If you’re reading this article live then you can’t see the decklist yet, but its core consists of three Chain Strike and three Accumulated Fortune. From there, it runs a plethora of spells and traps, most of which are either spell speed 2, and thus fodder for chains, or sources of burn damage. In fact, most cards the deck runs are both. The goal? Create one huge chain in the early turns of the duel, devastating the opponent with Chain Strikes, which can reach 2400 damage on a regular basis, and drawing extra cards to finish him or her off thanks to Accumulated Fortune. Other high-impact highlights include Tremendous Fire, Poison of the Old Man, and Dimension Wall,. Fire Darts also makes an impressive showing at three copies, an obscure pick that’s just as effective as it is eyebrow raising.

Chain Detonation deserves extra discussion, as its worth can’t really be stated enough. While its effect might seem unimpressive, it virtually always gets to claim its “return to hand” line in the first big chain the deck user creates. That means that not only will each Chain Detonation drawn be worth 1000 damage over the course of a full game, each can also be used to flesh out not one, but two chains total. It’s a priority in the first big chain of a duel, because you want to get the second use out of it, but it becomes a very good TCG equivalent of a sacrificial bunt in the second, forcing Chain Strikes into higher damage ranges and helping Accumulated Fortune go off. It’s a must-play here.

One of the coolest things about Project D.’s creation is that it doesn’t run a single monster. That makes stuff like Smashing Ground, Sakuretsu Armor, and Mirror Force into completely blank cards, and it wreaks havoc with monsters like Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Cyber Dragon. Apprentice Magicians never get attacked, so duelists using an Apprentice Engine have to draw into their Magician of Faith — they won’t even want Old Vindictive Magician since it has nothing to destroy. Nobleman of Crossout? Dead. Torrential Tribute? Only good if you want to wipe out your own monsters. Scapegoat? Chain Strike Burn would love to see Sheep tokens on the opponent’s field — this build runs a pair of Ojama Trio just to clog up opposing monster zones, a strategy that I can vouch for myself. If the opponent gets locked with a flip effect monster and a recruiter of some sort, he or she can’t do much to pose a threat.

Of course, Ojama Trio also feeds into Just Desserts and Secret Barrel, and that’s what this deck is all about — synergy. That makes it difficult to play, because you don’t just have to worry about creating chains; you have to decide on the placement of the links really carefully. If you can do that, then the only real trick is to get the opponent to start your chains for you. Monsters like Mobius the Frost Monarch, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, and Breaker the Magical Warrior all hand chain link 1 to this deck on a silver platter, and that can sometimes mean the difference between victory and defeat. Having a free chain link to grow from doesn’t just mean an extra 400 damage with Chain Strike — it can often mean the reuse of a Chain Detonation that would otherwise just be returned to the deck, or an extra two cards with Fortune that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. This deck takes a lot of thought to play.

It might be even harder here today — some competitors are already teching against it. Mark Garcia and several others are attempting to pre-empt Chain Strike Burn’s success with Des Wombat and Royal Decree in their side decks. However, Moosman, Murphy, and the rest might be prepared for such roadblocks. They’ve been testing the deck for weeks, and I’m sure the deck’s handful of weaknesses have been at the forefront of Project D.’s discussions.

So, how long do games normally last? They can end as quickly as turn 2 with the right draw, but victory in three to four turns is more typical. The deck needs to go off that fast since most players will start attacking the moment they figure out what’s going on, but the fact that it can erupt that quickly, on a reliable basis, is downright scary.