Mistake Free Harpies

The new F&L list may have ushered in the meta of impotent anti-meta cards.  Stopping special summoning has little effect on decks that rely on fortifying their normal summoned monster.  Are you really going to play Maxx “C” or Vanity’s Emptiness against Bujins or Noble Knights?  I suspect most of these cards are going back into your binder.  What about anti-trap cards?  Trap Stun and Forbidden Lance used to be a staple in my decks.  However, many of the quick effect monsters make these cards much less useful.  Who wants to set, activate, and resolve a trap card when a monster can do the same thing more efficiently?  

Enter the last of the great anti-meta cards: Mistake.  This card will be a real headache for many of the top-tiered and mid-tiered decks.  In fact, so many decks rely on searching that Sangan must be wondering why he is relegated to the underworld for searching out 1500 ATK point monsters … and he had to go to the graveyard to do it!  

Of the likely competitive decks, I think Harpies is the only one that can play this card effectively. Mistake does shut down Queen and Sign searches so one needs to play smart.  However, the deck also has some outs to this card.  

So without any further ado, here's Mai deck list:

 

MONSTERS	20		EXTRA DECK	15
Harpie Lady #1	3		Phantasmal Dragon	1
Harpie Queen	3		Ice Beast	2
Harpie Channeller	3		Chidori	2
Harpie Dancer	1		Dire Wolf	1
Mist Valley Falcon	2		Maestroke	1
			Abyss Dweller	2
Eswarm Hraesvelg	1		Exciton Knight	1
DD Crow	2		Black Rose	1
Gale	1		Fairy Dragon	1
Zephyros	1		Blackship	1
			Big Eye	1
Pet Dragon	1		Dracossack	1
Dark Simorgh	2
SPELLS	10		SIDE DECK	15
Hunting Ground	3		DD Crow	1
Hysteric Sign	3		Light Imprisoning	3
Magic Planter	2		DNA Surgery	3
Elegant Egotist	1		MST	2
Swallow's Nest	1		Soul Drain	1
			Rivalry	2
TRAPS	11		Debunk	2
Mistake	3		Transmigration Prophecy	1
Hysteric Party	3
Divine Wrath	2
Icarus Attack	2
COTH	1

Deck  Notes

1. Mistake x 3
2. Harpie Monsters x 11: Since Divine Wind is now limited, I saw no reason to play Dancer at three.  This card does have utility in knocking out back row cards when Hunting Ground is on the field.  The Channeler into Pet Dragon play is still the strongest opening move of the deck.
3. MV Falcon x 2: One way to play around your own Mistake is to destroy it by summoning a Harpie.  However, negging yourself is not a good practice.  MVF allows me put it in my hand and reset it.
4. Dark Simorgh and friends x 7: Ghostricks, Chain Burn, and Raccoon decks melt in the presence of Simorgh.  However, I am more concerned about Fire Fists.  This deck gets around Mistake but it can’t get around the big fellow.  For this card to work, you need to have dark monsters.  D.D.Crow is a nice fit since it is effective against Fire Kings, Dark World, and in the mirror match.  Evilswarm Hraesvelg is an uncommonly used card but it’s also winged beast, which makes Icarus Attack live. 
5. Standard Harpie Spells/Traps x 10: The only change compared to previous builds was increasing Party from two to three. As you can see, I don’t play a lot of Sign discard outlets.  I’ve never liked to pitch cards.
6. Magic Planter and COTH x 3: I don’t know why people don’t play Planter.  Allure and Trade-In have their fans.  Planter, on the other hand, can thin the deck by two cards after the card has given you an advantage.  I have 7 continuous traps in the deck so it has a reasonable chance of being live.  I also have 9 continuous traps in my side deck.
7. Very Good cards x 5: People don’t always read Icarus Attack.  This is especially true when you tribute a face down monster.  I have 20 winged beasts so the card is always live.  Divine Wrath may be the card for the meta.  Check out SSJason's exposition for a more elegant explanation.  The last card is Swallow’s Nest.  This card gives me access to MV Falcon and can put a dark in the graveyard.  SN can also get to Dark Simorgh if Pet Dragon and Channeler are on the field 

… and so begins the march to YCS Atlanta! There is much testing that needs to be done, but this is a pretty good start.

Dragon Killers

Match the dragon killer with the method they used: 

1. Beowulf           ___              A. Shot an arrow over the garden wall

2. Sigurd              ___              B. Attacked it with a lance and then bridled it with a girdle

3. Saint George    ___              C. Enlisted his friend Wiglaf to help him stab it to death

4. Hercules          ___               D. Dug a pit and then stabbed it with an anvil-busting blade

5. Konami           ___               E. Forbade the babies and limited the big dragons

Who’s the greatest dragon slayer of them all? Arguably the minds of Konami are.  They took on multiple dragons at once and wiped them out in an afternoon.  

