Tony's Take

Chapter 1: The Metagame and Its Decks

10.25.04  What up everyone? It’s your boy Tony from the Card of the Day crew ^^. Well the ban list is by far my favorite format of Yu Gi Oh constructed ever and I just wanted to share with everyone my knowledge of this game. I’ve play-tested almost every single deck possible in this format because it’s so fun! Haha. I’ve play-tested Water, Warrior, Chaos, Anti Warrior and Chaos, Burner, even Bad Reaction decks! >_<

So what’s the point of these articles that I will be writing? Just giving my knowledge of the new format because it is very different from the last one. Just incase you guys haven’t seen the new “advanced” format, this is the new ban list.

http://www.upperdeckentertainment.com/yugioh/forb_advanced.aspx

Let’s start this article now…

What is a metagame? Metagame describes your gaming environment and when I mean environment, the type of decks and strategies that are being played. Metagame basically should explain the most common decks and common strategies…I can’t think of another word to explain metagame >_<. haha

What is this metagame contain? The metagame does not have Yata Garasu (Thank God). The metagame is not a top decking (when you are only drawing from the top of your deck to find an answer of somewhat) environment. The metagame basically tempts duelists to play decks that involve a lot of support from Spell/Traps. The metagame has less Monster searchers and less Monster mass removal. The metagame has more combo decks than the last format. The metagame is not fast, it’s very slow (what I mean by slow is that the games tend to last longer). The metagame is not either Chaos or Anti-Chaos like the pre-band; it’s more Warrior or Burner. The metagame calls for less hand control but more field control. The metagame says it’s okay to run a card that isn’t necessary a 2for1 (The expression 2for1 basically means the 1 card that you played gives you at least 1 card advantage afterwards. It’s like playing a Raigeki destroying 2 creatures or successfully attacking with a Don Zaloog destroying a monster AND taking away a card from your opponent’s hand…Simply, one card doing the job of two). The metagame is fun.

So now we know what metagame means and some-what of an idea of what metagame contains…Now to the fun part: the decks ^^ (I’m going to write the next part like a person thinking about the new format and I’m going to warn you, it’s VERY long but I think it’s pretty funny)

“Only 1 Mystical Space Typhoon? No more Harpie’s Feather Duster? Burner decks gotta be the best deck ever now! Another deck could be Chaos. No more Chaos Emperor Dragon so just Black Luster Soldier? Naw, bring back Chaos Sorcerer and now we have Blade Knight as a new better dependable Light Monster? *shrugs* Not many people will main deck Kycoo anymore…hopefully >_<. Another deck could be Warriors. No more Witch or Sangan? Reinforcement of the Army (since you can run two) is like running Witch and Sangan right? Also no more Monster Reborn; maybe The Warrior Returning Alive can replace it. Exiled Force has to be the “nuts” now right?! No more Witch and Sangan so you won’t lose hand advantage if you miss with Exiled! Hey you could combine the Chaos and Warrior because you can search out your Dark/Lights with Reinforcement of the Army and run The Warrior Returning Alive can bring back Black Luster Soldier if needed! Wait, Imperial Order is banned! >_< I know Tony will be sad because it was his FAVORITE trap.

How about running Metamorphosis deck then? You could get out Dark Balter and basically win the game? Monster Reborn is banned too right? How about running Book of Life with bunch of Zombies to replace it? Hey, you know what? You can combine Metamorphosis deck with Zombies since Vampire Lord and Patrician of Darkness are both 5 star monsters! And we all know Tony LOVED the Pyramid Turtle into Vampire Lord suicide. hRmm…(this is a quote from my dawg f00b) ‘Everyone and their mother is running Scapegoat!’ So running Airknight Parshath with Berserk Gorillas and Enraged Battle Ox should destroy most decks then. Aiiish, but people are running the stupid Enemy Controller or even Zero Gravity for Berserk Gorilla lately. hRmm, so what about Field card theme decks? Such as Necrovalley or A Legendary Ocean Decks? I mean Gravekeepers Assailant kills a Berserk Gorilla and attacks for 2000 with Necrovalley and Gravekeepers Spear Soldier destroys a deck with many scapegoats. Water decks though…Big Wave Small Wave? Brings out those big Water creatures…your sinister serpent has another combo. And those goats…I’ll run couple Fenrir and really make them regret running Scapegoats dxP!

