Introduction to the Meta-Game
Recently, the meta-game (the top decks of YuGiOh) has changed quite a bit. When I say this, I mean that not a single deck from the old top three stayed in the top three. The reason for this is the pack Lord of Taychon Galaxy (LTGY), in which Konami released very good cards. Cards such as Spellbook of Judgment, all of the Dragon Rulers, and Evilswarm Kerykeion completely eclipsed the previous meta. The top three decks of the current meta-game are Dragon Rulers, Prophecy, and Evilswarms.
Firstly, I would like to note the similarities between Dragon Rulers and Dark Armed Return as well as the similarities between Gadget Oppression and Evilswarm. Both Dragon Rulers and Dark Armed Return focus upon accessing cards in the hand and the grave. Both Gadget Oppression and Evilswarm, on the other hand, focus upon locking down the formerly mentioned deck which dominated/dominates their respective format. The only difference between the current format and the teleDAD/Dark Armed Return formats, by this logic, is the existence of the Prophecy archetype (a deck which can keep up with Dragon Rulers) and the existence of hand traps.
I find it is important to note this because many people believe that Konami is releasing more and more broken decks every format; however, this is not true. Decks such as Perfect Circle, teleDAD, Dark Armed Return, and Gadget Oppression have existed before. This is simply part of Konami's cycle. After making a completely broken deck, they nerf the deck and turn it into a support archetype or deck engine (Lightsworns and Destiny Heroes are examples of this). This is what will probably happen to Dragon Rulers in one of the following formats (September 2013 or March 2014). Until it happens, duelists will need to cope with the menaces that Konami has released (Dragon Rulers, Evilswarms, and Prophecy).
(The decks shown below are not mine. I don't want to give away my own deck lists.)
I find it is important to note this because many people believe that Konami is releasing more and more broken decks every format; however, this is not true. Decks such as Perfect Circle, teleDAD, Dark Armed Return, and Gadget Oppression have existed before. This is simply part of Konami's cycle. After making a completely broken deck, they nerf the deck and turn it into a support archetype or deck engine (Lightsworns and Destiny Heroes are examples of this). This is what will probably happen to Dragon Rulers in one of the following formats (September 2013 or March 2014). Until it happens, duelists will need to cope with the menaces that Konami has released (Dragon Rulers, Evilswarms, and Prophecy).
(The decks shown below are not mine. I don't want to give away my own deck lists.)
Dragon Rulers
Dragon Rulers, formerly known as Elemental Dragons, is a swarm deck which focuses upon Special Summoning rank seven XYZ Monsters. Simply put, Dragon Rulers spam rank seven Monsters such as Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack, Number 11: Big Eye, Mermail Abyssgaios, Number 7: Lucky Straight (on a very rare occasion), and Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger.
Spoiler :
Dragon Rulers, formerly known as Elemental Dragons, is a swarm deck which focuses upon Special Summoning rank seven XYZ Monsters. Simply put, Dragon Rulers spam rank seven Monsters such as Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack, Number 11: Big Eye, Mermail Abyssgaios, Number 7: Lucky Straight (on a very rare occasion), and Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger.
All of the bigger Dragon Rulers have the effect that when they are banished, you can search a dragon with the same Attribute as theirs. They also have the effect that by banishing two dragons or monsters with their Attribute from the hand or grave, you can summon them from the hand or grave. Finally, they all have their own third effect which can be activated by discarding the dragon and another monster with the same attribute. However, Konami is not stupid enough to allow duelists to use all three effects in the same turn. All of the large dragons can only have one of their effects used per turn. However, Konami, having realized that they were about to release monsters into the YuGiOh world, decided to be pitiful and gave all of the big dragons the effect that in the end phase of the opponent’s turn, they return to the hand.
The larger dragons are aided by what are called the baby dragons. The baby dragons all share the effect that by discarding themselves and another dragon/ a card with their element, one can summon the bigger Dragon Ruler with the same attribute from the extra deck. However, there is negative aspect to the effective. This is that the dragon summoned by this effect cannot attack.
If Dragon Rulers had been released before the concept of XYZ Monsters, they would not have been nearly as powerful as they are now. They would still have the OTK (One Turn Kill) power that they currently have, but they would not be as powerful because they would not have Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack. Dracossack is one of the most powerful cards that Dragon Rulers run because it allows them to destroy their opponent’s cards while building a wall of defense.
