Welcome back to DeathJester’s Dojo. I know it’s been a while but I have my excuses… *Laughs* This week I’ll be discussing a new type of Burn/Stall strategy I’ve been toying around with and some exciting news. Enjoy! 

Thoughts on Burn/Stall 

I’ve always thought that Burn/Stall was a deck archetype that should not be taken lightly. There is a reason why this deck archetype has been known to almost always take Game 1. I also believe there is a reason why the majority of the Pharaoh Tour players in Europe side-deck into a full-fledged Burn/Stall deck. That reason is…Burn/Stall is a highly effective deck archetype that very few people prepare for or play correctly. I think we take it for granted that Burn/Stall decks are rarely seen, but you’ll find that the more intelligent players are always prepared for it. The last thing you need is a loss on your SJC tournament record from a deck that you weren’t prepared for right? 

The Weapons Arsenal 

There are plenty of ways to build Burn/Stall decks and they have plenty of weapons available to them. More typically, you’ve got your “Chain Burn” with its key cards being multiple copies of: Secret Barrel, Ojama Trio, Just Desserts, and Poison of the Old Man. Then, you have your typical Burn/Stall with its signature cards being multiple copies of: Lava Golem, Des Koala, Stealth Bird, Cannon Soldier, Ceasefire, Magic Cylinder, and Solar Flare Dragon. Before I forget, here are a few of the Stall cards available to us: 

• Level Limit Area – B
• Messenger of Peace
• Gravity Bind
• Swords of Revealing Light
• Nightmare’s Steel Cage (New Addition)

A New Type of Burn/Stall 

A friend of mine came up with a peculiar deck concept utilizing Fiend-type monsters and the card Ectoplasmer in an Aggro-style deck. I don’t know whether or not it worked for him, but Ectoplasmer sparked some interest in me. I thought of the Ectoplasmer/Malice Doll of Demise combo as a pretty effective Burn engine. This Burn engine is capable of dealing 800 LP per turn on its own, giving my opponent a 10-turn clock until they meet their end, while not losing any advantage in the process. With this combo in mind, I came up with a deck list… 

Monsters: 15 

3x Malice Doll of Demise
3x Stealth Bird
2x Des Lacooda
2x Spirit Reaper
1x Magician of Faith
1x Exiled Force
1x Sangan
1x Cyber Jar
1x Morphing Jar 

Spells: 15

3x Ectoplasmer
3x Wave-Motion Cannon
2x Level Limit - Area B
2x Nightmare's Steel Cage
1x Swords of Revealing Light
1x Premature Burial
1x Pot of Avarice
1x Dark Hole
1x Book of Moon

Traps: 10

3x Secret Barrel
2x Gravity Bind
2x Divine Wrath
1x Ceasefire
1x Torrential Tribute
1x Call of the Haunted

The Monsters

I centered this Burn/Stall deck on the Ectoplasmer/Malice Doll engine as a primary source of Burn Damage; thus, I’ve included 3 copies of Ectoplasmer and Malice Doll of Demise. I’ve also included 3 copies of Stealth Bird since he has an impressive 1700 DEF and can deal 1000 LP per turn (An 8-turn clock on the opponent). Spirit Reaper provides me with a good amount of Stall; there’s nothing I can say about Reaper that hasn’t already been mentioned by the masses.  

Des Lacooda provides me with a more effective Draw engine than the Dekoichi/Tsukuyomi combo in a Burn/Stall deck, in my opinion. This draw engine requires less cards and it is easier to set up. I have the adequate protection for him, and I think most decks will find it hard to compete against Des Lacooda cycling every turn as a pseudo Pot of Greed.

Cyber Jar and Morphing Jar are there to provide me with extra cards when I find myself in a sticky situation or when I need to up the damage on Secret Barrel. The main disadvantage to Burn/Stall is its lack of search options, which makes Burn/Stall slow. Des Lacooda, Cyber Jar, and Morphing Jar will act as the propulsion for this deck.

The Spells 

Taking a look at the Spells, I chose to use 3 copies of Wave-Motion Cannon, Level Limit Area – B, and Nightmare’s Steel Cage. I find Nightmare’s Steel Cage especially effective since it eliminates the threat of Mystic Swordsman LV2 and the lesser-played Injection Fairy Lily (Both are serious threats to Burn/Stall). They may be able to get through Level Limit and Gravity Bind, but Steel Cage will keep them there for at least enough time to regroup.

