Holding your ground in the upcoming everchanging metagame

Ok I know my post is late, so lets cut short the excuses and get to the main point. However before anyone of you starts to actually read the remaining contents of the post, do note that I have especially prepared this post for the beginners instead of the usual veterans of our favourite game, Yu-Gi-Oh!.

So unless you are a beginner, the contents of this post is gonna be kind of shitty for you!

Moving along~!



Since the coming of this September, instead of the usual twice a year forbidden and restriction lists changes, we have started to have a new change. Instead of twice, its four times a year for the changes of the forbidden and restriction list to take place. Which just to remind you readers again, the changes will take place on these following months

November 2013
February 2014
April 2014
July 2014

With the recent cards such as the Baby forms of the Dragon Rulers and Spellbook of Judgment getting the harsh impact from the ban hammer. Cards that were related to themes such as Fire Fist, Mermails and more getting restricted, things were starting to slow down drastically in the metagame as we know it, giving many other decks out there a chance to shine. However, that being said, there are still the "Big 4" that perhaps dominates the metagame with their ability to maintain the "+" and the "-" flow of each duel.  They are, in no order of importance:

1. Fire Fists
2. Evilswarms
3. Mermails
4. Dragon Rulers

Why?

As said before right above, they are the decks that have the consistent ability to maintain the "+" and "-" flow of the duel. What are the "+" and "-" flow?  "+" means plus, the amount of card advantage that you can generate making moves. "-" means minus, the amount of cards loss that you spend making a move, or making your opponent have minuses.

And how does the above "Big 4" decks do it?

Before we get to that, about deck building and choosing cards for your decks. Having cards with multiple effects that are able to generate "+" for you are good. However, if you do have cards that has a "-" effect, be sure to make use of that effect, to make sure that if you are going to have a minus 1 card, your opponent must also minus 1 too in order to maintain the power balance in the duel. Somewhat has the feeling of, "If I die, I'm gonna drag you down with me as well".

But it doesn't mean that just by having those cards, you are pretty much on the road. After selecting those cards, you have to make sure that your deck can actually sync well with all the cards chosen. For me, it means that for every single move that you make, there must be a continuation to another move, and carry on as much as possible, in order to gain every single advantage and reduce the amount of disadvantage taken. In the past, decks such as "Junk Doppel" were such a choice for decks that does such combos. 
Why? For example.



LODT-JP022
[ライトロード・ハンター ライコウ]
[Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter ]
Effect Monster/Light/Beast/LV 2
ATK 200 / DEF 100
FLIP: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy that target. Send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard.

Oh god, such a card effect that only destroys 1 card on your opponent's field. Also, the after effects of this card will be to send the top 3 cards of your deck to the graveyard. Quite an expensive bill to pay for just the destruction of 1 card. But when you use this disadvantage to match up with the various other cards for combo plays, will it then be able to cover the weakness of this effect. For Ryko, we usually place it in decks that perhaps uses the graveyard as though it is a part of our "Hand Cards". Simply saying, the graveyard also has resources for us to make use of.

Ryko can combo with cards that has exceptional effects while in the graveyard, such as "Spore", "Glow-up Bulb", "Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite" and its fellow Lightsworn cards as well.  Get the sync between these cards?

Now in the present, one of the few decks that makes use of the graveyard as a resource are the Dragon Ruler decks. While being in the graveyard, the Dragon Rulers all have a self-revival effect. Which makes them a force to be reckon with as a combo deck. Though their speed in the game has been reduced drastically due to the baby forms of the Dragon Rulers being forbidden, they still try to maintain their "+" in the duel by having big plays, and by maintain field presence with their high attack strength.

Now lets get to the other decks, talking about Mermails first,

While Mermails on their own were not such a powerful force when first released, after being paired up with cards from the Atlantean Structure deck that Konami came up with. Those cards were what made Mermails the deck it was today. One of them for example would be,




SD23-JP003
[海皇の狙撃兵]
[Atlantean Marksman]
Effect Monster/Water/Sea-Serpent/LV 3
ATK 1400 / DEF 0
When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Sea Serpent-Type "Atlantean" monster from your Deck, except "Atlantean Marksman". When this card is sent to the Graveyard to activate a WATER monster's effect: Target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy that target.

Upon looking at this card, its a good example of a card with multiple "+" effects and while already having a "-" effect, will by itself, generate a "-" for your opponent.

1. Special Summoning a monster after dealing battle damage through this card generates a "+ 1"
2. The second effect to destroy a set card your opponent controls is an example of a "- 1" for both yourself and your opponent.

With this card in existence, cards like [Mermail Abysspike] tends to discard this card to the graveyard to search for another level 3 water type monster to add to the hand. But while doing that, Marksman will then destroy a set card that your opponent controls, causing him a "-1". Also, you do not lose any cards in that play. Notice how the sync between the Atlanteans and the Mermails works?

Next up Evilswarms.

Evilswarms being a "Control" deck doesn't really have much plays for "+" in the duel. Except for the occasional play of [Rescue Rabbit] to call upon 2 [Evilswarm Heliotrope] , overlay them for an Xyz summon of [Evilswarm Ophion], then using Ophion's effect to search for a Evilswarm spell or trap card to the hand. This play then generates a "+1" as the end result.

The characteristics of a "Control" deck is to control the plays that your opponent makes, forcing them to make plays that costs them a lot of cards in order to get rid of the various "locks" that you have implemented on them. In this case, Ophion itself is already a lock when summoned, while having materials, your opponent is unable to special summon level 5 or higher monsters. In this metagame, special summoning monsters of lvl 5 and higher is very easy and always being done, but when you are being "locked" by Ophion, the amount of cards that you have to spend to get rid of him can be quite hefty.

Finally, one of my favourite theme for this season. Fire Fists.

Since its release, there are 2 kinds of Fire Fists decks. We call them the 3 Axis and 4 Axis Fire Fists.
3 Axis is a Fire Fist deck that focus on mostly the level 3 monsters of the theme to synchro summon out [Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Horse Prince] to generate great field advantage. The 3 Axis deck is able to do plays that can start you up with a total end result of 9 cards at your disposal for your first turn. While your opponent starts off with 6 cards.

4 Axis Fire Fist deck focus on "Control", but different from Evilswarms, the plays that a 4 Axis Fire Fist does is able to keep on generating "+" for your plays consistently due to the effect of [Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon]

For more information about the more oftenly used Fire Fist cards in the 4 Axis build. Click here!

Alright, end of my post for today! Sorry that its so long! Kinda had this urge to post these thoughts since the beginning of the month!

Colin signing off~!