Dinos for Dummies: A Guide to True King Dinosaurs
As the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime enters a new era of futuristic virtual monsters it’s satisfying to see the release of a deck that can deliver a prehistoric pounding in exactly the sort of fashion one might expect from a deck whose cover monster is a 20-foot tall, electrified Tyrannosaurus Rex. It is a testament to the deck’s power that the aforementioned T-Rex is seen as an optional extra. Dinosaurs have the ability to all but close out the game in the first turn and with the ability to search out all of the necessary combo pieces in a variety of ways, the deck’s consistency is a major asset.
In this article, I will detail a few effective combos to show how to develop a strong first-turn board, as well as taking a look at some effective tech cards the deck can take advantage of. The best advice I have to being successful with this deck is to play with it. The combos detailed below will help you out in most situations, but the more you play with the deck, the easier it is to see how to pilot the deck in more unconventional situations.
The crux of the True King Dinosaur deck is a 2-card combo ending in a board that prevents a number of decks from even playing in the next turn.
Base Combo
Cards Required: Dragonic Diagram + Babycerasaurus/Petiteranodon
Steps:
Step 1 – Activate Dragonic Diagram and destroy the baby dinosaur in hand
Step 2 – Add Lithosagym to your hand, summon Souleating Oviraptor from the deck and use its effect to search for Babycerasaurus
Step 3 – Normal Summon Babycerasaurus
Step 4 – Use the effect of Oviraptor to destroy Babycerasaurus and summon one from your grave
Step 5 – Summon Babycerasaurus from the deck
Step 6 – Special Summon Lithosagym from hand, destroying both babies and banishing 3 cards from your opponent’s Extra Deck
Step 7 – Special Summon Jurrac Aeolo and Miscellaneousaurus from the Deck
Step 8 – Synchro Summon Denglong, First of the Yang Zing and use its effect to send a True King to the grave
Step 9 – Xyz Summon True King of All Calamities using Denglong and Lithosagym
Step 10 – Banish Miscellaneousaurus and 3 other Dinosaurs from the Grave. Summon a Level-4 Dinosaur from your deck.
Step 11 – Xyz Summon Laggia or Dolkka (usually Laggia)
Final Board: True King of All Calamities + Laggia/Dolkka
This combo is usually more than enough to prevent your opponent from playing; however there are ways to extend this combo if you run the necessary cards.
Combo Extenders
Opening an Instant Fusion allows you to end with Bahamut Shark and Toadally Awesome OR Naturia Beast on board. In this case the combo should look like this:
Step 10 – Activate Instant Fusion and summon Norden. Summon Miscellaneousaurus from grave for Bahamut Shark or Jurrac Aeolo from grave for Naturia Beast.
Step 11 – Use the effect of True King of All Calamities. Declare Water if summoning Bahamut Shark or Earth if summoning Naturia Beast
Step 12 – Summon either Bahamut Shark or Naturia Beast
Step 12.5 – If Bahamut Shark was summoned, detach Miscellaneousaurus to summon Toadally Awesome
Step 13 - Banish Miscellaneousaurus and 3 other Dinosaurs from the Grave. Summon a Level-4 Dinosaur from your deck.
Step 14 – Xyz Summon Laggia (or Dolkka)
Delinquent Trio
This is another combo that uses Instant Fusion and the Base Combo. This combo allows you to banish 3 cards from your opponent’s hand. However, this is not recommended as it 1) uses a lot of valuable space in the Extra Deck and 2) leaves you with no protection. The base combo is generally far safer. This combo should be considered to be “high risk/ high reward”.
Proceed with the base combo as normal:
Step 8 – Synchro Summon Trishula using Miscellaneousaurus, Oviraptor and Jurrac Aeolo and banish a card from your opponent’s hand
Step 9 – Xyz Summon Phantom Fortress, Enterblathnir using Trishula and Lithosagym. Detach Lithosagym to banish another card from your opponent’s hand.
Step 10 – Banish Miscellaneousaurus and 3 other Dinosaurs to summon a Level 4 Dinosaur from your deck
Step 11 – Activate Instant Fusion and special summon Sea Monster of Theseus
Step 12 – Synchro Summon Cloudcastle and use its effect to special summon Lithosagym from the graveyard.
Step 13 – Xyz Summon another Phantom Fortress, Enterblathnir to banish another card, or Xyz summon True King of All Calamities for a safer board.
Important Cards Outside of the Combo
Ultimate Conductor Tyranno
Spoiler :
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 2 Dinosaur-Type monsters from your Graveyard. Once per turn, during either player's Main Phase: You can destroy 1 monster in your hand or field, and if you do, change all face-up monsters your opponent controls to face-down Defense Position. This card can attack all monsters your opponent controls, once each. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks a Defense Position monster: You can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, and if you do, send that Defense Position monster to the Graveyard.
Notice how Ultimate Conductor Tyranno wasn’t mentioned in the entirety of the combo section? It essentially acts as a better version of a BLS but for Dinosaurs. It can be searched by Souleating Oviraptor if you already have all of the combo pieces in your hand to provide additional disruption during your opponent’s turn, or to qualify an OTK during yours. It has massive potential for disruption as a Book of Eclipse that only affects the opponent and has little to no drawback. By destroying a baby dino you can also summon Oviraptor in your opponent’s turn, which allows you to search for another Dinosaur from your deck, gaining you advantage while disrupting your opponent.