Prophecy
Prophecy, a Spellcaster Archetype which is supported by the Spellbook Archetype which consists of only spell cards, has also become a meta deck. However, some consider it incorrect to call it a Prophecy deck because the decks which do well in the meta generally run very few monsters and a large amount of spells. In most cases, Prophecy decks abuse the effect of Spellbook of Judgment to search a lot of Spellbooks, fulfill the Summoning Condition of High Priestess of Prophecy, and summon a spellcaster which can lock down the opponent (generally Jowgen or Kycoo) or Justice of Prophecy (in order to add a High Priestess of Prophecy to the hand).
Prophecy decks work in conjunction with the Spellbook Archetype, a group of Spells which are the true powerhouse behind the deck. Spellbook of Secrets, Spellbook of Power, Spellbook of Masters, Spellbook of Judgment, and The Grand Spellbook Tower are all cards which focus on adding more cards to the hand. Furthermore, Spellbook of Judgment allows one to summon a spellcaster monster with a level equal to or less than that of the amount of Spells activated after Spellbook of Judgement resolves (spells chained to Spellbook of Judgment do not count in this because chains resolve backwards.) However, constantly searching for more spells does not win games. Spellbooks also have Spellbook of Fate, a card which allows them to stop the opponent from taking control of the game.
Spoiler :
Prophecy, a Spellcaster Archetype which is supported by the Spellbook Archetype which consists of only spell cards, has also become a meta deck. However, some consider it incorrect to call it a Prophecy deck because the decks which do well in the meta generally run very few monsters and a large amount of spells. In most cases, Prophecy decks abuse the effect of Spellbook of Judgment to search a lot of Spellbooks, fulfill the Summoning Condition of High Priestess of Prophecy, and summon a spellcaster which can lock down the opponent (generally Jowgen or Kycoo) or Justice of Prophecy (in order to add a High Priestess of Prophecy to the hand).
Prophecy decks work in conjunction with the Spellbook Archetype, a group of Spells which are the true powerhouse behind the deck. Spellbook of Secrets, Spellbook of Power, Spellbook of Masters, Spellbook of Judgment, and The Grand Spellbook Tower are all cards which focus on adding more cards to the hand. Furthermore, Spellbook of Judgment allows one to summon a spellcaster monster with a level equal to or less than that of the amount of Spells activated after Spellbook of Judgement resolves (spells chained to Spellbook of Judgment do not count in this because chains resolve backwards.) However, constantly searching for more spells does not win games. Spellbooks also have Spellbook of Fate, a card which allows them to stop the opponent from taking control of the game.
Normal Prophecy decks use High Priestess of Prophecy as a boss Monster and use Justice of Prophecy to search it. High Priestess functions just like Master Hyperion does, but it’s Summoning Condition is a bit more troublesome. However, with the abundant searches generated by Spellbook of Judgement, there is no longer a problem getting three Spellbooks to hand, summoning Justice of Prophecy, and banishing it to get High Priestess of Prophecy and a Spellbook.
However, recently, a rebel at the Italian national tournament piloted a priestess-less variant of Spellbooks (I will not call them Prophecy because it only ran three Prophecy cards) to second place. This variant is based on the idea of locking down the opponent by using Kycoo (to stop the opponent from banishing from the grave), Jowgen (to stop the opponent from special summoning), and Spellbook of Fate. However, the monsters are very weak, so he used Spellbook Star Hall to boost his monsters to a point where they can not be run over.
Evilswarm
Spoiler :
Evilswarm, a Dark-type Archetype, is the only deck in the current meta-game that many do not actually consider a meta deck. Evilswarms are not actually a "broken" deck like Prophecy and Dragon Rulers. The only reason that they are doing well in the current meta is that Dragon Rulers and Prophecy decks have monsters with levels larger than five. Evilswarm’s boss monster, Ophion, stops Monsters with a Level of five or higher from being Special Summoned while it has an XYZ material on it. Simply put, Evilswarms are an anti-meta deck.
Evilswarm’s claim to fame is just summoning Evilswarm Ophion on the first turn because it completely stops Elemental Dragons. However, even Elemental Dragons can side deck against this. Furthermore, Evilswarm suffers against Prophecy, a deck which is not completely reliant upon it’s boss monster. Simply put, Evilswarm is the weakest of the big three decks of the format.
However, even Evilswarms have a relatively broken card. Evilswarm’s broken card is Infestation Infection. Infestation Infection’s effect states “Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 "lswarm" monster from your hand or face-up from your side of the field into the Main Deck; add 1 "lswarm" monster from your Deck to your hand.” This card is broken because it allows you to trade any of your Evilswarms for another one. This means that getting the Evilswarms you need becomes ridiculously easy.
