I think it’s an undisputable fact that the diversity of our metagame has increased dramatically since we started receiving UDE-territory-exclusive cards in Strike of Neos. It all started with Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, who turned the Six Samurai into a force to be reckoned with, and it hasn’t ever stopped since. Months after its release, Il Blud is consistently one of the most valuable cards in the game, and it’s not just an artifact of its rarity. Blud takes Zombies to a whole new level that they just never achieved in Japan. Test Tiger from Gladiator’s Assault gives the Gladiator Beasts a much-needed element of speed that they wouldn’t have otherwise. A vast majority of these cards are obviously good, but some of them just seem to slip through the cracks or fail to be as useful as they could be. I can understand not being excited about something like Ocean’s Keeper, but I’m amazed that I don’t hear more about how incredibly good Volcanic Rocket is. Maybe it’s the fact that it was first released as the sneak preview promo after Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and just got overshadowed, or maybe it’s that people keep making direct comparisons between it and Elemental Hero Stratos, but regardless, Rocket really doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

I was pleased to see that Charlie La took Volcanic Rocket all the way to the quarterfinals of Shonen Jump Championship San Mateo before being defeated by the eventual champion, Fili Luna. However, whenever I look at his Volcanic Monarch deck, I can’t help but feel that there’s something missing. Where were the Royal Firestorm Guards? I know that playing the Guards would require a monster line-up that’s more dedicated to Pyro-type monsters than what La was playing, but I get the feeling it would absolutely be worth it in order to have access to a walking Pot of Avarice that can both beat for 1700 ATK and be recycled by itself! Pot of Avarice can’t recycle itself. It has to rely on Magician of Faith to do it, and then Magician of Faith has to be dedicated to bringing it back. As a result of this, Volcanic Shell becomes a source of discard material limited only by your life points, and I feel that this alone is reason enough for me to give my own take on what could be the definitive Monarch variant of the format, Volcanic Monarchs.

Monsters: 22

3 Volcanic Shell

3 Volcanic Rocket

3 Royal Firestorm Guards

3 Tenkabito Shien

3 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

3 Raiza the Storm Monarch

1 Treeborn Frog

1 Sangan

1 Snipe Hunter

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

Spells: 8

1 Heavy Storm

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

1 Blaze Accelerator

2 Foolish Burial

1 Book of Moon

1 Premature Burial

1 Brain Control

Traps: 10

1 Mirror Force

1 Torrential Tribute

1 Call of the Haunted

1 Trap Dustshoot

3 Forced Back

3 Phoenix Wing Wind Blast

The real challenge with Royal Firestorm Guards is coming up with a monster lineup that will ensure the maximum usefulness out of your Guards while maintaining access to useful monster effects. Fortunately, Pyro seems to be just the type for the job when it comes to useful monsters, thanks in part to the Volcanics from Force of the Breaker. Including three copies each of Volcanic Rocket and Volcanic Shell is not only an absolute no-brainer, but also the primary reason the deck exists in the first place. As you’ve no doubt heard on numerous occasions, Volcanic Shell is the closest thing to a consistent free discard candidate we have right now. Discard-cost cards took a huge hit in playability back when Sinister Serpent was first Forbidden, and they didn’t really start to see play again until Snipe Hunter turned bonus cards into a 66.7% shot at blowing away anything. Things really started to pick up again, however, when Destiny Draw and Destiny Hero - Malicious finally hit the scene. Malicious and Destiny Hero - Dasher were cards you loved to have in the graveyard, and players looked all around for ways to get them in there. Lightning Vortex was easily the best way to do this if you were looking at a combo-centric build with Diamond Dude like the eponymous Diamond Dude Turbo. For some though, Snipe Hunter continued to be the card of choice, and eventually we ended up with the incredibly deadly T-Hero deck.

Volcanic Shell will likely never be a part of something as deadly as T-Hero, but what Volcanic Monarch lacks in unforeseeable explosiveness it makes up for in consistent lethality. Upon summon, Volcanic Rocket grants you a 1900 ATK beater who will likely later go on to fuel Royal Firestorm Guards in addition to a free Blaze Accelerator from your deck or graveyard. The wide scope of Rocket’s search effect means that you only ever have to play one copy of Blaze Accelerator. Access to Accelerator also means that you could use the field-clearing Wild Fire if you so desired, but in this particular case I’ve opted not to do so. I know that a number of people who use this type of deck swear by the Wild Fire, but I’m not one of them. I’d much rather give myself access to another copy of Foolish Burial. Actually, upon further reflection, La wasn’t playing any copies of Foolish Burial, which is another puzzling choice considering how good it is to pitch Shell directly from the deck to the graveyard if you don’t draw one within the first turn or two. It also allows you to get Treeborn Frog into the graveyard to build some early momentum and set yourself up for multiple Monarch summons. You will, however, need to keep in mind that if you start using Blaze Accelerator, you won’t be able to bring back your Frog while it’s out. This could be one reason why so many people enjoy Wild Fire, but I consider Blaze Accelerator as an interesting way to reapply pressure should you either not come up with Treeborn Frog or fall upon the misfortune of having it removed by D.D. Crow.

I would wager that if you’re a Light and Darkness Dragon player, your most feared card right now has to be Forced Back. The sheer shift of momentum caused by getting nailed by Forced Back is often enough to cost the Dragon player the game if not supported by some Main Phase 2 special summoning or Scapegoat. If you aren’t playing Light and Darkness Dragon, you’re probably especially afraid of having your monsters constantly spun to the top of your deck by Raiza the Storm Monarch and Phoenix Wing Wind Blast. If you’re playing this deck, you have access to an extremely potent offensive weapon that makes Wind Blast and other traps virtually pointless in addition to your own copies of both Wing Blast and Forced Back to make life miserable for the current deck to beat.

As improbable as it seems, Tenkabito Shien—the Wildheart clone from Shadow of Infinity—is a Pyro monster. Not only can he serve up 1500 damage a turn, he’s also a valid target to recycle with Royal Firestorm Guards to help keep your momentum going. Combine that with a potentially constant source of hand disruption from another Pyro monster, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, and you have a potent offense that more or less restricts your opponent’s options to whatever he or she is pulling off the top of the deck. If you throw in the Blaze Accelerator and the Wind Blasts with Volcanic Shell and the Firestorm Guards, there’s no reason your opponent should be able to keep monsters on the field long enough to set up for a tribute summon. In turn, that forces over-extension that you can then counter directly with Forced Back.

You may be wondering where Solemn Judgment is in this deck. Surely, I’ve forgotten it, right? Well, as much as it pains me to say it, there truly are no copies of that particular card in this build. Paying half of your life points just doesn’t work well with repeated payments of 500 life points to continually bring copies of Volcanic Shell out of your deck. If I had an extensive amount of experience playing with this deck, I might feel better about my ability to manage the costs, but until that time, I’ll leave Solemn out of this one.

That’s going to wrap it up for this deck, my last of 2007. It’s been a truly incredible year for duelists, with new promos and exclusive cards coming at us from every direction. School was brutal for me this semester, but now that it’s time for the winter break, I’ll have plenty of time in the “lab” to come up with even more new and exciting decks for you to try out. Get ready for 2008, because the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG shows no signs of slowing down, and until next time, play hard, play fair, and most importantly, have fun!

Jerome McHale

jcmchale@andrew.cmu.edu

LATER: Can a plane take off on a treadmill? Musical guests Volcanic Shell and the Firestorm Guards, close-up animals with a wide angle lens, and people who juggle geese. All this and Andy Rooney, elsewhere on the internet.