True King Agnimazud, the Vanisher
Spoiler :
If this card is in your hand: You can destroy 2 other monsters in your hand and/or face-up on your field, including a FIRE monster, and if you do, Special Summon this card, and if you do that, you can banish 1 monster from your opponent's field or Graveyard, if both the destroyed monsters were FIRE. If this card is destroyed by card effect: You can add 1 non-FIRE Wyrm-Type monster from your Graveyard to your hand. You can only use each effect of "True King Agnimazud, the Vanisher" once per turn.
Used as an alternative to Lithosagym, Agnimazud can be used to destroy a baby dino as long as you have a Fire monster. Has utility in retrieving Lithosagym from the grave and can also be used as non-destruction removal if you have 2 Fire monsters. Handily, it is possible to destroy Laggia with Agnimazud once its negation has been used, making it much easier to resolve the banishing effect.
Tyranno Infinity
Spoiler :
The original ATK of this card is the number of your banished Dinosaur-Type monsters x 1000.
Tyranno Infinity can be a useful target to summon with Miscellaneousaurus if performing the combo after Turn 1. If summoned this way, it will have a minimum ATK value of 4000. It is fairly easy to raise its ATK over 10000.
Fossil Dig
Spoiler :
Add 1 Level 6 or lower Dinosaur-Type monster from your Deck to your hand.
Searches baby dinos, Oviraptor and Miscellaneousaurus. It can also search Tyranno Infinity for a hefty attack later in the game.
Useful Tech Cards
True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer
Spoiler :
If this card is in your hand: You can destroy 2 other monsters in your hand and/or face-up on your field, including a WATER monster, and if you do, Special Summon this card, and if you do that, you can banish up to 2 Spell/Trap Cards from your opponent's field and/or Graveyard, if both the destroyed monsters were WATER. If this card is destroyed by card effect: You can Special Summon 1 non-WATER Wyrm-Type monster from your Deck in Defense Position. You can only use each effect of "True King Bahrastos, the Fathomer" once per turn.
Despite a lack of targets to summon it, if Bahrastos is destroyed by a card effect, which isn’t exactly hard in this deck, you can Special Summon another True King directly from your deck, meaning that it isn’t necessary to use Denglong to summon True King of All Calamities
Dogoran the Mad Flame Kaiju
Spoiler :
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) to your opponent's side of the field in Attack Position, by Tributing 1 monster they control. If your opponent controls a "Kaiju" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) in Attack Position. You can only control 1 "Kaiju" monster. Once per turn: You can remove 3 Kaiju Counters from anywhere on the field; destroy all monsters your opponent controls. This card cannot attack the turn you activate this effect.
It’s a searchable Kaiju. Can be summoned by Babycerasaurus for some Kaiju protection as well.
Set Rotation
Spoiler :
Set 2 Field Spell Cards with different names from your Deck on the field (1 on your field, and 1 on your opponent's field). While either of those cards remains Set on the field, neither player can activate or Set other Field Spell Cards.
Set Rotation allows additional consistency in searching for Dragonic Diagram. It’s also a quickplay spell, which can be useful if your opponent is running Dragonic Diagrams of their own. Requires you to play additional field spells, though and it’s unlikely that you’d want to use more than 1 Set Rotation in a game.
Lost World
Spoiler :
All monsters on the field lose 500 ATK and DEF, except Dinosaur-Type monsters. Once per turn, if a Dinosaur-Type monster is Normal or Special Summoned (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon 1 "Jurraegg Token" (Dinosaur-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to your opponent's field in Defense Position. While your opponent controls a Token, they cannot target monsters on the field with card effects, except Tokens. Once per turn, if a Normal Monster(s) on the field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can destroy that many Dinosaur-Type monsters in your hand and/or Deck instead.
This is actually a very good field spell, just not as good as Dragonic Diagram. Souleating Oviraptor can attempt to destroy the token it summons, allowing you to destroy a baby dino in your deck and special summon a dinosaur from the grave. Also prevents your opponent targeting any monster with a card effect while they control a token.
Magical Mid-Breaker Field
Spoiler :
Activate this card at the start of your Main Phase 1 or 2. During each player's Main Phase 1, monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by their opponent's card effects, also neither player can target monsters their opponent controls. You cannot activate or Set Field Spell Cards.
If you choose to run Set Rotation, consider running this. It completely locks your opponent out of playing field spells, unless they destroy it. However, it’s not a good card to draw into and you don’t really want to run more than one.
Rescue Rabbit
Spoiler :
Cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. You can banish this face-up card you control; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck, but destroy them during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Rescue Rabbit" once per turn.
Hearkening back to the days of Dino Rabbit, Rescue Rabbit is a 1-card Bahamut Shark -> Toadally Awesome play. Sadly this little critter is still limited, but that doesn't mean it isn't a tech option to consider. The downside to Rescue Rabbit is that it uses up your normal summon and with the quick effects of today's format and Dimensional Barrier running rampant, Rabbit isn't as effective as it used to be. On the plus side, though, if your opponent flips D-Barrier, Rabbit provides 2 2k vanilla beaters in the form of Megalosmasher X.
So, there you have it: A basic guide to the cards and combos of a True King Dino deck, which, in my opinion, has the potential to be one of the best decks of this format, especially for more budget players. The deck’s consistency allows you to almost always open with a powerful combo, but also has the ability to play at least reasonably well in the grind game. For interest I will post my deck list below and if you have any questions or I missed anything out please let me know.
Spoiler :
Last edited by Olethros on Mon May 15, 2017 8:17 am; edited 2 times in total