Other Evilswarm cards which are relatively powerful include Evilswarm Kerykeion and Evilswarm Castor. Castor allows the user to Summon an extra Evilswarm Monster every turn that he is on the field. However, this is a continuous effect meaning that it Effect Veiler is useless against it. Kerykeion allows Evilswarm users to Banish one Lswarm (Evilswarm or Steelswarm) monster from the grave to add one Lswarm card to the hand. Also, Kerykeion allows one to summon an extra time on the turn this turn this effect is activated (this gives potential to summon a rank 4).
Other Evilswarm cards which are relatively powerful include Evilswarm Kerykeion and Evilswarm Castor. Castor allows the user to Summon an extra Evilswarm Monster every turn that he is on the field. However, this is a continuous effect meaning that it Effect Veiler is useless against it. Kerykeion allows Evilswarm users to Banish one Lswarm (Evilswarm or Steelswarm) monster from the grave to add one Lswarm card to the hand. Also, Kerykeion allows one to summon an extra time on the turn this turn this effect is activated (this gives potential to summon a rank 4).
Furthermore, Evilswarms have weapons of their own. Because their boss monster is a Dark-type with 2550 attack, they can easily main deck Eradicator Epedemic Virus. This comes in handy against Prophecy decks because without spells, prophecy decks have a total of 10~12 cards which they can use. Overall, Evilswarms, though not amazing, have good match-ups against amazing decks.
Side Decking
Although the decks dominating YuGiOh have changed, the way that YuGiOh works has not. Dragon Rulers being a very strong deck does not change the fact that there is a side deck. This side deck begins the counter attack against the meta. Each of the decks that have been mentioned in this article have either a central idea that makes them very strong or a very strong card. The best way to cause a giant to fall is by to take away the strength which allows him/her to support himself/herself. In order to prepare for the attack, it is vital to identify the strength that supports the big three.
Dragon Ruler’s strength lies in the concept of banishing dragons from the graveyard in order to search more dragons. In order to attack them, one must find a way to stop this from occurring. As fate would have it, there are many ways to do so. One can stop all banishing from occurring using Imperial Iron Wall. However, if one’s deck hinges upon banishing, there are other ways to attack Dragon Rulers. There is a card known as Zombie World which transforms all of the cards in the graveyard and on the field into zombies. If the dragons in the grave suddenly become zombies, they can not be banished in order to fulfill the summoning conditions of Dragon Rulers. A list of good cards to put in the side deck in order to combat Dragon Rulers is Necrovalley, Zombie World (if cards in the grave become Zombies, they are no longer valid targets to be banished for the bigger Dragon's effects), Imperial Iron Wall, Mind Drain (because their effects activate in the hand), Soul Drain (because they also can be activated in the grave and when the cards are banished), Gozen Match (because they have different attributes), and Summon Limit (because the big dragons return to the hand meaning that the opponent can not XYZ summon so long as Summon Limit is on the field).
Prophecy deck’s strength lies in their abuse of the Spellbook archetype. Prophecy decks can rapidly search many cards to the hand by using cards such as Spellbook of Secrets, Spellbook of Master, Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, Spellbook of power, Spellbook Library of Crescent, and Spellbook of Judgment. In order to attack them from the side deck, it is necessary to either stop them from adding cards to the hand or exploit their reliance upon spell cards. Droll & Lock Bird is very good to accomplish the first objective with because it forces the opponent to completely stop for a turn. Eradicator Epidemic Virus is a good card to accomplish the second objective with because it forces the opponent to discard all of the spells in their hand. However, there are many other ways to attack Prophecy decks. Many of the Spellbook cards have the requirement that a Spellcaster must be on the field in order for them to be activated. Spellbook of Fate, the only defense that Prophecy decks truly have, is one of these cards. Cards which get rid of the Spellcasters help quite a bit when one is going on the offensive. For example, Zombie World can be deadly when used right before a major attack. Furthermore, Prophecy focus on controlling the field by banishing Spellbook cards from the graveyard. For this reason, Imperial Iron Wall is a very good side deck card against Prophecy. A list (not the complete list) of cards that harm Prophecy decks is Droll & Lock bird, Imperial Iron Wall, Zombie World, Thunder King Rai Oh, Eradicator Epidemic Virus, and Secret Village of the Spellcasters (for the mirror match).