Speaking of Water monsters, how about Mobius the Frost Monarch? Built in 2 Mystical Space Typhoons? It’s like running 3 MSTs again…kinda…not really? =\ Speaking of MST, I can’t play Mirage now right? Naw, I’ll just grind it out and run Emergency Provisions to kill my Mirage. I mean Mirage of Nightmare is SUCH a great card! Aiish, I just wanna run the cookie cutter Anti-Chaos deck again to make my life easier. It was really good back then. The deck is like a 2for1; Kycoo for The Warrior Returning Alive and Black Luster Soldier. Ahh, Chaos might be hard still…Everyone will probably be running 2 Kycoos still =\. How about Machine decks? I could main deck couple of Kinetic Soldiers just to mess up those DD Warrior Ladies and Don Zaloogs. haha, in fact that would probably just win you the game without Limiter Removal…AHHHH I’m so confused! >_< Tony help me!”

So those are the decks…in a nut-shell. Hahaha

As you see, this format makes the creative mind and all the individuals that consider themselves (like me) great deck builders HAVE to love this new metagame. So many new combos and so many fun combos. C’mon, did you ever believe Emergency Provisions and Raigeki Break could be combo-ed with Mirage of Nightmare to make it playable?

Don’t worry, I’ll include my Regional Deck (which I believe is the best deck for the metagame and I will discuss my weakness) to make you guys grasp the concept of the new format. I didn’t win but I placed top 25. By the way, I am one of the most consistent Yu Gi Oh Tournament duelist. I’ve placed top 25 in my last 4 regionals – which is very frustrating because it’s so close, yet so far…(Note: I was the only one to place top 4 in a regionals with Freed the Matchless General pre-ban…Congrats to some guy I was on the internet that won with it too). I’m also known for the most interesting SideDecks and actually a “guru” of sorts for the sideboard.

Next article will be Chapter 2 (haha, obviously right?) which will discuss the playable and non-playable cards in this format; basically, card values. So that was the first chapter…I’ll end it with my deck (and I’m not one of those people who hides their deck because they don’t want other people to know about it so they might lose) and hopefully you guys will understand where I think the metagame will go to

Tony’s Metagame Control Deck

Monsters (17)
1 Jinzo
1 Mobius the Frost Monarch
1 Zombyra the Dark
2 Berserk Gorilla
1 Enraged Battle Ox
1 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Tribe Infecting Virus
2 DD Warrior Lady
1 Don Zaloog
1 Exiled Force
1 Magical Scientist
1 Magician of Faith
1 Fiber Jar
1 Sinister Serpent

Magics (17)
1 Pot of Greed
1 Painful Choice
1 Premature Burial
1 Change of Heart
1 Snatch Steal
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Confiscation
1 The Forceful Sentry
1 Swords of Revealing Light
2 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Book of Moon
1 Smashing Ground
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 Scapegoat

Traps (6)
1 Royal Decree
1 Call of the Haunted
1 Ring of Destruction
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Sakuretsu Armor
1 Robin’ Goblin’

SideDeck (15)
1 Mobius the Frost Monarch
1 Airknight Parshath
2 Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
2 Kinetic Soldier
1 Enraged Battle Ox
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Scapegoat
1 Book of Moon
1 Smashing Ground
2 Dust Tornado
1 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Compulsory Evacuation Device

(This is a long section too guys…sorry >_<)

Let me state that I believe in Yu Gi Oh, you have answers to EVERYTHING in the format in your Main Deck. Your SideDeck should have copies of your main deck that are good against the Metagame decks and other cards that supplement it. Okay so let’s start off with the tribute monsters. Jinzo is a staple IMO (in my opinion) now. Too many traps are being used and since burner is in the metagame, it’s very important to have trap removal/negator. Why Mobius? Same reason really. I mean I like Airknight better because of its draw power but Burner is in the format. So how do I deal with Scapegoats then? That’s were my Enraged Battle Ox comes in. My 2 Berserk Gorillas (which to contrary belief is a very stable monster – no matter how many enemy control is around the metagame) and 1 Enraged Battle Ox does the job against it when needed. Though to be honest, I have a hard time against decks with 2/3 Scapegoats and 2 Creature Swaps or any deck with at least 2 Bottomless Trap Hole.

