Article 5
~Underused Deck-Dragon

        Hey guys! Instead of another article, I decided to make a deck study instead. Well, you guys voted for it- I'm just giving the viewing public what they want. Well, dragons killed back in the day. Today they are dubbed as "slow" and "vulnerable," but in the hands of an experienced player it can work. There are numerous dragon support cards. I'll list their name and set numbers for you...

SDK-041 Lord of D.
SDK-042 The Flute of Summoning Dragon
LOB-048 Mountain*
LOB-092 Dragon Treasure
MRD-067 Dragon Piper*
LOD-043 The Dragon's Bead
LOD-044 A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon
LOD-045 Dragon's Gunfire
LOD-046 Stamping Destruction
LOD-047 Super Rejuvenation
LOD-048 Dragon's Rage
LOD-049 Burst Breath
PGD-102 D. Tribe*
MFC-026 Paladin of White Dragon*
*indirect support

I didn't put the dragon sub-type monsters mainly because there are way too many.

        Okay, back in LOB times the excuse for underusing dragon decks was "Too many Anti-Dragon Cards." What's the excuse now? The way I see it, if you don't think something is going to work, you don't play it. That's defeating the purpose of new cards in itself- did you actually try using a Dragon Deck before shunning away the idea? Most likely not, but that is not your fault. It is the fault of the others around you that create pressure on you to play what's popular. It's very hard to resist something that works and is popular, but if you try you can make something else that works too. I'd be happy to lose to a well-built Dragon Deck.

        What are the dragon monsters like? Well, with the exception of the low-level dragons in LOB, Dragons overall have the highest attack power. They have easy ways to bring them out and many support cards that can be used with just one on the field. Once you learn to play conservatively, you'll notice that a couple of direct attacks is all a dragon deck needs to win.

        Okay, above are the strenghths so I will list the weaknesses. Speed is not an issue with Dragons as a good dragon deck can burn through your deck very easily. Hand management is a big issue, but you shouldn't empty your hand out unless it's for the win. Taking a couple of direct shots is worth it when you can pull off the set up. I play a Dark Necrofear Deck and most of the time I don't lay anything down first turn. This because I am prepared with a Kuriboh or something similar so I am safe. The pre-negators shouldn't be much of a problem, seeing as you'll want your high-level dragons on the graveyard anyway. Yata-Garasu poses a huge threat if your hand is full of high-level dragons. Side-Deck some Fengsheng Mirrors just in case. Fengsheng Mirror is a great side-deck card seeing as you get to peek at your opponent's hand whether or not they have a spirit monster in their hand. What you've really got to watch out for is the increasingly popular Torrential Tribute. Nothing hurts more that using 2 Flutes and a Lord of D. just to have them TTed. Unless you somehow know that the face-down card poses no threat, you shouldn't completely empty your hand. Clear it first, if at all possible. One thing I find incredibly helpful when playing is constantly looking through the graveyards so you can see what hasn't been played, what can be played, and what you won't draw. In the stress of the game especially in tournaments, this is overlooked. It's fun to watch your opponent squirm when you look through their graveyard (with permission of course) because they thing you have a Monster Reborn. Keeping the opposing player guessing as to what you're thinking can set off their game, causing them to mess up in numerous ways. Example- World Championship 2003: Didier Maille vs. Huai Tao Sun; Didler forgot to attack with his Jinzo for whatever reason and that folks, is what cost him the match.

        The TV show should not determine how we play the TCG and OCG. BEWD isn't just a fan card anymore. Serious gamers should be able to find the courage within themselves to play something new and a bit unusual. If you want to read more about my views on originality, click here. Anyway, take a minute and think about why and how you got involved in Yu-Gi-Oh... Okay. I'm sure the majority of you didn't say "I got into Yu-Gi-Oh because I wanted to play EXACTLY like that one guy." You most likely said "Because it looked like fun." It did look like fun, but the way players are playing the game today it seems as though that is a fantasy. By encouraging newer and older players to think outside the box we give the game new life.
        So far we've gone over how to play a dragon deck, its strengths, its weaknesses, and why to play a dragon deck. All we're missing is a Dragon Deck. I've played this deck on YVD and so far, it's record is (W/L/T) 37-6-2. That's about a 77% winning ratio which is above average (about 66.7).

 Okay, here it is.
~Silent Killer*Name is like that so the deck is not a dead giveaway is someone asks*
1x Blue-Eyes White Dragon
1x Tyrant Dragon
1x Jinzo
2x Spear Dragon
3x Luster Dragon
3x Mystic Tomato
2x Lord of D.
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
1x Tribe-Infecting Virus
1x Sangan
1x Witch of the Black Forest
1x Fiber Jar
1x Pot of Greed
1x Graceful Charity
1x Mirage of Nightmare
1x Painful Choice
1x Harpie's Feather Duster
1x Heavy Storm
3x Mystical Space Typhoon
1x Raigeki
1x Dark Hole
1x Noblemen of Crossout
1x Change of Heart
1x Snatch Steal
2x Flute of Summoning Dragon
1x Premature Burial
1x Monster Reborn
1x Imperial Order
1x Call of the Haunted
1x Mirror Force
1x Waboku
1x Ring of Destruction

Okay, even when I look at this deck I see a bunch of things that are very odd. Before we chew our heads off, I'll explain. BEWD and Tyrant Dragon are the heavy hitters for this deck. Jinzo is there to take card of traps. Spear and Luster are basic level 4 hitters. Tomatoes bring out Lord of D. and Sangan. Lord is obvious. Breaker is there to clear the way. Tribe is monster destruction and occasional tribute dumper. Searchers need no explanation... and Fiber is our reset button. No DDWL because the whole point is to set up before your opponent does in which case their monsters become irrelevant. Plus, you'll need the Normal Summon for Lord of D. or a searcher. No V-Lord because it has no place here. Magic and traps... All the basics without the Pre-Negators and added Flutes. In this deck you might take a couple of hard direct attacks for even the slightest amount of self LP-Loss can hurt. It seems weird, I know. Traps are basic. Torrential Tribute is unneeded because this whole deck is based on getting monsters quick on the field. It works for me. It is very odd and unheard of, so feel free to send hate-mail. I'm expecting to get a lot of controversy about this. Yare, yare (oh well) ,that is the cost of originality. This is just an example of an "original" dragon deck.

E-mail at Suicune@optonline.net. Give me your thoughts, give me your money. In fact, just give me your money. ^_^; Vote for the next article!