Evilswarm decks, in their meta matches, depend completely on a few cards. These cards are Evilswarm Ophion, Eradicator Epidemic Virus, and their monster. If they summon Evilswarm Ophion using their monsters and then set Eradicator Epidemic Virus, they have the optimal opening. They have a response to any meta deck. However, they rely too heavily upon Ophion’s effect. Cards which stop Ophion’s continuous effect from continuing are good side deck cards against Evilswarms. For example, Psi-Blocker negates Ophion’s effect for a turn and allows Dragon Rulers to make a turns worth of plays in order to eliminate Ophion (a task which only requires Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack). Other cards which can be used to stop Ophion’s continuous effect from beggining/continuing are Breakthrough Skill and Skill Drain. Beyond Ophion and Eradicator Epidemic Virus, Evilswarms rely upon their traps to stall so that they can get those cards. For this reason, Royal Decree is quite useful in battling Evilswarms. Cards which are useful in combatting Evilswarms include but are not limited to breakthrough Skill, Skill Drain, Psi-Blocker, Royal Decree, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Time Lord Metaion (it sends Ophion back to the extra and can not be destroyed by traps), Tsukuyomi, Electric Virus and Infestation Terminus in conjunction (steal Ophion and use it's effect to search Terminus so that it has no material), Summon Limit (if they can not summon more than twice, it is impossible to Exceed Summon) and Rivalry of the Warlords (because Evilswarms have varying Types).
Dragon Ruler’s strength lies in the concept of banishing dragons from the graveyard in order to search more dragons. In order to attack them, one must find a way to stop this from occurring. As fate would have it, there are many ways to do so. One can stop all banishing from occurring using Imperial Iron Wall. However, if one’s deck hinges upon banishing, there are other ways to attack Dragon Rulers. There is a card known as Zombie World which transforms all of the cards in the graveyard and on the field into zombies. If the dragons in the grave suddenly become zombies, they can not be banished in order to fulfill the summoning conditions of Dragon Rulers. A list of good cards to put in the side deck in order to combat Dragon Rulers is Necrovalley, Zombie World (if cards in the grave become Zombies, they are no longer valid targets to be banished for the bigger Dragon's effects), Imperial Iron Wall, Mind Drain (because their effects activate in the hand), Soul Drain (because they also can be activated in the grave and when the cards are banished), Gozen Match (because they have different attributes), and Summon Limit (because the big dragons return to the hand meaning that the opponent can not XYZ summon so long as Summon Limit is on the field).
Prophecy deck’s strength lies in their abuse of the Spellbook archetype. Prophecy decks can rapidly search many cards to the hand by using cards such as Spellbook of Secrets, Spellbook of Master, Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, Spellbook of power, Spellbook Library of Crescent, and Spellbook of Judgment. In order to attack them from the side deck, it is necessary to either stop them from adding cards to the hand or exploit their reliance upon spell cards. Droll & Lock Bird is very good to accomplish the first objective with because it forces the opponent to completely stop for a turn. Eradicator Epidemic Virus is a good card to accomplish the second objective with because it forces the opponent to discard all of the spells in their hand. However, there are many other ways to attack Prophecy decks. Many of the Spellbook cards have the requirement that a Spellcaster must be on the field in order for them to be activated. Spellbook of Fate, the only defense that Prophecy decks truly have, is one of these cards. Cards which get rid of the Spellcasters help quite a bit when one is going on the offensive. For example, Zombie World can be deadly when used right before a major attack. Furthermore, Prophecy focus on controlling the field by banishing Spellbook cards from the graveyard. For this reason, Imperial Iron Wall is a very good side deck card against Prophecy. A list (not the complete list) of cards that harm Prophecy decks is Droll & Lock bird, Imperial Iron Wall, Zombie World, Thunder King Rai Oh, Eradicator Epidemic Virus, and Secret Village of the Spellcasters (for the mirror match).
Evilswarm decks, in their meta matches, depend completely on a few cards. These cards are Evilswarm Ophion, Eradicator Epidemic Virus, and their monster. If they summon Evilswarm Ophion using their monsters and then set Eradicator Epidemic Virus, they have the optimal opening. They have a response to any meta deck. However, they rely too heavily upon Ophion’s effect. Cards which stop Ophion’s continuous effect from continuing are good side deck cards against Evilswarms. For example, Psi-Blocker negates Ophion’s effect for a turn and allows Dragon Rulers to make a turns worth of plays in order to eliminate Ophion (a task which only requires Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack). Other cards which can be used to stop Ophion’s continuous effect from beggining/continuing are Breakthrough Skill and Skill Drain. Beyond Ophion and Eradicator Epidemic Virus, Evilswarms rely upon their traps to stall so that they can get those cards. For this reason, Royal Decree is quite useful in battling Evilswarms. Cards which are useful in combatting Evilswarms include but are not limited to breakthrough Skill, Skill Drain, Psi-Blocker, Royal Decree, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Time Lord Metaion (it sends Ophion back to the extra and can not be destroyed by traps), Tsukuyomi, Electric Virus and Infestation Terminus in conjunction (steal Ophion and use it's effect to search Terminus so that it has no material), Summon Limit (if they can not summon more than twice, it is impossible to Exceed Summon) and Rivalry of the Warlords (because Evilswarms have varying Types).