as few cards as possible.  The opponent may or may not notice it at first, but all those “draw one card” effects add up rather quickly.

 

Please note that the bulk of the Dark Realm Monsters’ effects only trigger when the Monster is discarded due to an effect.  In other words, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Lightning Vortex, and the like are off-limits to trigger their effects.  A small hurdle for a completely broken deck.

 

The Dark Realm deck works so well because of its synergetic components and their abilities.  All of the cards aforementioned are exemplary cards useful in every deck, not just Dark Realm.  The Dark Realm deck simply has too many broken cards to be able to function as a normal deck would.  An unrestricted source of recursion.  A way for easy hand replenishment.  Access to all of the requisite Monsters to play.  Not to mention the Monsters themselves…  These four components of the Dark Realm deck make it a viable candidate in the current fast-paced metagame.

 

See for yourself.

 

18 Monsters:

2 Military God of Dark Realm – Silver

2 War God of Dark Realm – Gold

2 Berserk King of Dark Realm – Buron*

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Tribe-Infecting Virus

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

2 Hunter of Dark Realm – Brau

1 Tsukuyomi

1 Sangan

1 Morphing Jar

2 Magician of Faith

2 Scout of Dark Realm – Scar**

 

17 Spells:

1 Pot of Greed

1 Card Destruction

1 Confiscation

1 Dark Hole

1 Lightning Vortex

2 Nobleman of Crossout

1 Book of Moon

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Premature Burial

3 Continuous Barrier Passage to the Dark Realm

1 Snatch Steal

1 Swords of Revealing Light

1 Scapegoat

 

5 Traps:

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Torrential Tribute

3 Troops of Darkness

 

I incorporated two copies of each effective Dark Realm Monster, to a total of ten.  The translations for the two Dark Realm Monsters not mentioned are listed at the bottom.  Speed was considered a necessary factor, and I used two copies of Magician of Faith in addition to the cards commonly associated with a conventional deck.  Tsukuyomi was present to not only net me card advantage while returning to my hand, but also to abuse Morphing Jar, a key exploit.

 

The Spells are almost completely conformist with the exception of the 3 Continuous Passage to the Dark Realm, with a Card Destruction for increased speed and various removal to allow me a clear shot at my opponent’s Life Points.  Although I could have incorporated some combinations to use with Morphing Jar (like Creature Swap and Shien’s Spy), I felt they disrupted the brevity of the theme.  Note the absence of any really unique or original cards: Dark Realm decks use much the same Spell cards as any other conventional deck on the market.

 

Traps consisted of the remainder of the Big Four (now down to Call of the Haunted and Torrential Tribute) and three copies of Troops of Darkness, a key card to exploiting my usual mass hand advantage.  This card also lets me achieve a variety of things: chainability, card advantage, and yes, recursion, to an extent.  It becomes especially helpful in the latter stages of the game when all of my lower-level Dark Realm Monsters are displaced.

 

The Dark Realm deck is an excellent choice for any player that seeks a change in theme, or for that matter, the newest theme.  It has speed, power, and above all, a huge capability for card advantage.  At any rate, the Dark Realm is indeed a powerful force – if you can master it.

 

Until next time, Big Brother is watching…

 

~SiphonX~

 

*EEN-JP022

Berserk King of Dark Realm - Buron

Dark/Demon/4/1800/400

When this card do Battle Damage to your opponent, you may discard a card from your hand.

Rare

 

**EEN-JP025

Scout of Dark Realm - Scar

Dark/Demon/2/500/500

When this card is destroy as a result of battle and sent to Graveyard, choose a monster

with [Dark Realm] in its name with level less than 4 from your deck and add it into

your hand.

 

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