Look at that picture. That’s Miguel Albarran, and, if you read the Day 2 coverage from Shonen Jump Detroit, you may recognize him. But what you might not know is that that’s also a picture of the first person to make it to Table 1 of Round 6 at a Shonen Jump with a Volcanic deck.

No joke. Miguel Albarran has created a hybrid of the Volcanic and Monarch strategies that is taking the field by storm here. No one has any idea how to play against it, and it has to be seen to be believed. Volcanic Rocket, Blaze Accelerator, Wild Fire — it’s all here. Check it out:

Albarran’s build shows a variety of influences. On one hand, he utilizes an Apprentice Engine, an interesting choice given the deck’s lack of success in this format thus far. But the Apprentice engine monsters give him the stability he needs to work his strategy, and the result is a deck that’s far more aggressive than your average Monarch build. It’s more explosive, too.

The deck’s other obvious influence is Jonathan Labounty’s Perfect Circle from Washington. The borrowed bits of strategy are pretty clear; The Transmigration Prophecy does everything offensive that it did in Labounty’s deck, stopping the opponent from using cards like Book of Life and Premature Burial. On the defensive side, instead of rescuing dead pairs of Destiny Hero – Malicious or keeping Destiny Hero – Disk Commander out of the snapping beak of D.D. Crow, it aids Albarran’s abuse of Volcanic Shell.

Once he’s discarded all three Shells for various effects, the value of Transmigration Prophecy is obvious; it cycles two of the Shells back so the can be used again. Jeff Jones is actually running a similar strategy with Volcanic Shell; he just hasn’t committed to the Volcanic theme like Albarran has (and hasn’t been as successful). Two Pot of Avarice provide a similar service, creating a three-card engine that lets Albarran recycle Shell after Shell: up to seven discards in a single game. Those extra Shells come in handy, because Albarran has also borrowed the three Phoenix Wing Wind Blast that surprised opponent after opponent during Labounty’s rise in Washington.

Beyond that, the Shells also feed Blaze Accelerator, a powerful monster removal engine that really shines in a format where players still mourn the loss of their second and third Smashing Ground. The amount of damage this card can do with a single Volcanic Shell is amazing. It can destroy monsters regardless of their position or face-up / face-down status, and players just aren’t ready to deal with that. Sure, on one hand this combo can be a very elaborate Lightning Vortex, but on the other, it can break open fields that appeared to be locked in stalemate due to a large number of face down monsters.

The same can be said of Wild Fire, a finisher card that hits at quick-play speed when Albarran’s tapped out of Shells and has no other use for Blaze Accelerator. The Accelerator doesn’t just destroy every monster on the field, though that would be good on its own. It also special summons a Wild Fire Token monster that can be tributed immediately for a Monarch. It’s especially brutal with Thestalos, since the opposing player loses all his or her monsters and a card from hand in a swift, three-turn combo. Wild Fire also provides a use for Blaze Accelerator if the Accelerator should be targeted for destruction. Wild Fire can be chained in order to beat the opponent to the punch, causing havoc as a result. Albarran runs two with just a single Blaze Accelerator, since Volcanic Rocket can search and reuse the Accelerator itself.

Both Wild Fire and Blaze Accelerator keep Albarran from attacking for the turn on which they’re used, but this isn’t a big problem. Two Soul Exchange would keep him from attacking sometimes anyway, so combining the use of Blaze Accelerator with Soul Exchange can consolidate the drawback of each to a single turn. Blow away a couple monsters, tribute another one, and force the opponent to discard via Thestalos. It’s like nonviolent resistance. On fire.

Wild Fire’s drawback is easily mitigated as well, since Albarran can just flip it on his opponent’s turn anyway. It might be the most shockingly brutal end phase flip in the game.

Sadly a decklist issue cost Albarran his Round 6 match just moments ago — he listed only 1 Wild Fire when he ran 2. But with just three more rounds remaining in the tournament, and with no one really knowing how to approach this behemoth Albarran has created, he’s a very strong bet for a Day 2 placement. If he can make it to the Top 16 his deck will have a huge and undeniable impact.