3 Royal Decree
Originally, the deck became famous in the 2006 European National Championship by Adrian Madaj. Utilizing three copies of Royal Decree, it stripped its opponents of their monster removal, while utilizing its own spell- and monster-based removal to eliminate the opposing field presence. Three well-placed Zaborg the Thunder Monarch cards and Chaos Sorcerer allowed for enormously consistent powerhouses to rely on in the late game. With three copies of both Shining Angel and Mystic Tomato, the deck could keep a monster on the field at almost all times, while also allowing for consistent Creature Swap combos. Three copies of Royal Decree shut down Return from the Different Dimension, eliminating one of the most aggravating trump cards in the game.
In the time that has passed since this deck’s success, it has lost three of its fundamental cards to the Forbidden and Limited lists: all three Chaos Sorcerer cards, two copies of Spirit Reaper, and Last Will. The loss of Chaos Sorcerer made the Shining Angel cards rather useless, and the deck faded from the spotlight it once enjoyed.
However, in a previous article, Jae Kim noticed an overlooked fact about the current decks: the number 1400. Demise OTK decks rely heavily upon Sonic Bird, Manju, and Senju, while DDT decks rely upon Diamond Dude. Exploiting the shared 1400 ATK base of these monsters allows for fast damage, quick shifts in momentum, and a sign of control over the deck’s power. By adjusting recruiter control to the new format, we find ourselves with a potent deck archetype prepared to fight the average North American metagame.
The Trap Lineup
First, let’s start with the simple trap lineup.
3 Royal Decree
While many duelists would argue that the lack of Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, and Ring of Destruction is dangerous, it’s worth noting that your opponent can’t use these cards either. While a well-timed Snipe Hunter can destroy your Decree, it would most likely be after one of his or her traps has been negated. This, of course, leads to a painful trade. It also takes a lot more effort for a player to draw his or her traps, destroy Royal Decree, and then use those traps successfully than it does for a player to simply play Decree.
The Monster Lineup
Next, we’ll venture into the difficulty of creating a new monster base for the deck.
The first and most obvious obstacle is finding a replacement for Shining Angel. However, many duelists have already discovered a new recruiter to take its place: Giant Rat. Rat Box has been a viable deck archetype for a long time, but it hasn’t been as mainstreamed as Tomato Control. With the ability to run multiple copies of Exiled Force, Injection Fairy Lily, and the release of Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, many duelists have been looking to Giant Rat to add synergy to already great cards.
We must also consider the limitation of Spirit Reaper, which was a key component in the original recruiter decks. This obstacle is easily tackled when we remember that Shrink is now accessible to the average player. Don Zaloog is a very logical addition to the deck.
With two copies of Exiled Force and two of Don Zaloog, considering a toolbox backbone to a recruiter deck seems to lend an easy synergy, and an exciting ability to search any monster from your deck at almost all times.
3 Cyber Dragon
1 Snipe Hunter
1 D. D. Warrior Lady
1 Injection Fairy Lily
1 Neo-Spacian Grand Mole
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Sangan
1 Mystic Swordsman LV2
2 Exiled Force
2 Don Zaloog
2 D.D. Assailant
3 Mystic Tomato
3 Giant Rat
Every monster, other than Cyber Dragon, is searchable from the deck. Both toolbox and recruiter decks have relied on their ability to access a variety of conditional monsters. Putting these two decks together allows for an extremely consistent answer to any threat an opponent poses. Snipe Hunter, made searchable by three copies of Mystic Tomato, allows you to put conditionally useless cards to good use, taking an opponent’s card with them. The inclusion of Injection Fairy Lily is easily justifiable as a replacement for the powerhouses the original build allowed, and even gives an OTK potential to the deck. The newly released Neo-Spacian Grand Mole has the utility to run in a variety of decks, but its true potential is shown next to three copies of Giant Rat.
Perhaps the most questionable choice in the monster lineup is Mystic Swordsman LV2. With almost nothing to back it up, many would question its validity. However, it is crucial in setting up the first couple turns of the game. Against Soul Control, it eliminates the opponent’s early buildup and pressures him or her to act quickly. If you look at the deck lists being used, many builds won’t even have a monster to combat the Swordsman, other than Sangan. His job is to pick off the opponent’s monster, and then get picked off himself. However, he also eliminates problems that your opponent would use to gain unstoppable field presence.
