The inspiration struck me to make a pure hand control deck. By forcing simplification of the field with both monster and spell or trap removal, a deck that burns cards to deplete the opponent’s hand can be powerful indeed. By specifically relying on two mainstays of the 2004 World Championships (Don Zaloog and Drop Off), this New Grounds control deck should be a fun one that almost builds itself.

Due to the heavy base of tribute monsters and “tech” cards that many duelists choose to use, it seems likely that few such decks could stop an onslaught of cards that nullify their card and field presence. If you’re running a deck like Kyle Lopez’s excellent idea at Shonen Jump Championship Seattle—with multiple copies of Brain Control, numerous tribute monsters, and three Cyber Dragon cards—it seems likely that a timely Don Zaloog or Drop Off can catch you at a vulnerable moment. As many duelists begin to experiment with flavored variations on the cookie cutter decks and cards like Future Fusion, Limiter Removal, and Pot of Avarice work themselves into the mainstream, hardcore hand control has never looked better.

Creating Advantage through the Hardcore Hand Control Concept

A standard situation might illustrate the clarity of the hardcore hand control concept. If I’m holding Mystical Space Typhoon, Don Zaloog, and Smashing Ground against your set spell or trap card, Cyber Dragon face up on the field, and one card in hand, the sequence of plays to follow is quite obvious. I’ll play Typhoon, follow up with Smashing Ground to destroy the Cyber Dragon, and then summon Don to pluck the card from your hand. If I had the initiative and went first, you’re looking at a huge hole to dig out of. If your next drawn card is something like Cyber-Stein, a Monarch, or other such useless card for the occasion, it’s likely you’ll be conceding the duel in a few turns.

By creating a stable base of field control monsters and augmenting it with hand disruption, we can create a deck that nullifies the key threats in any deck. When left with a simplified game situation, decks with splashed tech elements designed to counter a slower-paced duel will fall short. Let’s build this forced simplification concept and see how well it runs.

Build: Hardcore Hand Control

General Synergies and Goals:

1) Force simplification of the game state.

2) Rip cards from the opponent until he or she is top-decking.

Pivotal Cards:

1) Dust Tornado (spell or trap removal)

2) Smashing Ground, Exiled Force (monster removal)

3) Drop Off, Magic Drain (forced simplification)

4) Don Zaloog, Spirit Reaper (hand disruption) 

Constructing the Monster Lineup of the Hardcore Hand Control Concept

We need monsters that can create a solid, stable presence on the field. We also need hand disruption tools. The monster that links both goals together is Mystic Tomato. We can create further utility by sprinkling a few Warriors into the decklist to help the versatility of the deck. Let’s separate the list into three categories: Dark support, Warrior support, and General support.

Dark Support:

2 Mystic Tomato

1 Newdoria

2 Don Zaloog

1 Spirit Reaper

1 Sangan

1 Cyber-Stein

This looks like a solid basis of monsters from which to draw answers. Mystic Tomato can lead into hand disruption, field dominance, or monster removal. It can also help set up tribute summons from Sangan or build your field presence up with another Tomato or Spirit Reaper. While Tomato has been shunned lately because of the recent emergence of Hydrogeddon, it’s still an incredibly powerful tool. The deck will incorporate a higher-than-average number of 1700 or stronger ATK monsters to counter the upswing of Hydrogeddon in the metagame.

Warrior Support:

1 D. D. Assailant

1 Strike Ninja

2 Exiled Force

1 D. D. Warrior Lady

All of these monsters follow the general forced simplification model. In a low resource game, they’ll all be great choices. D. D. Assailant and D. D. Warrior Lady destroy any monsters lower than their ATK and also drag down stronger monsters with their effects. Unprotected 1500 and 1700 damage shots to the opponent’s life points when he or she is on the ropes will seal many a duel in your favor. Exiled Force will help with that by creating a one-for-one trade no matter the situation. Finally, Strike Ninja is the unquestioned king of the midgame. He basically avoids all monster removal effects through spell or trap destruction and can vanish to avoid his own loss through battle.

General Support:

1 Breaker the Magical Warrior

1 Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

1 Zaborg the Thunder Monarch

1 Mobius the Frost Monarch

1 Treeborn Frog

1 Mask of Darkness

2 Cyber Dragon

The monsters in the general lineup help augment the synergy of the deck. Mask of Darkness can segue nicely into a tribute monster after retrieving a Dust Tornado, Magic Drain, or Drop Off to reduce the opponent’s resources further. Treeborn Frog and Breaker are excellent cards in general, and running a single copy of three different Monarchs provides answers to a number of different situations.

The Spell and Trap Support for the Hardcore Hand Control Concept

Let’s start with my favorites:

Graceful Charity

Confiscation

Heavy Storm

Mystical Space Typhoon

Premature Burial

Nobleman of Crossout

We’ll use all six of them.

Conceptual Spell Support:

2 Smashing Ground: As part of the strategy of removing all of your opponent’s threats, two Smashing Ground cards will reduce the opponent’s field presence and prevent tribute summons. It will also take down threats that your monsters cannot.

2 Reinforcement of the Army: Reinforcement of the Army can be used to search out Exiled Force for immediate monster removal, and also lets you pick D. D. Assailant or Strike Ninja if Hydrogeddon is giving you problems.

1 Last Will: Great synergy with your Monarchs and the ability to immediately whomp your opponent with Cyber-Stein makes Last Will a KO card in this deck. The monster that Cyber-Stein summons will often stay on the field for quite a few turns, especially in a simplified game.

The traps:

Ring of Destruction

Torrential Tribute

Mirror Force

These traps are quite powerful and can be good in many decks.

Conceptual Trap Support:

2 Dust Tornado: Dust Tornado forces simplification and allows you a clear alleyway to attack your opponent.

1 Magic Drain: Magic Drain will keep the amount of resources your opponent has under control and negate key spells in crucial situations. In general, you should play this card at the first spell your opponent uses, since many decks have cut down on spell count these days.

3 Drop Off: Drop Off is the key trap card of the deck. It allows you to rack up unmitigated damage in the event that your opponent has a dead hand. For example, if you summon Tomato and swing for 1400 into your opponent’s set spell or trap and two cards in hand, you can likely get another 1400 damage or more next turn. If you summon another monster, that’s 2000+ damage because of the Drop Off. It will let you jump all over your opponent’s poor hand.

Expected Matchups with the Best Decks in the Format

You might want to side deck certain cards that work better when going second. You could cut all three Drop Off cards for Sakuretsu Armor perhaps. The idea of forcing simplification is a lot less palatable when your opponent has an extra card from the draw phase over you. You generally want to force trades of cards on field or in hand when you have the edge, and you’ll be starting at a slightly downhill position after (hopefully) winning the first duel.

Other than that, the deck has a very solid matchup with most of the different deck types in the field. It has plenty of monster removal and ways to handle what your opponent throws at you. Have fun playing the deck, and feel free to tweak it to your liking!