Wave-Motion Cannon has been pretty popular since its release. This card alone can mean the end of the game for your opponent. It places an 8-turn count (counting only the user’s turns) on your opponent to either do something or lose. WMC rarely ever gets to 8 counters, but launching the cannon at 3, 4, or 5 counters is reason enough to auto-include this in any Burn/Stall deck.

Ectoplasmer is a card that I find particularly striking. Let’s take a look at the effect text:

Only once during each player's End Phase, the turn player Tributes 1 face-up monster on his/her side of the field and inflicts damage to the opponent's Life Points equal to half of the original ATK of the Tributed Monster.

The card’s obvious use is with Malice Doll as an offensive tool. Who would want to Tribute their own monsters every turn to deal some LP Damage right? Not many people, I would think. This card can be used defensively and can be a type of Stall card. Considering the above question…this card can force your opponent to either (1) Play a monster face-down or (2) make your opponent not play a monster at all; both options buy you some time to set up a strategy. Any player would be stupid to play a monster face-up while this card is active because of the card advantage loss. In this case, I have free reign to whatever I like with my monsters since the majority of my monsters are played face-down or can be put face-down through their effects. Are you starting to grasp the concept?

The Traps

I chose to use Secret Barrel because it fits in well with this deck. If you think about it, Burn/Stall doesn’t play many cards that “destroy” anything. Considering this fact, your opponent will typically have an abundance of cards in his/her hand and field. While this is typically bad for the average deck…the primary goal of this Burn/Stall is to deal 8000LP or more to your opponent via Effect Damage and Direct Damage.

Gravity Bind is an old-school choice that you can use in response to an attack. It fits this deck perfectly. This card is excellent for bluffing against your opponent and drawing out their removal as it is 1 of 7 Stall cards (Not counting Ectoplasmer). I felt that Divine Wrath would be useful because of the Mobius threat. Let’s face it, everyone and their mothers play Mobius. So I thought I would play a card that could stop him without costing me much. Besides, Divine Wrath is a multi-purpose card that will prove useful in many more situations than just countering a single Mobius. I don’t need to go into explicit details for that one.

Ceasefire is another classic favorite of mine. It’s a card capable of dealing 5000LP to your opponent and negating flip effects. Ceasefire has some synergy with Ectoplasmer (by turning your opponent’s monsters face-up), it negates Crossout, and it is chainable to S/T removal.

The Strategy

The reason I favor Burn/Stall as a viable deck archetype is because of the strategy behind it. Burn/Stall takes quite a bit of effort to setup and of course it takes an equal amount of effort to draw up a successful build. YuGiOh is a game of strategy. Devising and implementing intelligent strategies is a key to success in any TCG. Burn/Stall accomplishes quite a few things at the same time:

• Burn/Stall establishes a solid defense via Stall cards such as Nightmare’s Steel Cage, Swords of Revealing Light, Gravity Bind, etc…
• Burn/Stall effectively accomplishes the goal of reducing the opponent’s Life Points to 0 alternatively through Effect Damage and Direct Damage.
• Burn/Stall is a deck archetype that very few really prepare for.
• Burn/Stall places pressure on the opponent by presenting many threats simultaneously, forcing your opponent to panic or make stupid mistakes.

With this deck in particular, Ectoplasmer-Burn, you don’t necessarily rely on the Ectoplasmer/Malice Doll combo to win. It is merely another clock on your opponent’s LP that places tremendous pressure on him/her to act. As I said before, Ectoplasmer itself can prevent your opponent from placing an offensive. The opening move Ectoplasmer + face-down Stealth Bird is an impressive opening play. This move will either force your opponent into hibernation or cause the opponent to make dumb rushes involving Cyber Dragon + a monster on the their first turn. Examining the variety of face-down plays this deck has, it would be hard to make such a stupid move in the first place and risk losing a monster to Ectoplasmer.

The Ectoplasmer/Malice Doll combo is best used when you have already established a good position in the game. Opening the game with that combo can leave you vulnerable. Also, opening the game with that combo may leave you overcommitted to the field too early if you’re not careful.

Shifting our focus now, I have to mention the many ways this deck can win. Keep in mind that Burn/Stall is a deck that houses multiple win conditions. Let’s find out what our win conditions are:

·        Stealth Bird x3 – 8 turns
·        Wave-Motion Cannon x2 – 8 turns
·        Ectoplasmer/Malice Doll x3 each – 10 turns
·        Secret Barrel x3 – At low LPs
·        Ceasefire x1 – At low LPs

This deck has 5 different win conditions. Most of the win conditions in this deck come in multiples. Also, notice how Stealth Bird, WMC, and the Ecto/Doll combo each have a turn-count next to them. Burn/Stall is known for placing mind-numbing pressure on the opponent. While 8-10 turns may seem like a long time to you, it will be an eternity for your unprepared opponent. 