This monster lineup will allow the beautiful simplicity of toolbox to move even faster, aided by recruiter monsters. Cards that are being recognized for their newly gained potential, such as the Mole and Don Zaloog, are easily abused in this deck.
The Spell Lineup
Finally, we’ll tie the monsters and traps together with an intricately woven spell lineup which will abuse the already consistent choices we’ve made thus far.
With the lack of trap-based removal, the deck has to find a way to clear opposing monsters from the board. While the monster lineup is oriented strongly towards direct removal, it helps to include monster destruction in the form of spells as well. Not only does it give us a way to safeguard our life points, but it also allows for easier direct attacks with Don Zaloog and Spirit Reaper.
While we lost many cards through format changes, we have gained one valuable new tool: Shrink. Don Zaloog is more than a one-trick pony now, using its synergy with Shrink to create massive impact.
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Heavy Storm
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Premature Burial
1 Snatch Steal
2 Creature Swap
2 Reinforcement of the Army
3 Smashing Ground
3 Shrink
Many of these choices are rather obvious. Pot of Avarice, Heavy Storm, Nobleman of Crossout, Premature Burial, and Snatch Steal all require little explanation. The synergy with Creature Swap is almost too strong to ignore, and allows for massive swings. With seven Warriors, Reinforcement of the Army is almost a no-brainer. Smashing Ground is a good way to add monster removal to a deck running three copies of Royal Decree, and was also featured in the original recruiter build. The most impressive addition to the spell lineup is the three copies of Shrink, which is a godsend to the deck. The ability to abuse Don Zaloog multiple times—while also allowing your recruiters to stand their ground against even the strongest of monsters—is incredible.
While arguable, the exclusion of Mystical Space Typhoon was a result of testing. With three copies of Royal Decree, the deck rarely had need for it. The only drawback is the deck’s inability to thwart Snatch Steal or Premature Burial.
The Side Deck
Finally, we can assess the deck’s weaknesses, and fix them for a second and third game win.
2 Zombyra the Dark
2 Deck Devastation Virus
2 Spell Canceller
2 Twister
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Mirror Force
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Ring of Destruction
3 Bottomless Trap Hole
Two copies of both Zombyra the Dark and Deck Devastation Virus will allow you to remove the threat of Gravekeeper’s Spy and Legendary Jujitsu Master, as well as giving you another edge against Gadget decks. This, of course, conflicts with the use of Royal Decree, but careful side-decking will allow you to surprise your opponent with a variety of defensive traps (instead of simply three Decrees). Adding Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, Ring of Destruction, and three copies of Bottomless Trap Hole will create a completely new trap lineup, which will surprise any opponent. Also, the Bottomless Trap Hole cards will give you another answer to the Demise OTK, assuming they don’t clear your back row before they attempt to annihilate you in a single turn. Spell Canceller is a strong side-deck card against Diamond Dude Turbo and Demise OTK, often forcing opponents to scoop immediately upon summoning. Two copies of Twister and one copy of Mystical Space Typhoon were included to counter decks based on Dimensional Fissure, which would give recruiters a lot of trouble. Almost every mainstreamed deck is dealt with effectively in this side deck, which should improve your chances of gaining a successful record.
The Final Decklist
Creatures: 22
3 Cyber Dragon
1 Snipe Hunter
1 D. D.Warrior Lady
1 Injection Fairy Lily
1 Neo Spacian Grand Mole
1 Spirit Reaper
1 Sangan
1 Mystic Swordsman LV2
2 Exiled Force
2 Don Zaloog
2 D.D. Assailant
3 Mystic Tomato
3 Giant Rat
Spells: 15
1 Pot of Avarice
1 Heavy Storm
1 Nobleman of Crossout
1 Premature Burial
1 Snatch Steal
2 Creature Swap
2 Reinforcement of the Army
3 Smashing Ground
3 Shrink
Traps: 3
3 Royal Decree
This deck should make for a strong match-up against both Trooper Return and Gadget builds, by abusing Royal Decree and maintaining field presence. Its ability to abuse the 1400 ATK monsters in DDT and Demise offers another strength. Perhaps the most difficult build for this deck to beat is Monarch. However, with clever side-decking strategy, it still has an edge against almost every mainstream deck. Whether you’re facing a monstrous Monarch, or a massive army of Elemental Heroes, you should always have an answer. This new recruiter build is an attempt to abuse consistency in a format relying heavily upon difficult combinations of cards: something that will prove beneficial after nine rounds of play in a Shonen Jump.