I'm going to spend two weeks with my head in the stars. This week's post will focus on the main deck. Next week, I will look at extra and side deck choices.
Tell Tale Problems
While Tellarknights shine in
their ability to search and recur, they have few significant drawbacks. First, they run a ponderous number of traps. Meanwhile,
Shaddoll’s and Qlipharts are moving on to near trapless editions. Even
Burning Abyss decks are shedding traps as demonstrated by Jake Phinney’s
six-trap wonder deck at ARG Orlando.
While powerful, traps are
inherently slow cards that are great at preventing
problems. Seeing red when you’re going first is a wonderful
experience. However, they do a poor job of getting you out of jams.
Bottomless is a fine card but not when there is a scrap yard’s worth of Qlips
on the field.
Qliphart rising has also ushered
in the great age of set card destruction. Some Qlip players in Orlando
were playing triple MST and triple
Night Beam. This type of one-for-one destruction hurts Tellar players
greatly since a significant portion of their card advantage comes from COTH and
Oasis. Compare this mechanic to Shaddoll and BA players whose advantage comes
from sending cards to the graveyard. If this trend weren’t enough, enter Denko
Sekka who can single-handedly shut down 40% of your deck.
The second problem is the deck’s
reliance on normal summoning. This idea has quickly evolved from
sophisticated concept to bandied buzzword. Of the major meta decks,
Tellars are burdened the most with this criticism, which is ironic since Tellars are
also the first archetype to get their effects regardless of the
manner in which they are summoned. From a mechanic standpoint, their
effects are completely independent from normal summoning. However, this term
really refers to the ease of special summoning. Compared to Harpies and
Samurais, Tellars are not so normal summon dependent. However, the label is
well deserved for a deck whose set up is 3 turns longer than the rest of the meta.
The third problem is their
vulnerability to destruction. Creating a wall of Satellarknights takes
planning and several turns. Knock it down with Dark Hole and the Tellar
doolist will have to start all over again. This experience is dramatically
different in for the BA player. Activating Dark Hole can give them card
advantage. Now that Dark Hole is at two, I fear our little walls will be
knocked into dust.
Mini Makeover
For those of you who still wish
to reach for the stars, here are a few principles that I try to incorporate
into my builds:
Honest is essential. I am happy to tell any purist to get over
their righteous indignation and play the card.
If Qlipharts can main Limiter Removal, we can play two Honests. In fact, I will sometimes “accidently” reveal
my Honest while shuffling in order to enhance my bluffs. I’ve had opposing doolists book a lone Alsahm
in order to play around a potential Honest.
Bait out the destruction. My trap lineup is a bit different. With the exception of Nova, they are all
continuous*. They are not reactive with
the possible exception of Emptiness.
Furthermore, they usually require a response. This is why I dropped Fiendish Chain for Battleguard
Rage. I can put a 2800 point monster on the field without special summoning leading most Shaddoll players to burn a MST
to stop it. I’m fine with that play
since the goal is to protect COTH and eventually reuse it with Triverr. Of course, the card is not without risk, since popping the monster will leave you at a neg 1. Nevertheless, it's time for a little out of the box thinking.
Limit the dead cards. This deck does not have the liberty to
brick. Drawing Altair without cards in
the graveyard gives you an Axe Raider. This is why I play Foolish Burial. Between the COTHs, Oases, and Altiers,
Foolish is never dead.
Don’t forget Thrasher. Photon Thrasher is really a pumped up
Vega. Sure, you can’t summon him when
you have board presence, but that’s not the time you need help. I have found him most useful in getting rid
of a defense position Burning Abyss monster.
By doing so, Fire Lake is often dead and I can proceed with the rest of
my set up. He also swings easily over Dinko
Sukka.
3 Satellarknight Deneb
3 Satellarknight Altair
3 Satellarknight Unukalhai
1 Satellarknight Vega
1 Satellarknight Alsahm
2 Photon Thrasher
2 Honest
3 Reinforcement of the Army
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
2 Satellar Skybridge (or Forbidden Lance)
1 Snatch Steal
1 Foolish Burial
3 Magic Planter
3 Stellarnova Alpha
3 Call of the Haunted
2 Oasis
3 Vanity’s Emptiness
2 Battleguard Rage
*Hence, Magic
Planter is nearly always live - at least until Dark Law comes out.
Maxi
Makeover
For the most part, the fixes given above
are not particularly radical. We are
still a long ways from the 6 trap deck.
Here is my attempt to build of such a Satellar Deck:
3 Satellarknight Deneb
3 Satellarknight Altair
2 Satellarknight Unukalhai
2 Satellarknight Vega
2 Satellarknight Alsahm
1 Satellarknight Procyon
2 Photon Thrasher
2 Honest
3 Reinforcement of the Army
2 Mystical Space Typhoon
3 Satellar Skybridge
1 Snatch Steal
1 Magnum Shield
2 Hidden Armory
1 Soul Charge
3 Enemy Controller
1 Raigeki
3 Stellarnova Alpha
3 Call of the Haunted
This deck still requires some
tweaking. I am not sure if triple E Con
and Skybridge are a good idea. Forbidden Lance and Chalice may be reasonable alternatives. That
said, this deck feels like a Satellar deck that is trying to be a Shaddoll
deck. While Diamond has blown some life
into the price of Deneb, I remain rather pessimistic about this archetype as a
whole.
Nevertheless, the stars have been
good to me and for that reason I will continue to play it.
For those of you who aren’t astronomers
by trade, here’s a pronunciation guide:
Altair: AL - tair
Alsahm: AL - sahm
Betelgeuse: BET-el-jooz
Deneb: DEN-ebb
Procyon: PRO-see-on
Rigel: RYE-jel
Sirius: SEER-ee-us
Unukalhai: uh-NOO-kul-lye
Vega: VEY-ga
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