Richard Clegg has been called a lot of things in his time, and not all of them were flattering. But you’ve got to give the guy credit: he’s not afraid to take risks. Want proof? Look no further than the deck he’s brought to today’s Shonen Jump Championship—Tomato Control, with a hefty dose of Dark Scorpions!

2 Allure of Darkness

1 Smashing Ground

2 Soul Taker

1 Nobleman of Crossout

2 Book of Moon

3 Shrink

1 Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 14

1 Mirror Force

1 Crush Card Virus

1 Trap Dustshoot

3 Solemn Judgment

3 Royal Oppression

3 Dimensional Prison

If you’re reading the coverage live, you won’t be able to see the complete deck list yet, but the focus is three copies of Mystic Tomato and a toolbox of Dark Scorpion monsters for the Tomatoes to special summon. Sure, he’s also playing a single copy of Newdoria to take down big hitters like Gladiator Beast Heraklinos and Dark Armed Dragon, as well as Sangan, Spirit Reaper, and even D.D. Crow if he needs a tribute for Crush Card Virus. But the stars of the show are the Dark Scorpion monsters, and they bring unique tricks to this deck that no other duelist is going to be able to pull off here today.

Two copies of Cliff the Trap Remover are the real showstopper. In a metagame where everybody is playing three copies of Solemn Judgment, and relying on them to protect their biggest plays, Cliff is one heck of a tech card. What seems like a laughable inclusion at first is actually a devastatingly effective card with the right support, and since the Dark Scorpions all share a similar mechanic, Clegg can afford to dedicate a lot of space to supporting them. With Cliff knocking out Solemn Judgment and with no monsters even having high enough ATK to fall victim to Bottomless Trap Hole, the conventional defensive lineup duelists are playing in today’s tournament are going to be practically useless.

But Cliff is only one part of the puzzle. Two copies of Don Zaloog let Clegg capitalize on the openings he creates with Cliff the Trap Remover, quickly stripping cards from decks that really need them. Don Zaloog has gained a reputation as a top tech pick for the Gladiator Beast matchup, since losing in-hand cards in the early game can cripple the Gladiator strategy, but thus far we haven’t really seen that reputation pan out in a Shonen Jump Championship. Today may be a first for the much-vaunted Don.

Finally, two copies of Dark Scorpion - Meanae the Thorn act as both defensive walls, and as a secondary search engine helping Clegg get to his Dark Scorpions. Meanae can’t fetch Don Zaloog, but she can get another copy of herself, or Cliff the Trap Remover. Between Meanae, Mystic Tomato, Sangan, and Reinforcement of the Army, Clegg has seven ways to search out Cliff, so he’ll almost always be able to get to it when he needs it. Meanae is pretty darn good on her own in a metagame where virtually no normal summoned monster has high enough ATK to take her down. Today, Clegg will be making a lot of Gladiator Beast Laquari players very sad.

From there, the deck goes in two different directions. A large portion of Clegg’s spell and trap lineup is devoted to clearing the field and supporting his Dark Scorpions, starting with three copies of Shrink. They provide offensive and defensive combo potential with Cliff and Don Zaloog, while also protecting Meanae in a pinch. Two copies of Soul Taker clear out big monsters on a proactive basis, while two Bottomless Trap Hole cards and three copies of Dimensional Prison take advantage of those situations where Clegg’s opponent will confuse a Dark Scorpion for an easy attack target.

The last component of the deck is three copies of Royal Oppression, and three copies of Solemn Judgment to protect them. Clegg had originally been running two Magic Drain cards for the same purpose, but dropped them at the last second to keep the deck slim. It’s really no secret: anything that can run three copies of Royal Oppression without losing out to it in the process has a significant advantage against three of the four top decks being played right now. Gladiator Beasts, Lightsworn, and Dark Armed Dragon all lose if they can’t special summon, while any Zombie player not maining Dust Tornado and similar removal cards will have the same problem. Since Clegg plays no inherent special summons and has chosen to eschew Monster Reborn and Premature Burial, he’s totally free to reap the benefits of this format-defining card.

The deck opens strong, with Mystic Tomato, Sangan, and Meanae all being acceptable plays in defense mode. From there, the deck quickly clears the field and keeps the opponent off balance, forcing through attacks with the Dark Scorpions to destroy or discard extra cards. In Round 1 Clegg faced a Lightsworn deck, a potentially challenging matchup given the small number of spell and trap cards that deck sets, but overcame it anyways with speed and control over the battle phase.

While Clegg lost to Jon Moore in Round 2, he’s still very much alive in this tournament, and if he can catch a run of Gladiator Beast decks and fight his way back to the top tables he’s got a great chance of making Day 2 here today. Even if he doesn’t, his strategy is most certainly noteworthy, and bears consideration for future events.