Now, we know that each individual win condition can do the job on its own right? However…what would happen if you combine two win conditions together? The turn-count on each win condition becomes considerably lower. If you have both Stealth Bird and Wave Motion Cannon on the field for 4 turns, then you win the game. Simply flip Stealth Bird manually over the course of 4 turns and launch Wave-Motion Cannon in the Main Phase to claim your victory. I’m sure you, the readers, can figure out a million different ways to win this deck. It’s an unusual concept than what we have seen in the major competitions, but trust me on this…it works. 

Final Thoughts 

While I am still testing this deck, I am very pleased with the results I have gotten from playing this deck. I encourage everyone who reads this article to try this new Burn/Stall deck. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning the deck email me at deathjester86@gmail.com. My email hasn’t changed in the last few months. If I don’t place my email at the end of an article by mistake, please feel free to look back on previous articles to find it.  

What has DJ been up to? 

I’ve been gone for about 3-4 weeks now, but not without good reason ^_^. I’ve had to put in a lot of hard work at college prepping for midterms, tests, and various quizzes. At the same time, I’ve been working hard at getting a new website and a new team started. I know for some people it’s pretty easy to get a website started, but I’ve found it quite difficult for various reasons I will not divulge in this article. Also, I’ve managed to catch the flu from my little brother and I’ve had it for the last couple of days. It was so bad that my girlfriend had to come over and take care of me…*laughs* which also resulted in her getting sick in the process. If you have sent me any emails, I’ll be sure to try and answer them later this week since I will be in better health.  

 A new website

As I said, I am starting a new website. I’m working on getting the forum section up first. This forum will feature quite a few things that the YGO community hasn’t even seen yet. As soon as I get the forum done, I will begin work on creating and designing the main web page with the help of a few web designing and programming friends I know and trust. The main page will be a work in progress, but the forum will be up pretty soon. In the course of my next few articles, I will keep all of you up-to-date on the progress of the site.

A new team

            I am starting a new YGO team. If you’ve read my previous articles closely you could have guessed that this was in the making. If you attended the BRADS $700 tournament a while back…Head Judge Frank Debrito mentioned that I had started a team during his announcements, so the rumors are true. I still don’t have a name for it yet, but I am still looking at a few innovative ideas. I will continue to post updates on my column as new developments emerge and I will announce recruitment opportunities soon. 

The interviews are back!

            Some of you may recall the popularity of my interviews series. I am announcing that my “A View from the Top” Interview Series is back in business!  

Here are the criteria I require in order for you to get a spot on “A View from the Top” this time around: 

• Top 25 in your State
• Top 50 in the U.S.
• Top 100 in the World
• Placed 1^st at an SJC or Pharaoh Tour at least once.
• At least 2 SJC or Pharaoh Tour Top 8s

The criteria this time around are a bit stricter. Due to the rise in popularity of major competitions, I think some players deserve more credit than they actually get. This is your chance to be recognized. I gave the world the scoop on Team Overdose before they became the big-time hitters they are today and now take a look at what they have accomplished.

Before you send me any emails, be sure to format your email in the following manner: 

Full Name: 

UDE#:

(This is for verification of your tournament success…I WILL look you up. I will not accept your application without it.) 

Rank:

(In State, Nation, World…whichever you like as long as one of them meets the criteria I mentioned.)

Background:

(Tell me a little bit about yourself so I know how to make the interview more catered to you.)

One last thing; the interview questions I will be asking you are mostly based around your individual psychology on the game, your play style, your deck building style, your credentials, and an overall assessment of your skill as a player. I like to have a little fun in my interviews while keeping a professional attitude. Even if you meet the criteria I will perform my own initial screening. If I find you to be unprofessional, unsportsmanlike, or if you possess a misguided and ignorant attitude, I will not interview you. If you are selected for an opportunity to be interviewed, I will email you back with my MSN Messenger and AIM Screen Names so that you and I can be in contact to schedule an interview. Whether you’re already famous or looking for your chance in the limelight, drop me an email at deathjester86@gmail.com if you meet the criteria I set.   

That’s it for this week everyone! Remember to play hard, think about your moves, and most importantly…have fun!