One of the most powerful monsters from Cyberdark Impact is also one of the most challenging to play. As Jae discussed in his preview of Cyber Ogre a couple of weeks ago, the Ogre is one of the few monsters in the game capable of shutting down an opponent’s plans for battle without any sort of assistance from the spell and trap zone. That makes it unpredictable, and that level of mystery (coupled with the Ogre’s massive potential ATK) makes it a deadly card.
Reader Cody has taken on the challenge of creating a Cyber Ogre deck for us this week, and here’s what he has to say about it:
Hey Jason. I’ve been working on a pretty unique deck: it’s a Cyber Ogre/Cyber Dragon deck. At the Cyberdark Impact Sneak Preview, I got two Cyber Ogre cards, and I looked over its effects. Just by discarding another Cyber Ogre, its ATK becomes 3900! I thought about cards I could support it with, such as Limiter Removal and Cyber Phoenix, and decided I’d build a deck around it. Later on, when I was trading some cards, I collected a Cyber Ogre 2 and another Cyber Ogre. When I got home I created this deck, and I was wondering if you would give it a look.
Thanks!
—Cody
There are several different ways one could go about building a Cyber Ogre deck, and my favorite is to surround it with its fellow Earth monsters (Maharaghi can let you dig towards extra copies of Cyber Ogre) in order to fuel Gigantes. Cody’s decided to take the deck in a different direction, exploiting the fact that Cyber Ogre is also Machine. Here’s the deck he came up with.
Cyber Smash—40 Cards
Monsters: 21
3 Cyber Ogre
3 Cyber Dragon
1 Jinzo
3 Cyber Phoenix
2 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
1 Cyber-Stein
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Magician of Faith
2 Exiled Force
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Treeborn Frog
1 Sangan
Spells: 12
1 Limiter Removal
1 Future Fusion
1 Overload Fusion
1 Last Will
1 Graceful Charity
1 Premature Burial
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Book of Moon
1 Enemy Controller
1 Confiscation
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
Traps: 7
2 Sakuretsu Armor
2 Bottomless Trap Hole
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
1 Ring of Destruction
Fusion Deck: 6
1 Chimeratech Overdragon
1 Cyber End Dragon
1 Cyber Twin Dragon
1 Cyber Ogre 2
2 Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon
It’s an interesting deck that looks to use virtually all the unique cards available to Machines. Limiter Removal boosts ATK for game-winning pushes, Cyber Phoenix protects monsters from cards like Sakuretsu Armor and Brain Control, and Future Fusion and Overload Fusion can bring out massive Fusion monsters. Like many decks that I find in my inbox, though, I think this one is trying to do a bit too much all at once. My first cuts will trim out conflicting cards or themes that the deck doesn’t seem dedicated to.
The first cards I want to cut are Future Fusion and Overload Fusion. While I personally enjoy running these in my Machine deck, I really think multiple copies of Overload Fusion are necessary to get the most out of it. Cyber Dragon makes great tribute support for Cyber Ogre, and in order to use Future Fusion effectively we’ll either be giving up a pair of Cyber Ogre cards or up to three Cyber Dragon cards just for a chance at using a big Fusion. Doing so with either key monster really hurts this deck’s performance, so Future and Overload seem mismatched for what Cody is trying to accomplish.
Next, this deck runs Jinzo and Cyber-Stein, but also packs Ring of Destruction. Trap counts need to be low in a deck that uses Jinzo, and Ring doesn’t really belong anywhere near Cyber-Stein in my opinion. We’ll actually be focusing more on Stein as this fix progresses, so Ring is a must-drop. I’m also going to remove the pair of Bottomless Trap Hole cards for fear of Jinzo: they’ll be replaced with defensive spells instead.
Confiscation is another one of those “Cyber-Stein hates it” cards. While several duelists have run passable decks that use this life point-costed card, it just seems like another conflicting choice in a deck that already has several such problems. I run Confiscation in just about anything, but I’m wary of it in a Stein-enabled deck that doesn’t have any method of gaining life points.
Finally, I need to trim out Magician of Faith, D. D. Warrior Lady, and Book of Moon in order to make a bit more room. Sacrifices have to be made when you’re committing to a theme, and these cards are simply the easiest drops remaining.
So, on to the fun part! The first card I want to add is Morphing Jar. Whether we’re digging for Cyber-Stein or a second Cyber Ogre to add power to one already on the field, the Jar is an enabling card that supports our strategic focus. This deck packs a ton of combos, so every extra card we see can help us reach victory. Just watch out for Dark World monsters.
Next, a second Cyber-Stein and two Megamorph cards will add a great deal. Cody is already using three Cyber Phoenix cards, and while they’re good on their own, the Phoenix’s real potential lies in protecting a single big threat from Sakuretsu Armor or Enemy Controller. As a result, we really want to be able to present big attackers as often as possible. Cyber-Stein lets us pull high-ATK Machines from the Fusion deck in the blink of an eye, and while Megamorph is obviously good with Stein, it can also convert Cyber Dragon or Cyber Ogre into game-winning attackers. One of the challenges you’ll find in running Cyber Ogre is figuring out how to protect it (or at least make it useful) when you only have access to a single copy. Megamorph lets you double its ATK if you’re in a losing position, effectively turning a vulnerable card into a potential game clincher. It blows up Spirit Reaper, lets smaller monsters attack over Monarchs, and more. Just remember that Megamorph can only double Cyber Ogre’s original ATK, and if it’s attached to one of your Machines, your own Phoenix could negate it. In the latter case, I’d recommend using it on your opponent’s monsters to hammer home more damage or stump a rampaging Monarch.