I have now lived through enough forbidden and limited lists to know that pronouncements of a deck’s death can be premature.  Remember when the hit they Wind-up loop?  Within weeks, clever players created new ways of making the deck work.  Granted, I am not a clever player; but, I can think no way to make the dragons work in a manner that we have grown accustomed.  We may see other dragon type decks show up in regional lists from time to time.  For example, the addition of Chaos Sorcerer may boost Chaos Dragons.  However, I feel comfortably predicting E dragons will soon be history. 

As a result, we may be living in a time where 60 to 80% of the meta is not dominated by one archetype ...

… at least for the time being.  The new sets will bring support to several archetypes and we will be back to a meta dominated by one or two.  Nevertheless, the near future will likely be pretty open and interesting. 

My post on all 150 archetypes is forthcoming.  For now, here are a few thoughts:

1. Mezuki, Plaguespreader, and Tourguide go to three.  I suspect there has been some disappointment in the interest in Vampires and Ghostricks.  Unlimiting all three of these cards will allow for some creative deck-building.  Of the three, Plaguespreader will have the least impact.  Its effect is costly and the pool of level six synchros is still weak.  TGU should see more play even without Sangan.  At three, the chance of drawing her before some other level three fiend is significantly increased.  We also have better rank three XYZs.   Most Zombie players have dreamed of the days with Mezuki at three.  Though the deck suffers from “Neg One” special summoning, Zombie World could be a very effective anti-meta card.  I would predict that all three archetypes will see increased play though not quite to the tier one level.  

2. Tenki to three.  I am not thrilled about this change.  Fire Fists have always been a hard match up and I didn’t think they needed help.  I suspect this move is to further boost Bujins though I’m not sure they need it either.  This change, along with Ptolemy M7, will help Constellars.  Though a lot of Constellar players have become a little disenchanted with their deck, it should do better in a slower format. 

3. Divine Wind to one.  This change was a blow for those of us who love the Mist Valley archetype.  Sure, there is this FTK, which is so unlikely that no one with sense would play it.  Konami should have noticed that Divine Wind Harpies were not overrunning the meta.  In fact, standard Harpies were more successful than Divine Wind variants.  Personally, I don’t think the latter has much likelihood of success at this point. 

4. They kill trolls too!  The only reason that Konami took so long in limiting Final Countdown and forbidding Self-Destruct Button is that they were embarrassed to admit these cards existed. Frankly, I never found Chain Burn and Final Countdown decks that difficult to beat.  However, I will not mourn their loss.   Same goes for Sixth Sense though I found playing this card underwhelming.  People’s hatred for the card has more to do with selective memory.  In other words, they remember the times their opponent used it to draw six cards and forget the times they milled two.  Nevertheless, it has no business being in the game.  Return from a Different Dimension also has some trollish features.  At the very least, I won’t have to watch Bujin players summon five monsters from their banished pile.  

So how good are you at Dragon lore?  Below are the answers to the quiz at the top of the page. 

Answers:

1. C; 2. D; 3. B; 4. A; 5. E

Spammity Spam

On the eve of the F&L list, here is my plea to Konami: 

I DO NOT LIKE SPAM

SPAM: To summon a stupid number of monsters at one time in a way that threatens the integrity of the game. See also: Spammier, Spammiest, Spammalicious, Spam-a-rama, and Spamhead.

There are several words that describe the strategy of flooding the field with monsters but spam remains my favorite.  The other terms do not capture the utter disdain I have for filling up the monster slots like an elementary school teacher lining up little kids at a bus stop.  The play style can be thoughtless and unwanted just like those emails that clutter your inbox.  Though email spam can be filtered, often times Yugioh spam is something that you just have to sit back and take.  

How much effort does it take to contribute to spam? The answer is not much.  Pitcairn Island is the leading broadcaster of spam on a per capita basis. There are 50 inhabitants on this little South Pacific island and a lot of infected computers.  There may be talent in the writing of the Malware, but there is little skill in just passing it along. And so it is in Yugioh, we cooperate in the spamiation of the game … or we lose.  

It just so happens that the Elemental Dragons also come from the Pacific.  Coincidence?  I think not.  

By now, you can see the connection between your in box and your deck box.  But what’s the connection to your lunchbox? 