Now my Warrior count isn’t very high; hence the only 1 Reinforcement of the Army. I run Zombyra the Dark against Berserk Gorillas and Airknight Parshath and a random Blade Knight that is pumpd to 2000. It’s my answer to most monsters. I run 2 DD Warrior Lady, 1 Exiled Force, and 1 Don Zaloog. It just gives me answers for any situation. I basically run 3 DD Warrior Lady, 2 Exiled Force, 2 Don Zaloogs, and 2 Zombyra the Dark because of Reinforcement of the Army…just answers. The Breaker the Magical Warrior and Tribe are also Staples in the control decks. M/T removal and Mass monster removal.

Now for my backup monsters when I’m not having control of the game; Magician of Faith, Sinister Serpent, and Fiber Jar. Sinister is almost Painful Choiced out almost every game so I always have a monster in hand. I believe you always need a monster in this format more than others since there aren’t as many monster removals in the metagame. Magician of Faith can be either amazing or bad. If it is Change of Hearted, you lose 80% of the time. They normally pull of a 3for1 with it. Very VERY frustrating so I only run 1.

Also, I run 2 Nobleman of Crossouts and sometimes I DO hit a Magician of Faith. It’s good to run 1 I believe. Fiber Jar, one the most hated cards in the game (I also hate this card a LOT), is in there because it is that good. It saves you from many situations and gives you a +1 Hand Advantage when they summon a monster and attacks it to activate it. Also, mini-warrior rush loses to me a lot…just can’t explain it; they can’t beat me very well. So that’s the monsters.

Magics…Well I consider these 5 staples to a control deck: Pot of Greed, Painful Choice, Premature Burial, Change of Heart, and Snatch Steal. Heavy Storm and MST requires no explanation and Confiscation and The Forceful Sentry is personally very important to me. Pre-negator first turn helps out any tough choice you might be facing. Swords of Revealing Light should be a staple IMO but not many people agree. Sometimes you just need to stall and having Swords of Revealing Light with Magical Scientist is a great feeling. I can name many more combos but it’s just a great wall that your opponent cannot deal with sometimes.

Now this is from my friend Sang who always says “all the way…2 Nobleman of Crossouts” because we all know this card is the most set trap in Yu Gi Oh (joke that basically means it’s the most common bluff card). Also, it’s one of the worst top decks but it IS the best facedown monster removal. And everyone always sets something first turn so it is pretty good. 2 Book of Moons? Well I could always try the First turn pay 1000 for Dark Balter, Book of Moon it, play Swords with Sakuretsu Armor to back it up…*shrugs* haha. That’s not why I run it. It’s one of the best chainable cards in the game because it gives you answers. And when you run Beatdown monsters and/or DD Warrior Ladies as your basic attacking monsters, it’s a great combo. Book of Mooning a Kycoo and then attacking it AND then tribute it to kill another monster becomes a combo in itself. It also “stops” Ring of Destruction/Magic Cylinder in a way.

And I like to attack with Magician of Faith and then Book of Mooning it either End Phase or when my opponent attacks it to avoid the Nobleman of Crossout and/or Change of Heart. Also against Metamorphosis decks with a Balter on the field, it is one of your answers for it. The “1 ofs” in my deck are Smashing Ground, Scapegoat, and Reinforcement of the Army. Smashing Ground is my attempt of replacing Dark Hole. It basically always kills the monster you want it to. It’s a great removal and makes your opponent guess if you are either holding Nobleman of Crossout or Smashing Ground. Key to a bluff, your opponent needs to guess. Reinforcement of the Army is my Witch and Sangan. I run basically 18 monsters and I believe that is a good number for this format. Scapegoats are my Creature Swap answers and my backup plan just incase I don’t have a good hand. It’s Jinzo’s worst Enemy but Airknight Parshath’s best friend. One in a deck never hurt me that bad in this metagame.

Traps~! Finally!

Well let me first state the things I’m known for: Giant Rat, Pyramid Turtle into Vampire Lord, Delinquent Duo, DD Crazy Beast, and ROYAL DECREE.

Royal Decree is the best trap in the game now. I mean it’s not the nutty Imperial Order but it’s very good. I agree that if there was a payment on this card it would be better but there isn’t so what are u gunna do? hahah…it stops most decks in the format easily. Burner decks almost scoop to me because I have Royal Decree on the field 80% of the time. Call of the Haunted and Torrential Tribute are basic staples really. Call is either another Royal Decree (combo it with Jinzo from the grave) or Monster Reborn replacement. Torrential Tribute IS the Dark Hole replacement. Only mass removal left besides Tribe Infecting Virus. Ring of Destruction and Sakuretsu Armor are my Monster removal.