This deck is already using one Enemy Controller, and I’d like to build that into a suite of support. A second Controller and a copy of Scapegoat won’t just compensate for the defense we lost by removing a few traps; they’ll also buy us time to draw into extra Cyber Ogre cards. They even support each other, as Sheep tokens are the perfect tribute fodder for Enemy Controller’s “swipe a monster” effect. Lastly, if the opponent starts turtling in order to evade Cyber Ogre or a big Fusion, Enemy Controller can turn a low-ATK defender to attack position in order to let you hammer home some damage. With Enemy Controller now reprinted as a rare in the Champion Packs, expect it to see a lot more use in my column.
Speaking of cards reprinted in Champion Packs, how about that shiny Metamorphosis? With six level 5 monsters present in this deck, it’s just screaming for the versatility Metamorphosis can bring. Add Dark Balter the Terrible to the Fusion deck, and Cyber Ogre or Cyber Dragon can be used as Metamorphosis bait to bring Balter to the field. That can really help when you’re facing down recruiters or harmful types like Newdoria and Old Vindictive Magician.
Finally, since I want this build to shine as an all-in Cyber Ogre deck, I’m adding two copies of Monster Reincarnation. We can mitigate the discard cost attached to Reincarnation by way of Treeborn Frog, but really, you’re going to find that the ability to bring back a Cyber Ogre, Cyber Dragon, or Cyber Phoenix is often worth the discard anyway. Monster Reincarnation ensures that you have access to a second Cyber Ogre when you need it, and it even gives you something to do with dead copies of Cyber-Stein once you’re pressed below the 5000 life points mark. It’s surprisingly good here.
Here’s a recap of the changes I made.
-1 Magician of Faith
-1 D. D. Warrior Lady
-1 Future Fusion
-1 Overload Fusion
-1 Book of Moon
-1 Confiscation
-1 Ring of Destruction
-2 Bottomless Trap Hole
+1 Morphing Jar
+1 Cyber-Stein
+2 Megamorph
+1 Enemy Controller
+1 Scapegoat
+1 Metamorphosis (and +1 Dark Balter the Terrible to match!)
+2 Monster Reincarnation
The final build looks like this:
Cyber Smash—Jason’s Fix—40 Cards
Monsters: 21
3 Cyber Ogre
3 Cyber Dragon
1 Jinzo
3 Cyber Phoenix
2 Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive
2 Cyber-Stein
2 Exiled Force
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Breaker the Magical Warrior
1 Treeborn Frog
1 Sangan
1 Morphing Jar
Spells: 15
2 Megamorph
1 Metamorphosis
1 Limiter Removal
1 Last Will
1 Graceful Charity
1 Premature Burial
1 Nobleman of Crossout
2 Enemy Controller
1 Scapegoat
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Heavy Storm
2 Monster Reincarnation
Traps: 4
2 Sakuretsu Armor
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Mirror Force
Fusion Deck: 7
1 Dark Balter the Terrible
1 Chimeratech Overdragon
1 Cyber End Dragon
1 Cyber Twin Dragon
1 Cyber Ogre 2
2 Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon
This deck has the advantage of being able to perform in two very different ways. First, it can come out swinging on early turns thanks to Cyber Dragon and Cyber-Stein. It can protect such efforts with Cyber Phoenix, and augment them with Limiter Removal and Megamorph. Alternatively, the deck can also establish a slow tempo with Phoenix and Dekoichi in order to draw into extra Cyber Ogre cards or build an OTK. How you play it depends on your matchup and your opening hand.
If you can take the opponent in the early game, by all means do so. That’s a fact that never changes. However, if you’re playing against Monarchs you definitely want to strike hard and fast as early as possible. You want to force the Monarch duelist to play at an uncomfortably fast pace, committing cards to the field in an effort to stave off your growing aggression. Jinzo is priceless here, because he shuts down your two biggest fears: Mirror Force and Torrential Tribute. You need to over-extend early, so anything that protects your ambitious approach to the field is of the utmost importance.
On the other side of the coin is the Creature Swap control matchup. In this case you have enough chainable effects that you can afford the slow tempo that Swap usually favors. Flat out, they have two Swaps and you have three cards to beat them: two Enemy Controller cards and a Scapegoat. Conserve those cards when you draw into them, as they’re the key to winning in this matchup. Swap decks won’t usually pose much of a threat in the early game, so use that to your advantage by building up your options and drawing into synergy-reliant cards like Megamorph and Cyber Ogre. Just be careful of Asura Priest: if you establish a committed field, the Priest can wipe you clean, so that’s something to keep in mind before you activate Sakuretsu Armor or another defensive card.
Dark World is a rough matchup, especially if its pilot is playing Deck Devastation Virus. Cyber Ogre is important here, because a single use of its effect can shut down a rush of multiple Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World and Sillva, Warlord of Dark World cards just long enough for you to fight back. Again, hit hard and fast: abuse Megamorph and Limiter Removal to deal damage quickly, before the deck can build up to a Card Destruction or Morphing Jar of game-winning proportions. Use your own Morphing Jar with the utmost care, or side it out entirely.
This deck can be a lot of fun on the local level, since it’s full of surprises the opponent won’t see coming. It demands precision, but the feeling of dropping Megamorph onto Cyber Dragon for game or plunking down Cyber Ogre for the effect of another on-field copy is awesome. If you’ve got the cards kicking around and want to try a very unpredictable deck, you should give this one a shot!
—Jason Grabher-Meyer
Working on a deck for the new Advanced format? Looking for some help, or just want to see your creation right here on Metagame? Send it to me, and you might see your deck featured in an Apotheosis column! I’m Jason (at) metagame (dot) com, and I’m always looking for cool new decks to write about.