As the Internet was being developed in the 70's and 80's, graduate students began to circulate jokes and other time wasters (sound familiar?).  Among these messages was – you guessed it – Monty Python's sketch about spam. Thanks to the ancient geeks, a skit with Vikings singing about a luncheon meat permeates the computer and the card culture.  

The canned meat came to market in 1937 bearing the acronym SPAM, which stood for Special Processed American Meat or Shoulders of Pork and Ham.  My mom fried it, which was probably the last time I liked Spam.  

 ______________________________

 The information on spam is taken from the book "Spam: A Shadow History of The Internet" by Finn Bruton

Searching for Gems among the Generic Shadow Specter Cards

Konami appears to have the following marketing strategy:  Introduce a cool archetype with an interesting mechanic at an accessible rarity.  Follow this set with one that offers additional support, but make sure these cards are secret rare.  Throw in a few TCG exclusives that will guarantee the success of the archetype.  After 8 to 12 months, ban a few key cards; introduce new archetypes; rinse and repeat.  

This strategy leaves players with two choices: (1) chase after the over-valued and over-powered cards or (2) play the deck without the chase cards.  Players following the first choice are called poor; those following the second are called losers.  In about six months, Konami will sell reprints of the chase cards.  As a result, the poor players will become salty as they watch their investment drop by about 80%. The losers are still losers because their deck will be hopelessly obsolete.  

One (perhaps) unintended consequence of this strategy is the shrinking pool of universally playable or generic cards.  These cards are usually the hidden gems of set.  They can be quite undervalued at first because players are not sure what to do with them.  For example, I picked up Number 11: Big Eye for about $10.  At the time, no one thought you could make rank seven XYZs easily.  On the other hand, 10 bucks seemed cheap for the ability to take an opponent’s monster forever*.  

Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any real hidden gems in the Shadow Specter’s set.  Of the 100 cards, two thirds are dedicated to archetypes.  Of the 32 generic cards, nine are worth a look.  Most of the good generic cards seem to be fairly priced.  Nevertheless, here is my assessment of those cards on a “Buy It”, “Pull It”, or “Leave It” scale**.  

·         Mistake - $22.99, Buy It

o   This is best card in the set.  It causes problems for Bujins, Geargias, Dragons, Spellbooks, and any other search-based deck.  It is undervalued because a lot of decks can’t play it.  Regardless of how the meta changes, this card will be useful. 

·         Pot of Dichotomy - $24.99, Pull it

o   Any card that lets recycle cards and plus by drawing is a good card.  Constellars, Evilswarms, and Madolches will benefit greatly though a lot of other archetype-based decks are also type limited. Shelling out $75 for a play set seems a bit rich.  On the other hand, I would buy it if the price drops into the low teens. 

·         Celestial Wolf Lord - $5.00, Pull it

o   There are 10 generic level six synchro monsters.  Of these, only Gaia Knight has a higher attack.  The only comparable synchro is HTS Psyhemuth.  Personally, I like this one better.  

·         Return of the Monarchs - $3.50, Buy it

o   Monarchs may see some play next format.  They work well with Ghostricks and Frog Monarchs have never gone completely away.  If you’ve played the deck, you know that too many Monarchs can clump badly.  This card may let you decrease the number of Monarchs without decreasing you access to them. 

·         Puralis, the Purple Pyrotile – $0.15, Buy it

o   There are three level two synchros and one is limited.  Given this low number and the low price, I’d pick it up.  Besides, it has the best name since Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon. 

·         Armored Kappa - $1.29, Buy It

o   Rank two XYZs may become more popular if Ghostricks catch fire. There are eight such monsters, of which five are generic. Armored Kappa is not the best of the bunch but it certainly is playable.  I don’t see people playing more than one so forking over a buck and a quarter seems reasonable

·         Swarm of Crows - $0.15, Leave It

o   This card is one word and one level away from being a gem. I don’t understand why they demanded that it be flip summoned and not just flipped. Even with that restriction, it may have been playable as a level four.  As is, it’s not worth pulling. 

·         Aratama - $0.10 – Buy it

o   One could consider the Spirit monsters in this set to be their own archetype.  The mechanic is intriguing and searching is always a good thing.  Besides, a play set is cheaper than that Coke you're drinking.

·         Genomix Fighter - $0.49 – Leave it

o   An ultra-rare for under a buck?  The price did make me take a long look at this card.  Its ability to summon without a tribute is a plus and it is searchable with certain Gusto and psychic cards.  However, the list of synchro monsters that require specific types is rather weak.  As a result, I do not see much future for this card. 

 

*Before you think I am Yugi clairvoyant, I also have a $15 Vampire Dragon. Take my advice with a liberal dose of salt. 

** Prices are from CoreTCG