Ring is…well ring. It’s the best chainable trap in the format. Sakuretsu Armor is a min-Mirror Force. It’s just that good because if you think about it…how many times have u used Mirror Force for 1 monster? It’s about 60% of the time (I did my research, trust me). So I barely miss one of the best traps in the game. Robin’ Goblin’: my signature card that I always have in any deck. It’s so random but not really. A) It’s amazing when you have it first turn with the amount of Magic monster removal I have in my deck. B) It’s Painful Choice bait to thin out the deck and C) It’s a 2for1 when you kill a monster with another monster. And since it’s very hard to be in a top decking environment, to get your opponent in that situation, you almost win the game 90% of the time.

So that is my main deck and time for the SideDeck. If you realize my SideDeck, burner decks do not stand a chance against me. I board in 1 Mobius, 1 Airknight, 2 Kinetic Soldier, 1 Enraged Battle Ox, 1 Spirit Reaper, 1 Book of Moon, 1 and sometimes but rarely 2 Dust Tornados and 1 Compulsory Evacuation Device. I get under g-bind and scapegoats easily. Mobius is better than Jinzo against burner but not by much. I wouldn’t run 3 Mobius and no Jinzo. You need 3 Book of Moon because of Lava Golemn. That thing hurts you a lot, but remember, u will run 4 tribute monsters so it dies easily too. hRmm, how about Chaos decks? I don’t have too much really; only 2 more kycoos to max up to 3 main deck, 1 more smashing ground, 1 bottomless trap hole, and sometimes Compulsory Evacuation Device if they run Spirit Reaper or if I think it’s good against my opponent’s deck. It’s not the best against it…I’d like to find room for another DD Warrior Lady but I don’t have room. Also, I board in at least 1 Kinetic Soldier for BLS but most likely 2 kinetic soldier because most run the Warrior/Chaos version.

So in a way, I have a LOT of answers for it. Against the mini-warrior decks, the Kinetic Soldier takes cares of it ALL the time. It’s such a big attacking monster against them. I run the extra scapegoat but I really never board it in. I don’t see why I have it anymore as I’m writing this article right now >_<. I guess I would board it in against people with Creature Swap and no Airknight Parshath and Enraged Battle Ox. The 2 Dust Tornados are against deck with Field Cards and/or Mirage of Nightmare. I take out what I believe is the best Trap in the game right now and run 2 Dust Tornados instead for it. Killing Mirage against a deck with at least 2 Emergency Provisions is very important because they have 2 dead cards now. And against Necrovalley decks, this card is VERY important if you are still running Berserk Gorillas too. Also against Water decks this is good also. If they ever try to Metamorphosis their Mobius with A Legendary Ocean on their field, play Dust Tornado in response/chain to it and they will bring out Ryu Senshi over Dark Balter…it will be fun ^^. Also Burner decks have a hard time with it sometimes. The CED (not the dragon dxP) the Compulsory Evacuation Device is an overall “tech” card. It’s an answer against most decks … just not Breaker the Magical Warrior >_<. I always seem to have a signature card in both SideDeck and main deck ^^v.

So what’s my weakness (because I’m sure most people are thinking this is a pretty solid deck overall)? Once again, Bottomless Trap Holes, Creature Swap, and Mirror Wall. Those are off the top of my head. I don’t always draw Royal Decree and have it activated so those cards are very good against me sometimes. Also, smashing ground is good against me but only in 2s. 2000 defence walls are a pain also but no one seems to be running that…*sigh* another reason I should be running the 3rd DD Warrior Lady…hRmm, maybe I should take out the 1 Scapegoats and put in the 3rd DD Warrior Lady…then I probably need room for another RotA (Reinforcement of the Army).. so I’ll just leave it as is. Massive Hand Destruction hurts me just a bit…I know heavy storm hurts me a lot most of the time because I end up setting like 3 cards most of the time (I used “most of the time” too much there dxP) You know, this might be a cocky statement (along with most of the other statements you’ll hear me say in the next chapters) but I think that’s about it. My deck is very solid overall but that’s assuming my opponent has a bad SideDeck.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed this article…and after my many articles about this Metagame, You’ll be very prepared for this metagame.

- Tony

E-mail me at jinutym03@cox.net if you guys want to send comments or questions…I get a lot of e-mails so if I don’t reply quickly, please understand. Remember to put Yu Gi Oh in the subject also .. thx ^^v